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

hydroforge said:
Do plan to get a H220 and block for my GPU... Do I even need an exhaust fan?
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Probably not, but if I remember correctly Necere tested with a 92mm x 25mm fan as exhaust and got an improvement in temps. I don't remember for sure if that was with the H220 or not, but I think it was. You might try digging back in the history for the test pages to make sure.

Now that you got me researching, I might put two of the high speed PWM deltas in mine just to draw attention. :D
 
SithSolo1 said:
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.
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- 1000 cases were made
- 664 sold via indiegogo
- Less than 10 people ordered after the campaign ( post 5498 ). I read this as less than 10 people ordered via the ncases web page.

So if the above is correct, there are more than 300 cases that were manufactured and have no owner.
 
wahaha360 said:
There are 1000 units of M1 made. ~90% are in the postal office waiting to be shipped / already shipped. 10% is headed to USA as back up against defects.
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finas said:
- 1000 cases were made
- 664 sold via indiegogo
- Less than 10 people ordered after the campaign ( post 5498 ). I read this as less than 10 people ordered via the ncases web page.

So if the above is correct, there are more than 300 cases that were manufactured and have no owner.
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In post 6426 w360 says of the 1000 ~90% were in the post office being shipped to their destinations. Only 10% for defects.
 
Okay took another look at the case and it is beautiful. The panels mounting system is so simple and clean! The interior finish is amazing too! What is that piece of brown paper for by the way? Polishing your case? It is a fingerprint magnet indeed, washing my hands before I play around with it :p

Can't wait to start building in it but I am really waiting for a more silent solution of a PSU.. Hurry up silverstone! Until then, I will be rocking my ultra silent node 304. I guess that is the one thing that case has going for it over the ncase. Making it silent is quite easy.
 
m1-365 said:
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.)
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This may be the case with some ATX power supplies. They all have the AC inlet in a different location, and for certain orientations, the included angled plug won't fit. That would be true regardless of the angle on the plug -- it'd be incompatible with some number of ATX PSUs no matter what. That's another reason why SFX is the recommended PSU size for the case.

It may be possible to open up the PSU and flip the inlet around, but I wouldn't recommend doing that, as there's a possibility of electric shock (capacitors in the PSU can hold a charge for quite some time).

m1-365 said:
Now stop slacking make me a nice NAS case!
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If you can manage to get two drive cages it's possible to fit up to five 3.5" HDDs in the case (plus at least a couple 2.5" drives).
 
Ribozyme said:
Okay took another look at the case and it is beautiful. The panels mounting system is so simple and clean! The interior finish is amazing too! What is that piece of brown paper for by the way? Polishing your case? It is a fingerprint magnet indeed, washing my hands before I play around with it :p

Can't wait to start building in it but I am really waiting for a more silent solution of a PSU.. Hurry up silverstone! Until then, I will be rocking my ultra silent node 304. I guess that is the one thing that case has going for it over the ncase. Making it silent is quite easy.
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I got 2 node to build with my old rig and the M1 of course, but out of curiostiy, what do you run in yours? I'm in a big reserch for part to upgrade.
 
Necere said:
It may be possible to open up the PSU and flip the inlet around, but I wouldn't recommend doing that, as there's a possibility of electric shock (capacitors in the PSU can hold a charge for quite some time).
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If you use a jump start connector and attach a fan on the molex then you can empty the caps easily. Before modular connectors became popular we sleevers had to open PSUs to get to the ends of the wires. I'm not dead yet, so it must work ;)

But speaking of the inlet, often the wires from inlet to PCB are very short and stiff and hard to move at all. You'd have to de-solder and re-wire I think.
 
RideTheNun said:
I got 2 node to build with my old rig and the M1 of course, but out of curiostiy, what do you run in yours? I'm in a big reserch for part to upgrade.
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Are you asking about the parts in my node? You shall have them.

Asus P8Z77-i deluxe- essential because the cpu socket is far away from the PCIe slot, so it can accommodate the NH-D14. The newer Z87 boards mostly adopted this feature as well.

3770k

Noctua NH-D14 with one 120mm noctua PWM in middle slot controlled by speedfan

2 x 4gb corsair vengeance 1600mhz low profile blue ram

Be quiet straight power e9 400watt- (I think this is a key part of my build because it is literally inaudible all the time and has great efficiency in low load scenarios)

Samsung 250gb 840 ssd- this is my only storage drive in the system, for now it is enough but I will add ssds in the future. The noctua NH-D14 does limit the use of normal HDDs if you were interested in using those. I guess the new noctua U14s should do a good job too and let you use HDDs. The mass of that cooler is smaller than the NH-D14 so it will need to spin faster to get the same cooling as the monolith NH-D14.

