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

Ok, interesting. What 1070 did you manage to get? It shouldn't raise your temps that much, and not at all if it's FE. I ordered my 1070 a week ago, and I could only get my hands on an EVGA FE for $450 :( And that was difficult enough. Seems like an awful deal for the reference design, but I didn't want to wait another month.

I ordered the same, but here in Denmark the retail price for the EVGA 1070 FE is $583 :vomit: So compared to my price, you got a great deal (y)
 
The C14 is the best air cooler for the M1. It has the most surface area, and it is top-down, which the M1 is optimized for. But you cannot use the rest of the side bracket with it. The U9S should be able to handle that overclock no problem. You'll see slightly higher temps, but it should be perfectly fine. I recently saw a review where the U9S was hitting mid-70s under load with a 4790k OCed to 4.6GHz at 1.3v, and Skylake overclocks a bit better, so you'll have no issue whatsoever. The H105 will outperform both by up to 10 degrees, but you'll have a more crowded system with liquid in it, and it costs more, and again, it takes up the entire bracket. So... all 3 will work, it comes down to personal preference/utility/looks/marginal difference in performance. As far as noise, the Noctua coolers will be quiet, the H105 won't be very noisy if configured properly, but Corsair fans are much louder and worse in every way than Noctuas. As far as air pressure, there's very little air in AIOs, and I've never heard of AIOs exploding in flight, so you should be okay there. BUT if you want to take your M1 in your carryon, you may have issues with security b/c of the liquid in it...

My personal view on this is, if I can hit the maximum OC possible while below 1.3v, with fans spinning at ~ 1000 RPM and temperature under 80 C, then I don't need anything bigger and I'd rather keep the other half of my bracket for potential future use, e.g. a graphics card with an AIO. I chose a 120mm AIO for my system for that reason. I would have gone U9S, but I wanted top-down intakes and all 120mm GentleTyphoons, so that was more of an aesthetic and airflow choice, but I have serious OCD, so... these are all minor considerations. All 3 will perform perfectly well. If you don't want water, get U9S if you want to use the rest of the bracket and have slightly easier access to your motherboard, otherwise get C14 if you can find one. :)

Edit: Actually, the Dark Rock TF outperforms the C14 by a tiny bit I think, but it has compatibility issues with certain motherboards and RAM.
Quantum... great info post there... I think I want this case for the coolness/funkiness factor, but it is confusing as to what components will work w/ what...and what will fit w/ less of a hassle than others. And I'm at a point where my patience level is not where it used to be, so that I think I just want to do 'an easy new build' with a larger/easier to work in Mini-ITX case like the Phanteks Evolv....
 
So is FE the best GPU design for the ncase?
What about the GeForce GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming Watercooling design?
Does this GPU feat in a ncase?
 
I ordered the same, but here in Denmark the retail price for the EVGA 1070 FE is $583 :vomit: So compared to my price, you got a great deal (y)

God, that is criminal... The 1080 is supposed to start at $600. I've heard components are more expensive in Europe. Can't you buy from an American retailer that ships to Denmark? Or ask an American friend to ship your components to you ;) Or someone who is traveling. That may be complicated though.

Quantum... great info post there... I think I want this case for the coolness/funkiness factor, but it is confusing as to what components will work w/ what...and what will fit w/ less of a hassle than others. And I'm at a point where my patience level is not where it used to be, so that I think I just want to do 'an easy new build' with a larger/easier to work in Mini-ITX case like the Phanteks Evolv....

A very attractive case, but 2.7 times the size the M1, ouch. And it doesn't fit much more. Honestly, my post made it sound more complicated than it is. Almost any 120mm or 240mm AIO fits in the M1. And almost any air cooler up to 130mm. That's it, after that it's personal preference and performance.

I should stop hogging this thread. Happy 4th of July to those in the US. Celebrate your independence from large cases ;)
 
The Phanteks Evolv Mini-ITX has quite good cooling, per several website and YouTube reviews I've seen. I'm between getting the M1 and the Evolv.

bde05594a0.jpg



My last case was a Phanteks Evolv-itx and it is a decent case at the price, I will say that cable management is awesome. Build quality between it and the ncase are like night and day, the ncase is much higher quality.
 
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What motherboards do people tend to recommend around here? I was planning on using the GIG Gaming Z170, but the lack of USB and Intel NIC has turned me off a bit. Also, completely unrelated, is it a bad idea to buy a used NH-C14? Everyone keeps telling me it is the best air cooler for this case, but it is discontniued so my options for buying it are $70 used or $105 new from Outlet PC, which I am not sure I can trust...

Check this out: Amazon.com: Noctua for Intel LGA 1156, 1366, 1155, 775 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3 Sockets, 6 Heatpipe 2x140mm SSO Bearing Quiet CPU Cooler - Retail NH-C14: Electronics

C14 is still available for $80 new on Amazon.
 
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Has anyone shortened the psu cable that came with the case or know where to get one? Not sure exactly what it's called so having a problem finding one
 
God, that is criminal... The 1080 is supposed to start at $600. I've heard components are more expensive in Europe. Can't you buy from an American retailer that ships to Denmark? Or ask an American friend to ship your components to you ;) Or someone who is traveling. That may be complicated though.

Everything from the US is put on 25% tax when importing into the EU... (n)
So the only way to get it at the US price, is to travel there... Even If I order something from ebay.com the toll will open the package if it is from the US, and charge around 25%. So I guess that is just how it works.

