Kuma Technology launches a new ITX case Ncore100 MAX. It is a textured case made of aluminum alloy. The compact 15.8L volume not only includes a 38mm customized thickened version of 120mm integrated CPU water-cooling radiator and an 850W SFX full module that complies with ATX 3.0 specifications. It is a power supply that can accommodate top-standard graphics cards with a length of 35.7mm and a thickness of 3.9 slots.
The vertical air duct heat dissipation design takes in air from both sides of the case, and the hot air is discharged through the fans on the sides and top. Coupled with the innovative retractable width design, the Ncore100 MAX has a very good space for graphics card installation and heat dissipation.
Ncore100 MAX is available in black, gray and bronze colors. This time we received the black and gray version that is versatile in various environments. Let’s learn more about the details and features of this ITX case.
Exterior and interior design
The Ncore100 MAX shell is composed of two L-shaped anodized aluminum metal plates, covering the upright open rack. It is connected to the rack with buckles and can be easily disassembled without tools. The L-shaped casing has large ventilation openings and a double-layer design with a filter function. The top cover of the casing also has all openings to ensure the heat dissipation effect, and is fixed to the rack structure using magnetic suction + latches.
The front of the casing is only 155mm wide. The side of the casing covers a depth of 212mm.
The top of the casing is a large-area mesh top cover.
The I/O in front of the power button is located on the left side of the bottom of the case, providing two sets of USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, one set of USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C, and a 3.5mm audio/microphone hole. The motherboard is placed at the bottom of the casing, and the power cord interface is connected through an extension cable and placed at the bottom of the back of the casing.
The motherboard, AIO water cooling, power supply and graphics card are partitioned inside the case. From the exploded view, we can see that the cold radiator is located at the top of the entire case. The right side is the graphics card area, and the left side is the power supply and motherboard area from top to bottom. The pre-installed AIO water cooling and power supply are paired with customized wires. The length greatly reduces the difficulty of installation and wiring. You only need to fix the water block, install the motherboard and graphics card, and then connect the pre-arranged wires to easily complete the installation.
Cool code ATX 3.0 SFX 850W gold medal power supply. CoolerMaster Logo S-shaped dual-chamber water pump cold head with luminous effect. When the top cover is opened, you can see the customized 38mm thickened cold radiator.
The front vertical pillar adopts a quick-buckle design. Open the two gray buckles to remove the pillar, which is convenient for wiring and installing the motherboard. For ITX cases, the Ncore100 MAX is easy to install and has enough space for wiring. That’s enough, but since the position of the processor on the ITX motherboard is already fixed, the routing distance of the water-cooling pipeline should be more precise, which can also save the wiring space in front of the case.
Innovative retractable width design
As mentioned at the beginning, the Ncore100 MAX has a variable width design. To make it a compact 3-slot size, or to widen it to accommodate a 3.9-slot thick graphics card, you only need to remove the rear vertical pillar and four screws at the bottom to make the rack 155mm- The width can be adjusted between 172mm, and the case height is 481mm and the depth is 212mm, which can accommodate graphics cards up to 357mm. This means that players can install GeForce RTX 4090 into the Ncore100 MAX case without any problem.
During the actual installation, it was found that since the height of the central partition bracket of the chassis exceeds that of the graphics card, and the 12VHPWR that comes with the power supply is installed at the graphics card end with a 90-degree turning connector, after installing the 12VHPWR power cord, the wire will get stuck on the central partition bracket, resulting in 90 The adapter was slightly jacked up and everything worked normally during the test. It remains to be seen whether long-term use will have any impact.
(Additional note: The original manufacturer stated that due to the low height of some graphics cards, the 12VHPWR 90-degree connector shell can be removed, so that the cable can be naturally aligned and the 12VHPWR connector can be fully plugged in.)
With the GeForce RTX 4080 FE installed, there is still a whole slot of space.
Case width comparison, the left side is before widening, and the right side is the volume after widening.
For ITX cases, in addition to space configuration, another important point is heat dissipation. Good air duct design can achieve better heat dissipation efficiency. In order to further optimize heat dissipation, a 120mm Sickleflow 120 PWM fan is used at the rear of the Ncore100 MAX to help dissipate heat. In addition, the top cooling fan draws air upwards, and overall the heat dissipation performance is good.
practical testing
Taking into account the small size of the chassis and the heat-removing capabilities of the 120mm AIO cooling radiator, this time we chose the Intel B760-I motherboard and Intel Core i7-12700KF, paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 FE for the installation test.
testing platform
CPU
Intel i7-12700KF
motherboard
ROG Strix B760-I Gaming WiFi
Memory
CORSAIR VENGEANCE DDR5 5600 16GB *2
graphics card
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Founder Edition
The test is divided into two parts. When the power wall restriction is lifted, the computer is burned at the standard CPU/AIO fan speed for 20 minutes, and then burned again at the full speed. The graphics card part is the same as the default fan setting and full speed. Speed test heat dissipation performance.
In the Aida64 Stress FPU test, the burn-in temperature in standard fan mode was 90 degrees, and the CPU package temperature was 104 degrees. At full speed, the CPU temperature was 88 degrees, and the CPU package temperature was 102 degrees.
The graphics card test part uses the 3Dmark stress test TimeSpy Extreme project. After 20 cycles, the maximum GPU temperature of the graphics card at the preset fan speed is 68 degrees, and the hot spot temperature is 80.5 degrees. At full speed, the maximum GPU temperature is only 59.6 degrees, and the hot spot temperature is 70.3 degrees. .
Basically, it is recommended that both the AIO fan speed and the graphics card fan are set to standard mode to cope with daily use.
Summarize
The design concept of Ncore100 MAX combines elements such as ease of installation, high performance and unique aesthetics. In a compact small chassis, it is compatible with high-end hardware components currently on the market to the greatest extent. It has an upright design and vertical heat dissipation. The air duct structure not only occupies a small area, but also has the texture and heat dissipation of the punched aluminum shell, which is also very suitable for use in various environments.
With built-in integrated water cooling and modular 850W SFX power supply, top-level graphics cards such as RTX4090 can also be installed. ITX computers can also be very powerful without compromising on performance. The recommended price of Ncore100 MAX is NT$12,500. If you want to Put a beautiful and powerful small computer host in your home or office? You might as well put this case on your purchase list!
