NCase M1 V6 Build And Observations

[rroy]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post here. I wanted to share my thoughts on the NCase as a first time SFF builder.

Parts list:

• AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
• Asus X570 ROG Crosshair VIII Impact
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super Founders Edition
• G.SKILL TridentZ Neo 2x 16GB DDR4 3600 (CL 16-16-16-36)
• Corsair SF750 Platinum
• Corsair H100i Platinum
• 2x Noctua NF-S12B Redux PWM

First off, the case itself has a fantastic construction and is very well thought out. This makes the build relatively intuitive but an included detailed instruction/installation manual would really help.

Using the Crosshair VIII Impact in the NCase may not lead to the simplest build process, as it's a mini DTX and some connections on the board are located at difficult to reach spots when using 2 120mm full size bottom intake fans for the GPU. The Asus ROG Strix X570-I Gaming may be more convenient. For example:

1. The USB 2.0 header on the mother board is located at the bottom on the Impact. I had to take my GPU and fans out right before installing the H100i. On the Strix, this header is at the front of the board.
2. I am not using the front panel connectors. Even if I wanted to, I would not be able to plug in the front audio to the Impact as it's again located at the bottom left and conflicts with the left bottom fan.

I am not using the SODIMM daughterboard but I don't believe it interferes with the AIO radiator/fans or my RAM modules in any way and can be used if someone wanted to.

The rest of the build was quite smooth bar the AIO mounting because I'm usually very stressed whenever I work with CPU coolers.

The CPU temperature with the radiator fans set to pull on the inside is around 38.5C on idle. I'm not sure if this is high or not. The AIO is set to Balanced mode. The Corsair fans are very audible at this setting. On Extreme they're unbearably loud. Quiet is best but the CPU temps are higher. I think I will replace these fans with Noctuas. During gaming the CPU goes up to around 52.5C. I do believe that the radiator fans are spinning faster during these loads. However, I can't hear them over the game I'm playing. While we're talking about the AIO, I'd say the cable management is very fiddly as a result of the wires not being sleeved (and the sheer number of wires at that). iCue conflicts with HWInfo so you need to go in to HWInfo --> Settings --> Safety --> Uncheck Corsair Link and Asetek Support. Else iCue is unable to maintain pump / fan speeds.

The GPU is where I'm concerned the most. It would appear that even with the vents covering the entirety of the side panels on the V6, the temperatures are no different from what others have observed with the V5. While playing Control, I am hitting 85C and my core clocks come down to 1800 MHz. I have the Noctua NF-S12B Redux as bottom mounted intakes. I was watching the OptimumTech YouTube Channel and he talks about the exact same temperatures with the 2080 Ti FE in the V5. I am not sure why this is the case, though. One would think that the additional ventilation on the panel would bring down temperatures by a measurable amount. I would really appreciate some thoughts and guidance. Is undervolting my only option?

The ambient temperature is around 22 - 23C.

Overall, the experience has been fantastic.

 

[Melon]

First off, the case itself has a fantastic construction and is very well thought out. This makes the build relatively intuitive but an included detailed instruction/installation manual would really help.

+1

 

[Epos7]

The GPU is where I'm concerned the most. It would appear that even with the vents covering the entirety of the side panels on the V6, the temperatures are no different from what others have observed with the V5. While playing Control, I am hitting 85C and my core clocks come down to 1800 MHz. I have the Noctua NF-S12B Redux as bottom mounted intakes. I was watching the OptimumTech YouTube Channel and he talks about the exact same temperatures with the 2080 Ti FE in the V5. I am not sure why this is the case, though. One would think that the additional ventilation on the panel would bring down temperatures by a measurable amount. I would really appreciate some thoughts and guidance. Is undervolting my only option?

I'm in the process of installing an Accelero III on my RTX 2080. I removed the stock fans from the Accelero, and will have two 120mm fans mounted underneath that will pull in cool air from outside the case act as exhaust.

The installation process has been really fiddly. The 2.5mm spacers the manual calls for on 2080 cards don't appear to be the correct size. With the 2.5mm spacers the board on my card warped badly. I'm hoping it didn't cause any damage. I've since installed the 3.5mm spacers, but these are also a bit too short and the board is still bending. There are also 4.5mm spacers included, but these may be too tall. I'm going to try rubber shims with the 3.5mm spacers to see if I can get the fit right.

I'm hoping this will be worth it as others have seen a temperature decrease of 15-25 degrees with this setup.

