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

Erasmus354 said:
I'll be looking forward to a review of how well sharing a heatsink with the PCH works for that front m.2 slot before I make up my mind.
Click to expand...

I am really curious about that as well. M.2 SSDs on the front of motherboards have a tendency to run hot anyway, curious if Asus has solved the problem.
 
Mecher123 said:
Hi everyone,

Want to share my M1 build here, planning and building a m1 was a very good experience, I am very enjoy that. Thanks to this thread and Ncase community, I can plan my build very well. This is my first build share post in English, please forgive me if the post is hard to read.

Part list
CPU: Intel i7 4790K
RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum ddr3 8gb x 2
Motherboard: ASUS z97i-plus
Display: EVGA GTX980 ACX2.0 SC
Power: Corsair SF600
CPU cooler: Noctua nh-c14
VGA cooler: Aritic Accelero Xtreme III
FAN: ML120 Pro red x4 (CPU and VGA intake), nf-a9x14 x1 (Rear outtake), Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 14cm x1 (CPU bottom)

The idea start from I don't want to use AIO anymore, it have excellent performance, it running very good around 2 years without any problem. But every time when I heard rare noise or smell strange smell, I'll go to check the case first...

My previous case is air 240, so I look for the best cooler I can get, it seem Noctua nh-c14 is the best choice, but it do not fit if use 25cm fan and the cooler also blocked the rear and side outtake fan, it will cause bad air flow. So I recognize I need to change the case, and then I sort out my requirements:

Aluminum case,
As small as possible,
Can use top level cpu cooler with top grade CPU,
Can use aftermarket vga cooler with top grade GPU,
Silent, little noticeable noise at night when playing high loading game and both CPU and VGA don't over 60c

After some research on internet, I find M1 is the best choice. From gather parts and waiting Ncase arrived, it make me to wait 2 months.

Installation
CPU Cooler mounted with 14cm 15mm thick bottom fan is very tight fit and also need to remove the ram top heatsink. Other than that, no fitting issue, except sometime I use the wrong screw damaged the case frame...



Cooling and noise
Two 12cm fan intake for cpu cooler and one 14cm fan at bottom, the main purpose for adding the 14cm is I want to try this fan and 25mm thick 12cm fan do not fit even I remove the remaining ram heatsink... the second is help to cool the motherboard and pull the air out of the case quicker. The 14cm fan can help to drop 2-3 degrees, it may not be accurate, I rely on my memory. The 12cm CPU fan noise is acceptable below 1700 rpm, the 14cm fan noise is hard to notice when it running at full speed, and the 9cm fan also.



The VGA cooler is Accelero Xtreme III, during the test I notice there will be annoying noise when the fan speed over 1600rpm, the cpu fan don't have this noise at the same speed. I think the sound may caused by the air flowing through the case bottom grill, so I put the fan a 1-2 mm away the bottom grill, it's better, now I can have 1600rpm running at night with little sound. And also I make the case 3cm away the table, in order to have better air flow for bottom fan, it will help to drop around 8c degree.




All test running at ambient 20C

Stress test
Prime95 blend 4 threads, Furmark ( 2560x1440) 30 minutes, (8 threads will make the temp go to 100C......)
cpu fan max, vga fan max, CPU:86C and VGA:57C

Furmark ( 2560x1440) only 30 minutes,
vga fan ~1550rpm, VGA:57C

Gaming test
3Dmark Fire Strike Extreme Strees test
cpu fan ~1200rpm , vga fan ~1550rpm , CPU: 45C and VGA:56C

Hitman beachmark 2560x1440
cpu fan ~1100rpm , vga fan ~1550rpm , CPU:50C and VGA:54C



Click to expand...

Nice build and good photos! Your temperatures look fine too. I have a similar build and the Prime95 torture tests are very demanding, especially the Small FFT test. My 4970K jumps to the high 80s C even after delidding it.

Your GPU temperatures are good. The Arctic Accelero Xtreme III does a great job and still allows 25 mm thick fans underneath. Some people have found that having those fans as exhaust instead of intake works best for really hot GPUs, but your build seems fine.
 
