Originally Posted by
XNine
Eat lots of ramen. That's what I've done to afford my gear. I'm about to finish my internship, paid 30k for two years of tuition to get my associates and becomea vet tech. Trust me, I know what college costs, Lol.
As far as "budget" goes. We'd be cheating our brand and our customers to release a plastic and steel chassis. There's plenty of them in the market. We aim to be the name of choice for enthusiasts. Yes, the market isn't as big, but we keep all of our materials and labor here in the United States. We have employees who are paid living wages, and we're not at the mercy of fabrication plants overseas.
While I know there are people who would love for us to design, say, a full ATX chassis under 200, to be honest, the aluminum and paint alone on our chassis are reaching that cost. It's just not feasible to produce a quality case at that cost. We could do it with steel and plastic, but then we'd be the same as many others in our industry, and honestly, it wouldn't make us special anymore.