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

125W for D9L and U9S (AMD), for intel (well, amd too, but they only have two between server and desktop) it depends on the socket.

Found the link on the spec tab of the U9S page on their site.
 
Best CPU cooler when using 2x 3.5"s in the HDD cage? Any way to get a C-14S to fit or would an L12S work in conjunction with an existing 120mm side intake fan?
 
pabs said:
The fans at the bottom are friction fit between the case floor and graphics card. Mounting the fans to the bottom of the M1 will cause the tabs on the graphics card to hit the frame, they also need to be able to move slightly to be able to slot in the graphics card. Once the card is in place I was able to wiggle them back closer to the vents at the bottom of the case although not perfectly.
Click to expand...

This is interesting. This guy was apparently able to do it with premounted fans, granted the fans are NF-F12s and the graphics card is a Strix RX580. I'm guessing slight tolerance differences in the fans or the card or both made the difference there. What concerns me is that the fans are not flush with the heatsink. You could normally use a rubber gasket or something to bring them up a little, but in this case the metal tabs are interfering. I wonder if an Accelero would outperform a shroudless Strix.

 
TeutonJon78 said:
The Thermalright 130 mm tower has finally released in China. Taobao/T-Mall only right now with world wide availability later. https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?s...35569ed55e27b&abbucket=19&skuId=3906255720277

It seems interesting. 240W design power, but it's pretty light for it's size, though. And they have two options: normal and plus (which is entirely nickel plated). I like it can take a 120mm fan though. That alone should give it a leg up, along with 6 heatpipes.

Noctua U9S/D9L have unknown TDP designs since Noctua doesn't release those. Alpenfohn Atlas is 200W.
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The problem with TDP ratings are.... In what conditions? And what fans? How fast are they running? Restricted or open? what pressure? and so one. I think that is why Noctua does not provide a TDP rating as there is no way of saying it and comparing it scientificly with other fans. It will just be a marketing gimmick.
 
Nobu said:
125W for D9L and U9S (AMD), for intel (well, amd too, but they only have two between server and desktop) it depends on the socket.

Found the link on the spec tab of the U9S page on their site.
Click to expand...

You can even go into their CPU compability overview and look up your cooler vs the CPU you want. Like for instance the C14S does it work with the new 9900K?.. Noctua says yes, but it can create problems if you disable the power limits and go for a sustained PL2 power setting. In PL1 the TDP is 95W of the 9900K. In PL2 (turbo 4.7GHz) it is 210W TDP. And there Noctua recommends that you limit the TDP to 190W. (only a real problem if you AVX it).

https://noctua.at/en/products/cpu-cooler-retail/nh-c14s/cpucomp

Interestingly tho.. The U9S if you pair it with a second A9 PWM fan, they suggest it can go to 215W making it a potential better cooler than the C14S. This is not what we generally see with the M1 case.. C14/C14S almost always does better than the U9S. But this of cause depends on how they have tested the setup. This shows why I have so much love for Noctua.. They have tested and tested. They arent just making coolers for the sake of selling more (its a business - I know) but they do it very scientificly.. And only make new ones if the old designs can be improved. Not just a new SKU for selling more units.
 
QuantumBraced said:
This is interesting. This guy was apparently able to do it with premounted fans, granted the fans are NF-F12s and the graphics card is a Strix RX580. I'm guessing slight tolerance differences in the fans or the card or both made the difference there. What concerns me is that the fans are not flush with the heatsink. You could normally use a rubber gasket or something to bring them up a little, but in this case the metal tabs are interfering. I wonder if an Accelero would outperform a shroudless Strix.

Click to expand...


The Strix RX580 is a 2.5 slot card. Pabs tested the Strix 2080, which is 2.7 slots. I tested the EVGA Ultra which is 2.75 slots.

The .2(5) slots is the difference between fans fitting and not fitting.
 
Nobu said:
125W for D9L and U9S (AMD), for intel (well, amd too, but they only have two between server and desktop) it depends on the socket.

Found the link on the spec tab of the U9S page on their site.
Click to expand...

Noctua doesn't release "true" TDP design values. They just release guides with CPU TDP limits. For example, when AM4 came out, they said it would work with 95W AM4 processors. Then when the 2700X processors came out, they changed the chart to say it worked with AM4 105W processors -- the heatsink didn't change.

