Summary

• Fish tank cases are so common that every other PC looks the same today.
• RGB cable extensions have lost their appeal due to overuse.
• Overloading your PC with too many case fans hurts its looks without adding too much in performance.
• You don't need 1600W PSUs even for your RTX 4090 and Core i9-14900K.

PC building is rarely an exercise in solitude. Nearly every PC builder is influenced by the builds they've seen in the community, picking up something or the other as inspiration for their own project. While this is undoubtedly great for getting visual and performance ideas, there are some downsides as well.

Due to some PC components being used in nearly every build, a large majority of them have ended up looking the same. These overused PC parts have robbed PC builders of their creativity, replacing unique ideas with those that have already been done to death. It's high time PC builders looked beyond and started considering alternatives to these 6 overused PC components.

6 Fish tank cases

You know who you are

The modern PC case is a result of innovations by manufacturers over the years, resulting in the various form factors and design elements we see today. But, what started with the Lian Li O11 Dynamic has gradually devolved into somewhat of a plague of similar-looking fish tank cases. Everyone seems to be picking an O11 Dynamic or NZXT H9 Flow or one of their clones for their next build. What was once a novel design is now so commonplace that almost every PC looks the same.

The fish tank case is so common that going any other way is bound to make your PC stand out.

It's not as if PC builders don't have options — there are great cases from Corsair, HYTE, be quiet!, Thermaltake, and Fractal Design. You can choose a case with wooden inserts, a vertical design resembling a console, open-air cases, or unique PC cases shaped like cubes or pyramids. The fish tank case is so common that going any other way is bound to make your PC stand out.

5 RGB cable extensions

It was cool once

You might have seen countless PC builds featuring the Lian Li Strimer cables, lighting up their insides like the fourth of July. These RGB cable extensions (and their clones) were once pretty unique and added a touch of class to a PC. But, over the years, after everyone decided to ditch their stock PSU cables and use RGB cables instead, they started losing their sheen, becoming commonplace and not as cool as before.

You could also pick sleeved white or black cable extensions that look premium without flooding your PC with rainbow effects.

RGB cables provide an easy way to increase the RGB footprint inside your case, but you should also consider other alternatives if you want to prioritize aesthetics. For instance, custom cables without RGB that match the rest of your PC's theme can be a great addition. You could also pick sleeved white or black cable extensions that look premium without flooding your PC with rainbow effects.

4 AIOs with LCDs

Not as unique as you might think

AIO liquid coolers aren't optional if you're using some of the best CPUs on the market with insanely high power draws. But while PC builders have a lot of options when it comes to brands and models, many of them end up using the same handful of models with LCD screens. These AIOs allow you to customize their displays with things like system temps, GIFs, or anything else you fancy. But, they face the same problem — making every PC look the same.

When every new builder seems to be using them, they lose a lot of their value.

I can see the allure of fancy AIOs with screens, just like those cases with screens. But, at some point, you'll have to admit that these AIOs aren't adding to your build, but rather taking away from its unique identity. When every new builder seems to be using them, they lose a lot of their value. So, if you really want your PC to stand out, you could use some of the more unique and exciting cooling components instead of the same repeated AIOs with LCD screens.

3 Colossal air coolers

Stop ruining your PC's looks

Not everyone needs a high-end liquid cooler. For many builders, either due to the choice of the CPU or personal preference, air coolers are actually better than liquid coolers. But, in the race to beat AIOs in cooling performance, many air coolers have become a tad too huge. These gigantic air coolers occupy a lot of space on your motherboard and end up hurting the looks of your PC by almost completely covering your motherboard and SSD.

Your cooling needs will be more than taken care of by one of the best air coolers that aren't as large as some other models.

Beefy dual-tower coolers are necessary for cooling high-end CPUs but not everyone really needs all the performance they offer. If all you're using is a 6-core or 8-core CPU, your cooling needs will be more than taken care of by one of the best air coolers that aren't as large as some other models.

2 Too many case fans

You're not generating wind energy

It's great to see more and more builders taking PC airflow seriously, outfitting their builds with decent CPU coolers and ample case fans. But, many of them take this to the extreme, installing a few too many case fans to ramp up air intake to the maximum. Beyond a point, installing too many case fans doesn't improve the airflow inside your case by too much. Plus, too many RGB fans can make your PC look like a gaudy light show.

Just populating your build with as many case fans as you can fit inside is a practice that needs to stop.

Once you have installed two or three intake fans, an exhaust fan, and a CPU cooler, you don't need additional fans to cool your PC. And even for aesthetics, how many fans a PC should have depends on the case used and the overall physical configuration of the other components. Just populating your build with as many case fans as you can fit inside is a practice that needs to stop.

1 1600W PSUs

No, your RTX 4090 and Core i9 don't need one

As CPUs and graphics cards became increasingly power-hungry, many users were forced to switch to higher-capacity power supplies. But, even a top-end system with the RTX 4090 and Core i9-14900K doesn't need more than one of the best power supplies with a 1000W capacity. In fact, most gaming PCs will do just fine with a 750W or 850W PSU with an 80+ Gold rating. But, for some reason, many PC builders still keep using 1500W-1600W PSUs on their rigs.

The quality of a PSU depends on its construction and the materials used inside it.

PC users often believe that an overkill power supply is always better in quality than one with lower wattage. But, the quality of a PSU depends on its construction and the materials used inside it. If you're buying a well-reviewed model from a reputable manufacturer, you only need enough wattage to account for your system's maximum power draw (including power spikes), plus some additional headroom for future upgrades.

Making your PC look unique takes effort

Due to the endless homogeneity we see in modern PC builds, it's getting increasingly harder to differentiate your build from the next one. Plus, there's a fair bit of FOMO involved when picking components, as users want their PC to look as close as possible to those they see regularly on social media. But then they end up choosing the same overused components that everyone else is using.

Putting together a unique PC now takes more effort than ever, but you can at least avoid a lot of these components and choose alternatives that work just as well to enhance the looks of your build.