Skip to main content
PC Gamer PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES
UK EditionUK US EditionUS CA EditionCanada AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Black Friday
  • Games
  • Hardware
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Video
  • Forum
  • More
    • PC Gaming Show
    • Software
    • Movies & TV
    • Codes
    • Coupons
    • Magazine
    • Newsletter
    • Affiliate links
    • Meet the team
    • Community guidelines
    • About PC Gamer
PC Gamer Magazine Subscription
PC Gamer Magazine Subscription
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$32.49
Subscribe now
Don't miss these
The Asus TUF A14 (2025) and Razer Blade 14 (2025) 14-inch gaming laptops on a dusky yellow/gold background with the PC Gamer recommended badge in the top right
Gaming Laptops Best 14-inch gaming laptop in 2025: The top compact gaming laptops I've held in these hands
MSI Vector 16 HX AI and Razer Blade 16 gaming laptops on a blue background with a PC Gamer logo in the foreground
Gaming Laptops Best gaming laptop 2025: I've tested the best laptops for gaming of this generation and here are the ones I recommend
The best PC fans on a blue background with a PC Gamer recommended badge in the top right.
Cooling Best PC fans in 2025: I've put these case fans through their paces to find the coolest and quietest
A young woman types at a laptop on her desk while a puppy with a pentagram on its head sleeps nearby
Games The best indie games on PC
The best wireless gaming keyboards
Gaming Keyboards Best wireless gaming keyboard in 2025: my top picks for cable-free typing delights
Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS and Valve Steam Deck on a yellow background with PC Gamer Recommended label
Handheld Gaming PCs Best handheld gaming PC in 2025: my recommendations for the best portable powerhouses
The best gaming chairs guide header image with Logitech Herman Miller Embody chair and Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 on a green background with PC Gamer recommend badge.
Gaming Chairs Best gaming chair in 2025: I've tested a ton of gaming chairs and these are the seats I'd suggest for any PC gamer
A compact gaming PC on a desk with various parts on show.
Hardware This is all the best PC gaming gear we recommend in one techie tier list
Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless and Keychron Q3 Max on grey background
Gaming Keyboards Best gaming keyboards in 2025: the fastest, smoothest and loveliest boards I've tested
Bretonnian knights charge into battle
Games The best strategy games on PC
MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi and Asus ROG Maximum Z790 Hero gaming motherboards on a green background with a PC Gamer Recommended label
Motherboards Best gaming motherboards in 2025: these are the AMD and Intel mobos I'd build a system around today
The Velocity Micro Raptor ES40 and HP Omen 35L gaming PCs on a blue background with the PC Gamer recommended badge in the top right corner
Gaming PCs Best gaming PCs in 2025: these are the rigs and brands I recommend today
An Andromeda Insights gaming PC on a custom Black Friday background.
Gaming PCs This RTX 9070 XT gaming PC is on the right side of $1,500, putting it at the top of my list of value rigs this Black Friday
A graphics card and a liquid cooler on top of a yellow and red background with the PC Gamer logo and words 'Black' and 'Friday' on the side.
Hardware I build multiple PCs a month and these are the best deals on components for your next gaming PC
A collage of gaming desks from Ikea and Secretlab against a gradient green background, with a PC Gamer Recommended logo in the corner
Gaming Desks Best gaming desk in 2025: my top picks for standing, sitting and everything in between
Popular
  • New Valve hardware
  • Best PC gear
  • Arc Raiders
  • PC Gaming Show
  • Quizzes
  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
Deals not to miss
A young woman types at a laptop on her desk while a puppy with a pentagram on its head sleeps nearby
The best indie games on PC
 
 
The best wireless gaming keyboards
Best wireless gaming keyboard in 2025: my top picks for cable-free typing delights
 
 
Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS and Valve Steam Deck on a yellow background with PC Gamer Recommended label
Best handheld gaming PC in 2025: my recommendations for the best portable powerhouses
 
