Gaming Hardware News Round-Up April 2023 Part 2
Over the past few weeks, a few items of news have popped up regarding gaming hardware news. I can’t cover everything, so feel free to share any hardware news you think everyone needs to be aware of in the comments below.
KontrolFreek No-Slip Thumb Grips
First, KontrolFreek announced the next generation of thumb grips for gamers. The new No-Slip Thumb Grips are available in a variety of colors and sold in packs of 4 pairs. These thumb grips are designed to help improve your grip, decrease hand fatigue, and improve accuracy with your favorite controllers. You can grab your own No-Slip Thumb Grips from KontrolFreek’s site and select retailers for $12.99 for each pack.
HyperX ChargePlay Quad 2 Joy-Con Charging Station
Meanwhile, HyperX announced the ChargePlay Quad 2 Joy-Con Charging Station. Available now through HyperX’s site for $29.99, this charging station allows you to charge up to four Joy-Con at a time in less than four hours. It comes with a 2m USB-C-USB-A cable and the base is rubberized and weighted for improved security. The LED light indicates the charge status for each Joy-Con docked in it. I personally love the PokeBall design.
Drop + The Lord of the Rings Mordor Artisan Keycap
Next, Drop has announced three new artisan keycaps for fans of The Lord of the Rings. Based on The Eye of Barad-dûr, Morgul Fellbeast, and Sauron The Dark Lord, these keycaps will add more Mordor to your favorite mechanical keyboards. Dwarf Factory has handcrafted these keycaps from Resin to be compatible with Cherry MX switches and clones. You can pre-order your favorite of these keycaps now for $55 each with an expected release date of August 2023.
PDP Peripherals
PDP announced a few new peripherals for Xbox and Nintendo Switch fans that are all available to pre-order now from PDP’s site. The Afterglow Wave Wired Controller for Xbox offers millions of color combinations that can be customized to meet your needs and comes with an 8-foot USB-C cable to let you sit back a ways from the TV. Meanwhile, the REMATCH controller for Nintendo Switch is available with some awesome new designs including Breath of the Wild, Peach, and Mario. There are also some cool Switch cases with the same designs. Finally, the new AIRLITE Wired Headset offers a noise-canceling microphone and pairs perfectly with the REMATCH controllers that let you plug in your favorite 3.5mm headset directly into them instead of running a cable all the way to your Switch.
XGIMI MoGo 2 and MoGo 2 Pro
XGIMI has launched the new MoGo 2 and MoGo 2 Pro projectors starting at $399 on their website and your favorite retailers. These projectors provide images of 720p (MoGo 2)/1080p (MoGo 2 Pro) with a brightness up to 300 ISO lumens. The MoGo 2 Pro is the first XGIMI projector with ISA 2.0 tech for uninterrupted automatic keystone correction and autofocus for a smoother experience for users. I’ve really enjoyed the Horizon Pro projector with similar features and so if you don’t mind a lower resolution and saving money, this could very well be worth it.
Acer Laptops, Desktops, & Monitors
Finally, Acer had their Spring Global Press Conference with some incredible news! There was the reveal of the Predator Orion X gaming desktop that goes up to an i9-13900KS CPU and RTX 4090 GPU, the 44.5” Nitro XZ452CU V curved gaming monitor with a 32:9 aspect ratio and 165Hz refresh rate, Predator X34 V curved 34” OLED monitor with 175Hz refresh rate, eco-friendly Vero laptops and projectors, and various new gaming laptops (Predator Triton 17 X, Predator Helios Neo 16, Predator Triton 14) with the biggest one for me being the Predator Helios 3D 15. This uses SpatialLabs’ stereoscopic 3D to your laptop. The laptop can be configured with up to an i9-13900HX and RTX 4080 with tons of RGB lighting and back vents to keep it from overheating. A couple of months ago, I shared my newfound appreciation for the Nintendo 3DS and talked about how my opinion changed from not liking the 3D in it to really liking it and now Acer is working to bring the technology to PC gaming. It has me pumped!