So the closest you can come is to find the higher TDP-rated socket and then guestimate based on the OC potential they list it at. But it's like SmootyPoody said, TDP value depends on a lot of different things like ambient, fans, airflow, etc.You could have a high TDP design that loses to a lower TDP design due to a specific circumstance.
 
Shottie said:
The Strix RX580 is a 2.5 slot card. Pabs tested the Strix 2080, which is 2.7 slots. I tested the EVGA Ultra which is 2.75 slots.

The .2(5) slots is the difference between fans fitting and not fitting.
Click to expand...

I see, thank you for clarifying. I'm curious how the stock heatsinks of 2.5/2.7 slot cards + aftermarket fans compare to the Accelero + aftermarket fans in the M1. I'm guessing about the same.
 
QuantumBraced said:
I see, thank you for clarifying. I'm curious how the stock heatsinks of 2.5/2.7 slot cards + aftermarket fans compare to the Accelero + aftermarket fans in the M1. I'm guessing about the same.
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The Strix 2.5 performs slightly worse than an Accelero. The 2.7 slot sinks have a permanently affixed fan shroud bracket that prevents full size fans from being put underneath as exhaust. I have not seen anyone dremel the bracket to test for fitment so we currently do not know if it will work or fit at this point. I'm sure someone will hack one up in the future.
 
So I haven't read all 685 pages (gasp), but I do see people in the last few pages talking about putting an Accelero III in the M1. I've been comparing the M1 technical drawings with the Accelero's technical drawings, and it doesn't look like it'll fit. Does this combination require modding of the case and/or heatsink? Anyone have a link to where in this monster thread it's discussed?
 
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You just have to get rid of the stock fans of the Accelero III and mount two 120mm fans at the bottom. It will fit with about 2-3mm space left. The same applies for the Accelero II.
Of course the lenght of the cooler could be a problem. I only had an Accelero II installed that way, but on the photos I remember, the Accelero III will fit.

For example: https://imgur.com/r/sffpc/YHwqd
 
Mr. Perfect said:
So I haven't read all 685 pages (gasp), but I do see people in the last few pages talking about putting an Accelero III in the M1. I've been comparing the M1 technical drawings with the Accelero's technical drawings, and it doesn't look like it'll fit. Does this combination require modding of the case and/or heatsink? Anyone have a link to where in this monster thread it's discussed?
Click to expand...

Come on dude, there is the Search function...
 
SkorpioNElite said:
You just have to get rid of the stock fans of the Accelero III and mount two 120mm fans at the bottom. It will fit with about 2-3mm space left. The same applies for the Accelero II.
Of course the lenght of the cooler could be a problem. I only had an Accelero II installed that way, but on the photos I remember, the Accelero III will fit.

For example: https://imgur.com/r/sffpc/YHwqd
Click to expand...

Looks good, thank you for the help. :) I'll have to pull the trigger on the M1 now, didn't want to blow $360ish on a case/psu/fans and then not have the GPU fit.

Boil said:
Come on dude, there is the Search function...
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Yes, and I gave it shot. It's not as helpful as you'd think when searching a topic 27,735 posts long. I kept getting people mentioning that they where using the Accelero without the details of how. Thankfully SkorpioNElite knows his stuff.
 
Has anyone with a THICC GPU like the 2080 Ti XC Ultra tried removing the shroud and adding 120x15mm fans in exhaust to the bottom of the case? I believe that the 120x15mm fans would clear the soldered fan mounting tabs. I just wonder, however, if the fans in exhaust would be able to effectively exhaust hot air with a couple mm gap between the heatsink and fans.
 
xSDMx said:
Has anyone with a THICC GPU like the 2080 Ti XC Ultra tried removing the shroud and adding 120x15mm fans in exhaust to the bottom of the case? I believe that the 120x15mm fans would clear the soldered fan mounting tabs. I just wonder, however, if the fans in exhaust would be able to effectively exhaust hot air with a couple mm gap between the heatsink and fans.
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It would be more than a couple mm, there is already a 2mm gap with 25mm fans. This would be over a cm, way too much IMO. Stock fans would certainly outperform. You could do stock fans + 120x15mm fans.
 
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Hi everyone!

