Computex 2014 - Day 2

Computex 2014 - Thermaltake

It's been a while since we've seen anything from Thermaltake, but the company had a number of new and upcoming peripherals being showcased in Taipei this year.

We begin with a couple of budget friendly mice – the $39 Ventus and the Talon, which is set to retail for as little as $20, both of which have an ambidextrous design so that left handed players aren't left out as they so often are. The former uses a 5,700 dpi laser sensor and has a large honeycomb cutout to aid ventilation, while the cheaper Talon is based on the popular Avago 3050 optical sensor with 3,000 dpi, and it also has two thumb buttons, on the fly sensitivity changing and RGB LEDs – not bad at all for a twenty dollar mouse.


Next up is a pair of headsets, the Shock 3D 7.1 and the Verto, both of which have approximate retail prices of $79 USD for their launches in late July (or thereabouts – final dates are yet to be nailed down). The main features of the Shock 3D 7.1, which uses a USB connection, include virtual 7.1 surround sound, a microphone that switches itself off when raised up out of the way and LED lights inside the semi-open back earcups, a design which Thermaltake claims provides a more balanced sound than boomy fully-closed models, thoughthis remains to be seen. As for the Verto, we're looking at a 3.5mm based headset with single and dual 3.5mm connectors both supplied. In-line volume adjustment comes as standard and the detachable cables and fold-flat earcups should make transportation a cinch. Both new headsets also have leather coated padding on the earcups and headband.


Thermaltake was also pushing its Poseidon Z range of mechanical keyboards, some of which were kitted out with the companies metallic keycaps. These keycaps are anodised and UV coated and are compatible with standard cross-type switches and are available in multiple SKUs (e.g. WASD and Esc, or a 38 key pack which includes all letters and punctuation as well as the Esc key).


The Poseidon Z keyboards also come in a variety of flavours, including a tenkeyless model. Features such as backlighting with brightness control, full n-key rollover and media keys are also present, which brings the range in line with standard mid-range mechanical offerings.


Meanwhile, the Poseidon Z Forged, the flagship $139 model, also has an anodised aluminium front plate, macro keys, profile switching and a magnetic wrist rest. Like Cooler Master's Novatouch, Cherry MX switches are not to be found in the Poseidon Z keyboards. Instead, Thermaltake uses what it has termed Tt Certified switches – this is a rebrand, as it is Keilh that is the original manufacturer. How these compare to Cherry MX switches is hard to say, but we're keen to get a sample in to find out. Have any of you got any experience with them?