GPU: started off with asus gtx 670 dc2, still heard a crackling noise from the fans in idle, sold it. Then I bought a msi gtx 760 gaming edition because they were supposed to be super quiet. They were under load, amazingly quiet, but not in idle. Sold it and got a second hand gtx 680 twin frozer just because it was so cheap, enjoyed it a bit but idle it was far louder than the mdi gtx 760. Sold it and am GPUless since then. Now I have ordered a secondhand gtx 780 reference, fingers crossed.

Stock case fans of the node are super quiet with the built in fan control on 5V. A friend of mine wrecked the exhaust case fan whilst searching blindly for the audio line out with my headphones plug. Now it is crackling, so replaced it with the 120mm noctua fan non PWM that came with my NH-D14. I found the thing to be too loud on 5V with the fan controller so added a resistor that I got with my Noctua 92mm fans(which I ended up not using cause the stock fans are quieter at 5V) and then it is quiet at idle. The exhaust doesn't start spinning upon startup though because it doesn't get enough startup voltage. I just flip the fan controller up to 12V briefly upon startup and then back to 5V and then it runs.

I am quite proud of it, because I managed to make it literally inaudible while idle. Went to some trial and error though to find the right fan configuration. The only fan heard in idle is the GPU one which is unfortunate and that is why I am an advocate of passive in idle GPUs. That's why I am currently running no GPU and in search of the most quiet idle one. I shall be having another go at this goal next week when a reference gtx 780 is arriving which has its idle noise very low on all the charts, looks good and performs not too shabby ;)

Hope this will help in your node build.
 
Since there are a lot of international guys in this thread im gunna post this deal here for fellow M1 case owners...

I have a amazon.de account with $25 euros on it, im willing to let it go for $15 USD, since I cannot use it, that's more than 50% off

Just send me a PM if you want it
 
I just got a tracking number too, but unfortunately it seems rather useless. If I'm reading correctly, it seems anything from Taiwan to the Netherlands can't be tracked online. I must phone PostNL and they can translate the international tracking number into a local '3S-' barcode, but only after the package arrives at Rotterdam. Weird, perhaps I'm missing something.
 
PolarBear said:
I've got a tracking number for Australia! Anyone know where I put it so I can check status?
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Apparently my parcels are headed to Sydney...?? Hopefully it then makes its way 4000km across australia to perth. Apparently they started shipping on the last day of october, but tracking number only appeared recently.

http://postserv.post.gov.tw/webpost/CSController?cmd=POS4007_1

And maybe the australia post system might work when it gets into australia.
 
daavee said:
<snip> sold the Z87I-Pro, bought the Z87E-ITX, which has been great, but I now need to find a way of putting it in the M1 with a NH-L12 mounted. So either a heatpipe-up mount like Phuncz did, or, well, modding (mutilating) the heatsink itself:(
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the ASRock board has i believe a higher positioned cpu skt, due to the power board on the asus, you also dont have the sound card to deal with, you may find you have enough clearance to mount it heatpipes down, start measuring lol
 
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Hi guys,
New to watercooling and am looking to expand an H220 loop inside this case. What size of tubing should I use?
Thanks in advance
 
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hydroforge said:
Anybody has one of these Delta PFB0912DHE-F00 92mm and using it as an exhaust fan?
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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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The CFM rating is really high with the 8k rpm (LOL), but be aware that these fans are far from silent (duh) but most importantly, because they are designed to run 3.7A current, the switching circuitry for the motor are not optimised for low rpm and silence.

This means if you try to run it at low rpms, there are a few things to consider
1) Start voltage. As stated before, 4V is a common start voltage at which the circuitry starts to operate. Power is somewhat determined by the resistance of the coils, so if it pulls 3.7A at 12V (50 watts), your expecting to be pulling 1.2+ amps at 4V = 5 watts. This is still significantly more than your average fan at 12V. So at its starting voltage, you should still be expecting it to be achieving somewhere 1-2K rpm at idle, and that 5 watts of power has to go somewhere, be it heat, or noise. (to put it in perspective, most fans use UP to 2-3 watts at max, and use a fraction of that at idle.)

2) Motor switching noise. All motors turn the coils on and off to cause the fan to turn, and this switching of the coils on and off cause little shocks to the fan. Essentially when the coil is turned on, the magnet (fan stator) is pulled toward the coil. Once the coil is turned off, this force is suddenly removed. Its the sudden pull then letting go, or tugging on the fan stator (and thus blade) which creates the ticking sounds. On a slower fan with a weaker motor, these forces are low, and this ticking sounds are minimised, but on a high output fan, the minimum ticking sound is quite significant, therefore even at lower rpms, you will have a very strong ticking sound.

