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The Cake is a Lie - Water Cooled Portal PC

Hello! 

 

As you probably guessed, this is going to be a portal themed build. I can't even tell you how excited i am for this. A few years ago i was building a similar PC and ran into nothing but bad luck. The paint shop i brought my case to didn't bother to spell check before airbrushing ?, as well as some parts being stolen and I ended up not having the money to fix/replace things. BUT THE DREAM IS STILL ALIVE! Fear not my fellow portal fans, it's time for me to upgrade and oh boy is this going to be fun. So if you're as big of a portal dork as i am feel free to follow my build and I'll do my best to keep you all updated along the way.

 

I have all my parts ordered already and they should be arriving soon.

Case: Corsair 780t

CPU: i9-9900K

RAM: 32gb DDR4 (4x8gb)

Mobo: Asus Prime Z390-A

GPU: 2X EVGA 2080 XC

Storage: 2x Samsung 1tb SSD (raid 0)

                2x 6tb WD Black (raid 1)

PSU: Corsair RM1000

Fans: Noctua NF-F12 & NF-A14

Cooling: Dual water loop - PETG rigid tubing, 2x EK 360mm radiators 

 

Thank you all for checking out my build log :)

 

 

Teaser:

Spoiler

IMG_20181210_020409.thumb.jpg.047c5d4b89fd0bfcc55e90973339ec6b.jpg

 

Just a normal guy with a constant desire to modify everything he owns. 

Check out my current build here:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1006447-the-cake-is-a-lie-water-cooled-portal-pc/

 

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I feel like this is one of those builds that won’t ever happen imo most people who says their going to get the best hardware rarely get it 

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40 minutes ago, Granular said:

Why 2 2080s instead of 1 2080Ti?

Already had one and decided to get another. I also have 3 monitors and most the games i play support sli. Plus i honestly just love the look of it so i'm happy with my choice. I knew this comment was coming ?

2 minutes ago, AMDMike said:

I feel like this is one of those builds that won’t ever happen imo most people who says their going to get the best hardware rarely get it 

Lmao. I already ordered everything. I'll post pictures when everything comes in, should be either today or tomorrow.

Just a normal guy with a constant desire to modify everything he owns. 

Check out my current build here:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1006447-the-cake-is-a-lie-water-cooled-portal-pc/

 

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13 minutes ago, JT8101997 said:

Already had one and decided to get another. I also have 3 monitors and most the games i play support sli. Plus i honestly just love the look of it so i'm happy with my choice. I knew this comment was coming ?

Lmao. I already ordered everything. I'll post pictures when everything comes in, should be either today or tomorrow.

Awesome I love seeing these builds, see so many people say these high end ones are coming but never get to see them I definitely look forward to seeing this!

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Last night I came home to a porch full of boxes ? so I'm about to work my way through this messy pile of parts. More to come later today! IMG_20181211_170728.thumb.jpg.c21a8776c8b49e69273bc3fac4f972fc.jpg

 

Plus this beautiful box of noctua'sIMG_20181211_171116.thumb.jpg.879a177e8c9e51a9f24d55ff83611d30.jpg

 

Just a normal guy with a constant desire to modify everything he owns. 

Check out my current build here:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1006447-the-cake-is-a-lie-water-cooled-portal-pc/

 

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4 minutes ago, JT8101997 said:

Plus this beautiful box of noctua's

That's a lot of Noctuas. How much is that, like $300 worth of fans? o.O

:)

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Okay so I didn't know what the title meant, and my friend sitting behind me saw it and said something about Portal so I asked her what she was talking about, she called me an idiot :( And she never plays video games so idek

hi

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8 minutes ago, germgoatz said:

Okay so I didn't know what the title meant, and my friend sitting behind me saw it and said something about Portal so I asked her what she was talking about, she called me an idiot :( And she never plays video games so idek

It's essentially a spoiler for Portal. 

:)

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1 hour ago, seon123 said:

That's a lot of Noctuas. How much is that, like $300 worth of fans? o.O

$297 I believe, good guess. A little overkill maybe, but with everything else I got I might as well go all out lol. I barely spend money on anything other than food, gas and bills so I figured I'd spoil myself for once :)

Just a normal guy with a constant desire to modify everything he owns. 

Check out my current build here:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1006447-the-cake-is-a-lie-water-cooled-portal-pc/

 

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Got a good update for you all. I started putting things together and I'm pretty happy with how this looks so far. 

 

First off I had to put these little silicone pads on the corners of every fan. Which took longer than you'd think. 

