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

I wonder why some people have their SFX PSU with the intake fan facing inside the case?

I'm still having a hard time getting the HD drive cage in there, maybe turning the PSU would do it...
 
Aftermath101 said:
I wonder why some people have their SFX PSU with the intake fan facing inside the case?

I'm still having a hard time getting the HD drive cage in there, maybe turning the PSU would do it...
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The power supply is the same width ether way so it shouldn't matter.
 
Number 644 in hand! The USPS tried to deliver on the 28th. There were no updates in the tracking system before that date. I was out of town until yesterday, Jan 1. All I saw was a delivery notification.

I just picked it up this morning from the PO. Haven't unpacked the box yet from the shipping box. I'll be looking to put up a build log soon.

Thanks to Necere and Wahaha360 for all their efforts.

Edit: Just updated the spreadsheet with the SN and the 12/28 delivery date.
 
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Got my Black #541 with ODD slot a little while ago. Finally got around to updating the spreadsheet.

So now comes the slow planning and purchasing phase. This will be a slow build with Video and CPU as last purchases.

I like the idea of an M2 or mSata SSD. Looking at getting the Asrock with the mSata port and a 240GB or 480GB M500 or an EVO if they hit the market with a good enough price. So now I have to think about regular storage. Should I go with 750GB WD Black, HGST 1TB 7.2k, or W/O ICE pack 1 TB VRaptor?

My eventual goal is to wait out till June to let SS release a 500w+ SFX and get OEM cooler 290. So I think that erases and hope of getting a 3.5 inch drive installed. Unless I went with an H80i instead of the H100i I was thinking. Which brings me to another question. If I went with Slim profile Scythe fans could I do push pull with either of the two with filters? Also trying to decide whether to go for the 4770s,k, or 4771. I don't plan on overclocking the CPU. But I am not sure I want to take a 400+ MHz hit to shave the 20w TDP. While the 4771 would be the fastest with no OCing as well, but the highest base and turbo clock.

Goal is an incredibly small pc, packing a huge punch, but is manageable and mostly quiet.
 
So does anyone have an ideas on what parts I can assemble together for the M1? I intend to buy them since my brother wants it together. He wants a Radeon 290X in it, but I'm also wondering what CPU, air cooler, motherboard, and PSU to get. I got a spare SSD lying around that I can use.
 
rpgman1 said:
So does anyone have an ideas on what parts I can assemble together for the M1? I intend to buy them since my brother wants it together. He wants a Radeon 290X in it, but I'm also wondering what CPU, air cooler, motherboard, and PSU to get. I got a spare SSD lying around that I can use.
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Your requirements are too open. It needs to be more specific. Your brother or you have a price limit or performance requirement?
 
Confirmed that my AIO was biting the dust. I replaced my Thermaltake Water 2.0 Pro with a Noctua NH-U9B SE and my temps went way down. My room is about 65F (18C) and with the Noctua, my load temps in BF4 are around 60C on my 4770K where as they would hover around 80C on my AIO. Idle is around 29C. The cooler is in a vertical orientation. Pulling air from the top of the graphics card and exhausting it out of the top of the case.

It's also much quieter...which is always nice.
 
Ace of Six said:
Your requirements are too open. It needs to be more specific. Your brother or you have a price limit or performance requirement?
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This is my brother's PC. He's getting the money from his scholarship, but he definitely wants the 290X. I'll probably get the NH-C12P SE14 as the air cooler. For the PSU, definitely the Silverstone ST45-G PSU. As for the CPU and mobo, he wants the AMD FX, but I don't see any mITX motherboards for the AMD FX CPUs. So is Intel the only way to go since there are more options available?
 
rpgman1 said:
So does anyone have an ideas on what parts I can assemble together for the M1? I intend to buy them since my brother wants it together. He wants a Radeon 290X in it, but I'm also wondering what CPU, air cooler, motherboard, and PSU to get. I got a spare SSD lying around that I can use.
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For simplicity and budget minded probably best to choose the AsRock z87e-itx mobo and one of the air hsf like the NH-C12 . For CPU whatever floats your boat. 4770k is the hot cpu these days but that is the high end. If wanting to keep it cheap go with a single hdd like a WD Black 1TB or 2TB. SS 450w psu. Of course you can get more fancy than that if you got the money and desire to be adventurous.
 
