LAS VEGAS–Razer dropped another bomb onto the PC gaming world here at CES with the concept design for Project Christine, a strange-looking modular PC concept that blends snap-on components, integrated liquid cooling, and a visual look that is unlike any gaming PC ever seen.
For the last few years, Razer has pushed hard against anyone writing it off as merely a peripheral maker by announcing seriously innovative product concepts at CES. These concept designs usually seem so far out it's almost silly, but with the success of the Razer Blade line of gaming ultraportables, and the award-winning Razer Edge gaming tablet, it pays to take these concepts seriously. Razer has a way of turning these pie-in-the-sky ideas into successful products.
With Project Christine, Razer aims to made PC building dead simple with a snap-on module "that allows users to build and customize PCs in any configuration without any prior technical knowledge." Each component is housed in a self-contained, pod-like module that connects to a base unit that contains a vertically oriented motherboard and a sealed liquid-cooling system in the base. Each module attaches not just the wired connections for each component, but a valve system that hooks up to the liquid cooling system instantly, without the hassle of rerouting hoses and reconfiguring the internals of a regular case.
On the back of the system, large modules contain components like graphics cards, storage drives, and even the processor. On the front, smaller modules allow connecting optical drives, digital readouts for system monitoring, and any collection of ports you want. The system is made to be endlessly expandable and reconfigurable.
But there are plenty of questions about the concept design. Where would these modular components come from? Would they be made by Razer, component makers, or other third-party companies? And obviously, there would be one real limitation to configuring and expanding such a system: you would be limited to the roster of modular parts, instead of the full market of current PC parts.
In a meeting with Razer, nobody seemed too worried about these sort of questions. The concept wasn't meant to be a marketable product, but a boundary-pushing concept that should drive other manufacturers to rethink what a gaming PC can really be.
Check out PCMag's first look from CES in the slideshow above.