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

The worst part about any of these aftermarket gpu solutions is having to glue the ram and mosfet sinks on the chips. From what I understand, they are more or less permanent and you might break the entire thing by removing them if you ever needed to.

I don't even know what a mofset is, so I'd be relying almost exclusively on YouTube videos for the installation. Do you think it's worth the gamble? I can't seem to find the Morpheus II for sale in Canada, so the Accelero III might be the only option.
 
I don't even know what a mofset is, so I'd be relying almost exclusively on YouTube videos for the installation. Do you think it's worth the gamble? I can't seem to find the Morpheus II for sale in Canada, so the Accelero III might be the only option.

This is the best one I found.



Starting at 2:20 you can see where things are supposed to go.
 
If you want to keep the little heat sinks removable, there is the possibility of using double sided thermal tape instead of the included glue.
 
Okay guys, want yall to double check what I am thinking about for the rebuild. I am going away from the aio route, as the h100 that i had crammed into this i worry is putting too much strain on everything as the cables are huge and not flexible at all. Would like to have some great temps even under load, while being pretty quiet. I use open back headphones. I want this to last a while, I am upgrading from my 4770k build. Board seems to be on its way out.

I am open to any and all suggestions on upgrades or changing out the parts below. Just make it make sense to me, if you don't mind.

cpu: 9700k - would it be worth stepping upto the 9700k? I am willing to try and delid if it really will help.
mobo: asus rog strix itx z390
ram: just some ddr4 vengeance lpx, unles ssomeone has a better suggestion.
m.2 ssd: adata sx8200 060gb
hdd: samsing spinpoint m9t 2tb , will be in the front panel where the cd drive goes.
cooler: u9s - is there a better option?
psu: corsair sf750 platinum
gpu: evga 1080 ti sc2, have the accelero 3 i will be putting on it.
 
I would get the ASRock Z390 Phantom ITX instead of the ASUS board, it has much better VRM. Delid on Coffe Lake-S does not really change much, on regular Coffee Lake with crap TIM it made a big difference. For RAM, just get any DDR4 ram with Samsung B-dies on (for exampe G.Skill 3200 CL14 is Samsung B-die), and you will easy OC them to 4400 CL18, the 2 Slot Mini ITX boards make RAM OC so easy and only the IMC of your CPU will limit the RAM OC. All other looks fine to me.
 
20190119_092056.jpg 20190119_092152.jpg


This whole time I have been telling people that you have to use an ATX bracket and SFX adapter to use a C14S. Well, that is true if you use a 140mm fan. If you use a 120mm fan, however, you can fit the PSU in stock orientation as long as you mount the 120mm fan as far to the left as possible. Credit to reddit user u/Blindphleb for getting me to test this.

PSU has to be installed before the sink.
 
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Okay guys, want yall to double check what I am thinking about for the rebuild. I am going away from the aio route, as the h100 that i had crammed into this i worry is putting too much strain on everything as the cables are huge and not flexible at all. Would like to have some great temps even under load, while being pretty quiet. I use open back headphones. I want this to last a while, I am upgrading from my 4770k build. Board seems to be on its way out.

I am open to any and all suggestions on upgrades or changing out the parts below. Just make it make sense to me, if you don't mind.

cpu: 9700k - would it be worth stepping upto the 9700k? I am willing to try and delid if it really will help.
mobo: asus rog strix itx z390
ram: just some ddr4 vengeance lpx, unles ssomeone has a better suggestion.
m.2 ssd: adata sx8200 060gb
hdd: samsing spinpoint m9t 2tb , will be in the front panel where the cd drive goes.
cooler: u9s - is there a better option?
psu: corsair sf750 platinum
gpu: evga 1080 ti sc2, have the accelero 3 i will be putting on it.


Just ordered the parts for mine.

The 9700k doesn't get the same reduction that the 8700k did since they are using a solder. Silicon Lottery says 4-8C. I still went with the delidded version from SL since it was only a few bucks more delidded with no taxes.
Seems the Asrock has better VRMs than the Asus. So I went Asrock.
I ended up going with seasonic psu. I know its a little longer, but it is cheaper, has 120mm fan vs 92mm, longer warranty, and I just had better experiences with them.
 
