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

danny.nguyen said:
Thanks AFD for your reply. I wholly agreed with you and I cannot fathom why TR made one for Impact if they knew how to design but obviously not.

I have Noctua NH-L9i on my asus Z77 deluxe and the problem is the cable management, especuially the USB 3.0 cables and HD audio plugged near the GPU *facepalm* lol.
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No prob! After all the air coolers I've looked at, I'm still confident that the Noc C12 & C14 will provide the best combo of cooling and fitment for ASUS boards inside the M1. Necere said they would fit, and both have been confirmed. Go for C12 if you're using the HDD rack or an ATX PSU, and go for the C14 if you're using both SFX PSU and don't need the side HDDs.

The only bad thing, is the price really sucks on both coolers imo.
 
MaSsAcRe said:
I plan on selling mine once it arrives. I wonder if anyone else is planning to do the same?
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I, like you, fall in the same boat. Didn't buy with the intent to sell, but, times changed, and i no longer need it. So, if any is eyeing for one silver one, keep eyes on fleabay
 
semyorka said:
Ebay? For screws? Seriously?

McMaster, son. Black-oxide coated stainless steel, $7.92 for 50. Plain stainless steel ones are $4.37 for 100, if you don't care about color matching.
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The world doesn't just consist of the US of America my friend.. :p
I'm an Aussie.. and to add insult to injury I'm in Far North Queensland.. so, my first searches always go to ebay/google (to see if stuff might be available at all) and then to the specialists who charge you 300%+ more.
The only people worse off I know live in Northern Territory ;)

If someone searches for the "equivalent" of McMasters here in Oz: http://www.smallparts.com.au/
And please don't be scared away by the outdated UI that currently seems to be broken (how is that possible?) :eek:
M3 5mm long (no 4mm!), plain steel, 50 units: AUD $32.50

So yeah, seriously.
 
SithSolo1 said:
I don't have specific data but we can assume it left this port, http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ports/191/Taiwan_port:KEELUNG , somewhere around the 7th to 10th of November with a destination of New Jersey, probably Port Newark. Data only goes back a few days though. =/
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If it comes in to Newark or Jersey City it has to go through New York Harbor right? If someone can get me the ship's info I can go sit on the roof of my apartment building with some binoculars and wait. I may freeze to death, but it's got to be somewhere close.
 
I admire the dedication. I'd imagine major docks operate 24/7, you might miss a ship or 2 ;)


I don't know why, but I'm dead set on the SS 550W SFX, but it doesn't look like they are even going to announce it anytime soon... maybe CES? By that team the case will be here I hope, and I'll be chomping at the bits to put everything together. I think I'm going to get a cheapo Corsair PSU for it to hold me over until then. I think I'll be okay, I'm still looking for reference video card deals, which isn't currently happening, most of the deals are with fancy twin fan coolers.
 
Dispatch 25, arrived in Washington DC area on the 13th. USPS website was never updated, but Taiwan post website says delivered.

I've been out of the country the last few days, but I'm driving in to work tomorrow (Sunday) where it was delivered to pick it up and build it sometime in the afternoon.

I'll have a mini-itx HTPC and mini-itx file sever to compare it to in size :)

Also, my NGFF M.2 SSD should be in for those looking to see the Asus Impact outfitted with one. No aftermarket cooling... yet
 
Aftermath101 said:
I admire the dedication. I'd imagine major docks operate 24/7, you might miss a ship or 2 ;)
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Yeah, you don't sleep on M1 dock watch. 2 nerds, rotating shifts :p

Aftermath101 said:
I don't know why, but I'm dead set on the SS 550W SFX, but it doesn't look like they are even going to announce it anytime soon... maybe CES?
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Same here, and we're not the only ones. I know it will exist, so I'd be stupid not to wait for it.. unfortunately, there's a high probability of their slow-ass release schedule holding up some of our builds for a while.

Don't think it will be saved for CES.. maybe? It's rare that any media would even report on something like that from CES, so I'm doubtful Silverstone would even attend.

I'll give them props for noticeably improving their time from announcement to availability at retail. The 300W semi-fanless took a while to come out, but the new CP11 & PP05-E cables only took a couple weeks to hit market.
 
