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| It's a Mod, Mod World | | By Gareth Branwyn for Screenager Central |
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These days, computer users aren't content having drab gray steel boxes contain their PCs. Big bucks have been invested in screaming processors, maxed-out memory, and state-of-the-art graphics cards, and they want to show all this off. Enter "modding," the latest craze among PC power users. Modders do everything from adding cool grill covers to their PC case fans, to cutting in windows and lighting the insides of their cases, to even moving the innards of their computers into an entirely different case. (PC in a coffee maker, anyone?) Modding has become so popular that even stores like Best Buy and Circuit City have aisles devoted to parts for computer customizing. |
If you want to get in on the modding action, you don't have to go whole hog. You can start modestly (no pun intended) and work your way up to hardcore customizing (if you're so inclined). Here are some of the more common mod types:
 Beginner Mods -- The least invasive and easiest mods involve basic cosmetic changes to your case, such as covering your computer's cables in brightly-colored cable wraps, replacing the thumb screws that hold your case together with fancier hardware, and adding lighted USB cables. Another common beginner mod is the addition of "case badges" or decorative decals. Online stores that specialize in modding parts sell all sorts of cool metal adhesive badges and press-apply decals. These items sport everything from Hello Kitty heads to the Quake logo to the Biohazard symbol. Adding a few of these bits can spiff up your PC case for little money and effort.
 Moderate Mods -- One of the most popular types of computer case mods involves replacing your PC's cooling fan's grill cover with a customize-designed cover, or replacing the entire fan with one that lights up. There are all sorts of designs and styles, including fans that make shapes as they spin, that glow in the dark, that respond to music, or to your own PC's sound when running. Replacing your existing fan involves little more than replacing a few screws and plugging in an internal power cable. The next most popular hack is to cut windows into the side and/or top of your computer case and to add a light to illuminate its innards.
Modding stores sell kits that contain pre-cut Lucite windows of various shapes and sizes and rubber gaskets that hold the window in place. Cutting and fitting such windows can be a little harrowing, but if you follow the instructions that come with the kit carefully, you should be OK. You can get a special tool (at a mod shop or home store), called a Nibbler, that's designed to cut steel -- it'll make the job much easier. Once you have the window cut, you'll want to put a little light on the subject (there's no sense in having a window if you can't see inside your case). Modding stores sell lighting kits in all sorts of sizes, shapes and colors. The kits (usually) come with everything you need. You just plug the light into your PC case's existing power supply. Cool additions to the window/light combo are appliqués that go on the window and look sort of like etched glass. Like the case badges and decals, appliqués are available in a variety of styles and images.
 Serious Mods -- Once a modder has revealed the innards of his or her computer with windows and lights, the next logical step is to have something inside worth showing off. Here's where things start to get obsessive (and expensive). Serious modders replace all of the internal cabling with fancy cables that are clear, or metallic (and glow in the case light), or even lit themselves. Next, comes the addition of internal cooling fans with fancy-looking heat sinks on them. These custom fans not only look awesome, they help lower the temperature of your PC's central processor, graphics card, and other components to improve performance. This level of modding is not as difficult as it may first appear, but it does require a certain level of comfort in mucking around inside your computer's entrails.
Extreme Mods -- From here, things get really crazy. Hardcore modders become not only looks-obsessed, but performance-obsessed too, installing temperature sensors and numerous variable-speed fans, that are controlled by twiddly control panels installed in empty drive bays on the PC case. These power users even go so far as to add refrigeration units to their computers to keep the temperature on processors as low as possible (allowing them to then boost the processing speed, a technique called "overclocking"). High-end modders also have a perverse sense of humor and like to wrap their computer's innards in cases that take every conceivable form from cardboard boxes, to briefcases, to fishing tackle, and even toolboxes. This level of customizing has become an art form and many modding sites offer galleries of the most creative and bizarre case mods.
The great thing about modding is that, regardless of your technical skill, you can customize your computer and make it reflect your personality and interests. But look out, once you get started, you may have a hard time stopping, as you try to outdo your friends by having the coolest cyber-rig on the block.
Caution: Modifying your computer's components can be risky, can void your warranty, and can kill your computer if you really mess things up. So be careful, know what you're doing before you do it, and always back up your data before monkeying with your PC. Basically: Modify at your own risk!
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