Ncase M1 cooling - 120mm fans under the GPU

flowerpower210

Case Bender
Original poster
New User
Jul 9, 2018
2
1
Hello my sweet princes! My Ncase is currently on it's way to a country superior to yours (Canada, of course). In the meantime, I'm planning the build... So, here are my questions.

1.Does an open-air GPU manage to keep reasonable temperature?

2. a) If I add two 120mm fans to the bottom of the case, should I use slim fans in order to keep a 1.5-2 cm gap between said fans and said GPU? Or should I use regular sized fans?

I noticed that non-slim fans practically (or almost) touch the shroud of a 2 slot GPU.

b) Does the proximity of a regular-sized fan to the shroud create noise due to turbulence? Or any other issues?

When you answer, please keep the following restrictions and airflow setup in mind.

Restrictions
-I will not use an AIO... Paranoid.
-I will not mod a 1000$+ GPU with an accelero cooler or the like and void the warranty.

Airflow setup:
BeQuiet Darkrock TF
+
1x 120 mm intake fan to the right-hand side of the side bracket
+
Corsair SF600 platinum with the fan directed inside the case (directly behind the 120mm fan mentioned above)

Thank you for the insights my loves.
 

Nord1ing

Average Stuffer
Dec 5, 2018
82
38
By experience, I think is better to have zero gap between fans and gpu heatsink to maximize airflow trough gpu.
My gtx1070 go up to 65C under stress testwith stock rog strix heatsink and 2 120 full height fans.
 

Drnrcr

Caliper Novice
Jan 1, 2019
33
26
I had two fans underneath my 1080ti evga sc. Temps didnt change that much. Two slot gpu with two noiseblocker 25mm 120mm fans. The noise was also greater. I ended up removing them and using a 2080 rtx ultra xc. Noise is so much better and the temps are in mid 70s. Running a 9600k with h100i pro with zero issues. Just my experience, thought I'd share. Hopefully this helps you.
 

ZodiacG66

Efficiency Noob
Jan 18, 2019
5
2
Like most case company's out there they always put a horrible grill on the underside of a case where fans are placed, this causes air turbulence and noise. I removed the grills with a Dremel and now my 2 BeQuiet Silent Wings 3 fans make no noise and keep my EVGA 2080 XC about 14-17c cooler. Without fans the 2080 would get to 86c under normal cooler settings and would be around 76c if I changed the fan settings to be more aggressive (in the EVGA x1 software). With the 2 fans under the GPU it has never gone over 70c with the software set to default ( zero rpm until 60c then about 30-40% speed). I have the BeQuiet Black Rock TF cooler and my system is almost silent, seeing as it sits less then 2 feet away from me on my desk I wanted it that way :)

If you use fans on the bottom and are not bothered about noise then you won't need to remove part of the body of the case OR if you want to use slim fans put a 10mm spacer so they are not against the bottom of the case and you won't get any noise issues.
 

jtmsrl

Caliper Novice
Jan 12, 2019
31
7
can you tell us more about that $1000 GPU?

And why you want to throw all that hot air from the PSU inside the case?
 

Maz

Cable Smoosher
Jun 17, 2018
8
0
1.Does an open-air GPU manage to keep reasonable temperature?

It can, but which GPU? My 1060 6GB runs quite happily without any extra fans below - about 40 C idle and 60-70 under load - but that's towards the low end of power consumption for what people choose as GPUs around here.

1x 120 mm intake fan to the right-hand side of the side bracket
+
Corsair SF600 platinum with the fan directed inside the case (directly behind the 120mm fan mentioned above)

This is exactly what I do too (well, with a SF450), and it works great. With the steady intake flow, my PSU fan spins up so rarely that I can't even remember what it sounds like. However, I strongly recommend picking up the right-oriented power cable. The stock left-oriented cable has to make a very tight bend that I was uncomfortable with, and that bend also blocks an ODD if you wanted one.




And why you want to throw all that hot air from the PSU inside the case?
It's an intake fan. Exhaust is out the top.
 

