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

I am very intersted in the water block as well. It is going to be my first water cooled system and will most likely be asking a lot of questions once I get the case in, and begin ordering my parts.

So, I definitely read that email wrong. Disregard my email Wahaha
 
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wahaha i posted it in the hardwareluxx forum, where a thread exist regarding your project... hopefully he is from there ;)
 
Just a FYI. Okay, so my mail box here was full. Cleaned that out and updated my email addy. :)

Wahaha, I sent/replied to your email.
 
My email addy works fine on my end. Should be the same one on HF now as well. I cleaned out my HF message folder as well so you should be able to contact me that way.
 
Hey W360, not sure if i was supposed to, but i got that email regarding thomas B sent to my email as well. Not sure if you meant to, just wanted to let you know.
 
al007 said:
i´ve got that mail too.
so, everything´s fine and i can ignore that mail?
Click to expand...

I recieved it as well, he was just trying to reach the one guy so I wouldn't worry unless something was wrong on your confirmation email.
Good job on getting the order placed!!!!
 
adamantium said:
The first thing you need to determine is how much you want to overclock and what you want to water cool. If you plan to overclock and water cool the CPU and GPU then you will have to go with a 240mm radiator. If you don't plan to overclock and only plan to cool the CPU then you can get away with a single radiator AIO or air cooler. It depends on how much you overclock, how hard you are going to drive your equipment, how full you are going to pack the box, and how quiet you want it all to be. Some extreme options just aren't going to be possible with the M1 without moving things outside due to its size.

One option is to use the apogee drive II pump. However it is quite thick (tall) and because of the way the fittings stick out the side rather than the top or bottom, it can be a problem for tall memory sticks.

Another configuration I am considering is a 30-38mm 240mm radiator with two fans, a DDC pump on the back of the radiator in front of the cpu using a 120mm pump mount bracket, a flat pump top, and swivel fittings on the cpu block. I think there is enough room for this and it leaves space at the bottom for the GPU and fans. You may be able to get a push/pull configuration if you go to a 25mm thick radiator. Then you have to find a place for the tubing.

No GPU or short GPU allows more options at the bottom. Low profile cards or no cards allow a DDC pump (62mm) to be mounted at the back where the expansion card cover plate is.

If you do some cutting, I think you can get a DDC pump partially into the front panel through the GPU pass through hole.

If you are going with 3.5in HDDs then you are pretty much limited to a 120mm radiator inside.

The top of the case (outside) seems to be a great place for a 240mm radiator as well if you don't mind how it looks.
Click to expand...

I was thinking of using my GTX 660 (regular length two slot) and hoping to squeeze a 3.5HDD in right underneath it. Then stack two SSD's in next to the PSU with a 92mm fan in the bottom next to the 3.5HDD. For the CPU I want to liquid cool but I really like the swiftech design where the res can be filled/drained and its a little more maintainable. I'm currently oc'd to 4.5 ghz (3770K) with a Noctua D14 and it serves my needs well. Any faster and the OS seems a little unstable. Back to the cooler tho- in the future, I might like to upgrade the GPU and then might even go with a hydro copper or one that is really worthy of buying a block for, in which case I'd need the 220- back to swiftech... SO, all in all, my question really should be, if I went with the H220, could I squeeze (2) SSDs, (1) 3.5" HDD and my current regular old GTX 660 in the M1? And yeah, I also have to have my ODD... :)
 
slabhatnik said:
I was thinking of using my GTX 660 (regular length two slot) and hoping to squeeze a 3.5HDD in right underneath it. Then stack two SSD's in next to the PSU with a 92mm fan in the bottom next to the 3.5HDD. For the CPU I want to liquid cool but I really like the swiftech design where the res can be filled/drained and its a little more maintainable. I'm currently oc'd to 4.5 ghz (3770K) with a Noctua D14 and it serves my needs well. Any faster and the OS seems a little unstable. Back to the cooler tho- in the future, I might like to upgrade the GPU and then might even go with a hydro copper or one that is really worthy of buying a block for, in which case I'd need the 220- back to swiftech... SO, all in all, my question really should be, if I went with the H220, could I squeeze (2) SSDs, (1) 3.5" HDD and my current regular old GTX 660 in the M1? And yeah, I also have to have my ODD... :)
Click to expand...
The H220 rad with its built-in res only leaves enough room for single SSD mounted to the inside front. If you want two SSDs, you need to use a shorter rad. Since it doesn't sound like you're planning to put the GPU in the loop, you're probably better off with a CLC anyway.

