- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Monday, 09 May 2011 22:04
To some a mousepad is just a mousepad, to others (like me) the subtle differences between every pad make all of the difference. When trying to keep your gaming environment consistent when traveling or at LAN parties, that’s where companies like Razer come in. Their Destructor is to this day one of my favorite pads, both my wife and I use them and I keep one packed away with my gaming laptop for traveling. Razer introduced their Ironclad as a rock-solid hard mouse pad for someone looking for a pad that should last through World War 3 for a little post-apocalyptic gaming in between the waves of zombies.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Wednesday, 27 April 2011 04:05
The original Zboard by Ideazon was, for better or for worse, the first gaming keyboard I ever owned. Because of this, it will always hold a special, biased place in my heart. About two years later, I had become more engrossed in the world of PC gaming, and found myself a pretty big fan of SteelSeries, who built quality equipment for professional gamers, a field which I'm a huge proponent of. I think I literally squealed in joy when I read the press release stating that SS was going to be redesigning the Zboard (which is why my fiancée’s parents didn't invite me to Easter dinner this year). Today we look at the Shift to see if it lives up to the standard SteelSeries has set.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Tuesday, 26 April 2011 12:08
When Razer introduced their MMO-focused Naga, the telephone-reminiscent side buttons were the butt of a few jokes, yet some hardcore MMO fans saw the potential. At CES last year we had a chance to get a hands on with the Naga and I was pleasantly surprised. When Razer introduced a special edition of the Naga with the Razer logo busting out of glowing molten hot lava I had to finally get one here at the office to take a look at. Will it be hot like the design implies? Or will it fizzle out like some of the other MMO mice.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Monday, 25 April 2011 01:24
Gaming mice are quickly approaching the point in which a unique look is in itself a cliché. Visual appeal was once a new, exciting feature that attracted the attention of the demanding gaming crowd. It has become so standard today that sometimes functionality is sacrificed for a novelty design. The Spawn was on display for us this year at CES, a unique device that did, indeed, catch our eye. Does it fall victim to vanity, or prove its value in one of the harshest gaming genres?
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Monday, 01 November 2010 00:00
This rodent from a faraway galaxy appears to be the little brother to the Naos 5000. LanOC reviewed the Moinix Naos 5000 a few months ago, and got high remarks. Presumably Mionix released this mouse to cut cost for the common gamer. Taking out the weight system and changing the 5000 DPI laser eye to a 3200 DPI LED-optical eye. Let us see how the Naos 3200 stacks up to its big brother.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Tuesday, 28 September 2010 00:00

