Antec's open air Skeleton PC case is so breezy

While the Acrylic Cowboy family of cases still has our hearts (okay, so maybe it's just the mascot that does it for us), Antec's latest offering is certainly worthy of praise. The aptly-dubbed Skeleton is wrongfully hailed as the "world's first open air case," but in reality, it is one of only a handful. Even with all that openness, there's still a 250mm fan up top along with a 92mm one up front, but we suppose there's no harm in being too careful. It also provides four drive bays, a layered tray design, seven expansion slots and a meager assortment of ports. You will have to provide your own power supply when the time comes, however, and you'll also have to wait a tick to find out a price and release date.

[Via BoingBoing, thanks Matt]

[Scythe @ Sep 18th 2008 9:45AM]

I'm already imagining the layers of dust... I would hate to clean that 'case'.

[Randavance @ Sep 18th 2008 10:11AM]

Would it even get that dusty? It's open with a fan blowing down on it, and depending on where you put it, there should be some good air flow running about the thing. I can't imagine this getting much dustier than any other surface in the room would.

[Platinum_Skeet @ Sep 18th 2008 11:12AM]

I'm care more about the noise levels...

[happy_penguin @ Sep 18th 2008 11:21AM]

No ventilated case keeps out dust anyway. The fans draw the dust in. The only thing I might be concerned about is the greater possibility of spilled liquid getting onto components as compared to an enclosed case.

[OneLove @ Sep 18th 2008 2:31PM]

This is genius. I already have the top of my HTPC desktop case removed and when I game I sometimes have to use a 10" house fan to blow it cool. :)

[Chris Macdonald @ Sep 18th 2008 4:08PM]

it looks like some kind of convention center or something

[uclatommy @ Sep 18th 2008 9:57PM]

I'm imagining accidentally dropping a metal screw onto the motherboard and shorting something out.

[Allan @ Sep 18th 2008 9:47AM]

If you're in a dusty place, ya, it's not a great case. But I like it. I'd like to see it assembled with all components though. That would be my decision maker.

[EricC @ Sep 18th 2008 10:18AM]

On the contrary, I think this is the perfect case for a dusty environment. It's a major pain in the ass to have to crack open a standard case every few months to clean out all the dust. With this, you could hit with with some compressed air every few days and keep the system happy.

[Allan @ Sep 18th 2008 11:04AM]

That is a good point. I suppose it would make it much easier to clean if you were in a more dusty environment. But another thing to consider is that you would also SEE a lot more of that dust, instead of it being locked away inside your case.

[Major4Play @ Sep 18th 2008 9:48AM]

This was on Custom PCs website weeks ago, not quite news but attractive case.

@Scythe Cleaning this case ? its called a can of compressed air and a hover, easy peasy

[chrissmith338 @ Sep 18th 2008 9:57AM]

You mean hoover? As in the vacuum?

[Scythe @ Sep 18th 2008 9:55AM]

Compressed air just moves the dust, which is why you should wipe down your case with a damn paper towel or similar.

[Scythe @ Sep 18th 2008 9:56AM]

Damp* -- that was a hell of a typo ;)

[jperry2010 @ Sep 18th 2008 10:15AM]

The weird thing is I read it as "damp" even though it said "damn".

[Sporkinum @ Sep 18th 2008 11:35AM]

I take my computer outside to the driveway and then hit it with a few blasts from the garage air compressor. It works great, and I don't need to mess with a vaccum.

[happy_penguin @ Sep 18th 2008 11:54AM]

You have to be VERY careful using a regular compressor to blow out your computer. The pressure is high enough to damage sensitive internal components. That is why cans of compressed air are recommended.

[Peter @ Sep 18th 2008 12:21PM]

happy_penguin - I've heard that from lots of people and never found it to be true. Compressed air can't do half the job a good air compressor can. We have a compressor at work and any time I have to open a case I take it out back and blast it with the air compressor. Never had any problems and it removes everything that has collected in there.
Definitely stay away from vacuums, they generate static electricity which will fry your system faster than any air compressor will.

[Vidikron @ Sep 18th 2008 2:03PM]

You can actually buy attachments for vacuums that are meant for cleaning electronics and don't build up static electricity.

[happy_penguin @ Sep 18th 2008 4:25PM]

Peter-

I'm not saying you can't do it, you just have to use caution. You could blast a small component on a board hard enough to break it.... or so they say. Personally, I wouldn't be afraid of it but I'd watch what I was doing.

[chrissmith338 @ Sep 18th 2008 9:56AM]

Is it just the picture or is the footprint of that thing HUGE?

Looks cool though, it would definitely help with cooling an enthusiast OCed rig.

[DssTrainer @ Sep 18th 2008 9:56AM]

I'm intrigued. But where do all the wires hide? Where would the PSU go?

[kojo87 @ Sep 18th 2008 11:19AM]

thats what im wondering. but im not opposed to the idea power cables sticking out every which way. that might look kinda badass. i am extremely interested in this case. so long as it has a reasonable price tag im going to seriously consider buying it

[cx1 @ Sep 18th 2008 9:57AM]

wow - that looks really loud

[Yours Smugly @ Sep 18th 2008 10:49AM]

Actually, it looks quite silent.A huge fan like that doesn't need to spin that fast to move huge amounts of air --> less noise.

