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

FYI…

Planned build for the M1 chassis…

MSI H170I Pro AC Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard
Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
Corsair H55 Liquid CPU Cooler
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory
Samsung 960 Evo 500GB NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
MSI GeForce Sea Hawk Hybrid GTX 1070 8GB Video Card
Corsair ML120 75.0 CFM 120mm Fans

The fans come in a two pack, no fancy LEDs, just quality quiet fans to replace the stock ones that come with the respective AIOs…

The AIO on the MSI Sea Hawk Hybrid GTX 1070 is also a Corsair H55, but the cold plate on the unit has been modified for usage with a GPU chip, meaning it is actually flat…

Total power draw is given as 281 watts, so real world usage (gaming, internet, watching movies, etc.) should be less than that…

I already have a Corsair SF600 SFX PSU, so with a power draw that will be (at the most) a third of the PSUs capacity, I expect a pretty quiet running PSU…!

Oh yeah, I will probably get the set of sleeved cables that Corsair has recently released for the SF series PSUs…

Biggest question is, do I turn the PSU fan side in to avoid its drawing in dust…?
 
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Has anyone experienced the problem with trying to press the button to turn the computer on. I am using Asus ROG Impact and Ncase v5. The only thing i can turn it on at the back of the computer. Is this normal?
 
ReaperX22 said:
The C14 is widely regarded as the best aircooler for this case. If you're not overclocking a single fan will likely also be fine on the side. If you have access to a C14, go for it, it'll perform better than the U9S as it takes air directly from outside rather than the internal air which will likely be heated up due to the GPU. The picture you posted is exactly how I pictured your build haha. I would go with that setup with the U9S, or 2 side fans with the C14 and the GPU by itself again.
Click to expand...

Thank you and all the others for their great insights!
Below is hopefully my final NH-C14 based cooling concept:

Current plan:
  • Use an NH-C14 with one 140 mm CPU cooler fan. No additional case fans.
upload_2016-12-8_11-36-56.png



Fallback plan:
  • NF-A9X14 exhaust
  • NF-F12 "lower" fan on C14 intake
  • Side rear SP120 HP 3-pin fan as "upper" C14 intake
  • Side front SP120 HP 3-pin fan exhaust
Component Selection:
  • **CPU** | [Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor]
  • **CPU Cooler** | [Noctua NH-C14 CPU Cooler]
  • **Case Fan** | [Phanteks PH-F140HP_WT 88.6 CFM 140mm Fan]
  • **Motherboard** | [Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard]
  • **Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory]
  • **Storage** | [Samsung 960 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive]
  • **Video Card** | [EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card]
  • **Power Supply** | [Corsair SF 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply]
  • **Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit]
Outstanding Questions:
  • Does it make sense to add a low noise adapter to the bottom NH-C14 fan and run it off the motherboard's CPU fan header?
  • How do I best optimize the speed of the top NH-C14 fan?
    • Is it worth considering adding a Grid+ v2 even without all the additional fans from the fallback plan outlined above?
    • Where do people typically install this Grid+ v2?
  • How good is the on-board audio of the ASUS Z170I PRO GAMING?
    • I'll be getting a pair of Audio Technica ATH-AD700X for headphones.
    • Would you recommend getting a USB DAC?
  • The case ships with a left angle power cable, right?
    • Will this work for the Corsair SF600?
 
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Thinking I'm going to spend the time 'sleeving' my cables. I'm looking at the FrozenCPU site and totally confused as to what I'm suppose to get. Help please.

Well FORGET that idea....lol...after watching the 'how to' videos I'll just buy them.
 
