Wired Case Mod Roundup

tpurcell writes "With the popularity of case modding, here is Wired's round-up of some more extreme mods. From a V8 engine to a 3 burner coffee pot, make way for some great cases."

Here's an extreme case mod idea

[Dancin_Santa]

Small, light, inconspicuous, and doesn't have any extraneous crap sticking out of it.

Oh, the iMac G4? Damn, I thought I had a surefire winner there!

Re:Here's an extreme case mod idea

[Anonymous Coward]

The iMac barely fits your description there. Loud, overbearing, pretentious, only small because it's underpowered, and that godawful screen on an arm that actually takes up MORE desk space than a normal flat panel.

Oh PLEASE :P

Re:Here's an extreme case mod idea

[cosmo7]

Remember to switch opinion when the idea is adopted by the mainstream, cf: the mouse, WIMP interface, multiple monitor support, track pads, not beige, USB, etc.

Re:Here's an extreme case mod idea

[Dolly_Llama]

I've been wondering, if the design of the g5 case is specifically to move all that heat away from the goodies, why not rotate the whole thing into the Z plane so that convection would assist you ala the g4 cube? it wouldn't get rid of any fans, but they're automatic, so you could turn them on less. Or maybe the fans are strong enough that their orders of magnitude greater than vertical convection?

Funny

[Amomynos Coward]

The funniest casemod I have seen was a FlexATX sized mobo stuffed inside an old vacuum cleaner. With the small old fan it actually also souded like one.

Re:Funny

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, you're right! The GeForce FX was hillarious!

Re:Funny

[TeknoHog]

a FlexATX sized mobo stuffed inside an old vacuum cleaner.

Did it use Windows for suction?

coffee machine

[product byproduct]

Now the cd-rom drive REALLY doubles as a coffee cup holder.

Re:coffee machine

[ttj]

But it still doesn't stop the tech support guys from making fun of you and laughing at you. And they will still put your story on n+1 different web sites where they mock you.

Re:coffee machine

[benpeter]

Doesn't anybody else think that the idea of a hot liquid co-habiting with expensive electronic equipment is mildly misguided.
And the modder's wondering why whenever he brews a cup of the good stuff his machine locks up...

Re:coffee machine

[ruprechtjones]

Well, I'd buy this system. Boot, drink, get to work. I like that idea. They should dedicate one of the CD drives as a cup holder only, now that would rock.

Re:coffee machine

[LanceTaylor]

In addition, I think that the steam from the new pot brewing is going to cause problems with his drives that are located above it.

Marketing

[sinjayde]

It would be great to see some of these cases marketed. I would be more than willing to pay a reasonable amount of money for one of these cases, as they look very cool indeed. Of course I guess that would defeat the point of these guys going to the huge amount of trouble to create these impressive cases, but still, there has to be some money to be made there, if marketed correctly.

Re:Marketing

[sinjayde]

I meant going to the huge amount of trouble to create these as a unique case that no-one else would have.

Re:Marketing

[Anonymous Coward]

If these cases were marketed this would set their appeal to zero. The point is having something different from anyone else because you designed and built it (and had a lot of fun doing it), not because you spent more than anyone else is going to spend to buy it.
Thet's the exact reason why a real motorcycle lover would never buy a Harley Davidson today.

Re:Marketing

[TheFlyingGoat]

While I agree with the concept of your post, I disagree with the HD analogy. I've lived within 30 miles of Milwaukee my whole life and LOVE the machines. I've never been able to afford one until now, since the prices are falling now that the 100th aniversary is past. So, for a real HD lover, today is one of the best days to get a bike. :)

Re:Marketing

[Anonymous Coward]

Who would be stupid enough to pay an extra several hundred dollars for a computer just to get a cool case?

--Steve Jobs

P.S. It's "iTunes Music Store" not "Apple Music Store" you idiots.

Re:Marketing

[EpsCylonB]

There are some interesting cases availiable, for instance I have an iTee [studiowhiz.com] case. There are interesting cases out there to be had, saying that while I am not completely unsatisfied with the i-Tee I am not sure I would buy one again, there are lots of great design features but also lots of little niggles.

