In many ways, the Consumer Electronics Show is like a circus. It has three main showcase areas, plenty of food and drink for everyone at the event and its fair share of bombastic individuals trying to draw the eye of the audience to their act. The atmosphere is almost electric, and not from the current running through the latest Samsung flatscreen TV.

So it was a relief when the ZAM staff met with Michael Howse and John Drewry, the CEO and VP of Marketing of Bigfoot Networks, in an area just off of CES’ North Hall. If you’re not familiar with Bigfoot Networks, you may at least be familiar with their flagship product, the Killer NIC, which unburdens your CPU from the effort of networking through the motherboard and instead pushes it all through the Killer NIC card. Think of it like onboard graphics versus an Nvidia or ATI card, you’d see a substantial difference almost immediately with the change.

According to Howse and Drewry, the same can be said about the Killer NIC and onboard networking. Last year, the company released the Killer Xeno Pro and their focus has been getting a much larger product penetration by working with partners like Dell and Alienware. “We’re shipping in around 30 gaming systems around the world,” Howse stated.

Since the release of the Xeno Pro, the pair of executives noted that two updates to the card have already been made available, making massive improvements to the card in its throughput and latency. Along with the two updates, the folks at Bigfoot also released the “Dashboard” tool, which is a free downloadable from the Bigfoot website that gives users all the statistics on their framerate, ping and more. This allows users to analyze their computer setup and “maximize their connectivity.”

 Many of the companies we talked to at CES were keen on the professional gaming scene, and Bigfoot was no exception. “We’re sponsoring four professional gaming teams, including Dignitas, SKGaming and Fnatic,” Howse said. “That’s been a big focus for us, because by winning the hearts and minds of professional gamers, you can begin to work with all of the gamers that are at that level.”

While it’s often necessary to talk about past achievements at CES, one of the major goals for most attendees is to find out what the future has in store for the companies they’re focused on. Bigfoot was no exception, and Howse noted that they have two major goals for this next year: product performance and usability.

It’s no surprise that product performance is one of Bigfoot’s key drives – almost every hardware company would point to this focus and strive toward it. “We want to continue to enhance our interface cards,” Howse said. “We want to have the fastest and the best network processor out there.”

Usability, on the other hand, is something that is a bit harder to grasp, as it could mean different things depending on the individual. In Bigfoot’s case, they want their card to truly be useful to their adopters. “We ask ourselves, how can we make our card more usable for our players?” Howse continued. “How can we provide the tools to make that happen?”

The usability focus may not have obvious ways of showcasing that goal, but Bigfoot continues to iterate on their Dashboard and make their card a part of the hardcore gamer’s repertoire. On the other hand, the performance push is very visible.

One of the best examples, shown in the video of EverQuest II above, is how inaccurate the content on the screen can be in an MMO when running standard network cards. While most games have lag and latency workarounds built into the code to help make for a smoother play experience, the Killer Xeno Pro can actually give players an accurate rendition of what’s occurring on the screen, which could be a critical factor in an endgame raid or a PvP arena match.

Along with that, both Howse and Drewry contend that adding a Killer Xeno Pro into a gaming rig has a much higher effect on increasing average framerates than the purchase of another GPU to run in SLI mode. According to an internal study done on Team Fortress 2, the average minimum framerate in an online deathmatch was increased by 17%... quite a substantial number.

That said, most gamers will need to do their own research to make sure the card is worth their $130 investment. But, if acceptance by pro gamers and top level hardware companies is any indication, the folks at Bigfoot Networks are definitely doing something right.

If there’s one thing that every gamer is looking forward to in their post-CES coverage, it’s the computer manufacturers showing off their high end graphics-pumping machines. Maingear made a splash at this year’s CES with their enormous and unnervingly quiet computer known as “The Shift.” To grill the Maingear representative, we brought in our faceman, The BFF Report’s Mike B. aka Fony, and let him learn all the ins and outs of the Maingear Shift.

Interested in learning more about this badass piece of hardware? Just make sure you click through the break. And if you haven’t been keeping up, make sure you check out all of our CES 2010 coverage!

