Case modding

Case modding (from English case = housing , English modification = change ) is primarily the changing of the external appearance of the PC in order to enhance its appearance . This mainly includes the optical processing of the components that are not visible in the normal housing. The technical modification of the hardware components can also be referred to as modding.

description

In case modding, for example, a plexiglass window is inserted into the side part of the cladding and the interior of the PC is illuminated with light-emitting diodes and fluorescent lamps, or water cooling is installed. Most visually striking materials are used. Its own case modding community has formed, which also holds competitions (e.g. DCMM - German Casemod Championship, GCCM - Games Convention Casemod Masters, IFA C3 - IFA CaseCon Championship). Depending on the type and scope, extensive knowledge and manual skills are required for the implementation.

PC in the housing of a microwave oven

"Exotic Touch" bamboo housing from O. Lüscher

With “modding” (jargon term derived from “modify”), great importance is attached to designing housings and components in a unique way. This leads to unconventional solutions such as B. beer crates or microwave ovens (see picture) as a housing. Striking paintwork is also common.

The inside of the computer case can, for example, be lined with eye-catching fabric that is the same color as the cold-light cathode . Carbon foil (i.e. decorative foil that has the pattern of carbon fiber reinforced plastic ) is also popular as a cladding. Of course, you can also paint the interior in a contrasting color to make it stand out.

Meanwhile, the top of the case modding scene is characterized by a high expenditure of money and time and tries to constantly expand the creative design options.

If you build your computer into a completely self-made case, within the German modding scene one speaks of a CaseCon (from "Case Construction"), while in English-speaking countries the terms "Custom Computer Case" or "scratch built" be used.

In the meantime there are already “modded” cases to buy, but these are not particularly respected by the core of the case modding community , especially since the term is also inappropriate, since it is industrially manufactured series products and no longer individual production . The term is basically expanded here and includes any computer case that comes up with one or more of the usual ingredients for case mods (such as windows, lighting, LC displays). Historically, it should be noted that at the end of the 1980s, the Commodore company was already offering specially designed versions of the Amiga 500 , for which the television presenter Stefanie Tücking was won as the namesake.

Amiga 500 in Stefanie Tücking design

Effective components such as:

• Plexiglas window (Windows) (with or without engraving )
• Cold cathode lamps (also: cold light cathodes )
• LEDs
• Airflow cable
• LED fan
• Temperature displays
• Fan controls

The disadvantage is that such modified housings may no longer comply with the EMC directive and can thus become a source of far-reaching high-frequency radiation. This means that they can interfere with electronic devices, radio networks and radio or television reception in the vicinity. Anyone who changes a PC legally becomes the manufacturer and must be liable for compliance with the standards for EMC and safety.

In addition, computers converted in this way can themselves react more sensitively to electromagnetic interference radiation from outside and thus have a significantly reduced immunity to interference. In practice, however, this should mostly only occur in the vicinity of strong sources of electromagnetic radiation.

Noise reduction can be seen as a further variant of case modding. The aim here is to make a computer that is as quiet as possible by making changes to the housing and the components, whereby water cooling can be used.

Casemodder

As Casemodder persons are referred to the so-called Casemods or Casecons create. They expand their computers with functions such as B. an infrared interface , via which the complete remote control of the PC is made possible, or illuminate it with numerous LEDs , cold light cathodes etc. up to the complete redesign of a housing.

Case modding as contemporary visual art

In recent years, some of the professional case modders have increasingly turned to the subject of art ( visual arts ) and design ( industrial design ), which is primarily reflected in the design and execution of case modding work. The aim is to do justice to the artistic claim and to stand out from the mere change of the external appearance of the PC for optical enhancement and to be considered an independent art form in the field of fine arts.

Although this is also referred to as case modding, the PC is now becoming a pure design object through an artistic-aesthetic design, the planning and design of which takes a longer time frame than the actual design on the object (the PC) itself.

Leading this “new” case modding movement are primarily people who have had a lasting impact on the development of the German case modding scene in recent years, including the multiple German case modding master and author Benjamin Franz.

