NCASE M1: a crowdfunded Mini-ITX case (updates in first post)

ctrlbrk said:
Can someone check my build for any problems?

- Ncase M1 v4
- ASRock Z170 Gaming ITX/ac
- i7-6700k
- 32gb (2x16gb) G.Skill TridentZ
- Samsung 950 Pro M.2
- Radeon R9 Nano
- Silverstone SX500-LG

Also I could use some input on cooling please, which cooler do you recommend?

Last, input on extra case fans?

Thank you guys. I have to buy this stuff and import it, there are no returns so I need everything to be perfect...
Click to expand...

Damn, you're not exactly going easy on the RAM. I hope this is for more than gaming.

The noctua C14 is a very good option since you don't seem to need any 3,5" support. I think it is about the biggest air cooler you can fit in here. Keep in mind though that the new C14S which replace the C14 have an offset design, so might want to do some measuring unless anyone here has already tried it. Another option is of course an AIO. A single 120 AIO is about the same price as the C14 i think. It's probably slightly better for overclocking, but a bit noisier too. It kind of depends on your use case.

I wouldn't bother with case fans until the build is complete and tested. No use putting them in there if you don't need them to improve anything. The internals will be quite unrestricted for air flow with that nano in there so you'll probably be fine.
 
Urelure said:
Damn, you're not exactly going easy on the RAM. I hope this is for more than gaming.

The noctua C14 is a very good option since you don't seem to need any 3,5" support. I think it is about the biggest air cooler you can fit in here. Keep in mind though that the new C14S which replace the C14 have an offset design, so might want to do some measuring unless anyone here has already tried it. Another option is of course an AIO. A single 120 AIO is about the same price as the C14 i think. It's probably slightly better for overclocking, but a bit noisier too. It kind of depends on your use case.

I wouldn't bother with case fans until the build is complete and tested. No use putting them in there if you don't need them to improve anything. The internals will be quite unrestricted for air flow with that nano in there so you'll probably be fine.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I am not gaming on the system, I use it for work (trading).

I prefer noise reduction as a priority but I do overclock so long as it is 100% stable, so which cooler based on that?
 
If you are not gaming, why waste $650 on a gaming GPU ?
You could invest that in an Asrock X99E-ITX/ac with a 5930K, have more performance, more cores and probably a better overclock too. Even the simpliest GPU will suffice for your task unless trading requires a high-end GPU (I don't see how).
 
Maybe he's doing complex calculations about trends, etc, or lots of rapid microtransactions?

Phuncz said:
That's why I'm hoping they are going to use seperate wires (or pairs) instead of one thick cable, so we have more control over them. And sleeve it up nicely :D
Click to expand...

That'd be nice, but I think the spec requires them to be bundled like they are, unfortunately. Of course, that may just be a recommendation (it's be a while since I looked at it), but it's definitely in the spec either way, down to the way that they are layered in the cable.
 
Phuncz said:
If you are not gaming, why waste $650 on a gaming GPU ?
You could invest that in an Asrock X99E-ITX/ac with a 5930K, have more performance, more cores and probably a better overclock too. Even the simpliest GPU will suffice for your task unless trading requires a high-end GPU (I don't see how).
Click to expand...

I need triple DisplayPort to drive 3x4K monitors, but the real reason I suppose is "why not"? The 5930 is tempting but some of my tools are still largely single core.

Thanks for the reply.
 
Ah yes, in single-threaded applications you get more performance per dollar for a 6700K than a 5820K or 5930K, so you were on the right track.

For multi-monitor most people would also recommend going with AMD and since you need three DisplayPorts, it's indeed a good fit, although massive overkill.
 
Well, at 24.88 megapixels, I'm not sure you could call that GPU overkill even if he only planned on playing SpaceCadet 3D Pinball. o_o
 
ctrlbrk said:
I need triple DisplayPort to drive 3x4K monitors, but the real reason I suppose is "why not"? The 5930 is tempting but some of my tools are still largely single core.

Thanks for the reply.
Click to expand...
Lots of cheaper cards will do it. My reference GTX 970 has triple DP for example. Plenty of other AMD cards do too. The X99 board can also support 64GB of RAM if you're looking for for a workstation rather than gaming system, which it sounds like you are.
 
