Gaming / Game Goods: Tech for Time Wasters

What do you do if you find yourself with a little too much time on your hands? If you’re anything like me and the thousands of other gaming geeks out there on the internet you turn to video games. This time around we take a look at some of the coolest tech you can use to kill time.

EVO 2 Console

Gaming consoles seemingly rule the world of video games but if you don’t have one of the top three you’re often left in the dark. And we won’t even mention those bargain basement plug-and-play “consoles” that trick gamers into buying them thinking that they’re getting something for nothing.

But the new EVO 2 console is interesting. It’s an Android-based gaming console that straps right on to your TV. It’s the brainchild of Envizions, the company that brought us the EVO game console (the Linux device that almost nobody bought).

Spec’s are a bit shifty on this one but developers will be able to get their hands on one of these this spring in preparation for the nationwide console launch in the fall.

Apparently the device will be running Android 2.2 and come packed with a game controller that looks suspiciously like an Xbox 360 controller on a diet and a TV remote. In a twist that has many hardcore gamers scratching their heads, Envizionz says the console will also support motion control (though there has been no mention of how such control would be offered) “eventually.”

The game system will come complete with its own online shop which uses EVO tokens with which users can purchase and download games.

Official word is that the EVO 2 will run around $250 at launch but with the sketchy history of the EVO console I wouldn’t be surprised if this thing evaporates before it hits store shelves.

Hit up the official link for more info and to pre-order your EVO 2 for just $15 down.

ASUS Matrix GTX 580 Graphics Card

What good are next-generation games without great graphics? For years the 3D card business has been dominated by NVIDIA and ATI but there’s a new player in the game: ASUS. That’s right, the PC company with the funny commercials and more mid-priced computers than you can shake a stick at has entered as a solid competitor in the realm of graphics processing.

The ASUS Matrix GTX 580 graphics card is a beast, and not because it’s absolutely huge. It packs 1.5GB of RAM on board and two huge fans (with accompanying cooling units that could probably keep a moderately sized apartment comfortable in the middle of a hot July.)

Before you go pre-order one of these puppies, take note—the card requires three PCI slots, so make sure your box is up to the task or you’ll have a large and unwieldy paper weight.

The GTX 580 cores will also be available in the as-yet-to-be-seen MARS II dual-GPU which packs two of them and 3GB of RAM into what is bound to be an even more massive housing.

There’s no word on pricing or an official launch date yet but if I were you, I’d be saving my pennies.

NZXT Avatar S Gaming Mouse

Gaming mice can be ridiculously complicated and ludicrously expensive. Thankfully the folks at NZXT don’t think either of those criteria make up a good peripheral. They’ve recently unveiled the NZXT Avatar S gaming mouse (the spiritual successor to their famous Avatar mouse) for just under $40.

So what do you get for your coin? How about a 1,600 DPI laser, five configurable buttons, and LED lights (which are also customizable)? The mouse houses 16GB of memory on board to save all those settings.

And if you’re worried about ergonomics on your decades-long “World of Warcraft” campaigns, this thing has specially designed grooves cut into the rubberized coating to keep your fingers from slipping even when they’re coated with Doritos powder.

You can even choose your color (either black or white).

Strangely enough, that $40 price tag is actually $20 cheaper than the Avatar model this unit is replacing—probably because the Avatar sported a 2,600 DPI laser instead of the 1,600 model.

Look for this puppy to hit the interwebs in June.

Visit the NZXT website for more details.