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

RIRed48 said:
I finally have my new rig up and running (listed below).

What should be my safe temperature range when I'm playing an intense game of Battlefield 1 online/multiplayer? And how/when do I check those temps, during the game, right after the game? I have CPUID/HWMonitor and CPUID/CPU_Z.
Click to expand...

Start HWMonitor prior to the game playing (or any other testing) and it will report the maximum temperatures. I'm not sure if it has a logging function, but if it does you could graph the values versus time.
 
voklskier4452 said:
So I had my Ncase since the first batch and have played around with a few cooling configurations and have never found anything ideal. I did a full loop that didn't work because the pump toasted my MB fan controller. All air which made for very toasty internal temps and now an AIO on the GPU with a Noctua NH-U9B SE2 pointed out the rear of the case. I get 45-55C temps on the CPU while gaming at stock speeds (4770K) with 34C GPU temps which I am not very happy with. I am thinking of going the double AIO route or at least a Cryorig C1 to replace the Noctua and help keep air cycling through the case more quickly. I also am thinking about turning my PSU to face fan side in the help get hot air out. Any thoughts on this or are there examples of people running similar setups to what I have proposed with reasonable temps.
Click to expand...

I think 45-55C with air cooling is fine. CPU throttling doesn't happen unti 90C.
 
voklskier4452 said:
So I had my Ncase since the first batch and have played around with a few cooling configurations and have never found anything ideal. I did a full loop that didn't work because the pump toasted my MB fan controller. All air which made for very toasty internal temps and now an AIO on the GPU with a Noctua NH-U9B SE2 pointed out the rear of the case. I get 45-55C temps on the CPU while gaming at stock speeds (4770K) with 34C GPU temps which I am not very happy with. I am thinking of going the double AIO route or at least a Cryorig C1 to replace the Noctua and help keep air cycling through the case more quickly. I also am thinking about turning my PSU to face fan side in the help get hot air out. Any thoughts on this or are there examples of people running similar setups to what I have proposed with reasonable temps.
Click to expand...
This is like an eating disorder but with hardware. Your temps are fine, they really are.
 
pendragon1 said:
lol not happy with 34c on your 1070 gpu
Click to expand...
The GPU is totally fine but since the AIO is feeding into the case it is making the motherboard sit at way higher temps then I like and the CPU is way higher then it should be given the low load of something like rocketleague.
 
no, that cpu temp is fine. your cpu max temp is like 100c. do you have an extra exhaust fan at the back or just the u9 blowing toward the opening? what about intake at the bottom or side?
 
pendragon1 said:
no, that cpu temp is fine. your cpu max temp is like 100c. do you have an extra exhaust fan at the back or just the u9 blowing toward the opening? what about intake at the bottom or side?
Click to expand...
I am aware of what the thermal throttling temp of the 4770K is, this is far from my first build. I have the EVGA hybrid radiator as in intake and the PSU is currently in an intake orientation. Main reason I am exploring this is it seems all the heat from the 1070 is being dumped in the case and its causing higher system temps then necessary.
 
so you know your temps are fine just not as low a you want, right?
yeah of course temps go up. that's why I asked aboot intake and exhaust fans. if you move the hot air out it wont be that big of an issue. you don't have enough air movement. adding an exhaust fan will help a lot!
 
voklskier4452 said:
I am aware of what the thermal throttling temp of the 4770K is, this is far from my first build. I have the EVGA hybrid radiator as in intake and the PSU is currently in an intake orientation. Main reason I am exploring this is it seems all the heat from the 1070 is being dumped in the case and its causing higher system temps then necessary.
Click to expand...

OK, this is a reasonable desire. In his initial testing Necere had all fans as intakes so that warm air would be exhausted through all other openings. Some with third-party heatsinks on their GPUs have started with the bottom fans as intakes, but then switched them to exhaust to get the GPU heat out of the case more directly. So, changing the PS around to help exhaust the heat from the GPU radiator or even changing the GPU radiator fan to exhaust are strategies with the same purpose.

You will still need air inflow to avoid a negative pressure situation. I don't think the NH-U9B permits having an intake fan mounted above it on the rear half of the side bracket (maybe a really slim one)., so I would have bottom fans to perform this role. They can be filtered and shouldn't need too high of a speed in order to provide the necessary airflow.

Let us know what you try and how it effective it is.
 
