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

Thank you for your answer.

XelNika said:
I don't know what the stock Titan heatsink is like, but you might be able to reuse part of it to cool the MOSFETs
Click to expand...

The Titan X has a reference blower style cooler. The part I am struggling with is under the fan. So this does not help a lot.

csd said:
I had an Accelero on my old Titan-X.
Click to expand...

May I ask you if you used the thermal adhesive that comes with the Accelero? And did you remove the heatsinks later, if you say it was your old Titan X? At the moment I am wondering if I ever will get the heatsinks off when the time comes to sell the card. I read everything from heat sinks falling off by themselves to never ever get them off without brutal force and potential damage.

csd said:
If you're worried, have a look at a waterblock manual (EK, AC etc) to see what they place the thermal pads on.
Click to expand...

I have already done that. They put thermal pads over (2) and (3).
 
einmannbude said:
Thank you for your answer.



The Titan X has a reference blower style cooler. The part I am struggling with is under the fan. So this does not help a lot.



May I ask you if you used the thermal adhesive that comes with the Accelero? And did you remove the heatsinks later, if you say it was your old Titan X? At the moment I am wondering if I ever will get the heatsinks off when the time comes to sell the card. I read everything from heat sinks falling off by themselves to never ever get them off without brutal force and potential damage.



I have already done that. They put thermal pads over (2) and (3).
Click to expand...

I just used some thermal tape I had lying around... Might've been 3M, not sure.

I had no trouble removing them to put the stock cooler back - just a gentle twist to remove. The chips are not going anywhere so you shouldn't have any trouble getting tape off.
 
Hi all,

I've seen several users on this forum using the AsRock X99E-itx/ac with Noctua's NH-C14 cooler.

I have also purchased this combo and started building my system recently.

However, the process of mounting this cooler to the board as been the hardest time I've ever had doing such a thing.

Before you ask, I do have the Noctua narrow ILM brackets which make it possible for this to work at all, but I'm finding it extremely difficult overall to tighten the scews while the cooler is sitting on the board. The ones closer to the rear I/O are near impossible to reach!!

Could any of you who have done this provide a few tips on the best and safest way to tighten the NH-C14 to the X99E-itx/ac?

Thanks in advance!
 
lamarao said:
Hi all,

I've seen several users on this forum using the AsRock X99E-itx/ac with Noctua's NH-C14 cooler.

I have also purchased this combo and started building my system recently.

However, the process of mounting this cooler to the board as been the hardest time I've ever had doing such a thing.

Before you ask, I do have the Noctua narrow ILM brackets which make it possible for this to work at all, but I'm finding it extremely difficult overall to tighten the scews while the cooler is sitting on the board. The ones closer to the rear I/O are near impossible to reach!!

Could any of you who have done this provide a few tips on the best and safest way to tighten the NH-C14 to the X99E-itx/ac?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...


If you search on Amazon for "low profile screwdriver" you will see the tools that some of the other owners have used. You might be able to concoct a similar tool using a small wrench and a short screwdriver tip.
 
Qrash said:
If you search on Amazon for "low profile screwdriver" you will see the tools that some of the other owners have used. You might be able to concoct a similar tool using a small wrench and a short screwdriver tip.
Click to expand...


Yup this would be easiest. I ended up using a phillips bit with a pair of needlenose pliers to hold it and that was kinda frustrating.
 
Earlier I put together the motherboard/CPU cooler assembly for my build, and I can confirm that if you take the white trim off a Cryorig C1 and orient it vertically, it just barely gives the PCIE slot enough room on the Gigabyte GA Z170N Gaming motherboard. In order for it to fit you also need to swap out the included 140 mm fan for a 120 mm fan
 
irek83 said:
Hi, for all users of Asus Maximus VII Impact, H220 doesn't fit to this motherboard :mad:

http://abload.de/img/p1330964l9bbg.jpg
http://abload.de/img/p133096599zx4.jpg
http://abload.de/img/p133096626xxg.jpg
Click to expand...


Can anyone confirm that this cpu block dosent fit? I've seen a pic where it did, tho it seems the cooler for the duaghterboard have been deattach...

11hVr5k.png
 
It depends on the direction of the cpu cooler. I also mounted it "vertically" and managed to fit with without removing the the daughterboard shroud, but I mounted it the other way with the IN on the top and out on the bottom, going to the GPU, letting gravity help a bit. Sure, it may scratch the shroud a little bit, but maybe it's the my tubes + plastic clamp being slightly thicker than the metal, that I don't mind the plastic contact with the shroud once it's all in place.
 
