Razer’s Project Valerie is a beastly laptop that sports three 4K displays

The beauty of a home setup is having the space and flexibility to take advantage of multiple displays. But you just can’t get that experience if you want to be portable. Razer’s new Project Valerie aims to change that.

If you thought Acer’s $9,000 laptop was absurd, that’s at least something you can soon own (assuming you have the money). With Project Valerie, Razer has dreamt up a concept that might not even make it to market. But if this is the next innovation in portable desktops, sign me up, because Valerie is unlike anything we’ve ever seen.

Project Valerie is system that takes advantage of three 17.3-inch 4K IGZO displays, which all combine to provide users with the most efficient and immersive experience possible. The device opens up like a normal laptop, but once its automatic deployment mechanism kicks in, the other monitors will deploy for even more space to work with. It’s like a butterfly spreading its beautiful wings.

The laptop (if you want to call it that) is essentially a 17-inch Razer Blade Pro with two additional monitors attached to it. So not only are you getting the convenience of a multi-monitor setup, but you’re getting the raw power of Razer’s most beastly machine.

Razer says the proposed system measures at 1.5 inches thick and weigh less than 12 pounds. To keep the machine cool, Razer says Project Valerie comes equipped with the company’s renowned thermal management system, along with a custom-designed fan and dynamic heat exchanges that pair with a vapor chamber. In other words, Valerie should stay cool, whether you’re gaming or just doing regular work.

“Multi-monitor desktop setups are becoming more necessary for professionals, creators, and gamers,” said Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder and CEO. “For the first time, we’ve engineered a solution that users can take with them. Project Valerie promises all of the functionality of three screens and none of the hassle.”

It’s only a concept at this point

Project Valerie only exists as a concept, so don’t expect to have one sitting in your messenger bag anytime soon. We got to mess around with a working prototype (hands-on to come) and it was very clear things are in the early stages. You’d expect that from a laptop with three 4K screens. But it showed a lot of promise and it’s friggin’ cool as hell in-person.

Other potential specs weren’t revealed by Razer, although the company did mention the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080, which would also make Valerie VR-reader.

The monstrous Acer laptop we saw, while expensive, is fathomable and something that can exist. Razer’s Project Valerie is an enigma, a crazy concept that has no business existing—yet Razer believes it can make it work. Whether it becomes a product consumers can buy is another matter entirely. If it does exist one day, you can bet it won’t be cheap.

Can you imagine someone using this thing on an airplane? I would not want to sit next to that person.

Razer’s Project Ariana bathes your room in gaming bliss

In addition to unveiling its three-monitor Frankenstein laptop, Razer this week also introduced Project Ariana, a projection system the company says is designed for total immersion gaming. I got to see a live demo of the concept here at CES, and it’s as cool as it sounds.

Project Ariana is meant to complement your existing Razer setup, taking advantage of the company’s Chroma platform to completely cover your room in your favorite games. Razer showed off a demo of Shadow Warrior 2, which looks incredible on its own. But when used in conjunction with Ariana, the experience is elevated to the next level.

The whole goal is to tap into Chroma and provide ambience for the experience in front of you. In the Ariana demo room, the main focus was on the TV mounted on the wall. Once Ariana was turned on, the projector’s 155-degree fisheye lens bathed the entire wall with Shadow Warrior 2.

Seeing Ariana in action gave off the impression that the game had escaped from beyond the TV’s borders. Playing a game like Shadow Warrior 2, which is fast paced and action-oriented, worked perfectly with Ariana, providing an immersive experience you can’t get with a normal setup.

Although Ariana projects at 4K, seeing images stretched across a wall looked about as good as you’d expect. Which is to say, not amazing but not bad. The whole point of Ariana is to immerse gamers in the game in front of them, and it certainly succeeds at doing that.

You’ll need the right setup

How much a person gets out of Ariana will really depend on what their setup is like at home. In the demo, Razer set up a desk with a PC about ten feet in front of a TV, with Ariana mounted directly above the desk. There were also lights set up around the room that used Razer’s Chroma technology, adding to the overall experience.

“This is the future of Razer Chroma as we see it,” said Razer co-founder and CEO Min-Liang Tan. “We are working toward new video projection technology designed to place users in their games for total gaming immersion. Having a game literally surround a gamer completes the entire ecosystem of gaming, bridging the sensor gap between player and game.”

If you’re not quiet sold on the whole VR thing, Ariana might be a worthwhile alternative. You get a similar level of immersion without strapping a bulky headset to your face. But that’s assuming Razer turns Ariana into a product consumers can buy.

Right now, the company wants to gauge how much interest there is in the concept. If consumers demand it, we might see it released at some point in the future. Based on what I saw, I wouldn’t mind having one of these in my living room the next time I play Outlast. Oh god, that sounds terrifying.