The next NCASE project: a Steam Machine-style case (indeterminate)

<-- NCASE look is quite impressive

1. In my opinion the current design is way better. It is a lot more subtile, and would go well with any home theatre set-up.
2. The angeled edges and more importantly the way the front I/O is set up here would compromise one of the main goals with the case working in both vertical and horisontal position
 
My Suggestions:
1. The Ncase Logo should go on the stand so it isn't rotated when placed in the vertical position. Although this leaves no logo when not using the stand.
2. The power button should be able to be rotated so when it is in the vertical stand the power symbol is in the correct orientation.
3. Steamboxes are meant to be used in entertainment units. This means in addition to gaming people will be using them in a home theater type setup. You may want to leave a small glass window for IR if space even allows.
4.To make this extremely desirable a custom cable set from silver stone would be great. example: 6 inch GPU cable/ATX Cable/SATA Cable and a 10 inch 8 Pin mobo cable.
 
Where are the 2,5" drives located? Couldnt 1 be turend into a slim odd slot?
Like you said, it will be a lrpc, and some people still buy dvd's or blurays?

I think using an external odd would ruin all the cosmetics.

Also think I prefer the look of the USB ports on top, like with the angled case stand.
Love the look of the lateral venting!
I do think the horizontal feet highten the case too much? How would it look with more narrow feet?

Was planning on getting a m1, but will get a node as a temp htpc case now i've seen this!

My main requirement would be it fitting in a kallax Ikea case :) something the Silverstone variants wont do :(

Also I assume a riser card will be included? Will the pcb be black?
 
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Interior shots, pretty please?

@wahaha, I like how you think, in regards to the Valve prototype. I remember seeing the pics you posted and never thought it wasn't for personal use.
 
I'm buying.

Full desktop power packed into a sub 10L platform. Perfect for those who don't care for water cooling.
 
This one actually looks better than M1. The blank front panel isn't as ugly as it is on bigger chassis. Not sure about that big mesh. Dem dust doe.
 
First off, i love it, thank you for doing this. I was so overjoy'd when i saw the original Steam Machine case, thinking "soon i can have a case like that!". But as the months have come and gone with no steam machine case in sight i was getting really upset.

Two Change Requests:

1. Id REALLY like it if you put the power plug somewhere below the graphics card instead of above it to allow more room to put a standard 120mm fan below the graphics card.

2. (not nearly as important to me) Id prefer all the vents to match, and i personally think the holes/honeycomb vents look the best.

Overall, great design. Can we see the inside now?
 
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Adding a fan below a fan is not a good idea most of the time. Fans need to be designed for this to work properly, otherwise you are just creating more noise and strain the bearings. If the fans don't even rotate the right way, or close to eachother's air displacement volume, you are going to be losing more than you'd hope to gain.

In less than 12 hours, people have asked for:
- replace the vertical vents with other patterns
- rotate the USB ports 90°
- move front I/O to the other side
- beveled front panel edges
- black USB ports
- more 2.5" bays
- move Ncase logo to stand
- power button should be able to be rotated
- move the GPU up

Come on people, not this again. Hundreds of pages of people questioning every design choice Necere made in the M1 topic and in the end I'm happy he did what he thought best or we'd have had a 20L Ncase M1 mATX case. Just let him work this out and if you really think something won't work, then mention it. Necere will be asking opinions when he is stuck on something but stop wasting time with trivial stuff like a logo being moved or a button not being oriented correctly in one position. This case isn't for tomorrow, next week or next month. It will most likely be next year. Necere has already proven he knows what he was doing with the M1 and the ridiculously small revisions he has done to perfect the M1 v2.
 
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from a marketing and brand perspective, can we come up with another name besides "steam style"?
 
Great work on this, I'm happy to see more cases this style.

I think it's good that you and dondan are releasing similar cases. I think you both will have plenty of customers.
 
What ever Necere will do in the end i think it will be great, can't wait to see more projects.
 
Adding a fan below a fan is not a good idea most of the time. Fans need to be designed for this to work properly, otherwise you are just creating more noise and strain the bearings. If the fans don't even rotate the right way, or close to eachother's air displacement volume, you are going to be losing more than you'd hope to gain.

