Is real case modding dead?

  • Thread starter Thread starter DHR
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Looks good and sleek and a credit to you however, I remember Alphacool having a dual drive bay monitor available albeit much less modern many moons ago. Even Asus had something similar when the ROG board first appeared. I guess I wouldn't say 'dead' but its certainly not as popular as it used to be because the need is (mainly) fulfilled by off the shelf components.



 
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w3bbo said:
I remember Alphacool having a dual drive bay monitor available albeit much less modern many moons ago. Even Asus had something similar when the ROG board first appeared.
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That Alphacool display is just another special-purpose display that needs software to make it do anything. You couldn't use it as an actual monitor. I don't know about the Asus one as I've not seen it.
 
I certainly think it's still alive, but there's less of a need for it now given how far cases have come.

There's some fantastic mod projects on these forums even, I just think that for the average person wanting a "cool looking PC/has good cooling" etc there's actually tons of stock options now, as long as you can make a tidy build you'll be grand. I remember buying a dremel kit and a few other things back in the day to alter cases but it's just not necessary anymore, that and I lack any sense of artistic flair on top outside of appreciation for what others can do.

Not so fond memories of taking the HDD cage out of a Antec 300 and adding a larger side panel fan for the GPU! It did not go as planned, but was at least functional in the end and I was happy enough with the results. Now I can spend £40-50 on a case that fits my cooling requirements with minimal fuss, let alone the higher end stuff on the market.
 
Mr Evil said:
That Alphacool display is just another special-purpose display that needs software to make it do anything. You couldn't use it as an actual monitor. I don't know about the Asus one as I've not seen it.
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But isn't that the case with all monitors - they require software to operate? HWinfo, AIDA64 etc? The alphacool module was a 'visual' display of fan speeds, temps iirc yes things have come along way to today but the point holds true that a 5.25" bay monitor is and was available ready built, albeit not up to the spec of your homemade one.
 
Gray2233 said:
I certainly think it's still alive, but there's less of a need for it now given how far cases have come.

There's some fantastic mod projects on these forums even, I just think that for the average person wanting a "cool looking PC/has good cooling" etc there's actually tons of stock options now, as long as you can make a tidy build you'll be grand. I remember buying a dremel kit and a few other things back in the day to alter cases but it's just not necessary anymore, that and I lack any sense of artistic flair on top outside of appreciation for what others can do.

Not so fond memories of taking the HDD cage out of a Antec 300 and adding a larger side panel fan for the GPU! It did not go as planned, but was at least functional in the end and I was happy enough with the results. Now I can spend £40-50 on a case that fits my cooling requirements with minimal fuss, let alone the higher end stuff on the market.
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PRecisely. I loved modding years and years ago but there is simply so much off the shelf products available the need to mod just isn't really there anymore unless you want something truly unique/bespoke.
 
w3bbo said:
But isn't that the case with all monitors - they require software to operate? HWinfo, AIDA64 etc? The alphacool module was a 'visual' display of fan speeds, temps iirc yes things have come along way to today but the point holds true that a 5.25" bay monitor is and was available ready built, albeit not up to the spec of your homemade one.
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It's a normal monitor that shows whatever the computer outputs on the HDMI port. It can be used to show system stats like the photo, but also to browse the web, run Windows update, or even enter the BIOS. No particular software needed.
 
Feels like case modding has gone down in popularity as lan parties have gone down in popularity.
Lan party/gaming events used to be where people would showcase their modded cases.
These days all you see online is people's rooms/gaming setups with colour coordinated stuff and nanoleafs etc etc.
 
Gazb said:
Feels like case modding has gone down in popularity as lan parties have gone down in popularity.
Lan party/gaming events used to be where people would showcase their modded cases.
These days all you see online is people's rooms/gaming setups with colour coordinated stuff and nanoleafs etc etc.
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Yeah this feels correct. There are also a lot of fancy cases (often in various colours), RGB lighting systems, watercooling kits etc all available off the shelf, so the need for actual modding has shrunk.
 
DHR said:
I was talking about case modding today in work with some of the younger staff, was recalling this very forum being packed full of random tips and tricks for modding cases "back when I were a lad we couldn't buy these things off the shelf" :cry:
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I modded my case just a little

Nothing special just cut a 130mm or 140mm round hole with a 4" angle grinder for the PSU fan as the Evolv X case only has a hole underneath for the PSU fan
My Dremel died so i cut it with my angle grinder :eek:

Glqse45.jpeg
 
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Seems like most people just tend to go with tempered glass and RGB these days which is nice but kinda gets stale quick when everyone's got it :D
I do miss the days of coming across unique case mods,I had a fractal case that I added castors too and sprayed the front mesh grill white :D

Made it look like a server of some sort :D
 
I picked up a cooler master cosmos s tower to turn into a storage build, it's for practical reasons but it is taking me back a little, even though I'm from the era of cheap beige computer fair boxes!
 
Hades said:
Gordyhand rings a bell :)

I remember the early days of people dremelling windows into cases, etc. The first real mod I saw was a quake team member at I99 literally having a very small domestic radiator bolted to the side of his case for home made watercooling.
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That was me. Used a jigsaw to cut open a side panel and put a rubber gasket in and window

Pre 2000
 
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