The PC modding scene is spinning wildly out of control, and for the better. As the ceiling for absurdity rises with each passing meme, so too do the limits for what we want to put a computer inside of. As of 2017, there are no limits. And so the modding scene has already stretched outward, designing PCs we never thought possible or could even conceive of before. I look forward to the new year, in which someone likely builds a computer inside an upturned urinal or breaches the taxidermy scene. Put a computer inside a dead bobcat, internet. I know a guy. He’ll hook you up.
While we wait for the first human gaming PC, here’s a look back at our favorite builds so far.
Bastion
In the first step towards fully integrating Overwatch into our daily lives, one intrepid modder 3D-printed Bastion in full. We’re still working on the whole artificial intelligence thing, but at least this Bastion has specs high enough to play Overwatch—and, oh God, to play themselves in Overwatch, recursively, forever.
Point Blank Barrett
It’s a damn gun.
Battlefield 1 tank
What is a tank if not a gun with wheels? It's not big enough to pilot from the inside, but this WWI tank replica is a detailed recreation (except for the whole red paint job), and has some impressive specs too. Next time, let's put a gaming PC inside a real tank.
KAM
Walls are so boring. They’re just flat, featureless planes whose only redeeming quality is the ability to hold shelves. KAM is the Wall 2.0, building out the wall into a fully functional computer, complete with an eerie window into imaginary waters. It’ll make your game room feel even more like a destitute bunker, which is every Real Gamer’s dream.
Tie P5 Advanced
Star Wars is a movie about spaceships going whoosh, which is exactly what I think every time I look at this beautiful build. Whoosh. It’s a good whoosh. The detail on this thing is unbelievable and it’s packing some amazing components (relative to the time it was built). Good thing I’m not a Death Star because this ship knows exactly where to fire a proton torpedo. My heart.
TT D3sk
Ever open up a desk drawer looking for more paperclips only to find no paperclips? Well then definitely don’t buy the TT D3sk because I’m not sure it can house paperclips. That’s OK though, because it’s housing a computer, which is basically like having infinite paperclips, even some that talk. This build’s bridge of boards connected by a thin line of wiring and liquid cooling is what really shines here.
Behemoth Battlecruiser
The thing about spaceships? They also have space inside. Enough space for a computer, which is a conclusion many modders have arrived at. One took the idea even further, using an entire Behemoth Battlecruiser from Starcraft as a nest for his custom PC brood. It’s huge, has a ton of pretty lights, amazing detail work on the hull, and it plays Starcraft. Not the best benchmark, but the theme is tying me down here.
The Stagecoach
Clip-clop, clip-clop. What’s that? Why it’s Old Man Asus, come back from his trading venture to Neweggington. And what ho? He’s returned with a computer inside his buggy! Ah, he’s handing out small sticks of DDR4 for the children and regaling a tale of bandits attempting to RAID his coach over Stripe Pass! Oh, Old Man Asus, hard to believe your fans can overclock such tall tales after all these years!
Ragnar’s Revenge
My heart, it’s been looted and pillaged and burned to the ground. Ragnar’s Revenge captures the pop culture Viking aesthetic with ease, replete with winged doors and a prow all operable by genuine chain-and-pulley systems. Sure, there are some mechanical bits in there, but I’m sure the Vikings would approve had they happened upon PC gaming at the time, assuming they wouldn't also burn every PC to the ground.
Re.born
It’s the circle of life, in PC form. Hopefully there isn’t a human soul trapped in this sucker, but that’s reincarnation I suppose. Either way, it’s a truly unique build—a wisp of wind, a wave curling over, Jonathan Livingston Seagull after a few too many. Circular and slick and abstract, Re.born eschews the welcome if not exhausting trope of putting-a-PC-in-it in favor of original design.
SkyVue
With a chassis made of wood, SkyVue makes me yearn for some time alone in nature with only my gaming computer at my side. A nice mouse and keyboard too. Can’t use a mouse on the forest floor, so I’ll need a pad and a desk. Rain might be an issue so some kind of shelter, a house maybe. Can’t forget about power, so infrastructure, perhaps a city, might come in handy. Otherwise, all naturale.
Project RX-0
Imagine a Gundam after a risky encounter with a trash compactor and you’ll get Project RX-0. This isn’t to say it looks like garbage—quite the opposite—but it retains the tiered plated wing design of a giant mech while assuming the form of a cube. Compressed inside are some decent components, but were this tiny Gundam to take flight, it’s the design that would defeat its enemies. Beautiful work.
Venator Class Star Destroyer
The war on oversaturating our lives with Star Wars imagery rages on, this time in the form of a very large triangle, otherwise known as a Star Destroyer. This one is special, a Venator Class bird with some extra acute angles and seriously, some real size. Check out the pictures for scale. More like Living Room Destroyer, because where the hell are you going to keep this thing?
Animunculus
If a computer could transform into a big stabby robot and destroy you, it probably would. Why not scoot humanity a little closer to doom with this lovely recreation of Dwarven domestic security from Skyrim?
L3pipe
Finally, a PC that conjures the image of a Windows 98 pipe screensaver. Built around the theme of what typically amounts to a bullet point, a liquid cooling hardline loop, the L3pipe puts the beautiful in mess. But look closer and you’ll notice the logic and precision required to make such a bulky, shiny thing come together without problems. This is case-modding at its most complex and creative, building for the sake of building with a focus on virtuoso. It’s a wild guitar solo in PC form.
