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Antec Releases "Skeleton" PC Case
ThinSkin writes "It is appropriate to say that Antec was 'thinking outside the box' when the idea of the 'Skeleton' PC Case sprung to mind. The Antec Skeleton is an open-air PC case with a pair of shelves for the motherboard and other components — held up by arching arms. There are no side panels. This is ideal for the computer user who is constantly fidgeting with his PC parts, or someone who wants to show off his fancy components. Just have a compressed air can nearby. There is also a slideshow of Antec Skeleton images available."
But man i would fear every open can of soda, and heaven forbid you have kids or pets.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
What about shielding, dust, noise, safety from beverages, pets, flying insects? I predict the aesthetic charm will wear thin quickly for those who purchase this -- if anyone does.
Caveat Utilitor
With the properly overclocked CPU, can you deep fry a turkey on it?
Halloween is just around the corner!
Seriously though, Antec makes some amazing cases. Thing is, it's so easy to get into my P180B, I don't think this skeleton case is going to be any better.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
My only concern would be the noise level from all of the components. I suppose it wouldn't matter if I had "quiet" devices. Overall pretty cool looking case.
"Klaatu, verada, necktie!" -Ash
Does the case come with a big scary sign that says, "DO NOT TOUCH!", or do I have to fashion my own?
This would be better if it had some sort of fabric cover over the top, maybe even a splashproof one. The design looks a bit impractical unless you've got lots of desk space though.
Even if we assume that there are no problems with air circulation and proper cooling (it's Antec, after all), this things takes up much more desk space than a normal tower case, cannot be used like a destop type case (however awkward they are) because of its shape and cannot really be placed under the desk (it negates the whole puprpose of such a design and most computer desks have no place suitable for something like that anyway, except maybe the printer shelf). So it's half a desk for a weird novelty. Not worth the hassle, IMO. Even for someone who likes fiddling with the parts a big tower without the left side panel and placed on the right hand side of the desk would be probably a lot more practical.
This is Slashdot. Common sense is futile. You will be modded down.
I don't think any component manufacturer certifies their stuff running in free air, I would think you would get a lot of EMI out of a system like this that would interfere with anything around it.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
I had a similar idea for a case I wanted to build last year that I never got around to doing. I wanted to take a plate and put a plastic bubble over the top with a huge fan at the apex. I was thinking of using sheet metal for the base and one of the sunlight domes you can get at lowes or some place for the plastic and mounting it so there was a inch or so between the base plate and the dome. I think it would be a really good design for heat dispersal, but I'm lazy and never did it.
A modern PC built in that is going to radiate from DC to daylight!
Little chance of anyone actually being able to sell PCs built in that thing into the European market as it would never pass the radiated emissions limits (And would quite likely have problems with the immunity requirements).
I suspect that pretty much the same thing applies wrt the FCC in the states.
I know, it makes me a boring old fart, but I was under the impression that the point of building a PC was to build a good one, and I have a lot of difficulty seeing how that 'case' is a win from any perspective.
Reliability?
Acoustics?
RFI Immunity?
Ability to listen to the radio within a quarter mile?
Nope? Not interested.
Regards, Dan.
Just put a Tesla coil on top.
No, I haven't thought mu cunning plan through.
If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
The vaguely-cube-shaped open-air case is in no way a new concept. Just off the top of my head, there's the DangerDen torture rack. Not to mention every 15-year-old hardware enthusiast who can't afford a real case and has to build one out of lego/wood/cardboard/k'nex. What would actually be interesting would be a standard vertical tower case, built without the need or even the capacity for side panels. Just an open-air midtower case that actually looks good. And don't tell me to take off my side panels, because that's not the point here.
case closed.
This has been done ... http://www.highspeedpc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=Tech_Station
It ought to look more like a Tri-D chess board from Star Trek. (Pic)
FGD 135
Doesn't seem like a very good idea to me...
Solid metal casing also shields EM radiation from leaking out of the computer, and that can be quite a bit.
I never understood why people go for those Plexiglas cases either...
Ever tried to operate a radio near an ungrounded computer without proper shielding? +9db interference in most of the shortwave spectrum is what I got last time I tried that...
