I admit that I miss the days when copper was king in the PC space. All those copper heatsinks and heatpipes on the original ROG Crosshair motherboard? That’s my jam right there. I’m thrilled that a full-copper vapor chamber is making an appearance on the upcoming ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 5090 – ASUS Graphics Card 30th Anniversary Edition, but I wouldn’t mind seeing even more of this metal in my PC. I may have found my inspiration this week in the form of an open-air desktop PC from hardware enthusiast Stephen Gault. This mad lad decided to build a Call of Duty gaming rig using a frame constructed out of ½-inch copper pipe and fittings along with a few aluminum flat bars.
If you look up “DIY” in the dictionary, you might well find a picture of this frame. Stephen notes that it’s 100% hand-built: no power tools, no workshop, no workbench. Just a man, a vision, a pile of metal, and some open space on the floor of his garage. (And, Stephen tells us, his driveway and kitchen table. PC building knows no boundaries in his household.) I especially like the back cage built to hold the power supply, with an angled bar of aluminum positioned to firmly yet gently cradle the PSU.
Another nice touch here is the sideways orientation of the motherboard. Stephen chose to break away from ordinary with a mounting orientation that would position the graphics card vertically — no, not that kind of vertical, the other one. With the card held up on one end by the rock-solid surface of the table and held in place at the other with a reassuringly hefty bolt, we reckon that this ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5080 isn’t going anywhere. Props to Stephen for this reinvention of the GPU holder that all but guarantees zero strain on the expansion slot and zero GPU sag.
The armored I/O shroud of the ROG Crosshair Hero VIII enjoys center stage in this build. An AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D runs the show, reminding us once again just how much value PC enthusiasts are continuing to get out of the AM4 platform. A fan on the right side keeps air moving across the VRMs. Even in an open build, air movement is vital for cooling. Atop the cooler, that’s an ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO CPU liquid cooler keeping processor temperatures chilly, as attested by the hardware monitor displayed on the pump housing’s LCD screen. The AIO cooler’s radiator is cleverly mounted at the top of the copper frame, its three fans facing outward to teach passing children the importance of not poking PC components with their fingers.
Side note: I’m legitimately jealous of this garage workbench being used as a standing desk for the PC. Its top is a bit shallower than the desk in my home office, but Stephen sidesteps any space issues by using compact peripherals. The ROG Falchion Ace HFX gaming keyboard demands very little desktop real estate, and the ROG Harpe Ace Mini gaming mouse requires even less.
All told, this is a truly one-of-a-kind PC, and one that Stephen’s not yet finished tweaking. He’s reworking elements of the stand right now in order to move the radiator from the top to the side. Such an orientation would allow the tubing to run a bit more inconspicuously, and it would keep the radiator from obstructing our view of Stephen’s art-gallery-worthy collection of custom keyboards.
If you’re looking for a spot to chat with PC building veterans like Stephen and check out their latest builds, head on over to the ASUS PC DIY Community. This moderated community gives you a friendly, supportive place to talk about everything related to the process of building a PC. Behind-the-scenes posts from master builders, conversations with other PC enthusiasts, a place to ask questions to a knowledgeable community, news about the latest ASUS hardware — you’ll find it all here and more.