sliderider wrote:

It looks like a Pontiac Aztek […]
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It looks like a Pontiac Aztek

For those living in a country where they were never sold, you have to see an Aztek up close to truly appreciate the horror.

How dare you say that about my dream car!

I'm not a big fan of OEM case designs, but I would definitely avoid most HP designs from the last 10 years (the new Z230s look epic though, if you ask me).

One of the most peculiar and least practical designs I can think of is the Dell Optiplex "Transformer" case. Too wide, can't be turned on end because the sides bulge out, USB ports on the front are hard to get to because of angle (and they're "upside down").

I always thought that Dell laid on it's side looked like an XBox 360 in black. Not the newer. glossy black one, but the earlier white case painted black. It wouldn't be a bad design if you wanted to build your own PC based game console, but like a real game console your upgrade options would be few to non-existent.

Paint that dell dark green or orange and make an arcade console based on maximus arcade.
One sweet project idea?

AidanExamineer wrote:

One of the most peculiar and least practical designs I can think of is the Dell Optiplex "Transformer" case. Too wide, can't be turned on end because the sides bulge out, USB ports on the front are hard to get to because of angle (and they're "upside down").

Actually, I've found that they will balance on edge, but they're easy to knock over. Best placed between a desk and a wall.

That case has other problems though, like the fact that you can only fit one optical drive and one hard drive into it. You can't use a standard size power supply because it won't fit in the case, so you need a special, slim PS.

Frankly, Dell cases always seemed like they were created by a puzzle designer. They may say that they're designed to be able to easily remove components, but half the time, you have to spend 15-20 minutes figuring out which snaps and levers you need to pry up to get any given component to release.

Rekrul wrote:

Actually, I've found that they will balance on edge, but they're easy to knock over. Best placed between a desk and a wall. […]
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AidanExamineer wrote:

One of the most peculiar and least practical designs I can think of is the Dell Optiplex "Transformer" case. Too wide, can't be turned on end because the sides bulge out, USB ports on the front are hard to get to because of angle (and they're "upside down").

Actually, I've found that they will balance on edge, but they're easy to knock over. Best placed between a desk and a wall.

That case has other problems though, like the fact that you can only fit one optical drive and one hard drive into it. You can't use a standard size power supply because it won't fit in the case, so you need a special, slim PS.

Frankly, Dell cases always seemed like they were created by a puzzle designer. They may say that they're designed to be able to easily remove components, but half the time, you have to spend 15-20 minutes figuring out which snaps and levers you need to pry up to get any given component to release.

I like working on them, but there's not much else you could DO with one. They will kind of stand on end, but they tilt over to one side or the other, which makes them look silly, and makes them unstable. Which is weird because the design just looks like it would tilt over so well. Maybe that's my Xbox 360 brain talking. 😉

And they only have air exhaust, don't they? Now that I think about it, they exhaust out the back, but don't have much of a real intake on the sides or front. More recent Optiplex cases (the "Matrix" line, rather than the "Transformer" line) are excellent. Can turn 'em on either side no problem, because they have a BTX layout that pulls air through the front with that huge case fan shroud, and the sides are flat. Mm. Good cases.