What are you doing with that bland, beige computer sitting under you desk? Why not tear it apart, chop up the case, put in a window, light up the internals, add a few fans, overclock it and make it into an amazing piece of machinery that can take a proud place on top of your desk, where people can see and admire it? That's just what's going on in the world of computer modding, a once-underground realm that's gradually moving into the mainstream.

Modding, in essence, is taking a computer and making it more impressive. While simple upgrading can be considered modding, the term is used to refer to pushing the PC to performance limits by overclocking the CPU, graphics card and other components. That also means adding the necessary cooling to keep the overclocked system from roasting its transistors, and visually enhancing the case and peripherals by adding or altering lights, adding windows, painting them and otherwise adding flair.

Modders are a wild breed, and will do everything from cutting simple shapes out of standard PC cases to building entire, themed "cases" of their own, such as the motorcycle PC or a glowing PC. Geeks do just want to have fun, and they'll go to extremes to have it.

Why Mod?

When I invite those uninitiated to the world of modding over to my computer room and show them, say, a water-cooled Pentium 4 system with a big window, four fans and ultraviolet lighting inside, the first question is almost always: why?

A Method to the Modness

It all started with wanting to get more out of our systems than the average Web surfer. With the explosion of the overclocking phenomenon (cranking up components such as CPUs, GPUs, memory and other gear so that they run faster than they're specified to operate), gearheads jumped to goose their PCs' components. It turns out that making chips run faster causes them to generate more heat than their stock coolers were designed to dissipate, so overclockers started demanding (and often crafting their own) aftermarket coolers. They also cut extra fan holes into their cases to keep the insides chilly.

Pandora's PC box had been opened. Here they were cutting our cases, when somebody (I have no idea who) got the idea to cut an actual window into the box, so people could peer into a case while it was operating. Soon, modders were going to auto parts shops and getting 12V fluorescent tubes to light up their systems.

Why'd they do it? Well, why not? Why do people put racing stripes and ground effects on their cars? Why do people paint their houses? The simple answer is to create something visually stunning, undeniably cool—and something unique.

Most modders are gamers, and gamers engage in LAN (Local Area Network). LAN fests exist so that gamers can get together and play multiplayer games with or against each other on a local area network, free of the latency that often plagues Internet gaming. Participants haul their computers to agreed-upon locations (often hotel banquet rooms), where they sit side by side and often compare PC specs. Bringing a visually modded box is a great way to start conversations, woo admirers and stand out from the crowd. For the full low-down on LAN parties, check out Extreme Tech's Having a LAN Party.

Typical Mods

There are two types of mods: functional mods and visual mods. Functional mods alter the performance or the operating parameters of the computer, and include tweaks such as overclocking and cooling a system. Some people even consider tweaking a computer's BIOS settings and optimizing Windows XP settings (or those of whatever operating system is installed) for maximum performance as a form of modding.

Specific functional mods include:

• Air cooling the case. Adding blowholes and fans to the case increases airflow through the structure, lowering the ambient temperature within the case.

• Air cooling the major components. Aftermarket air coolers are widely available to bring much more efficient cooling to CPUs and GPUs, allowing you to overclock the bejeezus out of them without burning them out.

• Liquid-cooling the major components. Adding a liquid cooling system either from a kit or by grabbing hose parts and doing it yourself, is a great safeguard against heat brought on by overclocking. A typical liquid cooling system includes a radiator, a pump, and water blocks affixed to the CPU, and sometimes to the GPU and the northbridge.

• Electronically cooling the CPU. This is done by using a Peltier element, which is a flat pad that uses electronics to rapidly transfer heat from the "cold" side through to the "hot" side, where an air cooler dissipates it into the air in the case.

• Adding a modular power supply. Modular power supplies allow you to use only the power cables your system absolutely needs, reducing the amount of cabling in the system and improving airflow.

• Adding rounded data cables. Getting rid of those flat ribbon cables for IDE and SCSI drives and replacing them with rounded cables increases airflow through the case.

Visual modding is tons of fun and consists of doing anything that increases the aesthetic appeal of the system, turning it into a hot rod. Adding windows, lit fans, strobe lights that react to sound or UV-reactive data cables, or building some sort of mind-blowing case from scratch, are visual mods.

Visual mods include:

• Cutting a window into the system. Modders literally chop a hole in the side of the computer case, buy a sheet of clear plastic such as Plexiglas and use it to create a window into the recesses of the computer. Some modders cut simple rectangles, while others create amazingly complex and intricate patterns.

• Lighting the case interior. All manner of lights exist to add illumination to the inside of a case, from cold cathodes to LEDs, from blue-lit power supplies to glowing fans.

• Adding colorful and UV-reactive components. Motherboard makers and makers of other components now cater to modders, using circuit boards of various colors and even bright, UV-reactive colors of things such as PCI and AGP slots and other sockets.

• Building custom cases. Modders build cases out of all sorts of things. I've seen cases built entirely of clear plastic, or built out of old stereo components, a hamster case, a fish tank or wood. And I've even seen "caseless" computers whose components were mounted on walls!

• Painting. Why settle for beige when you can strip your computer bare and paint the case whatever color you like? Modders paint solid colors, create cool marble patterns and even do some amazing silkscreen work.

Modding Goes Mainstream

There was a time when modders had to pretty much invent everything they needed themselves. Water cooling required jury-rigging your own pump and tubing network; if you wanted a grill for your new case fan, you cut one out of metal window screen. How things have changed.

Today, building a modern system is as easy as going shopping (see sidebar: Shopping for Parts). You can secure pre-modded cases of all shapes and sizes, from tiny, cubic, mini-PC cases to startling towers with amazing windows and front panels that look like alien heads.

Accessories are also easy to come by. No longer do you have to do your own splicing to add lighting to a case; now lights are available with Molex connectors for standard PC power supplies. Water cooling systems come in kits with everything you need at the ready. Fans come pre-lit, with an amazing assortment of fan grills available. Building a modded PC is a simple matter of assembling such parts.

Now, whether that's cheating depends on how you look at it. If you buy and assemble a windowed case, lit fans, a cold cathode lighting tube and a water cooling kit, you haven't really modded anything; however, you've created a system that looks and functions far better than the average office workstation. But to many hardcore PC enthusiasts, modding means doing it yourself.

The Amazing Modding Community

If you want to learn a whole lot more about modding, the best thing to do is to check out modding Web sites, and to lurk and eventually join modders' message boards. The modding community is a wonderful, burgeoning, friendly group, amazingly accepting of "newbies" as long as they don't ask questions that are covered in dozens of earlier threads.

In addition to the ExtremeTech, you can also check out sites such as Bit-Tech and GideonTech.

Modding is a terrifically challenging and ultimately rewarding pastime for folks who are passionate about their PCs. Hunt down the plainest case you can find, and chop and paint it into something amazing. Push your PC to the max, chill the heck out of it, and make it look like a stunning work of art. After your first project, you'll be hooked.