This build feels odd to me for something like that.

If trading needs GPU compute power, then the R9 Nano may well make sense. If it's 2D-only, though, the R9 Nano is massive overkill (I drive a 3840x2400 monitor off of HD Graphics 2000 on my work desktop, and I don't notice performance issues with graphics at all.) If a card has 3 DisplayPort 1.2 or better connections, it'll be fine for this, most likely.

Another consideration is cooling - the R9 Nano is a hot (175 W) card, with an axial fan, blowing air in every direction. At high power levels, I'd want a blower-style card to get heat out before it can heat anything else, although the R9 Nano's being a short card may make it easier to exhaust hot air from it.

If you really don't need compute performance, I'd almost say the FirePro W4100 might be a good option: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195132

If you need a little more GPU performance, I'd be inclined to go GTX 960 with a reference cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127842 (MSI, 2 GiB GDDR5) or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133589 (PNY, 4 GiB GDDR5) if you want more VRAM for driving the monitors.

Now that we've knocked about $450-500 off the GPU... do you want ECC RAM to improve reliability? If not, the rest makes sense, but if you do, that means an X99/C612 or C236 platform and a Xeon. There's three main possibilities here - the ASRock X99E-ITX/ac, the ASRock Rack C236 WSI, and the Gigabyte MX11-PC0 (which is more server-oriented anyway) are the ones I'm aware of. This means going from $165 to $250 for the board for the X99E-ITX/ac (which comes with a cooler, not sure you want to use it though), and the C236 WSI and the MX11-PC0 don't really seem to be available. The annoying thing is that the X99 platform doesn't have great single-core performance, so you might want to just ignore the next paragraph.

Then, I'm assuming we're aiming for the same budget as before, so we've got a few CPU options. E5-1630 v3 (not on Newegg) is one option with 4 cores at 3.7 GHz base, 3.8 GHz turbo, 140 W TDP, and E5-1650 v3 would get you 6 cores at 3.5 GHz base, 3.8 GHz turbo, 140 W TDP if future tools can take advantage of more cores (but, it's a tradeoff here). Cooling that will be tricky, but you could go to an AIO watercooled setup easily enough, or there's some big heatsink options I think. (Or, there IS the stock cooler that ships with the ASRock board, but that'll probably be quite loud, and the airflow path probably won't be right without adding more case fans.) Then, for RAM... two of these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820242018 would be cheaper, which will pay for the difference between a good air cooler and a good AIO. The problem is that you're not getting single-thread performance on that platform.

If you don't want ECC, stick with the i7-6700K, and I'm going with a Scythe Kabuto II on my i5-6600K build (which will use a GA-Z170N-Gaming 5) for aircooling, although it looks like the CPU socket on that ASRock board is a bit higher than some of the other boards, which may cause a compatibility issue. In your case, I'm thinking... GA-Z170N-Wifi, to get the Intel wired ethernet (more proven - and, honestly, it's something that I'm debating doing myself), might not be a bad idea.
 
Last edited:
iFreilicht said:
I think you could get even better temps if you were to shroud the fan at the back, which should be the one connected to the GPU fan header, to blow its air more directly into the card. At 80°C, the GPU might even be throttling already, can't say for sure though.

Really liking the cable management for the GPU power, that looks very good!
Click to expand...

Hey iFreilicht!

Can you please explain what you mean with "shroud the fan at the back to blow its air more directly into the card"? I am planning a similar layout but not sure how that is possible...

anak
 
Hi anak85,

You could use a fan frame that you took the center hub out of, or a section cut from a 2l coke bottle, or a plastic folder that you cut and rolled, or if you don't mind it being rectangular you could just use some plastic or cardboard cut to fit around the fans and the heatsink on the video card. The important thing is to funnel the fresh air into the heatsink, and prevent hot air from being mixed into the fresh air if possible. Edit: You could also buy a shroud, but if you have the materials it'd be cheaper to make your own.

You might also consider flipping your fans over so that they're exhausting the heat out of the case, if your other fans are already intake.
 
