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

Necere said:
In case people didn't get it, Harry was referencing this thread from the other day, in which some people took issue with that case being posted here in the SFF forum, on account of its size. Wouldn't have hurt to maybe drop a </sarcasm> tag in there though. Hard to tell on the internet sometimes :p
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Well it looks like that thread ended up where it was supposed to be all along. :)
 
Fantastic idea and awesome design. Hats off to you guys!

I take great joy in building neat WCed systems as they present challenges when it comes to tubing, cable routing, choosing parts and making things fit. This could be a great powerful WC system with careful planning and the right parts.

Is it possible to get a render from above with the top lid off and radiator installed in side panel? I am wondering how we could solve the fittings-and-tubing problems, with a CPU and GPU block and an external radiator on the back of the case.

The renders are beautiful, the more the merrier!
 
CC_Pirate said:
Is it possible to get a render from above with the top lid off and radiator installed in side panel? I am wondering how we could solve the fittings-and-tubing problems, with a CPU and GPU block and an external radiator on the back of the case.
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Probably not the exact overhead view you were looking for, but I had these already done from my last big rendering session:

XIvwBxD.jpg


7gASHie.jpg


So there's a bit of a gap between the rad and the PSU, which makes it possible to have fittings on the rad at the front of the case, like WiSK mentioned, which should make it easier to get the whole rad/fan bracket assembly into the case with tubing attached. It's not a big gap though, and fittings that are too tall aren't likely to fit. Very unlikely to get tubing over 3/8" OD in (edit: meant 1/2" OD).
 
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Nice pics thanks :)

Are those rad+fans comparable in width to the H220?

The other day I was thinking: case 160mm, rad+fans 54mm, sfx-psu 64mm, brackets maybe 5mm on either side? That leaves 22mm, which is more than 5/8" and hopefully it means Monsoon compression fittings would fit (22.14mm)
 
It's a 30mm thick Koolance rad, so yeah, pretty comparable to the H220.

Distance from the fan bracket to the SFX PSU is 85mm, so that's the space you've got to work with.

And actually, I meant 1/2" OD above, not 3/8".
 
Awesome, thanks for pics and info! 85mm between fan bracket and SFX PSU minus 54mm for fan & rad leaves 31mm for fittings and tubing, did I get that correct? If so it should be plenty, any 90 degree fitting with OD 1/2" or less should fit
 
Wow, that case + build looks great.

Has anyone considered miniDTX?

HKZs2.jpg


There's room for a high-end sound card such as the ASUS Xonar Essence STX AND a high-end GPU.
 
The only problem I see with miniDTX is that no manufacturer seems to make any motherboards based on H77, Z77 or B75 chipset, which are the (arguably) the better choices for a gaming or server build.
 
TheSurroundGamer said:
Wow, that case + build looks great.

Has anyone considered miniDTX?

There's room for a high-end sound card such as the ASUS Xonar Essence STX AND a high-end GPU.
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forget the soundcard. why not use an external usb dac? it will provide far superb sound quality (e.g. musical fidelity vdac ii).
 
Reihensechser said:
forget the soundcard. why not use an external usb dac? it will provide far superb sound quality (e.g. musical fidelity vdac ii).
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While it's a great solution for a lot of situations this isn't always the best option, and something like an ODAC isn't necessarily definitively better than a Titanium HD in terms of sound quality, although I believe a few people are using their X-Fi soundcards with DSPs for processing and outputting it to an external DAC for the best quality they can get.

The niche may be shrinking as few or no new games use it, but the preferred* positional audio for many users with headphones/earphones is still CMSS-3D Headphone and 'proper' X-Fi cards with the DSP are still the best option as the software emulated version isn't as effective. That actually rules out Creative's own external X-Fi DACs as well as they don't have the DSP :( *There is a terrific guide to positional audio with headphones on Head-Fi by a user called NamelessPFG.

I'm waiting to see how effective ZxR is, I assume it still has the same key limitations vs the original CMSS-3D Headphone vs other solutions i.e. software processing isn't as good as the original DSP effect, and CMSS-3D Headphone can utilise dozens of positional cues when they exist in game, but the alternative solutions are generally limited to emulating the 5.1 or 7.1 source only. Obviously some people prefer Dolby Heaphone or THX anyway...

N.B. I only posted the above as one example of why sound cards are still desirable for some people. We don't want to see arguments about sound quality or which positional audio is best on this thread, there are already many threads about it on the H audio forum


Of course sound cards are not the only reason people want a good DTX board, a few other possibilities:

SLI/Crossfire with two single slot cards
satellite/cable/terrestrial TV card
video capture
PCIe SSD
RAID or SAS controller
 
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Curious how many people are interested in having an extra top panel without the ODD cut-out as an add-on option?
 