In less than 12 hours, people have asked for:
- replace the vertical vents with other patterns
- rotate the USB ports 90°
- move front I/O to the other side
- beveled front panel edges
- black USB ports
- more 2.5" bays
- move Ncase logo to stand
- power button should be able to be rotated
- move the GPU up

Come on people, not this again. Hundreds of pages of people questioning every design choice Necere made in the M1 topic and in the end I'm happy he did what he thought best or we'd have had a 20L Ncase M1 mATX case. Just let him work this out and if you really think something won't work, then mention it. Necere will be asking opinions when he is stuck on something but stop wasting time with trivial stuff like a logo being moved or a button not being oriented correctly in one position. This case isn't for tomorrow, next week or next month. It will most likely be next year. Necere has already proven he knows what he was doing with the M1 and the ridiculously small revisions he has done to perfect the M1 v2.

Someone needs to come on down from their high horse. This is a forum where discussions are to take place. If this post is for necere just to show off his rendors than it should be locked. What else would be the purpose other than to provide feedback after a post like this?
 
Necere will be asking opinions when he is stuck on something but stop wasting time with trivial stuff like a logo being moved or a button not being oriented correctly in one position.

Your list of everyone's mostly minor, nitpicky details only proves to show that Necere already has a great design sorted out.

Don't see anything wrong with us providing suggestions. If he didn't want anyone's feedback, then he should have waited til they were almost ready to start taking orders to show us the finished design. Ultimately, the final design choices are his and W360's.. but it's smart of them to actually get our feedback on this. Might let them know if this is something that will sell 100 units or 1,000 units, and what the buyer actually wants in the product they are purchasing.

Personally, I really do like it, but it doesn't really have a unique design like the M1 that made me truly love it. Other than the stand, it just looks like an incredibly elegant HTPC case imo. If that's what they're shooting for aesthetically, then that's cool too I suppose :)
 
Personally, I really do like it, but it doesn't really have a unique design like the M1 that made me truly love it. Other than the stand, it just looks like an incredibly elegant HTPC case imo. If that's what they're shooting for aesthetically, then that's cool too I suppose :)

I really disagree here

Can someone link me a console style case that is 3" wide that has full desktop capabilities?


wrt to the overall design, i think it is precisely in line with the m1. Minimal, functional, and the smallest footprint possible for what it is exactly designed to do.

guys, it is 3" think and 13" tall. Basically the size of your forearm, where else can i get this formfactor while sticking in a i5 & r9 290/780?
 
I posted to get feedback, so the suggestions for changes are expected. It's part of the process, and helps me understand people's needs and desires better, and hopefully creates a better end product.

I'm going to be honest, it's just another steam box, i.e. slim ITX case. The market is flooded with enough of these right now, so introducing another one is a bit of a long shot. Don't get me wrong, it looks good and I'm certain you would have the exact same quality standards as you did with the M1, but it brings absolutely nothing new to the table.

very nice. Very minimalist, but that definitely works for this application. As "obvious" as this layout is, especially after Valve's steambox prototypes, there really does seem to be a lack of well executed cases like this on the market.

Very interesting!

But i am missing the "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW" feature. There have been a lot of steam-machines around in this forum. So where is the unique feature?
Yeah, the impetus for this design is partly that no company is actually doing it this way. They're making Steam Machines that are bigger and fit more stuff, or smaller with proprietary parts, but none that are actually very close to Valve's reference design. A lot of them also suffer from "gamer"-styled design. I wanted to do a clean+small+simple design. No one's really done that yet.


We didn't post earlier because the design was far from "manufacturing ready". The internals are very complicated, particularly arranging the internal brackets to allow for a clean outer design. Many times we just wanted to give up, because it was overwhelming.
This is a bit melodramatic, and by "we" it was mostly me. And tbh, I did give up. Several times. There were many times I got frustrated and had to throw out the design and couldn't progress, and I wouldn't touch it again for weeks/months. That happens. It may happen again. It's a slow process.

