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[GuitarAtomik]

What about

1. People who are too lazy to open up the pc and take things out every time they upgrade (this includes me and lots of others, i'd imagine)

2. People who want to buy a pre-built with potential for an easy upgrade in the future

Pretty much this. The gap between "I know what parts I want" and "I'm confident in my ability to assemble these parts" can be pretty wide for some people. Sure, pre-built PCs provide a solution for this but the moment you need to upgrade you're back to square one. This is a pretty good best of both worlds solution as long as you're willing to pay whatever the premium is.

 

[PensOwl]

What about

1. People who are too lazy to open up the pc and take things out every time they upgrade (this includes me and lots of others, i'd imagine)

2. People who want to buy a pre-built with potential for an easy upgrade in the future

Well generally good cases these days make it pretty simple to swap out components- the last time I built a pc was far easier than the previous attempt. But I guess I see the appeal if you're into watercooling, which I imagine is a nightmare if you do it yourself and need to switch out parts. I don't know, I don't touch the stuff, too hardcore

 

[MRORANGE]

If they make this an open standard, then it would be amazing.

 

[LAUGHTREY]

I don't get why someone who could afford something like this wouldn't just pay someone else to build them a custom PC or buy an alienware/origin PC or something.

It's a cool novelty, but it's gonna be limited to certain brands and defeat the purpose.

 

[Fularu]

To me the real innovation here is putting the CPU on a daughtercard. CPUs and GPUs have similar power, space, and cooling requirements, but while I can replace a GPU simply by swapping it out, replacing a CPU usually means completely disassembling the system and buying a new motherboard, memory, and heatsink along with the CPU itself.

I think Apple's latest Mac Pro has also put the CPU on a daughtercard. It's an idea that just works.

CPUs have been on daugther cards since the Amiga 2000, it's nothing new (I'm just surprised it's comming back tbh)

 

[darkside31337]

I don't get why someone who could afford something like this wouldn't just pay someone else to build them a custom PC or buy an alienware/origin PC or something.

It's a cool novelty, but it's gonna be limited to certain brands and defeat the purpose.

I think the point is if this becomes a open standard and other companies embrace it then it could be interesting.

Personally I think this is really cool and definitely solves a lot of the problems PCs have right now more effectively than something like a Steam Machine.

 

[Mashin Haters]

thats gonna be way to expensive.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

Don't nobody watch movies?

Nothing good can come of a DIY project named Christine, mark my words

 

[valeo]

Well generally good cases these days make it pretty simple to swap out components- the last time I built a pc was far easier than the previous attempt. But I guess I see the appeal if you're into watercooling, which I imagine is a nightmare if you do it yourself and need to switch out parts. I don't know, I don't touch the stuff, too hardcore

Seems like you're still not getting the point. The average consumer is too scared to even open the PC case up, let alone change anything. It doesn't matter how easy you think it is.

 

[Astral/H3X]

Don't nobody watch movies?

Nothing good can come of a DIY project named Christine, mark my words

Bahahaha. You mean books right?

 

[Piercedveil]

I love the concept of this. Reminds me of the "modular smartphone" idea. This definitely isn't aimed at most PC enthusiasts, but I'm sure a lot of people could appreciate something like this.

Would be so pricey though!

 

[Novocaine]

This will cost so much money.

 

[BronsonLee]

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.

Yo fuck those. Seriously. That shit takes longer than building the damn computer!

 

[xJavonta]

I think it's executed wrong but the idea is definitely one that needs to exist.

thats gonna be way to expensive.

I like your avatar. Such Gold?

 

[Honey Bunny]

Hnng

 

[AstroNut325]

I love the looks and the concept. I hope this comes to the market. We need PC hardware to evolve beyond dealing with bare PCBs... IMO at least.

 

[shouamabane]

It looks nice. Price is the main issue. I'd be willing to pay more for the convenience, it just depends on how much more it is.

 

[styl3s]

I think this is brilliant.

