Matthew Kim is an architect by training. He’s also dabbled in engineering, and designing racing cars. And in the not too distant past he decided he needed a new computer. But after shopping around a little, he was underwhelmed with what was on offer.
I was really surprised to see that PC cases had changed very little in the last 20 years. I mean, apart from a few models, they were all rectangular boxes, having the same tired internal layout with endlessly uncreative cosmetic variations.
So I decided to design and build something special on my own, combining my experience as an architect and engineer. I wanted to design something that would change the way people think about computers – a technological jewel, rather than an ordinary box, destined for a life of dusty obscurity. I wanted people to look at it and ask “ooh, what is that?
So Matthew applied his mix of talents to the task of making a ooh what is that machine, and came up with the DARWINmachine Hammerhead 9 series of computers. Judging by the pictures here, do you think he achieved the Ooh?
The DARWINmachine Hammerhead 9 computers are built one at a time, with each individual computer made having a custom look, be it the design or the colour. A lot of Matthew’s racer design background has found its way into the design. Components are easily accessible, quickly changed, or upgraded.
With aluminium used in the construction, the weight of the computer is reduced by approximately 30%, and aids in dissipating heat generated by the computer’s CPU and RAM.
DARWINmachine Hammerhead 9 series – specs and pricing
I mentioned above that the DARWINmachine Hammerhead 9 computers are one-off custom models at the moment. Below are specifications for two of the computers that Matthew has made, along with US pricing.
Hammerhead HMR989 specifications
- CNC brushed and anodised aircraft aluminum frame 16″H x 18″L x 7″W(10″ with cpu fan)
- Eco-resin panels with Mil-Spec quick release system (motherboard side only)
- Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz CPU
- LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX motherboard
- 4 Gb RAM
- 1 x 40GB solid state disk drive
- 1 x 1TB front loaded “hot-swappable” hard drive
- 1 extra hot-swap tray for a second hard drive
- nVidia ENGTX550 TI graphics card
- Optical CD/DVD drive
- 750W modular power supply
- Thermaltake Spin-Q CPU cooler
- Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium
- Lifetime warranty on all non-electrical chassis components
- And the price… US$2,950 + shipping
Hammerhead FMR989 Professional
- CNC brushed and anodised aircraft aluminium frame 17 x 20 x 7 x 11″ (H x L xW with CPU fan)
- Ecoresin panels with Mil-Spec quick release system(motherboard side only)
- Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz CPU
- LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
- 16GB RAM
- 2 x 128 GB SSDs
- 2TB hard drive
- 2 x nVidia GTX580 graphics cards
- Slim Blu-ray DVD drive
- 24 in 1 Media card reader
- Optical CD/DVD drive
- 1200W modular power supply
- ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-R 135mm long life bearing CPU cooler
- Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Design Standard
- Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit
- Lifetime warranty on all non-electrical chassis components
- And the price… US$9,500 + shipping
So again I ask you, is the DARWINmachine Hammerhead computer for you, or does it make you run a mile?
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