MASSTA's 1st SSF Build: NCASE M1

[jeshikat]

Oops, didn't catch that. FrozenCPU is in a weird limbo state.

The former employees started their own company: https://modmymods.com/

They're in Florida so shipping will take longer but this is a good alternative: http://www.performance-pcs.com/

 

[Shawn Faherty]

http://www.performance-pcs.com is a good site, thanks! Wish there was a way to plug the water-cooling ports on the case. No need and the silicone inserts are flimsy; easy to pop off.

 

[Phuncz]

Hanakuso over on [H]ardForum found these:
--> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221289101517 (UK)
--> http://www.ebay.com/itm/221289101517 (US)

You need to select "Blanking" and "25mm" for the M1.

 

[Shawn Faherty]

You guys are great! I just ordered the plugs, thanks!

Build is coming along. The Audio Card Housing was too long so I cut it back. I took a little extra off because my first attempt was crude. I would've ditched it all together but it also brackets the card down to the mobo.

The result is a better fit on the back plate:

Older 250GB Intel 510 Series SSD mounted to the inside of front case (held with three screws w/rubber spacers):

New 400GB Intel 750 Series SSD (U.2 connector) mounted to the outside of front case (held with four screws w/rubber spacers). There is only 1mm of clearance when the front panel is put on, ha!:

Here is a mock up of the side fan/hard drive cage. It's a 3TB WD Black drive that I mounted in the middle of the cage. I'm thinking using self-tapping fan screws to mount the cage to the fan, then same screws with fan to the side case. This will go in the right bay. I've tested the fit and it's fine, but I wish there was more bracing. I like the spacing between the fan/hard drive. This should help air out the front of the case.

More photos soon if my fan gaskets come in today. Thanks again for your help. Let me know if you have any ideas to help support the heavy drive cage.

 

[|||]

If there is space, I would switch the 510 SSD with the 750 SSD. You want to make sure you have airflow by the 750 SSD...it can use more than 25W (peak) and will throttle back if it gets too hot. The 510 SSD may use about 20% of that power and heat is not as critical.

 

[jeshikat]

Was the audio card cover interfering with the IO shield?

 

[jØrd]

Build is coming along. The Audio Card Housing was too long so I cut it back. I took a little extra off because my first attempt was crude. I would've ditched it all together but it also brackets the card down to the mobo.

has removing the (i assume its a) shielding can affected audio quality that you can tell?

 

[Shawn Faherty]

Was the audio card cover interfering with the IO shield?

Yes, the housing was so I cut it back. Fits much better now. There is one other point pushing on the IO Shield that I couldn't find but it isn't nearly as bad as the audio card housing. Anyway, I took care of that but trimming it back.

has removing the (i assume its a) shielding can affected audio quality that you can tell?

I doubt it will. I still haven't fired up this build yet, ha.

 

[Phuncz]

That thick I/O shield, it's horrible. My VII Impact also has it, I feel it creates more problems than it solves. Especially around the buttons, some people have had to to reseat their board because it was depressing the button continuously.

The Ncase M1 allows to mount the HDD on the bottom too, but in most builds it's far from ideal due to heat from the GPU. I personally avoid installing 3,5" HDDs whenever I can because they take up so much space and require cooling.

 

[Shawn Faherty]

Especially around the buttons, some people have had to to reseat their board because it was depressing the button continuously.

And I'm having this issue as well. The Power and Reset are so so close to the IO Shield that they could easily be pressed if you weren't careful. But it seems to be ok for now.

I personally avoid installing 3,5" HDDs whenever I can because they take up so much space and require cooling.

I've seen a lot of ncase m1 builds with just SSD's. In my current build, this machine will take over as my home tower until the REDACTED arrives.

 

[EdZ]

That thick I/O shield, it's horrible. My VII Impact also has it, I feel it creates more problems than it solves. Especially around the buttons, some people have had to to reseat their board because it was depressing the button continuously.

While I haven;t used an Impact board, other boards with the foil-foam-backed IO shields have been MUCH easier to use than spring-contact shields (the upper sprung contact slipping inside HDMI ports is always an annoyance), particularly in systems where clearances are tight and there is only one reasonable way to manoeuvre the board in. Maybe it's just Asus failing at tolerances?

 

[Phuncz]

Maybe it's just Asus failing at tolerances?

I think so too, many seem to have the issue that it's misalligned. I'm very cautious with installing a board, centering the screw holes centered inside the circles on the board and it still does this.

 

[Shawn Faherty]

Things are getting tight. As suggested I put the Intel 750 SSD on the inside of case to keep it cooler.

Fan gaskets are in. They are 3mm. I first tried doubling them up but GPU wouldn't fit. With the 3mm gasket, the GPU rest perfectly on the fans.

Rear 92mm x 14mm fan installed. It's plugged into the CHA_FAN output. I ran the Temp Sensor around this fan and poked the end into the GPU. I used the SLI Rubber Cap to hold the sensor in place.

