NCASE M1 v2 Build Thread

[Bosom]

EK-FC980 is what I'm about to order, and should be perfectly fine. Unless you particularly prefer XSPC design or something?

Nope.. just seeking experience... first GPU block for me.

Are you just ordering straight from EK, or does someone have them in stock that I'm not seeing. (EK website even shows no stock, but you can backorder)

 

[WiSK]

I've asked my local watercooling reseller to order one for me, because I had some other non-EK orders too, and it's the same price as direct.

You are in the States? I guess ordering direct will be quickest for you, instead of waiting for FCPU / PPCs to get them in stock.

 

[Axcell]

My build is standing still because of the Fractal Kelvin S24 being delayed to November and my PSU pre-order being cancelled without me knowing. I have the rest of the parts including a 290X with a pre-installed waterblock which is unopened. Is it worth the trouble returning it and buying the newly realeased 970 instead and going air cooling. Or would the 290X under water outperform the 970?

 

[Phuncz]

It depends if you overclock the 290X or play high resolutions, otherwise the GTX 970 will perform equally or a little beter. But the GTX 970's air-cooler will be louder than the watercooled 290X. You'll probably get less now for the 290X, unless you can return it free of charge.

 

[Axcell]

It depends if you overclock the 290X or play high resolutions, otherwise the GTX 970 will perform equally or a little beter. But the GTX 970's air-cooler will be louder than the watercooled 290X. You'll probably get less now for the 290X, unless you can return it free of charge.

Okay thanks! I think I'll stay with the 290X for now still a good card. If i wanted the 970 though I would not try selling the 290X but returning it for a full refund and then buying the 970 instead. However since most benchmarks with aircooled 290X's show very similar performance to the 970 I think watercooling will make it perform equally.

 

[Phuncz]

Yeah, an air-cooled reference R9 290X is not the best version of the product but a watercooled one is. I have mine fitted with a full-cover block and it performs very well, always max boost without even touching 70°C and my H220 radiator can handle it well along with the Core i5-4670K.

 

[Necere]

I'd be very tempted by the 970 over the 290X just for the lower heat output. In a small case like the M1, performance per watt is a significant factor worth taking into consideration.

 

[WiSK]

I'd be very tempted by the 970 over the 290X just for the lower heat output. In a small case like the M1, performance per watt is a significant factor worth taking into consideration.

This for me certainly. I am folding 24/7 on two 660tis. That's about 500 euros in electricity p.a. I can buy a 980, get twice as many folding-work-units done as those two cards, and make my lower electricity bill pay the cost of the card back in 2 years or so.

 

[Axcell]

Yeah, an air-cooled reference R9 290X is not the best version of the product but a watercooled one is. I have mine fitted with a full-cover block and it performs very well, always max boost without even touching 70°C and my H220 radiator can handle it well along with the Core i5-4670K.

Certainly would be enough for me and also as a fun project with the whole watercooling thing if I'll ever find a good combination of WC parts .

I'd be very tempted by the 970 over the 290X just for the lower heat output. In a small case like the M1, performance per watt is a significant factor worth taking into consideration.

Yeah, only thing is the fact that there is no reference design 970 if I'm right and the price difference between the card I am sitting on right now and a 970 I feel isn't significant enough to bother returning it, oh well. So many decisions based around PC-building but it might be because I'm a perfectionist.

 

[Printermeow]

EKWB 5.25 Bay DDC Reservoir and Pump Combo with Pump Heatsink

 

[Urelure]

EKWB 5.25 Bay DDC Reservoir and Pump Combo with Pump Heatsink

That looks AWESOME! What a great idea. Have you had it running in there yet. Would be nice to get some pump/vibration/water turbulence noise reports. Bay res/pump-combos have been critizised for that around the web (i have no experience of this myself) but this solution is just too sleek to ignore.

 

[Hanakuso]

I moved my M1 v1 with my pentium build since I got my silver v2 panels today. Still waiting on my v2 case tho. Here's a picture from the top, it's a complete mess right now and I need to really shorten the cables soon.

