Hydra PC cases and Desk Cases Crowdfunding

[NicolaZanarini]

Hey guys! 

I wanted to bring your attention to this project, currently crowdfunding to start manufacturing which is currently being discussed on Toms Hardware

http://www.tomshw.it/news/defcon-one-il-case-italiano-cerca-fondi-per-la-produzione-75534

We've spent the past year working on these projects and pretty exited to finally have them ready for manufacturing!

Here are some renders of what they will look like and if you want to contribute to the campaign, here is the link https://igg.me/at/hydracrowdfunding
 

Will update the thread with more news and articles as they come out

[mikat]

link is in italian?

[NicolaZanarini]

2 minutes ago, mikat said:

link is in italian?

Yup, since it was Toms HW Italy who published it  
If you think it's better than the auto-translate I can post some parts from the it in the original post

[Supercian411]

I like the crystal one

[NicolaZanarini]

2 minutes ago, Supercian411 said:

I like the crystal one

One of the "higher-end ones"

[manikyath]

i feel like there's a catch here...

 

also, i come from a long line of kitchen manufacturers (thats not very smashing to tell your potential girlfriend isnt it?)

i can tell you: that desk it gonna weight a ton, it doesnt matter what metal you make it from, you aint gonna move that by yourself if it doesnt have wheels.

[NicolaZanarini]

2 minutes ago, manikyath said:

i feel like there's a catch here...

 

also, i come from a long line of kitchen manufacturers (thats not very smashing to tell your potential girlfriend isnt it?)

i can tell you: that desk it gonna weight a ton, it doesnt matter what metal you make it from, you aint gonna move that by yourself if it doesnt have wheels.

If by catch you mean the weight, yeah, it's pretty heavy once assembled - but then again all desk cases are, if they are of decent quality
This one is pretty high quality and cost a lot less than any of the same-range competitors.

 

[manikyath]

Just now, NicolaZanarini said:

If by catch you mean the weight, yeah, it's pretty heavy once assembled - but then again all desk cases are, if they are of decent quality
This one is pretty high quality and cost a lot less than any of the same-range competitors.

 

just the sheet of glass on top (pretty sure you wont want acryl there) will be a two man job.

 

let alone the "desk" bit thats one solid piece, so yeah...

i feel someone has lack of experience here to not put wheels in those desk legs.

these days they make even teeny tiny wheels that can carry a barnacules and a half each.

[NicolaZanarini]

3 minutes ago, manikyath said:

just the sheet of glass on top (pretty sure you wont want acryl there) will be a two man job.

 

let alone the "desk" bit thats one solid piece, so yeah...

i feel someone has lack of experience here to not put wheels in those desk legs.

these days they make even teeny tiny wheels that can carry a barnacules and a half each.

The glass is indeed a two man job, since it's 8mm thick and tempered, but in all our testing it's never been an issue once 2 people were there

The metal structure comes in 3 piece in the box, but can actually be entirely disassembled if need be (for modding) since there are no rivets or welding (a pain to design, but the result is worth it).

About the wheels...well, actually the first, or maybe second time anyone had that concern tbh -

[Andrew Storlie]

Yea id buy the hydra crystal.... just the case, id never pay a dime to have someone else build my pc.

[manikyath]

1 minute ago, NicolaZanarini said:

The glass is indeed a two man job, since it's 8mm thick and tempered, but in all our testing it's never been an issue once 2 people were there

The metal structure comes in 3 piece in the box, but can actually be entirely disassembled if need be (for modding) since there are no rivets or welding (a pain to design, but the result is worth it).

About the wheels...well, actually the first, or maybe second time anyone had that concern tbh -

let me share something:

that there on the right, is a small solid wooden cabinet.

i'd estimate it'd weigh about as much as the desk if you work on the weight.

 

once the drawers are in that thing, i need all the strength my body has to move it across my floor.

not an issue for le regular desk in most cases, but a desk with a computer inside will need that bit of manouvering if something is wrong with the hardware inside.

wheels cost maybe €20 for a set of 4, is that *really* too much to add to the desk?

 

i wont even go into the mess of getting that desk upstairs...

[NicolaZanarini]

6 minutes ago, Andrew Storlie said:

Yea id buy the hydra crystal.... just the case, id never pay a dime to have someone else build my pc.

