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

Boil said:
Nice...!

It looks like you have your CPU cooler fans intaking from the interior of the chassis & exhausting out the rear...

But it also looks like you have the heat sink itself positioned to intake from the rear...

Noctua recommends that the U9S have the side of the heat sink with the majority of the heat pipes to be the intake side...
Click to expand...

Nobu said:
CPU is exhausting out the rear, rear fan is exhaust, looks like bottom front is exhaust also, but I can't see how the bottom rear is oriented. That would make all the air have to come from the front/side panels, but he doesn't have those in the photos.

Ah, I see what you're saying. Yeah, that may not be optimal.
Click to expand...

Thank you for point that out guys.

The 3 fans on the CPU are driving air out.
I have 1 intake (Noctua 120mmX25) on the side and 2 on the case bottom (Noctua 120mmX15) blowing air on the GPU.

I'm waiting to get the new Thermaright tower. I will probably keep my heatsink in this orientation till then. I have pretty good temp so far.
 
Hi All,
I'm looking to upgrade my 9 year old system. Been wanting to do a Ncase M1 build since it first came out. I'm not a gamer so not planning to add a water cooler. Looking for a single video card to drive 3 monitors. My current system uses a way outdated Nvidia 460 and 210 cards to drive 3 monitors. I'm just looking for a reasonable build for the next 5-10 years. Does anyone think getting a optical drive is worth it? My old machine has 2 which I haven't used in quite some time.

The other option is what I think many people are now moving towards. Using a laptop as primary and docking it when at home. I've pretty much moved all my main files to a Qnap NAS drive so my primary machine only needs a small SSD drive to house applications.

Also is there a simple way to move apps off a C drive to a new build? Haven't kept up with latest developments.
Thanks,
 
when it comes to thermal tape for the heatsinks for the video card, does anyone have one to look at? I just want to make sure that I get the right one.
 
With the fan profiles bumped up, it's not crashed once yet whilst playing an FPS game!

I guess the silent fan profile was exactly that and not pushing that much air out!! LOOL
 
PotOdds said:
Hi All,
I'm looking to upgrade my 9 year old system. Been wanting to do a Ncase M1 build since it first came out. I'm not a gamer so not planning to add a water cooler. Looking for a single video card to drive 3 monitors. My current system uses a way outdated Nvidia 460 and 210 cards to drive 3 monitors. I'm just looking for a reasonable build for the next 5-10 years. Does anyone think getting a optical drive is worth it? My old machine has 2 which I haven't used in quite some time.

The other option is what I think many people are now moving towards. Using a laptop as primary and docking it when at home. I've pretty much moved all my main files to a Qnap NAS drive so my primary machine only needs a small SSD drive to house applications.

Also is there a simple way to move apps off a C drive to a new build? Haven't kept up with latest developments.
Thanks,
Click to expand...

I would pass on the optical drive. Get you a USB one and use that for everything.

I just tried getting a laptop with a Razer dock. This really depends on what your are going to do with the computer. If you need a gpu powering three monitors, then you need a dock with a gpu. I just don't think those are seems less enough yet to go that route. I much rather buy a cheap ultra portable and do a budget desktop. I will say that a surface pro and a dock is a very nice solution that works seemelessly. But I do not believe it supports three monitors.
 
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vortaku said:
Evga mid plate? Does that cool better?
Click to expand...
It's hard for me to answer that. I am using the FE version of the GTX 1080, so it doesn't have temp sensors for memory or vrm. I just bought an EVGA heatsink with midplate to mod for my project. I have been gaming on the card just fine, so I don't think it matters much. I bet you could even run memory chips naked without much issue.

Here was my reddit post mentioning the mod.
 
Accelero cooler - thermalpads?

As of now I am running stock cooler on my GPU (ASUS 1060 6GB Dual), but i am doing the Accelero switch soon.. What thermal pads are people using? because I heard that you shouldn't use the thermal glue that goes with the cooler. I see that Thermal grizzly have the "Minus pad" (8W/mK), but in test its not really that much better then the cheap blue pads from Artic (6W/mK) (costs about 1/3 of the Grizzly). Then there the Fujipoly which comes in to version (of cause these are ridiculous expensive) with 11W/mK and 17W/mK.