Actually I just realized you can get another slot with and M.2 slot and risers, rather than 3-slot matx fuckery.
 
gerra said:
Check the latest update "Update for Windows 10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems (KB3211320)". was blinking blue LED - now Ok!
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Well my system is updated, but the power led is still blinking instead of emitting a steady light when the PC is on.. Not a problem by any means, but that bothers me a bit :|
 
Ordered a Gigabyte Xtreme Gaming GTX 1070.
I'll provide some SPL measurements vs the MSI Seahawk GTX 1070 when I get it, which will should definitively answer the air vs water cooling question.

I'll also work with fan profiles a bit to see how quiet (but still stable) I can get it under load.

Oh, and since the radiator will be gone with the new card, should I put an intake or exhaust fan in its place?
(or none)


As a bonus, I'll also provide some SPL comparisons of the Seahawk vs the Arctic Accelerio II Hybrid on my GTX 970 that I've got hooked up on the desktop (both running SilentWings 3 fans, so it's purely a comparison of pump and radiator efficiency (though the vram fans will necessarily be different). These won't be in the NCase, but it's still good to know the SPL differences between the two if anyone is considering an aftermarket cooler vs one built-in.
And useful for me, so I can decide which of the three to sell/return. The quietest card wins.

The 970 is a Strix model, which isn't going in the NCase unless I leave the door open (which won't provide realistic numbers) or cut the PCB/case, which I don't want to do.
 
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I received the internal speaker and a new power supply. Tested the new and old power supply by shorting the motherboard connector, and both click and the fans spin When I plug it into the motherboard using the motherboard and cpu connector, and try turning it on using the case and by shorting the panel power on connector, nothing happens. I don't even get any beeps. Any ideas?

New motherboard is coming in a week or so, but I'm curious as to how "dead on arrival" this motherboard would have to be....
 
Does the h100i or h105 achieve better temps in the ncase? I have been tirelessly searching for a resource explaining how to coil up one of these AIO coolers for the ncase, and how to run the vans (push or pull) for the best experience. Can anyone add to this or lend a hand? If this doesn't work I'm back to choosing the best air cooler. This is the only thing hanging up my build time.
 
xcharlesy said:
Does the h100i or h105 achieve better temps in the ncase? I have been tirelessly searching for a resource explaining how to coil up one of these AIO coolers for the ncase, and how to run the vans (push or pull) for the best experience. Can anyone add to this or lend a hand? If this doesn't work I'm back to choosing the best air cooler. This is the only thing hanging up my build time.
Click to expand...

If you check the user spreadsheet you will see that the h105 does fit, it is recommended that you mount the cpu block upside down for better tubing management. If you go for the h100i find a v1 not a v2, the v1 had swivel barbs on the cpu block making it much easier to route tubing. If you check the spreadsheet you will see the v2 is not recommended at all due to the inflexible tubing.

The h105 probably has slightly better cooling due to the 38mm thick radiator.

I prefer intaking air through the side panel. This way you use the included dust filter, have cooler air for the radiator and have a positive pressure case.

Best method with AIOs in the ncase is to mount the radiator to the side bracket and the fans on the inside pulling air through. There are no swivel barbs on the radiator and if you mount the fans first you have to make extremely sharp bends in the tubing.
 
I have ordered a Silver unit and I will use a 6700k + z170 impact + air cooling
I see user that have 4790k +impact +NOCTUA NHc14 without problems adding two fans in the side panel.
guys, Do you think I can use this cooler too?
I do this gif:
03631124f77e21e8ce88fbbf0643e51e.gif


Are practically the same

Best regards!
 
Anyone who has both the black and silver version of this case, someone who is undecided which colour to get - what would you advise/point out?

Thank you :).
 
Always had black cases until I bought my current Lian Li PC-V354A in silver, wow! If I ever get a M1 it will be silver.
 
case1 said:
Anyone who has both the black and silver version of this case, someone who is undecided which colour to get - what would you advise/point out?

Thank you :).
Click to expand...

I have both colours and they both look great. It's really up to your personal preference or need. The only issue with the black is that it can get scratched and some have reported difficulty matching the colour when trying to cover scratches.
 
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Any thoughts about whether or not the Thermalright Silver Arrow ITX-R will fit inside the M1?
It's supposedly 150mm tall.
 
icc0rz said:
Any thoughts about whether or not the Thermalright Silver Arrow ITX-R will fit inside the M1?
It's supposedly 150mm tall.
Click to expand...
Did you read https://www.ncases.com/ as it's right there on front page. While other cases in this size class place strict limits on CPU cooler size, the M1 is able to accommodate 120mm- and 140mm-fan top-down coolers of up to 130mm in height.
 
