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Really Stylish PCs and Peripherals
knipknap writes "With Christmas lying ahead I decided it was time to present myself new PC hardware. Of course, nothing can be good enough for my Linux box, so I ran looking for some really nice cases - but was soon disappointed by the very little options available when it comes to stylish cases. There is the very nice Hoojum Nanode, which is for Nano-ITX boards only, while I was looking for more powerful alternatives. Then there was the Cubit P4, also from Hoojum, which seemed to suit my needs. I ordered one via mini-itx.com, but unfortunately they messed up the order and noticed only after it was already sold out... so there went my last option.
I was also recommended Hush (I already own one) and Shuttle, both of which I found looking kind of cheap.
Another problem seems to be finding good peripherals - I have not found a single higher quality mouse and keyboard outside the plastic computer world. So I decided to ask Slashdotters - which other options are there available?" Personally I love the Hush box.
Personally, I love the Jeantech cases - I use a Visco myself (www.jeantech.com)
Everyone seems to be suggesting to go with a Mac. Well, if I were you, I would take a half-way decent case and mod it. Chop off the back if it is too long, put some plexiglass on the side, stencil on the side, whatever floats your boat. Much more unique than the standard Mac, and you'll have fun making it too.
thisnukes4u.net
Doing your own case mods is something that requires time, patience, and some money, but there's nothing that you buy that compares the final product.
My favorite is my Fossil computer, which is a Victorian beauty of brass and wood. I've also done the "all black" computer before black became the new beige. I also dallied with a Lego computer, though the innards finally died.
I wanted to buy a clear acrylic case for a PC I was buidling, and decorate it with neon wires (one reseller). I went ahead and purchased from ClearPC, a Canadian company (actually, just some guy, but read on).
I was told the case would be packaged in a safe way, so it would arrive undamaged. When it did arrive, several parts were broken, and some extras I ordered like LED fans, etc, were just missing.
After 6 months of constantly trying to get a response from ClearPC, I finally got some of the broken parts replaced and some of the missing parts (I still did not have everything I need for a full case, nor all the parts I ordered).
I just gave up, but swore I would tell anyone looking for a cool case that ClearPC is a horrible vendor with horrible customer service. I usually live and let live, but this is a very special case for me. I will not put their URL here, no need to give them a free link. But if you find yourself on a case site offering clear cases ending in ".ca", just keep on surfing. BTW, this is not a dis on Canada at all, it just happens that this company is there or I probably would have at least taken them to small claims court and tried to get them blocked from doing business in my state.
Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein
Apparently they don't teach you how to spell, though.
Lian-li makes some nice atx cases. The one I have, the pc-v1000, looks a lot like a g5 with the drilled aluminum front. Zalman makes an absurdly expensive (~$1400) aluminum case indended for fanless cooling. Most of the decent-looking cases I came across were flat and designed for home theater applications.
As for peripherals, I don't think you'd actually want a metal mouse or keyboard in the long run. Logitech makes a nice looking high-end wireless keyboard with detachable number pad for about $200, and I like the way their mx700 mouse looks.
It looks delicious (and this by the same company).
Try using things like capitalization, pronouns, and verbs. This is not IRC, k1dd13.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
...you try this place for your mouse and keyboard.
Although if you find their $US5000-8000 pricetags a bit much, the overstock page might be a bit more useful.
I am astonished that no one has mentioned soldam, a japanese case maker. very very nice stuff, but obviously comes at a price.
www.soldam.com
"Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms,
So, let me translate. "Do what every male 16-25 has been doing with his PC for several years now- making a box with a window in the side of an ugly box, because it was "cool", so mainstream that now Dell and everybody else will sell you a machine with a window in the side. That will be more original than buying a Macintosh which is actually cutting edge design".
Everyone seems to be suggesting to go with a Mac.
I'm suggesting he go with a Mac keyboard. I've seen tons of PC keyboards just die- Mac keyboards just keep going, no matter what you dish out. The latest Pro keyboard is also pretty stylish and does not feel even remotely "plasticky" and cheap...cause it isn't. I remember when the original Extended II Pro keyboard was still around- mine lasted for years until ADB was finally not supported by Apple anymore. Those things were damn tanks!
As for a mouse, if you manage to break a Logitech optical, you're insane...I've had the same one for years, and I've never had to replace one in a work environment. Seen plenty of those shitty Microsoft mice die ugly deaths though.
Please help metamoderate.
While I'm a Mac user, I can in no way endorse Linux on the Mac...yet. I ran Yellow Dog Linux on my old iMac for almost a year, and it worked great, but there were very few options for pre-compiled software. There was one guy, I think in Germany, that was turning out about 60% of the software that I used. It was reliable, and TerraSoft supported it well, but being a niche within a niche is just begging for trouble.
Why doesn't anything interesting happen when I have mod points?
- Antec
- Silverstone - if getting an HTPC case, be careful to get one that doesn't have cooling problems with your CPU of choice. HTPC cases with higher numbers in their names are generally better at cooling.
- Travla
- Ahanix
- XOxide carries their own brand of cases, plus a lot of the other ones on this list.
- Arisetec (formerly Kanam)
- CoolerMaster
- Logic Supply
sells the Hush cases you're familiar with, along with some house-brand models.-- Fratz, human
Even better, if you have some money left over after being forced to court debt to satisfy your greedy kin, why not put it in an interest bearing savings account or invest it in the market. Rather than feeling obligated to spend yourself into bankruptcy ever holiday season, you could be saving for your future.
If you'd like to donate to charity, feel free. However, may I suggest you wait and do that in April or May, or August? Right now, everybody and his dog is donating to charities because it's the "right" thing to do at holiday times. However, how much more important would your contribution be to needy families during a time of year when contributions are not pouring in from holiday guilt? Needy folks are needy year-round. They don't suddenly become needy between October and January.
First you where looking for good quality peripharals... You seem to have the small form factor case down. I am a littel leary of the Nanode, since the specs are a little vague and it runs on a VIA cpu.
Today most computer parts are no longer beige, it seems that build quality has gone down. Mitsuko which is generally considred low end becuase of the price, but they make a good keyboard available in a variety of colors, and for mice Alienware has all the microsoft high end mice in custom colors. You pay a little bit for it but they match the mitsuko keyboards in color.
As for cases most cases look like cheap plastic junk now. I've been using a server size chenming that is similar to the original alienware. Not flashy not cheap looking, but has the size I need to run all my drives, as well as clean lines.
Another option is just to check out www.newegg.com and see what is offered they have a large selection, with pictures of every item, as well as a good search engine, and search engine interface.
---In a time of Chimpanzees I was a Monkey.
Soltek IQ3601 - Via C3 1Ghz, colored cases, just throw in some DDR266 memory, a hard drive, CDROM and voila! Bought mine from newegg.com, the damn thing is too quiet. I forget it is on, except the hard drive spinning noise is just enough to make you hear something, but not enough to identify what it is.
www.soltek.com.tw
6 USB ports, 2 1394, VGA, 6.1 audio, optical audio out, TV out option, 1 PCI slot, all for under 200 bucks!
I may buy a couple more to hand out at Christmas.
Cheers-
Self Defense - A Human Right www.a-human-right.com