As someone who has many friends who pay for alienwares and stuff and end up buying new PCs instead of upgrading because opening up a PC scares the shit out of them i think its fucking brilliant.

It's building a PC for dummies. hell, i would adopt this model if it was affordable.

 

[flamingotripod]

If they get this in retail stores it will sell like crazy

 

[PensOwl]

Seems like you're still not getting the point. The average consumer is too scared to even open the PC case up, let alone change anything. It doesn't matter how easy you think it is.

I guess my point is if this average consumer is someone interested and knowledgeable enough to upgrade their computer rather than treating it as an appliance, they're someone who wouldn't mind popping open their computer for a few seconds.

As elegant as this system is, upgrading a pc will never be as easy as popping in an sd card. With this system you'll still have to uninstall and install drivers, ensure your power supply is good enough, all that gritty stuff. Project Christine isn't going to be enough for your scared average consumer over here

 

[mkenyon]

To me the real innovation here is putting the CPU on a daughtercard. CPUs and GPUs have similar power, space, and cooling requirements, but while I can replace a GPU simply by swapping it out, replacing a CPU usually means completely disassembling the system and buying a new motherboard, memory, and heatsink along with the CPU itself.

I think Apple's latest Mac Pro has also put the CPU on a daughtercard. It's an idea that just works.

Except that the motherboard and CPU are basically an extension of each other. IvyBridge and Z77 motherboards have the VRM on the motherboard. Haswell has it on the processor. SandyBridge has PCI-E 2.0, despite Z77 boards (designed for Ivy) having the bandwidth to accept PCI-E 3.0.

It's not really an idea that works at all anymore.

You guys are seriously underestimate how scary and foreign PC part looks to an average Joe.

Pretty much this. The gap between "I know what parts I want" and "I'm confident in my ability to assemble these parts" can be pretty wide for some people. Sure, pre-built PCs provide a solution for this but the moment you need to upgrade you're back to square one. This is a pretty good best of both worlds solution as long as you're willing to pay whatever the premium is.

That's what Steamboxes, Alienware X51s, and XBoxes and PS4s are for.

I guess my point is if this average consumer is someone interested and knowledgeable enough to upgrade their computer rather than treating it as an appliance, they're someone who wouldn't mind popping open their computer for a few seconds.

As elegant as this system is, upgrading a pc will never be as easy as popping in an sd card. With this system you'll still have to uninstall and install drivers, ensure your power supply is good enough, all that gritty stuff. Project Christine isn't going to be enough for your scared average consumer over here

10/10

 

[Zoc]

CPUs have been on daugther cards since the Amiga 2000, it's nothing new (I'm just surprised it's comming back tbh)

It seems like a good idea to me. Why did they go away? What are the disadvantages?

 

[GuitarAtomik]

I guess my point is if this average consumer is someone interested and knowledgeable enough to upgrade their computer rather than treating it as an appliance, they're someone who wouldn't mind popping open their computer for a few seconds.

As elegant as this system is, upgrading a pc will never be as easy as popping in an sd card. With this system you'll still have to uninstall and install drivers, ensure your power supply is good enough, all that gritty stuff. Project Christine isn't going to be enough for your scared average consumer over here

Again, you're assuming someone with the knowledge of what they want in their PC has the knowhow or desire to physically assemble it. It's intimidating to a lot of people to the point that there's a market for custom pre-built PCs. The idea of this dumbs it down as far as you can while still maintaining the ability to customize after the fact with a plug and play model.

That's what Steamboxes, Alienware X51s, and XBoxes and PS4s are for.

AGAIN! "Sure, pre-built PCs provide a solution for this but the moment you need to upgrade you're back to square one." You can buy a custom pre-built PC but what do you need to do if you want to upgrade it? You're in the same position of having to open it up just like any other PC with probably even less knowledge of what you can upgrade it with or how since you didn't build it in the first place. This makes that as easy as unplugging a box and plugging a new one in. You may not find that hard, but there are plenty of people willing to pay for that kind of convenience for the option of that level of customization.

