Is your PC boring?

The “beige box” PC industry has been slow to capitalize on Apple’s proven track record of design. I may not be interested in the Mac Mini, but I sure hope it spurs Taiwanese manufacturers* to produce more interesting looking small form factor PCs designs. And some of that will, hopefully, spill over into desktop PCs as well. I’ve certainly never seen any Taiwanese manufacturer produce any cases as original as these new ASUS Vento models:

ASUS Vento PC cases

Kinda pricey at $149 via NewEgg, but you have to put that in perspective by viewing the vast wasteland of Taiwanese PC cases. Yes, you can get whatever PC case you want, as long as you want either hideous or boring. Don’t make me bring up the Doggie case again.

You can read a review of the ASUS Vento 3600 at Extremetech, by the venerable Loyd Case. Loyd’s been a fixture in the PC hardware community for ages.

*“Taiwanese manufacturers” is a synonym for “Dell’s crack team of product designers”.

Related posts

Building a PC, Part IX: Downsizing

Building a PC, Part IX: Downsizing

Hard to believe that I’ve had the same PC case since 2011, and my last serious upgrade was in 2015. I guess that’s yet another sign that the PC is over, because PC upgrades have gotten really boring. It took 5 years for me to muster up the

By Jeff Atwood ·
Comments
Is Your Computer Stable?

Is Your Computer Stable?

Over the last twenty years, I’ve probably built around a hundred computers. It’s not very difficult, and in fact, it’s gotten a whole lot easier over the years as computers become more highly integrated. Consider what it would take to build something very modern like the Scooter

By Jeff Atwood ·
Comments
The 2016 HTPC Build

The 2016 HTPC Build

I’ve loved many computers in my life, but the HTPC has always had a special place in my heart. It’s the only always-on workhorse computer in our house, it is utterly silent, totally reliable, sips power, and it’s at the center of our home entertainment, networking, storage,

By Jeff Atwood ·
Comments
To ECC or Not To ECC

To ECC or Not To ECC

On one of my visits to the Computer History Museum – and by the way this is an absolute must-visit place if you are ever in the San Francisco bay area – I saw an early Google server rack circa 1999 in the exhibits. Not too fancy, right? Maybe even… a little

By Jeff Atwood ·
Comments

Recent Posts

Stay Gold, America

Stay Gold, America

We are at an unprecedented point in American history, and I'm concerned we may lose sight of the American Dream.

By Jeff Atwood ·
Comments
The Great Filter Comes For Us All

The Great Filter Comes For Us All

With a 13 billion year head start on evolution, why haven’t any other forms of life in the universe contacted us by now? (Arrival is a fantastic movie. Watch it, but don’t stop there – read the Story of Your Life novella it was based on for so much

By Jeff Atwood ·
Comments
I Fight For The Users

I Fight For The Users

If you haven’t been able to keep up with my blistering pace of one blog post per year, I don’t blame you. There’s a lot going on right now. It’s a busy time. But let’s pause and take a moment to celebrate that Elon Musk

By Jeff Atwood ·
Comments
The 2030 Self-Driving Car Bet

The 2030 Self-Driving Car Bet

It’s my honor to announce that John Carmack and I have initiated a friendly bet of $10,000* to the 501(c)(3) charity of the winner’s choice: By January 1st, 2030, completely autonomous self-driving cars meeting SAE J3016 level 5 will be commercially available for passenger use

By Jeff Atwood ·
Comments