NCASE M1 v3 Build Thread

[ghostwich]

*snip*

Parts list?

I know cross-flow radiators aren't that popular so it makes your build unique. Oh and a Titan X, too, haha.

Like the title says, I'm wondering if I should go Air Cooled or do a full custom Water Loop for this case. I aim to overclock the CPU (4.6GHZ) and the VGA. Money of course is a problem. Do you think my current configuration is OK for this purpose?

100% personal preference. You can only field people's opinions on what they think is best, and it's not always going to fit with your situation. Make a big list of pro's and con's and see if it lines up for you.

On the other side, maybe you can help me with the following. If air cooled, I will mount both the HDD and SSD in the side panel bay, whereas if I do a full custom water loop, they would be sitting below the VGA at the case floor (SSD over HDD). In both cases, do I need to get some kind of adapter or the case comes with everything bundled?

I don't recall there being a specific bracket to combine a smaller drive (i.e. the SSD) with a larger drive (i.e. the traditional HDD). As the SSD is very light I'm sure you could rig something together. Is there a reason you want to do this though? I have found the SSD fits just great where the ODD would have fit.

 

[Printermeow]

Parts list?
I know cross-flow radiators aren't that popular so it makes your build unique. Oh and a Titan X, too, haha.

I will make a build log in a about few weeks, Will have Acrylic tubing too (hopefully) I will be becoming a father in less than a month so I am quite pre-occupied

 

[jelapanzor]

Parts list?

I know cross-flow radiators aren't that popular so it makes your build unique. Oh and a Titan X, too, haha.



100% personal preference. You can only field people's opinions on what they think is best, and it's not always going to fit with your situation. Make a big list of pro's and con's and see if it lines up for you.



I don't recall there being a specific bracket to combine a smaller drive (i.e. the SSD) with a larger drive (i.e. the traditional HDD). As the SSD is very light I'm sure you could rig something together. Is there a reason you want to do this though? I have found the SSD fits just great where the ODD would have fit.

ghostwich thanks a lot for your comments.

Money aside (I'm from a latin american country so it's a HUGE con), the only other cons I see are the difficulty of installing the loop and its maintenance, as I'm a newbie in this department. But I love computers so of course I'm willing to take the risk

What I really wanted from you guys is to give me your opinion on how much improvement I can expect in a build like this one when going full water cooled, in the cooling, noise and overclocking aspects, comparing to the current setup I'm building.

I know the SSD fits great in the ODD but I may buy a BD drive so that's out of the question.If I put it in the bottom, is it safe to just put the SSD over the HDD with no adapter at all?

Thank you!

 

[Necere]

Spoiler: pics

http://s020.radikal.ru/i701/1504/c8/14224685195f.jpg[/img[/spoiler][/QUOTE]I'm honestly not sure how you could fit that bay res in. Maybe on the bottom, but the fittings are going to be tough. Also a crossflow rad is going to be tricky due to the extra length.

[quote="jelapanzor, post: 1041521440"]Hi guys, how are you? This is the build I'm making (parts already owned in [B][COLOR="Lime"]green[/COLOR][/B]):

Case: NCASE M1 V3 with ODD (ordered a week ago, and waiting shipping confirmation)
[B][COLOR="lime"]MB: Asus Z97I-Plus [/COLOR][/B](also thinking about the VII Impact, any advices here?)
[COLOR="lime"][B]CPU: Intel Core i5 4690K[/B][/COLOR]
[COLOR="lime"][B]Cooler: Corsair H80i[/B][/COLOR]
[B][COLOR="lime"]RAM: GSkill TridentX 8GB (2x4) 2400 CAS 10[/COLOR][/B] or some Kingston Fury or Savage modules (I like the looks and low profile)
[COLOR="lime"][B]GPU: MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G[/B][/COLOR]
[B][COLOR="lime"]PSU: Silverstone 450W ST45SF-G with PP05-E cables[/COLOR][/B] (which would give me the opportunity to try and sleeve the original cables)
[B][COLOR="lime"]HDD: WD Black 1TB SATA III
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 256GB[/COLOR][/B]

Like the title says, I'm wondering if I should go Air Cooled or do a full custom Water Loop for this case. I aim to overclock the CPU (4.6GHZ) and the VGA. Money of course is a problem. Do you think my current configuration is OK for this purpose?[/QUOTE]The H80i won't fit with both its fans. I really recommend thinner rads than the H80i's, unless you're prepared to fight to get it installed.

