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CES 2017 - HyperX today announced a trio of new peripherals will join its performance gaming lineup: the flavorful Alloy RGB and Alloy FPS mechanical keyboards, and the Pulsefire gaming mouse.

HyperX's new Alloy gaming keyboards come in two flavors: the scintillating Alloy RGB which rocks 16 million LED color combos, media keys, and dynamic color profiles, and the Alloy FPS, which trades the current Alloy's Blue switches for either Cherry MX Brown or Red switches for a more responsive tactile feel. The Alloy FPS will cost around $100, but HyperX has yet to reveal pricing on the Alloy RGB.

The HyperX Pulsefire gaming mouse is relatively accessible at just $50, and rocks four flexible DPI preset settings including 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 DPI that can be adjusted on-the-fly via the DPI switch below the mouse wheel.

In a very Microsoft kind of move, it appears Windows 10's new Game Mode feature will only work with PC games tied to Windows 10's UWP ecosystem.

Windows Central seems to have confirmed my initial prediction: Windows 10's upcoming Game Mode feature--which allocates system resources on an OS and hardware level and optimizez them specifically for gaming, thereby boosting game performance--will only work with UWP-enabled PC games. This means only PC games purchased on the Windows Store can leverage the benefits of Windows 10 Game Mode, so everyone's entire library of Steam games may not work.

"Previously, we were unable to ascertain whether Game Mode would be a feature restricted to games built for the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), but it does appear that this could be the case. Our information states that games developed for the Windows 10, Xbox One, and Project Scorpio ecosystem specifically need to be "Game Mode enabled" Universal Windows Apps (UWA)," reads Windows Central's report.

Microsoft's new "beastly" high-end 4K-ready Project Scorpio console may leverage a new Windows 10 Game Mode feature that allocates system resources specifically for gaming.

Earlier we reported on Windows 10's new Game Mode functionality, which essentially flips a switch to optimize key OS resources, CPU and GPU hardware for gaming experiences. Now Windows Central is reporting that Microsoft's Xbox ecosystem and it's new enthusiast-grade Project Scorpio will benefit from Game Mode as well.

This isn't really a surprise considering the Xbox One, Xbox One S and Project Scorpio are now running Windows 10 via a new custom OneCore OS, with the systems being tethered to Microsoft's Universal Windows Platform (UWP) ecosystem. This means that all UWP apps can be used across the full ecosystem, and the Xbox consoles are now compatible with specific UWP apps and programs.

Mass Effect: Andromeda will release on March 31, 2017 on all platforms, according to Microsoft's Xbox LIVE Rewards page.

If you've paid attention to our Andromeda coverage, this release date won't be a surprise; we originally reported the game would launch in March 2017. This might be a slip-up on Microsoft's part, but March 31 is usually a placeholder. However this lines up with BioWare's "Spring 2017" launch window, and underlines our previous reports as well.

Although BioWare has showcased Andromeda running in 4K 30FPS on a PS4 Pro, the devs are optimizing the game to leverage high-end enthusiast PCs as well; the game won't have an FPS cap on PC, and will likely tap NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10 series GPUs for extra performance and features. It will also support UltraWide 21:9 resolution on release.

CES 2017 - Peripheral manufacturer ROCCAT today revealed its new fleet of gaming mice and keyboards in Las Vegas, all of which are enhanced with the company's new Owl-Eye and ForceFX sensors.

First off let's take a look at ROCCAT's new keyboard, the Isku+ ForceFX. This particular model is an enhanced version of the Isku RGB keyboard outfitted with ROCCAT's new ForceFX tech that blurs the line between mechanical and membrane switches. The Isku+ Force FX features "pressure-sensitive QWEASD keys which can be configured in three different modes" for optimum use.

Now let's take a look at ROCCAT's new gaming mice. The trio of performance RGB mice, the wireless Leadr, Kone EMP, and Kone Pure 2017, rock ROCCAT's new Owl-Eye sensor tech that enables insane sensitvity up to 12,000 DPI.

CES 2017 - Qualcomm has officially introduced their Snapdragon 835 processor with X16 LTE. Back in November, we reported that the Snapdragon 835 is the first 10nm SoC and we also put an end to the speculations that Qualcomm's next chip will be named Snapdragon 830.

As of today, the Snapdragon 835 is officially out and we, as the phone manufacturers, have high expectations from the Qualcomm's latest processor. The Snapdragon 835 features a new Kryo 820 CPU with four high-performance cores running at 2.45GHz and four efficiency low-power cores running at 1.9GHz. These are backed by dual channel LPDDR4x memory at 1866MHz.

The Snapdragon 835 also has a new Adreno 540 GPU with support for DX12, Vulkan, OpenCL 2.0 and OpenGL ES 3.2. Qualcomm also upgraded the DSP inside of the Snapdragon 835 by including the Hexagon 682, a machine learning-focused upgrade to the Hexagon 680 in the Snapdragon 820.

