Hangout with NZXT!

NZXT is hosting a live Google+ Hangout this Friday 5/17/13 at 5:00PM PST. Tune in and we’ll try to answer any and all questions you have about the company, our products and any other general inquiries. use the hashtag #askNZXT and tweet us your questions at @nzxtcorp.

We’re live! Hang with us at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8BGojXfRdM

Submit your questions now:

1. Tweet us @nzxtcorp with the #askNZXT hashtag.

2. Comment on the Youtube broadcast

3. Participate in our AMA on /r/IAmA : http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1ejr7d/we_are_computer_hardware_manufacturer_nzxt_ask_us/

Come see us at Computex 2013!

Come check out the new NZXT products at our annual event in Taipei! Set up meetings through the media contacts or for sales inquiries at sales@nzxt.com.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you all there!

The Hobbit. Not an Unexpected Failure

The newly released Peter Jackson movie is every bit as exciting as its predecessors, if not more. I just don’t get why critics are slamming it to the floor. Have you seen the movie yet? If you have, then I bet you heard woes and wows plus hand clapping in the end. Not only is “The Hobbit” the most enjoyable out of series, it is also the funniest. Not all will agree with me though. For starter, some critics are saying the film feels like a well-executed videogame while others call it an endurance test.

This almost feels like 13 years ago when critics talked about the Starwars’ The Phantom Menace; saying it lacked warmth and humor and it’s ponderous and plodding. The Hobbit shared none of those. This movie is visually stunning and is unexpectedly good despite all the negative hype. Have you seen the film yet? What did you think of it?

Shin F.
NZXT Product Team

We Have To Go Back!

Happy holidays, readers!  I’ll try keep this one brief so you can get back to downing your eggnogs and stuffing stockings. I don’t know about you guys, but I love this season although it’s been a crazy couple of months of shopping and spending. It seems everyone I know has their birthday around this time of year so I hardly ever get to spoil myself for the season. This year I decided to change that and planned an impromptu trip to Hawaii. It was my first time there and it was AMAZING! Being a LOST fan, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ride an ATV through areas that were used in films and shows, including (yep, you guessed it) LOST. Aside from that, Hawaii is a beautiful place and I wished I could stay longer.

Anyway, I hope you fans are able to check everything off your list this year while saving a few bucks along the way. And most importantly, if you haven’t learned from my post above, it’s okay to spoil yourself sometime. Also don’t forget to swing by the Armory Store and check out the amazing bundle deals; maybe your friend wants the Switch 810 and you want FZ Fans, I highly recommend the bundles as a great buy. Oh, and the NZXT Limited Edition Helm (made of metal, not plastic as some of you speculated) comes free with purchase of a bundle deal. So, everyone gets a gift!

Alright, excuse the shameless plug, but I’m a sucker for great deals and it’d be ridiculous to pass up on the offer. Stay warm… and alive (“Armageddon” day)… and a very merry holiday to all of you! See you all in the new year!

Signing off,

Tina
{Lead Graphic Designer}

Making the Dent

How does one come around to do great work? Does it take hard work or smart work? Does it take endurance and perseverance?

I think great work starts first at the roots of a company. The people, the culture, the mindset. These are ingredients that are not easily found, and even harder to cultivate and hone in on growing throughout an entire organization or team. Instead of setting out to make a buck, the mindset should be set on pushing for change, pushing for evolution, and making a dent.

Maybe it’s a small dent, but it’s a dent that takes a core belief that you’re doing the right thing. Maybe this sounds cliche, but it’s true in every aspect of everything people do. But you can’t do it assuming you’ll get there. You just do it because you believe it to be a civic responsibility.

You’ll get angry. You’ll get into arguments. You’ll sweat and stress. And maybe at the end of the day, you’re teetering on the edge of hopelessness.

And then you ask the question “why did I start this?” Hopefully at this point, you’ll remind yourself you joined the hurricane because you believed in something good — hopefully you had a belief at all from day 1.