[quote="jelapanzor, post: 1041521440"]On the other side, maybe you can help me with the following. If air cooled, I will mount both the HDD and SSD in the side panel bay, whereas if I do a full custom water loop, they would be sitting below the VGA at the case floor (SSD over HDD). In both cases, do I need to get some kind of adapter or the case comes with everything bundled?[/QUOTE]

[quote="jelapanzor, post: 1041522192"]
I know the SSD fits great in the ODD but I may buy a BD drive so that's out of the question.If I put it in the bottom, is it safe to just put the SSD over the HDD with no adapter at all?
[/QUOTE]The M1 doesn't have any provision for stacking a 2.5" and 3.5" drive, but you can install a 2.5" on the inside front while still using an optical drive.

 

[jelapanzor]

The M1 doesn't have any provision for stacking a 2.5" and 3.5" drive, but you can install a 2.5" on the inside front while still using an optical drive.

Necere thanks for the tips. You mean the front panel can hold at the same time the SSD and ODD?

Regarding the cooler, which one would you recommend for this case to get a good OC on the i5 4690K?

 

[Necere]

Necere thanks for the tips. You mean the front panel can hold at the same time the SSD and ODD?

There are two 2.5" mounts at the front of the chassis - one on the outside front (behind the front panel), which is in place of an ODD, the other is on the inside front, which is a dedicated mount. Here's an example of both an ODD and 2.5" drives on the inside front (two in fact, using the stacking bracket):

Regarding the cooler, which one would you recommend for this case to get a good OC on the i5 4690K?

Like car guys say, "there's no replacement for displacement" - the bigger the better. If you weren't using the 3.5" HDD cage, I'd say a dual rad CLC like the H100i. Seeing as you are, you'll have to scale back to a single rad CLC or air cooler that will fit. I don't really keep up to date on relative performance, but I can give you some leads at least: the Scythe Kabuto II, Noctua NH-C12 (if you can find one; note the larger NH-C14 won't fit with the HDD cage), maybe the Noctua NH-U9S. Someone else might be able to give you a better recommendation for a 120mm CLC; I'd only reiterate what I said earlier in regards to thickness, and I'll add that you should try to keep the total package (rad+fans) under 60mm thick or so.

 

[jelapanzor]

OK great information. But if I mount the SSD on the inside of the front panel, will I be able to mount a 240 radiator with fans (and maybe fittings )?

By the way, nice cable management in that picture... is it yours?

 

[Necere]

OK great information. But if I mount the SSD on the inside of the front panel, will I be able to mount a 240 radiator with fans (and maybe fittings )?

Yes, generally speaking. It depends on the length of the radiator though. For example, the H220 rad has a built-in res at one end which makes it longer than a typical 240 rad - it's about 285mm long IIRC - and that only allows for a single SSD mounted to the inside front (i.e., can't stack two with a stacking bracket, also can't use a thicker 2.5" drive). Most 240 rads are around 275mm long though, which leaves plenty of room. You should read over the compatibility section on the M1 product page as it covers a lot of this.

By the way, nice cable management in that picture... is it yours?

No, not mine. There's a gallery of the build here.

 

[theOldHunter]

OK great information. But if I mount the SSD on the inside of the front panel, will I be able to mount a 240 radiator with fans (and maybe fittings )?

I have mounted an H100i on the side with two 2.5" drives on the inside front panel(1 normal/1 SSD). There's a nice bit of room too. Its not a tight fit at all. To clarify, I have mounted the rad fans on the inside as pull, It helps with the H100i tubing. There's a breathable space in the case.

On a side-note, i couldn't install a back 92mm fan as exhaust that I wanted too. Cant do too much, eh!

