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

PolarBear said:
Eep, how?

I'm considering Gentle Typhoons (120mm 1850rpm) on mine. Okwchin, have you tested with these? If so how does the C14 perform with 1? With 2?
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Had to trim 6-7mm off all the fins on one side of the heatsink to allow it to fit into the case, due to the heavily top biased CPU location. This removes the profile in the fins that the clip wire sits within.

GTs on the heatsink. On the bench, the GT was impressive at keeping the C14 cool, however I have never used the GT for this heatsink while IN this case. Subjectively the amount of airflow that comes out of the heatsink is Significantly stronger with the GT for a given Sound level compared to the stock C14 fans, and most other fans for that matter. I do not have temps, so therefore my perceived performance is not totally scientific, but I would be more comfortable having 1 GT over two of the stock fans, and two GTs would work even better.

As much as I love the fan, I am not using a GT on the side panel for a couple of reasons, Most of which should not stop you using the GT.

The GT exhibits a slight bearing noise (ball bearings vs sleeve bearings), however that is not commonly an issue for most users and only relevant in a system with no other source of noise.
And, because I have my CPU fan off at idle, the heatsink fan needs a low startup voltage and rpm, and reliably start at low rpms.

I use GTs on the bottom, but thats because the bearing noise does't get out as easily, and their performance over other fans that I have justify their use.
 
okwchin said:
Had to trim 6-7mm off all the fins on one side of the heatsink to allow it to fit into the case, due to the heavily top biased CPU location. This removes the profile in the fins that the clip wire sits within.

GTs on the heatsink. On the bench, the GT was impressive at keeping the C14 cool, however I have never used the GT for this heatsink while IN this case. Subjectively the amount of airflow that comes out of the heatsink is Significantly stronger with the GT for a given Sound level compared to the stock C14 fans, and most other fans for that matter. I do not have temps, so therefore my perceived performance is not totally scientific, but I would be more comfortable having 1 GT over two of the stock fans, and two GTs would work even better.

As much as I love the fan, I am not using a GT on the side panel for a couple of reasons, Most of which should not stop you using the GT.

The GT exhibits a slight bearing noise (ball bearings vs sleeve bearings), however that is not commonly an issue for most users and only relevant in a system with no other source of noise.
And, because I have my CPU fan off at idle, the heatsink fan needs a low startup voltage and rpm, and reliably start at low rpms.

I use GTs on the bottom, but thats because the bearing noise does't get out as easily, and their performance over other fans that I have justify their use.
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Thanks for that. I picked up the last 3 GT's my work had in stock so once I get my build moving (set back another month!) I'll probably do some testing and see how the temperatures compare and if I can hear any annoying noise. I usually play music though so I doubt it'll bother me.

Not sure I'd run any fans on the bottom personally. I'm looking at getting a GPU with a non-blower cooler, I want to test temps with just the cooler and maybe build a duct and test that but I don't think additional fans would be that useful, though I could just sit them in the bottom or something and test temps.
 
I ordered 100 of the clips from Baron, they should be here next week. Since I ordered so many, the price per unit is much smaller than if you ordered 5 or so by yourself.

I'll be reselling the clips to members in the US who would like to save some money, just PM me if you are interested.
 
Just posting to say that if these ever become available again, I'll be interested.

In the mean time, I'll keep an eye on the ncase website.
 
What optical drives are people using in their Ncase? It looks like the Panasonic UJ-265 is an option. However I was wondering if there were other/cheaper options... I personally don't need to burn blurays, just read my existing collection of dvds.
 
IncubusBob said:
What optical drives are people using in their Ncase? It looks like the Panasonic UJ-265 is an option. However I was wondering if there were other/cheaper options... I personally don't need to burn blurays, just read my existing collection of dvds.
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The Panasonic UJ-8C5 should work just fine if you want a slot-load DVD burner instead.. they're around $60 right now.
 