It remains to be seen how AMD will price Ryzen. If they decide to really disrupt Intel's marketing and come with a price of $499 for the 8-core piece like some are suggesting Intel may be forced to lower prices on their entire lineup of processors. This will be very interesting to watch unfold.
 
 
My Build is done.
Amazon goofed on one 120mm Noctua Fan which will replace the stock EVGA fan. Pics for all to comment on. Build was not that hard cause I spent a lot on researching each part and went trough multiple number of times in my head with all steps.

Front with NZXT Grid+ V2 Fan Controller without the casing.
1lHJ4Qp.jpg


Will replace the EVGA stock Fan with a 120mm Noctua. The fan is on its way.
LqKjujl.jpg

8KAWPr5.jpg

jxls9zz.jpg

JmT708r.jpg


Bottom has two 120mm corsair fans which came with the H75.
bmb0hD9.jpg

jqxPsfb.jpg

dFwCrKA.jpg



Comments are welcome. System is running butter smooth. I am yet to stress test it. will let you guys know.
 
Sagar Chakraborty said:
My Build is done.
Amazon goofed on one 120mm Noctua Fan which will replace the stock EVGA fan. Pics for all to comment on. Build was not that hard cause I spent a lot on researching each part and went trough multiple number of times in my head with all steps.
Front with NZXT Grid+ V2 Fan Controller without the casing.
1lHJ4Qp.jpg


Will replace the EVGA stock Fan with a 120mm Noctua. The fan is on its way.
LqKjujl.jpg

8KAWPr5.jpg

jxls9zz.jpg

JmT708r.jpg


Bottom has two 120mm corsair fans which came with the H75.
bmb0hD9.jpg

jqxPsfb.jpg

dFwCrKA.jpg
Comments are welcome. System is running butter smooth. I am yet to stress test it. will let you guys know.
Click to expand...

Very nice build and great pics!

I would also dust filter the rear intake. Would the fans on the radiators have fit in a pull configuration? That way you could easily get rid of any dust that builds up on the radiator as demonstrated here. The side dust filters of the case are good but still not perfect.
 
I see some builds here have the PSU fan facing into the case and some out...is there a reason to choose one over the other?
 
harsaphes said:
I see some builds here have the PSU fan facing into the case and some out...is there a reason to choose one over the other?
Click to expand...

Originally, it was expected that having the power supply intake fan facing outwards, would be best. Cool external air would be drawn in and this would delay the PS fan from starting to spin. The first and most common SFX power supplies were from Silverstone and those had fans that could be a bit noisy when starting.

More recently, having the PS fan facing inwards is done so that it is fed filtered air from a side intake fan which is often quieter than the PS fan. Facing inwards also helps to make the sound from the PS fan less audible from outside the case. In this configuration the new Corsair PS units, especially the SF450, have been found to run without the PS fan ever spinning.
 
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Qrash said:
Start HWMonitor prior to the game playing (or any other testing) and it will report the maximum temperatures. I'm not sure if it has a logging function, but if it does you could graph the values versus time.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Qrash... You 'da man.

Tomm afternoon... NFL... Denver/NE.... GO PATS!! :)
 
anak85 said:
Very nice build and great pics!

I would also dust filter the rear intake. Would the fans on the radiators have fit in a pull configuration? That way you could easily get rid of any dust that builds up on the radiator as demonstrated here. The side dust filters of the case are good but still not perfect.
Click to expand...

Nice video link.

I noticed that the bottom fans are set to exhaust from the case, which is a bit uncommon. I'm doing that, but that's because I have a large third-party cooler on my graphics card. More often, bottom fans are set as intakes.

So, if you change the side radiator fans to pull so that they are exhausting from the case and change the bottom fans to intakes then you will have the same number of intakes and exhausts as you have now.

Alternatively, put the radiators right against the side bracket with their fans pulling through them into the case. This will reduce how tight your hoses are , especially for the CPU cooler. Then decide if you want to flip the bottom fans from exhaust to intake.
 
Qrash said:
Originally, it was expected that having the power supply intake fan facing outwards, would be best. Cool external air would be drawn in and this would delay the PS fan from starting to spin. The first and most common SFX power supplies were from Silverstone and those had fans that could be a bit noisy when starting.

More recently, having the PS fan facing inwards is done so that it is fed filtered air from a side intake fan which is often quieter than the PS fan. Facing inwards also helps to make the sound from the PS fan less audible from outside the case. In this configuration the new Corsair PS units, especially the SF450, have been found to run without the PS fan ever spinning.
Click to expand...

