What just happened? Barring a load of RGB and features such as tempered glass sides, the basic design of desktop gaming PCs has changed little over the years. But Gigabyte has unveiled a concept that's very different from the standard fare: a modular system with integrated 5G that it calls the "future of gaming."
Best known for its range of graphics cards and motherboards, Gigabyte has just revealed Project Cielo by Aorus.
Cielo, which means sky in Spanish, is a concept, so Gigabyte is a little light on the details. We do know it uses a portable, modular design split into three sections: the main PC system is housed in the top; the battery module is in the middle; and there's a Bluetooth speaker module in the bottom.
The idea is that the battery and Bluetooth speaker modules can be separated from the PC to become speakers for smart devices, while the combination of PC and battery modules allows it to be used as a portable gaming machine---for those who prefer desktops to laptops and have a pocket-sized monitor with them, presumably.
"Users can combine any of the two parts and fulfill their needs for gaming, entertainment or other mobile applications," writes Gigabyte.
The other element of the Cielo that makes it a (kind of) portable gaming machine is the integration of 5G, which offers "greater bandwidth, ultra-low latency, and near-instant access to cloud gaming." The 5G antenna is built directly into the chassis---those wing-like objects at the top.
It seems unlikely that any PC gamer would opt for the screen-less Cielo over a laptop, which are now arriving with 5G capabilities. Those who want an even more portable PC gaming experience could choose one of the many streaming services available, such as Nvidia's GeForce Now, and stream directly to a phone or tablet. And that's not even mentioning the Steam Deck or mini desktop PCs like Intel's Beast Canyon NUC 11 and the excellent Corsair One a200.