Keyboards & Mice VI : ROCCAT

Hi folks,

It has been a rather busy last couple of days. I haven't had a chance to write nearly as often as I'd like. However here I am.

Today I will be talking about ROCCAT Studios (www.roccat.org), a relatively new gaming peripherals company out of Germany. They are new to the American market but internationally have built quite a strong reputation with their peripherals winning multiple awards in the process. Without a doubt they are also my favorite company . Today I will be talking about the mice and keyboards that make up the product line from ROCCAT.

Mice:

ROCCAT Kone:

Sporting a 3200 DPI laser sensor, The Kone also has a TCU (Tracking Control Unit) which analyses the surface your mouse will be running on and calibrates the laser power to give you optimum performance. Features a TurboCore Unit which processes all the mouse calculations internally. 128kB internal memory to save up to five Profiles on the mouse, customizable lights and the ability to add weight to make it heavier if that is what you prefer.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 10
Maximum DPI: 3200
Price: Will update once I find it





The Kone has two more versions : Kone + and Kone Pure.

ROCCAT Kone +:

The addition of ROCCAT's Easy-Shift[+]™ button provides you with the ability to program all the buttons with two functions giving you a total of 22 functions. Also it gives you audio feedback when you change DPI, profiles, volume and sensitivity.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 8
Maximum DPI: 6000
Price: US$ 71.99 (Newegg)


ROCCAT Kone Pure:

All the goodness of Kone on a smaller mouse, The Kone Pure features and upgraded 8200 DPI Laser Sensor, Easy-Shift[+]™ and 576kB on-board memory.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 8200


ROCCAT Kova:

Designed with ease of use in mind, the Kova can be used by both left handed and right handed people and with hardware based customization you can do everything without installing any additional drivers. Use it on Windows or Mac without worry!

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 3200



ROCCAT Kova +:

With the addition of the Easy-Shift[+]™, ROCCAT Driver (For macro programming) and sound feedback. A great mouse to consider

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 3200
Price: US$ 49.99


ROCCAT Lua:

Love to game but hate having too many buttons on your mouse? Well ROCCAT has considered that and come up with a classic three button mouse to ease your concerns. Featuring an ambidextrous design and the option to switch between seven DPI settings (250, 500, 1000, 1250, 1500, 1750 and 2000) the Lua is great who desire simplicity with great performance.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 3
Maximum DPI: 2000
Price: To be determined.



ROCCAT Pyra:

The Pyra is ROCCAT's envisioning of a mobile gaming mouse. Comes in both wired and wireless flavors and features the Easy-Shift[+]™ button and the ability to save up to 5 profiles. The wireless Pyra has a USB charging cable for non stop usage.

Type: Wireless / Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 5
Maximum DPI: 1600
Price: ~ US$69 (on Amazon)

The ROCCAT Pyra Wired.













ROCCAT Savu:

The fastest optical mouse around featuring a 4000 DPI sensor, the Savu also features the Easy-Shift[+]™ button and a customizable rear light bar. Ergonomic design and built to last!

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 4
Maximum DPI: 4000
Price: US$ 69.99


Keyboards:

ROCCAT Arvo:

A compact gaming keyboard which is still big on options. Featuring three "Thumbster" keys just below the spacebar that you can set your macros on and two more macro keys. A mode switch will allow you to switch your numpad between regular numpad and gaming modes. You can also deactivate Windows, menu, caps lock and Tab keys so they dont interefere with your gaming. Price: US$ 46.99


ROCCAT Isku:

Back-lit keys, 36 Macro keys (including 3 Thumbster keys) and the ability to have the keyboard and a Kone+ mouse communicate with each other via the ROCCAT™ Talk© protocol so you can use the Easy-Shift[+]™ key on the Isku to activate macros on both the mouse and keyboard! You can also record macros in game and the Isku also has 8 configurable media keys. All around goodness! Price: US$ 68.99



ROCCAT Valo:

Featuring back-lit keys, 41 Macro keys, dedicated profile keys to switch profiles quickly and 45 additional keys in red, light blue and blue so you can customize the macro keys to your liking. the Valo is an amazming keyboard with a plethora of options. Also features 3.5mm audio sockets so you can connect a mic and headset directly to it and an additional USB 1.1 port. Price hopefully will be unveiled soon.