 

[rroy]

I thought that the Accelero performs better without the stock fans when the bottom mounted case fans are set to exhaust. As far as I recall I saw this in another OptimumTech video where the the CPU (air cooled) was taking in air from the rear and exhausting through the bottom.

I turned up my bottom intake fans from 650 (ish) RPM to the full 1350 by disabling Asus Q Fan control for the Chassis Fan header. Made absolutely no difference to temps in gaming. Almost felt like they went up by 1C. So will turn Q Fan control on again and now look to undervolt.

As for the Corsair ML 120 fans on the H100i, it appears that they remain quiet up to about 1100 RPM. But the cooling at these values is not the best when under load.

 

[Epos7]

I thought that the Accelero performs better without the stock fans when the bottom mounted case fans are set to exhaust. As far as I recall I saw this in another OptimumTech video where the the CPU (air cooled) was taking in air from the rear and exhausting through the bottom.

You're right, exhaust is the way to go. I have them installed that way but got it backwards.

 

[Windeh]

The front audio IO can be connected without conflicting with the bottom rear fan.

Once the connector is plugged in to the audio daughter board, only the thin wires extend pass the PCB, and can easily fit between the PCB and the fan without pinching.

 

[rroy]

Update:

Replaced the Noctua NF-S12B Redux PWM with the NF-P12 Redux 1700 PWM. These are pressure optimized fans instead of airflow optimized NF-S12Bs. My GPU temps are down by 4 - 5C. So for anyone considering bottom mounted case fans for the NCase, static pressure is the way to go.

Replaced the Corsair ML 120 RGB Pro fans on the radiator with the Noctua NF-A12x25s. Temperatures are better at a significantly lower noise level. True to the hype, these are the best fans for radiators I'd say.

 

[dabster]

The front audio IO can be connected without conflicting with the bottom rear fan.

Once the connector is plugged in to the audio daughter board, only the thin wires extend pass the PCB, and can easily fit between the PCB and the fan without pinching.

It looked like it would when I was setting everything up, but I didn't bother trying cause I heard it didn't. Sigh, now i have to go back and try and get it in there.

 

[lordzorg]

Thanks so much for your post, I am planning a very similar build, 3950X, 2080Ti, Kraken x52, otherwise the same. Great choice with the RAM!
I know you wrote that you don't believe the SODIMM daughterboard would interfere, but that has been a major concern of mine, as I want to use 2x nvme ssds. Have you test fitted that at all (incl the AIO)?
Also, would you mind sharing some images? Thank you!

 

[dabster]

Thanks so much for your post, I am planning a very similar build, 3950X, 2080Ti, Kraken x52, otherwise the same. Great choice with the RAM!
I know you wrote that you don't believe the SODIMM daughterboard would interfere, but that has been a major concern of mine, as I want to use 2x nvme ssds. Have you test fitted that at all (incl the AIO)?
Also, would you mind sharing some images? Thank you!

My build is almost done, it booted it up fine. I have almost all the same components as above (different vid card (2070 super) and fans (a12)). Everything else is the same and it all fit. Just finished installing an artic accelero iii. Just have to some cable management and will be all done.

 

[anoldfriend]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post here. I wanted to share my thoughts on the NCase as a first time SFF builder.

Parts list:

• AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
• Asus X570 ROG Crosshair VIII Impact
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super Founders Edition
• G.SKILL TridentZ Neo 2x 16GB DDR4 3600 (CL 16-16-16-36)
• Corsair SF750 Platinum
• Corsair H100i Platinum
• 2x Noctua NF-S12B Redux PWM

First off, the case itself has a fantastic construction and is very well thought out. This makes the build relatively intuitive but an included detailed instruction/installation manual would really help.

Using the Crosshair VIII Impact in the NCase may not lead to the simplest build process, as it's a mini DTX and some connections on the board are located at difficult to reach spots when using 2 120mm full size bottom intake fans for the GPU. The Asus ROG Strix X570-I Gaming may be more convenient. For example:

1. The USB 2.0 header on the mother board is located at the bottom on the Impact. I had to take my GPU and fans out right before installing the H100i. On the Strix, this header is at the front of the board.
2. I am not using the front panel connectors. Even if I wanted to, I would not be able to plug in the front audio to the Impact as it's again located at the bottom left and conflicts with the left bottom fan.

I am not using the SODIMM daughterboard but I don't believe it interferes with the AIO radiator/fans or my RAM modules in any way and can be used if someone wanted to.

The rest of the build was quite smooth bar the AIO mounting because I'm usually very stressed whenever I work with CPU coolers.

