Razer is attempting to "redefine compact gaming systems" with the Tomahawk, a modular desktop PC dedicated to Intel's NUC 9 Extreme Kit (or Ghost Canyon NUC). The appeal of Tomahawk is that it can be assembled into a gaming PC in a very short time. That is, in less than a minute.

"A perfect fit for the Intel NUC 9 Extreme Compute Element, the Razer Tomahawk N1 is a sleek, compact desktop enclosure with an advanced modular layout, injecting Razer's minimalist design language into a gaming enclosure Razer explains, "By injecting Razer's minimalist design language into the Tomahawk N1, we have created a one-of-a-kind desktop chassis that can deliver high clock speeds and frame rates without the bulkiness of a full-size desktop.

When Razer calls this a modular design, it immediately evokes memories of Project Christine, an ambitious modular gaming PC concept presented at CES 2014. Presumably, Project Christine is still only a concept, and Razer's website pages are littered with renderings rather than actual product photos.

To be clear, Tomahawk is not an updated version of Project Christine, nor does it exist solely as a set of renderings; Tomahawk by itself is a showcase case for Intel's flashy new NUC. But it's a bargain: Razer tells The Verge that it will be offered as a full turnkey system with a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, a GeForce RTX 20 series GPU, and a 512GB SSD, starting at $2,300 in June.

It will also be offered as a standalone product supporting up to a Core i9 processor, 64GB of RAM, and a GeForce RTX 2080 Super graphics card. With the exception of the graphics card, all core components are provided via NUC in all configurations, making it very quick and easy to build a PC around the Tomahawk desktop.

By quick, we mean much faster than building a traditional PC. Gizmodo has demonstrated assembling a fully configured Tomahawk in about 30 seconds; the NUC 9 Extreme is almost an entire PC in itself, so no big deal. All the user has to do is select the NUC, choose the GPU, plug both into the Tomahawk's PCI Express slots, and plug in the power cable. Then slide the assembly into the Tomahawk's aluminum chassis and the build is complete.

Assembling the PC is as easy as this. Of course, there are trade-offs, such as the limited number of components to choose from and the lack of much visual customization. Also, no one knows how the cooling will work. On top of that, the price tag of $2,300 or more could be a bottleneck.

Ultimately, it will be a niche product, but for those who are hesitant to build a full-fledged desktop from a pile of parts, Tomahawk offers a compromise between doing so or jumping into the off-the-shelf world. Nevertheless, we will have to wait and see how well this product is received.