Re:Marketing

[cbreaker]

I dunno. I lean more towards the simple box that sits on the floor or desk over these monstrosities.

I do like the brushed aluminum cases; they are nice looking boxes and disperse heat more effeciently. I have a nice looking CoolerMaster case for my main workstation, it's all aluminum, easy to work with, and has a green plexiglass door in the front.

That's about as far as I like to go with case styles.

Re:Marketing-The richard simmons computer.

[cbreaker]

I wasn't wondering, actually. And I don't think anyone can tell me where anything is going because it hasn't happened yet and many, many predictions end up being wrong.

You never know what the next breakthrough in technology is going to be, and how it will change the future.

Still waiting...

[PakProtector]

...to see Gabe and Tycho make a computer inside someone's hollowed out skull. Any PA fans in the house?

Re:Still waiting...

[jade42]

Hmmm, but the question is: who's skull should it be?

I have it! John Romero's.

Re:Still waiting...

[netsharc]

How about Darl McBride's skull, and those from other SCO execs?

And if you run GNU/Linux on them, then it would be an interpretation of "Linux is our intellectual property!" blather they've been puking out.. :)

So who wants to come head-hunting at SCO?

Re:Still waiting...

[EkiM in De]

Removing their skulls will make no difference; the SCO execs seem to be rather headless at the moment anyway.

Re:Still waiting...

[Cpt_Kirks]

How about a beowolf cluster of mini-itx boxen built into SCO executives and lawyers skulls?

mmm, lawyer skulls...

Re:Still waiting...

[PakProtector]

They can't kill John Romero! I love her!

Re:Still waiting...

[paulcammish]

...who's skull should it be? I have it! John Romero's.

You have John Romeros skull?!?!

I think he might be wanting that back...

Re:Still waiting...

[gmhowell]

I think he might be wanting that back...

Why? He doesn't carry anything useful in there. He could be reprogrammed with a small computer to say things like:

I'm hungry.
I'd like a cup of tea.
Look at the tits on my girlfriend.
I'm gonna make you my bitch.

A very simple computer at that.

Re:Still waiting...

[paulcammish]

He could be reprogrammed with a small computer to... A very simple computer at that.

Good point - I have an old digital watch here somewhere if anyone wants to give it a go...

Re:Still waiting...

[BigFootApe]

You have the wrong end, chum, for as wiser sages than I have said, somewhere in that brain is the creative genius we used to know as John Romero. Labotomize the real culprit, the flooziest of floozies, the two-legged catalyst of Romero's downfall. Stevie Case, a.k.a. Killcreek.

She used him like a ladder. Is it his fault he had a few rotten rungs?

Re:Still waiting...

[FyRE666]

Hmmm, but the question is: who's skull should it be?

I would have said Darl McBrides', but the bone is probably so thick you'd have trouble fitting anything larger than a single 186 CPU in there...

Actually, that explains a lot...

Re:Still waiting...

[Little Brother]

Darl McBride. Of course, we'd have to use a crusoe processor, as a pentium and cooling system wouldn't fit.

Personal favorite

[afidel]

My personal favorite was a single board computer and CDROM stuffed into a model funnycar, you would lift the hood to insert or remove the CD's.

Caffeine Machine

[perttu]

Do the dual P-III CPUs produce enough heat to keep the coffee warm ?

Re:Caffeine Machine

[LordLucless]

You're right, should swap over to AMD.

A more appropriate title would be

[arvindn]

Weird Case Mod Roundup :-)

Re:A more appropriate title would be

[TheTimoo]

That's actually how I read it, and I believed that was the tile until you pointed out it wasn't.
Thanks for popping my bubble, meanie!

Took so long it was obsolete...

[tinrobot]

The shiny aluminum one is my favorite...

SPECS: 350-MHz Intel Pentium II, 256 Mbytes RAM, 4-Gbyte Ultrawide SCSI hard disk

COST: $84 in scrap aluminum, abrasives, screws, and LEDs; $1,800 in computer components

TIME: 100 hours over two years

By the time he finished it, the computer was obsolete. Right on!