 

[aldoxzx]

I have an Asus Strix 970 and the google doc in the M1 thread says it doesn't fit without cutting the GPU a bit. So the doc applies to all versions including the v3 M1? Curious if the v3 might have had some slight dimension modifications to fit it now or not.

 

[Necere]

I have an Asus Strix 970 and the google doc in the M1 thread says it doesn't fit without cutting the GPU a bit. So the doc applies to all versions including the v3 M1? Curious if the v3 might have had some slight dimension modifications to fit it now or not.

The V3 M1 is the same as the earlier versions in this regard. Any change made to allow the Strix to fit would introduce a bunch of incompatibilities between versions (e.g., new panels wouldn't fit older versions) that I'd prefer to avoid.

 

[mark7993]

I have an Asus Strix 970 and the google doc in the M1 thread says it doesn't fit without cutting the GPU a bit. So the doc applies to all versions including the v3 M1? Curious if the v3 might have had some slight dimension modifications to fit it now or not.

I actually made that entry in the doc. I have the Strix 970 in a V3, and instead of cutting the pcb on the gpu, I modified the case itself (which may or may not appeal to some people). I removed the back pin socket, cut a small portion of the socket out, and had to remove the ball of the back pin. I felt as if the other pins were enough to hold the panel on, and so far they have been. Also, the large heatpipe on the card itself does touch the side panel slightly, but I'm willing to deal with it (it's nothing major, the panel doesn't bulge, and it only barely pushes in on the card itself).

socket modification:

pin modification:

If I had to do it again, I'd buy another card (probably reference, maybe an ITX card), but seeing as this wasn't a new build for me, but a case migration, I had to make due with what I had.

 

[aldoxzx]

Thanks for that post. I'm inclined to buy another card but at this point it just seems like a waste. The problem is I cannot find another case that I like that is similar to the M1 (with the PSU in the same general area) and the Strix really seems to cause alot of issues with its heatpipes sticking out and such.

 

[Telecaster]

I've done some CPU fan testing if anyone is interested in the results?

They aren't laboratory grade scientific but they're the best I could do and show some interesting comparisons. Unfortunately I was restricted to the collection of fans I own/had access to, tests were done with a Cryorig C1 and an overclocked 2500k.

The results are all averages of multiple tests to rule out rogue results.

Fan Testing

CPU Config. 2500K @ 4.5ghz 1.35v (BIOS setting, actual 1.33v) – Room db(A) 30.7db
Cryorig C1 CPU Heatsink.

Test method – 1000 RPM fan speed, Prime 95 SFFT 5 mins, then 5 mins @ max fans speed. Max fan speed test only done where max speed is greater than +200RPM above 1k.

Delta temp is average of all four cores minus the ambient temp of the room at time of testing.

Sound level taken 30cm from case off axis.

Blue is base line performance from stock fan.
Red is worst result in that specific test.
Green is best performance in that specific test.

Cryorig Stock slim 140mm – P95 1kRPM 5 Mins – Ambient 18c – 33.5db – 58c delta
Cryorig Stock slim 140mm - P95 max/1600 5 mins - Ambient 18.2c - 45.5db -55c delta

Test 1- Thermalright TY147 - P95 1kRPM 5mins - Ambient 19.2c – 32.5db - 57c delta
Test 2- Thermalright TY147 - P95 max/1300 5Mins – Ambient 19.2c – 39db – 55c delta

Test 3 – Corsair SP120 – P95 1kRPM 5mins – Ambient 17.1c – 35.5db – 61c delta
Test 4 – Corsair SP120 – P95 max/2350 5Mins – Ambient 17.1c – 56.5db - 50c delta

Test 5 – Nexus D12SL – P95 max/1kRPM 5 mins – Ambient 17.2c - 32db – 62c delta

Test 6 – Scythe GT1850 – P95 1kRPM 5m – Ambient 18.6c – 31.5db – 59c delta
Test 7 – Scythe GT1850 – P95 max/1850 5m - Ambient 18.6c – 40db – 53c delta