Didn't you ask that before and lots of random people answered randomly :)

Maybe better mass email to the indiegogo contributor list?
 
by extra you mean a cost option, or extra as included w/o increasing cost to people?
i'm all for extra options, but it might be better to have a 'base' configuration, and have extras as cost addons. i'd imagine continually adding more and more extras would result in higher base cost.
 
The base package comes with the top panel with ODD cut-out.

The option is an extra panel with NO ODD cut-out.
 
You should really send that out as a survey to Igg backers. What if say 80% don't want an ODD slot?
 
wahaha360 said:
Curious how many people are interested in having an extra top panel without the ODD cut-out as an add-on option?
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I'm interested too. I don't really install ODD on my PC's anymore. I use an external for the rare times I need to use a CD/DVD.
 
I like the ODD slot, per the drawings.

It's a small, unobtrusive slot... in the top. For all you know it it just a vent! I don't see why people would care to get rid of it.
 
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ODD might be a deal breaker for me. I intend to use it for htpc duties, need DVD/bd.
 
Zangmonkey said:
I like the ODD slot, per the drawings.

It's a small, unobtrusive slot... in the top. For all you know it it just a vent! I don't see why people would care to get rid of it.
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because those things tend to be dust magnets, and odds are way outdated. I can't remember using one in the past 5 years. There are bluray players and ps3 for optical discs, then you have silent passively cooled cases that are better suited for htpc imo, but to each his own.

the extra cut cost more overall than having the cut be the add on option?
 
Has anyone found or know of any LGA 1155 DTX boards that aren't based on the H61?
 
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illli said:
by extra you mean a cost option, or extra as included w/o increasing cost to people?
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wahaha360 said:
... as an add-on option ...
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I'm assuming that he means an addon in the kickstarter sense of the word - an upgrade that you buy in addition to the tier of reward you pledge at ie. I would pledge at the tier that gets me the case, then add on the non-ODD top as an extra fee.


I could be pretty easily convinced to buy a non-ODD variant top, but it does depend heavily on the price. It's not enough of an issue that I would shell out big bucks for it.
 
I would pay a little extra, probably no more than $20 or $30 to have a no-odd top plate. I dont plan on using one because my current build doesnt have one, and my external one sits around for that one time a year I want it.


Just got my board back from Asus, one of the sata 3 ports just quit. Made me really wish this case was out, as I'll be pulling it apart again later... oh well...

IMG_20130304_170320.jpg
 
Siba said:
because those things tend to be dust magnets, and odds are way outdated. I can't remember using one in the past 5 years. There are bluray players and ps3 for optical discs, then you have silent passively cooled cases that are better suited for htpc imo, but to each his own.

the extra cut cost more overall than having the cut be the add on option?
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If you have positive pressure, there will be no dust.

If you have negative pressure there will be dust at every single crack and gap in the case.
 
Zangmonkey said:
If you have positive pressure, there will be no dust.

If you have negative pressure there will be dust at every single crack and gap in the case.
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My main point was that the ODD is an outdated medium. There were a bunch of people arguing that they would use it for discs on an HTPC use case, but isn't that what other cases do better? The HTPC form factor was more horizontally oriented, I thought.

My understanding was that this case was meant to cram as much enthusiast level hardware plus water cooling into it, with the ability to fit the longest video cards and enough cooling capacity to cover both CPU + GPU.

It does not seem like it was designed from the ground up to be an HTPC case, as the aesthetics don't really match other HT equipment like receivers, bluray players, set top boxes and the like.

It feels as if adding a slot for an ODD takes away from the minimalist, modern concept to make room for people not in the target demographic by adding in extraneous support for a medium that should have been on its way out the door since years ago.
 
I agreed that:
1) ODD is pretty outdated now
2) This is not a HTPC case (primarily)
3) The top piece would look better without the slot and should be the default
 
There are plenty of people wanting ODD to justify it.. To say its outdated doesnt make it true. True for the individual who doesn't want it but not true to those that do. +1 for ODD here. :)
 
wahaha360 said:
ODD choice survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2CWZX9P
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3rd option? put both option top panels in every unit sold - adds to everybody's unit price, but by a smaller amount.

4th option - totally 11th hour, but could Necere rework the front of the case such that the ODD can be rotated 90° and open on the vent side, ideally somehow integrating the slot around the side panel gap? maybe with a trapezium shape to mimic the front I/O? I remember someone was asking for a vent on the front area as well, so maybe the slot could be integrated both sides so people can choose left or right side ODD eject?
 
IanM said:
4th option - totally 11th hour, but could Necere rework the front of the case such that the ODD can be rotated 90° and open on the vent side
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Case isn't wide enough for it - not enough room for cables.
 
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