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

Phuncz said:
I'll repost this as people seem to have missed this:


This was on this system:

● Coolermaster Elite 130
● Asrock Z87E-ITX
● Intel Core i5-4670K
● Noctua NH-L12
● 2x 8GB Crucial VLP 1600MHz
● AMD Radeon R9 290X (reference)
● Samsung 830 256GB SSD
● Seasonic G-series 550W PSU

Mind you, I'm on the 230V net, this might give better results. I also have no extra case fans, HDD's or overclocks. I'll be doing more testing soon.
Running BF4 yielded results around 310W I believe but I couldn't monitor it continuously while playing.
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Should be pretty easy. I can see that your meter can calculate the amount of kwh in a given time of use, and it also gives you the time.

Simply put: start playing BF4 and, once the game is loaded, start the meter. Once the round is finished you will have a given value of kwh, and time.

Just use this formula:

-Average power (kw) = kwh / time (in hours).

So, 0,05 kwh in 20 minutes would be 150W. (0,05/0,33)

okwchin said:
Soo many people are using the asus m6 impact mobo. Where I am in Australia, this mobo is $350, compared to my $200 asrock (now $169). Price alone ruled out this mobo for me.

Essentially a free 120-240G SSD for having the asrock, or losing a SSD for the asus
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Woha, so expensive down there. The impact is 199€ in Spain, and the Asrock something along 165€.


hydroforge said:
Import bruv. If I were going Haswell, would definitely pick meself an Impact, but from Amazon or NCIX. Also looking to import a GTX 780 (or Ti) if one doesn't come up for cheap locally soon :mad:
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Mmmm, funny enough we got the GTX780 DCII for 370€ a few days ago in here... but I'm afraid its too big to fit into the M1, so I didn't get it :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
 
WiSK said:
Instead of using Fan Xpert, you can control the fan headers using SpeedFan software (it's free). It allows much more range on PWM fans and you can vary speeds based on more than just CPU core temp. Especially for a water cooling loop where GPU is included, it's important to take several different temperatures into account :)
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Thanks for the heads up, but I have used speedfan before. Like I said there were ways around my z87i-pro issues - I should've clarified that the extra "expense" would've been for a bluetooth dongle which actually costs very little on ebay. I guess it was a little bit of hyperbole on my part to emphasise that I was a little disappointed with the asus board.

And my point about the 'no less than 60%' fan speed still stands. It's a ridiculous, arbitrary limitation given the intended market for the board that serves no purpose other than to annoy buyers and force them to install and run at boot what would've otherwise been unnecessary software.
 
prava said:
Mmmm, funny enough we got the GTX780 DCII for 370€ a few days ago in here... but I'm afraid its too big to fit into the M1, so I didn't get it :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
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Ah, I've been burned myself by the GPU size restrictions for the M1. I bought got a GTX 680 Classified specifically because it was the most powerful reference-blower GPU of the time but alas, it was physically too big to fit in the M1.

I had to sell it as soon as Necere publicly pointed it out :(

Necere said:
Just a reminder: extra-wide video cards will not fit in the M1, due to the PCIe power connectors not having enough room.

As an example, the EVGA GTX 680 Classified:



The regular-width GTX 670 pictured is fine, it's just the Classified and other cards with wider than normal PCBs that will have issues.
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Luckily though, I did make a $200 profit when I sold the big bastard to buy my current GPU :D
 
hydroforge said:
Luckily though, I did make a $200 profit when I sold the big bastard to buy my current GPU :D
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Son of a... :D :D :D :D :D And you complain about it :cool:

Nah, I'll just wait for the case to arrive and start measuring and re-measuring with the case in hands.. and even doing so I'm sure I'll end up buying stuff that won't fit. For the moment my GTX760 gives me everything I need, and I know that it will fit (got it dirty cheap too). So, that part is covered. I should be getting the motherboard so I can actually setup the system and only put it into the new case once it arrives but... I'd rather see how the Corsair Hx0 fits into the M1 on different motherboards... let the others be the lab rats

:D:D:D:D:D
 
Afternoon chaps... no. 365 here, in London.

Has anyone put an ATX PSU into their M1? The orientation of my XFX's power input (which seems normal looking at photos of other ATX PSUs online) is such that the M1's mains pass-through cable would have to jut out the side of the case. Could another ATX user perhaps post a photo of how they've crammed theirs in? (I trawled back a few pages through the posts, but the photos all seem to be of SFX PSUs.)