Necere, what happened to the angled "stand"?
It went away when I gave up trying to make the stand out of one piece of 2mm sheet aluminum. Which you know, because I've shown you the current thicker stand several times now. :p


@Necere

When looking at the pictures W360 posted it's obvious you've been through a few diferent solusions as to which panels wrap where on the edges.
This, I think, is an intresting topic. can you say something about why the render in the first post have the large (lets's call them top/bottom) panels wrap over the sides, while on this (probably older) one the front wraps to the sides? Structural?/Manufacturing process?/Aesthetics?
It's a bunch of things. I actually prefer the look of the unibody in those previous renders (as does w360), but it made GPU removal next to impossible with the side panel fastening hardware and without increasing the size. GPU access is actually one of the most difficult parts of the design, and one that's been the root of a lot of frustration. In the current design, not only are the side panels (toollessly) removable, but the (top) short side can be unscrewed as well, to allow unimpeded GPU installation.

There's another benefit to wrapping the side panels, which is that it should help maintain side panel uniformity (which could be an issue after punching the vent holes, as we saw with the M1). Both the bends and the increased solid area to holes ratio should serve to help in that regard.


Could you put the USB/Power at the bottom/RHS of the case?
Two reasons against that: 1.) internally that's where the angled PSU cable is, so the USB/power connector/cables could cause conflict/crowding; 2.) it's probably less convenient when standing vertically.


could you use black USB 3.0 ports instead of those blue ports ?
Not sure - it's something to ask the supplier about.


Dangit guys! My M1 just arrived, and now you dangle the New Hotness in front of us!
Bear in mind that it's still just a concept right now, with no timeline or even certainty of production. I wouldn't really expect it anytime soon.


I'm curious why you didn't placed the video card towards the top of the case, just like SteamBox has done. This could allow the card to draw air from the lateral side vents, removing the need for large feet and large vent panel, like in SteamBox's case. Though i would place the 2.5" drive(s) just below the video card or/and side mounted on the back of the front bezel, not next to the CPU (the only thing i hate about SteamBox's design).
Well, there's a couple reasons for that. One is if you do that you need to duct in the air from the side, which is what the Steam Machine does, but its duct is specifically designed for the intake on Titan cooler cards. We need to support a wide array of cards, including open cooler and longer/shorter cards, and there's no way to design a universal duct that's going to work well.

Two, I'm managing heat and airflow inside the case by compartmentalizing the GPU, and the 2.5" drives are behind the GPU separated by a barrier. Which is also part of the reason for the height difference vs. the Steam Machine reference design, which has the 2.5" over the motherboard, as you said.


Also, while it's hard to say without seeing the internal layout, you could possibly have one angled edge on the upper-front to keep the iconic styling of the M1, if that was desired. Looks great as it is though.

Also, about the design, would it be hard to make the sides of the front bezel (left and right in horizontal position) angled, in the style of the M1 case? Or maybe the long top side of the front bezel (in horizontal position) curved or angled, in order to make it look a bit slimmer (if you decide to keep the 80mm height)?

Thanks!

ps: i think the usb ports would look nicer on the side of the case, like in the picture from post #22.
Front panel angles don't work well with the design mechanically, nor aesthetically with the current power and USB location. USB ports on the side become ports on the top when vertical, which isn't really ideal. also makes them more difficult to access if it's in a cabinet or something.


I know it kind of goes against what you are trying to accomplish with this case but it would be amazing to figure out a way to fit a 120mm or 140mm AIO system in there with minimal dimension changes
Nope. If you've seen the Steam Machine prototype, once everything is in there's very little room left for anything.


My Suggestions:
1. The Ncase Logo should go on the stand so it isn't rotated when placed in the vertical position. Although this leaves no logo when not using the stand.
2. The power button should be able to be rotated so when it is in the vertical stand the power symbol is in the correct orientation.
3. Steamboxes are meant to be used in entertainment units. This means in addition to gaming people will be using them in a home theater type setup. You may want to leave a small glass window for IR if space even allows.
4.To make this extremely desirable a custom cable set from silver stone would be great. example: 6 inch GPU cable/ATX Cable/SATA Cable and a 10 inch 8 Pin mobo cable.
1. Right now the logo forms a line with the power/USB, which it wouldn't if it were centered on the stand.
2. Not sure if this is possible, since the PCB the power switch is on is rectanguler and can't really be rotated in the available space.
3. Well, I've purposely chosen to refer to it as an LRPC rather than HTPC because it's not primarily designed to be an HTPC, and consequently it doesn't support HTPC features (like an ODD or IR). Are people still using IR much, anyway? I would've thought wifi or bluetooth or something would've replaced it for the most part.
4. I'm not sure there'd be much difference from what Silverstone already offers.