Re:Took so long it was obsolete...

[Bios_Hakr]

Hope that thing was ATX compliant...

Re:Took so long it was obsolete...

[The Almighty Dave]

He should have made the case first. Then the computer components would have cost him less than a couple hundred dollars.

Re:Took so long it was obsolete...

[mesach]

WHAT? that thing was obsolete the day he bought it. C'mon you know better than that.

Subtle case mods/Hidden wiring

[Anonymous Coward]

Has anyone seen any case mods with really clever design in them, such as subtle quiet simple cooling, or my favourite, hidden wiring?

The objective behind auto hidden wiring projects is to have as little or no wiring, cabling, tubing or piping visible. When you get inside the car or look under the hood you see JUST the engine, and nothing else. It looks empty and oversimplistic. Often needing some awesome innovation in just moving parts about.

I'd like to see more of the same in case design. Seeing an open case with edges smoothed, and a motherboard just sitting there with barely a cable or lead running off haphazardly to a bunch of drivers powered by more power leads just thrown about. Having those cables routed impeccably tidily looks stunning.

I've been working on one for a few months after thinking the idea over. It's slow going, I don't have the time to get it done quickly, but it should look quite stunning when it's finished.

Re:Subtle case mods/Hidden wiring

[getkashyap]

subtle case mods may be fine, but ...why hide the wiring when you can .... go for wireless stuff?

Or Maybe you havent heard of wireless keyboards or mice .... oh, wait! ive baan hallucinating!!!

EEk! Doctor!!! :)

kashyap

Re:Subtle case mods/Hidden wiring

[Sparr0]

You can build your own ultra-flat replacement connectors for every cable attached to the motherboard and connect them to the BACK of the board, completely hidden. I had to do it once for the power connector because my case was arranged oddly enough that the cord couldnt get to the normal plug.

Re:Subtle case mods/Hidden wiring

[SharpFang]

forget about UDMA ATA 100... The wave effects, wire length differences etc in "modified cable" would break stuff. (just count how many times could light (or electricity) cross a PC case during one cycle of 2GHZ CPU... and how much is 1 inch to that.)

Re:Subtle case mods/Hidden wiring

[red floyd]

just count how many times could light (or electricity) cross a PC case during one cycle of 2GHZ CPU

Easy way to remember. 1ns = 1foot. So during 1 cycle of a 2GHz CPU, light travels 6 inches.

Re:Subtle case mods/Hidden wiring

[Jeff DeMaagd]

I can see that done. One can desolder all the connectors and resolder them to the back side. One doesn't need adaptor cables if you can get new connectors or some how flip the existing ribbon cable's connector around to make up for the pin reordering.

Re:Subtle case mods/Hidden wiring

[Sparr0]

The connectors wont work backwards, they will be connected wrong (pin 1 of a 80-pin two-row connector would be on pin 80 or pin 41 of the motherboard, and vice versa). And even if that did work, almost every stock connector on a motherboard is too tall to fit between the board and the 'back' (right side) wall of the chassis, or the motherboard tray if there is one.

Re:Subtle case mods/Hidden wiring

[hamster foo]

I'm not a Mac fan by any stretch, but the G5 [apple.com] has very little visible wiring from the pictures I've seen and has probably the best looking internals of any system I've ever seen. Although, it isn't exactly a mod. =)

Whole PC in regular PC PSU

[Jon Evans]

I think this one [mini-itx.com] is pretty cool. It's built into a PC PSU, which is then installed back into a normal beige case. The case is otherwise empty (apart from a 70's disco ball, as if it wasn't surreal enough already).

Re:Subtle case mods/Hidden wiring

[xyote]

That's one of my standard rants. You need power supplies without all that spagetti wiring. This place [performance-pcs.com] sells modded powersupplies with removeable cabling (voids the mfgr's warranty though). It would really be nice to have a powersupply with SATA power connectors built in.