 

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I want to own everything that has been mentioned in this topic, and everything else in the CES :)

heh i want also 0_0

Gaming mice and peripherals are pretty standard fare for MMO enthusiasts these days. Every mouse manufacturer seems to have a product that could be utilized in one of our games, but only a select few companies have the real passion to deliver mice, keyboards, headphones and other products that really put an emphasis on what’s best for the competitive PvE or PvP player. One of the most passionate companies in the business is Steel Series, and at CES 2010 they had a handful of new products that exemplified this focus.

First on our docket was the newly enhanced and upgraded Siberia headset. Those of you who previously tried or purchased this product will find that the comfortable ear cups, lightweight design and elastic-like headband are still a part of the design, but 25% larger drivers have been added, along with additional noise cancellation material lining the cups, to accentuate the gamer’s immersive experience. Another enhancement to the headset’s design was the addition of a retractable microphone rather than having a separate microphone; an adjustment that many gamers will appreciate.

Another debut product at CES was the Steel Series professional gaming mouse dubbed the Xai Laser. This mouse may not be the best option for World of Warcraft (or other MMO) gamers – the Blizzard-licensed product is probably more in line with what we’d like offered in a mouse – but the Xai Laser certainly has a list of features that gamers will drool over. Here’s a sampling of what’s included in this simply styled, but highly functional mouse:

- Ambidextrous shape
- 100-5001 CPI, 12,000 FPS & 150+ IPS
- High definition sensor sporting 10.8 megapixels per second
- Advanced on mouse menu system on built-in LCD display
- Use the same settings as pro gamers with gamer profiles
- Advanced macros through 8 programmable buttons, with the option of 10 total programmed macros

So what do these features mean for gamers? Steel Series’ Chief Marketing Officer, Kim Rom, was on hand to help answer that question. According to Rom, the Xai can be customized for every gamer’s particular style using the onboard mouse menu system on the built-in LCD display on the back of the mouse. Since the settings are built into the mouse, users won’t have to worry about software errors when their mouse is being used, which is particularly useful to pro gamers.

Another intriguing new product is the NP+ Mousepad. Sporting a high friction surface, this mousepad is made of extremely compressed fibers that allow the surface to be almost entirely waterproof and stain resistant. Couple that with an immense surface area and you have an accessory that’s certainly useful to any gamer.

We ended our meeting with the Steel Series’ execs with a quick look at their brand new World of Warcraft-branded March of the Scourge mousepad. This QcK Limited Edition features similar specs to the normal QcK pads, but offers the heavy, super-thick pad with an exclusive print of the March of the Scourge emblazoned upon it. Couple that with a World of Warcraft mouse and a Wrath of the Lich King Zboard, and you’ll have a complete set of WoW Steel Series products.

Although tech and video gaming expos are always full of circus-like entertainment, this year’s CES was bordering on the E3s of yesteryear, complete with carnival barkers and audience competitions. One of the more prominent displays of boardwalk showmanship was at the ATI Eyefinity booth, which featured gamers going head-to-head in Dirt 2 using a triple-screen setup being powered by the new Eyefinity.

After taking part in the competition, our own Mike B. aka Fony (from ZAM’s BFF Report) was invited to the super-secret ATI suite where he got to check out the Eyefinity running some of the world’s first wrap around monitors. We talked with the reps from Ostendo, the makers of the extreme monitors, to find out exactly what kind of specs their products have and how much cash it would take to have your own setup at home. Click through the break to watch the whole video!

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In many MMO gaming households, the word “peripheral” has become synonymous with the name “Razer.” Since the mid 1990s, Razer has been pushing the envelope in gaming peripheral technology, introducing the first 2000 dpi mouse (the Boomslang) in 1999 and continually innovating and revolutionizing the industry since then. On top of all hardware notoriety, Razer has retained an immense amount of support from their users; a simple look at Razer’s Facebook page and their 73,336 fans can attest to a dedication to their fan base.

So when ZAM was invited to take a behind-the-scenes glimpse at their hardware during the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, we weren’t going to take that opportunity lightly. In previous years, Razer has garnered some of the most prestigious awards doled out by the show and its corresponding press, so a chance to see what’s on the docket for Razer in the coming year couldn’t be missed.

