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

RIRed48 said:
Thank you.
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I did a search on YouTube using "Ncacse M1 build" and found several videos. Most of them are only a few minutes long with the actual build usually presented sped up. One build "Project MiniValidus" has 4 parts, the actual assembly doesn't begin until the 5 minute mark of the Part 4 video. The first 3 parts introduce the parts, CPU delidding and lapping, and then painting some of the motherboard heatsinks. In Part 4 it is informative to see the difficulty the builder had with getting the Asus Strix video card installed (had to remove the power supply first and I think he removed the card's mounting plate) and figuring out how to pack the Corsair H100i radiator into the case.

Test fitting and planning the assembly order are very helpful to having an efficient build process in such a small case. Again, there are several build videos and I'm sure if you watch a few you will be well prepared. Good luck and remember to post some photos!
 
Strange question, but would there be anyone willing to swap panels? I've got a black ODD case coming and would rather have a silver ODD. Thanks.
 
Samipe said:
Hi everyone!

I built my rig a month ago. Since there has been some interest in EK Predator here, I can thereby confirm it fits in the NCASE. Yes, you do have to turn it upside down which is not recommended by the manual. However, checking the instructions of the pump itself, it seems that the orientation is OK in that regard. So the only reason this way is not recommended is because the reservoir is below the pump I think.

The cooler works well and is totally silent in desktop use. Since there is no sound insulation and since my hearing is quite sensitive, I can hear some high pitched whining from the pump if the computer is less than one meter away. Under the desk I hear totally nothing. After 30mins of Prime95 torture test the temps seemed to reach an equilibrium of 63c/1200rpm with a non-overclocked 2500k. Fans are audible but not distracting.

If you guys are considering EK Predator, I recommend 2 x 90deg + 2 x 45deg fittings, as this way the tubing is much less painful to get inside. Also you have to shorten the tubings quite a bit, so you do need to refill and prime the system. The radiator itself fits inside without any violence with some fiddling. If you have any questions regarding this I'm happy to answer!
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Don't suppose you have any pics of your rig. Am considering the same and any images would be very helpful! :)

EDIT: Guess this (http://www.samikolari.fi/project-ncase-m1/) is your website, please do continue!
 
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Does anyone know which gtx 1070 cards will fit in the ncase m1? I currently have a gtx 750ti installed, but with 1440p resolution it leaves quite a bit to be desired.

I have been considering the Palit gtx 1070 Jetstream. Looks like a great cooler, but will it fit? It is a 2.5 slot card and Palit says its 285mm long.
 
Delirious5037 said:
Does anyone know which gtx 1070 cards will fit in the ncase m1? I currently have a gtx 750ti installed, but with 1440p resolution it leaves quite a bit to be desired.

I have been considering the Palit gtx 1070 Jetstream. Looks like a great cooler, but will it fit? It is a 2.5 slot card and Palit says its 285mm long.
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I believe this post from Necere has your answer: No.

UPDATE: Shoot, you were asking about a different Palit card, the 1070 Jetstream. On the product page you can see that it is 133 mm tall (wide?) and the power connectors are right at the top of the PCB, so unless you bought really low profile 90 degree adapters there's no way you could fit standard PCI-E power cables in the 7 mm of space left between the card and the side panel. Also a 2.5 slot card means that you cannot fit standard 25 mm thick fans on the bottom of the case under the card. Sorry.
 
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Thanks Qrash. This is what I feared. Seems like this is this is the case for many gtx 1080 and 1070 models. Is there any 1070 model that are especially recommended and will fit in the ncase? I will have to do some more research for my next gpu purchase it seems.
 
Founders edition is going to be the one most people are going to recommend here, as the blower style cooler is the best solution for the case. The OEM versions of the blower, such as the Asus Turbo or the MSI Aero have similar results for cheaper.
 
All right, but isn't a blower style card a lot noisier than a more regular design. I have never owned a blower style card, but I really appreciate silent operation so that is an important factor as well.
 