Last edited:
F41LTR41N said:
Thank you and all the others for their great insights!
Below is hopefully my final NH-C14 based cooling concept:

Current plan:
  • Use an NH-C14 with two 140 mm CPU cooler fans. No additional case fans.
View attachment 12111


Fallback plan:
  • NF-A9X14 exhaust
  • NF-F12 "lower" fan on C14 intake
  • Side rear SP120 HP 3-pin fan as "upper" C14 intake
  • Side front SP120 HP 3-pin fan exhaust
Component Selection:
  • **CPU** | [Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor]
  • **CPU Cooler** | [Noctua NH-C14 CPU Cooler]
  • **Case Fan** | [Phanteks PH-F140HP_WT 88.6 CFM 140mm Fan]
  • **Motherboard** | [Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard]
  • **Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory]
  • **Storage** | [Samsung 960 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive]
  • **Video Card** | [EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card]
  • **Power Supply** | [Corsair SF 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply]
  • **Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit]
Outstanding Questions:
  • Does it make sense to add a low noise adapter to the bottom NH-C14 fan and run it off the motherboard's CPU fan header?
  • How do I best optimize the speed of the top NH-C14 fan?
    • Is it worth considering adding a Grid+ v2 even without all the additional fans from the fallback plan outlined above?
    • Where do people typically install this Grid+ v2?
  • How good is the on-board audio of the ASUS Z170I PRO GAMING?
    • I'll be getting a pair of Audio Technica ATH-AD700X for headphones.
    • Would you recommend getting a USB DAC?
  • The case ships with a left angle power cable, right?
    • Will this work for the Corsair SF600?
Click to expand...

Hi!

Here to you questions.

1. no low noise adapter needed if you are using a PWM fan. It can go from 0 to 100% without any trouble.
2. The fan control can be done perfectly in the BIOS. I have the same board and just play around with the settings til you are happy. Mine starts at 15% and goes up to 50-60% under full load. I have 50°C with the i5 6600K clocked at 4,5Ghz.
3. Test it and judge for yourself before going out and spending additional money. I am very happy!
4. Take a look at my pictures (see my signature). both angles fit. You just need to bend it into position slightly.

Just a thought for you. I would go and get a 120mm case fan for the side bracket. That is more imporantant that the lower 140mm fan. In fact, I would leave away the bottom fan. Here is a previous post explaining why.

Also, use the 140mm Noctua fan that came with the C14 in the case floor as a case fan.
 
F41LTR41N said:
Thank you and all the others for their great insights!
Below is hopefully my final NH-C14 based cooling concept:

Current plan:
  • Use an NH-C14 with two 140 mm CPU cooler fans. No additional case fans.
View attachment 12111


Fallback plan:
  • NF-A9X14 exhaust
  • NF-F12 "lower" fan on C14 intake
  • Side rear SP120 HP 3-pin fan as "upper" C14 intake
  • Side front SP120 HP 3-pin fan exhaust
Component Selection:
  • **CPU** | [Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor]
  • **CPU Cooler** | [Noctua NH-C14 CPU Cooler]
  • **Case Fan** | [Phanteks PH-F140HP_WT 88.6 CFM 140mm Fan]
  • **Motherboard** | [Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard]
  • **Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory]
  • **Storage** | [Samsung 960 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive]
  • **Video Card** | [EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card]
  • **Power Supply** | [Corsair SF 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply]
  • **Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit]
Outstanding Questions:
  • Does it make sense to add a low noise adapter to the bottom NH-C14 fan and run it off the motherboard's CPU fan header?
  • How do I best optimize the speed of the top NH-C14 fan?
    • Is it worth considering adding a Grid+ v2 even without all the additional fans from the fallback plan outlined above?
    • Where do people typically install this Grid+ v2?
  • How good is the on-board audio of the ASUS Z170I PRO GAMING?
    • I'll be getting a pair of Audio Technica ATH-AD700X for headphones.
    • Would you recommend getting a USB DAC?
  • The case ships with a left angle power cable, right?
    • Will this work for the Corsair SF600?
Click to expand...

As far as the left angle plug on the Corsair SF600 here is a pic of my SF450, I have the fan facing out.

