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

Papadoc said:
Hi [H]ardForum,

This is my first post on [H]ardForum, but I've been lurking here for quite some time. This thread especially helped me with my first NCASE M1 build. The case, as you all know, is extraordinary and I'd like to thank Necere and Wahaha360 for making it happen. You guys have amazing talent.

Now, the reason for my post.

I have a couple of outstanding issues with my build that I would like to address.

First, here's my build (if you want screenshots I can provide them):

Case: NCASE M1 V3
CPU: Intel Core i7 4790K (stock speed, no oc)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H75, with push/pull 2x NF-F12 intake (yes both fans fit with lots of room to spare)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VII Impact
RAM: 16GB Corsair Vengeance LP
GPU: Geforce 780ti with Corsair HG10 N780, Cooled with H75 and single NF-F12 intake (only 1 fan fits here)
PSU: SilverStone SX600-G (mounted with fan intaking air from outside)

Temperatures with current configuration:

CPU Idle: 32C
CPU Load: 67C
GPU Idle: 28C
GPU Load: 58C

1) SX600-G PSU is loud and runs quite warm under load. The issue may be compounded by the fact that the H75 for the GPU is blowing hot air directly onto the frame of the PSU and subsequently the rest of the case. The air coming from the top of the case near the PSU / GPU H75 is very warm and makes the top of the case hot to the touch.
Could this impact the PSU at all?
Would the 500W SFX-L alleviate the noise issue?
Should I hold out to see what Corsair's 600W offering can do?
2) Should my H75 fans be mounted as intakes or would exhaust be more appropriate with this configuration? Or would intake on the CPU fans and exhaust on the GPU work better?
3) The H75 cooling the GPU gets quite warm to the touch, but temps seems great. Is this normal?

Thanks
Papadoc
Click to expand...

You could test your fans for both intake and exhaust on the H75 and see for yourself. I'm guessing as intake would be the better performance as far as CPU temps go. That is usually the design Corsair has in mind for their AIO units. I would test both ways if it were me.
 
icc0rz said:
Did you modify the bios on your card? When I installed the Accelero on my gtx 970 with two NF-S12B Redux I had to use the Maxwell Bios Tweaker to adapt the fan settings to fit the specs of the NF-S12B Redux. I didn't manage to get the correct fan speed using software like evga precision. I tired a couple of others as well before I tried tweaking the bios. I believe if you have blower card, the initial fan settings will be far off from that of a nf-f12 fan. After my bios tweaking the fans were barely audible and temps were between 40C and 75C.

You should look for a guide if you're going use the tweaker and nvflash, I think you have to disable the card driver before doing the changes.
I see some people use the tweaker to stop the fans completely when not gaming, but I'm not sure if that works with all fan types.

I can post my Maxwell Bios Tweaker fan settings when I get home, if that is of interest.
Click to expand...

I can set my fan go anywhere from 0% to max with evga precision fan profiler, so I have no need for custom bios. Using it is a bit awkward though because 2% on evga precision is like 100rpm on the noctuas.

Also going to swap my 1TB + 2TB hdd for 1TB 850 EVO and 2.5'' 2TB hdd to free up another fan slot on the sidebracket.
 
I'm tired of waiting for Corsair's SF600. Since I'm moving everything from my Version 1 to my new V4, I might as well take matters into my own hands. To heck with Silverstone's warranty sticker!
 
I finally got my system up and running. I have a 4690K but it's idling at around 35 degrees (100% stock clocks right now) with a Noctua NH-U9S in a bottom-top orientation (exhausting out the top of the case). This seems quite high.. does anyone else have the same configuration? What are your idle temps like? I've noticed that in NH-U9S reviews idle temps are usually in the high 20s, however, I would expect the temps to be a bit higher because of the case, but I didn't think it would be this much higher. Are these temps normal?

