Page 49 - Computer Power User - February 2017

: What’s your least favorite part of
Q every mod project, and why?

: The finishing touches. I always
AO feel like there is more to do
and I have to cut myself off and just
say it’s done. Most of the time it’s while
the paint is drying and I’m in the hotel
about to take the computer to the BYOC
at QuakeCon.

Q : It’s time for Five Quick Questions!

1) Dremel or air brush?

Dremel!

2) AMD or NVIDIA?

NVIDIA!
Peace, Love and Rockets, Owen’s QuakeCon-winning mod from 2015 (Bethesda/id category).
3) Egg McMuffin or breakfast burrito?

: Why did you start modding, and : What do you think is the single Egg McMuffin.
Q what was your first project? Q most important tool in a modder’s
toolkit, and why? 4) Cowboys or Texans?
: I had converted part of my
AO parents’ house into a LAN center : A drill. I can’t think of a single mod Texans.
when I was in my teens. My dad had brought AO I didn’t need to drill out rivets or add
home a custom computer desk that he had a hole to a computer that wasn’t there. This 5) Peace or rockets?
gotten from work in 1996. I wanted to use was the toughest question you asked. So many
the two computers I had on it. I had to tools used for every mod I have ever done! Love! ■
custom-design a case that would allow both
computers to fit and not be in the way on
the desk. I have been hooked ever since.

: Of all the mods you built, which is
Q your favorite, and why?

: For QuakeCon 2009 I made
AO a computer I called “The
Behemoth.” It was an old server case my
brother-in-law had found in a barn. It was
set up for an AT motherboard and a bunch
of 5.25-inch hard drives. I was able to gut
the computer and fit a phase-change cooler
inside the case. I gave the case an automotive
paint job and used a plasma cutter to
add a window to the side. I then added a
watercooling system to it for the video cards.
Don’t get me wrong, I am proud of the
mods I have made in the more recent years, Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket, a scratch build Owen completed with Rob “Whiskers” Wilson.
but “The Behemoth” is my favorite this far.

CPU / February2017 49