Mod of the Month - February 2010

Acronym by Achron

Project log: Here

We kick-start this month with one of several projects whose owners are clearly a talented in the 3D rendering department. Acronym stems from forum member Achron's decision to take the scratch built route when he couldn't find any inspiring cases for his planned HTPC.

However this isn't your average scratch build. Achron just so happens to be doing his masters and has spent the last year in his Campus' machining shop with access to a rather awesome 3-axis milling machine. As such his project features some of the best machining we've seen since G69T's DBRS Project

Rather than split the design into sections, large parts of the case have been milled out of single lumps which looks completely stunning.


Above we can see some very impressive renders of Acronym. It's curvy exterior is sheathed in a smooth black surface surrounding a chrome, flat fascia into which an optical drive slot has been cut. Apparently, when funds allow this will hide a slimline Blu-ray player (I was looking at these recently - they are damn expensive still). It goes without saying that it looks super sexy so far!


If only we all had access to one of these! Even so, there's a great deal of skill needed to get it to do what you want it to do. Also above, we can see the guts of the case and the small profile of the hardware. As such, it's no surprise that Achron has opted for an ITX setup using Zotac's increasingly popular Geforce 9300-ITX WiFi motherboard.


As forum member Cheapskate so eloquently puts it "Sweet CNC porn!" and we'd have to agree. There are some great photography in the log too and someone's clearly been reading our guide! The detail and scope of what's being done here is awesome. It seems Acronym will look just as good on the inside as the outside.


Above we can see some finished sections of the case including the bulbous part itself complete with a clear acrylic mid-section just as we saw in the renders. Acronym is shaping up to be a fantastic build so make sure you check Achron's project log regularly for the latest updates.

If you'd like to vote for Achron's mini-ITX HTPC, head over to our forums.