AMD Shows Off Rocket Launching PC?!

Updated: March 12, 2013

When it comes to war, there are many ways to attack your opponent and strategy may win over might as history has shown us in such lessons as David vs Goliath, Darth Vader vs Yoda and Intel vs AMD? Well okay, maybe not, but SXSW Interactive 2013, is the day AMD attacks Intel with their new mini-ITX PC that also functions as a working rocket launcher ready for war. None other than Ben Heck himself working for AMD built this little bugger as Mr. Heck has made a Heck of a name as a Modder. This is the same dude that brought the Xbox 360 laptop and portable versions of many of the old school game consoles back to life by way of his mods.

The actual unit is made up pretty much by PVC foam with the panels made of plastic the Ben himself laser etched to get that “Real” look. Inside of the trigger unit there is a mini-ITX motherboard powered by an AMD APU configuration featuring the A10-5700 APU, a Crucial 128GB SSD a small, but functional PSU and did we mention 2 missile silos. It also features a custom-built PCB, again made by Ben himself, which powers the launch controls on the front of the chassis although the rockets cannot be launched without the PC turned on according to the video shown below. In the video (Filmed by Anandtech) to launch a rocket one must first flip the override switch, one or both the rocket switches and then hit the Big Red Button. A 10-second countdown sequence begins and at the 6-second marker the silo hatches open for a single rocket or at 5-seconds if you are launching both simultaneously.

As you can see in the video these serious solid-fuel rockets and at T-minus zero the crocodile clips draw power form the power supplies 12-volt rail and then the rockets launch. This thing is by no means a child’s toy and you can gather that no way is this ever to be used in an indoor environment, which does pose a slight problem as most PC users are geeks who work indoors and not in the great outdoors. We know that Mr. Heck was hoping to inspire and Army of rocket launching warriors, but alas all he did was succeed in creating a freaking ultimately cool PC that actually launches rockets, damn you Ben, damn you. For those of you who will be lucky enough to be attending this years SXSW make sure to be on the lookout for AMD so you can see this device in person as well as a few other cool Mods made by Ben Heck. I know that someone will get some kind of smart ideas in their head to steal this and begin PC Armageddon, but don’t get any funny ideas Joker, as they wont allow this in your onboard luggage anyways. How many of you folks want one, let me hear you thoughts and ideas in the comments below, and should AMD launch a missile at Intel’s headquarters just for shits and grins? Let us know here on Tech Of Tomorrow, thanks for reading.