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

I have a 92mm noctua, didnt add much noise, helped a tiny bit with airflow. Ended up taking it off.

You can place the 3.5" hdd on the case floor below the motherboard and still fit a 120mm below the gpu blower fan, cable management is tight and some heat from the gpu can transfer to the hdd, but it's not a lot.


I'm jealous of you guys with all the fan headers. My mobo has two usable ones x.x
 
So till there are no P/Z DTX skylake boards i shouldn't even consider the ncase if i don't want to toast/limit everything. :/

Well, back to the drawing board. :rolleyes:
 
Not exactly, but I'd prefer an H170/Q170/Z170 board with a proper sound chip and Intel network card if I was spending over $1000 just for a i7 6700K and GTX 980 Ti.

The problem is, the boards you listed are just small mATX boards that are designed to be cheap and simple for OEM use. If you get an external game capture card or possibly use another internal port (maybe PCIe M.2 ?), basically all H170 and Z170 would be a major upgrade.
 
Sadly external capture cards add seconds of delay to the gamesignal. I could keep my current 24" sony for gaming but then there is the issue of not having gamesound while on skype.

Well i will be waiting till mai to build the new pc. I may have luck and have the new stuff from nvidia, intel and co. I'm just antsypantsy(?) when it comes to planing and want my infos NOW. :p
 
I have a 92mm noctua, didnt add much noise, helped a tiny bit with airflow. Ended up taking it off.

You can place the 3.5" hdd on the case floor below the motherboard and still fit a 120mm below the gpu blower fan, cable management is tight and some heat from the gpu can transfer to the hdd, but it's not a lot.


I'm jealous of you guys with all the fan headers. My mobo has two usable ones x.x

I'm using a pretty crappy mobo too and it only has 2 fan headers. I use a 2 way 4pin fan header on the CPU's fan header and connected my CPU and the intake fan(on the 240mm bracket). Then the other 3pin fan header on the motherboard, I removed the 4 pin head on my existing fan(scythe GT) and replaced it with a 3pin(removing 1 wire) and connected it to that.
 
I have a 92mm noctua, didnt add much noise, helped a tiny bit with airflow. Ended up taking it off.

You can place the 3.5" hdd on the case floor below the motherboard and still fit a 120mm below the gpu blower fan, cable management is tight and some heat from the gpu can transfer to the hdd, but it's not a lot.


I'm jealous of you guys with all the fan headers. My mobo has two usable ones x.x

The bottom connector in front of the PCIe slot is compatible with sleeveless fan cables. I have my H100i pump RPM header connected to it, but it's fairly easy to make it usable.

Nonetheless with the pump header and 5 fans I end up using a 2- and 3-way splitter anyway. :p
 
I was wondering, does anyone sell a glass side panel that could be compatible with the M1, or is modding the only way to go ?
 
The bottom connector in front of the PCIe slot is compatible with sleeveless fan cables. I have my H100i pump RPM header connected to it, but it's fairly easy to make it usable.

Nonetheless with the pump header and 5 fans I end up using a 2- and 3-way splitter anyway. :p

I have two rads and splitting a rad with a fan did not work well, so my rads are connected to extra sata power connectors to my psu.
 
Ah yes you are right, I looked at another page that didn't mention "southbridge". I'll change my previous post.
I should have known that, I was doubting it first but I didn't really look deeply at Skylake's chipset info.
 
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Good morning all!

Haven't posted in a long time, but been lurking on this thread for about a year now. I got my v4 back in July and have been slowly getting parts together for my new build. I usually build/sell every 9-12 months, decided that this will be my last rig for a long time (its never the "last" build though, right?)
Anyway, here's my current parts list.

Case: NCASE M1 v4
CPU: 6600k (Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASUS Impact VIII (Debated on this for a long time, pulled the trigger on it anyway, Microcenter)
Ram: 2x4GB G.Skill TridentZ DDR4 3000 (15-15-15-35) (Newegg)
SSD: Samsung EVO 250GB (Microcenter)

Parts still needed: GPU (getting a 980), PSU (waiting for Corsair SF600), CPU Cooler (depending on the question below, h100i more than likely)

Just a quick question/request, and thank you in advance!

