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Razer's Project Christine: modular PC that anyone can upgrade.

C

chickdigger802

Banned
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FW78IAfybI&feature=youtu.be


razer-christine-gallery-02.jpg


http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/7/52...hristine-the-concept-gaming-pc-even-a-toddler

Sega system fans rejoice!

Project Christine is basically a very cool-looking rack into which gamers can slot any combination of modules including GPU, CPU, memory, and more, which will automatically sync. These modules have built-in liquid cooling and noise cancellation and require no cables. The modules could potentially be sold by Razer or third parties, but the company hasn't planned that far. The computer can also run multiple operating systems.

If gamers respond well, Razer will start working on bringing Project Christine to market. Min-Liang has no idea when that might be. But based on Razer's past, we could be looking at a product release before too long.
Click to expand...

while i'd argue modern day pc building is already almost like legos, hopefully these modules provide enough feedback to fix the biggest nag of pc building, when something is broke and you have no clue what (and you have to go through the slow arduous process of taking 1 thing out at a time and testing).
 
K

kamspy

Member
Uh, motherboards are pretty much already like that. You literally can't put anything in the wrong slot without breaking it.

Except for motherboard to case jumpers. Those are a bitch. Especially if you get piss poor documentation of what's what.
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
Honestly, this is a fantastic idea, but I'm assuming the implementation here will be very cost-prohibitive which will stop this from ever being adopted in the long-term.
 
J

- J - D -

Member
Looks pricey. Wonder what the mark up per piece would be over the traditional parts you can get already.

I dig the look though. Very sci-fi power node aesthetic.
 
F

FloatOn

Member
what a genius way to idiot proof pc building.

offer a range of prices on the individual modules so folks can go high or low on this and you will be golden.
 
D

Durante

Member
This is awesome but also sounds (and looks) incredibly expensive. Still, innovative high-end products are always nice.
 
T

TerryLee81

Member
Built-in liquid cooling?

This will be expensive, especially the "CPU Module", which I guess includes the mainboard with chipset, since almost every new Intel CPU requires a new chipset.
 
N

NullPointer

Member
Intheflorsh said:
It seems like an incredibly expensive solution to an insignificant problem.
Click to expand...
Its only insignificant to tech-heads. Software and interfaces have been getting more accessible by the day, and doing the same for piecemeal hardware upgrades and swaps seems like a fantastic idea.
 
O

Orbis

Member
kamspy said:
Except for motherboard to case jumpers. Those are a bitch. Especially if you get piss poor documentation of what's what.
Click to expand...
I can't believe this shit hasn't been tackled yet. A child could install/replace RAM, a CPU, a GPU, PSU, HDD, SSD, optical drive and power all of these without ever consulting any documentation. But when it comes to any kind of case connection, you're back to studying a manual and finding the subtle difference between a handful of ancient cables and poorly labelled ports.

I should add that this experience does vary from case to case, motherboard to motherboard.
 
L

Lostconfused

Member
Reminds me of that Thermaltake level 10 case. Which if I remember correctly was extremely expensive. Modular components and layout like that would probably add a lot more overhead to the base components to make the whole thing too cost prohibitive to work.
 
C

chickdigger802

Banned
kamspy said:
Uh, motherboards are pretty much already like that. You literally can't put anything in the wrong slot without breaking it.

Except for motherboard to case jumpers. Those are a bitch. Especially if you get piss poor documentation of what's what.
Click to expand...

honestly the hardest part for me when doing my recent build of half a year ago was putting those damn little case light wires to the mobo. so tiny. and i needa squint real hard to see the little labels.
 
E

ElTorro

I wanted to dominate the living room. Then I took an ESRAM in the knee.
Wonder if buying an entirely new system would be cheaper than upgrading this thing.

Funny idea though.
 
R

RivalCore

Member
Reminds me of that Thermaltake(?) case that I think BMW designed.

It is pretty fascinating to see how many companies are trying to tackle PC systems these days. I built my own 3 years ago so unfortunately none of them appeal to me in the slightest.
 
D

Dr Dogg

Member
As good as this sounds it's probably going to come with Razer's legendary build quality as well. Good thing it's easy to swap components out as well then I guess.
 
K

kamspy

Member
Orbis said:
I can't believe this shit hasn't been tackled yet. A child could install/replace RAM, a CPU, a GPU, PSU, HDD, SSD, optical drive and power all of these without ever consulting any documentation. But when it comes to any kind of case connection, you're back to studying a manual and finding the subtle difference between a handful of ancient cables and poorly labelled ports.

I should add that this experience does vary from case to case, motherboard to motherboard.
Click to expand...

I cheap out on cases so it's always a problem. lol

As long as it has good fan mounts for airflow and it holds all my shit, I'm happy.
Odrion said:
Great idea, I can't believe it's 2014 and we haven't made upgrading and replacing parts simple.
Click to expand...

What exactly did you have to go through the last time you replaced a GPU or put in new RAM?
 
C

CrashPrime

Member
Looks cool as hell, but also expensive. Glad there are companies out there doing things like this. I love over the top gadgets.
 
cyberheater

cyberheater

PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 Xbone PS4 PS4
Looks amazing. And as others have said. I bet it's not cheap. But wow. It looks stunning.
 
M

Magwik

Banned
I want this. It is a really brilliant idea. Will they be letting third parties make modules or does everything go through Razer?
 
S

SolsticeZero

Banned
kamspy said:
Uh, motherboards are pretty much already like that. You literally can't put anything in the wrong slot without breaking it.

Except for motherboard to case jumpers. Those are a bitch. Especially if you get piss poor documentation of what's what.
Click to expand...

There really needs to be some standardization on that shit.
 
S

SmokyDave

Member
Man, that thing is fucking cool. I can scratch build a PC with my eyes closed but I'd buy the shit out of this if money wasn't an object.
 
F

Fularu

Banned
Odrion said:
Great idea, I can't believe it's 2014 and we haven't made upgrading and replacing parts simple.
Click to expand...

It's never been simpler. It takes 10 minutes to build up a PC from scratch now, it's that easy. It's impossible to make a mistake unless you do it on purpose. Hell even jumpers now come with a prebuilt connector to connect everything easily with some cases.
 
R

RealMeat

Banned
I hope they make it some kind of open standard, rather that locking people who use it to buying from Razer. Seems like a good idea in theory. I've been building PCs for years, and I still think it could be quite a bit easier than it is. Cable management can be a pain, and I still get stressed applying thermal paste to a CPU.
 
D

Dennis

Banned
People knocking the look of it: I actually think it looks as good as your average enthusiast PC rig.

Yeah, one could wish for a less tacky, more stylish and mature appearance but jesus guys have you seen the LED monstrosities out there now?
 
F

Fularu

Banned
Dennis said:
People knocking the look of it: I actually think it looks as good as your average enthusiast PC rig.

Yeah, one could wish for a less tacky, more stylish and mature appearance but jesus guys have you seen the LED monstrosities out there now?
Click to expand...

I'll never understand that trend :/ My case looks like a stormtrooper and it's hideous, but it was the best bang for the buck and that price range
 
I

Intheflorsh

Banned
NullPointer said:
Its only insignificant to tech-heads. Software and interfaces have been getting more accessible by the day, and doing the same for piecemeal hardware upgrades and swaps seems like a fantastic idea.
Click to expand...

I guess, but if the parts each cost thousands of dollars it's still not going to be accessible for many people. Most people are going to realize that building / buying a PC the old way is going to net them much more power at the cost of some convenience. Razer needs to keep their costs down for this to work, but knowing Razer they probably won't.
 
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