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My processor of choice for the Maximus X Apex was the Intel Core i7 8700K Coffee Lake.
This is the 5th processor I’ve delidded using this 3D Printed Delid Tool, it was a very fast and safe procedure.



After cleaning it I applied:
Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut (Liquid Metal) on the processor die.
Black Silicone (Adhesive Sealant) to relid the IHS.
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut (Thermal Grease) on the IHS. Once running I performed some Firestrike benchmarks, in which I managed to break 25k physics score.
┌ X APEX with 8700K at 5500MHz ┐
Firestrike Ultra: » 8082 «
Graphics Score: 7 983 | Physics Score: 24 938 Firestrike Extreme: » 15461 «
Graphics Score: 16 288 | Physics Score: 25 030 Firestrike: » 27933 «
Graphics Score: 33 464 | Physics Score: 24 975 ┌ IX APEX with 7700K at 5300MHz ┐
Firestrike: » 24150 «
Graphics Score: 31 756 | Physics Score: 17 244  
Below is the voltage that was required to pass 
Intel XTU and Cinebench R15 simultaneously, looped multiple times. 
Note: Gaming is possible with lower voltage. 5000MHz @ 1.280v
5100MHz @ 1.312v
5200MHz @ 1.360v
5300MHz @ 1.424v
5400MHz @ 1.488v I was intrigued to see how it would run 5GHz with the fans at a mere 850 RPM which makes the system practically inaudible (headphones on). 
The temperature peaked at 82°C whilst looping Cinebench R15 and running Unigine Valley in 4K with the 1080 Ti at 60°C 2000MHz and 1000mV. The voltage required a slight increase to 1.296v in order to remain stable during the peaks. Overall this processor has exceeded my expectations.

My processor of choice for the Maximus X Apex was the Intel Core i7 8700K Coffee Lake.
This is the 5th processor I’ve delidded using this 3D Printed Delid Tool, it was a very fast and safe procedure.



After cleaning it I applied:
Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut (Liquid Metal) on the processor die.
Black Silicone (Adhesive Sealant) to relid the IHS.
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut (Thermal Grease) on the IHS. Once running I performed some Firestrike benchmarks, in which I managed to break 25k physics score.
┌ X APEX with 8700K at 5500MHz ┐
Firestrike Ultra: » 8082 «
Graphics Score: 7 983 | Physics Score: 24 938 Firestrike Extreme: » 15461 «
Graphics Score: 16 288 | Physics Score: 25 030 Firestrike: » 27933 «
Graphics Score: 33 464 | Physics Score: 24 975 ┌ IX APEX with 7700K at 5300MHz ┐
Firestrike: » 24150 «
Graphics Score: 31 756 | Physics Score: 17 244  
Below is the voltage that was required to pass 
Intel XTU and Cinebench R15 simultaneously, looped multiple times. 
Note: Gaming is possible with lower voltage. 5000MHz @ 1.280v
5100MHz @ 1.312v
5200MHz @ 1.360v
5300MHz @ 1.424v
5400MHz @ 1.488v I was intrigued to see how it would run 5GHz with the fans at a mere 850 RPM which makes the system practically inaudible (headphones on). 
The temperature peaked at 82°C whilst looping Cinebench R15 and running Unigine Valley in 4K with the 1080 Ti at 60°C 2000MHz and 1000mV. The voltage required a slight increase to 1.296v in order to remain stable during the peaks. Overall this processor has exceeded my expectations.

"Outshine the competition"
ASUS ROG Maximus IX APEX Z270 lighting showcase
Modes
Static, Breathing, Color cycle, Rainbow, Comet, Flash and Dash, Wave, Glowing Yoyo, Starry-Night, Strobing, Smart, Music
Colors
Brightness (0-255), Hue (0-359), RGB (0-255) and Saturation.
Effect Speeds
Fast to Slow (5 Steps).
Note: AURA Lighting Control used here is v1.05.27
(Not shown: Static, Wave and Smart)

Breathing

Color Cycle

Rainbow

Comet

Flash and Dash (By Areas)

Glowing Yoyo

Starry-Night

Strobing (By Areas)
Music
Music

I began by covering the tray with masking tape, then attached the motherboard to it in order to see where the new holes would be.

After getting all the measurements I marked the cutting areas with color, then proceeded to remove them with a rotary tool.

Keeping track of everything through Google SketchUp.

The steel sheet - after being cut to 495x360mm using an angle grinder.

Here’s the resulting modified tray placed on top of the steel sheet, in order to trace the holes for the final cut.

