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

M4rk gets special treatment because he gave us a hand with some stuff for the crowdfunding campaign. He asked for #0004, so it's the least we can do. The serials will be more or less randomly distributed to everyone else (even me), except that the black and silver versions are in separate batches, with the black having the lower numbers.

One more thing which I felt I ought to mention after checking The_Cheese's M1 worklog: regarding the included fan filters - they'll need to be installed on the inside of the bracket, between it and the fan, rather than between the bracket and side panel. They're 3mm thick, so take that into account in your plans. The Demciflex filters I designed for the case will still fit on the outside of the bracket, however, so if you really need the space (or just want easily removable filters), that's still an option. That reminds me, now that people are close to receiving their cases, I should sort out the filters with Demci so people that are interested can order them...

Oh, that makes sense then. Didn't know M4rks effort before. :)

Definitely intrested on those Demcifilters, every mm is needed in the case.

It's more like 1 in 600. He can know which case he got if the shipments are done according to the time of payment/order.

1 in 1000 is closer if those cases that were ordered from ncases site get that badge too. :D
 
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Necere, count me in for some filters as well... I will need every mm this thing can give me
 
Oh, that makes sense then. Didn't know M4rks effort before. :)
I tend to stay pretty quiet. I perk up when people start flaming each other, since my actual job is as a forum moderator for an online auction website. Knowing a case was on the way made me pretty excited, though. ;)
 
was really hoping to find a decent priced 1.5 or 2tb hdd, in the 2.5 form factor, doesnt seem possible. best bang for the buck i fond is this
is that really the best ima find? i m,ean i plan on having a 128-256 gb ssd, but i would like a storage drive aswell ya know.

what is everyone planning to do in regards to this, space on my desk is a premium hence making the move to this, i will be recieving a ful size headphone and and dac soon to push my new headphones, so there goes the extra space for a nas, suggestions? i was trying to keep all my hard drives out of the main component of the ncase as i really plan on trying to us every square inch for watercooling AND performance. i will have been without a gamind desktop for ~6months when i actually build.

Thanks,
V
 
was really hoping to find a decent priced 1.5 or 2tb hdd, in the 2.5 form factor, doesnt seem possible. best bang for the buck i fond is this
is that really the best ima find? i m,ean i plan on having a 128-256 gb ssd, but i would like a storage drive aswell ya know.

what is everyone planning to do in regards to this, space on my desk is a premium hence making the move to this, i will be recieving a ful size headphone and and dac soon to push my new headphones, so there goes the extra space for a nas, suggestions? i was trying to keep all my hard drives out of the main component of the ncase as i really plan on trying to us every square inch for watercooling AND performance. i will have been without a gamind desktop for ~6months when i actually build.

Thanks,
V

I'm in the same boat. I don't really want to put a 3.5" HDD in here but the high capacity 2.5" drives sure are expensive!
 
Consider setting up a NAS to serve anything other than your OS (duh) and games. HP micro servers are cheap as hell, WD Reds are a little expensive but worth it. FreeNAS makes setting it all up silly easy.

Just get a fat, silent SSD for your NCASE and leave the noisemaker HDDs in a closet.
 
Consider setting up a NAS to serve anything other than your OS (duh) and games. HP micro servers are cheap as hell, WD Reds are a little expensive but worth it. FreeNAS makes setting it all up silly easy.

Just get a fat, silent SSD for your NCASE and leave the noisemaker HDDs in a closet.

no idea what i owuld need for a nas, never messed with it before or anything, could this be wireless so the cable isnt running all over the apartment?
 
was really hoping to find a decent priced 1.5 or 2tb hdd, in the 2.5 form factor, doesnt seem possible. best bang for the buck i fond is this
is that really the best ima find? i m,ean i plan on having a 128-256 gb ssd, but i would like a storage drive aswell ya know.

I'm in the same boat. I don't really want to put a 3.5" HDD in here but the high capacity 2.5" drives sure are expensive!

I'm personally going for slow, low-power 3.5" HDDs for secondary storage (in addition to NAS), but if I was going strictly 2.5" drives only, I'd probably wait until the prices on the 2.5" WD Green 2TB dropped a little. "Cool, quiet operation" & "reduced power consumption" seem like good features to have in a case this small, using only an SFX PSU..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236551
 
no idea what i owuld need for a nas, never messed with it before or anything, could this be wireless so the cable isnt running all over the apartment?

Yes, you can just plug your NAS direct into your router and have shares (and usually media streaming) available to all devices on your network. Unfortunately, a decent entry-level 2-bay NAS starts at $200 to $500 without drives, though you could roll your own box for cheaper.

