Filed under: Desktops

Continue reading Battlestar Galactica case mod adds a touch of class and excitement to your work day

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

Oh sure, Stealth could’ve just phoned up NextComputing or ACME in order to acquire a beastly (albeit portable) LCD-infused desktop, but seriously, where’s the joviality in that? Instead, this clearly skilled individual decided to concoct a custom rig of his own, complete with two 22-inch LCDs, lots (and lots) of diamond plate and “zero compromises.” Dubbed the CinematographHD after a Lumière Brothers device from the 1980s, this massively potent video editing system also packs a Blu-ray drive, inbuilt speakers and a storage compartment for mice, keyboards and copious amounts of BAWLS. Check out the construction video just after the break.

[Thanks, Justin]

Continue reading CinematographHD case mod conceals monster video editing rig

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops, Peripherals

While the Acrylic Cowboy family of cases still has our hearts (okay, so maybe it’s just the mascot that does it for us), Antec’s latest offering is certainly worthy of praise. The aptly-dubbed Skeleton is wrongfully hailed as the “world’s first open air case,” but in reality, it is one of only a handful. Even with all that openness, there’s still a 250mm fan up top along with a 92mm one up front, but we suppose there’s no harm in being too careful. It also provides four drive bays, a layered tray design, seven expansion slots and a meager assortment of ports. You will have to provide your own power supply when the time comes, however, and you’ll also have to wait a tick to find out a price and release date.

[Via BoingBoing, thanks Matt]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

After discovering the Scan Toaster a few days ago (and who can forget the Nintoaster?) we had really high hopes for Gordon Johnson’s Toaster Computer Project. Unfortunately, though it sounds exotic (like some sort of WiFi, dual-core, programmable toaster oven), the Toaster Computer turns out to be little more than a PC housed in the classic Black & Decker Toast-It-All 4-Slice Toaster enclosure. There are a plethora of photos — and a YouTube video — to take you through the process (complete with a stomach churning trance techno version of “The Final Countdown” on the soundtrack). According to Johnson, the next step will be to replace the machine’s “regular cooling method” (also known as a “fan”) with a thermoelectric cooling process he calls the “Passive Laxative Copper Cooler Concept.” We look forward to seeing how that turns out. Video after the break.

[Via Hack A Day]

Continue reading Toaster Computer is fine for email, useless for Pop Tarts

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

There was no shortage of case mods at NVIDIA’s NVISION conference, but this one in particular managed to snag the majority of the spotlight. Created by Richard “DarthBeavis” Surroz, the Blade-themed DayWalker actually houses three separate computer systems; two are for playing games, while the other acts as a server. Conceptually, at least, the rig is designed to enable two users to play against one another, and given the “50+ fans” and triple SLI GTX 280 GPU setups (among other things), it’s no shock to hear that it’d cost around $18,000 to $20,000 to build again. ‘Course, that’s chump change when you’re stuffing away millions of dollars owed to the government — just ask Snipes… oh, wait.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Gaming

Correct us if we’re wrong, but the Lian Li XB01 chassis for the Xbox 360 marks a notable departure for the case mod industry. Far from making the 360 “more badass” or “more laptopy,” the Lian Li XB01 merely aspires to make the 360 what it should’ve been out of the gate: cool and quiet(er). The folks at bit-tech.net put one through its paces, and have discerned that it “looks pretty pimp.” They do note that the $150 case isn’t built with quite as high of standards as Lian Li is known for, and there were a few minor quibbles, but once they tossed the Xbox 360 innards inside and booted her up, it became clear what the XB01 is all about: the 360 run silently without a disc, and only makes a bit of noise with a DVD in. Unfortunately, as soon as you toss a game in the drive noise is once again deafening. Oh well, maybe next year we’ll get a 360 that doesn’t require earplugs to play… and at least hard drive-based games are right around the corner.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

Call us biased, but we still prefer Ben Heckendorn’s portable ColecoVision over this one, but that’s not to say we don’t deeply respect the immense amount of work that went into the mini ColecoVision. The seller of the unit stripped a ColecoVision PCB from an original casing and got to modding; when all was said and done, the miniaturized version still operated fine and required a lot less floor space. ‘Tis a shame the bidding just ended — now you’re stuck with Atarimax’s oh-so-similar (but not nearly as satisfying) MulitCart as you embarrassingly attempt to relive the past.

[Via technabob]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Peripherals

Had enough Wall-E mods yet? Really, you have? What, you some kind of whiskey-drunk, bunny stuffer? This is Wall-E, the Disney robot sent to save us from ourselves and apparently, beige computers. This latest mod drops a a trio (hey, why not) of DVD drives into Wall-E’s trash compacting belly. Add cardboard, aluminum, toy bulldozer parts, and some fancy Dremeling and this is the result. See him in action after the break.

[Thanks, John]

Continue reading Video: Wall-E’s DVD duplicator mod directive

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

Lego computers are about as old as the case mod scene itself, but while many have qualified as interesting, we’ve never seen a truly sexy Lego box before Luke Anderson’s all-black “Lego Computer,” which seems to distill all we’ve ever loved about high-end workstation boxen into lovable Lego form. Bonus points for full documentation of the project released under the Creative Commons license. Time-lapse vid is after the break.