Okay the Noctua NH-C12P SE14 does not fit in the M1 since it sticks out at the top of the case. The spreadsheet says the NH-C12 fits in the case, but it doesn't at all. Need to find a replacement for the stock Intel heatsink. My mobo is an Asrock Z87E-ITX.
 
rpgman1 said:
Okay the Noctua NH-C12P SE14 does not fit in the M1 since it sticks out at the top of the case. The spreadsheet says the NH-C12 fits in the case, but it doesn't at all. Need to find a replacement for the stock Intel heatsink. My mobo is an Asrock Z87E-ITX.
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The NH-C12P doesn't fit with the 140mm fan? Or the heatsink by itself doesn't fit? Did you try every orientation? Phuncz used the NH-L12 on that board in his build, which has distance-from-CPU-center measurements that are nearly identical to the NH-C12P in one dimension. I went over it in this post, and my conclusion was that it could fit (sans 140mm fan, at least). That's theory based on the numbers though, so if reality doesn't match up, I'd be interested to know why.
 
It does fit, I have it in my build. Fits tight like a glove without any modifications needed on the heatsink. Heat pipes facing the rear. I guess what rpgman means is that it looks like it's just slightly bulging out the top, but if you put the panel back, it closes flush without any noticeable bulge... I had the same worry when I first installed the heatsink, but when I tried putting the panel back, there didn't seem to be an issue at all. So I guess, at worst... the heat sink is touching the actual top panel, but it doesn't stop you from putting the top cover back on, and you wouldn't know it's touching the top panel just by looking at it from the outside.

The 140mm fan that it comes with fits fine as well, although I opted to use the side bracket instead. This setup gives plenty of clearance for tall ram, and there's still room for a very thin fan for exhaust like one of the 92mm noctua NF-A9 I think it's called.
 
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rpgman1 said:
Okay the Noctua NH-C12P SE14 does not fit in the M1 since it sticks out at the top of the case. The spreadsheet says the NH-C12 fits in the case, but it doesn't at all. Need to find a replacement for the stock Intel heatsink. My mobo is an Asrock Z87E-ITX.
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I'm also using the same setup, the Z87E-ITX with NH-C12P and while it does touch the top panel it doesn't put any stress on it and doesn't vibrate so its no issue. I opted for two GT-AP15's on the side panel bracket and it keeps my 4770K at 28-30C idle and 60-70C load (depending on real/fake workloads).
 
rpgman1 said:
Okay the Noctua NH-C12P SE14 does not fit in the M1 since it sticks out at the top of the case. The spreadsheet says the NH-C12 fits in the case, but it doesn't at all. Need to find a replacement for the stock Intel heatsink. My mobo is an Asrock Z87E-ITX.
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It fits in my case with an ASUS Impact motherboard.

I typed this post on said computer.
 
Smitty2k1 said:
It fits in my case with an ASUS Impact motherboard.
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Same here.

Kaos_Drem said:
I opted for two GT-AP15's on the side panel bracket and it keeps my 4770K at 28-30C idle and 60-70C load (depending on real/fake workloads).
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Wow, not same here. Have 1x NF-F12 on side rack (2x same on bottom, no GPU yet) w/4770k and hitting 36-40C idle and still working on load temps.. seems to be 50-80C on some benchmarks, but hitting 99C on Prime95.

Hmm.. just occurred to me that my rear bottom F12 might be pushing away the side intake airflow before it completely reaches the C12.
 
I'm almost done with my setup and was wondering what fan sizes should I use? I'm not going to water cool, just air cool.

I'm planning on having one fan on the side and either exhaust up the top or the back. What do you guys think is better?

Also, I was searching through the thread but I couldn't find it. How do you mount the SSD on the inside? I tried it several ways but there doesn't seem a way to mount it. I only have one SSD.
 
Iambuzzed said:
I'm almost done with my setup and was wondering what fan sizes should I use? I'm not going to water cool, just air cool.

I'm planning on having one fan on the side and either exhaust up the top or the back. What do you guys think is better?

