Part 2: 20 Crazy And Unique Case Mods

The ToiletPC

Now wouldn't this just be special sitting on your desktop? A nasty, dirty toilet showing a bowl full of... hardware!

This ToiletPC case mod was built back in 2001 for the QuakeCon 2001 case competition. According to its creator, Envador, it didn't place because there wasn't a category fit for its unusual design. Still, it's interesting. All that seems to be missing is the stench (that's assumed) and a roll of toilet paper.

Envador said the toilet is actually a kid's potty he bought from Wal-Mart for $9.00. The flusher is the rig's power switch and most of the hardware (including the floppy, CD-ROM, and a 45 GB hard drive) is mounted on the back.

Inside, the modder stuffed an Asus CUSI FX FlexATX motherboard packed with an ATI Radeon 7000 PCI card (remember, this was 2001), 256 MB of generic PC133 RAM, a 145 W microATX power supply, and an Intel Pentium III processor clocked at 933 MHz.

"I used a long green LED light to make the toilet glow green in the dark...nothing like some good green radioactive bio-hazard toilet stuff to top it off," Envador said.

Trash Can

This was the first case mod created by Aceedee, which incorporates a standard stainless-steel trashcan.

"[I] basically figured out how to put all the components inside with cable ties, nuts and bolts, and mounting brackets," Aceedee said. "Still a work-in-progress though--four fans with LEDs [have to be] placed, [as well as] the Samsung DVD writer, which is to be placed just above the power and reset switch."

So what's in this can? Aceedee threw in an Intel Pentium D processor seated on an Asus P5S-MX SE motherboard, 1 GB of Kingston RAM, and a GeCube Radeon X1650 512 MB PCI Express video card (which supports 1 GB with HyperMemory). He also used a Seagate 7200 RPM 250 GB hard drive and a TrendSonic 550 W power supply.

The mod was posted online back in September 2007.

Little Caesar’s Pizza Box

Talk about keeping it green--this PC case mod isn't really a mod at all, but is a working PC made of recycled parts and a used Little Caesar's pizza box.

The source of this mod was difficult to locate, while images show that the modder cut a hole on one side for the optical drive's loading tray and a hole in the top for the exhaust fan. But what's missing from the pictures is crumbs, plates, and cups of any sort--apparently this rig wasn't thrown together during an all-night LAN event or a similar event.

As for the components, it's difficult to tell what brands are used, but it looks as if everything is secured to the interior of the box with Scotch tape. The CPU fan itself has a rather cool-blue LED, though it seems somewhat of a waste if the pizza box lid remains closed.

If anything, this mod shows that creative minds can slice together an unusual rig even if that means having to dig through the recycling bin. Unfortunately, there's no indication that this greasy rig could play Crysis or if it came with anchovies.

Star Wars R2-D2

We couldn't do a case mod story without covering some type of Star Wars-themed contraption now, could we?

While it's highly unlikely this R2-D2 PC can serve drinks or shoot jolts of electricity on a whim, this build merits a second look at least. Frenk Janse built Artoo's innards using an old redundant PC equipped with an Intel Pentium 4 clocked at 2.8 GHz, 768 MB of RAM, and a 64 MB Nvidia GeForce MX 400 graphics card.

Believe it or not, this droid started out as an old stainless-steel garbage can. The modder also custom fit another chassis to hold the hardware.

The entire process was pre-planned using a set of blueprints. In the end, the modder constructed a near-identical replica that sports a working Webcam, a rotating antenna, an HD LED, and various smaller lights in the head. The main body also houses the CPU's fan control, the PC fans, and a slot for a DVD disc. The legs carry the droid's speakers and blue lights emit from the feet.

Unfortunately, Artoo doesn't actually move or turn its head, but the droid does make random beeps much like its sci-fi movie counterpart. So how much did it cost to make this PC mod? $120. Not too shabby.

Pentagram PC

This case mod looks both a little cool and a little creepy at the same time.

Magnus Persson, the creator behind the Pentagram mod, used a Via EPIA EX1500G motherboard, 1 GB of Corsair Dominator PC2-8500 memory, a 250 GB Seagate hard drive, a 120 W power supply, and a Matrix Orbital GX display mounted in the center of the neon star.

Despite its unique look, the rig was designed to be mounted on the living room wall (although it does have legs, too), offering Internet access and digital content to the TV. The whole case is made from layered, 5 mm acrylic sheets. Persson used 26 sheets in total made of A.C. Ryan acrylic 50 cm x 50 cm panels, 13 of which are green, while the rest are black.

"My choice of the pentagram as the inspiration for this case is not based on any religious beliefs at all--I am an absolute hardcore atheist," Persson said.

He details the entire construction process here, showing how he created the star's neon circular mount and installed the hardware.

"I set out to make a unique HTPC case that I was actually going to use, and in the end I got exactly what I wanted. I haven’t seen any case like this before, and that’s nice--with each build it gets harder and harder to come up with something original," Persson said. "But with a wall-mounted, pentagram-shaped HTPC, I think I managed to do something that hasn’t been done before."

Chimera

Talk about wow. Roland "ChImErA" Gschwender's "first and only" case mod called Chimera is nothing short of stunning.

The towering, neon-green mod was last seen at the European case-modding exhibition held at Cebit 2005. While specifics weren't provided (such as its overall height or how he managed to get it to the show) Gschwender admitted that stickers from Biohazard and Counter-Strike inspired its creation.

"I fetched some Biohazard stickers during my civil service and that’s how it started," he said.

Inside this neon beast is an AMD Athlon XP 2400+ CPU running at 3 GHz, a Radeon 9700 Pro, 1 GB of Corsair XMS RAM, and a 200 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM hard drive. For water cooling, Gschwender added a ceramic-bearing pump. There is also a side-door that can be opened using a remote control.