DCMM - German Casemod Championship

DCMM stands for D eutsche C ase M od M eisterschaft. Every year, it offers casemodders the opportunity to present their so-called 'mods' and to measure themselves against the creativity and craftsmanship of other case modders. The cases are assessed by a jury made up of representatives from large case modding communities. Regardless of this, visitors to the DCMM choose the most spectacular creation. With around 60 to 70 exhibits per event, the DCMM is the largest event in the case modding scene worldwide. In addition to the Casemod and Casecon assessment categories, the CE-Mod (Consumer Electronic Modified) category has existed since 2008. This category includes all types of converted electronic devices that are not PCs. Since 2010 there have been cases on the move in addition to the categories mentioned above; These are cases with as many independently moving electro-mechanical components as possible (sub-category of casemods, casecons, 24h mods and CE mods). The DCMM has been organized since 2002 by planetlan GmbH from Bochum.

German champions in case modding since the first DCMM in 2002:

year	1st place Casemod	1st place Casecon	1st place CE mod	1st place Most spectacular creation	1st place 24h Live Modding Challenge	1st place Notebook Challenge	1st place Cases on the move	1st place Sky Receiver Challenge	1st place in Germany's most beautiful beauty case	1st place keyboard modding	1st place in CAM modding	1st place in the LAN Mods category	1st place in the newcomer category
DCMM 2002	Rainer Wingender
DCMM 2003	Marcus Schmitt	Christoph Miege
DCMM 2004	Benjamin Franz	Alexander Siener		Christian Mueller
DCMM 2005	Benjamin Franz	Maico Bensien		Dirk Wall
DCMM 2006	Alexander Siener	Maico Bensien		Christian Schulzen
DCMM 2007	Jan-Hendrik Löser	Benjamin Franz		Mark Alan Githens
DCMM 2008	Benjamin Franz	Matthias Kron	Bjorn Wieck	Oliver King
DCMM 2009	Michael Mürmann	Christian Engel	Georg Rotaru	Florian Speet	Team Chaosmodder / Thomas Kleffmann & Matthias Streser
DCMM 2010	Patrick Betz	Steffen Vogelsang	Christian Streser	Pascal Preissler	Team Complex Modders / George Kähler, Patrick Betz	Martin Blass
DCMM 2011	Oliver Peier	Helge Dörries	Georg Rotaru	Andreas May	Team Modding Maniacs / Ali Abbas & Johannes Loew		Henning Wolter & Matthias Streser
DCMM 2012	Ali Abbas	Ali Abbas	Matthias Streser	Jen & Maik Schierhorn	Team Chaosmodder / Henning Wolter & Matthias Streser		Ali Abbas
DCMM 2013	Henning Wolter	Csaba Várkúti	Gábor Barabás	János Fresli	Team chaos modder Henning Wolter & Matthias Streser		Team chaos modder Henning Wolter & Matthias Streser
DCMM 2014	Ali Abbas	Henning Wolter	Patrick Betz	Christian Kempass	Team Balázs Szabó & Fresli János		Henning Wolter	Patrick Betz
DCMM 2015	Ali Abbas	Ali Abbas	Patrick Betz	Ali Abbas	Team We-Mod-IT Patrick Betz u. Oliver Peier		Ali Abbas		Stefan Ulrich & Kathrin Diederich
DCMM 2016	Ali Abbas	Ali Abbas	Henning Wolter	China, Xing Kai	Stefan Ulrich & Kathrin Diederich		Ali Abbas		Stefan Ulrich & Kathrin Diederich
DCMM 2017	Johannes Loew	Ronny Moor	Ali Abbas	Stefan Blass	George Kähler & Bertram Brugner		Stefan Ulrich		Siratas Vutipapornkul
DCMM 2019	Ali Abbas	Ronny Moor	Ali Abbas	Ronny Moor	George Kähler & Bertram Brugner		Ali Abbas		Ronny Moor	Alan Ricardo Githens & Ali Abbas
DCMM 2020	Ali Abbas	Johannes Loew	Patrick Betz	Ali Abbas	George Kähler & Bertram Brugner				Monia Reuter		Julian Customs	Kevin Timper	Julian Customs

See also

• Tuning
• PC water cooling
• Maker

Web links

Commons : Case Modding  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Website of the German Casemod Championship (DCMM)

literature

• Martin Schröder, Jurij Henne, Bastian Neuman: PC modding. vmi book, 2004, ISBN 3-8266-7329-8 .
• Benjamin Franz: Casemods construction report CM10 . Books on Demand , 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-5443-9 .
• Benjamin Franz: Casemods Die Moddingzene & Baubericht Digistation² . Books on Demand , 2009, ISBN 978-3-8370-9258-5 .