NCASE M1 picture and build general log

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Still working away on mine, very, very slowly. I may have shorted my mobo as it wouldn't turn on this morning, I'll know more after work. I did manage to take this shot last night prior to blowing it up. I had just finished soldering my LED strips and did a test fit. I got them in a few places along to top of the case and one strip down the centre of the bottom. This picture was taken before I added a strip to the rear of the top.

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my system wouldn't start either when i assembled it at first, and i think i might have had accidentally shorted it by assembling the case's PSU bracket incorrectly. the only thing that worked was pressing the Clear CMOS button on the motherboard (ASRock Z87E-ITX)...that was my last resort, but then it powered on. it's worth a try.
 
I tried everything in and out of the case, MSI has already received it and I should be getting a replacement soon.

Also I've ordered some less dense LED strips to help eliminate some of the hot-spots and get a more even spread of light.
 
i got to stress test my system over the weekend. i installed Windows 7, Intel ME, and Intel Chipset drivers, and AMD GPU drivers. then used Intel Extreme Tuning Utility and Intel Burn Test for the CPU and Unigine Heaven for the GPU.

on stock settings (CPU and GPU), the idle temps are 28C and 35C (if i remember correctly) for the CPU and GPU respectively. with Intel XTU, my max CPU termp was 52C, the average was 49C-50C. with Intel Burn Test, for 10 rounds of Standard stress-level test, max CPU temp was 69C, and for 10 rounds of Very High stress-level test, the max temp was 71C. i also did about 20 minutes of Unigine Heaven and the max temp for the GPU was 78C.

this is with a Zalman LQ-310 AIO cooler and a Be Quiet! Silent Wings 2 fan on the side bracket. the Zalman fan can only be installed on the radiator in push configuration. at first, i had my Be Quiet! fan as intake to bring fresh air into the case, and the CPU and GPU temps were about 3C-4C higher in general; i then changed it to exhaust, and both temps dropped. I can now feel that the holes at the top of the case and the 92mm fan slot both act as intakes. I need to order DEMCiflex filters; is there a filter for the 92mm fan slot at the back?

so, how are the temps? also, i am still undecided between Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 (which apparently makes BF4 run faster). which one do you guys suggest?
 
Today I installed a Swiftech H220, DangerDen 3/8-5/8 tubing and an EK Full Cover R9 290X waterblock.
It's packed tightly.

But I first want to share some other pictures, that I took to see if the H220 is compatible with the Asrock Z87E-ITX:

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It fits !

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Still fitting !

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This is getting annoying, still fits !

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And it still fits !

Troublesome area's:

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Easy !

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This is why I advocate VLP memory.

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Close one, but still fits !

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Running it outside of the Ncase. Those two tubes running from the radiator could have been maybe half an inch shorter.

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Filled that to the brim !

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Yeah not much room left.

But my GPU and CPU temps are so much lower now. As is the noise.
 
Phuncz said:
But my GPU and CPU temps are so much lower now. As is the noise.
Click to expand...

Nice re/build.. the shortened interior PSU cable looks really good!

WiSK said:
(Just curious, but did you consider PP05-E cable set?)
Click to expand...

Was gonna suggest the same thing. Well worth the $25 imo, and even at stock length, they seem to disappear a lot better than the standard SF-G cables.
 
WiSK said:
I'm glad to read it :D

(Just curious, but did you consider PP05-E cable set?)
Click to expand...

I have a PP05-E set waiting to be cut and sleeved ;)
The SATA power is from that set, BTW.

AFD said:
Nice re/build.. the shortened interior PSU cable looks really good!
Thanks, I'm planning to shorten all the rest too !
Click to expand...

yimingwuzere said:
How good are your 290X temps and is its clock speed maintained under load? I'm actually considering a similar build.
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It can now maintain 1GHz without issue, I've seen between 40-50°C while gaming at stock speeds.
 
I'm going to try to "move" the fill-port to the highest spot in the case by using a 90-degree fitting and installing a fill port on the top of the case, just below the top panel. This to make filling and bleeding easier. I'm thinking about using one of the "inside" SSD mount slots to secure a bracket for the fill port.

XJ47okV.png


Just a heads-up to an idea I had after being annoyed because I need to properly bleed my loop which isn't so easy now that it's all inside the Ncase M1.
 
Phuncz said:
I have a PP05-E set waiting to be cut and sleeved ;)
Click to expand...

Cool. MDPC-X or something else?

Phuncz said:
I'm thinking about using one of the "inside" SSD mount slots to secure a bracket for the fill port.
Click to expand...

