12/30/11

Hardware Bonanza!

Alright so its that time of the year. One of my personally favorite times, because I can finally sit down and play with the toys I looted during the Xmas Riots. And what I wished for but didn't get... Well, I might have to buy those. But point intact; this is the time for testing it all out! Maybe Ill write some proper reviews. If I can unhook myself from Tamriel long enough.

Mouse Upgrade!
So, Santa delivered a couple of tech goodies this year. First up; a Cyborg R.A.T 9! (Thanks Mom!)


The R.A.T-series have been on my wishing list for a while now for the reason that my fingers are absolutely screwed. If you're a regular reader, you might have figured that out by now. But anyway, not only are my fingers riddled with inflammations, they're also very very small. Which doesn't really suit most of the gaming-gear presented these days. Most mice are too big, which leaves my fingers having to struggle to or simply fail at reaching some of the featured buttons and wheels.

Until now I've used the pretty featureless Logitech Performace Mouse MX, whom despite not being a gamer mouse, is pretty darn good. But it's curves are a bit too big, and the button is a bit rough to press (compared to Jerry's Razer Mamba) and I've missed a couple of features that is avaliable in the RAT9, such as the easy sensitivity switches. The pinky and thumb-rest of the RAT9 is certainly an added bonus, and the ability to change its weight is not just good for controlling it, but also for your wrist.

Might have to do a full review on it later!

Camera Level Up!
And no less then a Canon EOS 600D. (Best. Man. Ever.)

Last year we almost both bought each other a Wii. Even the same color one. This year, I asked him if we couldn't just skip that whole Christmas-gifts thing and buy ourselves a DSLR-camera instead? And then I saw his disapproving face and figured "Oh well, Ill save up for it myself". Little did I know about his plans. Evil Genius. My grandparents joined us for Christmas-dinner, and when my grampa brought out his brand new 600D I looked at it longingly, saying "Oh, that's the one I want...". I didn't see Jerry's huge grin behind my back.

Audio Upgrade!
Hopefully Ill get to play with my Christmas-gift to him as well, the wireless audiophile Sennheiser RS180. I'll have to unglue them from his head first though. Not sure how to manage that!


Keyboard Upgrade!
For a while now I've wanted a mechanical keyboard. As previously mentioned, my fingers are shite, and every little added comfort helps as much as I use the computer. The advantages of mechanical keyboards over the standard Membrane ones aren't just that every key has its own individual keyswitch mechanism, making the typing that more accurate. It is also a lot easier as a touch-typist, since you don't need to press down the button all the way -meaning reduced stress on the itsy bitsy finger-muscles. Yay!

The negative is of course that mechanical keyboards have a tendency of being louder (remember those old-school keyboards?) but the Cherry MX Red is supposed to be quite quiet. Mechanical keyboards are on full speed back into the the gaming-scene, led by Razer's Black Widow, whom uses Cherry MX Blue switches, which is strange considering Blue's are essentially a typing switch.

Eh, why am I explaining all of this? Better just get your butt over to overclock.net and check out their Mechanical Keyboard Guide. Know which switch would suit you best before buying a mechanical keyboard! Considering the costs of these badboys, looking into it might be worth it. And remember that Razer isn't the only company out there although their keyboard might be the most profiled one. (Not that their products doesn't do the trick, if I had larger hands I'd probably be using a Mamba too.)

So anyway, as a Xmas-present to myself, I just ordered Corsair's Vengeance K90 (pictured above), which uses Cherry MX Red. Its launched as a MMO/RTS Gaming Board, which explains the 18 Macro-keys on the side. I don't much care for them, although I am a MMO/RTS-gamer. The reason that I bought just that was because it's back-lit, got some nice features I wouldn't want to be without (Windows Lock button and Volume wheel), its sleek design - and well, it was on sale! Waiting for it to arrive in the mail, then I might write a proper review on that as well.

In other news, we bought my littlesister Skyrim. Yeah, she's lost.
And until next time: NO LOLLYGAGGING!

Love,
Skamta Clause