Other than that everything looks fine.
 
What about skipping the 92mm fan on the bottom- going with the 3.5" hdd, a ssd in place of the 92mm fan on bottom, and one on front next to the psu? I understand that the holes might not be there for the ssd in place of the 92mm fan- but seems like I could make a bracket for such a thing...

I'm trying to justify buying the H220 because I ultimately want to use it for the GPU as well- but down the road as my current gtx660 doesn't seem to warrant a $90 block.
 
I can't believe I missed this..............this was literally the perfect case for me.

I just hope there is more to come in the future, such a great concept, it would be a shame to see it go away. :(


I don't think I'm buying any more computer parts until another good itx case comes out....
 
lettuceman44 said:
I can't believe I missed this..............this was literally the perfect case for me.

I just hope there is more to come in the future, such a great concept, it would be a shame to see it go away. :(


I don't think I'm buying any more computer parts until another good itx case comes out....
Click to expand...


The sg05 is a really good case. I'm actually considering buying it right now...

I am long due for a PC upgrade, currently sitting on an intel q6600 CPU and Ati 4850 GPU. The q6600 is being cooled by an old air cooler thats strapped to some screws that I put trough the holes arround the cpu on the motherboard. OCing this shit is a nightmare. I am on 2.7 instead of original 2.4 ghz and can't get any higher stable OC.

When the M1 arrives, I'll transfer all the 'new' sg05 parts, buy watercooling and OC that setup to it's max to still feel like I'm improving my situation. (Besides the appearance where the M1 takes the crown)

The sg05 will then find its place on ebay or as a htpc with shitty cheap (but quiet) components.

Or maybe I buy some watercooling and a new GPU right now and give my old PC a last breath untill the M1 arrives and I transfer the water cooling and GPU to the M1.

I don't know, I always need something to keep me from the streets, more often than not it's electronics. Now that I started working fulltime after graduating I have the budget to do high end PC builds. I'm gone make sure that every dollar is well spend though. Wich is why I'm gone make sure that any component I buy for the sg05 or my current build will fit the M1.

Hmmm, no, got to atleast wait untill new Ati GPU line-up and price droppings. G o t t o r e s i s t t t. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh Pluwuwuwuwuwiw
 
I looked at the sg05, and it seems good, but I think its kinda ugly.
It is just that, after finding the N1, nothing else seems to come close now.

Talk about remorse over missing this.:p

I hope someone decides to ebay it, or even better there is another run or another version.
 
Looks aren't everything, it's all about the usability/functionality. There's a good reason why the SG05 is as popular as it is despite having been released back in 2009. It's probably your best bet (for this case size) in the short-term unless you get really lucky and an M1 becomes available in the next 4 months.
 
I think I'm just gonna wait it out. The M1 is what made me want a high performance ITX system. I just found out about it too late.

Until I find something that makes me feel the same way, I'll live with my current case.
 
lettuceman44 said:
I think I'm just gonna wait it out. The M1 is what made me want a high performance ITX system. I just found out about it too late.

Until I find something that makes me feel the same way, I'll live with my current case.
Click to expand...

That sucks, I would be devastated if I missed this. I've recommended this before on here but Caselabs has some kick ass aluminum enclosures. They are larger than the M1 though.
 
adamantium said:
The first thing you need to determine is how much you want to overclock and what you want to water cool. If you plan to overclock and water cool the CPU and GPU then you will have to go with a 240mm radiator. If you don't plan to overclock and only plan to cool the CPU then you can get away with a single radiator AIO or air cooler. It depends on how much you overclock, how hard you are going to drive your equipment, how full you are going to pack the box, and how quiet you want it all to be. Some extreme options just aren't going to be possible with the M1 without moving things outside due to its size.

One option is to use the apogee drive II pump. However it is quite thick (tall) and because of the way the fittings stick out the side rather than the top or bottom, it can be a problem for tall memory sticks.

Another configuration I am considering is a 30-38mm 240mm radiator with two fans, a DDC pump on the back of the radiator in front of the cpu using a 120mm pump mount bracket, a flat pump top, and swivel fittings on the cpu block. I think there is enough room for this and it leaves space at the bottom for the GPU and fans. You may be able to get a push/pull configuration if you go to a 25mm thick radiator. Then you have to find a place for the tubing.

