Hot wired: Jazz it up

By PAUL BRISLEN

The beige case has become something of an embarrassment to the PC world. While Apple generates buzz and excitement with its funky iMac designs, PC users have been forced to make do with computing equivalent of the grey sedan.

They're not all the same, that's true. IBM does a nice line in funky black cases and Dell's tinkering with grey bodes well for future generations. Laptops are generally pretty funky, especially the thin ones, but all up we're fighting an uphill battle.

Enter the case modifiers. Forget grey plastic, go for brushed aluminium. Forget clunky fans, water cooling's the future. Design your own or buy off the shelf, there's a world of sleek Euro-design and trashy gaudy plastics that make you think of a souped-up, tricked out, lowered Japanese import hatchback rumbling down Queen Street on a Saturday night.

Anyone really keen on modding their PC case should have a look at Overclockers for more information on how and possibly why.

The case:

First up you'll need a case to put all the parts in. This is the important bit, you don't want to stuff this up. Get the wrong colour, the wrong design and you'll get laughed at your next LAN party. If you don't know what a LAN party is, you'll get laughed at anyway so don't let that worry you.

Above is the world famous Lian-Li Side Panel Aquarium Kit, available in brushed aluminium, complete with six fake fish. Watch them swim, see the innards of your machine like you've never seen them before. Scare your cat with the blue cathode light and air pump (for realistic bubbles). Just make sure you clean all the dust bunnies out of the interior before you put it on display.

Price: US$75

The buttons:

Not strictly necessary, and it may clash with your fish case if you mod that way, but you can replace your PC's buttons with one of these seriously cool beasts.
This is the PST Switch with Red Military Style Cover and is a welcome asset to just about any case mod. The PST Switch looks just like the kind of switch missile control would use to launch its nukes in a bad Bond movie. One of the Roger Moore ones. Maybe Moonraker. Switch it on and a red LED lights up on the end. Now that's just cool.

Some electrical skills are needed as you'll actually have to rewire the switch to make it work but hey, it's worth it. Also good for non-PC mods, like in your car, should you need to launch missiles while on the move.

Price: US$15

The Coolest

The ultimate in case modifications. Forget fans, forget heat sinks, forget upgrading the chips or the memory or the hard drive to make your actual PC work better. This is what you want to spend your money on. This is the Zalman Reserator Water Cooling System. It cools your high-powered chipset by pumping water around your PC. No fans mean your PC is rigged for silent running. The tower acts as a reservoir as well as allowing the heat to dissipate and with the water pump built into the tower you don't have to worry about it making any noise either. Nice touch. The full kit contains the all important instruction manual, or you can buy the bits separately. Sadly, this item is only for sale to US customers but we're sure you resourceful types can get round that.

Price: US$230