discussion Work in progress X99 mITX NCASE M1 - Project MiniValidus

[DfknG]

Hi guys,

Worth catching Hardware Canucks up on a NCASE build im working on since their review video came out. So, let me catch you up, apologies in advance for the massive first post.

After recently selling my very liquid cooled R4 I am moving onto the next project.

It wont be too crazy but with some light modding work for a bit of individuality. It has a bit of a troubled personality this PC, I did want to go silly, Titan Z's were $1600 which was very tempting but while i'll use it for gaming initially (while I prep for a X99 build) really it will be used as a tidy little desktop in a common area of the house, so it has to be built accordingly.

So with the intro out of the way on with the build, a heap of parts have been ordered so I should have some updates come in over the next couple of weeks.

Firstly the case.

I was stoked I managed to get hold of a NCASE M1 v2,

And the most significant thing about this case its its teeny tiny size. Its literally a shoebox... (iPhone 5C for comparison, I didn't have any s handy at the time)

Here's a quick look at the GPU, An Asus Strix GTX980. Apparently there are some issues around getting the Strix GTX970 into the NCASE but the GTX980 is a bit thinner in the right places.

So the CPU, an Intel 4790k, Vietnam made. I will be benching this, then delidding and lapping the CPU and then retesting. I'm looking forward to these results.
If you've seen 1 CPU box, you've pretty much seen em all.

Next the motherboard! Its an Asus Z97i-Plus. I kinda wish they did a Pro/Deluxe like what they did with the Z87 series with the big power delivery but really, I guess it doesn't matter. (I could have got a Z87 but that colour scheme, Yuk!)

16gb 1866mhz Dominator Platinums, so unnecessary, really when you think how closed in the PC will be but, I got them really cheap from the US compared to Australia and just knowing they are in there, damn they look good.

Storage will be a 512gb Crucial M550 M.2 Disk. This is still a Sata 6 disk so it wont be the fastest disk ever but it will be plenty fast enough. Really I went M.2 so I can mount it to the underside of the motherboard, perhaps inconvenient placement but very space saving and, no sata power/data cabling!

Finally for this post is the PSU, a Silverstone SX600-G. It isn't getting the best reputation at the moment with some noise on start up, hopefully I am lucky and don't have the issue, If I do i'll hack in a workaround.

New Keyboard! Ducky Legend with MX Browns

Everything together including a custom test bench I had made

Here's a quick timelapse of it going together (no monetization here don't stress)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHmN1A9BwQU

Also just knocked in a quick OC on the 980 Strix, gotta say, i'm impressed.

Both my GTX670 and 780Ti had coil whine like a bitch, this card is SO QUIET and its on an open test bench right next to me.

I'll probably leave it here for now +200 on the core no over voltage, 125% TDP, will experiment more once its on water. 1518mhz and stable.

Looks like i've been really lucky with this build.

Starting to dial in the OC and the CPU seems to be a winner! 5ghz @ 1.285v

Validation
CPU-Z Validator 4.0

I had some time on the weekend so decided to delid and lap the 4790k. Its 'risky' business but after delidding my 3770k I couldn't not do the 4790k

What is delidding? Well its where you separate the metal plate called an IHS(integrated heat spreader) on top of the CPU and replace the thermal compound between the CPU die on the CPU and the IHS.

What is lapping? It is where you take the IHS and sand it perfectly flat to maximize metal to metal contact between the IHS and the CPU cooler.

So with that out of the way I used the 'vice only' method, the CPU PCB on one jaw of the vice and the IHS on the other jaw, slowly slowly and off it came (took a video) Sorry no photos.

I used the corner of some plastic packaging and TIM remover and wiped the PCB clean of glue.

Next, we tackle it with some Wet/Dry sandpaper, I tape it down to a piece of glass as that gives me an extremely flat surface.

600grit, you can see that the outer edge is the highspot on this CPU's IHS.

Next onto 800grit, farewell any CPU markings.

It also picked up a very low sheen already

Next onto 1200grit

Finally 1500grit and its looking smexy, you could go to 2000grit for a high polish but I stopped here.

Was it worth it? Well it wasn't as good as what I got out of the 3770k but, the 3770k was a very bad temp chip and this 4790k has been pretty good.

Strangely my idle temps are higher now, but load temps average nearly 12degrees cooler!

Thanks for stopping by again! Apparently I have some gifts in the mail so I'll be sure to update when they arrive but next weekend, we have some painting to do

Made a video of the delidding process.

Today I decided to paint a couple of heatsinks to match the build.

The removed heatsinks.

And fast forward and the chipset heatsink is black and the power delivery now white Much better.

Another small update is I finally installed the lightbar kits into the Dominator Platinums, because they weren't sexy enough!

Mmmm

4x screws and its off

Aaaaaaaaaand installed

And yes, still on the test bench....