Yesterday I installed a Zotac 1070Ti mini in my ncase (" 369€ deal "), and noticed that the fans minimum speed is locked at 37%, and it's impossible to reduce that threshold.

Anyone here has this card in the ncase and has been able to solve "the problem"? For me, coming from a palit 1060 6gb basic model, which runs more silent, is an issue to be hearing the fans at idle at 37% (1120rpm).

Any other advice or recommendation would be very appreciated.

I am thinking in returning it. :(

Great performance and fps increase on the other hand.

Thank you very much.
 
QuantumBraced said:
It would be more than a couple mm, there is already a 2mm gap with 25mm fans. This would be over a cm, way too much IMO. Stock fans would certainly outperform. You could do stock fans + 120x15mm fans.
Click to expand...

Would "doubling" up the fans in the aforementioned configuration appreciably inprove thermals without increasing noise?
 
xSDMx said:
Would "doubling" up the fans in the aforementioned configuration appreciably inprove thermals without increasing noise?
Click to expand...
Noise would probably increase a bit (couldn't say how much) unless you could somehow smooth out the air between the two fans.
Here's some related reading.
 
I purchased a second-hand NCASE M1 v4 on [H] a little over a year ago. I really wanted a black one, but grabbed the silver one when I had the chance for a pretty good price. After purchasing the case, I found out that SFFLab offered a set of four panels that completely replace the ones that came on the case.

The 4-panel set (in black) finally became available on SFFLab again, and I placed an order immediately. I finally received it in the mail yesterday. I just have to say, this is such a great feature of this case that is pretty unique. I couldn't be more pleased with the look of my "new" system. Being able to go back to silver when it suits me is really nice. Great job NCASE!
 
Nobu said:
Noise would probably increase a bit (couldn't say how much) unless you could somehow smooth out the air between the two fans.
Here's some related reading.
Click to expand...

Great read, thanks. I also found a redditor claiming much better performance in this configuration for both their 2080 Ti XC Ultra and high TDP CPU. I'm running a very similar build, so I think I'll order the fans and try this out.

 
Benlehot said:
Hi guys,

I finished my new build today so I also did a bench for you for the 9900K in the M1.

Here's my setup:
- Asrock z390 phantom gaming-itx/ac
- i9 9900K
- Noctua U9S (two A9 fans on the cpu heatsink)
- Third Noctua A9 on the back of the case as exhaust
- Noctua NF-A12x25 as intake on the side for the case
- Vega 64 with aftermarket cooler morpheus ii
- Two Noctua 120mm X 15mm slim on the bottom of the case as exhaust

So a total of 6 fans to try to cold this beast.

I'm still trying some settings to do a small undervolt and this is not final. CPU was stable at around 76C after 5 minutes of Aida64

View attachment 117366
Click to expand...

Benlehot

Might we see some pics of the build, especially the clearance of the morpheus II & the fans on same; please...?!?

Which Vega 64 is used, a reference blower design...? And which of the additional cooling bits were used from the Morpheus kit...?

Thanks...!
 
Hi Guys,

I currently have a an EVGA 2080 XC with dual Noctua 25mm fan set as intake. Temps are OK (between 75 C and 78 C) however I find the noise level quite high (fans always reaching 2200 rpm).

Has someone a 2080 XC Ultra with Noctua 15mm below? What about the temps and more important fan speed with that config?

I am still able to RMA mine against an ultra and I probably will if I can get around 1600-1800 rpm.

I tried to tweak it with precision X1 but at this fan speed I go up to 83C and more. Not a problem but if Ultra is really cooler it may be worth the price difference.

Thanks for your answers.
 
I'm going to try the 2080 Ti XC Ultra + 2x Noctua NF A12x15mm intake by EOW. FWIW my 2080 Ti XC Ultra WITHOUT extra fans hits peak 80C with 130 power, +110 core, +770 memory with fans sitting at 1500~1600 RPM in my NCase. Noise levels are fine IMHO.
 
Thanks. 80° at 1500 -1600 is nice. Are you getting this with hardware temp monitoring or via custom software settings?
 
This is with a custom fan curve in EVGA Precision X1. The fans also do make some noise when stopping and starting, so I also fix them at 20% duty until around 60C. That's about 600 RPM or so which is effectively silent (especially with no clicking!)
 
New Ncase M1 owner here--worth every penny! Upgraded from an ATX mid and the difference is insane.

