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

SithSolo1 said:
For all those still looking for a cooler it looks like Newegg has 15% off most of their air coolers including all the Noctuas they stock. Also the C12-se14 fits the z87e-itx nicely.
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Thanks for sharing the deal SithSolo.

Hi all, I'm really torn between using either the Noctua NH-U9B SE, or the Noctua C12P-SE14. Can any of you pros provide me with some input? I'm leaning towards getting the Asrock z87e-itx motherboard. Are there any caveats to this, or is there a huge drop off in terms of cooling between the two? I'm looking to make as quiet a gaming pc as realistically possible on air cooling. Not planning on overclocking much if at all. Probably will go with an i5-4670K processor.

mwayne5 (post #9663) got some really great temperatures using just the NH-U9B without any intake fans, so not sure if the C12P could even do better than what he got despite being larger given the same scenario.

I'm not planning on using a 3.5 HDD so the size doesn't matter so much, but would cooling be more effective using the NH-U9B, supplemented by an intake fan from the front side panel over the C12P which I'm assuming makes it impossible to mount either of the side fans?

For GPU, I'm looking to get HIS R9 280x IceQ when it's available. From older reviews, it looks like this is one of the less noisy blowers out there, so it seems to pack a nice performance/noise ratio.

For the PSU, I'm waiting for the new SFX release from SilverStone. It sounds like the PSU is the noisiest part in most builds, so I'll probably attempt to replace it's fan with something else. Does anyone have a suggestion for the most optimal fan replacement? Or perhaps what the ideal method is for us NCASE owners to deal with loud PSU fans? A 120mm side intake fan and bottom intake fan wouldn't allow us to simply remove the fan completely from the PSU right?

Thanks for any advice in advance!
 
LOL, you are correct of course Necere <dunce hat>
nypx.jpg

Icy Dock Adapter, Hitachi 250GB HDD, iStar 2 into 1 Adapter comparison

I did figure out a way it could work :)
lhad.jpg


awesome cases
 
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vipz said:
Be careful when you screw the HDD bracket back onto the fan bracket.
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Thanks, yes it looks like I can only use two screws on the bracket.
One more idea : 3M 4010

I need the drives mounted further into the case so the release lever clears as well
EDIT: Got it, everything clears perfectly. 3M 4010 between the 2 Hot Swap cages :)
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Necere said:
Don't think so, no. How did you manage to break the clip, out of curiosity?
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Not real sure. It was the bottom right clip by the front I/O. was just doing my build when I noticed the clip laying in the bottom of the case with the little 'wings' broken off. Wasn't really working near that are, but who knows.

Too bad you don't think those will fit. I ordered a few of them already, no harm in trying I guess. :(
 
xbeater said:
While my case might not have arrived yet, my patience for getting a new graphics card has run out. Does anyone know whether the Gigabyte R9-290 WindForce will fit? It seems to have some weird flappy thing on the side that serves no real purpose, that might get in the way.
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Yes it will fit.
 
You don't realize how small this case is until you see it in person. Wow!!! And it's extremely light too. What a beautiful case. Can't wait to start moving my parts over to it.

LL


LL


LL
 
OverRated said:
Not even 25mm I also have a pe theres more like 15mm could u post some pics of your loop layout.
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I've finished my build so I have a picture and good measurement for you:



Here's the whole album: http://imgur.com/a/hQ3VC#0

I have 2 G1/4" extenders on the radiator ports, which helps me get around the fans.

There's exactly 25mm from the back of the fan to the PSU. The outlet on the Apogee actually gets closer (it's actually be touching the fan).
 
jtiger102 said:
I got a similar email but mine is slated from Jan 29 - Feb 6.
This seems a little excessive, don't you think?

Is Silverstone just not making these? Either that or they depleted inventory sending out with the Steam boxes or reviewers of the new Raven ITX case.
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Received an update from Amazon stating that they can now deliver by Jan 15. :D

Hopefully anybody else will get the same update.
 
Guys I live in europe and wanted to get the custom Ncase reservoir but shipping cost alone is 100 dollars? How is this even possible? Other europeans interested in the reservoir?
 
Ribozyme said:
Guys I live in europe and wanted to get the custom Ncase reservoir but shipping cost alone is 100 dollars? How is this even possible? Other europeans interested in the reservoir?
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USPS is like USD 25 : /

only UPS is expensive (it always is international)

Screenshot%202014-01-11%2015.21.59.png
 
jtiger102 said:
Received an update from Amazon stating that they can now deliver by Jan 15. :D

Hopefully anybody else will get the same update.
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"Silverstone Tek Flat Flexible Short Cable Set for Modular PSUs (PP05-E)"
Previous estimated arrival date: January 29, 2014 - February 05, 2014
New estimated arrival date: January 15, 2014

WOO!
 
pmwalk said:
I've finished my build so I have a picture and good measurement for you:



Here's the whole album: http://imgur.com/a/hQ3VC#0

I have 2 G1/4" extenders on the radiator ports, which helps me get around the fans.

