The Fallout Collector usually focuses on highlighting his impressive collection of memorabilia for the post-nuclear RPG series, but recently he tried a PC built in the plastic warhead that came with the Fallout Anthology Bethesda released in 2015. The flavorful fake plastic bomb is meant to hold the DVDs that come with the anthology, but it also turns out to be roomy enough to fit some silicon and a power supply instead.
It’s a similar project as a build by Linus Tech Tips from back around the anthology’s release, but with some key differences. Luke at LTT opted for a more traditional PC build, lengthening the case with a 3D-printed case and cramming a then-top of the range i7 6700K and R9 Fury Nano into the heavily modified mini-nuke.
The Fallout Collector opted for a smaller system with a lower power, which meant fewer changes to the case were needed. He moved a NUC, a small form factor PC from Intel with a very compact motherboard, into the new case. The Fallout Collector changed the insert intended to hold the games in a base to mount the motherboard, with a power supply on the bottom of the case and holes in the sides for IO ports.
The end result leaves the core components of the system just below the nose of the bomb, with the main section housing the power supply and cable management. The Fallout Collector installed a single fan in the nose above the motherboard, with a pattern of holes drilled to allow for airflow. He also used the mini-nuke’s sound effect button to serve as an on/off switch, similar to the LTT build, and as a final touch, modified the BIOS to display a brutal RobCo splash image on boot. .
As it stands, the build’s performance is better than you’d expect from a 6th Gen i3 system in a jury-rigged case. While Fallout 3 is currently giving the Collector issues, New Vegas and Skyrim release a playable 30fps with acceptable thermals, while handling the original 2D items without breaking a sweat.
The Fallout Collector isn’t quite happy with the build’s performance just yet – it hopes to fix the remaining Fallout 3 compatibility issue, improve the thermal performance of the system, and possibly insert a more expensive or newer NUC to really give it a turbo. to charge.
Wherever The Fallout Collector takes the next step, it’s always exciting to see enthusiasts working computers where they absolutely should never work, and New Vegas is already running at least as well as the PlayStation 3.