Well it's finally done! I encountered a defective GPU so was set back waiting for RMA. HUGE thanks to MSI for fixing it quickly! Also a note to anyone reading this, TEST EVERYTHING ON DAY OF RECIEVING!! I purchased it Amazon renewed, but because I didn't actually run it until a few months later, I was outside their return policy and was worried that MSI might not cover it either. Luckily they did. Any questions ask! I'm just excited it's finally done! Gotta download my games...

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 for the radiator. I'll update pictures as I go, but the next written update will be leak test.

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!

I have made the main box general shape and will be adding mounting brackets for PSU, HDDs, and Radiator including perforated grill behind PSU. A coworker has routed out the wings for me (I work in a sign fabrication shop) and I'll be working out the mounting for those and the GPU in the next week.

So I put a few hours into the case today. Had some head scratcher moments but got 'er going. Some things I definitely learned from this is I didn't account for the wires needing a little extra room for holes. It will still look how I want it to but a beginners lesson for sure. Lol. In the bottom middle I have three different options for hard drive mounting (the "absent" drives are internal mount option). I'm partial to the flat mounted drives but please give your input! The I/O cables from the GPU/mobo will run down the center with a cover. I was going to go for routing permanent relocation's for them but decided to keep it simple.

Here's a list of things I need (as far as I can tell. Lol.)

To Buy:
Sleeved PSU and other cables
CPU
RAM
monoblock
Water cooling parts (tubing, fittings, etc.)
Acrylic/aluminum rods for standoffs to mount the wings
Power and front I/O ports

To Do:
Cut wire management holes
Fab GPU bracket
Fab I/O wire cover (will also be location for front I/O and power button)
Mount wings
Run hard tubing
Fab feet for case (for building and desktop use)
Fab rear plate/wall mount

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 slot. I will be getting the monoblock soon to be able to start planning out the cooling loop as well.

It doesn't look like a lot, but wanted to get another update in. I've mounted the wings to the case and I'm working on getting the LEDs wired for each wing. The top (larger) wing will have a standard RGB strip while the lower wing will have an addressable strip. The lighting effect of each is going to be a surprise though and I really hope it turns out how I see it in my head. Lol. I've also fixed the GPU bracket to address the sag issue I was having before.