Nifty PC cases are nothing new, of course, with some stunningly creative designs that have been fashioned by case manufacturers, as well as keen enthusiasts and modders.
In the past, from some of the bigger (and smaller) case makers, we've witnessed the likes of Cougar's FV270 fish tank case, which has an RGB turntable inside. Or to venture into more left-field experimental territory, how about Cooler Master's shark-shaped gaming case? Or indeed some of the truly elaborate case designs seen at past Computex shows.
Two are actual PC cases, and one is just a DIY concept that modifies your existing case – but I love it so much that I feel it must be mentioned. And anyone who played coin-op arcade games is likely to appreciate it just as much.
1. NextGear Clear Shift
The NextGear Clear Shift, as highlighted by PC Watch (a Japanese tech site), has a built-in cloaking device, Star Trek-style. Well, sort of. What the Clear Shift actually does is transform the case window panels (front and side) from see-through to opaque at the touch of a button.
One minute, the case is transparent, and you can see the CPU, GPU, and other hardware inside; the next minute, it's opaque, and you can't see the innards at all. When the PC is off, it's opaque by default, in case you were wondering.
Pretty cool? Definitely. Pretty pointless? Well, what's the point of any of these fancy custom cases, except to do something strikingly different that takes us away from the land of plain black mini towers?
Although that said, there could be a practical use for this case after all, given what we've been hearing about RAM being a new target for burglars, smashing and grabbing the stuff out of desktop PCs – at least with the NextGear Clear Shift, they won't be able to see if you've loaded up 128GB of DDR5 inside your machine (not at a glance, anyway).
2. InWin Aeon
Shown off at CES 2026, where it turned some heads to say the least, InWin's Aeon case is described as a "vision beyond convention" and a "mechanized architectural statement". Hyperbole? Well, yes, but in fairness, this is a jaw-dropping case and definitely a statement.
It uses reflective mosaic panels to achieve a really smart, modern appearance, and the chassis shape makes the Aeon seem more like a futuristic artifact from a sci-fi movie than a PC case. On top of that, the chassis has an RFID card reader, and when the provided card is swiped, the case opens to give super-slick access to the components (check it out in the promo video above).
3. Coin-op gaming PC
Remember coin-ops, or coin-operated machines, at old-style arcades? Here we have an external addition to a PC case: a coin mechanism. You need to put a specific coin into your machine to turn it on.
This is the brainchild of Mr Yeester, a hardware engineer with his own YouTube channel, as Tom's Hardware spotted, and you can see the process of making this creation in the video clip above.
The end result is a separate coin acceptor box hooked up to the gaming PC, and while the engineer uses a makeshift enclosure to save time, it could obviously be something a bit fancier. This is a highly novel idea, and there's a security element here too: if you don't have precisely the right coin – the acceptor box checks the metal's size and thickness using phototransistors and infrared LEDs – you can't turn on the computer. Top marks for ingenuity here.
➡️ Read our full guide to the best laptops
1. Best overall:
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4
2. Best budget:
Asus Chromebook CM14
3. Best Windows 11 laptop
Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch
4. Best gaming:
Razer Blade 16
5. Best for pros
MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro)
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