Is a good idea, but I wonder: the radiator port should be pointing upwards, but if you use a 90 degree then the fill port position will need the radiator to be on its side? Sure you've thought about it better than I have, but just in case, a suggestion. Check second picture here in post#148 of my friend Tim. It's a short piece of acrylic tube, bent to point upwards. When the loop is full up, then he can unscrew this extension from the fill port and close it with a stop plug.
 
WiSK said:
Cool. MDPC-X or something else?
Click to expand...
MDPC-X indeed !

WiSK said:
Is a good idea, but I wonder: the radiator port should be pointing upwards, but if you use a 90 degree then the fill port position will need the radiator to be on its side?
Click to expand...

The picture I posted was misleading, but it's shot from the top of the case. So the fill port is now located on the side and it is also impossible to reach to actually fill. But I'll post a picture when I get the parts and have the work done.
 
Phuncz said:
I have a PP05-E set waiting to be cut and sleeved ;)
It can now maintain 1GHz without issue, I've seen between 40-50°C while gaming at stock speeds.
Click to expand...
Great! I currently have everything set up except the water loop right now. The stock cooler on the 290X is really inadequate for the task right now... the Asus monitor program reports 60C mobo temps / 75C CPU temps for me after 2 hours of gaming. Now I just need the FrozenQ res to ship...
 
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Fill-port installed ! I'm not really happy about the looks though, also the cabling is next (yes I have the PP05-E set ;))
 
I think fillport looks fine. It's a good solution. Aesthetically it could look a little more correct if it were square, maybe?
 
The Asrock Z87E-ITX has 802.11ac, which is nice. But wireless also needs an antenna, which is preferably placed somewhere not in the PC.

wifi.jpg


But it includes so much cable, it's not my style having this hanging or laying somewhere. So how do we solve this ?

So after bundling most of the cable inside the antenna casing and with four small round magnets, two glued to the Ncase, two glued inside the antenna casing, I get this:

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I just use low profile antennas from ebay. Seems to be getting the same strength as my motherboard's unwieldy ones.

wOK5SQdl.jpg
 
Phuncz said:
The Asrock Z87E-ITX has 802.11ac, which is nice. But wireless also needs an antenna, which is preferably placed somewhere not in the PC.

wifi.jpg


But it includes so much cable, it's not my style having this hanging or laying somewhere. So how do we solve this ?

So after bundling most of the cable inside the antenna casing and with four small round magnets, two glued to the Ncase, two glued inside the antenna casing, I get this:

knRDvDf.png


8916f527a7de9467cc803dff530c7f7625ecc07180412dc94761065e9f14c4fc.jpg
Click to expand...

Pretty slick idea, Phuncz. How is the signal range and strength?
 
Skott said:
Pretty slick idea, Phuncz. How is the signal range and strength?
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On single file transfers from a NAS connected through cable to the 802.11n router (same room, no line of sight), I get about 4.3MB/s and 4 of 5 bars reception, which isn't the best but still decent for the location of the antenna. I only actively use the Bluetooth connection for a wireless keyboard sometimes.
 
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cowsgomoo said:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-4GHz-3dBi...ectional_Network_Antennas&hash=item2579c8e0a5

Try this one. As you can see the extension is such that the antenna is almost flush against the back of the case, which means if you're going to be carrying the case around and knocking against something it's less likely to break.
Click to expand...

That is pretty nice.. mine sticks out about 3cm from the back of the case (same protrusion as my down-angle power cable).

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any like those that also support the 5GHz band. Not really sure if antennas are actually frequency specific?

EDIT: I'm not at all worried about breaking a cheap antenna, but now you've got me worried about actually breaking the antenna connector on the mobo :confused:
 
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Phuncz said:
Today I installed a Swiftech H220, DangerDen 3/8-5/8 tubing and an EK Full Cover R9 290X waterblock.
Click to expand...
The loop needs to be fully bled but it's almost there, just some bubbles a few times an hour.
I've been running Unigine Valley for almost two hours and this is the result:


So I would call it a very nice upgrade.
 
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I've been lurking for a while and been reading a lot of other people's build, but I'm stump on what to do on my own setup.

My NCase M1 is currently on a Asus Impact/4770k cooled by a H220. Also connected to a Samsung EVO SSD on the rear of the front plate next to the PSU, and a 3.5inch HDD on the bottom. The HDD on the bottom mount and my GTX 780 Ti reference card barely touches each other. I don't like how close it is, and also how loud my GPU can be. It's an EVGA reference blower card.

