The Consumer Electronics Show gives us the newest, weirdest, shiniest tech every year. It isn't really gaming-focused but since gaming has a lot to do with tech, we get to preview a lot of cool gaming toys. Here's our list of the coolest stuff from this year.
Although VR hasn't really seen the adaption it needs for more and more developers to get involved to really make the tech more mainstream, it didn't stop HTC from creating an even better version of HTC Vive, which was already the best VR headset available in the market today. It rocks a 2880x1600 resolution dual AMOLED screen, which is about 78% sharper than the original. No doubt you'd need a beefy rig to run this thing at its full potential. The headset itself is said to be more ergonomic, making it more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. The HTC Vive Pro also comes with built-in headphones with surround 3D spatial audio.
This isn't the first surface charging mouse, but it is the first one from Razer. And since it's Razer, they had to have Chroma.
The Razer Mamba Hyperflux charges as you use it on mousepad. Unlike the Logitech PowerPlay, the Mamba doesn't charge batteries in the mouse. The Mamba Hyperflux takes 100% of its power from the mousepad. There are pros and cons to this system. It does make for a lighter mouse since it won't need heavy rechargeable batteries but you can't use the Hyperflux with any other regular surface.
NVidia's Big Format Gaming Display
This one particularly made me super excited for the future. So, currently, I don't think most PC users would have a rig powerful enough to make use of this display, but it's great that it's already here. That means graphics in the future are all set for high resolution, high refresh rate, and G Sync. Also by the way, I can't live without G Sync anymore.
It is 65 inches big, in 4K resolution, with 120Hz refresh rate, 1,000 Nits HDR, ultra-low latency, and NVidia SHIELD built-in. Acer, ASUS, and HP are partners manufacturing these BFGDs in the future.
So, these cloud computing streaming services aren't new. PlayStation has a similar service called PlayStation Now. Major difference with this is that the rig that you'll virtually be using is NVidia's latest and greatest cards working over your woefully underpowered laptop with integrated graphics. You can turn any potato laptop (well not any, there are requirements, but they're low) into a beastly gaming machine as long as you have a display that can make full use of it.
You will need a beefy 25mbps connection, but they recommend 50mbps. That pretty much means countries and areas with poor internet are out of luck. If you do have internet fast enough, you'll need a wired ethernet connection or a crazy powerful WiFi router.
Corsair K63 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard
A wireless mechanical keyboard isn't new. Logitech has one but the Corsair K63 includes backlighting, which I guess is a must for gaming now. The backlight isn't RGB, just available in one color. I think for now, they have blue, which they call "Ice Blue." The keys are Cherry MX Reds, which means you get nice tactile feedback.
Since it's wireless, people worry about latency. Latency's gotten a lot better since the advent of wireless tech. Corsair claims you can do 1ms response time, which is pretty damn good. You can use it with a USB cable while charging it, so you can use it wired if you want to. Plus it can last you about 15 hours, which isn't terrible but I imagine will get annoying if you have to keep plugging it in every other day.
HyperX Cloud Flight Wireless Headset
HyperX is the default answer on any forum when you ask which gaming headphones are best bang for the buck. I am willing to bet money on this. Go to any forum or Facebook group or whatever and ask which gaming headset you need to get, at least 30% of all responses will be HyperX. So we know that HyperX audio gaming gear is top notch. And now they're going wireless. With my experience, if it works well, wireless headphones are just fantastic. Not having something weighing down on your head feels so free. Oh and it works on PS4 and PC, too.
Corsair Dark Core SE Wireless Mouse and Qi Charging Pad
I think standardization is the right way to do things all the time. This is why I think Android phones are more accessible with 3.75 headphone jacks and mini USB and USB type C ports. When it comes to wireless charging, Qi is very quickly becoming the industry standard. And this is why the Corsaid Dark Core SE Wireless Mouse is amazing. It can be charged on any Qi charger and its Qi charging pad can charge anything compatible with Qi charging like the Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge. So besides it being a high spec mouse, it can do all these other charging things. It's amazing.
It's a PC built into a high end display. Holy lord. The display itself is an ultra-wide 34" 3440x1440 resolution 60Hz Samsung screen. It's essentially your case built into your display. If you're thinking "okay big whoop, Apple did that years in 1998!" But you gotta remember that this OMNI Gaming desktop is high-spec, fully upgradeable gaming PC. Out of the box, it comes with an ITX motherboard (from a number of manufacturers), an Inteli3, i5, or i7 8600 CPU, a GTX 1050 Ti all the way up to 1080, up to 32GB RAM, up to 2TB SSD or 2TB M.2. It is INSANE! Might cost you an arm and a leg, but damn it's pretty cool.
I've always felt like having multi-monitor displays was way too jarring with space between monitors. I mean, I'll never have that problem because I can't ever afford multiple monitors. But for those who do have many monitors, this is a godsend.
The AEOLUS Box is a little piece of hardware you put into your case, which allows you to control the speed and the RGB lighting effects of various Gamdias peripherals such as the AEOLUS P1 line of fans or the CHIOME M1-240C Liquid Cooler. Once you plug all these fans into the box, you can control them all simultaneously, which means you can put on a Vegas-like light show if you really wanted to. Those and other RGB-capable items from Gamdias are going to be available worldwide starting March, 2018.
Do you have any favorites? Let us know in the comments!