Skott said:
For simplicity and budget minded probably best to choose the AsRock z87e-itx mobo and one of the air hsf like the NH-C12 . For CPU whatever floats your boat. 4770k is the hot cpu these days but that is the high end. If wanting to keep it cheap go with a single hdd like a WD Black 1TB or 2TB. SS 450w psu. Of course you can get more fancy than that if you got the money and desire to be adventurous.
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Thanks for the suggestions. I want it to be simple since I don't know how to watercool yet. Guess I'll buy the CPU and mobo at Micro Center then.
 
rpgman1 said:
This is my brother's PC. He's getting the money from his scholarship, but he definitely wants the 290X. I'll probably get the NH-C12P SE14 as the air cooler. For the PSU, definitely the Silverstone ST45-G PSU. As for the CPU and mobo, he wants the AMD FX, but I don't see any mITX motherboards for the AMD FX CPUs. So is Intel the only way to go since there are more options available?
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I would be a little careful with the 290X as a full system with the 290X under load will pull a lot of power and will come close to the limits of the Silverstone PSU. One data point from PCPer when they reviwed the 290X was that a loaded system pulled 414W. Granted that is still under the 450, but it's at least worth noting.
One option could be seeing what other 290X cards come out with custom PCBs and coolers. More are rolling out and they are keeping the noise and heat under control very well on the card. Power consumption decreases slightly because the card is running cooler, but nothing too drastic.
The only major improvements otherwise that I have seen for the Hawaii GPU's is to water cool. Legit Reviews looked at the 290x under the Kraken G10 and it was nothing short of incredible. Power consumption came down over 20W. Temps were down over 50 degrees C. So, one could assume that water cooling of any type should yield similar results.
There are no M-ITX boards that I have ever seen for FX unfortunately. So, yes, you will have to stick with Intel for now.
Just my 2 cents....
 
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rpgman1 said:
This is my brother's PC. He's getting the money from his scholarship, but he definitely wants the 290X. I'll probably get the NH-C12P SE14 as the air cooler. For the PSU, definitely the Silverstone ST45-G PSU. As for the CPU and mobo, he wants the AMD FX, but I don't see any mITX motherboards for the AMD FX CPUs. So is Intel the only way to go since there are more options available?
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For the Cpu, I would go with the i5 4670k if he/you are only doing gaming and Internet browsing. For some heavy photoshopping or media creation I would go with the 4770k.
 
Just saw this M1 build on OCN, and they managed to fit a TD02 cooler in there...

8iOFriV.jpg


You guys think it's a smart idea? I'd get a TD02 to put in my M1... but it seems too tight from the looks of it...
 
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Makes me wish the case had enough space so the radiator could be located on the bottom or top, with a window panel side, because that setup is beautiful, and shame after its all closed you wont see all the work behind it.
 
=HYPERDRIVE= said:
Makes me wish the case had enough space so the radiator could be located on the bottom or top, with a window panel side, because that setup is beautiful, and shame after its all closed you wont see all the work behind it.
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True... this guy's build is a work of art! More pics...

FJmXr9u.jpg


OPhGrTI.jpg


9L5dQKF.jpg


zjLA6vH.jpg
 
jtiger102 said:
I would be a little careful with the 290X as a full system with the 290X under load will pull a lot of power and will come close to the limits of the Silverstone PSU. One data point from PCPer when they reviwed the 290X was that a loaded system pulled 414W. Granted that is still under the 450, but it's at least worth noting.
One option could be seeing what other 290X cards come out with custom PCBs and coolers. More are rolling out and they are keeping the noise and heat under control very well on the card. Power consumption decreases slightly because the card is running cooler, but nothing too drastic.
The only major improvements otherwise that I have seen for the Hawaii GPU's is to water cool. Legit Reviews looked at the 290x under the Kraken G10 and it was nothing short of incredible. Power consumption came down over 20W. Temps were down over 50 degrees C. So, one could assume that water cooling of any type should yield similar results.
There are no M-ITX boards that I have ever seen for FX unfortunately. So, yes, you will have to stick with Intel for now.
Just my 2 cents....
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Probably have to watercool the 290X anyway in the M1, but have to look at the size limitations with custom coolers on the GPU.
 