I really liked how Phuncz included his GPU in the loop and was considering going that route, hoping to reduce the noise, temperature, and hopefully giving it more clearance between the GPU and the bottom 3.5 inch HDD.

I'm lost because I never have done a loop with a GPU, nor know where to shop for one. So far I really like the EKG's full 780 Ti GPU Block, but there's so many different metal kind of block. Which one should I be aware of or consider for a H220 Loop? I don't know if I want to get an external reservoir yet.

I'm from the States, and would EKG's GPU block only purchasable through their site? Or would there be some kind of online retailer that ships to the States?

Would I need to get each part separate? A block, black plate, reinforcer? Thanks guys, this is starting to become a general water cooling loop question, but I thought this topic would be more appropriate since this case is so amazing and specific.
 
Hi adudeinblue

You can get EKWB products at several watercooling specialist webstores in the US. PerformancePCs and FrozenCPU are the best known retailers.

At minimum, the block and two extra compression fittings is all you need. I believe there is a video made by Swiftech about how you can add the block to your H220 loop.
 
Also, don't forget 3/8" ID - 5/8" OD tubing to go with that, I picked DangerDen's tubing that looks exactly the same as the standard H220 tubing. If you've already installed a CPU loop before (custom, not closed-loop), it shouldn't pose any problems. The most difficult part was figuring out the tubing length and sequence. Also filling and bleeding it took a while but that's to be expected of my level of experience with watercooling.
 
Thanks for the tips guys! I think I will go through with the expanding the H220 in the Ncase.

I'm currently looking into the following parts:

Sorry with all the questions, but I am getting excited to try expand the loop. I only had experience with a CLC (H60 in a Cooler Master 130 before moving into the Ncase), so this is definitely new for me. The swiftech video was pretty helpful and insightful, but I'm really concern with the proper fitting.
 
You could use the stock tubing but mind you that instead of 2 long pieces, you now need 2 medium-length pieces and a short piece. I haven't tried if it works out but because tubing is so cheap, I didn't want to be bothered waiting and paying shipping on tubing if I needed it. Also, it is easier that way to resell or reconfigure if you go with something else because you have the stock tubing. I even saved the liquid.

Those fittings look good and I went with the same type of block for my R9 290X GPU which hasn't let me down. I bought Feser One Pure coolant because I liked it's "no coloring" and "no corrosive" properties but I've been informed it's not that good.

The most important things to prevent leaks are:
a. make CLEAN and STRAIGHT tubing cuts, use a tube cutter preferably
b. tighten the fittings and clamps well enough with a wrench, but don't overdo it (destroys the O-ring)

To fill and bleed a loop, I recommend you look around the forum for tips and guides, look at some decent videos on Youtube.
 
Phuncz said:
I bought Feser One Pure coolant because I liked it's "no coloring" and "no corrosive" properties but I've been informed it's not that good.
Click to expand...

It's fine as a coolant, just that it's made with ethylene glycol. In principle safe if you don't drink it and dispose carefully, but for safety prefer something less toxic.

I suggest using either EKoolant, or Swiftech's HydrX PM (the blue one not the regular green one).

Don't bother with a backplate. It's more for looks. Only the Aquacomputer actively cooled backplates show significant benefit for temperatures.
 
The parts came in today and wow, they look nice. Excited to dedicate some time into it. My initial loop plans looks very similar to Phuncz. VERY SIMILAR. I saw someone on the net play with pipe wires to preset their lengths. I might try that when I get some from work tomorrow. But I hope I can put both fittings on top of the plate. I'll check in the results when I am confident with it soon.
 
What is the biggest heatsink you can fit in this case? I think I read somewhere that the max cooler height is 130mm. Looks like most are using either the Noctua NH-L12 or the NH-C12P SE14. Are there any others? Also, has anyone tried anything passive?
 
From what I remember you can stack 2x SSD's in the front correct?

Can anyone tell me how to and if possible provide pictures because I want to run Samsung 840 Pro's in raid 0 and I believe having them in the front stacked would be best in terms of cable management
 
klatox said:
What is the biggest heatsink you can fit in this case?
Click to expand...
The Noctua NH-C14 is the largest confirmed to fit (with certain boards). Check the spreadsheet for more info.


Nivaku said:
From what I remember you can stack 2x SSD's in the front correct?

Can anyone tell me how to and if possible provide pictures because I want to run Samsung 840 Pro's in raid 0 and I believe having them in the front stacked would be best in terms of cable management
Click to expand...
No pics on hand, but the drives can't be thicker than 7mm (which is most SSDs these days), and need to be mounted face-to-face. The front panel won't close otherwise.
 
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