Skip to content

TechRepublic

  • Top Products
  • AI
  • Developer
  • Payroll
  • Security
  • Project Management
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • Innovation
  • Cheat Sheets
  • Big Data
  • Tech Jobs
  • TechRepublic Premium
  • Top Products
  • AI
  • Developer
  • Payroll
  • Security
  • Project Management
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • Innovation
  • Cheat Sheets
  • Big Data
  • Tech Jobs
  • See All Topics
  • Sponsored
  • Newsletters
  • Forums
  • Resource Library
TechRepublic Premium
Hardware

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

By Bill Detwiler February 13, 2011, 10:52 PM PST on Twitter billdetwiler

Image
1
of 54

ToiletPC01.JPG
ToiletPC01.JPG
Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

ToiletPC (1 of 5)

ToiletPC (1 of 5)

ntWhile at CES 2011 in January, I met Dean Liou, a Senior Web Application Developer who’s also built some great PC case mods. Liou was one of three finalists in Lenovo’s MOD building contest who were at the show. His Street Fighter-themed Arcade Dock mod (shown at the end of this gallery), was a real eye-catcher.

n

ntWhile talking to Liou about his entry in the Lenovo contest, we started talking about his many other case mods. And, he has graciously allow us to republish a few photos of each mod on TechRepublic.

n

ntThis gallery features photos of 14 different case mods. I’m starting with one of Liou’s more interesting ones, the ToiletPC.

n

nt– Bill Detwiler, TechRepublic Head Technology Editor

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

ToiletPC (2 of 5)

ToiletPC (2 of 5)

ntBuilt in Summer 2001, this machine has an ASUS CUSI-FX motherboard, 933MHz Intel PIII CPU, 256MB RAM, 45GB HDD, and PCI ATI Radeon VE graphics card. All this hardware is mounted inside a child’s training toilet.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

ToiletPC (3 of 5)

ToiletPC (3 of 5)

ntThe Toliet PC uses a 145Watt MicroATX power supply.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

ToiletPC (4 of 5)

ToiletPC (4 of 5)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

ToiletPC (5 of 5)

ToiletPC (5 of 5)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

PVC Jr. (1 of 3)

PVC Jr. (1 of 3)

ntBuilt in the Fall of 2000, Liou’s PVC Jr. case mod was the third mod to use PVC pipes for a case.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

PVC Jr. (2 of 3)

PVC Jr. (2 of 3)

ntThe PVC Jr. PC had a Gigabyte GA-7ZM Socket A MicroATX motherboard, AMD 600MHz Duron CPU, 128GB RAM, 25GB IBM Deskstar HDD, and Elsa TNT2 Vanta graphics card.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

PVC Jr. (3 of 3)

PVC Jr. (3 of 3)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

InvisiblePC (1 of 5)

InvisiblePC (1 of 5)

ntLiou used a cleverly placed mirror to make the housing of his Invisible PC appear empty.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

InvisiblePC (2 of 5)

InvisiblePC (2 of 5)

ntThe blue light adds a nice touch and enhances the box’s empty appearance.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

InvisiblePC (3 of 5)

InvisiblePC (3 of 5)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

InvisiblePC (4 of 5)

InvisiblePC (4 of 5)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

InvisiblePC (5 of 5)

InvisiblePC (5 of 5)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

MysteryBox (1 of 4)

MysteryBox (1 of 4)

ntLiou built the MysteryBox case mode for the Intel Developer Forum Fall 2002. It is an aluminum version of his InvisiblePC.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

MysteryBox (2 of 4)

MysteryBox (2 of 4)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

MysteryBox (3 of 4)

MysteryBox (3 of 4)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

MysteryBox (4 of 4)

MysteryBox (4 of 4)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

BBQ PC (1 of 2)

BBQ PC (1 of 2)

ntLiou built his BBQ PC in the Winter of 2000.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

BBQ PC (2 of 2)

BBQ PC (2 of 2)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Dashboard PC (1 of 4)

Dashboard PC (1 of 4)

ntLiou used dashbaord gauges from a Honda Civic Si to create this unique case mod. The Dashboard PC‘s gauges show RAM, CPU, and Hard Drive usage when the system is running.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Dashboard PC (2 of 4)

Dashboard PC (2 of 4)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Dashboard PC (3 of 4)

Dashboard PC (3 of 4)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Dashboard PC (4 of 4)

Dashboard PC (4 of 4)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

DialupPC (1 of 4)

DialupPC (1 of 4)

ntIn 2004, Liou built this DialupPC for an Intel event being held in Dallas, TX. He wanted to build a “throw-back mod with present-day functionality”. Liou describes this machine as a “Skype, MSN voice chat-ready (and now Google talk) PC with a retro twist.”