Thanks!
 
Anyone in the Dec 12th shipping batch get their tracking # yet? I didn't get a confirmation email or a tracking #. Getting nervous, was hoping to have something to do over the holidays.
 
Shockwave818 said:
Anyone in the Dec 12th shipping batch get their tracking # yet? I didn't get a confirmation email or a tracking #. Getting nervous, was hoping to have something to do over the holidays.
Click to expand...
W360 sent out tracking numbers for the December 12th shipment today.
 
anak85 said:
Very nice build and great pics!

I would also dust filter the rear intake. Would the fans on the radiators have fit in a pull configuration? That way you could easily get rid of any dust that builds up on the radiator as demonstrated here. The side dust filters of the case are good but still not perfect.
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot!!
I am waiting for the back filter. Also that Fan spins only when the CPU temp is above 40. I was planning to take the MoBo VRM temp to decide the fan curve but NZXT CAM doesn't have that option so went with CPU at 40.
And I had seen the video earlier but went ahead with the push cause I had the filter. Let me see after few month if dust buildup is there then I will change.
 
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Qrash said:
Nice video link.

I noticed that the bottom fans are set to exhaust from the case, which is a bit uncommon. I'm doing that, but that's because I have a large third-party cooler on my graphics card. More often, bottom fans are set as intakes.

So, if you change the side radiator fans to pull so that they are exhausting from the case and change the bottom fans to intakes then you will have the same number of intakes and exhausts as you have now.

Alternatively, put the radiators right against the side bracket with their fans pulling through them into the case. This will reduce how tight your hoses are , especially for the CPU cooler. Then decide if you want to flip the bottom fans from exhaust to intake.
Click to expand...

The bottom fans are not exhausting. They are intake fans. I wanted positive pressure. To avoid dust buildup.
Also the bottom only kickin if the GPU temp is above 40C. Which it is hardly going. Though I am yet to play any AAA title. Wiating for the steam winter sale.
 
Sagar Chakraborty said:
The bottom fans are not exhausting. They are intake fans. I wanted positive pressure. To avoid dust buildup.
Also the bottom only kickin if the GPU temp is above 40C. Which it is hardly going. Though I am yet to play any AAA title. Wiating for the steam winter sale.
Click to expand...

Ah, sorry for my mistake.

Based on your last two posts you have carefully planned your build. Oh, and thanks for those great photos you posted several days ago.
 
Sagar Chakraborty said:
The bottom fans are not exhausting. They are intake fans. I wanted positive pressure. To avoid dust buildup.
Also the bottom only kickin if the GPU temp is above 40C. Which it is hardly going. Though I am yet to play any AAA title. Wiating for the steam winter sale.
Click to expand...

Qrash said:
Ah, sorry for my mistake.

Based on your last two posts you have carefully planned your build. Oh, and thanks for those great photos you posted several days ago.
Click to expand...

Yup, good work!

I would still love for someone to test the load temps with and without the rear fan spinning. Maybe you could give us some results once you've had a chance to try it?
 
I could sure use those Ryzen 8 cores today, transcoding my entire library of DVD movie rips to m4v (H.264) on my 2012 MacBook Pro i7. Takes 8 to 10 minutes per. :-/

Yeah, I know, Ryzen won't be available for at least a month and the old build in my sig would have been better but its boxed up ready for the household move to Austin.
 
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Tragedy happened to me last night... after almost a week, I finally assembled the M1 to my liking, 4670k, Z97 itx, GTX 1070 with 2 AIOs...
This is the first time that I have a case with access to the back of the MB. Since the MB runs hot and i was worried. I put a thermal pad on with some copper plates on the back.
One of the plate didnt get glued well and fell into CPU socket (in the back)........my MB and CPU fried lol..

I'm glad the gtx 1070 and everything else is fine. Anyway.. for this case...
I advice against using 2 AIOs, the pump noise in such a small case is very noticeable especially placing it on the desk.
I can tolerate a single pump noise but not 2... the double low humming noise finally got to me.

I'm not going to use aftermarket cooler right now. I will replace the MB and CPU with ryzen probably.
I have to underclock my GTX 1070 so the Nvidia drive would stop crashing.
(CPU probably bottleneck the GPU big time and cause memory/clock error. I read this somewhere else...and underclocking the GPU worked for me.
I will try to OC the CPU with asrock H97. Some review says it is possible but not a huge gain and I do see the option to OC in the BIOS.)

