It would probably look something like this.
I personally think it’s a fantastic design (but judging by the title of the page, a little bit out of my price range)
PS: not sure if this should go here, move if it is not in the right spot
That’s a drawing(or picture), not a design. A design would explain how it’s supposed to work. (which is the more interesting part of designing a computer)
It would probably look something like this.
Didn’t Roark design Apple’s stuff? 
Didn’t Roark design Apple’s stuff?
He’s been moonlighting on the side. Very special work. He can’t even bring it into the office; he has to work nights.
It looks like it has a helluva cooling system on it. Btw, how are you, chuckleslord, judging its design?
mostly on visual appearance. I also base it a little bit on the design made to keep very cool (parts away from all others and a massive water cooling unit.)
But it reminded me of Mr. Roark because it’s very honest in it’s design, it shows all of the parts that are present, not attempting to hide anything.
and yes, design was a bad word. I merely meant the way it looked, not it’s specs and placement (and so on)
If I hadn’t been told it was a PC then judging by the pictures alone I would have thought it was just a piece of analytical equipment for a laboratory, such as something like this.
Btw, there is a full profession in its own right for this stuff - Industrial Design. There’s plenty of scope for those taking inspiration from Howard Roark to shine in this profession.
JJM
But it reminded me of Mr. Roark because it’s very honest in it’s design, it shows all of the parts that are present, not attempting to hide anything.
I don’t think Roark would design a computer like that.
For one thing the lights are useless and possibly distracting when you’re trying to use the PC (more so if they blink). Next a water cooling system adds expense and complication. Lastly Roark would no more be expected to show the internal parts of a computer anymore than he would show the wiring and plumbing in a house or office building.
If Roark were to design a high-end PC he would come up with a compact case (to use as little desk or floor space as possible), a quieter yet more effective fan possibly coupled with increased airflow, a separate cooling system for the video card, the ports would be easy to reach at all times, the machine itself would be easily opened for service (and of course the whole thing would be cheaper and better than other high end PCs).
I do buy the separate DVD drive since it would help both airflow and cooling, but it’s not necessarily the only solution. Likewise a separate power supply.
Then again Roark might build a PC with wireless only connections, even to the monitor and printer (tricky, if at all possible). That way you wouldn’t have to worry about the ports at all, if there were any ports. But that would also be too expensive now.
Please, don’t use Roark and Apple in the same sentence. No genius of practicality would make a round mouse, or a mouse where the whole thing is a button, or use “eject” for anything besides actually ejecting a disc from a drive.
Please, don’t use Roark and Apple in the same sentence. No genius of practicality would make a round mouse, or a mouse where the whole thing is a button, or use “eject” for anything besides actually ejecting a disc from a drive.
Nor would he do a years long ad campaign based on having cases of different colors, or harp on the prettiness of his design.
And I seriously doubt he’d name a company after fruit
I doubt Roark would design a PC…or a Mac, for that matter. It would be something entirely of its own entity.
I doubt Roark would design a PC…or a Mac, for that matter. It would be something entirely of its own entity. B)
Something in a whole new category? Like a house, a gas-station or an office building 
?
It looks like . . . a coffee-maker.
For one thing the lights are useless and possibly distracting when you’re trying to use the PC (more so if they blink).
JJM
JJM
I do read User Friendly every day. I’l be glad when the strip resumes.
Oh, the cup-holder is at a good height
It looks like . . . a coffee-maker.
Yeah, a coffee maker from the death star!
JJM
I don’t see anything particularly funny about that. :huh:
It actually looks like some sort of alien coffee maker on the verge of exploding to me…
Seriously though, I think it is a dishonest “design” ( and its not a design either as has been pointed out ). It appears to be like what Apple might try fob off on people that value “weird looks” over practical issues, a few years down the track if their current tactics fail…
That design is great until your half asleep roommate tries to pour water and coffee grounds into the top.
I don’t think Roark would design a computer like that.
For one thing the lights are useless and possibly distracting when you’re trying to use the PC (more so if they blink). Next a water cooling system adds expense and complication. Lastly Roark would no more be expected to show the internal parts of a computer anymore than he would show the wiring and plumbing in a house or office building.
The lights are not useless. Skilled PC builders design the computer lighting circuitry as a secondary diagnostic tool, by putting lights (and components with lights) across all positions in the power supply chain. If a certain device is not functioning properly, quickly examining the lighting system can tell you whether or not power is getting to the part of the circuit in question. More simply, the lights inform you that the PC is turned on, and are not really that distracting in this case, especially considering most other beautiful PCs and their enormous amount of lighting.
Water cooling adds expense, sure, but not complication. Water cooling increases the stability and reliability of a computer in an enormous way. It’s like going from iron to steel as far as PC cooling is concerned; it brings you a whole new set of possibilities. It is not difficult to maneuver a water cooling system if you necessarily need to access the motherboard, GPU, or CPU. Anyone with moderate PC hardware experience can do it with ease, and considering the type of user this computer would attract, it is not at all unreasonable to expect the user to have enough knowledge to deal with water cooling.
Every single design choice appears to be made considering better performance, not merely better aesthetics. Exposing the parts in the way that this designer did strikes an intriguing balance between maximum airflow and cooling and minimum dust intake. Hardly a single wire is exposed in the case design, and the one that is exposed is merely the power cable running from the power supply to the wall outlet.
If Roark were to design a high-end PC he would come up with a compact case (to use as little desk or floor space as possible), a quieter yet more effective fan possibly coupled with increased airflow, a separate cooling system for the video card, the ports would be easy to reach at all times, the machine itself would be easily opened for service (and of course the whole thing would be cheaper and better than other high end PCs).
You really can’t get any quieter than passive device cooling, as this case designer accomplishes with his fan-based cooling system. I only see two 80mm fans stacked parallel to the passive hard drive cooling cage. That would be as quiet as a normal PSU fan and would also be extremely efficient in accomplishing its given purpose - efficiency and reliability.
The video cards (there are two) are both cooled with water cooling. It doesn’t get much more quiet, reliable, or efficient than that. The case is no wider than a normal ATX case, yet it accomplishes a lot more than a normal ATX case would. The whole machine is opened for service by merely removing that motherboard cage. That seems to be very practical and easy access, to me. I’m not much of a designer, so I couldn’t comment on how to make the ports on the back any more accessible while still allowing neatness and organization that is allowed from placing them in the back of the case.
To be quite honest, I thought this was a very Roark-esque design myself. If Roark understood computers, he would have designed a chassis that was as efficient, durable, and reliable as humanly possible, while allowing those requirements to positively influence the aesthetic design of the outer mechanics.