This Japanese open air, all-in-one PC case is as impractical as it is cool
A build for someone with nothing to hide and everywhere to go.
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Open air PCs aren’t a new phenomenon, butthis product from Japanese manufacturer Nagao Seisakusho(first spotted by our colleagues atTom’s Hardware) does something pretty unique: it offers a monitor mount for Nagao Seisakusho’s pre-existing open air PC cases, allowing you to build an all-in-one rig in the style.
It certainly looks striking, and would make quite the statement piece at a LAN party, but there’s the rub for me with this design: transport. Nagao Seisakusho’s easy carry handle on its N-Frame cases helps with picking up and handling your rig, but what if this thing got jostled around in your car and tipped over? Graphics cardsmay finally be abundant again, but I still don’t want mine to meet an early death.
I’m also a bit skeptical of the monitor mount’s aesthetic value in most situations. I don’t know about you, but I have my desk shoved right into the wall in my office. With my sort of setup, which I have to imagine is pretty common, those shiny RGB components you’re presumably trying to show off with the open case would get sandwiched between your monitor and your wall.
Not to mention, Nagao Seisakusho’s style of case typically boasts an advantage regarding component size and compatibility—hard for abigassGPU not to fit if there’s no tempered glass or metal brackets to squeeze it past—but any convenience you pick up there is effectively negated by having to consider your monitor’s size and weight in your build now.
But what are my nebbish and nerdy complaints in the face of somethingpretty neatthat we haven’t exactly seen before? The form factor reminds me ofthose tiny flip-up TVsyou could attach to a PS1 and that no one you knew seemed to have or even know how to buy.
Just like trying to build a sleek small form factor PC, the realities of building and using such a rig may be rather hard to swallow, but you can always enjoy theaesthetic triumphof a nice, weird PC. The monitor mount itself is slated for release on July 7 according to@momomo_us on Twitter, and Nagao Seisakusho’s open air cases areavailable for purchase on Amazon Japan.
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Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister’s copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he’s not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch.
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