CHANG3D said:
It depends on the direction of the cpu cooler. I also mounted it "vertically" and managed to fit with without removing the the daughterboard shroud, but I mounted it the other way with the IN on the top and out on the bottom, going to the GPU, letting gravity help a bit. Sure, it may scratch the shroud a little bit, but maybe it's the my tubes + plastic clamp being slightly thicker than the metal, that I don't mind the plastic contact with the shroud once it's all in place.
Click to expand...

I've seen it mountet exactly what you say, the other way around with the in and out facing closet to the ram like this (tho this is asus vi impact version and not the vii):
Lk4gjuh.jpg


Just want to confirm that it can be done, i dont care either if it touche the daughter board, as long as there is not too much strain on the in/outlet is cool :)
 
Sebbie said:
Ye i know you did, have seen some bad reviews of those ram you had... Were they Any good? Just cba too buy new rams :(
How much spase you got between the ram and the hose fitting :)?
Click to expand...
I'd like to read those reviews, maybe they were used in motherboards that don't support 1.35V DDR3 memory, but it's still working perfectly two years later, as it should.
I don't have watercooling anymore, I went to aircooling when my GPU block leaked and never looked back.
 
Phuncz said:
I'd like to read those reviews, maybe they were used in motherboards that don't support 1.35V DDR3 memory, but it's still working perfectly two years later, as it should.
I don't have watercooling anymore, I went to aircooling when my GPU block leaked and never looked back.
Click to expand...

Fair, sad about that GPU block tho :( im just too addictet to water cooling :)
 
Has anyone had issues with faulty power switch wiring? I'm having issues where if I touch the wires from the power button, the system will shut off. At times, just the incidental desk jolts while gaming will shut it down. Right now I have a switch and wire from another system plugged in (side panel off, couldn't put it on without the power switch failing to work or causing system to shut down) and all of the unexpected shutdown/power-off scenarios have ceased.
 
csd said:
Here' a pic of my old setup with 25mm Noiseblockers under an Accelero. It's a pretty tight fit - I think you might have trouble with the higher 140s.
Click to expand...

So, I finished building my air-cooled setup with the Accelero Xtreme III.
First things first: The 140mm Noise Blocker fans with 29mm height will not fit no matter what. 140mm in general do fit without bigger problems, but the height of 29mm is just to much.

Because I went from a custom water-cooled loop to air because of temperature issues probably coming up in the summer, the first thing I did was some testing. And the result is kind of frustrating, because under load the GPU gets even hotter under air than under water, which is not a reason to panic, but now I have ambient temperature of 22°C and looking forward to the summer I can easily add another 10°C, which will end up with 10°C higher temps under load and that will be near 90°C with fans spinning at 100% already now.

I did a comparison of the parts and temperatures here, if any one is interested: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16543019/Water-Cooling vs. Air-Cooling.pdf

This is bothering me. With water-cooling I was afraid of the summer, because I already noticed now in the winter/spring, that the pump and reservoir, the tubing and especially the fittings got very hot. The pump is specified for water temperatures of 45°C max. I don't have the possibility to really measure this, but by finger-feeling this must be reached already, if not exceeded. I expected damage when running this config with higher ambient temperatures. My girlfriend already asked once if the smell of burning plastic was coming from my computer.
So I switched to air to eliminate the damage possibility of the cooling system. But now the GPU is almost hitting the 80°C under load with fans spinning at 100%. In the summer even 10°C more would not do damage, but I am not willing to accept fans running at full speed and still having bad temps. I looked through this thread after people having the Accelero Xtreme III. Most of what I have found claim better temps than I get.

csd said:
Temps were around 30C idle and 70s when benching and OC'd.
Click to expand...

kndonlee said:
Temps on the GTX980 with the Arctic Accelero Xtreme III heatsink & 2x 120mm fans running very low stabilize around 78-80C. I was able to run the fans a bit faster and GPU temps at load did stabilize around 65C.
Click to expand...

If I reached this result, I would be absolutely happy. Can a OC'd Titan X be the difference of 15°C plus annoyingly loud fans?
 
einmannbude said:
If I reached this result, I would be absolutely happy. Can a OC'd Titan X be the difference of 15°C plus annoyingly loud fans?
Click to expand...

You already have temperatures similar to csd's and kndonlee's GTX 980 is not comparable to a Titan X, your card uses over 50% more power. So I would say yes, a Titan X could be the difference. Also, your definition of annoyingly loud fans is, like my own, still fairly quiet. 1500 RPM fans on a Titan X at 30 C ambients sounds very reasonable.

Did you use the pre-applied Arctic TIM or did you apply your own? Perhaps you used too little if you did it yourself. Or perhaps the pre-applied isn't very good.
 
