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

Siklr said:
I just got all the parts to start building my in my V3, but it seems that the SX500-LG is too large to accommodate my reference 970. This doesn't make much sense as I've seen others who have been able to do this without issue.
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not exactly "without issue"... regardless of what you do it's a really tight fit. you need to bend the psu wires as much as you can before attempting to install the gpu
 
I tried pulling the wires taut and away from the GPU, but it seems like it's not going to work. Are there any recommendations for bending them? Does it basically need to look like a 90 degree bend?
 
Siklr said:
I tried pulling the wires taut and away from the GPU, but it seems like it's not going to work. Are there any recommendations for bending them? Does it basically need to look like a 90 degree bend?
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Are you sure it has a V3 bracket? It looks like my V3 may have come with a V2...
 
Not sure. I'd assume so? Here's a picture.

http://i.imgur.com/4Mr40xi.jpg

EDIT: After reading the comments Necere made, it looks like it's the right bracket. Maybe I'm being too timid about the bending of the cables.
 
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Aibohphobia said:
That's a v3. You can tell because it has a cutout in the flange for the power cord.
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I noticed that in the previous discussion. I'm going to try and bend the wires more in hopes that it may help. If not, no biggie. I'll just use a regular SFX PSU. It's only slightly baffling why I can't seem to force it.
 
Wasn't there a run of leftover V2's after the V2 sold out and before the V3 started selling ?

It may explain the V2 bracket, unless the plaque on the back clearly says V3.
 
Hi folks. I bought an M1 case one week ago (with the two week shipping option). I'm a big fan of this case, and respect all the work that's gone into it's design. I'm looking forward to using it.

So, sorry if this question has been asked a million times, but: It's been a week, and besides the initial recipt email from NCase, I haven't received any information. NCase's site lists the average time to ship at 1-3 days.

I respect that NCase is mainly two guys, and I'm not complaining about the wait. I just want to make sure there's not some well issue out there that I should know about- some reason that things wouldn't be going smoothly for a recent order.

Cheers!
-Orion
 
orionburcham said:
Hi folks. I bought an M1 case one week ago (with the two week shipping option). I'm a big fan of this case, and respect all the work that's gone into it's design. I'm looking forward to using it.

So, sorry if this question has been asked a million times, but: It's been a week, and besides the initial recipt email from NCase, I haven't received any information. NCase's site lists the average time to ship at 1-3 days.

I respect that NCase is mainly two guys, and I'm not complaining about the wait. I just want to make sure there's not some well issue out there that I should know about- some reason that things wouldn't be going smoothly for a recent order.

Cheers!
-Orion
Click to expand...
Necere answered that a few post ago
Necere said:
It's the Chinese New Year right now, so everyone's on break over there. The next shipment should go out at the end of the month or early next.
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Having lived in mainland China for 4 years [2006-2010] where I met my wife, I can confirm that big cities turn into ghost towns (figuratively speaking when compared to how they normally are) during the Chinese New Year.
 
Ordered my silver ncase m1v3 at 22-Jan-2015 and received it at 17-Feb-2015 (taiwan airmail)
It was right color and perfect condition, no damage during transportation.
Thanks ncase for this great product! Its a beauty! I am a very happy customer ;)

My location is Finland.
 
Siklr said:
Not sure. I'd assume so? Here's a picture.

http://i.imgur.com/4Mr40xi.jpg

EDIT: After reading the comments Necere made, it looks like it's the right bracket. Maybe I'm being too timid about the bending of the cables.
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make sure only the 24 pin cable is bent from the front. the rest (8pin, sata, molex) need to be bent the other way

also try rotating the motherboard clockwise as much as you can. remove all 3 screws except the top right one near the ram, loosen the last screw slightly, press the mobo into the rear panel, screw on the bottom left screw while applying pressure. this should give you an additional 1mm to work with
 
Finally got the SX500-LG so I could test my bracket:

Huge (3600x2700)

It fits but not quite enough to keep the cables from pressing down on the card slightly.


NPB7Wfhl.jpg


Luckily there's enough clearance with the SSD mounting plate removed from the frame for the PSU to move forward ~7mm. Which will let the cables clear with room to spare.

So if you haven't already, please add your vote if you're interested in this bracket:

Custom M1 SFX-L bracket interest poll

Once I get some quotes I'll start figuring out what the minimum order quantity will be.
 
Gnrl Kitty said:
Which of these pump tops for a DDC pump do you guys think would be better?
http://www.aquatuning.us/water-cool...r-ddc-cover-for-laing-and-swiftech-pumps-g1/4
http://www.aquatuning.us/water-cool...312/laing-ddc-top-silver-nickel-edition-brass
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Generally Aquacomputer is a higher end manufacturer while the Phobya / Alphacool / Aquatuning conglomerate focuses on budget products. However, in the case of a pump top, it's not a complex part, probably there is little difference in build quality nor performance.

Edit: and the price difference is because the AC top is made from delrin, while the Phobya one is nickel plated brass.
 