P.S. The case really is top notch, I'm so chuffed that someone out there finally made a proper one. Being able to pop off all the panels make it so much easier for someone with giant mitts like me... Hats off to the lads! Now stop slacking make me a nice NAS case!
 
I'm currently considering either this case or the Evga Hardon Air for my gaming mITX build. I really like the clear side panel of the Hadron Air as I missed that on my old case. Anything Similar planned for the M1?
 
do all people who have yet recieved their case have a tracking number on their ncase account? if so, having none would mean that the case is still in taiwan right?
 
Antizax said:
I'm currently considering either this case or the Evga Hardon Air for my gaming mITX build. I really like the clear side panel of the Hadron Air as I missed that on my old case. Anything Similar planned for the M1?
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If you are currently considering the M1 or the Hadron... I'm afraid you are looking at it the wrong way. Why?

a) The Hadron has like the crappiest finish I have yet to see in a case. Its just terrible. I'd never buy a case with such a shitty finish. Compare it to the N1 which has a top notch finish (provided by Lian Lis manufacturing capabilities). Its not even close, not that the price is close at all, though.

b) Unless you already paid for an M1, chances are you won't get one. Maybe in 6+ months they do a 2nd run, or you go fish one off ebay... but, out of that, no other way of getting one.

And, I say again, you should understand how crappy the Hadrons finish is. Like OEM pc ase, like, if not worse. I have no idea why EVGA went to cut that many corners...
 
Just filled out the data sheet. Great to see everyone getting their cases. But I wonder why the countries closest to Taiwan, ie. other Asian countries, haven't had any deliveries yet. Maybe they are being delivered by bicycle :D

On a side note, I haven't built a desktop for a while now and my previous master plan was to have everything run off a laptop (Damn you NCASE! /s). Ah well, well laid plans etc. In ages past, I saw some reviews of the i7 saying it gave a better desktop experience than the i5. Is this still true? I like to open a lot of programs and would still want everything to be near instantaneous. Can I get this with the i5?
 
daavee said:
Thanks for the heads up, but I have used speedfan before. Like I said there were ways around my z87i-pro issues - I should've clarified that the extra "expense" would've been for a bluetooth dongle which actually costs very little on ebay. I guess it was a little bit of hyperbole on my part to emphasise that I was a little disappointed with the asus board.

And my point about the 'no less than 60%' fan speed still stands. It's a ridiculous, arbitrary limitation given the intended market for the board that serves no purpose other than to annoy buyers and force them to install and run at boot what would've otherwise been unnecessary software.
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Just a heads up, I have an Asus Z87 mb and Speedfan doesn't work with it. I'm pretty sure Asus was able to disable the use of Speedfan with all of their Z87 chipsets? That way you absolutely have to install their Fan Xpert software
 
prava said:
If you are currently considering the M1 or the Hadron... I'm afraid you are looking at it the wrong way. Why?

a) The Hadron has like the crappiest finish I have yet to see in a case. Its just terrible. I'd never buy a case with such a shitty finish. Compare it to the N1 which has a top notch finish (provided by Lian Lis manufacturing capabilities). Its not even close, not that the price is close at all, though.

b) Unless you already paid for an M1, chances are you won't get one. Maybe in 6+ months they do a 2nd run, or you go fish one off ebay... but, out of that, no other way of getting one.

And, I say again, you should understand how crappy the Hadrons finish is. Like OEM pc ase, like, if not worse. I have no idea why EVGA went to cut that many corners...
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Wow that bad huh? I've had good experience with Evga in the past but they are far from perfect. 6 Months? That's quite a while. It's been a challenge finding an mITX case I really like, I mean what are my other options? I considered BitFenix but I might as well get an ATX case that thing's so big.
 
daavee said:
I actually bought a Z87I-Pro the other week to use in my M1 build but didn't like it. Loads of fan headers on the board, but you can only set the fans to a minimum of 60% (seriously Asus, wtf?)(
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Do you know if this 60% min limitation is only for Fan Xpert, or does it also effect the granular bios fan controls they advertised?

My Noctua F12's can run as low as 300RPM, so being limited to only 900RPM (60% of 1500RPM) would really suck.

Seem like like sub-600RPM CPU & chassis fan speeds are possible, according to the manual..

