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

I'd say the asus z170i pro gaming is the crowd favourite

Thanks.
Here's my updated parts list...

Asus Z179I Pro Gaming

EVGA GTX 1080 SC Gaming ACX 3.0

Intel i7 6700K 4.00

G.Skill 32GB TridentZ

Corsair SF600 PS

Corsair H100i

Samsung 850 EVO 1TB

Looking for two bottom case fans.
 
And what about Asus Maximus VIII ? Why is there so much price difference between Maximus and Pro gaming? Is it worth paying so much extra?
 
And what about Asus Maximus VIII ? Why is there so much price difference between Maximus and Pro gaming? Is it worth paying so much extra?

Besides the higher price, I would say that Asus made a big mistake with the Maximus VIII when they put a U.2 connector on it instead of an M.2.
 
Hi,

I finally didn't find any C14 and i'm going with u9S.

What would be the recommended fan config with that cooler?

I was thinking :
- top exhaust with 2 fans push/pull on U9S.
- One intake 120mm fan on the right of the side bracket (i understand left would not be possible with that CPU cooler).
- 2 bottom 120mm intake fans (i assume these can be plugged to one header on mobo with pwm splitter?).
- No rear exhaust fan.

What do you think? :)

This is what I'm doing in my son's case:
  • Noctua NH-U9S mounted horizontally with extra NF-A9 PWM fan on the heatsink which is very close to the rear panel
  • Noctua NF-A15 PWM fan on the front half of the side bracket as a big slow quiet intake for the entire section above the graphics card
 
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Hi,

I finally didn't find any C14 and i'm going with u9S.

What would be the recommended fan config with that cooler?

I was thinking :
- top exhaust with 2 fans push/pull on U9S.
- One intake 120mm fan on the right of the side bracket (i understand left would not be possible with that CPU cooler).
- 2 bottom 120mm intake fans (i assume these can be plugged to one header on mobo with pwm splitter?).
- No rear exhaust fan.

What do you think? :)

Sounds good. Some people mount the second 92mm fan on the case instead of the heat sink in order to aid the air flow. I guess you can test both and give us a feedback about your experiences.

The rest is as you assume correct.

Some people are using the new NH-C14 and using either a slim 15mm fan on top or waiting for the Noctua slim fans next year. Up to you if you want to try this option...

Thanks.
Here's my updated parts list...

Asus Z179I Pro Gaming

EVGA GTX 1080 SC Gaming ACX 3.0

Intel i7 6700K 4.00

G.Skill 32GB TridentZ

Corsair SF600 PS

Corsair H100i

Samsung 850 EVO 1TB

Looking for two bottom case fans.

The Corsair SF450 should be more than enough for your build. CPU 95W, GPU 180W, Mobo 30W, Ram 4W, SSD 2W, Fans pump etc 12W = 323W.
 
This is what I'm doing in my son's case:
  • Noctua NH-U9S mounted horizontally with extra NF-A9 PWM fan on the heatsink which is very close to the rear panel
  • Noctua NF-A15 PWM fan on the front half of the side bracket as a big slow quiet intake for the entire section above the graphics card
Did you test if you get any temp differences with the second fan in pull on the heat sink or mounted to the case as you currently have it?

What are the temps if you leave the second fan away completely?
 
Did you test if you get any temp differences with the second fan in pull on the heat sink or mounted to the case as you currently have it?

What are the temps if you leave the second fan away completely?

Unfortunately, no. I'm still waiting for my pre-ordered Samsung 960 EVO 500GB M.2 SSD.

I've seen other builds with the second fan in both places. I think the NF-A15 on the side bracket will provide enough pressure to exhaust air from the case. Still, it will be easy to test with the second 92 mm fan in both locations.
 
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Unfortunately, no. I'm still waiting for my pre-ordered Samsung 960 EVO 500GB M.2 SSD.

I've seen other builds with the second fan in both places. I think the NF-A15 on the side bracket will provide enough pressure to exhaust surgeon the case. Still, it will be easy to test with the second 92 mm fan in both locations.

The NF-A15 is great! But I feel like I get a little dust in the case as it is larger than the provided dust filters on the side bracket. I am considering increasing the dust filter size DIY style..
 
