Cupcake Commander
Overview:
Build Log: #1
Project Name: Cupcake Commander
Type: New Build
Theme: Cupcakes and diamonds
Usage: Games and work
Goals: Ultra graphics, 1080p @ 144hz
Cooling: Custom Loop
Budget: $3,200
Hardware:
Motherboard: Asus Prime X570 Pro
CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
RAM: G Skill Trident Royal Z Silver 3200 (4x8GB)
GPU: EVGA RTX 2070 Super XC Ultra Gaming
PSU: Corsair RM850x White
Storage: Samsung 970 EVO Plus (1 TB) M.2
Chassis: Lian Li PC-O11DW 011
CPU Block: EK-Quantum Velocity D-RGB AMD (nickel + Plexi)
GPU Block: EK-Quantum Vector RTX RE D-RGB (nickel + Plexi)
Reservoir / Pump: EK-Classic DP Front PC-O11D (Distribution Plate with pump)
Radiator: Primo Chill 360mm EximoSX Ultra
Cables: Custom Pro by CableMod
Fittings: PrimoChill 1/2in RevolverSX (sky blue)
Custom Motherboard Cover: Home made
Custom GPU Backplate: V1 Tech custom
Tubing: PrimoChill 1/2 OD PETG
Fans: DIY House 120mm
Comments:
The EVGA RTX 2070 Super XC ultra should have no issues at all crushing games running at 1080p ultra 144hz.
We paired the Prime X570 pro with the Ryzen 5 3600 to leverage PCIe 4.0 storage bandwidth, and will also open up the option to upgrade the GPU when Nvidia cards adopt the PCIe 4.0 standard.
With diamonds being part of theme, the Trident Royal Z series RAM was a no-brainier.
The Lian Li PC-011DW chassis is definitely trending in the PC world these days, but man does it have plenty of room for a spacious custom loop.
We stuck with Asus where we could for RGB lighting controls, and only chose parts that support Aura Sync (with the exception of the GPU, as we will be removing the cooler to install an EKWB water block anyways). Managing lighting will be simple through a single program.
Render:
Nothing speaks cupcakes more than purple, pink, and blue across a white surface. Unfortunately, main board PCB’s tend to only come in black or white and choices are very limited on X570 boards in general. The Prime X570 pro is a great board, but unless your build theme is just black and white, the look can really upset the color balance of your build. We decided to design a custom motherboard cover to try and hide that nastiness and bring some more of those cute colors into focus. The plan is to try and stretch the cover from the top to bottom of the chassis, but we aren’t sure about the measurements just yet. We found that Primo Chill likes to make fun colored fittings and cooling components, so will be sticking with them for the radiator, tubing, and fittings. utilizing Cablemod’s online configuration utility, we were able to design some custom power cables to help the blue fittings pop.
Mounting the card horizontally will keep the option for expansion open, but the stock back plate is going to need some love to blend in. We found that V1Tech specializes in just this sort of thing, and even offers an online configuration tool that allows you to design your own. We went with the multi-zone RGB model with a solid white background. The diamond designs will be cut outs, rather than black lines as illustrated in render above.
Build Time:
After nearly two months of waiting for products to pass through customs and other global pandemic precautions, we now have all of our parts (with the exception of the custom GPU back plate and motherboard cover materials).
Here we go!
Let’s just take a moment and admire how beautiful this RAM is..
You just simply can’t go wrong with the Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2 drives. Adding another in the future to expand the Steam game library means we’d be able to fully move a 120 GB game to the new drive in roughly 40 seconds. Yeah, THAT fast.
I think installing GPU water blocks is one of my favorite parts of making a custom loop. There’s nothing like taking hardware apart knowing you are about to make it a hell of a lot better (no offense EVGA).
This was my first time getting to play with a distribution plate and I must say I think its the most clever invention (other than sliced bread, of course) ever. The EK-Classic DP Front PC-O11D comes with an SPC PWM pump preinstalled, supports dual GPUs, has a built in flow meter, and was designed specifically for this Chassis, sitting behind the front glass it essentially converts your front panel into a huge flat reservoir. To add a little icing to the cake we went with the candy purple XIMO SX radiator.
I struggled to fit the remaining two fans at the bottom of the chassis. The Lian Li 20 pin USB 3.0 header is quite bulky and not too fond of bending at 90 degree angles. I ended up purchasing a low profile adapter to be able to fit the two exhaust fans (as seen in finished build pictures). If you are looking for a similar adapter, you can find a link to the one I used here.
If you are a fellow liquid cooling enthusiast, I know you are about to laugh at these next pictures. Not because of the bend quality, but because of my unreasonable assumption that the liquid flow would be top to bottom, not bottom to top. Like I said, this was my first time using a distribution plate, and rest assured, I redid the CPU runs before I ever filled this thing up!
Anyone else that may be viewing this build log as inspiration or guidance, please make sure you consider the flow direction of your liquid before doing your runs. Our GPU block and reservoir can use either port as inlets or outlets, but this specific CPU block DOES require you use the left port as the inlet and the right port as the outlet. In these pictures I had them reversed. You’ll notice the changes in the next batch of pictures.
And now we wait for the final piece to arrive. ETA says it will ship between 5 and 7 business day after the order is fulfilled. However, on V1Tech’s website there’s a backlog and process delays notice due to the Corona virus pandemic. Oh well, rather safe than sorry I suppose!
Another 2 Months Later:
Yeah it took that long to finally get that GPU back plate in the mail, but boy was it worth the wait! Before it arrived I redid the CPU bends, flushed the system for 48 hours with distilled water, and got the two bottom exhaust fans mounted.
The motherboard cover turned out to be a little more difficult than we imagined. With the clearance of the GPU not being as high as we needed, there wasn’t really a sufficient way to fit a single piece of plexiglass across the system. After a little experimental brain storming and a trip to Moe’s, we came up with a solution. All of the materials used were purchased from Home Depot and Ace Hardware. The plate mounts via fixed custom metal brackets on the back side, utilizing small magnets to fix themselves to the CPU bracket, the PCIe bracket just beneath the GPU, and the bottom (floor) of the chassis.
We started by taking measurements and creating templates to trace onto our sheet of plexiglass, then used a dremmel to cut the shapes out. Having lost a good chunk of surface area, we had to scrap the idea of a diamond logo on the motherboard cover, but it still turned out looking pretty good.
And now for the best part, filling time. This is when we get to see our creation completely come to life for the first time in all it’s glory. Here’s a video, mind the volume, I am also new to video editing.
A short Windows installation, BIOS update, and photo shoot later:
Enough talk, I’ll just get straight to it.
And that concludes my first build log for Cupcake Commander. Thank you so much for sticking around to read through it, and if you feel you may know someone that would find my site or this log interesting, please do share it with them. Until next time, friends!
Special thanks and credit:
I wanted to thank my big brother Dustin for the Render, GPU back plate design, and taking a weekend to help me create the motherboard cover. The dude is not only an artistic genius, but also a great brother, and a great friend.