Content to use what came with their computer or a cheap off-brand that they picked up from the local box store, most people don't realize how much better using a good quality mouse and pad is. As gamers, most of us understand that those mice don't cut the mustard when it comes to quick movement and spot on tracking. With all the companies out there are vying for your money, it's hard to decide which to buy. The guys over at QPAD, confident that their products are the best, sent me their newest gaming mouse and pad to take a look at. Let's see if they really are as good as they say they are.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Saturday, 04 September 2010 08:24
A while back, I took a look at a gaming mouse from Cooler Master called the Sentinel. Still to this day I get messages on YouTube asking how I made the video of the Sentinel’s rapid fire. At CES this past year in Cooler Masters' suite, they pulled Adam and I into a side room during our product tour and asked us to put down our cameras for confidential reasons. In that room they showed off a prototype of a new mouse called the Inferno, today finally I have the chance to take a closer look at the Storm Inferno.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Monday, 02 August 2010 08:00
Anytime input is provided to a computer, the human element is involved. This is most notable with the mouse. Every person is different, and so comes many different ways to control your cursor. Some simply think that this is the jurisdiction of the mouse itself, but since when do humans operate with DPI? You don’t go to your barber and have them cut your hair to the precise millimeter, do you? You want style, you want what’s fresh, and you want it to WORK FOR YOU! Jump into the article to take an in-depth read on three different styles of an under-appreciated aspect of your desktop, the mouse pad. Oh, and did I mention, STARCRAFT II?!?
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Wednesday, 14 July 2010 11:00
I'm well past the point of accepting that Gigabyte has placed a steady foot in the component arena outside of motherboards. When LanOC Editor and Chief Wes broke out this next piece of hardware however, I was more than a little surprised; and anxious, having seen the quality of Gigabyte's motherboards first hand numerous times. The Ghost M8000Xtreme is the high-performance gaming mouse in the company's recent line of peripherals, and today I see if it lives up to it's lineage.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Wednesday, 07 July 2010 00:00
We took a look at Razer’s Orochi, their Bluetooth portable gaming mouse yesterday. You can’t have a mouse without a mouse pad to match, and that’s where Razer’s Kabuto comes in. Razer added the Kabuto as a portable mouse pad for times you can’t bring along one of their larger pads. It may be portable, but is it worth taking with you? Let’s find out.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Tuesday, 06 July 2010 00:00
When it comes to mice for a gaming laptop, you're stuck deciding between a normal, non-gaming mouse or full-size, desktop gaming mouse. When the goal is portability, every component counts and although a full size mouse isn’t too large, it does add up. Razer recently introduced their Orochi, a Bluetooth-enabled gaming mouse that hopes to fill the need for a gaming mouse. I plan on using the Orochi in our LAN rig to see how well it will perform while gaming and when portability is important.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Tuesday, 08 June 2010 00:00
Those of us who can remember back to the early days of gaming hold fond memories of arcades, one of the reasons being the lavish peripherals that could only be found in such an establishment. Being able to take the throttle of a plane on a replication cockpit and feel the turbulence as you took off was something the Nintendo controller just couldn't capture. Today, we have tremendously life-like flight sims available on our home machines, allowing us to once again encountered grand experiences. They are such great recreations that mouse and keyboard simply don't do them justice.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Monday, 07 June 2010 00:00
After receiving a distress call from the ground Ghost squad, you grab the accelerator throttle to your right, anxiously increasing speed while keeping a steady hand on the plane's balance to your left, and head towards the hot zone. As you drop to near 20 feet from the ground, under fire from several tanks and a few aerial hostiles incoming, you force yourself to relax in the leather pilot seat, concentrating on the target and eliminating uncertainty from your mind. And at that moment, your cat comes in the living room and jumps up on your lap, demanding attention and bringing you back to reality.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Thursday, 27 May 2010 03:40
No sleep and no quiet make Adam do something something.. As I sit here typing this review with our managing editor sitting here next to me I can already see that it won’t be long before Adam loses his mind, smashing high end hardware components all over the place. The reason his distress is due to the lovely Das Keyboard Professional S that I am reviewing today. We have visited their line of keyboards once before, today we are trying out the keyboard with letters on the keycaps. At least this time I can see the letters before Adam goes crazy.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Thursday, 01 April 2010 00:00
A week or so ago we took a look at the Smog, Ozone's entry into the competitive gaming mouse industry. As any gamer is aware, however, a good mouse needs to be complimented with a good surface. Not to fall short in this category, Ozone has released two lines of mousepads of their own, and today with sit down with the more portable Ground Level series, which comes in three sizes.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Wednesday, 31 March 2010 00:00

With all of this talk about gaming mice recently it’s easy to forget that mice are only part of the package. A good mouse pad helps your mouse move smoothly and can help your mouse track more accurately. SteelSeries developed the 4HD along side of the Xai for best performance with the most current gaming mice. Considering the Xai's recent review I am excited to see what else Steel Series can do.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Tuesday, 30 March 2010 00:00

With a MSRP under $35 SteelSeries took a different approach to the Kinzu than with their other mice. At a price that is in direct competition to Microsoft’s X3 and Razer’s Salmosa the Kinzu could be a great entry level gaming mouse. But after you take all of the costly features off, is it still a gaming mouse? Or has it been watered down to a step above your basic ball mouse? Let’s find out.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Monday, 29 March 2010 00:00

SteelSeries was fairly new to the mouse scene when they introduced the Ikari in August of 2007. The Ikari was and still is an amazing mouse, when Steel Series told me that they have spent years perfecting their next mouse I definitely had to see what all the fuss was about. Today I will be taking a look at the Xai, SteelSeries' newest gaming mouse.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Friday, 26 March 2010 00:00
To be honest I've never used a gaming mouse before and I've never really understood why simply changing one's mouse can increase gaming performance and experience. Well that's how I felt until I tried out a hardcore gaming mouse. That mouse is the Cyber Snipa Silencer Superior Laser Gaming Mouse. I put it through the paces for a few weeks and here's what I thought.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Thursday, 25 March 2010 00:00
With so many manufactures getting into the growing gaming mouse market some of the biggest manufactures like Razer must innovate and change what they are doing to stay competitive. An example of that was our review of their redesigned Deathadder mouse; today we have the chance to take a look of one of their newest mice, the Imperator.
Read more ...