Thanks both!

How is the temp with the C14s and 15mm fan?

I think I will stay with the u9s since I received it already.

NF-A15 seems indeed a good recommendation. Thanks. I will try this one and keep NF-P12 PWM for bottom.
I have seen a few pics of U9s mounted vertically for top exhaust, did you also try this setup Qrash?
 
Thanks both!

How is the temp with the C14s and 15mm fan?

I think I will stay with the u9s since I received it already.

NF-A15 seems indeed a good recommendation. Thanks. I will try this one and keep NF-P12 PWM for bottom.
I have seen a few pics of U9s mounted vertically for top exhaust, did you also try this setup Qrash?

I saw those configurations too, but decided to go with horizontal mounting of the NH-U9S. I have no idea which orientation is superior.
 
Thanks both!

How is the temp with the C14s and 15mm fan?

I think I will stay with the u9s since I received it already.

NF-A15 seems indeed a good recommendation. Thanks. I will try this one and keep NF-P12 PWM for bottom.
I have seen a few pics of U9s mounted vertically for top exhaust, did you also try this setup Qrash?

Noone has tested the C14s in this case yet. StawKite is going to test it with the lower fan only to see how temps are before deciding on a slim fan.

You can also fit a 140mm fan with a 120mm fan on the bottom. One of the two uses double sided tape though as the cut out holes don't quite fit.

I imagine the rear exhaust vents have more space than the top case lid. So I think rear exhaust should provide less air flow obstruction.
 
Noone has tested the C14s in this case yet. StawKite is going to test it with the lower fan only to see how temps are before deciding on a slim fan.

You can also fit a 140mm fan with a 120mm fan on the bottom. One of the two uses double sided tape though as the cut out holes don't quite fit.

I know I saw someone post a build photo with a C14S somewhere. If not here, then maybe on the M1 thread at OCN.

There are slim 140 mm fans with 120 mm mounting holes. Those will fit on the side bracket without resorting to double-sided tape.

However, if you want to have a second fan on the front half of the side bracket it will have to be a 120 mm fan and you will not be able to slide the fans forward or back at all as a 140 and 120 combination completely fills the side bracket.
 
Is there a crowd favorite motherboard for this case?

You know I don't think there is a crowd favorite per se. You have to remember that the M1 is on version 5 now and when version 1 came out we were using different mobos back then. So it comes down to personal preference and what you are trying to accomplish and what is available. For example there is only one X99 mitx mobo to choose. Asrock makes the only one for now. We've had a few years between V1 and V5 and a few different model series of all the mobos. What may be popular now could change next year. I myself am using a Asus Maximus Impact VIII. I wanted to make sure I had the best wifi I could get plus the extra fan headers. Pricey but considering what I paid for my V1 case (mine sat for a long while unused) I don't mind. Its a high end product all around.
 
I know I saw someone post a build photo with a C14S somewhere. If not here, then maybe on the M1 thread at OCN.

There are slim 140 mm fans with 120 mm mounting holes. Those will fit on the side bracket without resorting to double-sided tape.

However, if you want to have a second fan on the front half of the side bracket it will have to be a 120 mm fan and you will not be able to slide the fans forward or back at all as a 140 and 120 combination completely fills the side bracket.

I was talking about the bottom of the case when I mentioned the tape. Since the fans lay on the floor anyway, I am not too worried if the fan were to come loose for whatever reason.
 
Besides the higher price, I would say that Asus made a big mistake with the Maximus VIII when they put a U.2 connector on it instead of an M.2.
I totally agree! I really wanted a more premium motherboard than the z170i pro gaming, but there aren't any other boards with m.2 and wifi support without jumping to x99. It's a shame really.
 
You know I don't think there is a crowd favorite per se. You have to remember that the M1 is on version 5 now and when version 1 came out we were using different mobos back then. So it comes down to personal preference and what you are trying to accomplish and what is available. For example there is only one X99 mitx mobo to choose. Asrock makes the only one for now. We've had a few years between V1 and V5 and a few different model series of all the mobos. What may be popular now could change next year. I myself am using a Asus Maximus Impact VIII. I wanted to make sure I had the best wifi I could get plus the extra fan headers. Pricey but considering what I paid for my V1 case (mine sat for a long while unused) I don't mind. Its a high end product all around.