60a8c3cabc.jpg
 
F41LTR41N said:
Thank you and all the others for their great insights!
Below is hopefully my final NH-C14 based cooling concept:

Current plan:
  • Use an NH-C14 with two 140 mm CPU cooler fans. No additional case fans.
View attachment 12111


Fallback plan:
  • NF-A9X14 exhaust
  • NF-F12 "lower" fan on C14 intake
  • Side rear SP120 HP 3-pin fan as "upper" C14 intake
  • Side front SP120 HP 3-pin fan exhaust
Component Selection:
  • **CPU** | [Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor]
  • **CPU Cooler** | [Noctua NH-C14 CPU Cooler]
  • **Case Fan** | [Phanteks PH-F140HP_WT 88.6 CFM 140mm Fan]
  • **Motherboard** | [Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard]
  • **Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory]
  • **Storage** | [Samsung 960 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive]
  • **Video Card** | [EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card]
  • **Power Supply** | [Corsair SF 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply]
  • **Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit]
Outstanding Questions:
  • Does it make sense to add a low noise adapter to the bottom NH-C14 fan and run it off the motherboard's CPU fan header?
  • How do I best optimize the speed of the top NH-C14 fan?
    • Is it worth considering adding a Grid+ v2 even without all the additional fans from the fallback plan outlined above?
    • Where do people typically install this Grid+ v2?
  • How good is the on-board audio of the ASUS Z170I PRO GAMING?
    • I'll be getting a pair of Audio Technica ATH-AD700X for headphones.
    • Would you recommend getting a USB DAC?
  • The case ships with a left angle power cable, right?
    • Will this work for the Corsair SF600?
Click to expand...

Two comments about the NH-C14:

  1. It is not possible to fit a 140 mm fan on the underside of the heatsink fins. The power supply is in the way. Only a 120 mm fan (or smaller) can fit.
  2. The Ripsaw V memory is 42 mm tall which exceeds the 38 mm limit when a lower fan is present. Of course, without a fan there is room for modules up to 65 mm in height.
 
Hi, I wonder if it is possible to fit two 120mm radiators to side bracket. I am considering buying an evga 1080 hybrid and a 120mm cpu aio cooler but I couldn't decide on the case yet. I am in between M1 and Define Nano S because of this issue. I saw a few photos with two radiators in M1 but they didn't seem convenient. Maybe its because of bad cable management or something. Is there any good example of that configuration or should I just go with Nano S?
 
IsbaraHan said:
Hi, I wonder if it is possible to fit two 120mm radiators to side bracket. I am considering buying an evga 1080 hybrid and a 120mm cpu aio cooler but I couldn't decide on the case yet. I am in between M1 and Define Nano S because of this issue. I saw a few photos with two radiators in M1 but they didn't seem convenient. Maybe its because of bad cable management or something. Is there any good example of that configuration or should I just go with Nano S?
Click to expand...

It's a matter of cable management and tube routing. The tubing on the AIOs is always going to be too long for a Ncase, so you will have excessive tubing. Same holds true for the PSU unless you get custom cables. Comes down to what you want, the Nano S will be the easier case to build in but the size and quality of the Ncase is extraordinary.
 
rfarmer said:
It's a matter of cable management and tube routing. The tubing on the AIOs is always going to be too long for a Ncase, so you will have excessive tubing. Same holds true for the PSU unless you get custom cables. Comes down to what you want, the Nano S will be the easier case to build in but the size and quality of the Ncase is extraordinary.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply, I will consider that. One more question; what about noise? Does M1's open system make noticable difference relative to Nano S's panels with "sound dampening material"?
 
anak85 said:
Hi!

Here to you questions.

1. no low noise adapter needed if you are using a PWM fan. It can go from 0 to 100% without any trouble.
2. The fan control can be done perfectly in the BIOS. I have the same board and just play around with the settings til you are happy. Mine starts at 15% and goes up to 50-60% under full load. I have 50°C with the i5 6600K clocked at 4,5Ghz.
3. Test it and judge for yourself before going out and spending additional money. I am very happy!
4. Take a look at my pictures (see my signature). both angles fit. You just need to bend it into position slightly.

Just a thought for you. I would go and get a 120mm case fan for the side bracket. That is more imporantant that the lower 140mm fan. In fact, I would leave away the bottom fan. Here is a previous post explaining why.

Also, use the 140mm Noctua fan that came with the C14 in the case floor as a case fan.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Please find my additional comments and questions below.

