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I was looking to build a computer recently and was disappointed to see that virtually every cabinet looked like a cabinet Not that there is anything wrong with

I was looking to build a computer recently and was disappointed to see that virtually every cabinet looked like a cabinet Not that there is anything wrong with it, but there has been so little innovation in PC design for so many years. Everything is still dominated by LEDs and sharp edges and some desire to appear "techy" It's like we're still living in an era where computers are a novelty, not just another thing in the house

codetrotter 8y ago
You might be interested to learn that there is a community of people creating unconventional cabinets. What they do is known as “case modding”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_modding https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_modding As for why most cabinets look so similar outside of that, I’d say it is probably at least in part thanks to such designs being the best we have in terms of airflow and ease of access to components within.
noir_lord 8y ago
Agreed, I've always preferred the plain box approach to PC building but it's getting harder to just find one. Coolermaster served that role for years but seem to have vanished. Recently I ended up putting nearly £2K worth of equipment into one of these. https://www.corsair.com/uk/en/Categories/Products/Cases/Carbide-Series%E2%84%A2-100R-Silent-Edition-Mid-Tower-Case/p/CC-9011077-WW https://www.corsair.com/uk/en/Categories/Products/Cases/Carb... It's quiet, neat and doesn't have a glow in the dark multi colored LED anything anywhere.
- distances 8y ago
  Antec has cases in this similar style, sleek plain black with good tech inside. Like the P110: https://antec.com/product/case/p110s.php https://antec.com/product/case/p110s.php
- jnurmine 8y ago
  When I was shopping for a computer I was actually disturbed by all the LED-enabled boxes with pseudo-scifi-militaristic bulging edges with a "spaceship" look and especially that window on the side. Of course, some people like that kind of stuff, this is why they sell such things. And why not, it is a matter of aestethics, but it is just not for me. Eventually I decided on Fractal Design's Define series, they have variants with and without the windows. Now I have a Define RS 5 Black (without the window!) and it is a great quiet case with many details, such as keeping dust out with meshes and vacuumable mesh filters. The System76 case looks nice, my initial impression was that it looked almost like a quality speaker with a kind of walnut finish. On further examination, it did not look so great, unfortunately. I'd like to see that tree part replaced with a dark metal-bluegrayish matte metal or something.
- Fnoord 8y ago
  There are quite some Lian Li cases which don't have a plethora of LEDs. Mine has, I believe two: one for power, one for HDD. Neither of these are connected. The front panel lid can be closed. You end up with a case which has dust filters and can fit many HDDs. Not that it has many HDDs (it has one SSD and one HDD); I have a NAS instead.
  - zepearl 8y ago
    I ended up buying a Lian-Li PC a79 (http://www.lian-li.com/pc-a79/ http://www.lian-li.com/pc-a79/) because it was basically the only case available on the market into which I could fit at least 3 IcyBox disk encloures - basically all other cases nowadays have fancy stuff at the front which prevents the installation of disk enclosures :( (another good one was Sharkoon REX8 or its predecessor T6 Value but both aren't apparently produced anymore, bah)
  - isantop 8y ago
    Lian-Li is one of very few case ODMs that still make sensible looking cases. They supplied all of our (System76) cases until Thelio, and there's a bit of inspiration from them in the design.
HeadsUpHigh 8y ago
I want the old IBM PC that was sitting on the side with the monitor on top. Ideally in the old colors with ports and a hotpluggable 3.5 inch drive in front. But I would take it with wood as well.
tomaskafka 8y ago
I love how this Cryorig Taku looks: https://www.google.com/search?q=cryorig+taku&client=safari&hl=en-cz&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj38uSFnbneAhVylIsKHR1_AmEQ_AUIEigB&biw=375&bih=553 https://www.google.com/search?q=cryorig+taku&client=safari&h...
- puranjay 8y ago
  This is perfect. Exactly what I envision modern PCs to look like

codetrotter 8y ago

You might be interested to learn that there is a community of people creating unconventional cabinets. What they do is known as “case modding”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_modding https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_modding As for why most cabinets look so similar outside of that, I’d say it is probably at least in part thanks to such designs being the best we have in terms of airflow and ease of access to components within.

noir_lord 8y ago

Agreed, I've always preferred the plain box approach to PC building but it's getting harder to just find one. Coolermaster served that role for years but seem to have vanished. Recently I ended up putting nearly £2K worth of equipment into one of these. https://www.corsair.com/uk/en/Categories/Products/Cases/Carbide-Series%E2%84%A2-100R-Silent-Edition-Mid-Tower-Case/p/CC-9011077-WW https://www.corsair.com/uk/en/Categories/Products/Cases/Carb... It's quiet, neat and doesn't have a glow in the dark multi colored LED anything anywhere.

distances 8y ago
Antec has cases in this similar style, sleek plain black with good tech inside. Like the P110: https://antec.com/product/case/p110s.php https://antec.com/product/case/p110s.php
jnurmine 8y ago
When I was shopping for a computer I was actually disturbed by all the LED-enabled boxes with pseudo-scifi-militaristic bulging edges with a "spaceship" look and especially that window on the side. Of course, some people like that kind of stuff, this is why they sell such things. And why not, it is a matter of aestethics, but it is just not for me. Eventually I decided on Fractal Design's Define series, they have variants with and without the windows. Now I have a Define RS 5 Black (without the window!) and it is a great quiet case with many details, such as keeping dust out with meshes and vacuumable mesh filters. The System76 case looks nice, my initial impression was that it looked almost like a quality speaker with a kind of walnut finish. On further examination, it did not look so great, unfortunately. I'd like to see that tree part replaced with a dark metal-bluegrayish matte metal or something.
Fnoord 8y ago
There are quite some Lian Li cases which don't have a plethora of LEDs. Mine has, I believe two: one for power, one for HDD. Neither of these are connected. The front panel lid can be closed. You end up with a case which has dust filters and can fit many HDDs. Not that it has many HDDs (it has one SSD and one HDD); I have a NAS instead.
- zepearl 8y ago
  I ended up buying a Lian-Li PC a79 (http://www.lian-li.com/pc-a79/ http://www.lian-li.com/pc-a79/) because it was basically the only case available on the market into which I could fit at least 3 IcyBox disk encloures - basically all other cases nowadays have fancy stuff at the front which prevents the installation of disk enclosures :( (another good one was Sharkoon REX8 or its predecessor T6 Value but both aren't apparently produced anymore, bah)
- isantop 8y ago
  Lian-Li is one of very few case ODMs that still make sensible looking cases. They supplied all of our (System76) cases until Thelio, and there's a bit of inspiration from them in the design.

HeadsUpHigh 8y ago

I want the old IBM PC that was sitting on the side with the monitor on top. Ideally in the old colors with ports and a hotpluggable 3.5 inch drive in front. But I would take it with wood as well.

tomaskafka 8y ago

I love how this Cryorig Taku looks: https://www.google.com/search?q=cryorig+taku&client=safari&hl=en-cz&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj38uSFnbneAhVylIsKHR1_AmEQ_AUIEigB&biw=375&bih=553 https://www.google.com/search?q=cryorig+taku&client=safari&h...

puranjay 8y ago
This is perfect. Exactly what I envision modern PCs to look like