Finally, we can move on with this one! I have been planning parts of this build for months now and I have just been so busy with work that I have not made any headway on it, that all changes today though!. I’ve still not got the studio fully set for photos and with Christmas, it’s just had to take a back seat for now.
For this project then, in terms of hardware, once again I am delighted to be working with ASUS, AMD, be quiet! and Alphacool. This will be based around the ASUS Strix X570-E Gaming and a 3700X from AMD. This board is packed full of features and includes PCI-E Gen 4 storage so I am hoping to make the most of that, possibly with all new Seagate Firecuda 520 drives.
Pure Pastel will also be my first pop at hardline tubing and will hopefully be a gracious masterpiece when its finished with a crisp, sleek white and pastel blue theme. This won’t be rammed with RGB and fancy extras, its a more mature build and given my recent projects, a step away from the norm for something more grown-up.
While time has flown past I have also hit other delays with parts from Alphacool on backorder setting it back further. Luckily Dave Alcock has once again been my savior and now I am hoping to be done by the end of January. for a project that should have completed way before now.
Whilst moving systems to get Pure Patel going I forgot I had saved a whole days worth of unboxing shooting to a drive, then deleted the lot when reinstalling Windows. From what I can salvage from Facebook and Instagram here's what we have so far.
I've had most of the system put together for test fitting and to ensure my plan is achievable with the custom loop. The Pure Base has space for 2 SSDs next to the motherboard, well that’s going and instead opting for a wall with bulkhead fittings to keep each tubing run clean. Il be using an Alphacool 240mm rad for both the CPU and GPU, not ideal but given the compact nature of this case its what I have to play with.
Today then, we will be making a start on transforming the gorgeous ASUS Strix X570-E Gaming motherboard. I rolled out my trusty Eisplateau mat and started stripping the cover plates from the board. Peeling the branding from the covers went fairly well, I am not sure if I will reuse them or go with something custom.
You can see we have gone with the Eisblock XPX Aurora from Alphacool. Chrome fittings paired with the white and the accents should work really well, a hint of color to draw in the eyes and we are all set on this one. The XPX will also get some love, the black trim being replaced with white in a future update. For RAM, that's still up in the air and using the Team sticks to gauge clearance for now.
I still need to get another couple of coats on, so far so good and with a little more work these should look fantastic and really fit in with the theme.
For my next update we will have the board back together and be moving on to what Alphacool have sent over, here's a couple more looks at that CPU block until then.