I have the option of purchasing an EVGA 980 FTW ACX 2.0 from a friend for half the cost of a new 980. However, I really want, and is recommended, to have blower style for airflow. I thought maybe I could just put the GPU under water using the Corsair HG10 AIO cooler or do a full loop (which is daunting to me currently). However, it seems that there aren't any (EKWB at least) blocks that fit on the ACX 2.0 version, so I'm hesitant that the HG10 will work either. I'm probably wrong, but if anyone has any suggestions or experience with this I would much appreciate it!
 
Does anyone have some tips on best SATA data cable lengths/angles for the following locations:
(assuming coming from bottom right area of motherboard, or ~1.5in adjustment if coming from between RAM and PCI-E area)

1. Behind front panel for ODD (assuming that a 90 degree right angle works best here, or is the drive installed "flipped" and so a 90deg left is what you want)
2. Back of front--a straight connector is what you want here if you can't get a left
3. Drive Cage--any recommendation for what types of cables?
4. Bottom 3.5" mount--Is straight easier to work with, or left?
5. Bottom 2.5" mount when 3.5" is also filled

Reviewing the M1, I think there are a lot of good places for left angled cables, but I don't see them in the ~6-10in lengths, which I assumed to be the best lengths for this case.
 
Good morning all!

Haven't posted in a long time, but been lurking on this thread for about a year now. I got my v4 back in July and have been slowly getting parts together for my new build. I usually build/sell every 9-12 months, decided that this will be my last rig for a long time (its never the "last" build though, right?)
Anyway, here's my current parts list.

Case: NCASE M1 v4
CPU: 6600k (Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASUS Impact VIII (Debated on this for a long time, pulled the trigger on it anyway, Microcenter)
Ram: 2x4GB G.Skill TridentZ DDR4 3000 (15-15-15-35) (Newegg)
SSD: Samsung EVO 250GB (Microcenter)

Parts still needed: GPU (getting a 980), PSU (waiting for Corsair SF600), CPU Cooler (depending on the question below, h100i more than likely)

Just a quick question/request, and thank you in advance!

I have the option of purchasing an EVGA 980 FTW ACX 2.0 from a friend for half the cost of a new 980. However, I really want, and is recommended, to have blower style for airflow. I thought maybe I could just put the GPU under water using the Corsair HG10 AIO cooler or do a full loop (which is daunting to me currently). However, it seems that there aren't any (EKWB at least) blocks that fit on the ACX 2.0 version, so I'm hesitant that the HG10 will work either. I'm probably wrong, but if anyone has any suggestions or experience with this I would much appreciate it!

Im pretty sure that card is a standard pcb layout. That being said, i dont recommend the hg10n980. I have one and while it works, the fan is loud.
 
Also I'm not sure blower vs non-blower is as big of an issue as it is on paper. My MSI 980 Ti (Twin Frozr) throws a good deal of its heat out the back despite being a top-down cooler, but I'm not sure how the ACX is. I do know there are lots of people using non-blowers in this case without issue, and I think if you're doing H100i for the CPU with the fans intaking fresh air through the side vent it shouldn't be a worry.
 
Yup, the X99 + 980 Ti aftermarket builds are some of the most thermally challenging for the Ncase and we're doing just fine with noise/temperatures.
 
Parts below:

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2680V3 12 Core LGA2011-3 2.50G 30M
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B
Mobo: Asrock X99E-ITX/ac
Case: NCASE m1 v4
GPU: Saphire AMD R9 Nano
Ram: Crucial 32GB Kit (16GBx2) DDR4-2133 MT/s ECC RDIMM
Boot Drive: Samsung SM951 512gb
Storage Dive: Samsung 850 Pro 1tb
PSU: SeaSonic SS-520FL2 520W Fanless ( Added Noctua NF-F12 PWM for quiet cooling )

How is this build working out for you up until this point? Looking to make a build very similar to this. I'm only waiting a bit to see when the V4's will be out. (Will go 14/16 core if not will stick to the 12 core V3.) Will go for 390 8GB though. (More memory per GPU the better.)
 