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

DialupPC (2 of 4)

DialupPC (2 of 4)

ntWhen a Skype call, MSN voice chat, or Google talk invitation comes in, you can pickup the handset and use it as you would a normal phone.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

DialupPC (3 of 4)

DialupPC (3 of 4)

ntAccording to Liou, “the box used for this case is an antique box that was originally used to import grain from another country (probably Asian).”

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

DialupPC (4 of 4)

DialupPC (4 of 4)

ntThe DialupPC had a 3.4Ghz Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition CPU, ATI Radeon 9800 graphics cards, 512MB RAM, 80GB Seagate Serial ATA HDD, and a laptop DVD drive.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

PVC PC (1 of 3)

PVC PC (1 of 3)

ntBuilt in 1998, this mod was Liou’s first mod–his original PVC Case. It ran on 500MHz Celeron CPU.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

PVC PC (2 of 3)

PVC PC (2 of 3)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

PVC PC (3 of 3)

PVC PC (3 of 3)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

PVC II (1 of 5)

PVC II (1 of 5)

ntTwo years after completing his first PVC computer case, Liou built a second PVC mod–PVC II.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

PVC II (2 of 5)

PVC II (2 of 5)

ntCooling for this machine is provided by a single, 18-inch fan.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

PVC II (3 of 5)

PVC II (3 of 5)

ntThis machine had an Athlon classic 750 CPU, Abit KA7-100 motherboard, 128MB PC133 RAM, Hercules Prophet II GTS 32MB video card, and two 15GB ATA-100 7200RPM IBM Deskstar’s HDDs.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

PVC II (4 of 5)

PVC II (4 of 5)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

PVC II (5 of 5)

PVC II (5 of 5)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Ginger Bread PC (1 of 4)

Ginger Bread PC (1 of 4)

ntLiou built this Ginger Bread PC case mod in the winter of 2002. The walls were made from hardboard, and he used white caulk for the icing.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Ginger Bread PC (2 of 4)

Ginger Bread PC (2 of 4)

ntLiou mounted the machine’s HDD, DVD drive, and power supply on the underside of the platform. He used parts from a Shuttle XPC SFF Barebones Kit for the components inside the house.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Ginger Bread PC (3 of 4)

Ginger Bread PC (3 of 4)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Ginger Bread PC (4 of 4)

Ginger Bread PC (4 of 4)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Guitar PC (1 of 4)

Guitar PC (1 of 4)

ntLiou built this Guitar PC in 2003.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Guitar PC (2 of 4)

Guitar PC (2 of 4)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Guitar PC (3 of 4)

Guitar PC (3 of 4)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Guitar PC (4 of 4)

Guitar PC (4 of 4)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

LCD Touchframe (1 of 4)

LCD Touchframe (1 of 4)

ntThis LCD Touchframe display mod uses a 15-inch Samsung LCD with ELO touch overlay that was once part of an “all-in-one PC used as a bar counter bingo game”.

n

ntUnlike his other mods, this unit isn’t a fully PC. It’s a secondary display for his living room computer.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

LCD Touchframe (2 of 4)

LCD Touchframe (2 of 4)

ntLiou mounted the LCD in a 10-inch x 13-inch wood frame and placed it on a wooden stand.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

LCD Touchframe (3 of 4)

LCD Touchframe (3 of 4)

ntAmazingly, this mod was built for under $100 (US).

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

LCD Touchframe (4 of 4)

LCD Touchframe (4 of 4)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Cyberpumpkin (1 of 4)

Cyberpumpkin (1 of 4)

ntLiou built this Cyberpumpkin case mod for Intel as a way to showcase their  Pentium 4 processors at E3 2002.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Cyberpumpkin (2 of 4)

Cyberpumpkin (2 of 4)

ntThe machine’s turbine contains the motherboard, CD-ROM drive, HDD, and video card.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Cyberpumpkin (3 of 4)

Cyberpumpkin (3 of 4)

ntThe machine’s power supply is located in the chest.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

Cyberpumpkin (4 of 4)

Cyberpumpkin (4 of 4)

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

ArcadeDock Laptop Dock (1 of 3)

ArcadeDock Laptop Dock (1 of 3)

ntThis ArcadeDock case mod was Liou’s entry in Lenovo’s MOD building contest. The unit is a specially modified cabinet and controller that contains a Lenovo Y560 laptop and wireless keyboard.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

ArcadeDock Laptop Dock (2 of 3)

ArcadeDock Laptop Dock (2 of 3)

ntThe wireless keyboard is located on a tray that slides out from the front of the cabinet.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

ArcadeDock Laptop Dock (3 of 3)

ArcadeDock Laptop Dock (3 of 3)

ntThe cabinet is covered with Street Fighter-themed graphics and has a lighted marquee emblazoned with flames and the word “lenovo”.

n

ntPhoto courtesy of Dean Liou. For more information on all Liou’s amazing mods, visit his site Envador.com.