 
The best gaming chairs guide header image with Logitech Herman Miller Embody chair and Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 on a green background with PC Gamer recommend badge.
Best gaming chair in 2025: I've tested a ton of gaming chairs and these are the seats I'd suggest for any PC gamer
 
 
A compact gaming PC on a desk with various parts on show.
This is all the best PC gaming gear we recommend in one techie tier list
 
 
Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless and Keychron Q3 Max on grey background
Best gaming keyboards in 2025: the fastest, smoothest and loveliest boards I've tested
 
 
Latest in Gaming PCs
An Andromeda Insights gaming PC on a custom Black Friday background.
This RTX 9070 XT gaming PC is on the right side of $1,500, putting it at the top of my list of value rigs this Black Friday
 
 
An AVGPC Mini-X SFF gaming PC on a custom Black Friday background.
It might not be a Steam Machine, but this mini AMD RX 9060 XT PC is sure to be more powerful than the GabeCube and is priced rather nicely this Black Friday
 
 
iBuyPower's Slate gaming desktop with RX 9070XT and Ryzen 7 9800X3D
You can get a gaming PC with the best AMD CPU and GPU combo (plus plenty of sweet, sweet RAM) for $1,650 this Black Friday
 
 
An image of an iBuyPower gaming PC with an RTX 5070 graphics card, against a colorful background, with a set of PC Gamer and Black Friday logos on the sides
I've mangled the numbers to calculate which Nvidia gaming PC offers the best bang for the buck in the Black Friday sales so far. I give you the RTX 5070's redemption
 
 
SkyTech Archangel gaming PC on a PC Gamer black friday background
Black Friday gaming PC deals: If you're after the best prices for rigs with the latest Nvidia graphics cards inside, we've got you
 
 
Valve's new Steam Machine during a visit to Valve HQ in Bellevue, Washington. The Steam Machine is a compact living room gaming PC.
Valve says the Steam Machine is better than what 70% of PC gamers have at home, a convenient reminder that not all gaming PCs are monster rigs
 
 
Latest in Features
Arc Raiders loot guide: Three raiders standing shoulder to shoulder in Buried City. The one of the left is reaching for something in their pocket, the character in the middle, wearing an astronaut helmet, is casually looking up, while the one on the right in cowboy attire is aiming their pistol.
Arc Raiders' basic weapons are way too strong, and it's starting to overshadow even its legendary guns
 
 
A Zen Garden stocked with plants, several of which need to be watered
Great moments in PC gaming: Chilling in my Zen Garden in Plants Vs. Zombies
 
 
Constance crosses a bridge at night
Constance is a metroidvania that wants its monsters to mean something
 
 
Three characters from League of Legends as they appear in the card game Riftbound
The League of Legends trading card game is surprisingly good because it embraces the best trends in card games
 
 
Supergirl with Brainiac's ship looming behind her
Why I love Injustice 2's story mode
 
 
A collage of Google thinky face emojis.
Microsoft's head of AI doesn't understand why people don't like AI, and I don't understand why he doesn't understand because it's pretty obvious
 
 
  1. MSI and Asus gaming monitors on a green background with the PC Gamer recommended logo in the top right
    1
    Best gaming monitors in 2025: the pixel-perfect panels I'd buy myself
  2. 2
    The best fish tank PC case in 2025: I've tested heaps of stylish chassis but only a few have earned my recommendation
  3. 3
    Best gaming laptop 2025: I've tested the best laptops for gaming of this generation and here are the ones I recommend
  4. 4
    Best Hall effect keyboards in 2025: the fastest, most customizable keyboards for competitive gaming
  5. 5
    Best PCIe 5.0 SSD for gaming in 2025: the only Gen 5 drives I will allow in my PC
  1. Black Ops 7 release times: A close up of David Mason and another character looking alarmed.
    1
    Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 review – CoD at its most obnoxious
  2. 2
    LG UltraGear 27GX790A OLED gaming monitor review
  3. 3
    Thermal Grizzly Der8enchtable review
  4. 4
    Thermaltake View 390 Air review
  5. 5
    Demonschool review: A hell of a good time

PC Gamer is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...