And are there any other things to be aware of when going accelero (3 - not 4)? Other mods worth doing when doing it?

Artic = https://www.amazon.de/ARCTIC-Therma...=UTF8&qid=1550509122&sr=8-1&keywords=Fujipoly
Grizzly = https://www.amazon.de/Thermal-Grizz...=UTF8&qid=1550509122&sr=8-5&keywords=Fujipoly
Fujipoly = https://www.amazon.de/Smart-fujipol...=UTF8&qid=1550509122&sr=8-7&keywords=Fujipoly
Fujipoly = https://www.amazon.de/Smart-fujipol...Q6GVXJ2YJKR&psc=1&refRID=2XEMAQ351Q6GVXJ2YJKR
 
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The paste on the accelero 3, what does it use? Smudged a bit looking st it qhen I first got it, so may need to replace the paste.
 
SmootyPoody said:
And are there any other things to be aware of when going accelero (3 - not 4)?
Click to expand...

The Accelero Xtreme 3 comes with small heatsinks for the VRAM and VRM, but no backplate. The Accelero Xtreme 4 doesn't include the small heatsinks, but it does include a backplate, though it has cooling fins that may interfere with other hardware on the motherboard.
 
Qrash said:
The Accelero Xtreme 3 comes with small heatsinks for the VRAM and VRM, but no backplate. The Accelero Xtreme 4 doesn't include the small heatsinks, but it does include a backplate, though it has cooling fins that may interfere with other hardware on the motherboard.
Click to expand...
Havent we established that the mark iv is not a way to go in the NCase?.. I thought only the mark iii was possible?
 
SmootyPoody said:
Havent we established that the mark iv is not a way to go in the NCase?.. I thought only the mark iii was possible?
Click to expand...

That was the thought until one owner posted photos of his build with the Accelero Xtreme 4. It's the only one I've seen so compatiblility must be very hardware-specific.

Addendum: The GPU -side heatsink is the same for the Accelero Xtreme 3 and 4. It's the 4's backplate with its large fins that is the problematic.
 
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From my experience, both of the main heatsink from the III and IV are compatible with the Founders Edition GTX 1080 and RTX 2080.

To be specific, I have the IV on my GTX 1080 FE:
- just the main heatsink for the GPU die
- I didn't use the giant back plate heatsink in the M1. It is very large, and I didn't feel like trying to shoe horn it into the M1.
- Gelid Icy Vision Enhancement Kit for 1080. This heatsink bolts onto the 1080 FE and is a very clean way to keep the VRM cool
- no VRAM heatsinks
- runs great. 60c during gaming and/or benchmark
- bottom exhaust in the M1 with 2x A12x25
- bottom fan speed controlled via Corsair Commander based in GPU temperature

I have the III on my RTX 2080 FE:
- main heatsink
- all the small heatsinks on the VRM side
- VRAM heatsink interferes with heat pipes from the main heatsink
- runs great. 60c during gaming and/or benchmark
- bottom exhaust in the M1 with 2x A12x25
- bottom fan speed controlled via Corsair Commander based in GPU temperature
 
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From artics website it is 23mm high.. So possible would work with an AIO. I dont think C14(S) can take the mark iv backplate then. Maybe someone could lossly measure it?

Edit. Just measure it with the Corsair H100i Platinum (testing that AIO right now).. Seems douable. especially if you mount the side intake in the high position. (there are two positions).´It even seems it can fit in the "low" position.
 
SmootyPoody said:
From artics website it is 23mm high.. So possible would work with an AIO. I dont think C14(S) can take the mark iv backplate then. Maybe someone could lossly measure it?

