Project Fortis [Parvum ATX Build!]

M1keMK · 4 Jul 2015 at 08:16

Hello everyone! Welcome to my latest project!

This will be my 3rd in a Trilogy of Parvum Builds, after Micro But Mighty and Mini But Mighty last year.

In keeping with the mighty theme from the last two builds:

Fortis = Latin for Powerful, Mighty, Strong

Big thanks is due yet again to Justin at Parvum who has let me get my hands on an early pre-release ATX Parvum case. Not only that this is going to feature a pretty unique accent colour as it will be their first yellow accented case. Parvum don't usually offer yellow, so they ordered in the acrylic just for my build - thanks guys :thumbup:

The case is due shortly, but here are the renders:

So... onto the specs for this build!

Hardware:

CPU: Intel I7 5960X
Motherboard: MSI X99S X-Power AC
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4 2666mhz
GPU's: 2x EVGA GTX 980Ti SLI (Flashed to SC)
Sound Card: Asus Essence STX
SSDs: 2x Crucial M4 256gb in RAID 0
PSU: Enermax Revolution 85+ 1200watt PSU.

Watercooling
CPU Block: EK Supreme Evo
GPU Blocks: EK Titan X Full Cover
Radiators: TBC
Tubing & Fittings: TBC
Reservoir: TBC

I have to thank MSI for the reason for all this bright yellow! This build will be based around their OC Series X99S X-Power motherboard:

Another thanks to ColdZero.EU who are supplying me with custom 980Ti back plates that will fit the X99S (mem slots are too close for standard ones) and that match the theme:

geforce_gtx_980ti_back%20plate%20design.jpg

gtx_980ti_back%20plate%20design%20Second%20Card.jpg

And of course... here are the GPU's:

and waterblocks:

One of my first jobs will be getting through this lot, and braiding my PSU! This is straight from Mainframe customs over in the US. This is the third build I've used their paracord and a few of their other bits and pieces too and I highly recommend them!

That's it for now, but keep a look out for updates!

M1keMK · 4 Jul 2015 at 12:41

Cheers guys... glad you like it. Really pleased to be doing a build that isn't blue or red! Lol!

FL630 said:
Are they renders of the final release version of the Parvum ATX? If so, I am very, very excited!

Parvum mentioned to me that they were working on at least a couple of alternatives. A compact one... Which is what this is, that continues the theme of their other cases in being very space efficient, and a larger one which I thi k has a whole extra bottom section that can hold a pair of triple rads. Not sure if they've decided what they are releasing - I guess they will decide based on feedback from projects like this one.

M1keMK · 4 Jul 2015 at 19:09

haxxbaxx said:
any ideas when they will actually release the atx version?

Afraid not... They havnt mentioned anything specific to me.

M1keMK · 5 Jul 2015 at 23:44

Thanks for the comments guys...
A quick update... started the long job of cable braiding. Sorry for the dodgy photo, but wanted to share what its going to look like! I'll take some better ones when ive done a few more cables.

M1keMK · 6 Jul 2015 at 10:54

Parvum did the render for me. Essentially they sent me an initial render of what their atx case might look like, I then edited it with a few of the touches/changes I wanted in Photoshop along with a couple of requests on email, they took that into account, rerendered it and essentially that's the version you see in the first post. The guys are really easy to work with.

M1keMK · 6 Jul 2015 at 12:05

kaku said:
You're putting MSI backplates on EVGA 980Tis?

Case is looking really good. I especially like the layering of the front panels.

Lol, I wondered when someone would pick up on the backplates. It's really cos of the yellow theme, MSIs logos all fit in quite nicely. I did a couple of designs that included evgas logo but for some reason. It just didn't seem right in yellow. They are only reference cards anyways.

On the front, yeah the triple layers look awesome and allow me to just have yellow accents. With just two panels the amount of yellow would have looked far too much! Lol.

M1keMK · 11 Jul 2015 at 21:38

Sorry the updates have been a bit few and far between. Essentially I'm still awaiting the case to arrive from manufacturing which leaves me a bit stuck in terms of what I can progress with!
The exception is getting as much of the braiding done that I can do before the case arrives, so here's a shot of the latest braided cables!

M1keMK · 12 Jul 2015 at 22:40

Thanks guys.

The braiding is paracord, I'm doing the heatshrinkless method as you can see from the photo. The paracord I got de-cored from mainframe customs. I'm sure I could have found some stuff in the UK cheaper, but with Lutr0's stuff you can at least pretty much guarantee the quality and tbh its still pretty good value.

M1keMK · 14 Jul 2015 at 22:55

The fittings arrived today

M1keMK · 15 Jul 2015 at 11:50

Thanks guys. Parvum have told me the case went to cutting yesterday so I'm really hoping I get it for the weekend!

M1keMK · 19 Jul 2015 at 23:05

Quick update... the weekends progress has involved a bit of painting!

Alec** has been parting out his old TJ in preparation for his Project XOSKEL build and donated a Thermochill PA120.3 to my cause.

It needed a little TLC (you cant see it in the bottom of a TJ, but it will be on full show in this build) so a bit of sanding and painting and it looks like new again

I just have a little detailing to add to it next!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

M1keMK · 22 Jul 2015 at 22:41

A couple more designs for ColdZero:

Soundcard Backplate:

M.2 backplate/cover:

M1keMK · 23 Jul 2015 at 22:26

Thanks mate... I'm pretty pleased with how it came out.

Had an update from parvum today. They weren't happy with some of the panels so they are recutting them. New ETA for the case is Tuesday!

M1keMK · 24 Jul 2015 at 09:29

Brian18741 said:
Frustrating having to wait but it's good to know they won't let out an inferior product!

Yes definitely. They certainly take pride in what they send out which is really good. Guess that comes from being such a small company.

zack1667 said:
That is ridiculous how good the rad looks, what did you use to make it that silky smooth!

Nothing particularly special. I sanded it down with some wet and dry, then 2 coats of primer and 4 coats of Matt black spray paints from halfords. I think the trick with the spray painting is to do lots of light coats - you get a better finish that way.

M1keMK · 30 Jul 2015 at 22:32

Latest bit of hardware for the build has arrived!

A samsung SM951 512gb M.2 PCI-E SSD. This thing should have some speed

M1keMK · 5 Aug 2015 at 21:51

The case has arrived! It looks fantastic, and I particularly love the inlays on the side panel. The triple layered acrylic on the front looks awesome too, and creates a great effect on the fan grill. Parvum are working on a couple of tweaks to one or two of the panels but overall its great!

M1keMK · 6 Aug 2015 at 18:37

Cheers guys. Been testing some hardware placement and gotta say the motherboard looks like it was made for this case... Looks awesome. Will post some pics later.. Will also give you guys a better idea of the internal space too.

M1keMK · 7 Aug 2015 at 00:07

Here you go guys - these two look like they were made for each other!

M1keMK · 7 Aug 2015 at 22:22

Cheers for the comments guys... if parvum start producing these I can see them being very popular.

Unfortunately there will be no further updates for a little while as I'm off on holiday (yay!) so no PC building (booo!).

M1keMK · 23 Aug 2015 at 23:06

Back from hols and started working on the project again. A few time consuming jobs done this weekend.

Firstly, fan rings painted on my corsair fans to match the theme:

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And then some more cable braiding! My Enermax PSU is only semi modular, so to help cable management I've reduced the ATX and 8 pin connectors down to a couple of inches and then custom made extensions for the correct length:

And test fitting some of the watercooling gear to start to get an idea of tubing. (the res isn't the res I'm using - new one on the way).