Thanks for your answer. I played around with the components. Now I took the two 140mm Noctua Fans of the C14 and placed them in the bottom of the case. and mounted the two 120mm Noise Blocker fans to the side bracket. This didn't change anything temperature-wise. Then I took some wooden toy bricks from my daughters train, which are 14mm in height and put them under the feet of the case. Temperatures lowered by 4°C. So I guess, the hot air around the GPU can't go anywhere. I know, that blower style GPU coolers are recommended for the M1, but the fan of the reference cooler is even more annoying than the Noctua fans at 100%.

Also noticable is in my opinion, that bottom fans as intake result in significantly worse temperatures than facing them as exhaust. One would expect hot air rising throught the case and supporting that by pushing fresh air bottom up would be better.

XelNika said:
Did you use the pre-applied Arctic TIM or did you apply your own?
Click to expand...
I removed the original TIM of the Accelero and used the paste that came with the Noctua C14. I think I used a fair amount, but I will double check.
 
einmannbude said:
So, I finished building my air-cooled setup with the Accelero Xtreme III.
First things first: The 140mm Noise Blocker fans with 29mm height will not fit no matter what. 140mm in general do fit without bigger problems, but the height of 29mm is just to much.

Because I went from a custom water-cooled loop to air because of temperature issues probably coming up in the summer, the first thing I did was some testing. And the result is kind of frustrating, because under load the GPU gets even hotter under air than under water, which is not a reason to panic, but now I have ambient temperature of 22°C and looking forward to the summer I can easily add another 10°C, which will end up with 10°C higher temps under load and that will be near 90°C with fans spinning at 100% already now.

I did a comparison of the parts and temperatures here, if any one is interested: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16543019/Water-Cooling vs. Air-Cooling.pdf

This is bothering me. With water-cooling I was afraid of the summer, because I already noticed now in the winter/spring, that the pump and reservoir, the tubing and especially the fittings got very hot. The pump is specified for water temperatures of 45°C max. I don't have the possibility to really measure this, but by finger-feeling this must be reached already, if not exceeded. I expected damage when running this config with higher ambient temperatures. My girlfriend already asked once if the smell of burning plastic was coming from my computer.
So I switched to air to eliminate the damage possibility of the cooling system. But now the GPU is almost hitting the 80°C under load with fans spinning at 100%. In the summer even 10°C more would not do damage, but I am not willing to accept fans running at full speed and still having bad temps. I looked through this thread after people having the Accelero Xtreme III. Most of what I have found claim better temps than I get.

If I reached this result, I would be absolutely happy. Can a OC'd Titan X be the difference of 15°C plus annoyingly loud fans?
Click to expand...


Mine was a Titan X also ;) And they do get hot... don't forget it's still the top single card.

For air or a small loop it will eventually get to the point where it's saturated and can't dissipate heat effectively. Sadly, a small case is going to be limited here.

I'm very surprised a WCing pump would be rated to 45C only also - that seems bizarre, as it would barely keep up with general use in warmer months. Very odd...
 
einmannbude said:
Then I took some wooden toy bricks from my daughters train, which are 14mm in height and put them under the feet of the case. Temperatures lowered by 4°C. So I guess, the hot air around the GPU can't go anywhere.
Click to expand...

My testing showed the same as yours; intake is somehow worse for GPU temps than exhaust. I think it's because the bottom is too restrictive for the fans to properly intake air. AFAIK fans are better at pushing than pulling.

einmannbude said:
I removed the original TIM of the Accelero and used the paste that came with the Noctua C14. I think I used a fair amount, but I will double check.
Click to expand...
Remember that since the GPU doesn't have a heatspreader, it's important that the entire die is covered in TIM. If you spread the TIM manually, you should be fine, but if you let the heatsink spread it and used the same amount as you would for a CPU, you probably didn't use enough.
 
Can anyone with dual ssd's stacked on the ssd bracket tell me the distance between the two sata connectors? Looking to trim my sata cable to do something similar to this:

fijar-2-SSD-frontal+xs.jpg
 
csd said:
I'm very surprised a WCing pump would be rated to 45C only also
Click to expand...
I looked again on the packaging, inside it and on the website and could not find a word about max water temperature. I could swear I did read it somewhere. Never mind.

So you say my water-cooling setup was not that bad? As I said, I had the feeling that the water in the loop did get pretty hot. I wasn't able to properly measure, but I noticed only a little drop in temperatures when going from load to idle. I didn't write it down, but if I remember correctly, temperatures were still around 50°C, which would mean, that the water and tubing and fittings are around that temperature. This will not do damage to them over time?
 
