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

Geez these processor prices are absolutely stupid right now. Between the high cost of the 6700k and the slightly under MSRP a 5820k the price difference is so small right now
6700k:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($418.57 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C14 CPU Cooler ($71.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($157.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($99.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($649.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Silverstone 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($117.99 @ Directron)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($19.58 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm Fan ($19.80 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm Fan ($19.80 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell S2716DG 144Hz 27.0" Monitor ($599.00 @ Adorama)
Other: Ncase M1 (Purchased)
Total: $2174.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-14 11:02 EST-0500

5820k
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($374.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C14 CPU Cooler ($71.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock X99E-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA2011-3 Narrow Motherboard ($259.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($99.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($649.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Silverstone 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($117.99 @ Directron)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($19.58 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm Fan ($19.80 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm Fan ($19.80 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell S2716DG 144Hz 27.0" Monitor ($599.00 @ Adorama)
Other: Ncase M1 (Purchased)
Total: $2233.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-14 11:02 EST-0500

I'll probably wait on the GPU until newer stuff comes out but still.. $418 for a $350 MRSP chip is just dumb.
 
Be sure to get the Noctua NH-C14 and not the newer NH-C14S which is a bit bigger and doesn't fit with two fans as far as I know.
 
The thing about filters is that it's hard to give good general advise because it is so dependant on each use case. I use no filters. Just opened my case yesterday and its not too bad even after a year. That doesn't mean i can give a general advise not to use filters. A more dusty environment might require it. If you feel the need for less restrictive airflow, try it out. In a few months you can open the case again and see how bad it is and then make a decision on wether or not removing some filters was a good idea.

Yea but I'm just looking for any comments to help formulate a bunch of personal experiences.

Anyway - I just got the NH-U9S and two additional 92mm fans for push/pull and rear exhaust, as well as, two 120mm F ones.

I think my biggest issue are the two hard drives, otherwise I think the NH-C12P SE14 would have been OK.

I can report back later this weekend when I install
 
I am wanting to sell my h105 and get two 120mm aios, probably h75s, with a corsair hg10 for the gpu.

I also am interested in getting two 92mm fans, 1 for the back and 1 for the bottom.

Does the bottom one have mounting holes?

can 4 fans be connected to 1 pwm fan header and 2 pumps connected to the other fan header? only have two on my mobo.
 
I also am interested in getting two 92mm fans, 1 for the back and 1 for the bottom.

Does the bottom one have mounting holes?
Yes, there are mounting holes for an 80 or 92mm fan on the case floor towards the front.

can 4 fans be connected to 1 pwm fan header and 2 pumps connected to the other fan header? only have two on my mobo.
It's a good question. You may want to check your motherboard manual to be sure, but I believe 1 amp (@12V, i.e. 12W) is typical for motherboard fan headers, so as long as you don't exceed that with everything connected you should be okay. The pumps used by the Asetek AIOs (Corsair etc.) seem to be around 2-4W, so you should be okay to have two on a header.

For fans, taking the Corsair SP120 as a sample, at 2350 RPM they'll draw 0.18A @ 12V, which is a bit over 2W each, so I think four on a header should be okay as well.
 
Yes, there are mounting holes for an 80 or 92mm fan on the case floor towards the front.

The pumps used by the Asetek AIOs (Corsair etc.) seem to be around 2-4W, so you should be okay to have two on a header.

I think four on a header should be okay as well.

Thanks for the response! this case has been awesome so far and im trying to pack in even more! wanting to have:

2 aios, 2 92mm fans, 2 120mm fans, hdd and 2 ssds, plus all of the regular stuff.

Just need to sell my h105 (anyone?) and figure out what hg10 i need for my nvidia 970, which hopefully will fit with the hg10 980 version
 
Thanks for the response! this case has been awesome so far and im trying to pack in even more! wanting to have:

2 aios, 2 92mm fans, 2 120mm fans, hdd and 2 ssds, plus all of the regular stuff.

Just need to sell my h105 (anyone?) and figure out what hg10 i need for my nvidia 970, which hopefully will fit with the hg10 980 version

Hg10 n970
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Series-Edition-Cooling-CB-9060005-WW/dp/B0151PYG4E

My corsair pumps didn't like being split from a fan header. They made noise. I put them on the psu and they went quiet.
 
