NR200 Owner's Thread

[McPhee]

From what one of the reps posted on Reddit (months ago), it seems the management at CM were quite sceptical of this case. It took some convincing to get the go-ahead for the project.

I suspect they were just very conservative with numbers for initial production.

 

[MattMeV8]

Hi and welcome, good info thanks for sharing.

Good to know I managed to get my hands on one, its a good case and I like its size but as mine arrived scratched and Coolermaster CS dont seem to be getting back to me regarding resolving the issue its taken the edge off a bit and I must admit I dont see what all the fuss is about really compared to previous cases its not built that well and can get very noisy

Part of me wishes I went for the Lian Li TU150 but I'll be keeping an eye on Fractal Design new releases as they are my usual case manufacturer of choice

Glad to be here. It's been a while since I joined a tech forum (*cough*15 years*cough*). Seems an active and friendly community.

For me, I was after something larger than the 202 and was looking at the NCase M1 etc as I wanted something that was compact (under 20l), subtle (I don't do RGB/glass side panels etc) and reasonably priced, but at the same time I needed something that could take a full size GPU and provide room to grow if I wanted to move to water cooling later. The NR200 seemed to provide all that and at the price seemed a good gamble that if I didn't like it for any reason it's no big deal. There aren't many other, if any at all, mitx cases with 3 slot GPU capability as far as I can tell.
I ended up going with the P as the small increase in cost gets the additional fan, GPU mounting options and the option of TG panel if I ever did want that for some reason.
No doubt there'll be better made and more flexible cases, but after watching and reading many, many reviews the NR200 seems to have a good airflow performance and configuration flexibility. I want a small, discrete case that will provide sufficient airflow to keep things quiet. I'm hopeful this might be it!
I might even build a secondary machine in the 202 for the living room. It's a good case.

 

[Tephnos]

PSU, RAM slots, and motherboard heatsinks are all potentially an issue.

When it comes to the PSU, if low profile aftermarket cables were used then it could probably be mounted a few millimeters lower. But otherwise, it's already mounted as low as possible without greatly reducing max GPU length. The SFX mounting position is already significantly lower than in the Ncase M1, resulting in the cables touching the GPU backplate.

There isn't really any way around the simple fact that proper top mounted radiator/AIO support would require a substantial increase to case height. And this space would be completely pointless when not using a radiator. The best shout is going to be doing what Darren did. Hopefully any V2 of this case officially supports flipping the case and rotating the panels.

Yeah, true. It's just that the higher end models of the 3000 series have exposed the weakness of these cases if you want to AIO with TG.

So I'd be happy buying the NR200, but I'd rather not pay extra for TG I won't use.

 

[Darren_uk]

That is a good question...how did you make that window panel @Darren_uk ? Is that laser cut? Mainly asking about the vent holes.

Holes made by a 3mm drill bit lay on some cardboard & masking taped to a metal mesh side panel
I made measurements of GPU fans to the window.

 

[***F1ZZY***]

After gamers nexus video
common knowledge when using a Pump the Radiator must be even/at the same level or above for proper flow
otherwise, it put a strain on the motor giving less performance & can burn it out

Same as if you got a Shower in the bathroom that runs off the pump system.

That’s not strictly true Darren. PC water cooling is a closed loop so the positions of components don’t make a difference with regards to “strain”. This is not like an open system such as a shower at all.

This issues that Gamers Nexus were referring to was the accumulation of air which will accumulate at the highest and/or slowest point in the loop. As such, this video focussed on AIO coolers only as they lack a reservoir (which Are designed to trap air and ensure the pump has a good supply of water) AIO rely on the radiator tanks to act as reservoirs. If you position the radiator badly then air in the loop will find its way to the pump blocks.

Having air in the pump is bad. It’s noisy and eventually will either damage the pump or will stop circulating water.

In a well bled loop you can put the pump and rad wherever you want to, even in the bottom of an NR200.

 

[far from home]

That’s not strictly true Darren. PC water cooling is a closed loop so the positions of components don’t make a difference with regards to “strain”. This is not like an open system such as a shower at all.

This issues that Gamers Nexus were referring to was the accumulation of air which will accumulate at the highest and/or slowest point in the loop. As such, this video focussed on AIO coolers only as they lack a reservoir (which Are designed to trap air and ensure the pump has a good supply of water) AIO rely on the radiator tanks to act as reservoirs. If you position the radiator badly then air in the loop will find its way to the pump blocks.

Having air in the pump is bad. It’s noisy and eventually will either damage the pump or will stop circulating water.

