The Archbishop PC Suite

This post is an archival post from the original Datamancer.net site, which is no longer online. It was written by Richard Nagy when he built the project, before he passed away. We have kept it public, unchanged apart from the layout, so the information stays available to as many people as possible.

This is a PC/LCD/Keyboard/”Mouse” combo built using some of the more attractive design elements of the Gothic school of architecture. The LCD lives inside a scratch-built Gothic arch with quatrefoil designs and stained-glass doors. The PC case features the same Morisco-patterned glass, brass embellishments, a hinged lid for access to the drives and hardware, and soft, ambient red lighting. The PC is quite fast and is actually built as a gaming computer. I’ve listed more detailed specs below.

Also, this project was almost destroyed by my first California earthquake! Check my LiveJournal for the story about that!

This particular computer was sold, but please contact us if you would be interested in having one made for yourself.

My apologies for the rushed and sloppy photography. This piece had a tight deadline. Enjoy!

Here is a closeup of the beautiful “Morisco”-patterned glass (many thanks to the fine folks at the Stained Glass Town Square for their help in identifying this pattern for me).

The quatrefoil on the LCD arch has a piece of matte brass behind it.

Closeup of the LCD buttons and power indicator light. The small brass plaque matches the one on the PC case and the LED shines through a small plastic jewel. (all this was added at last minute which is why they aren’t in the other photos)

The quatrefoil theme is continued onto the keyboard which also has a wooden faceplate that matches the lighter wood inside the LCD arch.

Originally I had wanted to put the DVD-ROM and buttons in the panels below the stained glass panels but time and design limits dictated that I find another solution. I decided to fabricate this small button panel and mount it inside the case. The whole panel is removable and the DVD-ROM drive is mounted on brackets and removable/replaceable/upgradable if need be.

I think one of the more tasteless trends in PC casemodding lately is to have big, obnoxious lighting effects spilling out of every hole in the machine. I wanted my lighting to be as subtle and ambient as possible so I added these C-shaped brass pieces around each CCFL bulb to act as both reflectors and blinders. The polished surface of the brass directs the light back into the case while the small “walls” block the bulb from being directly visible through the glass when you look at the Archbishop from different angles.

I tried to make the back as interesting to look at as the front with…yup…more quatrefoils. Some of you Catholics may recognize this as the exact mesh used in confessionals.

This antique book serves as the pointer device. Housed inside is a Wacom drawing tablet that can use either a pen or a mouse. Beneath the Wacom tablet is a small, felt-lined area to store the pen and mouse (and other valuables) while not in use. Don’t freak out, bibliophiles. This book was utterly destroyed before I modded it. The spine was broken into 3 pieces, both covers were torn off, and a lot of the pages had crumbled to flakes.

Computer Specs