If you’ve built or bought a desktop PC lately, you might’ve noticed that they tend towards two looks. They’re either RGB disco balls that fell out of an alien space ship (an alien ware, if you will), or they’re tiny mid-century refrigerators complete with wood accents.
But SilverStone is nostalgic for a time when computers were, well, ugly. If you are, too, you might consider buying its new retro case next year.
The SilverStone FLP01 was shown off at a live expo in Japan and thoroughly fondled by ASCII.jp (spotted by Tom’s Hardware). Apparently it started as an April Fools’ joke last year, but the response was so positive that it’s become a real product.
Despite its looks and horizontal layout, the case is fully compliant with all the modern ATX standards, meaning you can throw in a regular motherboard and all the trimmings and expect it to work. The only thing that might be tricky is getting a big cooler to fit under the disc drive.
Yup, this thing has a disc drive, something that’s become rare even in a roomy desktop chassis. In fact, it’s hiding it behind an even more archaic feature: the two plastic dummy floppy drives on the front, with the top one flipping down to reveal a 5.25-inch standard media drive fit for a DVD burner and the bottom one hiding USB-C, double USB-A, and headphone ports. On the other side, you get a good old-fashioned green LED power light and disk drive activity indicator.
The interior can accommodate a full-sized ATX power supply and graphics cards up to 310mm long, with a pair of 80mm fans handling air circulation. And the horizontal layout is strong enough to hold up a monitor… though there’s no word on whether that’s a modern, 5-pound LCD or a chunky CRT that’ll throw your back out. The design is based on the NEC PC-9800, a series with some serious nostalgia power in Japan.
SilverStone told expo-goers that it’s bringing the FLP01 to the Japanese market in early 2025 for 19,800 yen (a little under $130 USD). Whether it’ll get an international release is anyone’s guess.
While the company has a good selection of cases and power supplies, its availability can be a bit hit-and-miss. If you have your heart set on this retro case, maybe plan a trip to Akihabara for next year.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.