 

[Phuncz]

Do you have an open-air GPU cooler in there ?
Could you possibly post your temps (CPU/GPU) running something like Heaven benchmark ? I suspect this would be a good CPU cooler for people with open-air cooler GPU's, because the CPU cooler might pull the air from it. Even your ATX PSU is helping in that regard But I'm afraid it would pull air through the sidepanel.

Too bad we can't flip the sidepanels (perforation on bottom) as this would benefit a setup like this.

 

[Urelure]

EKWB 5.25 Bay DDC Reservoir and Pump Combo with Pump Heatsink

I asked this question in the wrong thread. I'll try again here

@Printermeow

Is there anything preventing the res/pump to be moved further back in the case to make room for the front USB cable? From what i can see it seems possible, but if there is something stopping this, you would probably know

 

[Hanakuso]

Do you have an open-air GPU cooler in there ?
Could you possibly post your temps (CPU/GPU) running something like Heaven benchmark ? I suspect this would be a good CPU cooler for people with open-air cooler GPU's, because the CPU cooler might pull the air from it. Even your ATX PSU is helping in that regard But I'm afraid it would pull air through the sidepanel.

Too bad we can't flip the sidepanels (perforation on bottom) as this would benefit a setup like this.

Yeah my GPU is the Evga 750 Ti. It runs cool as is but I could run some benchmarks to get temps tonight. I was thinking about putting the higher fan speed AP14s on them but I like the quietness of slower fans.

 

[Notting]

EKWB 5.25 Bay DDC Reservoir and Pump Combo with Pump Heatsink

Does anybody know the cubic parts in this pic^
they seem to be part of the water loop, tightened to the case and maybe some kind of secure outlet ?!

thanks in advance

btw. already sent a message to Printermeow ^ but no reply

 

[klatox]

Finished my V2 build:

Case: NCASE M1 V2 Silver NO ODD slot
PSU: Corsair AX760
Mainboard: ASUS Z97I-Plus
CPU: i5 4570
COOLER: Noctua NH-L9i
GPU: MSI GTX 760 Gaming ITX
RAM: 8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport Very Low Profile
SSD: Plextor M6e 256GB

Everything went in easy. The only issue I'm having is that there is a slight sort of whining/squeeling noise coming from (I think) the PSU whenever there is disk access...PSU is brand new. Kind of pissing me off because SSDs are supposed to be totally silent and it almost sounds like I have an HDD in there. I haven't done any troubleshooting yet on it.

 

[TuKo]

Finished it too !

Case : NCASE M1 v2, Silver, ODD
PSU : Silverstone 600W SFX
Mainboard: Z97I-Plus
CPU: i7 4790k
Cooler : EK Supremacy with J2 plate
GPU : Asus GTX 980 with EK waterblock
RAM: G.Skill TridentX 2x4Gb 2400MHz
SSD: Samsung XP941 512Gb (System), Samsung 840 Pro 128Gb (Temp disk), Western Digital RED 3Tb (Storage)








Final result :


About watercooling... I've fitted a 38mm radiator (XSPC) with two Noctua NF-P12 fans AND a Laing DDC pump with XSPC top ! GPU waterblock is touching the pump top, but it doesn't hurt.

 

[WiSK]

Does anybody know the cubic parts in this pic^
they seem to be part of the water loop, tightened to the case and maybe some kind of secure outlet ?!

You mean the drain port? It's a Koolance http://koolance.com/vlv-xutx4b-drain-valve-brass

 

[Notting]

You mean the drain port? It's a Koolance http://koolance.com/vlv-xutx4b-drain-valve-brass

thanks!!

 

[iippo]

It would seem ill be getting GTX 980 reference, which is way more powerful than what i need, but thats besides the point

Can anyone comment if it makes sense to put 2x 120mm fans at the bottom of the case or would one be enough?

Atm it looks like ill be having only one 120mm on the side push at the cpu cooler. I also have 92mm fan which i was planning to put at the back of the case - but apparently not many are using that one?