I have no problem switching to the Maximus, I mean It's not like I'm not spending money on the rest of the build.
 
I totally agree! I really wanted a more premium motherboard than the z170i pro gaming, but there aren't any other boards with m.2 and wifi support without jumping to x99. It's a shame really.

Why would I want the jump to x99?
 
You basically need 4 pin PWM splitters. For example https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-Sleeved-Splitter-CPF01/dp/B00B46XKKQ
These are name brand and considerably more expensive than if you bought them from China on eBay.
Okay I see. So if I need to power 6 PWM fans I would need 3 of these splitters, correct?
EDIT: 1 140mm fan for cpu, 1 92mm for back of case, and 2 120mm on the side, and 2 120mm in the bottom. I guess this would be a problem. Because I cant put the 140mm cpu and and 92mm fan on the same splitter right?
 
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Okay, so I have to use splitters, how do I get some and what should I look for?

A fan splitter will be a V or Y shaped cable where one end is plugged into a fan header and then fan cables are plugged into the other ends. If your fans are PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) controlled, their connectors will have 4 pins. If you have PWM fans, you need a PWM splitter, that is, one with 4 pin connectors and sockets on the ends of it. If your fan connector has only 3 pins, then it is voltage controlled. Most fans these days are PWM (4-pin). 3-pin fans can be plugged into a PWM connector or header, but usually you should not mix them with PWM fans on the same PWM splitter.

Some splitters are sometimes very long. I would look for short ones since the M1 is a small case.

Often the fans that you will connect to a splitter will have identical roles or be located close together. Only one of the fans attached to a splitter will feed its RPM information back to the motherboard so I recommend only combining identical fans in identical roles together. Examples in the M1 would be:
  • two fans on a CPU heatsink or a radiator
  • two fans on the side bracket
  • two fans on the bottom of the case
In all of those examples, the two fans are close together and are performing the same function, so the fans should be identical and will run at the same speed.
 
Thanks for helping me both of you, I guess I'm not getting a 92mm fan for the back anyways. It probably wouldnt help much anyways..
EDIT: im getting the na-syc1 pwm splitter from noctua.
 
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Thanks for helping me both of you, I guess I'm not getting a 92mm fan for the back anyways. It probably wouldnt help much anyways..
EDIT: im getting the na-syc1 pwm splitter from noctua.

Yep, as Qrash said.

You can power your 2 NH-C14s fans together (and only the lower one until you have tested the temps). Here you will have the highest range between idle and load fan speed. But with teh 140mm fans I think you should be fine with 800-900rpm at the max.
Then the 1 front side bracket fan by itself. Very low speeds will be fine just to keep the air moving.
And the two in the case floor together. Also very low speeds will help the case with constant fresh air. No high volume really needed.
 
What would you guys prefer for CPU cooling? I've just decided I'm going to purchase an open air GPU (either Asus Strix or Gigabyte Xtreme Gaming).

- First option is to use an 240mm liquid cooler from Be Quiet, the Silent Loop 240.
- Second option would be an air cooler like the Noctua NH-U9s or the NH-C12-p

The price difference is quite large, so I'm wondering if its worth using and AIO over an lower TDP air cooler, especially since I'll be using an open air GPU that will exhaust the hot air into the case.
 
Do check the GTX 1080 compatibility list before deciding on a GPU.

I did ;) Strix is 100% compatible, think the Xtreme gaming is a really tight fit but it should be compatible. Power connectors on pcb are lowered, and its only the middle part that is 140mm. Plus someone said in that list in 1st post it fits with sfx psu!

But choice for CPU cooler is killing me. I've crossed the C14 of my list since I cant get one here anymore.
 