Checking standoff alignment after drilling.

Here is the near finished steel sheet, everything fits great. Added a hole underneath the motherboard through which I can route cables such as 4-Pin, I/O, SATA and USB.
The cables are sleeved extension cables by NZXT, as custom sleeving is not done yet.

I hadn’t made my final decision regarding color. I began by applying a few base layers of matte black spray paint, the only issue was excessive gloss.
The standoffs were also sprayed black.

I decided to attempt using a carbon fiber wrap, which turned out substantially better than expected.
Carbon fiber wrap wouldn’t be my first choice, and I suspect some of you can relate, that being said, in my opinion what made this really work is the large amount of LEDs underneath the motherboard.
I look forward to show it off in the next update!

Note: The Corsair AX1200 power supply was replaced by a Corsair RM1000x after these pictures were taken.
The sleeved cables are Corsair’s “Individually Sleeved Modular Cables upgrade kit” for the Professional Series Gold AX1200.






This is leftover tubing, on the right it’s visible that one of the ends was bent out of the box, but due to the excess there were no issues.
The cutting tool is a Hose Cutter from HighFlow.
 

Filling the reservoir with the help of a Fill Syringe from HighFlow.
 
 

Mismatched cable combs because power supply was being replaced, full custom sleeving is coming.
 

The Vector BenchCase shipped in a rather small but heavy package devoid of any markings. After opening this mysterious package, it was time to carefully remove the plastic film without leaving any scratching.







Everything was neatly arranged inside with no room to spare, the edges of both side panels suffered from some minor bending and one LED strip was visibly damaged, likely due to the transportation and tight packaging; the former was easily rectified with a pair of pliers.

A few months ago I set out to upgrade my system, and a friend decided to join in, but after some discussion we ended up with entirely new builds instead.
Vector. For the past two decades I’ve been heavily invested in PC gaming, with it I found my passion for computers, and overclocking, to gain that extra performance no amount of money could give you, having built systems dedicated to close ones for over a decade I’ve learned a great deal and enjoy sharing my knowledge with others to get the most out of their systems. I started to take it more seriously a few years back and began testing games with various hardware, and I realized I could really use an open case, so when I discovered the BenchCase by Vector Custom Design I was ecstatic, it remains unique by the fact that it also serves as a proper gaming case.
Qlimax. Seeing firsthand the evolution of gamer products, it’s never been easier to make your system look good, in recent years RGB has taken us by storm, no longer do you have to decide on a single color, it’s truly an intense and exciting time to build a computer. Being fans of the annual Q-dance festival Qlimax, with it’s sophisticated lighting and laser production, we thought the name seemed fitting with all of the RGB LED’s and the pinnacle of today’s computer hardware.
As for the parts I have chosen, it’s one of the most powerful systems you can build today, but the only way to truly get all the way is by overclocking, the i7-7700K is pre-binned 5.2GHz capable, ROG Maximus IX APEX motherboard to get the Trident Z memory well over 4GHz, two GTX 1080 Ti’s in SLI, and water cooling.
Sharing these unique builds with you means a lot and we hope to inspire! Though a couple of months are expected for it’s completion, right now most of it is up and running but there is still much to do and even more to show.
Thank you and feel free to leave a comment if you have a question or suggestion, we take your feedback to heart.



QTY (Quantity) MPN (Manufacturer Part Number) EAN (European Article Number)
Check Mark ☑ (Have It) Empty ◻ (Do Not Have It)
Star ★ (Sponsored)
Case » Vector Custom Design BenchCase « ☑
QTY  1 • MPN VBCRMVP02 • LINK Geizhals.eu
Motherboard » ASUS ROG Maximus IX Apex Z270
QTY  1 • MPN 90MB0T90-M0EAY0 • EAN 4712900650686 • LINK Geizhals.eu
★ Motherboard » ASUS ROG Maximus X Apex Z370 « ☑
QTY  1 • MPN 90MB0V90-M0EAY0 • EAN 4712900850680 • LINK Geizhals.eu
Processor » Intel Core i7 7700K Kaby Lake
QTY  1 • MPN BX80677I77700K • EAN 5032037092562 • LINK Geizhals.eu
Processor » Intel Core i7 8700K Coffee Lake « ☑
QTY  1 • MPN BX80684I78700K • EAN 5032037108652 • LINK Geizhals.eu
Memory » G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16GB DDR4-3600 16-16-16-36 Dual Kit « ☑
QTY  1 • MPN F4-3600C16D-16GTZR • EAN 4250812419620 • LINK Geizhals.eu
Graphics Card » EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition 11GB « ☑◻
QTY  2 • MPN 11G-P5-6390-KR • EAN 5032037092562 • LINK Geizhals.eu
Solid State Drive » Samsung 960 EVO 500GB M.2 SSD « ☑
QTY  1 • MPN MZ-V6E500BW • EAN 8806088540122 • LINK Geizhals.eu
Power Supply » Corsair RM1000x 1000W 80 Plus Gold « ☑
QTY  1 • MPN CP-9020094-EU • EAN 0843591050876 • LINK Geizhals.eu
Fan » Corsair HD120 RGB LED PWM 3-Pack with Controller « ☑☑☑◻
QTY  4 • MPN CO-9050067-WW • EAN 0843591090896 • LINK Geizhals.eu
Fan » Corsair LL120 RGB LED PWM 3-Pack with Lighting Node PRO « ◻◻◻◻
QTY  4 • MPN CO-9050072-WW • EAN 0843591032438 • LINK Geizhals.eu