No GPU or short GPU allows more options at the bottom. Low profile cards or no cards allow a DDC pump (62mm) to be mounted at the back where the expansion card cover plate is.

If you do some cutting, I think you can get a DDC pump partially into the front panel through the GPU pass through hole.

If you are going with 3.5in HDDs then you are pretty much limited to a 120mm radiator inside.

The top of the case (outside) seems to be a great place for a 240mm radiator as well if you don't mind how it looks.
Click to expand...

The apogee drive II pump looks sweet. It's a bit spendy- any competition in the pump/block combo department? If I'm going to go with liquid cooling, I'm gonna do it right- but if there are other pump cpu block combos it seems like I'd want to know about them. I'm completely new to the liquid cooled thing, but I know from experience with all sorts of other components, pc and other machinery, that the ability to take apart and adapt the stuff is what really makes me happy with it. For that reason alone, the most AIO liquid cooler I'd settle for is the H220. At least that one can be drained, a gpu loop added etc.

Most likely, after 3 months of research and half a dozen shopping carts full on various websites, I'll end up pulling the trigger on the apogee, adamantiums res, a nice 220mm rad and booger connectors.
 
If it were me and I couldn't have the M1 I'd go with the SG05 or the SG08. I think they are the two best suited replacements for the NCASE.
 
Before I was able to get my m1, and was reading through this entire thread, I was looking at Lian Li's PC-Q25, and possibly doing a custom job on it with configuration.... the address to its reference in this thread, with a few pics of what necere was up to with it are here:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1717132&page=10

Neweggs got it with 20% off right now too. No, I don't work for them!
 
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Might be a stupid question since we don't have much information yet, but....

Will the Ncase M1 take one of the new AMD R9 290x graphics cards? They look wider than previous generation cards (7000 series)

amd-radeon-r9-290x.jpg
 
VincentHanna said:
Might be a stupid question since we don't have much information yet, but....

Will the Ncase M1 take one of the new AMD R9 290x graphics cards? They look wider than previous generation cards (7000 series)

amd-radeon-r9-290x.jpg
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after looking at the bracket I'd say most probably ;)
 
I would agree that the width should not be an issue given its size relative to the bracket as milkcow said.


This is how the M1 would look on my desk! its not small by mini pc standards, but for a gaming powerhouse, its seriously compact!!. Should take a photo of it with my arc Mini.


For scale, those are 24" dells, a ATX mobo cut down to ITX dimensions, and the white speakers have 4" drivers.

M1MockupSmall_zps83043a86.jpg


Cant wait to put this together!! and yes, I would also love to see pictures of the real thing, anything of any quality will be appreciated!
 
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I can't wait to get better frames than most of my buddies with a pc a third of the size ;)
Necere, any chance of some pictures ? I know you said your current setup wasn't ideal but honestly I wouldn't care if you took them with a phone.
 
VincentHanna said:
Good to know.

Now where do we find a suitable PSU to drive it? TDP estimated at 300w!
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Do you think if we all wrote an email to Silverstone asking for them to produce a 80 Plus Platinum/Titanium 600/650w SFX PSU, they'd consider it?

I'm sure there's at least 500 people from ncase buyers who would be interested?
 
Tony Ou, Marketing Manager at Silverstone, is a regular on this forum. He knows what we want, but obviously he has to be convinced by significant sales projections as well as a desire from the posters here.
 
dstart said:
Do you think if we all wrote an email to Silverstone asking for them to produce a 80 Plus Platinum/Titanium 600/650w SFX PSU, they'd consider it?

I'm sure there's at least 500 people from ncase buyers who would be interested?
Click to expand...
It's not that simple. If it was, they'd have done it already. It's as much a technical/cost problem as a demand problem. 500 units isn't very many anyway.

I would not expect a 600W+ SFX for a long time, if ever. That said, based on what Tony's hinted at here on the forum, I wouldn't be surprised to see a 500W+ unit from them sometime in the next year or so.
 
Necere said:
It's as much a technical/cost problem as a demand problem.
Click to expand...

I'm not so sure it's a technical problem, but more of a cost/demand. I'm in no way educated to say it's actually possible but looking at a picopsu which gives 120w. Surely you could fit 10x those components in the volume of an SFX case?

I believe the people who want one are willing to pay the cost and there will be a growing demand over the years for sure thanks to small cases like the M1 :)
 
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