Product Info | User Reviews | Article Images(121) | Image Gallery | Comments | Forum Thread
Sidewinder Force Feedback Joystick 2
A new update
Microsoft's Force Feedback joystick has been a popular choice among gamers for many years, but its design is getting a bit long in the tooth. It's high time that MS updated it - the new design they showed us at Gamestock should make quite a few people happy. First of all, the power supply is now located right on the joystick unit. Not only does this mean that you plug in the device with a regular plug (and not a huge power box), but the forces are more quickly and powerfully delivered to the user.
The new Stick
Up close on the throttle
Over 100 different forces can be modeled in the joystick, so you can feel something as subtle as cobblestone road under a bike, or as hard as an 8 G turn in a fighter plane. The handle on the stick has also been reduced in size to make it friendlier for those with smaller hands (still fits well in my big paws). The designers also threw in a better hat switch and a twist handle. Add to all that a redesigned throttle that looks like a light switch (instead of a slider) and you have the second generation force feedback stick from Microsoft. After playtesting on Mechwarrior 3 and the Gunship! beta, I seemed to get stronger forces than I remembered from the original Sidewinder. The new throttle design proved to be a very nice change as well. Look for the joystick in October - it'll retail for around $100.
Bigger hat switch
Trigger
That's it for our Gamestock coverage - be sure to tune in later this week to our GDC coverage and be on the lookout for our upcoming hands-on Starlancer preview. We'll be bugging MS Games for betas of all these titles as they become available to keep you updated.
Left 4 Dead 2 PC Review
Valve says Left 4 Dead 2 contains so much new content, it's worthy of a sequel rather than DLC. Is this true or false? Judge for yourself in today's review!
ATI Radeon 5970 Performance Preview
After a 10-month hiatus, ATI's once again got the world's fastest graphics card. The Radeon 5970 fuses two RV870 chips onto one board for max performance, and is built for OC'ing. See how this board fares in the latest games including Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and DX11 titles like STALKER: Call of Pripyat in this article!
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 PC Review
With no dedicated servers, no lean, and 18-player cap for multi, does Modern Warfare 2 for PC live up to its predecessors? Most of the reviews online have praised Infinity Ward's latest shooter but those reviews were focused for console players -- how does the PC port fare? Find out in today's review!
Sapphire Radeon 5870 Vapor-X 1GB Review
With its custom vapor chamber cooling+heatpipes and factory OC'ing, Sapphire's 5870 Vapor-X is targeted towards gamers looking for a 5870 card with a little more oomph than the stock 5870 card can provide. Best part of all is that the card sells for just $10 more than the stock Radeon 5870. See how much cooler and quieter the Vapor-X card runs inside!
Phenom II Gets A New Revision: 125W AMD Phenom II X4 965 Performance Preview
Promising lower power consumption, lower temps, and most importantly for enthusiasts, more OC'ing, AMD is back with a new CPU revision for the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition, which now boasts a 125W TDP. Is AMD able to deliver on their promises though? Find out in today's article!
Shattered Horizon Review
FutureMark, well known for their popular 3DMark benchmarks, is venturing into new territory with Shattered Horizon. This multiplayer shooter is perhaps best known for its system requirements -- the game supports DX10 only -- but there's more underneath the surface of this game than fancy visuals. Is it worth its $20 price tag though? Read Vandy's take inside!
Borderlands PC Review
Is it an RPG or is it an FPS? Borderlands blends the best elements of both in one entertaining package. Vandy has spent the past week playing the PC version of the game and came away rather impressed. Read his full thoughts on the game in today's review!
AMD Athlon II X3 435/Athlon II X2 240e Performance Preview
Today AMD is introducing 8 new Athlon II CPUs intended to service different segments of the budget CPU market. For HTPC users, new 45W dual, triple, and quad core offerings should deliver good performance along with low power, while performance junkies on a budget will want to look at AMD's new Athlon II X3 CPUs. See how the new chips stack up in terms of performance and OC'ing in this article!
EVGA P55 FTW Review
Looking for a good P55 motherboard to OC your CPU beyond 4GHz? If so, you may want to check out EVGA's P55 FTW. With its extra ATX12V connector, this motherboard can send up to 600W of juice to the CPU, and it's got more voltage settings in BIOS than 95% of the general public needs. But that's just barely scratching the surface of what this board can do. Check out today's review for the full details!