Looking for shorter Ncase M1 clone

Marvelm

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Oct 20, 2017
232
106
Hello fellas,

Hope you maybe manage to help. Currently I've got a build inside a custom case made by Sunmilo (basicly an Ncase M1 clone).
It is an excellent case, build quality is ridiculously good and I'm very happy with it, buuuuutttt..... feel like the same as in the M1, there is quite a bit of wasted space in there. I'm looking for something with the exact same layout (PSU in the position as in my case, not as in the M1, feel like this one is much better), just shorter, without support for full-size GPU. So basically something very similar to the case pictured above, but shorter, with SFX PSU much closer to the mobo and support for mini GPUs only.

I don't think something exactly like that is available on the market (atleast I couldn't find anything like that), but maybe someone has a custom project like that in mind. If I found a case, my Sunmilo case would probably go for sale :)

Cheers!
 

Windfall

Shrink Ray Wielder
SFFn Staff
Nov 14, 2017
2,117
1,582
Hello fellas,

Hope you maybe manage to help. Currently I've got a build inside a custom case made by Sunmilo (basicly an Ncase M1 clone).
It is an excellent case, build quality is ridiculously good and I'm very happy with it, buuuuutttt..... feel like the same as in the M1, there is quite a bit of wasted space in there. I'm looking for something with the exact same layout (PSU in the position as in my case, not as in the M1, feel like this one is much better), just shorter, without support for full-size GPU. So basically something very similar to the case pictured above, but shorter, with SFX PSU much closer to the mobo and support for mini GPUs only.

I don't think something exactly like that is available on the market (atleast I couldn't find anything like that), but maybe someone has a custom project like that in mind. If I found a case, my Sunmilo case would probably go for sale :)

Cheers!

The MI-6 made by @firewolfy doesn't have the same layout, but it does have the component support you are looking for.....
 

tinyitx

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 25, 2018
2,279
2,338
Hello fellas,
I'm looking for something with the exact same layout (PSU in the position as in my case, not as in the M1, feel like this one is much better), just shorter, without support for full-size GPU. So basically something very similar to the case pictured above, but shorter, with SFX PSU much closer to the mobo and support for mini GPUs only.

In your dream case as described, I see there is (at least) one drawback, ie the PSU, being so close to the motherboard, will compete for air with the CPU cooler. In fact, even in your current setup, they are competing for air already. The closer they get, the competition becomes worse. This might be a reason why it is so hard to find a case with such a layout?

But if I come across one, I will let you know.

Edit:
OK, I did a quick Taobao search. The only case that comes close is the SKTC Q1. It has the PSU pushed back as close to the ITX mobo as possible. The only difference is that the case is 'inverted' from your requirement, ie the PSU sits on the bottom (drawing air in from the bottom) and the GPU is on the top of the case.
Check it out.
Example link:-
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?sp...xYmf5&id=522605381425&ns=1&abbucket=15#detail
 
Last edited:

Marvelm

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Oct 20, 2017
232
106
In your dream case as described, I see there is (at least) one drawback, ie the PSU, being so close to the motherboard, will compete for air with the CPU cooler. In fact, even in your current setup, they are competing for air already. The closer they get, the competition becomes worse. This might be a reason why it is so hard to find a case with such a layout?

But if I come across one, I will let you know.

Edit:
OK, I did a quick Taobao search. The only case that comes close is the SKTC Q1. It has the PSU pushed back as close to the ITX mobo as possible. The only difference is that the case is 'inverted' from your requirement, ie the PSU sits on the bottom (drawing air in from the bottom) and the GPU is on the top of the case.
Check it out.
Example link:-
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?sp...xYmf5&id=522605381425&ns=1&abbucket=15#detail

The fan on the PSU barely turns on, so I'm not really worried about it competing for air with the CPU, I'm not looking for absolutely best possible cooling setup. The case you linked is just a Raijintek Metis clone, it's literally the same case, it's layout is what I'm looking for but it allows for ATX PSU which is lackluster, you could definitely get the PSU closer to the motherboard but it seems nobody did that.
 

Thehack

Spatial Philosopher
Creator
Mar 6, 2016
2,800
3,650
J-hackcompany.com
Jonsbo U1 Plus, and Lian Li PC-Q21. The cooling on both of these are is pretty much crap.

I'm sure there's a couple case designers with this design in the works but not yet publicly announced.
 

rfarmer

Spatial Philosopher
Jul 7, 2017
2,588
2,702
That is actually pretty cool. Definitely the thinnest usb 3.0 header cable I have seen, wish everyone used one like that.
 

tinyitx

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 25, 2018
2,279
2,338

If you switch to this case, are you going to migrate all the components from your current Sunmilo?
If you do, I am interested to know the thermal difference.
BTW, what are your CPU and GPU?

