Razer loves CES. Each and every year it uses the show to debut new technology, but unlike many manufacturers that treat the show as an unveiling party for potentially retail-ready products, Razer isn’t afraid to go a little wild. This year is no different, and once again Razer has come out of its corner swinging.
At CES this year, Razer unveiled “Project Christine,” a PC that the company calls “the world’s most modular gaming system.” And that isn’t just rhetoric. Christine’s PCI-Express architecture is designed to allow you to choose and then install new modules on the fly, and then instantly be recognized and integrated. If you need to add more storage you can just slot it in, rather than opening a case and fumbling with tiny screws. Same for memory, graphics cards, and more. In theory, you should never need to buy another computer, you could just perpetually upgrade Christine.
“The modularity of Project Christine make it perpetually customizable, offering plug-and-play upgradability as new and improved technology evolves, ostensibly eliminating the need to replace entire systems,” Razer said in the announcement. “Modules connected to the PCI-Express backbone can be added in any order or combination, featuring up to quad-SLI graphics, multiple SSD and RAID storage components, I/O and even power supplies, ensuring maximum flexibility.”
The system also features a touch-screen LED display that offers maintenance information, and the entire system features active liquid cooling and noise cancellation. It also allows you to run, and switch, between three operating systems. One of those could be the new SteamOS, so Christine is just a Steam Controller away from being its own Steam Machine.
This is still very much a prototype, and Razer has a history of using CES to test the waters with new products. Because of that, there are a lot of questions that simply can’t be answered yet – like pricing, availability, and even some fundamental ones like whether or not the modules are proprietary or not. Even if Razer could answer some of these questions, there is every chance that they would change anyway
That said, Project Christine is an exciting new concept. It’s something people are talking about, and it has people thinking. What more can you ask from a prototype?
• Fully modular design for perpetual, cable-less customization
• PCI-Express architecture
• Open operating system platform
• Factory overclocked components
• Self-contained modules with active liquid cooling and noise cancelation
• Quad SLI capable
• SSD + RAID 5 HDD Array
• LED touchscreen control display
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