JoanTheSpark said:
The world doesn't just consist of the US of America my friend.. :p
I'm an Aussie.. and to add insult to injury I'm in Far North Queensland.. so, my first searches always go to ebay/google (to see if stuff might be available at all) and then to the specialists who charge you 300%+ more.
The only people worse off I know live in Northern Territory ;)

If someone searches for the "equivalent" of McMasters here in Oz: http://www.smallparts.com.au/
And please don't be scared away by the outdated UI that currently seems to be broken (how is that possible?) :eek:
M3 5mm long (no 4mm!), plain steel, 50 units: AUD $32.50

So yeah, seriously.
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And this is why altronics looks alright with a box of 25 of length 6mm for $4, available to the person who needed the screws within 10 minutes drive. Still need to grind away, but its that as an immediate fix, or ebay :(

These 30 degree ambients inside the house, with airconditioning running is really making the PSU fan loud.... 2K RPM on the NB PC-P slim 80mm fan, WHIRRR!!!. at idle! its 40 degrees outside right now (centigrade)
 
AFD said:
Don't think it will be saved for CES.. maybe? It's rare that any media would even report on something like that from CES, so I'm doubtful Silverstone would even attend.
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SS they may not be physically at the show, but many of the smaller manufacturers like SS set up private viewings at hotels and such just to take advantage of all the media that's already in town.
I bet guys like newegg and NCIX will be going around trying to get coverage of new products and upload them to their youtube channels.
 
Hi all!

Here it is number 40. ;)

I love M1, check my NCASE build here:
Mini-ITX PC Gamer Maxed

My old and new rig were faced, at aesthetics and performance.
Minimax+vs+Blackow.jpg



P.S. prava, you're not alone, you're not the only one spanish NCASE man. :) I'll fill sheet you share in Drive. (In spanish: me sonaba tu nick de N3D. Saludos!)

Cheers!
 
dPunish3r said:
Hi all!

Here it is number 40. ;)

I love M1, check my NCASE build here:
Mini-ITX PC Gamer Maxed

My old and new rig were faced, at aesthetics and performance.
Minimax+vs+Blackow.jpg



P.S. prava, you're not alone, you're not the only one spanish NCASE man. :) I'll fill sheet you share in Drive. (In spanish: me sonaba tu nick de N3D. Saludos!)

Cheers!
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How did you get the front panel to go on when using the SSD bracket i know the Evo's are the same thickness and the Pro's so you should of had the same problem as i did and from memory it was the brackets that stuck out to far? And did you use a GTX 780 backplate on a 780 TI ?

Nice build by the way.
 
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dPunish3r said:
Hi all!

Here it is number 40. ;)

I love M1, check my NCASE build here:
Mini-ITX PC Gamer Maxed

My old and new rig were faced, at aesthetics and performance.
Minimax+vs+Blackow.jpg



P.S. prava, you're not alone, you're not the only one spanish NCASE man. :) I'll fill sheet you share in Drive. (In spanish: me sonaba tu nick de N3D. Saludos!)

Cheers!
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Thanks for posting this. I've got the ASUS Impact and am planning on going with a 780/780TI with stock cooler too, but I haven't bought the card or an aftermarket cooler for my CPU yet.

Any way to translate your review to English so I don't end up asking you questions that you already have answers to? Google translate didn't seem to be able to do it, or I'm too stupid to figure it out.

Either way, build looks super nice.
 
Smitty2k1 said:
Any way to translate your review to English so I don't end up asking you questions that you already have answers to? Google translate didn't seem to be able to do it, or I'm too stupid to figure it out.

Either way, build looks super nice.
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Thanks!

Google translate need highend skills... because my posts are difficult to translate. I try to be rigorous and accurate technically, but also I write using sarcasm, metaphor and paranoid. For example, in the middle-down of the post, there is a Rap battle between my old and new gaming rig.
 
AFD said:
Yeah, you don't sleep on M1 dock watch. 2 nerds, rotating shifts :p

Same here, and we're not the only ones. I know it will exist, so I'd be stupid not to wait for it.. unfortunately, there's a high probability of their slow-ass release schedule holding up some of our builds for a while.

Don't think it will be saved for CES.. maybe? It's rare that any media would even report on something like that from CES, so I'm doubtful Silverstone would even attend.

I'll give them props for noticeably improving their time from announcement to availability at retail. The 300W semi-fanless took a while to come out, but the new CP11 & PP05-E cables only took a couple weeks to hit market.
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Well, as a matter of fact, Silverstone is ALMOST ready to release their Raven mITX case (I know because a guy put one for sale on a spanish forum. He said its a review one), and I'm sure we will see it at CES. Also, if the SFX 550W is so close to release, we should also see it at CES.

dPunish3r said:
Hi all!