Also, I was searching through the thread but I couldn't find it. How do you mount the SSD on the inside? I tried it several ways but there doesn't seem a way to mount it. I only have one SSD.
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The side rack is intended for 120mm fans, so probably best to use that size. The rear exhaust mount accepts either 80 or 92mm fans, but depending on which cooler you use, you may want to consider something slim like 92x14mm.

To mount a 2.5" drive on the inside front, take 4 of the M3 shoulder screws (the smaller ones) and 4 of the rubber washer (the larger ones).. insert the screw through the washer so that the smaller diameter of the washer is near the screw head (larger diameter towards drive) and attach all 4 screws w/washers to the bottom of the drive (not the narrow sides). Remove the front M1 panel so you can see what you're doing, and insert the 4 rubber washers through the holes in the panel and slide the drive downward to lock it into place.

See the 2.5" HDD installation here (different case, but same idea)..

8jo8e1V.jpg
 
AFD said:
Wow, not same here. Have 1x NF-F12 on side rack (2x same on bottom, no GPU yet) w/4770k and hitting 36-40C idle and still working on load temps.. seems to be 50-80C on some benchmarks, but hitting 99C on Prime95.
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Well, thought ASUS Ai Suite III might've been auto-magically overclocking stuff, so uninstalled that. Still getting weird errors in the benchmarks, and even crashes running WEI, so reverted UEFI to defaults (only notable change was using XMP #1 profile so RAM could reach advertised DDR3-1600) and tada! got AIDA64 running its stress test for 15 minutes straight with temps solid at just under 80C with no errors.

So, from what I can figure, the ASUS Z87i-Deluxe just isn't happy running my Crucial Ballistix Tactical LP/LV at XMP #1 (DDR3-1600 at 1.35V). Kinda sucks, but oddly WEI RAM score went from 7.7 to 7.9 running DDR3-1333 (at 1.5V, I think). Not ideal, but good enough for now :)
 
Iambuzzed said:
How do you mount the SSD on the inside? I tried it several ways but there doesn't seem a way to mount it. I only have one SSD.
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It wasn't obvious to me either. AFD answered better than I could. I suppose one of us ought to take a picture of what it looks like under the front panel. Perhaps I'll do so later today/tomorrow when I take my panels off to install the demci filters.
 
charww said:
It wasn't obvious to me either. AFD answered better than I could. I suppose one of us ought to take a picture of what it looks like under the front panel. Perhaps I'll do so later today/tomorrow when I take my panels off to install the demci filters.
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I'd take a picture since my panels are still off, but there's no way I'm removing my bluray drive.. again (installed it before I remembered it was blocking 1 of the screws that hold the SFX bracket in place.. those ODD screws are tiny and quite jumpy! =)
 
Today I received my set of Demciflex filters, 3 weeks after ordering. Just to give an indication how long it can take for Europeans. Nice quality although a matte black frame would have been nicer.

I'll probably be ordering a Swiftech H220 with an R9 290X full-cover waterblock soon, as my reference card can't even survive a little fast-forwarding in MPC-HC with the use of madVR, it just shuts down the PC because of the thermals climbing faster than the cooling can respond. Lowering the temperature treshold only makes it louder and throttle faster, what a shamefully bad cooler it is.
 
AFD said:
I'd take a picture since my panels are still off, but there's no way I'm removing my bluray drive.. again (installed it before I remembered it was blocking 1 of the screws that hold the SFX bracket in place.. those ODD screws are tiny and quite jumpy! =)
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You guys are referring to a picture like this:
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1040520079&postcount=9532

Imgur is acting up so I can't get a direct link. See second image in photo. I'll update when I can get back to my pics (and when I'm at a real computer).

BTW: it's only 3 screws from the inside.
 
Phuncz said:
Today I received my set of Demciflex filters, 3 weeks after ordering. Just to give an indication how long it can take for Europeans. Nice quality although a matte black frame would have been nicer.