Here are some pictures of mine right now...

30887584194_8e0d4b94cb_b.jpg


Original system with 2 AIO.


31356148980_2346692298_b.jpg

With Z97 MB, was still working on cable management.



30887593564_7ba326802a_b.jpg

Case with black top...I like the look better than all silver.



30887591514_aced8cc228_b.jpg

Convert MSI 1070 to EVGA hybrid. Note that since MSI has seahawk edition, you can actually attach the cooler from hybrid kit without removing the whole shroud. I found out later. Perfect fit but no side hole for tubes.


30887585774_4d592fde5b_b.jpg

End product of conversion. Took me an hour. The card itself can power the fan and pump. The cable coming out with the water tubes is for the 120mm fan.



31356146680_b62ed45bd2_b.jpg

Change to Servo fan.. The center of the fan is huge...it's well balanced. It keep on spinning for a while after the system shuts down.



31691612456_10bed56e85_b.jpg

The system now after the tragedy. Now it runs on G3258 and H97.

30887573724_bc715b5339_b.jpg



RIP my 4670k and z97 itx....
 
broddy said:
Tragedy happened to me last night... after almost a week, I finally assembled the M1 to my liking, 4670k, Z97 itx, GTX 1070 with 2 AIOs...
This is the first time that I have a case with access to the back of the MB. Since the MB runs hot and i was worried. I put a thermal pad on with some copper plates on the back.
One of the plate didnt get glued well and fell into CPU socket (in the back)........my MB and CPU fried lol..

I'm glad the gtx 1070 and everything else is fine. Anyway.. for this case...
I advice against using 2 AIOs, the pump noise in such a small case is very noticeable especially placing it on the desk.
I can tolerate a single pump noise but not 2... the double low humming noise finally got to me.

I'm not going to use aftermarket cooler right now. I will replace the MB and CPU with ryzen probably.
I have to underclock my GTX 1070 so the Nvidia drive would stop crashing.
(CPU probably bottleneck the GPU big time and cause memory/clock error. I read this somewhere else...and underclocking the GPU worked for me.
I will try to OC the CPU with asrock H97. Some review says it is possible but not a huge gain and I do see the option to OC in the BIOS.)

Here are some pictures of mine right now...

30887584194_8e0d4b94cb_b.jpg


Original system with 2 AIO.


31356148980_2346692298_b.jpg

With Z97 MB, was still working on cable management.



30887593564_7ba326802a_b.jpg

Case with black top...I like the look better than all silver.



30887591514_aced8cc228_b.jpg

Convert MSI 1070 to EVGA hybrid. Note that since MSI has seahawk edition, you can actually attach the cooler from hybrid kit without removing the whole shroud. I found out later. Perfect fit but no side hole for tubes.


30887585774_4d592fde5b_b.jpg

End product of conversion. Took me an hour. The card itself can power the fan and pump. The cable coming out with the water tubes is for the 120mm fan.



31356146680_b62ed45bd2_b.jpg

Change to Servo fan.. The center of the fan is huge...it's well balanced. It keep on spinning for a while after the system shuts down.



31691612456_10bed56e85_b.jpg

The system now after the tragedy. Now it runs on G3258 and H97.

30887573724_bc715b5339_b.jpg



RIP my 4670k and z97 itx....
Click to expand...

I am sorry to hear about your loss. I too am a bit concerned about cooling the rear of my son's motherboard where I will soon have a Samsung 960 EVO M.2 SSD. This new generation is supposed to run cooler, but it would still be nice to be able to direct some airflow up behind the motherboard.
 
broddy said:
Tragedy happened to me last night... after almost a week, I finally assembled the M1 to my liking, 4670k, Z97 itx, GTX 1070 with 2 AIOs...
This is the first time that I have a case with access to the back of the MB. Since the MB runs hot and i was worried. I put a thermal pad on with some copper plates on the back.
One of the plate didnt get glued well and fell into CPU socket (in the back)........my MB and CPU fried lol..

I'm glad the gtx 1070 and everything else is fine. Anyway.. for this case...
I advice against using 2 AIOs, the pump noise in such a small case is very noticeable especially placing it on the desk.
I can tolerate a single pump noise but not 2... the double low humming noise finally got to me.