Test 8 – Apache Black – P95 1kRPM 5m - Ambient 17.4 – 32.5db – 60c delta
Test 9 – Apache Black – P95 max/1300 5m – Ambient 17.4 – 35.5db – 57c delta

Test 10 - Shadow Wings - P95 1kRPM 5m - Ambient 17.4c - 31.5db - 63c delta
Test 11 - Shadow wings - P95 max/2350 5m - Ambient 17.5 – 47db - 54c delta

Test 12 – Yate Loon – P95 1kRPM 5m – Ambient 17.8c – 32.5db – 59c delta
Test 13 – Yate Loon – P95 max/2250 – Ambient 17.9c – 50.5db – 53c delta

Test 14 – Promliatech Slim 140mm – P95 1kRPM 5m – Ambient 18.8c – 35db – 56c delta

Test 15 – Alp Wingboost 140 – P95 1kRPM 5m – Ambient 18.7c – 33db – 58c delta

Test 16 – Alp Wingboost 120 – P95 1kRPM 5m – Ambient 18.5c – 32db – 60c delta
Test 17 – Alp Wingboost 120 – P95 max/1600 5m – Ambient 18.5 – 42db – 55c delta

My own perspective is that I'm a bit of a quiet freak so my interest in this test leaned towards that aspect. Firstly, I chose 1kRPM as the benchmark because this is where I feel fans become audible enough to start being intrusive so if a fan is too noisy at this speed then it's not going to be too pleseant at higher speeds IMO.

Take what you like from that lot. For outright cooling and no care for noise then the SP120 at max speed wins, but it's ridiculously noisy and it even loses the 1kRPM noise test so these are out for me.

Interestingly the 140mm fans performed OK but not how I expected, I expected a clear benefit in both cooling and noise, the stock fan performs quite well and there's an argument you wouldn't need anything else but my example had an annoying click to it which was audible at all speeds so I won't be using it.

For out and out silence I would go with the Be Quiet! fans, even though the GT1850s match them sound level wise the noise is different, with the Be Quiet! fans it is purely air moving noise, probably because it's not pressure optomized like the Scythes.

My winner are the Scythe GT1850s, that performance to noise ratio just blows everything else away, and they can idle much lower for even more silence but it's nice to have some extra air flow in reserve for when you need extra cooling.

Cost means nothing either, both the Yate Loon and Nexus fans cost about £3-4 each and performed very well IMO. Notable mention for the Apaches Black also.

Obviously P95 is an unrealistic load, but it's consistent and easy to test with.

 

[WiSK]

Great to see someone actually testing multiple popular fans. Props to you Usually people recommend the best of the two brands they've bought ;-)

Surprised about the Apache Black result. I tested the 140mm Akasa Viper and Apache a couple years ago and they were good but NB PKs beat them on noise and temps. But I suppose 140mm and 120mm is a different ball game really.

 

[Telecaster]

Thanks.

Unfortunately I'm restricted to 140mm fans that have 120mm mounts, I have another two 140mm fans here but with 140mm mounts only. Obviously unless stated the fans tested are 120mm.

The Apaches are decent fans, what surprises you, that they should be better or worse?

NB eloops are on my list to test, and I suppose I should do the obligatory Noctua also, but I already have a big pile of fans and I'm running out of space to keep them!

TBH even after testing I am undecided, I initially went with two GT1850s and the 140mm TY-147 - one GT on the CPU, the other on the floor pointing at the GPU and the TY-147 on the side intake - and it's pretty good, but I'm tempted to swap the Scythes for the Be Quiets as they have a really nice noise to them that is even less intrusive. More tinkering required!

 

[WiSK]

I was surprised the Apache still had relatively low dB at 1300rpm. I should also mention I was testing on a case with a fairly restrictive radiator, and using a phone app for measuring levels.

You mention a "nice noise". This is really a subjective thing, yet important because you have to live with the sound. Something that's hard to test or put a value on.

 

[jelapanzor]

Hi guys,

After seeing your coments and searching for information in other forums, I'm leaning towards watercooling my upcoming build.

