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

Wow -- that looks great guys!

I love the tiny striations in the metal from the anodizing
 
Good to see it all come together. Have they given any indication when you might recievr it?

Lots of holes up top. I know lots of ventilation is good, but do you think dust could be a problem there?
 
Fantastic looking.

Apologies if this has been asked (I'm only about fifty pages through the thread at present) but will there be any sort of power or HDD LEDs? If so, where are they? I can't spot any places for them.
 
*Daedalus said:
Fantastic looking.

Apologies if this has been asked (I'm only about fifty pages through the thread at present) but will there be any sort of power or HDD LEDs? If so, where are they? I can't spot any places for them.
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The power button might have an LED, not sure. But if it does, you could always put a multi color LED in it and use it for both power and HD lights.
 
I was just thinking, having the I/O icon glow white/blue would be a nice subtle indicator. I'm not concerned with HDD access really, but having a small indicator of power is nice.
 
Awesome! Let me know when it'll be available for some professional photography. ;)
 
medeyer said:
Good to see it all come together. Have they given any indication when you might recievr it?
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Not yet, but it shouldn't be too much longer until it's ready to ship. They're waiting on the feet from the supplier and maybe one or two other small things.

medeyer said:
Lots of holes up top. I know lots of ventilation is good, but do you think dust could be a problem there?
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The case is intended to have the side and bottom set up as filtered intakes, with the top and rear as exhaust, which makes it positive pressure. That should cut down on dust getting in the case.
 
It's a thing of beauty! It's awesome! I can't wait to see what review sites think of it!!
 
p3lim said:
Looks great, but the power cutout seems to be bigger than the connector.
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I hope that's not a dealbreaker for you :p

I think they extended the cutout to the top because otherwise it was too close to the bend line and that bit would've been out of shape after bending.
 
Necere said:
I hope that's not a dealbreaker for you :p

I think they extended the cutout to the top because otherwise it was too close to the bend line and that bit would've been out of shape after bending.
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I just notice the small things :p
 
Necere said:
Lian Li has the prototype back from anodizing/painting and the front I/O ports have arrived and been installed. They sent us some pictures:
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Nice to see this come together !

But one thing that bothers me in the pictures which appear to be of low quality (Lian-Li needs a decent camera, small lighting box and basic photography lessons), is that the case looks painted, not annodised. Because the last one still keeps the brushed look (if it is applied) but atleast the texture of the aluminium, where painting hides it. It's just not clear from the pictures how the finish is.

The audio jacks will be black on the production version and icons added. We wanted to have the plastic part completely hidden behind the faceplate, but that didn't work out. And yes, the I/O icon will be oriented correctly.
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Nice, all my questions answered !
 
Phuncz said:
But one thing that bothers me in the pictures which appear to be of low quality (Lian-Li needs a decent camera, small lighting box and basic photography lessons), is that the case looks painted, not annodised. Because the last one still keeps the brushed look (if it is applied) but atleast the texture of the aluminium, where painting hides it. It's just not clear from the pictures how the finish is.
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Yeah, these aren't meant to be high quality product shots - it's just to give us a look at the prototype and allow for a limited mechanical evaluation.

The exterior panels are brushed and anodized, while the interior parts are painted. We asked about anodizing the interior as well, but the added cost was significant.
 
Any final word on the power button? LED yes/no? etc.

(I know it's minor, but it never seemed to be finalised)
 
Found this case via the crowd funding info from toms hardware if memory serves. Can't wait to get this case. It's going to be awesome. Looks really good and well thought out. Already picking the parts I want in my head.

I will pick up one for sure, maybe even two. :D Very exciting. The look of this case is what love the most. Modern, simplistic, not flashy. Doesn't look cheap either.
 
Phuncz said:
Nice to see this come together !

But one thing that bothers me in the pictures which appear to be of low quality (Lian-Li needs a decent camera, small lighting box and basic photography lessons), is that the case looks painted, not annodised. Because the last one still keeps the brushed look (if it is applied) but atleast the texture of the aluminium, where painting hides it. It's just not clear from the pictures how the finish is.
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Don't worry, you'll get beauty shots as soon as I can get my hands on a prototype. ;3
 
vipz said:
What's up with that single screw visible on the top panel?
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It's a safety feature. The top panel is toolless, so if you pull on it it comes off without the screw, which could be dangerous if someone tried to pick it up with one hand on the top panel tab.