Hifihedgehog

Editor-in-chief of SFFPC.review
May 3, 2016
459
408
www.sffpc.review
I just got an Ncase M1 V5 in like-new condition (yay!) so I am now planning out the last few details of my build. Based on what you guys are seeing with the Mini-DTX-based ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Impact, would it still be possible to place two 25-mm thick 120-mm fans (two Delta AFC1212D-PWM) underneath my dual slot GPU, the EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 Gaming? Or would there be possible interference between the fans and the bottom-most section of the board? For reference, here is my prospective build:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Athlon 200GE 3.2 GHz Dual-Core Processor ($49.49 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H100i RGB PLATINUM 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (Purchased For $164.29)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory (Purchased For $239.55)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (Purchased For $147.99)
Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($289.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11 GB SC2 Video Card (Purchased For $525.00)
Power Supply: Enermax - REVOLUTION SFX 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply (Purchased For $114.99)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit (Purchased For $0.00)
Case Fan: Lamptron - AFC0912D-PWM 102.59 CFM 92 mm Fan (Purchased For $15.89)
Custom: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X ($749.00)
Custom: Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Impact ($299.99)
Custom: Ncase M1 V5 (Purchased For $250.00)
Total: $2846.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-18 10:23 EDT-0400
 
Last edited:

Boil

SFF Guru
Nov 11, 2015
1,253
1,094
Based on what you guys are seeing with the Mini-DTX-based ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Impact, would it still be possible to place two 25-mm thick 120-mm fans (two Delta AFC1212D-PWM) underneath my dual slot GPU, the EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 Gaming? Or would there be possible interference between the fans and the bottom-most section of the board?

No one will really know until the boards are out & someone puts one into a M1...
 
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dream3

Average Stuffer
Apr 5, 2019
78
8
I just ordered v6 and Im interested in more opinions on the 25mm vs 15mm bottom fans. Ill go with a dual slot 2060 Super FE.

For silence priority, Should the 15mm fans not touch the case or the gpu? Or should I go with the 25mm so it touches both for more stability?
 

Boil

SFF Guru
Nov 11, 2015
1,253
1,094
I just ordered v6 and Im interested in more opinions on the 25mm vs 15mm bottom fans. Ill go with a dual slot 2060 Super FE.

For silence priority, Should the 15mm fans not touch the case or the gpu? Or should I go with the 25mm so it touches both for more stability?

First off, you should have gone for a 5700 rather than the 2060 Souper...! ;^p

Since you will not see your v6 M1 for at least two months, I would really suggest reading thru the NCASE M1 threads here...

If you want to go Hard Mode, you could also read thru this thread over on [H]...
 
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dream3

Average Stuffer
Apr 5, 2019
78
8

FelipoG

Trash Compacter
Jul 23, 2019
40
19
Hey! I will revive this topic because is very very similar with my own question:

I would like some input from whoever has any hands-on experience on this:
I've watched dozens of videos, and my main goal is medium-high power with silence.
For the moment I will go with a 240 AiO with Noctua fans for the CPU.
For the GPU,I I'm still deciding which custom 5700XT card I will go (going full AMD in this one).

Some custom cards allow me to put the good old Nocuta A12x25 fans in the bottom of the case.
Others allows me the A12x15 fans.
And some crazy ones, none.
All depends on how thick the card is.

If the objective is good power with silence, which option is the best one?
Are the thick boys good enough for cooling and silence enough?

Thanks guys
 

EndEffeKt

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Mar 23, 2019
106
34
I would take a big card like a Strix and remove fans and shroud. Putting 25mm fans underneath to pull air out. I got no hands on experience though.
 

Hixbot

Cable Smoosher
Aug 20, 2019
12
4
cool thread. I've got a gigabyte 2060 super (dual fan windforce). I was thinking of replacing the heatsink with accelero iii and using two A12x25 fans under it. The card isn't that long, not sure if the accelero would do the job..
 

osff

Chassis Packer
Aug 22, 2019
19
2
This is exactly what I do too (well, with a SF450), and it works great. With the steady intake flow, my PSU fan spins up so rarely that I can't even remember what it sounds like. However, I strongly recommend picking up the right-oriented power cable. The stock left-oriented cable has to make a very tight bend that I was uncomfortable with, and that bend also blocks an ODD if you wanted one.