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Not an uber build as I don't have the disposable income to throw at it, I've just migrated over my current system. Will probably upgrade over the coming 12 months but TBH this still does most of what I need.

The bits waiting to go in bit of a black and white theme going on:

jaxuyw.jpg


99% buttoned up and done:

wl3uxy.jpg


2lsin2s.jpg


23v0uop.jpg


MSI Z77IA-E53
2500k @ 4.5ghz
Cryorig C1 with Thermalright TY-147 (amazing fan BTW)
Team Group 1600mhz RAM 8GB
Samsung 840 Evo 250GB
Palit Kalm X 750ti
Corsair CS550M (80+ gold, silent, can't praise it any higher, never heard it)
2x Corsair SP120 as case fans

Cable management wasn't too bad, but then I don't have any PCIe power to run so just a single modular SATA power.
 
thats such a beautiful gfx heatsink. Perfect in so many ways for a silent cool running system, especially in the context of this case.
 
Thanks, I've been impressed with how much performance it has for such an entry level card, I'm not a 100fps+ first person shooter guy, but it does pretty well at most things at 1920x1200, with high settings 40-60+fps is no sweat for it so long as you keep the AA low or off.

Plus with the measly 60w PCIe power draw it hardly ever gets above 55c and that's even with a massive overclock. I only bought it as a stop gap but it's opened my eyes as to what is possible if you aren't someone into ultra performance.

And more importantly it's silent :)
 
I forgot about having to clear the rubber grommets on the front mounted 2.5" drives so the most I can move the PSU up is 3.5mm. That'll be just enough to clear the GPU though.

Also, Urelure, I've decided against slots for the PSU mounting screws. The AC inlet socket is almost touching one of the mounting tab so I need to make it a bit thinner so that would make the metal around a slot too thin.

I'm about done redesigning the bracket so I'll start sending emails out for quotes Monday.
 
Gnrl Kitty said:
Which of these pump tops for a DDC pump do you guys think would be better?
http://www.aquatuning.us/water-cool...r-ddc-cover-for-laing-and-swiftech-pumps-g1/4
http://www.aquatuning.us/water-cool...312/laing-ddc-top-silver-nickel-edition-brass
Click to expand...
One thing to keep in mind is if you're planning to use a long GPU (w/full cover block), the pump+top will need to fit under it, and I believe only the Aquacover is short enough for that. If you're using a reference 970 w/short PCB or the like, either should be fine.

Telecaster said:
Not an uber build as I don't have the disposable income to throw at it, I've just migrated over my current system. Will probably upgrade over the coming 12 months but TBH this still does most of what I need.

The bits waiting to go in bit of a black and white theme going on:

jaxuyw.jpg


99% buttoned up and done:

wl3uxy.jpg


2lsin2s.jpg


23v0uop.jpg


MSI Z77IA-E53
2500k @ 4.5ghz
Cryorig C1 with Thermalright TY-147 (amazing fan BTW)
Team Group 1600mhz RAM 8GB
Samsung 840 Evo 250GB
Palit Kalm X 750ti
Corsair CS550M (80+ gold, silent, can't praise it any higher, never heard it)
2x Corsair SP120 as case fans

Cable management wasn't too bad, but then I don't have any PCIe power to run so just a single modular SATA power.
Click to expand...
Great build. I like a well executed, more modest build just as much as the high end builds, which this is a prime example of.
 
Necere said:
One thing to keep in mind is if you're planning to use a long GPU (w/full cover block), the pump+top will need to fit under it, and I believe only the Aquacover is short enough for that. If you're using a reference 970 w/short PCB or the like, either should be fine.
Click to expand...

I'm using a 980 with EK water block. So I'll absolutely have to use the Aquacomputer block, and it will absolutely fit?
 
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Does anyone have any tips on cooling a msata on the back of the motherboard? Mines running a bit hot
 
sashi said:
Does anyone have any tips on cooling a msata on the back of the motherboard? Mines running a bit hot
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How much space there is between ssd and ncase side panel?
Could you put thermal pad between side panel and ssd, so side panel would act as heatsink?
 
tomih said:
How much space there is between ssd and ncase side panel?
Could you put thermal pad between side panel and ssd, so side panel would act as heatsink?
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Hmm that could work but that would be a thick thermal pad needed
 
sashi said:
Hmm that could work but that would be a thick thermal pad needed
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Does it align with the holes in the side panel? If so a thermal pad would compromise the passive air flow the msata drive is getting, for the sake of using that entire panel as a passive heatsink.

How hot is it getting? Is there something on the other side of the motherboard PCB that is contributing to heat in that localized area?
 
ghostwich said:
Does it align with the holes in the side panel? If so a thermal pad would compromise the passive air flow the msata drive is getting, for the sake of using that entire panel as a passive heatsink.

How hot is it getting? Is there something on the other side of the motherboard PCB that is contributing to heat in that localized area?
Click to expand...

