Starting at $3,000 (and easily reaching $10,000+), the Phobos features a single-pieced aluminum body tastefully coated in black car paint. The DVD drives are slot-loading, the USB/SD card reader pops up from the case and everything is so simple and tucked away that I'd have missed the iPhone doc on top of the case had they not pointed it out.

Its touchscreen LCD, mounted to the front of the monolith, can do everything from boot the system to one-touch tweak its performance settings thanks to the fact that it runs its own processor and custom Linux OS.

The machine, packed standard with luxuries like dual video cards and SSD boot drives—is actually not meant to be opened by the user. Instead, BFG includes a full professional installation and 6-month on-site tune-up in their pricing for the system. They'll also send pros out to install new components like video cards—upgrades they fairly offer for the difference between the price of your old card and the price of the new card. But the Phobos is still very easy to open (the case slides right up).
Looking under the hood, it becomes obvious that BFG has design a normal tower PC and flipped the whole thing 90-degrees so that its sits on its own ports. The design allows the machine to pull in air from the top and expel air out the bottom. It's a smart idea that apparently cuts down on dust and pet hair inhalation.

The processor is water cooled and the cords neatly arranged. But it's all for bragging rights since BFG doesn't want you hassled with cracking the case anyway.

So the Phobos is nice, but I had two ideas for improvements. If the touchscreen popped out of the case, the system would work far better as an HTPC since you could take the remote to the couch.

BFG's next model should have that.

And the size. The Phobos is huge, easily the biggest tower I've seen in some time.

BFG is working on a lower tier Phobos model with a smaller footprint. (It should be mentioned, however, that such advancements are up to 2 years off. BFG's follow up systems aren't on their way any time soon.)

The company is realistic. BFG knows that most hardcore PC gamers prefer to build their own PCs and that many HTPC users would prefer something small. But they're happy in their service-oriented niche, even if it means selling 500 uber PCs a month. Still, shrink the thing and offer me an innovative PC remote...and maybe we'll talk. [BFG Systems]

First off, the specs are what you might expect: 3.2GHz Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition processors, two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 graphics cards, PhysX, 6GB PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3 memory, 4x Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB hard drives, Blu-ray, liquid cooling, etc. It even has an integrated dock for your iPod or iPhone. However, the really interesting feature is the complementary concierge service. It includes free in-home installation and a six month follow up maintenance visit.

I have never known anyone with a high-end gaming rig that needs someone to help them out with the hardware, but I suppose if you are spending $3000 to $8000 on a computer you shouldn't have to lift a finger to do anything but play games.

BFG TECHNOLOGIES UNVEILS PHOBOS™ —
STUNNING NEW HIGH PERFORMANCE GAMING/HOME THEATER SYSTEM

Phobos features innovative touch panel LCD with Performance Control, upcoming BFG NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 Graphics Cards, Liquid Cooling Solutions from CooIIT, and Intel Core i7 Processors

Lake Forest, IL – January 5, 2009 – BFG Technologies, known as a leading supplier of premium power supplies and 3D graphics cards, is excited to announce its first line of complete gaming and multimedia PCs, called Phobos. These sleek hand-built, high performance machines were designed with the “Graduated Gamer” in mind. This audience is looking for all the performance associated with a high-end gaming system, but none of the hassle related to building and servicing such a system. As a result, Phobos is sold with complementary Concierge Service which includes expert in-home installation and a six month follow up maintenance visit.

“Phobos was designed for gamers and media enthusiasts who demand top of the line performance, but may not have the time, desire, or expertise to build or maintain a high end system,” said John Malley, senior director of marketing for BFG Technologies. “Our Concierge Service ensures our systems meet those high expectations—delivering Unbelievable Performance without monopolizing our customers’ time.”

Phobos is designed with the highest-end components available, featuring the Intel® Core i7 965 Extreme Edition 3.2GHz Processor, two upcoming BFG NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 295 Graphics Cards, and CoolIt® Contained Liquid Cooling Solutions to keep both the GPUs & CPU cool during the fiercest of gaming battles. BFG Tech also outfitted Phobos to serve as a home theater command center by choosing Windows® Vista Ultimate with Media Center, including four hard drive bays, offering RF remote and TV tuner with DVR functionality, a front slot-loading Blu-ray Disc® drive, the option for 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound audio cards, and an integrated iPod®/iPhone® syncing dock.

