Computer cases are usually made predominantly of metal and for good reason. Metal's a sturdy material that can support the weight of meaty components. Chris Albee's "Dancing Iridescence" bucks that trend by combining his woodworking skills with his obvious modding abilities. Only the front panel's made of wood, but the complete effect is still stunning and totally worthy of being named this month'sRig of the Month.
Chris says he was inspired by the "quirky" Lian-Li PC-Q30 and decided to accentuate the giant front-mounted window with a single piece of curly maple.
"I set about carving out the back of the maple so it would slide on to the chassis in place of the original curved front panel. The entirety of the woodworking was done with hand tools, including cutting to size and shape. The back was carved out so it is one solid piece that wraps around both edges and across the front. Stains and finishes were seleted specifically to bring out the curly figure in the maple."
The finished wood panel isn't the only innovation. Chris also created custom side panels made with candy rootbeer and Brandywine paint. A bit of work with a pneumatic grinder and Scotch-Brite created a base layer of swirls that was covered with three separate coats of candy paint and two coats of clear coat.
Under the hood is an ASRock ITX motherboard with an A10-7850K, 8GB of ADATA 2400MHz DDR3 memory, and a 120GB ADATA SSD. A custom loop keeps the rig water cooled with an external 140mm radiator.
Have a case mod of your own that you would like to submit to our monthly feature? Make sure to read the rules/tips here and email us at mpcrigofthemonth@gmail.com with your submissions.
Johnathan Nightingale is stepping down as Mozilla's vice president of Firefox and leaving the company effective March 31. Before he leaves, he wants you to know that Firefox is in a good place, that "2014 was an incredible year," and that Mozilla today is stronger than it's ever been. He also knows that his departure will have people questioning all those things and will bring out the trolls.
"When this news gets out, I imagine someone will say something stupid. That it's a Sign Of Doom. Predictable, and dead wrong; it misunderstands us completely," Nightingale stated in a blog post. "When things looked really rough, at the beginning of 2014, say, and people wanted to write about rats and sinking ships, that's when I, and all of you, stayed."
Having stayed the course, Nightingale says Mozilla and Firefox are in good places right now, and if he's to leave, now is the time. The way he sees it, he's leaving behind a browser that now sits on a solid and flexible foundation thanks to Mozilla's recent search deal with Yahoo, and one with a bright future.
So why leave?
"Iit makes me feel like a chump to be packing up in the midst of it all; but it's time. And no, I haven't been poached by Facebook," Nightingale added. "I don't actually know what my next thing will be. I want to take some time to catch up on what's happened in the world around me. I want to take some time with my kid before she finishes her too-fast sprint to adulthood. I want to plant deeper roots in Toronto tech, which is incredibly exciting right now and may be a place where I can help. And I want a nap."
Fair enough, though no matter how much Nightingale downplays his departure, it leaves a big question mark looming over a company that's already seen its fair share of change recently. It was less than a year ago when Mozilla co-founder and former CTO Brendan Eich was promoted to CEO, only to step down 10 days later over anger that he donated to an anti-gay marriage campaign. Chris Beard ended up returning to Mozilla to fill the position.
Since he's taken over, there have been other personnel changes, such as Tristan Nitot, founder of Mozilla Europe. Seeing Nightingale leave on top of it all has to be a bit unsettling, though at least it's not tied to a controversy.
Think you're having a bad day? Try having your computer case go up in flames. You'd think a faulty power supply would be to blame in such instances, but apparently an HDD dock can be problematic, too. If you own an Aerocool Strike-X ST case, stop using the HDD dock immediately. Aerocool has issued a recall and is in the process of replacing faulty circuit boards in the HDD dock that can melt the case and catch fire.
The folks at Legit Reviews received a recall notice on the case, but what's equally interesting is that this isn't a new problem. LR dug around and found that users have been complaining about this issue since at least 2012. There was even a thread on Toms Hardware last year with some pretty grotesque pictures of what can happen to the case when the HDD dock's circuit board shorts out.
It seems rather odd that Aerocool is only now getting around to correcting the issue. Better late than never, but wow, talk about playing with fire (literally).
According to the notice, Aerocool "experienced a few short circuit incidents" that resulted in the affected case getting burned. The company isn't replacing the case, just the HDD docking board. It will come with a user manual that details how to replace the board, or you can reference this YouTube video:
If you own the affected case, Aerocool asks that you drop them a line.