This case looks interesting. I wonder how a non-blower GPU affects the entire interior thermally. GPU exhaust could overwhelm the small interior quickly. Anyway, I look forward to your report.
 

Marvelm

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Oct 20, 2017
232
106
If you switch to this case, are you going to migrate all the components from your current Sunmilo?
If you do, I am interested to know the thermal difference.
BTW, what are your CPU and GPU?

This case looks interesting. I wonder how a non-blower GPU affects the entire interior thermally. GPU exhaust could overwhelm the small interior quickly. Anyway, I look forward to your report.

Yes, I'll be migrating everything except the GPU since my current one won't fit. I've got a KFA2 GTX 1070Ti Ex-Snpr right now, will probably go for a reference Vega 56. My only gripe with the case is that it could be a little (literally 2 cm) wider to accomodate higher gpus, cause there are some that are short enough to fit but won't fit cause their pcb is too high. For CPU I'm running a 1600 @ 3,9GHz on a b450i aorus pro wifi.

Will definitely post a build log of some sort :) I reserved the case, manufacturing takes around 2-3 months from what the seller said so I'm patient! I've ordered a silver one with tempered glass side panel, I'm thinking thermals should be pretty okay considering the amount of vent holes in the chassis.

And most importantly I will be selling my Sunmilo so if someone is from Europe and interested, wait 3 months and you can snag one :)
 

Marvelm

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Oct 20, 2017
232
106
@Marvelm Could be interested in buying it of you :)

No problem, will definitely make a thread when I switch the case and my current one is ready to be sold :) Have to warn that it's probably not going to be cheaper than the M1. Shipping a 6,8kg (which is how much it did weight with all the packing material they placed inside) parcel from China is unfortunately not cheap but I believe it's build quality is better than the Ncase so I think it's worth it.

Link to some photos if anyone's interested:
https://www.reddit.com/r/sffpc/comments/9i77d4/sunmilo_case_build/
 

Marvelm

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Oct 20, 2017
232
106
Wow, thats a great find, I want to order one too, but I'm a bit afraid of ordering off taobao, do you use a 3rd party service?

Yes, I used taobaofocus while ordering from Sunmilo and now using Ytaopal after getting recommendations. Apart from that I'm in contact with the sellers through an app called WeChat that lets me talk to them and translate their Chinese to English and vice versa for them.
 

gunpalcyril

Airflow Optimizer
Aug 7, 2016
294
319
Nice. Looking at the case pictures, it looks like the absolute max length gpu limit would be nvidia reference dimensions (267mm x 110.5mm). I doubt any wider cards like the zotac 1080ti would be able to fit inside, unless the power plugs are recessed enough. Might not even fit the new 2080ti, since that is about .5cm wider, might not allow the side panel to close with the power plugs interfering.
 

Marvelm

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Oct 20, 2017
232
106
Nice. Looking at the case pictures, it looks like the absolute max length gpu limit would be nvidia reference dimensions (267mm x 110.5mm). I doubt any wider cards like the zotac 1080ti would be able to fit inside, unless the power plugs are recessed enough. Might not even fit the new 2080ti, since that is about .5cm wider, might not allow the side panel to close with the power plugs interfering.

Mostly reference cards, yeah, I think cards around 0,5cm-1cm higher will fit if the power connectors aren't extending past the height of the card. I'm currently looking at a reference Vega and this is probably what I will end up with.
 

gunpalcyril

Airflow Optimizer
Aug 7, 2016
294
319
@Marvelm Any updates on the case you found? I tried purchasing straight from taobao, but the seller is telling me he won't ship to US. Might have to use bhiner or some other 3rd party service to get one.
 

Marvelm

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Oct 20, 2017
232
106
@Marvelm Any updates on the case you found? I tried purchasing straight from taobao, but the seller is telling me he won't ship to US. Might have to use bhiner or some other 3rd party service to get one.

Yeah, I'm using ytaopal right now, never ordered directly from Taobao. I communicate with the seller through WeChat, there is a link to the 'reservation auction' in the description on Taobao, basicly I paid 500 RMB so far and I'll pay the rest when he ships my case to the ytaopal agent. He already started manufacturing my case, said it's gonna take 2 to 3 months so I'm waiting :)

I went with the silver case with tempered glass side panel and an extra dust filter for the bottom intake for the gpu, came out to 1128 RMB, a little more than my Sunmilo case I've got right now, but this is much lighter so shipping should be cheaper, hoping it comes out cheaper in the end (paid roughly 270$ for my Sunmilo with shipping/customs/agent service, but I used a more expensive agent, ytaopal I'm using right now seems to have better currency rates and fees etc.)