Long known for its superb mice and keyboards, Razer has been extending its reach in recent years, branching out to introduce all sorts of enthusiast-focused hardware: Tablets that game like a PC, impossibly thin and light gaming notebooks, pro earbuds (no, really), fitness bands, and even Project Christine, a crazy ambitious modular PC concept that makes swapping out components as simple as changing out lego blocks.
Now, while Project Christine strives to become more than vaporware, Razer’s taking its hardware expertise and its brand to more traditional PCs, with a new “Designed by Razer” licensing program for PC cases.
While these cases will sport Razer’s tri-headed snake logo and traditional black-and-green aesthetic, Designed by Razer is actually a licensing play. The cases are manufactured and sold by third-party case makers in conjunction with Razer’s design and engineering teams, rather than being built by Razer in-house.
First up is the NZXT H440 Razer Edition, in which NZXT’s H440 mid-tower case receives a thick coat of Razer branding: An aggressive dark design, punctuated by bits of bright green, right down to green LED port lights on the rear of the machine and a green glow emanating from the underside. There’s even an integrated power supply shroud adorned with the Razer logo, which also makes an appearance on the front of the chassis.
Otherwise, the all-steel case seems very similar to the original NZXT H440: While Razer’s H440 page boasts about its great cable management and support for water cooling and large graphics cards, all those features can also be found in NZXT’s stock case, which has an MSRP $120. Pricing for the Razer Edition has yet to be announced, though you can register to be notified when more info becomes available..
It’ll be interesting to see where the Designed by Razer line goes beyond the NZXT H440. Will the series continue to be aesthetic overhauls of existing cases, or will we see entirely new products entirely? Even if Designed by Razer evolves into a lineup of “Razer Editions,” Razer’s blessing should help serve as a signpost for cases that enthusiasts should consider, snake-clad or not—assuming that Razer’s claimed “rigorous vetting process” holds true.