I started with a blower 1080 and was getting really bad temps. I had a 1:1 fan curve and was getting around 80 degrees with heaven benchmark. The fan was extremely loud. There have been some reports of people with non-blower cards here getting temps of around 70 with two 120mm fans on the bottom, one rear exhaust and a NHU9s oriented upward to exhaust out the top. I am curently waiting for a STRIX 1080 to try this out, as the founders edition was much to loud for me.
 
Delirious5037 said:
All right, but isn't a blower style card a lot noisier than a more regular design. I have never owned a blower style card, but I really appreciate silent operation so that is an important factor as well.
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it is going to be more expensive but i am most likely going to get a 1070 that fits and replace the cooler with the arctic acellero xtreme III
 
I personally am going to go with an EVGA SC with two 120's beneath it, but for people who would rather just bet done with it the blowers are the way to go.
 
AWartman said:
I started with a blower 1080 and was getting really bad temps. I had a 1:1 fan curve and was getting around 80 degrees with heaven benchmark. The fan was extremely loud. There have been some reports of people with non-blower cards here getting temps of around 70 with two 120mm fans on the bottom, one rear exhaust and a NHU9s oriented upward to exhaust out the top. I am curently waiting for a STRIX 1080 to try this out, as the founders edition was much to loud for me.
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I can confirm. Have a gigabyte g1 here with 2 noctua fans blowing. OC of 2100mhz core and 5505mhz memory running at 78C tops in heaven benchmark.
 
equalme said:
450w may not be sufficient if you're using a 1080 and 5820k. Just with my 980 Ti and 6700k, on full load it ranges from 350-400w.
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I would tend to agree about that PSU... I'm getting one model up for more 'headroom', the SF600.
 
Finally got my side window cut. I went with sort of a frosted glass since it want my future lights to have a mellow glow instead of a glaring bright light. Still need to get my cables sorted.

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Part of what gets me about that first review is that they compare them with the IPPC NF-F12s which are notably louder (though the normal ones are much uglier than these corsair fans). I'd like to see a big name reviewer do something of the sort to get the actual conclusion of if these are an improvement or not for the price.
 
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Yeah I read a review on them on OC3D but they are so bias toward anything Corsair anymore you can take it with a grain of salt.
 
Can anybody with the mITX Asus z170 Pro Gaming help me out. I just installed it and for some reason when I shut down my computer it still triggers the LEDs on my headset and the LEDs on my motherboard stay active as well. This makes sleeping a bit difficult as my whole room gets tinged red. I was hoping someone could help me figure out how to disable this. I downloaded AI Suite 3 and was able to disable the Audio LED on the motherboard, but that was it. Asus support gave me useless advice...
 
Daniel Minzi said:
Can anybody with the mITX Asus z170 Pro Gaming help me out. I just installed it and for some reason when I shut down my computer it still triggers the LEDs on my headset and the LEDs on my motherboard stay active as well. This makes sleeping a bit difficult as my whole room gets tinged red. I was hoping someone could help me figure out how to disable this. I downloaded AI Suite 3 and was able to disable the Audio LED on the motherboard, but that was it. Asus support gave me useless advice...
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Actually you should be able to disable the Audio LED in the BIOS according to the FAQ document on this subject:

Step 1: Enter BIOS, press F7, go into advanced mode

Step 2: Go through the path (Advanced\Onboard Devices Configration)

Step 3: Disable SuperFX Lighting LED​

I will look for how to turn off the other LEDs.


UPDATE: A post at Tom's Hardware stated that AI Suite 3 should also let you turn off the flashing motherboard LED.

Nothing so far for the mouse LED. Perhaps try a different USB port? Really.

Another thought: according to the manual (Section 2.6.7, page 2-31) there is an entry in the BIOS in Onboard Devices Configuration where you can disable the "Asmedia USB 3.1 Battery Charging Support". Maybe if your mouse is plugged into an Asmedia USB port, this feature is providing it power when the computer is off?
 