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Hi!

considering the specs of the kfa2 2070:

http://www.kfa2.com/kfa2/graphics-card/20-series/kfa2-geforce-rtx-2070-ex-oc.html

  • Dimensions(with Bracket): 295*143*52mm
  • Dimensions(without Bracket): 285*127*52mm
i'm not sure if it could fit in the ncase.

What do you think?

I look to the schematic:

proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F5fktEW1h.jpg


...and i'm not sure if it will fit. Do i need to consider the dimensions with or without bracket. When yo look to the left drawing, "height" is refered to "width", right?

thank you
 
For anyone looking for an air cooled solution for their M1, specifically Noctua, please take a look at the testing results I compiled. I tested between the C14S, C14, and U9S.

All C14(S) configurations were tested with the fan mounted underneath the sink blowing towards the glass/panel - away from the motherboard except the OG BIG AIR build.

 
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For anyone looking for an air cooled solution for their M1, specifically Noctua, please take a look at the testing results I compiled. I tested between the C14S, C14, and U9S.



Nice test, surprised the C14S was able to beat the C14. Also nice to see that the 120mm fan is nearly as effective.
 
Hi!

considering the specs of the kfa2 2070:

http://www.kfa2.com/kfa2/graphics-card/20-series/kfa2-geforce-rtx-2070-ex-oc.html

  • Dimensions(with Bracket): 295*143*52mm
  • Dimensions(without Bracket): 285*127*52mm
i'm not sure if it could fit in the ncase.

What do you think?

I look to the schematic:

View attachment 136229

...and i'm not sure if it will fit. Do i need to consider the dimensions with or without bracket. When yo look to the left drawing, "height" is refered to "width", right?

thank you
Height is the distance from the pci connector to the top of the card (where "geforce gtx" would normally be).
143mm with bracket, 127 without.
Length is the distance from the back of the card (where the i/o ports are) to the end of the cooler/pcb.
295mm with bracket, 285 without.
Width is the distance from the pcb/backplate to the top of the cooler (side with the fans).
52mm with or without bracket.

It looks like it would fit with the bracket if the card was a little shorter in height and length (143mm/295mm, whereas max is 111mm for cards longer than 292mm, or 140mm cards 292mm or less). Without the bracket it should fit fine, as long as the power connector isn't in a bad spot.
 
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Update.. Delivery was quick!

C14 + ASRock Z390 Phantom gaming ITX/AC fits!.. Well. Just. :p Seem like some engineers/designers/marketing did their job properly (contrary to ASUS), or just pure luck. But it sits right up against it. Its not pushing on it and its not leaning on it. Just chiiling 1 µm from the VRM heatsink :sorry::happy:

View attachment 127813

That was the same as mine, but it will still grind against the nickel finish. I threw on some electrical tape onto the VRM heatsink where it touches as padding just to be sure.
 
For anyone looking for an air cooled solution for their M1, specifically Noctua, please take a look at the testing results I compiled. I tested between the C14S, C14, and U9S.


Amazing! Thanks for the tests! Are you using direct die for your X299?
 
Hi!

considering the specs of the kfa2 2070:

http://www.kfa2.com/kfa2/graphics-card/20-series/kfa2-geforce-rtx-2070-ex-oc.html

  • Dimensions(with Bracket): 295*143*52mm
  • Dimensions(without Bracket): 285*127*52mm
i'm not sure if it could fit in the ncase.

What do you think?

I look to the schematic:

View attachment 136229

...and i'm not sure if it will fit. Do i need to consider the dimensions with or without bracket. When yo look to the left drawing, "height" is refered to "width", right?

thank you

The different measurements make it confusing, the only way I see the height going from 127 to 143mm is if they include how far the bracket extends past the bottom of the card. A reference size card is 113mm and 127mm looks right for the KFA2, the height above the PCI bracket is not that great.

That said Necere recommends 121mm max height to make sure there is plenty of room for the PCI cables, at 127mm the card will fit but you will have to make a sharp bend on the cables and they may push against the side of the case.
 
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The different measurements make it confusing, the only way I see the height going from 127 to 143mm is if they include how far the bracket extends past the bottom of the card. A reference size card is 113mm and 127mm looks right for the KFA2, the height above the PCI bracket is not that great.