 

[ShadyJ]

Does look pretty awesome, and a cool premise.

 

[Vilam]

I'd definitely be interested in buying such a thing. I don't understand the need for propriety hardware in the various modules though. I would think you'd just have various module sizes that plug in, and insert the OEM hardware inside the module. If the idea is that the end user never needs to open the module, than that's one level of simplicity too far for me.

 

[mkenyon]

AGAIN! "Sure, pre-built PCs provide a solution for this but the moment you need to upgrade you're back to square one." You can buy a custom pre-built PC but what do you need to do if you want to upgrade it? You're in the same position of having to open it up just like any other PC with probably even less knowledge of what you can upgrade it with or how since you didn't build it in the first place. This makes that as easy as unplugging a box and plugging a new one in. You may not find that hard, but there are plenty of people willing to pay for that kind of convenience for the option of that level of customization.

Why do you think this will be any different? Magical connectors allow you to bypass things like socket requirements and chipset compatibility?

 

[SteveWinwood]

Hey great idea!

Make it cheap, nice, not ugly or gaudy (none of which I see in that picture :/ ) and I might be on board.

 

[IcyBlueStrawberry]

I REALLY like this.

It will never succeed and Razer probably isn't the right company to attempt it, but I think this is an awesome and incredibly sleek concept that I would support fully.

 

[wildfire]

You can't plug cables in that don't fit anymore.

But PC's are already modular.

CPU slot is modular?

Moving on from that point.

We are able to use all the PCIE slots provided?

Liquid cooling is simple and cheap?

This idea has some very clear advantages.

To go even one step further if Project Christine evolved so that various slots were hot swappable it would be very viable for specific businesses.

 

[GuitarAtomik]

Why do you think this will be any different? Magical connectors allow you to bypass things like socket requirements and chipset compatibility?

Like I've said, the difference is assembly. Maybe someone knows what parts they want or need because they've researched it on a message board, but they don't want to go through the hassle of actually putting it together or troubleshooting it when it doesn't work (bad RAM, bad card, etc). Yes, it's easier than it's ever been, but putting a PC together from scratch or changing out anything but cards or RAM is intimidating to a lot of people. This is literally dumbing it down to "plug the CPU here.".

 

[Dirk Benedict]

Exactly. Fucking around with internal parts and boards and wires is fucking scary to most people.

I find it more annoying than scary it's more like "here we go again!" Especially when it's the mobo that gets upgraded. However, I've been doing it for quite a few years. So yeah. What you said.

 

[SapientWolf]

I could see LANs showing interest in this, since they would be able to shuffle parts around to meet demand for certain games. You don't need a beefy rig to play a MOBA but you would to play a AAA shooter. They can adjust the parts allocations as needed. The long term benefits could outweigh the initial cost.

 

[mkenyon]

CPU slot is modular?

Moving on from that point.

We are able to use all the PCIE slots provided?

Liquid cooling is simple and cheap?

This idea has some very clear advantages.

To go even one step further if Project Christine evolved so that various slots were hot swappable it would be very viable for specific businesses.

As long as they aren't using proprietary CPUs and chipsets, they're not going to be modular. Chipsets, sockets, and CPUs are all intertwined, and no magical connector will fix that.

You can use all the PCI-E slots provided now, but it's rare that anyone uses more than one currently.

Liquid cooling is simple and cheap. You can buy a CoolerMaster Seidon 120V for like $40.

 

[UnluckyKate]

Awesome idea, but it will end up like upgrading an Apple Mac Pro price wise

 

[Des0lar]

The only issue I see with this is that it absolutely has to be some kind of open standard for it to gain any traction, but what would Razer gain out of that other than satisfaction of creating some new form factor?

Well, to be fair the CEO did say he doesn't care about money.

Let's see how good his word is

 

[wildfire]

As long as they aren't using proprietary CPUs and chipsets, they're not going to be modular. Chipsets, sockets, and CPUs are all intertwined, and no magical connector will fix that.