Chassis Fan Speed Low Limit 1/3 [600 RPM]

This item appears only when you enable the Chassis Q-Fan Control feature and allows you to disable or set the chassis fan warning speed.

Configuration options: [Ignore] [200 RPM] [300 RPM] [400 RPM] [500 RPM] [600 RPM]
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RPM.jpg
 
IanM said:
8000rpm! :eek: I don't really like the noise at 800rpm
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Hahaha I was thinking maybe running this at 600RPM during normal usage and unleashing the beast to de_dust the whole thing without having taking the whole system apart :D
 
lemkeant said:
Just a heads up, I have an Asus Z87 mb and Speedfan doesn't work with it. I'm pretty sure Asus was able to disable the use of Speedfan with all of their Z87 chipsets? That way you absolutely have to install their Fan Xpert software
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If a motherboard doesn't work with SpeedFan likely the author hasn't received the analysis data yet for compatibility. Go to the Info tab in the software, and click Read Info, and then click Send Report.
 
AFD said:
Do you know if this 60% min limitation is only for Fan Xpert, or does it also effect the granular bios fan controls they advertised?
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IIRC it was a bios limitation only. In fan Xpert you can choose whatever percentage you want (I think. My memory's not the best so don't take my word as gospel on this).
I toyed around with it for a bit, but my main gripe on this issue is the fact that you shouldn't have to run a program in the background, no matter how light on resources it is, when that functionality could, and should, be available in the bios.
 
While this case is amazing, but unfortunately seems like those of us who have missed on the indegogo run. Will not be able to get it! I will be going for the Hadron Air.

I do understand that the Hadron Air does not even come close to the ncase m1 in terms of quality and sleekness! But unless you make more of them and start selling more. Or just somebody recommend something similar with the same size specs (there are none, Ive been searching).

Please make more of this beautiful case. Otherwise, the rest of us are stuck with a hard-on, air :(
 
unknownsolo said:
While this case is amazing, but unfortunately seems like those of us who have missed on the indegogo run. Will not be able to get it! I will be going for the Hadron Air.

I do understand that the Hadron Air does not even come close to the ncase m1 in terms of quality and sleekness! But unless you make more of them and start selling more. Or just somebody recommend something similar with the same size specs (there are none, Ive been searching).

Please make more of this beautiful case. Otherwise, the rest of us are stuck with a hard-on, air :(
Click to expand...

watch ebay for people selling their ncases. Or just the ebay section of hard
 
unknownsolo said:
While this case is amazing, but unfortunately seems like those of us who have missed on the indegogo run. Will not be able to get it! I will be going for the Hadron Air.

I do understand that the Hadron Air does not even come close to the ncase m1 in terms of quality and sleekness! But unless you make more of them and start selling more. Or just somebody recommend something similar with the same size specs (there are none, Ive been searching).

Please make more of this beautiful case. Otherwise, the rest of us are stuck with a hard-on, air :(
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1000 cases has been made but only about 700 sold. I'm sure wahaha and necere will think about selling most of the remaining 300 after the 700 that were sold reach their owners. If the cases reach their destination intact, there will be no reason to keep 300 in stock. So I think we will see a purchase page on ncases web site soon to sell most of the remaining stock.

I would obviously like to know this from "the team" itself as I want another one ( the one I ordered is still at customs. they didn't like the invoice that came with the package. sure they looked at the case and said: only 90usd for this fine piece of art? hummm... )
 
To the best of my limited knowledge thats not entirely correct. 1000 have been made but only 10% of that is extra to cover lost or damaged cases. More than a few cases were sold on the Ncases website and are not part of the Indiegogo total. Whether they wish to sell any remaining stock after everyone is settled remains to be seen.
 
For me, it's only logical for NCASE to start an online business and show these big chassis manufacturers that ignoring the SSF enthusiasts is to their own detriment, as well as to spread the love of course :3
 
IanM said:
the reported spec is 155mm diameter? mini-ITX boards are 170mmx170mm, so maybe if the cpu socket is placed exactly right?

Looks like a great product though, perfect for S, T series and maybe non-OC's Ivy.
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Yup, 155mm. In the heat of the moment I forgot the mini-itx dimensions. :(

Most likely, it won't fit. Either because none of the existing boards have a perfectly centered cpu socket, or because a graphics card in the x16 pci-e slot would interfere with it.

