Build of the week: the BFG

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities. 

There were a lot of Doom-themed PCs at Quakecon this year, but none were more impressive than this portable BFG made by case builder David Cotten. 

“I played the new Doom, and I’ve always wanted to build a BFG,” Cotten told PC Gamer. “But before the newest Doom came out, there was not an accurate 3D model because they were all sprites.”

The result is almost two inches shorter than full-scale because Cotten feared it would be too large to physically carry. Though the model looks 3D printed close-up, it’s actually layers and layers of cardboard. Cotten cut the BFG model into 161 slices in a 3D modeling program, then laser cut 161 pieces of cardboard to fit each slice. The slices took a month to glue together.

Cotten was a finalist in the case modding competition, where the BFG won second place.

My favorite touch: the PSU is in the BFG gun handle, and the computer’s power switch is activated by the trigger. Cotten had to cut, splice, and extend every wire to reach from the handle across to the body of the PC.

When he’s carrying it around, green LEDs run off of a wearable battery back. All told, the BFG weighs about twenty pounds. It’s a big fucking PC.

BFG PC components: 

• CPU: Intel Core i5-6500
• Mobo: Mini ATX
• RAM: 16GB Kingston HyperX Fury
• GPU: GeForce GTX 1060
• PSU: 450W