Here it is number 40. ;)

I love M1, check my NCASE build here:
Mini-ITX PC Gamer Maxed

My old and new rig were faced, at aesthetics and performance.
Minimax+vs+Blackow.jpg


P.S. prava, you're not alone, you're not the only one spanish NCASE man. :) I'll fill sheet you share in Drive. (In spanish: me sonaba tu nick de N3D. Saludos!)

Cheers!
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Hey! That makes 2 spaniards with the case ;) When did you get it? Your nick also sounds familiar in N3D ;)
 
dPunish3r said:
I try to be rigorous and accurate technically, but also I write using sarcasm, metaphor and paranoid. For example, in the middle-down of the post, there is a Rap battle between my old and new gaming rig.
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That was just sooo fucking weird. Love it! :D

Really nice build, and thanks for the write-up & testing you did!
 
dPunish3r said:
Thanks!

Google translate need highend skills... because my posts are difficult to translate. I try to be rigorous and accurate technically, but also I write using sarcasm, metaphor and paranoid. For example, in the middle-down of the post, there is a Rap battle between my old and new gaming rig.
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Why did you go with the Corsair H100i instead of the Swiftech 220 like everyone else is doing?
 
MiLk said:
I now want a NO ODD Slot Top Cover, is there anyway to get one?

:)
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For the time being, no. The only extras are reserved for replacing defective/damaged parts. Whether or not additional parts are made available is up to w360 and what he's comfortable handling. Keep in mind as well that any parts order is going to have an MOQ, so the up-front cost is not insignificant.
 
Necere said:
For the time being, no. The only extras are reserved for replacing defective/damaged parts. Whether or not additional parts are made available is up to w360 and what he's comfortable handling. Keep in mind as well that any parts order is going to have an MOQ, so the up-front cost is not insignificant.
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That's what I get for not just buying one for $15...lol

I guess any part order would be down the road once everyone receives their case
 
Necere said:
For the time being, no. The only extras are reserved for replacing defective/damaged parts. Whether or not additional parts are made available is up to w360 and what he's comfortable handling. Keep in mind as well that any parts order is going to have an MOQ, so the up-front cost is not insignificant.
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Not possible for Lian Li to make M1 parts available through their worldwide reseller network?

I know it's technically not their case, but I don't see why there would be any legal issue with them just selling M1 parts & accessories, like they do for most of their other cases. Not sure if they'd even be interested in doing something like that, but it just seems a lot easier than having W360 work up bulk orders and dealing with shipping again.
 
i've got a ASRock Z87E-ITX (which has only two PWM fan headers), one of which will be used by the Zalman LQ-310 cooler. is Arctic Cooling F12 PWM a good fan (in terms of performance and noise) to be used in this case? what are the fans you guys are planning to use/are using?
 
AFD said:
Not possible for Lian Li to make M1 parts available through their worldwide reseller network?

I know it's technically not their case, but I don't see why there would be any legal issue with them just selling M1 parts & accessories, like they do for most of their other cases. Not sure if they'd even be interested in doing something like that, but it just seems a lot easier than having W360 work up bulk orders and dealing with shipping again.
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The spare parts you get for other cases from Lian Li are made while they produce them.. the M1 has been a special order. For them to make a handful of top covers means additional effort - they want to get paid for that.

Your best chances are:
  1. Wahaha/Necere make another run of the M1
  2. you get warm with another mITX case that LianLi or XYZ will be producing down the line
 
darxider said:
i've got a ASRock Z87E-ITX (which has only two PWM fan headers), one of which will be used by the Zalman LQ-310 cooler. is Arctic Cooling F12 PWM a good fan (in terms of performance and noise) to be used in this case? what are the fans you guys are planning to use/are using?
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Some stuff to read through in no particular order:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1321074/tator-tots-big-quiet-120mm-140mm-fan-round-up/1340
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/120mm_and_140mm_fan_comparison,18.html
http://www.overclock.net/t/1274407/fans-the-most-complete-and-comprehensive-array-of-tests-and-benchmarks
www.hardware.fr/articles/867-23/graphique-recapitulatif.html
 
Arrival at local unit! Hopefully that means I'll get something in the mail tomorrow! Im in Los Angeles.
 