Like I said before, I'm a newbie in this department so I'll share my current parts list for the loop and expect your comments, suggestions and/or recommendations:

Reservoir: FrozenQ Ncase M1 Reservoir
Pump: Swiftech MCP355 12V DDC Pump (should I get a pump top or it won't fit placed at the bottom with a full length VGA like the MSI GTX 970?)
CPU Block: EK Supremacy EVO - Copper/Plexi
VGA Block: EK FC970 GTX TF5 - Nickel/Plexi with EK Black Backplate (or maybe Bitspower custom block?)
Radiator: Swiftech MCR220 Quiet Power Series Dual 120mm
Radiator fans: not a clue. Telecaster's fan tests might come in handy.
Fittings: Bitspower G1/4" ID 3/8 OD 5/8 Black Sparkle series (are angled fittings for a case this small mandatory?)
Tubing: Primoflex Advanced LRT Tubing ID 3/8 OD 5/8 Crystal Clear

So that's pretty much it. I could really use your help here!

Thanks,
Juan

PS: Has anyone already ordered the case and is still waiting for shipping confirmation? I've placed my order around March 25th...

 

[Necere]

PS: Has anyone already ordered the case and is still waiting for shipping confirmation? I've placed my order around March 25th...

W360 expects to have tracking numbers by tomorrow night for orders placed before April 5th.

 

[tinytealturtle]

Hi guys,

After seeing your coments and searching for information in other forums, I'm leaning towards watercooling my upcoming build.

Like I said before, I'm a newbie in this department so I'll share my current parts list for the loop and expect your comments, suggestions and/or recommendations:

Reservoir: FrozenQ Ncase M1 Reservoir
Pump: Swiftech MCP355 12V DDC Pump (should I get a pump top or it won't fit placed at the bottom with a full length VGA like the MSI GTX 970?)
CPU Block: EK Supremacy EVO - Copper/Plexi
VGA Block: EK FC970 GTX TF5 - Nickel/Plexi with EK Black Backplate (or maybe Bitspower custom block?)
Radiator: Swiftech MCR220 Quiet Power Series Dual 120mm
Radiator fans: not a clue. Telecaster's fan tests might come in handy.
Fittings: Bitspower G1/4" ID 3/8 OD 5/8 Black Sparkle series (are angled fittings for a case this small mandatory?)
Tubing: Primoflex Advanced LRT Tubing ID 3/8 OD 5/8 Crystal Clear

So that's pretty much it. I could really use your help here!

Thanks,
Juan

PS: Has anyone already ordered the case and is still waiting for shipping confirmation? I've placed my order around March 25th...

You should look into the Apogee Drive II for your pump/CPU block. It will save you some space and people report it to be quiet.

Also Dazmode makes a 240 mm slim radiator people have been using, can't remember the name. Worth a look

Gentle Typhoons seem to be the nest radiator fans but they don't come PWM so that's a negative.

I'm about to build in a V3 as well amd this is the research I've pulled up from all over. I've bought a few pieces already and here's my build. I plan on using a 3.5" and placing it under the GPU

Here's my build

Still need to research tubing and fittings. Planning on doing a blacl/red build

 

[ghostwich]

You should look into the Apogee Drive II for your pump/CPU block. It will save you some space and people report it to be quiet.

There are pro's and con's to using the Apogee Drive II but I will say that it is an attractive combination of two components you will need. That said, the negative is that it is a combination of two components, and pumps will not last forever (does anything ).

Also Dazmode makes a 240 mm slim radiator people have been using, can't remember the name. Worth a look

Alphacool makes a 30mm radiator - Dazmode's was branded "Darkside" maybe, but I haven't seen anyone else sell it. A few people have been able to get EK's radiator in there, which is thicker at like 38mm (and it may force the fittings on it to be on the side with the I/O panel.

Gentle Typhoons seem to be the nest radiator fans but they don't come PWM so that's a negative.

EK released fans recently which have the look of GT's - and they're PWM. Decent reviews I think.

I'm about to build in a V3 as well amd this is the research I've pulled up from all over. I've bought a few pieces already and here's my build. I plan on using a 3.5" and placing it under the GPU

Here's my build

Still need to research tubing and fittings. Planning on doing a blacl/red build

Solid parts list - best of luck with it!