That said Necere recommends 121mm max height to make sure there is plenty of room for the PCI cables, at 127mm the card will fit but you will have to make a sharp bend on the cables and they may push against the side of the case.
Yeah, i think you can ignore the "with bracket" measurements.
 
Amazing! Thanks for the tests! Are you using direct die for your X299?

I switched to the Rockit Cool copper IHS. I found that my ihs is slightly convex and in order to counter that I have to use extra LM. That LM would pool at the bottom of the ihs while I was traveling so I constantly had to redo the LM.

With the copper IHS I just sealed it with LM and I use the IC Cooling thermal pad. I don't have to worry about it anymore.
 
I switched to the Rockit Cool copper IHS. I found that my ihs is slightly convex and in order to counter that I have to use extra LM. That LM would pool at the bottom of the ihs while I was traveling so I constantly had to redo the LM.

With the copper IHS I just sealed it with LM and I use the IC Cooling thermal pad. I don't have to worry about it anymore.
I’ve tried the thermal pad. Works pretty well, but mine got damaged after I pressed the cpu block really tight, but didn’t realize that the pad was angled. It worked ok with the angle, but the crease tore the next time I tired to use it.
 
I’ve tried the thermal pad. Works pretty well, but mine got damaged after I pressed the cpu block really tight, but didn’t realize that the pad was angled. It worked ok with the angle, but the crease tore the next time I tired to use it.

I had a similar issue when I tried to use an 1151 bracket with my 2066 socket - oops. It tore on the edge and dented it, but it's still usable currently.
 
For anyone looking for an air cooled solution for their M1, specifically Noctua, please take a look at the testing results I compiled. I tested between the C14S, C14, and U9S.

All C14(S) configurations were tested with the fan mounted underneath the sink blowing towards the glass/panel - away from the motherboard except the OG BIG AIR build.



Awesome testing. Any chance you might have some time to add 240mm AIO results to that chart? I think it would be interesting to see how a 240mm AIO (with two Noctua 120mm fans) stacks up against air cooling and lay the argument to rest once and for all (at least from a purely thermal performance standpoint).
 
Awesome testing. Any chance you might have some time to add 240mm AIO results to that chart? I think it would be interesting to see how a 240mm AIO (with two Noctua 120mm fans) stacks up against air cooling and lay the argument to rest once and for all (at least from a purely thermal performance standpoint).

I would love to do AIO testing, but I really don't want to drop any more money on coolers/fans.
 
Nice test, surprised the C14S was able to beat the C14. Also nice to see that the 120mm fan is nearly as effective.

Question -- how did you use the C14S with a TG panel and an SFX PSU? You would have had to use the ATX bracket to have the fan mounted under the heatsink on the C14S, but the ATX bracket doesn't work with the TG panel...?
 
I am slowly adding more results to the spreadsheet using Prime95 and Furmark. I'm looking for a donor AIO for testing + 1 NFx12X25.
 
For anyone looking for an air cooled solution for their M1, specifically Noctua, please take a look at the testing results I compiled. I tested between the C14S, C14, and U9S.

All C14(S) configurations were tested with the fan mounted underneath the sink blowing towards the glass/panel - away from the motherboard except the OG BIG AIR build.



Awesome job! how about using 2x92mm intake from the rear and 120 mm exhaust to the side?

thanks



Height is the distance from the pci connector to the top of the card (where "geforce gtx" would normally be).
143mm with bracket, 127 without.
Length is the distance from the back of the card (where the i/o ports are) to the end of the cooler/pcb.
295mm with bracket, 285 without.
Width is the distance from the pcb/backplate to the top of the cooler (side with the fans).
52mm with or without bracket.

It looks like it would fit with the bracket if the card was a little shorter in height and length (143mm/295mm, whereas max is 111mm for cards longer than 292mm, or 140mm cards 292mm or less). Without the bracket it should fit fine, as long as the power connector isn't in a bad spot.

But can you install a card with no bracket at all? o_O

sorry for the silly question...

The different measurements make it confusing, the only way I see the height going from 127 to 143mm is if they include how far the bracket extends past the bottom of the card. A reference size card is 113mm and 127mm looks right for the KFA2, the height above the PCI bracket is not that great.

