One of my first jobs was standing in a Best Buy next to an Acer desktop machine, enticing customers to select the pocked green-and-beige computer instead of the more staid — and more attractive — models from Compaq or Packard Bell. (I think I made $20 a day doing that.)
Now the company, still powerfully still-not-out-of-business, has announced the “Aspire Predator” gaming PC, filled with the latest quad this and SLI that. But its most noteworthy feature is the one that matters the least: it’s case design is over-the-top military future machismo.
The entire front panel — which looks like a mecha shin guard — levers up onto the top of the machine on arms, revealing a gilled, glowing, insectoid array of drives and bays. It’s from the sci-fi movie prop school of case design and I totally love it.
And I’d totally never, ever buy it. I’m embarrassed enough by my piano black Antec case thrumming under my desk. I can’t begin to imagine what decor would go with something like this. Perhaps steel plate?
There’s a typically overwrought Flash site selling this thing, but for once it might actually be better than just text; click “Specifications” to see an animation of the front plate opening and tell me that doesn’t appeal to the tiny little G.I. Joe accessory designer in you.
Brochure page [Acer.com via PC World]
There’s only the one colour, but if they sold the case separately, I’d still want one.
Btw., anyone know what a “Core 2 Extreme” is? OK OK, looking it up … Higher clock speed and overclock-able Cure 2 Duo or Quad. For a rather unreasonable price premium, I presume.
At the top of the brochure: “Faster. Deeper. Harder. Further.”
Ok. Faster, yeah, further, maybe, harder… probably not.
But deeper?
What?
Add me to the “Case on it’s own” crowd, but…hmm…
cyberpunk lives!
That’s the most beautiful case I’ve ever seen.
Gimmicks sell, I guess.