There's exactly 25mm from the back of the fan to the PSU. The outlet on the Apogee actually gets closer (it's actually be touching the fan).
Click to expand...

Looks nice...really no space left in there, huh?
 
milkcow said:
USPS is like USD 25 : /

only UPS is expensive (it always is international)

Screenshot%202014-01-11%2015.21.59.png
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Ah I thought that the 25 dollar option was for us residents only as it says us postal service. Stupid of me. In that case I will order one for sure as all other small reservoirs are still pretty big.

Also what is the difference between frosted acrylic, and the acetal?
 
PolarBear said:
I was thinking of waiting for the MSI Z87i-GAMING-AC as I have a 5.1 stereo and want to be able to plug it in properly, I want AC wireless and I DON'T want audible hiss over the audio lines (Impact + SS SFX PSU)

The other option I'm looking at now is the GA-Z87N-WIFI and a Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 to replace the existing wireless card.

Thoughts on this idea vs the MSI gaming board?
.
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I just enabled the onboard audio on my GAMING AC and it's actually pretty great. No audible hiss in my headphones at 100% volume and no pops or clicks during boot, hdd activity, etc. Haven't gotten he SB cinema software to work yet, I think it's conflicting with the drivers for my SB USB DAC, but I don't have time ATM to clean out all the drivers and whatnot.
 
Yay, Minimum temperature of 30 degrees C this morning&#8230; Its 9am, and its already 40 degrees outside!! yay! Perth Australia
 
Huzzah! Finally got temps than I am somewhat satisfied with.

For those using the NH-C14 (I kinda feel like I'm the only one using this cooler, but just in case there is someone else out there...) and the ST45SF-G, I recommend using LP RAM and using M1's ATX PSU bracket along with Silverstone's ATX-to-SFX Bracket. This orients the PSU as if it was a regular ATX PSU. You're not really losing anything other than getting to use a 120mm fan on the front side of the side fan bracket. This allows you to use both 140mm fans that the cooler comes with which offers the best cooling performance.

Running Prime95 (large fft) and Furmark for +30 minutes at 73F ambient, my temps were:
CPU: Highest=77C, Avg=71C (CPU @ 4.2GHz, 1.185V)
GPU: Highest=73C, Avg=73C (GPU Clock 991MHz, Mem 1552MHz, Boost 1043MHz)

Not the best temps, but they are definitely within range of what I was expecting.

What I want to do at this point is change out the Noctua fans. I know that its kinda sacrilegious to do such a thing, but I would rather have PWM fans that spin down when the computer is at idle. Given that the NH-C14 comes with fan clips the sized for 120mm, I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for 140mm PWM fans that have screw holes for 120mm fan dimensions.
 
Andorski said:
What I want to do at this point is change out the Noctua fans. I know that its kinda sacrilegious to do such a thing, but I would rather have PWM fans that spin down when the computer is at idle. Given that the NH-C14 comes with fan clips the sized for 120mm, I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for 140mm PWM fans that have screw holes for 120mm fan dimensions.
Click to expand...

I swapped out the P14 fan from the C12 with a NF-F12 120mm for PWM, still playing around with making an RPM curve for CPU temps and I'm sure that'll change once I overclock it.

As far as I'm aware Noctua is the only one doing 140mm fans in 120mm brackets, the A15 is 140x150mm, not sure if it'll fit the C14:
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=54&lng=en
 
Andorski said:
Huzzah! Finally got temps than I am somewhat satisfied with..

..was wondering if anyone had recommendations for 140mm PWM fans that have screw holes for 120mm fan dimensions.[/B]
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Glad to hear you got it sorted out.. temps seem acceptable imo. Never thought about the RAM.. besides allowing you to use both 140mm fans, the taller sticks might have been trapping a lot of the hot air against the motherboard as well.

+1 on the NF-A15 PWM. Don't see any reason why a pair of those wouldn't work, since they are supposed to be an improved version of the NF-P14 FLX fans that shipped with your C14.

Comparing the 2 fans, the newer A15 should have better airflow, higher static pressure, and lower noise..

P14 FLX.. http://noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=33&lng=en

A15 PWM.. http://noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=54&lng=en

Do it! ;) EDIT: Oooh. Just noticed Ptirmal mentioned the size is slightly different.. 10mm wider in just 1 direction. Maybe print out a scaled picture, and see if anything would be in the way?
 
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pmwalk said:
I've finished my build so I have a picture and good measurement for you:



Here's the whole album: http://imgur.com/a/hQ3VC#0

I have 2 G1/4" extenders on the radiator ports, which helps me get around the fans.

There's exactly 25mm from the back of the fan to the PSU. The outlet on the Apogee actually gets closer (it's actually be touching the fan).
Click to expand...

Does it concern you that the PSU fan sits right up the wall? Something prevents 180-degree rotation?
 
Andorski said:
Given that the NH-C14 comes with fan clips the sized for 120mm, I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for 140mm PWM fans that have screw holes for 120mm fan dimensions.
Click to expand...

If a 140mm x 150mm fan fits then the Thermalright TY-140 is a good, quiet 140mm fan with 120mm mounting holes.