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Anyone have any luck squeezing a titan into this thing?

See a lot of builds with a 980ti.
 
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99% sure i need the hg10 980 for my nvidia 970, its a full length pcb. and how did you hook up the pumps to the psu? that would solve a lot of issues?

are pumps supposed to run at 100% all the time?

I don't know, but I'd stay away from the hg10 n980 until they fix some real problems it has. See the thread in the corsair forums.

And yes, pumps need to run at 100% all the time. At least AIO Asetek ones do. I hooked them up with a sata power -> molex adapter and a molex -> fan header adapter, since i already had a sata power cable in my case running to two drives.
 
Got everything installed.
Still hate the difficulty of using Noctua's rubber mounts ... breaks my fingers every time

Left all the demciflex filters on top, rear, and bottom and on average I get

CPU - 35C
GPU - 30C

When gaming, CPU and GPU top out around 72C and it remains quieter than the NH-C12P SE14 fan does at 100% all the time.

I'm quite satisfied and may test taking the rear and top demciflex filters off but right now.. I'm cool! :p
 
Put an order in for a v5, what an awesome looking case. Planning to build a small rig to drive an Oculus Rift.
 
Got my tracking numbers for one of the 2016-1-10 shipment, but the Taiwan Post comes up with "No Data" Anyone else getting the same? Reached out to Ncase on Sat, but it seems that they may be taking the holiday weekend off. Hopefully, I'll get a reply on Tues.
 
What would be the best z170 board for this case? Buying one soon and not sure where to start looking at mobos
 
all the z170 boards have something 'not perfect' with them :( If i had to choose a z170, it would be a gigabyte now though once the TB3 update is out.

I went x99e-itx

Nox
 
Ugh, time to dive into z170 mobo research to find all the issues :( I just can't justify the x99 platform as I only game and do minor coding / photoshop work on this machine. Just seems like overkill even for the next 5 years...part of me wants to just stick with my 2500k and wipe my hands clean of it :p
 
Got my tracking numbers for one of the 2016-1-10 shipment, but the Taiwan Post comes up with "No Data" Anyone else getting the same? Reached out to Ncase on Sat, but it seems that they may be taking the holiday weekend off. Hopefully, I'll get a reply on Tues.

My tracking number comes up with the package being processed and the correct destination location.
 
Myself, I'm going with the Gigabyte GA-Z170N-Gaming 5. If it had better fan control in the BIOS, and had Intel instead of Killer Ethernet, I'd be happier, but otherwise...

(There's also the GA-Z170N-Wifi, which does have Intel Ethernet, but it doesn't have the reinforced PCIe slot (nice to have if you're moving the machine a lot), and it doesn't have Alpine Ridge for Thunderbolt 3, instead having the ASMedia USB 3.1 controller.)

There is the Asus Maximus VIII Impact, but it's a damn expensive board, and I'm wondering how the daughterboards would affect cooling. But, you get Intel Ethernet and USB 3.1 (which means a possible Thunderbolt 3 update), and you get Asus's fan control. No reinforced PCIe slot, though, I think that's just a Gigabyte and MSI thing.
 
I'm watercooling whatever build I slap in with the predator 240mm with gpu block for the 980 ti so I think the temps wouldn't be a huge issue. I dont mind paying extra is the Asus Maximus Impact that much better than the Asus Z170I PRO GAMING? I was reading it doesn't have m.2 which idk if I really care about looking at future proofing.
 
Myself, I'm going with the Gigabyte GA-Z170N-Gaming 5. If it had better fan control in the BIOS, and had Intel instead of Killer Ethernet, I'd be happier, but otherwise...

(There's also the GA-Z170N-Wifi, which does have Intel Ethernet, but it doesn't have the reinforced PCIe slot (nice to have if you're moving the machine a lot), and it doesn't have Alpine Ridge for Thunderbolt 3, instead having the ASMedia USB 3.1 controller.)

There is the Asus Maximus VIII Impact, but it's a damn expensive board, and I'm wondering how the daughterboards would affect cooling. But, you get Intel Ethernet and USB 3.1 (which means a possible Thunderbolt 3 update), and you get Asus's fan control. No reinforced PCIe slot, though, I think that's just a Gigabyte and MSI thing.

