SteelSeries Xai

I. PACKAGING

The packaging is typical SteelSeries, a matte black box with the name and type mouse and a window through which you can admire the mouse in all its splendor.It is good quality and well thought out, so in less than 1 minute mouse can get in the air. Inside it can find a manual, a sticker with a logo and flyer SteelSeries presenting some products.

II. PRODUCT

The mouse looks simple as possible, matte black. The material at first glance seems to be great lover of dust, but after closer inspection and a little test, I noticed that very easy to clean with a cloth or tissue.

Is the most common form, with rounded edges and optimized for both left-and right-handed.
Above you can see a very discreet white LEDs that match the wheel.
The two buttons on the left side and the right is used when the mouse is configured for left, or by setting up a Macro.


III. SPECIFICATIONS AND SOFTWARE

The main things are:

- Frames per second: 12,000
- Inches per second: 150 +
- Megapixels per second: 10.8
- Counts per inch: 100-5001 (one CPI Steps)
- Max. Acceleration: 30 G - Sensor on path: True 16 bit
- Lift distance: ~ 1mm (Self-Adjusting)
- Buttons: 8 - Cord: 2 m with sleeving
- Polling: 125 - 1000 Hz (1 Hz increments)
- Gold-plated USB connector - CPI high / low indicator
- SteelSeries FreeMove Technology
- SteelSeries ExactSens Technology
- SteelSeries ExactRate Technology
- SteelSeries ExactAim Technology

Note the name of the SteelSeries, CPI instead of DPI. Their explanation is this:

"IPR is expression from the printing world year and nothing to do with mouse HAS movement. IPRs are meant to DESCRIBE That is for one inch of distance you move your mouse on Any Surface, the equivalent number of counts is sent to the PC - resulting in movement on your screen. CPI is the correct term for this as it actually is consistent with what you seek to DESCRIBE with the abbreviation. "

Have you noticed some new names in specifatii and seemingly strange. Well these are what separate him from another mouse Xai. I must admit I was a little bit lost in space until I remember exactly what each, in order to configure the profile as I wanted. A few words to explain what each:

- Free Move - Any mouse normally has little ability to track the cursor right to draw such a line as straight. Which does not really help a gamer that has targeted the enemy skull. Move Free, lets you set how much you want the cursor path is correct.
Exactly direction - is a name most of the ICC's effect (Counts Per Inch). Values ​​are between 100 and 5001.
Exactly Rate - Rate or Polling Report Rate which we all know that the rate of transfer between mouse and PC.
Exactly Aim - Mouse makes all sorts of predictions and calculations based on sensor data that it receives from the surface used. If it uses a pad that is not dedicated gaming is indicated as a value to be higher this setting, to help accurately.
Exactly Accell - acceleration on the horizontal axis.


What makes it unique is the software that is found directly in it. On tummy, as you will see a screen rectangular sensor. The menu is entered by a long press of the button by the ICC found after light. You can configure the five sections, with the ability to change settings for the options mentioned above.

Another good thing is that these settings can change a value. ICC's for example can have any value between 100 and 5040. As far as I know this is not possible in other mouse, at least so far.
Why are so excited about how this configuration? Because you can move the mouse from one PC to another, without requiring any software installed, or the need to rebuild your profiles. A personal way to describe the mouse is "Plug in, Select Profile and Start Shooting"
Below is a movie presenting the menu.
The song is its own creation, I hope you enjoy.

