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  1. Hardware
  2. Gaming PCs

Build of the week: Victorian Desktop

Features
By Amber Bouman published 29 June 2015

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

Sometimes the inspiration for a build comes from a need (a rig that can hold more RAM, perhaps), and sometimes the inspiration for a build comes from an entirely unexpected place. For example, the muse behind this scratch Victorian Desktop build was an antique cast iron grate bought by the builder’s wife, with no specific use in mind. Apparently it wound up in the right hands, because it is now part of a custom case made from solid mahogany.

Overclock.net and ModZoo user Mosquito Mods says the woodworking was the easy part for him; the hardest part was keeping close enough to the theme to be striking and functional but without crossing this line into overdone steampunk.

Keeping a compact shape was a primary goal with this build, which is internally divided. One side is used to house an ATX power supply; the other side contains the hardware (Phoenix Wifi motherboard, a 90 degree PCIe hard rise video card and a “low profile” GPU). Orange LED strips were added to highlight the interior, which is watercooled using a Swiftech MCP35x, a Phobya 200mm radiator, Alphacool Reservoir and CPU blocks with orange acrylic tubing to match the LEDs. Mosquito Mods recommends using your own experience when shooting for a killer scratch build; he relied on his experience with hand tool woodworking, and to share a build with your friendly modding community. Top notch, Mosquito Mods!

Victorian Desktop parts list

CPU: Intel i5-4690
CPU Cooler: Waterloop is a Swiftech MCP35x, Alphacool Reservoir, Phobya 200mm radiator, Alphacool CPU blocks, with black Alphacool HT fittings, and orange acrylic tubing.
Motherboard: Gigabyte B85 Phoenix Wifi
Memory: 8GB G.Skill Ares
Power Supply: Silverstone SX600-G 600w SFX
Storage: 120GB Mushkin mSATA (on motherboard)
Other: Orange Darkside LED strips from MNPCTech.com

Page 1 of 7
Page 1 of 7

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

Sometimes the inspiration for a build comes from a need (a rig that can hold more RAM, perhaps), and sometimes the inspiration for a build comes from an entirely unexpected place. For example, the muse behind this scratch Victorian Desktop build was an antique cast iron grate bought by the builder’s wife, with no specific use in mind. Apparently it wound up in the right hands, because it is now part of a custom case made from solid mahogany.

Overclock.net user Mosquito Mods says the woodworking was the easy part for him; the hardest part was keeping close enough to the theme to be striking and functional but without crossing this line into overdone steampunk.

Keeping a compact shape was a primary goal with this build which is internally divided. One side is used to house an ATX power supply; the other side contains the hardware (Phoenix Wifi motherboard, a 90 degree PCIe hard rise video card and a “low profile” GPU). Orange LED strips were added to highlight the interior, which is watercooled using a Swiftech MCP35x, a Phobya 200mm radiator, Alphacool Reservoir and CPU blocks with orange acrylic tubing to match the LEDs. Mosquito Mods recommends using your own experience when shooting for a killer scratch build; he relied on his experience with hand tool woodworking, and to share a build with your friendly modding community. Top notch, Mosquito Mods!

Victorian Desktop parts list

CPU: Intel i5-4690
CPU Cooler: Waterloop is a Swiftech MCP35x, Alphacool Reservoir, Phobya 200mm radiator, Alphacool CPU blocks, with black Alphacool HT fittings, and orange acrylic tubing.
Motherboard: Gigabyte B85 Phoenix Wifi
Memory: 8GB G.Skill Ares
Power Supply: Silverstone SX600-G 600w SFX
Storage: 120GB Mushkin mSATA (on motherboard)
Other: Orange Darkside LED strips from MNPCTech.com

Page 2 of 7
Page 2 of 7

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

Sometimes the inspiration for a build comes from a need (a rig that can hold more RAM, perhaps), and sometimes the inspiration for a build comes from an entirely unexpected place. For example, the muse behind this scratch Victorian Desktop build was an antique cast iron grate bought by the builder’s wife, with no specific use in mind. Apparently it wound up in the right hands, because it is now part of a custom case made from solid mahogany.

Overclock.net user Mosquito Mods says the woodworking was the easy part for him; the hardest part was keeping close enough to the theme to be striking and functional but without crossing this line into overdone steampunk.