 

[Telecaster]

Gentle Typhoons seem to be the nest radiator fans but they don't come PWM so that's a negative.

Which is a problem if you want to run them off the CPU fan header, but I had mine on the sys fan header and they're perfectly controlable down to 500RPM via something like speedfan.

 

[peterpan188]

Hi all, I am trying to come up with a build with the NCASE M1. Main use is Lightroom and gaming. This would be my first build after the last one 8 years ago with C2D and a Cooler Master Mystique. Remember those days?

Case: NCASE M1 v3 Silver (with ODD)
Power Supply: Silverstone SX600G
PSU Cables: Silverstone Tek PP05-E Short Flexible Cable Kit
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i GT (will it fit?)
Case Fans: not sure yet
Motherboard: ASUS Maximus VII Impact
Processor: Intel Core i7 4790K
Memory: Kingston HyperX Savage 32GB (2x16GB) 2400MHz CL11
Graphics Card: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 980 (reference)
Hard Disk: Samsung SM951 256GB M.2 PCIe3.0x4, 2X Samsung 850 PRO 512GB in RAID 0
ODD: Panasonic UJ-265
Operating System: Windows 8.1 Professional 64


Will it all fit? Any suggestion for the case fans? Any concerns I should look out for?

Thanks!

 

[ghostwich]

Hi all, I am trying to come up with a build with the NCASE M1. Main use is Lightroom and gaming. This would be my first build after the last one 8 years ago with C2D and a Cooler Master Mystique. Remember those days?

Case: NCASE M1 v3 Silver (with ODD)
Power Supply: Silverstone SX600G
PSU Cables: Silverstone Tek PP05-E Short Flexible Cable Kit
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i GT (will it fit?)
Case Fans: not sure yet
Motherboard: ASUS Maximus VII Impact
Processor: Intel Core i7 4790K
Memory: Kingston HyperX Savage 32GB (2x16GB) 2400MHz CL11
Graphics Card: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 980 (reference)
Hard Disk: Samsung SM951 256GB M.2 PCIe3.0x4, 2X Samsung 850 PRO 512GB in RAID 0
ODD: Panasonic UJ-265
Operating System: Windows 8.1 Professional 64


Will it all fit? Any suggestion for the case fans? Any concerns I should look out for?

Thanks!

Well... fitting is just one issue...

The SX600-G comes with cables, so the PP05-E might be unnecessary.

Next, you probably want the H100 not the H110i GT - the radiator you want to be looking for is 240 (2x120mm) not 280. Plus, consider the thickness... the fans you'll want are most likely going to be 120x25mm, so the thickness of the radiator shouldn't be much thicker than 30mm and you probably do not want to attempt a push-pull.

The ASUS Maximus VII Impact (and, as a general rule, all M-ITX boards) will take 16GB (2x8GB) RAM max.

As for concerns... as with all AIO systems in the NCASE M1, you'll have to deal with the thick tubes and lack of space. That said, finding room for the two SSDs could be tough given the radiator and reference card - I would imagine you could fit them under the graphics card mounted to the floor of the case, but it would restrict the airflow a little (most people generally want to add a fan on case floor).

And case fans? Everyone has an opinion on those

 

[peterpan188]

Well... fitting is just one issue...

The SX600-G comes with cables, so the PP05-E might be unnecessary.

Next, you probably want the H100 not the H110i GT - the radiator you want to be looking for is 240 (2x120mm) not 280. Plus, consider the thickness... the fans you'll want are most likely going to be 120x25mm, so the thickness of the radiator shouldn't be much thicker than 30mm and you probably do not want to attempt a push-pull.

The ASUS Maximus VII Impact (and, as a general rule, all M-ITX boards) will take 16GB (2x8GB) RAM max.

As for concerns... as with all AIO systems in the NCASE M1, you'll have to deal with the thick tubes and lack of space. That said, finding room for the two SSDs could be tough given the radiator and reference card - I would imagine you could fit them under the graphics card mounted to the floor of the case, but it would restrict the airflow a little (most people generally want to add a fan on case floor).