Last edited:
anak85 said:
Hey iFreilicht!

Can you please explain what you mean with "shroud the fan at the back to blow its air more directly into the card"? I am planning a similar layout but not sure how that is possible...

anak
Click to expand...

Nobu said:
Hi anak85,

You could use a fan frame that you took the center hub out of, or a section cut from a 2l coke bottle, or a plastic folder that you cut and rolled, or if you don't mind it being rectangular you could just use some plastic or cardboard cut to fit around the fans and the heatsink on the video card. The important thing is to funnel the fresh air into the heatsink, and prevent hot air from being mixed into the fresh air if possible. Edit: You could also buy a shroud, but if you have the materials it'd be cheaper to make your own.

You might also consider flipping your fans over so that they're exhausting the heat out of the case, if your other fans are already intake.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I meant. By "at the back" I meant the fan at the back of the case, because I guessed that was the one that was driven through the GPU fan header in this case.
 
Trying to pick a GPU for my M1 build. Probably going with a 970 and Asus has always been my brand of choice. Does the Strix GTX 970 fit with the DirectCU II cooler? NCASE lists cards up to 5.5"(140mm) of height compatible and according to Asus's specifications the 970 Strix takes up exactly 5.5"(140mm). Am I going to run into problems with wiring or anything else?

Going to use a SFX PSU. Probably a Silverstone SX600-G. So card length won't be an issue.
 
Flicker Freeman said:
Trying to pick a GPU for my M1 build. Probably going with a 970 and Asus has always been my brand of choice. Does the Strix GTX 970 fit with the DirectCU II cooler? NCASE lists cards up to 5.5"(140mm) of height compatible and according to Asus's specifications the 970 Strix takes up exactly 5.5"(140mm). Do I run in problems with wiring or anything else?

Going to use a SFX PSU. Probably a Silverstone SX600-G. So card length won't be an issue.
Click to expand...

as was said multiple times already: It does not fit without modifying the case (you need to cut a pin of the sidepanel).
 
Last edited:
Dra1c said:
as was said multiple times already: It does not fight without modifying the case (you need to cut a pin of the sidepanel).
Click to expand...

I don't need it to fight, just to fit in the case. I did use the forum search and tried my luck on google, but found nothing. So you could either provide a link to these multiple posts or explain a little better what good does removing a side panel pin exactly do?
 
Flicker Freeman said:
I don't need it to fight, just to fit in the case. I did use the forum search and tried my luck on google, but found nothing. So you could either provide a link to these multiple posts or explain a little better what good does removing a side panel pin exactly do?
Click to expand...

here you go:
Necere said:
Since people keep asking about these cards, I'm going to give a definitive rundown based on what people have reported and/or the manufacturer's specs.


M1 GPU height (AKA width) restriction: 5.5" (140mm)


GTX 980 STRIX: DOES NOT FIT
Listed height: 5.3" (134.4mm), but see below
The listed height does not include the heatpipe, which will extend outside of the case and prevent the side panel from closing. Nothing short of removing the heatpipe/replacing the cooler will allow it to fit.


GTX 970 STRIX: DOES NOT FIT (but can be modded to fit)
Listed height: 5.5" (140mm)
Technically within the height limit, but the card has an unusual tall PCB that extends out to the corners. It's the backmost corner of the PCB that presents a problem in the M1, and requires either modding the case or the card to fit.


GTX 980 Ti STRIX: DOES NOT FIT
Listed height: 6" (152mm)
Simply too tall, and will extend outside of the case.
Click to expand...

mark7993 said:
I actually made that entry in the doc. I have the Strix 970 in a V3, and instead of cutting the pcb on the gpu, I modified the case itself (which may or may not appeal to some people). I removed the back pin socket, cut a small portion of the socket out, and had to remove the ball of the back pin. I felt as if the other pins were enough to hold the panel on, and so far they have been. Also, the large heatpipe on the card itself does touch the side panel slightly, but I'm willing to deal with it (it's nothing major, the panel doesn't bulge, and it only barely pushes in on the card itself).

socket modification:
WP_20150404_002.jpg


pin modification:
WP_20150404_003.jpg


If I had to do it again, I'd buy another card (probably reference, maybe an ITX card), but seeing as this wasn't a new build for me, but a case migration, I had to make due with what I had.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
BTW, you can just break the pin off with strong pliers. They break of flush with the sheet, after that you can mask the exposed steel with a marker or plasti-dip. Looks way better than cutting it off and poses no risk of scratching the material.