Not cheap, but a very nice storage solution.
 
Consider setting up a NAS to serve anything other than your OS (duh) and games. HP micro servers are cheap as hell, WD Reds are a little expensive but worth it. FreeNAS makes setting it all up silly easy.

Just get a fat, silent SSD for your NCASE and leave the noisemaker HDDs in a closet.

Photo editing rig needs storage.

On-board mSata or M.2 SSD for boot and applications, maybe a second small SSD for Lightroom catalog files, and a 2 TB 2.5" hard drive for photos that are being edited (before they are backed up to NAS)
 
Adamantium, thank you for your help and also thank you very much to M4rk, your explanation and example clears things even further.
 
Photo editing rig needs storage.

On-board mSata or M.2 SSD for boot and applications, maybe a second small SSD for Lightroom catalog files, and a 2 TB 2.5" hard drive for photos that are being edited (before they are backed up to NAS)
I see. I leave my Lightroom catalog and all my photos on the NAS. Normally don't do much editing to them so slow access doesn't bother me too much, but if I did more work more often I could see where I'd become annoyed at slow load times.

I am planning on having an M.2 or mSATA SSD + a regular-ass SSD, but nothing else beyond that. :)
 
no idea what i owuld need for a nas, never messed with it before or anything, could this be wireless so the cable isnt running all over the apartment?
I put my NAS right next to my router and ran a single wire. All other PCs in my house can connect to the NAS through a virtual shared drive. I have a ghetto rack for my computer projects which makes this super easy.

http://imgur.com/uQWJ8az
 
So you guys really think that a non-blower style card like the MSI GTX 770 TF OC will get too hot in this case? :(

This card should fit in the M1 at least?
 
I'm wondering if anyone could provide some advice with regards to cooling. It's been more than 10 years since my last build, so I'm behind the times both in terms of cooling and the mini-ITX form factor.

Here's my plan as of now: I'd like to go with the H220, but in the vanilla CPU-only configuration. I plan on overcIocking at least a little. I haven't decided on a video card yet, so I may use the i5's integrated graphics for a while.

Do I need roughly 2 exhaust fans to balance out the two 120mm intake fans on the H220? I've already purchased one 92mm Noctua NF-B9 PWM to use as exhaust and am wondering if I should buy another? Where would be the best place to mount the exhaust fan(s) in the M1, assuming the only other devices mounted in the case are a 2.5" SSD and ODD?

My questions are motivated partially out of confusion with Necere's 4th build example, which shows a H220 (in a loop with the GPU) and a single, bottom-mounted 92mm fan. Is that 92mm fan supposed to be intake or exhaust? It seems like it would have to be intake if it's mounted on the bottom, but then there are no exhaust fans.

Thanks!
 
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I'm wondering if anyone could provide some advice with regards to cooling. It's been more than 10 years since my last build, so I'm behind the times both in terms of cooling and the mini-ITX form factor.

Here's my plan as of now: I'd like to go with the H220, but in the vanilla CPU-only configuration. I plan on overcIocking at least a little. I haven't decided on a video card yet, so I may use the i5's integrated graphics for a while.

Do I need roughly 2 exhaust fans to balance out the two 120mm intake fans on the H220? I've already purchased one 92mm Noctua NF-B9 PWM to use as exhaust and am wondering if I should buy another? Where would be the best place to mount the exhaust fan(s) in the N1, assuming the only other devices mounted in the case are a 2.5" SSD and ODD?

My questions are motivated partially out of confusion with Necere's 4th build example, which shows a H220 (in a loop with the GPU) and a single, bottom-mounted 92mm fan. Is that 92mm fan supposed to be intake or exhaust? It seems like it would have to be intake if it's mounted on the bottom, but then there are no exhaust fans.

Thanks!

I don't personally think you'll need ANY exhaust fans. The enclosure has plenty of ventilation and tests usually show that positive pressure is not a bad thing. I'm going to do an H100 with no exhaust, myself.
 
Consider setting up a NAS to serve anything other than your OS (duh) and games. HP micro servers are cheap as hell, WD Reds are a little expensive but worth it. FreeNAS makes setting it all up silly easy.

Just get a fat, silent SSD for your NCASE and leave the noisemaker HDDs in a closet.

I been contemplating just putting in a 512Gb ssd or 750Gb ssd and calling it done myself. Pricey but for a lanbox all I need is one hdd of some type. I could go cheap and put in a WD Black 1Tb hdd as an alternative. Those are my personal two options that I like. My build isn't going to be fancy though compared to what I see others planning. :D
 
Personally I believe that if you use a NAS box as part of your computing experience in conjunction to the M1, and that your M1 is incomplete without a NAS box, then you'll have to add the volume of the NAS box to your M1 when counting space/performance.
 