Rhialto said:
Did you read https://www.ncases.com/ as it's right there on front page. While other cases in this size class place strict limits on CPU cooler size, the M1 is able to accommodate 120mm- and 140mm-fan top-down coolers of up to 130mm in height.
Click to expand...
Yes, it says top-down coolers of up to 130mm. The cooler in question is a tower cooler.

To me, it looks like the high points are the tip of the heat pipes, and that you might be able to "adapt" it. Not sure if bending the whole thing could be an option as well, anyone tried something similar?
 
icc0rz said:
Yes, it says top-down coolers of up to 130mm. The cooler in question is a tower cooler.

To me, it looks like the high points are the tip of the heat pipes, and that you might be able to "adapt" it. Not sure if bending the whole thing could be an option as well, anyone tried something similar?
Click to expand...
Whatever if cooler is vertical or horizontal the height is calculated the same way from the base. They could add tower for less confusion though.

I believe it's impossible to remove 20mm from it. You could ask them why they haven't gone even shorter in height while they were at it with this revised version! I was reading the news yesterday and was wondering why they didn't.

IMG0052882.jpg


They could have removed the not-full-width fins on top and keep same fan.

IMG0052883.jpg


There would be enough space to lower the 120mm fan as we can see...
 
icc0rz said:
Yes, it says top-down coolers of up to 130mm. The cooler in question is a tower cooler.

To me, it looks like the high points are the tip of the heat pipes, and that you might be able to "adapt" it. Not sure if bending the whole thing could be an option as well, anyone tried something similar?
Click to expand...

You will have to "adapt" it by 20 mm. Not very easy, if at all possible. Perhaps you would be interested in a smaller, yet similar cooler from a European company, the Alpenföhn ATLAS. These hard to come by in North America. Online reviews have been a bit variable. I tried to get one when I was in the UK last month, but Royal Mail let me down. So far only squito_1 has posted here about trying this cooler, but no results or follow-up was ever posted.

Alpehfohn_ATLAS.jpg
 
Is there anything wrong with the tried and true Noctua U9S? Yeah, the colors are ugly, but it's damn hard to beat its performance as an air cooler in this case.
 
Tyki said:
Is there anything wrong with the tried and true Noctua U9S? Yeah, the colors are ugly, but it's damn hard to beat its performance as an air cooler in this case.
Click to expand...

The Noctua NH-U9S is working fine on my son's M1 build (Core i7 6700K).
 
icc0rz said:
Any thoughts about whether or not the Thermalright Silver Arrow ITX-R will fit inside the M1?
It's supposedly 150mm tall.
Click to expand...

icc0rz said:
Yes, it says top-down coolers of up to 130mm. The cooler in question is a tower cooler.

To me, it looks like the high points are the tip of the heat pipes, and that you might be able to "adapt" it. Not sure if bending the whole thing could be an option as well, anyone tried something similar?
Click to expand...
There's a compatibility section on the website that has all the information on size restrictions, I highly recommend reading it.
 
case1 said:
Anyone who has both the black and silver version of this case, someone who is undecided which colour to get - what would you advise/point out?

Thank you :).
Click to expand...
I also have both colors and I agree with the others it really does come down to personal preference. Both look beautiful in their own way. I would say if there are scratches the black would more likely show that than the silver would but I don't think its a problem per se unless you worry about that sort of thing. Either choice will make you smile knowing how beautiful of a case you have.
 
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Can someone give me an overall opinion of how they think these benchmarks of the new Scythe Byakko compare to the Noctua NH-D9L? http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?291073-Scythe-Byakko I am on the fence about the Byakko vs. D9L. The Byakko is 130mm high in total so I think it should still be able to close the case, though I'm hoping someone can give me a first hand yes or no on this.
 
