After finishing my Hardwareluxx-sponsored "case mod Contest" project a while ago, I couldn’t quite leave it alone 😄

What started as a contest build (with a small 5060ti) has now received its final upgrade – and this time I’d say it’s actually done.

The biggest change: upgrading to an RTX 5090 TUF with a Watercool HEATKILLER V Ultra.
And of course… no stock parts allowed – the magnetic front plate got replaced with a custom walnut + maple version to match the rest of the build.

Also added a Watercool MO-RA 4 with 4x 200mm Noctua fans to the loop.
Wasn’t part of the original plan, but it fits the overall aesthetic surprisingly well.

Cooling-wise the whole setup evolved quite a bit:
what originally started as a Thermaltake MagFloe AIO is now a DIY-modified MagFloe setup – yes, fully taken apart and expanded into the loop (probably not what Thermaltake had in mind 😅).
GPU and even the RAM are now integrated into the system.

At this point the build finally feels complete –
not just in terms of hardware, but as a consistent overall concept.

Specs (final state):

• CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
• Motherboard: ASRock Steel Legend B860
• RAM: TeamGroup Xtreem DDR5 (custom watercooled)
• GPU: ASUS RTX 5090 TUF + HEATKILLER V Ultra
• Storage: TeamGroup G50 M.2 SSD
• Case: Thermaltake View 600 TG (basically what’s left of it 😄)
• PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower GT 1000W
• Fans: Thermaltake Toughfan EX / Swafan EX
• Cooling: originally Thermaltake MagFloe → DIY-modified MagFloe + MO-RA 4

For now I’m calling it done.
(Which probably means I’ll tear it apart again at some point… but let’s ignore that for now.)

Alright… now that the contest is officially over, I can finally share this build.

I wanted to combine PC modding with my job as an instrument maker (I build traditional Swiss accordions / Schwyzerörgeli).

It escalated a bit.

Here’s a short clip showing the power-on and the bellows mechanism:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ilp4ohFfveQ

The Swiss Harmonic Engine

Concept

The goal wasn’t to just put wood on a PC, but to make it actually feel like an instrument.

• Walnut as the main material
• Maple inlays (classic instrument style)
• Gold/brass accents

And yeah… a custom loop had to be part of it.

(The sponsored AIO had to suffer quite a bit for that… it used to be an AIO.)

Features

Motorized bellows

At some point I thought:
“If it’s an accordion-inspired build… it needs bellows.”

So now it has:

• A motorized front
• Linear actuators
• Hidden USB hub behind it

Completely unnecessary.
Works great.

Musical power button

Instead of a normal power button:

• 13 buttons
• Each plays a note
• You need to play the correct sequence to turn the PC on

Yes, you can lock yourself out of your own PC.
Yes, that already happened.

Cooling (slightly cursed)

The contest required using a sponsored AIO.

So naturally I:

• modified it
• integrated it into a custom loop

So it’s not a “from scratch” custom loop…
but the AIO probably wouldn’t recognize itself anymore.

Goal was still:

• quiet
• good performance

(with an external radiator helping out)

Build process

A lot of time went into details:

• CNC machining
• Laser-cut inlays
• manual finishing

The goal was to keep it close to real instrument craftsmanship and avoid the typical “wood panel PC” look.

What’s next

Not done yet:

• GPU upgrade planned
• more details and refinements