1. So you have both a 140 mm and a 120 mm intake fans mounted on the side bracket. Did this require any special installation or do they both just fit nicely?
2. You have no fans directly attached to the NH-C14, right? Only the 140 mm side bracket fan is pulling in air towards it.
3. Wouldn't a bottom intake fan cause turbulence? Most posts seem to say it makes no difference in terms of GPU temps. Also the EVGA GTX 1080 FTW is massive, not sure the air would go anywhere useful. See below example.
4. Can you see the color of the Noctua fans through the side panel holes at certain angles?

upload_2016-12-8_16-0-25.png


Qrash said:
Two comments about the NH-C14:

  1. It is not possible to fit a 140 mm fan on the underside of the heatsink fins. The power supply is in the way. Only a 120 mm fan (or smaller) can fit.
  2. The Ripsaw V memory is 42 mm tall which exceeds the 38 mm limit when a lower fan is present. Of course, without a fan there is room for modules up to 65 mm in height.
Click to expand...

Thank you for catching this!

1. This was a typo. I didn't realize the stock NH-C14 fan wasn't 140 mm. However based on anak85's suggestions above I will not use a bottom CPU fan on the NH-C14.
2. Is there any particular memory you would recommend if I ever end up putting a thing fan under the NH-C14 in the future? For now I can technically pick almost anything below 65 mm I guess.
 
Last edited:
F41LTR41N said:
Thanks! Please find my additional comments and questions below.

1. So you have both a 140 mm and a 120 mm intake fans mounted on the side bracket. Did this require any special installation or do they both just fit nicely?
2. You have no fans directly attached to the NH-C14, right? Only the 140 mm side bracket fan is pulling in air towards it.
3. Wouldn't a bottom intake fan cause turbulence? Most posts seem to say it makes no difference in terms of GPU temps. Also the EVGA GTX 1080 FTW is massive, not sure the air would go anywhere useful. See below example.

View attachment 12121



Thank you for catching this!

1. This was a typo. I didn't realize the stock NH-C14 fan wasn't 140 mm. However based on anak85's suggestions above I will not use a bottom CPU fan on the NH-C14.
2. Is there any particular memory you would recommend if I ever end up putting a thing fan under the NH-C14 in the future? For now I can technically pick almost anything below 65 mm I guess.
Click to expand...

I am not an expert about RAM, but the Corsair Vengeance LPX modules are only 33.5 mm tall and they are available in a variety of speeds and colours (if that matters).

As for fans on the side bracket:
  • A 140 and a 120 mm fan fit well, but there is no room left for sliding them in the slotted screw holes.
  • The 140 mm fan must have the 120 mm fan mounting holes.
  • The Noctua NF-A15 PWM is the largest fan I've seen mounted beside a 120 mm fan.
 
Working on my build with 2 120mm AIO, omg, what a pain... My board is ECS z97 i drone..not the best layout but it is the only 1 i could find on newegg. I have no talent in cable management lol...I will post pictures in a couple days. I thought there were 2 other people working with AIOs, are you guys done yet?
 
broddy said:
Working on my build with 2 120mm AIO, omg, what a pain... My board is ECS z97 i drone..not the best layout but it is the only 1 i could find on newegg. I have no talent in cable management lol...I will post pictures in a couple days. I thought there were 2 other people working with AIOs, are you guys done yet?
Click to expand...
Good Luck is all I can say.

Routing and mounting 2 AIO's didn't really jive for me. I ended up going with a custom loop with 2 Radiators and still had trouble routing and fitting everything in the case.
 
F41LTR41N said:
1. This was a typo. I didn't realize the stock NH-C14 fan wasn't 140 mm. However based on anak85's suggestions above I will not use a bottom CPU fan on the NH-C14.
Click to expand...

Sorry if I confused you. The stock fans that come with the NH-C14 are 140 mm in size, but they have the mounting holes of a 120 mm fan. The fans are also 3 pin voltage controlled, not PWM.
 
Qrash said:
Sorry if I confused you. The stock fans that come with the NH-C14 are 140 mm in size, but they have the mounting holes of a 120 mm fan. The fans are also 3 pin voltage controlled, not PWM.
Click to expand...

