Rig of the Month: Fallout 4

What a post-apocalyptic PC looks like

We're back! Did you miss us? The feeling is mutual, and to prove it, we're celebrating the triumphant return of Maximum PC's Rig of the Month with a professional mod themed around Fallout 4, one of the most anticipated games of 2015!

Fallout 4 is set in post-apocalyptic Boston and will feature an open-world setting. We don't know if you'll encounter any PCs among the debris, but if so, we imagine it will look a lot like the one BS Mods (opens in new tab) assembled.

This build came about by way of an invite from Corsair to enter its mod contest. The rules were simple -- it had to feature Corsair brand products (naturally) and be game related

Bob Stewart and Rod Rosenberg, two expert modders who've worked on several previous projects, accepted the challenge and invited Brian "Boddaker" Carter to jump in as well. They collectively decided to theme their mod on Fallout 4, a topical choice in gaming that gave them a lot of design elements to draw from.

They modded their system around a Corsair Graphite Series 780T full-tower case. If you look at the base, you'll notice a pair of steel beams in place of the plastic feet. Those beams are actual railroad irons plucked from a scrap yard. No cutting was necessary, as luck would have it, the small rails look like they were designed specifically for this mod!

The right-side panel looks like it's been modded with a display, but it's actually a piece of transparent vinyl with a quarter-inch light box behind it. When powered on, the side panel lights up and gives off a soft glow.

Flip through the gallery to see some more shots of the Fallout 4 PC and learn additional details.
____________________________________________

Have a case mod of your own that you would like to submit to our monthly feature? Make sure to read the rules/tips here (opens in new tab) and email us at mpcrigofthemonth@gmail.com with your submissions.

Follow Paul on Google+ (opens in new tab), Twitter (opens in new tab), and Facebook (opens in new tab)

The vault door swings open to give a glimpse (and perhaps quick access) to the internal components. It was built from scratch using acrylic, though there's plenty of steel in the build. The result is a finished product that weighs 79 pounds.

Visible in the shot above is a GeForce GTX 980 Ti graphics card connected to a Corsair HX850i power supply. Other components include an Asus Gryphon Z97 micro ATX motherboard, Intel Core i5-4690K processor cooled by a Corsair Hydro Series H100i GTX all-in-one cooler, an 8GB (2x4GB) kit of Corsair Vengeance Pro DDR4-2133 RAM, and a Corsair Force LX 128GB solid-state drive.

Many of the parts were "rusted" to match the distressed aesthetic that only a combination of time, weather, and nuclear fallout can achieve. To give it an authentic look, Bob salvaged some pieces of metal from the bed of his dad's truck that happened to be sitting in the shop. Those pieces were cut up (presumably with his permission) and added to various parts of the rig.

The number "111" appears on the vault door and lights up when the PC is on. This is in reference to Vault 111, one of the fallout shelters developed by Vault-Tec. It only appears in Fallout 4, making it an entirely appropriate choice for this mod.

The "111" designation also appears on a custom-made key ring. Instead of a power button, there's a key to turn on the Fallout 4 PC. Various parts light up when it's turned on, including the center of the vault's side panel, the right-side panel, and the lightning bolt logo on the front of the case.

More truck parts belonging to Bob's dad can be seen on the rear of the Fallout 4 rig. This shot also gives a better look at the railroad rails that found new life as heavy duty feet. Anyone else feel the need for a tetanus shot at this point?

It took the BS Mods team about "three weekends of solid work and a little here and there in between" to complete the themed build. The most challenging part was trying to balance keeping it simple while maintaining a "wow factor."

"There are so many different directions you can go with a mod, and especially using a game like Fallout. We didn't want it to look like we just barfed Fallout at it, so we chose a couple of basic elements and rolled with that," Rod explained to Maximum PC.

Mission accomplished, don't you think?