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Qrash said:
Actually you should be able to disable the Audio LED in the BIOS according to the FAQ document on this subject:

Step 1: Enter BIOS, press F7, go into advanced mode

Step 2: Go through the path (Advanced\Onboard Devices Configration)

Step 3: Disable SuperFX Lighting LED​

I will look for how to turn off the other LEDs.


UPDATE: A post at Tom's Hardware stated that AI Suite 3 should also let you turn off the flashing motherboard LED.

Nothing so far for the mouse LED. Perhaps try a different USB port? Really.

Another thought: according to the manual (Section 2.6.7, page 2-31) there is an entry in the BIOS in Onboard Devices Configuration where you can disable the "Asmedia USB 3.1 Battery Charging Support". Maybe if your mouse is plugged into an Asmedia USB port, this feature is providing it power when the computer is off?
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Qrash...
Props to you, man, for such a detailed post to help him out.... Why I check here every day for a super group of positive people.... thanks everyone.
 
Qrash said:
Actually you should be able to disable the Audio LED in the BIOS according to the FAQ document on this subject:

Step 1: Enter BIOS, press F7, go into advanced mode

Step 2: Go through the path (Advanced\Onboard Devices Configration)

Step 3: Disable SuperFX Lighting LED​

I will look for how to turn off the other LEDs.


UPDATE: A post at Tom's Hardware stated that AI Suite 3 should also let you turn off the flashing motherboard LED.

Nothing so far for the mouse LED. Perhaps try a different USB port? Really.

Another thought: according to the manual (Section 2.6.7, page 2-31) there is an entry in the BIOS in Onboard Devices Configuration where you can disable the "Asmedia USB 3.1 Battery Charging Support". Maybe if your mouse is plugged into an Asmedia USB port, this feature is providing it power when the computer is off?
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Thank you so much for all the help. I will test out your suggestions after work tomorrow and report back!
 
I'm pretty excited, new cases should start shipping today. I have been following this thread for over a year and for a long time hesitating to buy the NCASE M1.
The past four years I have been using a Node 304 and I have been very satisfied with the case. Especially the dustfilters placing, which really keep the case dustfree and the included fancontroller offering easy control over casefan noise made me love this case. At the pricepoint of €80 I dont know an alternative ITX case that offers the same cooling performance, silence and protection against dust under 20L.

So what made me crave for a NCASE M1? The two main reasons are aesthetics; the M1 has a nicer shape than the boxy 304 and the smaller size. What made me doubt to purchase the NCASE M1 is the fear for a case that is less dust proof with its many open holes, no psu filter and no elegant mounting for bottom fan filters if you don't install fans. Besides the dust protection I'm also a little worried about more noise due to more restricted airflow or much higher temps at the same noise level as the 304. Thankfully Corsair came with the SF450, the noisy SFX supplies was also withholding me from getting me the M1. Oh and last but not least the total cost of changing to the NCASE is around €500 counting Case + PSU + CPU Cooler + Casefans + Demciflex bottom filter. That is some serious money to invest in a PC that will bring zero performance improvement. Sure I will earn some back on the sales of my current case, psu and cpu cooler but I'm not counting on more than €100. Btw, I also considered the console shape like the Node 202 and the Raven series, the Ravens are ugly, the 202 has terrible CPU cooler options.

Praises to Necere and Wahaha360 for the design of the M1, I am really looking forward for the case to arrive. So now I have approximately two weeks to get my components together and start building on arrival day.
My hardware:
I5 4690
MSI H87I
8GB Kingston 1600mhz memory
MSI GTX 960 2GB
Samsung 850 Evo 500gb


What to get for the NCASE:
Corsair SF450 - Think its the best choice for silence and I always go so mid range GPU's so no power more power needed.
Noctua NF-A9 exhaust fan
Demciflex bottom filter

I'm left with deciding the CPU cooler and casefan(s). Considering that the CPU socket is close to the PCI-E slot I am pretty limited in my options which I narrowed down to the Noctua U9S or the Cryorig C1. I have seen builds with both on the forum here and the reviews I have found online. I could only find one review where both coolers were tested on the same setup and the Cryorig C1 performed a few degrees better. However I'm doubting if the Noctua U9S would be better in keeping the temperature down by directing the air towards the exhaust. I am curious to your opinions.