FINAL THOUGHTS:

ROCCAT has so many more things and upcoming projects that I can talk about but I wanted to keep this post around their mice and keyboards only. I love the styling of all ROCCAT products and the build quality is exceptional. If you are in the market for new peripherals, do yourself a favor and check them out! For my money I would go with the ROCCAT Isku and Kone + combination (though I also love the way Kova looks) as the options that these two have will fit nicely with my playing style. The Lua and Arvo are also a great combination if simplicity is what you have in mind.

That will be all for this post folks.
Kiyoshi Out!
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Keyboards & Mice V : AZiO + Epic Gear

Hey everyone!

It has been a few days since my last post. I have been busy with a few things namely a new workout routine and a some other things. Today I will talk about keyboards from AZiO Corp (www.aziocorp.com) and a mouse from Epic Gear (www.epicgear.com.) They are companies relatively new to me but their peripherals intrigued me so I wanted to feature them.

Keyboard:

AZiO Levetron:

The budget offering from AZiO comes with 10 macro keys and 3 profiles. You can manually toggle the keyboard in to gaming mode which will disable that pesky windows key and also turn on the adjustable backlight. The keyboard is rugged and a good option for anyone looking for a budget gaming keyboard.

Price : US$ 49.99






AZiO Levetron Mech4:

Featuring a modular Numeric keypad and a macro D-Pad, the Mech4 also has unlimited profiles to store all your macros, a volume knob, Cherry MX Black switch mechanical keys, water resistance, 2 USB ports and the ability to program all the keys on the keyboard

Price : Hovering between US$ 80 - 130







AZiO Levetron Mech5:

As far as I can tell, the Mech5 has the same options as the Mech4 but with a different color. If anyone knows the difference between the two, please let me know and I will update this entry accordingly.

Price : US$ 109.99









AZiO Levetron Clicker:

The budget mechanical offering from AZiO. A very good reliable keyboard that you can consider if you are on a budget but still want a mechanical keyboard. Features 18 Key rollover, laser printed keycaps and rubber coated WASD and arrow keys.

Price : US$ 59.99








Mouse:

EpicGear Meduza:

Featuring a Hybrid Dual Sensor Technology (equipped with both an optical and a laser sensor so you can either or shift it into HDST mode.) Features a thumb and an index finger rest, ringer finger support and pinkie grip for great grip and comfort.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser + Optical
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 6000
Price: US$ 69.99


Thoughts:

You could pair the Meduza with the Clicker for a very good budget friendly choice or go all out and get the Mech5 keyboard. Either way, I will be happy.

That folks wraps it up for this post. It is a small one but with my new schedule I have to do a lot of things that I must do.

Kiyoshi Out!
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Crazed KarachiDevil/Kiyoshi Build

So I have gone a little crazy over the past few days and came up with an equally crazy build. Followers will know that I have two main cateogires in which I split my builds: KarachiDevil Builds (High Performance) and Kiyoshi Builds (Budget.) What if you want both? A system that is both High Performance AND Budget? So this is what I came up with (Warning: It isn't what you think but still go ahead and read it ^_^)

CASE:

AZZA Fusion 4000 (http://azzatek.com)

MB Compatibility: XL-ATX, E-ATX, Full ATX, Micro ATX and ITX
External 5.25": 8
External 3.5": 4
Internal 3.5": 8
Expansion Slots: 10
Dimensions: 30.7" x 10.2" x 24"
Price: US$ 264.99

A giant of a case, the Fusion 4000 can support two systems inside the case which run concurrently or individually. I think you know where I am going with this ^_^






SYSTEM 1:

CPU:

Intel Core i5-3570K (www.intel.com)

Core Clock: 3.4 GHz
Turbo: 3.8 GHz
4-Core, 4-Thread
L3 Cache: 6MB
L2 Cache: 4 x 256KB
Price: US$ 229.99

The Ivy Bridge replacement for the Core i5-2500K. Every bit as good though runs a bit hot on overclocking. Still a great buy if you are building a new system or looking to build an Ivy Bridge Computer.








MOTHERBOARD:

Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H (www.gigabyte.us)

Max Memory : 32GB
PCI-E 3.0 x16 : 3
PCI-E x1 : 3
SATA Connectors : 4 x SATA II, 5 x SATA III
Dimensions : 12.0" x 9.6"
Price : US$ 189.99

One of the most popular boards from Gigabyte and one of the best ones out there. Buy it!





VIDEO CARD:

Gigabyte GTX 670 (www.gigabyte.us)

Interface : PCI-E 3.0 x16
Core Clock : 980MHz
Boost Clock : 1058MHz
CUDA Cores : 1344
Memory : 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
Dimensions : 11" x 5.4" x 1.7"
Price: US$ 399.99

One of the best GTX 670's money can buy. Another solid offering from Gigabyte.




