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HP is buying HyperX to boost its gaming accessory business
HP is buying HyperX to boost its gaming and accessory selections, but it's not keeping the memory and storage units.
HyperX's latest gaming headphones feature 7.1 channel audio starting at $60
Kingston's HyperX brand has two new gaming headsets that feature virtual 7.1 surround sound for less than $100.
The best microSD cards
By Nathan Edwards This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full guide to microSD cards. After testing more than 20 new and updated microSD cards, we've found that the SanDisk MicroSDXC card for Nintendo Switch (128 GB) is the best for most phones, tablets, and, yes, Nintendo Switches, but there are several other cards that work fine. The hard part is finding a real one; the online marketplaces are flooded with counterfeits. The Switch card is fast, consistent, comes from a reputable company, has a picture of a mushroom on it, and works in anything that takes a microSDXC card, not just the Switch. Most of the 128 GB cards we tested are fast enough but are more expensive and harder to find, or were slower than the Switch card in one or more tests. The Switch card performed well in all of them and (for now, at least) is easy to find without sorting through a bunch of third-party sellers hawking fakes. If the SanDisk Switch card is too expensive or unavailable from first-party sellers, or if you need a card that's on GoPro's compatibility list, get the Samsung Evo Select (128 GB). The Evo Select is an Amazon-exclusive rebrand of the Samsung Evo Plus, and it's almost always available. Its random write speeds aren't as good as the Switch card's, so it's not as good for running apps or operating systems, but its sequential speeds are right up there, so it's great for media storage and recording, and it's usually a buck or two cheaper. We have found that 128 GB microSD cards are the most cost-effective capacity right now. But if you don't need all that space or you just want to save a few bucks, we recommend any of the following cards: The SanDisk MicroSDXC card for Nintendo Switch (64 GB) is among the fastest cards we tested in every benchmark, but the 64 GB capacities of the Evo Select or the Kingston Canvas React, Canvas Go, and Canvas Select are fine too.
The best external hard drives
By Justin Krajeski This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full guide to external hard drives. We've spent hundreds of hours researching and testing external drives to find the best options for any use and budget. If you want a dependable external drive that has plenty of storage space for documents and photos and is easy to take on the go, get the 2 TB Seagate Backup Plus Slim. But we also have recommendations if you want more storage space, if you want something more reliable or even faster, or if you need to regularly move large amounts of data from one computer to another with an external drive.
The best gaming PCs and accessories for students
PC gaming is serious business. This is where video game fans go when they want the highest resolution, lowest latency and most precise experiences available, from first-person shooters to top-down team-based strategy titles and beyond. In a word, PC games are slick -- and so is the gear. It's easy to break the bank in this world, especially for a student on a budget. With gaming laptops starting at $1,000 and towers priced even higher, it's important to get equipment that's durable, high-quality and as affordable as possible. That's why we've compiled the following list of laptops, PCs and accessories that make the most sense for students in 2019. PC gaming is perfect for streaming, marathon play sessions or making new friends (dorm-wide tournaments, anyone?). To accomplish all of these things, you'll need more than just a laptop. On top of processing power and graphics cards, there are mice to consider, headsets to mull over, keyboards to test and streaming boxes to put through their paces. And if you need to justify the cost to anyone (ahem, mom), simply put it this way: You'll be able to use most of these things for homework, too.
HyperX's Bluetooth gaming headset is built for audiophiles
Kingston's HyperX division already has a popular, long-lasting Bluetooth headset with the $160 Cloud Flight, but it's aiming for the Hi-Fi set with its latest model. The HyperX Cloud MIX headset meets the hi-res audio spec by delivering sound from 10 Hz all the way up to 40,000 KHz (when plugged in). At the same time, it still delivers 20 hours of battery life while in Bluetooth mode, compared to 30 hours for the Cloud Flight.
The best PS4 headset
By Dennis Burger This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full PS4 headset guide here. If you're looking for a gaming headset for PlayStation 4 that delivers the best balance of performance, comfort, and bang for your buck, we think the Kingston HyperX Cloud Alpha is the one to get. It's beautifully built, based on a proven design, and features a punchy, bass-forward sound that works great with the low-powered output of the DualShock 4 controller.
