Log My Humble NCase M1 (Dual 240mm Custom Loop)

[HottestVapes]

Still one of my most favorite cases to this day. Should try making a pass through to the back! I put my pass through in the back, and it made it super easy to drain the system. Think the only thing that still a bit sketchy about my q37 build, is that the GPU terminal is like right at the glass. So I usually leave the side glass off.

I put the glass panel on standoffs. My GPU block terminals completely blocked the glass from fitting otherwise.


I had the build done early July initially, but ran into some unexpected complications. Firstly, right off the bat my GPU temps were higher than they were in my NCase. Like 10c higher. It wasn't until this past weekend I had to chance to disesemble the loop, take the GPU out and see if there was gunk in the block. Seemed there wasn't, but I took the block off and put some fresh thermal paste on and it resolved the issue.

Other complications were fitment issues. The Corsair radiator didn't fit with 15mm fans on the bottom, big air bubble in the CPU block that wouldn't come out, RGB cable for the reservoir didn't fit the motherboard, etc.


In any case, the build went from this:

To this:

Started Friday night, did a little early in the day on Saturday before taking the evening off and finished it off through Sunday afternoon. Retubed the entire system, did the aforementioned removal and repasting of the GPU, trimmed the 5v cable's housing off so that it would fit the header on the motherboard, and flipped all the fans around for a negative pressure airtflow setup (that's working wonders thus far).

Just a shame about the fans, I'm tempted to get Arctic P12's for the top rad and Chromax A12x15s for the bottom. The rear 80mm fans are really not necessary and are pretty much permanently off so I'd just remove those and not replace them.
Anyway, only thing holding me back is that I really don't rate Noctua's A12x15 fans at all. I think they're terrible, frankly. Beyond 55% PWM, I feel like I'm back on the factory floor at work.
So I'm still looking for an alternative solution for a future revision to the build. I considered Scythe's old 12mm thick fans, but they're likely as loud or worse and I don't believe they made a PWM version of them. Not to mention they're as rare as hen's teeth now.
Another thought I had was mounting the radiator externally and using 25mm thick fans internally, but a big change like that will require a fair amount of modding, so it's something I'd look into further on a very raining day.

 

[b4z]

Hello

I am interested in using the FLT 120 with D5 in my own build, i wonder if you could answer the following...

When you get the D5 version (you get an additional black mounting bracket for the D5 pump) so i assume without that the FLT 120 is compatible with a DDC (Im aware there are three versions of the FLT120 the D5, DDC and No Pump)

Could you tell me the noise difference between EK DDC and EK D5 (when mounted to the FLT 120) since you seem to have experience with both?

Thank you

 

[HottestVapes]

Hello

I am interested in using the FLT 120 with D5 in my own build, i wonder if you could answer the following...

When you get the D5 version (you get an additional black mounting bracket for the D5 pump) so i assume without that the FLT 120 is compatible with a DDC (Im aware there are three versions of the FLT120 the D5, DDC and No Pump)

Could you tell me the noise difference between EK DDC and EK D5 (when mounted to the FLT 120) since you seem to have experience with both?

Thank you

What case are you planning to use?

I bought the standalone FLT reservoir, as the specific D5 variant was out of stock at the time. In the box came two mounting brackets of different depths, and two different sized O-rings as it is indeed compatible with D5 or DDC pumps.

I only measure noise by ear, so this isn't scientific by any means, but the D5 at 60% is inaudible to me at idle. I can't hear it over the fans at load at 70% either but beyond that I would call it loud and noisy. In comparisons to the DDC 3.2, I kept that set to the minimum 20% and it made noticeable albeit not intrusive buzz that I could hear at idle. I could push the speed up to 30% at load and the fans mostly masked the noise it made, however I settled for just keeping it at 20%.

Do note, I haven't done anything to damped the pump vibration for either. If I did, noise would likely be reduced by a non-insignificant amount with both pumps.

 

[ashtonjarrett]

The Iceman Cooling reservoir/DDC housing arrived. That's what it looks like next to the FrozenQ reservoir I already had (but decided not to use).

Hey @HottestVapes I'm assuming this is the DDC pump you have form EK (https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-ddc-3-2-pwm-12v-pwm-pump)? I've only ever used their D5 pumps but from your photos (with the heatsink in your case) I'm guessing you ditch the EK plastic housing all together and the pump slides out with the o-ring in-between? If you didn't opt for the heatsink would the original flat backplate work against the Iceman Cooler?

