Horizontal motherboard cube case (poll)

[Sgt Crumb]

Hi all,

I am a long-time reader of AT and its forums (particularly the video card forum). If you could buy a cube case, similar to the Mountain Mods UFO2 Horizon for between $150 and $200, would you consider it? Picture a case with a form factor similar to the UFO2 Horizon and design theme similar to the antec 900/1200. Does that perk your interest?

I have set up a blog with a poll to assess the interest in such a product. This is very preliminary. I will post sketches when I have time to complete them to give you a better idea of what my intentions are.

With that said, I value your opinions. I am seriously considering a business venture into the PC case industry dependent on the level of interest.

Regards,

David

 

[Corporate Thug]

I like the idea of a horizontal mobo but that alone will not sell it. The most important thing to me in a case is wire management. If the case has good wire management + horizontal mount, I would strongly consider it @ $150

 

[shingletingle]

And it has to be in black and toolless. Otherwise, don't bother.

 

[Zepper]

I'm in no need of a case at present, but there is always room for a really well designed product.

I prefer silver and often toolless features fail in the execution or performance. I thought the toolless mobo mounts on the Silverstone Berserker were the bees' knees, but they were seriously flawed in use. Luckily they provided some mobo standoffs that used screws too - a mix of the two types worked OK. Then there are the toolless HDD rails in the Rosewill R5600 series...

.bh.

 

[altair1]

I found this thread while searching for exactly this.
The main reason I want the motherboard horizontal is that heatpipes are made to work by gravity, with the hottest part at the bottom and the cool one on top. I'm amazed at the number of installations where the pipe is 90 degs from the way it should be !

Anyway, I also have this idea where I would put a LARGE air filter at the "only" air intake of the case. The air would then be pumped by a 150mm fan into the rest of the case. This would in fact pressurize slightly the case, preventing any outside dusty air from being admitted through the innumerable slots and holes. This should totally eliminate any accumulation of dust onto the heatsinks. They will therefore retain their effectiveness for many years without cleaning.

The super filter I'm thinking of is already available at large hardware stores everywhere:
http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp...0&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber
With its large area, the air pressure losses will be almost inexistant.
And a paper filter like this can remove the microdust from the air, the one that is almost invisible but sticks to, and blankets the surfaces of all the components in the computer. Ever ran your finger on your heatsinks, right?

As for the color, I would prefer silver if steel, or plain brushed alum.
And the drive access doors, switches, lights, USB & audio connectors all at the front !

Now let's see if this will revive this old thread...

Cheers

 

[Zepper]

There are quite a few mATX cubical cases with horizontal mobo orientation. Go to ATX and things get a bit outsized.

.bh.

 

[Zap]

That Mountain Mods case seems a bit overgrown. Nah, I wouldn't get it.

 

[CurseTheSky]

For me to buy it, it would have to be some what elegant or tastefully flashy, large enough to fit a long (think 1000w+) PSU, ATX motherboard, 120mm heatsink, and large graphics cards comfortably (so there's room to upgrade later), room for at least two optical drives and four hard drives, good wire management, and good airflow.

I would personally be more excited about a case designed like the old "desktop" cases where you could place your monitor on top of it. The short design would limit heatsink choices, but it would clear up a LOT of desk space for many of us, assuming everything could fit and it would support a monitor without bowing over time.