Tucked away in a shrouded corner of Razer's booth at CES 2014 lies
Project Christine, a stackable, customizable PC that looks unlike any
gaming machine you've ever seen.
The idea behind Project Christine is simple: Remove the hassle and
expense of constantly upgrading a computer by making each of its crucial
parts modular and self-contained. Instead of opening a tower and
slotting more memory or a new graphics card into your computer, Project
Christine allows users to simply snap a new module containing any
desired upgrades on to their current configuration. As a result, Project
Christine should have a far longer lifespan than conventional
computers, as modules containing your desired upgrades can simply be
swapped in as necessary.
Helpfully, Razer's design negates most of the configuration issues you'd
encounter when building your own traditional PC. Project Christine
isn't just physically modular, it also divides the motherboard into
components which are spread across the system's various modules. Instead
of having to match your new components to the specifications of your
old motherboard, each new module includes all of the technology it needs
to function, save the power it will draw from the rest of the system.
Each Project Christine module features a mineral oil cooling system
which should come in handy, as Razer promises configurations of the
device featuring up to four graphics cards aligned in a quad-SLI array
as well as factory-overclocked components. Every module also comes
equipped with noise cancelling insulation, preventing your fancy new
gaming machine from driving you mad with incessant noise.
While Razer will be the sole manufacturer of Project Christine modules,
the company is still debating which business model to adopt for this new
take on the PC. "We're really looking at other models," Razer CEO
Min-Liang Tan told
Engadget.
"Perhaps to say a subscription model of sorts, that we could
interchange modules when they come in. Users don't have to worry about a
huge bump every time there's new architecture out there."
Though Project Christine is still in the early stages of development,
Tan hopes support for the idea will be strong enough to convince Razer
to begin manufacturing modules at some point during 2014.
