Another badly written buildlog : "My huge Ncase M1"

[HZCH]

Hi everybody ! This is gonna be a short build log, with only a few badly taken pictures.

After having started with a Node 304, fattened my rig in a Jonsbo W1, tried and rejected a Phantek Evolve mITX, tried and rejected a Raven RVZ01 (twice), and having given up to the lords of SFF by building in a Define Mini C, I've finally got the opportunity to buy a used M1 (v3), with modifications for a vertical GPU and a slim slot blueray.

It means I'm again in the SFF community, with the case that made me want to build a SFF rig, but which I couldn't find then buy... I HAVE AN NCASE M1 ?

I'm also considering naming it "My huge Ncase M1", as all my device are named like that.

The component list
Motherboard : Asus z97i, because why upgrade yet ?
RAM : 16gb corsair something at 2933MHz
CPU : i7 4770 I got cheap (can be run at 4GHz with blck at 103)
CPU cooler : a new Noctua NH-U9S, looks nice, powerful enough for my CPU
GPU : the Asus Strix GTX 1080 ti OC - it's a beast I still struggle to tame. Sometimes I regret not having bought the MSI one.
GPU cooling: two bequiet! silentwings 3 120mm pwm. I'm contemplating replacing them with two Noctua NF-A12x25, because I like toying with fans. I absolutely don't have 4 silentwings 3, 5 NF-F12, 2 NF-A14, 2 silentwings 92mm, 1 silentwings 2 140mm, and a basket of random case fans.
PSU : a new Corsair SF600 platinum. Its breaded cables are ok, but there's no caps in it, and I don't know if it's related, but it whines like I'm shooting with an automatic rifle and it kills pigs at the same time. I'm not happy and am considering a return.

The build

The stripped M1 on the left, compared to my Define C Mini on the right...

The first part ran like a breeze. After having removed every components I was going to keep from the Define C Mini, I started the swap by removing every pannel off the M1. I then mounted the two SSD behind the front panel, mounted the PSU to check if the power cable was long enough, then screwed the motherboard. I didn't had to remove the CPU cooler bracket, as the NH-U9S shares the same ones as the NH-U12S. I then plugged every needed cable in the PSU, then in the motherboard, CPU fan cooler included. I didn't forget to plug the RAM.

Then I had to force my way into screwing the U9S onto the CPU. I guess the screws were new, but they made it the toughest Noctua product I ever worked with. I cut myself two times, leaving dots of blood on my desk... And I did all of this so I could figure out how to mount the GPU.

My god. I tried for 10 minutes to insert the Strix. While I initially wanted to remove the shroud and the fans and place two 120mm fans in the bottom pulling hot air out of the case, I wanted to check if it wouldn't be possible to fit the whole card unmodified.
I finally gave up, and went with removing the shroud and the fans. I mounted the 120mm fans, then gently inserted the GPU without having to remove the rear clip for the right pannel. I finished by pluging the PCIe cables.

The finished build, with the cables somehow tied so the GPU doesn't sag too much. The NH-U9S has its intake oriented to the rear ; the two silentwings 3 are pulling air out of the M1

The result is, in my eyes, extremely sexy, and even with myself losing some blood, this build was far easier than my attemps with the Raven RVZ01 or even the Node 304 (I'm looking at you, ATX PSU).

The M1 in its natural, untidy habitat, blowing hot air where my mouse is supposed to be

What to do now
Now, I have a lot of things to do :

• I have to figure out how to really undervolt the GPU, so it doesn't gets too happy and run like hell at 975mV, thus defeating my goal of dropping its temp...
• I want to try to buy a slim fan header to 4pin header adapter, so I can plug the silentwings 3 to the GPU itself, instead of relying on the crappy GPU external header or the motherboard.
• I must manage all those cables. Again.
• I'm contemplating buying only onw 2TB nvme drive, so I can remove my 2 SSDs and mounting back the slim slot drive - because why not ??

Thanks for reading. Please criticize and advise as much as you can

 

[tinyitx]

Suggest to use zip ties to tidy up the cables instead of using those bandage looking things.

Also, do I see a oil heater between the desk and the window? Whatever sitting on top of the heater (a router or modem?) is not going to be happy. And your M1 is sitting too close for comfort. Well, it is spring time now and I suppose you have about 6 months to relocate before turning on that heater again for the winter.

