TESTED &
GEEK
APPROVED
WIRELESS EARBUDS are a curious
proposition for a gaming brand. For
starters, they’re wireless, which puts
some gamers off due to the potential
for audio latency. And they’re earbuds.
Razer is a gaming brand; over-ear
headphones are usually the way to go.
So the Hammerhead earbuds are a
strange option, supposedly more for
gaming purposes than the comparable
AirPods. But it doesn’t matter how
strange it is, because these earbuds
are seriously good. The custom-tuned
13mm dynamic drivers push incredible
sound quality directly to your ear holes,
with crystal-clear high notes and
thumping bass that we’d have thought
impossible in such tiny earphones.
They’re controlled by tiny touchpads
that take the appearance of the iconic
green Razer logo, with small taps and
holds for commands such as pausing
music and adjusting volume. They’re
also voice assistant enabled, allowing
you to use Siri, Alexa, or Google
Assistant via the surprisingly good mic.
It’s fine for hands-free calls, but due to
its omnidirectional pickup pattern, a
separate mic is best if you want to use
voice chat while gaming.
The latency is near-unnoticeable at
60ms. Mobile gaming is a potentially
great avenue, as the carry case is easy
to slip into a pocket. Like an AirPods
case, it charges the earbuds, which
snap into it via concealed magnets.
Even if you’re not a gamer, these are
a high-quality pair of buds and far
cheaper than Apple’s solution.–CG
$100, http://www.razer.comRazer
Hammerhead True
Wireless EarbudsNZXT KRAKEN Z63Sorry RGB lighting,
but I have a new
cosmetic obsession:
The customizable LCD
screen on NZXT’s new
Z-3 series AIO coolers. The screen is 2.36
inches and can display 24-bit color. With
NZXT’s CAM software, you can program
it to display vital system data, such as
temperatures, a photo, or your favorite
animated GIF. The company recently
added a few new models to its Kraken
line-up, the X-3 series in addition to the
Z-3 series, but the while the X-3 doesn’t
have LCD screens, both series feature a
rotating pump or infinit y mir ror to keep the
NZXT logo or custom image upright.
You pay a premium for this tech—$100
more than the equivalent X-3 cooler—but
it’s just too darn cool not to splurge on.
Also, the Z-3 series has been outfitted
with a new Asetek pump, which provides
better cooling and is quieter. Other than
being nit-picky about the vertically facing
logo on my current Kraken X52 (AIO
coolers have different mounting brackets
for AMD motherboards), it’s a bit noisier
than I would like. But the Z-3 series
fixes both of those problems and has a
customization option way better than any
RGB-lit component or accessory.
$250, http://www.nzxt.com
LITEON ES1 ULTRA-
SLIM DVD WRITERI’ve recently decided
to reclaim the shelf
space given over to a
sizable DVD collection.
Like everyone else, my family increasingly
watches movies streamed from Netflix
and Amazon, rather than reaching for
discs. Basically, there’s not much call for
an extensive DVD collection now, and the
space it takes up could be put to better use.
The plan is to store the collection in the
attic, after ripping it all to a NAS first. I may
have only watched a handful of these discs
in the last few years, but the urge to play
the original cinema release of The Empire
Strikes Back will undoubtedly rear its
head the second it’s no longer easy to do.
There’s a problem: the trend in case
design that’s seen optical drives expunged
from the PC’s makeup. The answer was
to grab an external DVD drive and rip the
DVDs that way. A trip to Amazon netted
me this LiteOn drive for just $20, which
has performed its function flawlessly.
It’s quick, quiet enough, and is powered
by the USB cable, so can hit the road with
me if needed. It even came with a copy of
Nero burning software, which I completely
forgot existed. Now, if you’ll excuse me,
I’ve got a couple hundred DVDs to rip....
$20, http://www.liteon.comHardware staff writer, Joanna Nelius, and executive editor,
Alan Dexter, reveal what has been keeping them in a spin
Editors’ Picks:
Digital Discoveries
maximumpc.com MAR 2020 MAXIMUMPC 93