That’s what we do here. We push forward off the well-beaten path. And even when we’re told again and again, “no,” we go ahead and aim for making that dent anyway.

NZXT.

– Tuan Nguyen
Director, Marketing

Lovin’ my new Alienware

This week I made a purchase I never expected to ever make. I bought an Alienware…

As a kid I had pined for an Alienware, then it was for Voodoo, and by the time I had enough income to support that kind of purchase, it no longer made any sense. Alienware’s business is completely built on image and marketing and it has worked very well for them, but in the end, the customer is only paying the premium for that and to different people that can have a very polarizing effect. Most notably to the people who would consume our products, I am fairly confident that the majority of you reading this were ready to hear a sob story about how I wasted my money…

I absolutely love my new Alienware. Granted, there are two caveats. The first is that it was a notebook, not a desktop and my other alternatives were generics. The second was that it was heavily discounted.

I was previously using a Compal JHL90 with a Core 2 Duo and 9600M GT video card. It had been a trooper, but my many accidents and time took quite the toll on it. The Bluetooth, webcam, female power connector, power brick, hard drive, optical drive, battery and speakers have all broken at some point with most remaining unfixed. Next Monday I will be traveling to Taiwan for CES for two weeks and was not confident it would be able to sustain my usage any more so I set out for deals. Mother’s Day weekend arrived with just what I was looking for. I picked up the Alienware M14X R2 with a 3610QM, 6gb DDR3, GT 650M 1gb, 500gb 7200RPM drive, and an upgraded screen for $650 out the door. Arguably this was the best deal I have ever gotten on a new computer.

I really wasn’t expecting to be impressed by anything other than the specs of the components, but once it was in my hands, my perception began to change. The exterior was covered an a fairly scratch resistant rubber coating, Windows included no bloatware, the power saving options were immense, the LEDs were really fun and neat especially when I loaded up Battlefield 3 and they synced with my health without any configuration, speakers sounded fantastic, the BIOs allowed plenty of options and overclocking control and was preconfigured for RAID which made adding my MSATA cache drive a breeze, and the CPU and GPU had discreet cooling systems which kept the laptop at comfortable temps while gaming. A lot of what makes the M14X different from its competitors are aesthetic features, but it is no slouch and does a great job of not sacrificing performance for beauty.

Admittedly, I would not have bought this laptop without such a deep discount and many of the features it provides are available on other laptops, however my experience has been fantastic thus far. It may have superfluous features but in no way does that make it a lesser product and after my time with it I can’t even say that I would be unhappy with the laptop had I paid $1,000 for it. Will my next desktop be an Alienware? LOL, no. I still dislike that I can’t compile my own laptop out of individual parts, and there is no getting around the fact that Alienware is charging for things no one needs in a computer which in return just makes it harder to justify the purchase. The end of the day Alienware is still doing things no one else is doing, they aren’t revolutionary, but they are still unique and I like my laptop.

-Rob Teller
Product Development

Who was your romance in Mass Effect?

Today is no ordinary day. It is the day we must take a final stand against the Reapers and reclaim what is truly ours – the Galaxy. But before we jump into combat, let us first revisit what matters just as much as a good fight. Like any action film, the hero never joins the final battle without a little something special on the side. There’s always room for romance and it is what every iconic hero needs before an epic battle takes place.

With so many varieties and choices aboard the Normandy, it’s hard to decide who the lucky mate would be for my FemShep. First off, it started with Kaidan in Mass Effect. I left Ashley for dead back in Virmire so I could have him all to myself J. Then came along the curiosity with cross species such as Thane and Garrus. Don’t get me wrong, Thane was a really sensitive guy. A little TOO sensitive for my FemShep’s taste. Garrus on the other hand really creeped me out so I had to go back to Kaidan.  For the record, Liara never appealed to me because I found it rather disturbing that the entire Asari race is quite frankly the best of both worlds – unisex gender.