Personally I believe that if you use a NAS box as part of your computing experience in conjunction to the M1, and that your M1 is incomplete without a NAS box, then you'll have to add the volume of the NAS box to your M1 when counting space/performance.
Eh, it's not like that really. Anything on my NAS is stuff that I don't need to have available all the time. Photos, videos, torrents, backups of video and audio I've edited, etc. I actually turn off my NAS at night sometimes when it gets warm down here in Florida (which is all too often). Anything I immediately need is available in my current PC on a 2TB RAID 0 array and my small Intel 520 SSD. For my NCASE M1 I'll have the mSATA or M.2 drive to store my OS and programs and probably a small 840 Pro for games and any other files.

Obviously different setups will work for different people and I'm not trying to convince anyone to do things the way I'm doing them, I'm just trying to introduce you guys to the idea of separating your low-access files from your main PC and putting them in a safer place, like a ZFS or (at the very least) a RAID 1 array. HP micro servers have easily removable HDD rail mounts so in case of an emergency you can open up the enclosure's lockable front door, pull out the drives and escape whatever disaster is about to befall your home (tornado, flooding, fire, treefall, zombies, etc.). :)
 
I don't personally think you'll need ANY exhaust fans. The enclosure has plenty of ventilation and tests usually show that positive pressure is not a bad thing. I'm going to do an H100 with no exhaust, myself.

To be fair, positive pressure doesn't mean no exhaust.

exhaust fans are very useful for when you want to direct airflow within the case.
 
Eh, it's not like that really. Anything on my NAS is stuff that I don't need to have available all the time. Photos, videos, torrents, backups of video and audio I've edited, etc. I actually turn off my NAS at night sometimes when it gets warm down here in Florida (which is all too often). Anything I immediately need is available in my current PC on a 2TB RAID 0 array and my small Intel 520 SSD. For my NCASE M1 I'll have the mSATA or M.2 drive to store my OS and programs and probably a small 840 Pro for games and any other files.

Obviously different setups will work for different people and I'm not trying to convince anyone to do things the way I'm doing them, I'm just trying to introduce you guys to the idea of separating your low-access files from your main PC and putting them in a safer place, like a ZFS or (at the very least) a RAID 1 array. HP micro servers have easily removable HDD rail mounts so in case of an emergency you can open up the enclosure's lockable front door, pull out the drives and escape whatever disaster is about to befall your home (tornado, flooding, fire, treefall, zombies, etc.). :)

I understand, I have a ubuntu server running Amahi pool storage myself for backups. :)
But for the PC I prefer a system that's self sufficient in itself, as if I'm going to go live on Mars for 10 years with my M1 starting tomorrow and it's still self-sufficient.

If it's self-sufficient like I said, in case of disaster you just can take your ncase and run and screw the server. :D
 
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To be fair, positive pressure doesn't mean no exhaust.

exhaust fans are very useful for when you want to direct airflow within the case.

Fair point, but the M1 is a tiny case. Even a single 120 fan can reach all corners easily. In my SG05 I tried adding all kinds of fans in various places to help temps, but it really didn't matter. As long as the fans are allowing the air to flow in the same direction, not fighting each other, it's all good.

Only thing I found that with an open-shroud GPU that it was good to tape up part of the vent holes that were otherwise allowing hot air to feedback. But that was local to the GPU.
 
Hey guys! First post here! Created an account specifically to post in this thread actually.. I'm on the early shipment 1 list; and am quite excited but still a little lost for what I should do airflow wise for this case..

Currently the plan is two 800rpm NoiseBlocker E-Loop fans intaking at the bottom; and my Corsair H60 SE mounted on the left panel for the CPU; with a Gentle Typhoon GT AP-13 (1150rpm) as an exhaust. (I may swap this to a Noctua C14/C12P though; after using the Noctua U9B SE2, I did prefer it over my current H60 SE, or even using my old U9B SE2...?)

But currently I run an extremely quiet Asus Direct CU II GTX 670; and was wondering if the fans as intake will at all hinder the DCUIIs cooling performance or help it? (As I understand the hub of the fan may intrude on the Asus fans as they don't necessarily line up?) I care more about silence than I do practicality (i.e. using an exhaust cooler). That said; if I upgraded (rather, when) to a GTX 780, would you suggest the DCUII/MSI Gaming (both 30DBA load according to techpowerup) or with the stock titan style exhaust cooler (36dba). Noting again silence trumps a couple degrees. Though I'm worried the H60 SE on exhaust (therefore taking a lot of the internal hot air) won't handle a mild 4ghz OC on the 4770k I have planned to use.
 
