Summary
- NVIDIA’s “Project DIGITS” offers supercomputer power in a stylish PC form with a unique stone-like pattern.
- The computer’s design is reminiscent of a stone tablet, conveying ideas of permanence and cultural significance.
- Personal computing style preferences vary, but I like the organic and lasting aesthetic of stone.
NVIDIA unveiled a new supercomputer in PC form, and I immediately wanted it. The ridiculous computing power, though, wasn’t what caught my eye.
This Computer Rocks
The computer is called “Project DIGITS,” and it’s NVIDIA’s new supercomputer that comes in the form of a mini PC that can actually sit humbly on your desk like any other PC. The AI-oriented device uses NVIDIA’s new superchip it calls Grace Blackwell to achieve a claimed one whole petaflop of compute power. Its intended users are scientists and researchers, though, which is not me. So I’m going to put artificial intelligence and impressive performance aside and unabashedly focus on something more superficial.
Call me vain, but what I really care about is the style. It has a texture of stone. Maybe I’ve been living under a rock, but I haven’t seen a personal computer sporting that texture before. It isn’t hard to find computer cases with wood accents, such as System76’s Thelio series, or Corsair’s 2500D Airflow case, which offers paneling in multiple wood varieties. If you’re looking for a computer with an organic feel, one of those is likely what you’d end up with.
With Project DIGITS, the case has a rectangular and flat shape that’s reminiscent of a stone tablet, creating a nearly biblical aura. You could also draw comparisons to the Rosetta Stone, which is maybe more apt. The marketers of the current wave of AI technology, at least, would have you believe it’s as culturally impactful as something like the Rosetta Stone.
I Don’t Take My PC’s Looks for Granite
I like the idea of taking their marketing concept and applying it to my personal computing. Again, some conceit is admittedly in play here, but I like to think the work I do with my computer will have a lasting impact. Giving the beating heart of that work an immemorial veneer feels appropriate. Maybe that’s all vanity; I publish on the internet, and the internet isn’t forever, after all. Even when you have internet outages, though, a personal computer can still get a lot done for you.
Looking around at different people’s computer look preferences, some opt for the now retro look of beige computing. Others like the sleek and imposing look of black. Still others combine white with RGB lighting to get that futuristic look. Personally, I want my computer to have the organic but ageless look of stone. So while I’m not about to drop $3,000 on a computer with way more power than I need, I will be scouting Etsy and other storefronts for PC cases of the geological variety.