Also, the ASUS GTX 970 DC Mini I got is actually pretty loud, in case anyone is contemplating getting the same card. The fan noise makes a slight croaking sound? I might take a look at it later to make sure it's not hitting the fan cable or something. It's really disappointing since I wanted silence for this build. Apart from that, everything else is really quiet, including the NH-U9S and the PSU, an ATX EVGA 550 GS.
 
I Idle at 50C with the fans on my U9B-SE2 on the ultra low noise adapter. :p

Front-back orientation.
 
Installed my 500W SFX-L in my ncase v2 the other day using the new PSU bracket but I can't see a way to get a gpu in there, there are just too many cables coming out.
 
ambiant temps is also an important factor to consider, especially idle temps where the thermal rise over ambient is potentially smaller than the variance in the ambient temperature.
 
Avro said:
Installed my 500W SFX-L in my ncase v2 the other day using the new PSU bracket but I can't see a way to get a gpu in there, there are just too many cables coming out.
Click to expand...

The cables should bend towards the other side of the case away from the GPU, then loop back towards the motherboard side. And you have to jam in the GPU and the cable will definitely be touching the GPU but it works.
 
cowsgomoo said:
The cables should bend towards the other side of the case away from the GPU, then loop back towards the motherboard side. And you have to jam in the GPU and the cable will definitely be touching the GPU but it works.
Click to expand...

Bend to what side? I tried to bend them towards the right panel but can't get them all tight enough to allow for a gpu.
 
Avro said:
Bend to what side? I tried to bend them towards the right panel but can't get them all tight enough to allow for a gpu.
Click to expand...

Q7Q9H0A.jpg


Here's a picture of it. I removed my GPU backplate to allow for more space, but it's still distorted as you can see.
 
I currently have an i3-4160 cooled by a Noctua NH-L9x65, along with n ATX PSU (fan facing in). Do you guys think it might be wiser to go with the NH-U9S with exhausting out the top for slightly better cooling and to possibly prevent my PSU from intaking hot air from the case?
 
cowsgomoo said:
The top heatsink can possibly be forcibly kneaded to be more centered. But this involves bending the heatpipes to some extent and depends on whether you dare to do it. I've done it on three top-down heatsinks before: the NH-L12, the NT06-Pro and the Kabuto II, and they didn't break or anything.
Click to expand...

Big fan of you and Phuncz's setup with the Kabuto II - how much work was kneading the Kabuto to fit flush against the fan+bracket? Any tips on how to work it without breaking, causing metal fatigue, hurting myself, etc.?

I've got an M1, Kabuto II and Asus Z97I-PLUS en route and have this lofty dream that I might get the heatsink lined up so that an NF-F12 clipped to it might screw neatly into the fan bracket.

If anyone has any experience with the Kabuto II on a Z97I-PLUS I'd appreciate any tips...

I'm hoping to orientate the heatpipes to the back and use a NF-A9 to bring in some extra cool air onto them for an intake-up-top and exhaust-down-below setup like cowsgomoo and Phuncz. Not very original, I know! I think it was seeing Phuncz' glorious 4x NF-F12's and his benchmarks after cowsgomoo's tip that sold me on it (thanks guys! really appreciate your posts!!).
 
Thx for the praise, although Cows deserves it mostly. The Kabuto II fits without issue, I even succeeded in removing the clamp (that supports the heatsink) while it was inside the case, but ofcourse I advise to remove it before installing onto the motherboard. Also bending the heatsink a little so it sits parallel to the base if it's bent inward/outward.

I really like the setup I have, I have nothing to complain about due to the lack of mechanical noise (thanks to Noctua fans), airflow noise (efficient setup and tweaked fan-profiles) but also excellent thermal performance (largest heatsinks that fit with 25mm thick fans all around). I don't see how I could improve performance without sacrificing flexibility (HDD rack still possible) or generating more noise. Except delidding my i5-4670K, which I will when I someday find an interesting CPU spare.
 
anyone got any ideas on whether or not the Palit GTX980Ti Super Jetstream will fit? it seems like it would be a pretty tight squeeze given the 2.5slot cooler and the 280mm length of card. im tempted to snap up a 980Ti and the palit is arguably the best/quietest card and definitely the cheapest option in AUS
 
Got a bunch of great info on this post, especially about compatability. Seeing all the info made me decide to go with air cooling for my build. Though I'd share the final (ish? always room to tinker) product.

