E3: Razer showcases new products for PC gamers

Razer has enjoyed a hardcore cult following for years. The people who buy Razer products are looking for a competitive edge. The specialty of the company has always been high precision mice, but they aren't just a mouse company. We sat down with Robert "Razerguy" Krakoff to take a look at several new products that will be coming onto the market very soon.

The first product we saw was the Tarantula, a keyboard that was designed specifically for gamers based on community feedback--and it shows. All of 99 removable keys on the Tarantula are completely reprogrammable. Gamers can use the included software to reassign individual keys for game play that feels remarkably natural and the ten keys on either side of the surface can be used for macros and binds. You can customize up to 5 different profiles and store them in the on-board memory so there is no need to reconfigure if you move to a new computer. Additional profiles can be stored directly on the system.

The Tarantula boasts a 1 millisecond response time and a 16-bit data path (rather than the standard 8-bit) for those tight situations where the slightest bit of latency can cost you the game. Since the low noise, short stroke keys are removable, gamers can move them around, replace them, and even wash them if necessary. They provide the optimal 72 grams of resistance, which will allow you to comfortably rest your fingers on the keys without inadvertently pressing down on them. The Tarantula will be available in the near future for about $100.

We also saw the Barracuda Integrated Audio System, Razer's innovative solution that aims to solve the audio problems that commonly plague gamers. The system currently consists of two components: the AC-1 Gaming Audio Card and the HP-1 Gaming Headphones. The two parts work together to provide high quality positional sound that will help you identify an enemy's location quickly.

Audio cards from the big brands often ship with features that aren't necessary for gaming. Razer took a no-fluff approach with the Barracuda, removing everything that could potentially create unwanted noise and hog processing resources. The entire card is enclosed within an electromagnetic shield that further reduces noise caused by the other components inside the computer. This feature is common on graphics cards, but the Barracuda AC-1 is the first sound card to implement it. The card can process eight audio channels at 96 Hz, a spec that is only available from Battlefield 2 as of now.

Part two of the Barracuda Integrated Audio System are the surprisingly lightweight and comfortable HP-1 Gaming headphones. They contain eight separate drivers--one for each of the audio card's channels--that work together to create some of the most effective positional audio available. They don't put a lot of pressure on your head, which allows them to be worn for six to eight hours at a time.

The AC-1 Audio Card connects directly to the HP-1 Gaming headphones with a cable that looks like DVI--the type of connection commonly used for high quality output to flat screen monitors. Although everything runs through one cable, make no mistake. Eight high quality audio channels are traveling through that cable to create the positional sound that is often required for high intensity game play. The single cable allows you to do away with the struggle to make the proper connections on the back of you tower. But Razer isn't being exclusive with this connection. They will provide adapters that connect the audio card to other speakers and the headphones to other audio cards. If you're looking for that competitive edge, look for the Barracuda Integrated Audio System in June for about $299.