[Via SlashGear]

Continue reading Monolith-esque Lego computer makes us want to pick up a Brick Separator and build a civilization

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

Well, we suppose the first two Orange Box mods we saw were Portal-related, but a love for Half-Life 2 is really implied in anything Valve-related, and this here Team Fortress 2 case mod feels like the end to a beautiful, Orange story — or perhaps the beginning of another. We’ll confess, we got our ass handed to us enough times in TF2 to make it a rare incident when we’d even make it to a Dispenser, but there’s love for this glorious blue box all the same, and TiTON has certainly done his homework in building the thing. Props all around. Now can someone swap to medic and give us a little backup over here?

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

People have been stuffing PCs in all kinds of things they don’t belong in for a while now, but this Linux cluster creatively packed into an Ikea Helmer filing cabinet might be the first time we’ve seen furniture actually modded into a useful case. Sure, it looks like an ordinary filing cabinet, but it’s packing six machines with Intel Core 2 Quad processors on Gigabyte S-series mobos with 8GB of RAM each, allowing it pump out 186 Gflops — enough to complete a render job that takes a 2.66Ghz quad-core Mac Pro nine hours in just 64 minutes. Yeah, that’s quite a filing cabinet. Hit the read links for tech specs, instructions, and updates on Helmer II.

[Via Make]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Truth be told, we still can’t believe this is the first commercially available glow in the dark Xbox 360 chassis, but then again, glow in the dark hasn’t been remotely fashionable since Bill Clinton left office. Still, if history is beginning to repeat itself, you know you want to be first on the bandwagon, and there’s no better way to throw it back than with the XCM Glow Pearl case. As it stands, the shell isn’t quite ready to be ordered, but we’re sure it’ll be worth every penny when your BFF sees just how gnarly this thing is in the dark.

[Via technabob]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Gaming

Oh yeah, we’ve seen some undeniably bizarre Xbox 360 case mods, but this freakish homegrown covering exemplifies the art of destroying resale value. We don’t quite know what else there is to say about an incredibly detailed alligator skinned console, but if pictures really are worth a thousand or so words, there’s an epic waiting for you down in the read link. Please kids, don’t try this at home.

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way: we can’t deny that the Iron Man Mark I case mod took some serious work (and skill). That being the case, it’d take a pretty hardcore fan of the character (or the new flick, we guess) to love this one with reckless abandon. Reportedly, the whole shebang was built in just three weeks, and while we’re still waiting for the full work log, feel free to hit the read link for an array of angles.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Gaming

Sure, we’ve already got a wooden SNES, but sometimes we want to get a little rustic on some original SMB, and that’s where Parker Dillmann’s wooden NES comes in handy. Built around the guts of a Yobo NES clone and a 3.5-inch LCD, Dillmann did some major custom woodworking to get this rig going, and he says he’s already got ideas for his next case. Tons more pics at the read link.

[Via Ben Heck]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

Sure, we think the iMac is a nice machine, but sometimes you want to add a PCI card or six, and when the cheapest beslotted Mac starts at a whopping $2,799, mods like Hideo Takano’s Mac Pro Mini just make you wonder what could have been. Of course, there are no slots in this bad boy either since it’s based around a stock 2.33GHz Mac mini, but it is a mighty impressive effort — actually, check out Hideo’s whole Mac Mod Lab site for even more sick Mini mods.

[Via Unplgged]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

We don’t know if this guy got his box running GLaDOS, but it sure as hell looks like standard issue Aperture Science, if you ask us. We’d like to see it running Portal though — only that would be recursive enough for our tastes.

[Thanks, Nick]

Continue reading Make your own Aperture Science PC workstation

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

You know that potent 2.6GHz Phenom 9900 CPU that quite a few folks are waiting for? Apparently, exactly one of said chips has escaped the labs (with AMD’s blessing, of course) and made its way into the sponsored (and recently completed) Project: Phenom gaming rig. Of course, the design here is way, way over the top, and while folks allergic to chrome and not so fond of blatant overkill may be scrunching their noses up right about now, there’s no denying that it’s packin’ a nice set of internals. Hit up the read link for a gazillion and one images along with a number of construction videos — just slip on your shades beforehand, cool?

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Gaming

Without question we’ve seen GameCube mods more extravagant than this, but until something even more adorable comes to light, we’re definitely giving the “Most Heartwarming” badge to this here creation. The Wall-E GameCube mod was inspired by the character in Disney’s upcoming film (titled Wall-E, of all things), and hours upon hours of TLC were clearly poured into this concoction. We know you’re eager for more angles of those eyes, so hit up the read link to get what you’re after.

[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Gaming

This one’s really bringing us back to eighth grade. Except, you know, replace dinosaurs with terrorists, and replace a real-live-working volcano with a PS3. Other than that it’s exactly the same.

Chris: “PlayStation Park, Las Vegas’ latest theme hotel, has left much of the Strip uninhabitable thanks to the 800 degree Fahrenheit stream of air continually emitted from the side of the building.”
Josh: “Finally, something more gaudy and depressing than the actual Las Vegas.”
Nilay: “Note: Beds do not vibrate.” or “We never noticed how much the Wynn looked like a Foreman grill.”
Paul: “I’ll be in the garage if you need me, honey. Working on the, uh… car.”
Richard: “Ok, who left the Allspark next to the PS3?”
Ittousai: “Vegas-based terrorist group with micropulse bomb is demanding backwards compatibility; more at 11.”
Steve: “Kutaragi: ‘This hotel is probably too cheap’”
Ross: “Voted loosest memory card slots on the Strip!” or “I’m putting all my Cell chips on Blu!” or “Yeah, it may have nine processing cores but are they synchronized to dancing fountains?“

[Via technabob]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments