steelseries
Latest
HyperX’s Cloud Flight S is its first headset with Qi wireless charging
Qi wireless charging is something we've seen a lot of phone manufacturers add to their devices, but it's not a technology commonly associated with gaming headsets. HyperX's new Cloud Flight S headset could be the sign of a new trend. Set to cost $160 when it comes out this February, HyperX says it's the first gaming headset to support the standard. However, just like a phone, the Cloud Flight S doesn't come with a charging stand, so you'll need to buy one if you don't already own one.
SteelSeries refreshes a classic gaming mouse with the Sensei Ten
SteelSeries is bringing back a classic. On the 10th anniversary of the company's popular Sensei mouse, it's releasing the Sensei Ten. The new mouse features the same ambidextrous design as its 2009 original but with a couple of under-the-hood enhancements.
How to buy a gaming headset
Today's games boast stirring orchestral scores, realistic-sounding weaponry and high-caliber voice acting. But none of it means anything if your headset is crap. Same goes for well-laid plans in co-op games: You draw up the best tactics with your teammates, but if they can't hear you because of a bad mic, it all goes to waste. So the headset you buy is key to getting the most out of your game. But with so many companies getting into the market, how do you find the one that best suits your cranium?
SteelSeries made the ideal wireless headphones for the Switch
The Nintendo Switch has a lot going for it, but it's no friend to wireless headphones. After launching without Bluetooth support, Nintendo eventually enabled support for wireless headphones that rely on USB dongles — a nice feature, but one that's practically useless when your Switch is undocked. Now, SteelSeries has a solution: the Arctis 1 Wireless, the first pair of wireless cans that you can easily use with the Switch in handheld mode.
The best consoles, games and accessories for students
The life of a student isn't all taking notes, writing essays and broadening horizons. Sometimes, you just want to blow off some steam. And for some of us, that means loading up a new game (or an old familiar one) and transporting yourself elsewhere. Welcome to the console gaming section of our back-to-school guide, where we've homed in on several upgrades, running the gamut from accessories, games (duh) and even whole consoles (lucky you). While we're pretty taken with Nintendo's Switch, we've also included recommendations for Xbox, PlayStation and even a VR headset, with game suggestions throughout to help make some new friends or get the party started. And if you need even more game-buying advice, click here to find our top picks for every platform and also be sure to check out the PC gaming section of our back-to-school guide.
SteelSeries' $50 Arctis headset is for gamers on a budget
SteelSeries has released an Arctis headset aimed at more budget-conscious gamers, though it uses many of the same components as the Arctis 3, 5, 7 and 9X. The Arctis 1 has the same design, speaker drivers, cushions and noise-canceling microphone as its siblings. The latter is detachable rather than retractable to help convert it from headset to headphones.
SteelSeries' Apex Pro keyboards have customizable key travel
The watchword for any gaming peripheral worth its salt is customization, because you want to make sure that everything is in sync with your hands. SteelSeries has taken this to heart, and is launching a pair of new keyboards that let you customize how hard you need to press the keys. The Apex Pro and Apex Pro TKL — short for TenKeyLess — will let you tweak how far you need to push down before a keystroke is registered.
Xbox One gets premium wireless headphones from SteelSeries
Xbox One owners haven't had many choices when it comes to wireless headphones. Up until now, you either had to get one of Turtle Beach's Stealth headsets, or make do with plugging wired headphones into your Xbox One controller. Now SteelSeries is aiming to step things up a notch with the $200 Arctis 9X, a new headset with native wireless support for the Xbox One. While it's certainly a bit late in the console's lifetime for a custom accessory, SteelSeries is at least providing something plenty of Xbox fans have been waiting for.
How to buy a gaming keyboard
When you build a gaming rig, you're going to find yourself talking a lot about numbers. Higher and bigger are generally better, especially when it comes to stuff like processor speed, amount of RAM and the size of your hard drive. But when it comes to finding the perfect keyboard, you'll be confronted with a whole new set of metrics, along with shapes and colors that won't initially make much sense. What the hell is a dome switch? And why are we talking about green cherries?
SteelSeries’ latest wireless gaming mouse charges in 15 minutes
A wireless mouse might seem like an attractive option for gaming, but if you have a day of action lined up, waiting ages for it to charge doesn't seem like the most efficient option. SteelSeries might have solved that problem. It has released a wireless mouse that provides three hours of battery life after charging for just five minutes, or over 10 hours after a 15-minute top-up.
SteelSeries' gaming-friendly DAC is now available by itself
SteelSeries' GameDAC has been a solid way to boost the quality of gaming audio (and virtually any other audio), but there's been a catch: to use it, you've had to buy an Arctis Pro headset rather than bring your own cans. That won't be an issue after today. The company is now selling the GameDAC by itself for $130 (€150), letting you plug in virtually any 3.5mm headphone set to use with your PC or PS4. You'll want a high quality set if you're going to make full use of the device's fidelity. If you have one on hand, though, the ESS Sabre 9018 DAC inside promises more distinct sounds, tighter bass, better positional sound (through DTS Headphone:X 2.0) and 24-bit/96kHz support from compatible sound sources. An OLED screen and physical controls let you fine-tune the output on a PS4.