You can use all the PCI-E slots provided now, but it's rare that anyone uses more than one currently.

Liquid cooling is simple and cheap. You can buy a CoolerMaster Seidon 120V for like $40.

Liquid cooling for GPUs is not cheap at all or trivial.

Sure the chipset and CPU are closely intertwined but the idea here is to turn those components into a daughterboard instead of the main one. The only thing that is a sticking point is the RAM also being part of the CPU modular piece so replacing the whole thing is very expensive but it's understandably necessary to be together for performance reasons.

I suspect people have been wary of using multiple slots because they don't want to tinker which justifies the existence of this project. Anyone who doesn't mind tinkering would most likely want to at least add in a second gaming gpu or throw in a professional sound/gpu card for work purposes. In the future people will want to leverage the speed and bandwidth advantages of PCIE ssds once the sata standard can't keep serving their desires.

 

[yeb]

I love this idea, and I was really expecting concepts like this when I first heard about Steam boxes. Computers have changed dramatically in the 20 years I've used them, and things keep getting consolidated. There are about 5 important parts now to the average gaming computer, and I have no idea why we're still dealing with circuit boards for something that's essentially plug and play already.

I'm sure everyone in this thread can build a computer and wouldn't be intimidated by it, but there are advantages to this that go way beyond an idiot proof build. Imagine how easy it would be to pass your older computer parts to family/friends without installing it for them, or maybe traveling to their house for the holidays and just bringing a module or two you need instead of a laptop. People mentioned it earlier, but troubleshooting would be another huge advantage.

True story:

A chick I work with bought a computer a few months back, and even though she doesn't actually know a lot about computers, she was able to build it herself. She wasn't happy with the Intel HD graphics though, so she went out and bought a graphics card and a new PSU afterward. (On that note, the 700w PSU she bought was way more than what she needed, so it would be really nice if these modules included some kind easy to read power rating.)

Anyway, that was when the problem started. She said it made an annoying "whine," but only when she was playing games, and only when she'd been playing for a while. Sounded to me like the new graphics card was just getting hot and the fan was too loud. Someone else took a look at her computer, and somehow confirmed it was the fan on the graphics card, so she bought a new fan and installed it herself.

The problem continued though, so I tried taking a look at it. Now we think it's actually the PSU that she bought at the same time, but it would be a total pain to swap our power supplies just to test that. Next to a motherboard itself, a power supply is probably the most annoying thing to swap out. It really shouldn't be more complicated than buying a new power brick.

 

[Radec]

more photos:

 

[markot]

Razer: It takes skill to make things this ugly!

 

[Antiwhippy]

I love this idea, and I was really expecting concepts like this when I first heard about Steam boxes. Computers have changed dramatically in the 20 years I've used them, and things keep getting consolidated. There are about 5 important parts now to the average gaming computer, and I have no idea why we're still dealing with circuit boards for something that's essentially plug and play already.

I'm sure everyone in this thread can build a computer and wouldn't be intimidated by it, but there are advantages to this that go way beyond an idiot proof build. Imagine how easy it would be to pass your older computer parts to family/friends without installing it for them, or maybe traveling to their house for the holidays and just bringing a module or two you need instead of a laptop. People mentioned it earlier, but troubleshooting would be another huge advantage.

True story:

A chick I work with bought a computer a few months back, and even though she doesn't actually know a lot about computers, she was able to build it herself. She wasn't happy with the Intel HD graphics though, so she went out and bought a graphics card and a new PSU afterward. (On that note, the 700w PSU she bought was way more than what she needed, so it would be really nice if these modules included some kind easy to read power rating.)

Anyway, that was when the problem started. She said it made an annoying "whine," but only when she was playing games, and only when she'd been playing for a while. Sounded to me like the new graphics card was just getting hot and the fan was too loud. Someone else took a look at her computer, and somehow confirmed it was the fan on the graphics card, so she bought a new fan and installed it herself.