Edit. Just measure it with the Corsair H100i Platinum (testing that AIO right now).. Seems douable. especially if you mount the side intake in the high position. (there are two positions).´It even seems it can fit in the "low" position.
Click to expand...
I remember seeing builds out there where folks dremel'ed down the IV heatsink to fit with a C14 / Dark Rock TF. Not worth it IMO.
 
Nanook said:
From my experience, both of the main heatsink from the III and IV are compatible with the Founders Edition GTX 1080 and RTX 2080.

To be specific, I have the IV on my GTX 1080 FE:
- just the main heatsink for the GPU die
- I didn't use the giant back plate heatsink in the M1. It is very large, and I didn't feel like trying to shoe horn it into the M1.
- Gelid Icy Vision Enhancement Kit for 1080. This heatsink bolts onto the 1080 FE and is a very clean way to keep the VRM cool
- no VRAM heatsinks
- runs great. 60c during gaming and/or benchmark
- bottom exhaust in the M1 with 2x A12x25
- bottom fan speed controlled via Corsair Commander based in GPU temperature

I have the III on my RTX 2080 FE:
- main heatsink
- all the small heatsinks on the VRM side
- VRAM heatsink interferes with heat pipes from the main heatsink
- runs great. 60c during gaming and/or benchmark
- bottom exhaust in the M1 with 2x A12x25
- bottom fan speed controlled via Corsair Commander based in GPU temperature
Click to expand...

The Gelid Icy Vision Enhancement Kit for 1080 is really neat, but it's only compatible with FE 1080 and 1070. Not the 1080 Ti, so be aware of this. If you buy an Accelero Xtreme IV and use it on a different graphics card model you will have to buy small heatsinks for the VRAM and VRM.
 
I found this album while searching around for 2080ti + accelero III installs and I thought I would share since I didnt see it here:


https://imgur.com/a/Cq6p3OI#q8pwttW

Looks like it works with some slight vrm heatsink shaving and some slight mods to the accelero III heatsink. Definitely within the ballpark for what I am comfortable with. Now I just need to camp out and wait for 2080ti blacks to come back into stock.

q8pwttW.jpg
 

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Ya.. I am just getting the mark iii then..

So what thermal pads to buy? (see my question further up for details).
 
SmootyPoody said:
Ya.. I am just getting the mark iii then..

So what thermal pads to buy? (see my question further up for details).
Click to expand...
I think what you linked are pads. You need tape. What Blindphleb posted should work...
Blindphleb said:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MSL64XG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is what I used, and it stuck very well. When I eventually wanted to switch to an EVGA midplate instead of the miniature ram heatsinks I really had to twist them a bunch to get them to come off.
Click to expand...
 
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Nanook said:
I think what you linked are pads. You need tape. What Blindphleb posted should work...
Click to expand...
I dont have any experience with these kind of things eventhou I have built computers in over 15 years. What is the difference? Tape is with glue? Pads are just for mounting between stuff that is screwed down? or?
 
SmootyPoody said:
I dont have any experience with these kind of things eventhou I have built computers in over 15 years. What is the difference? Tape is with glue? Pads are just for mounting between stuff that is screwed down? or?
Click to expand...
Yes, thermal tape will actually hold on to the upside down heatsinks when the graphics card is installed in the M1.

Pads are usually placed between components and heatsinks that are mechanically held on. They are slightly sticky, but isn’t strong enough for aluminum/copper heatsinks. You really don’t want the small heatsinks to fall into the two whirling 120mm fans below :)

The Accelero kits come with thermal glue that conducts heat better than tape, but they are permanent, so it is up to you. :)
 
Nanook said:
Yes, thermal tape will actually hold on to the upside down heatsinks when the graphics card is installed in the M1.