SOUND CARD:

ASUS Xonar DGX (www.asus.com)

Price : US$ 39.99

One of the best cards you can find at this price. I wanted to mix things up and show some other cheaper sound cards you can buy that are also pretty decent. This one is capable of 5.1 Surround Sound.












RAM:

Kingston HyperX Predator (www.kingston.com)

Capacity : 2 x 8GB
Speed : 1600
Voltage : 1.65V
Price : US$ 47.99

A great heat sink, an awesome gaming RAM and legendary reliability, what more could you ask for ?





POWER SUPPLY:

AZZA 750W (www.azzatek.com)

Max Power : 750W
Active PFC
PCI-E Connectors : 4 x 6+2-Pin
SATA Connectors : 8
Fully Modular
80+ Platinum Certified
Price : US$ 159.99

A great 80+ Platinum modular power supply for a good price. Azza PSU for a Azza case ^_^









AIR COOLING:

Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler (www.noctua.at)

A giant beast of a cooler. Awesome cooling capability. I unfortunately don't know about whether it will interfere with the seating of the RAM because it is pretty massive so you might want to get a low profile RAM or take the heat sink off which is not the best of ideas. However with a big enough board, it is worthy of your consideration. If all else fails Cooler Master Hyper 212 is always there to the rescue. I just wanted to feature something a little different ^_^

Price : US$ 89.99







HARD DRIVES:

Samsung 830 Series (www.samsung.com)

Capacity : 128GB
Interface : SATA III
Max Sequential Read : 520 MB/s
Max Sequential Write : 320 MB/s
Price : US$ 99.99

Not one of the fastest SSDs out there but definitely one of the most reliable and competitively priced. Look it up, buy it and enjoy it.










Seagate Barracuda (www.seagate.com)

Capacity : 1TB
Interface : SATA III
RPM : 7200
Cache : 32MB
Price : US$ 99.99

A very good, decently priced hard-drive from Seagate. Buy it already!











OPTICAL DRIVE:

LG Black Blu-Ray Burner (www.lg.com)

BD-R Write Speed : 14X
BD-R DL : 12X
DVD +R/-R : 16X
Price : US$ 59.99

A cheap, stable and fast Blu-Ray Burner. Get it while the getting is good.












So that, my friends is the first system inside this massive case. The second system will be a mini-ITX one so here it goes.

SYSTEM 2:

CPU:

Intel Core i3-3220

Core Clock : 3.3 GHz
2-Core, 4-Thread
L3 Cache : 3MB
Price : US$ 129.99

A budget processor worthy of your consideration. It will not have the power to tackle high processor intensive applications but should do fine for everyday tasks and light gaming.









MOTHERBOARD:

ASRock H77M-ITX (www.asrock.com)

Max Memory : 16GB
PCI-E 2.0 x16 : 1
SATA Connectors : 2 x SATA II, 2 x SATA III
Dimensions : 6.7" x 6.7"
Price : US$ 99.99

A great mini-ITX motherboard from ASRock. Give it a go!






VIDEO CARD:

You can skip it and go with on board video on this one.

SOUND CARD:

You can skip it and go with on board audio on this one.

RAM:

G.Skill (www.gskill.com)

Capacity : 2 x 2GB
Speed : 1333
Voltage : 1.5V
Timing : 8-8-8-21
Price : US$ 29.99

A great little RAM for a great little price.







POWER SUPPLY:

Rosewill Stallion (www.rosewill.com)

Max Power : 450W
PCI-E Connector : 1 x 6-Pin
SATA Connectors : 4
Price : US$ 34.99

You can find cheaper ones but this is a nice stable power supply at a modest price.








AIR COOLING:

Stock heatsink will do nicely

HARD DRIVES:


Samsung 830 Series (www.samsung.com)

Capacity : 128GB
Interface : SATA III
Max Sequential Read : 520 MB/s
Max Sequential Write : 320 MB/s
Price : US$ 99.99

Not one of the fastest SSDs out there but definitely one of the most reliable and competitively priced. Look it up, buy it and enjoy it.










How about a SSD only build this time around?

OPTICAL DRIVE:

Any dvd-burner you want ^_^

TOTAL:

US$ 2077.84

THOUGHTS:

As you may now have gathered it has one KarachiDevil build and one Kiyoshi build inside of it. The Azza Fusion 4000 can actually house a mini ITX system and a regular system. It might be able to fit both a mini-ITX and XL-ATX but since I have yet to see it in person and try it for myself, I featured an ATX build aside it. As I said a crazy but fun build. I would envision using the mini-ITX for a Linux system and the other system for gaming. They can both operate simultaneously which is kind of cool.