Bringing home a new monitor is an underrated experience when you think about it. First, it's not too often that it gets it replaced (we see you nodding your head in front of your CRT). And secondly, it's the window to your PC and what you'll be staring at. Just about everything you do on your PC is beamed to your display. If you need a new one, there are plenty of deals out there, include today's top deal for an Acer H6 27-inch Monitor for $195 with $1 shipping (normally $210 - use coupon code: [EMCANKV47]). It has an IPS panel and various input options.
Rumor has it that AMD is getting ready to release its A8-7650K APU on February 20 in Japan, and presumably other parts of the world soon after. The chips is based on AMD's Kaveri architecture and features an unlocked multiplier. Combined with a price tag that's estimated to be around $117 in Japan, the A8-7650K will be a relatively affordable option for overclockers working with a budget.
The chip's rumored February 20 release appears to originate from Hermitage Akihabara, though Fudzilla claims AMD has "confirmed" the date, adding that prices are typically a bit higher in Japan. We haven't been able to confirm the launch, but if it does happen on Friday, we suspect it will be in the neighborhood of $105, the number that was floating around last month.
AMD's A8-7650K sports four Steamroller cores on two dual-core modules running at 3.3GHz to 3.9Ghz. It also has 4MB lf L2 cache, Radeon R7 graphics with 384 stream processors, a dual-channel DDR3 memory controller, and a 95W TDP. The chip will work in FM2+ motherboards.
One thing that's interesting about the release is that, on paper, it's slower than the A8-7700K that AMD stopped selling last year.
When's the last time you fired up a monitor and thought, "Wow, the speakers in this thing are amazing!"? Probably never. The best you can really hope for from the tinny cans that manufactures shove inside of monitors is serviceable audio, but more often than not, they simply suck. Granted, nobody goes shopping for a monitor and puts audio quality at the top of their list, but c'mon, is this the best the industry can do? Maybe not. Asus promises a better audio experience with its new Designo MX27AQ, a 27-inch WQHD (2560x1440) monitorwith embedded ICEpower Bang & Olufsen technology.
There's a pair of 3W stereo speakers inside. In addition to incorporating ICEpower, they also benefit from a MobileSound 3 chip and Asus' SonicMaster technology. The promise from Asus is "incredible home theater-quality audio" with crystal clear sound, distinct vocals, and a wide frequency range.
Outside of supposedly superior audio, the MX27AQ features an edge-to-edge frameless AH-IPS panel with a 0.1cm bezel, ultra-slim profile, and sundial-inspired base. While we always take these things with a giant grain of salt, it has a 100,000,000:1 rated contrast ratio, 5ms response time (gray to gray), and 100 percent sRGB color space.
Other bullet points include Asus' Eye Care technology, which consists of flicker-free and low blue light technologies to reduce eye strain, and robust connectivity including DisplayPort 1.2, dual HDMI ports, and an HDMI / MHL 2.0 port.
Asus says the MX27AQ will be available in March for $499 MSRP.
Maybe Microsoft is still scarred from having to take a $900 million charge on unsold Surface RT tablets a year and a half ago, or perhaps a refresh is around the bend. Either way, the Redmond outfit is trying its best to entice people to pick up a Surface Pro 3 tablet. It started earlier this month when Microsoft slashed $100 off the price of every model except the entry-level configuration, and now that too is included in the sale. You can save even more if trade up from an older Surface.
The original sale was only supposed to run until February 7, though here we are in the middle of the month and all five configurations are selling for $100 off. Here's a handy breakdown:
Core i3 4020Y / 64GB: $699 (down from $799)
Core i5 4300U / 128GB: $899 (down from $999)
Core i5 4300U / 256GB: $1,199 (down from $1,299)
Core i7 4650U / 256GB: $1,449 (down from $1,549)
Core i7 4670U / 512GB: $1,849 (down from $1,949)
Now let's talk trade ins. If you got stuck with one of those Surface RT tablets and still have it, you can trade it in to Microsoft and receive $84 (32GB) or $94 (64GB) in credit towards a Surface Pro 3, provided the unit you're swapping out is in working order. Power adapter must be included, and you can get extra if you also trade in a touch or type cover.
Newer models command more, as do the higher capacity builds. To see specifically how much you can get, go here to have your system appraised. And if you do decided to pick up a Surface Pro 3 on sale, you'll find those items here.
Woodworking meets case modding
Another major change for Mozilla
HDD dock can short out and cause a fire
A chip for budget overclockers
A sound decision
Surface Pro 3 starts at $699 for a limited time