Toaster PC

Okay, so the Toaster PC isn't exactly the most attractive mod you can find (although it is a lot prettier than the pizza box mod), but it's still an interesting concept. No, the device doesn't actually make toast, but rather houses a VIA EPIA M9000 motherboard, a 40 GB hard drive, 512 MB of DDR memory, a Panasonic 4x DVD optical drive, a Hauppauge USB TV card, and more.

As for the actual toaster, it was a GE model before the modder ripped out its innards. Toaster PC modder Adam Bertram said the inspiration to build this unique PC came from his significant other.

"My wife came to me and asked to place our old PII tower computer in the kitchen (she has several cookbooks, gets recipes online, etc.). "Now let me tell you that not only is this tower computer huge, it is U-G-L-Y. I don’t even think it would fit underneath the kitchen cabinets, and don’t even ask about the six-year-old 15" monitor," he said. "Now, when I explained all of this to one of my co-workers he suggested a mini-ITX system. I had never heard of this, but when he told me about how small it was, its capabilities, and its price, I thought 'wunderbar' this is it!"

To see how he crammed a PC into a GE kitchen toaster, head here.

The Great Satan

Someone evidently had a beef with Dell's computers.

When loading up the site showcasing The Great Satan's overall construction, the modder behind this evil design admitted that the conversion was a literal translation of his view about the distributor. He even sacrificed an old Dell Inspiron M155 case just for the cause.

After throwing a huge spine over the back and slapping a skeletal arm on the side, the modder loaded it all up with foam and lots of demonic red paint. He topped off the entire satanic rig with a rather disturbing, fang-laden skull. The end result? A monstrosity that might make friends and family question the end-user's sanity. Good luck sleeping at night with that in the room.

Under its evil hood, the modder threw in an Asus Dragon motherboard and AMD's Athlon XP 3000+ processor. For a power supply, he used the Cooler Master 600 W eXtreme Power Plus. On the front he mounted a touch-screen display behind a circular frame and a slot-loaded DVD drive placed just underneath. Unfortunately, that's the extent of the available specs.

As if to reiterate his overall views on Dell, on the side, the modder added a "HELL" logo with the slanted "E" for which Dell is known. In the rear is a fog machine with a small switch protruding from the chassis. Wicked.

This YouTube video shows the PC in action.

Whiskey Bottle

Here's a case mod dedicated to PC enthusiasts who prefer a little nightcap in the evening.

Apparently, the idea behind the Whiskey PC was not to encourage consuming large doses of alcohol, but rather to make something quiet, small, and with minimal power consumption, while also functioning as a basic home server. With that in mind, modder Janos Marton decided to create the rig using a 1.5 liter Ballantine's bottle and a 3.5" single-board computer just because it hadn't been done before. The end result looks right at home with his other racked and free-standing bottles.

The drawback to this design is that the ports (VGA, serial, USB, etc.) are mounted through the side and not the back--this defeats any attempts to hide the attached cables. As for components, Marton threw in an Intel Pentium III 733EB processor, 256 MB of notebook RAM, a 40 GB notebook hard drive, and a 60 W power supply.

"The RAM module is placed at the back side of the motherboard," Marton said in 2006. "A compact flash card slot is also situated there, so I could use it instead of IDE hard drive."

The hard drive and power supply were inserted into the bottle first, then he managed to cram in the remainder of the components. He mounted an old VGA cooling fan at the base of the neck so it could pipe out the heat generated from within.

GerbilPC

Go ahead, get it out of your system. Say "oooooh" and "ahhhh." This neon rig simply looks awesome, even though the base component is actually meant to house rodents (a CritterTrail gerbil cage, in fact).

Called GerbilPC, this case mod sports a brilliant combination of colors that compliment each other. The rig was built in 2007 and took around 40 hours to complete. As for specs, it packs an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ processor, a MSI K8N Neo motherboard (Socket 939), an ATI Radeon X500 PCI Express (PCIe) graphics card, a 320 GB IDE hard drive, and 2 GB of PC-3200 RAM. It also has a 500 W power supply, a DVD burner, and a 24-in-1 card reader.

"This bad boy comes with four 80 mm UV reactive green/blue case fans, heat sinks for the RAM, a 12" dual-UV cold cathode light, a 12" blue-cold cathode, a 24" UV IDE cable, and a modified orange five-LED light array to display hard disk usage, as well as a blue-lit power button (blue dome on front)," the modder said. "Even the processor fan, as well as the gerbil cage itself, has been sprayed with a clear UV blue and green reactive spray paint. The blue cold cathode on the bottom radiates light and will light up an entire room from darkness. The UV fans on the lid even light up any UV-reactive items that are within 15 feet."

Casefancasefancase

This PC case mod, designed by Peter Edge, was made of case fans, Dexian shelving, nylon cable ties, terminal blocks, nylon motherboard mounts, backplane blanks, wire, and screws.

Inside, the modder packed an MSI MS-6540 motherboard mounted with an Intel Pentium 4 3 GHz Prescott processor. It also featured 512 MB of DDR-400 RAM, a 40 GB ATA hard drive, and a 36x CD-ROM optical drive.

Did we mention that it was covered in fans? Lots of them. As in, 70 8 cm case fans. The reasoning behind this monstrosity? To keep the innards cool.

"This was as much an art project as it was a case mod," the modder said here. "I intended it to be indicative of the work I do, the things I see and work with every day, and I also put an interesting spin on a common concern in the hardcore PC-user community. Or you could say that is all a load of bollocks and I just thought it would be a cool thing to do--perhaps a little from both columns."

He added that the project took around three weeks to reach its current state. "The case is still largely intact, but shelved until I can get my hands on some half-decent hardware and have a bunch of time up my sleeve," Edge said.