On the front of case, I found a good spot for the Fan Extension Board. These older mobo washer worked well. I used four but trimmed the last two so the L-brackets (came with board) fit snug, then a nut for good measure even though the brackets are threaded.

Fan Extension Board mounted. I'm guessing I connected the fan cables correctly even though they are 3-pin. The Noctua have 4-pin so they are each addressable? With the two bottom fans and side fan running off of the Fan Extension Board, I'm hoping to adjust them all in unison. Intel 510 SSD moved to out side of case and slot-drive mounts removed. Plenty of clearance when front panel put on.

Cables, cables and more cables. I need shorter cables! I think I can live with the main mobo cables but the GPU and Drives could use shorter versions. GPU connection could also use a 90 degree end.

 

[iFreilicht]

Coming along nicely! That Intel SSD is huge, didn't even see that before.

 

[Phuncz]

Nice placement for that fan PCB !

 

[Shawn Faherty]

Ordered the Silverstone Short Cable Kit:

I ended up replacing all of the cables with this kit. Some were the same size but they are much more flexible and was rest assured they are completely compatible with the PSU. I do with they were a little shorter but everything does fit nice even though it looks congested from the back.

In the above photo, a couple of stock case cables for front panel are a bit long so the extra length is tucked in the bottom right between fan and case. The rear fan made a ton of noise without the screen on it (case came with awesome screens, thanks ebay seller!). I was surprised by the sound when I rebooted without it on. Must be some weird suction from the perimeter of the fan on the case. This is the only fan that did that. But with the screen on (above photo), the case us super quiet, very happy with that. Only had to loosen up the screws on the bottom right fan because it did touch it's backing for some reason. It was only a little but the fan recognized this and shut down by it's self (thank goodness).

Again (above) you can see the large hard drive attached to the HD case bracket which is mounted directly to the back of the fan. Power and Data cables are already connected. Inside SSD and front panel SSD have connections facing up. Short cable with kit came in handy for this wiring. Really really like the 25mm rear plugs. I like to use plugs in the ports I don't use but the case comes too close to 2 of 3 Displayports and HDMI port. But I can plug into these ports with cables no problem, just need to trim my plugs a little. DVI plug fits fine. Now that I'm looking at it, wondering if I should cut the metal between the Double GPU plate (case area between GPU ports that is restricting air flow)?

Side few of the three CPU fans. The left 14mm fan is offset because of where the case mounting is. The middle 20mm fan is offset because of the wifi housing. I don't think this is an issue at all. U.2 cable probably could of been routed up and over top of case but would of been too tight for me. Going through the middle of the case left no major kinks and rode along another cable. But it is long so and difficult to get tucked in. Adding a little slack here and there helped it (under right side of CPU heat-sink and poking out top of case before cover is on).

Looking from the top, not much room for a side panel fan, the CPU triple fan setup takes up most that space. Maybe a hard drive could fit there but I already have three! When side fan and hard-drive assembly is attached, the hard-drive bracket does touch the PSU wires. You can see one (looking at top photo) below the power cord.

At first, the hard-drive bracket was bulging out but after a few assembles; mocking up locations, the cables loosen and conformed nicely. While I was worried in the beginning that the side bracket (fan/hard-drive assembly) would need extra support, I'm confident it will be fine for some time. So far I'm very happy: It started right up, booted Win 10 from usb, just need to get more drivers installed so I can get internet going. I'll have some beauty shots in a few weeks when I get the parts list together for pcPartsPicker site. Build was a lot of fun. I look forward to doing it again with REDACTED.

 

[Phuncz]

I would try the setup without the thin 92mm fan at the back. Possibly attach the 92x25mm fan closest to the back of the case to that spot instead. My experience with fan stacking isn't very positive regarding noise and often performance too.

It also seems like you have every fan set to intake. I'd advice testing with the CPU's fans as exhaust, with one being attached to the back of the case where the 92x15mm fan is in your pictures. This way you get more of an airflow going.

 

[iFreilicht]

Really came together well, good job!

 

[Shawn Faherty]

I spent some time thinking about fan placement and direction. I think I looked at every build that didn't have liquid cooling. One option I considered was making the side fan exhaust. Another worry: with the GPU exhausting out the back, the CPU intake would be grabbing some of this air. But I'm guessing that doesn't really happen. Air is essentially a liquid and difficult to predict. My thinking was to not over think:

Cooler air is at the base, pull this into the GPU. Get a GPU that exhausts air to the outside of the case. Pull in air which ever way I can over the GPU, hence the fan stack on the heat-sink. Filter all intakes and let the case exhaust everywhere else.

Phuncz does make some good points: testing configurations with temperatures is probably the best method. I will keep that in mind when pushing the machines limits.

 

[LooseNeutral]

holy asspack'n batman! Damn that's some rig there! I likes and wants!