I did this with my PC-Q12 which uses the same pins.
 
And a bonus tip for iFreilicht's pro-tip: use a layer or two of duct tape around the beak parts of the pliers so you don't scratch your side-panel while doing so !
 
I pre-ordered an aluminum version 5! Will be coming from a OCed 2500k. Will probably put a 6600k in this unless I find something that convinces me otherwise.
 
Phuncz said:
And a bonus tip for iFreilicht's pro-tip: use a layer or two of duct tape around the beak parts of the pliers so you don't scratch your side-panel while doing so !
Click to expand...

Didn't actually think about that, I'll remember it!
 
Thanks everyone for all the helpful information. I've recently completed my build and boy was it challenging!

Here's a list of parts that i've put in, in case someone was wondering if it's possible in their rig. This is for a medium to light gaming rig.

NCase M1 v.4
Gigabyte GA-Z170N-Gaming 5
Intel 6600 (non k)
Asus 970 DirectCU Mini
G.Skill Ripjaws V 2x 4GB DDR4 2400mhz
250GB Samsung EVO SSD (OS)
1TB WD Red HDD (Storage/misc)
Silverstone SFX 600W
Cryorig C1
3 x Noctua NF-F12

The Cryorig C1 was never meant for this case, though it's a pretty nice and large CPU cooler. In the correct orientation, the cooler will overhang the PCIE slot by maybe 0.5-1.0 mm. You can either solve this by buying a PCIE 90 degree riser and shift the GPU down, or do what i did - Remove the backplate of the 970, and essentially "force" the gpu into the PCIE slot, so it is technically "bending" very slightly. There's no other way to turn the CPU cooler if you're using an SFX PSU as it eats into the bracket. If you use an ATX PSU that will solve the orientation / PCIE issue, but that limits your use of an HDD. In most cases people would just stick with SSDs, but the additional larger storage was a requirement so i had to include it.

One Noctua fan was used to replace the Cryorig C1's fan (which is rubbish), one sits on the usual fan/HDD bracket, and the last Noctua was just shoved on the bottom of the case, below the PSU. This blows hot air from the GPU upwards and out of the case.


If i had to do it over again, i would forget the Cryorig cooler and go with something that fits easy.

Cheers
Shaun
 
peepeedog said:
Thanks everyone for all the helpful information. I've recently completed my build and boy was it challenging!

Here's a list of parts that i've put in, in case someone was wondering if it's possible in their rig. This is for a medium to light gaming rig.

NCase M1 v.4
Gigabyte GA-Z170N-Gaming 5
Intel 6600 (non k)
Asus 970 DirectCU Mini
G.Skill Ripjaws V 2x 4GB DDR4 2400mhz
250GB Samsung EVO SSD (OS)
1TB WD Red HDD (Storage/misc)
Silverstone SFX 600W
Cryorig C1
3 x Noctua NF-F12

The Cryorig C1 was never meant for this case, though it's a pretty nice and large CPU cooler. In the correct orientation, the cooler will overhang the PCIE slot by maybe 0.5-1.0 mm. You can either solve this by buying a PCIE 90 degree riser and shift the GPU down, or do what i did - Remove the backplate of the 970, and essentially "force" the gpu into the PCIE slot, so it is technically "bending" very slightly. There's no other way to turn the CPU cooler if you're using an SFX PSU as it eats into the bracket. If you use an ATX PSU that will solve the orientation / PCIE issue, but that limits your use of an HDD. In most cases people would just stick with SSDs, but the additional larger storage was a requirement so i had to include it.

One Noctua fan was used to replace the Cryorig C1's fan (which is rubbish), one sits on the usual fan/HDD bracket, and the last Noctua was just shoved on the bottom of the case, below the PSU. This blows hot air from the GPU upwards and out of the case.