FULL SPECS BELOW
Phobos is as impressive externally as it is internally, offering Refined Aesthetics and an innovative design. Its sleek black gloss finish and hidden cable management makes Phobos look at home in the living room, next to a flat panel TV and high end audio components. BFG Tech’s ground breaking touch panel LCD with performance control further sets Phobos apart from every other system in its class. The panel provides users with a System Status Overview—a real time snapshot of the processor, memory, network, and storage data. Phobos owners can also make real-time performance adjustments based on desired use (Auto/Quiet/Max), monitor the capacity and health of internal storage devices, display and control audio and video files, and more.

About BFG Tech
BFG Technologies is a privately held U.S. based supplier of premium power supplies and 3D video cards based on award-winning NVIDIA graphics technology, and a manufacturer of high end gaming/home theater systems. BFG Tech is dedicated to bringing the latest high quality, high-tech multimedia products to PC and gaming enthusiasts at competitive prices. Like the company’s target customers, many of BFG Tech’s employees are gamers and PC enthusiasts, and they strive to provide hardware and marketing that reflects the company’s passion and excitement for the latest technology. www.BFGTech.com
Phobos™ System Specs

Phobos has three conveniently pre-configured high-performance systems that can be used as a starting point:

• Phobos Performance (from $3,000)
• Phobos Advanced (from $5,000)
• Phobos Elite (from $8,000)

Please visit www.bfgsystems.com after January 8, 2009 to see what specific options are available in each version.

‘PHOBOS ELITE’ STANDARD CONFIGURATION*

• Upcoming BFG NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 295 Graphics Cards (x2 for Quad SLI®)
• BFG NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 for Dedicated PhysX™ Processing
• Intel® Core i7 965 Extreme Edition 3.2GHz Processor
• CoolIt® Contained Liquid Cooling Solution (GPU&CPU)
• MSI® Eclipse SLI Intel® X58-based Motherboard
• Patriot® 6GB PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3 Memory
• 4x Western Digital® VelociRaptor 300GB Hard Drives
• Slot Loading Blu-ray® Super Multi Optical Drive
• BFG LS-1200 1200W High Efficiency Power Supply
• Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 Sound Card
• Integrated iPhone®/iPod® syncing dock
• Unique 8” Interactive Touch Panel LCD
• In-Home Set Up Included with Every Phobos Purchase

Yeah, we know—"video or it didn't happen," right? Well, we're working on it. Jeez, give us a break guys, Mr T smashed up our offices and the cleanup is immense. Nevertheless, the mammoth mobile totes a working internet connection of sorts and an onboard camera, but it completely lacks a battery, as Mr Tan couldn't build one large enough—what a slacker. The humango-handset relies on a mains outlet for power, and a local journalist verified its functional state by sending SMS messages and making a call.

The project took him 6-months to complete, and his wife was said to be livid with the racket he was making whilst putting it all together. Mind you, if our partners were busy constructing the BFG's cellphone, and they carelessly omitted the vibration function, we wouldn't be best pleased either. [Ananova via textually]

The Flikr page reads, "Heck, it's Texas, what did you expect?" Nothing less, Texas. Nothing less, whatsoever. [Flickr via Born Rich]

A rail gun, to refresh your memory, is one that relies on precise and extremely juiced electromagnets to thrust the projectile, rather than ever increasing amounts of packed and wadded gunpowder or other fuel. Explosives are, after all, dangerous. On a ship, they either blow up or get wet, and either way that's just bad.

The device BAE Systems shipped to the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Va. is the 32-megajoule Electro-Magnetic Laboratory Rail Gun (32-MJ LRG for short, but we'll call her "Julie"). It is about four times as strong as the last generation of rail guns, but demands 3 million amps of power per shot—enough to drain your Metal Gear's battery in a heartbeat. You'll notice the word "laboratory" stuck in there. Real-life rail guns have kinks that still need to be worked out:

Effective rail guns will require a major breakthrough in capacitor technology between now and 2020, as well as a way to keep the barrels from being shredded by each high-velocity shot.

Say Hello to the Goodbye Weapon [via Wired News]