Computex 2018 showcased a bright, RGB-lit future for the PC

With all the developer conferences done and dusted, Computex 2018 at Taipei showed off the bleeding edge in computer hardware, and the future looks to be lit in RGB

Computex traditionally does not create as big a splash as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) or the Mobile World Congress (MWC). Perhaps in some part due to the diminishing role of the home computer, or even its changing definition, as the recent advertisement for the Apple iPad pointed out.

True PC nerds will find something worth getting excited about at the expo, and for everyone else, Taipei usually serves up an indication of what will power our devices in the years to come.

Based on the announcements made, here is what the PC of the future will look like. Fair warning, there is a LOT of RGB lighting.

Cooler Master MasterCase

The guys at Cooler Master have been at the computer case building business for a while, so rest assured they know what they are doing. With the latest MasterCase 500M, the company is offering PC builders even more versatility. The case can use tempered glass covers or a mesh implementation depending on how much airflow is required, and has a ton of glass covers to show off the components within, besides a couple of RGB fans. There are removable covers that allow builders to show off the parts they want to and cover up those they do not. The case also features an arm to support longer video card so they do not put too much strain on the motherboard.

RGB memory and cables

So you have that drool-worthy Master Case. Now to put stuff worth showing off inside. If Computex had a message, it was that your hardware is only as good as the number of colours it can light up in. Gigabyte and G.Skill have you covered in that department, with G.Skill's RGB Trident Z Royal offering and Gigabyte's Aorus RGB RAM leading the charge this year. The former offers more than a sweet face with speeds up to 5GHz, while the latter adds some visual aesthetic, throwing in two fake RAM sticks with lights in a 32GB (2X16GB) setup to make it look like you have four RAM sticks installed. And if all this lighting still leaves a grey hole in your heart, Lian Li has introduced an RGB Motherboard power connector cable. Go find that rainbow.

Processor power

Intel decided to celebrate its 50th anniversary with the Core i7-8086K, a hexa-core processor that happily hits 5GHz speeds without even needing to be overclocked. What's better, the company is giving away 8,086 of the processors for free through a contest. Sadly, India is not one of the eligible countries.

However, AMD came in and stole the show with the reveal of their second generation Ryzen Threadripper. Known for making high-core count processors, the company outdid itself by making a 32 core monster chip, and announcing it will release this year, leaving power users in a happy tizzy.

ROG goes mobile

Asus' Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand is famous for their high end gaming PCs laptops and peripherals, but the company has now taken a leaf out of gaming peripheral manufacturer Razer's book and launched a phone. Unlike the Razer Phone, which could be pulled out at a boardroom meeting without much issue, the ROG phone screams gaming, with a glowing ROG logo at the back, a vapour chamber cooling solution, an overclocked Snapdragon 845 processor, and a host of accessories, including a gamepad accessory, a PC dock and a second screen accessory, which converts the ROG phone into a Nintendo DS clone. The phone also gets a couple of extra ports on the side to ensure your connected accessories do not get in the way while gaming in landscape mode.