Project: THE CURSED BUILD

[Vidar]

The EK P360 will fit in with the push fittings, but you’ll need to put the fans on after. You will need to push the fans against the 8pin connects to get it screwed in and won’t be able to put a screw in the left corner one.
It is possible, not easy, but doable. Check my build last pic out.

That Matrix 7 has indeed caused nothing but challenges and a significant extra cost buying compatible parts!

Thank you for the response and advice, I was borderline pulling my hair out last night. Especially when I could see pictures of the rad up there online.

I'm absolutely furious with myself over this build! I had the exact same case in white but wanted the black. I had the gen 1 distro but wanted the new one, and hadn't given any thought as to what Matrix 7 could mean. As mentioned above I'd already sold them so felt I had no choice but to continue and probably spent over a grand as a result. Money I could have put to better use! Like going towards a 4090 perhaps. In Hindsight I could have returned the case and distro and gone in a different direction.Hindsight is always 20/20 though.

Ah well, as my dad would say there's no point crying over spilt milk. I've learned my lesson and won't be making that mistake ever again. I do think EK have been very naughty with this though, locking you into their ecosystem without fair warning.

That said I'm very impressed by the quality of their fittings etc. I particularly like the hex key being able to slot into the fittings to loosen or tighten them. Having delt with stuck fittings in the past this is a god send I'm sure. I also really like how what I've got done looks.

 

[ALXAndy]

AHH welcome to custom pc building. Where hardly anything ever works first time !

It is looking superb though dude. Press on.

 

[OC2000]

I'm going to rename this project to "The Cursed Build" as everything that can go wrong with it, has gone wrong with it and it's not over yet!

First off, I discovered the pain that is EKWB Matrix 7 compatibility. None of my old radiators or fittings lined up with the 2nd gen front distro plate. Having already sold my first gen distro and shipped it off I was feeling mighty stupid, I'd never heard of Matrix 7 so that's on me for not doing my due diligence.

Then came an eternity of waiting for out of stock items, I mean over 4 months, namely the Quantum Surface S360 but several fittings also.

Finally, within the past few days everything arrived, and I got to work! I'd spoken with EKWB Customer services to get a list of compatible fittings and rads that I'd need for my build. They where very helpful, noting the case, distro, motherboard, block etc and gave me a very specific list.

THE LIST WAS ******* WRONG!!!

They had me order fittings I don't need, not order enough of fittings I did need but chief issue being that the Quantum Surface P360 for the top they specifically recommended for my case and motherboard doesn't bloody fit! So now I need to go back and order another Quantum Surface S360, if I can find one in stock anywhere and also work out exactly what fittings I'll need for it. Also got a ton of stuff to return!

Oh and I also managed to yank a cable and bend some rgb header pins, that took a lot of finagling to get right.

I swear to god, if I get this blasted thing fully built and there's any more issues I'm going to set fire to it!

Well here's some pictures, forgive the mess I don't have a lot of space to work

Have you reversed the flow spinner on that flow meter?

 

[Vidar]

AHH welcome to custom pc building. Where hardly anything ever works first time !

It is looking superb though dude. Press on.

Thanks man, how are you anyway? It's been a while.

I'm sure the pain from this build will be worth it once it turns on and moves to my desk. Have to say though, having built my daughters PC with an AIO that functions well, I must say I do prefer the look of a custom system.

Have you reversed the flow spinner on that flow meter?

Yes mate, but only knew to do it after watching a recent Jayztwocents video where he needed to go back and do it.

I love the Primochil RFB he recommends aswell makes doing your tubes a piece of **** for fine adjustments and getting them smooth etc. Takes a little practice but yeah, excellent investment.