Alienware M15x (Intel Core i7 720QM, 250GB HDD, 3GB)

The Alienware Area-51 m15x is a 15.4-inch high performance notebook targeted specifically at gamers. It is in the desktop replacement category and weighs seven pounds. Our review unit is configured as follows:

• 15.4" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD (1200p)
• Alienware AlienFX System Lighting
• 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX
• Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000 2.8GHz (6MB Cache, 800MHz FSB)
• 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz - 2 x 2048MB
• Intel Turbo Memory (1GB)
• Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
• 200GB 7200RPM (16MB Cache)
• 320GB 5400RPM (8MB Cache) Smart Bay
• 2x Dual Layer Blu-ray Disc Burner (BD-R, DVD±RW, CD-RW)
• Internal Intel Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card
• Internal High-Definition Audio with surround sound
• AlienFX Illuminated Keyboard

As of writing, the m15x starts at $1,799; a $1,499 configuration is in the works. Our test unit as configured is around $4,500. The most expensive options on it are the Extreme processor ($900), 8800M-GTX ($500), Blu-ray burner ($400), 1200p display ($300), and 320GB Smart Bay ($300). Expect to spend close to $3,000 for a balanced configuration.

Design

Like the M17x, the front of the M15x has the angular looks of the redesigned Chevy Camaro. Our system had a Nebula Red finish, but it’s also available in Lunar Shadow (silver) and Cosmic Black. The red coloring only extends as far as the outer lid, sides, and chassis, so the inside and front of the system is black. The magnesium-alloy chassis is a departure from that of its predecessor, the Area-51 M15x, which experienced an issue with the plastic frame cracking due to overheating issues. Still, it adds to the size; this 14.9 x 12.2 x 1.9-inch heavyweight checks in at 9.0 pounds—and that’s without the AC adapter.

There aren’t any visible screws anywhere but on the customized aluminum name plate, which resides on the underbelly of the beast. Alienware managed to cram customizable color lights in several places, including the Alienware logo below the 15-inch (1920 x 1080-pixel resolution) display, along the touchpad, under the keyboard, on the Alienware head-shaped power button, and even on the back of the lid. The end result is that the M15x makes a very strong impression even before you fire up a single game.

Performance

When it came to our traditional benchmarks, the Alienware M15x performed about as we expected. Which is to say, it kicked ass. On PCMark Vantage, which measures overall system performance, the M15x scored 6,543, surpassing every other production notebook we’ve tested. It beat out the M17x (which uses a 2.53-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo QX9300 CPU and 8GB of RAM) by almost 1,300 points, and theToshiba Qosmio X505 by about 1100 points (which has an Intel Core i7 720QM, 6GB RAM, and a 64GB SSD). Needless to say, it left the desktop replacement average (3,885) in the dust.

Graphics Performance

Alienware didn’t put the most powerful graphics card it could have in the M15x, which showed in its 3DMark06 score of 11,662. While the Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M GPU and 1GB of video memory is certainly strong (it almost doubled the category average), it doesn’t compare to the dual GTX 280M GPUs in the M17x, which notched 13,463. However, the M15x handily beats out the GTS 250M graphics in the Qosmio X505. In 3DMark Vantage, the M17x pulled even further away, scoring 11,904 to the M15x’s 5,719. Even the ASUS W90 scored a better 8,399 in this test.

Gaming Performance

Of course, the M15x is designed to play games, and play them well. In Far Cry 2, we averaged 113 frames per second with the resolution set to 1024 x 768, and graphics set to optimal. This almost doubles the category average, and beat out everything else—the M17x and ASUS G51J came closest, both notching 99 fps. Likewise, when we cranked the resolution up to native (1920 x 1080 in the case of the M15x) and set the graphics to Very High, the notebook was still able to register a very playable 41 fps. While it couldn’t touch the M17x (69 fps), the latter system utilized dual GTX 280M graphics cards.

When it came to other games, the M15x was excellent, too. In Call of Duty: World at War, we averaged 42 fps with the resolution set to 1920 x 1080; running through Pacific island jungles, action was smooth and crisp. We also had equal success running Left 4 Dead, where we had an average frame rate of 56 fps in full HD. In Batman: Arkham Aslylum, the frame rate dropped to 37 fps, but was still very playable. Batman’s cape flowed smoothly through the air as we spin-kicked perps inside the insane asylum.

