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

Hey all, Forum Noob here ...

I've been reading the forums here for a while deciding whether to build My next PC in the NCASE M1 for its small form factor charms or whether to go the no compromise route of a Caselabs Nova X2M ( Much bigger but less compatibility woes :/ )

So I've decided to go the whole hog and build both and keep the one I prefer when i'm done lol ....

So My Ncase M1 should be arriving around the start of next month so I'm looking to finalise My planned build and would appreciate some help with cooling options available to Me.

My mission statement with this build is going to be quiet power , Its primarily going to be a gaming rig aiming for 1080p gaming on both a 144Hz Ben Q monitor and a 55 inch LG OLED TV.

I am looking to game at 1080p but at max settings and have chosen My components carefully IOT enable 60+ FPS gameplay at maximum GFX settings , everything in the system is balanced with very little overkill to enable this and I currently have the machine setup in a Silverstone SG13 case for testing with a NZXT cooler Which I do not want to keep its only a temp (pun) solution ;)

My current components :

CPU - i5 6600K ( Possibly a mild OC to 4.1 / 4.2 using MSI Gameboost only )
MB - MSI Z710i GAMING PRO AC
RAM - 8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 @3000
GPU - RADEON R9 NANO ( Such an impressive card )
PSU - Silverstone SFX 450 (Version 2) Strider that everyone uses
M.2 - 240 GB M.2 SSD on Sata controller ( For reasons I don't want to go into )
SSD - Intel 730 Series

So.. Thats the main components covered ...

What I need from the forum users ... A CPU COOLING SOLUTION !!!

I'm looking at various coolers both liquid and air and need input on compatibility / pro's cons etc

My shortlist and questions

Noctua NH-L12 - What configurations will fit with this particular case / board ? as it has a clearance of less than 100mm with the top fan i can utilise 2x 120mm Noctuas for additional cooling on the right side fan mount

Noctua NH-L9x65 - perfect fit and allows use of 2x 120mm fans as well as 92mm rear but is the cooling sufficient - its flying very close to the sun regarding TDP of the CPU.

NH-U9S - Not too keen as it prevents use of standard 120mm side fans - I feel I would be robbing Peter to pay Paul and would compromise better CPU temps for worse overall case ventilation.

NH-D9L - Same as above

Dark Rock TF - Seems like the ideal choice however looks like the mounting backplate will not fit this board because of a badly placed chip on the rear that obstructs fitting

Zalman 8900 Quiet - Looks ideal but possible fitting issues within the Ncase M1 - has anyone tried this ??

Any other suggestions on the Air front ??

Now onto Liquid ...

Coolermaster Nepton 240M - Looks excellent and quiet for a 120mm X 2 AIO however a quick google reveals issues with possible noisy pumps ??

Corsair H100i GTX - Again looks excellent and popular for an AIO but how does it fit / perform in a smaller form factor

..And You'll be pleased to know thats it :)

All input is appreciated , relevant experience with the specified components would be superb ..

Thanks to the community in advance

7Dev.
 
Does anyone know where I can get more screws for the thing? I was going to put 2 SSD's in two different positions on the case (back of the front panel, bottom) but I discovered i've only got enough of the right threading for one.

I've got plenty of the little rubber grommets but don't have enough screws. Have a v1 case here, that problem just never surfaced until now.
 
I ordered a Silverstone sfx600-g when it was on sale from directron. It came to me with tons of scratches and dents on the outside psu and the fan was broken inside. It was the v1. They wouldn't accept a return because it was the carrier's fault. I then ordered one from Amazon it's the v1.1 and no noise at all and works beautifully.
 
7DevilZ said:
Hey all, Forum Noob here ...

.........
My shortlist and questions

Noctua NH-L12 - What configurations will fit with this particular case / board ? as it has a clearance of less than 100mm with the top fan i can utilise 2x 120mm Noctuas for additional cooling on the right side fan mount

Noctua NH-L9x65 - perfect fit and allows use of 2x 120mm fans as well as 92mm rear but is the cooling sufficient - its flying very close to the sun regarding TDP of the CPU.

