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Who gives a shit if you can't stick the whole thing in a riced up ColorCase with neon lights, LEDs and water-cooled CPU? NOBODY. So fuck it.

If I'm not mistaken, this is the case.

You can buy coloured drives you know, or you always have the option of modding a new drive yourself...

Some links to check out.

http://www.colorcases.com ( I've dealt with them and recommend them)
http://www.pccase.com
http://www.crazypc.com

If you're into it to save yourself money, it's probably not worth it. If you want some custom parts then it's definatly the way to go (especially for an AMD system).

One thing I'd point out is to get a good case... I got myself a pretty cool one from colorcases. One thing I don't like about pre-built computers is that they're a severe pain in the ass to work on. And don't skimp on the power supply either.

I've had my eye on this case for a while, for a set-top box. Dunno if it's what you had in mind, but take a look.

Give this one a look!

Given how successful the original iMac was, and that this one is probably going to be, how come the vast majority of PC cases are just plain dull? Beyond a different colour, or a small curve somewhere, they are all essentially identical. There's got to be a market for mass-produced decent looking PC cases.

Are you trying to prove the point that the vast majority on PC cases are just boxes tarted up?

I believe the question is why aren't there more creative designs, ones that involve more then sticking swoopy curved bezels in old iMac colors on the basic PC box? Heck, Apple built their PC chassis with handles on the corners and a fold-out door with the motherboard and other components conveniently on it, not awkwardly mounted inside the frame.

IBM had a clever desktop pod with CD ROMs in it, Intel has the ever-giddier future design collection, but aside from the spate of iMac-wannabe's the PC chassis selection seems to be pretty moribund, snap-on bezels aside.

There's got to be a market for mass-produced decent looking PC cases.

There is

As has been mentioned before, Apple is in a unique situation where they control nearly all the aspects of the computer. The ATX standard and most PC motherboards are designed with either tower or desktop cases in mind.

Separately sold cases, which have to be compatible with a wide variety of motherboards, have a hard time replicating Apple's designs. In particular, in a tower case, the internal devices are all above the motherboard, so the cable connectors are at the top. A swing out design, like in the G4, is hard to do because the cables will get in the way. Take a look ColorCases to see what "niche" case manufacturers are doing despite these limitations.

On the other hand, companies like Compaq, Sony, and Gateway already ship their computers with custom motherboards and cases, and so have fewer limitations. They do offer their own takes on PC case design, just not exact copies of Apple's design for legal reasons. I mean, check out Compaq's Ipaq and Sony's Vaio Line and tell me they're ignoring design considerations.

As for computer enthusiasts who actually prefer compatibility, performance, and value to fancy design, we typically opt for the kind of cases listed here. (My specific case isn't listed there; it's an Antec S830.) They offer better cooling, more expandibility, and better access than most of the cases that tend to form before function. We're not immune to the concerns of aesthetics either; we just prefer to take matters in our own hands. Granted, some of the mods are of questionable taste and talent, but there are as many clean, professional jobs as bad jobs. And every one is the pride and joy of someone, no matter what you think of them.

After using Macs for years, I recently built a PC and searched long and hard for a relatively inexpensive case that was as easy to work with as my Powermac G4. If you're looking for color cases, check out colorcases.com. The case I ended up getting, though, was the AT900 case from pccase.com because it was nearly completely screwless. It is not ugly-looking but also not breathtaking like the G4's case. It has a great slideout motherboard tray and drives slide in pretty easily. They also have a black version but I didn't think that it would look good because of the white bezels on the drives. It was a really easy case to work with and it shipped quickly too.

Since last I saw them mentioned on Slashdot, ColorCases has added some fully translucent all-plastic cases.

• $99 "Millennium" - clearish and blueish
• $99 "Matrix" - Yellowish

They also have some other new designs, for example the $99 shiny "USB Stainless Blue."

But please, somebody tell them that their new site design blows.

Since last I saw them mentioned on Slashdot, ColorCases has added some fully translucent all-plastic cases.

• $99 "Millennium" - clearish and blueish
• $99 "Matrix" - Yellowish

They also have some other new designs, for example the $99 shiny "USB Stainless Blue."

But please, somebody tell them that their new site design blows.

Does anyone know whether these are the same company? Perhaps they are migrating between web-pages or something (this would explain why colorcase.com is down) but I can't find any company info on colorcases.com.

If they are two different companies, I would like to know which one has moral superiority before I buy my translucent orange case. :)