I mean it's just a box of components but there are definitely some stylish models out there.
The biggest gaming convention in Australia is once again upon us as PAX Aus kicked off this weekend. The convention is host to all kinds of delightful nerdery ranging from table top gaming to high-end PC shenanigans. I always enjoy roaming the main floor in search of the coolest gaming PCs on show, and this year they ranged from rip and tear DOOM themed machines to cute Cult of the Lamb. So for everyone who wasn't lucky enough to attend, here are some of the most righteous rigs I spotted at PAX Australia 2025.
Let's start with one of the cutest, if not wooliest PCs I've ever seen. This case was a part of the Melbourne based Massive Monster's Cult of the Lamb booth, which is themed after the upcoming expansion: Woolhaven. It's all rugged up in wintery aesthetics, including a woolen front panel featuring the avatar of evil himself, The Lamb.
PC builder Aftershock were showing off a wide variety of themed cases. Many were on the simple side of modding, featuring decal stylings based on popular anime and games. This included a bunch of Aussie creations such as Kill Knight, and Dumb Ways to Die, but also included bigger IPs from other shores, like Minecraft.
They were also home to easily the reddest RGB rig around. This DOOM: The Dark Ages PC is so evil it feels like it oozes red to the point that capturing it with my phone camera was a genuine challenge. The insides featured chains, rocks, and the bashing shield from the game, and it was surrounded by some other neat props too.
Aftershock also had a section dedicated to some lighter themed units like these Corgi Boba machines, all in their own colour scheme. Further along I spied a semi transparent unit covered in Naruto clouds and a stunning stained glass dragon.
Perched atop the front of their booth on either side of an esports style team PC setup, Aftershock also sported these two PCs which pushed the boundaries a little further. To the east, we see an inside out unit with dystopian cyberpunk vibes. This is in contrast to the west, where a beautiful solarpunk tower sat with two fully transparent sides decorated with wind farms.
The ThermalTake booth was also a great spot for hunting down hot PCs. They had a bunch of rigs to show off in all sorts of form factors and colour schemes. The brand also had its four-sided cube video display AIO cooler on show. Yeah, I never expected to write those words either. I still have no idea why you'd want to add things like video, which even with LEDs are inherently light and and thus heat to your cooling system. It did look pretty neat though.
For the console gamers among us, you can get one of these. They're not really PCs you see, they're Xboxes. Actually, if I'm being perfectly honest, the Xbox booth seemed a little obsessed with us, and by us I mean PC gamers. Microsoft might be wanting to get back to its PC roots, but we'd like it if they stopped supporting the Israeli military first.
Even lightmaker Govee wanted to get in some of the PC gaming action with this Skyscaper themed tower. It's a bit of an odd one but the empire aesthetics with the RGB lit fans whirling away inside was pretty eyecatching.
Lastly, sim rigs were common across a few of the brands. Many were hooked up to multiple screens and massive chairs complete with controls I couldn't even begin to fathom. For many it's a chance to get a seat in the kind of setup they likely could never afford to run themselves, so these opulent rigs deliver the wish fulfilment right on the show floor.