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Thinking about using a small tower cooler like the Noctua NH-9B SE2 that is 125mm high.

Noticed that the specs on ncases.com mention a max cooler height of 130mm, anyone know if this is with or without a 25mm thick fan fitted to the side panel?
 
Im sure ive seen this mentioned in the thread before but I cant find it, any idea what max cpu cooler height the M1 supports?

Would like to fit a small tower cooler like the Noctua NH-9B SE2 but im not sure it will fit with its 125mm height? Pretty sure I saw a measure that was a few mm short of this so that it wouldnt fit but would that be with our without a fan mounted on the side panel?

I believe it's stated the highest is 130mm, with top-down coolers recommended.

Ncases All specs listed here.
 
Thanks ReaperX22, realised I forgot to check ncases website just after posting my original question and tried to edit it but you were quick as lightning. :D

Since the case is pretty narrow I guess this 130mm limit is without a intake fan fitted on the side panel?
 
Thanks ReaperX22, realised I forgot to check ncases website just after posting my original question and tried to edit it but you were quick as lightning. :D

Since the case is pretty narrow I guess this 130mm limit is without a intake fan fitted on the side panel?

From what I understand that's correct. 130mm is the max inclusive of the fan. (i.e the size of the Noctua C14, which fits very tightly with its top fan mounted; with no room for another fan on the side)
 
I see. I leave my Lightroom catalog and all my photos on the NAS. Normally don't do much editing to them so slow access doesn't bother me too much, but if I did more work more often I could see where I'd become annoyed at slow load times.

I am planning on having an M.2 or mSATA SSD + a regular-ass SSD, but nothing else beyond that. :)

Eh, it's not like that really. Anything on my NAS is stuff that I don't need to have available all the time. Photos, videos, torrents, backups of video and audio I've edited, etc. I actually turn off my NAS at night sometimes when it gets warm down here in Florida (which is all too often). Anything I immediately need is available in my current PC on a 2TB RAID 0 array and my small Intel 520 SSD. For my NCASE M1 I'll have the mSATA or M.2 drive to store my OS and programs and probably a small 840 Pro for games and any other files.

Obviously different setups will work for different people and I'm not trying to convince anyone to do things the way I'm doing them, I'm just trying to introduce you guys to the idea of separating your low-access files from your main PC and putting them in a safer place, like a ZFS or (at the very least) a RAID 1 array. HP micro servers have easily removable HDD rail mounts so in case of an emergency you can open up the enclosure's lockable front door, pull out the drives and escape whatever disaster is about to befall your home (tornado, flooding, fire, treefall, zombies, etc.). :)

Maybe I'll try running the photos and torrents off of my unRaid server, and just keeping the catalog, cache and LR program on a single internal SSD. I can always add a HDD later right? Or just use one of the many extra 3.5" drives I have laying around for now. Definitely an M.2 or mSata SSD to start!
 
Maybe I'll try running the photos and torrents off of my unRaid server, and just keeping the catalog, cache and LR program on a single internal SSD. I can always add a HDD later right? Or just use one of the many extra 3.5" drives I have laying around for now. Definitely an M.2 or mSata SSD to start!
You should have space inside the NCASE to add a drive later if you don't stuff it absolutely full to the gills. Again, I must sound kinda pushy with this "get a NAS" diatribe, so don't consider my opinions of any more value than anyone else's. Cowsgomoo's concept of just grabbing his entire NCASE and running in case of emergency is totally valid. Offsite backups on cloud based services like Amazon S3 are almost as good as having physical backups anyhow, unless it really is the zombie apocalypse. ;)
 
Alright, I bought most of my parts. Patiently waiting for the M1 to ship :)
Still deciding between 770 and 780 with Titan cooler, SSD/HDD configuration, and cooling for the CPU and case.
 
The u9b se2 is only possible without the side fan. The clearance of 130 is up to the inside of the fan mounting plate. The only tower cooler that I have found could possibly fit together with a side fan is a dynatron k40.

A few posts ago I gave a few points regarding my plans for thermal planning using a u9b and a gtx670 asus dc2. The loudest component in my mock up ncase m1 is the bottom intake fans. I'm going to be experimenting further, but I have a feeling I can get this to work nicely.
 
If it's self-sufficient like I said, in case of disaster you just can take your ncase and run and screw the server. :D

Cowsgomoo's concept of just grabbing his entire NCASE and running in case of emergency is totally valid.