Im pretty sure that card is a standard pcb layout. That being said, i dont recommend the hg10n980. I have one and while it works, the fan is loud.

Thanks for the heads up on the HG10. I haven't heard much about it, just thought it would be a viable option.

@fs454 Thanks for the reply, I'll see what temps are; at this point - saving roughly $250 on a GPU is almost too good to pass up.

I'll update after I get it all put together! :cool:
 
So till there are no P/Z DTX skylake boards i shouldn't even consider the ncase if i don't want to toast/limit everything. :/

Well, back to the drawing board. :rolleyes:

You need a Z170 board if you want to overclock your CPU. ANY B/H/Q series chipset will NOT allow overclocking.
 
Okay so I finally got low profile PCI-E power cables and am able to fully enclose the case. After a solid hour or two playing BF4 in 4K/ultra/SweetFX, my MSI 980 Ti looks to have been steady at 91C the whole run. My CPU I wasn't graphing but it barely idles at 32C and I don't see the fan ramping on the Noctua so I doubt it's high. Is there a way to check the SX-600's temp?

Is 91C safe for sustained load? The card is really cranking under load and I don't mind the sound at all but am curious what these cards are designed to run at and if it's too hot, what improvements can I make? I already left that black plate by the PCI-E slot screws off and feel a big breeze of exhaust air through that opening.

Would it be beneficial to use hollowed out 80mm fans or something to create a direct duct to the bottom floor vents from the GPU? Or better yet, put some actual intake fans down there blowing up at the GPU?

Thanks guys.


:edit: and @MrJekyll - Maybe I spoke too soon, but to be honest the regular GTX 980 has 100w lower TDP than my Ti so in theory that should help a bit.
 
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Okay so I finally got low profile PCI-E power cables and am able to fully enclose the case. After a solid hour or two playing BF4 in 4K/ultra/SweetFX, my MSI 980 Ti looks to have been steady at 91C the whole run. My CPU I wasn't graphing but it barely idles at 32C and I don't see the fan ramping on the Noctua so I doubt it's high. Is there a way to check the SX-600's temp?

Is 91C safe for sustained load? The card is really cranking under load and I don't mind the sound at all but am curious what these cards are designed to run at and if it's too hot, what improvements can I make? I already left that black plate by the PCI-E slot screws off and feel a big breeze of exhaust air through that opening.

Would it be beneficial to use hollowed out 80mm fans or something to create a direct duct to the bottom floor vents from the GPU? Or better yet, put some actual intake fans down there blowing up at the GPU?

Thanks guys.


:edit: and @MrJekyll - Maybe I spoke too soon, but to be honest the regular GTX 980 has 100w lower TDP than my Ti so in theory that should help a bit.

You probably didnt damage your card, but don't run it that hot in the future.

I'm guessing you have a top down cooler for your 980ti. If so, it's likely recycling much of the hot air due to the small case. Try create a duct so your fans only get air from the outside of the case, that should drastically reduce your temps.
 
You probably didnt damage your card, but don't run it that hot in the future.

I'm guessing you have a top down cooler for your 980ti. If so, it's likely recycling much of the hot air due to the small case. Try create a duct so your fans only get air from the outside of the case, that should drastically reduce your temps.

Yeah it's MSI's Twin Frozr cooler. Is creating a duct more beneficial than having fans on the floor of the case blowing fresh air up at the card? I've heard that typically adding fans to this case doesn't benefit too much in exchange for added noise, but I may have one or two laying around that I can hollow out to make a duct.

:edit: Welp, I think I found part of the reason. I have a bunch of cables under the GPU fan area closest to the front of the case. They're not right under the fan but instead more towards the front - buuuuut when I was building it, the first time I ramped up the GPU a SATA power connector collided with the fan before I had them routed correctly. I moved everything out of the way at that point, but now opening up the case to throw in a couple hollowed out fan ducts, I found a fan blade on the floor :/

So the GPU is missing a blade on one of its two fans - gotta find a replacement asap.
 