My ambient temps do seem a little high though. I feel like I need a case fan, but where should I put it?

Idle temps: Constantly jumping from 41c to 52c and back down in CPUID Hardware Monitor
Fan speeds: Both GPU and CPU cooler fans around ~975RPM
Ryzen 5 2600X with Noctua U9S and 2 fans in push/pull
Sapphire NITRO+ RX 580 with stock open-air dual fan setup (want to upgrade my GPU when Navi hits [or if a good deal pops up for a non-reference Vega] so don't want to buy a cooler for it)
HDD in side bracket
Currently no case fans
 
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Over 2 years later, with almost no changes, the build is still going strong. Built a new desk and I think the style still looks sharp. A great design.

IMG_0339.JPGIMG_0282.JPG IMG_0280.JPG
 

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electric65 said:
New Ncase M1 owner here--worth every penny! Upgraded from an ATX mid and the difference is insane.

My ambient temps do seem a little high though. I feel like I need a case fan, but where should I put it?

Idle temps: Constantly jumping from 41c to 52c and back down in CPUID Hardware Monitor
Fan speeds: Both GPU and CPU cooler fans around ~975RPM
Ryzen 5 2600X with Noctua U9S and 2 fans in push/pull
Sapphire NITRO+ RX 580 with stock open-air dual fan setup (want to upgrade my GPU when Navi hits [or if a good deal pops up for a non-reference Vega] so don't want to buy a cooler for it)
HDD in side bracket
Currently no case fans
Click to expand...

Two options:
  1. A 120 mm fan with open corners can be mounted in the drive cage against the side panel and act as an intake, though it will be blowing against the hard drive.
  2. Two 120 mm fans in the bottom of the case as intakes. Use slim fans if the RX580 is thicker than 2 slots.
You could also move the hard drive to the case bottom, but this would restrict the 580's fans and the two devices would heat each other up.

Anyone else?
 
electric65 said:
New Ncase M1 owner here--worth every penny! Upgraded from an ATX mid and the difference is insane.

My ambient temps do seem a little high though. I feel like I need a case fan, but where should I put it?

Idle temps: Constantly jumping from 41c to 52c and back down in CPUID Hardware Monitor
Fan speeds: Both GPU and CPU cooler fans around ~975RPM
Ryzen 5 2600X with Noctua U9S and 2 fans in push/pull
Sapphire NITRO+ RX 580 with stock open-air dual fan setup (want to upgrade my GPU when Navi hits [or if a good deal pops up for a non-reference Vega] so don't want to buy a cooler for it)
HDD in side bracket
Currently no case fans
Click to expand...

That does seem like an odd idle temp. I would highly recommend the bottom fans with an open-air card. They can make a significant difference, especially at load. It does seem like the preferred U9S method is to place one of the two fans on the exhaust instead of on the heatsink. Better to remove air from the space.
 
electric65 said:
New Ncase M1 owner here--worth every penny! Upgraded from an ATX mid and the difference is insane.

My ambient temps do seem a little high though. I feel like I need a case fan, but where should I put it?

Idle temps: Constantly jumping from 41c to 52c and back down in CPUID Hardware Monitor
Fan speeds: Both GPU and CPU cooler fans around ~975RPM
Ryzen 5 2600X with Noctua U9S and 2 fans in push/pull
Sapphire NITRO+ RX 580 with stock open-air dual fan setup (want to upgrade my GPU when Navi hits [or if a good deal pops up for a non-reference Vega] so don't want to buy a cooler for it)
HDD in side bracket
Currently no case fans
Click to expand...

Qrash said:
Two options:
  1. A 120 mm fan with open corners can be mounted in the drive cage against the side panel and act as an intake, though it will be blowing against the hard drive.
  2. Two 120 mm fans in the bottom of the case as intakes. Use slim fans if the RX580 is thicker than 2 slots.
You could also move the hard drive to the case bottom, but this would restrict the 580's fans and the two devices would heat each other up.

Anyone else?
Click to expand...

What size HDD...? If it is a 2.5", then you can mount it behind the front panel & mount a Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM fan as intake on the side bracket...

As for the GPU, I saw a YouTube video where the user pulls the shroud & fan from the GPU & has a pair of 120x25mm fans mounted to the floor of the chassis & set to exhaust...