Haha thanks. I'm more and more leaning towards just having two EK Vandar F4-120ER intake fans on the side bracket. Essentially one-to-one what [this guy](https://imgur.com/a/EwyhM) did.

I don't want a blower design GPU. Yet I still want to have reasonable cooling as silent as possible.
The one 140 mm fan may be too minimalistic. However two 120 mm intakes may provide sufficient airflow across the C14 and generate some positive pressure to get the rest of the air out. Thoughts?
 
F41LTR41N said:
Haha thanks. I'm more and more leaning towards just having two EK Vandar F4-120ER intake fans on the side bracket. Essentially one-to-one what [this guy](https://imgur.com/a/EwyhM) did.

I don't want a blower design GPU. Yet I still want to have reasonable cooling as silent as possible.
The one 140 mm fan may be too minimalistic. However two 120 mm intakes may provide sufficient airflow across the C14 and generate some positive pressure to get the rest of the air out. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
That's the idea. 2 side fans. (with the newer version of the Ncase, you can fit the NF-A15 alongside a single 120mm on the side bracket far as I am aware, due to the mounting hole spacing.) no under fan, if you really wanted you can fit the slim 14mm fan as exhaust (some have) but remember thinner fans = higher rpm = higher noise vs thicker/lower rpm. And use an open blower GPU of your choice (EVGA is fine) and leave it to take air from the bottom with no case fans imo
 
F41LTR41N said:
Haha thanks. I'm more and more leaning towards just having two EK Vandar F4-120ER intake fans on the side bracket. Essentially one-to-one what [this guy](https://imgur.com/a/EwyhM) did.

I don't want a blower design GPU. Yet I still want to have reasonable cooling as silent as possible.
The one 140 mm fan may be too minimalistic. However two 120 mm intakes may provide sufficient airflow across the C14 and generate some positive pressure to get the rest of the air out. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good starting point. Keep us posted!
 
F41LTR41N said:
You now removed the bottom intake fans, right? So you only have the two CPU cooler fans on the NH-C14? What are the GPU and CPU temps like under load?
Click to expand...

Nah. I kept those in there (don't think they help, but couldn't be bothered to take out the GPU). GPU is ~77-78C under full load and 100% blower speed. CPU is relatively cool at ~57-58 on synthetic benchmarks.
 
Hello

I ordered a Ncase on 1st of december but I did not get any confirmation mail other than the "Confirmation of payment" from Paypal.
Is that normal?

I also tried to contact Ncase-support (twice) but no answer.
Do I have to be concerned?
 
Matthias23 said:
Hello

I ordered a Ncase on 1st of december but I did not get any confirmation mail other than the "Confirmation of payment" from Paypal.
Is that normal?

I also tried to contact Ncase-support (twice) but no answer.
Do I have to be concerned?
Click to expand...
No, they did this to me too. And they contacted me eventually.
I also accidentally ordered a bunch of cases because i got an error when ordering. But when they got back to me they also fixed the double orders.
 
F41LTR41N said:
Thanks! Please find my additional comments and questions below.

1. So you have both a 140 mm and a 120 mm intake fans mounted on the side bracket. Did this require any special installation or do they both just fit nicely?
2. You have no fans directly attached to the NH-C14, right? Only the 140 mm side bracket fan is pulling in air towards it.
3. Wouldn't a bottom intake fan cause turbulence? Most posts seem to say it makes no difference in terms of GPU temps. Also the EVGA GTX 1080 FTW is massive, not sure the air would go anywhere useful. See below example.
4. Can you see the color of the Noctua fans through the side panel holes at certain angles?


Thank you for catching this!

1. This was a typo. I didn't realize the stock NH-C14 fan wasn't 140 mm. However based on anak85's suggestions above I will not use a bottom CPU fan on the NH-C14.
2. Is there any particular memory you would recommend if I ever end up putting a thing fan under the NH-C14 in the future? For now I can technically pick almost anything below 65 mm I guess.
Click to expand...

F41LTR41N said:
Haha thanks. I'm more and more leaning towards just having two EK Vandar F4-120ER intake fans on the side bracket. Essentially one-to-one what [this guy](https://imgur.com/a/EwyhM) did.

