The accolades keep coming for our own Pete "G-gnome" Dickison and his infamous Orac³ case mod. Having already been featured on the cover of magazines such as the UK's Custom PC and USA's CPU Magazine, Orac³ has been voted as "Hotbox of the Year" by readers of Australia's Atomic magazine.
The case beat out the other eleven monthly winners of the monthly case mod competition, which included some very strong designs and a few wacky dark horses.
Despite the fame and fortune the case has brought him since it's completion, Dickison was his usual humble self in accepting the top prize of a Biostar SFF machine complete with NVIDIA 7800 GTX graphics card. "Thanks to all who pitched in with a kind word or two (and voted for me)" he said. "I feel lucky to have won, especially when I look at all the other cases that were in the running."
Over a year since it was finished, the project still continues to polarise opinion in the community. Most people love it, but not everyone is a fan. "Don't like it, never have done, never will," posted one user on the Atomic forums. "I will however appreciate the work that went into making it, but the means doesn't justify the end. Looks cluttered and ugly."
This is not an uncommon response, but what many don't realise is that this 'clutter' was intentional. The design brief in Orac³ Part 1 states: "The original Orac was a messy mish-mash of cheap electronics components and coloured Perspex. I plan on creating a tidy mishmash of expensive electronic components and coloured Perspex! I do still hope to retain some of the characteristics of the original Orac."
Like any art form, judging the aesthetics of a case mod will always be a subjective exercise. The people have voted with their keyboards, and Orac³ came out the winner. But what is the next challenge for Dickison? I've got three letters for you: WMD.
Work is nearing completion and the plan is to unveil the case at Atomic Live 2005 - a free tech expo and gaming event in Sydney on 8th December. Naturally, bit-tech will be there to cover the festivities, so any Aussie readers are more than welcome to drop by to say hello - we might even be able to organise a giveaway or two.
Was Orac³ a worthy winner? Are you looking to hitch a ride to Atomic Live 2005? Post your thoughts and car-pooling offers in our News Discussion forum.
The case beat out the other eleven monthly winners of the monthly case mod competition, which included some very strong designs and a few wacky dark horses.
Despite the fame and fortune the case has brought him since it's completion, Dickison was his usual humble self in accepting the top prize of a Biostar SFF machine complete with NVIDIA 7800 GTX graphics card. "Thanks to all who pitched in with a kind word or two (and voted for me)" he said. "I feel lucky to have won, especially when I look at all the other cases that were in the running."
Over a year since it was finished, the project still continues to polarise opinion in the community. Most people love it, but not everyone is a fan. "Don't like it, never have done, never will," posted one user on the Atomic forums. "I will however appreciate the work that went into making it, but the means doesn't justify the end. Looks cluttered and ugly."
This is not an uncommon response, but what many don't realise is that this 'clutter' was intentional. The design brief in Orac³ Part 1 states: "The original Orac was a messy mish-mash of cheap electronics components and coloured Perspex. I plan on creating a tidy mishmash of expensive electronic components and coloured Perspex! I do still hope to retain some of the characteristics of the original Orac."
Like any art form, judging the aesthetics of a case mod will always be a subjective exercise. The people have voted with their keyboards, and Orac³ came out the winner. But what is the next challenge for Dickison? I've got three letters for you: WMD.
Work is nearing completion and the plan is to unveil the case at Atomic Live 2005 - a free tech expo and gaming event in Sydney on 8th December. Naturally, bit-tech will be there to cover the festivities, so any Aussie readers are more than welcome to drop by to say hello - we might even be able to organise a giveaway or two.
Was Orac³ a worthy winner? Are you looking to hitch a ride to Atomic Live 2005? Post your thoughts and car-pooling offers in our News Discussion forum.
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