rpgman1 said:
Probably have to watercool the 290X anyway in the M1, but have to look at the size limitations with custom coolers on the GPU.
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I agree as the stock cooler really blows! :) Not very effective and it's really loud. The only thing it has going for it is that it is a blower style, which is recommended for this case.

All of that being said, it's also incredibly hard to get a 290X, 290, or even 280X right now due to the Litecoin mining going on. Even if you can find them, they are running way above their MSRP's.
 
jtiger102 said:
I agree as the stock cooler really blows! :) Not very effective and it's really loud. The only thing it has going for it is that it is a blower style, which is recommended for this case.

All of that being said, it's also incredibly hard to get a 290X, 290, or even 280X right now due to the Litecoin mining going on. Even if you can find them, they are running way above their MSRP's.
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Seems to be a digital currency mining rush anyway. They're hard to find and so expensive.
 
Here is an update on getting Steve back for support on the reservoirs. There appears to be literal mis(sed)communication going on between Kyle and Steve. Steve says he has attempted to contact Kyle to go through the proper process for posting as a vendor, however Kyle hasn't responded to his inquiries. At Kyle's request I have provided to Kyle Steve's previous account name in addition to Steve's public frozenq email address and asked that he respond to Steve's request for an authorized vendor account. Kyle says that Steve must contact him instead. I seem to be stuck in the middle of an impasse that I don't need to be in the middle of. I have asked both to just talk to each other. That is where it is at.
 
#316 arrived in SF on Monday! No updates until it went out for delivery. The box was damaged, but the case itself is in great condition. Now just waiting for parts...
 
Got this email from support@frozenqpcmods.com last night

Your order is in the second batch of Ncase reservoirs that we do not have faceplates for. They are on their way, your res should be out by the end of next week.
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Seems they are delaying seeing they said the same thing on the 17th of DEC
Yours is going to be in the second batch, which is looking like it will ship sometime next week. There's a chance it might be this week though.
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So i'm not getting my hopes up seeing they cant even tell me a solid date.
 
jtiger102 said:
I would be a little careful with the 290X as a full system with the 290X under load will pull a lot of power and will come close to the limits of the Silverstone PSU.
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No need, unless you are doing some extreme overclocking on GPU and/or CPU, but the case isn't designed for that anyway. I'm not the only one here with an R9 290(X) on a Silverstone ST45SF-G without any problems.

rpgman1 said:
Probably have to watercool the 290X anyway in the M1, but have to look at the size limitations with custom coolers on the GPU.
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No, not needed. Unless noise causes you mental or physical pain.

Ace of Six said:
For the Cpu, I would go with the i5 4670k if he/you are only doing gaming and Internet browsing. For some heavy photoshopping or media creation I would go with the 4770k.
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I agree with the i5-4670K or i7-4770K. The latter is only circumstantially better, so check if your usage has any benefit so you won't waste ~100$.

commander_ said:
True... this guy's build is a work of art! More pics...

zjLA6vH.jpg
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It's a nice build but the cable sleeving takes up more volume than it should and that sliver of space between the radiator and the other components is too narrow to convince me this is a good solution.
In that aspect, I'm much more convinced with the Silverstone black ribbon cables, these take up a minimal amount of volume.
 
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Phuncz said:
It's a nice build but the cable sleeving takes up more volume than it should and that sliver of space between the radiator and the other components is too narrow to convince me this is a good solution.
In that aspect, I'm much more convinced with the Silverstone black ribbon cables, these take up a minimal amount of volume.
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That rad is 45mm think which is pretty much the limit i would use i went for a 38mm rad should leave enough space without blocking half of the flow, looking at that build there would be very little air flow on the right side because they power cables are pushed up onto the fan.

