BMW designs PC case for Thermaltake
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Mar 6th 2009 6:02PM
posted Mar 6th 2009 6:02PM
This new case for the fashion-forward PC gamer was dreamt up by the design wizards at BMW's Designworks USA. Instead of throwing all the components in what essentially amounts to one big box (like practically every other case), Thermaltake's Level 10 sees all the machine's components -- mobo, hard drives, optical drives, and so forth -- seated in their own compartments. Constructed mainly from aluminum, this guy will make its official debut at Computex in early June. In the meantime, hit the read link for some more spy photos taken on the floor at CeBIT.
[Via Car Scoop]
[Via Car Scoop]
I bet teh weight distribution is near 50 50
i bet your not a comedian
oh come on, that was funny.
I'm digging the function-over-form design.
But then again, I tend to react negatively to the style-conscious... whether or not random engadget commenters who have never met me believe it.
function over form?
sorry, but this is certainly form over function.
im more interested in thermaltake's upcoming phase change cooler, than some artsy case with limited options for expandability
Sorry, form FOLLOWS function. If it was all function it'd just be a pile of parts and cables.
It's probably going to overheat. I can't see any air flow.
True, but I bet the aerodynamics suck.
(And why oh why didn't they put the PSU at the bottom? It would have looked at least 23% more sexy without that cord hanging down the back.)
@UnixSystemsEngineer: Wrong. That would not be functional as it would not store or transport well.
@aikions: I see lots and lots of airflow. Separating all the components is a pretty good idea because that way, they don't get as hot. For example, the hard disk won't need any additional fans, passive cooling is enough. At the same time, the hard disk doesn't contribute any heat to the rest of the system. The overall effect should be that less cooling is needed.
The entire case is basically a large heatsink. Form follows function here.
@nikster
If you are talking about the main case with the motherboard than there is a air circulation but it still lack good air-flow. The hard drive is not completely separated if you look at the pictures closely so if you jam 3 hard drive in there the bottom one will cause a heat reaction for the hot air to raise up "Usually people put their main drive on the top" = lower performance because of hot air "I guess about 64c-70c". In all it's a really good looking case but it doesn't do any justice to Thermaltake's name because their a cooling & case company.
ahaha, picture # 20 in the read link.
lol, nice catch.
Looks okay, kind of wonder how it handles air and noise.
Well, it did say no photo, implying singular. Thus, the photographer needed to take many, many photos...
Was going to make the same comment.
http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,678000/Thermaltake-Level-10-PC-case-with-BMW-concept/News/&menu=browser&entity_id=213436&image_id=984983&article_id=678000&page=2&show=original
Yeah the photographer shot in continuous drive thus making it many photos :)
I like it.
So do I, but man, that would be a pain in the arse to dust.
Oh la la! Wonderful design. Can,t wait to see this in the flesh.
whoa, a gamer pc case that doesn't look like shit
really like this
There was a Dell concept where they had a separate compartment for each component.So when u had to upgrade the graphics card for eg ,u just had to eject the old one like a cd and slide in the new one .
So it'll come with iDrive, and I'll pay through the nose for any options? I'll wait for the M model..
What a way of exposure!
The render up there looks alot more shiney than those in the read link... I was a little disappointed... but I have to admit it's quite an interesting and fresh design. I wouldn't mind having one, though I'm sure it will cost a bomb.
Anodize that sucker. Aluminum painted flat black looks like cheap molded plastic.
Does this have iDrive and Dynamic Stability Control?
Don't let the fact that the BMWcarfeaturesonthiscase thing has already been done about 8 times already in this comments section put you off... Keep floggin' that horse.
Badass.
This article is NEAR PLAGIARISM. Seriously engadget, is almost the exact same as the reader link. Couldn't you change it up a small bit?
Good case though IMO. And before anyone says, "OMFG ITS SO EXPENSIVE" its obviously a case for the rich folks.
a) no it doesn't
b) since you read the link you claim they plagiarized it from on THIS SITE, i think that's pretty much the best citing you could hope for.
They need to stick to cars, that is HORRIBLE
looks like something out of the 80's
I think it looks great.
How do you dust that thing?
How do you dust that thing?
Wash, cut and polish, then chamois.
With a duster (probably one of those fluffy on a stick jobbys) .
There should be less dust build up actually inside the case(s?) as there is less free space around the components, and all the components are inside the chassis, so normal dusting shouldn't cause a problem.
I think if this is meant to be a gamers case then airflow (or a lack thereof) will probably be more of an issue. Looks an Ideal candidate for water cooling though, which if done right would make it look even nicer, in an inside-out industrial kinda way .
I still think Thermaltake suck though :P
Compressed air.
Someone go back and stick that in an 80's movie about the future.
I like the design, it's interesting and unique. My only concern here is air circulation, heat dissipation and flexibility - i.e. can it accommodate 2 graphics cards for example, what if I want to install an extra big-n-fancy sound card with a front panel, and I'm guessing adding any extra fans is out of the question.
P.S. As Bill points out, dusting is also a concern. :)
Wow. This thing strikes me as beautiful. I'm not sure what it is, but I like it way more than any other PC case I've seen recently. Perhaps it's the uniqueness?
Form follows function--gesture of a function. It's called bauhaus, it's German.
Im a big believer that PC>M^C anytime but... hum... that one is hideous.
They should have done it in germany...
I should clarify; go see the pictures in the read link, its not glossy at all, it look more like some background from Battlefield Earth...
