A modder turned a Victorian radiator into a steampunk gaming PC
When I play PC games in my small office, I feel the heat in the room rising. My gaming computer is, in a very literal sense, a radiator. Billet Labs took this concept to an artistic conclusion… by building a gaming computer out of a gigantic Victorian-era radiator. The entire contraption weighs nearly 100 kilograms (or 220 pounds). “Big iron” hardware has never been more literal.
Billet Labs is a UK based custom cooling workshop supplying copper pipes and blocks for cooling loops as well as bespoke projects. They are familiar with large pieces of metal. The plan for this build was to take an antique iron radiator (that’s what heats your house with water pumped by a boiler, if you were born after about 2000) and convert it into a working water-cooled gaming PC. The secondary goal was to preserve the classic look of the cast iron design, intended to blend in with the interior decor.
The system uses copper pipes and a pump to move heat from components mounted under the radiator to 18 liters (4.75 gallons) of water inside. The pipes themselves accentuate the design, giving the whole thing a definite steampunk look. (I’m sorry for diving into this empty well, but if anything is steampunk, this is it!) The PC components are carefully mounted onto the curved iron bottom using 3D scanning and printing.
If you’re wondering about the components, it’s a mini-ITX system with a Ryzen 9800X3D, an RTX 5080, and a 600-watt Flex ATX power supply. It took days of custom construction, including a classic lever for a power button, a magnetic rust filter to keep the interior clean, using a blowtorch and a straight Acme anvil. It’s a fun watch.
The creator found that the finished system could keep things at safe temperatures well below the hardware’s throttling mark in a benchmark torture test. After an hour of operating the system at its maximum, the interior temperature of this massive water reserve was only 29.25 degrees Celsius (84 in Freedom units).
You can see a breakdown of thermals on the Reddit post /r/PCBuild, spotted by VideoCardz.com. The hour-long video is worth watching if you want to see an expert lovingly create a work of functional art.