First post here. This thread really inspired me for my new rig. Great work to those involved! I pre-orded a V5 Silver for the May production run.

I have a little off-the wall question. I'm planning on using the ASRock Z170, that comes with the mPCIe 1x wifi card. I plan on used wired ethernet so I have no use for the wifi card and could remove it. Could I run a 1x to 1x PCI extender cable from that and then run a Soundblaster Z in the 3rd slot? Probably a 90 degree female connector like this is required for the card-end? Not sure if it would be long enough to get around the GPU. They seem harder to find. USD$10.00 - 15cm Flex Ribbon Express PCI-E 1x Male to Female 90 Degree Riser card Extender Cable - lunashops online shop

I do plan on using a double width blower-style GPU above, and forgo any fans or HDD on the bottom. The Z seems short enough that it wouldn't block the intake on the blower.
 
DersTheSwede said:
First post here. This thread really inspired me for my new rig. Great work to those involved! I pre-orded a V5 Silver for the May production run.

I have a little off-the wall question. I'm planning on using the ASRock Z170, that comes with the mPCIe 1x wifi card. I plan on used wired ethernet so I have no use for the wifi card and could remove it. Could I run a 1x to 1x PCI extender cable from that and then run a Soundblaster Z in the 3rd slot? Probably a 90 degree female connector like this is required for the card-end? Not sure if it would be long enough to get around the GPU. They seem harder to find. USD$10.00 - 15cm Flex Ribbon Express PCI-E 1x Male to Female 90 Degree Riser card Extender Cable - lunashops online shop

I do plan on using a double width blower-style GPU above, and forgo any fans or HDD on the bottom. The Z seems short enough that it wouldn't block the intake on the blower.
Click to expand...

mpcie to pcie requires a voltage change and the pinout is different. I think you'd need something like this:Mini pci-e to USB PCI-e express 1X Riser Extender adapter Card+15/25cm FPC Cable you can get them without the usb, if not needed.
 
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Hello, also a first poster here.

I'm looking to get an M1 and I'd intend on watercooling inside. The gripe I have is that I'm not a fan of the exterior mounted reservoir I see people using a lot.
I'm particularly inspired by this build here. I just love the way the res is showcased, it's dramatic. I've also found this build, which is what I'd like to replicate, but with a 100 reservoir on the end.

1. Is this possible?
2. How is the pump (second image) mounted to the front of the case?

Any other advice is appreciated.
 
exhale said:
Hello, also a first poster here.

I'm looking to get an M1 and I'd intend on watercooling inside. The gripe I have is that I'm not a fan of the exterior mounted reservoir I see people using a lot.
I'm particularly inspired by this build here. I just love the way the res is showcased, it's dramatic. I've also found this build, which is what I'd like to replicate, but with a 100 reservoir on the end.

1. Is this possible?
2. How is the pump (second image) mounted to the front of the case?

Any other advice is appreciated.
Click to expand...

It's easier for cable and tube routing to use just a bottom rad, and of course it means you can see all the goodies inside. The trouble is you won't get the same cooling as you're pretty limited in the slim radiators and fans that will fit under the GPU.

Just depends on what you're after I guess:)

The pump on the second image would just be screwed to the front inside panel.
 
csd said:
It's easier for cable and tube routing to use just a bottom rad, and of course it means you can see all the goodies inside. The trouble is you won't get the same cooling as you're pretty limited in the slim radiators and fans that will fit under the GPU.

Just depends on what you're after I guess:)

The pump on the second image would just be screwed to the front inside panel.
Click to expand...

I'm a little unfamiliar with the front side mounting points. Would it be a case of just drilling custom ones?
 
exhale said:
I'm a little unfamiliar with the front side mounting points. Would it be a case of just drilling custom ones?
Click to expand...

Quite likely, or using some metal strips with a hole in one end screwed into the holes that exist on that that side of the case with a hole in the other end that lines up with the pump. Either way, it'll take a bit of modding. Some of 3d printed pump mounts that I've seen as well.
 
Hey guys, I'm looking into getting an NCase M1, I have everything set except for fan placement. The cpu cooler I've chosen is the Noctua C-14, and I was planning to put 2 nf12's on the side, one on the bottom side of the heatsink, and two for GPU exhaust. Would this work? and also how would I mount the 120mm fan onto the 140mm sized heatsink? Thanks.
 
D0T0T said:
Hey guys, I'm looking into getting an NCase M1, I have everything set except for fan placement. The cpu cooler I've chosen is the Noctua C-14, and I was planning to put 2 nf12's on the side, one on the bottom side of the heatsink, and two for GPU exhaust. Would this work? and also how would I mount the 120mm fan onto the 140mm sized heatsink? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Yes, that would work.