NH-U9S - Not too keen as it prevents use of standard 120mm side fans - I feel I would be robbing Peter to pay Paul and would compromise better CPU temps for worse overall case ventilation.

NH-D9L - Same as above

Dark Rock TF - Seems like the ideal choice however looks like the mounting backplate will not fit this board because of a badly placed chip on the rear that obstructs fitting

Zalman 8900 Quiet - Looks ideal but possible fitting issues within the Ncase M1 - has anyone tried this ??

Any other suggestions on the Air front ??

Now onto Liquid ...

Coolermaster Nepton 240M - Looks excellent and quiet for a 120mm X 2 AIO however a quick google reveals issues with possible noisy pumps ??

Corsair H100i GTX - Again looks excellent and popular for an AIO but how does it fit / perform in a smaller form factor
..........

7Dev.
Click to expand...

For air cooling bigger is always better as long as you have room. Regarding your reasoning for fan placement and amount, remember that the goal is to get enough air where it is needed. Throwing fans at it won't necessarily help. With the NH-U9S/L you forgo the 120mm fan directly over it on the fan brackt yes, but if you orient it to exhaust out the back, the front 120mm fan which will fit is the one that is providing your cooler with air, and it will give you more air per minute than the 92mm fan on the cooler anyway, so you're fine. There is also the option of NH-C14 (You can still get them, though they're not in production any more) or the scythe Kabuto II. I think those are really your best options for quiet operation if they fit your MB. The google sheet doesn't say at this point but from eyeballing it it looks like it'll work. As much heatsink as possible and big slow fans is the way to go.

You could always go for a liquid cooler but the pump will most likely introduce more noise than necessary, and since quiet is the goal, and its only an i5 with mild OC good air cooling should be more than sufficient.

Whatever you end up with, I think your PSU and your NANO will be the most noisy components anyway.
 
Lazer1337 said:
I ordered a Silverstone sfx600-g when it was on sale from directron. It came to me with tons of scratches and dents on the outside psu and the fan was broken inside. It was the v1. They wouldn't accept a return because it was the carrier's fault. I then ordered one from Amazon it's the v1.1 and no noise at all and works beautifully.
Click to expand...

Just curious when you ordered? I just got my SFX 600w yesterday from direction and it looks new and is a V1.1. Im going to try to finish my build this weekend and report back on it.
 
FnordMan said:
Does anyone know where I can get more screws for the thing? I was going to put 2 SSD's in two different positions on the case (back of the front panel, bottom) but I discovered i've only got enough of the right threading for one.

I've got plenty of the little rubber grommets but don't have enough screws. Have a v1 case here, that problem just never surfaced until now.
Click to expand...
You could probably ask on the ncase contact site.

I've found some better alternatives on mcmaster carr. You usually have to buy 10-100 of each individual screw, but I find the selection great. I've "upgraded" a lot of my screws with built in o-rings, so it helps with vibration.
 
jpm804 said:
Just curious when you ordered? I just got my SFX 600w yesterday from direction and it looks new and is a V1.1. Im going to try to finish my build this weekend and report back on it.
Click to expand...

It was around Feb 1stish. I'm not sure what happened but I got a lemon haha.
 
Lazer1337 said:
It was around Feb 1stish. I'm not sure what happened but I got a lemon haha.
Click to expand...

Oh that sucks ... i ordered mine on 2/14 which was not too far from your order date. I didn't even know they still had v1.0 in the channel still also. But glad to hear your v1.1 is working out for you.
 
7DevilZ said:
What I need from the forum users ... A CPU COOLING SOLUTION !!!
Click to expand...
A couple routes to take, really.

The first route is air - the Scythe Kabuto II is what I run, and I'm quite happy with its performance (although at stock clocks).

For water, I'd run a custom loop with a waterblock on the GPU, too.

Now, I've got concerns about your power supply choice - I'd want a bit more headroom than a 450 if I were running a Nano and an overclocked CPU. (I mean, I got a 600 and I'm running a stock-clocked 6600K and a GTX 960, although I do have plans to upgrade the GPU later. That, however, is admittedly overkill.) I'm thinking the SX500-LG might be a good option if you don't want the SX600-G, or if you're running air, you could consider a full ATX power supply, even, with the Nano being such a short cooler. (A dual radiator won't work with the ATX power supply, though.)
 
bhtooefr said:
A couple routes to take, really.