Is this statement correct? Following the pictures redarding the PSU it is shown the right-oriented power cable already, isn't it? Since this seems to be the standard configuration of the ncase, I would assume that it is ok with regard to the small bending radius (even if, as an electronics technician, I also have a pain).

Just when I look at the pictures from the main's plug side of the Corsair SF(X) series a left oriented one would be useful in this build direction, wouldn't it?
 

Epos7

Trash Compacter
Aug 24, 2019
45
13
my 2 BeQuiet Silent Wings 3 fans make no noise and keep my EVGA 2080 XC about 14-17c cooler. Without fans the 2080 would get to 86c under normal cooler settings and would be around 76c if I changed the fan settings to be more aggressive (in the EVGA x1 software). With the 2 fans under the GPU it has never gone over 70c with the software set to default ( zero rpm until 60c then about 30-40% speed).

I have the same card and am about to switch to a 2 x 120mm fan setup under it.

I currently have one 140mm under the GPU near the back of the case. In some games (No Man's Sky in particular) I've noticed the sides of my case get very hot around the graphics card, near the front of the case where there's no fan under it. Can't fit 2 x 140mm so I bought a couple NF-A12x25 fans. Don't hear any noise from my 140mm fan sitting two feet from the case, but I think that's because it's only spinning fast when the graphics card fans are being even louder.
 

Revenant

Christopher Moine - Senior Editor SFF.N
Revenant Tech
SFFn Staff
Apr 21, 2017
1,670
2,697
I've done both 15mm and 25mm in a V2 and V5. What I found is that the exhaust fans will matter more than an extra intake if you use a axial fan GPU. Set you fan CPU fan as an intake, and add the 92mm exhaust fan to the case's rear. If that won't fit, try making you CPU fan the exhaust.

A blower card is useful in the NCASE. I had a 980ti in my original NCASE with a blower unit. Using a pair of Noctua 120x15mm fans at 40% I was able to overclock upward to 1450mhz without the card becoming noisy. I had a 240mm AIO set for intake.

I then switched a RTX 2080. The case got too hot to touch. Setting the AIO to exhaust got the temps down, but raised the CPU temps substantially. To be fair, I was overclocking an 8086K to all core 5GHZ. Putting the AIO fans as intakes but adding a 92mm exhaust fan balanced the temps enough to make the system work fine...but loud.
 

Maz

Cable Smoosher
Jun 17, 2018
8
0
Is this statement correct? Following the pictures redarding the PSU it is shown the right-oriented power cable already, isn't it? Since this seems to be the standard configuration of the ncase, I would assume that it is ok with regard to the small bending radius (even if, as an electronics technician, I also have a pain).
The left-oriented plug is the standard equipment for the case. It's the preferable choice if, when looking down at the top of the case, the beveled side of the PSU 's power jack is pointing towards the right, so that the cable is pointing directly at the rear panel. Many SF450/SF600 builds use this orientation, which places the intake fan up against the right side of the case to draw in exterior air. It makes the most sense for anyone with a radiator against the left side of the case.

Flipping it around so that the PSU's intake is from the left is then easier with the right-oriented power cord. Many other builds use this orientation, which has some benefits (pulls in air via the dust filter and lets you use a side fan to help feed the PSU's intake), but only so long as your GPU isn't dumping so much heat that all of the in-case air is too hot for the PSU.

I couldn't say which of those two setups is more common, but enough people use each one that I wouldn't call either way "standard".
 

captremo

What's an ITX?
New User
Apr 21, 2021
1
0
I'm doing a similar build with an NP200. Everything is built except I was awaiting a GPU. An Geforce RTX 3070 Aorus just arrived and I'm ready to put it in. I'm planning to test heat with and without the two bottom intake Noctua's in place. I can post my results, but was hoping that this thread would solidify my decision so I could avoid the testing. I'm also thinking of building a fresh air pipe for the AMD Wraith cooler. It would interface with the CPU fan bezel and the vented side of the case. Has anyone done that yet? With two top fans drawing air out (thermal stove pipe orientation), it should be super cool.