As a Mac user, I see it exactly the other way around. This case is the first I have seen in a long time where a PC case is actually innovative, rather than an incremental improvement over what's been around. This is a break from the past, a completely new idea.
The idea seems rather obvious in hindsight, yet it hasn't been done before, at least not for desktops: Use the entire case as a heatsink, and separate the components so . That large piece of aluminium alone is going to provide lots of cooling, particularly with all the components separated. If it's not prohibitively expensive it's definitely the way forward in desktop PC design.
"This guy will make its official debut" or "This guy will make his official debut". Whatever it is, it isnt all that good looking to justify lending the design to BMW designworks. I expected something more killer.
That is almost as ugly as my brother.
I'm telling mum!
I'm disappointed - this is ugly. I expected better from BMW and Thermaltake. Looks like a graphic artist student designed this instead of BMW.
Besides, how do you get air to flow over your HOT components with this case? It will never make it.
Looks like trouble for dusting...
This is cool. no pun intended, but this is really outside of the box. a lot of times, Case mods are just hexahedrons rife with LEDs and brushed metal. Still, style will always seem a little out of place in computers for me. beige never seemed like a problem at the time.
All I see is a lot of surfaces to dust.
Dust cool dust.
Those are my first thoughts.
Taking a photo of the 'no photo' sign: Priceless.
Comments that are being made about heat dissipation are unwarranted. When you wrap everything in a box the internal temperature is much higher than ambient. In this case (pun intended), all of the cooling surfaces are exposed to ambient - which is what all the sucking are in and blowing air out fans are for in a regular case.
As for added graphics cards,etc... before you make comments that prove you only looked at the one photo or got bored after looking at one or two - look at all of the photos. There are 8 slots for addon's. And please tell me the need for a big fan when the sys already has a port that must fit a 6 inch fan.
Over all, it is the first case PC or Mac (and I am a serious Mac User - but have PCs in my lab - isolated, so they feel left out) that I actually like the design. Well except for the WMD by G.N.O.M.E. http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2005/10/19/wmd_g-gnome/24
Cheers
Mmmmm
Some better photos of the WMD...
http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2006/06/05/wmd_part3_g-gnome_case_mod/15
Oh BYW, remember that the Thermaltake case is all aluminium - so it is one giant heat sink...
Nice design but........
After looking at all the pics it looks like cheap ABS not aluminum.I guess they went with the flat black to try to hide all the warping going on, shows less shadowing.
Heat shouldn't be a problem with this case/thing, actually airflow should be better than most.The Hard drives all seem to have passive heat sinks which is more than most external drives and the mobo and ps will have a nice steady stream of outside air across them with no cable obstructions.As far as the optic drive compartment, airflow shouldn't be a concern unless constantly running/burning CDs.
looks are cool, though the rest is question mark...
concept FTL
Looks a dust magnet. Imagine trying to get into all those nooks and crannies.
I'll stick to my Coolermaster Cosmos.
Something most certainly got lost in translation from the press shot to the actual photos of this thing.
Looks nice in the pic Engadget posted. Then when I saw the actual pics I realised it looks like crap. Would actually be interesting to own one...you know just so that you can say you have one :)
If it hums like a BMW while the computer's on then I'm sold.
meh, I'll stick to my antec 900. The case looks nice and all but there's probably horrible airflow if any, so overheating will be a big issue, it'll be a hassle to install and uninstall components. And as mentioned cleaning it would be annoying. And besides it will cost a fortune, I can buy a better case with the money this one will cost.
as mentioned before, BMW should stick to cars :p
I like it, and I've been needing a new case... Though I really would like a Silverstone TJ-07 for a watercooling project... I may just toss my current setup in to one of these (if released) and build an i7 watercooled PC.
fugly case is fugly
F-U-G-L-Y
I Like the design
See, this is exactly what Steve Jobs has always said is not good design. Ask if this monstrosity (which is cool, but tacky at the same time) fits this description:
"Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it’s this veneer — that the designers are handed this box and told, ‘Make it look good!’ That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."
This one has got me stumped, I like the idea, not so sure on the execution. The lack of symmetry makes the thing as a whole a little ugly, but the individual components look good, I particularly like the design of right slab housing the ports and the power switch. A little more design development is needed I think, a good start though. Having said that, I've always preferred minimalist designs, so maybe that is the source of my indecision.
yum
I was expecting better than that. I'd rather have an over-priced Mac pro (now there's an example of form following function).
So espensive, guess cuz it's BMW concept
Been looking to see what happens with this one.
I really like this case and hope this one comes out as rendered.
Design is pretty innovative.
However I hope the actual photos are from a prototype and not the actual color/material.
Cuz, this one looks like cheap plastic.
The rendering looks way cooler. Polished Alum/Chrome with a slight red tint and Looks like slot load CD drive.
It would give the PC users a great high-end alternative, maybe even make some Mac users Jealous.
I think the PSU should have been on the bottom too...
or at least provide some wire clips to the frame for the power cable.
Would be SUCH a shame to mess up all those clean lines with a ton of cables hanging from the top!
Also, I think the typical practice of case designers putting USB/FireWire/Sata ports Willy Nilly at the FRONT kill the look and function.
Understandably, those ports are usually for temporary purposes BUT Most times are used for more permanent things like iPod charging or game contollers or portable HDD..
Point being, I usually like a little shelf on the top of the case near a couple ports where I can put my iPhone/Treo Dock/ passport HDD, with the rest at the very bottom of the case where draping cables don't get in the way or look so undignified if left plugged-in permanently.
Thermaltake, Are you guys listening?
Srry for the dissertation on case design.... My 2 ¢