I wanted to build myself a new gaming PC, and I'm not a huge fan of RGB. So I built something… different.
The look is based on a '50s US Civil Defense Geiger counter, and the case is from a Baxter Flo-Guard 6301 IV pump. I gutted the case and mounted a mini ITX board in there. I also made a custom front panel from sheet metal, painted the case, and got a Civil Defense sticker for the back. The text on the front is stamped with permanent ink and clearcoated over. It doesn't look perfect but it's good enough.
It's got an i5 10500, 32 gigs of DDR4, and a 1tb SSD, along with a low profile RTX 4060.
The analog gauges on the front panel are wired to an Arduino, which talks to a Python program on the PC via USB serial. They display CPU and GPU usage, and the last one can be switched between CPU and GPU temperature via one of the toggle switches (also wired to the Arduino.)
The buttons and LEDs are all wired to the standard front panel headers.
IO is pretty limited. I didn't want to cut more holes in the case than absolutely necessary, so everything is run through panel mount extensions. The motherboard is mounted upside down with the 4060 at the top.
The whole thing is cooled by 6x 60mm fans, with intake on the left and exhaust on the right. They do a surprisingly decent job of keeping things cool, and aren't as loud as I had worried (though they are definitely audible.) I haven't seen CPU temp go over 73 or GPU over 76.
YouTube video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU-oU8-UvCM
It's not a full making of, just an intro. My workspaces are far too dirty to film in.
Let me know what y'all think!
26 Comments
The folks at r/doohickeycorporation might vibe with this.
This is so cool!! Awesome build!!
This is crazy. I love it.
I’m an old analog dude. Can’t go wrong with meters and toggle switches.
Bravo!!
Okay. Fine. I’ll bite..
How much to make me one, please?
Anything fun like being able to toggle on the crackling sound on higher loads that can be tweaked?
Either way cool build
Does it go beyond 3.6 roentgen?
Absolutely awesome, folk!
This could not be better, unless it made the massive radiation burst sound in startup ?
Hell yea this shit cool af
That’s sick
An elite build for sure! Kudos!
r/CyberDeck might enjoy this post
creativity of some is something I envy
you are one of those folks!
this is the best custom build ive seen tbh, super cool
Sick build!
Now play Fallout and/or Stalker 2!
This is so cool
This is the coolest custom build I’ve seen in a long time. Gorgeous work
Absolutely brilliant idea, perfectly executed
Mine is in the shop.
Nice build, I rate it 3.6
No pet cat in the picture, does that mean we’re supposed to down vote? /s
Sick build ☢️
I’m in love with this build. Insane work mate.
Imagine playing Fallout on this bad boy