And now HardwareCanucks, you're all caught up! Sorry for the massive first post it will be incremental from here

 

[Vittra]

The PCB near the PCI bracket is the problem area for the Strix cards with the NCASE. If the PCB size is the same as the 970, it's going to hit the panel clip. You can either take the clip out or cut a small part of the pcb to circumvent this. I'm not particularly fond of the latter option.

Based on choices should be a nice, clean looking build.

 

[sswilson]

The more I see these out in the wild, the closer I get to grabbing one and an AIO. This is truly what mITX is meant to be.

 

[Vittra]

Indeed. Shame about the current exchange rate, but there's nothing quite like this out there to date.

 

[DfknG]

The PCB near the PCI bracket is the problem area for the Strix cards with the NCASE. If the PCB size is the same as the 970, it's going to hit the panel clip. You can either take the clip out or cut a small part of the pcb to circumvent this. I'm not particularly fond of the latter option.

Based on choices should be a nice, clean looking build.

Yeah the PCB is the same but the Heatpipes are different where the 970 Strix hits the side panel the 980 doesnt. Also people have cut out a section of the PCB to get around removing the clip, im unsure which approach i'll take. The interesting part of this will also be getting a waterblock on it which I will need to modify to fit. Most likely moving to a Kelvin S24

The more I see these out in the wild, the closer I get to grabbing one and an AIO. This is truly what mITX is meant to be.

I got mine in August and its still nicely wrapped up in its box, just waiting on some cabling to arrive and then i'll start to move off the test bed and into the NCASE, looking forward to planning the loop in this case!

Indeed. Shame about the current exchange rate, but there's nothing quite like this out there to date.

Yes I have a bad exchange rate as well being in Australia, at the time this cost me $262AUD delivered.

 

[Bond007]

Yeah the PCB is the same but the Heatpipes are different where the 970 Strix hits the side panel the 980 doesnt. Also people have cut out a section of the PCB to get around removing the clip, im unsure which approach i'll take.

Interesting. Had to look at a picture, but you are right. The heatpipe design is very different from the strix 970 to 980. I would have assumed the cooler would be the same.

 

[DfknG]

Interesting. Had to look at a picture, but you are right. The heatpipe design is very different from the strix 970 to 980. I would have assumed the cooler would be the same.

3 heatpipes on the 970 vs 4 on the 980 with different routing. Interesting design choice for the cost of manufacturing.

 

[draemn]

Enjoyed this post so far.

 

[Luay79]

First question, are you saying that sanding the CPU's surface and replacing the thermal compound reduced load temps by 12 degrees? Come on now same clocks? fan speed?

Second, that 80mm fan on the SX600, how bad is it? or is it exaggerated in the forums?

Third, Is it weird that I drooled over that keyboard more so than any other component? I want to know why you chose it. Was your criteria "quietest backlit mech." and ended up with this one?

 

[DfknG]

First question, are you saying that sanding the CPU's surface and replacing the thermal compound reduced load temps by 12 degrees? Come on now same clocks? fan speed?

Second, that 80mm fan on the SX600, how bad is it? or is it exaggerated in the forums?

Third, Is it weird that I drooled over that keyboard more so than any other component? I want to know why you chose it. Was your criteria "quietest backlit mech." and ended up with this one?

1. Yes, but replacing the thermal compound would have contributed more than the sanding flat in my opinion. Note: This is the thermal compound between the CPU Die and the IHS, not ontop of the CPU and the Heatsink as is typically done.

2. I have the sounds that other people have reported on my SX600-G however if no one pointed them out before I doubt I would have noticed. In my opinion the noise is WELL within acceptable normal operating noise. Its barely, barely noticeable. I contacted SilverStone about it before I purchased it and they told me if I could hear it from 12" away then that was excessive and they would replace it. Thats what they expect.

3. Not at all, I LOVE this keyboard. My requierements are simple enough but complicated, this is actually the 3rd keyboard i've tried. Some backstory required.

I got a Ducky 9008G2 for work with MX Blues. because is a) simple and b) bright so no one could get away with stealing it. That is the nicest keyboard I have ever typed on. I wanted a Mech keyboard for home and I wanted it to be a) mechanical and b) white backlit so I got a Corsair K95 (non RGB) with MX Reds. I HATED that keyboard. There's something off about it and I think its they height of the keycaps are higher than normal? I think its still one of the best looking keyboards and I like the macro keys and I like the roller volume but I hated the MX Reds and I hated the high keycaps so I got rid of it for a Logitech G710+. The Logitech G710+ was a really good keyboard with 2 issues a) the font on the keycaps I found odd and b) that awful orange section around the macro keys.

So ended up with this Ducky. I sacrificed the macro keys and the roller volume wheel but it without a doubt the best personal defense, i mean, keyboard i've owned to date.