Spire Pininfarina – Techgage
Today I’m taking a look at a PC case designed not by PC geeks but by car guys. Yep, that’s right, the Spire Pininfarina. The Pininfarina isn’t exactly your normal case. The sides are hinged at the bottoms and fold down rather than pulling off and the top, front and rear are hidden under an aluminum facade.
Let’s see what Spire has to say about the Pininfarina shall we?
Pininfarina SP-ATX-PALU/B
«Exclusively designed by world famous designer Pininfarina»
Spire has joined forces world-renowned designer Pininfarina to develop and introduce a truely unique state-of-the-art chassis to tech-enthusiasts and professionals worldwide. Pininfarina, most acclaimed for the Ferrari and Maserati, has fashioned a revolutionary case that has transformed the traditionally vapid pc case into a sophisticated and aerodynamic PC power house.
The exclusive Spire Pininfarina chassis was designed with functionality, creativity and opulent style in mind.
- Main Features
- Stylish curved Italian design
- Aluminum Alloy Bezel & Metal SECC Chassis
- Full folded edge, full screen, radiation protected
- Front USB/IEEE1394/SOUND connections
- Removable HDD Cage
- Removable Mainboard Tray / Side-Panel
- Tool-less side panel access for fast and easy upgrade
- 120mm Fan duct system on the side panel for maximum airflow
Packaging Dimension: 522x260x517mm (L x W x H)
Specifications:
| Dimensions | 495x200x450mm (L x W x H) |
| Material | Aluminum Alloy Bezel & Metal SECC Galvanized Steel Chassis |
| Material thickness | Aluminum 6. 0mm | SECC 1.0mm |
| Color | Pitch Black |
| Mainboard | Extend ATX / Micro ATX / Mini ATX |
| 5.25 Bays | 3 visible ~ 1 hidden |
| 3.5 Bays | 2 visible ~ 4 hidden |
| Bracket slots | 7 ~ Incl. 3 PCIE/AGP/PCI Stabilizers |
| Cooling | 3x 80x80x25mm fans (rear included, right included, left not included) 1x 120x120x25mm (front included) 1x 120 Fan Duct (left included) |
| External | USB 2.0 x 2 | MIC x 1 | Earphone jack x 1 | |
| Connections | IEEE 1394 x 1 |
| Features | Lightweight aluminum & Durable metal frame. Italian Stylish design. Front USB, IEEE1394 & Sound connections. full screen, radiation protected. Side panel access, screw free installation. Optimized internal space design for Highly-efficient airflow. |
| Packaging | 522x260x517mm (L x W x H) |
| N.W. Weight | 13.50 K.G |
| G.W. Weight | 14.50 K.G |
This is a nice touch that gives the case a very finished look. Not only that but the thickness of the aluminum is such (8mm) that with the door closed over the optical drives there’s nearly zero noise. As I said earlier the sides fold down. This includes the motherboard tray which is attached to the right side of the case. The top-front of the case is also hinged to hide the front panel USB/firewire/audio ports.
Looking at the above pictures we see more unusual features on the Pininfarina.
The fan duct over the CPU is 120mm rather than 80mm or 92mm, there’s a removable brace with an 80mm fan mount on the access side of the case and on the mobo side of the case there’s an 80mm fan located to the forward center of the case. This last point is interesting. This fans purpose is to allow you to use the 3.5″ external bays and the HDD mounting above the HDD cage for mounting even more hard drives without the worry of your high RPM drives going nuclear. The power and reset switches are located on the left of the curved front facade and the power and HDD activity LEDs are on the right.
Support our efforts! With ad revenue at an all-time low for written websites, we’re relying more than ever on reader support to help us continue putting so much effort into this type of content. You can support us by becoming a Patron, or by using our Amazon shopping affiliate links listed through our articles. Thanks for your support!
Spire Pininfarina – Techgage
While I can see the reasoning behind this since most users put their tower down low on or just above floor level, I personally find having the switches up top are a bit awkward.
Of course I keep my PC on my desk where the chance of having my PC double as a floor vac are reduced.