The first route is air - the Scythe Kabuto II is what I run, and I'm quite happy with its performance (although at stock clocks).

For water, I'd run a custom loop with a waterblock on the GPU, too.

Now, I've got concerns about your power supply choice - I'd want a bit more headroom than a 450 if I were running a Nano and an overclocked CPU. (I mean, I got a 600 and I'm running a stock-clocked 6600K and a GTX 960, although I do have plans to upgrade the GPU later. That, however, is admittedly overkill.) I'm thinking the SX500-LG might be a good option if you don't want the SX600-G, or if you're running air, you could consider a full ATX power supply, even, with the Nano being such a short cooler. (A dual radiator won't work with the ATX power supply, though.)
Click to expand...

have you tried the c14 vs the kabuto? im concerned about the kabuto mounting, and might make a mod so i can use the hdd cage with the c14, even though it will cost more

Can the fans from the nh-c14 fit in the bottom of the case? I remember seeing circular frame 140mm fitting on the bottom before
 
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bhtooefr said:
A couple routes to take, really.

The first route is air - the Scythe Kabuto II is what I run, and I'm quite happy with its performance (although at stock clocks).

For water, I'd run a custom loop with a waterblock on the GPU, too.

Now, I've got concerns about your power supply choice - I'd want a bit more headroom than a 450 if I were running a Nano and an overclocked CPU. (I mean, I got a 600 and I'm running a stock-clocked 6600K and a GTX 960, although I do have plans to upgrade the GPU later. That, however, is admittedly overkill.) I'm thinking the SX500-LG might be a good option if you don't want the SX600-G, or if you're running air, you could consider a full ATX power supply, even, with the Nano being such a short cooler. (A dual radiator won't work with the ATX power supply, though.)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip regarding the Kabuto - Much appreciated , I'll take a look :)

I'm not worried about the power supply at all in the slightest , People go completely overkill with PSU's to the point that the working efficiency of an overkill PSU is often impaired, its like using a 7 litre monster truck to pick the kids up from school.

A perfect example of a well thought out and specced machine would be the Falcon Northwest Tiki - One of the fastest Small form factor Gaming Pc's in the world uses the EXACT same 450 watt Silverstone SFX PSU and runs it with the Nvidia Titan and a marginal OC, They only step up to the 600 watt model if You spec the machine out with a Titan Z.

In testing here

High-End Meets Small Form Factor: GeForce Titan in Falcon Northwest's Tiki

Peak power draw for the system was 323.5 Watts , that was with the Titan and a 4.6 Ghz overclocked i7 which uses an an older more power hungry thermal / energy design than the new Skylake chips , average power draw was just 286.5 Watt under GPU heavy testing.

I would say that unless a build specifically demands massive expandability then balancing expected load against a PSU's efficiency within its working range is a much smarter , Power efficient and eco friendly way to build.

The problem is that because the market is saturated with cheap low quality PSU's and people like to save a buck here and there to buyer a better GPU or CPU they cut corners and spend less on what they see as the "boring" power supply then run into problems down the line when the Power supply simply can't consistently supply the system with the power it needs.

Because of this manufacturers tend to overstate the power requirements in order to ensure that problems are kept to a minimum and more customers are happy , and as a knock on effect internet forums and tech sites are awash with these overestimates that people take as gospel.

I'd take a 400 watt 80+ gold or higher with a stable 12 volt delivery over a 600 watt with less than stellar 12 rail any day of the week.

A good quality power supply that delivers as advertised will require a significantly less overhead in excess available wattage in order to perform to the right level, The only exception to this rule is in the area of acoustics where a larger more powerful PSU may be able to operate at a lower noise level.

Theoretically speaking even if ALL components in My system were running at 100 % at the same time the PSU would need to supply only 399 Watts to the components, Most of the time the system will require significantly less power delivery.