It might be possible to reshape it, by hand, into a fitting oval form though, so I'm not giving up hope just yet. :)
 
jojo69 said:
careful comparing accuracy between pure resistive loads and active PFC loads

lots of info on this
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Well I can agree on that.

But what's enough for me is that the PSU hasn't shut down at all, so I'm not overloading it. I'd would be nice if the PSU would have some sort of usage monitoring possible like the more expensive Corsairs have (I believe).
 
AFD said:
Just a heads-up to anyone else doing an aircooled M1.. Newegg has the Noctua NH-C12P SE14 on sale today for $65 w/free S&H. Checkout using their mobile app/website w/MBLNOV9 for another 10% off, which brings the price to only $59.

That's the cheapest I've seen the C12 go for all year ;)
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Been trying to order from my phone but I keep getting an error the servers are too busy to process my request.
 
Antizax said:
Wow that bad huh? I've had good experience with Evga in the past but they are far from perfect. 6 Months? That's quite a while. It's been a challenge finding an mITX case I really like, I mean what are my other options? I considered BitFenix but I might as well get an ATX case that thing's so big.
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Yup, that bad. Just look at the finish quality:

HADRON-4.jpg


http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...167-evga-hadron-air-mini-itx-case-review.html


hydroforge said:
Hahaha I was thinking maybe running this at 600RPM during normal usage and unleashing the beast to de_dust the whole thing without having taking the whole system apart :D
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I don't think you will be able to do so. If the fan works at 12V... You will have to run it at 1V in order to get 600rpm... and I doubt it very much you will be able to go that low without it turning off. 4V is pretty low for a fan, let alone 1V.

And I'm talking about changing the voltage while operating... since Its very doubtful it would even turn on at less than 4V, imo.

unknownsolo said:
While this case is amazing, but unfortunately seems like those of us who have missed on the indegogo run. Will not be able to get it! I will be going for the Hadron Air.
Click to expand...
 
prava said:
I don't think you will be able to do so. If the fan works at 12V... You will have to run it at 1V in order to get 600rpm... and I doubt it very much you will be able to go that low without it turning off. 4V is pretty low for a fan, let alone 1V.

And I'm talking about changing the voltage while operating... since Its very doubtful it would even turn on at less than 4V, imo.
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What about if use a manual fan controller, say like the one found bundled with my Fractal Define Design Mini?
 
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The silver M1 looks very at home in an "Apple environment" (I meant that in the most positive way possible).
 
Yep, the silver one is gorgeous! Had a hard time deciding which one to get. I did'nt want two cases though. So I was really hoping you could buy extra silver panels. Well maby in the future? :)

By the way. Any of you from the US planning a trip to Sweden and could take a GTX 780 Ti with you? That would save med around $225 :)
 
hydroforge said:
What about if use a manual fan controller, say like the one found bundled with my Fractal Define Design Mini?

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Great fan just be aware that its 38mm and might limit your options on the side panel.

You're probably better off using one of these:
newegg
FrozenCPU
Amazon.

Its the same price, provides nearly the same CFM, is PWM controlled, is a little less noisy, uses less than 1/2 the power, and can be mounted on the side with your radiator. Makes sure you hook it up to a 4-pin Molex for power since the current draw is higher than most PWM fan headers can supply.

And... if you can fit 38mm on the side, you can use two of these for a total of 505 CFM for only $3 more per fan.
 
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adamantium said:
Great fan just be aware that its 38mm and might limit your options on the side panel.

You're probably better off using one of these:
newegg
FrozenCPU
Amazon.

Its the same price, provides nearly the same CFM, is PWM controlled, is a little less noisy, uses less than 1/2 the power, and can be mounted on the side with your radiator. Makes sure you hook it up to a 4-pin Molex for power since the current draw is higher than most PWM fan headers can supply.
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But it needs to be 92mm, doesn't it? I wanna use it for the rear exhaust.
 
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hydroforge said:
But it needs to be 92mm, doesn't it? I wanna use it for the rear exhaust.
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I don't think you have enough room on the back for a 38mm fan unless you don't plan to put anything on the side panel. If you don't have anything on the side panel then you could use the other fans I mentioned including the 38mms for a total or 505 CFM. Are you planning to put anything on the side like a radiator, an H220 for example? What about the bottom?
 
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