Where are the 2,5" drives located? Couldnt 1 be turend into a slim odd slot?

...

I do think the horizontal feet highten the case too much? How would it look with more narrow feet?

...

Also I assume a riser card will be included? Will the pcb be black?
2.5" drives are behind the GPU. The available space at the front of the case is occupied by the power/USB, so no room for an ODD.

The feet are 13x35mm, which is a little taller than on the M1. I wanted a little more breathing room for the GPU intake when it's horizontal.

We will pretty much have to include the riser (or else offer it as an option; not everyone may need to use an expansion card and the space could potentially be repurposed for a 3.5" HDD). The current plan is to use a flexible riser. I don't know about color options at this point.


Not sure about that big mesh. Dem dust doe.
I plan on having full filters on the side intakes, much like what the PC-Q19 uses. Demciflex filters should also be an option for those vents.


Id REALLY like it if you put the power plug somewhere below the graphics card instead of above it to allow more room to put a standard 120mm fan below the graphics card.
Besides what Phuncz said, I've designed it so the GPU is isolated from the rest of the case and manages its own airflow. There's no sense doubling up on fans if the GPU can get it done on its own. Also, the space behind the GPU is walled off and is reserved for the 2.5" drives/cables.
 
I really disagree here

guys, it is 3" think and 13" tall. Basically the size of your forearm, where else can i get this formfactor while sticking in a i5 & r9 290/780?

The form-factor seems very appealing (for gaming or HTPC).. I was only speaking about the exterior design aesthetics (it just hasn't grabbed me the same way the M1 has.. but if you love it, that's awesome :))
 
So far I like the look of it. This will be another long thread to read and watch over in the coming months. Love it! :D
 
Two reasons against that: 1.) internally that's where the angled PSU cable is, so the USB/power connector/cables could cause conflict/crowding; 2.) it's probably less convenient when standing vertically.

I just measured the cable on my external DVD-ROM drive - it's about 19.5 inches long. As long as it'll reach the USB ports as they are currently located, while the drive is sitting flat, I'm happy (and it seems like it will!!).

PS. Happy with the rest of it. My intended M1 build would be PERFECT for this!!
 
Adding a fan below a fan is not a good idea most of the time. Fans need to be designed for this to work properly, otherwise you are just creating more noise and strain the bearings. If the fans don't even rotate the right way, or close to eachother's air displacement volume, you are going to be losing more than you'd hope to gain.

In less than 12 hours, people have asked for:
- replace the vertical vents with other patterns
- rotate the USB ports 90°
- move front I/O to the other side
- beveled front panel edges
- black USB ports
- more 2.5" bays
- move Ncase logo to stand
- power button should be able to be rotated
- move the GPU up

Come on people, not this again. Hundreds of pages of people questioning every design choice Necere made in the M1 topic and in the end I'm happy he did what he thought best or we'd have had a 20L Ncase M1 mATX case. Just let him work this out and if you really think something won't work, then mention it. Necere will be asking opinions when he is stuck on something but stop wasting time with trivial stuff like a logo being moved or a button not being oriented correctly in one position. This case isn't for tomorrow, next week or next month. It will most likely be next year. Necere has already proven he knows what he was doing with the M1 and the ridiculously small revisions he has done to perfect the M1 v2.

1. Just because you wouldn't do it doesn't mean its a bad idea for others. If you remove the stock fans off the graphics card, and use a single 120mm fan noise goes WAY down.

2. The entire point of this thread is to get feedback from the community. We are giving feedback on what we want. If you want someone to make all the choices for you, there are dozens of other quality case manufacturers out there that will never ask you what you would like in the case design process.
 
Besides what Phuncz said, I've designed it so the GPU is isolated from the rest of the case and manages its own airflow. There's no sense doubling up on fans if the GPU can get it done on its own. Also, the space behind the GPU is walled off and is reserved for the 2.5" drives/cables.

I don't plan on doubling up on fans. No stock GPU fans are quiet enough. I plan to take stock fans off and use a single 120mm fan.

It's fine, i can take a dremel to it and mod it the other way around.
 
3. Well, I've purposely chosen to refer to it as an LRPC rather than HTPC because it's not primarily designed to be an HTPC, and consequently it doesn't support HTPC features (like an ODD or IR). Are people still using IR much, anyway? I would've thought wifi or bluetooth or something would've replaced it for the most part.