Kingston's 7-in-1 USB-C hub saves your MacBook from the dongle life
As sleek and powerful as Apple's latest MacBooks are, one of their shortcomings is the lack of ports and slots, like an SD card reader. And while that's easily fixable with a dongle, things can get tricky if you simultaneously want to charge your computer or pair it with your TV with an HDMI cable. With that in mind, today Kingston launched its 7-in-1 USB Type-C hub, the Nucleum, which aims to save you from having to live the #donglelife. The device has two USB-C ports (one for power, the other for data), HDMI and a couple USB-As as well as SD and microSD card slots.
HyperX memory improves your PC's light show with infrared
Many PC enthusiasts use light-up RAM to add a flair to their systems. But creating a proper, synchronized light show isn't always easy. Even if you have the right motherboard, compatible RAM and the necessary software, there's no guarantee of a harmonious display. HyperX wants to fix that: it's introducing new Predator DDR4 modules that can use infrared light to sync their RGB illumination. There's no guesswork and no external cables -- you can just assume your lights will pulse together using power directly from the motherboard.
Which gaming headsets are worth buying?
We may call them "video games," but audio plays a big part in the experience too. Good music and sound effects can set the mood, immerse us in the story and alert us to impending danger. But all of this could easily be hampered by crappy speakers or a surfeit of background noise, making a quality headset key to an ideal gaming experience. Do you need surround sound, or can stereo do the job just fine? And how much is good audio quality worth? We've scoured the market to find the best headsets available now to fit the needs of both hard-core and casual gamers.
The best gaming headset (for most people)
By Dennis BurgerThis post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. Read the full article here.After more than 100 hours spent researching and testing 37 gaming headsets in all, plus more hours of long-term comfort testing than could reasonably be counted, we think the Kingston HyperX Cloud Gaming Headset is the best gaming headset for most people. It's beautifully built, comfortable on a wide variety of heads, and excellent in sound performance, especially for the price. In fact, you won't get find much improvement unless you spend more than double what the HyperX Cloud costs. This model is also incredibly comfortable—you can easily wear it for hours on end without any appreciable cranial distress. It's a clear winner.
There's now a super-speed PCIe SSD you can actually buy
Samsung has taken a commanding lead in next-gen SSDs that blow away old-school models, but it finally has some competition. Kingston's HyperX Predator PCIe SSD is now available with read speeds touching 1.4GB/s. That's still a far cry from Samsung's latest SM951 SSD, which reads at a ridiculous 2.2GB/s. But unlike Samsung's OEM-only model, you can actually purchase the Predator PCIe and jam it into your own PC build or laptop. You'll need an M.2 SSD slot to do so (preferably with four PCIe lanes), but if that's missing, Kingston will supply a PCIe slot adapter for an extra ten bucks or so.
Tests show modern SSDs can handle a thousand years of use
Most heavy data users can't wait for the day when hard disks, with their fragile, spinny parts, are put out to pasture for good. But just how much better are SSDs? Despite any horror stories you may have heard, the answer is a lot, according to tests on recent models by The Tech Report. It forced six drives -- including Kingston's HyperX 3K, Samsung's 840 Pro and Intel's 335 series -- to continuously write and rewrite 10GB of small and large files. Four drives bit the dust prior to hitting the petabyte mark (though still far, far past their specified limits), often after their SMART systems moved thousands of bytes from failing flash sectors.
