BFG Interview With John Malley On Phobos

HH: Now that the Phobos has been available in various configurations for a few months, would BFG consider the product a success?

BFG: I’d say it’s quite successful so far. We were pretty nervous launching a non-do-it-yourself high end system at CES to a lot of really technical do-it-yourself hardware editors. But we were very relieved when the response was overwhelmingly positive. They understood that Phobos isn’t for everyone and that it appeals to gamers and media enthusiasts who want the best of the best and don’t want the hassle of building such a complicated system themselves with no warranty. They thought the refined case was really nice, and the touch panel was a great idea, so that reinforced to us that we may have found a place for ourselves in this market. We know that this type of high-end system is a niche market and won’t ever be a high-volume product, but that’s ok with us.



HH: Who is responsible for the design of the Phobos enclosure? Does BFG plan to sell the chassis and touch-screen separately?

BFG: We (the product and marketing teams at BFG) designed Phobos from the ground up and worked with an experienced case builder to manufacture the chassis for us. We don’t have plans to sell the chassis and touch screen separately, mostly because the system was designed as a whole unit and doesn’t really make sense outside its own ecosystem. The LCD would be essentially worthless without the custom tailored software and specific hardware it controls, as would the custom built chassis, which was specifically designed to fit up to four liquid cooled CPU / GPU radiators and the touch screen, among other components.



HH: Are smaller form factors planned or other machines targeted toward a different end user market or usage model?

BFG: We’re certainly keeping our options open toward expanding the product line if it makes sense to do so.



HH: Does BFG plan to offer AMD processor / motherboard / graphics offerings in future Phobos products? If not, does BFG's close relationship with NVIDIA have any bearing on the decision?

BFG: Good question! Our close relationship with NVIDIA certainly has a bearing on the decision. We have a long and successful relationship with our friends in green and don’t want that to change. Let’s just hope they keep wearing the performance crown for a long time!

We would like to thank John Malley for taking the time to speak with us here at HotHardware and wish him and the rest of the team at BFG Tech. the best of luck moving forward.