My GTX 1070 EVGA SC pooped itself last night. I'll likely be able to get a credit for it. Should I look at a founders? Or go for a Strix? I'm leaning towards the Strix... 1070, OR downgrade to 1060 instead, (probably still get the strix lol), and use some spare cash for some hard drives... HMMMM DECISIONSSS
 
Okay I see. So if I need to power 6 PWM fans I would need 3 of these splitters, correct?
EDIT: 1 140mm fan for cpu, 1 92mm for back of case, and 2 120mm on the side, and 2 120mm in the bottom. I guess this would be a problem. Because I cant put the 140mm cpu and and 92mm fan on the same splitter right?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...166&cm_re=fan_splitter-_-12-423-166-_-Product You could also go with a splitter like this, powered by a molex connector but PWM controlled.
 
My GTX 1070 EVGA SC pooped itself last night. I'll likely be able to get a credit for it. Should I look at a founders? Or go for a Strix? I'm leaning towards the Strix... 1070, OR downgrade to 1060 instead, (probably still get the strix lol), and use some spare cash for some hard drives... HMMMM DECISIONSSS

Bummer - how bad was it? Or did it just stop working?
- I'd say stick with a 1070 though, the 1060 is great but a little extra in the bank is always good to have.
 
Why would I want the jump to x99?

IMO the only reason to go with the Asrock X99 mobo is because of cpu choice. The average gamer won't need to do that. Some may argue otherwise though. It's a personal choice really.
 
The thing about the mitx mobos we have available today is that none of them are perfect. They each have their own pros and cons. Mainly it's that they all have different features or lack of. To my knowledge none of them have it all so you have to pick and choose based on what you need/want for your build.
 
Bummer - how bad was it? Or did it just stop working?
- I'd say stick with a 1070 though, the 1060 is great but a little extra in the bank is always good to have.
Just stopped displaying. Boots, windows even loads far as I can tell. Just no display. It tripped my PSU at one point too. Luckily the retailer I got it from I used to work for so getting replacement should be easy. He's already going to try get me a credit. XD
 
Hey guys! I have seen that you have talked about CPU coolers, just want to ask, which should I choose? The Noctua nh-d9l(with two fans) or the the noctua nh-u9s(with two fans)? And with the u9s, which way should I put it for the best results, horizontal or vertical? Can also ask what GPU you think I should go for? I have looked on the Asus 1070 turbo, or should I go for or should I take something else?

This is my components so far:
Intel 6700k
Asus z170i
Samsung 960 EVO Series m2
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16gb
Corsair SF450
 
Hey guys! I have seen that you have talked about CPU coolers, just want to ask, which should I choose? The Noctua nh-d9l(with two fans) or the the noctua nh-u9s(with two fans)? And with the u9s, which way should I put it for the best results, horizontal or vertical? Can also ask what GPU you think I should go for? I have looked on the Asus 1070 turbo, or should I go for or should I take something else?

This is my components so far:
Intel 6700k
Asus z170i
Samsung 960 EVO Series m2
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16gb
Corsair SF450
In most tests the U9S beats the D9L (It has an extra heatpipe) Orientation frankly I doubt makes a huge deal. Horizontal I believe is better for RAM compatibility.

The 1070 turbo is loud. Consider an aftermarket unit or a founders edition, I wouldn't really bother with any other blower styles that I've seen IMO.

If you CAN, the Noctua NH-C14 is still the preferred air cooler for this build. But the U9S should do the job well enough
 
Hey guys! I have seen that you have talked about CPU coolers, just want to ask, which should I choose? The Noctua nh-d9l(with two fans) or the the noctua nh-u9s(with two fans)? And with the u9s, which way should I put it for the best results, horizontal or vertical? Can also ask what GPU you think I should go for? I have looked on the Asus 1070 turbo, or should I go for or should I take something else?

This is my components so far:
Intel 6700k
Asus z170i
Samsung 960 EVO Series m2
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16gb
Corsair SF450

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Maybe I am wrong but to me this just seems like it would make more sense. You get fresh air intake at the right which feeds right into the heatsink and exhausts out the back. If you mount it vertically it doesn't seems like it would get as good an air supply. I would love to see someone mount one both ways and post comparison temps.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/noctua_nh_d9l_and_nh_u9s_cpu_cooler_review,1.html Good comparison here between the two.
 
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