 

[Nanook]

Very nice build! Thanks for documenting your build.

I’m legitimately interested to know if your pc runs warmer because it sits next to your radiator...

 

[Curiosity]

Suggest to use zip ties to tidy up the cables instead of using those bandage looking things.

Also, do I see a oil heater between the desk and the window? Whatever sitting on top of the heater (a router or modem?) is not going to be happy. And your M1 is sitting too close for comfort. Well, it is spring time now and I suppose you have about 6 months to relocate before turning on that heater again for the winter.

Those bandaid looking things are velcro ties, and with a more careful application they can look pretty nice.
Zipties bad, because of potential harm to cables and needing to cut them to remove them.

 

[Solo]

breaded cables

?

 

[tinyitx]

Those bandaid looking things are velcro ties, and with a more careful application they can look pretty nice.
Zipties bad, because of potential harm to cables and needing to cut them to remove them.

Yeah, I know those are velcro fasteners. It just looks like bandaid to me...lol

 

[HZCH]

Suggest to use zip ties to tidy up the cables instead of using those bandage looking things.

Also, do I see a oil heater between the desk and the window? Whatever sitting on top of the heater (a router or modem?) is not going to be happy. And your M1 is sitting too close for comfort. Well, it is spring time now and I suppose you have about 6 months to relocate before turning on that heater again for the winter.

Those bandaid looking things are velcro ties, and with a more careful application they can look pretty nice.
Zipties bad, because of potential harm to cables and needing to cut them to remove them.

Yep, those are velcro ties from the Corsair PSU. I didn't really tidy the cable managment because it's hidden, and I did plan for an upgrade...


Not-that-useful-fan-upgrade
I indeed tried something : change fans to be extremely sure the swap was actually useless, but hoping for a slightly better sound signature. So I bought 2 Noctua NF-A12x25.
I nearly broke my GPU, because I couldn't remove it. I finally managed to remove it, but I'm pretty sure I ripped the top of the PCB a bit. GPU is still working.

I then plugged the NF-A12x15 in the secondary fan header - like I'd done with the SilentWings 3 - and...

... they started at 60% qhich was like 1600rpm. I recalibrated them, but I couldn't make them start with less RPM. I contemplated 60$ thrown away (not THAT thrown away), as the results weren't up to my expectation (same airflow, same RPM, less noise at higher RPM). At least the sound of air rushing through the pannels was... bland ?

 

[HZCH]

Updating the fans by connecting them to the original fan header
I've found a tresor in my parents attic. Two slim-fan-header to 4pin-header adapters ! I think one of them came from an old NZXT G10 bracket my brother has left here, and the other comes from... ???

See ?? Isn't that a shody slim-4pin-to-2x4pin-fan-header adapter ??

That adapter has a slim 4pin to 2x4 pin header. It works. I'm amazed. Now the fans run from 36% to 60% in GPU Tweak or Afterburner. Sounds stupid, but I'm thinking about gettin back to the silentwings just because I feel they could start lower...

Now, I finally have a fan curve I can set and forget in afterburner, and unervolt the GTX 1080 ti. It's already stable at 0.975mV, 1949MHz. Doesn't sound great, but I actually can get more than 8500 points in 3Dmark, helped by a slight DRAM OC (+430, which means nothing to me).

I'm pretty happy now

 

[HZCH]

Very nice build! Thanks for documenting your build.

I’m legitimately interested to know if your pc runs warmer because it sits next to your radiator...

About that, I'm living in Switzerland and while it's unusually cold last days, the appartment temperature stays between 20 and 22 degrees with minimal heating. The regulations in my state regarding thermal insulation are drastic, so even if my appartment is badly insulated and needs renovation, the one in the picture is almost always off. And the heater you see is an old hot water radiator - we don't have electrical heating, as it's forbidden to build them for their lack of efficiency.

[edit] and to try to answer your question : I don't know... I guess not that much warmer ? I used to ask this question myself when I moved in (it was winter), but I haven't noticed a difference (I haven't taken precise measurement either). Now, the heating is off, so the only thing that can warm the room - aside of the sun - is my Ncase M1

 

[artemis]

Excuse me
Did you say 2933mhz DDR3?