HeretEK-An EK Vulture build

[B N3GATIVE]

Welcome one and all to a project I have running concurrently with IDORU,a build for the EK mod off event using their not to be released EK Vulture enclosure!

The event!

** Image removed. It was over 1,280 pixels wide and spoiler tags aren't allowed **

The case in all its glory!



Word dont do justice,its 3mm construction is overkill but damn its lovely!









Lots of room internally for ITX.



360 mount and the slim slotloader optical bay.



Behind the tray lies the SSD/HDD area and cable management,plenty of room to hide the 'uglies' if extensions are your thing.



The EK PE 360 rad that i will be using...



...and the 1850 Vardars that will be mounted on them







Since this is a mod-off....maybe this will indicate what kind of mod im doing.....



I hope the 360 is enough........​

 

[B N3GATIVE]

What happened to that case? Was the MB Tray used a dinner table or what? Scracthes all over it

These are just Prototype cases,these were never intended for retail sale.

 

[B N3GATIVE]

Really interesting case... love the curved side window. I'll be keeping a close watch on this build!

How big is the case btw... hard to judge from the pics. Is it mATX?

Its ITX by default...this one wont be however..x99 mATX for this puppy.

I'm more interested in your theme than the case itself tbh. Looking forward to seeing how you integrate it.

Nice case design, although it looks like it could be on its side just as much as upright.

Subbed !

Dont expect dripping maws of daemons or the like...

I take inspiration rather than slavish focus on a theme.

If they were for sale, I'd have bought one already!

They look sooooo good.

EK do look at this log,if its said often enough then who knows.....

Agreed, unique looking case and cant wait to see what you build within it!

The fret saw is ready.....

 

[B N3GATIVE]

BLOCKS FOR THE BLOCK GOD!

The GPU blocks that will be used,a pair of 290's will be going into this one....













I bet you are looking at this now thinking...."Not a lot of rad for those...." Well,this is also an experiment after seeing a few Sli rigs with OC'ed CPU's with minimal rad face.
The cards wont be OC'd but the CPU most definitely will be!

Dont worry,modding and paint start very soon for those with the itch.

 

[B N3GATIVE]

The main hardware is all sorted which left me wondering what PSU to use,I asked Be Quiet again as their PSU's have always been solid performers for me,I like them so much that im on my 6th one.
To my joy they said yes!
So its my pleasure to say the BeQuiet will be sponsoring the PSU for this build and the PSU and fans for IDORU!

I went with PowerZone 1000w,that will be plenty for a x99 sli rig and watercooling.

http://www.bequiet.com/en/powersupply/384

Thanks Be Quiet UK!

The all important spec sticker.



After the happiness of that,some modding broke out.

I have chopped the side panel with an EK logo,this will be meshed over and lit from behind.



And I started on the back panel..









still needs the screw holes drilled and the cutout for the removable tray done but....



The removable tray,a spare part from Lian Li.

Next up is mount the tray and clear out all the unused parts in the case.

3mm Alu......the jigsaw loves it!​

 

[B N3GATIVE]

I gots me some new hardware!



Wait a minute.....this is not a 2011.....



Ah...wait....there it is....



Its not about the size they say.....how can this be? I haz proof this is not so....



And the board in all it glory!





The DDR4 kindly provided by Crucial!



Suited and booted and ready to paaaaaartaaaaayyyyyyyyy!!

Those DIMMs and this board=WIN.



In other news,the case structure is painted and just needs a clear,the sides and front need other stuff doing. Its coming together well but painting takes time that has been swallowed up on other projects. Still,the deadline is a way off yet!

 

[B N3GATIVE]

Good news!
Noob? @ Bittech had a pair of 290's for sale and I try not to turn a good deal down,especially GPU's..

The hardware needs to be blacked out before getting that all buttoned up but the block suits in shape,although i may swap the top out for an acetal one.





As for the kit....



See? Nothing special......

 

[B N3GATIVE]

What is the light? Or am I seriously seeing it as a monitor with a white screen?!

Thats exactly what you are seeing

 

[B N3GATIVE]

I like your style! I'll have to try that one, thanks for the tip!

The simplest things are normally best.

dis is guna be gooood

Love that case... and that board WOW

Lovely arent they....

Paint is nearly done so not long now.

 

[B N3GATIVE]

The slim EK 290 blocks,very nice indeed, I will have to use them more often I think.







A fully parallel loop this time...because,you know....I can....