The problem continued though, so I tried taking a look at it. Now we think it's actually the PSU that she bought at the same time, but it would be a total pain to swap our power supplies just to test that. Next to a motherboard itself, a power supply is probably the most annoying thing to swap out. It really shouldn't be more complicated than buying a new power brick.

Sounds like coil whine.

 

[chickdigger802]

Razer: It takes skill to make things this ugly!

its just a prototype. They take user feedback and somehow make them uglier by retail release

 

[Dryk]

As scary as it was opening a PC for the first time, I think more people should be encouraged to do what I did and start with replacing/adding hard-drives. It fulfills and immediate need with a solution that's very apparent as soon as you start the PC back up and its relatively simple to do.

Razer: It takes skill to make things this ugly!

I have a Deathadder and I love it

 

[Sentenza]

Razer: It takes skill to make things this ugly!

People are really insisting on this point, but I actually don't find it particularly ugly at all.
And I'm not even a fan of "l33t aesthetic", generally speaking. Quite the opposite of it.

EDIT: In fact, I would even argue that this actually looks better (and less tacky) than a good 85-90% of PC cases on the market.

 

[childplease]

Amazing.

Looks like innovation is only coming on the pc side now.

 

[ZeroX03]

One of the main issues I see with this is;

-It's NOT going to be cheap. Everything being liquid cooled in a proprietary casing, gonna be mad expensive. CPU/RAM combination seems to kill the customisation aspect unless I'm missing something. <---- Also crazy expensive.
-A proprietary system that dictates what can and cannot be used. Will they be supporting every single graphics card on the market, every single CPU on the market, every RAM on the market, etc etc
-How will it change to support newer chipsets and newer technologies? A new 'mainboard' every few years?
-What do you do with your old module once you upgrade?
-Will they allow third parties to be apart of this? I don't see how they'll pull this off without including third parties to make modules for the system.

Looking forward to seeing what they pull off....and the price.

 

[Remmy2112]

I'm having some trouble wrapping my head around this concept as a person who has built a half dozen computers for personal and family use. Does that tower house a proprietary motherboard with the inserts for parts running the length of it, or is it using some sort of extension cables for the HDDs, SSDs, optical drives, etc etc and the motherboard is simply near the top for the CPU, RAM, and GPUs? Also there is pretty much no way this is not going to be expensive, even if it uses low priced computer parts.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Amazing.

Looks like innovation is only coming on the pc side now.

I wouldn't expect any of this to make it to production.

 

[xJavonta]

People are really insisting on this point, but I actually don't find it particularly ugly at all.
And I'm not even a fan of "l33t aesthetic", generally speaking. Quite the opposite of it.

EDIT: In fact, I would even argue that this actually looks better (and less tacky) than a good 85-90% of PC cases on the market.

Agreed, and I hate big PCs. I'd much rather have a tiny box.

 

[K.Sabot]

This is going to impact my "make pcs for people who can't google stuff" market.

 

[TAJ]

I'm having some trouble wrapping my head around this concept as a person who has built a half dozen computers for personal and family use. Does that tower house a proprietary motherboard with the inserts for parts running the length of it, or is it using some sort of extension cables for the HDDs, SSDs, optical drives, etc etc and the motherboard is simply near the top for the CPU, RAM, and GPUs?

Yes and no. It functions somewhat like a motherboard in that parts connect to it, but a lot of functionality is offloaded to modules. The CPU socket and RAM (and chipset most likely) are in a module for example.
This seems potentially future-proof if it becomes popular. (big if) Daddy like. Too bad my sister doesn't work for Razer anymore.
A setup like this would be nice right now. I only need to upgrade my CPU, but that means a new mobo and RAM also, at the very least.

Rabble rabble rabble, rouse rouse rouse.

Seriously though, as a PC builder for a couple decades... I'm more than happy to trade up to this form factor for a 10-15% premium on parts.

Yeah, I've built dozens of PCs but this gives me wood.