Is RGB a thing of the past? — ASUS's new ROG G1000 gaming desktop is lit up with colorful holograms

Before ASUS performed one of the best refreshes ever on its Zephyrus G14 (2024), older models featured something called "AniMe Matrix" lighting on the outside of the lid. Customizable with images, GIFs, and text, it was a neat way to give your laptop some personal flair.

AniMe Matrix may no longer be available on the ROG Zephyrus laptops — it was replaced with a Slash lighting feature — but it has now (sort of) returned to light up the new ASUS ROG G1000 gaming desktop just announced at CES 2026.

Rather than a fairly small addition based on LEDs and pinholes, the new implementation has the side and front panels of the PC lit up with full-color customizable holograms. This is achieved via spinning arrays of LEDS on the inside of the case.

ASUS is calling it "ROG AniMe Holo" this time around, and I admit that it gives the PC a stunning look. There are two separate holograms on the front, as well as another, larger hologram on the side. All can be customized to your liking, and yes, they can be disabled.

ASUS built the PC in a custom 104L case featuring three dedicated thermal sections: one for the 1000W 80+ Gold PSU, one for the main compartment with CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage, and another along the top that houses a 420mm AIO CPU cooler.

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This top chamber pulls in air from outside the case rather than inside the case, helping it keep the system cool under load. ASUS calls it an "ROG Thermal Atrium," and it's similar to what HP implemented in its flagship OMEN gaming desktops.

That's especially important considering ASUS is offering up to an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU and an NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPU, along with up to 128GB of DDR5 RAM and four M.2 SSD slots. A common disadvantage with pre-built desktop PCs is a lack of easy upgradeability, but ASUS says it uses "standard-sized components" in a case accessible without tools.

There's no word yet from ASUS regarding pricing and a release date, but I don't expect this PC to come cheap. It has some of the most expensive performance hardware inside — especially with RTX GPUs expected to cost significantly more in 2026 — and it's certainly built in anything but a plain case.

Are hologram side panels the new best way to show off your style, or are you more interested in a cleaner, more traditional look for your gaming PC? Let us know in the comments section below!

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