 
Boil said:
What size HDD...? If it is a 2.5", then you can mount it behind the front panel & mount a Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM fan as intake on the side bracket...

As for the GPU, I saw a YouTube video where the user pulls the shroud & fan from the GPU & has a pair of 120x25mm fans mounted to the floor of the chassis & set to exhaust...



Click to expand...


I assumed the hard drive was a 3.5-inch model since it is mounted on the side bracket, presumably in the drive cage. There are 2.5-inch hard drives available now up to 4 GB in size and mounting one on the front panel (either side, depending on what else is mounted there already) would enable a 120 mm fan on the side bracket to be an intake for the case.

One thing that wasn't mentioned was the orientation of the power supply. Is its fan facing into the case or the motherboard side panel?

The videos that Boil suggests are good examples, especially given the similarity in CPU, CPU cooler, and GPU to electric65's system. A major difference is the presence of the glass side panel in these video. Still, the thermal performance with the CPU drawing air into the case through the rear panel and the dual 120 mm fans underneath the RX580 as exhausts produced the best results (link is to this part of the second video). The more standard arrangement of airflow in through the bottom and out at the rear actually produced the worst results, but again, this may be due to the lack of a side fan as an intake. Still, the in from the rear and out through the bottom thermal results are quite good and worthy of consideration for an M1 with the standard side panel. Such an airflow may operate at a slight negative case pressure, but I find the M1 is easy to clean with a blower (even a hair dryer on the cool setting) due to its pop-off panels.
 
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Qrash said:
Two options:
  1. A 120 mm fan with open corners can be mounted in the drive cage against the side panel and act as an intake, though it will be blowing against the hard drive.
  2. Two 120 mm fans in the bottom of the case as intakes. Use slim fans if the RX580 is thicker than 2 slots.
You could also move the hard drive to the case bottom, but this would restrict the 580's fans and the two devices would heat each other up.

Anyone else?
Click to expand...

DersTheSwede said:
That does seem like an odd idle temp. I would highly recommend the bottom fans with an open-air card. They can make a significant difference, especially at load. It does seem like the preferred U9S method is to place one of the two fans on the exhaust instead of on the heatsink. Better to remove air from the space.
Click to expand...

Would two fans added on the bottom help even with the 2 fans already on the card? I thought I would have to remove the fans+shroud from the card first?
 
electric65 said:
Would two fans added on the bottom help even with the 2 fans already on the card? I thought I would have to remove the fans+shroud from the card first?
Click to expand...

Adding two fans on the bottom as intakes would help feed the graphics card fans and push the heated air away from the card so that it doesn't just recirculate in that area. However, you may see the CPU temperature rise as a result of the rising warm air being drawn into the CP cooler. Rotating the CPU cooler and its fans 180 degrees (I think Noctua recommends a specific direction for airflow through the NH-U9S heatsink) so that cool air is drawn in through the rear panel may help with that.
 
Ended up settling on the SGX-650. It fits perfectly with my 2080 Ti XC Ultra. The cables are flexible and, even without the intake fans, there was no sagging or pressure on my GPU.

No coil whine issues either. I had really bad coil whine with one SF600 Platinum and 2x EVGA 650 GM units. Very happy with how this build turned out.

https://imgur.com/a/SjqQu5e
 
xSDMx said:
Ended up settling on the SGX-650...
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Interesting, I thought I saw some posts from a user saying the cables were too close but apparently they didn’t bend them enough. How would you compare the (fan) noise at load vs the sf600 and evga units?
 
Does anybody know of anybody offering a top mounted RAD mod and supporting motherboard invert by chance?
 
Engr62 said:
I purchased a second-hand NCASE M1 v4 on [H] a little over a year ago. I really wanted a black one, but grabbed the silver one when I had the chance for a pretty good price. After purchasing the case, I found out that SFFLab offered a set of four panels that completely replace the ones that came on the case.

The 4-panel set (in black) finally became available on SFFLab again, and I placed an order immediately. I finally received it in the mail yesterday. I just have to say, this is such a great feature of this case that is pretty unique. I couldn't be more pleased with the look of my "new" system. Being able to go back to silver when it suits me is really nice. Great job NCASE!
Click to expand...

Completely agree. Depending on the day I can make it feel like I have a brand new case again.

Silver or Black.png
 
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