Exclusive Digital Storm Case Design Ideas

Edited by sundowner - 08 Oct 2007 at 10:35pm

Just so we all have a better idea,

Alienware P2 Chassis is just freaking brilliant (only reason why I would ever get a PC from Alienware)

I love a case with easy accessible front I/O ports.

The bottom of the voodoo blackbird is a really interesting addition to help with airflow.

Edited by sundowner - 09 Oct 2007 at 12:57am

Edited by Tyler Lowe - 09 Oct 2007 at 3:45am

  If you have liquid cooling, how do you know when you need to fill it up again?  Or do you just wait till your temp. gauge starts rising?  would be nice if it had a meter of some sort on the case so you know when you need to put more liquid in.

Good stuff guys. For the wiring aspect, we are looking into having a wiring job come within the case that is hard wired into the chassis. Imagine if all your optical drive and hard drive connections were already installed and placed near their corresponding areas. We can then hide the wiring into the chassis!

More categories to break up the discussion than ideas.

1. Window Vs. No Window.

2. Solid build construction. A book could be built on this but I am sure we all know what this means. No tin foil, no burrs, and no cuts,

3. Ability to accept multiple form factors of motherboards.

4. Powder coat vs. paint & clear coat.

5. Cable routing.

6. Shipping material AKA Out of the box to the boxen experience.

7. Storage capacity.

8. Feet

9. Serviceability - How easy is it to get drives, a motherboards and power supply out? Screwless design?

10.  Logo stamp, case badge, dye-sublimation, airbrushed logo, or vinyl sticker.

11. Expansion card securing method.

12. Thermal design. Liquid cooling options included. How quiet are the fans? Most liquid cooling is not a part of the case design but the tube routing, pump mounting are a part.

13. Sound dampening materials?

14. Getting away from the box.

15. Out of the box ideas.




As for my answers?

1. Options make the client much happier.

2. All depends on who is making the case. Obviously DS is not a metal fabrication company but will be ordering from a respected case ODM with their specs.

3. ATX, Micro ATX, BTX, Mini-ITX, Micro-BTX. The question is can we get custom motherboard trays?

4. Powder coat is tough as nails. The color options are vast. Check out http://www.exoticcoatings.com/colors.html for examples.

5. Sounds like Alex has some good ideas.

6. Anyone ever open a Mac Book Pro vs. any PC? The MBP makes you feel like you purchased something special just by the way they package.

7. As drive sizes grow at alarming rates with low prices...do you factor that cost in? When was the last time you saw a case with more than 2 optical drives in it? Why do cases still come with 3,4, or more slots? Floppy drive? NO!...but yes to card reader unless that is built in to the case.

8. This is a small touch but one that matters. I like options such as Casters, rubber feet, or indirect lighting via clear plastics.

9. A power supply bezel rocks my world. Motherboard trays are nice, and screwless design is always a plus. Why do all the plastics for securing screwless drive bays look ugly as hell?

10. I like Logo stamp...that to be spells out that you are not a fly by night company.

11. Screwless. I am sure you have seen this before....make it happen.

12. Examples of well thought out cases in this aspect...

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/product/Chassis/fulltower/tai-chi/tai_chi_index.asp

http://www.gigabyte.us/Products/Chassis/Products_Spec.aspx?ProductID=2322

Combine the best aspects of each and you will note loose.

13. I personally think cases that are built right the first time to not need them. Thicker metal and tight fits trumps all.

14. Alex I will send you a idea I have. Too good of a idea.

15. LAN Handles, Passive heat fins, custom paint jobs, Soft touch clear coat, and such are niche and I think a solid case design with out too much bling will bring more attention than one with all the extras.




Edited by Electro - 09 Oct 2007 at 7:36pm

Unless you're running SLI and you want to check temps and %usage during gameplay.  I think it would be really neat if you could come up with a sleek display..  Perhaps some blue horizontal bars for CPU usage.  Just a quick glance and you could tell how it was doing.

Originally posted by Kyriani Agrivar cases that are unique tend to stand out in my mind there was one case I think DS used to use but doesnt anymore that had a door on the front which was two panels that parted revealing the cd bays and power switch etc. stuff like that is pretty nifty imo anything that takes the case away from the hum drum same old designs is prob a good way to go (also being mindful of air flow etc in the design)

Originally posted by Locklear93 Originally posted by Kyriani Agrivar cases that are unique tend to stand out in my mind there was one case I think DS used to use but doesnt anymore that had a door on the front which was two panels that parted revealing the cd bays and power switch etc. stuff like that is pretty nifty imo anything that takes the case away from the hum drum same old designs is prob a good way to go (also being mindful of air flow etc in the design)   Hey, Kyriani, it's An from DF!  Tell them I sent you here so they give me my referral, now that you ordered! ;)   On topic, the one thing I don't like about the case I got in my DS system (a CoolerMaster Praetorian) is the swinging door on the front.  Aesthetically, it's nice.  Functionally, it's eternally in the way, if I need access to the optical drive.   Actually... a second thing is that in my case, I'm going to have to find and install railings to fit a standard hard drive into a 5.25" bay, because the 8800 GTX is so big it completely blocks access to the proper bays.  Frontal access to the HDD bays, by one method or another, would help me immensely.

Anoushka I need the proper info to give them for the referal!

My ideal case would have a simple closing door on the front that hid all the drives and buttons...so my 2 year old won't be tempted to hit the power switch while I'm gaming!

DSO is actually thinking about bending sheet metal? Far out....

You could also do THEMED cases.  such as a tank or something, have a turret poking out from the top with a USB port in it or dual USB ports on the end and tracks on the bottom of the case.  eh that one might be cheezy but it's a thought.  depends on how you make it.

OMG, I got just a great friggin idea for a new case designe.  Check this out.

hehe, I still like the whole ribcage thing on the front.  If they ever come out with something like that, I would probably get another computer from DS.  I put in a lot of money on this one, so if they did that to a case I would probably go more of a low range....bah who am I kidding

Along the lines of powdercoating ... Offer More Colors

Edited by p0ptart - 17 Oct 2007 at 12:35am