Razer unleashes new PC components in bid to beat Corsair to your gaming PC
Razer is no stranger to the component game. It's slapped its badge on a motherboard, a PC case, and even a small form factor PC. But now it wants inside your PC case for real, and over at Razercon it has announced the first run of its new PC components range, with a line-up of all-in-one liquid coolers, fans, a PWM fan controller, and its very own PSUs, to go about doing that.
The company has dipped its toes in these infested waters before, partnering with ASRock on a specific B550 Taichi Razer Edition motherboard, but with the recent hire of Richard Hashim it's going full tilt at components. If you wanted any more evidence of who Razer has in its sights, Hashim is one of the co-founders of Corsair.
So let's start with the all-in-one liquid coolers, called Razer Hanbo. These are built in partnership with Asetek, which if you don't know are responsible for swathes of today's top liquid coolers. So you can expect a fairly similar construction. They're pretty stealth looking, though, and the RGB lighting is actually rather tastefully done, with just a few rings of light around the pump enclosure and each fan.
Razer Hanbo coolers will come in either 240mm or 360mm radiator sizes, and include a set of Razer's new fans, the Razer Kunai.
Razer Kunai fans can also be bought separately (for $44.99) and used alongside the company's new PWM Fan Controller ($49.99), which supports up to eight fans. All of which will be controllable via the Razer Synapse app.
Onto PSUs, which never get their just attention, and Razer is introducing the Razer Katana line-up. For the most part, these will be available from 750W up to 1,200W, and are rated 80 Plus Platinum for power efficiency, so appear high-end kit. Razer won't say who its OEM for these is, however, so we can't say for sure who is actually in charge of making them.
There's also a single 1,600W power supply rated to 80 Plus Titanium efficiency, if you really want to go overboard.
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All of these new components are expected to ship worldwide either later this year or the beginning of 2022, with the US rollout beginning later this month.
If it isn't clear already, Razer wants what Corsair's got. Both compete in the PC accessories game, but when it comes to components the two rarely go head-to-head. With this announcement, it looks like Razer wants to offer another option, not only to Corsair but to heaps of other component manufacturers out there, such as Thermaltake, Asus, and MSI.
For the Razer fan, that's a big win. You're one step closer to a completely Razer build. But seeing as there are so many options already available in the market, I'm hoping Razer can really push the boat out with its own designs, and hopefully without charging too much of a premium for it, too.