Computex highlights: Overclocking and subzero cooling; gaming 'furniture' from Lian Li and InWin

A pyramid-shaped custom-built PC at the G.Skill booth cooled by liquid nitrogen. — Photos: CHRISTOPHER FAM/The Star

TAIPEI: With the return of Computex this year, the G.Skill booth has once again become home to the Overclocking (OC) World Cup with a prize pool of US$40,000 (RM180,000) and the OC World Record Stage.

Participants in the OC World Cup overclocked an Intel 13th Gen Intel Core processor, while the OC World Record Stage used the latest Intel platform.

In order to tame the heat output as a result of raising clock speeds and voltages to boost performance, participants made use of subzero cooling with liquid nitrogen, cooling fans, and blowtorches to maintain the optimal temperature for maximum performance.

A participant at the OC World Record Stage pours liquid nitrogen onto his cooling setup.

G.Skill's booth also had a section for themed custom-built PC rigs, which included a transparent pyramid that spewed out fog from the liquid nitrogen being pumped in to cool it.

Other themed builds include an Alien-inspired face-hugger, a volcano leaking lava, and a water-cooled beer fountain complete with a keg dispensing actual beer for attendees.

There were also a pair of themed PC builds at the Cooler Master booth, featuring the company's sneaker-shaped case, which will actually be released sometime this year.

So sneakerhead PC enthusiasts may want to keep an eye out for it, though the company has yet to announce the pricing.

PC component and manufacturer Lian Li's booth showed off its upcoming catalogue of PC cases, but what stood out the most was the prototype DK07, which looks closer to a glass-top desk than a computer case.

A really cool part of this desk is the ability to frost and unfrost the glass panel with the press of a button, either hiding or revealing the PC components within.

The Lian Li DK07 can electronically frost the top glass panel, and even has a drink cooler.

It also includes a motor for adjusting the desk's height, allowing it to function as a standing desk, along with a drink cooler and USB hub.

As it's still a prototype, Lian Li doesn't have pricing quite yet, but it's expected to be released between September and October.

While at the InWin booth, cases took on a different shape.

Reminiscent of assembly-required furniture a la Ikea, the Dubili (an anagram of "I build") and POC One come shipped in flat packs, with users having to build them using the included instructions.

During the building process, users have the option of personalising the case – for example, with the POC One, the front panel features multiple triangles, all of which can be pushed inwards or outwards for a unique look.

InWin designed the cases after hearing complaints from the enthusiast market about PC cases being square, boring, and coloured either white or black.

This resulted in it taking on a design philosophy focusing on personalisation and colour, which gave birth to these prototypes meant to rekindle childhood memories of playing with Lego.

The company also showed off concepts for its F5 case and Mod Free lineup.

Users can swap out the modules on the InWin Mod Free to create their own ideal case design.

The F5 has a rearrangeable front panel for more simplistic customisation.

While the Mod Free is essentially a skeleton case that allows users to pick individual modules and build their own unique case frame.

Pretty much all the cases shown off by InWin were unreleased prototypes without a release date or price.

Representatives at the booth said that more details would be released on the cases sometime after Computex 2023.

Unfortunately, InWin does not have a dedicated store page for our region as of yet, so shipping costs will be a bomb due to the weight of these cases.

So here's hoping that the company expands here at some point.