I was about to get the GA-Z170N, but looking at the pictures it looks like some or most of the side-facing SATA ports would be blocked by the power supply in the M1. I'm using an M.2 drive so it doesn't matter, but I'm planning on adding some additional drives in the future, so that disqualified the GA-Z170N for me.

The Asus Z170I also has USB 3.1 (with a type-a port), ASUS fan control and an Intel NIC. I think the main benefit of the Maximus VIII over the Z170i is additional fan headers and the sound card and more uniform mobo cabling.
 
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I'm watercooling whatever build I slap in with the predator 240mm with gpu block for the 980 ti so I think the temps wouldn't be a huge issue. I dont mind paying extra is the Asus Maximus Impact that much better than the Asus Z170I PRO GAMING? I was reading it doesn't have m.2 which idk if I really care about looking at future proofing.

I actually went with the Asus Z170I Pro and got an M.2 drive not really to future proof, but to minimize the cable clutter since there is so little opportunity to do any type of cable management in the case.

I didn't receive the case yet, but it was nice to have the only the mobo & powersupply connected to each other and be able to start prepping the OS.
 
Which is best AIO water cooler? Should I go 240mm or only 120mm? I am currectly run 6700k with C7 but that noise is killing me. Why C7? I wanted to test that and that cooler if fine if you underclock your cpu because when you are running stock C7 is not enough.

Should I go with H100i GTX Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler or is there something better option? That H100i GTX should fit?
 
I actually went with the Asus Z170I Pro and got an M.2 drive not really to future proof, but to minimize the cable clutter since there is so little opportunity to do any type of cable management in the case.

I didn't receive the case yet, but it was nice to have the only the mobo & powersupply connected to each other and be able to start prepping the OS.

How big of a difference is the m.2 drive making in everyday use? I currently have an 850 evo and I can't see loading getting any faster than it already is(something like a second or two load screen in every game I play). One more cable to route shouldn't be a huge issue either. Also I remember reading concerns of the m.2 drives heating up boards?
 
I'm watercooling whatever build I slap in with the predator 240mm

Should I go with H100i GTX Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler or is there something better option? That H100i GTX should fit?
Neither the EK Predator nor the Corsair H100i GTX will really fit in the M1. The Predator because the rad is too thick/long (see here), and the H100i GTX because of the stiff, long tubing and lack of swivel barbs on the block. Here's a list of AIOs that should fit without issue:

M1 compatible AIOs said:
Corsair H100i
Corsair H105
Cooler Master Glacer 240L
Cooler Master Nepton 240M
Cooler Master Seidon 240M
Enermax Liqmax II 240
Enermax Liqtech 240
Fractal Design Kelvin S24
LEPA Aquachanger 240
Silverstone Tundra TD02-E
Swiftech H220
Thermaltake Water 2.0/3.0
 
Neither the EK Predator nor the Corsair H100i GTX will really fit in the M1. The Predator because the rad is too thick/long (see here), and the H100i GTX because of the stiff, long tubing and lack of swivel barbs on the block. Here's a list of AIOs that should fit without issue:

Thanks. I think that I will go with Fractal Design S24 because there is that X backplate. Because in Asrock MB has some circuits in back.

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

Edit. Or H105 will be little bit better but not sure how that backplate fits...
 
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Since we are on the topic, any issues with the ASRock Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac I should know about if I go with a 6700k vs 5820k?
 
I was about to get the GA-Z170N, but looking at the pictures it looks like some or most of the side-facing SATA ports would be blocked by the power supply in the M1. I'm using an M.2 drive so it doesn't matter, but I'm planning on adding some additional drives in the future, so that disqualified the GA-Z170N for me.

http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1041878844&postcount=17767 shows a build with a GA-Z170N-Wifi (which has the same SATA arrangement), with SATA cables, behind an SFX-L PSU. So, it can be done it seems. But, I didn't catch that when planning my own build, thanks for the heads up. (This'll make cabling my optical drive trickier, too.)

The Asus Z170I also has USB 3.1 (with a type-a port), ASUS fan control and an Intel NIC. I think the main benefit of the Maximus VIII over the Z170i is additional fan headers and the sound card and more uniform mobo cabling.

But it's worth noting that it's ASMedia, not Intel. Therefore, it's also not Thunderbolt 3-capable.
 
