case mod
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Monolith-esque Lego computer makes us want to pick up a Brick Separator and build a civilization
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]
Destroyed beauty: Gears of War case mod
Remember the creepy Xbox 360 alligator case mod? Creator dfw monkie is back again with a brand new mod and this time it's actually related to an Xbox 360 game. The game in question is Gears of War and dfw monkie has put together a very impressive mod. The mod features raised textures and a glowing Gears of War logo. The only feature we think we would have trouble adjusting to is the glowing red ring of light. How will you know when the Xbox 360 is broken? Will you get the Green Rings of Death? Check out a video of the console in action after the break.
QuakeCon 2008 in pictures
OMGWTFBBQ! What you see above is just one of many outlandish case mods to be found at QuakeCon 2008's "BYOC" LAN party annex. Given the fans and heatsinks that thing's sporting, we wouldn't be surprised if you could actually grill on it. Our sister site, Big Download, is at the annual frag fest covering all things PC and snapped these photos, along with some general ambiance shots (read: booth girls). Gallery: QuakeCon 2008 PC Case Mod Gallery Gallery: QuakeCon 2008
Case modder crams PC into homegrown Team Fortress 2 sentry
We find it impossible to think that anyone in attendance of a local LAN party wouldn't be awestruck when this rig waltzed in, and truthfully, we'd be a little distracted by its boyish good looks all the while. TiTON -- the same mastermind that brought us the Team Fortress 2 Dispenser -- has recreated a TF2 sentry that (unfortunately) fires no real shells at enemies. On the upside, it does pack enough hardware to enable gamers to light up rebel forces within a digital realm, but just like your 16th birthday cake, this one may be too pretty to indulge in. Tap the read link for lots more images and a breakdown of the build.
Team Fortress 2 Dispenser case mod completes Orange Box trifecta
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?
Commodore Gaming offers EVE Online themed desktop PCs
Commodore Gaming and CCP have teamed up to produce EVE Online themed, gaming-focused desktop computers. There's not much to them; you get a case with some EVE artwork, and you choose between a pre-built system (which features an Intel Core 2 Quad processor and an NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX video card) and a custom system with components you determine.Official case-mod deals make up a chunk of Commodore's strategy to compete with the big boys of enthusiast gaming PC sales -- like Alienware (now owned by Dell) and VoodooPC (now owned by Hewlett-Packard). Given the prestige of the old Commodore brand, this new iteration has a long way to go.If you're a really hardcore EVE player in the market for a new computer, going this route couldn't hurt; you can even configure the case to match your faction of choice. Then again, do you really need a 9800 GTX to play EVE Online? Not so much, but it's up to you!
Glow in the dark Xbox 360 enclosure takes you back to 1992
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]
Feed your discs to the alligator-skinned Xbox 360
We're usually not ones to post about console case mods of any sort, but we decided to buck that trend today -- namely because no case mod we've ever seen has inspired such fear into our hearts. A forum-dweller by the name of dfw monkie recently posted pictures of his latest monstrosity to The Llamma's Game Console Forums (instilling a greater fear in us that a Llama-themed 360 is in the works) -- an Xbox 360, covered in the pitch-black skin of a gargantuan alligator that dfw monkie killed with his bare hands.Okay, the crocodilian pattern was created with common crafting supplies, but we much prefer our own "Man vs. Wild" interpretation of the console's backstory. Martha Stewart-esque origins or no, the final product is still downright unsettling.
Alligator skin Xbox 360 case is a bit too realistic
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]
iPhone case mod with LED logo
Back in February, we posted a link to a beautiful iPhone case mod that used a matte black TiAIN finish. iPhoneclub community member Jo Croiman has gone in the opposite direction, creating a polished metal beauty complete with LED logo.The Psycho iPhone Mod, as he calls it, is the result of manufacturing his own rear case pieces, polishing them for hours with a Dremel and affixing LEDs -- taken from another dead iPhone -- underneath a plexiglass logo (the LEDs only pull an additional 50mAh from the battery).Finally, he sandblasted his own logo into the back of the case. We think it looks fantastic! Great work, Jo.
Iron Man case mod shows lots of dedication, is still ugly
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.
Super Mario Galaxy mod reaches for the stars [update 2]
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/mods/Super_Mario_Galaxy_Wii_mod/'; Mamma mia, that's a nice mod. We'd expect no less from the ever-so-incredible Morpheon Mods crew, who've put together quite a nice collection of Wiis for us to gawk at. The Super Mario Galaxy theme of this particular mod, though, helps it rank as our favorite of the bunch.The LEDs are a nice touch, especially the ones in the back-lit marquee, and we approve of the various sounds they've rigged to the console. We also like the twinkling stars effect -- simply awesome. All in all, it's a stunning mod that can be yours if you have deep pockets, since it's up for auction on eBay. This is one auction that we won't mind seeing skyrocket, however, since a portion of the profits will be donated to Child's Play!%Gallery-20580%[Update: The eBay auction has been removed, for unknown reasons. If the item gets relisted, though, we'll be sure to update the post again with the new link!][Update 2: Yay! The auction was relisted and the eBay link above has been fixed. Or, you can just click here.]
Wooden portable NES lets you game in style
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]
Mac Pro Mini mod is almost the midrange tower Mac you've always wanted
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 Mac mini with a 2.33GHz processor upgrade, 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]
Make your own Aperture Science PC workstation
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]
Phenom 9900-powered case mod could lift off at any moment
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?
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]
Slick iPhone mod
We all know that the iPhone is beautiful (OK, not all of us). The only thing I dislike about its appearance is the chrome band that separates the top and bottom halves. The iPod touch is much more attractive without it.General [M]ayhem forum user KnightKrew felt the same way, and did something about it. Check out this beautiful iPhone mod. With its entire body encased in black TiAlN, it is the Sith Lord of iPhones. What the heck is TiAIN? It's a ceramic coating used to improve the performance of cutting tools. KnightKrew decided it would be the best material for his project after examining the composition of the phone's external surfaces with an electron microscope (see the pictures here). He states that it's now even more durable.That's some serious modding. It looks great, KnightKrew.
Wall-E GameCube mod melts our hearts, makes us want
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]
iToilet case mod finally delivers upon the concept's amazing promise
"iToilet" may very well be the lamest running joke in all of Appledom -- at least one badly done render shows up for every Stevenote that goes by -- so it's nice to see it finally deliver. Some nerds found this here toilet sitting by a street, and after some ill-advised drilling and a few cans of spray paint they had a silver toilet complete with Apple logo and computer internals. Yeah, maybe not our idea of a fun weekend, but for an Apple fanboy this is the truest form of devotion. There's video after the break.