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

@OC2000 that sounds about right
i got the p360 at the top in mine
though had to ditch the push fittings idea
And went with soft tube instead
As it turned out my v1 distro wasn't matrix 7
But my rads were
But I found that out the hard way
When 1 push fitting lined up but of course the other
Was 7mm out
And yeah I mounted the rad first
Then fans after
And it was literally mm tight
The lian li fans have a very square frame which doesn't help
And I also now hate matrix 7 with a passion
But as it was Xmas I just bodged it all in there and made it work
@Vidar Has a lot more patience than I do

 

[Vidar]

@OC2000 that sounds about right
i got the p360 at the top in mine
though had to ditch the push fittings idea
And went with soft tube instead
As it turned out my v1 distro wasn't matrix 7
But my rads were
But I found that out the hard way
When 1 push fitting lined up but of course the other
Was 7mm out
And yeah I mounted the rad first
Then fans after
And it was literally mm tight
The lian li fans have a very square frame which doesn't help
And I also now hate matrix 7 with a passion
But as it was Xmas I just bodged it all in there and made it work
@Vidar Has a lot more patience than I do

I'm a lot more medicated than you, pal lol

 

[ALXAndy]

I'm good mate. I hope you are on the mend. Look forward to seeing this one finished

 

[Jay85]

I feel your pain on this, it's been nothing but trouble lol.

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

I'm a lot more medicated than you, pal lol

You will be by the end of your build

 

[Vidar]

I'm good mate. I hope you are on the mend. Look forward to seeing this one finished

Reach out on Discord pal, I don't seem to have you on there anymore and it would be good to catch up. Recently told my disability is permanent but I'm getting by! And yep, can't wait for it to be finished so I can carry on playing 10 to 20 year old games

I feel your pain on this, it's been nothing but trouble lol.

Any time you fancy a trip to Liverpool mate to step in with your water cooling sorcerers ways, be my guest!

You will be by the end of your build

Seriously, thinking about asking the doc to up my doses lol

As some of you may already be aware I'm also now dealing with the death of my Beyers

It's a common fault with the Gen1's I have, requires a new cable which is extremely difficult to get and expensive, and needs to be soldered etc. I've had them a good few years and it's funny how you don't appreciate good audio until you don't have it anymore.

@ALXAndy You know a bit about audio equipment mate, don't you? Any recommendations for a new set of headphones, to pair with my GSX Pro Dac? Though I'm tempted to aim for a much higher level of audio for the future

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

bound to be someone on here
who could just cut a bit off the cable
then solder it
and put a strain relief grommet on there at same time
you just want a new toy lol
not me though soldering irons are a no go area
from very painful experience
i highly recommend never ever catch a soldering iron if you drop it

 

[ALXAndy]

Yeah I learned that lesson about a year ago too

I had a set of beyer T5P. I got them for something stupid like £300 brand new. The head band wore out, the ear cups wore out. Like literally fell apart. I was just about to try and restore them when I made a mistake and blew up both of the Tesla drivers

That was a bitter pill to swallow I can tell you.

Thankfully I found a set of ex demo Audioquest Nightowl carbon for about £220. Right at that point my Grado RS2E also died and needed two new drivers

Nothing is built to last any more. Which sucks when you spend so much trying to get a high quality item. Those T5P RRP for a grand ffs.

I still see you on discord. Ive just not been on it much at all due to family issues. Well, not issues, my uncle had terminal cancer and passed away recently so I was occupied with family obs.

 

[Vidar]

Yeah I learned that lesson about a year ago too

I had a set of beyer T5P. I got them for something stupid like £300 brand new. The head band wore out, the ear cups wore out. Like literally fell apart. I was just about to try and restore them when I made a mistake and blew up both of the Tesla drivers

That was a bitter pill to swallow I can tell you.

Thankfully I found a set of ex demo Audioquest Nightowl carbon for about £220. Right at that point my Grado RS2E also died and needed two new drivers

Nothing is built to last any more. Which sucks when you spend so much trying to get a high quality item. Those T5P RRP for a grand ffs.

I still see you on discord. Ive just not been on it much at all due to family issues. Well, not issues, my uncle had terminal cancer and passed away recently so I was occupied with family obs.

Oh mate, I'm truly sorry to hear about your uncle. That must have been an incredibly rough time fir you and your family. I'm always about mate if you want to chat. I haven't got you on my contacts anymore, to be honest I thought you'd blocked me or something lol.

Like I say I had about 5 years out if those MMX300's and loved them. They've been absolutely perfect for me. And if I could get the cable for less than £90 (**** you brexit, £60 postage my ass) find someone to do the soldering,get replacement cushions, and clips for the headband as one side keeps popping, I'd fix them but at that cost I'm at a half decent new headset anyway.