I don't want a blower design GPU. Yet I still want to have reasonable cooling as silent as possible.
The one 140 mm fan may be too minimalistic. However two 120 mm intakes may provide sufficient airflow across the C14 and generate some positive pressure to get the rest of the air out. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Hi there.

here some comments
- yes, 140mm and 120mm fit no problem on the side bracket.
- I did mount the 140mm fan to the NH-C14 with the included metal clips. It touches the side bracket and the CPU cooler as if it could be mounted to either. You need to offset the fan just a little bit towards the back of the case.
- I removed the shroud of my GPU cooler and the case fans help with the cooling. I control them using the software fanspeed. How it would work with a GTX 1080 I am not sure. But I can't imagine it making things worse...
- No fans or components can be seen throught the case holes.

I would not position the PSU facing outwards.
1. The side bracket fan cools withe PSU nicely when facing inwards.
2. No dust is drawn into the PSU this way.
3. The PSU fan never spins as the case cooling is more than enough for this unit.
4. The heat output of the PSU is within the case (regardless of you facing the PSU fan inwards or out).
 
Case arrived last night. Yippee! CPU and memory also came. Slowly everything is happening.
 
Anyone get 16Gb of Corsair LPX -3200 RAM running on the Asus Z170i Pro Gaming MB with i7-6700k?
 
It's the night before Christmas, just popping along to say thanks to everyone in this thread I have lurked and read it front to back a wealth of information and an enjoyable read. Seeing other journeys with this amazing case has been a jealous treat. Had an empty V5 for quite awhile as of tonight it has two NF-F12's in its base and an SSD mounted in the front even the way SSD's mount is just so dam cool! but its bare apart from that.

Toys to get her up and running are landing tomorrow I cant wait, a 42yo sits here talking to you whilst feeling like he is a little lad again on Eve of Christmas although this time I am not awaking to a rubber key'd spectrum 48k.

Build Tomorrow: (Pending Two deliveries actually arrive :)
Asus Z170i Pro Gaming
Corsair SF450 (Custom Cables later ran out of cash)
I5 6600K
NH-C14 (NF-A14 PWM on top, nothing on the bottom for now)
NF-F12 PWM right side of the side mount and two in the base, current plan for all to be intakes.
Corsair Vengenance LPX 16GB DDR4 3000 MHz
Asus GTX 1080 Strix OC (Just Rude the cost in the UK fingers crossed it's worth it)
Crucial MX200 1TB SSD Data Drive (Already owned from previous pc)
Crucial MX200 250GB MSata OS (Already owned from previous pc)

And ofc the Ncase M1, sold my GFX card and some memory to buy the case true story.

Even remembered to order some Arctic Silver been over a decade since I built a pc, and thanks to you guys I am sure it will go well tomorrow *Fingers and Toes crossed.

I think I may even go to bed early hahaha.

p.s. If you are in Europe fire up pricespy and search NH-C14 there is actually one shop with new stock ;)

Have Fun.

Cheers
Rob
 
Last edited:
mcbirds said:
Switched from the reference 1080 to the ASUS Strix and recorded my temps with each card and their effects on the other components. I ran Heaven + the AIDA64 system stability test for 45 minutes. The biggest drop so far has been in games where the blower would easily hit the 83° mark and throttle while the Strix sits around 69° at a much lower fan speed. Although for whatever reason I don't mind the sound of blower cards even when they maxed out.

Refrence cooler - NCASE M1 w/ blower cooler

Open air cooler - NCASE M1 w/ open air cooler
Click to expand...

  • Your final "air cooled" build was as follows, right?

12285-0fe7470f3d1333e6072d77bb5c38fe14.jpg


  • Based on your post you seemed to be more satisfied with the open air cooler results than the "general wisdom" blower approach. Did you notice any drawbacks to the open air cooler solution later on?
  • Was there a particular reason to pick the ASUS Strix over an EVGA ACX 3.0 model?
  • Did you ever test a positive pressure setup with these F4-120ER bracket mounted fans?
 

