My criteria was both about clean style aesthetic and design premise. To me an exceptional mod changes the case into a new visual experience. The most polished and complete mods for me were Sangaku, Temple of Nod, and WMD.
Once I compared those three more closely, I realized that while WMD is *very* polished and took a great deal of effort, it's not really a case, and perhaps never was. The WMD is a piece of metal art that just happens to have a motherboard in it. It's plenty cool, but doesn't look or feel remotely like a computer, and to me that's enough to cross it off my list.
For the remaining two, Sangaku is the mod I'd personally want on my desk. I would be very happy looking at it year-round. But that said, my vote went to the Temple of Nod. I feel Nod is more complex, original, and ultimately the better overall mod. Plus while it's a subtle connection, the fact Nod is based on a game makes the mod even more connected to its PC roots.
If you think modifying an existing case is harder than making one from scratch, then you've never tried to make a case from scratch and don't understand how much work it involves.
The debate between scratch-made and modded stock cases is tricky.
For Sangaku, getting everything to line up and do what it was supposed to was a royal pain in the A; all of which would have been automatically taken care of with a stock case (or even a stock motherboard tray.) so in that way scratch builds are harder. But, when i modded my brother's Tsunami case, there was so much useless crap in there that had seemingly no purpose. This made modding that a pain too, if not for a different reason, but I don't think it was harder. For scratch builds though, the modder has the ultimate in customizability and knows what everything is and why it is there, which makes it easier in some repsects. The hard part is getting there, but that's also the fun part.
I love all the other mods but this is the one that got me to join the forums and got me into modding, he is very inspirational and doesnt mind answering a bunch of annoying questions ^^
I'm a little disappointed with the epia alloy....why is that a top mod again? Especially from Gotall. I personally think his other mods are substantially better than that one. Not that I don't like it I just don't think of it as TOP material. Anyways, as much as I hate cnc machines and people who have access to them (jealousy) I'm voteing Dark Blade.
Originally Posted by Fozzy I'm a little disappointed with the epia alloy....why is that a top mod again? .
I reckon the purpose of the mod was just something different to what is already about the mod scene. Everyone has seen the lazer cutting and precise work cnc can do, So this is just something a little different, stands out from other mods.
The pure talent on show here makes it exceedingly difficult to choose one. I love Gnome's WMD and the brilliant project logs. However, ContexYZ just clinches the vote for me. All are exceptional though.
While the case is a bit too Japanese for a person who is Japanese, I love the minimalist bamboo painting on one of the side panels, and I like white lighting more than blue :P
Originally Posted by Phat Ass Tis true what they say its a difficult field to choose from, personally i'd like to see two catagorys next year, case mods and scratch builds with perhaps 5 or 6 in each catagory. Havent a clue how to vote yet, will require much thought and consideration.
Couldn't agree more. But all are great mods or builds non the less. Very difficult to choose a winner.
This is the hardest thing I've had to choose in a long time. Every one of them is class and deserves to win in their own way. I'll re-read the summaries and sleep on it.
I agree with shomann though - we should have a casemod OTY and a scratchbuild OTY. That way I get 2 votes :p
Something about a case that can crush a small animal or fall off a truck and keep working just gives me a case of the happies. I originally joined for WMD and to this day that case just floors me. If these were all for sale which one would any of you buy. For me it would be the WMD. Darkblade is stunning flawless construction at its best. Sangaku is a work of art and mastery of his craft. The others I truly enjoy for the stock modding aspect. Much respect to all the contestants. My vote will go to WMD.
True, I also signed up for one of these, it was Darkblade, and wish I signed up sooner.
So I woul have tosay Darkblade gets it from me for that reason, I also give special accolades to:
Sangaku for the exelent woodworking skills and Japanese influence,
Cold Fusion as it is so well done and that it is his first mod,
Temple of Nod for noslagia, I love the C & C series,
WMD for the sheer amount of work that went into it,
And everyone else in this competition for thier outstanding work and contribution to this site. Congratulations to you all ;)
ive put my vote in for WMD as the workmanship on that peice is far in excess of any of the other mods ever built
however i nearly voted for darkblade or spiderman 3 as i see these as true mods as opposed to a scratch build
if it was a MOD contest in the strictest sense of the word i would have gone for either of those 2 however i feel that out of the group WMD is head and shoulders above the rest
Got to go with the WMD. I'd like to vote for Cold fusion, but the fact that all that gorgeous tubing is just for show bugs me on a fundamental level. I really liked DarkBlade until I realized those were swords in the corners. THe Japaneese one (not even going to try to spell it) is incrediable in it's own way, probably my second choice.
Wow, there are no bad mods participating. That makes it so difficult to choose. They are all beautifull.
I think.. not everyone has a CNC machine, I mean, Dark Blade is all made by one person, but he used a CNC, that makes it a bit unfair. He used tools almost nobody could use.. so is it fair if he wins? I mean, it is one of the coolest mods! And a great design. That makes it more difficult to choose. What do you guys think, CNC?
