KFC and Cooler Master Built a Video Game Console That Keeps Your Chicken Warm

Processors, GPUs and many other computer components create waste heat as a byproduct of all of that Boolean number crunching, and we usually do our best to dissipate that heat as much as possible. Companies like Cooler Master have spent decades developing air and water cooling systems for exactly that purpose. But waste heat is inefficiency made tangible because it is energy that isn’t being used for processing. Instead of using even more power to remove that heat, why not take advantage of it? That’s the idea behind a collaboration between KFC and Cooler Master, which resulted in this wacky video game console that contains a compartment to keep your fried chicken warm.

Yes, this is a marketing stunt — one very similar to the BL6 console that was recently produced by Bud Light. The BL6 had compartments to keep your beer cans cold, while the ‘KFConsole” does the opposite to keep your Kentucky Fried Chicken warm during long gaming sessions. Like the BL6, this is being described as a “video game console,” though it is really just a PC in a very unusual case. That case is meant to resemble the classic KFC bucket or something. The gimmick is a big drawer-style compartment that can be opened to reveal a chamber where you can store your chicken. That compartment is warmed using the waste heat from the computer’s components, which is an idea that is equal parts ingenious and completely absurd.

Aside from the custom case and chicken drawer, the KFConsole is a pretty standard computer. It is built around an Intel NUC 9 Extreme board that contains an Intel Core i9-9980HK processor. A pair of 1TB PCIe NVMe Seagate BarraCuda SSDs are used for storage. The graphics card isn’t specified, but it appears to be something powerful because the KFConsole can supposedly run games at 4K 240FPS. Experienced PC gamers know that is a largely meaningless statement, as it is entirely dependent on what game you’re playing. They also say that it is “VR ready” and “supports ray-tracing,” both of which are true for all modern gaming computers. But it really doesn’t matter since the KFConsole is just a fun little marketing gimmick and only a few are likely to ever be made. Even so, we have to admit that the KFConsole grabbed our attention. Yes, it is silly but it is also fun to imagine popping open your console to grab a hot piece of fried chicken when you getting the munchies during a long gaming session.