CES 2017 - Samsung has a full frontal assault for your kitchen at CES this year, and while it has dabbled in Wi-Fi-connected smart fridges before, it is launching 6 new ones in 2017 - bringing Samsung up to a total of 10 smart fridges.

This includes a new three-door, four-door, and a four-door "flex" model that has dual freezers. Samsung has updated the fridge's OS to Family Hub 2.0, which provides your family with a new UI, allowing everyone to have a profile - and even lets you set individual avatars, just cause.

There's a massive 21.5-inch LED touchscreen built into the front of it, where you can play around with photos, calendars, and even leave handwritten memos. Tizen is the OS powering the fridge, which takes pictures of the contents of your fridge every time you open the door - letting you know when you need to buy more "Groceries by MasterCard".

CES 2017 - Acer rolled out the beautifully unique 21:9 gaming laptop with its uber-expensive Predator 21 X, but Acer also made some tweaks to its Predator 17 X model, too.

Acer has refreshed the Predator 17 X with Intel's new Kaby Lake architecture, while swapping out a Maxwell-based GPU for NVIDIA's new Pascal architecture. Now we have the Core i7-7820K processor alongside the GeForce GTX 1080 with 8GB of GDDR5X. Both the CPU and GPU are desktop-grade, so you'll be able to overclock both, which should stay cool with its custom triple-fan cooling solution - where Acer is using front air intake and a server-class vapor chamber.

The laptop can have its Core i7-7820K overclocked to 4.3GHz, while the GPU will hit 1723MHz, and up to 5.4GHz on the 8GB of GDDR5X. The 17.3-inch 1080p display can be optioned out for a 4K panel, but you should be fine with the GTX 1080.

CES 2017 - Acer has expanded its Predator gaming monitor family with another UltraWide monitor, with the Acer Predator Z301CT arriving as a 30-inch 21:9 display with a massive 200Hz refresh rate.

The new Predator Z301CT features a native 2560x1080 resolution, but the 200Hz refresh rate is massive - and backed by NVIDIA's G-Sync technology. Acer has included a few different technologies with the display, including Tobii Eye Tracking, and Acer's own DarkBoost, BlueLightShield, and Flicker-Less technologies.

The 30-inch curved 21:9 display pulls off an 1800R curve.

CES 2017 - Alright, Roccat has my attention with their new wireless gaming mouse that rocks an interestingly named 'Owl-Eye' optical sensor.

The new wireless mouse is promising to translate motions to your gaming display with 1:1 accuracy, and is only one part of three new mice Roccat has to show off at CES 2017, and a new keyboard.

Roccat's new wireless mouse is offering "virtually zero latency", and rocks a charging dock and a detachable charging cable - so for those of you who want "absolutely zero latency" (that's what I'm calling it) - plug it in, and away you go.

CES 2017 - Acer has just unveiled the most amazing gaming laptop I've ever had the pleasure of writing about, with its next-gen Predator 21 X gaming laptop rocking a damn 21:9 UltraWide display... on a laptop.

The 21-inch 21:9 display rocks a native resolution of 2560x1080, but it pumps it away at a huge 120Hz, a great achievement - and very welcomed, on a machine that starts at $8999.

Inside, you'll find Intel's new Core i7-7820K processor (an overclockable, mobile version of the new Kaby Lake family), with 64GB of DDR4-2400MHz, and not one - but two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics cards, each with 8GB of GDDR5X.

If there's one thing that AMD has nailed throughout 2015 and 2016, it was pushing its FreeSync technology into 121 monitors on the market - nearly 5x that of its competitor in G-Sync from NVIDIA. But now AMD has stepped up the monitor refresh technology game with the announcement of FreeSync 2.

FreeSync has been great, offering up to 144Hz refresh smoothed out with FreeSync on 2560x1440 monitors - and even 100Hz on the latest 3440x1440 monitors on the market.

There are now 121 monitors with FreeSync technology inside, and AMD has 20 partners working on Radeon FreeSync monitors, while only 8 monitor partners work with NVIDIA.

Steam's December 2016 Hardware Survey sees Microsoft's latest cross-platform Windows 10 continue as the preferred operating system among Steam gamers.

The data indicates Windows 10 adoption has jumped by 0.73% throughout the month, putting the modern OS at 50.35% of all Steam users. Most gamers, all 49.10% of them, are using Windows 10 64-bit, with at tiny fraction of 1.25% of users stuck with Win 10 32-bit.

Despite Windows 10 now technically running on more than half of all Steam user's machines, Windows 7 is still quite popular at 33.8% of total Windows users (64-bit and 32-bit combined).