The CPU temperature with the radiator fans set to pull on the inside is around 38.5C on idle. I'm not sure if this is high or not. The AIO is set to Balanced mode. The Corsair fans are very audible at this setting. On Extreme they're unbearably loud. Quiet is best but the CPU temps are higher. I think I will replace these fans with Noctuas. During gaming the CPU goes up to around 52.5C. I do believe that the radiator fans are spinning faster during these loads. However, I can't hear them over the game I'm playing. While we're talking about the AIO, I'd say the cable management is very fiddly as a result of the wires not being sleeved (and the sheer number of wires at that). iCue conflicts with HWInfo so you need to go in to HWInfo --> Settings --> Safety --> Uncheck Corsair Link and Asetek Support. Else iCue is unable to maintain pump / fan speeds.

The GPU is where I'm concerned the most. It would appear that even with the vents covering the entirety of the side panels on the V6, the temperatures are no different from what others have observed with the V5. While playing Control, I am hitting 85C and my core clocks come down to 1800 MHz. I have the Noctua NF-S12B Redux as bottom mounted intakes. I was watching the OptimumTech YouTube Channel and he talks about the exact same temperatures with the 2080 Ti FE in the V5. I am not sure why this is the case, though. One would think that the additional ventilation on the panel would bring down temperatures by a measurable amount. I would really appreciate some thoughts and guidance. Is undervolting my only option?

The ambient temperature is around 22 - 23C.

Overall, the experience has been fantastic.

Quick and easy experiment. Flip the case, with the same configuration.There is a good chance you will dramatically reduce the gpu temperatures, even if they are set as intake.
I’ve been doing some tests the past 2 weeks

Current setup is a deshrouded kfa 2070 super with 2 nfa12 as exhaust (1300 rpm)
cpu cooler nhc14s with 1nfa12 intake.

24hs of valley 3440 1440 ultra gpu temps low 60c

Case is cold on touch (unlike all other setups I have tried).

I will post the experiments later this week.

 

[fatpolomanjr]

Quick and easy experiment. Flip the case, with the same configuration.There is a good chance you will dramatically reduce the gpu temperatures, even if they are set as intake.
I’ve been doing some tests the past 2 weeks

This was my experience with a Dan case and these adhesive rubber feet from amazon I stuck on the top (flipped bottom) of the case. It would be nice to preserve the aesthetics, but the only cases that supports flipping the insides are the Mjolnir and the Dan C4; the latter of which is only a prototype. Maybe the Ghost with its top and bottom attaching top hats looks nice when flipped. I first saw this recommendation in a Ghost S1 thread.

 

[anoldfriend]

Did some tests yesterday!

Inverted versus Normal Ncase config 2070 super deshrouded + Nhc14s Tests

Performed some tests with the ncase m1 comparing inverted versus normal case orientation and got some interesting results.

smallformfactor.net

 

[rroy]

Thanks so much for your post, I am planning a very similar build, 3950X, 2080Ti, Kraken x52, otherwise the same. Great choice with the RAM!
I know you wrote that you don't believe the SODIMM daughterboard would interfere, but that has been a major concern of mine, as I want to use 2x nvme ssds. Have you test fitted that at all (incl the AIO)?
Also, would you mind sharing some images? Thank you!

I did not test fit the SODIMM board once I had my AIO in. However, it is clearly below the point at which the radiator / fans end. I know I'm responding late, so did you get a chance to test it all out?

As for pics, yes, I intend to get some in here soon.

 

[lordzorg]

I did not test fit the SODIMM board once I had my AIO in. However, it is clearly below the point at which the radiator / fans end. I know I'm responding late, so did you get a chance to test it all out?

As for pics, yes, I intend to get some in here soon.

Thank you, this has also been confirmed somewhere on reddit, so I will go with the Impact. Yet, still seeing whether or not I can get a 3950X rather soon, will only then order everything else And then hopefully some time early next year the Ncase v6... ?

 

[lordzorg]

I had my 3950X stock allocation confirmed today, should have it with me within the next two days Mostly the same system as yours, Asus X570 ROG Crosshair VIII Impact, G.SKILL TridentZ Neo 2x 16GB DDR4 3600 (CL 16-16-16-36), Corsair SF750 Platinum, NZXT Kraken X52. Haven't decided on GPU yet, have my Zotac 1080 Ti Mini at the moment, might keep that for now. Will be tinkering with CCD / CCX optimization first anyway. According to Noctua the black A12x25 should arrive by Q2 2020, so won't bother getting other fans first and use some spare NZXT Aer P. Hopefully, I'll manage to get a M1 v6 ...