THERMALTAKE HAS A new line of esports accessories called, strangely enough, TT esports By Thermaltake. While this may seem like an odd departure for the company, TT hasn’t slowed down on their traditional mainstays.
The esports line consists of gaming accessories, headphones, keyboards, mice, mousepads and clothing. We told you about some of the first things in this line at CeBIT, and they are joined by several new pieces. Not content to make up products that don’t get used, Thermaltake is sponsoring a full esports team, the Apollos.
First up are two new headphones, the Shock One and the Shock Spin. The Shock One is the higher end part, DTS 5.1, noise canceling mic, replaceable ear pads and a braided USB cable. While the braided cable is really well done, it is still USB, and USB headphones are… err…. don’t go there. Back to the good, the headphones are really solidly built with a fairly heavy duty hinged band.
Shock Spin, One, Black Cross and a glove
The Shock Spin is a lower end part without the USB, a mic, and most of the One’s features. It is also a lot flashier with it’s white ‘twist’ theme. Thermaltake seems to be going all out on design lately.
Isurus buds for the discriminating esports enthusiast
One thing I was not expecting to see was the Isurus earbuds. Isurus are buds in red, white and black with a swivel bearing in the middle for adjustability. They have the a mic on the chord, and come with enough replacement parts and carrying cases to satisfy most people.
There is also a replacement for the older Black mouse, something we have here at S|A’s orbiting pleasure den. Both it and the Dasher mouse pad are used during our reviews, and are a worthy step up from an ‘average’ mouse. That said, the new Black Cross mouse, pictured above, replaces it.
Line them up, the box opens, and Pinhead comes out
The Black Cross adds a bit to the older Black, but nothing that obsoletes the older sibling. The new one has adjustable DPI from 400-8000, a fabric chord, and adjustable weights. The older Black seems to track much better on surfaces that turns the Logitech G5 to a quivering mess, so if the Black Cross is only just as good, it will be well above average.
Last up is a line of clothing, shirts, wristbands, hats and ‘mousing’ gloves, all aimed at the budding esports enthusiast. We will refrain from the jokes about them coming in XXXXL-XXXXXXXXXXXXL sizes. The reason for the clothing is that Thermaltake is sponsoring a full esports team in Taiwan called the Apollos. It is quite the fascinating setup, and we will bring you more on that as soon.
Getting back to the mainstream, TT has two new cases to talk about, the Docker line, and an updated Armor A60. The A60 is basically a revamped Armor with USB3, something that should be mandatory on all cases from now on. If Computex was anything to go by, anything but the lowest end parts should be USB3 from the next refresh on. Good.
Docker – amazingly useful
The Docker line is just that, a line of cases with a new look, much more rounded than the Thermaltake cases of late, all of which have an HD dock on top. The docks, basically an external hot plug USB -> SATA converter, is a must for any geek. They make backing up a much saner proposition than just about any other method available. If you don’t have one go buy one now, they will make everything easier.
The Docker line has one of these docks, basically a Thermaltake BlacX, on top of the case. The higher end of the line is USB3 based, the lower end are USB2. If you are considering this case, make sure you get the USB3 version. There are six cases in the Docker line, ranging from small to large.
Best of all, there are some definite surprises in store from Thermaltake at CES. We can’t officially admit to having seen anything, but what we, err, umm, are, well, guessing that they will show is pretty cool. More on that at CES, and more on the TT Apollos esports team before that.S|A
Charlie Demerjian
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