Case: NCASE M1 V4
CPU: Intel Core i5 4690K
Cooler: Moctua NHU9S in push/pull vertical
Mobo: Gigabyte H97n-WiFi
RAM: 8GB Crucial
GPU: EVGA GTX 970
Cooler: ARCTIC Accelero Xtreme III and two NF-F12
PSU: SilverStone SX500L
Storage: 2x Samsung 850 Evo 256gb SSD

Removed the front I/O because I don't use it and want to clear as much space as possible for airflow. Temps are good, idle 33CPU/34GPU, load 68CPU/58GPU. It is also MUCH quieter than when I had a corsair H55 cooler and stock EVGA blower.

F0sPVsn.jpg

B0kgn95.jpg

ShixXzD.jpg
 
callumbolch said:
anyone got any ideas on whether or not the Palit GTX980Ti Super Jetstream will fit? it seems like it would be a pretty tight squeeze given the 2.5slot cooler and the 280mm length of card. im tempted to snap up a 980Ti and the palit is arguably the best/quietest card and definitely the cheapest option in AUS
Click to expand...


According to techpowerup it's 135mm tall, so it should fit I think?

Dimensions of the card are 28.0 cm x 13.5 cm.
Click to expand...

The power connectors seem to be reference height, which is good.

I wouldn't buy it based on just my findings, but it is looking good, I think. :)
 
bagpipes said:
how much work was kneading the Kabuto to fit flush against the fan+bracket? Any tips on how to work it without breaking, causing metal fatigue, hurting myself, etc.?

I've got an M1, Kabuto II and Asus Z97I-PLUS en route and have this lofty dream that I might get the heatsink lined up so that an NF-F12 clipped to it might screw neatly into the fan bracket.

If anyone has any experience with the Kabuto II on a Z97I-PLUS I'd appreciate any tips...

I'm hoping to orientate the heatpipes to the back and use a NF-A9 to bring in some extra cool air onto them for an intake-up-top and exhaust-down-below setup like cowsgomoo and Phuncz. Not very original, I know! I think it was seeing Phuncz' glorious 4x NF-F12's and his benchmarks after cowsgomoo's tip that sold me on it (thanks guys! really appreciate your posts!!).
Click to expand...

The kneading is really easy after you remove the clamp.
But it can't be flushed perfectly. I had to use 2x2mm fan silencer as a short tunnel between the bracket and the fan, and so that the fan almost touches the Scythe Kabuto II. (The effect of this may be placebo)
SilverStone also seems to be advertising a 5mm fan silencer on their website and that may also work as a tunnel.
However, the purpose of removing the clamp and adjusting the Kabuto II is because of manufacturing error. The heatsink is not level because the clamp pulls one side of the heatsink too close to the motherboard. So to prevent my OCD from acting up I removed the clamp and readjusted the heatsink to make it level.

I tried the NF-A9 as well but without a downvolt adapter it was too loud for me.
Do you also plan to use the accelero cooler? As bottom exhaust is optimal only with that setup.
 
cowsgomoo said:
The kneading is really easy after you remove the clamp.
But it can't be flushed perfectly. I had to use 2x2mm fan silencer as a short tunnel between the bracket and the fan, and so that the fan almost touches the Scythe Kabuto II. (The effect of this may be placebo)
SilverStone also seems to be advertising a 5mm fan silencer on their website and that may also work as a tunnel.
However, the purpose of removing the clamp and adjusting the Kabuto II is because of manufacturing error. The heatsink is not level because the clamp pulls one side of the heatsink too close to the motherboard. So to prevent my OCD from acting up I removed the clamp and readjusted the heatsink to make it level.