I'm not sure which one I am going to choose. I like handcrafted mods, from scratch or not, which costed a lot of time, which you can see back in details. I guess most of these mods have this, that is what makes them one of the top 12.
Dark Blade is all made by one person, but he used a CNC, that makes it a bit unfair. He used tools almost nobody could use.. so is it fair if he wins? I mean, it is one of the coolest mods! And a great design. That makes it more difficult to choose. What do you guys think, CNC?
There's so much more to CNC machining than pushing a button, so saying its "unfair" is kinda unfair, don'tchathink? Granted, its a step up from normal tools, but its also a step up in the brains and thinking category, if ya get my drift.
I'm not trying to be G69T's advocate here, but his use of CNC tooling was so many steps above what one might expect to come out of even the best equipped CNC machine shop, that I get the sense some people missed the complexity of it and the brainpower required to do what he did.
I still can't choose between the three. Each were, at least it seems so, a perfect reflection of each of the builders' skills, artistry and talents... great ideas, resourcefulness and follow-through. I really need two more votes...
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Once I compared those three more closely, I realized that while WMD is *very* polished and took a great deal of effort, it's not really a case, and perhaps never was. The WMD is a piece of metal art that just happens to have a motherboard in it. It's plenty cool, but doesn't look or feel remotely like a computer, and to me that's enough to cross it off my list.
For the remaining two, Sangaku is the mod I'd personally want on my desk. I would be very happy looking at it year-round. But that said, my vote went to the Temple of Nod. I feel Nod is more complex, original, and ultimately the better overall mod. Plus while it's a subtle connection, the fact Nod is based on a game makes the mod even more connected to its PC roots.
For Sangaku, getting everything to line up and do what it was supposed to was a royal pain in the A; all of which would have been automatically taken care of with a stock case (or even a stock motherboard tray.) so in that way scratch builds are harder. But, when i modded my brother's Tsunami case, there was so much useless crap in there that had seemingly no purpose. This made modding that a pain too, if not for a different reason, but I don't think it was harder. For scratch builds though, the modder has the ultimate in customizability and knows what everything is and why it is there, which makes it easier in some repsects. The hard part is getting there, but that's also the fun part.
I love all the other mods but this is the one that got me to join the forums and got me into modding, he is very inspirational and doesnt mind answering a bunch of annoying questions ^^
I reckon the purpose of the mod was just something different to what is already about the mod scene. Everyone has seen the lazer cutting and precise work cnc can do, So this is just something a little different, stands out from other mods.
Really a nice mod :D
Many of these mods were actually built in 2005 so I'm not sure how the rules worked.
I kinda prefer The Unidyne PC but then....I would. lol
Congrats to the nominees.
By the way, I thought Ediejo's case was made before 2006 :| Did he change stuff?
Good luck to all contestants ;)
Mod on
I thank you. Let's just hope you're not the only one :D
While the case is a bit too Japanese for a person who is Japanese, I love the minimalist bamboo painting on one of the side panels, and I like white lighting more than blue :P
Ending up voting for the one that I wish I had built the most... but was still hard to choose.
I agree with shomann though - we should have a casemod OTY and a scratchbuild OTY. That way I get 2 votes :p
So I woul have tosay Darkblade gets it from me for that reason, I also give special accolades to:
Sangaku for the exelent woodworking skills and Japanese influence,
Cold Fusion as it is so well done and that it is his first mod,
Temple of Nod for noslagia, I love the C & C series,
WMD for the sheer amount of work that went into it,
And everyone else in this competition for thier outstanding work and contribution to this site. Congratulations to you all ;)
however i nearly voted for darkblade or spiderman 3 as i see these as true mods as opposed to a scratch build
if it was a MOD contest in the strictest sense of the word i would have gone for either of those 2 however i feel that out of the group WMD is head and shoulders above the rest
I think.. not everyone has a CNC machine, I mean, Dark Blade is all made by one person, but he used a CNC, that makes it a bit unfair. He used tools almost nobody could use.. so is it fair if he wins? I mean, it is one of the coolest mods! And a great design. That makes it more difficult to choose. What do you guys think, CNC?
I'm not sure which one I am going to choose. I like handcrafted mods, from scratch or not, which costed a lot of time, which you can see back in details. I guess most of these mods have this, that is what makes them one of the top 12.
I'm not trying to be G69T's advocate here, but his use of CNC tooling was so many steps above what one might expect to come out of even the best equipped CNC machine shop, that I get the sense some people missed the complexity of it and the brainpower required to do what he did.
I still can't choose between the three. Each were, at least it seems so, a perfect reflection of each of the builders' skills, artistry and talents... great ideas, resourcefulness and follow-through. I really need two more votes...
wood
aluminum
stainless steel
Maybe I oughta choose based on the materials? :D
Interesting.
Both the Boss FX and the Sangaku competed in the December '05 Newegg monthly case mod contest. Sangaku won.
It doesn't matter. It was late in the year.