Great build by the way! It was the motivating factor for me to start my SFF build with a closed loop; building a HTPC has been a long time want I've never gotten around to. Your build in particular pushed me toward the M1 with the Iceman Cooler over my other close case options. Hoping to migrate most of the parts from my mid atx build as the 30 series stock situation gets under control. Luckily I think my M1 and Iceman Cooler are weeks-months away from arriving here in the states so I've got time to source the rest of my parts : ).

I'll be running an 8700k and 2080 ti in my build once I move them from my main desktop, for someone going for a very similar build any advice or major pros/cons you haven't talked about in this thread going with the M1/Iceman Cooler&EK DDC setup?

 

[HottestVapes]

Hey @HottestVapes I'm assuming this is the DDC pump you have form EK (https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-ddc-3-2-pwm-12v-pwm-pump)? I've only ever used their D5 pumps but from your photos (with the heatsink in your case) I'm guessing you ditch the EK plastic housing all together and the pump slides out with the o-ring in-between? If you didn't opt for the heatsink would the original flat backplate work against the Iceman Cooler?

Great build by the way! It was the motivating factor for me to start my SFF build with a closed loop; building a HTPC has been a long time want I've never gotten around to. Your build in particular pushed me toward the M1 with the Iceman Cooler over my other close case options. Hoping to migrate most of the parts from my mid atx build as the 30 series stock situation gets under control. Luckily I think my M1 and Iceman Cooler are weeks-months away from arriving here in the states so I've got time to source the rest of my parts : ).

I'll be running an 8700k and 2080 ti in my build once I move them from my main desktop, for someone going for a very similar build any advice or major pros/cons you haven't talked about in this thread going with the M1/Iceman Cooler&EK DDC setup?

In reply to the bolded. Yeah, it was a DDC 3.2 sold by EK. I had to dissemble the plastic housing, and yes I believe it should work fine with the flat backplate as I have seen it done before. The installation is as you described with the o-ring.
The overly cautionate side of me would really recommend using a heatsink on the DDC pump though, as I'm sure you're already aware, DDC pumps aren't actively cooled by the loop like D5 pumps are. It's more for a little piece of mind than anything else though as you won't be able to use the included screws that come with the heatsink that allow you to mount a 60mm fan to the heatsink. So it will act purely as a passive heatsink.


In reply to the rest, I'm really glad my build log has motivated you and hopefully will also help you with the assembly of your build. I've since moved on from the NCase myself, but I'm glad that even a year later that this "humble" build log is still helping others with their NCase loops. It was the driving force behind logging the process in the detail that I did. Just one year ago there was not a lot in the way of detailed resources on the build process without trawling through Reddit. Ali from Optimum Tech has since done a few videos on the process (highly recommend watching those) and it seems a pleathora of builds and build logs followed them.


As for pros/cons. The obvious cons are you're limited to an externally mounted DDC, and that you have to be fairly picky with your GPU/waterblock for it to fit within the case. On a personal level, the reason I switched to a different case was that after putting so much effort and money into the loop, I really wanted to see it one show on my desk, it might not apply to you and the understated look may rightly suit you. I just wanted to put out my own reason for the switch.
The other con is that if you want the loop to be easily service in the long run, then an adequate drain port is somewhat of a hassle to implement. Truth be told I never managed to work one into the loop beyond having a drain on the reservoir. It was still fine enough, but it was a bit of hassle to pick the whole system up to twist and turn in the air to get as much liquid as possible when draining it.
On the brightside, you can just detach a QDC and let a lot of the water out that way, which is what I've done both times I had to drain the loop.


If you've have any questions when you're building your own, absolutely feel free to shoot me a message here or a PM and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

 

[SFF Watercooled]

Just came across this build and what a unique build it is! Do you have a glass panel for the sides? Because that would be a good way to show off some of the RGB vibe

 

[HottestVapes]

Just came across this build and what a unique build it is! Do you have a glass panel for the sides? Because that would be a good way to show off some of the RGB vibe

Switched to the Lian Li Q37 that can be seen at the top of the current page. A Glass side panel wouldn't have woked with a dual 240mm rad set up inside the NCase, it would just choke out the side radiator.

 

[rand]

Hey, could please someone answer quick question regarding iceman cooler?

Is back metal part of iceman res combo touch liquid? It's 304 stainless steel so it will cause galvanic corrosion with nickel and copper parts and ruin whole loop.