In 2014, Habré published an article about the concept of a modular PC from Razer presented at CES 2014. In particular, the modular design of the computer was mentioned, which allows you to modify the system configuration at the request of the owner.
According to the project, all modules were to be inserted into a special rack. You can place them in any order, replacing them if necessary. The developers then said that you can change the graphics module, processor, etc. All modules are interconnected by PCI Express. In general, the other day the company released this system, but since 2014 a lot has changed in its design.
This is how this PC was supposed to look.
Well, how it really looks now, you can look at the preview photo - there is no point in looking for differences, the design is completely different. First, about the characteristics. The basic model includes:
- Intel Core i9-9980HK (45W, 8 cores, Intel Coffee Lake).
- 16 GB DDR4.
- 512 GB PCIe NVMe SSD.
- 2 TB 5400 RPM hard drive.
The flagship configuration is slightly different. It includes a more advanced processor, discrete graphics, NVIDIA RTX 3080 Founders Edition GPU. Its cost is exactly what was indicated in the title - $ 3200.
In terms of differences, Razer's mini gaming PC is not so modular, it does not provide the user with the originally declared flexibility. However, it has 2 PCIe slots, one of which accommodates discrete graphics, the other - Intel Compute Element.
The Intel website page has information on these modules.
Intel Compute Element are complete computers made in the form of modules. They are interchangeable, so you can upgrade and downgrade your PC if you want (which is unlikely).
The problem might be that the Intel Compute Element is a product of a NUC team that does not always provide long-term support for its products. Nevertheless, a gaming PC with the configuration announced above is quite capable of delighting the owner for a couple of years without any updates. On the other hand, it will be more difficult to sell it because the configuration is non-standard.
Only the GPU modules and the processor module remained updated. You can also replace the hard drive with an SSD. Compared to what the project team initially stated, this is a departure from the idea of complete modularity.
Other configuration items include WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 wireless modules, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, and a 750W power supply. And there is also LED backlighting.
Yes, it is not yet possible to buy this system on the PC page , but soon the company promises to start shipping a new gaming computer.