3) Start voltage part B. lets assume 4V is when the circuitry is fully operational, if you drop the voltage down a little more, you will start to have the circuitry turning off for a portion of the time as the voltage at the circuit is pulled down by power application to the coils, and then lifted up between powering the coils due to back EMF generation. This means the fan motor can "run" below 4V, maybe down to 3.5V, but in this range, its rpm will fall towards an comfortable idle of a couple hundred rpm, but this is below startup voltage, and can cause the motor to produce a growling sound as the circuitry is on/off, essentially a version of the ticking, but at a higher frequency. This in itself can be louder than the ticking as its louder by being at a more audible frequency.



My delta 92x38mm HHE is a serious ticking machine, a ticking sound that is only drowned out by the major wind and motor noise at 12V, which is where it was designed to run. Silence was never really part of its primary design criteria. Growling is even worse!

My Gentle Typhoon 92mm doesn't have much ticking, but at that pre-startup voltage when spinning, it still exhibits a serious growling sound thats louder than my hdd reading sound, louder than the fan itself at 12V.


Overall, your idea of having a high output fan is good if you want the high output, but the compromise is in its low rpm acoustic performance. Also, you will be needing a proper high output fan controller for it if you intend to run it at anything other than PSU voltages. It will be beyond most if not all mobo header capacity.
 
The_Gunslinger said:
the ASRock board has i believe a higher positioned cpu skt, due to the power board on the asus, you also dont have the sound card to dea with, you may find you have enough clearance to mount it heatpipes down, start measuring lol
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The C12 and C14 are out of box not going to fit.

The best chance you have with the C12 is to have it horizontal and take the fins down some 5-8mm, almost until its flush with the heatpipe. The width of the heatsink is 125mm, but all you can fit is a maximum distance of 60mm from centre of the cpu socket. Heatpipe ends are actually longer, and thus more of an issue with clearance.

My U9B is 120mm long, representing 60mm from the CPU centre, and thus the back of the fan is right up against the inside top panel. (Actually, I am expecting it to be, based on measurements)
 
okwchin said:
Apparently my parcels are headed to Sydney...?? Hopefully it then makes its way 4000km across australia to perth. Apparently they started shipping on the last day of october, but tracking number only appeared recently.

http://postserv.post.gov.tw/webpost/CSController?cmd=POS4007_1

And maybe the australia post system might work when it gets into australia.
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It seems you were on the early shipment list, right? I am from Sydney too.
 
Hypnowhirl said:
Hi guys,
New to watercooling and am looking to expand an H220 loop inside this case. What size of tubing should I use?
Thanks in advance
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Believe the H220 uses 5/8"OD tubing- within the last dozen or so pages on this forum, M1 thread, it was mentioned.... or call swiftech they'll tell you for sure- 1-888-857-9438 (US only) or (310)-763-0336
 
Has a HDD been fitted on the case floor under the psu side of the case? Would it be possible for a 3.5" hdd on the cpu side, and a 2.5" on the psu side, or visa versa? I understand the 3.5" and 92mm fan limitation- but it seems very close that in fact two 3.5" hdds could fit on the case bottom, or a 3.5 and 2.5 with no fan....
 
Thanks slabhatnik. Sorry must have missed those posts :eek: Just double checking in case I mess up when the time comes.

Anyone considering using an external 92mm rad?
 
Has anyone else tried to fit the H220 on the ROG Impact? I've been trying for the past 30 minutes and cannot get it to fit. The fitting on the pump pushes on the daughter board too much and I'm unable to screw the plate down without the screws going in cock-eyed.
 
daavee said:
...bought the Z87E-ITX, which has been great, but I now need to find a way of putting it in the M1 with a NH-L12 mounted. So either a heatpipe-up mount like Phuncz did, or, well, modding (mutilating) the heatsink itself:(
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I have yet to find an issue with the heatsink mounted the "not recommended"-way. It's still pretty cool at 100% load:

Phuncz said:
The NCASE M1 only has the 120mm fan. To compensate for the lack of fans, I have adjusted the fan profile:

35°C = 40%
40°C = 55%
50°C = 70%
60°C = 80%

Fully loaded with BurnInTest it tops out at about 50°C in the Ncase M1.

