Disappointed with the lack of good Mini-ITX cases, Wahaha360 and Necere from HardOCP's forum teamed up last year to design the ideal Mini-ITX case. After months of feedback from forum members and Lian Li engineers, they've come up with a preliminary design of the NCase M1.
The specifications aren't finalized yet, but the current model is a 12.59-liter box that measures 160mm x 328mm x 240mm (250mm with the feet). Designed to fit Mini-ITX motherboards as well as a standard ATX power supply, the case is roomy enough for a triple-slot graphics card of up to 317.5mm long, a processor cooler with a height of up to 105mm, four 120mm fans and one 80/92mm fan, dual 120mm radiators, three 3.5" or four 2.5" storage disks and a slim slot-loading optical drive. The case features toolless exterior panels and has a front I/O panel with two USB 3.0 ports and HD audio jacks.
The team is now seeking $3,000 via crowdfunding website Indiegogo to have two prototypes made by Lian Li, a silver and a black one. At present, the project received $1,911 in funding with still 29 days left to achieve the goal. Once the prototypes are ready, the team will further optimize the design and gather funding for a limited production run. The NCase M1 is expected to be sold for $160 to $200.
NCASE M1 Technical Specifications:
Dimensions: 240mm x 160mm x 328mm (250mm tall w/feet), 12.6L
Motherboard Support: Mini-ITX, Mini-DTX
Expansion Slots: 3
GPU Support: 12.5” (slot 1 & 2) or 11” (slot 3)
CPU Cooler Support: Up to 105mm tall; 120mm and 240mm radiators also supported
Drive Support: 3 x 3.5” HDD mounts; 3 x 2.5” drive mounts; 1 x slim slot-load optical drive mount
Power Supply Support: SFX or ATX (up to 140mm non-modular, or longer w/short GPU)
Fan Support: 2 x 120mm side & bottom mounts; 80/92mm bottom & rear mounts
Front Ports: 2 x USB 3.0, headphone and microphone
Source: TechSpot
NCase M1 - a crowdfunded Mini-ITX case!
Posted on Friday, February 15 2013 @ 15:04 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck