[Build Complete] The Monarch

[LickenMicks]

FINISHED BUILD PICS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

 

Hey guys and gals! New to the forums and wanted to share my build I'm getting started on. I've been buying parts since February and finally have the main components I needed to get measurements and start designing. Both of my previous builds were loosely based on animals (colors lent themselves to resemble a panther for the first and a black widow for the second) so I decided to keep up the theme. While trying to decide, this wall mount design just came to me and I've been hell bent on making it happen. I have some lighting effects I've been experimenting with as well that I'll be implementing on the panels in the render (forgive my noobness with cad) and I'll post a video showing those off this weekend. I'm going with an x470 ryzen (waiting for ryzen 3000, maybe) build with an RTX 2080. The system will be water cooled with a monoblock for mobo/CPU and I am using the MSI seahawk ek with a pre-installed water block. Below is the list of purchased and planned parts. I haven't included some parts like fittings and hard tubing but will add them as I purchase them to try and keep the cost as accurate as possible. Wish me luck and any feedback is welcome!

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Vw4X6s

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700 3.2 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($209.99 @ Walmart) 
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX X470-F Gaming ATX AM4 Motherboard  (Purchased For $218.18) 
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($175.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($183.85 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital - BLACK SERIES 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $74.33) 
Storage: Western Digital - BLACK SERIES 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $74.33) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB SEA HAWK EK Video Card  (Purchased For $808.87) 
Power Supply: Silverstone - SFX 800 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply  (Purchased For $195.20) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($99.39 @ OutletPC) 
Other: Thermaltake Pacific DIY PR22-D5 Liquid Cooling System Adjustable D5 Pump, CL-W082-PL00BL-A  (Purchased For $159.99) 
Other: Black Ice Nemesis 420GTS Radiator  (Purchased For $87.95) 
Other: Thermaltake Riing Plus 14 RGB Tt Premium Edition 140mm Software Enabled Case/Radiator Fan -Triple Pack- CL-F056-PL14SW-A  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Other: EKWB EK-FB ASUS Strix X470 RGB Monoblock, Nickel  ($164.95 @ Amazon) 
Total: $2553.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-07 22:40 EDT-0400

[CiBi]

Looks really cool, I assume those renders aren't final yet? PSU floating down there

Will you mount it all on the wall or something?

[LickenMicks]

Lol. Yeah, I took it as far as I needed to to get a good visual and measurements for the wing sections. I'm a painter for a sign company (Yesco) so my CAD experience is purely hobby. It took me a good portion of a day to get this far.

 

And yes, it will be a wall mount with brackets/removable feet to set on a desk if I need to. 

[LickenMicks]

So I've done some uploads and little bit of work on the actual case. The first video in the playlist is my expirementing with acrylic, paint, and RGBs. The second is just some footage of me building the case. I've also come up with solutions with some things that have been turning round in my head.

 

HDD's were a hurdle for me. Wanted them on the outside of the case, not hidden. But didn't want to have to build a hard drive case/rack. Luckily I found a decent looking solution that will be easy to mount and easy make look nice. Thanks Phanteks! Lol.

 

Next, the wings. I've decided to mount them using clear acrylic rods that will be threaded on the case end and glued/bonded to the wing. That way it will look nice and not obstruct a lot of light or viewing angles like they would if I painted them.

 

Also, being a painter by proffession I have a paint effect I'm going to test and will hopefully be able to share as the finish for the "box" part of the case.

 

And that's it so far, hopefully in the next week or so I can have something more substantial to show everyone. Thanks for reading my ramblings!

 

The playlist I'll be adding to is here: 

 

[LickenMicks]

Got a few hours in on fabricating. Got the radiator, PSU, and mobo all mounted. Still a ways to go, but I'm feeling the momentum! Next on my list are fabricating the GPU bracket, some reservoir brackets, and mount the wings. I also have some different ways I could mount the HDDs (in the bottom middle of the dry fit images). The "missing" drives option is internally mounted. If anyone has a preference I'd be happy to have your input!   Got a few hours in on fabricating. Got the radiator, PSU, and mobo all mounted. Still a ways to go, but I'm feeling the momentum! Next on my list are fabricating the GPU bracket, some reservoir brackets, and mount the wings. I also have some different ways I could mount the HDDs (in the bottom middle of the dry fit images). The "missing" drives option is internally mounted. If anyone has a preference I'd be happy to have your input!   Got a few hours in on fabricating. Got the radiator, PSU, and mobo all mounted. Still a ways to go, but I'm feeling the momentum! Next on my list are fabricating the GPU bracket, some reservoir brackets, and mount the wings. I also have some different ways I could mount the HDDs (in the bottom middle of the dry fit images). The "missing" drives option is internally mounted. If anyone has a preference I'd be happy to have your input!   Got a few hours in on fabricating. Got the radiator, PSU, and mobo all mounted. Still a ways to go, but I'm feeling the momentum! Next on my list are fabricating the GPU bracket, some reservoir brackets, and mount the wings. I also have some different ways I could mount the HDDs (in the bottom middle of the dry fit images). The "missing" drives option is internally mounted. If anyone has a preference I'd be happy to have your input! 