Well that is it for this rather lengthy post.

Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading. 

KARA - PANDORA (판도라)

On the heels of the last post comes this one. The reason? Simple this one is all about KARA! They have been one of my favorites for as long as I have been listening to KPOP ( and I have been around since the 90's.) Their newest song is Pandora and you can check out the video below. They came out with a complete new image and a very strong electronic music presence. I really like the new direction they have taken as I feel music is at it's best when it is experimental. You may get big hits and big misses but on the whole, the art of music progresses. KARA's fifth Mini Album is titled Pandora.

On a side note, Goo Hara has changed so completely that I almost did not recognize her at first!

The Goo Hara that I always knew

The new Goo Hara!

(This Image was taken from http://jkjhy.deviantart.com/art/Goo-Hara-2-323259519)

The Image change is drastic in her case. She looks like a completely different person. KPop artists change their image with the release of every new album but I do not think I have seen such a complete transformation.

I like the new song quite a bit and that is mostly because of the heavy electronic influence. I am a big Trance/Techno buff so it was with great delight that I heard this song. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Kiyoshi Out!
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Keyboards & Mice IV: Mad Catz

Note: This is my 50th post! YAY! Thank you everyone who has stuck around with me and read all my posts. I love writing about all things PC and as such would like to thank you for your continued patronage and things will only go up from here. As you have no doubt noticed, I have started talking about KPOP as well. Look out for more future posts on KPOP, JPOP and other things as well ^_^

Really? Mad Catz? Don't they make console peripherals? Well as you may or may not know, one of the most popular mice as of late was made by Mad Catz (www.madcatz.com) under their brand Cyborg. Mad Catz has a couple of brands which create different things. They have Saitek (www.saitek.com) which creates flight simulator peripherals, general purpose mice and keyboard, Tritton (www.trittonaudio.com) which has gaming audio peripherals,  Cyborg (www.cyborggaming.com), PC Gaming peripherals and accessories and finally Eclipse (www.eclipsetouch.com/) which creates some cool looking mice, keyboard, USB external video cards and a USB docking station.

The two maind brands which have PC Gaming equipment are Saitek and Cyborg so today's post will cover them. However you are welcome to go to the other websites and see the other cool options Mad Catz offers.

Mice:

SAITEK:

GM 3200:

A 3200DPI laser sensor with four stage on-the-fly sensitivity adjustment, six programmable buttons, adjustable wright and the ability to switch between two pre-configured profiles during games. This is a good mouse with pulsating light effects. Built to last.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 6 Programmable
Maximum DPI: 3200
Price: US$ 49.99 (Found it on a review website but cannot find reliable pricing anywhere else)


GM 2400:

A 2400DPI smaller brother minus the light effects. Only the fly DPI adjustments and ergonomic design.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 6
Maximum DPI: 2400
Price: ~US$ 39.99 Again cannot find reliable pricing so the price I found may be way of the mark. Sorry  :-(




CYBORG:

R.A.T. 3:

A very unique looking mouse that can feel very natural and easy to use if you try it. It has a 3500 DPI optical sensor, four user-definable DPI settings, three "CYBORG" modes which means you can set three profiles for sensitivity and programmable button actions and it has three programmable buttons. The least feature-rich R.A.T mouse in the lineup.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 5
Maximum DPI: 3500
Price: US$ 59.99




R.A.T. 5:

This is the one that made the R.A.T. series famous. First question: Do you use a palm grip or a claw grip? Well it doesn't matter because the R.A.T. 5 can be adjusted to fit either way. Also features weight adjustment (can add up to 30g,) a 5600 DPI laser sensor, 4 custom DPI settings, a Precision Aim button which you can program with the desired mouse sensitivity to snipe& three "Cyborg" modes. A very good option for you to try!

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 5600
Price: US$ 69.99



R.A.T. 7:

With the same length addition the R.A.T. 5 gave, the R.A.T. 7 also has the extra option of adjusting the thumb panel for extra comfort. It also features a 6400 DPI Laser sensory, custom weight system  and the Precision Aim button (same as the R.A.T. 5)  and 18 user-definable commands via the 3 "CYBORG" modes. Also features 3 interchangeable pinkie grips and 3 palm rests made of different materials

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 8
Maximum DPI: 6400
Price: US$ 99.99


The R.A.T. 7 comes in a total of four different finishes.