If i had to do it over again, i would forget the Cryorig cooler and go with something that fits easy.

Cheers
Shaun
Click to expand...
I just did some testing with the Cryorig C1 inside the M1.

I found out everything you said is true, but (of course depending on mobo socket orientation) that the C1 can fit inside the M1 without blocking the pcie slot or the sfx psu.

My solution was removing the plastic shroud that goes around the heatsink, I originally had plans to paint the shroud, but one of clips broke after trying to re-attach the shroud after removing it.

http://i.imgur.com/5Dm85CF.jpg
 
Hey guys, after months of planning, I finally finished my build! Thanks for everyone here who answered my questions and helped me out.

Here's the spec:

M1 v4
Intel 6700k
Asrock FATALITY Gaming ITX
Corsair LPX 16GB DDR4 3000
EVGA GTX980 ref
Silverstone SX500-L

1TB Samsung 850 evo
512GB Samsung 950 Pro (incoming)

Noctua C14 push/pull (P14/F12)
Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 140mm (bottom intake)

Pics:
l1K0TVth.jpg

h52UY2lh.jpg


Full album is here: http://imgur.com/a/9NT4H
 
alphataru said:
Hey guys, after months of planning, I finally finished my build! Thanks for everyone here who answered my questions and helped me out.

Here's the spec:

M1 v4
Intel 6700k
Asrock FATALITY Gaming ITX
Corsair LPX 16GB DDR4 3000
EVGA GTX980 ref
Silverstone SX500-L

1TB Samsung 850 evo
512GB Samsung 950 Pro (incoming)

Noctua C14 push/pull (P14/F12)
Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 140mm (bottom intake)

Full album is here: http://imgur.com/a/9NT4H
Click to expand...
Any close ups of the psu and gpu clearance? I'm planning a similar build with the nvidia 970, deciding between 500 or 600w psu
 
alphataru said:
Hey guys, after months of planning, I finally finished my build! Thanks for everyone here who answered my questions and helped me out.

Here's the spec:

M1 v4
Intel 6700k
Asrock FATALITY Gaming ITX
Corsair LPX 16GB DDR4 3000
EVGA GTX980 ref
Silverstone SX500-L

1TB Samsung 850 evo
512GB Samsung 950 Pro (incoming)

Noctua C14 push/pull (P14/F12)
Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 140mm (bottom intake)

Full album is here: http://imgur.com/a/9NT4H
Click to expand...

Hi! Looks great! Now I have to squeez some answers out of you as I am planning a very similar layout.

CPU fans - are you powering them with 4-pin PWM? The bottom fan is the NF-F12 PWM right? Because the stock fans are 3-pin as far as I'm aware (another build suggested using the NF-A15 with 4 pins).

Floor fan - would a second 120mm or 140mm fan fit next to it? Any particular reason you didn't choose two 120mm fans?

Cabling - looks a bit cramped and untidy. Any suggestions what I could consider when choosing cables / a PSU?
 
Hey guys, what about Impact VIII with Dark Rock TF and Trident Z? Fit or not?
 
Last edited:
Finally had the time to finish my v1 build after it's been sitting in the closet since forever. :eek: Gotta say I love this case and I'm thinking of ordering a silver v5 now.

Here it is in its temporary location.
Photo%20oct%2023%2c%2010%2049%2000%20PM%20(1).jpg
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
rptw said:
Any close ups of the psu and gpu clearance? I'm planning a similar build with the nvidia 970, deciding between 500 or 600w psu
Click to expand...

Hey sorry, I don't have a picture right now, but believe me, it's REALLY tight with sfx-l.

I went through the same decision, here's what I can tell you. You can make sure your GPU doesn't have a backplate, that will give you a few mm more clearance. If you get the SX500-l, it also comes with flat cables, I was able to bend them almost completely 90 degrees for them to work on my card. Note, I have a backplate, so it would be a little easier if you don't.

You have another option, which is to install the PSU flipped, with intake in the case rather than facing the side. This allows cables to completely clear the GPU. The only downside is that it will be sucking in warmer air, not a big deal if your case temperature is good. I didn't go that route, but it's not a bad choice.