I tried the NF-A9 as well but without a downvolt adapter it was too loud for me.
Do you also plan to use the accelero cooler? As bottom exhaust is optimal only with that setup.
Click to expand...

Great advice guys, thanks! It's 100% OCD that I'd like it all to mate together neatly, but that's probably worth more to me than 1-2C on my core temps anyway.

I wondered if I might end up needing a fan silencer/gasket thing to make it all the way, so I'll def grab a couple for build day - ta! I don't love the idea of hard plastic + silicon + mesh of the Silverstone one for this purpose, but thanks for the heads up! I'll get a 6 pack of cheapies and see if i can arrange them in a way that makes me happy.

The NF-A9 is already here dammit, it's PWM so maybe I can set a profile to only bring it up if it's needed.

The plan will be to use an accelero cooler but this project will be getting built in stages. If you're interested it'll be:

Stage 1
M1 + Sparkle Power FSP400-60GHS (haven't heard much about anyone using this, so fingers crossed!)
Asus Z97I-PLUS + i5-4690S
16GB G.SKILL Ripjaws X DDR3 2400
Some leftover M2 SSD TS128GMTS800 that may or may not work (let's hope!)

Stage 1.5
2x WD Green 2TB in Raid 0 after the NAS gets upgraded
(?) Mod the power supply with a fan that doesn't drive me crazy

Stage 2
GFX - Dunno what at this point, will see how prices & TDPs look at the time
+ accelero heatsink + x2 120mm case fans (probs NF-F12's) set to suck

Until the GFX goes in I'll just be running positive static pressure with an NF-F12 on the side feeding the Kabuto and the leftover scythe fan and/or the NF-A9. Although hopefully I won't need either.

I doubt I'll document cause it's not a very exciting or unique build, but I will feed back on the Sparkle Power (FSP) 400w power supply from newegg as it was surprisingly cheap for an SFX PSU ($43) and I couldn't find any reviews of it on the interwebz.

Thanks very much for your help! This forum is fantastic and the Necere/wahaha360 Ncase story is a phenomenal achievement - kudos chaps! Let me know if there's anything I can do to help the community.
 
Hi guys I am planning my build finally after holding on to my v1 for 2 years :p

I have an asus p8z77-i deluxe and I was thinking about the be quiet dark rock tf because it looks badass and should be cool and quiet for my 3770k. Will this fit? I saw some posts about it some time ago that it should fit but they didn't know about the heatpipes.

Then for PSU I was thinking the chieftec sfx-l 500. Same as the silverstone but without the semi-passive feature so should be without weird noises. Is this compatible with a gpu in the v1?

I have an asus gtx 670 dc ii, will this fit? Especially with the SFX-L? I'm okay with removing backplate and a little bit of stress on the cables as long as it works and isn't going to explode :p

Also, I am not really planning on installing any case fans, is that ok?
 
@Exelias0
Awesome!
I love when things are super close, but still fit.

@Ribozyme
If you put the PSU with the fan facing into the case, the cables aren't an issue.
qPXC87i.jpg
 
Is there any ETA when the plastic clips that I ordered back in June together with new fan bracket will shipped? I got the fan bracket a while ago, but plastic clips are missing. Just want to make sure they weren't forgotten and will never arrive.
 
Hi guys, just a few questions.
I'm thinking about a top gaming rig, with Superclocked GTX 980 TI (thinking on the EVGA version, finally gave up on the Fury X/X2 idea - Fury X looks worse than 980 TI and I don't want any dang microstuttering or other annoyances that come with dual gpu), with a 6700K CPU.
1. I don't see the weight displayed in the specs, and it's important to me (want to be able to transport my rig in cabin luggage).
2. Is there any advantage to give up the optical drive bay? (Does it make room for something important ?)
3. What would be the consequence of picking an SFX-L PSU (the not released yet Silverstone SX700-LPT) versus the 600w version ?
4. Kinda what cooler room do I expect to have there ? Should I already buy an AR-05 in advance while I'm in UK ? (not available in Romania where I have the computer built)
Thanks!
 
