[ad_1]
Let’s toss out some numbers. SilverStone’s Alta G1M did it at 12.1 by 7.9 inches, Raijintek’s Ophion Elite pulled it off at 12.1 by 6.9 inches, and Corsair’s 2000D RGB Airflow managed just 10.7 by 7.9 inches. These are the small footprints of today’s “vertical cubes,” tall, thin, and roughly square tower PC cases all extended to mid-tower height to accommodate graphics cards that are over 13 inches long. The $380 NCore 100 Max gets there at only 6.1 by 8.3 inches, and it includes a method to extend the graphics card width, too, by just under 5/8 of an inch. That means this narrow case can take graphics-card coolers that are more than three slots thick. If you’re looking to build a powerhouse Mini-ITX PC outfitted with the hunkiest possible card, the Ncore 100 Max could be your perfect match. Plus, its inclusion of CPU cooler and power supply in the box make it a great starting point for Mini-ITX first-timers: Two of the trickiest bits to buy are sorted out for you in advance.
Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. See how we test.
Design: The Narrow WayIn addition to all the features that pop into a standardized case spec chart, the NCore 100 Max includes Cooler Master’s V SFX Gold 850 ATX 3.0 (a $160 value at Amazon), plus a MasterLiquid 120L Core closed-loop CPU cooler (a $70 Amazon value). That means the MSRP of $380 leaves about $150 for the case. So it had better be a very fine case, no?
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
Yes, those are structural aluminum exterior panels, and yes, that is a power plug facing out the back of the unit. Front-panel ports are all moved to the NCore 100 Max’s left foot, and include two USB Type-A ports as well as a Type-C and a four-pole 3.5mm headset (headphone/mic) combo jack.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
Figuring out where the rest of the money in the MSRP went required us to remove those filter-equipped, aluminum structural side panels to reveal how Cooler Master was able to squeeze its NCore 100 Max down an extra 2.4 inches smaller than even the diminutive Corsair model.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
One way? Cooler Master puts the graphics card behind the motherboard. That move required adding a PCIe 4.0 x16 data cable. Even at this short length, that cable is a $30 part by itself, based on the cost of your typical PCIe 4.0 riser cable used for vertical video-card mounting.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
You may have noticed above that removing the outer panels exposed the back side of the built-in closed-loop radiator, and looking up the inside of the graphics-card bay reveals the fan that goes with it. You’ll also notice the 120mm rear exhaust fan and, with any luck, the lever on the left side of the photo that allows the bar that it’s sticking out from to be detached.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
Detaching the previously mentioned bar exposes the 19-pin USB 3 cable that connects the two Type-A ports, the Type-E internal cable that feeds the external Type-C port, the HD Audio cable for the headset combo jack, and a unified front-panel connector that follows the decades-old Intel standard that every major motherboard manufacturer has finally adopted. Behind those cables is the V850 SFX 3.0 power supply with its 450-watt 12VHPWR cable factory installed, and the panel recess next to the power supply is designed to allow passage of power cables from the motherboard chamber to the graphics card.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
NCore 100 Max: The Installation ProcessThe NCore 100 Max includes an external power cord and what appear to be special-length internal cables for its V850 SFX V3.0 power supply, and an oversize top panel to fill the gap in expanded mode. You get socket support plates for Intel LGA 115x/1200 and LGA 1700 hole spacing, a set of water-block brackets for Intel mounting patterns, a set of M3 screws to hold water-block brackets to the pump body, a tube of thermal paste, and a set of mounting brackets with eyelets that fit the spring-clip hooks of AMD motherboards all the way back to Socket 939. Also in the kit are a set of cable ties, a set of four externally splined nuts and corresponding Intel socket standoffs, a set of four motherboard screws, and a tiny bag containing a Phillips #2-to-standoff adapter socket, along with two different styles of mounting hardware for the case’s single 2.5-inch drive bay.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
The MasterLiquid 120L Core uses the same copper base as its RGB-equipped sibling, which means that it’s smooth and flat, and appears to have been cut using a lathe. Four holes attach the included AMD or Intel mounting brackets.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
Intel users must find the bracket that corresponds to their motherboard’s hole spacing and hold it against the back of the motherboard while screwing standoffs through the front of the motherboard’s mounting holes. AMD users can skip this step, assuming their motherboard still has the required factory clip brackets installed.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
Photo at left below shows that the water-block bracket rests atop its mounting tabs with screws inserted from underneath. We thin-applied thermal paste and screwed the unit into position over its standoffs, using the included splined nuts to secure it to the standoffs. Note that memory fitment is extremely tight, to the point that one of our DIMMs was pushed over by a few degrees’ angle.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
The powered system shows its Cooler Master logo through both the side vent (via a lighted logo on the water block’s lid) and perimeter lighting of the power button.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
Testing the Cooler Master Ncore 100 MaxSo here’s a recap of our standard set of test hardware components we use to test Mini-ITX cases…
It may shock a few readers to learn that Lian Li’s A4-H2O is the closest match in design to the NCore 100 Max, as it also has its GPU mounted on a riser cable behind the motherboard. It’s also the most recent case we’ve tested with a 120mm closed-loop liquid CPU cooler, though we also tested it with a 240mm-format version of that same cooler. That we tested the A4-H2O with both cooler sizes makes its data useful in determining how much performance the NCore 100 Max might have sacrificed to achieve its smaller size.The NCore 100 Max runs just a little cooler than the A4-H2O when both are equipped with the same cooler size. On the other hand, all of the compact cases we’ve tested for the past two years have supported the larger cooler that boosted the A4-H2O’s performance by 10 degrees C. Though this approximate 10-degree difference is the price of making the case too small to fit a larger cooler, it’s hardly catastrophic: It would need to be twice as stuffy for us to reach that conclusion.
(Credit: Unknown)
The NCore 100 Max appears to have a little less ventilation around the voltage regulators compared to the A4-H2O, and we’ll credit the proximity of the latter’s radiator mount to the motherboard’s voltage regulator for its leadership. Adding another fan over the voltage regulator helps even more.
(Credit: Unknown)
The NCore 100 Max is also bit warmer on the GPU side than the Lian Li case, and putting the bigger cooler on that case’s exhaust side shows again how the extra exhaust fan helps cool everything.
(Credit: Unknown)
Only those hoping that the NCore 100 Max’s higher temperatures came at noise-level nirvana will be disappointed: Everyone else will see that its compactness is the point.
(Credit: Unknown)
The Verdict: A Space Efficiency ExpertYou see, as much as a reviewer loves to point out performance flaws, the NCore 100 Max is the smallest case we’ve tested to date to survive this test regimen without showing alarming numbers. Now, of course, you’ll have pay the premium for both the case and its bundled PSU and cooler, a downside if you already own an SFX PSU or low-profile cooler you wanted to carry over. But to those for whom small footprint (as opposed to small overall volume) is a big deal, the performance on offer here is enough to push the Ncore 100 Max to the top of a very short list of excellent Mini-ITX chassis.
Like What You’re Reading?
Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
[ad_2]