Video Transcoding

When we transcoded a 5-minute-and-5-second MPEG-4 file to AVI using HandBrake, the M15x took 2:40; that’s less than half the category average (6:02), and about 20 seconds faster than both the Toshiba Qosmio X505 and ASUS G51J. We then converted the same file using vReveal, a CUDA-enabled application. In this, the Qosmio X505 performed the best, finishing in 1:29, almost a minute faster than the M15x.

Lastly, we used Oxelon Media Converter, an application that’s capable of multithreading and can effectively use all four cores the M15x has to offer. In this test, the M15x finished in 54 seconds; that’s 4 seconds faster than the Qosmio X505, and 7 seconds faster than the ASUS G51J.

Summary:

The Alienware M15x may very well pack more computing power into a relatively small package than any laptop on the market. Serious gamers and others for whom performance is the only valid criterion will be find this unit most appealing. For most people, the price tag is likely to be an obstacle. Though it’s pretty competitively priced in its base configuration, we don’t think that most consumers who are drawn to the likes of Alienware are likely to be satisfied with this or any other basic unit.

Creative Inspire T7900

Creative Inspire T7900 speakers deliver unrivalled 7.1 surround sound immersion in games, movies and music. When used with Sound Blaster 7.1 sound cards they support the latest and most advanced standards for surround audio available today. The front satellites incorporate tweeters and mid-range drivers for detailed mid-to-high tonality, and the reinforced wood subwoofer provides dynamic bass. The front center speaker has extra amplification for improved dialogue and effects, while its horizontal design enables it to be positioned for optimum results as a home theatre system. Versatile connectivity via the subwoofer and wired remote enables use with multiple sound sources, and Creative's CMSS up-mix technology supports 7.1 output from 5.1 or 6.1 sound cards.

The speakers themselves aren’t going to win a Turner prize for their looks, but are hardly an eyesore. Each of them has the same styling, with the front material grill that sits in front of the angular black body. The silver edge of the speaker unit itself is easily visable through the grill, and so are the allen screws that hold the edge in place. While you can remove the grill, you’ll be left with four ugly(er) holes where the grill slots into. Each speaker comes with its own silver metal stand which is nice and weighty to prevent the speaker from sliding around. The stand connects to the back of each unit with a provided screw, which opens up for the opportunity of wall-mounting these speakers should you wish.

The central speaker features a RMS Watts of 24 meaning that it should be more than powerful enough for DVD watching although this speaker will often not function for general music listening without the correct signal from your PC. It packs a mid-driver and a separate tweeter so that the higher pitched sounds are muddied by using an oversized driver.

The front two speakers are similar with the separate drivers, but with a lower output power of 8W which is the same for the other satellite speakers. The outer four speakers are left with a simple mid-range driver as they will be used primarily for surround elements to a DVD and don’t need the same quality that the front three will. Interestingly, while the front three speakers have moulded wire output, the four surround speakers are the more versatile bare-wire method, which would open up the opportunity to use different speakers with the same cable although you’ll run into volume issues with non-Creative speakers not designed for this kit. As a result, the choice of using bare-wire connectors appears to only be to allow you to thread the cable through a smaller hole than a moulded connector would permit. It’ll also allow you to use a longer wire if the provided don’t meet your needs.

Creative speakers aren't known for their good looks, and the Eastern bloc angular blandness of the T7900s is no exception. The metal satellite stands make the black, boxy satellites look a little more interesting, but you're not going to be proud to have these on display.

The wired remote doesn't help matters. It's an ugly plastic dongle with controls that would be far better subtly frontmounted to one of the satellites, as with the Altecs. What would also be appreciated are some adapter cables so you could, if you wish, rig the T7900s up to an AV amp or DVD player.

But it all comes down to the price. As we've said before, the T7900s are not bad, merely ordinary, and £99 is hard to grumble about, though you will quickly become aware of their weaknesses. We do hope that Creative launches something that falls between these and its £330 Gigaworks speakers though.