CES 2017 - Synaptics is one of the world leaders in fingerprint sensors and other human input devices. They have extensive experience with biometric authentication through methods like fingerprints which have become popular on mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

Synaptics has their own Natural ID fingerprint sensors which the new biometric Fusion Engine is capable of utilizing. The new platform combines fingerprint with facial recognition and using both together is very likely going to be very common in the future much like fingerprints are today.

All of this is centered around the importance of security and having multiple factors of authentication to protect users' data. Biometric authentication like fingerprints and facial recognition are added layers of security that are very likely going to become the norm in the future. Synaptics' multi-factor fusion engine is capable of securely combining multiple biometric authentication sources to determine verification.

CES 2017 - Lenovo has announced its new "Legion" duo lineup of performance gaming notebooks, complete with Intel seventh-generation Kaby Lake processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10-series video cards.

Lenovo's revamped Legion offering includes two 15.6-inch models: the Y720, which is the premium high-end model, and the Y520, which is the runner-up model. Lenovo will allow users to tailor-make either model to meet their price point and needs.

The base $1,399 Y720 configuration features an Intel i5-7300NQ CPU (upgradable to a i7-7700HQ), an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 GPU with 6GB of GDDR5 VRAM, a 1080p display (upgradable to 4K), 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and 2TB of storage.

CES 2017 - Microsoft has conscripted major hardware-makers like ASUS, Lenovo, Acer and Dell to make budget-friendly Windows 10-powered virtual reality headsets, and now Lenovo is showing off the fruits of this union with its latest sub-$400 VR headset.

Engadget recently tried out Lenovo's new Windows 10 VR headset, revealing key details about the HMD and what we can expect when it ships later this year. Lenovo affirms that the VR headset will be "less than $400," and the HMD rocks two 1440 x 1440 OLED panels. It's also worth noting that the "demo" headset didn't actually turn on, and the publication didn't get a proper hands-on test.

Engadget reports the headset is actually quite light, clocking in at 350 grams versus the Vive's 550 grams, which will likely alleviate some of the VR fatigue that plagues long sessions.

LG has been leading TV technology for a while now, with its dominance in OLED - and now, we're looking at 3 new sets that feature 'Nano Cell LCD' - with the SJ8000, SJ8500, and SJ9500.

The new series of TVs feature uniformly-sized particles that will provide more details and consistent colors, even when you're not sitting dead-center in front of your TV. Nano Cell technology "absorbs excess light wavelengths, preventing unwanted color bleeding (such as from green to blue or yellow), fading and other effects that reduce the vibrancy of the picture", reports Engadget.

LG has even teamed with Technicolor to ensure color accuracy is top notch, using a special Technicolor Expert Mode, and support for Advanced HDR. LG also throws in Dolby Vision, HDR10, and Hybrid Log Gamma support - so you won't be left out in the technological jargon arguments with your friends.

Dell will be getting the attention of showgoers at the Consumer Electronics Show this week with its new 27 Ultrathin, the most simply named monitor ever made.

Dell's new 27 Ultrathin is ridiculously thin, with the company shifting all of the hardware that normally resides behind the panel itself, into the base - which as Engadget reports "makes the monitor seem almost like an all-in-one machine at first".

The new 27 Ultrathin is a 27-inch 2560x1440 display with HDR support, but Dell adds its not the same HDR support that we're seeing hit the market on 4K TVs. Dell will support higher contrast ratios and color range than most consumer monitors on the market, with up to 99% of the sRGB gamut.

I like my fridge, I really do... but when I get to the point of having a fridge with a camera, and a microphone - I feel like we've stepped over a line. What next... our toilet roll holders will have built-in microphones? Our showers will have 360-degree cameras for the next level of Big Brother voyeurism?

According to Mark Stokes, the head of the digital, cyber and communications forensics unit at the Metropolitan Police: "Wireless cameras within a device, such as fridge, may record the movement of owners and suspects. Doorbells that connect directly to apps on a user's phone can show who has rung the door and the owner or others may then remotely,m if they choose, to give controlled access to the premises while away from the property".

Stokes added: "All these leave a log and a trace of activity. The crime scene of tomorrow is going to be the internet of things".

Dell's cat is out of the bag, with a massive tease of its new XPS 13 laptop that seems to have Dell shifting their glance towards the likes of Lenovo and HP with their Yoga series, and Spectre x360 respectively.

The new XPS 13 is a 2-in-1 that is exactly what it sounds like: a 2-in-1 laptop that will flip itself into a tablet or a display if you pitch it like a tent. Inside, we should expect Intel's new Kaby Lake-based Core processor, I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say a minimum of 8GB of RAM and configurable to 16GB, and a bunch of ports - unlike Apple, and its courageousness by removing every single port they could.

I'll try to get some hands-on time with the new XPS 13 at CES 2017 in a few days time.