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Ok so I'm finally about ready to pull the trigger on a build.
I have my v1 original case with the v3 PSU bracket

Here is the parts list I had in mind:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/v3JDt6

CPU: Intel 6700K
Cooler: Noctua NH-C14
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N- Gaming 5
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-2666 (1.2v, CAS16, 32GB)
Storage: Samsung 950 Pro 512GB
GPU: Sapphire Radeon R9 Fury Tri-X
PSU: Silverstone SX500-LG (May go to the 700 depending on when I buy)


I'm looking at a completely stock build with a focus on quiet performance.
Does anybody have any feedback or concerns? Thanks!
 
Why does everyone choose the c12? Mini itx is all about getting hot air out the case so by choosing this you need an extra fan, thus more noise?

Nox
 
The fan is quieter than a CLC pump. And in Zang's case, he doesn't need more than one low speed fan since it's stock.
 
Why does everyone choose the c12? Mini itx is all about getting hot air out the case so by choosing this you need an extra fan, thus more noise?

Nox

I chose it to intake from the side panel for filtered positive pressure. The exhaust should be sufficient with one silent fan.

What would you suggest instead?
 
I built my ncase system recently and the video card I'm using from my old PC runs incredibly hot and ramps up to over 5500 RPM(insanely loud too).

It ran fairly hot in my mid-ATX case at ~75 degrees C under load. But in the ncase it's running at nearly 94 degrees C. I tested the ncase with another video card a 6850 I had from before and that runs at around 70 degrees C under load so the system has trouble getting rid of heat. My CPU temps are good at about 25 idle 50 load.

What can I do to help cool the case down? Is it even possible?

My build

CPU - 6600k
Cooler - Be quiet! Dark Rock TF
MOBO - MSI Z170I-GAMING-PRO-AC
SSD - Crucial 960 GB
Video card - Diamond Radeon HD 7970
 
I chose it to intake from the side panel for filtered positive pressure. The exhaust should be sufficient with one silent fan.

What would you suggest instead?

I've not got an ncase yet, will be ordering one this week :) please bare this in mind. I've dealt with small systems before though and have always found getting the heat out of the case was really important. You can use the c12 but you then need an extra fan. That's no buggy tbh, and it's a good cooler. But ultimately you are warming the air in the case before exhausting it. Directly exhausting it would be better?

I'll go the nh-d9l route. Ask me in about a month if it was a good choice!

Nox
 
Since there is some chatting about the NH-C12P SE14...

I've been trying to oc my 4790k and temperatures get way too high. Temps get better once I run at full speed but I'd prefer to use the LNA adapter...the trade off is significantly more noise :(

I do have two 3,5" hdd in the bay so I guess that doesn't help.

I went with the NH-C12P SE14 because top-down coolers were recommended for the N1.
However, since I have so much heat with no direct exhaust, can anyone comment on the NH-U9S?

Does anyone with a similar setup to mine and find that the NH-U9S with dual fans exhausting out the top of the case, with another 92mm intake at the rear help with getting the hot air out of the fan with minimal noise?
 
In my experience (with a 2700K, 3770K, 4770K and 4790K) the NH-C12P looks pretty nice but just doesn't perform. Space permitting, the NH-C14 should be much more competent.
 
I built my ncase system recently and the video card I'm using from my old PC runs incredibly hot and ramps up to over 5500 RPM(insanely loud too).

It ran fairly hot in my mid-ATX case at ~75 degrees C under load. But in the ncase it's running at nearly 94 degrees C. I tested the ncase with another video card a 6850 I had from before and that runs at around 70 degrees C under load so the system has trouble getting rid of heat. My CPU temps are good at about 25 idle 50 load.

What can I do to help cool the case down? Is it even possible?

My build

CPU - 6600k
Cooler - Be quiet! Dark Rock TF
MOBO - MSI Z170I-GAMING-PRO-AC
SSD - Crucial 960 GB
Video card - Diamond Radeon HD 7970

Please provide some information about the fans that are installed in the case: how many, what location and orientation, what brand, and are they running at full speed or are being controlled by the motherboard or software.
 
Hi Qrash. I don't have any case fans. When I was first researching how to build the ncase I didn't notice that many people putting them in their system but I guess I'll need a few in mine. I'm gonna order some good ones and see how the temps and sound is from the video card afterwards.
 