I'm also going to be using the SST-PP05-E cables but will be changing there lengths to fit the M1 better.
 
Anyone considering a build with the MSI Z87I GAMING AC? I'm surprised it hasn't gained any momentum with the M1 crowd unless I'm missing something..
 
daydr3am3r said:
Anyone considering a build with the MSI Z87I GAMING AC? I'm surprised it hasn't gained any momentum with the M1 crowd unless I'm missing something..
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It come out late for use in the M1 most people already brought there parts before hand way before they got there M1's. Plus who the hell puts a PS2 port on a Z87 board these days haha.
 
OverRated said:
Plus who the hell puts a PS2 port on a Z87 board these days haha.
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Some people prefer PS2 because it doesn't have a limit on the number of keys that can be pressed simultaneously (AKA, n-key rollover or NKRO), which is useful especially for gamers.
 
Necere said:
Some people prefer PS2 because it doesn't have a limit on the number of keys that can be pressed simultaneously (AKA, n-key rollover or NKRO), which is useful especially for gamers.
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Exactly. Lower latencies and simultaneously pressed keys limit.
 
The biggest issue I have with the MSI Gaming Z87 is the crappy placement of many connectors, the crappy placement of the socket (offset on the X and Y axis) and the Killer NIC which is known for causing more problems than it solves.
 
Necere said:
Some people prefer PS2 because it doesn't have a limit on the number of keys that can be pressed simultaneously (AKA, n-key rollover or NKRO), which is useful especially for gamers.
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If they cared about that they would use a Mechanical keyboard with anti-ghosting ;).
 
n-Key rollover is only useful in VERY specific games. Standard 6-key rollover provided by USB is sufficient, and the software based workarounds that most companies use work well enough to go beyond that - my ducky green mx board has a dip switch that enables n-key rollover for USB by emulating several "simultaneous" devices in the device manager, but only works in Windows and I believe Linux (not osx). I could certainly be wrong, but I can't envision any usage cases on osx where it would matter.

Phuncz said:
The biggest issue I have with the MSI Gaming Z87 is the crappy placement of many connectors, the crappy placement of the socket (offset on the X and Y axis) and the Killer NIC which is known for causing more problems than it solves.
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Those are the exact reasons I ruled it out and opted for a P87I-Deluxe.
 
daydr3am3r said:
Anyone considering a build with the MSI Z87I GAMING AC? I'm surprised it hasn't gained any momentum with the M1 crowd unless I'm missing something..
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I build my setup yesterday with the GAMING AC, posted a pic in the general build log thread. It's a pretty nice looking board and zero issues with H220. I'm waiting on stock of PP05-E before I attempt to cram everything in. The cabling will be an interesting challenge, I'm not thrilled with the board layout, but my last 4 mobos have been MSI and have been great so I wanted to give them my business again.

It wouldn't be ITX if it wasn't a puzzle!
 
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Dephcon said:
I build my setup yesterday with the GAMING AC, posted a pic in the general build log thread. It's a pretty nice looking board and zero issues with H220. I'm waiting on stock of PP05-E before I attempt to cram everything in. The cabling will be an interesting challenge, I'm not thrilled with the board layout, but my last 4 mobos have been MSI and have been great so I wanted to give them my business again.

It wouldn't be ITX if it wasn't a puzzle!
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Cool! Can you also update the google docs excel with your setup as it progresses? It's much more convenient to consult vs. a 474 page thread :)
 
Just found a nice and cheap alternative to Silverstone SST-CP11 there called.

********** CPD-7PL6G-BA60

But they may be to long seems 60cm is the shortest they make.

http://en.**********.com.cn/products_img/11182013231945100.jpg
 
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Two quick questions: I have my case and love it - but what is the purpose of the top panel screw?

Any one know where I can order more of the round top screw?
 
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