PCs have flown off the shelves during the pandemic as more of us kept ourselves entertained at home, even if hardware such as graphics cards have seen massive price hikes for various reasons. Building your own PC has been a popular thing to do as well, but some PC enthusiasts have taken things to whole new levels and created some truly unique customized PCs.
Z-Tower by Pause Hardware
Liquid cooling systems, cases made from wood, spray painting and Matrix-esque PCs are all in the mix with some having won competitions during 2021 for their crazy customized designs. Some of these PCs have used existing cases that have been modified, while others have been scratch built from the ground up and using the latest hardware from the likes of Nvidia, AMD and Intel.
Below are some of my favorite PC mods and scratch built PCs of 2021 and you can see galleries of each of them plusore of them using the links to their owners websites or project pages.
Backup Operator by RandomDesign
This project is massive, highly detailed and instantly recognizable in terms of it's theme. Clearly not practical compared to a normal PC, but that's not the point. It's a fantastic work of art that just looks amazing.
Intel x Carbon Project by Son Gay Custom
This fantastic-looking PC features a unique case design and watercooling channels suspended in a distribution plate in the roof. It's one of the cleanest, best-looking extreme PCs I saw in 2021.
Royal Desk by Jeffrey Vos
An annual PC modding roundup wouldn't be complete without a desk PC and the elegant wooden desk PC I spotted by Jeffrey Vos was yet another fresh new take on this most lavish of PC designs. Water-cooled with a built-in screen, it’s definitely one of the most drool-worthy PCs I saw in 2021.
Icarus-1 by ExploreModding
As the winner of Cooler Master's Case Mod World Series competition last year, Alessandro Zaiti's follow up had a lot riding on it. We weren't disappointed, though, as his entry to Zotac's Magnus One Challenge this year looks fantastic and we love the fact it uses an external radiator to cool the tiny PC, which probably means it's extremely quiet too.
Angel Glacier by snef
Snef has made several projects in 2021, but Angel Glacier is my favorite thanks to its clean design and fantastic use of color, which is a trademark of his, and epic custom distribution plate at the front. Imagine this sitting on your desk at home.
Minima Draco by Diniguan
While perhaps not the most lavish PC here, Minima Draco is one of the best small form factor PCs I've seen this year. With not one, not two, but three radiators packed into a tiny Cooler Master MasterCase NR200P case, yet still finding room for neat tubing runs, a water-cooled graphics card and processor, you'll probably find like me that you'll continue to find new elements of eye candy the longer you stare at it.
Wood Ridge by TerHorstCustoms
Wooden PCs are quite rare for the simple reason it's a tricky material to get right when working with it. To make that easier, you can pick a ready-made object of course, but TerHorstCustoms has picked something very apt - the original AMD Ryzen press pack box. Inside, they've squeezed a fully water-cooled PC and with the addition of case feet and handles, the wooden presentation box has been turned into an attractive PC case.
Project Void by PcWerks
Sometimes a PC just clicks in terms of colors and design and Project Void is one of those designs. As well as a funky Apex Legends-inspired exterior, the interior is beautiful and the externally-routed water cooling tubes have turned plenty of heads on social media too.
Liz Art Lab by Carl Collard
Undoubtedly my favorite crazy PC of 2021 was Liz Art Lab by Carl Collard. This crazy mix of liquid cooling, tube runs and fully functioning gaming PC sports an old circular radiator for cooling, but its unique design made it one of my favorite scratch built PCs of the year.
Z-Tower by Pause Hardware
The Z-Tower case from manufacturer InWin is one of the craziest ever conceived and weighs in at over 40kg/88Ibs. Imagine, then, adding 20kg or so of water-cooling hardware to the mix? Thankfully, the result is as spectacular-looking as it is heavy and plenty of jaws dropped when Pause Hardware's project went online earlier this year.
