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The 20 most extreme case mods of all time

Before laptops, desktop PCs ruled the Earth. And boy, were they were dull -- until modders got their hands on them. We pay homage to the most imaginative transmogrificated case designs

Rory Reid
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Before laptops, World War II and dinosaurs, desktop PCs ruled the Earth. And they were dull. And they were beige. And nobody liked them.

Unsurprisingly, many users attempted to modify their desktop PCs in increasingly extreme ways. Some added stickers, others added flashing lights, while some -- jobless students, mostly -- pimped their rigs until they were utterly unrecognisable as PCs.

Today, we pay homage to those men and women of the modding scene by presenting to you the 20 most pimped-out case transmogfications ever conceived. You will laugh, you will cry and you will wonder why some of these people even bothered.

Above all, however, you will be thankful you bought a laptop.

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This coffin PC is wrong on several levels. The headphone jack is on the outside, for a start. And it uses a wired mouse. And Windows XP. It's pretty much perfect apart from that, though. Please send letters of complaint to the imaginative folks at www.austinpcmods.com
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This 'Eleven Commandments' bible mod came as something of a surprise -- we'd always assumed God was an iMac user, given the fact he's such a creative chap. We've got to give props to Chewy at Freezefreeks.de for the use of purple velvet, though. It is big, pimpin' and a little bit evil.
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We dont know who this 'wearable PC' guy is, but we're pretty sure we know how he died. It invoved pain, lots of convulsing and an enormous electricity bill. Don't try this one at home kids, at least not without rubber underwear.
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Japanese artist Mio Lizawa didn't think his PC was complete without a mechanical tumour. The more CPU usage his computer is experiencing, the larger it gets. Those with a strong enough stomach should watch the video here: http://tinyurl.com/yggtg4m.
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This childrens' toilet trainer PC, built by the guys at envador.com, belongs to a kid with some serious aim issues. Aside from the fact the flusher doubles as a power button, it has no redeeming features. Damn Windows users. We're sure Mac fans wouldn't attempt something this horiffic...
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Oh. Our bad.
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Kasey McMahon stayed in for days, gutting her deceased beaver until it was hollow enough to accomodate her mini ITX PC. There are simpler ways to build a Media Center, of course, but she probably wasn't aware of this at the time.
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Futurama fan Jan Erik Vangen of Norway crafted this Leela, er, desktop from a store mannequin and shedloads of pressure foam. She has a webcam in her eye and a thumbdrive in her thumb. The Bender PC is a little more complex. It was built from sheet metal, has lightbulbs for eyes, and a slot-loading DVD drive for a mouth. You can see the entire construction process by visiting http://www.mini-itx.com/projects/bender/default.asp?page=1.
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Now we're talking. Janos Marton of Metku Mods downed a 1.5-litre bottle of Ballantine's finest Scotch whisky and was inspired to create this basic home server. We salute you, sir.
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PopularMechanics went ballistic and created this desktop that's literally a desktop. All components -- motherboard, graphics card, hard drives -- are mounted beneath a transparent layer of clear acrylic bolted to an aluminium frame.
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This cardboard PC was designed as part of a Greener Gadgets Design Competition in New York during February of this year. Cardboard may not seem the safest material to built a PC from, but its designer Brendan Macaluso says cardboard actually has a much higher fire and ignition point than most plastics. If you say so, mate.
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Andy France wanted the ultimate Windows XP box. And he built it. Props to that man.
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We're not sure who built this beer-dispensing PC, but there's no denying he's an absolute genius. He'll probably go on to invent the time machine and a cure for ugliness -- if he's able to stay off the booze long enough.
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Jeffrey Stephenson gutted this computer power supply and installed an entire computer -- complete with power supply. We're pretty sure he stole this idea from a food concept we invented while drunk. We can't give too much away, but it involved a chicken stuffed into a turkey, stuffed into a pig, stuffed into a cow and roasted on gas mark 5 for 8 hours, turning occasionally.
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Toasters aren't the sexiest things in the world, but that didn't stop Adam Bertram from sliding a Via M9000 motherboard, 40GB hard drive, 4x DVD drive and a Hauppauge USB TV tuner inside his GE 4-slotter.
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David Barry's Tie Fighter took first place at a science-fiction case mod competition. This ghastly machine has plywood wings and a cockpit made from a spherical dog's chew toy.
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We've heard of PCs hanging before, but this takes the Hob-Nob. We're guessing its maker, whoever it may be, simply ran out of inspiration and/or money and instead resorted to clothes hangers.
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Kanna Higashi and Matsumura Katsuya lovingly created this anime character from scratch. Its frame is built from polyvinyl chroloride pipes, polystyrene foam and micro-hollow-globular-resin-clay, which look a lot fitter than they sound.
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Words cannot do justice to the awesomeness of this Incredible Hulk PC, so we won't even bother writing any. Just look at the picture and remember to pick your jaw up off the floor when you're done.
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Most people put the PC inside the living room, but this unknown modder has put the living room inside his PC. This imaginative little creation features a miniature sofa, plus a table with portrait, New York Times newspaper and flowers, and a functioning lamp connected to the adjacent motherboard.

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