*Daedalus said:
Any final word on the power button? LED yes/no? etc.

(I know it's minor, but it never seemed to be finalised)
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I don't actually have a definitive answer for you right now. We're using parts from their parts bin, and while I don't believe this button has an integrated LED, I'm not 100% sure. I didn't specifically request an LED though.
 
Necere said:
Yeah, these aren't meant to be high quality product shots - it's just to give us a look at the prototype and allow for a limited mechanical evaluation.

The exterior panels are brushed and anodized, while the interior parts are painted. We asked about anodizing the interior as well, but the added cost was significant.
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Ah ok that explains it. I'm happy with that choice !
 
Necere said:
I didn't specifically request an LED though.
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For the prototype or the production version? Can you request one for the production version? That seems like something that unless explicitly requested, will be explicitly omitted...


Will the area around the USB ports be metal in the production version? I've seen some grounding & static issues with cases with metal front panels (able to static shock the mobo through the USB ports to the point of requiring a cold start, and poor audio quality on front panel jacks) - all of which I do not get with my plastic fascia'd SG05, so I was hoping your custom front I/O was going to be plastic...

Just a few thoughts.
 
Also on the subject of I/O:

I'm not a huge fan of seeing the USB casing like that. Is there a way to recess the ports into the case, and have the plastic cover the extra portion? (I assume this is a "no" as I think it's what was going to happen with the audio ports?).
 
Necere said:
We're using parts from their parts bin, and while I don't believe this button has an integrated LED, I'm not 100% sure. I didn't specifically request an LED though.
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What diameter is it, perhaps people could fit a Phobya button by their own if they want a different look with LED?

12809_0.jpg
 
^ That's what I was thinking. I think they were going for 16mm for this reason, I'm just not sure if the ass-end of a button like that would fit or not, given the rest of the I/O board.
 
1911Shootist said:
For the prototype or the production version? Can you request one for the production version? That seems like something that unless explicitly requested, will be explicitly omitted...
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This is what their stock light-up power button looks like. Personally I'm not a big fan of the look. Assuming the current button doesn't light up, which of the two would you prefer?

1911Shootist said:
Will the area around the USB ports be metal in the production version? I've seen some grounding & static issues with cases with metal front panels (able to static shock the mobo through the USB ports to the point of requiring a cold start, and poor audio quality on front panel jacks) - all of which I do not get with my plastic fascia'd SG05, so I was hoping your custom front I/O was going to be plastic...
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It's painted aluminum. Doing a molded box for the whole module would be prohibitively expensive.

*Daedalus said:
Also on the subject of I/O:

I'm not a huge fan of seeing the USB casing like that. Is there a way to recess the ports into the case, and have the plastic cover the extra portion? (I assume this is a "no" as I think it's what was going to happen with the audio ports?).
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Actually, that's exactly what's going to be done for the USB ports.

Reckie said:
What diameter is it, perhaps people could fit a Phobya button by their own if they want a different look with LED?
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I don't know the exact diameter, but judging by the pics they sent, it's around 12-14mm. I specified a 16mm button, but we're getting this done on a budget, so we don't get to have a bunch of custom stuff :p
 
Excellent news RE USB ports.

Of those two, I'd pick the non-LED button. The LED version is... well, horrible. (IMO)

Perhaps assessing the replacability of the power button would be something to look into when you guys get the prototype in-hand.
 
I agree - NO LED BUTTON! If you do have to include one, please PLEASE make sure it doesn't light up an entire room! Annoying as all hell. It should be just bright enough to tell you it's ON. Not become a landing site!
 
Apparently the current button *does* light up... I just asked our Lian Li contact, he's going to send me a pic...
 
AbSoluTc said:
I agree - NO LED BUTTON! If you do have to include one, please PLEASE make sure it doesn't light up an entire room! Annoying as all hell. It should be just bright enough to tell you it's ON. Not become a landing site!
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This times 1 million!!!

My current HTPC case has it's LED unplugged because it's so @#@ bright, it is distracting when watching TV in a dark room. I don't know why, but manufacturers tend to LOVE using bright ass blue LEDs these days. :(
 
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