Pads are usually placed between components and heatsinks that are mechanically held on. They are slightly sticky, but isn’t strong enough for aluminum/copper heatsinks. You really don’t want the small heatsinks to fall into the two whirling 120mm fans below :)

The Accelero kits come with thermal glue that conducts heat better than tape, but they are permanent, so it is up to you. :)
Click to expand...
Ya not gonna glue it :D

This is "pads" but with self-adhesive.

https://www.alphacool.com/shop/ther...l-eisschicht-thermal-pad-11w/mk-100x100x0-5mm
 
So after M1AFs test os C14 vs C14S vs 240 CLC/AIO I wanted to how much better an 240 AIO would be than a C14 setup - for my own eyes (not because he did not do a great job! - he did!). The testing has been a long underway (it has taken over 2 weeks to complete) as I have tested every setup in 4 different fan speeds. As I did not like the speed fan M1AF had in his test. A bad cooler would do better as it had the possiblity to ramp from 60% to 100% when over 85c. This skews the result a bit - although much more practical testing as this is more how a user would (rarely you only rely on 1 speed setting for you fans as my test was done). So no hate to M1AF. He did a fine job but I wanted it to have more equal terms. I have made it so that all results show up at first, but you can sort it but turning different parameters on/off. Like for instance if you only want to see the results of 40% fan speed, you can disable 60%, 80% and 100%. Then you can sort it however you want. Fx with CPU package max or delta, or VRM.. however you want.

The Corsair H100i platinum (made by CoolIT - not Asetek) has swivel fittings at the pump so I was able to mount a half push/pull setup with 2 fans over the pump area and one in push mode at the PSU.

No TG testing as I dont have a TG panel and a AIO cannot really be testing with such a setup anyway. Be

Be aware that I have only tested the setups with GPU stress test for the 3 best setups. They are at the buttom.

Also I seem to be the last person on the earth to not run a setup with a 1080 (or bigger) setup.. so beaware that its only a 1060. And that it is a stock cooler so bottom fans are INTAKE.. Not Accelero exhaust setup!

One thing I gotta say is that, if you really truely want a silent setup you cannot have AIO/WC. The pump noise is there. Even if it goes to "Quiet mode" - 2000 RPM. It is very noticeable. You will only not hear it if you are sitting with music on constant, live in a very loud enviremoent or have the fans about 40% constantly (or higher) (Noctua A12X25 PWM specificly). If the fans are at 30% they are (to my ears) slient. Of cause you can even have a 0 RPM setup (I have had that with this setup with the C14) but as the fans cannot be heard at 30% I put them at 20% so that atleast the hot air around the components are cycled. So at the momemt I have the H100i setup (3x fans) going, but I will switch back to the C14 setup as I see the pump noise as a compromise - which isnt working. This is of cause only a problem for idle. As soon as you render/game/stress the setup the fans are louder then the pump. But even when I am editing video/film (and we are talking raw 4k+ video editing - really pushing data) the fans rarely go very high up. So I hear the pump a lot :-\ When rendering it is of cause different and the pump cannot be heard over the fans.

Questions?.. Fire away! :)



EDIT: Cannot get the Google Sheet filter view to work. Apperantly it is and have not been implimented when embedded in over 5 years. Manually paste the adress into your browser
HTML: 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jDKjy9SQwKDJAhfMVEpmIN5WFyQRjmY7Q44t0QEl0cA/edit?usp=sharing
and use the filter function. Then you can select what fans speeds you want to see and sort the perfered metric you want.
 
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Nice job on the tests Smooty. Did you use a thermal pad or thermal paste? Just kidding, saw where you used Kryonaut.

It's interesting to see the differences when the bottom fans are set to intake. I also have to say that I became annoyed with my pump speed noise at 100% (3000 rpm) and have since lowered it all the way down (2000 rpm) and it is significantly quieter to the point where it doesn't bother me anymore.
 
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M1AF said:
Nice job on the tests Smooty. Did you use a thermal pad or thermal paste? Just kidding, saw where you used Kryonaut.

It's interesting to see the differences when the bottom fans are set to intake. I also have to say that I became annoyed with my pump speed noise at 100% (3000 rpm) and have since lowered it all the way down (2000 rpm) and it is significantly quieter to the point where it doesn't bother me anymore.
Click to expand...

Haha! :p

So it interesting to compare the results with your results.. They show every different results (from my perspective).

