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Asus Motherboard Box Doubles As PC Case

Posted by samzenpus on from the two-in-one dept.

itwbennett writes "Taiwan's Asus has a novel idea to cut down on shipping waste: What if the shipping container became the PC case? That's the idea behind a box the company will begin using to ship one of its Mini ATX motherboards. It holds the motherboard snug for shipping and is constructed so additional components required to make a PC can be added, said Debby Lee, a spokeswoman for the Taipei-based company. An example of the box is showing at this week's Cebit trade show in Hanover, Germany."

3 of 243 comments (clear)

  1. That is the coolest thing I've seen in years by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Informative

    But is this safe? I thought you needed to ground the mobo against metal... Still, a pre-mounted mobo that can be moved to a better case when you feel like it? Sign me up!

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    1. Re:That is the coolest thing I've seen in years by icebike · · Score: 3, Informative

      Ground is handled by the power connections, which includes a ground pin, and is grounded to the mains. Grounding the power supply to the case is only needed because the case (normally) is metal, and you want to be sure it is at ground.

      But is a cardboard box safe for other reasons? Like FIRE?

      I've had more than a few PCs get hot enough in certain circumstances where fire is a serious danger, especially in enclosed spaces (shoved under desks), or maybe pushed up against resistive electrical baseboard heaters etc.

      This thing just cries out for the Slashdot "What could possibly go wrong" meme.

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    2. Re:That is the coolest thing I've seen in years by gewalker · · Score: 3, Informative

      I have seen the power supplies on running PCs catch on fire -- PC continues to operate while smoke is rolling out of the P/S. This condition does not last long though. The extra fuel of a cardboard case might be enough to get a more interesting fire going.