Any demand for Fashion/Style Mini-ITX cases?

[Shawnhonolulu]

Hello
Thank you for allowing me to join your group. I am new so please bear with me.

Since the first PCs came out I have always seen a need for more "fashion" or style oriented PC cases. Such “style” as you find in cell phones and other electronic equipment, radios, MP3 players etc. However up till now PC cases have been very large and bulky. Although there are large varieties of choices for custom rigs (Asus, Themaltake, Coolermaster etc.) the mere size of them from a design point of view is very difficult to mass-produce and still appeal to the masses.

When I first saw the Mini ITX and its ability to be put on a desktop it opened up a world of possibilities from a design point of view for me. Since now this item can be seen and not tucked away. Not to mention the multimedia capabilities and its eventual role in the living room/den/great rooms of the world.

I am not a computer/pc builder or anything, I just know basics like motherboards, sound cards, hard drives etc. But admit not enough to put them together so please understand I am not looking at this so much as a function gaming super mini-itx project but more as a design point of view.

I am ---NOT--- proposing starting anything to sell, but I do want to know if there is a need for a more “fashion forward” mini ITX PC? Not for gamers or heavy users but for media use and occasional web surfing etc. where function is important but also style plays a role. Currently for my business I am working with some designers and was going to run it by them. Maybe I could take an existing case and maybe add on a few things like a sleeve or something similar that will make it look just a bit nicer on a desktop? Then eventually develop my own Mini-itx case etc. Again this is ALL theory, but I wanted to know your thoughts on such a project. Or is it just a waste of time? Do people just not care what their PC looks like?

Thank you for reading and I look forward to your replies.
Shawn C.

*The above is only a question, NO real plans for a product.

[Funkstar]

the problem with Mini-ITX is the low power. People willing to pay for a fasion/style case of a mini-itx system are also going to want power from that too. Personally i think the Epia systems are ideal for hiding away. I saw a report somewhere on a passively cooled Nano-ITX board concept that didn't have any regular ports and no PCI slots, just pin headers on the board. This would mean you could produce a case that was incredibally thin, something like 20mm or so. Hiding this would be easy, this is where i believe the strength of these tiny systems is, not for making PCs look nicer, but for hifing them completely.

just my opinion of course

[Shawnhonolulu]

Thanks for your reply

I was thinking with the small size of the mini-ITX and the need to have the CD drive and USB ports and power button up front it has to be in the open anway. Do you think the performance of the mini-itx isnt ready for the consumer maket yet? What about the prices?

Thanks
Shawn C.

[Funkstar]

Prices are far to high for what you get. When you can build a Core2Duo system for not much more than an Epia 1300, the only reason to go miniITX is for the size.

Actually haveing said that, take a look at this board
http://linitx.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=1104

Core2Duo in a miniITX form factor. it is £250 for the board along though

[MoodyBlues]

Mini-ITX systems with style? Oh yeah, that's what I'm looking for. Although I found one that suits my needs (good looks, lots of options), I'm still disappointed with the number of stylish small form factor cases/barebones. There are only two that I really like: the AOpen MiniPC MP945-VXR (in black) and Nexus' (Netherlands based) Psile case. The fact that you can design and then order your own cover for the case is one thing why I chose this case.

My rig is gonna look like this:

• Nexus Psile Mini-ITX case silver
• Nexus FSP150-AAA 150 Watt 19V power supply for Psile
• Nexus PSB-1000 DC-DC convertor for use with FSP150-AAA
• Nexus PSM-5000 SkiveTek passive s479 cooler
• Commell LV-677 Mini-ITX motherboard, Intel 945GM, 2x SATA, S/PDIF out, 1x PCI-Express x16, 2x mini-PCI
• Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 "Merom" processor 2.0 GHz
• Corsair TWIN2X1024-5400C4 2x 512MB DDR2 667 MHz memory
• ASUS GeForce 7600 GT Silent (passive) graphics card
• WD Raptor 150GB SATA harddrive or 2.5" 100GB 7.200rpm Hitachi

Since I already have the graphics card and Raptor hard drive, this will cost me about € 1200 / £ 760.

The reason I chose this system is pure size and style. There's just no other SFF case or barebone that is this good looking. Combined with all these components and just 1 silent fan it's a powerfull but still silent and small system. A 7600 GT doesn't deliver spectacular performance compared to current high-end graphics cards, but it delivers the same performance as my old 6800-GT with much less power and heat.

So I would surely be interested in other stylish SFF cases and barebones.

[Funkstar]

weird case. quite cool though

been thinking about that board i linked to above. Would be seriously cool to have a really tiny SFF system with a couple of gig of ram and a decent Core2Duo. doesn't need anything silly for graphics if i'm just going to use it for video and photos