I've had this build running without issue in a Sugo SG13 case overclocked at 4.2 GHZ for a while now , rock solid stress and heat tested with No issues at all with the PSU, In fact the only issue I have is with the NZXT Kraken X31 and its noise output and its (In My opinion) incredibly poor implementation of the USB and cam software.

Although I'm new to building in the M1 , I've been building high performance systems for 20 Years now.

My initial question is less about changing components and more about "What fits" when working with the M1 ;)
 
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Urelure said:
For air cooling bigger is always better as long as you have room. Regarding your reasoning for fan placement and amount, remember that the goal is to get enough air where it is needed. Throwing fans at it won't necessarily help. With the NH-U9S/L you forgo the 120mm fan directly over it on the fan brackt yes, but if you orient it to exhaust out the back, the front 120mm fan which will fit is the one that is providing your cooler with air, and it will give you more air per minute than the 92mm fan on the cooler anyway, so you're fine. There is also the option of NH-C14 (You can still get them, though they're not in production any more) or the scythe Kabuto II. I think those are really your best options for quiet operation if they fit your MB. The google sheet doesn't say at this point but from eyeballing it it looks like it'll work. As much heatsink as possible and big slow fans is the way to go.

You could always go for a liquid cooler but the pump will most likely introduce more noise than necessary, and since quiet is the goal, and its only an i5 with mild OC good air cooling should be more than sufficient.

Whatever you end up with, I think your PSU and your NANO will be the most noisy components anyway.
Click to expand...

Thanks - Some Solid advice there ,

Will definitely take a look at the Kabuto II as its the second time a forum member has suggested this one.

Whats Your take on the Noctua NH-L12 any experiance with it and the M1 ... It seems to review very well and is in line with your recommendations ?
 
No Hands 55 said:
have you tried the c14 vs the kabuto? im concerned about the kabuto mounting, and might make a mod so i can use the hdd cage with the c14, even though it will cost more
Click to expand...

I have not.

The push-pin mounts aren't my preference by a long shot, but they do work. One thing that can help is removing the fan from the heatsink, and mounting it to the chassis instead (maybe cut a spacer out of 2 mm thick material to guide the air into the heatsink, although I'm quite happy with my temperatures without doing that) - that removes 115 g (plus a gram or two for the wire clips) from the heatsink mounting interface. That gets it down to 578-579 g, which is not that far above Intel's spec for heatsink maximum weight (of 500 g).
 
Hanakuso said:
You could probably ask on the ncase contact site.

I've found some better alternatives on mcmaster carr. You usually have to buy 10-100 of each individual screw, but I find the selection great. I've "upgraded" a lot of my screws with built in o-rings, so it helps with vibration.
Click to expand...

Got links, item numbers or something? I can never find anything on those sites. Definitely interested in an alternative source in case I don't hear back from the ncase folks.
 
Hi all. I want to buy ncase m1, because in my current case poor ventilation and components are heated to a sufficiently high temperature.
This summer im planning to upgrade to i5 skylake (not sure which one), and at the end of the year i will upgrade videocard to smth like gtx970 or whatever will be actual at the time.
Main goal - very quiet build, especially in iddle and under low load (20-30% CPU, 20-30% GPU load). Right now the loudest component is the video card (Palit GeForce GTX 750 Ti StormX Dual), it cant stop vents and lowest fan speed is about 30%. So i have a question: can i remove a stock fans from videocard and use 2x120 mm fans on the ncase bottom to cool videocard and keep it cold and more silent than before? Also i think about changing PSU fan, coz it has its famous clicking problem (not sure if it really annoy me or not) and AXP-100 Muscle's fan a bit clicking or cracking dunno how it call, so maybe i will change it to some 92x25mm fan (correct me if im wrong with size).
My current build:
Case - INWIN BK623
CPU - i3 4330
FAN - AXP-100 Muscle
MB - MSI H81M-P33
RAM - 8GB HYNIX (2x4GB)
GPU - Palit GeForce GTX 750 Ti StormX Dual 2GB
PSU - Chieftec SFX-500GD-C 500W
SSD - Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5"
HDD - 2TB Toshiba 7200rpm 3.5"
HDD - 500GB Samsung 5400rpm 2.5"
also i got 2x ARCTIC F8 PWM PST (80x80x25mm), 1x ARCTIC F8 PWM REV.2 (same like previous but wiithout PST splitter), 1x ARCTIC F8 Silent (3pin 1200rpm)
 
