Core77

A Minimalist, Fanless PC Housing

Streacom's DB4

By Rain Noe - August 9

in Object Culture

For some, having a fanless computer is important. They're silent, which is important to those recording or presenting audio. They also don't need to draw in air, which is critical if you're in a dusty environment. (Even in a moderately dusty environment, if you blow an air compressor into a PC's cooling vents, you'll be shocked at the cloud that comes out.)

Streacom is a Dutch company "focused on small form factors and quiet (fanless) computing, but with premium designs and materials," they write. They designed and manufacture this minimalist, fanless DB4 computer housing:

"The DB4 is a design masterpiece featuring a bi-symmetrical design that blurs the lines between technology and art. Every element of this case subtly screams premium, from the 13mm thick extruded aluminum side panels to the precision CNC'd internal frame, all perfectly blended together with our characteristically understated design tone."

"Key to its design are the identical sides of the case which serve both as the striking monolithic exterior and the convection surface (or heat sink) for component cooling and is the basis of its fanless operation."

The design isn't just good-looking, but solves a problem:

"The DB4 solves one of the biggest complexities of building a fanless case. With both the motherboard and side panels being parallel, the heat pipes run perpendicular, away from any components and in combination with the flexibility of [our universal internal bracket system], meaning that virtually all ITX motherboards are compatible with the case."

The DB4 comes in silver, black and titanium colors and runs $390.

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Steve Novak

3 months ago

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But how hot will it get?

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Aidan O' Sullivan

3 months ago

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It's all well and good to have pristine renders but at some point your going to have to connect some cables to it and that'll change the "design masterpiece". I'd rather see it in a real world configuration and how that is handled

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Anthony Towers

3 months ago

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Cool, a newer version of the Apple G4 cube

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- Dee An
  
  Anthony Towers
  
  3 months ago
  
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  The G4 Cube used internal convection, much like the 'Trashcan' Mac Pro. This uses external panels as heatsinks, much like industrial PCs, old style Class A/B car audio amplifiers, or indeed a PC case that frog design did in the 1990s.
  The G4 Cube wasn't the first Steve Jobs cube computer. The NeXt and the Pixar Image Computer, both designed by Esslinger, were also cubes.
  
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