All in all, the 600w sfx would be much easier. HOWEVER, I suggest you read through its thread here, apparently the noise problem is unbearable for some people. While SX500 also has noise problems with clicking and chirping, it's much milder than its bigger cousin. It just comes down to what you can deal with, if you don't mind the noise, 600w sfx would make the build much easier. If you are sensitive to noise, do SX500, and figure out a way for it to fit.
 
Altoholic said:
I think this might be of some help see this album for more pictures:
Click to expand...

You are using a combination of 3-pin and 4-pin fans. How do you control the fan speeds then? I am planning my frist build with fan speed control (have a very old system) and am just wondering what to choose. I also will buy the C-14 and find it a shame to throw away two good fans just because they have 3-pin connections. Btw, I plan on using the Gigabyte GA-Z97N-Wifi motherboard if that makes a difference.

What is your clearance between the fans mounted in the bracket and the CPU cooler? I would be very interested to know if there is a temperature difference of the CPU with this setup in comparison to the fan being directly mounted onto the CPU cooler. Did you try that?
 
anak85 said:
You are using a combination of 3-pin and 4-pin fans. How do you control the fan speeds then? I am planning my frist build with fan speed control (have a very old system) and am just wondering what to choose. I also will buy the C-14 and find it a shame to throw away two good fans just because they have 3-pin connections. Btw, I plan on using the Gigabyte GA-Z97N-Wifi motherboard if that makes a difference.

What is your clearance between the fans mounted in the bracket and the CPU cooler? I would be very interested to know if there is a temperature difference of the CPU with this setup in comparison to the fan being directly mounted onto the CPU cooler. Did you try that?
Click to expand...

The clearance between the a fan on the side bracket and the heatsink on the C14 is just a few millimeters. I don't think it will make much difference. BUT. I really don't see what you would need the bracket for. I am currently using it because i have a corsair 120mm fan for the C14, and those can't be attached to the heatsink with the clips but the bracket serve no purpose beyond that, so I will be changing the config at some point. Not for temps though.

It doesn't really matter if you mix PWM and VC fans. The fan control settings are individual for each MB fan header. The fan curve options will be different, but they get can get the same input. <-- Not necessarily true apparently. Thanks XelNika With the included noctua fan you have the possibility of regulating it (don't know to what extent) and you also have a low noise adapter which can "offset" your fan curve to lower speeds, so there is a good possibility that you'd be fine. If you need to control other fans, PWM or VC, just connect them to a different header an you can control the independently.

I feel like I keep saying this, and that it's getting kind of old. But don't go spending loads of money on a few top en fans prior to actually assembling your build. There is a real chance that you won't need them, and that the money is better used for actual computing hardware. I feel like there are so many people building computers that have this compulsion to fill every single fan spot no matter what. In many situations you end up spending money and adding noise for no significant benefit.

For instance, if you're considering buying 4 high quality (like noctua) fans, depending on your current shopping list, you might have (for the price of those fans) already almost closed the price gap on a higher tier GPU. And that, to me, doesn't make sense. At least without verifying the need for them.

I say go with what ever comes with your initial hardware. If you have fans lying around from other builds, however crappy they are, you can use them as a test in different positions to try to improve temps if you feel like they need improvement. Then it's time to go shopping again. By then you've probably familiarized yourself with the fan control options on your specific MB as well, and you'll know for sure what you need. A good CPU cooler, like the C14, I do consider a good initial investment though. The intel boxed coolers are horrible, if they're even bundled at all.
 
Last edited:
The fan bracket is the most convenient way to add filters if either location is being used as an intake. It doesn't matter if it's the original Lian Li filters, the mesh, or the demciflex, all benefit from having the bracket in place.
 
Vittra said:
The fan bracket is the most convenient way to add filters if either location is being used as an intake. It doesn't matter if it's the original Lian Li filters, the mesh, or the demciflex, all benefit from having the bracket in place.
Click to expand...