Regarding fans, does anyone know how many fans its safe to plug on that one case fan pin on Asrock Z97E-ITX/ac without giving the fans extra power?

 

[EdZ]

GTX 980 reference

The NVTTM cooler will be fine with no fans on the lower mounts, as it exhausts directly out of the back of the case.

 

[Kaos_Drem]

The NVTTM cooler will be fine with no fans on the lower mounts, as it exhausts directly out of the back of the case.

I've been using the Titan cooler on the 780 of mine for the better part of a year and had no heat issues.

 

[iippo]

Thanks!

 

[psurge]

I was thinking of the new Asus impact mobo, but it just doesn't seem worth the money to me (I'd rather go with a cheaper mobo and get a better CPU or GPU). So I'm also looking at the ASRock Z97E-ITX/ac, but am stumped as to which air cooler to get. There's no column for the Z97E-ITX/ac on the spreadsheet, and my first choice for CPU cooling, the Noctua C14, doesn't appear to fit on ASRock's Z87 board, which looks like it has similar (identical?) layout.

Any recommendations? What have people tried?

 

[Allied]

I'm using Scythe Kabuto 2 on my Asrock Z97 board. It fits perfect. Can't hear its fan noise over SX600-G chatter.

You can see my parts on the M1 spreadsheet.

 

[psurge]

I missed a tab in the spreadsheet. Thanks - that cooler looks great!

 

[iippo]

ive got cooltek LP53 on E1230/V3 & E1231V3 and cant complain. Its pure copper and is smaller than the noctua/silverstone low prof coolers. Think about about reference cooler on steroids and quiet

There are few reviews around, i recommend you google. It would seem many do not know about this one.

 

[Phuncz]

ive got cooltek LP53 ...
It would seem many do not know about this one.

Probably because you don't need a Low Profile cooler in this case, as the previously mentioned Scythe Kabuto 2 has about 70% more weight (in aluminium !) and a larger fan (92mm -> 120mm). This means a slower running fan and because it is larger, it will most likely also be quieter.

 

[ellroy80]

Gigabyte GTX 970 Gaming G1 easily fits.

 

[hshot_rooke]

Hey all

I'm trying to find a vid card that fits in my M1V2,
I've checked the shared google spreadsheet, but most users didn't put a brand of GPU, just the model. The "things that do not work" section" have some GPUs listed, but doesn't tell me much.

I don't want to end up buying a card and having it not fit. I'm looking at the quietest R9 270 or R9 280 or R9 290 I can find. If anyone can sound off and give me some advice?

My build:
Case: M1V2
PSU: Silverstone SX600
Mobo: ASUS Z97i-Plus
CPU: i7 4790k
RAM: 16gb 1600-Patriot Viper 3 Low Prof.
Cooling: will be purchasing Noctua C12P
GPU: ?

Any help appreciated. thx.

 

[JaccoW]

Hey all

I'm trying to find a vid card that fits in my M1V2,
I've checked the shared google spreadsheet, but most users didn't put a brand of GPU, just the model. The "things that do not work" section" have some GPUs listed, but doesn't tell me much.

I don't want to end up buying a card and having it not fit. I'm looking at the quietest R9 270 or R9 280 or R9 290 I can find. If anyone can sound off and give me some advice?

My build:
Case: M1V2
PSU: Silverstone SX600
Mobo: ASUS Z97i-Plus
CPU: i7 4790k
RAM: 16gb 1600-Patriot Viper 3 Low Prof.
Cooling: will be purchasing Noctua C12P
GPU: ?

Any help appreciated. thx.

Can't help you with that, but this might help you get going:

3 x expansion slots:
- 1 & 2 support 12.5" (317.5 mm) GPU cards
- 3 supports 11" cards (279.4mm)
- Max width: 5.5"or 139.7 mm.