[LickenMicks]

Just a quick update. I've cut all the holes for cable management and built brackets for the reservoir and the GPU. I'll need to revisit the GPU mounting and strengthen the current mounting or make more support as the back end likes to sag down a little, moving the card inside the PCI-E extension. I will be getting the monoblock soon to be able to start planning out the cooling loop.

 

For the case whats left is clean up of edges and mounting (rounding edges and making holes look not hack and slash. Lol.), mount the wings, paint the case, design and fab a wall mount and a desktop "foot".

 

[LickenMicks]

Another quick update. I've mounted the wings and started getting the RGB for each wing figured out and mounted. I've also rebuilt the GPU bracket to fix the sag I was having. Getting very close to the refinement stage. Some things to figure out first are: front I/O location and features, wall/desktop mounting solution, and what kind of paint effect to use on the main case. Hopefully I can get to the "downhill" portion of the build soon and things will start coming together faster. Some of the standoff heights for the wings have been changed and aren't shown in the pictures.

[LickenMicks]

This portion of the build is kind of slow going but I'm making progress. I just have a few small things to finish up on this wing such as polish the aluminum, paint some parts to help with light leakage/diffusing, polish the standoffs for the wings, and install them to the wings.

The other wing will have addressable RGB and I'm excited to get that done and show off it's effect. Sorry it isn't moving faster, I'm being just as impatient. Lol.

As far as main components, all I need are the CPU and RAM. I've purchased everything else! Besides tubing and fittings... Once the wings are 100% done I'll be back on finishing up the main case. Basically mounting solution and paint. Thanks for stopping by!

[LickenMicks]

Sorry for the delay on this update. Life and a few hurdles in the actual building (cutting the holes for the front I/O was a learning experience). But here it is! All painted and ready to go together. I also have most parts and can start assembly. Just waiting on cable sleeving supplies and a mayhem blitz kit. 

[LickenMicks]

It's so close! I'm currently doing a final leak test while I finish up the sleeved cables. It's already ran a 12 hour leak test/cleaning of the system but now has the actual coolant coursing through its veins.

There are some things I'll want to eventually change, but for the sake of completing the project (and maintenance being a better time to make certain changes) I'm gonna button it up. The first thing is, some of the tube runs. I don't like where I put the flow meter as it is right behind the Monarch logo of the wing panel. So that will be moved during loop maintenance. The GPU bracket needs a redesign/rebuild as it doesn't sit 100% how I'd like it to. Another thing is the wing panels need a redesign as I've learned a lot about what kinda works and what would work better. But those may or may not ever be remade, I'm still on the fence. Lol.

The final thing is building a case from scratch. It's been an awesome experience and I've learned a lot, but dang is it a ton of work. However I didn't learn my lesson because I'm currently getting ready to start a scratch mini-itx build.

Should be 100% functional and final in the next week or two, so expect some final pics soon!

[LickenMicks]

Well it's done. I don't have much to say cuz I've gotta get to gaming. But here are some final pics. It's been a journey that I'm finally glad to see come to a close. For a first time water cooled and scratch build I sure went big. Lol. Enjoy! 

[neSSa]

Very interesting work, i just love scratch build. Your project really remind on TT P5 case. The title of the topic attracted me because it reminded me of my old project "Monarch". 

I wish you luck in your future work!

 

BR neSSa

[LickenMicks]

7 hours ago, neSSa said:

Very interesting work, i just love scratch build. Your project really remind on TT P5 case. The title of the topic attracted me because it reminded me of my old project "Monarch". 

I wish you luck in your future work!

 

BR neSSa

Your Monarch looks awesome! I also follow you on builds.gg. Love your AXE-R build. Works of art coming from you my friend!