1. I'm not sure of the weight without components, but my build with a reference 980 and a Noctua U9B-SE2 weighs ~12lbs/ 5.5kg.

2. More room for 2.5" drives, less cables. it really just depends on if you want an optical drive or not.

3. If the fan is facing the outside of the case the cables will push down on the GPU a bit, if the fan is facin into the case it's fine - see my picture 3 posts up.

4. 140mm of height. So no 120mm fan tower coolers, but 92mm fan tower coolers seem to be fine as a whole.
 
Hi guys,
I know some people here are using the same powersupply that I use, so I hope you can help me. I use a SFX-L SilentStorm Gold (500W) in my NCASE (2600k, 560ti, 1x 3,5" HDD, 1x 2,5" HDD, 1x SSD; custom loop).

Some time ago I found that my power supply wouldnt work after a shutdown. If I restart it after running for a while it would cycle on and off constantly for atleast one minute before finally starting properly. If the system isnt used for a while and cooled everything is fine and the pc starts instantly.

So I wonder if other people have the same issue with this power supply (maybe its normal?) or if someone knows a reason for this behaviour. Otherwise I will RMA it, but wanted to ask here first.


Here is a picture of my setup while finishing my loop:

VIkGOIg.jpg

On this picture the powersupply is facing inwards, but that was only for some tests (like 30min) when I first started the loop. After that I changed the orientation of the powersupply again and it is currently taking air from outside the case (like it was before I installed a waterloop).



Hope someone can help me =) thanks in advance
 
I have that power supply but I don't have that problem. Have you tried with another power supply ? It could be the PSU or possibly even the motherboard. But I'd first investigate with another PSU.
 
Phuncz said:
I have that power supply but I don't have that problem. Have you tried with another power supply ? It could be the PSU or possibly even the motherboard. But I'd first investigate with another PSU.
Click to expand...

Dont have a different one at hand right now. Will most likely get it replaced to see if the unit was faulty. It is not much of an issue but is annoying when you are changing some stuff and need to reboot a few times. I think it is not that unlikely that even the motherboard is the culprit but getting your hands on an ITX board with 1155 socket isnt easy anymore. So if that is indeed the problem I will live with it until I replace my CPU sometime next year.

Is there something other than heat that could cause the problems? I dont think my setup is running that hot.
 
hi ,

this is my first post in this forum so greetings to all , iam from germany so english is not my native language and iam not really good at it

i got my hand on a M1 case just recently and it was second hand ;D sorry to say that but i hate german customs and this was the fastes way to get one

so my build will be a z170 setup , i have almost all the parts beside the board for this i have still to wait

parts :
mobo : ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX
cpu : Intel I7 6700K
ram : 16GB (2x 8192MB) Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4-2400
cpu cooler : Cooler Master Nepton 240m
fan : 4x Noctua NF-P12 PWM , 2 for the case bottom , 2 for cpu cooler
odd : Teac BD-W26SS-BM3
ssd : samsung 951 m.2 , samsung 850 evo 1tb
graka : Nvidia titan
PSU : silverstne sx600-g and sx500-lg got both at home not sure yet witch to use , i woud like to use the 500 watt but only when there are no strain on gpu and kabes ( maybe if the fan is facing inwards)

hm i almost forgot if you go with a z170 setup and deside to go with a Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI S1151 there could be a probem , there are sata ports facing to the right maybe they cant be used with some psu setups


IMG_1513.JPG


IMG_1512.JPG


IMG_1514.JPG
 
Dra1c said:
Hi guys,
I know some people here are using the same powersupply that I use, so I hope you can help me. I use a SFX-L SilentStorm Gold (500W) in my NCASE (2600k, 560ti, 1x 3,5" HDD, 1x 2,5" HDD, 1x SSD; custom loop).

