Ask Engadget: best barebones workstation chassis?

Ask Engadget best barebones workstation chassis

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is from Charles, who’s capping off the year with a fine question about DIY PC chassis. If you’re looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I work in motion graphics and it’s upgrade time. I’m a DIY and Windows nut, so I’m looking to build my own tower, but the cases are all so horrible! I don’t need a plastic window, or something that looks like it was designed by aliens — just something that’s sharp, solid, good looking and has a respectable airflow. Is that too much to ask?”

Well, we trawled our brains (as well as a fair chunk of the internet) looking for some classy chassis, and this is what we found:

  • Corsair’s Obsidian 550D may have a plastic window, but otherwise it’s a monolithic piece of imposing black metal that won’t ugly up your office.
  • Coolermaster’s Silencio 650 is hewn from diamond-cut aluminum and drops the plastic window, and given the company’s heritage, should have excellent airflow.
  • Finally, there’s the Lian-Li PC-A71F, which can only be described as terrifyingly sleek.

But what about you all? Let’s cap the year off with some stylish PC cases, peace and goodwill to everyone and a very happy New Year to you, the Engadgeteers.

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Best Parenting Tweets: What Moms And Dads Said On Twitter This Week

It finally happened. After weeks of shopping and decorating and cooking and wrapping, Christmas came and went, leaving only a trail of new toys in its wake — and parents on Twitter grappling with the aftermath. Kristen Chase summed up the phenomenon of doting nanas and papas gifting toys that kids like and parents hate, tweeting: “‘Oh look, no ‘off’ button and it takes 400 watch batteries, PERFECT!’ -All Grandparents everywhere.” And Tanis Miller warned of the dangers of asking kids to name their favorite presents, explaining, “You’ll taste the bitterness of defeat when you realize it wasn’t a gift you bought.” Oof.

Of course, with the kids home from school (surrounded by treats aplenty), moms and dads had much to say on Twitter about all aspects of parenting. From musings on the micro-management of art projects to how many gadgets are required to get through one flight, here are this week’s most entertaining parenting tweets.

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Jill Brooke: Nora Ephron Taught Us How to Live and Die

In reflecting on all the people who passed away this year, I am thinking of Nora Ephron and how this witty, wise and loving woman taught us not only how to live but also how to die.
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Central African Republic Conflict: Obama Says U.S. Troops Will Help Evacuate American Citizens

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says 50 U.S. troops have deployed to the African country of Chad to help evacuate U.S. citizens and embassy personnel from the neighboring Central African Republic’s capital of Bangui in the face of rebel advances toward the city.

Obama informed congressional leaders of Thursday’s deployment in a letter Saturday citing a “deteriorating security situation” in the Central African Republic.

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Watch an RC Car Fly Through a Flaming Hydrogen Balloon Explosion

The best things in life are simple pleasures. Often they involve fire, and occasionally an RC car, flammable gas and/or slow motion. This one includes all of the above. While ostensibly done for some manner of “SCIENCE!” this little stunt seems to mostly be about looking pretty sweet and it pulls that off just fine. Could there be more context? Sure. Does there need to be? Nope. [Reddit] More »

Syracuse Plows West Virginia, 38-14, In Snowy 2012 Pinstripe Bowl (VIDEO/PHOTOS)

NEW YORK — The weather made passing at the Pinstripe Bowl perilous, so Syracuse sent Prince-Tyson Gulley and Jerome Smith dashing through West Virginia and the snow.

Gulley ran for a career-best 208 yards and had three touchdowns, Smith added 157 yards, and the Orange bid a blustery farewell to the Big East with a 38-14 victory Saturday.

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Mobile Miscellany: week of December 24th, 2012

Mobile Miscellany week of December 24th, 2012

If you didn’t get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we’ve opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, we stumbled upon a sneak peek of Sony’s promised Jelly Bean update and XDA University opened its doors to educate others about the curious world of Android customization. Not to stop there, Nokia unleashed a new entry-level handset for those in mainland China. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the “best of the rest” for this week of December 24th, 2012.

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Fiscal Cliff Talks Continue As Senate Leaders Reach For Last-Minute Deal

WASHINGTON — Senate leaders groped for a last-minute compromise Saturday to avoid middle-class tax increases and possibly prevent deep spending cuts at the dawn of the new year as President Barack Obama warned that failure could mean a “self-inflicted wound to the economy.”

Obama chastised lawmakers in his weekly radio and Internet address for waiting until the last minute to try and avoid a “fiscal cliff,” yet said there was still time for an agreement. “We cannot let Washington politics get in the way of America’s progress,” he said as the hurry-up negotiations unfolded.

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Disasterpiece: Majesty

A good soundtrack will add to whatever it’s a part of. A great soundtrack will do that and stand on its own. This is one of the latter. “Majesty” is but one of many tracks off the soundtrack for a little game called Fez (which you should play if you own an Xbox 360 and a soul, but that’s beside the point) and it stands as a great example of a chill, ambient album that really rocks. More »

Obama Urging State Lawmakers To Legalize Gay Marriage In Illinois

President Barack Obama is urging the Illinois General Assembly to legalize gay marriage in his home state as lawmakers are poised to take up the measure as early as this week in Springfield.

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