 

[ALXAndy]

You can get a cable easily. It won't be a BD cable, but that won't be a bad thing. Their cables are pretty junk. Especially the braided ones I had on my T5P. You can get decent cables on the bay of fleas. Soldering them can be tricky as they are coated cables. So need a bit more heat. I managed to completely rebuild my Grados using a cheap pair of Grados. The drivers are the same, cable was thinner (which suited me as the one on the originals was HEFF) and I put the plastic headband on over the original brown leather one as it had soaked up all my bald head sweat and gone all yucky

That said though being fair I am particularly hard on headphones. Like 8-10 hours a day, every day, at high volumes.

Yeah not sure what has happened there with Discord. Weird.

 

[Capitano]

liking the look of this, looks very nice!

 

[Vidar]

A small bit of progress made with the build, as I desperately needed something to take my mind off of things. I had to wait for an additional push in adapter, and the advice regarding removing the fans solved the issue. The fan to the rear is ever so slightly misaligned though as the heatsink on this board must be larger by a mm or two than others

I won't go in to too much detail, however on Tuesday afternoon my 12 year old daughter disclosed that she had plans to take her own life and with that disclosure we found evidence that meant this was no idle threat. My daughter was taken too and admitted to hospital. This comes as a direct result of the relationship she has had with her mother. My daughter is home now, being given extensive support by CAMHS but there is a very long and difficult road ahead.

To say I'm absolutely devastated is an understatement, I knew my daughter was really struggling with things but I didn't understand to what extent. To know that you probably won't be able to keep your daughter safe is the worst thing I've ever felt!

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

rear fans not really noticeably out of line
in the photo
shame the 90 degree torque and push fittings dont
also allow the accent rings
looking at the accent rings thinking i should have
gotten those now
the red would have gone nicely with my red cpu block
i wonder if theres any way you could put a red dot or circle
on those black g1/4 plastic blanking caps?
its starting to look great mate
and really glad to hear shes getting immediate extensive support
i feel for you mate

 

[Cenedd]

I wish you good luck with all your 'projects'. I have but the faintest inkling of the problem...but it's enough that I don't envy how much further down that road you are than I. Very much doubt there's much I can do/say to help but if you need someone to vent at even, feel free to PM/Trust/message me...or if that doesn't play, just gmail me.

 

[f666]

Reach out on Discord pal, I don't seem to have you on there anymore and it would be good to catch up. Recently told my disability is permanent but I'm getting by! And yep, can't wait for it to be finished so I can carry on playing 10 to 20 year old games



Any time you fancy a trip to Liverpool mate to step in with your water cooling sorcerers ways, be my guest!



Seriously, thinking about asking the doc to up my doses lol

As some of you may already be aware I'm also now dealing with the death of my Beyers

It's a common fault with the Gen1's I have, requires a new cable which is extremely difficult to get and expensive, and needs to be soldered etc. I've had them a good few years and it's funny how you don't appreciate good audio until you don't have it anymore.

@ALXAndy You know a bit about audio equipment mate, don't you? Any recommendations for a new set of headphones, to pair with my GSX Pro Dac? Though I'm tempted to aim for a much higher level of audio for the future

custom cans in cheltenham will likely sort this, might be able to convert to removeable cabling also. they have repaired and upgraded my dt770s. huge bass monsters and customised cabling

 

[Vidar]

And the horse **** continues with this bloody build! 9 totally dead uni inf fans!!! I just don't understand it at all.

I completed the loop today, I was pleased. Got it filled and powered on. Only the EK distro wasn't lit up and 9 out of 10 of Unifan sl-inf120 fans are dead. Only the rear exhaust spins or lights up! The other 9 are zero signs of life.

I've tried everything, including the heart breaking decision to pull the loop apart again.

So I've tried swapping the fan wires round on the hub.

I've tried swapping the hub twice.

I've tried swapping the cables.

I've tried swapping the fan and rgb headers on the main board.

I've tried other fans on the motherboard headers and they work!

So, I've either got 8 dead ******* fans or I'm missing something? Can anyone help? Please?