That said Necere recommends 121mm max height to make sure there is plenty of room for the PCI cables, at 127mm the card will fit but you will have to make a sharp bend on the cables and they may push against the side of the case.

Right now with my 1070 ti mini from zotac, the pcie power connector pushes the side panel. It is from the corsair premiun cable kit.

Yeah, i think you can ignore the "with bracket" measurements.

Thank you.

So, in conclusion, maybe it will fit, maybe not... :LOL:
 
Hi guys, ready to pull the trigger for a new ncase config.
i already have the case and a noctua C14.

what is the best 2080ti that fit inside the ncase ?by best i mean no overclock good temp without to much noise.
it s for gaming and i think i am gona go with a intel 9700k cpu.is th 9900k ok in the Ncase?the price difference is not the issue,just affraid the 9900k is gona be too hard to cool.

Are they a motherboard that you recommand?
last question on RA m, i don t care about rgb,but not sure where to go especially compatible with a C14.

if the C14 is to difficult to fit with RAMIi am open to buy another noctua cooler and resell the c14.

ssd,I will go with samsung 970 evo.

I know that a lot of question... basically asking for all the config.I am just not reall up to date knowledgewise

I would greatly appreciate your help, and i will make sure to do pics;)

Thanks


Edit :

so so far I have :
Motherboard : ASRock Z390 Phantom ITX : seems compatible with the C14 or
asus rog strix itx z390( not sure if compatible, and seems worst choice for VRM)
CPU : 9900k ( going all in)
ssd nvme : 2to samsung 970evo
CPU cooler C14
RAM : G.Skill 3200 CL14 ?? not sur if compatible with C14, no idea.
GPU : 2080ti, but no idea if there is one that stand out and fit ncase nicely. really open to suggestion...
PSU : sf600 platinium ( I read that there is a sf750 is it the same as the sf600 in platinium? already available?)

Should I add a couple of Fan? if yes what Noctua do you recommand?

I think with this my set up would be complete.


I would really appreciate you help.

Thanks
 
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I assume he used a 140mm fan. Besides, in some of the other tests, he used the ATX bracket with the TG panel. I asked about this one page back and Necere said the ATX bracket was incompatible with the TG panel, but maybe he meant with an ATX PSU installed? The bracket protrudes more than an ATX PSU, so that wouldn't make sense though.

I used tape.
 
But can you install a card with no bracket at all? o_O

sorry for the silly question...
You can, but it might fall out. :p
I just wasn't sure what they were referring to when they said bracket, so I used both dimensions. You can ignore the "with bracket" dimensions, they're mostly useless.
 
I am slowly adding more results to the spreadsheet using Prime95 and Furmark. I'm looking for a donor AIO for testing + 1 NFx12X25.

Drop me your address via pm.

I have two chromax nf-f12 coming in as well as an EVGA 240 AIO coming in this week.

With my case is not shipping until 1/25, customs delays, and my 2tb ssd coming from germany, I have a few weeks to spare. Just ship it back once done.
 
Slim fans OP? My new testing of prime 95 small fft's and furmark is showing that nf-a12x15's are outperforming x12x25's. I'm on the OG C14 now. Really looking forward to the U9S results.

I'm currently on the U9S. Here's a link. I'm updating as tests finish.


My life right now

20190121_181038.jpg
 
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Slim fans OP? My new testing of prime 95 small fft's and furmark is showing that nf-a12x15's are outperforming x12x25's
Intriguing. If you’re really in the mood…assuming you were already plan to go back to the C14S eventually, I’m curious about how it performs with slim intake on the panel, intake slim + pull a12 underneath, and slim top/fan bottom both in ‘exhaust’. Most reviews seem to only grant a few degrees at full tilt when adding a second fan, I wonder if that still holds at 60%.

I know noise isn’t your focus but if you have any input on the volume of the x15 vs the x25 I’d be interested to hear it. I’m still trying to come up with a rational excuse to get slim fans.

Cool stuff!
 
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Hi,

Any advice on a 2080TI that would fit and give good result on the Ncase?