And case fans? Everyone has an opinion on those

Thanks! That's some great catches.

How do you mount a fan on the case floor? With the clearance from the GPU card, I would think the fan must be a pretty slim profile, right? And if it's mounted to the floor, how does the airflow works?

TBH, the SSDs are rather optional. I have a NAS as home that stores most of my data, so the 512 M.2 SSD is more than enough for windows and apps.

Exactly because everyone has a opinion about case fan, there's so many choices! It's hard to narrow down to couple of model to choose from. Any recommendation?

Thanks again.

 

[ghostwich]

How do you mount a fan on the case floor? With the clearance from the GPU card, I would think the fan must be a pretty slim profile, right? And if it's mounted to the floor, how does the airflow works?

I am pretty sure people have mounted 25mm fans on the case floor with long graphics cards and air coolers? Take a look through the Imgur album to see some examples. As for how it works... well, with longer graphics cards the case is split into two zones. You want some kind of airflow going on down there with graphics cards and air coolers - either intake or exhaust, some active airflow is going to help a lot more than just letting the graphics card fans do all the work.

Exactly because everyone has a opinion about case fan, there's so many choices! It's hard to narrow down to couple of model to choose from. Any recommendation?

I'll start off saying that case air fans vs radiator fans are pretty different, and fans on radiators can exhibit different acoustics. The good news is that most of the popular fans have video reviews/recordings on Youtube so it should give you an idea of how they sound. There are endless charts and comparisons out there, so it doesn't really help narrow down the choices, but in the end it's really a very personal choice and what works for one person isn't guaranteed to work for another.

After a fair amount of testing and some trials, I've got 2x Noctua NF-F12's (with their low noise adaptor thing) on my radiator, and a NF-B9 on the case floor for airflow to the GPU area.

 

[Synomenon]

Working on a new v3 build:

Decided to go with a Xigmatek Praeton LD963 HSF for this one.
http://www.xigmatek.com/product.php?productid=177


Got tired of having to remove massive heatsinks whenever I wanted to change another piece of hardware on the board or plug things into headers.

I don't have a fan directly on the Praeton, but I will have two Scythe Gentle Typhoons stacked on top of each other (mounted on the fan bracket) blowing down on the Praeton.

 

[Synomenon]

The Praeton didn't work so well. My i7-4790 would idle around 55C, even with the Praeton's included fan on top of it and the two 120mm fans on the fan bracket blowing down on that.

Got the new Noctua NH-L9x65 today:
http://noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=108&lng=en

This is taller and is closer to the two stacked 120mm fans so I'm going to try running it fanless then with its included NF-A9x fan (14mm thick fan). I can fit another 25mm thick fan on top of the NH-L9x65 and still have space between it and the stacked 120mm fans above it.

 

[ghostwich]

The Praeton didn't work so well. My i7-4790 would idle around 55C, even with the Praeton's included fan on top of it and the two 120mm fans on the fan bracket blowing down on that.

Got the new Noctua NH-L9x65 today:
http://noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=108&lng=en

This is taller and is closer to the two stacked 120mm fans so I'm going to try running it fanless then with its included NF-A9x fan (14mm thick fan). I can fit another 25mm thick fan on top of the NH-L9x65 and still have space between it and the stacked 120mm fans above it.

Spoiler: images

Wow double-stacked 120's... for... air cooling?

 

[Synomenon]

Yeah those Demciflex filters are so restrictive. The fans are all PWM and after running the Q-Fan Tuning program in the UEFI, the fans are pretty quiet.

Also, after doing this my SX600G has become a little more quiet since one of the "stacks" is blowing right into it.

 

[Brenex]

Edit* Won't let me delete this post.

 

[mower]

Hello,

I am planning to build my next desktop with this awesome case.

Components that I already bought are in Green and components yet to buy in Blue.