I'll probably be ordering a Swiftech H220 with an R9 290X full-cover waterblock soon, as my reference card can't even survive a little fast-forwarding in MPC-HC with the use of madVR, it just shuts down the PC because of the thermals climbing faster than the cooling can respond. Lowering the temperature treshold only makes it louder and throttle faster, what a shamefully bad cooler it is.
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I think water is a must well was for me and my 780ti my temps never go over 55c now on my GPU and i don't have aircon in my room and its summer here.
 
For those looking to install a seasonic PSU, or one with the plug facing the wrong way, It might be worth approaching silverstone and asking if they can sell the Raven RVZ01 mains lead as a replacement. Its a very low profile plug but the reverse direction, which one could hopefully install in place of the one for the M1, if not at least snip and join the mains leads together.

I have not approached them yet, but it could be a usable replacement product that has a higher chance of being purchasable in low quantities…

There is a photo of the plug on this page,
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Cases-...i-ITX-Case-Steam-Machine-Chassis/Internals-an

And a link to the photo from the page
http://www.pcper.com/image/view/35451?return=node/59215
 
AFD said:
I'd take a picture since my panels are still off, but there's no way I'm removing my bluray drive.. again (installed it before I remembered it was blocking 1 of the screws that hold the SFX bracket in place.. those ODD screws are tiny and quite jumpy! =)
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do you mean the power supply should be installed before the bluray drive?
 
The power supply Can be installed into the SFX bracket if its already on the case, and you don't have too many things in the way (such as the monstrous Noctua C14 heatsink), however what AFD was referring to was the installation of the SFX Bracket.

I have never needed to remove my SFX bracket at any stage of my installation, except for curiosity sake. I still managed to get the PSU in and out with everything installed, even with an external 92mm fixed to the PSU and a noctua C14.
 
darxider said:
do you mean the power supply should be installed before the bluray drive?
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At least the PSU bracket must be installed before any ODD.. as Okwchin said, you might not even need to remove it. Others recommended to remove it, so that's what I tried.

I had a Noctua C12 installed, and just barely figured out how to maneuver the PSU into place.. didn't think it was gonna work, but it did. If I did it again, I'd probably install the PSU after the mobo and cooler mounts, but before adding the cooler.
 
darxider said:
^ thanks for your replies. i'll be putting together my M1 this weekend. wish me luck!
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Yeah Good luck! I should be ordering the rest of my parts today! I snagged one of the last two PP05-e cable sets from Frozencpu. I should have posted last night when they had one left so my apologies for that they seems to be the way to go if you don't have time to mess with your cable much. I couldn't find them anywhere else and had to pay like $11 shipping. Oh well. I finally got a response from FrozenQ about the missing threaded mounting inserts for the external res. He said he would send me some but that was two weeks ago and still nothing. I don't think I will be buying products from them in the future. :(
 
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i've already bought my PP05-E cable from newegg.ca (which charges atrocious shipping charges as well); hopefully i won't be having cable management nightmares. any advice on the order of assembly?
 
darxider said:
i've already bought my PP05-E cable from newegg.ca (which charges atrocious shipping charges as well); hopefully i won't be having cable management nightmares. any advice on the order of assembly?
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I would cut those down will save you even more room there way to long for the M1.
 
Shortening them is not a must (it's just nicer, cleaner) and the stock cable bundles are much thicker (especially the 24-pin) than the PP05-E set, making the PP05-E set the prefered choice anyway.
 
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i am not going to shorten the cables. i don't have the equipment or time for that. i've been waiting for 2 months since my M1 was delivered to buy all the parts, and now that i have them, i don't want to wait anymore :D

is there a recommended order of installation of the parts?
 
darxider said:
i am not going to shorten the cables. i don't have the equipment or time for that. i've been waiting for 2 months since my M1 was delivered to buy all the parts, and now that i have them, i don't want to wait anymore :D

is there a recommended order of installation of the parts?
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Myself and a few others have used the PP05-E cable kit just fine without shortening them. They fold and tuck out of the way quite nicely.