I'll take "Things only a nerd would say" for $400, Alex. :D


(Zombie apocalypse IS the primary reason everyone should have offsite back-ups. But I do agree that snagging the originals, AFTER securing loved ones, is also a good idea if possible =)
 
The only tower cooler that I have found could possibly fit together with a side fan is a dynatron k40.

Having some trouble finding a dynatron k40 to check out, based on your reference to it- can you provide a link to one? Is it branded in a different name/model perhaps?
 
A correction to your image: cards are measured from the bottom of the PCB, at the PCIe connector - not the bracket.

It's not my image to correct, that's taken right out of an email from HIS Customer Support when I asked them for clarification. So that might mean...HIS measures their graphics cards from the bracket instead of the PCI connector! According to your image that would make the 7870 only 12.5cm wide (an easy fit), and the 7950 would now measure in at 13.98cm. Oh god, I think I can feel the headache coming back. I think I'd rather just assume the customer support people don't know how to measure a graphics card and forget about the 7950.

Thanks's to The_Cheese's Folly I know that NH-C14 isn't compatible with my motherboard choice, as is just about everything that requires a backplate. The Noctua NH-L9a specifically says it doesn't need a backplate to be mounted, as does the Thermalright AXP-100. Between the two, the AXP-100 is a tier above the NH-L9a. But none of the other coolers I've tried looking up mention that they can be installed without using the included backplate. What rules are there for mounting a heatsink without support on the rear of the motherboard? If the NH-L9a is safe to mount without one, and weighs in at 465 grams, is it safe to assume any cooler I find that weighs less doesn't need a backplate? It would explain why Newegg allows you to sort heatsinks as being less than 450g or more than 450g. If it were true, it would open me up to more options like the Cooler Master GeminII M4, which I've yet to research thoroughly. I'd like to find something that preforms close to or better than the AXP-100, since it's currently listed at $70 on Amazon. At that price, I might as well give in and get an AIO, and I'd rather cool on air as long as I can do so cost efficiently.
 
I'll take "Things only a nerd would say" for $400, Alex.

Let's see who gets the last laugh when I FEND OFF HORDES OF ZOMBIES WITH MY NCASE M1 and open a can of sardines with it later when the coast is clear.
And a massive collection of entertainment and porn is sure to sooth frayed nerves when trapped in a shopping mall.
 
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Sorry, Dynatron K17.... Already forgetting the number. K for 1150, R for 2011 sockets.

I found it available through ebay. I went for the Noctua though, because shipped price for the dynatron is Higher than the price of a noctua U9B SE2. Had to forgo the side fan for that, but my intended layout does not want a side fan anyway.

Good looking heatsink, compact and had heatpipes in the best orientation with the heat source slightly below the rest of the pipes. Could be tight on some boards.

Here is a generic search for "dynatron k17" on ebay
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...1.A0.XDynatron+k17&_nkw=Dynatron+k17&_sacat=0

I really don't know how well they perform, they are not mainstream enough to be reviewed by consumers or reviewers, but a server background might be promising. Unfortunately with heatsinks, its really hard to know how well they perform until they are reviewed or compared. Dynatron did have their more consumer orientated products reviewed, and they only gave an average performance. This one looks promising, but again hard to tell. Couldn't find any other towers that looked worthy of consideration, like budget branded 80 and 92mm towers that looked anaemic, with a $15-30 price point, sold though Chinese "free ship" websites, doesn't build confidence.

Seriously though, if you plan to use the side fan, a better performing top down cooler is a safe choice, as you can pick from better models and brands, with the backing of review data. A Scythe Samurai ZZ top down would be your top choice in the case of a space restricted gigabyte/MSI board, or a silverstone NT01, Noctua C12 if you can fit it. Obviously the bigger the cooler, the more effective it can be, but you must also have an airflow design that has a fairly clear in and out pathway, minimising recycling of hot air. If you don't need the side intake, and have no intention for a radiator, I am pretty happy with the tower cooler.
 
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From what I understand that's correct. 130mm is the max inclusive of the fan. (i.e the size of the Noctua C14, which fits very tightly with its top fan mounted; with no room for another fan on the side)

Thats good to hear, I guess the C14 top fan will work as a intake fan as well.
 
Hello there - first post on [H].

I plan to do a minor modification to my upcoming M1 - replacing the front audio in/out with large jack passthroughs straight to the headphone amp and mic in. How is the audio I/O panel made? Is it a single plastic block with USB sockets and the power button, like in Silverstone TJ08E, or can it be separated?
 
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