Case mod throws tradition to the wind, uses heatsinks as enclosure

Typically, when you think case mod, you wonder just how tweaked a six-walled chassis can get. For Ville 'Willek' Kyrö, he figured that approach was much too constrictive. Instead, he used an array of heavy-duty heatsinks to actually build the frame that held the innards of Project: Passive. Needless to say, more heat pipes than we care to count were used along with what was likely miles of cable wrap, but hey, it's hard to complain with the end result. Hit up the read link to witness this thing's entire journey -- seven whole pages worth -- and make sure you've got a substantial chunk of unused vacation time before you even think of doing something similar.

[Via Hack N Mod]

[ScreamingSkull @ Mar 6th 2008 10:27AM]

Wow, I think the Tardis is missing something now.

[Vanillacide @ Mar 6th 2008 11:15AM]

My Zalman TNN 500AF did this years ago -- and still does, in silence. :)

[Wwhat @ Mar 6th 2008 2:42PM]

Yeah for 1500 bucks you can buy a zalman... and that's just the case...

[Raheem @ Mar 6th 2008 10:29AM]

Picture won't show up for me :(

[technophobe @ Mar 6th 2008 10:30AM]

it's not really a case mod, there is no case!

[ijyt @ Mar 6th 2008 10:33AM]

That's pretty funky looking.

[Nick @ Mar 6th 2008 10:44AM]

Engadget seems pretty interested in case mods lately.. Not that I think that's too bad though, this case is just so cool.

[SimonRichards @ Mar 6th 2008 10:43AM]

I love it. want. must make one. now. brb.

[Clinton @ Mar 6th 2008 3:00PM]

my xbox 360 could use something like that. >_>

[Brian Jarrett @ Mar 6th 2008 10:45AM]

What about noise?

[Zeus.:God @ Mar 6th 2008 10:53AM]

There is none- its all passive.

[Brian Jarrett @ Mar 6th 2008 10:59AM]

Neat!

[PhilxBefore @ Mar 6th 2008 12:21PM]

Except for the HDD as he stated he couldn't afford to stick a SSD in it.

Awesome mod however.

[Homeboy @ Mar 6th 2008 12:55PM]

Noise? Neva heard of it. What is it? Do you live with it? Does it give you company??

[Wwhat @ Mar 6th 2008 2:43PM]

There is no noise because the project failed due to a faulty mobo and he didn't try a second time.

[ITRanger @ Mar 6th 2008 10:46AM]

Nice!
But this things is only running with a VIA processor ... ;-)!

[rcappo @ Mar 6th 2008 10:56AM]

Aren't there easier ways to build a silent PC? I'm going to be getting a fanless power supply one of these days.

Sure, it looks cool, and as someone who has built their own case before, I know how long it can take.

[Frankenstein Black @ Mar 6th 2008 10:51AM]

A little something from Zalman, circa 2004.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/zalman-tnn500a.html
Dratz "Ville Kyro",foiled again!

[Zeus.:God @ Mar 6th 2008 10:58AM]

Thats all well and good, but this guy went above and beyond what that Zalman has to offer.

[Iain @ Mar 6th 2008 11:51AM]

Er, not really - that Zalman case is extremely limited in what components it can use and is unsuitable for a lot of hotter ones.

I don't doubt for a second that this guy's case is a superior to the Zalman in probably every respect.

[alex @ Mar 6th 2008 12:19PM]

@Zeus
If you mean a case mod that weighs in over 44lbs constitute going "above and beyond" then I rather live a life of mediocrity and just get a Zalman without getting the hernia of lifting that sucker.

[Wwhat @ Mar 6th 2008 2:44PM]

You must have a garden with some money trees if you buy that zalman case.

[Zeus.:God @ Mar 6th 2008 5:16PM]

Aww, Alex, is 44 pounds too much for you?

44 pounds is not much, and it's not like you're going to be carrying it around with you everywhere. The occasional movement from the bench to the desk/floor wouldn't be bad at all, unless you're an absolute weakling.

[bigdoggie @ Mar 6th 2008 10:52AM]

Looks epic, one of the best case mods ever, if you can call it a "mod" :D

[Jason @ Mar 6th 2008 10:59AM]

I call it less of a mod, and more of a artistic concept developed from scratch :)

[Zeus.:God @ Mar 6th 2008 10:55AM]

Opteron 170 according to the article. However, it is running VIA chipsets.

[George M. @ Mar 6th 2008 11:07AM]

That is case is a marriage of both function and design, it should be in the Tate Museum in London or the Guggenheim in NYC. It deserves as much praise as the Optimus Maximus keyboard and the Dyson Vacuum for pushing the boundaries of design to the next level.

I want one.

[Chance Morgan @ Mar 6th 2008 11:31AM]

I have to agree with you. Beautiful marriage.

[Simon Skoog @ Mar 6th 2008 5:28PM]

I actually submitted this idea in a case design competition Asus held. Great idea imo

[OneLove @ Mar 6th 2008 11:27AM]

with a the components that come with large heat sinks and take up dual slots, this is very prophetic.

[Marc @ Mar 6th 2008 11:31AM]

at least it looks better than an alienwre produuct... or that just as crap looking asus gaming machine

[Karl Hackswell @ Mar 6th 2008 11:34AM]

That is a sweet machine, but brings me to this question. What is the normal temperature (in celcius) for a processor to run? I know my laptop will get in the low 60's occasionally after playing half-life 2 or something very power intensive. (this is according to speedfan)

Is that normal?

[david_topping @ Mar 6th 2008 11:55AM]

I wanted to come up with something terribly witty and slightly dismissive until I realised that I’m actually very impressed indeed. This isn’t so much a mod as a commonsense way of building things. Formula 1 adopted the gearbox casing as a structural component years ago, a number of motorcycle engines are part of the chassis of modern bikes.

Now if someone would apply this where space / weight is really at a premium and start making batteries into structural casings for our mobile devices maybe we wouldn’t be quite so tethered to the power socket.

[ug @ Mar 6th 2008 2:14PM]

At that point it's not a case anymore. It's a space heater.

[Jeremy @ Mar 6th 2008 1:45PM]

That's cool

[Jeremy @ Mar 6th 2008 1:49PM]

I meant to say:
That's cool leftbracket /pun rightbracket
It thought that is was real html

[happy_penguin @ Mar 6th 2008 2:56PM]

I love it!

[SoreThumb @ Mar 6th 2008 6:07PM]

This case looks cool.

[Ryan Singer @ Mar 7th 2008 12:34AM]

it's architecturally interesting. I like how true it is to function. my only pet peeve looking at all the surface area would be cleaning.. I hate dusting nooks and crannies. But don't mind me.. I'm a neat freak. it's nice