One of my current dreams is of a world where I do not need to own both a PlayStation 3 and an Xbox 360. Let's face it folks, I'm lazy and I would rather have to deal with only one box for all my game playing needs. It turns out a reddit user named "timofiend" shares my dream and took one small step to make it happen.
Timofiend apparently wasn't a fan of having two consoles taking up space in his house, so he gutted both his PS3 and Xbox 360 and crammed them into a PC case. The result is essentially a super console with two drive bays, a bunch of fans, and a nice little set of temperature gauges so the thermal state of each console can be tracked. The 360 was one of the new slim models and the PS3 was the 80GB "fat" model (before the introduction of the new, slimmer line).
Speaking of thermodynamics, the first question that came to my mind when I saw the pictures of this thing was, "how has that box not melted into the table yet?!" It turns out that even without liquid cooling the PS3 runs at around 38-39 degrees celsius (100-102 degrees fahrenheit) and the 360 hovers about 37-38 degrees celsius (98.6-100 degrees fahrenheit). Those temperatures were reportedly recorded when both devices were on inside of the PC case, which isn't too shabby at all. Both of those temperature ranges are suitable for the devices themselves.
Using a slightly larger case or substituting one of the newer, slim PS3s could give a little more space inside this behemoth device and potentially lower the operating temperature of each console. The combo of a larger case and a PS3 slim could possibly even give enough room to cram a Wii inside the thing. If you are going to give me a combo box, give me one that eliminates as many things from my entertainment center as possible.
Would you actually buy something like this if it was ever put on the market? I'm honestly tired of buying three different consoles to cover all my exclusivity bases. Until we find ourselves in a one console future, this type of Franken-device will have to do.