Re:Subtle case mods/Hidden wiring

[swankypimp]

The Serial ATA hard drives are a step in the right direction. The way SATA handles data is more similar to ethernet cable than traditional ATA, so it doesn't require a massive ribbon cable. Once the drives become popular enough that power supply manufacturers include the thin power cable connector plugs (currently you have to use an adapter to the standard molex), this should clean up a lot of the "cable tangle" (and improve cooling to boot).

argh

[mantera]

That v8 engine is sure ugly.

Does anyone know whether those small mini-itx or via epia boards are any good for clustering? Can i build a linux cluster out of them? It sounds like that could be fun, especially that they're pretty small, inexpensive, consume very little energy, and are quiet.

does anyone have any links about that?

there are more examples

[mantera]

see more of these mods [mini-itx.com]

Re:argh

[Eric Ass Raymond]

I've been thinking about clustering mini-ITX computers as well, but the floating point performance of VIAs CPUs is abyssmal. It's so bad that the price/performance ratio of such a cluster would still be approximately the same as that of a cluster of P4s.

Fortunately, first mini-ITX P4 boards are coming out. Cluster them and compile your code with Intel's compiler and you've got a great high performance computational cluster!

Re:argh

[Awptimus Prime]

Your primary source of power consumption is the CPU. The board matters little when considering the power bill.

another mod

[selderrr]

the frozen case [xs4all.nl]

Monitor mods?

[tinrobot]

I always see case mods, but the fact of the matter is that most cases are tucked away under desks where people can't see them. The monitor, however, is always on top of the desk, front and center.

I'm wondering if anyone is doing monitor mods. Maybe the high voltages scare people off... but then again, the possibility of deadly shock might make the art of monmodding even more extreme...

I personally would love a monitor that looks like a Philco Predicta...

Re:Monitor mods?

[questamor]

Applefritter [applefritter.com] has one that's an original iMac pullled to pieces, and modded into a 21" monitor. [applefritter.com]

Looks a bit odd from some angles, but it's kind of appealing.

Re:Monitor mods?

[dlelash]

Surely LCDs would make this much easier? How about an LCD married to a fish tank or lava lamp?

Re:Monitor mods?

[baryon351]

I don't know if this was a real apple product released or a true case mod but someone did a widescreen [danamania.com] mac SE/30. I can't imagine trying to source one of the widescreen 9 inch displays

Re:Monitor mods?

[Paradigm Lost]

I don't know if this was a real apple product released or a true case mod...

How about neither? They clearly state "they're macintoshes that never existed [danamania.com]". Are you trying to troll me, or did someone troll you?

Re:Monitor mods?

[krymsin01]

I've got an old CP/M [www.gaby.de] machine that I'd love to put a new monitor in and perhaps a mini motherboard in. Go for the retro feel...

Re:Monitor mods?

[timeOday]

The perfect monitor is a large flatscreen [superwarehouse.com] with a thin, inconpicuous bezel... easy!

(BTW, LCDs don't have high voltages inside, do they?)

Re:Monitor mods?

[Rosonowski]

Actually, they do. The inverter that runs the backlight (which is a CCFL) runs upwards of six thousand volts. It's not quite as nasty as a CRT, but it still hurts like fsck, and leaves nice little burns.

Here ya go...

[Cyno01]

This guy [blingmethod.com]'s modded a monitor, the v2, (i know, uhg flash, but some of the stuff is pretty cool) Also i'd think the Mac CRTs we have at school, came with the G4s, completly transparent would be perfect to put some lights inside. Also i got these [antec-inc.com] and this [antec-inc.com](also avalible at thinkgeek [thinkgeek.com]). Got both in blue and arranged them like in the pictures, they're quite bright and light up my desk pretty well. I had to lengthen the cable on one of the small ones to get it to the other side of the monitor, i attached the contr

Okay, now take it a step further....

[ChrisHanel]

I've seen case mods done inside a Millenium Falcon, Ice cooler, Vending Machine, and now an *ATARI*? I bow to the almighty mod gods with one request:

A mod done inside a Commodore 64/128, please! Extra points for turning a VIC-20 tape deck into a firewire drive. :)

Re:Okay, now take it a step further....