As for case fans I am doubting between the Noctua NF-S12A or NF-P12. I am worried the S12A won't have enough static pressure considering to suck the air through the dustfilters. Although I have really seen S12A owners complain on this forum about their performance in the M1. I am also curious to your recommendations in the number of casefans and placement. I think there are some mixed opinions here about whether bottom casefans are that useful.
 
If you're worried about dust, why get the exhaust fan even? Getting intake fans for positive air pressure will do you better in that case.
 
Tyki said:
If you're worried about dust, why get the exhaust fan even? Getting intake fans for positive air pressure will do you better in that case.
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My assumption is that the warm air would circulate longer in the case raising the temperature of components, making the fans spin harder and the PC more noisy.
 
Question for those of you with Accellero's; I'm trying to do decide between going the Accelero route or an AIO card (msi/evga) but I'm unsure about the thermal glue used for the vrm's with the Accelero.

Are they hard to remove after being installed? I want to be able to disassemble the card in future when it comes time to sell it but it sounds from reading that they're stuck on there real solid. Do they come off safely? Can you use something else instead of the stock stuff?

The AIO is plug and play, which I like, but the extra cost for the card and new cpu cooler (current c14 doesn't like to share with a rad) is going to be a few hundred extra bucks which I'd rather avoid.

~tia
 
In theory, the warm air will naturally rise out of the top vents of the case, which is small enough that heat shouldn't be that much of an issue. I'd just put 2 NF-F12s at the bottom of the case and call it a day with a good CPU cooler.
 
I made a thing:

i9hLl65.jpg


Predator was easier to get in here than I thought it would be. Ignore the GPU sag, it's due to the stiff ATX cable that the SF600 comes with, and I haven't had a chance to repair the custom cable I had made earlier. And yes, I know the fittings are two different colors... I was just using what I had.
 
keshley said:
I made a thing:

i9hLl65.jpg


Predator was easier to get in here than I thought it would be. Ignore the GPU sag, it's due to the stiff ATX cable that the SF600 comes with, and I haven't had a chance to repair the custom cable I had made earlier. And yes, I know the fittings are two different colors... I was just using what I had.
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More pics please! Can't ignore the sag though ;)

Looks like your NCase frame is missing a plastic clip (top right of image). Should be a bunch of spares that came with it.
 
Hermit2001 said:
More pics please! Can't ignore the sag though ;)

Looks like your NCase frame is missing a plastic clip (top right of image). Should be a bunch of spares that came with it.
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Yeah, that's from the previous EVGA hybrid cooler I had installed alongside the Darkrock TF. Couldn't get it to fit with the two clips in that portion of the frame. Putting those clips back in is on my To-Do list, alongside adding the FrozenQ radiator on the back for easier filling/bleeding/draining at some point. I also need to remake the 8 pin PCI-E cable, as I forgot to put any wire wrap on it. Not hurting anything, just an eyesore when I take the panel off.

Top view:
J7kcO9i.jpg


And to get an idea of the tube routing I'm currently using:
pSqTbMK.jpg
 
keshley said:
Yeah, that's from the previous EVGA hybrid cooler I had installed alongside the Darkrock TF. Couldn't get it to fit with the two clips in that portion of the frame. Putting those clips back in is on my To-Do list, alongside adding the FrozenQ radiator on the back for easier filling/bleeding/draining at some point. I also need to remake the 8 pin PCI-E cable, as I forgot to put any wire wrap on it. Not hurting anything, just an eyesore when I take the panel off.

Top view:
J7kcO9i.jpg


And to get an idea of the tube routing I'm currently using:
pSqTbMK.jpg
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Wow, nice work getting that radiator and long tubing in there! I didn't know that the power cable can be relocated to the top center of the back panel.
 
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