Keeping a compact shape was a primary goal with this build which is internally divided. One side is used to house an ATX power supply; the other side contains the hardware (Phoenix Wifi motherboard, a 90 degree PCIe hard rise video card and a “low profile” GPU). Orange LED strips were added to highlight the interior, which is watercooled using a Swiftech MCP35x, a Phobya 200mm radiator, Alphacool Reservoir and CPU blocks with orange acrylic tubing to match the LEDs. Mosquito Mods recommends using your own experience when shooting for a killer scratch build; he relied on his experience with hand tool woodworking, and to share a build with your friendly modding community. Top notch, Mosquito Mods!

Victorian Desktop parts list

CPU: Intel i5-4690
CPU Cooler: Waterloop is a Swiftech MCP35x, Alphacool Reservoir, Phobya 200mm radiator, Alphacool CPU blocks, with black Alphacool HT fittings, and orange acrylic tubing.
Motherboard: Gigabyte B85 Phoenix Wifi
Memory: 8GB G.Skill Ares
Power Supply: Silverstone SX600-G 600w SFX
Storage: 120GB Mushkin mSATA (on motherboard)
Other: Orange Darkside LED strips from MNPCTech.com

Page 3 of 7
Page 3 of 7

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

Sometimes the inspiration for a build comes from a need (a rig that can hold more RAM, perhaps), and sometimes the inspiration for a build comes from an entirely unexpected place. For example, the muse behind this scratch Victorian Desktop build was an antique cast iron grate bought by the builder’s wife, with no specific use in mind. Apparently it wound up in the right hands, because it is now part of a custom case made from solid mahogany.

Overclock.net user Mosquito Mods says the woodworking was the easy part for him; the hardest part was keeping close enough to the theme to be striking and functional but without crossing this line into overdone steampunk.

Keeping a compact shape was a primary goal with this build which is internally divided. One side is used to house an ATX power supply; the other side contains the hardware (Phoenix Wifi motherboard, a 90 degree PCIe hard rise video card and a “low profile” GPU). Orange LED strips were added to highlight the interior, which is watercooled using a Swiftech MCP35x, a Phobya 200mm radiator, Alphacool Reservoir and CPU blocks with orange acrylic tubing to match the LEDs. Mosquito Mods recommends using your own experience when shooting for a killer scratch build; he relied on his experience with hand tool woodworking, and to share a build with your friendly modding community. Top notch, Mosquito Mods!

Victorian Desktop parts list

CPU: Intel i5-4690
CPU Cooler: Waterloop is a Swiftech MCP35x, Alphacool Reservoir, Phobya 200mm radiator, Alphacool CPU blocks, with black Alphacool HT fittings, and orange acrylic tubing.
Motherboard: Gigabyte B85 Phoenix Wifi
Memory: 8GB G.Skill Ares
Power Supply: Silverstone SX600-G 600w SFX
Storage: 120GB Mushkin mSATA (on motherboard)
Other: Orange Darkside LED strips from MNPCTech.com

Page 4 of 7
Page 4 of 7

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

Sometimes the inspiration for a build comes from a need (a rig that can hold more RAM, perhaps), and sometimes the inspiration for a build comes from an entirely unexpected place. For example, the muse behind this scratch Victorian Desktop build was an antique cast iron grate bought by the builder’s wife, with no specific use in mind. Apparently it wound up in the right hands, because it is now part of a custom case made from solid mahogany.

Overclock.net user Mosquito Mods says the woodworking was the easy part for him; the hardest part was keeping close enough to the theme to be striking and functional but without crossing this line into overdone steampunk.

Keeping a compact shape was a primary goal with this build which is internally divided. One side is used to house an ATX power supply; the other side contains the hardware (Phoenix Wifi motherboard, a 90 degree PCIe hard rise video card and a “low profile” GPU). Orange LED strips were added to highlight the interior, which is watercooled using a Swiftech MCP35x, a Phobya 200mm radiator, Alphacool Reservoir and CPU blocks with orange acrylic tubing to match the LEDs. Mosquito Mods recommends using your own experience when shooting for a killer scratch build; he relied on his experience with hand tool woodworking, and to share a build with your friendly modding community. Top notch, Mosquito Mods!