Here it is mounted in my M1 on a C12: http://i.imgur.com/EEdhFJZ.jpg

I did end up swapping it out for a P12 PWM though because it had an annoying rasping noise when in a vertical orientation, SPCR thought highly of their sample so it was probably just bad luck on my part.
 
vldi said:
Does it concern you that the PSU fan sits right up the wall? Something prevents 180-degree rotation?
Click to expand...

Nothing really prevents a rotation. I put it this way because I figured it was better to bring cool air from outside, even if a small part of the fan is blocked, than hot air blowing right in from the radiator.

That being said it's easy to turn around, so after I get a good idea of how hot it gets this way, I'll switch it around and see if it helps.
 
Has anyone tried a Kingwin STR-500 power supply in the ncase to see if it fits? And if so, is there enough clearance for a video card?
 
Andorski said:
Huzzah! Finally got temps than I am somewhat satisfied with.

For those using the NH-C14 (I kinda feel like I'm the only one using this cooler, but just in case there is someone else out there...) and the ST45SF-G, I recommend using LP RAM and using M1's ATX PSU bracket along with Silverstone's ATX-to-SFX Bracket. This orients the PSU as if it was a regular ATX PSU. You're not really losing anything other than getting to use a 120mm fan on the front side of the side fan bracket. This allows you to use both 140mm fans that the cooler comes with which offers the best cooling performance.

Running Prime95 (large fft) and Furmark for +30 minutes at 73F ambient, my temps were:
CPU: Highest=77C, Avg=71C (CPU @ 4.2GHz, 1.185V)
GPU: Highest=73C, Avg=73C (GPU Clock 991MHz, Mem 1552MHz, Boost 1043MHz)

Not the best temps, but they are definitely within range of what I was expecting.

What I want to do at this point is change out the Noctua fans. I know that its kinda sacrilegious to do such a thing, but I would rather have PWM fans that spin down when the computer is at idle. Given that the NH-C14 comes with fan clips the sized for 120mm, I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for 140mm PWM fans that have screw holes for 120mm fan dimensions.
Click to expand...

That was my plan from the get go. Interested in hearing how your temps change with different fans.
 
IncubusBob said:
Has anyone tried a Kingwin STR-500 power supply in the ncase to see if it fits? And if so, is there enough clearance for a video card?
Click to expand...

it fits, but won't fit a full length video card. here is a picture of the lzp-550, which is basically the same model except with a fan instead http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1040502028&highlight=#post1040502028

actually Aibohphobia posted a better picture of it above. http://i.imgur.com/EEdhFJZ.jpg in this one you can really see how little room is left in there
 
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Hey guys, new updates from CES concerning SilverStone's new SFX PSU from a couple of guys who went to CES to ask a bunch of questions:

"I can't give specifics on this due to embargoes. I can say that there will be a very impressive PSU in the SFX form factor very soon from SilverStone. It's damn impressive."

So... something is coming very soon! Also, those who liked the 760 mini...

"Yes. We looked at MSI's GTX 760 ITX, who noted that a GTX 770 version is on the way. Other manufacturers (ASUS included) have similar considerations, but had no official announcements at this time."

GTX 770 mini? Hell yes! :D
 
Just cracked the case on my Seasonic S12G 550w with the intentions of flipping the A/C plug and found this:
IMAG0466.jpg

IMAG0467.jpg


Looks like I'll be custom modding a left facing cable
 
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pmwalk said:
Nothing really prevents a rotation. I put it this way because I figured it was better to bring cool air from outside, even if a small part of the fan is blocked, than hot air blowing right in from the radiator.

That being said it's easy to turn around, so after I get a good idea of how hot it gets this way, I'll switch it around and see if it helps.
Click to expand...

Makes sense, thanks. I actually will do same on mine :)
 
I am struggling to position 2x3.5" drives in the removable side bracket. Anyone has pics or advise?
 
commander_ said:
Hey guys, new updates from CES concerning SilverStone's new SFX PSU from a couple of guys who went to CES to ask a bunch of questions:

"I can't give specifics on this due to embargoes. I can say that there will be a very impressive PSU in the SFX form factor very soon from SilverStone. It's damn impressive."

So... something is coming very soon! Also, those who liked the 760 mini...

"Yes. We looked at MSI's GTX 760 ITX, who noted that a GTX 770 version is on the way. Other manufacturers (ASUS included) have similar considerations, but had no official announcements at this time."

GTX 770 mini? Hell yes! :D
Click to expand...

Embargoes? Kind of weird considering its a show off of new tech. Why would they show something but not let anyone speak of it? Or they didn't show something but said some words? I hate posts like this. Just creates more drama and rumors.
 
Necere said:
I also did four drives using a second HDD cage.
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This is actually almost the exact configuration I'm building. Z87 version of the MB, same CPU heatsink, dual 120mm intakes on the bottom. I have a 92mm for back panel exhaust if needed, but I'm not sure if I'm going to install it. I'm going to be throwing four 3TB drives set up in a RAID5.

Thanks to charww for sending me his unused HD cage!
 
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