IMG_20181213_133658.thumb.jpg.0990da120fa01148f8f60c0f0244e45f.jpg

 

Next up was mounting the fans on the two 360 EK radiators

IMG_20181213_135512.thumb.jpg.eb281228dd1d60385124667e0c330ef1.jpg

 

Cool thing about the 780t is the extra space in front and up top for mounting fans, so I went for a push pull setup 

IMG_20181213_142001.thumb.jpg.fa8ec8f7006468afca2de5237220cb0b.jpg15448317890733543198787976023017.thumb.jpg.6210ea51eb2d694db7a3203b3cce96c1.jpg

One thing that really bothered me though was the fact that corsair claims you can fit a 360 rad in the front. And while I got it to work, it was a real pain. There's these annoying bumps underneath the bay that don't seem to serve any real purpose yet stick out just enough to block a radiator from lining up properly. So I ended up having to cut part of that off. It's covered by the radiator now so you can't see it, but it was still disappointing that they designed it this way. They clearly didn't test their claims or just didn't care. 

IMG_20181213_155026.thumb.jpg.09244921ebc735fd9a86bece9d884a7d.jpg

 

I thought this was kind of funny. I installed a dual lcd temp display on the front bay so I could monitor the loop temps and it made a face with the cd drive. So idk if I'll leave it like that or just remove the cd drive since I shouldn't need it too often anyways. Just like to have the option since I already had one. Entertaining none the less. 

IMG_20181214_173954.thumb.jpg.0bad4c334aa77262a9f65a3f633dab56.jpg

 

And I guess there's an upload limit so I'll have to split this post up to add more pictures. 

 

Just a normal guy with a constant desire to modify everything he owns. 

Check out my current build here:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1006447-the-cake-is-a-lie-water-cooled-portal-pc/

 

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Pt. 2

I got the processor seated and installed the water block

IMG_20181213_200436.thumb.jpg.694034bb8b41073aab41c76a29cdc7d4.jpg

IMG_20181213_202344.thumb.jpg.24dc1febe7b58a312f463d32816883f3.jpg

Coolers removed and water blocks installed on the 2080's as well

IMG_20181213_220630.thumb.jpg.105815aa2d827ec893f6ef84ef47068d.jpg

IMG_20181214_010022.thumb.jpg.38f7c0d15445a19d42bb2a1045080063.jpg

 

Lastly, I installed the motherboard into the case along with both the cards 

IMG_20181214_015230.thumb.jpg.3bc2d68ec32b666440ce843e81478c07.jpg

 

And that's it for now. Thanks for checking out my build :)

 

Ps: sorry if the picture quality isn't the best, I'm using my phone camera for now but once the build is finished I'll be taking some nice photos with my dslr

Just a normal guy with a constant desire to modify everything he owns. 

Check out my current build here:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1006447-the-cake-is-a-lie-water-cooled-portal-pc/

 

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Oh and I forgot to mention the ram will be coming in soon but shipping was delayed for some reason. I'm also waiting on some cool case parts including custom gpu backplates from coldzero. Which should help add a lot more white to the inside of the case how I want it. More updates coming soon. 

Just a normal guy with a constant desire to modify everything he owns. 

Check out my current build here:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1006447-the-cake-is-a-lie-water-cooled-portal-pc/

 

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Massive Portal fan here, can't wait to see how this build turns out. 

 

Shipping can suck around Christmas time. Hope you don't get many more delays.

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RAM came in last night and I got it installed this morning. I really like the look of it. Trying to cram as much white as possible inside this build lol. Since these are RGB I'm going to set the color to blue to match the cpu water loop. IMG_20181215_154316.thumb.jpg.cbd95f33792644906ae05a489d2e5306.jpgIMG_20181215_155718.thumb.jpg.8534c574a5ca8614d1926876133b5739.jpg

Just a normal guy with a constant desire to modify everything he owns. 

Check out my current build here:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1006447-the-cake-is-a-lie-water-cooled-portal-pc/

 

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If you plan on hammering this i9, I think your MOBOs VRM will be a problem, Asus haven't done a good VRM in a while, just warning you if it's still in time to trade for a Gigabyte or MSI. If I'm not mistaken, this is a mere 4 phase VRM. Other than that, insane build, buddy, congrats! And good luck with it!

CPU: i7 2600K 4.4GHz@1.3V | Motherboard: Asus P8P67 Pro | CPU Cooler: CoolerMaster Hyper 212x | RAM: Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB @1600MHz CL9

GPU: Gigabyte GTX 1070 Ti G1 Gaming @2GHz | Storage: Samsung 850 Evo 250GB + Seagate Barracuda 2TB  | PSU: Corsair TX550M | Monitor: LG 29UM69G

Keyboard: Corsair K70 LUX MX Red | Mouse: Corsair M65 Pro RGB | Case: Corsair Carbide 400C | Headphone: Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro | Microphone: Blusmart Lapel

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2 hours ago, Vasllo said:

If you plan on hammering this i9, I think your MOBOs VRM will be a problem, Asus haven't done a good VRM in a while, just warning you if it's still in time to trade for a Gigabyte or MSI. If I'm not mistaken, this is a mere 4 phase VRM. Other than that, insane build, buddy, congrats! And good luck with it!

Hm I'll have to look into that then. Thanks for the advice! 

Just a normal guy with a constant desire to modify everything he owns. 

