Tango ''Super PC'' Brings PC Gaming To Your Pocket
Over on Kickstarter, there's a project called Tango that seeks to cram a gaming PC into a smartphone form factor. The project has already blown past its original goal of $100,000, earning just over $101,000 thanks to 243 backers at the time of this writing.
The group behind the Kickstarter project claims that Tango will replace multiple desktops used in homes and offices, replace home theater PCs, gaming consoles, and set-top-boxes like Apple TV and Roku. By having only one device, the team believes that it will save customers money in the long run, both hardware-wise and with software.
Ok, so what's in this thing? Glad you asked. The processor is an AMD A6-5200 quad-core APU with Radeon HD 8400 graphics. This chip is backed by 2 GB to 8 GB of DDR3-1600 laptop memory, and an mSATA interface for an SSD (32 GB and higher). The device is compatible with any operating system used by laptops including Windows 8/7, Chrome OS, and Linux. Windows 7 and Windows 8 Pro will be the certified platforms.
The specs show that Tango measures 125 x 80 x 13.5 millimeters, and weighs around 200 grams with the memory and SSD already installed. The device ships with a docking port that includes one DisplayPort connection, three USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, an Ethernet port, internal Wi-Fi and a headphone/microphone combo jack.
"We moved the bulky connectors, the bulky fan and the bulky heat sink into the docking port," reads the Kickstarter page. "Then we took the motherboard, miniaturized it, and packed it in this small PC. We ensured Tango to be user-upgradable. Open two screws, and plug in the 8 gig RAM and up to 1 terabyte SSD – the standard off-the-shelf components. It's that simple."
The docking station includes a heatsync, a fan that pulls the heat off the main Tango PC, and a means to recharge the device. The PC portion includes the CPU, the memory, storage and battery.
"We have worked for over 2 years to make this technology work," the Kickstarter page reports. "We do not foresee scalability issues because we have worked actively to ensure that it is solved first hand before we even had a working prototype. We have a relationship with the world's top 10 ODM to deliver a reliable product with manufacturing volumes that can scale. The electronics for Tango is built by them. The mechanical components manufacturing and assembly will be done [by] reputed manufacturers in Asia."
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To see what the Tango Super PC is all about, head here.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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DarkSable Well it's pretty cool, but a gaming pc it's not...Reply
And I would like to see what issues their custom motherboard has before I buy one. -
BleedingEdgeTek Running an A6 and wants to replace game consoles? Yeah, no. This will be good for 20-30 FPS with absolute minimal settings at 720p maybe.Reply -
TechyInAZ A good performing PC yes! But, a gaming pc, surely not. Playing games at low settings isn't a true gaming pc.Reply -
Yanto10 not even close to a gaming pc, but you never know with time. Other companies are already making similar steps into extremely compact devices, so I wonder this will compete.Reply -
WithoutWeakness ReplyRunning an A6 and wants to replace game consoles? Yeah, no. This will be good for 20-30 FPS with absolute minimal settings at 720p maybe.
They have a demo on their Kickstarter page showing a short clip of Battlefield 4 running at 1024x768 resolution at 20-25 FPS at what I would assume is Low settings. The Xbox 360 runs Battlefield 4 at 1280x688 resolution and is locked at 30 FPS. This is certainly not something I would recommend to someone as a gaming machine for $450+ when you can get so much more power for your dollar building a SFF machine. -
drapacioli The hell is this? Surely no gaming rig, that's for sure. I certainly hope those 246 backers aren't expecting to be able to play modern games on that thing, maybe it'll work as an expensive media server?Reply -
applegetsmelaid If I can join this to the domain and have my workstation in my pocket, this will be awesome for me.Reply -
ferooxidan Isn't there something like this already about pocket pc with better spec, i3 - i5 or something? but with no gpu of course. called X - what or something I forgot. and also, isn't Project Tango is one of Google project name?Reply -
hotwire_downunder I think they got something good here but may be missing the mark with their target audience.Reply
They should probably extend the platform to a 8" tab and they would have a good contender to compete against a device like the Dell Venue 8 Pro... So it should really be a x86 tab with decent graphics capabilities.. with the correct dock, that would make it a killer Laptop replacement.
Also I don't really understand how you can have decent portable computing performance when you are leaving your cooling elements on the dock?