I agree with this. People can just tuck a little receiver away somewhere.
 
If you use a flexible riser, why not flip the gfx card?
This would allow for the power connectors to be towards the psu.

And ventilation holes to be at 1 side.

So you can use lower feet?
 
Aren't flexible risers a nightmare issue?

If you include one with each case, you have to make a judgement about how much to spend, and hope there are no compatibility issues with certain MBs/GPUs, and risk costly RMA procedure if there are quality issues.

But if you let the customers decide then each individual can't match NCase/Lian Li buying power. Reliable flexible risers are like $50-$100, and the worst ones will not work, or break quickly and leave users frustrated. People might think they can skimp on such costs because "it's just a cable" but they are actually very delicate and temperamental components.

Perhaps I worry about nothing?
 
Don't see anything wrong with us providing suggestions. If he didn't want anyone's feedback, then he should have waited til they were almost ready to start taking orders to show us the finished design.
Yes I totally agree with you. BTW I only reply to you but it is in response to people replying to my post. My issue is with some people already saying "change this" or "move that". We have yet to see the internal design and people are already wasting time now moving a logo or a button when the case will probably be for next year.

I don't mind feedback and suggestions (in general), I mind filling this topic with requests for trivial stuff now, when it will be forgotten in 6 months. You don't start designing a case with the logo and buttons, you start with the concept and sculpt it. In the end, the details like logo and buttons will be finalised but not now, when some crucial stuff needs to be worked out first.

Aren't flexible risers a nightmare issue?

Perhaps I worry about nothing?
I was thinking the same thing, someone wanted a flexible riser for the M1 and it wasn't as "flexible" as desired, another wanted a "working" riser and in the end, he needed the expensive shielded one from 3M (that is certainly not as flexible). In the end, a sturdy riser seems to be a much better choice in my opinion.
 
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There are companies like StrykerTech (quick google serch, no affiliation or experience) who can make custom PCIe Rigid risers. Also LianLi includes a rigid PCB riser on the PC-Q19 although it seems to be too tall for the NCASE. If they end up being the OEM for this, they might have a supplier capable if producing something like this to spec.

Just a thought.If were talking > 50$ for a cable leaves a bit of headroom for finding a more elegant solution with regard to final cost of the case.
 
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Looks like I'll be in again. This time I'll probably downscale my PC-C37 (and put it to use elsewhere) for HTPC duties when/if this does come around.
 
Okay, I really like this, please don't make it bigger and compromise the smallness factor for those of us who don't need water cooling and loads of drives. The M1 appealed to me at the start, but then it just got too big, and killed the appeal. I love the layout, the different vent styles is fine, but I can understand why some people want uniformity.

I think the layout is very logical for airflow (With the GPU at the top)

I really like the stand in the first picture! looks amazing!
 
Not sure if this has been suggested, but can the USB ports be located towards the bottom, under the psu?
Or will the psu power cable interfere?

I assume sfx-l will be supported? Will the usb3 cable for the external USB ports still be so stiff?
Given that you only have about 6cm to work with.

Still kind of hoping for An odd slot, perhaps optional instead of front USB ports.
Fully understand your reasoning not to allow that though.
 
Not sure if this has been suggested, but can the USB ports be located towards the bottom, under the psu?
Or will the psu power cable interfere?

I already asked this. Necere said the PSU cable would interfere.

Still kind of hoping for An odd slot, perhaps optional instead of front USB ports.
Fully understand your reasoning not to allow that though.

I'm sure you've already seen Necere's reasoning on why that's not going to happen.
 
Yes I totally agree with you. BTW I only reply to you but it is in response to people replying to my post. My issue is with some people already saying "change this" or "move that". We have yet to see the internal design and people are already wasting time now moving a logo or a button when the case will probably be for next year.

I don't mind feedback and suggestions (in general), I mind filling this topic with requests for trivial stuff now, when it will be forgotten in 6 months. You don't start designing a case with the logo and buttons, you start with the concept and sculpt it. In the end, the details like logo and buttons will be finalised but not now, when some crucial stuff needs to be worked out first.

This is just my opinion, but to me it seems like the case has already been conceptualized and sculpted. Necere has worked with very specific guidelines, so there's only so much you can do as far as layout etc goes. Seems to me like it's already at the "details" stage.
 
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