Logitech
Next to the KillerNIC booth was Logitech. By now the G5 and G15, Logitech’s most recent gaming products, have been out for well over a year, so I did not expect to see anything new (though admittedly I did not read into the event AT ALL. I wanted to play Starcraft 2 remember?). Well it turns out I was pretty damn surprised to see not one but two new additions to the G series. The first thing I saw was the new G15. My only gripe with the current G15 is that its length makes it unusable on many desks and that users might feel inherently awkward placing their hands so far from the left edge of the keyboard (macro buttons take up too much space). Logitech has decreased the number of macro buttons on the new G15, and the keyboard feels a lot better because of it. The LCD screen has also received a facelift. Instead of the flip-up LCD present on the current G15, Logitech has implemented a fixed screen on the next generation of the product. The final change to the G15 is the move to bright orange lighting as opposed to the somewhat dull blue lighting found on the original.


Then I noticed a weird thing sitting next to the G15, which I soon realized was the G9 Laser Gaming Mouse. The shape of this mouse is quite a lot different than anything else out there, and the customization options are pretty unique as well. The G9 uses an enhanced laser engine (up to 3200dpi) and incorporates the patented scroll-wheel technology found on Logitech’s MX Revolution productivity mouse. This scroll wheel can be toggled between ratchet mode, which provides a similar experience to every other mouse you’ve used, and hyper-fast mode. In hyper-fast mode you just spin the scroll wheel with your finger and it keeps going for a while, which eliminates any time spent negotiating detents. The mouse feels a lot like a Razer mouse (due to its contoured buttons) in use. There is a weight system as there is in the G5, and there are two removable shells that provide slightly different shapes and completely different textures. Perhaps the coolest thing about the G9 is the presence of on-board memory for the storage of different gaming profiles. The user can switch from profile to profile by using a small button on the bottom of the mouse. The LED display on the top of the mouse allows the user to know which profile they are on, along with displaying a dpi meter that can be adjusted using two well-placed buttons. The first impressions that both of these products made on me were pretty favorable, so I look forward to reading our full reviews in the coming months. The G9 Laser Gaming mouse is expected toward the end of September, and the new G15 will be launched sometime in October.

Tournament PCs
As mentioned before there were quite a few tournaments taking place at BlizzCon 2007. Through techniques that can only be described as guerilla, I managed to acquire the specifications of different PCs being used in these tournaments.

CGS World of Warcraft Arena 2v2

• Chassis: Dell XPS 710
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8600GTS
• Memory: 2GB DDR2-667 Dual Channel
• Storage: 2x160GB HD in RAID-0
• Audio: X-Fi XtremeMusic
• OS: Windows MCE 2005
• Optical: CD-ROM DVD combo; CD/DVD writer
• Monitors: Dell 20" Ultrasharp

The CGS seems to be using the exact same machines that were used in the Counter-Strike: Source matches during season 1. WoW is not a terribly demanding game, and the 20” Ultrasharp monitor does not allow the kind of resolutions that would be necessary to make the combination of an 8600GTS and an X6800 have a difficult time. If anything, these PCs are more than powerful enough to run any game being played as part of a tournament at BlizzCon 2007.

Starcraft, Warcraft 3, and 5v5 WoW PvP

• Chassis: Dell Optiplex 754 (no legacy ports, all USB)
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 7900GT
• Memory: 2GB DDR2-667 Dual Channel
• Audio: Onboard
• OS: Windows XP Pro
• Optical: Who cares?

The same machines were used for all three of the remaining competitions. For Starcraft and Warcraft 3, BlizzCon chose to use IBM E74 CRT monitors. These monitors were placed inside the “sound-proof” booths that were on either side of the main stage. For the 5v5 WoW PvP stage computers, BlizzCon was using NEC Multisync 2080UXi LCD monitors. These are 20.1” monitors are capable of displaying 1600x1200 resolution, have a 16ms response time, and boast a contrast ratio of 700:1. From a specification standpoint and by today’s standards, these are pretty piss-poor FPS gaming monitors. However, for the RTS and RPG games that they were used for, they were just fine. While the system is fairly strong in the performance area, I think it is reasonable to believe that 1600x1200 resolution, WoW on high settings would put a fair amount of burden on the GeForce 7900GT. However, though I am totally unsure of this statement, I doubt that any of the professional gamers playing in the tournament peruse the maximum resolutions and settings available to them.

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Special thanks to Intel Corp. for getting me into the event, and to the security guard that almost kicked me out... twice.