HyperX, HP's peripherals brand, is launching a new line of cutetastic keycaps, headset stands, microphone holders and other personality-driven accessories that are manufactured using the company's industrial-strength Jet Fusion 580 3D printers. The new line of "personalized" accessories will be known as HX3D, with the first accessory, a Cozy Cat keycap, available for $19.99 on HyperX.com later this month.
At HP's pre-CES demo, we got to take a look at number of sample keycaps, headset stands, headset clip-ons and other models that may or may not be available for sale at some point. Most of them had a very cutesy design, with bright pastel colors and the shapes of adorable cartoonish animals such as rubber ducks or unicorns.
Some of the sample accessories also looked like skeletons or demons. But they were still cutesy in a Hello Kitty sortof way.
The Cozy Cat itself is an adorable 3D cartoon cat with a blue, snow-flake scarf that's adorned with the HyperX logo. You definitely wouldn't want to do any serious typing with this keycap, but maybe you could place it on the Esc key or one of those Scroll lock keys you never use.
HyperX announced that it plans to have limited-time keycap sales like the one with the Cozy Cat throughout the year. It also released a YouTube video that shows some of the sample accessories in action, including a headset add-ons, stands and keycaps.
The company says it will be working with designers and esports personalities to come up with more fun accessories to sell. But despite what HyperX says in its press materials these don't really "take hardware personalization to a new level," because while they allow you to decorate your gear, they aren't unique to each consumer; they just are whatever the company chooses to sell.
The fact that these HX3D products are manufactured by 3D printers is interesting, but not particularly relevant to the consumer who buys them. HyperX told us that it is using HP Jet Fusion 580 Color 3D printers and printing the accessories in nylon. These printers cost around $50,000 new (or $32,000 used on eBay) so it's not like you could 3D print these models at home with the same quality. Also, HyperX has not revealed any plans to share the design files it's using so, even if you have one of the best 3D printers for consumers, you couldn't attempt to make one of these accessories at home.
Finally, it's clear that HyperX isn't printing these accessories to order, but just making them in these limited edition batches. So whether your keycaps is made in a mold or on a 3D printer doesn't really change anything for you. If you could design your own HyperX accessory online and then have it printed for you, then this would be a really unique and interesting use of the technology.
HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Mice
If you're looking for a lightweight gaming mouse, HyperX has two new choices coming in the Pulsefire Haste 2 and Pulsefire Haste 2 Wireless. The Haste 2 (wired) tips the scales at just 53 grams and uses a special 26K DPI sensor, along with an 8,000 Hz polling rate.
Designed to compete with the best wireless mice, the Haste 2 Wireless is slightly heavier at 62 grams but has the same 26,000 DPI sensor. It can connect via 2.4 GHz wireless, Bluetooth 5.0 or USB-C. Its 370 mAh battery lasts up to 100 hours on a charge.
Both mice are available in black or white colorways and have built-in RGB lighting you can control via software. They use PFTE skates that are intended to provide a smooth glide.
The Pulsefire Haste 2 and Haste 2 Wireless will be available in April for $59 and $79 respectively.
HyperX Clutch Gladiate Xbox Controller
HyperX is also coming out with its own wired Xbox controller called the Clutch Gladiate. This controller has rear buttons you can remap, textured grips, a 3.5mm audio jack and two trigger locks. It will launch in March for $34.
