I’ve ranted in the past about the “gamer aesthetic” and how detrimental it is to genuinely unique designs, whether it be for accessories or the best gaming PCs themselves. However, I recently came across a unique PC that shows you can marry a gorgeous design with powerful performance.
PC builder Nick Falzone has created a gorgeous wooden gaming PC with a hardline water-cooling cooling system based on the Japanese Kumiko woodworking technique, which he’s named Ikigai. In an interview with PCGamesN, he explains how he created it, and why he wanted to combine Kumiko with the capabilities of the CNC machine.
He used darker wenge wood, a rare and expensive hardwood from Africa, for most of the case, and balanced this with lighter Sitka spruce for the Kumiko elements, which gives the case a beautiful contrast that enhances the internal components and wiring.
The specs included are impressive, including an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X processor, MSI Radeon RX 5700 graphics card, 32GB RAM, and 1TB of storage.
PCs and accessories can and should be unique
Falzone’s Ikigai PC isn’t the only machine to feature regular components in a novel and ingenious design. One such build is a sneaker gaming PC from Cooler Master, which can accommodate standard components to create a surprisingly practical build that can handle the best PC games.
Another interesting build is one based on a giant mech, called the ‘M.E.C.H’ Build, and it looks as awesome as it sounds. It was built as a limited edition by OTK Games and Gallery Panda, and not only is it visually stunning, it also packs quite the component punch, including an Intel Core i9 processor, an RTX 4090 graphics card, 64GB of RAM, and 4TB of storage total.
It’s not just PC design where an injection of creative thinking can work wonders. Gaming accessories can also benefit from a visual rethink, including color schemes that go beyond the ubiquitous black and sometimes green colors. For instance, the HyperX line of accessories includes such standouts as bunny headphone holders, dragon statues, animal-shaped keycaps, mushroom-shaped microphone holders, and more.
While some of these examples are fairly garish and can be considered more novelty value, they still serve to show that you can create gaming PCs and accessories that are brightly colored and distinctive. I want to see more gaming PCs, and more accessories, that challenge aesthetic norms and truly push the envelope.
While it’s great to see individuals and small companies creating bespoke designs, however, I also want to see big-name brands become more adventurous as well. We need to get rid of this pervasive idea that gaming can only come in one color and type. It’s an archaic way of thinking that actively holds back the tech industry.