Albino (White)

Contagion (White/Silver)

Infection (Gunmetal/Orange)


M.M.O. 7:

Featuring the same options which made R.A.T. 7 so popular, it features 15 programmable buttons which in conjunction with a 3-position MMO switch and a 2-position MMO button gives you a staggering 90 in-game commands. Features a WOW Plug-In to make it easy to configure the mouse for WOW & RGB Backlighting.

 Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 17
Maximum DPI: 6400
Price: US$ 129.99


Keyboards:

Cyborg V.5:

Features back-lit keys, anti-ghosting, media controls and the ability to program the function keys to store gaming macros. The low-end gaming keyboard offering from Cyborg.

Price: US$ 59.99





Cyborg V.7:

Multi-color back-lighting, a touch sensitive dashboard styled control-panel with lighting, media and volume controls and a 'Cyborg' mode which (thankfully!) disables the windows key, 12 programmable Cyborg keys a USB input, audio and microphone sockets, the V.7 looks futuristic and cool!

Price: US$ 79.99


S.T.R.I.K.E. 7:

A fully Modular keyboard from Cyborg. Don't like where the numpad keys are? detach and move it. The V.E.N.O.M. TFT-LCD Touchscreen can also be moved around and provides multiple functions. Interchangeable WASD and cursor keys (standard, contoured and rubber-edged) A function strip with four programmable macro buttons (Total: 24) and TeamSpeak functionality is built-in to the touchscreen menu options.
Price: US$  299.99 (!!)


That folks, are the gaming peripherals Mad Catz offers. Their newest addition to this list, The S.T.R.I.K.E 7 keyboard has an endless array of customizations, which I will admit are cool but the price-tag makes it almost impossible for me to recommend it to anyone.

So what to choose? Personally I would go for either a R.A.T.5 / Cyborg V.7 or R.A.T. 7/ Cyborg V.7 combination. Honestly though I like Cyborg more for their mice series than their keyboards so I would stick with just the R.A.T.7.

That is all for this post
Kiyoshi Out!
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Keyboards & Mice III : Corsair

Hello everyone!

It will be a short post today as I will be reviewing the gaming peripherals Corsair (www.corsair.com) has to offer. Corsair is new in the gaming peripherals market but they have come out with some interesting options for you to consider. So without further ado...

Mice:

Vengeance M60:

Featuring a 5700DPI laser sensor, the M60 is Corsair's envisioning of an FPS Mouse. Ergonomic design and a dedicated sniper button means you can play longer and lower your DPI at the touch of the button. Also features weight adjust-ability and lift detection. The blue LED also looks cool without being too bright. You can adjust DPI in increments of 100

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 8
Maximum DPI: 5700
Price: US$ 69.99 (On Corsair's website)



Vengeance M90:

The MMO/RTS brother of the M60, the M90 also sports the same 5700 DPI laser sensor. It boasts 15 programmable buttons and enough memory to store six profiles (50 profiles through software.) Button placing might be an issue for some and the software isn't exactly the most intuitive one ever created.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 15
Maximum DPI: 5700
Price: US$ 79.99


 Keyboards:

Vengeance K60:

The Keyboard counterpart to the M60 mouse, the K60 is a mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX Red  switches (for more about mechanical keyboards, please visit this post.) Contoured, textured WASD and 1-6 Keycaps with the option of replacing them with regular keys for general usage, it also features 20-key rollover, brushed aluminium chassis and ergonomic wrist rest. Multimedia controls and a USB port in the back for added convenience. Price US$ 109.99





 Vengeance K90:

Designed with MMO/RTS gaming in mind, the K90 features 18 customizable G-Keys, 20KRO, laser etched backlit keys, software for creating up to 50 profiles and 36Kb of memory to store profiles and customizations. Easy access multimedia controls, USB-pass through and soft-touch wrist rest make this a well rounded keyboard. Price: US$ 129.99







As Corsair is still relatively new to gaming peripherals, these four are the choices you have. Personally I would take the M60 and K90 combination as I feel having that many buttons (both on keyboard and on mouse) would be too confusing for me. I would get the comfort of the M60 with extra buttons of the K90. Also M90 has a claw grip so for those who are comfortable with that, go for it. The downside is that the software provided by Corsair is not as user-friendly as you would hope, however the quality and finish of these products do make up for that shortcoming somewhat.

That is all for this post.
Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.