Config:
Case: NCASE M1 v3 Black (With ODD)
Power Supply: Silverstone SX500-LG
PSU Cables: Silverstone PP05-E
CPU Cooler: Corsair H105
CPU Cooler mounting: Asetek Narrow ILM LGA2011 kit
Fans: Noctua NF-F12 PWM x 2
Motherboard: ASRock X99E-ITX/ac
Processor: Intel Core i7 5820K
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16G (2*8G) DDR4 2400Mhz
Graphics Card: MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G
Hard Disk: (1) Samsung 840 Pro
(2) M.2 NVMe superfast ssd (YTBD)
Optical Drive: Panasonic UJ-265 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Funtoo (like Gentoo Linux)
Miscellaneous: PCI 3.0 x16 Shielded riser ribbon (5cm)

Goal:
Main desktop plugged on the main flat screen.
Compact.
Powerful.
Workstation.
Gaming/Compiling.
Reasonably Quiet.
No overclocking.

Notes:
For the cooling part, I am planning to use the riser to put the graphic card lower to help it to get cool air from outside, it will also help with the PSU cables...
And I will replace the corsair fan of the water-cooling with noctua one and put them in exhaust push.
I know this is not the best way to go as I will make CPU hotter but it will help with the pipe kinking issue as the radiator will be as far as possible from the cpu and I fear that the case will be too hot inside without an active exhaust system.

Any thoughts about it?

Any comments are welcome

Edit:
Replaced the h100i GTX with an h105 (no time to develop a driver for the GTX on Linux )

 

[caycep]

Just out of curiousity how much sturdier is the M1 w/ the V3 changes over say the M2? worth "upgrading"? lol...

 

[enyownz]

Any thoughts about it?

Any comments are welcome

Got a similar build going. Should upload some finished pics by tomorrow night. I had to switch out the 500SFXL psu for the regular 600w because it didn't fit with my GPU (reference 970) because of the thick backplate on it. Everything looks good on it.

 

[Necere]

Just out of curiousity how much sturdier is the M1 w/ the V3 changes over say the M2? worth "upgrading"? lol...

None of the changes were intended to make the case "sturdier," since it's always been pretty solid. The only changes that affect the structure of the chassis are the braces added to the bottom of the frame to prevent potential issues with an uneven case bottom, which could cause wobbling in some cases. Most people that had that issue with the earlier versions reported that it went away once the case was built in, due to the weight of the components "settling" the chassis.

 

[mower]

Got a similar build going. Should upload some finished pics by tomorrow night. I had to switch out the 500SFXL psu for the regular 600w because it didn't fit with my GPU (reference 970) because of the thick backplate on it. Everything looks good on it.

I was afraid of that, I would have gone with the Asus Strix 970 if it was easier to fit...

I bought a riser ribbon for my PCI-E, so I will try (if it is stable) to move down my GPU one slot under so it should feet with 500 SFXL (finger crossed).

 

[Siba]

The strix doesn't fit the M1 without modifications - the extra height in the tab above the PCIe bracket where you screw the card down is too tall, I believe

 

[enyownz]

I was afraid of that, I would have gone with the Asus Strix 970 if it was easier to fit...

I bought a riser ribbon for my PCI-E, so I will try (if it is stable) to move down my GPU one slot under so it should feet with 500 SFXL (finger crossed).

Overall not bad experience other than having to wait for sfx600. My noctua NH-D9DX comes in end of the week so I will update a pic of how that looks with it.

 

[onegaynerd]

Overall not bad experience other than having to wait for sfx600. My noctua NH-D9DX comes in end of the week so I will update a pic of how that looks with it.

What are the specs on this beast? I'm really tempted to build with that x99 ITX board... But having to opt for an xeon just to get 32gb of ram kind of sucks.

 

[enyownz]

What are the specs on this beast? I'm really tempted to build with that x99 ITX board... But having to opt for an xeon just to get 32gb of ram kind of sucks.

Just swapped out that atrocious cooler. Would of been better if they kept it and subtracted $50 off the price.

Specs now is 5820K/ 8GB Crucial 2400mhz ram/ 240gb samsung 850 evo m.2/ GTX 970/ SFX 600.

Planning on getting a 16gb kit for ram and sleeving the cables in the future so make it look more clean.

More pics