EK has just released the rather inelegantly-dubbed, but ingeniously-derived, EK Nucleus AIO Replacement Cover – Creator Kit. This simple little sub-$10 doohickey is a way for users to easily add a truly custom design to their gaming PC by way of an illuminated top plate on their EK Nucleus AIO cooler.
The idea behind the… let’s just call it the Creator Kit, is that owners of RGB-lit EK Nucleus AIO coolers can create their own custom 3D-printed designs to place on top of their AIO cooler’s pump housing. With such customization options, we might have to consider adding a few EK models to our best AIO cooler guide.
The plate acts as a light diffuser and 3D printing base plate, so you literally build your design right on top of the plate. It then mounts via magnets to the top of the cooler’s pump. If you have a multi-color 3D printer, you can create designs such as the Tetris brick one at the top of this story, or you can use a single color and play around with the thickness of your print to create shading effects using the RGB backlighting.
EK also suggests ideas such as making a plinth for a favored miniature, adding mounting points so you can add your “favorite toy bricks,” or you can of course print any sort of game logo or insignia – for the Horde!
The downside, of course, is that you’ll need to have a 3D printer (or at least access to one) to get in on the action, plus you’ll need to know how to create or manipulate existing designs. For my part, I’ve owned a 3D printer for a while, but haven’t yet got around to working out how to change or create models of my own – thank you to all the people who have created the many freely available designs I’ve just downloaded and printed.
EK provides STEP files that define the light guide and base plate to get you started, but there’s still a bit of learning beyond that, and you’ll need the right software to manipulate those files.
Still, with a price of just €8.32 (around $9) before tax (available directly from EK’s website), we love the idea behind this simple gaming PC mod. Even if you’re just starting out with PC gaming and still require the help of our how to build a gaming PC guide, this is the sort of low-risk, low-cost, high-impact mod that offers a great way to start your PC modding journey.