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CheeZuS H RicE said:
It's the night before Christmas, just popping along to say thanks to everyone in this thread I have lurked and read it front to back a wealth of information and an enjoyable read. Seeing other journeys with this amazing case has been a jealous treat. Had an empty V5 for quite awhile as of tonight it has two NF-F12's in its base and an SSD mounted in the front even the way SSD's mount is just so dam cool! but its bare apart from that.

Toys to get her up and running are landing tomorrow I cant wait, a 42yo sits here talking to you whilst feeling like he is a little lad again on Eve of Christmas although this time I am not awaking to a rubber key'd spectrum 48k.

Build Tomorrow: (Pending Two deliveries actually arrive :)
Asus Z10i Pro Gaming
Corsair SF450 (Custom Cables later ran out of cash)
I5 6600K
NH-C14 (NF-A14 PWM on top, nothing on the bottom for now)
NF-F12 PWM right side of the side mount and two in the base, current plan for all to be intakes.
Corsair Vengenance LPX 16GB DDR4 3000 MHz
Asus GTX 1080 Strix OC (Just Rude the cost in the UK fingers crossed it's worth it)
Crucial MX200 1TB SSD Data Drive (Already owned from previous pc)
Crucial MX200 250GB MSata OS (Already owned from previous pc)

And ofc the Ncase M1, sold my GFX card and some memory to buy the case true story.

Even remembered to order some Arctic Silver been over a decade since I built a pc, and thanks to you guys I am sure it will go well tomorrow *Fingers and Toes crossed.

I think I may even go to bed early hahaha.

p.s. If you are in Europe fire up pricespy and search NH-C14 there is actually one shop with new stock ;)

Have Fun.

Cheers
Rob
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Enjoy the build! Just remember to plan several steps in advance, get all your cables attached to the motherboard while it's accessible, and everything should go well. Have you decided whether to have the SF450's fan facing the inside or outside of the case?

Epsilon Computers in the UK lists the NH-C14 in stock.
 
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Thanks will do Qrash, I wasn't 100% sure if links were allowed hence my cryptic go get them from price spy but that is the place I got mine :) wish I had the cash for custom short cables for the build but that will have to wait ran out of cash been a long time waiting my case sticker QC is May :). Tbh on the 450 not sure on orientation yet but I did read in this thread of good results having it inside ni on never spinning up will see. :)

Thanks :)
 
Qrash said:
https://www.epsilonpc.co.uk/pc-components/noctua-nh-c14-top-flow-heatpipe-cpu-cooler.html
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CheeZuS H RicE said:
but that is the place I got mine :)
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So you actually did get one in hand from there? I came across this company while desperately trying to find the C14, and there were too many bad reviews saying they took money and never delivered. I never got a response from them when I tried to ask if they physically had one in stock, so I didn't want to be the guinea pig.
 
Morgon said:
So you actually did get one in hand from there? I came across this company while desperately trying to find the C14, and there were too many bad reviews saying they took money and never delivered. I never got a response from them when I tried to ask if they physically had one in stock, so I didn't want to be the guinea pig.
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I took a punt but paid via paypal to have some security like you I wasn't 100% on the outcome but was fresh out of options so gave it a go, shipped via UPS on standard delivery took five days mind but think UPS are still feeling the pain of black Friday / Monday. I also wasn't sure on RRP couldn't find it to see if they were taking liberties but looking at the cost of the new S version probably not.
 
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yyv_146 said:
Nah. I kept those in there (don't think they help, but couldn't be bothered to take out the GPU). GPU is ~77-78C under full load and 100% blower speed. CPU is relatively cool at ~57-58 on synthetic benchmarks.
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  • How loud is 100% blower speed?
  • Did you end up adding a 120 mm front side bracket fan?
  • Your original build was as follows, right?
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Oh, I didn't even think about whether a direct link is permitted. I will find the forum policies and adjust my previous post if necessary.

UPDATE: I removed the direct link, but provided the name of the store, since other stores that have the NH-C14 in stock, like Memory Express in Canada, have been listed, previously.

