For the most part, the computer announcements at this year’s CES were pretty tame. Most of them involve minor changes such as moving to higher resolution screens or the ability to transform from one operating system to another. These are not really new ideas but just revisions on past releases. After all, Apple introduced its Retina displays several years before the competition went beyond 1080p and the ASUS Trio and other multiple operating system devices have existing in the past. Razer is a company that is actually trying to make some unique systems. Take for instance their which is a tablet designed for PC gaming.

Razer showed off two concept devices at CES this year. The first is a new way to have an easy to modify desktop computer system and the other being a new take on mobile PC gaming platform.

Project Christine: A Modular Desktop Platform

When you think about it, most desktop computer systems are modular. The motherboard ties all the pieces together and those with the knowledge can swap out the CPU, memory, video cards and drives as needed. After all, that is what one does when they build their own desktop PC. For those that might be afraid to deal with the interior of a desktop system, the concept of a modular PC where you simply take a self contained module and plug it into a frame to either expand or upgrade a system/s capabilities probably sounds like a fantastic idea. This is where the idea for Project Christine originated from.

The system consists of a base tower frame with long flat tube like modules that then plug into the various bays along the tower. Want to put in a new video card, just take out the current module and slide in a new one. Same for optical drives, hard drives, memory, etc. This is possible because the tower acts as the primary PCI-Express bus between the components and the motherboard and processor. In the case of the storage components, it would be a Serial ATA connector set instead of the PCI-Express bus. This isn’t necessarily a new idea as many desktop cases have things such as swappable drive bays in them to make upgrading those components easily. The difference is that the modules exist for more than just storage components and are more tightly integrated into the whole system.

Cooling the computer is a good example of how integrated the whole thing is. There is a liquid cooling system that helps keep everything including graphics cards cool with very little noise. That poses a problem since the modules can be removed which would break the flow of liquid and potentially expose the system to leaks. Each module has the ability to tap into this liquid cooling system through a set of leak-proof connectors that do not require any special knowledge or procedure to attach. The valves are automatically opened and closed when the module is docked and undocked.

There is no question that if the Project Christine design were to be made, it would be very expensive. The level of detail and materials needed to produce it is far greater than your standard desktop. Even simple things like an optical or hard drive would need the module to fit into in order to be docked. Graphics cards would be even more complex as venders would need to make designs that could fit within the modules as a standard card would not likely be able to be inserted into a blank module because of the cooling requirements. The end result is that it may mean that consumers would have less choice about what parts they could put into it and those parts would cost more than normal.

Project Switchblade: A Mobile PC Gaming Solution

When Razer first introduced the Edge tablet, it was unique at being the only mobile PC gaming focused tablet out there on the market. It was plagued by a number of problems that prevented it from really revolutionizing the market. This had a lot to do with the fact that most PC gamers still required a mouse and keyboard input. The Edge lacked a physical keyboard and the touchscreen could not fully replace the mouse. In addition to this, the dedicated graphics also caused some major battery drain limiting the playtime. This was solved somewhat with the Gamepad Controller attachment it still wasn’t ideal and added significantly to the cost.

Project Switchblade is a whole new design that brings the keyboard back into the experience but in a totally different way. It uses technology similar to the Switchblade user interface and trackpad from the Razer Pro laptop. All of the keys feature an LED backlight display. This allows the keyboard to be dynamically configured so that it provides the best control layout specific to any game. This is pretty vital as the device is smaller than a traditional keyboard which means it is might be easier to use the system with ones thumbs depending upon the game. Of course, it also functions like a traditional keyboard when you want to use the device for more than just gaming.

While the device seems quite impressive, there are still some concerns about how capable it is. This is particularly true once you find out that it is powered by an Intel Atom processor that is generally known more for its battery efficiency and less about its performance. This may be why many of the demo videos and games mentioned were older ones such as World of Warcraft and Quake compared to modern titles like Battlefield 4. In addition to this, mouse control is still handled by the touchscreen display. This may be problematic for some games such as first person shooters where aiming is critical. Projected prices for the Switchblade were also not mentioned. It will likely be as much or more than the Edge tablet as the customizable LED keys have high production costs.