SteelSeries' Arctis Pro is a high-res headset for discerning gamers
High-fidelity audio is typically meant for the most extreme music geeks -- people who have expensive DACs (digital-to-analog converters), huge speakers and crazy headphones. You've probably seen (and rolled your eyes at) those folks extolling the virtues of 24-bit audio on message boards and comment sections around the web. With its latest gaming headphones, the Arctis Pro line, SteelSeries is hoping to aiming to make that high-end audio experience something everyone can enjoy.
SteelSeries' new gaming mouse won't skip when you pick it up
If you're a gamer, you probably pick up your mouse frequently -- and that's a bit of a problem when you're lining up a precision shot, since the cursor tends to skip the moment you plunk your mouse back down. SteelSeries thinks it can tackle that problem. It's launching the Rival 600, a gaming mouse whose centerpiece is a second sensor from PixArt that promises to eliminate the surprise cursor movements that come whenever you raise your mouse. The component not only tracks lift distance to a greater level of precision (down to 0.2in) but lets you customize when tracking begins and ends to match your mousing habits.
Which game controllers are worth buying?
If you're picking up a game console like the Xbox One X or PlayStation 4 Pro this holiday season, congratulations: You already have a great controller for your new system. Traditionally, third-party gamepads have always been a bit subpar, the kind of thing you buy cheap and pawn off on an unsuspecting younger sibling at playtime. But what if you want to game on your mobile device (or an Apple TV)? Or what if you're looking for an edge in your favorite console title? We've taken a look at the available controllers out there to find the best one for your needs, no matter which system you prefer.
How the eSports community cares for injured players
Clinton Loomis, known to many by his online alias Fear, had his first experience of arm pain in Dec. 2013. For more than a decade, Loomis has been a professional esports athlete for Defense of the Ancients (Dota) and Dota 2. At tournaments, his reputation precedes him. He is considered one of the best players in the games' history, with multiple first-place finishes in global competitions, earning him six- and seven-figure sums. Similar to traditional sports, the number of people who play Dota 2 is far greater than the number of people who can make a living from it. Professional gaming requires fine motor precision, encyclopedic knowledge and relentless practice. The average gamer plays video games for five to six hours per week. Loomis estimates that at his professional height, he logged anywhere from eight to 12 hours per day playing Dota 2. A professional gamer like Loomis can average hundreds of actions per minute during those hours.
SteelSeries' new keyboard ensures you never miss a Discord alert
SteelSeries is known for precision products, claiming its recent mouse has such a high level of tracking that on-screen characters matched its movements on a 1:1 scale, a much-wanted milestone from eSports players. So it's no surprise that the company's new Apex M750 keyboard -- boldly subtitled 'The Complete Package' -- aims to be a similarly precise instrument with vibrant LEDs that can be keyed to alerts.
SteelSeries says it’s nailed 'true 1-to-1' mouse tracking
Gaming peripheral brand SteelSeries has expanded its mouse lineup with an offering that could prove to be the Holy Grail for serious esports gamers: true "1-to-1" tracking. The company's new TrueMove3 sensor means your mouse movement will match up exactly with movement on-screen, regardless of the CPI setting (counts per inch, or the number of pixels your mouse moves in a single inch). Engineered in partnership with PixArt -- the team behind the Wii Remote -- the sensor is the product of the company's 15-year quest to make the perfect gaming mouse and is available exclusively in the newly-designed Sensei 310 and Rival 310 models.
SteelSeries keeps it classy with its new gaming headsets
Any gamer can benefit from a good headset, whether to stay in clear contact with their teammates during an intense raid or to keep the noise down while their spouse is asleep. But some cans are loud in a different way, boasting garish designs or cheap plastic builds that you might not feel comfortable wearing outside your home. Newcomers like LucidSound have taken a stab at building headgear on the more stylish side, but now industry vet SteelSeries enters the arena with its own line of fashionable gaming headsets.
HP's new Omen gaming PCs include a cube-shaped desktop
Gamers have many reasons why they steer clear of desktops from big-name brands, but one of the biggest is the poor expansion. You may have fewer upgrade slots (if any) versus a white label or home-built rig, and you'll frequently have to contend with non-standard parts. HP thinks it can make you reconsider, however. It's refreshing its Omen gaming PCs once again, and the highlight is a completely new Omen X Desktop that promises both the perks of a major company's industrial design with the expansion that you crave. That cube-on-its-side look is not only relatively unique in a sea of generic towers, but genuinely functional. Its three-chamber structure separates hot components while giving you room for expansion that includes dual graphics cards, four tool-free hard drive bays and an M.2 SSD. Also, this is an industry-standard chassis -- HP will sell you the barebones case if you prefer to supply your own internals, and Maingear will even build its own beastly gaming PC around the box this year.
SteelSeries ships its OLED-packing gaming mouse
Did you look at SteelSeries' display-toting Rival 700 mouse in January and think it was just the edge you needed for your gaming exploits? It's time to do something about it. The company's Rival 700 is now available for a pricey (though not outlandish) $100. As before, its centerpiece is a side-mounted OLED screen that both shows data (such as your in-game stats or your team logo) and helps you tweak settings without firing up software on your PC. You can also 'feel' events through customizable vibrations, and swap optical sensors when you're eager for an upgrade. Is this overkill? Probably -- but there's no doubt that you'll have a distinct gaming experience.