JoanTheSpark said:
The spare parts you get for other cases from Lian Li are made while they produce them.. the M1 has been a special order. For them to make a handful of top covers means additional effort - they want to get paid for that.

Your best chances are:
  1. Wahaha/Necere make another run of the M1
  2. you get warm with another mITX case that LianLi or XYZ will be producing down the line
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If they make another run, there's no telling what might change in terms of the design

I wonder, when they said they ordered additional 10% cases to handle defects and such... did they have extra top covers they're willing to sell off once that magical warranty period ends of course.
 
That french fan review I stumbled across a while back, its seriously good stuff as it goes into describing the acoustic properties of each and every fan, giving you the subjective as well as the numerical figures. As I am finding, never totally take everything as the truth, but at least its a good indicator.

Might need a combination of google translate and the original pages to get the pictures for that review set though.
 
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Aftermath101 said:
If they make another run, there's no telling what might change in terms of the design..
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True that, but it doesn't change the situation. LianLi did set up a small run (tools, workers, material, etc.) and are done with it. If they don't expect W+N to order more (you'd have to ask W+N about that) they won't have kept much of the set up (that's why W+N ordered 10% surplus).
So to make it economically feasible you'd need another bulk order or forget about it.

Maybe one more option.. if you could get those crimp in clip studs that LianLi is using for their case doors/covers and some sheetmetal mob who can mount these (needs a press of some sorts) you could try to get a top cover made up.. but I bet the cost would be in the range of $100 without brushing/anodizing.
 
AFD said:
That was just sooo fucking weird. Love it! :D

Really nice build, and thanks for the write-up & testing you did!
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Lol, ok it wasn't just me that thought that was awesome, lol!
 
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Update on the Demciflex filters: it won't likely be until after the new year until they'll have them available on their site. I trust your guys' rigs won't get too dusty in the next few weeks :p
 
pointfiveo said:
That's too bad. I'm not using the Lian Li filters because of Noctua rubbers. :(
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Crap. I take it the Noctua rubber mounts definitely do not work/fit with the included Lian Li filters?

Couldn't really see how they would, but wasn't sure if they'd maybe stretch enough.
 
I just have my filters taped onto the bottom of the case, and for the side panel, between the side panel and the fan frame. I used countersunk screws to give the filters some room. The filters are still too thick, and push the panel out 1mm, but it will have to do for now. They are just squeezed between the panels atm, Also taped into place.

Used scotch magic tape, neat and fairly clean on removal later on. Well within a month anyway.
 
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Does any one have experience with this? I'm wondering if I can power two PWM 120mm fans at the bottom with the GPU.

Well I ordered them already so I'll be the guinea pig.
 
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I went an similar route, and soldered wires directly to the pins. My GPU is a twin fan setup, and has 5 pin connector, which I can't seem to find online.

What you can safely power from it, totally relies on keeping within the power handling capacity of the GPU fan controller. Safest thing to do is to stay within the power limit of the stock fan, as you can be sure they provisioned for that fan only. Read the rated power draw of the stock fan, and compare it to your fan. You might get away with it, but you also risk frying the GPU fan output. The likelihood is lower, particularly when new GPU fans are PWM controlled, so your likely to just be having a direct 12V connection. Your limitation is likely to just be the resistance in the trace supplying the 12V, rather than the limitations of a voltage controller if it wasn't PWM controlled. My bets are that you will be fine, but I personally would not risk it.

WIth my ASUS GTX670, I am currently powering a Noctua 92mm slim fan, and giving it the PWM signal from the GPU. This is a pretty low power fan, so I am confident. Especially when it used to power 2 80mm fans.

I also have bottom fans for my case. These fans have actually replaced the GPU fans, however as they are larger fans, these are powered from the PSU directly, for peace of mind especially. Power is tapped off the 12V EPS connector on the motherboard, but the RPM wire for those fans go to the GPU, so the RPM monitoring from the GPU is for the bottom fan RPM. Makes sense when reading the fan speeds.

Photo is of my earlier mod. This shows the RPM Tach and PWM wires being tapped out. The bottom plug is where I can attach a fan. I have blocked out the PWM pin for now as it was not being used at the time. The connector closer to the GPU is the power connector, and to this I provide the power to the fan. In this case, It was meant to come from a voltage controlled temp controller, which is why the PWM pin was covered to prevent it shorting out on the case.
 
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