DECEMBER 2003 MAXIMUMPC 59
We proudly present
the winner of our
Coolest PC Case
Modding Contest
S
eldom do we receive a case mod that’s configured with components that
actually eat, breathe, poop, and reproduce. Sure, hard drives eat a lot of
data, and they are prone to pooping out on us at the most inopportune
moments. But we’re not talking about hard drives, Chester. We’re talking about
fish. Blood Fin Tetras, Zebra Danios, and Red Wagtail Platies. And in the dorm
room of one Katie Hoch, a mechanical engineering student in Pennsylvania, the
fish are swimming perilously close to an Athlon XP 2000+ processor.
Such is the cool factor that Katie’s rig brought to our Coolest PC Case Modding
Contest, which was co-sponsored by the upgrading fanatics at CompUSA. For
impressing our editors with the most striking blend of craftsmanship, creativity,
and originality, Katie wins a whopping $3,000 CompUSA shopping spree to buy
whatever PC gear she desires. You can see the runners-up on the next page, but
for now let’s focus on Katie’s bio-mechanical friendship exchange program.
As you can gather from the photos, the rig is divided in two parts—PC compo-
nents on one side, fish and fish hospitality apparatus on the other. This puts a nice
firewall between the sea life and all the electrically frisky PC components.
Now, lest you think that any of this case was built from some type of “Fish Tank
PC Combo Kit,” we can assure you that the entire friggin’ thing was built from
scratch using random scraps of metal, quarter-inch Lucite, and homemade acrylic
cement. Did Katie go through a lot of Dremel blades? Indeed she did—in excess
of 200. “I believe I was solely responsible for supporting the Dremel Corporation
during the months of July and August,” says Katie.
While the rig’s CPU is indeed water-cooled, Katie never considered doing
double duty with either her fish tank water or radiator water. “I knew from
the beginning that trying to keep fish alive in a water-cooling system’s water
wouldn’t work,” she says. “But, mainly, I didn’t want fish food—and what fish
food becomes—zipping through my CPU block.”
QUESTIONS WITH THE MASTER MODDER
Q: Have you benchmarked the fish?
A: Yes, I ran FISHmark2002 , and I have the fish marks all over my bench to
prove it.Q: The CPU’s not overclocked, so why not use traditional
fans?
A: My last setup sounded like a 747 taking off. Stock processor speeds with
six case fans and a Thermaltake Volcano 7 was still leaving me with a CPU
temp of 55–60º C. I just couldn’t stand all the noise. My proc’s down to about
35º C now, and all I hear is a gentle burbling sound from the air bubbles in
my tank.Q: How do you think the fish feel about swimming so close
to a surging hotbed of pure PC power? Nervous? Proud?
A: They are reverent of the awesomeness my computer generates. Five
times a day they genuflect in the direction of the processor. Honestly,
because the water-cooling and aquarium are separate systems, they don’t
even know anything unusual is going on.Q: What do you think you’ll get during your CompUSA
shopping spree?
A: The big thing I’m considering is a laptop, as it would be great to have a
computer I can easily transport. Fish aren’t usually very transient. Well,
except for salmon.