After walking the show floors and examining loads of TVs, speakers and gimmicky gadgets, the Razer suite was a blast back into the realm of gaming. Xbox controllers, mice and keyboards were divided among the Left 4 Dead 2 stations for users to test and try out. While some previously released products were on display, there were also a number of new items being shown off that are still in development at Razer’s facilities.

One of the most innovative products that we saw during our entire CES experience was also the first product that we got our hands on at the Razer suite, a brand new motion sensing controller that uses electromagnetic fields to track precise movements of game players. In an announcement Razer made while at the Consumer Electronics Show, they explained that they’d be teaming up with Sixense Entertainment to create the controller, and Razer has already been assisting in the process at their San Francisco and Singapore studios. Software developer Valve, makers of the Half-Life and Left 4 Dead series, is also participating in the development of these controllers and will be creating their games with the product in mind.

Operating the Sixense controllers is actually somewhat of a surreal experience. The controllers themselves are used in a nunchuck configuration (one in each hand) similar to what you might find on the Wii, but with four buttons and a control stick on each controller rather than different configuration on each. Also unlike the Wiimote, every movement using the Sixense controllers is matched perfectly on the screen. Although the actions had a small delay due to the preliminary state of the controllers – something that Razer is actively working on with Sixense to alleviate – gamers were still able to run through Left 4 Dead missions without too much difficulty (other than the skill of the gamer, of course).

Probably the most satisfying moment using the Sixense controller occurred when I picked up the samurai sword in L4D2. In many ways, the control precision on the Sixense controller makes the Wiimote feel rather clunky in comparison, and swinging, stabbing and hacking with the sword only proved that point over and over again. According to Razer, the Sixense controller will be released at a later date in 2010.   

Next on our agenda in the Razer suite was another preliminary piece of machinery known as the Razer Onza, a freshly designed Xbox controller with a variety of new quirks that will have professional and hardcore gamers drooling. The Onza has rather stylish lines and a color scheme more akin to the Xbox controllers of the past.

That said, the Razer controller is anything but ancient tech. Along with their trademarked “Hyperresponse” technology, Razer has added an additional multi-functional button, on the top of the controller, that can act as any of the buttons on the controller using an inventive locking slider on the back of the controller. Additionally, the control stick tension can be adjusted to meet the needs of whatever kind of gamer is using it. If you like looser control sticks, you won’t have to play with your controller for months just to get the right feeling out of your gamepad.

Reading the specs on paper is different than actually feeling the controller in your hands, however, and I can say that my initial reaction to the Razer Onza was positive, especially concerning the extra multi-function button on the top of the pad. I’ve never been a huge fan of pressing down on the control stick to elicit an action – like zooming in on a sniper rifle – and the Onza has taken care of this issue with a simple addition of another button. While I wasn’t as concerned about the tension on my control sticks – I’m not a “hardcore” gamer in that regard and often play with new/different controllers – they certainly work when adjusted and can be tightened so that even those of us with the thickest, most muscular thumbs could feel a bit of pushback.

Finally, we took a long look at the Razer Chimera Xbox gaming headset. Unfortunately, the Chimera’s were being used on the show floor, but as you can see from the included images, they’re pretty gnarly looking to say the least. Our Razer tour guide gave us the entire run down of the headsets and what it would include, which is a fairly nice list for an Xbox headset:

- 5.1 Channel Virtual Surround Sound
- Circumaural Design for comfortable gaming
- Daisy-Chain Cable System allows multiple base stations to connect for private communication channel

To finish off our Razer CES coverage, we’re going to take a moment to include a rather interesting development that came just before the Las Vegas show, but will still garner a high amount of attention from MMO gamers. Razer’s MMO-focused mouse known as the Razer Naga has just had its drivers updated to version 2.0, which allows gamers to program all 17 of the mouse buttons without the help of in-game AddOns.

In his search for the latest gamer hardware at CES 2010, our own Mike B. (aka Fony from ZAM's BFF Report) got the chance to talk with Darren McPhee of AMD ATI Graphics about their upcoming video cards. We got a sneak peek at cards like the entry level AMD ATI Radeon HD 5450, which will launch next month for under $100, and Codename: Trillian, a card that can support six display outputs.

Click through the jump to watch the whole video, and look through our CES 2010 coverage for more gamer hardware news from the tradeshow.

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