On a second thought, forget romance and let’s annihilate the Reapers and Cerberus!

 

 

-Irene P.

Marketing

NZXT is Growing Up.

It’s amazing how fast 7 years can fly by. When NZXT was founded in 2004, we simply had a dream to create a great company that made amazing products for gamers. Being a hardcore PC Gamer myself, I wanted to make the pc gaming community heard and push out products that would show the world how much PC gaming can offer outside of great games. From building your PC, picking out your hardware, PC gaming offers flexibility and personality unlike any other community. Although I’m no longer the one designing/marketing the products I have a great team here to support me. We still strive to push the boundaries and shock the industry with every new product launch.

Recently I made a big decision to take the company further by building a team of talented and passionate people. The inevitable growth of a company sometimes blinds a company to take a misguided path but I’m reminded everyday of how we arrived at where we are. Our fans and our customers believe in the brand to create the products that the community has come to love and we are thankful everyday for it. So thank you fans and community, and thank you team. If we ever stray from our path a vision, please kindly remind us.

Johnny Hou – Founder

Don’t Fight It, Just Give into Your Gaming Instinct

I remember the times when I would just hop onto my PC and just started gaming right after work.  League of Legends and Team Fortress 2 were my games of choice.  It seems like ages now since I’ve done that, but it has only been 2 months and going.  I guess you could call this a “falling out”.

This does have its benefits.  I now have time to do things I’ve been telling myself to do, such as go out more often, exercise, and watch some TV series.  The downside to this; I feel that I’m not myself because gaming has always been a part of me.  The games I’m hoping to bring me back to the gaming scene are Battlefield 3 and Assassin’s Creed Revelations.

Battlefield 3:

The Battlefield series has always been my favorite of the FPS genre.  With the new installment, Battlefield 3, it’s going to take FPS to a whole new level.  What really excites me about this game is the new Frostbite 2 engine and the dog fights!  I will definitely play this not just because of the previous reasons, but also because I preordered it in April when I was still hardcore gaming.

Assassin’s Creed Revelations:

Its Assassin’s Creed, need I say more?  I have always had a thing for assassination games, but the gameplay for this title is by far one of the best I’ve experienced out of the others.  What really got me into this series is the story.  It’s just so damn interesting and keeps me wanting more.

My goal now is to merge both gaming and what I am doing now.  This is probably for the best, not just for me, but for many others.  I’ve been a hardcore gamer and I realized that I may have isolated myself – in my room on my PC in the past.  Moral of this entry; gaming can be a part of your life, but don’t let it BE your life.

-Va T.
Assistant Product Manager

Important info, and something to lighten up your stressful day

This is a list of what all the advertising terms on products mean

NEW – Different color from previous design.
ALL NEW – Parts are not interchangeable with previous design.
EXCLUSIVE – Imported product.
UNMATCHED – Almost as good as the competition.
ADVANCED DESIGN – The advertising agency doesn’t understand it.
IT’S HERE AT LAST – Rushed job. Nobody knew it was coming.
FIELD TESTED – Manufacturer lacks test equipment.
HIGH ACCURACY – Unit on which all parts fit.
FUTURISTIC – No other reason why it looks the way it does.
REDESIGNED – Previous flaws fixed – we hope.
DIRECT SALES ONLY – Factory had a big argument with distributor.
YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT – We finally got one to work.
BREAKTHROUGH – We finally figured out a use for it.
MAINTENANCE FREE – Impossible to fix.
MEETS ALL STANDARDS – Ours, not yours.
SOLID-STATE – Heavy as hell.
LESS FATTENING – Now doesn’t have the same fat content as pig stomach lining.
HIGH RELIABILITY – We made it work long enough to ship it.
NON-REFUNDABLE – We couldn’t make it work long enough to ship it.
FAT FREE – You pay for the food, but the fat is free.

Source: Lotsofjokes.com

Shin F.
Product R&D/Dsgn Mgmt