A while ago, Thermaltake announced that they (in conjunction with BMW) would be designing and producing a new, revolutionary computer chassis design, called Level 10. Instead of the standard chassis model - big box, everything in between, the same racks and hardware in the same places we always expect them - the Level 10 would almost invert the build of the standard PC. A central tower with multiple compartments, as you can see to the right, for the power supply, hard drives, optical drives, motherboard, everything. It’s the PC you know and love, but easier to access. Stylish, striking, and - as John Gruber puts it - “the first interesting PC design in recent memory that isn’t even vaguely an Apple rip. And it’s a true design — a rethinking of how things work, not just a layer of decoration.”

Of course, with the BMW design comes the BMW price - these babies are expected to retail for $700 in mid-October. Funnily enough, my birthday is in early October, so if anyone is feeling extremely generous… ;)

As for the rest of us, Maximum PC unboxed one and took lots of photos from start to finish. It looks absolutely enormous, which was the most surprising part for me. While I’ll probably never get ahold of one, I have to admit it has gotten me thinking about how workable the “central pillar” design is, perhaps for a more custom chassis. Maybe a DIY project?