Urelure said:
With the NH-U9S/L you forgo the 120mm fan directly over it on the fan brackt yes, but if you orient it to exhaust out the back, the front 120mm fan which will fit is the one that is providing your cooler with air, and it will give you more air per minute than the 92mm fan on the cooler anyway, so you're fine. There is also the option of NH-C14 (You can still get them, though they're not in production any more) or the scythe Kabuto II.
Click to expand...

After reading through hundreds of pages, I'm still a bit confused on these coolers. I'm thinking big Noctua, but not sure where to go. This is my build:

Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor

ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard

G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory

Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive

Western Digital Blue 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive

Silverstone SST-SX500-LG


So for the NH-C14 you have to disassemble the bottom 140mm fan and buy a new 120mm fan to put in there? Just a standard NF-F12 PWM? Will I have a clearance problem with my RAM or SFX-L power supply?

Using the NH-C14, where can I mount a 3.5" drive if it won't mount on the side?

I want quiet, so this one sounds like it fits the bill, but is a tight squeeze. With the NH-C14, what is the best fan setup? Lots do 2 x 120mm on the bottom and 1 92x14mm on the rear, right?

1st build in 10 years so I'm a bit clueless here. Also, I plan on waiting for a pascal card if that makes a difference. Thanks!
 
spammy said:
So for the NH-C14 you have to disassemble the bottom 140mm fan and buy a new 120mm fan to put in there?
Click to expand...
You don't have to have a bottom fan. The NH-C14 comes with two 140mm fans, and will work just fine with only one. Absolute cooling performance may not be quite as good, but in practice it's not likely to make a noticeable difference.

spammy said:
Will I have a clearance problem with my RAM or SFX-L power supply?
Click to expand...
According to G.Skills's product page, that RAM is 42mm tall. The Noctua NH-C14, meanwhile, per the FAQ only has 38mm of clearance with the bottom fan, or 65mm without. So with that RAM you would not be able to use the bottom fan on the heatsink. And yes, even with low profile RAM, the stock 140mm bottom fan would interfere with the SFX PSU.

spammy said:
Using the NH-C14, where can I mount a 3.5" drive if it won't mount on the side?
Click to expand...
A 3.5" HDD can be mounted on the bottom, right under the GPU. However, I don't really recommend doing that in most cases, as it will pick up heat from the GPU, and will also block some of the GPU's intake (with open cooler cards, at least). If you must use a 3.5" HDD, I would suggest a CPU cooler that will allow it to be mounted in the cage on the side bracket. The Noctua U9S, D9L, Scythe Kabuto 2, or many of the branded Asetek-based slim 120mm AIOs will work. If you don't absolutely need 4TB in one drive, you might also consider a 2TB 2.5" mechanical drive instead, as they do run cooler and take up substantially less space.
 
spammy said:
After reading through hundreds of pages, I'm still a bit confused on these coolers. I'm thinking big Noctua, but not sure where to go. This is my build:

Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor

ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard

G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory

Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive

Western Digital Blue 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive

Silverstone SST-SX500-LG


So for the NH-C14 you have to disassemble the bottom 140mm fan and buy a new 120mm fan to put in there? Just a standard NF-F12 PWM? Will I have a clearance problem with my RAM or SFX-L power supply?

Using the NH-C14, where can I mount a 3.5" drive if it won't mount on the side?

I want quiet, so this one sounds like it fits the bill, but is a tight squeeze. With the NH-C14, what is the best fan setup? Lots do 2 x 120mm on the bottom and 1 92x14mm on the rear, right?

1st build in 10 years so I'm a bit clueless here. Also, I plan on waiting for a pascal card if that makes a difference. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Necere basically covered all the tecnical stuff, but I do want to add that with an i5, even mildly overclocked, you're fine with one 140mm fan on the C14 and nothing else. You haven't mentioned a GPU. Depending on what you go for here bottom fans might, or might not give you better performance, but it most certainly will be noisier at idle, so for quiet it isn't necessarily going to help. I would not add a 92mm fan at the back, there is plenty of ventilation for the air to escape anyway.
 
