Got the motherboard and CPU sent off for RMA today, with any luck I'll have the replacements next week, or early the week after. I'm expecting the case back within 14 days too.
For those interested in having some artwork done themselves you can contact the guy through his website here (Give me a mention
):
http://www.kustomflow.co.uk
My build cost a grand total of £475, which equates to £125 for a car sprayer to respray the case, and £350 for the artist (Tom) to do the work. He's a very reasonable guy, he normally charges that amount for just motorbike helmets with far simpler designs so be sure to contact him if you are looking for any work like this to be done.
Next update will be either when I have some more pictures to upload, or failing that when I have the case back and can begin the build. I'm going to need quite a few small parts before I can get the rig fully running. However as soon as I have the case and main parts essential to get a working rig I'll begin building. It will likely be a mess until I purchase the smaller parts with some tub resevoirs just resting inside the case until I get some front bay ones, and maybe a rad or two sat on the bottom of the case: I need around 48 6-32 screws and the only people which sell them are Phobya, and they an't cheap. There are also some BSPP to G1/4 fittings I have to get hold of for the Thermochill radiators, all the tubing, the list goes on.
Also, I've gotten the second 950Watt PSU hooked up now and it has resolved all the instability with the current rig. I found that another major issue was the motherboard bending: I had a slimline DVD drive under it (with foam between) to raise it up below the GPU's so they would sit in properly, this caused the board to bend slightly and something didn't like it too much. All sorted now though and turns out the cards still sit in without the drive under them which is a bonus. I'm thinking to get two more 7970's next year once the price drops a little, I'm hoping 4k screens will be released by Q2 as well
Thanks for looking guys