[Cliffy03]

How about a "Commodore 64 @933" [mini-itx.com] and an ITX-64 [mini-itx.com]

Re:Okay, now take it a step further....

[ChrisHanel]

::jaw drops::

It's innovations like this that get me all weepy, not unlike Homer over his properly rotating toilet-water in Australia... :-D

Re:Okay, now take it a step further....

[hamster foo]

LOL, I love the toaster mod on that page.

Re:Okay, now take it a step further....

[ruprechtjones]

Don't forget the Imperial Star Destroyer [overclockers.com.au] case mod. wow, overkill and too much time on his hands.

Caffeine Machine also Refrigerates

[serutan]

It gets better. According to the Caffeine Machine website [frontier.net] the CPU refrigeration system also cools a compartment big enough for a 6-pack of Mountain Dew. Sah-weet!

Re:Caffeine Machine also Refrigerates

[rewdy]

not to nit-pick, but the cpu/mountain dew refrigeration system is being planned for the second version of the caffeine machine, not the current version. either way, i certainly hope he posts a more in-depth page of how it was constructed for anyone wanting to make thier own. i'm thinking about it, so i locally mirrored this page [modding.ru] for when i get around to it. it's in russian, but it has enough pictures to answer most questions.

Case mods are the new pornography...

[zecg]

And this guy here [thebestcasescenario.com] just might be the new Ron Jeremy.

Loads more mods here

[JamesTRexx]

At mini-itx.com [mini-itx.com] are loads of mods for the VIA mini ITX platform.

My personal favourite

[vevva]

My personal favourite is www.digitaltables.co.uk [digitaltables.co.uk] - a PC hidden away in a very cool retro gaming cabinet.

Case mods == Plastic car body kits

[fondue]

I would like to see, one day, somebody build a computer case to look aesthetically pleasing, and not like a pile of melted action figures with chrome fins.

Re:Case mods == Plastic car body kits

[a7244270]

I would like to see, one day, somebody build a computer case to look aesthetically pleasing, and not like a pile of melted action figures with chrome fins.

At the risk of sounding facetious, I would suggest that perhaps you consider an apple.

Granted, if you are a hardcore gamer, or if you feel the need for homebuilt PC to reinforce your "1337"-ness, then an apple is not for you, but it bears consideration.

Personally I think that an iMac makes a great looking (albeit slow) email/letter writing/web surf

Re:Case mods == Plastic car body kits

[fondue]

I wouldn't personally go for an Apple machine (as you predicted ;), but they are clearly closer to making nice-looking computers than most of the casemod guys.

I'd like to see some hobbyists try building some stylish cases like that. An 'art deco' case styled after Maria from Metropolis. Organic shapes like those gloopy sculptures you get in public parks. Cylindrical PCs. Moulded foam rubber PCs (distinctive looking *and* quiet!). There's clearly plenty of room for experimentation.

Shiny Aluminium, 350 MHz, $1800????

[Nova Express]

SPECS: 350-MHz Intel Pentium II, 256 Mbytes RAM, 4-Gbyte Ultrawide SCSI hard disk

COST: $84 in scrap aluminum, abrasives, screws, and LEDs; $1,800 in computer components

$1800 for a 350 MHz Pentium II? Did you perchance ride a short bus to school every day?

"The horrible beige box drove me to it." Uh, I know this may come as a shock to you, but there's a cure for that now. [apple.com] And it is a hell of a lot faster than 350 MHz...

Re:Shiny Aluminium, 350 MHz, $1800????

[parkanoid]

That particular system has been around for a while, at least two years I would say - saw it linked from overclockers.com forums first. Add the two years it took him to make it, and you're back in the PII era.

I personally find it offensive that you refer someone creative enough to create an original, extremely cool and quite functional (aluminum is far better for transferring heat into the outside air than steel) case from $84 worth of junk, as "riding the short bus".

Great if true

[Matrix2110]

I love the concepts, but was put off by the non-realistic photographs, I guess I am a cynic.

350mhz for $1800??

