Intel NUC Case Design Competition 2014

Intel NUC Case Design Competition 2014

Last year many of you took part in Intel and bit-tech's NUC case design competition, with dozens of design entries and some fantastic end results. You can see the stunning finished projects here but whether you took part last time or not, we'd like to invite you back for another go.

That's right - we've been in cahoots with Intel to bring you a new competition and today we can finally announce it. In stage one we want you to design a case for Intel's NUC. Once Intel and bit-tech have picked the five best designs, stage two will see five lucky modders receive something more physical to work with, including a NUC board, memory, SSD and Wifi module, so they can build their own NUC cases. In addition, we'll be picking a handful of modders to customise Intel NUC cases too - more on that later.

This time we'll be dealing with Intel's next generation NUC. The dimensions are the same so you can use the dimensions and diagrams we offered last year's competition. However, the PCB and ports are slightly different, so we can also provide .DXF and .STEP design files of the new PCB (.DXF are viewable by using the import option in Google's free 3D rendering program SketchUp, which might be useful for reference, even if you're not 3D-rendering your design.) We can also provide JPEGs of these designs too. You'll need to email us here to get any of these as you'll need to agree to a non disclosure agreement as the new NUC has still to be officially launched.


The rules:

• No minimum or maximum case size, but we're keen to see a concept that really showcases the Intel NUC as the heart of a mini-PC or HTPC. Your initial design doesn't need to focus too much on precise dimensions.
  
• The case must be made from scratch, but you can use another case for donor parts - ie a motherboard tray.
  
• All ports must be accessible although you can use extension cables.
  
• You need to include vents for cooling as the NUC has a fan and heatsink, but you can plan to remove these if you aim to create your own cooler.
  
• One design to be submitted per person
  
• You must be able to take good-quality photos of your project - we're not looking for everyone to rush out and buy DSLRs and a photo booth but equally we need well-lit, in-focus shots of your project, especially final photos.
  
• If your design goes through to the second stage, you need to create a project log in our forum and post an update at least twice before the competition closes.
  
• YOU GET TO KEEP THE HARDWARE so long as you complete the project in time.
  
• The competition is open worldwide but items may be subject to tax/import duty

Deadlines:

You have until 11:59pm (GMT) on Saturday 20th December to submit Your design to us by email here. Your email must include:
• Scans or photos of drawings or renders of your design
  
• A 50-100 word description of your case's design and features including materials you'll use
  
• Links to at least one previous PC modding project (this can be a link to another forum or website but it must be a PC modding project).

We'll be shipping the hardware to the winners of Stage One in early January. We'll then set a deadline for the projects to be completed, which is likely to be in the region of eight-10 weeks.

You'll need to submit six photos of your finished project along with a written summary of it (at a minimum of 100 words) before the deadline.As you'll need to build your project in around eight weeks, please consider this before submitting your designs - make sure you have the time and wherewithal to build it.

Intel will be looking for modders with at least one previous completed project to their name. The final five projects will go to a community vote in our forum once the competition is over. Feel free to ask questions in the comments below or email us here.

Resources:

Google SketchUp NUC model (not the actual product but might be useful for a rough idea of the size and general layout

Intel NUC board interactive images and dimensions (again this is for the model D33217CK, not the product you'll be using, but it might be useful)

Well add more info as we get it. Good luck and remember you have until 11:59pm (GMT) on Saturday 20th December to submit your design.