With the left side of the case open and the brace removed we’ve got a clear view of the drive cage. The drive cage is tooless and holds a total of four drives. It’s held in with a combination of a clip and a thumbscrew. Removing the thumbscrew and lifting the tab on the clip allows the cage to slide back slightly then pivot back and out to allow for easier loading. Pulling the cage further out removes it completely and hidden away underneath it is the accessory box containing the drive rails, the PC case speaker and the screws and standoffs.
The 5.25″ bays, the external 3.5″ bays and the upper HDD bay all share unique locks. They’re two piece affairs consisting of a main body and a center toggle. The main body has two dowels that go through the case and lock into the drive’s screw holes and the toggle has locks that engage the drive bay when rotated to the «locked» position.
The beauty of this design is that it allows for non-standard devices with the same distance between the front and rear screw holes (naturally) but with the faceplate in a non-standard distance from the mounting holes to still be mounted in this case AND be located properly in relation to the front panel.
Looking at the pic of the mobo on the case side/mobo tray look at the hinge points. These hinges are simple tabs on the case sides that fit into slots in the case frame. If you open the sides and swing them down a few degrees from vertical at about 10 degrees from vertical you can lift up and out on the side to remove it entirely. I’m touching on this because there are a couple of shots where the case side has been removed.
The front of the case features a 120mm fan with a nicely punched stock grill which allows the fan to breathe with minimal restriction, on the rear though the fan grill is a shabbily punched affair that’s pretty restrictive. This grill coupled with the grill in the rear facade add up to such a restriction that I was barely able to feel airflow from the exhaust fan.
Oh for shame! This lead to some interesting finds later in my testing once the whole thing was up and running. I’ll discuss these in a bit.
Once the motherboard is mounted and the wiring connected it’s time to fold the case door up to attach the power cables. I’ve included a shot of the USB/firewire/audio wiring for those curious about it. The USB ports are mounted in a pretty universal keyed 10 pin header connector while the firewire and audio ports are individually pinned to the mobo. I sincerely hope that the mobo MFG’s can get together and come up with universal wiring for the audio and firewire front panel connectors. This would allow for the wires to be on header connectors so that guys with big paws like me would not have to play with a bunch of tiny wires and plugs.
Support our efforts! With ad revenue at an all-time low for written websites, we’re relying more than ever on reader support to help us continue putting so much effort into this type of content.
You can support us by becoming a Patron, or by using our Amazon shopping affiliate links listed through our articles. Thanks for your support!
Baraka. Masculine luxury
Barakà. Masculine luxury
Jewels
September 18, 2018
By: Marina Dianova
The Italian brand of exclusive men’s jewelry Barakà this year introduced a new collection Smart Barakà 9 0012 at the intersection of the fusion of design and innovation, which included smart bracelets, notifying about stock reports, phone calls, able to edit documents literally with a wave of a brush, and even record conversations using the built-in microphone.
In addition to the functions mentioned above, the Smart bracelet also counts steps and calories, making it indispensable in almost any situation. The bracelet is made of silver and gold with a rubber strap available in three colors — blue, green and black. A limited edition of Smart-Prime has also been released, in which, while maintaining the functionality, the appearance has been significantly transformed.
The ergonomic bracelet is made of pink and yellow gold with a folding gold clasp. And the case is decorated with a scattering of black diamonds.
However, at Barakà , each series of jewelry is an entertaining story and a special philosophy.
8848 is the height of the «roof of the world», Everest. The collection of the same name commemorates the first ever ascent of this peak, which was made by the brave New Zealand climber Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, along with his dedicated Sherpa guide Tenzing, on May 29, 1953. The four bracelets are crafted with ultra-durable braided rope straps and a patented carabiner clasp that look like real gear. Products are offered in different colors, decorated with gold and diamonds.
The 316L collection is inspired by the iconic architecture of the Chrysler Building in Manhattan. The building was built in 1930 with the money of one of the most famous car manufacturers — Walter Percy Chrysler.
With three-arched transverse spans and triangular windows, the spire of the skyscraper was supposed to resemble car radiators of that era.
