Build of the week: Silent Oak

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James is stuck in an endless loop, playing the Dark Souls games on repeat until Elden Ring and Silksong set him free. He's a truffle pig for indie horror and weird FPS games too, seeking out games that actively hurt to play. Otherwise he's wandering Austin, identifying mushrooms and doodling grackles.

If a PC falls in a forest, does it make a sound? A more important question: why is the PC in the forest, and if it makes a sound, can we upgrade the fans? Maybe install a cooling loop?

PC case modder Flix is on the, er, case. Using the BitFenix Pandora chassis as a starter, he cut and bent some custom aluminum panels, designed a few custom light indicators, and cut up oak veneer to complete the illusion that the Silent Oak is (or was) exactly that. Wood would’ve been nice, but even nicer is a PC that doesn’t double as a fire hazard. That said, I can’t help but imagine Flix decked out in some fine lumberwear, taking a massive axe to a stolid, aged tree and coring it to expertly extract the Silent Oak PC, intact and born from nature’s geeky womb.

Silent Oak doesn’t get its name from pure imagination. Its most important inside bits were handpicked for how quietly they run—and since trees tend to not make noise or run, the theme is strongly rooted. The loudest Silent Oak gets is no more noticeable than a light breeze through the trees. Well, I wouldn’t know since I haven’t heard it in person, but Flix seems an honorable modder (and I’m banking hard on these tree similes). Unfortunately, the build log doesn’t go into detail on every component (I reached out to get the rest), though they seem beside the point. This build is about visual and aural silence.

For more pictures and information, check out the official build log.