Fractal High Contrast Custom Build – Part 3

Over the past few weeks, I've been putting some teaser clips on our TikTok channel of the work that's been going on with the Fractal High Contrast custom build. If you are a regular KitGuru reader or viewer, you will know that this custom-built project has been a work in progress for several months. Today’s video is the grand finale in which we finally get the chance to see the completed system in the flesh, and it’s certainly been worth the wait…

Watch via our Vimeo channel (below) or over on YouTube at 2160p HERE

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
01:02 What’s James been up to?
05:27 Let’s get it built!
06:08 Build Timelapse!
13:30 Filling the loop and final b-roll
19:32 It’s finished! But how did it go?
24:28 Reminder of specs and cooling hardware
28:03 Thermals and close

It's been several months since we last updated you on the Fractal High Contrast custom build but today is the big day. I've been working on finishing the mods, painting the chassis and preparing everything for today’s video where we get to see this custom build completed. The transformation of the system since the first video is huge, it looks like a completely different system which, technically, it is as there has been so much work done to modify it.

I started out with the aim to rotate the motherboard orientation from the typical vertically mounted layout which most standard ATX cases utilise, to a horizontal style with the I/O at the bottom. Another major focus of this custom build is to convert an EKWB flat reservoir so that it could be mounted at the top of the case and used as a distro plate. Both objectives have been completed and the system looks absolutely stunning with the black and high-contrast yellow theme.

Core System Specification:

• CPU – AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
• Motherboard – Asus Strix B550-E Gaming
• Memory – 32 GB (2 x 16GB Modules) Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR4-3600
• Graphics Card – Palit RTX 3080 Gaming Pro
• Main Storage – 1TB WD_Black SN850 PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVME SSD
• Additional Storage – 2TB WD_Black SN850 PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVME SSD
• Chassis – Fractal Design Meshify 2
• CPU Cooling – EKWB Custom Loop
• Power Supply – Fractal Design Ion+ 2 Platinum 860W 80+ Platinum
• Fans – 4 x Fractal Design Aspect 14 RGB PWM

Cooling Hardware

• CPU Water Block: EK-Quantum Magnitude D-RGB – AM4 Nickel + Acetal
• GPU Water Block: EK-Quantum Vector RE RTX 3080/3090 D-RGB – Nickel + Acetal
• Pump: EK-Quantum Inertia D5 PWM D-RGB – Acetal
• Reservoir: EK-Quantum Volume FLT 240 D-RGB – Plexi
• Radiators: 2x EK-CoolStream CE 280 Dual Radiator
• Fittings: EK-Quantum Torque HDC 14 – Satin Titanium
• Tubing: Corsair Hydro X Series XT Hardline 14mm Tubing — Satin Transparent

Most of the mods needed were to the Fractal Meshify 2 chassis, which has been hacked up and reconfigured. The rear I/O panel was fitted to the top of a modified power supply shroud, the standard rear panel was chopped entirely out and replaced with a custom laser-cut rear panel for mounting a 280mm radiator in the rear of the case. The motherboard was moved to the centre of the case and a custom motherboard adaptor plate was made with the standard ATX mounting screw positions for the board orientation to be rotated.

To get the EKWB flat reservoir to work as a distro plate in the top of the case, all the hardware components were temporarily installed and coolant tubing cut to length to mark out where the new inlets/outlets would need to be in the distro plate. The ports were drilled in the plate, tapped with the correct G1/4 thread and baffles were added to assist with the coolant flow direction. An additional fill port was also cut in the top/back of the distro plate to assist in filling and bleeding the system.

Other mods include a yellow acrylic motherboard tray cover, custom satin black and yellow paint job, minor mods to the motherboard colour scheme, a full set of custom cables for the Fractal ION+2 PSU made from scratch using MDPC-X PET sleeving, decals and a full EKWB custom loop with dual 280mm radiators and Fractal Aspect 14 RGB fans.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: We think the Fractal High Contrast custom build has turned out to look absolutely amazing, one of the best custom builds that KitGuru has produced. Let us know what you guys think, is this your type of dream system?

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