Ideal order of assembly will vary depending on parts used, but for mine I removed all panels, removed side fan/hdd rack and PSU bracket; installed magnetic strips for Demci filters; installed cooler backplate and CPU; installed motherboard rear panel (tough fit on mine) and motherboard; then bottom fans (using rubber mounts might've been easier if done before mobo) and rear fan; added RAM; routed and connected fan and front USB/audio cables; connected mobo PP05-E power cables and SATA cables (and moved ends out of the way); installed PSU bracket then cooler then PSU (adding cooler last would've been easier); installed internal SSD and then ODD; connected all PP05-E cables to the PSU and began routing; added HDD and fan to side rack assembly; connected remaining SATA power and data cables; installed side rack to chassis; routed interior PSU cable extension. No GPU on mine yet, so take that into consideration.

EDIT: Maybe I'm slow and/or OCD, but doing all that above took me nearly 10 hours straight (installed OS/drivers/software later), so leave plenty of time for your build this weekend.

Your mileage may vary, but here's a list of others assembly tips as compiled by Prava..

COMPILED BY PRAVA: http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1040384490&postcount=1

Originally Posted by Phuncz View Post
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?...post1040358072

This is how I did it:
1. disassemble everything (also PSU bracket)
2. install motherboard and CPU (if obstructed, install CPU cooler backplate first)
3. connect cables that are situated below where the heatsink will be (like the P4 conn.)
4. install heatsink (don't forget little drop of thermal paste)
5. connect cables that might become hard to reach like USB, HD-AUDIO and power button/LED's
6. install GPU
7. install PSU
8. install storage
9. install fans
10. route cables going from small to large (SATA data --> SATA power --> PCIe --> ATX 24-pin)

Tips:
- the case features countless ways to route cables, using holes but also with the double slits which are perfect for zip-ties. Use them a lot !
- plan ahead. I was routing my SATA cables before I installed my SSD, because I knew where it was going to go and I only had to click them on.
- less cables = better. If you have the ST45SF-G and you need a Molex plug for fans or whatever, try to use a leftover SATA power connector with a converter to a fan header.
- don't fill every side with a fan. Too many fans will just create more noise.


Quote:
Originally Posted by milkcow View Post
That's what I did:

1) Take out everything (incl. the PSU bracket.)
2) Put in Motherboard (It is easier without the PSU bracket installed)
3) Put in PSU bracket + PSU
4) but in harddrives mounted direct to the case (not the fan bracket)
5) connect everything you have put in so far
6) Put in GPU & connect it
7) Put fans / HDDs on fan bracket
8) Put fan bracket in case
9) Put side panels on
10) done


Quote:
Originally Posted by PiT View Post
cowsgomoo:

I can speak only for myself (aircooled), but ->

1. put all M1 panels down, the part for 2 fans/rad out, the part which holds PSU out
2. assembly MoBo + RAM + CPU + CPU cooler
3. set (fan) cables on MoBo
4. put 92mm takeout fan to M1
5. marry MoBo with M1
6. put all other cables to MoBo (especially power cables; usb, audio, ...)
7. put the part which holds PSU
8. put PSU
9. put SSD
10. put/prepare power cables for SSD/HDD/GPU/DVD|Bluray
11. put HDDs with part which holds them
... all other as you wish (GPU, DVD/Bluray, ... )

[edit]

As I've found out ->

If I'd put PSU before power cables, I'd be unable to finish assembly.
If I'd put CPU cooler after MoBo+M1 marriage it would be much more difficult to do it.
The part which holds SFX PSU needs to be put after MoBo+M1 marriage (otherwise its unable to put MoBo inside)
The part which holds SFX PSU needs to be put alone and then PSU (I've put it together and was unable to fit it inside).
SSD after SFX PSU (otherwise you are unable to fit PSU).
After CPU cooler install I was unable to put outtake 92x92x14mm noctua inside ( = MoBo out, Noctua outtake, MoBo in)
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Good luck and have fun! ;)
 
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