We’re glad this samurai PC build can’t walk (or can it?) You wouldn’t want to be approached by its gruesome horned red mask in the dark, and it even carries two swords on its back. The mask and swords were supplied by a customer of Dimitry, who calls himself DDE in the modding community. He was asked to build a samurai-style PC, and this painted machine clad in rope is the result.
Custom PC has been celebrating the best PC builds since 2003, and our Facebook group has over 400,000 members. We’ve seen many custom gaming PCs, from mods based on existing case designs to scratch builds. Here we chat to Dimitry about how he built this samurai-themed rig.
Custom PC: What is the name of this project?
Dimitry: This project is called Ronin, in honor of my local computer club.
Custom PC: What inspired you to build this PC, and what look were you hoping to achieve?
Dimitry: A client of ours (at Starline Computers) said he wanted to make a samurai-style PC, and he sent us two katanas and a mask. From that moment, we began to imagine how we wanted to see our project. We started with simple part positioning.
Custom PC: How did you plan out this build?
Dimitry: We didn’t make sketches in programs, or even with paper and pencil. However, we did look for similar work on the Internet. We looked at a lot of work, and came up with how we wanted to implement it. We also thought for a long time about how to paint the motherboard, as well as the whole body and details, because the mask was just black, and so were the katanas.
Custom PC: What tools, machinery, and materials did you use
Dimitry: We used many different tools to achieve this result. Let’s start with the mask and katana, which were professionally hand-painted by our artist friend. We considered the style of the mask for a long time, and eventually decided to go with a black, red, and gold effect, which would fit perfectly with the body.
The body of the PC case was also hand-painted, but this painting wasn’t the most difficult part of the assembly. We also had difficulty fixing the mask and katanas firmly. We fixed the mask on a rigid mount, and pressed it with side panels – the mask can be removed by unscrewing the bolt, otherwise it won’t budge.
Custom PC: How long did it take you to make this build, from start to finish?
Dimitry: It took one and a half months from the beginning to the end of the assembly process. I suggested to the client that we started the assembly as early as possible, so that we weren’t in a hurry, and could easily foresee any potential issues.
Custom PC: Did you come across any difficulties during the build process?
Dimitry: Well, yes, there were difficulties. We painted the case, the motherboard, katanas, and masks, and we also wanted to paint the graphics card. However, our artist couldn’t understand how to disassemble it, so he couldn’t paint it.
Our next difficulties involved creating the mounts for the mask and katanas. At first, we just wanted to tie both the mask and the katanas to the ropes, but we quickly abandoned this idea, as it would damage the rest of the components. We then tried to cut the top panel to create ears on it – using our CNC, machine we planned to put the katanas through the ears – but this structure turned out to be not very strong, and the acrylic broke.
We then saw some metal semi-circles in the store that could be bolted together, and we realized that this was our best option. We bought them, and then used a drill machine to remove unnecessary parts and prepare them for painting. We then braided these metal parts with ropes, and we got strong mounts for katanas – we were very happy.
I had to tinker with the mask mount for a bit longer, because it wasn’ot clear how to fix it in place. It’s also impossible to cut and drill into the mask, as it’s very fragile. In the end, we made an additional mesh on the front of the case to cover the cooler and attach the mask. We then took a long bolt and with some special fasteners and made a hanger for the mask. When the mask hung, we pressed it a little with the side parts to keep it in place.
Custom PC: Are you completely happy with the end result, or do you wish you’d done some of it differently in retrospect?
Dimitry: At the moment I’m very pleased with the result – it’s definitely one of my best works.
Samurai Katana Ronin PC specs
- CPU: Intel Core i7-11700F
- Motherboard: Asus ROG Strix B560-F Gaming Wi-Fi
- Memory: 16GB (2 x 8GB) Kingston Fury Renegade RGB 3200MHz
- GPU: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
- Storage: 250GB WD Black SN750 SE SSD, 1TB Gigabyte Aorus PCIe 4 SSD
- PSU: 1000W Gigabyte GP-UD1000GM
- Case: Jonsbo Mod5
- Cooling: Asus ROG Ryujin 240, Coolmon 120mm RGB Black, ID-Cooling FS-04
Well done to you and your team, Dimitry, you’ve created a unique-looking PC and overcome some significant challenges when it came to mounting the swords, mask, and ropes – the paintwork looks good too.
Should more PCs come with a mask and swords? Let us know your thoughts about this build on the Custom PC Facebook page, via Twitter, or join our Custom PC and Gaming Setup Facebook group and tap into the knowledge of our 400,000+ members. If you want to see more outstanding custom PCs and gaming setups, check out our massive guide to the best PC builds.