@60% (like your test) there is only 4.6c degrees between the best 240 AIO setup and the best C14 setup in my testing. That is with 3 fans on the 240mm. If we take the best results the AIO performed with 2 fans - like your test - the difference is only 2.2c degrees difference. When we look at your test it says 14 degress difference.

This makes me think.. What did we do differently.

1) Mine has buttom intake - which could give an egde to the C14 as it is a more open cooler that can take air from both the side and from the buttom.. whereas the AIO is strictly getting air from the side as it is locked off from the bottom.. So this could explain some of it maybe?

2) You have ramped fan speed. I dont. But that should not really do anything.. It should actually only make your results from the worst setup better. Not the other way around.

3) You of cause use a different CLC/AIO. It can be that the EVGA 240 CLC is just that much better.. or? I chose the H100i Platinum because of the swivel fittings, so that I could mount it better.. and even mount a fan more I found out. And also because it should before better then the Asetek design from what I could find online. But maybe that is bullocks?..

4..?
 
To me these tests shouldn't be directly compared simply due to the Accelero. Changing the bottom fans from exhaust to intake changes everything. All the heat from the Accelero leaves the case very quickly and doesn't hit the CPU cooler, whereas stock GPU configs dump all that heat into the case and subsequently adds more heat to the sink. If anything, your results show which CPU cooler can deal with even more heat than I threw at it (OC + GPU heat).

I really enjoyed looking over your results though, and I can totally appreciate how much time and effort all of these tests take - so thank you for doing it. If anyone ever has any questions about stock GPU configs I'll happily point them to your post. If you feel like doing C14S testing let me know, I'd be happy to loan you mine!
 
M1AF said:
To me these tests shouldn't be directly compared simply due to the Accelero. Changing the bottom fans from exhaust to intake changes everything. All the heat from the Accelero leaves the case very quickly and doesn't hit the CPU cooler, whereas stock GPU configs dump all that heat into the case and subsequently adds more heat to the sink. If anything, your results show which CPU cooler can deal with even more heat than I threw at it (OC + GPU heat).

I really enjoyed looking over your results though, and I can totally appreciate how much time and effort all of these tests take - so thank you for doing it. If anyone ever has any questions about stock GPU configs I'll happily point them to your post. If you feel like doing C14S testing let me know, I'd be happy to loan you mine!
Click to expand...

I would gladly do it. Just dont think it will be financially viable.. Shipping costs would make it unfeasable :-P

But be aware that my tests does not stress the GPU as the majority of your tests do. So the GPU is only 7W (GPU strictly) of heat into the system. Its only the buttom 3 tests in the sheet that show a Prime95 Small FFTs + Furmark bench results.. Which show a difference of 6c. Still inline with the other tests i did without the GPU stress test.

Infact. If we look at the 80% fan speed test with and without the GPU dumping all the heat from the GTX 1060 (rated at 120w, and measured with HWInfo) inside the case, the difference with the C14 (3x120mm fans intake) is only 1,4c difference. The H100i plat is only 1,6c difference.

120W is not the 180W of the 1080 nor the 250w of the 1080 Ti, but still. Shows very little difference in my tests. If anybody have a spare 1080 (ti) laying around I would be happy to test the difference :-P

So I am wondering if I am doing something wrong (or better?) then what the normal consensus is about the exhaust from buttom.

So I still think we can compare the results showhow and wonder why they are different, because my results show that even with GPU power turned on, the difference between the H100i plat and the C14 is not really that big. Had i known the difference was this small I would have hurried along with it much faster and sent the H100i back before the return period was over. Now just a couble of days over the end of that periode I think I will try the AIO for a bit and see if I can stand the pump noise - so far its not going good :-D
 
Guys I have ripped my 1080 ti ripped apart for the accelro 3 build. Where does the insulation tape go on a 1080 to sc2 evga? Also on the two noctuas at the bottom, is it best to run them on the GPU pcb?

And just to make sure, I want the GPU fans as exhaust correct?

Edit: did yall put the backplate back on or leave it off?
 