 

3 minutes ago, manikyath said:

let me share something:

that there on the right, is a small solid wooden cabinet.

i'd estimate it'd weigh about as much as the desk if you work on the weight.

 

once the drawers are in that thing, i need all the strength my body has to move it across my floor.

not an issue for le regular desk in most cases, but a desk with a computer inside will need that bit of manouvering if something is wrong with the hardware inside.

wheels cost maybe €20 for a set of 4, is that *really* too much to add to the desk?

 

i wont even go into the mess of getting that desk upstairs...

Actually, since all the panels can be detached, there is no need to move it to place the hardware (the glass surface yes, but with 2 people it's pretty easy.
And I would assumes, as it's common with tables, that it would stay in one place once assembled (once the package made it upstairs it stays there sort-of-thing).

7 minutes ago, Andrew Storlie said:

Yea id buy the hydra crystal.... just the case, id never pay a dime to have someone else build my pc.

The case is the only thing being offered int he crowdfunding  the PC render is just for demonstration purposes
 

[manikyath]

1 minute ago, NicolaZanarini said:

Actually, since all the panels can be detached, there is no need to move it to place the hardware (the glass surface yes, but with 2 people it's pretty easy.
And I would assumes, as it's common with tables, that it would stay in one place once assembled (once the package made it upstairs it stays there sort-of-thing).

well... needless to say then, i wont be buying it, neither would i be recommending it.

[NicolaZanarini]

2 minutes ago, manikyath said:

well... needless to say then, i wont be buying it, neither would i be recommending it.

To each their own of course  - the point is, wheels were never added for 3 reasons (just like none of the others such as the Red Harbinger or the Lian-Li ones have them):
1) Being a table, the assumption is it stays in once place
2) wheels for such a thing would take up a lot of space, either making it too tall or taking away rad support from the leg
3) In all the feedback we gathered it never came up  

[manikyath]

2 minutes ago, NicolaZanarini said:

To each their own of course  - the point is, wheels were never added for 3 reasons (just like none of the others such as the Red Harbinger or the Lian-Li ones have them):
1) Being a table, the assumption is it stays in once place
2) wheels for such a thing would take up a lot of space, either making it too tall or taking away rad support from the leg
3) In all the feedback we gathered it never came up  

take up too much space, REALLY?

 

they make wheels that are les than 3cm tall (and as before mentioned can carry a barnacules and a half)

another thig, if you slot it to a wall (like most desks are) how will you clean behind it?

 

you seem to be in the wrong mindset: this is not a table, nor is it really a desk, its a big piece of technology, just like jukeboxes.

even with everything accessible from the front/top, GOD am i happy those things have wheels.

--

you mention others dont have wheels either. wouldnt that be a key feature to differentiate yourself from the competition?

"our computer desk can be manovered around the room with one finger, and has a lock mechanism to be locked into place"

 

the enthousiast desk market isnt one of budget, its one of endurance/lifespan. people who splurge a lot of money on a desk (like myself, i'm sitting at a desk that probably cost more than all of before mentioned cases combined) want something that'll be useful now, will last longer than all hardware up, under, and inside it, and wont be a hassle if they want to move things around. (my biggest issue with my desk, its not screwed in the wall, but for all intents and purposes it may actually be)

 

unless offcourse, you can undercut the market and supply a product that matches the current options, but severely undercuts their pricepoint. (i mean, thermal"fake" is still around, arent they?)

[patrickjp93]

41 minutes ago, manikyath said:

i feel like there's a catch here...

 

also, i come from a long line of kitchen manufacturers (thats not very smashing to tell your potential girlfriend isnt it?)

i can tell you: that desk it gonna weight a ton, it doesnt matter what metal you make it from, you aint gonna move that by yourself if it doesnt have wheels.

I think you underestimate the lightness that is carbon. Only a few pieces of this need to be aluminum to give it sound structure.
 

More importantly, this needs to have adjustable height. I can't go back to standard desks anymore.

[NicolaZanarini]

10 minutes ago, manikyath said:

take up too much space, REALLY?

 

they make wheels that are les than 3cm tall (and as before mentioned can carry a barnacules and a half)

another thig, if you slot it to a wall (like most desks are) how will you clean behind it?

