Computex 2017 - Day 1

Computex 2017 - Corsair

Corsair frequently has plenty to show at Computex, and this year was no different. Some of the things shown were concept products rather than real, confirmed ones, but they give us a good idea of where the company is heading and how it's thinking. There were also lots of new, actual products including a new keyboard, new AIO coolers, and a whole new range of DIY water-cooling parts – a first for Corsair.


First up is Concept Zeus, which is actually two products that'll likely be sold both separately and as a combination when they're eventually developed. The concept is basically a wireless mouse coupled with a mousepad that has built-in wireless charging, meaning you don't need to worry about docking the mouse or running out of battery. The mousepad connects via two USB 3.0 ports, with one of these acting simply as a pass-through so you can connect the mouse's wireless receiver. The pad will offer some charging at all points, but full Qi 1A charging is only available in the top-right corner in the current design. The mouse will be able to be switched between Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless connectivity modes too.


The K68 mechanical keyboard offers the familiar Corsair keyboard design in a new model that's dust and spill resistant with an IP32 rating thanks to per-key silicone rubber shields on the Cherry MX Red switches (this is a Corsair technology, not a licensed Cherry one). The key backlighting is single-colour but customisable on a per-key basis, and there are dedicated media controls too. With CUE software support, full key remapping is another feature as is full key rollover. The main target customer is actually esports cafes and the like, which means the first market will be Asia – the EU market will only be served if and when there's enough demand.


Further confirming the claims we've heard about better DDR4 speeds in X299, Corsair had a demo set up showing a pair of Vegeance RGB sticks running at 4,600MHz, and that's on a beta BIOS.


Corsair had no new cases to show us, but it did have two concept cases instead, and beastly is a pretty apt way of describing them. Concept Slate is first, and it's essentially what happens when you give a case designer carte blanche. It's described as 'the future of the super-tower PC' and is designed to show the new direction you can expect the Obsidian series of cases to go in. The look and feel has been modernised thanks to hinged aluminium and curved, smoked, tempered glass panelling. As well as support for a massive E-ATX system, a second mini-ITX system powered by an SFX PSU can be installed. Water-cooling support is obviously key, and you can install 60mm-thick radiators with push-pull fans in the front and roof at the same time. In fact, utilising every possible radiator mount with push-pull fans means you can install a whopping 34 fans inside if you really wanted. The integrated Corsair Commander Pro lighting and fan controller can be used to control these as well as the case's integrated RGB lighting. Radiators can be installed on nifty pull-out brackets, and reservoir mounts are built into the rear of the chassis as well as the motherboard tray. In the secondary chamber behind the motherboard, up to eight 2.5” SSDs can be installed on dedicated trays that are affixed to French door style swing-out panels. There are two USB 3.1 Type-C connectors and four USB 3.0 connectors on the front panel. It's hard to know which features will make it into final designs, but we're certainly looking forward to Corsair's next high-end Obsidian offerings now.


The second concept case is Concept Curve. Taking inspiration from supercars and based on the Graphite Series 780T design, Concept Curve's exterior is mainly hewn from real, hand-made carbon fibre, and you get curved tempered glass on the front, sides, and roof. It will be interesting to see if a product comes off the back of this given the cost no doubt associated with using such premium materials.


Corsair is also set to debut its latest batch of Hydro Series coolers, with the main headline being the release for the first time of a model with a 360mm radiator. It's shown off with LED fans, but these are not confirmed – Corsair is currently assessing feedback as to whether or not to produce SKUs that include these as standard. The redesigned, sixth-generation pump unit, however, is confirmed as having numerous LEDs embedded within it, and this being Corsair you're able to set them to a variety of effects and synchronise them with all manner of other Corsair RGB hardware. Corsair is still working with Asetek as the OEM on these. Pricing and availability hasn't been confirmed.

In a moment of stupidity, we forgot to take photos of the next announcement, which is that Corsair will soon be releasing DIY water-cooling parts under its own name. That said, the OEM will not be Corsair but instead Aqua Computer, at least for the time being. The first set of products will be CPU and GPU water blocks offered in chrome, acetal, and clear finishes and sporting jet-plates with fins that measure just 200 micro-metres in thickness. The main Intel and AMD sockets will be supported, while the GPU blocks will be for high-end Nvidia 10-series cards. These should be released within the next three months, and the GPU blocks will have associated backplates as well. Corsair is also set to offer fittings, hard tubing, and glass reservoirs at later dates.

Stay tuned for more Computex 2017 coverage - Cooler Master, MSI, SilverStone, and more all coming soon!