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Stack your own modular computer with the Acer Revo Build Series

Swappable, stackable, component modules make up a very flexible desktop PC.

Dan Ackerman Editorial Director / Computers and Gaming
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications. "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
Expertise I've been testing and reviewing computer and gaming hardware for over 20 years, covering every console launch since the Dreamcast and every MacBook...ever. Credentials
  • Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
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Dan Ackerman
2 min read

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Acer

The idea of a modular PC, where different sections and components can be swapped out quickly and easily, has been talked about for a long time, without ever being commercially viable. Acer is taking a new stab at the idea with its Revo Build Series, a stackable set of PC parts that come together to form a small desktop computer.

The Revo line was previously Acer's living-room-friendly mini-desktop, useful for home theater or small office use, and we gave the 2015 version of the Acer Revo One a very positive review as a Mac Mini alternative.

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Acer

The new version of the Revo, called the Revo Build Series, starts as a base unit just under five inches (125mm) square. The base unit would contain the CPU and motherboard, with stacking units (each sold separately) adding hard drives, ports and other features. The idea is to just pick the units you want, and skip anything you don't need. For now, the blocks, as Acer calls them, will start with hard drives at launch, with speaker/microphone, wireless charging and other blocks rolling out after.

If this sounds familiar, it's because we've seen similar takes before, such as Razer's Project Christine prototype and Lenovo's more practical ThinkPad Stack accessories.

The modular Acer Revo Build Series desktop

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The Acer Revo Build Series is built around Intel Pentium and Celeron CPUs, with up to 8GB of RAM (but that's built into the base, and you can't yet add more by just stacking another block on top). The blocks connect via a magnetic/electrical pin connection, so there's nothing to plug in, you just stack them and they link up.

There's no US date or price for the Revo Build Series yet, but Acer says it will come to Europe in October, starting at €199, which converts to about $233 USD, £145 and AU$317.

Catch all the electronics news from this week's show in Berlin.