The cooler comes with 120 mm fan clips.
 
XelNika said:
Yes, that would work.

The cooler comes with 120 mm fan clips.
Click to expand...
Do you know if EVGA's acx cooler exhausts or intakes air? I don't want to have fans fighting against each other. And before anyone asks me why I'm buying before pascal/polaris, it's because of EVGA 90 day step up plan.
 
D0T0T said:
Do you know if EVGA's acx cooler exhausts or intakes air? I don't want to have fans fighting against each other. And before anyone asks me why I'm buying before pascal/polaris, it's because of EVGA 90 day step up plan.
Click to expand...

Not to sound like an idiot but all coolers do both;) That being said all open air coolers (like the ACX) has the fans blowing air over the heatsink. This means that if you set the bottom fans in the M1 to exhaust air they would indeed fight the GPU cooler fans for air. Either set the bottom fans as intake, or don't install them at all would be my advice.
 
Urelure said:
Not to sound like an idiot but all coolers do both;) That being said all open air coolers (like the ACX) has the fans blowing air over the heatsink. This means that if you set the bottom fans in the M1 to exhaust air they would indeed fight the GPU cooler fans for air. Either set the bottom fans as intake, or don't install them at all would be my advice.
Click to expand...
Ok, I'll use bottom fans as intake and cpu/side as exhaust.
 
Anyone know if a 26mm thick radiator (EK Coolstream SE 240) and a set of 25mm fan will fit in the bottom of the ncase??
I've only seen people using the 15mm thick fans from silverstone or 12mm thick fans from schyte :S

Tho i've seen one build which had the 120mm radiator from EK (26mm thick) with noctuas industrial fans 25mm

46oqQNB.jpg
 
If the single 120mm radiator fits without issues, why should the dual 120mm radiator not fit? Whereas these silver things on the GPU block blocking the unused holes (don't know how they are called) might get in the way.
But the thing is anyway: There will be absolutely no space between the GPU and the radiator, so in neither fan configuration (intake or exhaust) there will go much air through the radiator. Better to chose slim fans and let them breathe, than taking the taller fans, which will probably have less effect.
 
einmannbude said:
If the single 120mm radiator fits without issues, why should the dual 120mm radiator not fit? Whereas these silver things on the GPU block blocking the unused holes (don't know how they are called) might get in the way.
But the thing is anyway: There will be absolutely no space between the GPU and the radiator, so in neither fan configuration (intake or exhaust) there will go much air through the radiator. Better to chose slim fans and let them breathe, than taking the taller fans, which will probably have less effect.
Click to expand...

Ye prob those plugs is in the way, think you can get some which is the same height as the block holes making them leveled out.
it seems there is what 1-2mm of space placing the fans as intake would still get air through the radiator...
 
Is there such a thing as cap that would sit flush on the waterblock? Something like that would likely allow the clearance necessary to do a SE240 and 25mm fan no?
 
I have a Titan X with full water block. I measured the clearance between case bottom and GPU block. On the highest point it is 48mm. On the lowest point it is 45mm. 26mm EK rad + 25mm fan is 51mm needed. If you are lucky and get a very low unit of the radiator and you manage to mount you motherboard at the highest possible position, maybe you can get to the 51mm and squeeze everything under the GPU. But I don't think it is worth it, because I don't think you will get happy with it. The GPU will sit directly on the fans or radiator, depending on how you want to stack it. In either way there will be too little or no air flow at all. Definitely not enough to take advantage of the EK rad, which additionally has a high fin density.
Would this be your only radiator, or would it be the second in you loop?
I have a Magicool rad on the side panel and installed the EK slim radiator with static pressure optimized slim fans just two days before. I didn't see any change in temperatures. 1°C with really good will. I have to admit, that I suspect a water flow issue in my setup, because I then added a second pump (DCC), which then was running at full speed and annoying noise. This resulted in 4°C better temperatures with a one side open case, because the second pump would fit nowhere inside it.
 
ok 48 mm work it seems :(
You are prob. Right it is not worth squezing slim rad + 25mm fans in the bottom section...
No it will be my second radiator with a alphacool 30mm + Gentle Typhoon AP-14 on the side.
I Will be getting another 30mm alphacool radiator for the bottom part Then. (my favourite company when it comes to their radiators)
I just Would have loved 4 pairs of gentle Typhoon in the build :)
I have purchased 2 x silverstone fn123 15mm Think fans, they look like a very good slim fan

I have purchased a swiftech apogee drive 2 for the pump hope it Will be Enough flow (Will turn the rpm down) will see how it will affect temperatures
 
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