[iamhassi]

The Shiny Aluminum PC:
"SPECS: 350-MHz Intel Pentium II, 256 Mbytes RAM, 4-Gbyte Ultrawide SCSI hard disk

COST: $84 in scrap aluminum, abrasives, screws, and LEDs; $1,800 in computer components"

Maybe they should quote the prices with deflation in mind, since it looks silly to have a "2.2-GHz AMD Athlon (overclocked to 2.4 GHz), 1 Gbyte RAM, 240-Gbyte hard disk, Nvidia GeForce FX 5600 graphics card" PC priced at the same $1800 the 350mhz PC costs listed on the same page.

I got an idea for a simple case mod.

[t0qer]

Epia boards are so small, you could fit one INSIDE a monitor. Take that Imac!

Re:I got an idea for a simple case mod.

[Stonent1]

Something similar was done a while back a guy made a big imac out of 21" Nokia monitor. http://www.applefritter.com/hacks/21imac/ [applefritter.com]

Re:I got an idea for a simple case mod.

[core plexus]

Many years ago I had a Compaq (yes, I know-but I got it for free), that was like that. It has a tray that slid out from under the monitor, and that's where the mobo and everything else was at. Can't remember the model number, but I do remember that sucker was heavy, and a real bitch to attempt any hardware upgrade. I'm glad I don't have it anymore. I just had a terrible flashback to loading win98 from floppies.

-cp-

not too extreme

[boarder]

Besides the V8 and the Keg one, I wouldn't say these are too extreme. This guy [lucentrigs.com] has some real case mods. In my opinion, if you aren't building the case from scratch, it's not really extreme.

Re:not too extreme

[FroBugg]

But if you're building it from scratch, can you really call it a "mod?"

Re:not too extreme

[Jeff DeMaagd]

Some people refer to NASCAR racing as stock car racing.

Ummmmm... YEAH

[EMDischarge]

A little quote from the guy who built the Alien model.

"And it's a tribute to more innocent times, to movies I saw as a child, like Star Wars and Alien."

Um, how old was this guy when he say Alien? I mean, that wouldn't have been a movie I would want my kids to see. At the time I remember it being one of the most damn scary movies I had ever seen...

Re:Ummmmm... YEAH

[Andrewkov]

Um, how old was this guy when he say Alien? I mean, that wouldn't have been a movie I would want my kids to see.

Yeah, good thing he didn't turn out weird after seeing Alien as a kid!

QuakeCon Cases

[suso]

I was watching TechTV a few weeks ago and they were showing some of the extreme cases from QuakeCon. My favorite was the one made from a gas can. I wish this wired article had better pictures.

Shit!

[Cpt_Kirks]

These all make my portable mini-itx box, built into a $5.99 Kmart tool box (painted beige, of course), look kinda lame.

Of course, my oldest son still insists it's the coolest thing I've ever built.

D'oh!

Re:Shit!

[Cpt_Kirks]

It's uh, kind of crude. I did most of the work in one long, caffine overdosed session.

The whole I cut for the DVD drive doesn't fit too well. I have thought about putting up some pics on mini-itx.com.

This is the legacy of the bongheads

[ymgve]

1970: "Bet I can make a bong out of that!"

2003: "Bet I can make a casemod out of that!"

Re:This is the legacy of the bongheads

[maharg]

How making a bong out of an old Mac - apparently someone did it already - http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,50820,00.html [wired.com]

The iBong

[maharg]

found a picture and writeup here - http://www.budlife420.com/pg5/v1e7index.html [budlife420.com]

The atari case's builder...

[downix]

was my hotel roomate at the AmiWest show at the end of July. Kermit is a fun guy indeed. If you think the Atari case mod was bad enough, you should have seen what he did with an Amiga 1000, or even more interesting what he has planned for the near-future.

Sweet Mod

[SportyGeek]

This is another sweet case mod. I especially like his silver '90 Pontiac computer chair. http://www.inmodwetrust.com/articles.php?author=1& page=view&id=7 [inmodwetrust.com]

not extreme: pinstriped computer

[joebeone]

Check out Mike LaVella [gearheadmagazine.com]'s pinstriped computer [berkeley.edu] done by Dirty Donny [dirtydonny.com].