BvAmbGt.png
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(omitted less useful stuff)

While there will be better cooling needed for heavily overclocked CPU's, it clearly has a lot of room even in the "bad" position. It still performs well though, just not optimally. Compare it to an open-fan GPU in the Ncase M1.
 
okwchin said:
Apparently my parcels are headed to Sydney...?? Hopefully it then makes its way 4000km across australia to perth. Apparently they started shipping on the last day of october, but tracking number only appeared recently.

http://postserv.post.gov.tw/webpost/CSController?cmd=POS4007_1

And maybe the australia post system might work when it gets into australia.
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All the data I get is that it was shipped on Oct 30 at 9:45 but nothing else :(
 
I haven't even logged in since June and I come back to this project entering production?! Awesome. This is sexy as all hell.

I may just have to build a Hackintosh out of this instead of going with the iMac...
 
PolarBear said:
All the data I get is that it was shipped on Oct 30 at 9:45 but nothing else :(
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Same here dispatched at the same day, but at 9:49. Looks like all the Australian M1's are being shipped and will probably take a few more days to arrive at our doorsteps.

Nevertheless, this is quite earlier than I anticipated :)

Time to finalist my build and components :D
 
Spades45 said:
I haven't even logged in since June and I come back to this project entering production?! Awesome. This is sexy as all hell.

I may just have to build a Hackintosh out of this instead of going with the iMac...
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The cases have already been made and have been shipped out. People are receiving their cases since a week ago.
 
Andorski said:
Has anyone else tried to fit the H220 on the ROG Impact? I've been trying for the past 30 minutes and cannot get it to fit. The fitting on the pump pushes on the daughter board too much and I'm unable to screw the plate down without the screws going in cock-eyed.
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Can't help you, but as you got the H220 pump head there.. can you tell me how high it is from the bottom of that copper plate up to the top where that honeycomb pattern cover ends?
Or would somebody else have the height of it please?
 
clericc said:
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?
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I'm from germany too and found a tracking number (it's DHL!) last night in the shipping label field. According to this tracking number, it's already been shipped since last wednesday.

Didn't get a email or something (not even in spam).
 
Andorski said:
Has anyone else tried to fit the H220 on the ROG Impact? I've been trying for the past 30 minutes and cannot get it to fit. The fitting on the pump pushes on the daughter board too much and I'm unable to screw the plate down without the screws going in cock-eyed.
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are you able to remove the daughter board, install the heatsink, then re-seat the daughter board?
 
JoanTheSpark said:
Can't help you, but as you got the H220 pump head there.. can you tell me how high it is from the bottom of that copper plate up to the top where that honeycomb pattern cover ends?
Or would somebody else have the height of it please?
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I measured it at 5.3cm.

Dephcon said:
are you able to remove the daughter board, install the heatsink, then re-seat the daughter board?
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I'm nervous about removing the daughter board - I have no idea how it connects to the main board. I don't think it would help either - I am literally having the CPU block push hard against the daughter board just to have the screw get put in cock-eyed. Even if removing and reseating the daughter board gave me an 1mm of space, the fitting would probably still be scraping against the daughter board's cooler.
 
okwchin said:
The C12 and C14 are out of box not going to fit.

The best chance you have with the C12 is to have it horizontal and take the fins down some 5-8mm, almost until its flush with the heatpipe. The width of the heatsink is 125mm, but all you can fit is a maximum distance of 60mm from centre of the cpu socket. Heatpipe ends are actually longer, and thus more of an issue with clearance.

My U9B is 120mm long, representing 60mm from the CPU centre, and thus the back of the fan is right up against the inside top panel. (Actually, I am expecting it to be, based on measurements)
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Well this has me worried now. I bought the C12 and the ASRock Z87E and have never installed anything other than the retail heatsink that comes with the CPU so frankly I'd be apprehensive even under the best of circumstances. Hopefully I won't be the only one with these components and someone will be able show their successful installation.
 
Opinions on this configuration? A rear intake for fresh air for the CLC, and bottom intakes for the 2 card fans/whole case.

RdXBNA0.jpg


Basically, I want something with overclockability, good air flow of course, and a single HDD.
 
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What case fans should I use?

Cougar Vortex PWM 120mm

or

Be Quiet! Silent Wings 2 PWM 120mm

I am in USA so the be quiets carry a high price tag
 
itsskillsmcgee said:
Opinions on this configuration? A rear intake for fresh air for the CLC, and bottom intakes for the 2 card fans/whole case.

RdXBNA0.jpg


Basically, I want something with overclockability, good air flow of course, and a single HDD.
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Your intake fan is going to be pulling hot air directly exhausted from your GPU, not a good idea.
 
itsskillsmcgee said:
Opinions on this configuration? A rear intake for fresh air for the CLC, and bottom intakes for the 2 card fans/whole case.

RdXBNA0.jpg


Basically, I want something with overclockability, good air flow of course, and a single HDD.
Click to expand...

Not sure if the vertical orientation of the HSF's fins will take advantage of that 92mm intake.
 
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