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galletabah said:
I have ordered a Silver unit and I will use a 6700k + z170 impact + air cooling
I see user that have 4790k +impact +NOCTUA NHc14 without problems adding two fans in the side panel.
guys, Do you think I can use this cooler too?
I do this gif:
03631124f77e21e8ce88fbbf0643e51e.gif


Are practically the same

Best regards!
Click to expand...
please, can anybody help me?
 
xcharlesy said:
Can someone give me an overall opinion of how they think these benchmarks of the new Scythe Byakko compare to the Noctua NH-D9L? http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?291073-Scythe-Byakko I am on the fence about the Byakko vs. D9L. The Byakko is 130mm high in total so I think it should still be able to close the case, though I'm hoping someone can give me a first hand yes or no on this.
Click to expand...
You're on your own... if you read 2 pages back I posted about the Byakko and did a few search with NCASE and Byakko or M1 and Byakko and this thread too with word Byakko but there is nothing. 130mm should fit, it is the limit. Like I also posted, number of heatpipes is lower 3 vs 5 on U9S or 4 on D9L.

Just curious, why the D9L over the U9S?
 
galletabah said:
the c14s dont fit with top fan, no?
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No as you can see at the bottom of specifications page on Noctua's website:

nh_c14s_measurements.png


And I'm not even sure it would fit if you replace top fan with a slim version, maybe someone already tested this I haven't done a search on this thread about this.
 
Cool then, there you go galletabah, you only need to buy an extra fan.

Had some doubts because slims are usually 15mm instead of 25mm so 142mm - 10mm is still 132mm and they say limit is 130mm.
 
I already brought one of these and I should have delivered by the end of this month! I'm starting to regret as I see Dan case basically accomplish the same thing in a much more compact enclosure!

Anyway.. I guess the only real advantage of the M1 over the Dan case is the possibility to go AIO watercooled for both CPU and GPU. As I mentioned earlier in this thread I'm thinking to put in there the MSI Seahawk and either a Corsair H60/75. No way to fit the H80 I guess?

So question is.. Which one perform better of the two? H60 or H75? Why people don't want to set up rads as an exhaust in this case?

Also I've heard it's really difficult to fit both CPU and GPU AIO.. What's wrong with that?

Anyone who installed both cared to chime in and shed some light?
 
I will buy c14 (non S) because I will use a pair of gt ap15 that I already have.
I have 4 scythe slim fans too, dont like the noise/perfomance.

Also made a mod with my sx600g from silverstone introducing a 25mm noctua fan which makes it very quiet.

You will see a lot of pics :)
 
The NCase is a different niche to the DanCase. CPU cooling is better even with air, as you can fit in small tower coolers instead of only low profile ones. You also have more room for cables and such. It's bigger, but different.
 
Finally got my build back together with 2x 240 radiators. Difference is night and day with temperatures. Before the coolant would quickly go up to 50 C while gaming, now it stays around 5-10 C above ambient room temperature with RealBench running. The only problem is now reducing the noise at load. At idle/light load it is as quiet as my 2012 Mac mini, so that's a start.

On another note, I still have never noticed my PSU fan run, even with full load (~200 W)? Is that normal?

En48vYo.jpg
 
HilbertSpace said:
Finally got my build back together with 2x 240 radiators. Difference is night and day with temperatures. Before the coolant would quickly go up to 50 C while gaming, now it stays around 5-10 C above ambient room temperature with RealBench running. The only problem is now reducing the noise at load. At idle/light load it is as quiet as my 2012 Mac mini, so that's a start.

On another note, I still have never noticed my PSU fan run, even with full load (~200 W)? Is that normal?

En48vYo.jpg
Click to expand...

It's amazing what people have been able to pack into the M1, though that "expansion" out the back is quite large. Make and models of your cooling parts?
 
Ya, it is quite ugly, haven't decided whether to get a bigger case or not. Might try this for a while then see. Updated my signature with all the details.
 
Rhialto said:
Just curious, why the D9L over the U9S?
Click to expand...

Some benchmarks show the D9L cooling better than the U9S. Both coolers are rather subjective and basically the same, 1 degree hardly seems like a come up if it ends up surpassing it at all. The D9L also fits the ram next to the heat sync instead of directly squishing next to the fan. It's also $5-6 cheaper, though that makes no difference to me. I am simply hunting for the best air cooler money can buy but I've had really poor luck with it. I'll probably just go D9L because I don't want to cram a massive corsair aio in this case.

If I could find a Noctua C14 I would go that route, but haven't had any luck. I'm using the Z270i Strix board if anyone has cooling suggestions besides custom loop.
 
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