Right on the other side of the motherboard is the CPU.. close to it anyways, probably the VRMs and mosfets

The msata does align with the holes so that would mean I would need a good sized thermal pad then
 
I was having some issues with the side panel vibrating and causing quite a racket. SPCR added some foam to the HDD bracket to solve a similar noise problem, but this didn't work for me.
What did was getting some 0.8mm thick 4mm ID (OD doens't matter) washers and placing them over the pushpins. The panels now have a very slight gap between them at the top edges, but the case is now noticeable quieter.
 
WiSK said:
presumably there is a very short piece of 10/12mm hard tubing between the two fittings at the CPU side.
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That doesn't seem right, are you sure? Look at the fitting ends that connect the two fittings on the CPU side. That middle fitting doesn't look like the same connector on both sides. The side that connects to the CPU fitting looks twice as long.
 
Did you guys happen to catch the Be Quiet! Dark Rock TF during CES?

http://www.gamersnexus.net/news-pc/1766-be-quiet-dark-rock-tf-shadow-rock-lp-specs

Seems like it may be a good fit for the M1. Basically a copy of the NH-C14 but with a cute little extra heatsink below the bottom fan. I also noticed that there is some space between the heatpipes and the lower fan so you might be able to scoot the fan over and clear the PSU.
 
Gnrl Kitty said:
That doesn't seem right, are you sure? Look at the fitting ends that connect the two fittings on the CPU side. That middle fitting doesn't look like the same connector on both sides. The side that connects to the CPU fitting looks twice as long.
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Hmm, you've got a point there :)

Looking at Bitspower's own site instead of PPCs, I could see more easily all 220+ models of fitting. I found G1/4" Matt Black Dual Rotary Angle IG1/4" Extender BP-MB90R2LD and Matt Black Enhance Rotary G1/4" 90-Degree Multi-Link Adapter BP-MBE90RML.

Those could combine directly. What do you think?
 
WiSK said:
Hmm, you've got a point there :)

Looking at Bitspower's own site instead of PPCs, I could see more easily all 220+ models of fitting. I found G1/4" Matt Black Dual Rotary Angle IG1/4" Extender BP-MB90R2LD and Matt Black Enhance Rotary G1/4" 90-Degree Multi-Link Adapter BP-MBE90RML.

Those could combine directly. What do you think?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure you got it spot on, thanks! :D
 
Gnrl Kitty said:
Also, do you know what fitting is on the left side of the CPU block in this image?
https://i.imgur.com/v74WI8bl.jpg

It kinda looks like this one: a combination of BP-BS90R2LCPF-CC2 and BP-BSWP-C41J
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I am stumped on that one. It looks at first glance like a regular 90 rotary BP-MB90R with a low-profile compression fitting 20mm diameter. But there is no compression fitting like this, that I can find, neither from Bitspower nor others.

In fact, it looks more like a C47, but I can't imagine the builder of this rig would put soft tube into a push-fitting.

:confused:
 
Can someone confirm how Noctua NH-C12P SE14 fits with Asus Maximuss VII Impact and Ncase m1 v3?

I have seen pictures with that cooler but I havent found 100% answer what are the limitations.
-Is there limitations what directions can be used when installing it?
-Does it block coolhub, soundcard or mini pci-e bracket with wifi card and samsung xp941?

Is there some other air cooler that fits better with coohub, soundcard and mini pci-e cards all installed?
I have tried Thermaright axp-100, but it didnt fit perfectly and small fan was quite loud. Then I tried antec kuhler 650 but pump was too loud for me.

my processor is i7 4790k and memory is kingston savage(not very high) and currently running on intel stock cooler. It dont make much noise when idle, but when running with high load, cpu gets quite hot.

thanks!
 
tomih said:
Can someone confirm how Noctua NH-C12P SE14 fits with Asus Maximuss VII Impact and Ncase m1 v3?
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Bendy heatpipes towards the rear of the case. From the M1 spreadsheet (Cooling Compatibility tab > Air Cooling > Noctua C12 / Asus Z97 Impact VII)...

"Yes, with heatpipes towards rear.

Works with removable cage (vs Noctua C14) but requires attaching the 140mm fan to the removable cage rather than to the heatsink itself (in the case of rear facing heatpipes) because the hard drive portion of the cage was in the way.

140mm fan attaches fine to the 120mm removable cage"
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Although, I was able to install both the included P14 fan and the slightly larger A15 to either the side fan rack or directly to the C12 cooler (attached as far to the rear as possible, and only one fan at a time, of course).

Fitment of this combo in the v3 shouldn't be any different versus v1/2, afaik. Other good air coolers that would fit, are the larger Noctua C14 (can't use side 3.5" HDD bracket) and Scythe Kabuto 2 (LINK).


ETA: Just an FYI, the C12 cools my stock 4790k very nicely under normal usage and most stress testing, but.. Prime95 small-FFT test or AIDA64 FPU-only test will eventually cause the CPU to throttle. If you're planning to overclock, it might be best to go with a larger cooler (C14 is 700g, Kabuto 2 is 695g, C12 is 550g).
 
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