Introduction

Coming from my Louqe Ghost S1 and still waiting for Ghost R1, i'm hyped to try out the NCase M2 for now. There are alot of new hardware components and it's a 95% new build with only keeping my very reliable NVME from Samsung

Why i chose this 5080?
• zero to very low coil whine
• huge cooler that still fit's well, very good backplate cutout for blow through fan
• deep cutout for power connector
• 4 year extended warranty (after product registration)
• high overclocking/undervolting potential (upto 125% powertarget)

Why i didn't go for an AiO?
• maintenance after years (pump, liquids...)
• very good air cooler alternatives
• travelling is more save with air cooled only
• airflow disturbances

Pros and cons of the case from my build so far:
+ very good case quality, materials, finish of color
+ space for alot of builds and hardware components, even huge air-coolers and graphic cards
+ airflow/ventilation
+ front-io
+ dimensions are still very good for traveling
- choice of this screw-size doesn't leave a good impression, often connecting into screw hole feels unsafe, screw hole thread can be damaged easily
- graphic cards holder still flimsy/not 100% fitting, lot's of pressure on connect due to a misalignment
- no dustfilter addons purchasable - you have to make them by yourself
- standard case feets are bad, shouldn't be sold at all
- internal powercable should be 2-3cm longer
- motherboard tray should be 1-2mm thicker, more sturdy - it bends outwards after a while - even could be made out of steel
- side panels closing should be improved, it's a very frustrating way where you need this precise alignment, downpushing while holding it so, that the top panel fits
- front-io cutout in front panel should be available in a flat desing
- there should be a frame, fan holder, screw holes in back panel to easily place a 92mm fan

Final case outer dimensions

• Height: 278mm (including feets)
• Width: 167mm
• Length: 380mm (including rear dustfilter)
• Volume: 17.65 liters

Modifications and extra parts

• high quality case feets Clear Components
• bottom dustfilter SilverStone
• base material for sidepanel dustfilters Nylon, 140 x 280 mm, Pack of 4, Black, dualsided tape from 3M
• DIY rear dustfilter with nylon fabric
• case fans: 2x Noctua NF-A14x25 G2 PWM, 1x Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM, 1x fan-splitter ARCTIC 4-Pin PWM for 4 Case Fans
• 3x DIY angled fan-connectors
• 1x NVMe heatsink

Overclocking / Undervolting

• CPU: CO -15, +50MHz (close to stock)
• Memory: stock for now, CL32 @ 6000
• GPU: curve undervolt 2900Mhz @ 0.930v, +1000Mhz memory, 110% powertarget


Benchmarks (CPU)

First baseline benchmark CB23:


Powerusage, Thermals and Loudness

(Ambient temperature is ~21° C)

Some idle data Windows desktop, having open Discord, Firefox and Chrome with some tabs, listening to music via VLC, it's dead silent :)

Running CB23 for 10minutes, snapshot of last 30s, adjusted fancurves during the previous minutes to reduce loudness a little.

Mass Effect Andromeda loadscreen, low cpu-usage, but high gpu-usage (no RT), 5 minutes for snapshot. Gamesettings all highest, 3440x1440 resolution. Loudness not annoying, you can hear fans, mostly top-fans. Temps are very good.

Doom: The Dark Ages playing first 2 chapters, maximum quality settings, 3440x1440p @ 120Hz, DLSS Quality. Fps is between 110-120, capped it to 117 The system is running cool and silent.


Power consumption full system

• lowest idle ~75 Watts some minutes after boot to Windows (2 monitors connected to graphics card)

Measured with a KD-302.

Fancontrol setup

I'm using this great tool to fine tune noise levels and airflow, even though the Asus bios improved alot and also supports multiple sources for a fan header, but it's years behind fancontrol. My setup favors dead silent idle accoustics (idle, watching video, browsing etc), a mid range (Simulation, Tower-Defense, Bullethell, ARPG gaming e.g. PoE 2) and a max performance (benchmarks, AAA games with full details e.g. CP2077, Doom Eternal). Airflow seems pretty solid now :)


Worklog

[2024/12/02]
Ordered moar fans (92mm x 25mm and 140mm x 25mm) from Noctua - will probably update build next weekend and rerun some benchmarks :)

[2025/01/07]
CES 2025 Nvidia 5080 cards don't meet my whishes and i'll wait until a 24GB VRam version will be announced, if the card dimensions are similar to the Palit 5080 GamingPro card then this should be an instant buy :)

[2025/01/29]
After devastating reviews of the 5080 FE i decided to give the 5090 sales tomorrow a try and with some luck i might buy a "MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G Ventus 3X OC" or "INNO3D GeForce RTX 5090 X3". Those two cards seem to be the most compatible models (total width) combined with a 90° power adapter by corsair - i ordered both power connector styles just in case :)

[2025/01/30]
The race was short and brutal^^ Half of all online shops were unreachable short before reaching the deadline - who would have guessed that...
As expected the two models i was waiting for didn't even reached availability once. Let's see how the next weeks develop :)

[2025/04/15]
I decided for a "GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming OC 16G" and will buy one in a couple of weeks. This card has a very good design (big cooler, powerconnector is located in good spot, extra long warranty after registration). Also powerconnector melting risk is very low with this card, let's see how it will work out :)

[2025/04/29]
GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming OC 16G arrived Switch from 3080 to new graphics card - teaser and evaluation setup for now.

[2025/04/30]
Made final bottom dustfilter, no more ugly prototype The case is nigh to a good finish, next step is final rear intake dustfilter and a stable anti-sag for the 5080. During this rework i noticed a slight deformation and bending on the mainboard near the PCIe slot - i hope it won't affect stability and durability.

[2025/05/01]
"MayGyver" rear dustfilter and final cable-management + some general checks (screws, bending, open gaps...). Case seems quite finished for now Will rewrite the whole worklog, benchmarks, pictures to a summerized description in the next weeks.

[2025/05/06]
Ordered another Noctua NF-A14x25 G2 PWM to replace the NF-A12x15 and lower the mainboard 1 more hole - will see if it works out :)

[2025/05/12]
Rear dustfilter MK-II and rework of case backside, looks more clean now. Added a video for loudness of graphics card fans and case top-fans under high load. Funny though, can't even hear graphic cards fans, top-case fans are more audible. Will fine tune top-fans after some sessions of Doom, there's plenty of options :)

[2025/05/26]
Added second NVMe SSD to the backside. It's another Samsung 970 Pro that will be used for temporary data and downloads - providing it a final purpose.

[2025/05/31]
Deshrouded 5080 GPU. Put in alot of time and work to make it fit "again" with mainboard one more position down. More pictures and updates soonTM!