CES 2013: Day 1 Highlights

Opinion
By Don Woligroski
published

From Coolers to SSDs, the annual Consumer Electronics Show truly has it all. As you've probably heard, CES 2013 is already well underway, and we've put together a roundup of some of the most notable products from yesterday's jaunt around the show floor.

Zalman Coolers And Thrustmaster Headsets & Gamepads

Zalman Reserator 3 & FX-100 Cube

At its booth, Zalman showed off its new Reserator 3 and FX-100 Cube CPU coolers.

The unique-looking FX-100 Cube is adorned in black pearl nickel plating. While this model is capable of 77W of heat dissipation with no fan whatsoever, an optional 92 mm fan is available for overclockers wanting to increase cooling performance.

The closed-loop Reserator 3 liquid cooling solution features a circular radiator and 120 mm fan, and is capable of dissipating 400W of heat.

We're eager to put both coolers to the test in our lab when they're released later this year.

Thrustmaster 250 Headsets & GPX Gamepads

Thrustmaster is jumping into gaming headsets with three new products on display.

Essentially identical, the only difference in these headsets are their target platform and coloring. The PS3 version (model 250P) is blue and black, while the Xbox 360 version (model 250X) is white and green, and the PC version (model 250C) is red and black. All three models offer the same respectably-sized 50 mm drivers, control pod, and detachable unidirectional microphone. The Thrustmaster headsets are currently selling on Amazon.com for $90.

Of course, Thrustmaster still offers gamepads, and naturally, the company had its newest GPX controllers on display.

Features include eight LEDs which indicate how much pressure the user is currently applying to the triggers, feedback-equipped analogue sticks, vibration, and a built-in headset connector. Thrustmaster is claiming that these pads are twice as precise as the competition. The GPX gamepads are available in classic black or Ferrari-branded red and white.

Don Woligroski
10 Comments Comment from the forums
  • LukeCWM
    I wonder if Turtle Beach was able to do something about the sound quality as well. I purchased a pair after reading rave reviews about the sound. Switching to the Turtle Beach headphones from my AKG is startling transition each and every time, since the Turtle Beach headphones sound so bad. If I listen to them for over an hour, I can begin to convince myself they sound better (until I listen to something else and am reminded again how bad they sound!).

    The microphone on the Turtle Beach headphones is also below par, in my opinion.
    Reply
  • Nintendo Maniac 64
    9540455 said:
    I wonder if Turtle Beach was able to do something about the sound quality as well. I purchased a pair after reading rave reviews about the sound. Switching to the Turtle Beach headphones from my AKG

    The issue is you're essentially comparing a Core i3 (Turtle Beach) to a Core i5 (AKG). Considering that AKG is seen as one of the few that can actually get within range of Sennheiser (Core i7?) when it comes to sound quality, that should tell you something.
    Reply
  • LukeCWM
    Nintendo Maniac 64The issue is you're essentially comparing a Core i3 (Turtle Beach) to a Core i5 (AKG). Considering that AKG is seen as one of the few that can actually get within range of Sennheiser (Core i7?) when it comes to sound quality, that should tell you something.
    I actually prefer AKG to Sennheiser, but that's beside the point.

    I think a more accurate analogy would be describing AKG and Sennheiser as the i7-2600k and the i7-2700k, and the Turtle Beach sounds more like a Silverthorne Atom, made in 2008. My Turtle Beach headset is just dreadful...
    Reply
  • Pyree
    Can't wait until more news for tomorrow.
    Reply
  • Hazle
    love what i'm seeing out of the Xi3, though i'm not handing out any cigars just yet. not at all impressive in hardware performance, but i'll admit it looks neat. and if valve is truly thinking of making a linux based console out of it, then i'm more in support for it. i'll probably won't buy it, but at least i won't have to dish out $90-100 for an OS the next time i do a complete overhaul of my pc if gaming with linux ever kicks off successfully.
    Reply
  • cookoy
    where are the girls of ces-2013?
    Reply
  • ojas
    Gabe Opens Up About Valve’s Own Biometric Steam Boxhttp://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/01/09/gabe-opens-up-about-valves-own-biometric-steam-box/

    cookoywhere are the girls of ces-2013?No, please no. Google it if you want, but let's keep this a tech site that cares more about tech than boobs.

    I'll treat Chris and team to virtual champagne if they avoid that "article" this year.
    Reply
  • BoredErica
    ojasGabe Opens Up About Valve’s Own Biometric Steam Boxhttp://www.rockpapershotgun.com/20 steam-box/No, please no. Google it if you want, but let's keep this a tech site that cares more about tech than boobs.I'll treat Chris and team to virtual champagne if they avoid that "article" this year....But I am tempted to talk about how horrible the keynote speech was. :)
    Reply
  • blackmancer
    LukeCWMI wonder if Turtle Beach was able to do something about the sound quality as well. I purchased a pair after reading rave reviews about the sound. Switching to the Turtle Beach headphones from my AKG is startling transition each and every time, since the Turtle Beach headphones sound so bad. If I listen to them for over an hour, I can begin to convince myself they sound better (until I listen to something else and am reminded again how bad they sound!).The microphone on the Turtle Beach headphones is also below par, in my opinion.
    so your AKG cost how much and the Turtle Beach?
    Reply
  • blackmancer
    ojasGabe Opens Up About Valve’s Own Biometric Steam Boxhttp://www.rockpapershotgun.com/20 steam-box/No, please no. Google it if you want, but let's keep this a tech site that cares more about tech than boobs.I'll treat Chris and team to virtual champagne if they avoid that "article" this year.don't give us that rubbish, don't you see how Toms potrays every stupid holiday shopping season with half naked women holding crappy tech. complain to the authors of this site!!
    Reply