The Great Indian NCase M1

Harshadb

Recruit
A Powerful Gaming\Workstation Build

A Machine I have built for my personal gaming and professional use. This article\Pictures are for my own records as well as anyone out there who may find it useful. I have been meaning to do this build since a long time now. Even before I heard about the NCase M1, the smallest case to allow for a full size gpu. I kept doing my research while I was working at a day job. I finally found time to build it when I left my job.

Most of the parts were ordered from Amazon US. Some came from Japan through a friend (Quite tempting prices there!) and some were bought locally here in Mumbai, India. My only request to component manufacturers is to make available their latest components here in India, so it is not ultra-difficult for people like me to get them. Or at least have a possible way one can order it individually but at a bit of extra cost.

Purpose - My first priority is portability. I mean International portability, one where I can carry this through the airport. (I’m done with laptops. No matter how powerful my Alienware M17x R2 is). Secondly, a powerful gaming machine. This also serves my 3d work needs as I’m into animation. I need the power to develops heavy assets in Maya and other packages. Third and not the least, my machine needs to be quiet. I don’t mind a little bit of noise, I’m used to it frankly. But as this is my Best built Machine yet, I want quiet. No compromises.

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Check out a detailed article at my personal website: http://harshadbari.com/great-indian-ncase-m1/

My full Flickr Gallery: https://flic.kr/s/aHskgsP9S5

A Full parts list to view and download is also available on PcPartPicker:
http://pcpartpicker.com/b/mRtJ7P

Comments here and on my website are much appreciated.
 
Congrats !!! I've had my eyes on that case ever since it went up on indiegogo, too bad I couldn't find the other components I was looking for to build one before my upgrade. My next build in a year or 2 will be something on the same lines though, tiny yet powerful.
 
This is one of the most beautiful cases out there. Unfortunately it is also a dust magnet due to the number of perforated panels.

If you live in a dust free environment though, nothing comes close to this case.
 
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@Chaos Yea dust is a regular issue, but no PC is dust-free in our country. Tough I have minimized the dust inside the case by using Demci-Filters all over the case: Base, Top, Sides, and back. Demci's are little(very) dense. They stop most of the dust, drawback being they need to be cleaned regularly.
Also, the case doesn't support MAtx Motherboards.
@Jasku The case can be ordered from NCases.com. The case costs $185 USD. Its not cheap, though there's nothing like it. The whole build cost me around 1L and a little more for the import duties.
 
I have forwarded the link to this thread to my brother. He is a video game programmer and is going to Uruguay very soon to work for a studio. Just like you, he insists that no laptop is competent for his work and he needs to carry his PC with him.
 
@Chaos Yea dust is a regular issue, but no PC is dust-free in our country. Tough I have minimized the dust inside the case by using Demci-Filters all over the case: Base, Top, Sides, and back. Demci's are little(very) dense. They stop most of the dust, drawback being they need to be cleaned regularly.
Also, the case doesn't support MAtx Motherboards.
@Jasku The case can be ordered from NCases.com. The case costs $185 USD. Its not cheap, though there's nothing like it. The whole build cost me around 1L and a little more for the import duties.

Yes I realized that m-Atx is not supported - only mini-dtx. Getting mini itx boards in India for reasonable prices is a nightmare though. Could you please point me to the source for these filters? I have a severe dust issue as well.
 
2 questions.

1. Are you planning to move this in your cabin or check in bag? And what about customs?. Say in India. when you are bringing it in?.. Those people will point it says laptop.
2. Source for that mjolnir please. :)
 
2 questions.

1. Are you planning to move this in your cabin or check in bag? And what about customs?. Say in India. when you are bringing it in?.. Those people will point it says laptop.
2. Source for that mjolnir please. :)
The customs question is a valid point. My brother is gonna carry his PC to Uruguay and back as well. Having the bills of a few components to show to the officials when coming back should be good enough, I guess.
As for whether such a build can be carried as cabin baggage, I have my concerns. I would think that they won't allow it as cabin baggage. Considering liquid cooling and such, they will surely flag this as a security concern. The OP should be able to give a better answer.
 
^^

The customs..yes, you can argue there. But I am taking like airport security. These are lot of components, liquids, capacitors, wires, sharp objects, open PCB etc.
 
^^

The customs..yes, you can argue there. But I am taking like airport security. These are lot of components, liquids, capacitors, wires, sharp objects, open PCB etc.
Yeah, that's why I said that in my view, getting this into the cabin would be definitely a miracle.
 
That's a really nice compact build.
Wonder how much will they compare to these on Aliexpress in terms of form factor

You're comparing two very different classes of computers. Your link leads to NUC like devices running UL or ULV Atom/Celeron or Core processors with onboard graphics and very limited performance and/or expansion.

This is a fully fledged miniITX PC which has an unlocked (and probably overclocked) 1150 i7, can even fit a X99 build (Asrock has a minitx X99 board out, i believe?) a full fledged graphics card for gaming OR rendering, and 240mm rad support which can cool whatever CPU you plonk in that little beauty.

@Harshadb Beautiful rig mate, I've been wanting one of those Ncases ever since their crowdsourcing campaign, when i stumbled upon them at Hardforum ages ago!
 
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