The jewelry collection is made from the same material as the spire, 316L steel, which makes the jewelry highly resistant to corrosion and enhances its brilliance. For the manufacture of each product, more than a hundred cables are used, which are intertwined, creating overflows and at the same time increasing strength. All pieces are adorned with black or white diamonds set in gold or polished steel.
The Casino collection owes its origin to the world’s oldest casino, Il Ridotto in Venice, which opened in 1638. According to legend, the casino Il Ridotto was one of the favorite places of Giacomo Casanova, who considered it the ideal environment for his love adventures.
Series Casino includes cufflinks in gold with diamonds and rubies, solid gold rings and pendants.
The pendant makes a curious move: the lug detaches, allowing the precious die to be used for its intended purpose. The pearl of the collection is a gold bracelet with diamonds and rubies. Each individual element in the center spins and turns to reveal one suit of playing cards: clubs, hearts, spades and diamonds. All lots are limited edition — 21.
The Barakà by Pininfarina series is dedicated to the Italian carmaker Pininfarina. Designers have tried to embody all the power and at the same time the elegance of famous supercars. The collection includes cufflinks and bracelets. The bangles are crafted from silver and rose gold with a profiled rubber interior painted in Pininfarina’s iconic matt blue. The case is decorated with diamond inlay.
Since 2010 Barakà is part of the large Italian jewelry group Muraro Lorenzo Spa, which is managed by two generations of the Muraro family. Barakà managed to develop its own recognizable style, the dominants of which are the purity of forms, elegance and innovative approach.
The decorations are distinguished by their technological component, for example, by reproducing the true movement of the gimbal or by using screws. Each piece of jewelry is handmade by the concern’s masters in Italy, in Vicenza.
Princess S62: meeting on the podium
Y MagazineLifestyle
Text: Petr Shestakov
Length — 19.17 m. Width — 4.87 m. Draft — 1.46 m. Displacement — 27.2 tons. Fuel capacity — 3250 l. Water supply — 603 liters. Power — 2 × 1200 hp Cabins — 3 + 1 (crew).
The show fleet of the British shipyard Princess Yachts commanded respect at boot Düsseldorf 2023: Princess V40, -F45, -F65, -X80, -Y85, -S62 and -S72. I wrote about the latest yacht, the world premiere of which took place at the exhibition, in Y Magazine No. 1 (3) / 2023. Probably, while preparing the exposition, someone at Princess Yachts thought with concern: would the Princess S62, already familiar to the public, be lost against the background of the older, and even the debut model? There was no need to worry: the Princess S62 aroused no less interest among visitors, not only in comparison with the S72, but also in relation to the rest of the yachts on the exhibition podium.
Name
The current S Class family — Princess models with a truncated open upper deck (Sportbridge type) — includes four with the flagship Princess S78 and the junior Princess S62. In fact, yachts with the digital index “62” settled in the Princess lines for a long time; Princess S62 was first shown to the general public in 2020, but later improvements were made to the project. As a result, in Düsseldorf you could see a yacht very similar to the rest of the S Class family, which is quite logical: they were all designed by the designers of the Italian studio Pininfarina and Princess Design Studio. As marketers and the yachting press like to write, “there is a common DNA,” although in the field of industrial design, genetics is manifested only in the families of designers. But there is an absolute similarity — in the key lines of the dynamic silhouette, in the proportions of the hull and superstructure, in the geometry of the hull glazing, reminiscent of a sharp filet knife, and in the low radar arch .
..
The sports flybridge space (from which the name of the type came) contained a steering console with two adjustable seats (starboard side), a sofa next to it (transforms into a “sun deck”), a wet bar with a grill and a large sofa with a folding table along the transom. It’s good that a hardtop is not offered above this open deck: in my opinion, it would «eat» a fair share of the sportiness of the look. And for protection from the sun or rain, there is a light bimini (installed manually or using an electric drive).
In the interior of the saloon, attention is drawn to a large area of glazing, a galley with a breakfast bar, a fold-out dining table and floorboard carpeting.
him and a teak table in front … But, as they say, there are nuances! There is a hatch under the seat of the sofa, opening which you can get into the crew cabin. In the “wing” of the superstructure on the starboard side, a smart mooring control post is hidden, and under the “solarium” there is a garage for a tender (3.