Custom Water-Cooled PC Looks to be Straight from the Victorian Era, Called WALL-Y

Felix Ure of Billet Labs has built a water-cooled PC that looks like a time machine mounted to the wall. This is a working sculpture that combines Victorian era looks with modern computing tech. It’s steampunk to the max with brass and copper pipes throughout the open air design.

Ure starts with a blank slate, a sheet of MDF which he later swaps for metal to create the backbone of this wall mounted beauty. The components are high end: Ryzen 9 9950X for 4K video edits and 3D scans, NVIDIA GeForce 3090Ti for raw graphical power, 64GB of RAM, 8TB of storage and an 850W SFX power supply, while a B650 EI motherboard ties it all together.

Brass and copper pipes dominate the design, carrying coolant through a custom loop that’s as much art as it is engineering. Ure solders each joint himself, using 54mm copper pipes for the reservoir and smaller fittings for the intricate connections. Four industrial fans, £344 each, for airflow. Ure admits they’re overkill. A temperature gauge on the GPU, and a pressure gauge on the coolant loop, add a functional retro charm, while the analog dials are like something from a bygone era of mechanical precision.


Assembly is a journey of precision and adaptation, Ure lays out the components on the panel, making sure every piece from the power supply to the radiator fits within the open air frame. He tackles the plumbing by soldering pipes in place while protecting nearby components with a “sacrificial wet sock” to prevent fires. Ure swaps out an oversized pressure gauge for a more fitting pair and grinds down an octagonal pipe cap to a smooth circle for aesthetic harmony.


Wiring is a challenge in this exposed setup. Ure plans the cable routes early, cutting precise holes in the panel to keep things tidy. He avoids the “gamery” look of angular black components by designing custom shrouds, but some cables still dangle, a minor blemish he’ll fix. The wall mounted design maximises desk space, the PC is a striking centerpiece that reveals its inner workings to anyone who walks by.


Performance testing puts the build to the test. Running Cinebench and FurMark at the same time, a “hell test” that pushes nearly 700W, the system doesn’t break a sweat. The CPU gets to 82°C and the GPU 59°C, fans at 50%. Water temperature stabilize at 43°C, impressive for a small radiator. Even at full fan speed, which Ure describes as a loud car exhaust, the system doesn’t flinch. A Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark at 1440p with maxed settings gets 57.58 FPS, not bad for a workstation not built for gaming.
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