If you even remotely keep tabs on sneaker trends, it’s near impossible to ignore a certain segment of kicks have taken a hard left into the realm of the surreal, with a succession of newer designs continuing to push the bounds of plausibility (and maybe in that pursuit, sacrificing comfort). Conversely, with the release of this absolutely bonkers gaming PC the same can now be said about PC computer design. Behold, Sneaker X, a real working gaming computer so convincing, you’d be tempted to try to slip it on.
Sneaker X designer JMDF was originally awarded the Best Art Direction at the Case Mod World Series after turning his sketches into a working IRL prototype. Inspired by sneakers from Nike, adidas, and Balenciaga, PC gaming manufacturer Cool Master took notice and announced they would eventually help turn the prototype into a real and purchasable machine. And now that day has (nearly) arrived with the announcement of availability and two model pricing.
Seemingly all of the wildly over-the-top details have been retained from JMDF’s original head-turning design by Cool Master: Gundam-styled angular chonk, luminescent LED color lights strewn across the silhouette, alongside the application of liberal perforations mimicking real sneakers that also effectively help to cool the internal PC component just as they would the feet. Additional heat-combatting measures are hidden from view, with a 360mm AIO liquid cooling system stationed near the midsole.
The sum of the design is unapologetically audacious and stands as the complete opposite of the minimalist modern cases designed to complement the room rather than tread upon it aesthetically.
For those willing to part with $3,800 for a liquid-cooled sneaker specced out to deliver high frame rate performance powered by an i7-13700K CPU and RTX 4070 Ti graphics card should venture over to cmodx.com.