7DevilZ said:
Thanks - Some Solid advice there ,

Will definitely take a look at the Kabuto II as its the second time a forum member has suggested this one.

Whats Your take on the Noctua NH-L12 any experiance with it and the M1 ... It seems to review very well and is in line with your recommendations ?
Click to expand...

I don't have first hand experience with the L12 no. Sorry. But I do agree that based on feedback from others here and reviews online, like the kabuto II, it seems like a very solid choice.
 
Necere said:
The Noctua U9S, D9L, Scythe Kabuto 2, or many of the branded Asetek-based slim 120mm AIOs will work. If you don't absolutely need 4TB in one drive, you might also consider a 2TB 2.5" mechanical drive instead, as they do run cooler and take up substantially less space.
Click to expand...

I don't need the 4TB right away, but I'd like the option for flexibility down the road if I start migrating from a Mac, especially if the Noctua U9S vs C14 doesn't reallly make a noticeable difference in the system. One of your earlier posts recommended facing the Noctua U9S exhaust towards the rear, no rear fan, and a 120mm fan up front for intake. Is that the setup I should go for? I like the idea of 1 x 120mm fan because that sounds like it will be silent.

I do have a NH-l9i sitting around but after reading some of your posts about big fans = quiet, I thought it would be worth looking at a different cooler setup.

BTW, thanks for the ram warning. My gut was telling me it might be a problem.

Urelure said:
You haven't mentioned a GPU.
Click to expand...

For a GPU, I have a 970 in a Mac Pro I'll pull out and use occasionally when my Oculus arrives. I'll most likely wait for the Pascal version of a 970, or 980ti to put in it permanently. But I don't want to put a 3.5" in the bottom now only for it to be a problem down the road.

One more question. I found a V4 on eBay. Sounds like I'll get rivets instead of screws. Can someone point me towards some screws that will work in case I need to remove the motherboard and add a M.2. down the road?
 
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Ok, I broke and bought the Noctua U9S and 1 x 120mm fan. Couldn't research any longer. Looks like people set it up in different ways (exhaust up or exhaust out the back). I'm guessing I could put a fan on the front side and have it exhaust out the back, or a fan on the bottom and exhaust upwards. Any suggestions?

Now I have to do research on cables as this is my first build in 10 years. Any suggestions on where to get cables for a decent price that work well in this small case?
 
Necere said:
You don't have to have a bottom fan. The NH-C14 comes with two 140mm fans, and will work just fine with only one. Absolute cooling performance may not be quite as good, but in practice it's not likely to make a noticeable difference.

According to G.Skills's product page, that RAM is 42mm tall. The Noctua NH-C14, meanwhile, per the FAQ only has 38mm of clearance with the bottom fan, or 65mm without. So with that RAM you would not be able to use the bottom fan on the heatsink. And yes, even with low profile RAM, the stock 140mm bottom fan would interfere with the SFX PSU.

A 3.5" HDD can be mounted on the bottom, right under the GPU. However, I don't really recommend doing that in most cases, as it will pick up heat from the GPU, and will also block some of the GPU's intake (with open cooler cards, at least). If you must use a 3.5" HDD, I would suggest a CPU cooler that will allow it to be mounted in the cage on the side bracket. The Noctua U9S, D9L, Scythe Kabuto 2, or many of the branded Asetek-based slim 120mm AIOs will work. If you don't absolutely need 4TB in one drive, you might also consider a 2TB 2.5" mechanical drive instead, as they do run cooler and take up substantially less space.
Click to expand...

Slightly off topic , but I'm gathering that You're the man to speak to regarding the M1 ;)

I've got an M1 on order , and I'm planning a build to use as a gaming machine. I've settled on a dual 120 mm AIO liquid cooler on the side bracket and I'm planning on running a GTX 980 TI as I just got a great deal on a reference model , I'm using a SFX power supply.

