Razer Onza Xbox 360 Controllers Announced
Razer announced its line of Xbox 360 controllers consisting of the Onza Tournament and Standard editions. Like its gaming mice, the Razer Onza Tournament Edition controller is built for hardcore gaming enthusiasts with full customization via its two adjustable resistance analog sticks. The two multifunction buttons are fully programmable for that extra edge. It also features back lit action buttons along with PC compatibility and a 15-foot braoded cable. The unit will be available for pre-order beginning January 17th, 2011 for US $49.99 / EU €49.99.
The Razer Onza Standard Edition is similar to the Tournament Edition but differs in that it lacks the adjustable resistance feature on the analog sticks. It will also be available for pre-order on January 17 for US $39.99 / EU €39.99.
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Cooler Master Announces New CM Storm Spawn Gaming Mouse
Cooler Master's CM Storm division has just announced the newest addition to its lineup, the CM Storm Spawn gaming mouse. It is designed for FPS gamers and features an ultra lightweight design along with rubber side grips. The rest of the mouse is a high-gloss red finish which Cooler Master says won't degrade over long-term use, so we will have to see how well that holds up. The Spawn mouse is designed for gamers who use the claw-grip as it features a fairly short overall length, so if you hold your mouse in the claw-grip, then this is the mouse for you. It features a 3500DPI sensor though there are two buttons to allow you to adjust it on-the-fly. The scroll wheel features an Ultra-Step Scroll Wheel Encoder which Cooler Master says allows the user to experience precise control of its motion. The left and right buttons feature high-quality Micro Switches which are good for at least five million clicks. The CM Storm Spawn also features a built-in Sentinel-X 32KB microprocessor which is used to store button configurations, macros, and a variety of other user-defined settings. There is an Anti-drift Control Sensor which should help out those who lift their mouse a lot. Cooler Master has even included an angle snapping option which should help gamers get that flick shot in on their opponents.
The CM Storm Spawn gaming mouse should be available before long though no specific date or price was announced. Cooler Master has a contest running which will allow you to win a Spawn gaming mouse, computer cases, and the ability to have your idea made into a clip for the website.
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Sapphire Releasing Two Intel Motherboards
Sapphire has been a huge factor in the graphics card world for the ATI/AMD side for ages it seems. Sure, it has had a few motherboards out every so often, including a just announced one for the new AMD Fusion platform, but today Sapphire is announcing it has two new Intel motherboards it will soon release. One of the boards will be for the X58 platform while the other will be for the new P67 platform. The X58 board will be known as the Sapphire Pure Black X58, which supports the Intel Core i7 900 series of processors. This board will be the high-end model, with support for USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps built right in. There will be the three PCI-e x16 2.0 slots with a configuration of x16/x8/x8, and one PCI-e x4 slot so adding any number of graphics cards or other add-on cards shouldn't be a problem. Audio will be of the eight channel variety though no mention was made of which codec it will be using. Component-wise, the Pure Black X58 will be using Sapphire's Diamond Black chokes in key areas on the board, much like its graphics cards, so clean and stable power should not be a problem. There are numerous signal and voltage monitoring points on the motherboard plus there will be start, reset, and BIOS reset switches present. Sapphire is even adding a version of its TriXX overclocking tool to give easy access to overclocking and performance monitoring from within Windows.
The other motherboard being launched is the Sapphire Pure Black P67 Hydra. This board runs the P67 chipset so it supports the brand-new Intel Sandy Bridge processors and shares many of the features the X58 board has. However, the P67 motherboard adds in a Lucid Hydra chip which will allow you to mix and match graphics cards to get your desired amount of gaming performance. The motherboard presumably will also use Diamond Black chokes and come with the TriXX software, though no specific mention of either was made.
Both motherboards will be launching soon, though no specific date or price was announced.
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IBM Takes on Jeopardy
IBM first put its machines against man when Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov at chess in 1997. The new computer, Watson, will be competing in Jeopardy against champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. Jennings won 74 games in a row, and Rutter tallied earning of $3.3 million. Watson was named after the founder of IBM, Thomas Watson, and has been programmed to understand natural human language. The biggest obstacle to achieving this was in understanding puns, slang, and metaphorical expressions. Watson features a large database covering a wide range of topics. A practice round was held today, and was won easily by Watson. Jennings came in second and Rutter last. The real competition will air from February 14-16. Even though Watson won the practice round, Jennings feels the computer can be beaten.
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OCZ No Longer Making Memory, Focus on SSDs
Around August of last year, OCZ announced its intentions to leave the budget RAM market and focus more on the high-end memory line since it was the most profitable. Well, now it seems OCZ is pulling out of the RAM market altogether and won't make any products after February 28th. One of the leading memory manufacturers is going to call it quits amid falling RAM prices. The timing seems right for OCZ to make the move, but this does mean that consumers are going to be without OCZ's Blade, XTE, and other high performing series. What will OCZ do in the meantime? Well, it has a rather large SSD business which is what the company will now focus on.
We (OCZ) have focused on building the OEM and enterprise segments of our business, and last month we announced a mass production order from a Tier-1 OEM for our enterprise-class SSDs, reflecting the reliability, speed and total cost of ownership solid state drives provide over traditional mechanical hard drives. We believe the market opportunity for SSDs is significant, and to that end, we will continue to invest in research and development to extend our leadership position, and we also plan to increase our sales and marketing efforts in order to facilitate continued revenue growth and increased market share as SSDs gain adoption in all segments.As you can see, the solid state storage area will be the new focus of OCZ. The SSDs it makes are some of the best around and OCZ makes more than enough of them to fit any market or demand out there. If the switch to SSDs means more variety and potentially lower prices, then I am all in favor of this move. However, with the popularity of OCZ memory, time will tell if the decision to leave that market is the right one.
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Roccat Releases Kova[+] Gaming Mouse
Roccat Studios has released its latest gaming mouse, the Kova[+]. The Kova[+] features a symmetrical, ergonomic “V-Shape”, allowing it to be used by right or left hand gamers. The mouse is equipped with seven mouse buttons, in addition to the left and right click buttons and includes a rubberised mouse wheel. It is worth noting that using Roccat’s EASYSHIFT[+] software, two functions can be assigned to each mouse button giving eight extra commands. Other features include a 3200DPI optical gaming sensor which allows a maximum speed of 130 inches per second, 30Gs of acceleration, a 1000Hz polling rate and a 2m USB cable. The mouse also offers customisable lighting and audio feedback to alert users to profile changes and DPI changes. The Roccat Kova[+] gaming mouse is priced at US$65 (50 Euros).
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Details Emerge for New Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
New details for the upcoming game from Bethesda, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, have been revealed in Game Informer. The story of the new game will take place 200 years after those in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Gamers will assume the role of the last Dragonborn, and will have to fight a dragon while the world is falling apart around them. The game will feature a new graphics engine and improved textures, draw distances, and shadows. There will also be improvements to both the first and third person views. The combat and weapon systems are also being updated, giving players the opportunity to dual wield any weapons and easily swap load-outs. The leveling system has also been reworked, and skills will be improved based on how often they are used. Gamers will be able to get their hands on the game November 11 of this year on PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.
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