Would greatly appreciate your help, ready to pull the trigger...

thanks
 
Is there a way to change out the USB ports on the front panel for USB 3.1 gen 2 type A or C ports? I would like to purchase a M1, but USB 3.1 gen 2 is quickly becoming the standard and I don't want to be left with a case that's obsolete as soon as it's purchased. A modular front panel would be awesome for V6 to make it future proof.
 
Is there a way to change out the USB ports on the front panel for USB 3.1 gen 2 type A or C ports? I would like to purchase a M1, but USB 3.1 gen 2 is quickly becoming the standard and I don't want to be left with a case that's obsolete as soon as it's purchased. A modular front panel would be awesome for V6 to make it future proof.
While there are no readily available different panels, it is easy enough to swap the cable/ports while keeping the existing panel. I.e. you can remove the existing USB cable but retain the audio and power button. So if you’re fine with type A it’s just a matter of finding an appropriate cable, and if you’re fine with a type C port sticking through a type A cut out you might be okay.

In fairness though I have no idea how easy those types of cables are to source.
 
This is the last time that I will spam ya'll with this until I get the AIO, I promise. Final results show that while the C14S + 120 blowing towards the glass kills it in Aida64, it only gets fourth place in the Prime95 Small FFT + Furmark test. However, because it did overly well (double tested results) on the Aida test it managed to squeek out an overall total victory at the end - beating Big Air by .45C. Margin of error stuff.

There are a few things that stood out to me:
Tempered glass panels almost always did just as well if not better than vented panels. This makes no sense in my head.
The slim NF-A12x15 did an awesome job paired with the C14S. It crushed the results in P95 + Furmark, second only to Big Air by .2C (margin of error) with a glass panel. Crazy.
Sleeper setup is U9S with rear 92mm intake, one 92mm pull and 1x120 exhausting out the side panel, beating all other U9S configurations by a minimum of 3C.

Hindsight, I probably should have made a separate thread for all of this spam. Sorry W360,




Awesome job! how about using 2x92mm intake from the rear and 120 mm exhaust to the side?

This turned out to be the best cooling configuration for the U9S. Thank you for the suggestion.
 
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This is the last time that I will spam ya'll with this until I get the AIO, I promise. Final results show that while the C14S + 120 blowing towards the glass kills it in Aida64, it only gets fourth place in the Prime95 Small FFT + Furmark test. However, because it did overly well (double tested results) on the Aida test it managed to squeek out an overall total victory at the end - beating Big Air by .45C. Margin of error stuff.

There are a few things that stood out to me:
Tempered glass panels almost always did just as well if not better than vented panels. This makes no sense in my head.
The slim NF-A12x15 did an awesome job paired with the C14S. It crushed the results in P95 + Furmark, second only to Big Air by .2C (margin of error) with a glass panel. Crazy.
Sleeper setup is U9S with rear 92mm intake, one 92mm pull and 1x120 exhausting out the side panel, beating all other U9S configurations by a minimum of 3C.

Hindsight, I probably should have made a separate thread for all of this spam. Sorry W360,






This turned out to be the best cooling configuration for the U9S. Thank you for the suggestion.


Thank you for the awesome work! Nice results.

The only thing that pulls me back from using that config is the lack of a dust filter on the back of the ncase.

Anybody knows of a magnetic filter similar to the side one?

Thank you!
 
Thank you for the awesome work! Nice results.

The only thing that pulls me back from using that config is the lack of a dust filter on the back of the ncase.

Anybody knows of a magnetic filter similar to the side one?

Thank you!

Unfortunately the only thing magnetic back there are the screws used to hold the fan. I have tried https://www.moddiy.com/products/90mm-Fan-Dust-Filter-Foam.html and https://www.moddiy.com/products/Ultra-Thin-0.45mm-PVC-Fan-Dust-Filter-(4cm-to-14cm).html with the latter being like the stock side mount filter.

The foam filter is almost impossible to install with screws - anti vibration mounts are necessary. The PVC works fine out of the box and is more usable with screws.
 
Really looking forward to the U9S results.

I'm currently on the U9S.
Dunno if you can try my setup? I'm curious. My main idea was to exhaust 100% air from the CPU heatsink with a duct which I did using tunnel tape but maybe you don't have something to replicate the duct.
 
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