Kit » EK Fluid Gaming Liquid Cooling Kit A240G « ☑◻
QTY  2 • MPN 3831109890721 • EAN 3831109890721 • LINK EKFluidGaming
Processor » EK-Supremacy AX CPU Block « ☑
QTY  1 • MPN 3831109890653 • EAN 3831109890653 • LINK EKFluidGaming
Graphics Card » EK-AC GEFORCE GTX (INCL. BACKPLATE) « ☑◻
QTY  2 • MPN 3831109890806 • EAN 3831109890806 • LINK EKFluidGaming
Radiator » EK-ALUSTREAM SE 240 / EK-FG 240 « ☑◻
QTY  2 • MPN 3830046992468 • EAN 3830046992468 • LINK EKFluidGaming
Radiator » EK-ALUSTREAM SE 360 / EK-FG 360 « ◻
QTY  1 • MPN 3830046992475 • EAN 3830046992475 • LINK EKFluidGaming
Pump/Res » EK-XRES 100 SPC-60 MX PWM (INCL. PUMP « ☑◻
QTY  2 • MPN 3831109843246 • EAN 3831109843246 • LINK EKFluidGaming
Tubing » EK-DURACLEAR 9,5/12,7MM 3M « ☑◻
QTY  2 • MPN 3831109850961 • EAN 3831109850961 • LINK EKFluidGaming
Coolant » EK-CRYOFUEL CONCENTRATE 100 ML « ☑◻
QTY  2 • MPN 3831109880135 • EAN 3831109880135 • LINK EKFluidGaming
Fitting » EK-ACF ALU FITTING 10/13MM « 8 ☑◻ 4
QTY  12 • MPN 3831109890158 • EAN 3831109890158 • LINK EKFluidGaming
Fitting » EK-AF ALU ANGLED 90° G1/4 « ◻ 6
QTY  6 • MPN 3831109890127 • EAN 3831109890127 • LINK EKFluidGaming
Fitting » EK-AC MULTI-GPU CONNECTOR KIT « ◻ 2
QTY  2 • MPN 3830046994141 • EAN 3830046994141 • LINK EKFluidGaming

Power Splitter » Phobya 4Pin PWM to 8x 4Pin Fan Splitter PCB « ☑☑☑
QTY  3 • MPN 81136 • EAN 4049469174064 • LINK Geizhals.eu
SLI Bridge » ASUS ROG SLI HB Bridge RGB « ◻
QTY  1 • MPN 90YV0AB0-M0NA00 • EAN 4712900650655 • LINK Geizhals.eu
LED » Corsair Lighting Node PRO « ◻
QTY  1 • MPN CL-9011109-WW • EAN 0843591094337 • LINK Geizhals.eu

» Update 1 «
Case
 
» Update 2 «
Motherboard
 
» Update 3 «
Memory
 
» Update 4 «
Solid State Drive
 
» Update 5 «
Graphics Card
 
» Update 6 «
Graphics Card Continued
 
» Update 7 «
EK Fluid Gaming Kit
 
» Update 8 «
EK Fluid Gaming Kit Continued
 
» Update 9 «
EK Fluid Gaming Kit Continued
 
» Update 10 «
EK Fluid Gaming Kit Continued
 
» Update 11 «
Fans
 
» Update 12 «
Change of Plans
 
» Update 13 «
Steel Sheet
 
» Update 14 «
Motherboard Lighting
 
» Update 15 «
ASUS ROG Maximus X Apex Z370
 
» Update 16 «
Processor