Ah, I forgot about the new and improved filter bracket on the later versions. Good point:)
 
Urelure said:
It doesn't really matter if you mix PWM and VC fans. The fan control settings are individual for each MB fan header. The fan curve options will be different, but they get can get the same input. With the included noctua fan you have the possibility of regulating it (don't know to what extent) and you also have a low noise adapter which can "offset" your fan curve to lower speeds, so there is a good possibility that you'd be fine. If you need to control other fans, PWM or VC, just connect them to a different header an you can control the independently.
Click to expand...

This is not universally true. Some boards, like my own, force all the headers to either use voltage or PWM or simply don't support voltage control. Luckily PWM fans work with voltage control.
 
XelNika said:
This is not universally true. Some boards, like my own, force all the headers to either use voltage or PWM or simply don't support voltage control. Luckily PWM fans work with voltage control.
Click to expand...

I didn't know that:confused: Thank you for correcting me. I edited my post to avoid mis-informing anyone. I know my Z97I-Plus does have the possibility to distinguish between the headers which leads me to believe this is something ASUS did between the Z87 and Z97 launches.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the info!

I am planning on using the Gigabyte GA-Z97N-Wifi as it is best compatible with OS X. I will be running both Windows and OS X.

It has 2 fan headers only. So the plan was to have 2x 120mm fans in the case floor running with PWM (one cooling a short ITX GPU and the second feeding up into the case).

For the CPU I want to use the C14. The bottom fan is too large for ITX so can't be used for the CPU cooler.
Option 1: Scrap the bottom fan and connect the existing 140mm with 3-pins
Option 2: Buy a 120mm fan with 3-pin and connect both with 3-pins
Option 3: Buy a 120mm fan with PWM and buy a new 140mm fan also with PWM

So, what will Gigabyte support I guess is the question?

Also as your rightly said, waste is bad. Could I use the spare 140mm CPU fan next to another 120mm fan in the case floor... resulting in that also being 3-pin fans?
 
anak85 said:
Thanks for all the info!

I am planning on using the Gigabyte GA-Z97N-Wifi as it is best compatible with OS X. I will be running both Windows and OS X.

It has 2 fan headers only. So the plan was to have 2x 120mm fans in the case floor running with PWM (one cooling a short ITX GPU and the second feeding up into the case).

For the CPU I want to use the C14. The bottom fan is too large for ITX so can't be used for the CPU cooler.
Option 1: Scrap the bottom fan and connect the existing 140mm with 3-pins
Option 2: Buy a 120mm fan with 3-pin and connect both with 3-pins
Option 3: Buy a 120mm fan with PWM and buy a new 140mm fan also with PWM

So, what will Gigabyte support I guess is the question?

Also as your rightly said, waste is bad. Could I use the spare 140mm CPU fan next to another 120mm fan in the case floor... resulting in that also being 3-pin fans?
Click to expand...

Ah i see. Guessing you're planning on getting you're hands on the old NH-C14 then, which did have the two 140mm 3 pin fans. The new NH-C14S has only one NF-A14 PWM (HEY, PWM;) ), but it is also offset from the socket so I am not sure if it fit's or not.

I would just forget about the fans this time around, and if you see the need to add fans for GPU temps, start thinking about it then. Using a short GPU makes for more room for hot air to escape which is a big deal in the M1, so it might sort itself out. Remember your goal really is to make sure the GPU doesn't thermal throttle, or maybe give yourself a few degrees of headroom for it to be able to boost. You don't need it to run at 65C. If you have an old computer now, keep the fans if you*re throwing it away. There's bound to be a 120mm fan or two in there. Using them to test, you can probably figure out a lot by yourself.

In here everyone has slightly different opinions on what's the best way of doing stuff, but really there are a lot of things we're not factoring in while discussing that makes a lot of difference. For instance my allergy towards moving parts like fans is possible for me to entertain as it is cold where I live, which gives me a lot of headroom. I have 2 fans in my system. 1 in my PSU and 1 on my CPU. Bare minimum. Down below i am running a overclocked and overvolted 580, with some ducting instead of fans. It's fine, but this summer it was barely fine. If I were in the tropics the GPU would be dead by now.

Edit: Also... don't bother using stress tests to determine your cooling solution. It's better to base it off your actual use case.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top