Overview of GTX970 models
(V) Gigabyte = 312/298mm x 129mm x 43mm (Looks too big, but works. Guru3D says it is shorter) PCB
(X) Inno3D = 300mm x 115mm (3-slot design makes it too long)
(X) Asus = 280mm x 140mm x 40mm (Too wide, requires NCase modification) PCB
(V) MSI = 269mm x 141mm x 35 (Aircooler is officially too wide but people seem to be able to fit them) PCB
(V) Palit = 247mm x 126mm
(V) Gainward = 247mm x 112mm (The Phantom does seem to have a really short PCB. 3-slot cooler though) PCB
(V) Evga = 241.3mm x 111.15mm
(V) Zotac = 224mm x 111.15mm (Only the non-OC models though)

Look up the sizes on the manufacturers websites and compare them to these.

But why get a 290 if the GTX 970 is more energy efficient and because of that, quieter in the first place? Are you playing at a specific resolution?

 

[hshot_rooke]

Can't help you with that, but this might help you get going:


Look up the sizes on the manufacturers websites and compare them to these.

But why get a 290 if the GTX 970 is more energy efficient and because of that, quieter in the first place? Are you playing at a specific resolution?

Thanks Jaccow, I guess I should've figured that myself!

Ya, I thought about the GTX 970 as well for the quiet and the energy efficiency, but they're running over $400 with tax here in Canada. A GTX 970 would be ideal, but I think I can find a 280 for sub $200 now I think.
Just trying to save some bucks....

Thanks for the info!

 

[iippo]

huzzah, gpu should be arriving today and after that its all about seeing if all the cables fit in the case or nor...

Well, i might have to RMA psu (coil whine) and change cpu fan (Cooltek was cool to send replacement though).

Weirdly enough it seem like i might be actually finishing my ncase soon enough

 

[Malangyar]

Finished my V2 build:

Case: NCASE M1 V2 Silver NO ODD slot
PSU: Corsair AX760
Mainboard: ASUS Z97I-Plus
CPU: i5 4570
COOLER: Noctua NH-L9i
GPU: MSI GTX 760 Gaming ITX
RAM: 8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport Very Low Profile
SSD: Plextor M6e 256GB

Everything went in easy. The only issue I'm having is that there is a slight sort of whining/squeeling noise coming from (I think) the PSU whenever there is disk access...PSU is brand new. Kind of pissing me off because SSDs are supposed to be totally silent and it almost sounds like I have an HDD in there. I haven't done any troubleshooting yet on it.

I'm getting coil whine too with my brand new SX600-G.



Case: NCASE M1 V2 Black NO ODD slot
PSU: Silverstone SX600-G
Mainboard: ASUS Z97I-Plus
CPU: i7 4790k
COOLER: Scythe Kabuto 2
GPU: EVGA GTX 680
RAM: 16gb Kingston HyperX Fury
HDD: WD Green WD10EARS 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache

I'll be getting an SSD next, will allow for more room in the case. Also I might get a GTX 980.

Don't know what I'll do with the PSU yet...

EDIT: Oh and I've ordered some demciflex dust filters too. It will ruin the look of the case but I can deal with it.

 

[dotGif]

After spending a while waiting for parts and getting them installed here is the mostly finished build

First time creating custom cables. The cables that came with the PSU were already short, but I wanted to go shorter.


All the components in, still need to replace the stock cooler for the CPU, will probably take out at least one of the bottom fans as well.


Probably not the best idea to run the cables like this, and the bends on the SATA cables can't be healthy. But it's the only way I could think off to get a clean look, everything seems to be running fine... so far....


All covered up


The Beauty!


Full album here

 

[JaccoW]

After spending a while waiting for parts and getting them installed here is the mostly finished build
Full album here

Very nice dotGif. That one going into my list of inspirational Ncase Builds.

 

[mbondPDX]

Finally finished my M1 V2 with the addition of a GTX 980. Necere and Wahaha really outdid themselves with this case.

Couldn't be happier with it!

 

[Urelure]

Seing that I'm really glad i ordered the c14.

 

[Baracoa]

What fans are those, mbondPDX? Are you getting good temperatures with your C14 setup?

I'm deciding which cooler to get and I've been looking at the C14 but I can't stand the sight of the brown Noctua fans, no matter how good they are!