An interesting new gaming laptop concept is hoping to raise funds on Kickstarter, bringing together a laptop-style form factor using top-spec desktop components. The unique project claims to be the world’s first fully built-in water-cooled gaming laptop design, while also claiming support for Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 gaming GPUs and brand-new AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D gaming CPUs, although the bulky and untested design means it might be an unappealing option for most gamers.
We’ve seen DIY gaming laptops appear before, like this Chinese-built RTX 4090 laptop which used desktop-grade components inside a laptop-style shell casing. This particular design looks more like a server chassis with a screen attached, but the ability to use the best gaming PC components from Nvidia and AMD might make it an appealing option for serious enthusiasts – if the product does eventually make it to market, that is.
UHPILCL, or High Performance Integration Liquid Cooled Laptop as this laptop concept is imaginatively named so far, doesn’t look too much like a standard laptop at first glance. It has a 17.3-inch 3K WLED screen that folds down, attached to a much larger bottom case to handle the desktop-grade components, weighing between 4.8kg and 5.2kg, depending on the model you choose.
Interestingly enough, the Kickstarter page suggests that it’ll be fully upgradeable, with support for ITX motherboards and graphics cards up to 9.05 inches in length. The laptop’s cooling is the biggest draw, however, using a custom water cooling design with an 18W water pump which is supported by fans to help dissipate heat, giving the design a maximum power consumption rating of 720W.
The Kickstarter also claims support for the highest spec components, including the RTX 5090 graphics card, brand-new AMD Ryzen 9950X3D CPU, and Intel Ultra 9 285K CPU. An earlier concept design, built using a 9950X and RTX 4090, was reportedly built back in August 2024. The final spec sheet for this iteration hasn’t been confirmed, so it’s unclear whether or not these components will be available in a pre-built model when (or more importantly, if) the product launches.
While a desktop RTX 5090 graphics card will have a much higher power draw than its laptop equivalent, generating more heat as a result, this water-cooled gaming laptop could certainly help to overcome those thermal constraints. However, given the size and weight of this particular design, I think it’s more likely that gamers will choose instead to use a laptop-grade RTX 5090 in a much more typical, portable laptop shell casing from the best gaming laptop manufacturers over an untested design like this one.
If you’re interested, you can register your interest ahead of the project’s launch on Kickstarter, although the fundraising portion of the campaign is yet to begin.
In the meantime, a more straightforward option might be considering how to build a gaming PC yourself, even if it isn’t as portable. Don’t forget to also check out our RTX 5090 review to see our real-world performance data on this new Nvidia powerhouse card.
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