 

you seem to be in the wrong mindset: this is not a table, nor is it really a desk, its a big piece of technology, just like jukeboxes.

even with everything accessible from the front/top, GOD am i happy those things have wheels.

--

you mention others dont have wheels either. wouldnt that be a key feature to differentiate yourself from the competition?

"our computer desk can be manovered around the room with one finger, and has a lock mechanism to be locked into place"

 

the enthousiast desk market isnt one of budget, its one of endurance/lifespan. people who splurge a lot of money on a desk (like myself, i'm sitting at a desk that probably cost more than all of before mentioned cases combined) want something that'll be useful now, will last longer than all hardware up, under, and inside it, and wont be a hassle if they want to move things around. (my biggest issue with my desk, its not screwed in the wall, but for all intents and purposes it may actually be)

 

unless offcourse, you can undercut the market and supply a product that matches the current options, but severely undercuts their pricepoint. (i mean, thermal"fake" is still around, arent they?)

As I said the audience we asked (mostly Italians to be fair) never really asked for wheels or considered them necessary, so never implemented them with any re-design
The price point is far lower than the competion, while still being very different from anything the others have to offer, with things like better 'moddability" (since everything can be taken apart), better cable management and building space.

As far as quality and durability it has nothing to fear from any competitor, considering how it's made.

I can see why you would want wheels on it, but again, if we had gotten demand for them, we would have implemented them - mayeb we could add them as accessories in the future

[manikyath]

3 minutes ago, patrickjp93 said:

I think you underestimate the lightness that is carbon. Only a few pieces of this need to be aluminum to give it sound structure.
 

More importantly, this needs to have adjustable height. I can't go back to standard desks anymore.

i'd vouch for the adjustable height with you, certainly with a desk of this thickness that may be a very big selling point.

also, i wouldnt want a carbon desk, just like i'm not all too hype about glass furniture: its brittle, if you bump it too hard or drop something on it, you'll at least be missing a corner.

 

PS: i've bent a steel case before by dropping a keyboard on it. if that case was carbon, it'd now have a sidepanel window.

[NicolaZanarini]

43 minutes ago, patrickjp93 said:

I think you underestimate the lightness that is carbon. Only a few pieces of this need to be aluminum to give it sound structure.
 

More importantly, this needs to have adjustable height. I can't go back to standard desks anymore.

Height can be adjusted (by changing/choosing feet), but we made the whole stricture of aluminum for 2 reasons:

- Structural strength 
- Cost reduction

[asim1999]

Looks like a great alternative to the now discontinued Red Harbinger Desk 

[NicolaZanarini]

2 minutes ago, asim1999 said:

Looks like a great alternative to the now discontinued Red Harbinger Desk 

Certainly hope so - and the additional features and far lower price should help with that too

[asim1999]

2 minutes ago, NicolaZanarini said:

Certainly hope so - and the additional features and far lower price should help with that too

Since i am doing the folding PC build and NVIDIA and OCUK are on board, should i contact these guys to see if i can do it in their desk?

[NicolaZanarini]

2 minutes ago, asim1999 said:

Since i am doing the folding PC build and NVIDIA and OCUK are on board, should i contact these guys to see if i can do it in their desk?

Sure, why not  - but until the crowdfunding is over there is no "sponsorship budget" available I'm afraid  

[asim1999]

1 minute ago, NicolaZanarini said:

Sure, why not  - but until the crowdfunding is over there is no "sponsorship budget" available I'm afraid  

Oh sure thing.

But it would be awesome as no such build has ever been attempted

Maybe i can pass on the contacts of my sponsors so maybe you can do a cool showcase build?

[patrickjp93]

13 minutes ago, manikyath said:

i'd vouch for the adjustable height with you, certainly with a desk of this thickness that may be a very big selling point.

also, i wouldnt want a carbon desk, just like i'm not all too hype about glass furniture: its brittle, if you bump it too hard or drop something on it, you'll at least be missing a corner.

 

PS: i've bent a steel case before by dropping a keyboard on it. if that case was carbon, it'd now have a sidepanel window.

Carbon fiber and a little resin. And the steel was paper-thin then.