BMW DesignworksUSA builds an odd but cool PC case

Say the name BMW and most of us will think of cars and motorcycles before we think of computers. However, BMW DesignworksUSA is getting into other PC design market in a significant way. The firm helped HP design the not quite ugly Z Series Workstation and now the firm has designed an odd case for ThermalTake called the Level 10 case.

This chassis is somewhat good looking, but not necessarily what many of us would want sitting by our desks. The design reminds me of some sort of hotel in downtown Tokyo where all of the rooms are tiny and broken up more for visual appeal than outright functionality. Whether or not the chassis will actually come to the market is unknown.



_{Above: ThermalTake Level 10 in All its Strange Glory}

What we can tell from the design and the few pictures that have hit the net is that each of the components gets its own enclosure. The design may well help keep the machine cool, assuming the heat producing parts are adequately ventilated in the design and the individual casings act as effective heatsinks. Considering ThermalTake is rather known for performance cases, it’s probably safe to assume the cooling angle is well covered.

I think if Frank Lloyd Wright had designed a PC case rather than houses, this may well have been what he devised. In fact, CNET UK quotes a press release saying, rather obtusely, "The asymmetric arrangement of the robust vertical heatsink and the horizontally located individual components creates a strong architectural statement." Umm…ok.