Introduction
Here's a list of all six of our 2007 Holiday Buyer's Guides. To see our earlier guides, click on its link. For a preview of our final installment's contents, which won't post until December 23, please check out Ed Tittel's recent forum post on that subject. It's entitled
- CPUs, Memory, Motherboards, Coolers, Tom's Hardware, November 1, 2007
- Home and Portable Video, Audio, and Networking, Tom's Guide, November 12, 2007
- Games and Accessories, Tom's Games, November 23, 2007
- Graphics Cards, Peripherals and High-End Desktops, Tom's Hardware, December 3, 2007
- Consoles, Gaming PCs, and Gaming Accessories, Tom's Games, December 12, 2007 (this is it)
- Notebooks, Digital Cameras, and Camcorders, Tom's Guide, December 21, 2007 (still to come)
This installment includes an even dozen gaming peripherals and accessories, including game controllers, mice and keyboards plus an interesting grab-bag of other interesting game accessories.
Holiday Buyer's Guide Part 5: Gaming Accessories
By: Ed Tittel
Get your game seriously on for this fifth installment of the '07 Holiday Buyer's Guide, as we dig into some cool game controllers, mice and keyboards, along with some interesting audio, networking, and cooling accessories, plus another neat all-aluminum gaming case from Zalman. With the able assistance of our site editors at Tom's Guide and Tom's Games, not to mention our beautiful and talented editorial coordinator Sarah (who still graces many of these pages), we've pulled together a not-so-dirty dozen gaming peripherals and other accessories many gamers will want, but only a few lucky recipients will actually get to fondle and use. Those readers who game themselves, or who are seeking gifting ideas for gamers in their lives, should find plenty to ponder and lust after in our latest list of Christmas suggestions.
Sarah seems suitably impressed by this collection of gaming peripherals.
In this penultimate installment, we tackle two different gaming controllers, including a snazzy Cyborg force feedback joystick from Saitek, as well as the Novint Falcon game controller that also delivers premier joystick functionality. Next, we herd several high-end gaming mice together for your enjoyment, including the Logitech G9, the Razer Lachesis, and the Microsoft SideWinder (what is the apparent fascination that some mouse makers have with venomous serpents, anyway?). After that, we proffer a pair of gaming keyboards for your delectation, including the Saitek Cyborg gaming keyboard and the Logitech G11 model.
We conclude this presentation of gaming peripherals with a grab-bag of items that offer audio, networking, and cooling capabilities, along with a case that begs to be stuffed with a new quad-core gaming rig. In the audio dimension, this includes the Turtle Beach Ear Force headphones (which come bundled with the USB SRM Audio Advantage sound adapter) as well as the phenomenal Philips AmBX Pro gaming rig for light and sound capabilities. On the networking plane, you get a chance to learn about Bigfoot Networks' Killer M1 and K1 gaming network interfaces (aka "Killer NICs"). In the cooling arena, we look at Titan's Xbox Xfan and PSP3 Pfan USB-attached add-on coolers. And finally we conclude our considerable collection with the Zalman GT900 all-aluminum gaming case with clear side panel and awesome cooling characteristics.
For those who like to game, or who want to pick a perfect peripheral for the gamers on their gift lists, there is plenty to divert, amuse, and capture your attention. Please enjoy!