This will go great with my skull-shaped bong.
... and then they built the supercollider.
This is the dumbest and ugliest case I've ever seen. Obviously designed for teenagers.
maybe its a little nicer looking, but i havent had any cose cover since windows 98 came out; needed the air for my overclocked amd k6-2 with 3dnow!
Im impressed; i think this sorta case would be best suited for the hackintoshen boxen. just because us boys are allways trying out the latest and greatest to see if it all really just works:)
However, i think foxcon made a case like this. i think brother mark mueller said something about in the upgrading and repairing pc's 17th ediition dvd.
can anyone confirm this?
dr. d
For when my 7 month old son decides it's time to learn walking... :-P
"Consider how lucky you are that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn't been good to you so far
You can by a lot of dry wall screws and angle iron for that price, *and* customize it with a tin foil hat hanger!
From what I understand about conventional closed tower cases, the vents present on both right and left side panels are meant to enable air to be channeled over the motherboard, thus providing cooling.
Wouldn't this design actually cause components to overheat?
SARAVA!
There has always been that HSPC "testing station" that can be used for alot of the same uses being touted for this hunk of junk. Personally, I dont really care to spend 190 for a not-that-pretty open air case that doesnt protect at all especially when the only use i can think of for this (easy access for testing) can just as easily be accomplished by screwing some standoffs into a piece of plywood in my opinion.
Personally I'd rather have my idiots at home glued to the TV than out doing idiotic things
If I'm gonna get a 'Skeleton Case' I don't want it to be tiny and cluttered, I want it to be open and easy to fiddle with. That case looks cramped as fuck. My 20.6" x 8.1" x 17.8" case is cramped with cables already.
There is a semen stain on my case.
I've used a skeleton case for years. (Standard Case with all paneling removed). It experiences low temperatures, and it's really nice being able to look over and see your machine doing its job. Also makes modifications/repairs very easy.
One of the benefits of having the computer in a metal case is the shielding from high-frequency radiation. Older computers used to have a problem with RTC time skew because of interference from various components. The early plastic-cased computers with the external floppy drives could make cordless phones ring whenever they wrote to disk.
This is NOT a healthy development.
About eight years ago i used to have my main computer just laying on the floor with the components on a piece of cardboard. I'd had enough with the fan noise and i just took the fans off and dispensed with the case to keep it from overheating. It worked for years without failing me. I don't have to do that anymore because now we have subnotebooks with no moving parts.
Like a moth to the skeleton case.
It's definitely a niche product in every sense of the word. For a developement lab, it could be a pretty neat toy, but as another person commented, why not just leave all the parts on top of the desk if you're in that sort of enviroment.
I personally don't see any use for it for your average user. Especially since cases these days have gotten all fancy with swing down side doors allowing easy parts access, tool-less drive slots, etc. etc.
I wouldn't be surprised to see someone get one of those cases, and then install some plexiglass sides into it just to appease the gods of "doing things the hard way."
In the repair field, a fan and heatsink combo is considered a component, and is called a 'Thermal Module.'
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
So what is the niche exactly? Complete idiots? Seriously the only people I can imagine buying this case are exactly the people who shouldn't be tinkering with their hard ware in the first place. My mother and younger brother would want something like this, and I don't want them to have it, they cause me problems. Besides, that thing is friggin' ugly, it's big and inconveniently shaped. Where would I put it? There's no room for it on top of my desk, no while it's that shape and size. It can't go under my desk.. That's where my sub woofer goes, and I like to put my feet on my sub woofer, I don't want to/CAN'T put my feet on than thing. Plus how much is it going to cost in maintenance? That case screams to me, either a LOT of compressed air, or lots of time and effort being careful with a vacuum cleaner.
Can I leave this box empty?
I seem to recall seeing something like this in a catalog I got not long ago. It was designed for component testing. It wasn't quite as fancy though.
With Halloween coming I thought maybe it was going to be a case that actually looked like a skeleton... now THAT'S a case I could dig!
So that's where you've been hiding since Blake's 7 was canceled!