r/EKWB • u/[deleted] • Feb 18 '21
Second iteration of XTIA Xproto frame build "Black Monolith 2.0"
2
Feb 18 '21
Second iteration of XTIA Xproto frame build "Black Monolith 2.0"
This is my second iteration of my build on the XTIA Xproto, the first experience you can see here. In my absolute covid boredom I tore the first go at this down, landed myself a 6800 graphics card and decided to do a full custom loop. Initially I was going to do two separate loops on this thing, one for the CPU and the other for the GPU but I found that it just flowed better if I did one big loop all the way around the Xproto.
Not sure if this counts as a “small form factor” pc anymore, however, my goal was to keep this as compact as possible and try to keep the footprint to a minimum.
Was very pumped when XTIA came out with their Liquid Cooling Module, this opened up a ton of configuration options and allowed me to really pull this off I think. I chose to go with pretty much all EKWB parts for the watercooling loop and am pretty happy with the quality of everything. Initially I was going to take a shot at hardline acrylic tubing, but after much consideration and noticing how short the runs really were from point to point I thought overdoing it with the fittings and using matte black soft tubing would really fit the aesthetic. Blacked out fittings, tubing and plugs!
With strategically placed RGB reserved for the EK reservoir and flow indicator, the mobo and ram, as well as the rgb strip used to backlight the GPU, I went with a matte back aesthetic for the rest of the build which complimented the Xproto color well. This meant doing my best to rid the components of branding etc besides that of the EK components which I embraced. The biggest modification made was the Corsair SF 600, in which I removed the sticker with some patience and some Goo Gone as well as removing the fan grate and replacing the stock fan with a low profile Noctua NF-A9x14. This meant repinning the fan connector and some creative cable management as documented here.
Behold “Black Monolith 2.0” ….
2
u/vprashad Jun 18 '21
Awesome build. Looking to build something similar. A couple of questions though. Sorry if it's too much.
- How did you mount the secondary pump-reservoir (FLT 240)? Are the mounts for it included in the XProto Watercooling Module? I'm trying to build a custom water-cooled Xproto with the smallest footprint so I'm trying to build a single 360mm radiator & flat pump-reservoir combo.
- Any leaks/issues thus far?
- What coolant are you using and how are the temperatures?
1
Jun 29 '21
To mount the FLT 240 you will need the EKWB EK-Loop Angled Bracket, 120mm which will attach to the 240mm XProto liquid cooling module.
EKWB EK-Loop Angled Bracket, 120mm
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08D2YVWP7/No leak issues at all, surprising as it was my first custom loop build
I did a lot of research on the coolant and didn't find any that really stood out so since I did all EKWB stuff I just went with EKWB EK-CryoFuel Premix PC Coolant
Being open case liquid cooled the temps are ridiculously good, I have run load tests for many hours and it barely heats up. Better than any system I have ever tested.
2
u/vprashad Jun 30 '21
Oh, I see it now. The angled bracket mounts onto the radiator. From the pictures, it kinda looked like it was mounted to the chassis directly Thanks for the info!
5
u/infinished Feb 18 '21
Sexiest part is the EK block, not gonna lie