[Apple @ Sep 18th 2008 9:57AM]

I Broke my case, I have a motherboard sitting naked on my desk with tons of peripherals laying around, why u need a case for that.

[rock99rock @ Sep 18th 2008 9:59AM]

That case is freaking SWEET lookin. Wouldnt use it, but cool. Looks like LAX.

[Frankenstein Black @ Sep 18th 2008 10:53AM]

Yea, kudos for originality but it’s still just moving the ambient air temp around.
This dude has the right idea (sucking in cold air).
http://www.eternal-champions.com/images/chilver_4x4.jpg

[DR @ Sep 19th 2008 1:43AM]

Yeah, cause nothing cools a PC like sucking in a bunch of snow filled air.

[knucklebonez666 @ Sep 18th 2008 9:15PM]

My deal breaker is how the case looks with PSU, SATA and header wires running everywhere. There seems to be a big lack of cable management.

[xcrunk @ Sep 18th 2008 11:52AM]

You're right, it's going to look like a big mess of wires after you're done.

My biggest concern would be space...laying that thing out flat is like tipping your pc on its side. It would take up 2.5 times the area that a desktop takes up.

And keep your drinks totally away from it. It would have to sit high and away from open windows.

[LondonConsultant @ Sep 18th 2008 10:08AM]

I wonder if it floats on a cushion of air.

[Alex @ Sep 18th 2008 10:23AM]

Hovercase!

[Eric @ Sep 18th 2008 10:15AM]

I would buy one in a heartbeat. I have like 400,000,000 cases and computer parts laying around for my friends and family to marvel at, why not start an up to date looking pile?

[Jake Tobak @ Sep 18th 2008 10:14AM]

Looks like it should be in the middle of a clean room with nothing else except for some wires and blue LEDs and maybe some epic music in the background, maybe with a couple hacking montages with ones and zeros flying around somehow.

[BobTurbo @ Sep 18th 2008 10:18AM]

Awesome! I can see Zero or whatever that roller-blading guys name is using one of these.

[Arnold @ Sep 18th 2008 10:20AM]

That case is HOT! No, wait...

[james @ Sep 18th 2008 10:25AM]

apart from the nerd glory of having your bits out on display for all to see this is one stupid idea:

you get more airflow in a closed case with careful planning than in an open system like this. every inlet fan in a real case creates outflow at the other end, whereas in this case the air is just wafting around chaotically. i get lower case and cpu temps when i put the lid back on my pc.

[Ian @ Sep 18th 2008 10:48AM]

The ONLY thing sitting out in the open is the drives. Check out where the motherboard tray is. Still enclosed.

[crispy @ Sep 18th 2008 10:51AM]

The problem with your line of reasoning is your not taking into account the size of the enclosure that all that air has to circulate in. Sure you get more airflow in a enclosed case but you have a small volume of air that is real easy to heat up.

When you have an open case like this, the volume of air to heat up is effectively the room that it is in. So the computer can output many more times the amount of heat only raise the temperature of ambient air a degree or so. Read up on some HVAC system design to get an idea of this.

[crispy @ Sep 18th 2008 10:54AM]

Also meant to mention how much the case insulates the air inside. Those things are like ovens.

[Luke @ Sep 18th 2008 10:31AM]

I think this is already released. At least in Australia it is. Has listings at online stores:

http://www.shopbot.com.au/pp-antec-skeleton-price-111742-2798570.html

Even if it's not actually available, they have prices for it.

[ShadowMaker @ Sep 18th 2008 10:33AM]

As long as it has a big red and a big blue wire with a LED countdown clock on top of it, all the extra SATA wires etc won't look out of place.

[OC @ Sep 18th 2008 10:35AM]

I want to know why they're pushing out a Mini-Skeleton just for ITX but not one for mATX. You'd think there'd be a much larger marketplace with the numerous mATX boards out there. You listening Antec?

Main downside is where will I pile up the crap that seems to accumulate on top of my case?

[Dimitri @ Sep 18th 2008 10:40AM]

Looks like it could fly around the room.

[Iridium @ Sep 18th 2008 10:46AM]

Wow, that is really cool. I would love to have that on my desk. However I did make something similar when I had an Athlon 2200+ and a GeForce4 Ti. The damn thing got so hot that I grafted a 12" window fan on the side of the case. It was loud as hell but solved the overheating problem.

[Rick @ Sep 18th 2008 6:53PM]

Great for those without kids, pets or a dust issue.

[thatrotierkid @ Sep 18th 2008 10:49AM]

haha i sent that in! sick! shit... now you all know my name

[greyscale @ Sep 18th 2008 10:57AM]

fyi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b8v5CU42FA

[thatrotierkid @ Sep 18th 2008 11:08AM]

1:57 - Did he say cup holder? Ok 99% of products are better with a cup holder, but an open computer case? Did no one else catch the obvious design flaw in that.