I'm not going to use aftermarket cooler right now. I will replace the MB and CPU with ryzen probably.
I have to underclock my GTX 1070 so the Nvidia drive would stop crashing.
(CPU probably bottleneck the GPU big time and cause memory/clock error. I read this somewhere else...and underclocking the GPU worked for me.
I will try to OC the CPU with asrock H97. Some review says it is possible but not a huge gain and I do see the option to OC in the BIOS.)

Here are some pictures of mine right now...

30887584194_8e0d4b94cb_b.jpg


Original system with 2 AIO.


31356148980_2346692298_b.jpg

With Z97 MB, was still working on cable management.



30887593564_7ba326802a_b.jpg

Case with black top...I like the look better than all silver.



30887591514_aced8cc228_b.jpg

Convert MSI 1070 to EVGA hybrid. Note that since MSI has seahawk edition, you can actually attach the cooler from hybrid kit without removing the whole shroud. I found out later. Perfect fit but no side hole for tubes.


30887585774_4d592fde5b_b.jpg

End product of conversion. Took me an hour. The card itself can power the fan and pump. The cable coming out with the water tubes is for the 120mm fan.



31356146680_b62ed45bd2_b.jpg

Change to Servo fan.. The center of the fan is huge...it's well balanced. It keep on spinning for a while after the system shuts down.



31691612456_10bed56e85_b.jpg

The system now after the tragedy. Now it runs on G3258 and H97.

30887573724_bc715b5339_b.jpg



RIP my 4670k and z97 itx....
Click to expand...

Damn. Sorry to hear that!
So glad that the other $$$ parts are ok. I thought you were going to write that your AIO's leaked and destroyed everything inside.

- Do you find the AIO on the CPU noisier than for the GPU? I've always been curious whether mounting the pump to the motherboard amplifies the noise.
 
Thanks guys. Yes, CPU AIO is a bit louder but not by much. It is the resonance with the fan blowing and such in a tiny aluminum case...the horrific droning sound... The silverstone AIO is really nice thou...I'll keep it and use on my HTPC in node 605 later on. I'm so tired of messing with computer lol. Yea, I'm glad I bought extra parts during sale..I was gonna give them to my dad...guess not lol.
 
broddy said:
Tragedy happened to me last night... after almost a week, I finally assembled the M1 to my liking, 4670k, Z97 itx, GTX 1070 with 2 AIOs...
This is the first time that I have a case with access to the back of the MB. Since the MB runs hot and i was worried. I put a thermal pad on with some copper plates on the back.
One of the plate didnt get glued well and fell into CPU socket (in the back)........my MB and CPU fried lol..

I'm glad the gtx 1070 and everything else is fine. Anyway.. for this case...
I advice against using 2 AIOs, the pump noise in such a small case is very noticeable especially placing it on the desk.
I can tolerate a single pump noise but not 2... the double low humming noise finally got to me.

I'm not going to use aftermarket cooler right now. I will replace the MB and CPU with ryzen probably.
I have to underclock my GTX 1070 so the Nvidia drive would stop crashing.
(CPU probably bottleneck the GPU big time and cause memory/clock error. I read this somewhere else...and underclocking the GPU worked for me.
I will try to OC the CPU with asrock H97. Some review says it is possible but not a huge gain and I do see the option to OC in the BIOS.)

Here are some pictures of mine right now...

30887584194_8e0d4b94cb_b.jpg


Original system with 2 AIO.


31356148980_2346692298_b.jpg

With Z97 MB, was still working on cable management.



30887593564_7ba326802a_b.jpg

Case with black top...I like the look better than all silver.



30887591514_aced8cc228_b.jpg

Convert MSI 1070 to EVGA hybrid. Note that since MSI has seahawk edition, you can actually attach the cooler from hybrid kit without removing the whole shroud. I found out later. Perfect fit but no side hole for tubes.


30887585774_4d592fde5b_b.jpg

End product of conversion. Took me an hour. The card itself can power the fan and pump. The cable coming out with the water tubes is for the 120mm fan.



31356146680_b62ed45bd2_b.jpg

Change to Servo fan.. The center of the fan is huge...it's well balanced. It keep on spinning for a while after the system shuts down.



31691612456_10bed56e85_b.jpg

The system now after the tragedy. Now it runs on G3258 and H97.

30887573724_bc715b5339_b.jpg



RIP my 4670k and z97 itx....
Click to expand...

Sorry about your loss, losing components really sucks. Glad you had a back up. I was actually using the same Asrock mobo and G3258 on my HTPC at one time, I was able to get a 4.8 GHz OC with it. http://valid.canardpc.com/bad80y
 
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