Hi Qrash. I don't have any case fans. When I was first researching how to build the ncase I didn't notice that many people putting them in their system but I guess I'll need a few in mine. I'm gonna order some good ones and see how the temps and sound is from the video card afterwards.

A search for "Diamond Radeon HD 7970" showed me images of graphics cards with two kinds of coolers, the reference cooler with a single blower fan and a custom cooler with two larger fans. In either case a bottom fan (or two, if needed) to blower cool air into the graphics card cooler will help. Alternatively, you could construct a duct that connects the graphics card cooler's fan(s) to the bottom of the case so that only external air is drawn in. A duct could be a 120 fan shell (with the blades and motor removed) or a short tube made from plastic (a large pop/soda bottle) or cardboard. A duct is silent and may be as effective as adding intake fans to the bottom of the case.

Is your CPU cooler drawing in cool air from the side panel? It should be. If you can, I'd install a second intake fan on the side panel. A quiet model from Noctua, Corsair, or another reputable brand should help to keep temperatures down without adding too much noise.
 
Thanks again for the reply Qrash. My video card is a reference design, I picked it up when it hit frontpage on slickdeals about 3 years ago. Anyhow, I ordered 2 120mm Scythe GlideStream's which I will put on the bottom to help the video card catch air and a Noctua NF-A9 PWM 92mm Case Fan that'll go on the back. Now I'm feeling a little stupid for not considering putting case fans in the system, I really hope that is the only issue though. The system being a bit louder due to case fans is a better option than a video card fan roaring because it's getting to boiling temperature. Will update my results on Tuesday.
 
Since there is some chatting about the NH-C12P SE14...

I've been trying to oc my 4790k and temperatures get way too high. Temps get better once I run at full speed but I'd prefer to use the LNA adapter...the trade off is significantly more noise :(

I do have two 3,5" hdd in the bay so I guess that doesn't help.

I went with the NH-C12P SE14 because top-down coolers were recommended for the N1.
However, since I have so much heat with no direct exhaust, can anyone comment on the NH-U9S?

Does anyone with a similar setup to mine and find that the NH-U9S with dual fans exhausting out the top of the case, with another 92mm intake at the rear help with getting the hot air out of the fan with minimal noise?

In my nCase build I also put Noctuas NF-A9x14 slim 92mm fan on rear exhaust duty to complement the NH-C12. It doesn't seem to add any noise.
 
Hi! Long time lurker first time poster, excited to get my NCase!! Hoping to get some feedback on a build I'm making.

It won't have a graphics card because I won't be gaming besides simple games that don't need anything fancy.

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 Skylake
Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170N-WIFI
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory
Storage: 250GB Crucial MX200
2x 3TB WD Red
1x Old WD Black 1TB drive (already have)
PSU: Silverstone SFX 500W SX500-LG

Main questions are:
1. Will I be able to have 2x 3.5" hdds as well as 2 fans on the side for intake?
2. If #1 possible what fans do I want for the intake? Are Corsair SP120 best for static pressure because there will be lots of components in the way or any other recommendations for the best fans are appreciated.
3. Was going to put a Noctua NF-B9 redux-1600 37.9 CFM 92mm Fan at the rear, worth it?
4. With a 3.5" HDD on the floor, should I put a fan beside it, if so which is best?
5. Because I'm not using a graphics card and won't in the future, I want the perfect balance of a small cool and quiet system but overal priority is component 'health' with good temps.
6. Obviously this isn't a super high powered system, any general recommendations on what to change/fix?

PCpartpicker list included, Canadian prices are awful :( http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/CVfLMp

Thanks!
 
1. Not unless you mean in push/pull which isn't possible with that CPU cooler.
2. Depends on what's behind the fan. For a build like yours, it really won't matter much. There's very little resistance.

4. It won't fit next to a 3.5" drive because of the power connector.
5. The GPU is 50% or more of the heat output in most gaming systems and CPU temps are probably impossible to mess up with a stock i5 and no discrete card. You just have to make sure the HDDs are cooled to around 35 C. I don't know how easy it is to cool 3.5" drives in this case, but 2.5" drives mounted behind the front panel are easy to keep cool. Remember that too cool is also bad.
 
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