In a well bled loop you can put the pump and rad wherever you want to, even in the bottom of an NR200.

what about side mounted aio rad in this case??

 

[***F1ZZY***]

Not as fool-proof as ceiling mounting but better then floor mounting. It depends on radiator barb mounting positions and whether air will remain trapped in rad tanks or whether it will flow up to pump.

NZXT Kraken looks reasonably tolerant as the barbs in their rads are quite central so should cope with a few cc of air in side mounted positions.

if you can ensure that the barb that feeds to the pump is the lowest of the 2 then that should be better still.

 

[Richard Holm]

Since we're on the topic of AIOs, what about that the new Be Quiet AIOs where the pump is closer to the rad and not on the cold plate? https://www.anandtech.com/show/16043/keeping-it-pure-be-quiet-pure-loop-series-up-to-360-mm-aios

 

[Bindlestiff]

I must admit I dont see what all the fuss is about really compared to previous cases its not built that well and can get very noisy

Interesting - and contrasting - viewpoint. What in particular was not right with the build quality? What components were you using to experience the noise? As it is OOS everywhere I'm clutching at any straw I can to find reasons NOT to want it, but it is difficult.

 

[Bindlestiff]

So I'd be happy buying the NR200, but I'd rather not pay extra for TG I won't use.

Exactly the reason I held off on pulling the trigger for the NR200P, but it seems the NR200 is even more difficult to get hold of.

 

[Bazzards]

I understand the issue with having aio rad at the bottom of the case. However I have had no issues with mine. No noise and great performance. My aio has a clear face on the pump and is lit up so can see if any air is trapped, none so far.

 

[***F1ZZY***]

Since we're on the topic of AIOs, what about that the new Be Quiet AIOs where the pump is closer to the rad and not on the cold plate? https://www.anandtech.com/show/16043/keeping-it-pure-be-quiet-pure-loop-series-up-to-360-mm-aios

That looks quite interesting. Not sure where air would accumulate in that, depends on flow rate I guess. If bottom mounted it may collect in the block which is bad, but it may also be forced downwards to the rad if flow is enough. Anyhow, it has a fillport on the rad to top off any fluid loss.

I understand the issue with having aio rad at the bottom of the case. However I have had no issues with mine. No noise and great performance. My aio has a clear face on the pump and is lit up so can see if any air is trapped, none so far.

Which AIO is that? keep an eye on it, fluid will be lost very slowly over time. Plus they usually have a little bit of air in from factory (not sure where yours is hiding!!)

 

[McPhee]

Since we're on the topic of AIOs, what about that the new Be Quiet AIOs where the pump is closer to the rad and not on the cold plate? https://www.anandtech.com/show/16043/keeping-it-pure-be-quiet-pure-loop-series-up-to-360-mm-aios

The bits from the GN video re: the pump won't apply, as the pump won't get dry and will continue to work at full effectiveness.

But if the rad is mounted at the bottom, any air in the system will still accumulate in the block. Over time, the air bubble will grow as water leaves the system. Cooling effectiveness will fall. Plastic temperature will rise. The saving grace here is that the system is user serviceable, so in theory the water level shouldn't be allowed to get low enough to be a problem. Seeing temps rise? Time to top the coolant up.

 

[Relentless81]

Interesting - and contrasting - viewpoint. What in particular was not right with the build quality? What components were you using to experience the noise? As it is OOS everywhere I'm clutching at any straw I can to find reasons NOT to want it, but it is difficult.

Things I'm not particularly happy with are the mesh ceiling has a fair amount of flex and doesnt feel solid. The mesh bottom panel is difficult to remove and clean when compared to the filters on a Meshify C for example which just slides out from the front. Yo have to lift the case up to access it to remove, clean and reinstall it.

I'm using 2 x Artic P12's at that the top, they seem to resonate at certain RPM. 2 x Noctua NF-A12x15 at the bottom, they are buzzy over 1000rpm but I think thats the fans not the case.

Its good in terms of temps for a small case though, compatibility is an issue but it wouldn't be small if it was compatible with everything. It clearly scratches really easily on the front panel as mine arrived scratched and thats really taken the edge off for me. The power button feels a bit cheap and has a bit of wobble to it too.

It is a good case dont get me wrong, it just could have done with being a little more expensive and slightly more sturdy and just a couple of MM wider. I think a lot of manufacturers will look at the success of this and the H1 and respond with their own ITX cases, hopefully Fractal Design do something interesting but for now I'm not in a hurry to move on but will do when the right case comes available.