The Daily Roundup for 04.29.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Kingston's MobileLite Wireless is a memory card reader that doubles as a charger
By all metrics, Kingston's wireless Wi-Drive has been a successful product: the company is still selling it two years later, and has since refreshed it with beefier storage and Android compatibility. If there's one thing customers complained about, though, it was the lack of expandable memory -- a problem if you used all the space on the drive, or if you already had stuff stored on an SD card. With that in mind, the company's coming out with the MobileLite Wireless, which ditches internal storage in favor of an SD slot and USB 2.0 port. (It will also ship with a microSD adapter.) At the same time, it packs a modest five-hour battery you can use to recharge USB-powered gadgets; Kingston says there's enough juice in there to fully charge a phone, but probably not a tablet. Technically speaking, you can access everything stored on the device by typing the MobileLite's IP address into a browser. But for all intents and purposes, this is currently an iOS exclusive, as that's the only platform for which you can download an app. As with the Wi-Drive, though, Kingston plans to add an Android app, as well as one for WP8. In the beginning, at least, it will be available through just a couple sellers (Amazon and Staples), with street prices expected to fall somewhere between $50 and $70. Any questions? We hope not: this thing's aimed squarely at mainstream users, so if Engadget readers don't get it, we're going to be seriously concerned about all the regular folk.%Gallery-185264%
Kingston's DataTraveler HyperX Predator: a 1TB USB 3.0 flash drive
A 1TB flash drive? Frankly, we're incredulous, but that's what Kingston is claiming it'll begin selling later in Q1. The DataTraveler HyperX predator 3.0 promises read/write speeds of up to 240MB/s and 160MB/s respectively and there's a 512GB version available right now. At the same time, Kingston is launching 32GB and 64GB versions that offer read/write speeds of 150MB/s and 70MB/s. If you're interested in snagging one of the top two units, be advised that the price of the 512GB edition is a staggering $1,750.00 -- so you'd better get working on impressing that MLB scout next time they're passing by. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
Kingston ships 128GB Wi-Drive for storage-hungry Android, iOS users
One of the quirks we encountered with Kingston's original Wi-Drive was its capacity. For a device that's all about expanding storage for Android and iOS devices, it didn't have much more to offer beyond what we already had. We can at least put that issue to bed now that there's a 128GB version. The extra space doesn't change the WiFi drive's four-hour battery life or design, but it will give more breathing room than virtually any current microSD card. Although there's no immediate mention of a price, we're seeing the 128GB capacity on sale for $181, or about twice as much as a 32GB edition -- a small enough gap to suggest that going bigger is better.
Rogers LTE hits 18 new regions, delivers speedy data in Saskatoon
Rogers promised that October 1st would be a grand day for its LTE expansion plans, and we're now learning that it might have been underpromising to overdeliver later. The carrier just flicked the 4G switch for 18 cities and regions, or eight more territories than it had promised just two weeks ago. Most of the coverage still focuses on the southern tip of Ontario, including London, the Oshawa area and RIM's hometown of Waterloo, but there's a much more trans-Canada bent to the official deployment. Western cities like Saskatoon and Victoria now fit into Rogers' LTE map beyond a previously announced Edmonton, while the Quebec rollout is going past Quebec City to include Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières. All told, the one day of growth is enough to supply Rogers LTE to almost 60 percent of Canada's population -- a convenient figure when one of the year's more important LTE smartphones just became available less than two weeks prior. [Thanks, Jon]
Kingston Digital SDXC cards arrive with lower price, larger capacities
Kingston's unveiled two new SDXC cards for anyone looking to upgrade the capacity (or performance speed) of their current removable storage of choice without denting the bank balance too much. The SDXC Class 10 cards arrive in 64GB and 128GB sizes, and Kingston reckons they'd go great with your new digital camera -- as long as it's compatible with the SDXC format, naturally. Both are available to buy now, direct from the storage manufacturer, alongside smaller capacities, with the 128GB card priced at $182 and the 64GB setting you back $80. The full press release is after the break.
Hands-on with Kingston's DataTraveler Workspace at IDF (video)
What's this? Just another USB 3.0 thumbdrive at IDF 2012? Not quite. You're looking at Kingston's DataTraveler Workspace, a storage device that incorporates bona fide SSD technology not usually found in thumbdrives -- like a bunch of ultra speedy flash memory and a SandForce controller that supports TRIM and S.M.A.R.T commands. As such, it shares more in common with Kingston's line of SSDs. It's not really designed for data storage -- instead, it's meant to be used as a certified Windows To Go fixed drive, "a fully manageable corporate Windows 8 workspace on a specially configured, bootable USB drive". The idea is that corporate IT can deploy these thumbdrives to employees who can then run a secure, managed instance of Windows on a variety of PCs with a bootable USB 2.0 (or faster) port. Another interesting feature of Windows To Go is that Kingston's DT Workspace thumbdrives can be removed for up to 1 minute without crashing Windows -- the OS simply alerts the user to "keep the USB drive plugged in" and continues where it left off. Pricing remains a mystery, but the device will be available for business customers in 32, 64 and 128GB capacities when Windows 8 launches. Until then, you're invited to peek at the gallery below and to watch our hands-on video past the break.
