Announcing Dell's Cutting-Edge PC Design: Built From Bamboo and Milk Jugs??!

[Tim Williamson]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/04/22/dell.bamboo.pc/' target='_blank'>http://www.electronista.com/article...dell.bamboo.pc/</a><br /><br /></div><em>&quot;Dell today unveiled a &quot;never before seen&quot; environmentally conscious computer clad in bamboo, which occupies 81 percent of the space typically taken by a traditional PC tower. While specifications were sparse, Earth2Tech reveals that the computer is made of 70 percent recycled materials, such as old bottles, milk jugs, and detergent cases, and that it would be available later this year for between $500 and $700.&quot;<br /><br /></em><img alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/dht/auto/1209495649.usr209.jpg" /><br /><br />Looks like Dell is attempting to cash in on the push (frenzy) to go &quot;green&quot;. I think it's a great idea to use recycled materials, as long as that means the price doesn't become inflated just for being a &quot;green&quot; PC. I'm not a fan of the bamboo finish (hopefully they'll offer some other finishes), but if you want a PC in a Mac mini form-factor, then this might be the PC you're looking for. Would you be willing to dish out $500-$700 (or pay a premium) for an eco-friendly PC?

[Jason Dunn]

Actually, yeah, I would! Although I'd probably buy one of these regardless of what they were made of - that's just icing on the cake. I really like small form-factor PCs - I have two HP Slimline PCs and one Shuttle XPC, so it's great to see Dell building something even smaller.

[makicr]

Wood is an insulator (you can get wood pulp insulation for your house). I would not want to have a case that traps heat inside. I think that I will stick with metal cases.

[Joel Crane]

Don't you love politics? Mom says that back in the 70's we were headed into an ice age :), LOL!

At the same time, a little recycling isn't a bad idea, and I think the case actually looks pretty cool! It probably doesn't dissipate heat very well though.

Is 500 to 700 really that bad for a desktop? I thought that was pretty typical.

[Tim Williamson]

At the article link they have this picture posted, and I think the design looks pretty cool...sleek and small.

And yeah, $500-$700 actually is a pretty good price for a PC, although, I wonder how powerful of a video card they could fit in that thing.

http://images.macnn.com/macnn/news/0804/22-dell-in.jpg

[The Yaz]

I agree that either of the SFF desktops look good. As for the video card, I doubt these boxes are meant to handle graphic intense processes.

They would be great for a kitchen setup (the bamboo appears similar to a maple finish) or a station for a child's desk in their room.

Now I just need a windfall to afford them!

Steve :cool:

[Jason Dunn]

I would not want to have a case that traps heat inside. I think that I will stick with metal cases.

Indeed, but I also think that Dell would have realized that as well. :) Dell computers in general are some of the quietest, best thermally-designed computers out there (quieter than HP computers IMO) so I'm confident they'd have thought about this.

[Jason Dunn]

Is 500 to 700 really that bad for a desktop? I thought that was pretty typical.

Nope, seems pretty reasonable to me. In fact, it's quite reasonable considering that previously Dell would charge closer to $1000 for their smaller computer designs. I don't see any premium pricing here. I paid $699 for an HP Slimline computer a few months ago...

[Jason Dunn]

...I wonder how powerful of a video card they could fit in that thing.

I doubt there's even a video card - it will likely be embedded graphics, which means not very powerful. But these definitely aren't designed to be gaming machines...most people have computers that are physically much larger and more power hungry than they need to be - gamers and media gurus are about the only ones that need larger PCs for the hungry video cards, top-end CPUs, four hard drives, etc. Most people would do just fine with something like this...(assuming the specs will still be decent).