  • Hardware
  • Account Information

    Share with Your Friends

    Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods

    Your email has been sent

Share: Toilet, Cyberpumpkin, and a host of creative PC mods
Image of Bill Detwiler
By Bill Detwiler
Bill Detwiler is the Editor for Technical Content and Ecosystem at Celonis. He is the former Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and previous host of TechRepublic's Dynamic Developer podcast and Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show.
  • Account Information

    Contact Bill Detwiler

    Your message has been sent

  • |
  • See all of Bill's content

Daily Tech Insider

If you can only read one tech story a day, this is it.

TechRepublic Premium

  • TechRepublic Premium

    New Employee Checklist and Default Access Policy

    Onboarding new employees and providing them with the equipment and access they need can be a complex process involving various departments. This New Employee Checklist and Default Access Policy from TechRepublic Premium enables the IT and HR departments to effectively partner and ensure new hires receive a standard set of equipment and features. From the ...

    Published:  December 3, 2023, 4:00 PM EST Modified:  December 4, 2023, 9:00 AM EST Read More See more TechRepublic Premium articles
  • TechRepublic Premium

    Hiring Kit: Video Game Animator

    Recruiting a video game animator with the right combination of experience and technical expertise will require a comprehensive screening process. This hiring kit from TechRepublic Premium provides an adjustable framework your business can use to find the right person for the job. From the hiring kit: DETERMINING FACTORS, DESIRABLE PERSONALITY TRAITS AND SKILLSETS Beyond sheer ...

    Published:  December 3, 2023, 4:00 PM EST Modified:  December 4, 2023, 9:00 AM EST Read More See more TechRepublic Premium articles
  • TechRepublic Premium

    Payroll Processing Checklist

    Some operations and tasks don’t require painstaking attention to detail. Unfortunately, processing payroll isn’t one of them. With sensitive salary and wage information, bank and direct deposit accounts, Social Security numbers and other personal information in play, the stakes are high. This guide — and the accompanying spreadsheet — from TechRepublic Premium will help you ...

    Published:  November 30, 2023, 4:00 PM EST Modified:  December 1, 2023, 9:00 AM EST Read More See more TechRepublic Premium articles
  • TechRepublic Premium

    Quality Assurance Checklist For Outsourced Projects

    Quality assurance refers to the processes being used to manage the project and to build the deliverables. This is in contrast to quality control, which refers to the activities used to create the deliverables. Because you are not responsible for the creation of the deliverables (quality control), you need to be comfortable that the outsourcer ...

    Published:  November 29, 2023, 4:00 PM EST Modified:  November 30, 2023, 9:00 AM EST Read More See more TechRepublic Premium articles

Services

  • About Us
  • Newsletters
  • RSS Feeds
  • Site Map
  • Site Help & Feedback
  • FAQ
  • Advertise
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • Careers

Explore

  • Downloads
  • TechRepublic Forums
  • Meet the Team
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • TechRepublic Premium
  • Resource Library
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Editorial Policy
  • TechRepublic
  • TechRepublic on Twitter
  • TechRepublic on Facebook
  • TechRepublic on LinkedIn
  • TechRepublic on Flipboard
© 2023 TechnologyAdvice. All rights reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Property of TechnologyAdvice
CLOSE

Create a TechRepublic Account

Get the web's best business technology news, tutorials, reviews, trends, and analysis—in your inbox. Let's start with the basics.

Already registered? Sign In
Use Facebook
Use Linkedin

* - indicates required fields

CLOSE

Sign in to TechRepublic

Not a member? Create an account
Use Facebook
Use Linkedin

Lost your password? Request a new password

CLOSE

Reset Password

Please enter your email adress. You will receive an email message with instructions on how to reset your password.

Check your email for a password reset link. If you didn't receive an email don't forgot to check your spam folder, otherwise contact support.

Back to login
1 Finish Profile
2 Newsletter Preferences
CLOSE

Welcome. Tell us a little bit about you.

This will help us provide you with customized content.

No thanks, continue without
1 Finish Profile
2 Newsletter Preferences
CLOSE

Want to receive more TechRepublic news?

Newsletter Name
Subscribe
Daily Tech Insider
Daily Tech Insider AU
TechRepublic UK
TechRepublic News and Special Offers
TechRepublic News and Special Offers International
Executive Briefing
Innovation Insider
Project Management Insider
Microsoft Weekly
Cloud Insider
Data Insider
Developer Insider
TechRepublic Premium
Apple Weekly
Cybersecurity Insider
Google Weekly
Toggle All
No thanks, continue without

You're All Set

Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye out for a confirmation email from our team. To ensure any newsletters you subscribed to hit your inbox, make sure to add newsletters@nl.technologyadvice.com to your contacts list.

Back to Home Page