It’s not often that I find myself wanting a desktop computer these days. After finally getting rid of my aging desktop PC last year in favour of a 17″ Dell laptop, I’ve been perfectly happy without a big box taking up space under my ridiculously small home office desk.

And yet, every now and then, a product comes around that screams so loudly at my geek soul that I experience a moment of pause while I reconsider my new allegiance to portability.

Today, that product is Thermaltake’s Level 10 Case. In a word: stunning.

The black tower made of extruded aluminum, with its red striping and lighting accents evokes imagery ranging from 2001: A Space Odyssey to the exquisitely designed digital cameras systems made by RED. And that’s just the cosmetics.

On the practical side, this beast has hot-swappable SATA drive enclosures, separate compartments for every major component and an integrated cooling system that is both effective and silent.

The Level 10 should be available for purchase later this month at an estimated price of $700 USD, which will put a huge dent in the pocketbooks of those whose hearts have been stolen. That is, if they can get their hands on one. Given the general reaction that geek sites like Maximum PC are having to the Level 10, it may be in short supply.

More photos for you to drool over…