I will mention those EK AF fittings,If you are in the market for a matt finished,simple and clean looking fitting then these are for you.

The tray is finished in a dark gunmetal,a nice counterpoint to the frame panel inside which is a red marble effect (pics up later)......


​

 

[B N3GATIVE]

Gunmetal and roiling blood,what a combo!

















Its tight in there,very tight.
Challenge accepted!


Chaos in Ceramite.....

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!!

 

[B N3GATIVE]

The fans have been finished,brass inside with blades the colour of clotted blood, a red/black mix.......







The EK Vardars come apart so easily,so very,very handy!!!
If EK ever sell the bearing sets then these fans will live as long as the electronics allow,easily swappable sealed bearings inside.

Hopefully I have not unbalanced them.....

 

[B N3GATIVE]

So,the loop layout is done,just need to bolt everything in place.

A fully parallel loop,nice clean and efficient runs should keep this tidy inside. The tubing and res need to be airbrushed in a candy brass/gold colour along with the pump cover which will be a deep red like the tray.
I need to get a handful of E22 Ultraclear in the post Monday.......:wheee:
Then its sleeve time.......




I hate sleeving but it needs to be done!







Still need to do the back panel paint work but I really need to give them another few coats of base first.....which I ran out of......:doh:

 

[B N3GATIVE]

A little update to keep things ticking over...

How about a shot of the finished front panel paintwork?



I carried the tray theme over to the front and back panels to give more detail to the otherwise featureless externals.

Paint is black metallic with a marble effect,finished with a deep red candy and clear coat.

 

[B N3GATIVE]

This is looking great! Not sure that rad will be big enough though?

It will,its not going to be HWBot cooling tho.

You can run 2 780ti's and a 2011 chip with reasonable OC's on a 280......
Rad requirements are massively over blown,if you can accept a higher delta.

The usual recommendation of 120+120 for every block in the loop is still sound advice however.

 

[B N3GATIVE]

A quick preview of more paint?

Red candy over orange candy over bare metal.....





You can blame Cheapskate for this....

Looks mental tho,really pops in sunlight!

 

[B N3GATIVE]

Wow love that, so simple yet a great looking mod.

Thanks! Im glad you like it,means im doing something right!

The brass looks brilliant mate, what paint did you use?


Also fantastic photos, which camera do you use? Need to get myself one of those DSLRs

For the fans? Its brass effect vinyl, not paint.

My camera is a trusty (old) 350d but the recent pics in this log were taken with a Canon EOS M system camera....

I love the red on them water blocks! Build is looking awesome so far!

I need to learn how to use my DSLR

Tripod,ISO100,good lights and adjust f stop to extend/reduce DOF

Excellent work as always, cant wait to see finished build.

End of the month is coming and it needs to be finished for then!

That's a lovely looking case to start with, and you've made it look at least twice as good.

Are those GPU blocks connected together yet, or is that coming later?

Polishing the copper tube as we speak.....

 

[B N3GATIVE]

Loop cut and in,need to pull them all and bench polish the tubing,airbrush with a red candy finish and tweak a couple of the lines for perfect alignment before final fitting.
Nice and clean,simple and gives a perfect view of the hardware inside.Very happy with the layout!

And yes,I lost one of the o-rings for the 290x block,this is why the cover for the VRM bridge is off....

Now the perfectionist comes out in me,I cant stand hardlines that are not in line with points of reference,they have to be bang on! The rear tube from the GPU needs about 3mm lopped off the end where it meets the reservoir to bring it in line.

Sleeve is on its way too!








All in all a very clean loop indeed!

 

[B N3GATIVE]

This is stunning!

The pipework looks stunning mate. Looking forward to this being finished

Beautiful design. How do you fill and drain the hard line? I love the idea of hard line tubing but worry about what to do if/when you have to disassemble it.

I love the tubing. It's not taking over the other bits but it still shows. I wish I could do that

Thanks guys,im glad you like it.
The loop is a stone cold bitch to drain and fill but it will be done so rarely that its not a concern for me.

And an hour on the bench polisher later.....



CPU block has been rotated for the correct flow path and the tube has had all the cutting back and tweaking done. I wont need to do any more polishing because of the candy coat,if this was a full bore polish job then I would still be at it till the small hours.....

 

[B N3GATIVE]

omg, that is stunning...

beautiful build!

This looks stunning, one of the best builds I've seen.

This is incredible. Really gorgeous.

Thanks for the kind comments,feel free to vote when the EK contest starts that phase of the competition