Victorian Desktop parts list

CPU: Intel i5-4690
CPU Cooler: Waterloop is a Swiftech MCP35x, Alphacool Reservoir, Phobya 200mm radiator, Alphacool CPU blocks, with black Alphacool HT fittings, and orange acrylic tubing.
Motherboard: Gigabyte B85 Phoenix Wifi
Memory: 8GB G.Skill Ares
Power Supply: Silverstone SX600-G 600w SFX
Storage: 120GB Mushkin mSATA (on motherboard)
Other: Orange Darkside LED strips from MNPCTech.com

Page 5 of 7
Page 5 of 7

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

Sometimes the inspiration for a build comes from a need (a rig that can hold more RAM, perhaps), and sometimes the inspiration for a build comes from an entirely unexpected place. For example, the muse behind this scratch Victorian Desktop build was an antique cast iron grate bought by the builder’s wife, with no specific use in mind. Apparently it wound up in the right hands, because it is now part of a custom case made from solid mahogany.

Overclock.net user Mosquito Mods says the woodworking was the easy part for him; the hardest part was keeping close enough to the theme to be striking and functional but without crossing this line into overdone steampunk.

Keeping a compact shape was a primary goal with this build which is internally divided. One side is used to house an ATX power supply; the other side contains the hardware (Phoenix Wifi motherboard, a 90 degree PCIe hard rise video card and a “low profile” GPU). Orange LED strips were added to highlight the interior, which is watercooled using a Swiftech MCP35x, a Phobya 200mm radiator, Alphacool Reservoir and CPU blocks with orange acrylic tubing to match the LEDs. Mosquito Mods recommends using your own experience when shooting for a killer scratch build; he relied on his experience with hand tool woodworking, and to share a build with your friendly modding community. Top notch, Mosquito Mods!

Victorian Desktop parts list

CPU: Intel i5-4690
CPU Cooler: Waterloop is a Swiftech MCP35x, Alphacool Reservoir, Phobya 200mm radiator, Alphacool CPU blocks, with black Alphacool HT fittings, and orange acrylic tubing.
Motherboard: Gigabyte B85 Phoenix Wifi
Memory: 8GB G.Skill Ares
Power Supply: Silverstone SX600-G 600w SFX
Storage: 120GB Mushkin mSATA (on motherboard)

Other: Orange Darkside LED strips from MNPCTech.com

Page 6 of 7
Page 6 of 7

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

Sometimes the inspiration for a build comes from a need (a rig that can hold more RAM, perhaps), and sometimes the inspiration for a build comes from an entirely unexpected place. For example, the muse behind this scratch Victorian Desktop build was an antique cast iron grate bought by the builder’s wife, with no specific use in mind. Apparently it wound up in the right hands, because it is now part of a custom case made from solid mahogany.

Overclock.net user Mosquito Mods says the woodworking was the easy part for him; the hardest part was keeping close enough to the theme to be striking and functional but without crossing this line into overdone steampunk.

Keeping a compact shape was a primary goal with this build which is internally divided. One side is used to house an ATX power supply; the other side contains the hardware (Phoenix Wifi motherboard, a 90 degree PCIe hard rise video card and a “low profile” GPU). Orange LED strips were added to highlight the interior, which is watercooled using a Swiftech MCP35x, a Phobya 200mm radiator, Alphacool Reservoir and CPU blocks with orange acrylic tubing to match the LEDs. Mosquito Mods recommends using your own experience when shooting for a killer scratch build; he relied on his experience with hand tool woodworking, and to share a build with your friendly modding community. Top notch, Mosquito Mods!

Victorian Desktop parts list

CPU: Intel i5-4690
CPU Cooler: Waterloop is a Swiftech MCP35x, Alphacool Reservoir, Phobya 200mm radiator, Alphacool CPU blocks, with black Alphacool HT fittings, and orange acrylic tubing.
Motherboard: Gigabyte B85 Phoenix Wifi
Memory: 8GB G.Skill Ares
Power Supply: Silverstone SX600-G 600w SFX
Storage: 120GB Mushkin mSATA (on motherboard)
Other: Orange Darkside LED strips from MNPCTech.com

Page 7 of 7
Page 7 of 7
Amber Bouman
Read more
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