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Razer's Project Christine

PostPosted: Wed Jan 08, 14 1:37 am
by Psychotic
So another year, and another ambitious concept design by Razer.

http://www.razerzone.com/christine

Project Christine, simply put, is a modular PC concept that literally brings plug and play accessibility to hardware directly via the use of huge boxes that hold PC components and are plugged in via PCI-Express.

The concept is novel, as far as I'm concerned, but I have my doubts.

The first is that it's being developed by Razer. Some people like Razer, some people don't. I am amongst the crowd who don't, finding most of their products to be second grade plastic crap, built for design and brand like an Apple iPhone without any of the quality.

I find the idea incredibly fascinating, but what worries me is that the entire thing will be under the jurisdiction of one company: Razer.

If a new GPU, CPU or better RAM is released, how long do I have to wait before I can buy a box for it? Does Razer design these boxes with the new parts or do they work alongside hardware developers like NVIDIA directly? More importantly, what's the cost?

Price is my primary concern here. I find Razer rather melodramatic about PC gaming, admitting on one hand it can be very difficult for an average person to understand how their computer works, what goes wrong and how to upgrade it whilst offering "solutions" that tend to be rather overpriced, leaving a lot to be desired.

As easy as Project Christine might make upgrading your hardware, if I have to wait more time before I can upgrade only to then pay a hefty premium to do so, why bother? It'd be far easier and cheaper to just learn how to build a PC yourself.

Hell, if the price is as extreme as I think it'll be, it'd likely be far cheaper to just buy the parts and pay an IT expert to do the job for you.

Sounds like the Steam Machine all over again, really. Marketed for people with too much money and not enough sense.

PostPosted: Wed Jan 08, 14 2:27 am
by clyzm
>razer

Nope

PostPosted: Wed Jan 08, 14 4:59 am
by Mastakilla
Would be pretty cool if I were a millionaire like you said lol

As for waiting for a new box when new hardware comes out, that shouldn't be too much of a problem, since you don't really need to immediatly upgrade. If you do have that need then you're obviously somewhat of an enthusiast and don't really care for an easy modular system.

It looks quite nice though

PostPosted: Wed Jan 08, 14 5:58 am
by Aidan
clyzm wrote:>razer

Nope


This.

Also, this is what Valve wants to do with their steambox design eventually. Steambox would be more functional, user friendly (and much smaller) than this design anyway.

Interesting post man, but again... It's razer. If the razerblade was any indicator of how successful their 'innovation' is...

PostPosted: Wed Jan 08, 14 11:43 am
by Dae
By the looks it resembles Thermaltake BMW chassis

Image

The idea is nice but it is not new. As always the problem is execution, and I'm sceptical about it until they demonstrate a working concept.

PostPosted: Wed Jan 08, 14 11:52 pm
by Psychotic
Yeah, a redditor made that comparison earlier.

I'm only skeptical because it's Razer. If it was someone else I might be less concerned about it's execution, but I don't like Razer.

PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 14 3:11 am
by Tantalus
Literally the dumbest project they have ever teased.

PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 14 5:06 am
by Psychotic
Having a reason why you think it's dumb would be nice. I get that a lot of us dislike it, but I'd rather not turn this into a reddit's wet circlejerk.

PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 14 1:35 pm
by Tantalus
The whole idea of 'modular computing' already exists: it's called a computer. The only remotely interesting thing about this is the design, which has already been done.

My main gripe with it, however, is the walled garden it creates. Who would have the capability to put components in those boxes? Probably just Razer.

There's no chance of this actually being released though, so it was just wasted wankery.

PostPosted: Fri Jan 10, 14 12:03 am
by Psychotic
Tantalus wrote:The whole idea of 'modular computing' already exists: it's called a computer. The only remotely interesting thing about this is the design, which has already been done.


This argument was made against it, too, and whilst I understand the sentiment it misses the point of Project Christine entirely.

PC's are modular, but if you're not sure how that modularity works then you have to spend a while figuring it out, which takes time and effort. Razer's alternative is a modular solution that requires literally no more thought than figuring out which box goes where. There's no risk of screwing your PC up, nor is it necessary to know what the hell a "PCI-E" port is, let alone what a "GPU" or "motherboard" do.

PC's are already modular for those who know how to use that modularity, but for those who don't that means very little. Project Christine aims to solve that but, as I've said, my problems with it are the same as yours: If Razer has all the control we're damned from the beginning, since they overprice their products and sell cheap, plastic crap.

PostPosted: Fri Jan 10, 14 1:24 am
by Tantalus
Oh but apparently they don't make a profit, according to the owner (CEO? Don't even know). APPARENTLY everything is just really really well made and is totally worth the asking price.

Like, don't get me wrong, I have also bought some Razer products: a used optical mouse that works really well (although the buttons are squeaky) and the Blackwidow mechanical keyboard which is also great. However, that was bought at a time where the Blackwidow was the best bang-for-buck on the market for mechanicals.

My main problem is that the issue is a non-existent one: don't know how computers are put together? Google it. Done. The average consumer will not know Razer and will not be willing to spend a premium price on a desktop computer, especially in a shrinking market. Mr. Joe Smith will just buy a Dell desktop and renew it in the next 5 years. I certainly would not consider buying another piece of Razer hardware, especially this at an inevitable $5000 price tag if it were to be released,

PostPosted: Fri Jan 10, 14 9:03 am
by Psychotic
Honestly, that's probably the biggest problem.

If you have heard the term "Razer", you're more of a hardware/peripheral enthusiast than the average person. If you aren't into hardware or gaming accessories, such names wouldn't concern you, nor likely such products.

This was the same thing I said about the Steam Machine, too, but at least Valve (or Steam, at the very least) is a household name for some, simply because nearly every PC game uses Steamworks now.