A Nintendo Wii console has been converted to a very functional gaming PC.
Nintendo Wii console and AMD Ryzen processor
A Nintendo Wii gaming PC capable of running Minecraft at 4K resolution has been put together by a crafty gamer.
Months of toiling have resulted in what appears to be a fully operational gaming station decked out in RGB lighting, which helps it mimic the original console’s disc slot’s blue illumination.
Boasting an AMD Ryzen 5 APU and some ingenious console shell modifications, the custom build is also able to run esports favorites such as Fortnite and Rocket League.
The Nintendo Wii gaming PC, or “WiiC” as it’s called, was developed by alex_tries_tech, who showed it off on TikTok last week. In addition to being able to run Wii games via Dolphin, the AMD Ryzen 5 5500U-powered machine is a legit Windows 11 PC that can handle most, if not all, of your Steam library.
The WiiC is essentially a mini Ryzen APU PC with its motherboard modified by its creator to fit inside the Nintendo Wii’s mini case. The original disc drive and controller ports for the GameCube had to be removed to make room for the rest of the components, and the build has been tweaked to improve cooling and prevent the CPU from throttling, leading to higher frame rates.
A Wii stealth rig is an interesting concept, and the numbers show it’s no joke. The tiny computer can easily produce over 100 frames per second in Fortnite, and run Rainbow Six: Siege at 1080p at 60 frames per second, while Shadow of the Tomb Raider is just about playable.
The Wii was launched by Nintendo in 2006 and served as the company’s flagship console until the Wii U surfaced in 2012. It remains Nintendo’s second-best selling console, with over 101 million lifetime sales (as of March 2016), since being outsold by the Switch as of December 2021.