The Corsair SF cables are too long and a bit stiff, but they're not that bad. The excess lenght of the CPU cables can be folded up and tucked or fastened to the inner surface of the case in several places, such as on the power supply or beside drives attached to the inside of the front panel.Tie-wraps and anchors or Velcro can help. The SATA power cable is easy to modify. The SATA connectors can be carefully removed from the cable and relocated as needed. The SATA connector at the end has a cap that can cover the cut ends of the wires if you shorten the cable. The worst cable is the PCI-E cable. I bought the pins and tools to shorten mine, but before that I had them folded and fastened out of the way.

Yes, I asked about the PS orientation after reading those same posts. I have mine fan opening facing outwards, but now I'm thinking of flipping it around. I'm not sure if my shortened SATA and PCI-E power cables will still reach if I do so.

Good luck!
 
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Qrash said:
Oh, I didn't even think about whether a direct link is permitted. I will find the forum policies and adjust my previous post if necessary.

UPDATE: I removed the direct link, but provided the name of the store, since other stores that have the NH-C14 in stock, like Memory Express in Canada, have been listed, previously.

The Corsair SF cables are too long and a bit stiff, but they're not that bad. The excess lenght of the CPU cables can be folded up and tucked or fastened to the inner surface of the case in several places, such as on the power supply or beside drives attached to the inside of the front panel.Tie-wraps and anchors or Velcro can help. The SATA power cable is easy to modify. The SATA connectors can be carefully removed from the cable and relocated as needed. The SATA connector at the end has a cap that can cover the cut ends of the wires if you shorten the cable. The worst cable is the PCI-E cable. I bought the pins and tools to shorten mine, but before that I had them folded and fastened out of the way.

Yes, I asked about the PS orientation after reading those same posts. I have mine fan opening facing outwards, but now I'm thinking of flipping it around. I'm not sure if my shortened SATA and PCI-E power cables will still reach if I do so.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I think you were probably OK on link I just couldn't remember the policy so didnt post it, thanks for the TIPs very much appreciated, this whole thread is just chocka block of people willing to help, I can't believe I am actually finally going to build this sucker :) The whole PSU facing inside just feels sooo wrong to me but I guess don't knock it till you try it which I think I might :)

Thanks again.
Rob
 
CheeZuS H RicE said:
It's the night before Christmas, just popping along to say thanks to everyone in this thread I have lurked and read it front to back a wealth of information and an enjoyable read. Seeing other journeys with this amazing case has been a jealous treat. Had an empty V5 for quite awhile as of tonight it has two NF-F12's in its base and an SSD mounted in the front even the way SSD's mount is just so dam cool! but its bare apart from that.

Toys to get her up and running are landing tomorrow I cant wait, a 42yo sits here talking to you whilst feeling like he is a little lad again on Eve of Christmas although this time I am not awaking to a rubber key'd spectrum 48k.

Build Tomorrow: (Pending Two deliveries actually arrive :)
Asus Z170i Pro Gaming
Corsair SF450 (Custom Cables later ran out of cash)
I5 6600K
NH-C14 (NF-A14 PWM on top, nothing on the bottom for now)
NF-F12 PWM right side of the side mount and two in the base, current plan for all to be intakes.
Corsair Vengenance LPX 16GB DDR4 3000 MHz
Asus GTX 1080 Strix OC (Just Rude the cost in the UK fingers crossed it's worth it)
Crucial MX200 1TB SSD Data Drive (Already owned from previous pc)
Crucial MX200 250GB MSata OS (Already owned from previous pc)

And ofc the Ncase M1, sold my GFX card and some memory to buy the case true story.

Even remembered to order some Arctic Silver been over a decade since I built a pc, and thanks to you guys I am sure it will go well tomorrow *Fingers and Toes crossed.

I think I may even go to bed early hahaha.

p.s. If you are in Europe fire up pricespy and search NH-C14 there is actually one shop with new stock ;)

Have Fun.

Cheers
Rob
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New stock of nh-c14 should be impossible, because noctua dont make them anymore. I hope you called them and made sure its actually the c14 and not the new model.
 
I have a question for those who have had to contact ncase for support or rma. How long did it take for you to receive a reply? I know it states they are generally checked twice a week. I sent a customer support message on 11/22 a day after receiving my case and have yet to receive a reply back.
 
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