The 1080 FE is $912 here :eek:

So if you are planning a trip to Europe within the next couple of months, please bring me four 1080's!!! :joyful::smuggrin:
 
That's a Pelican case. Should be pretty easy to figure out which models will work for you as they're available in a variety of dimensions.
 
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I have access to similar cases made by 5.11 so I will try to get something that matches the 1560 Protector. Thanks for the info bencho and Blue Fox

This should work, right? Hard Case 1750 Foam

When I convert the size to centimeters I should be able to get the case plus cables in there.
 
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I'm sure this has been addressed in the past, but what happened to the official M1 bag? I know at one point it was just perpetually sold out, now it seems to have disappeared. Is it not worth the hassle/profitable to maintain the supply? Not enough demand? Seemed like a good product.
 
I'm sure this has been addressed in the past, but what happened to the official M1 bag? I know at one point it was just perpetually sold out, now it seems to have disappeared. Is it not worth the hassle/profitable to maintain the supply? Not enough demand? Seemed like a good product.
It wasn't actually an "official" M1 carry bag, per se, but a project commissioned by another forum user (charww). We had no involvement, other than granting permission to use our logo on the bag.

As for why they aren't being made any longer, each one was custom made by a seamstress that charww found on Etsy, and I can only guess that she didn't want to keep making the same thing (her usual commissions were one-off costumes for people, IIRC).
 
I finally managed to get everything in and powered on! man do my fingers hurt from what i did to get the PCIE connectors to fit...
 
It wasn't actually an "official" M1 carry bag, per se, but a project commissioned by another forum user (charww). We had no involvement, other than granting permission to use our logo on the bag.

As for why they aren't being made any longer, each one was custom made by a seamstress that charww found on Etsy, and I can only guess that she didn't want to keep making the same thing (her usual commissions were one-off costumes for people, IIRC).

Ahh, I see. Thanks very much for letting me know.
 
Selling my cablemod sleeved cables if anyone is interested for the corsair sf600. Let me know if your interested
 
I have a question regarding a setup using 2x 120mm AIO radiators (cpu and GPU) mounted on the side bracket (V5 case). I have tried using push-intake on both fans for the radiators, push-exhaust, and pull-exhaust, but can't really decide between intake versus exhaust for the fans on this small case. My least favorite is pull-exhaust since that seem to be the noisiest and hottest out of the three. So far the setup where the fan intake through the rads seems best (quiet setup and no hot air blowing out from side of case onto my NAS that's sitting next to it). I'm just not sure if the heat from the rad intake is bad for the ram/PSU/mobo/etc. My goal to have a semi-quiet build with component longevity being of high importance as well. What would you guys recommend?
 
Full acrylic side window. Used 2mm plexi, magnetic strip with 3m adhesive on back. Going to get very light tint to hopefully hide the magnetic strips







 
I did this for a mock up just to see if it would actually work. Will be having coldzero cut me a piece and have vents where cooler is. Been in contact with him already about it. He uses 3mm thick this is about 2mm. May have to send him my other piece or see if he can get ahold of 2mm smoke
 
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For taller cards like the EVGA FTW or MSI Gaming X you can get these custom cables to get the cards to work. They sale 6 or 8 pin versions. Not cheap, but they worked.
➨➨➨ 90 Degree Female 6-Pin to 6-Pin PCI-E Lay Flat Video Card Adapter Ver. 1 ➨➨

YtyFdIk.jpg

these wouldnt work for the msi gaming x unfortunately. there is very little clearance as what i did is something i do not recommend for anyone to do. i am essentially pulling the card with the pcie cables and holding them in place with zip ties.

whats the dimensions of the ftw? can you close your side panel with those pcie connectors? does it hit or bulge or prevent you from putting on the case in any way?
 
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these wouldnt work for the msi gaming x unfortunately. there is very little clearance as what i did is something i do not recommend for anyone to do. i am essentially pulling the card with the pcie cables and holding them in place with zip ties.

whats the dimensions of the ftw? can you close your side panel with those pcie connectors? does it hit or bulge or prevent you from putting on the case in any way?

FTW is 10.50" x 5.06" so you have a little room to work with.
 
Sorry I guess the MSI Gaming X is just too big then.

What I did before I bought the cables was take a spare modular 6pin power cable and cut the connector off and used it to test fit. The case closed perfectly, so I was confident the cables would work for me and they did.

06Zc925l.jpg


It maybe possible to cut down the connector and fold the cables:
9 Awesome 90 Degree Pcie Power Connector Images
You would need the sleaving tool kit to remove the cables and then cut down the connector and then reassemble. Though your probably better off returning the card and waiting for another model to come in stock. Sucks, but I guess you have to continue to be patient with the low availability.
 
For taller cards like the EVGA FTW or MSI Gaming X you can get these custom cables to get the cards to work. They sale 6 or 8 pin versions. Not cheap, but they worked.
➨➨➨ 90 Degree Female 6-Pin to 6-Pin PCI-E Lay Flat Video Card Adapter Ver. 1 ➨➨

YtyFdIk.jpg

I spent some time hunting for the same connector for the same card this morning. In case this helps someone else, I'm pretty sure the correct 8-pin connector is the "lay flat" style. If I had the patience and tools, I would probably make my own cable for a cleaner looking end result, but this will do for now.

I guess I can't post links, but if you follow the link in the quote, look for this one from the same seller:
90 Degree Female 8-Pin to 8-Pin PCI-E Lay Flat Video Power Adpt. Ver. 1

NOT these ones:
90 Degree Female 8-Pin PCI-E Video Power Cables Verion 6
Right Angle Female 8-Pin PCI-E Video Power Cables Verion 6
 
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