Some time ago I found that my power supply wouldnt work after a shutdown. If I restart it after running for a while it would cycle on and off constantly for atleast one minute before finally starting properly. If the system isnt used for a while and cooled everything is fine and the pc starts instantly.

So I wonder if other people have the same issue with this power supply (maybe its normal?) or if someone knows a reason for this behaviour. Otherwise I will RMA it, but wanted to ask here first.

Hope someone can help me =) thanks in advance
Click to expand...

my system (which is dead now) used to do something similar; not exactly the same, but similar. once in while, it would shutdown by itself during sleep or while it was on, and restarting it would cause the system to cycle on/off for two or three times (not for a minute) before before finally starting. one day, the system shut itself down during sleep and never woke up. for me, it was the motherboard.
 
darxider said:
my system (which is dead now) used to do something similar; not exactly the same, but similar. once in while, it would shutdown by itself during sleep or while it was on, and restarting it would cause the system to cycle on/off for two or three times (not for a minute) before before finally starting. one day, the system shut itself down during sleep and never woke up. for me, it was the motherboard.
Click to expand...

Ye I am more and more thinking it could be an issue with my motherboard. My old one died last year and since then I had to use a kinda cheap itx board (Asrock B75M), just because it was the only one I could find and atleast it was a completly new board with guarantee. But it shows that it really struggles with my 2600k at times, has some weird bugs and cant really utilize everything anyways... Well if I could find a asus z77 itx anywhere I would switch but I guess I will just use this one until I upgrade (maybe skylake dunno yet).

Will try to test a different power supply and see but I really have the feeling it is indeed the mobo.

You guys helped me a lot so far, thanks!
 
Qrash said:
I'm tired of waiting for Corsair's SF600. Since I'm moving everything from my Version 1 to my new V4, I might as well take matters into my own hands. To heck with Silverstone's warranty sticker!
Click to expand...

Well, I thought about creating a duct to direct more of the side fan's exhaust into the SX600-G power supply, but in the end I decided "screw it!" and removed the 80 mm fan, expanded the intake hole and mounted a 92 mm Nexus fan onto the outside of the PS. I'm not using this space for anything so the loss of interior space is not a problem for me, I may replace the fan with a Noctua NF-A9 FLX (not the PWM model) which should have more airflow and still be quiet enough.

 
Between ducting and putting a bigger fan on the PSU, both would be ideal.

I started by removing the PSU fan, and ducting the side 120mm to the PSU for cooling air instead. This was very effective in bringing temps down, especially since I had a gpu dumping heat into the case. I later added a 92mm onto the PSU as Qrash has done, and that really helps temps further. Almost as though the PSU really benefits from having additional turbulence to get air in and around the PSU.

Having a 92mm on the PSU alone was beneficial from a noise point of view, and would be helpful for those with blower type GPUs, but it still brings in warm air from the GPU if you have a non-blower GPU. Still better than the stock fan though as long as you don't slow it down too far.
 
I finally got around to installing the new V4 SFX bracket and new fan bracket with magnetic fan filter in my version 1 M1. The SFX bracket fits perfectly. The new fan bracket not so much:

eJo9Znsl.jpg


A little bummed but I can confirm another misfitting fan bracket. Is there anything that can be done about this?
 
s0skey said:
I finally got around to installing the new V4 SFX bracket and new fan bracket with magnetic fan filter in my version 1 M1. The SFX bracket fits perfectly. The new fan bracket not so much:

http://i.imgur.com/eJo9Znsl.jpg

A little bummed but I can confirm another misfitting fan bracket. Is there anything that can be done about this?
Click to expand...

Looks like it's just a mm or two off--are the other two screws tightend all the way? Try loosening them a bit and then threading those two screws. Edit: nvm, the other screws go into the back, so I guess loosening them wouldn't help.
 
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