 

[Bazzards]

Which AIO is that? keep an eye on it, fluid will be lost very slowly over time. Plus they usually have a little bit of air in from factory (not sure where yours is hiding!!)

I have the Coolermaster cm ml240p mirage. I will keep an eye on it, but working fine for the moment. And will top up with water when necessary.

 

[Bindlestiff]

Things I'm not particularly happy with are the mesh ceiling has a fair amount of flex and doesnt feel solid. The mesh bottom panel is difficult to remove and clean when compared to the filters on a Meshify C for example which just slides out from the front. Yo have to lift the case up to access it to remove, clean and reinstall it.

I'm using 2 x Artic P12's at that the top, they seem to resonate at certain RPM. 2 x Noctua NF-A12x15 at the bottom, they are buzzy over 1000rpm but I think thats the fans not the case.

Its good in terms of temps for a small case though, compatibility is an issue but it wouldn't be small if it was compatible with everything. It clearly scratches really easily on the front panel as mine arrived scratched and thats really taken the edge off for me. The power button feels a bit cheap and has a bit of wobble to it too.

It is a good case dont get me wrong, it just could have done with being a little more expensive and slightly more sturdy and just a couple of MM wider. I think a lot of manufacturers will look at the success of this and the H1 and respond with their own ITX cases, hopefully Fractal Design do something interesting but for now I'm not in a hurry to move on but will do when the right case comes available.

Thanks for that, they all seem to be reasonable gripes. I'd be coming from an S2 and Meshify C (had to go S2 as replacement GPU didn't fit in Meshify C) so I'm glad you've given me more of an idea of build quality vs the Meshify. On the one hand I'm not expecting much as it is a sub £100 case but at the same time, so is the Meshify and that (for me) is a really decent standard.

I'm almost talking myself into going back to the Meshify; with the reduction in size of GPU (3080FE at least is 285mm vs the 327mm of the Gaming X Trio) it is an option, and easier to get hold of. It just isn't the small form factor I was hoping for.

 

[Toothy1911]

@MattMeV8 thanks for letting us know. OC UK is currently the preferred reseller by CoolerMaster in the UK for this case, so it's unlikely you will be able to get it elsewhere unless they are selling them sourced from another country.
If mid-October is next batch, that gives time for the O11-"mini" to come out as last update said that should be out end of September

Mini 011 is due October now. Decided to go for that over the NR200 due to its ability to hold bigger boards, and do full on watercooling easier. But it's going to be considerably larger. Wouldn't class it as SFF.

 

[Bazzards]

Thats the thing with these cases, it is always going to be difficult to cater for all tastes/size requirements. I wanted a small form factor that could hold a three slot card and was originally looking at the ncase M1. However when this was announced I jumped on it, as it covered my bases at less than half the price of the Ncase. Sure the Ncase is made from better materials, but that price and having to order the case from the other side of the world was a massive put off.

However, saying that, if the case was just a couple mm wider, it would have catered for more air coolers and covered even more bases.

I am very happy with the way my build has turned out and do think Coolermaster have generally hit the mark with this case.

 

[Relentless81]

Thanks for that, they all seem to be reasonable gripes. I'd be coming from an S2 and Meshify C (had to go S2 as replacement GPU didn't fit in Meshify C) so I'm glad you've given me more of an idea of build quality vs the Meshify. On the one hand I'm not expecting much as it is a sub £100 case but at the same time, so is the Meshify and that (for me) is a really decent standard.

I'm almost talking myself into going back to the Meshify; with the reduction in size of GPU (3080FE at least is 285mm vs the 327mm of the Gaming X Trio) it is an option, and easier to get hold of. It just isn't the small form factor I was hoping for.

I sold my Meshify C to my brother and in all honesty I am starting to regret it, it was quieter, better built and took any air cooler out there. In terms of footprint the NR200P is smaller but really not by that much the NZXT H1 would have been an ideal down size in terms of footprint

I happy to keep and use the case but I'll be keeping a close eye on new Fractal Design cases who seem to have stagnated recently and next time I'm due a new motherboard I'll going back to compact ATX because I dont believe the footprint difference although it is there is worth it for the loss in cooler compatibility

 

[McPhee]

The mesh bottom panel is difficult to remove and clean when compared to the filters on a Meshify C for example which just slides out from the front. Yo have to lift the case up to access it to remove, clean and reinstall it.

Coming from an Ncase M1, the bottom panel is one of the things I liked on this case IIRC it's secured by just one screw(?). The M1 uses something like 9(!) screws to do the job. Took ages to do anything on the bottom panel in that case.