Category: DIY + Hacks

It’s kind of funny that this isn’t the first giant NES controller story I’ve covered. The last one I wrote about was a mammoth controller which could actually play games. This time, we’ve got the same monster controller concept, but beneath the hood dwells a completely functional PC.

Here’s a fun little holiday project for you mechanically-inclined folks out there. This strange looking contraption connects to your computer and rings a little bell every time a visitor hits your website. With a few bucks worth of off the shelf parts, an Arduino board, a USB cable and a little code, you too can have one for your website, thanks to this detailed “how-to” article over on Tinkerlog.

This wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve seen a Nintendo NES console turned into a Windows PC, but it is the first time you can buy one for yourself. The maker of this beautifully crafted NES PC casemod has put it up for sale to the highest bidder.

If you’ve never bothered to get out of the 80’s and upgrade from that old Commodore 64, it turns out you don’t have to miss out on modern video games. Heck, why shouldn’t you be able to play Guitar Hero on your C64?

What’s got 8 tentacles and the brains of a Nintendo GameBoy? It’s an 8-bit music maker’s dream, that’s what. Electronic musician Joey Mariano (aka “Animal Style“) took an old GameBoy Color system and built a custom controller for it that uses 8 individual foot pedal controllers to jam out on the device.

This has got to be one of my favorite casemods in a while. Guitar geek Ben Lewry had an old laptop lying around and decided to see if he could cram it inside of the body of an electric guitar.

Check out this ridiculous computer case made entirely out of cooling fans. I’m assuming the builder of this case was frustrated with their tricked-out system overheating all the time. The case was assembled from 66 individual cooling fans, keeping the system icy cold all the time.

Whooda thunk that a 40+ year-old Soviet television set would make for one of the most gorgeous computer designs I’ve seen in a very long time? This amazing transformation started with a 1961 Soviet REKORD tv set and turned it into a modern Windows PC.

Check out this awesome homemade Star Wars AT-ST walker, built from a mish-mash of electronic parts, brass tubing and custom cut circuit boards. The bipedal MiniMechadon walker is fully functional, and can hobble around just like the ones in the motion pictures.

This gauge connects to your computer to reveal critical information about your PC’s current operating conditions. Rather than modern digital readouts, the Gigabyte Visual USB Gauge uses a good, old fashioned analog gauge to relay the current state of your computer’s power supply.

This amazing laptop creation by Datamancer beautifully melds old world style with modern technology. Under the hood of this lovingly handcrafted wood case is a Hewlett-Packard ZT1000 notebook computer, running Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux. The system features intricate clock mechanisms below a glass top, brass details, leather wrist pads and even claw feet.

Ready to get your polka on? This unassuming accordion happens to house a complete PC under hidden inside its bellows. The Enrico accordion case mod project took an old squeezebox, gutted it out and loaded it with a Linux server, designed to store the builders’ digital music collection.

Looking for a nice accessory to go with your 24-karat MacBook Pro? Got some money to burn? Why not get yourself one of these extravagant iPhones, adorned with hundreds of diamonds. The creator of this mod, Amosu, is known for loading up mobile phones with precious gems and metals.

These replacement shells for the Nintendo Wii bring your boring white console alive with color. Talismoon’s Evolve case kits come in a number of rich hues and dramatic mirrored styles. I’m particularly enamored of the fiery Red Ronin case as well as the luscious emerald Green Tanto.

Rocker/ Case Modder Kneivel put together this ingenious home arcade cabinet by taking a stack of Marshall amp cases and transforming them into a Guitar Hero themed gaming system. The system is made from 3 individual cabinets which can be disassembled in case he wants to taking the show on tour.

The word of the week around here seems to be “pimp.” First, we had the new TokyoFlash Pimp watches, then we had the Atari 2600 pimped -out Buick. Now we have this NES console which was apparently seen backstage after a Sneaker Pimps’ concert.