The future of PC design

Darius Chang | May 05, 2008

Since it was first shrunk from a room-sized machine to the familiar desktop-sized box, little has changed when it comes to the CPU component of a PC. Sure, there have been enthusiasts who literally think out of the box and have created amazing designs to hold the essential computer components, but the average consumer has had to be content with a boring rectangle chassis.

Microsoft's NextGen PC Design competition recently harnessed the collective creative juices of PC designers to rethink how a PC chassis will look like in the future. The competition is now closed, though a winner has yet to be announced. You can check out the finalists here.

Frankly, some of these creations are way too wacky to be practical. Some of them would look unbelievably gorgeous in the living room, but we seriously doubt any of them will hit mass production anytime in the future. Another consideration is the difficulty in upgrading as some chassis look impossibly small or cramped. So what do you think? Will we see some of these designs hit mainstream, or will boxy CPUs stick around forever?

Filed under: PC & Peripherals
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