Check out my current build here:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1006447-the-cake-is-a-lie-water-cooled-portal-pc/

 

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I was originally planning on using some normal looking cylinder reservoirs I had already. But then I saw these, and I couldn't resist. Personally I think these fit the build way better. They look like those transport tubes in portal 2! I ordered 2 and they should be arriving pretty soon. Let me know what you think. 

be2227d6_K0STQ74l.jpeg.79a472ac468d4a08ca3dfb30da579be0.jpeg

Novacore extreme limited edition reservoir

Just a normal guy with a constant desire to modify everything he owns. 

Check out my current build here:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1006447-the-cake-is-a-lie-water-cooled-portal-pc/

 

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  • 1 month later...

Been awhile since my last update. I've been waiting on coldzero to send me the case parts I ordered and can't continue the build until I have them. I placed my order around 2 months ago and had no idea it would take this long but I got an email today saying they'll be delivered on Monday. Finally, I can continue working on this build. I'll post another update soon once I get the parts in and can start making progress again :)

Just a normal guy with a constant desire to modify everything he owns. 

Check out my current build here:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1006447-the-cake-is-a-lie-water-cooled-portal-pc/

 

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I was gonna order a couple things myself from cold zero but I’ve seen so much about delays lately I think I might pass on that altogether now

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

This project is long overdue for an update. Sorry for anyone interested in progress that I left waiting. My dad passed away and I completely lost interest in my hobbies for awhile so this sat in the garage collecting dust. Until now :P No negativity though, the point is the portal build is back! I've been working on this a lot the last couple days and been having a lot of fun with it.

 

I got the parts in from cold zero (about 3 months later lol) and my reservoirs and fit everything in the case just to see how it would look

Screenshot_20200804-133104__01.thumb.jpg.47f132820a7c4f68fddc4c68e9858582.jpg

 

Then I measured and marked the psu shroud for drillingScreenshot_20200804-134031.thumb.jpg.b7bd256ca3f35082f10f4e1c1a67cc84.jpg

And it cracked. Don't have a picture cause I was so irritated I forgot. But I glued it back together and it doesn't look too bad. Thought about ordering a new one but I don't feel like paying a bunch of money to wait another 3 months. 

 

Screenshot_20200804-134124.thumb.jpg.e69beb8f7a18bedb4a6a40d0dae46b6d.jpg

Next I attached all the pass through fittings and it was time to do the soft tubing underneath

 

IMG_20200801_120633.thumb.jpg.50e6550df31011af0c12d15f733b4cd7.jpgIMG_20200801_120640.thumb.jpg.6c515244b61ba379b575ab92d5eb14aa.jpg

Lmao it's a bit of a redneck repair but it'll look great when it's finished just trust me

 

IMG_20200801_150831.thumb.jpg.903b0b11d24cdef6953b33f37445758f.jpg

I'd just like to point out here how little room I had to connect the tubing to the reservoirs with how tall they are. This was one of the most annoying parts so far. IMG_20200801_170123.thumb.jpg.ba6924793c2321694fdb5be6617715aa.jpg

And here you can see I refinished my garage counter :D and got the reservoirs and gpu backplates installed

IMG_20200802_194844.thumb.jpg.3c6565034e12659a8b02172f0d949a12.jpg

Hard tubing begins! I installed the flow indicators too

 

IMG_20200803_121214.thumb.jpg.c57b0514f600282c8f8615ccc898ef41.jpg

Tubes are done :)

 

Next up is wiring /cable management and some decoration work. Let me know what you think of it so far. I'll probably have another update coming later today or tomorrow. Thanks everyone for your time! 

Just a normal guy with a constant desire to modify everything he owns. 

Check out my current build here:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1006447-the-cake-is-a-lie-water-cooled-portal-pc/

 

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What a blast from the past

"Put as much effort into your question as you'd expect someone to give in an answer"- @Princess Luna

Make sure to Quote posts or tag the person with @[username] so they know you responded to them!

 RGB Build Post 2019 --- Rainbow 🦆 2020 --- Velka 5 V2.0 Build 2021

Purple Build Post ---  Blue Build Post --- Blue Build Post 2018 --- Project ITNOS

CPU i7-4790k    Motherboard Gigabyte Z97N-WIFI    RAM G.Skill Sniper DDR3 1866mhz    GPU EVGA GTX1080Ti FTW3    Case Corsair 380T   

Storage Samsung EVO 250GB, Samsung EVO 1TB, WD Black 3TB, WD Black 5TB    PSU Corsair CX750M    Cooling Cryorig H7 with NF-A12x25

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mate your build is 2 years old and its still better than mine will be.

https://www.lttstore.com/

1990 M3s are the best looking things ever made.    

^This statement has been retracted^
2020/2021 BMW S1000RRs/Ninja H2s are the best looking things ever made. 

Don't ask to ask. 
If you want me to see the reply, @XGoodGuyFitz(aka me) and/or quote me.
Thanks!

 

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