It’s an unfortunate fact that most high-end desktop PCs are either bland to the point of extreme sleepiness, or so gaudy and neon-lighted that you have to throw a blanket over when you sleep (or have guests over). Small, sensible-looking PCs are virtually impossible to come by, with the notable (but non-Windows) exception of the Mac Pro.
Phantom One is a crowdfunding project for a small form-factor, reasonably high-end desktop PC that looks like it was designed for grownups. According to the creators, it’s also tiny — about the same size as a six-pack of beer, and crafted out of bamboo so that it won’t look out of place on top of your desk.
The specs should be sufficient for almost everyone — a top-of-the-line Core i7 processor, Nvidia GTX 970 graphics card, and 16GB of RAM round out the performance specs, with a 128GB SSD and 1TB hard drive handling the storage. It’s a combo that should make light work of everything bar 4K gaming for the next few years — and one that’s upgradeable in the future if needs be. It runs $US1650, which is about $US200 more than the sum of the parts bought individually.
A desktop PC also makes for a Kickstarter that has a decent chance of success — all the internal components are off-the-shelf, and assembling them shouldn’t present much of a challenge to anyone who’s mastered flat-pack furniture and the use of a Philips-head. The only custom-built component is the case. So, while the usual Kickstarter maxim applies — buyer be painfully aware — this is a decent-looking project that has a faint hope of actually coming through. [Kickstarter]