My question is ... I'm considering installing 2 X 120mm Be Quiet! Silent wing 2 fans underneath the GPU area on the bottom of the M1 for additional airflow to the GPU but I came across a forum post from a current M1 user that stated there is very little point as without anything mounted on the bottom theres enough airflow available to the GPU to make it a non issue.

I'm planning on running the GPU at stock and the CPU will run with a mild overclock that should be handled easily by the AIO cooler so ... should I install the two fans , or would there be very little benefit in doing so - and If yes then what sort of clearance can i expect from a 25mm high fan underneath the gpu on a standard ITX board.

Many thanks , apologies for hijacking a response but you seem like the man in the know regarding all things M1
 
bhtooefr said:
I have not.

The push-pin mounts aren't my preference by a long shot, but they do work. One thing that can help is removing the fan from the heatsink, and mounting it to the chassis instead (maybe cut a spacer out of 2 mm thick material to guide the air into the heatsink, although I'm quite happy with my temperatures without doing that) - that removes 115 g (plus a gram or two for the wire clips) from the heatsink mounting interface. That gets it down to 578-579 g, which is not that far above Intel's spec for heatsink maximum weight (of 500 g).
Click to expand...

That's what I was planning on doing! It seems like this is the best option, but..

If the 140mms from the c14 can fit on the bottom, I am going to use those for the gpu and make the hdd cage work with the c14. Is there anyone who can confirm or deny those round frame 140mm noctua fans from the c14 fit on the bottom or not?
 
No Hands 55 said:
Is there anyone who can confirm or deny those round frame 140mm noctua fans from the c14 fit on the bottom or not?
Click to expand...

I mounted two Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 14 fans on the bottom of my Rev. 4 case, but I had to drill some of the mounting holes, some of which are very close to the screws that attach the case feet. Also, the ventilation slits in the bottom panel are made for 120 mm fans, not 140 mm fans. I drilled a few extra 1/4 inch holes to help the intake of my bottom fans.

So yes it is possible, but only if you are willing to at least drill some fan mounting holes.
 
Qrash said:
I mounted two Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 14 fans on the bottom of my Rev. 4 case, but I had to drill some of the mounting holes, some of which are very close to the screws that attach the case feet. Also, the ventilation slits in the bottom panel are made for 120 mm fans, not 140 mm fans. I drilled a few extra 1/4 inch holes to help the intake of my bottom fans.

So yes it is possible, but only if you are willing to at least drill some fan mounting holes.
Click to expand...

So if I was not to drill any more holes to you think it would really struggle to exhaust air?
 
spammy said:
One more question. I found a V4 on eBay. Sounds like I'll get rivets instead of screws. Can someone point me towards some screws that will work in case I need to remove the motherboard and add a M.2. down the road?
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You may be misunderstanding the changes from V4->V5. Prior to V5, the motherboard tray was riveted to the chassis. This has no effect on the build process and the vast majority of people will never have reason to remove the tray. It was only made removable so that in the event of a broken standoff (which are permanently pressed into the tray), only the tray would need to be replaced, rather than the entire chassis. Assuming the case you buy from Ebay has all the screws included, there's no need for you to buy any new ones.

spammy said:
Now I have to do research on cables as this is my first build in 10 years. Any suggestions on where to get cables for a decent price that work well in this small case?
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The Silverstone SFX PSUs already come with fairly short cables, so you don't really need to buy any. Maybe short SATA cables or a fan splitter, if anything.

7DevilZ said:
Slightly off topic , but I'm gathering that You're the man to speak to regarding the M1 ;)
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Well, I just designed it. I can tell you mostly what will fit or not, but beyond that there are lots of other people here who can give just as good (sometimes better) advice on specific builds as I can. There's no one "right" way to do things in the M1 - it all depends on what you're going for, and there are many ways to make a viable build.

7DevilZ said:
I've got an M1 on order , and I'm planning a build to use as a gaming machine. I've settled on a dual 120 mm AIO liquid cooler on the side bracket and I'm planning on running a GTX 980 TI as I just got a great deal on a reference model , I'm using a SFX power supply.