Got my tracking numbers for one of the 2016-1-10 shipment, but the Taiwan Post comes up with "No Data" Anyone else getting the same? Reached out to Ncase on Sat, but it seems that they may be taking the holiday weekend off. Hopefully, I'll get a reply on Tues.

I get the correct tracking information leaving Taiwan for Australia on the 15th, but no tracking information from the postal service on this side. I'm not sure if that's an issue or not but will give it a more time.

What would be the best z170 board for this case? Buying one soon and not sure where to start looking at mobos

I went with the Asus Pro Gaming as well. I've bought a 2.5" ssd at this stage and plan to wait for the price and capacity of m.2 pcie cards to come down and then use that for my OS. They're just too pricey for me at this stage.
 
Since we are on the topic, any issues with the ASRock Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac I should know about if I go with a 6700k vs 5820k?

I have used my own asrock since release and non problems yet.

But has anyone tips how to put gpu with backplate in this case? Should I try that new PSU mounting racket to fit this SFX-L or not? I currently use pci-e extender but now I can't get any fans to bottom. Any pics?
 
How big of a difference is the m.2 drive making in everyday use? I currently have an 850 evo and I can't see loading getting any faster than it already is(something like a second or two load screen in every game I play). One more cable to route shouldn't be a huge issue either. Also I remember reading concerns of the m.2 drives heating up boards?

I haven't run any benchmarks, but it seems comparable to a regular sata SSD based on first impressions. Since I haven't run the mobo inside the case, I can't really say much for whether they would overheat the mobo, but first impressions running open air didn't pose any issues.

The M.2 drive I got was the Samsung EVO SATA Version. I didn't spring the big $ for a PCI-E version, which I'm assuming would be much faster.

I also wanted to save on the 2 cables (Power & sata).
 
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1041878844&postcount=17767 shows a build with a GA-Z170N-Wifi (which has the same SATA arrangement), with SATA cables, behind an SFX-L PSU. So, it can be done it seems. But, I didn't catch that when planning my own build, thanks for the heads up. (This'll make cabling my optical drive trickier, too.)



But it's worth noting that it's ASMedia, not Intel. Therefore, it's also not Thunderbolt 3-capable.

Oh wow, that build really had to jam in the from L-connector sata cables between the mobo and power supply and route it through the back. Not ideal, but I guess it is definitely possible.
 
Mind you, getting left angle cables would work, too, with no requirement to route behind the board (and to use all four SATA ports, would be necessary I think).

Oh, and there's two SATA ports on the board without doing that, too.
 
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I was about to get the GA-Z170N, but looking at the pictures it looks like some or most of the side-facing SATA ports would be blocked by the power supply in the M1. I'm using an M.2 drive so it doesn't matter, but I'm planning on adding some additional drives in the future, so that disqualified the GA-Z170N for me.

The Asus Z170I also has USB 3.1 (with a type-a port), ASUS fan control and an Intel NIC. I think the main benefit of the Maximus VIII over the Z170i is additional fan headers and the sound card and more uniform mobo cabling.

On the GA Z170 N Gaming-5 PSU does not block angled SATA cables using an SFX PSU in an M1, you need reverse angled SATA cables - same as angled but they are angled in the opposite direction they are angled up instead of down, normal angled ones make the cable exit from the motherboard back side not face up as I think you'd want.

You might have to take a file to the connector shell just to get a bit more clearance between the PSU and the connector. I used some chunky old reverse angle SATA 1 cables though I had lying around from a PowerMac G4 years ago.
 
Got my tracking numbers for one of the 2016-1-10 shipment, but the Taiwan Post comes up with "No Data" Anyone else getting the same? Reached out to Ncase on Sat, but it seems that they may be taking the holiday weekend off. Hopefully, I'll get a reply on Tues.

Got a reply from Ncase. What I assume was a typo was in the original tracking #. Now I can obsess over seeing the case get closer and closer to me.
 
Has anyone tried the H80i? I am wanting to go from my h105 to 2 aios for the cpu and gpu. The rad thickness is the same so in theory it should fit? just not sure how the square corsair pumps are compared to the h75/h105 circle pumps.

Would anyone recommend something for gpu aio other than the hg10 980?

EDIT: does corsair link still suck? might be nice to connect all my fans and pumps to it in the ncase if it works well now.

EDITEDIT: turns out the h80i GT 49mm is the only one available, no more h80i 38mm :(
 
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