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vortaku said:
Where does the insulation tape go on a 1080 to sc2 evga?
Click to expand...

Same place it was when you took the GPU apart (and it is thermal tape, not insulation tape)...

vortaku said:
Also on the two noctuas at the bottom, is it best to run them on the GPU pcb?
Click to expand...

Yes, you will need at minimum a 2-way fan splitter & a 4-pin > VGA / mini 4-pin adapter...

IF your GPU has TWO fan headers, then run the fans separately, one off of each header (so no splitter & TWO adapters)...

I put a Morpheus II heat sink on a EVGA GTX 1070 SC2 ICX, that had separate fan headers; one fan over GPU & one fan over VRMs...

vortaku said:
And just to make sure, I want the GPU fans as exhaust correct?
Click to expand...

Yes...

vortaku said:
Edit: did yall put the backplate back on or leave it off?
Click to expand...

For the aforementioned 1070 mod, I was able to retain the backplate & the cold plate, just pulling the shroud / fans / heatsink...
 
On a personal note, I absolutely hate when people use ellipses the wrong way. FFS man, use a period. lol
 
Hi guys,

I'm currently using the M1 with a fairly dated system.

The main parts of my rigs is:

i5 3470 + stock cooler
reference 980ti
8gb ram
850evo 120GB
1tb toshiba

----------------------

The main problem I am having is noise due to the coolers. I do plan on up grading my rig by the end of the year and still use the same case. I would mainly changing my CPU to the non K i7.

I was thinking if I am able to do anything with the cooling/noise now that can be moved over to my new rig. Keeping in mind that I am not planning on overclocking the i7 when I get it and noise it a more important factor. What CPU cooler would you recommend?

As for the reference 980ti, is my best bet to get the Accelero iii?



On the side note, I do plan on getting the tempered glass side panel if it ever comes on sale. Where would you recommend to get cables that would fit the M1 without too much excess? I dont really need anything fancy, just shorter black cables.
 
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brahbruh said:
Hi guys,

I'm currently using the M1 with a fairly dated system.

The main parts of my rigs is:

i5 3470 + stock cooler
reference 980ti
8gb ram
850evo 120GB
1tb toshiba

----------------------

The main problem I am having is noise due to the coolers. I do plan on up grading my rig by the end of the year and still use the same case. I would mainly changing my CPU to the non K i7.

I was thinking if I am able to do anything with the cooling/noise now that can be moved over to my new rig. Keeping in mind that I am not planning on overclocking the i7 when I get it and noise it a more important factor. What CPU cooler would you recommend?

As for the reference 980ti, is my best bet to get the Accelero iii?



On the side note, I do plan on getting the tempered glass side panel if it ever comes on sale. Where would you recommend to get cables that would fit the M1 without too much excess? I dont really need anything fancy, just shorter black cables.
Click to expand...

I believe the Noctua NH-U9S will fit that older motherboard. There have been a few posts here of good cooling results with a window side panel and that cooler mounted to intake air from the rear panel and the Accelero Xtreme with bottom 120x25 mm fans exhausting. Search on YouTube for Optimum Tech's video.
 
Qrash said:
I believe the Noctua NH-U9S will fit that older motherboard. There have been a few posts here of good cooling results with a window side panel and that cooler mounted to intake air from the rear panel and the Accelero Xtreme with bottom 120x25 mm fans exhausting. Search on YouTube for Optimum Tech's video.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply.

Seems like the Accelero III would still be my best bet on the GPU side. Which 120x25mm fans would you recommend to get?

As for the CPU, when it comes to noise, would you recommend the U9S over the C14S?
 
A larger heatsink with larger fans will always be quieter, in principle. A non-K i7 can probably be cooled adequately by the NH-U9S. You might not even need two fans on the heatsink if you add an intake fan to the rear panel. For the NH-C14S I think you are limited to a fan on the underside of its fins with the window side panel. I'm not certain. Another consideration with a window side panel may be which cooler will look better? The C14S will definitely block more of the view.
 
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