My question is ... I'm considering installing 2 X 120mm Be Quiet! Silent wing 2 fans underneath the GPU area on the bottom of the M1 for additional airflow to the GPU but I came across a forum post from a current M1 user that stated there is very little point as without anything mounted on the bottom theres enough airflow available to the GPU to make it a non issue.
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In general, fans under a reference (blower) GPU won't do anything for GPU temps. Fans or ducts on the bottom can help control the airflow and prevent recyclying with open cooler cards, and they may help to control dust if they're filtered, since they'll help to maintain positive pressure inside the case. The stock bottom filters are a bit finicky though, and if you're using the side fans as intake along with a blower GPU, there's really not much reason for bottom fans.

7DevilZ said:
what sort of clearance can i expect from a 25mm high fan underneath the gpu on a standard ITX board.
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There's only around 27-28mm from the case floor to a dual-slot GPU, so the fans will sit right up against it.

wz99282 said:
have you guys considered the benefits of making the case shorter by 1 expansion slot?
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Sure. Early designs (which you can find in this thread) only had two slots. But you give up a lot by doing so. The bottom 20mm of the case is what I term a multi-use space, which has the following benefits:

  • Fans can be mounted below the GPU, which enables quiet, high performance air-only builds such as those using the Arctic Accelero
  • Drives can be mounted below the GPU - only way to have a 3.5" drive when using a 240mm rad on the side
  • An additional PCIe card can be installed when used with a 2 or 3-slot mini-DTX/compact sub-microATX motherboard
  • Makes GPU installation easier
  • Provides extra space for cable routing
  • The front I/O interferes with GPUs over 11", so keeping it below the first two slots is ideal
  • A pump can be mounted below a waterblocked GPU for fully watercooled builds
  • Some people have installed a 240mm rad with slim fans below a waterblocked GPU

So basically it's a whole lot of utily at the cost of 20mm of height, or about 1 liter difference in overall volume. I personally think it's a worthwhile tradeoff. A lot of cool builds just wouldn't be possible without that little bit of extra room.
 
Hey folks, awesome that this thread is still going. I have a V2 that has been running beautifully for a while now.
I've got a ASUS z97I-Plus and I hate the attached antenna that came with it. I remember seeing someone in the thread that purchased router antenna to replace his.

Can anyone direct me to some wireless antenna, screw type that are like the ones that come with routers? There are so many different kinds and flavours, 2.4/5.4, 5DBi, 10DBi. I have no idea which one to get from ebay. Can someone give me some tips? I'm obviously looking for the best that I can get for my mobo.

Thank you advance all!
 
So having been inspired by the Kimera Cerberus design, I did a bit of a window mod to my Ncase. Seems a bit of a shame to alter the iconic M1 but had to be done. My Ncase does't have an ODD slot so I'm now tempted to mill one out given how it went with the window milling. Would any of the Ncase guys be able to share the dims for the ODD slot? Looks like it needs to be 130mm x 3mm (or 4mm).

Also- I need some way to direct my GPU heat out better from the internal exhaust. I'd rather not add extra fans; I'm thinking of a 3D printed duct to guide the influx to the fan and another to guide the exhaust out. Unfortunately, having weighed my options I think the best options are either to do a mod like this (Project Super Midget Rig: SG08 Powerhouse) or to mill a vent in the front panel and add a duct.
Is it heresy to mill the Ncase front panel?
 
Hermit2001 said:
So having been inspired by the Kimera Cerberus design, I did a bit of a window mod to my Ncase. Seems a bit of a shame to alter the iconic M1 but had to be done. My Ncase does't have an ODD slot so I'm now tempted to mill one out given how it went with the window milling. Would any of the Ncase guys be able to share the dims for the ODD slot? Looks like it needs to be 130mm x 3mm (or 4mm).

Also- I need some way to direct my GPU heat out better from the internal exhaust. I'd rather not add extra fans; I'm thinking of a 3D printed duct to guide the influx to the fan and another to guide the exhaust out. Unfortunately, having weighed my options I think the best options are either to do a mod like this (Project Super Midget Rig: SG08 Powerhouse) or to mill a vent in the front panel and add a duct.
Is it heresy to mill the Ncase front panel?
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pic please
 
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