Seeing the spirit of PC building alive and well through the many prototypes and concepts of Computex 2023 was like a breath of fresh, fan-cooled air. While much of Computex this year was focused on AI, and we did indulge with coverage, we also managed to find the true golden nuggets of the show: new tools and accessories to enhance your PC builds or make them easier.
From several different new ways of managing and hiding away cables to all sorts of new approaches and improvements to component cooling, the near future looks bright, cool, and tidy for PC gear. Here are the best prototypes and concepts from Computex 2023.
Best Core-Component Concept
Intel’s 'Meteor Lake,' Shown in a Working Laptop
While the array of laptops was admittedly light at Computex 2023, Intel’s low-key tease around 14th Generation “Meteor Lake” mobile processors was certainly a highlight. Intel took us and select media aside to demonstrate the use of the processor's new VPU unit (a portion of the overall chip that co-exists with the CPU and integrated graphics modules), for local AI processing. In this case, it was a GIMP plug-in for Stable Diffusion, creating artwork on the fly using the laptop as opposed to the cloud.
Now, the laptop itself wasn't the actual appeal here; it was an unidentified model with the brand hidden by stickers and the keyboard non-operational. It's the working evidence of the VPU that has us intrigued, though. Check out our much longer explainer on the Meteor Lake reveal for much more.
Best PC-Building Prototype
Asus No-Cables Desktop Concept
Removing cables from a PC has long been a goal of system builders and OEMs. Cables, of course, are essential to connecting components together, though, and they are here to stay. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be less troublesome...or visible. The Asus No-Cables desktop concept PC hides as many cables out of the way as possible behind the motherboard. Most of the pin-clusters and header conectors that cables connect to have been moved to the backside of the board for connection out of sight.
Asus took this design further than anyone else has so far by designing and incorporating a graphics card that doesn’t require bulky power cables running to the top edge of it. Instead, it receives all of its power from an edge connector set into the motherboard (next to the typical PCI Express expansion-slot connector), which interfaces with an extra stripe of contacts on the lower edge of the card. The end result is an extremely clean-looking PC with nary a wire to be seen. (Note: MSI also exhibited a similar no-wires, motherboard-connectors-on-the-back concept design dubbed "Project Zero.")
Best Audio Prototype
Cooler Master SS571 Soundbar Concept
Cooler Master’s unusual three-piece (2.1) speaker set, dubbed the SS571, is notable for transforming with little effort from the three-piece mode you see above into a two-piece speaker set made up of a soundbar and a subwoofer. This prototype speaker system lets you switch between modes, depending on the type of media or use that you're engaged in. You might want the 2.1, with the physical speaker separation, for listening actively to the nuances of your favorite music, while you might prefer the crowd-pleasing soundbar for sitting with your squeeze in front of your big-screen system while watching a movie.
All you need to do is join the satellite speakers into a soundbar orientation. Sensors inside of the two stereo speaker halves detect when they are flipped on their sides and brought together, to shift the sound aspect to soundbar-appropriate mode. Likewise, when they are separated again, you get a wider stereo field and a matching adjustment in the sound field.
Best Storage Concept
ADATA 'NeonStorm' PCI Express 5.0 SSD Dual Liquid/Air Cooling System
ADATA’s Project NeonStorm SSD lives up to its cool name with a novel heat-dissipation solution. As a PCI Express 5.0 SSD, the underlying M.2 module delivers sequential read and write speeds of up to 14,000MB and 12,000MB per second, respectively. To avoid throttling and similar thermal issues caused by heat generated by the SSD’s blistering speeds, ADATA has developed a dual-system design featuring both liquid and air cooling.
The heat emanating from the SSD first passes through a metal heat spreader to increase the dissipation area. After being conducted into the liquid reservoir, heat energy is absorbed by a high-thermal-capacity coolant and then moves into the aluminum alloy heatsink. The heatsink acts as a medium between the coolant and the fans. When the system’s fans are activated, heat is removed through the convection of hot and cold air. According to ADATA, this patented dual-cooling heat dissipation system can lower SSD temperatures by an additional 20% compared with fan-type heat dissipation fins without liquid cooling.
Best PC Cooling Concept
Noctua 140mm Fan Prototype (2015-2020)
We hadn't seen our favorite Noctua representative in four years, but he lost no time in explaining how from 2015 to 2020 the company struggled with a long development process for its latest 140mm case fan. Lots of fits and starts led to the design you see today, which comprises a 140mm frame and grooves in the outer fan blade to reduce noise performance, as well as very close clearance between fan tip and the circular fan frame. Noctua is well known for selling high-quality, industrial-grade fans that users tend to carry through multiple builds, whether those are case fans or CPU fans. So its move to update one of its stalwart offerings is telling us that it will be worth the wait.
Best PC Cooling Concept Runner-Up
Gigabyte/Aorus Bionic Shark Fans
In its presentation around these concept fans, Gigabyte refers to “denticles,” which we’re not sure if we should be alarmed about. This toothsome set of speakers, showing off as a concept design only at Gigabyte’s suite, purports to deliver 3-decibel (3dB) lower noise performance than its predecessor. It was demonstrated, in this case, inside of a Windforce Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 series graphics card.
Best PC Case Concept: Xigmatech Prototype Open Frame Case
This case, shown off in white, is a promising bit of kit for testers and lab personnel, such as some of PCMag’s own. An open-frame case like this enables you to swap out graphics cards, storage, or other parts of the system with relative ease. But, of course, it's not for everyone. This case also suggests a commitment to water cooling, given the tray up front for housing a tri-fan 360mm radiator. A flip-up motherboard tray enables easy access to drives, PSU, and cables beneath, and Xigmatech will also offer a boxy, transparent cover for the whole upper portion, along the lines of an LP turntable cover from days of yore.
