Here Are The Best Products Of CES 2018
Best Of CES 2018 Displays, Component And Peripherals
NVIDIA BFGD (Big Format Gaming Displays)
NVIDIA and its partners unveiled a trio of massive monitors at CES 2018, dubbed Big Format Gaming Displays (BFGD). These new monitors developed with partners ASUS, HP and ACER are all 65-inch behemoths. They boast super-fast 120Hz refresh rates and NVIDIA’s own G-SYNC technology, which will sync the output from a GeForce GTX-class GPU with the monitor to eliminate tearing and minimize lag to produce a silky smooth, stutter-free gaming experience. These monitors also feature a 4K resolution, HDR support, full-array direct backlighting with 1,000-nit peak luminance, and DCI-P3 color gamut support. NVIDIA is also integrating their SHIELD TV technology into the displays, which make them great for streaming content when not gaming on your PC.
LG 88" 8K OLED Display
LG made a big splash at CES 2018 with its gorgeous, 88" 8K OLED TV. Initially announced just before the show, the LG 88-inch 8K OLED is a showcase for what next-generation televisions will be capable of. To achieve this level of pixel density without sacrificing brightness (33 million self-emissive OLED pixels) LG reduced the size and aperture ratio of each pixel. LG has stated that these new 8K OLED displays can sustain slim form factors as well, since the OLED panel doesn't require backlighting, which is unlike some competing 8K solutions.
EVGA QRC/QRG Liquid Coolers
EVGA continued to flesh-out is CLC, or Closed-Loop-Cooler, liquid-cooling ecosystem at CES 2018 as well. The coolers and various accessories, which feature quick-disconnects that allow users to essentially piece together a custom liquid-cooling loop in minutes, were on display along with some new snap-in bend modules that give the flexible tubing more of a hardline look. The snap-in modules will be available in an array of colors and are super-easy to install (or remove).
AMD 2nd Generation Ryzen Processors
AMD got out in front of the tsunami of CES-related news and announced an array of products just before the show, including new mobile and desktop processors and Radeon RX Vega-based GPUs. Its 2nd-generation Ryzen desktop processors will likely be most interesting to many of you in the near term, however. 2nd-generation Ryzen desktop processors will be manufactured using a 12nm+ lithography process and will leverage the Zen+ architecture, which is fundamentally unchanged from current Zen-based processors, save for a few tweaks and fixes that improve cache and memory speeds and reduce latency. These 2nd-Generation Ryzen processors are NOT based on Zen 2, but rather are a refinement of the existing architecture, and manufactured using a more advanced process. AMD also mentioned that these new processors will be used in a new line-up of 2nd-Generation Threadrippers, but other than to say they were coming in the second half of this year, additional details weren’t disclosed.
Gigabyte Aorus K9 Gaming Keyboard
We also checked in with Gigabyte at CES 2018, who as usual had a wide variety of components, peripherals, and mainboards on display. One of the items that particularly caught our attention was the Aorus K9 Optical gaming keyboard. The Gigabyte Aorus K9 uses Flaretech optical key switches instead of physical, metal contacts. The switches feature an excellent 0.03 debounce time and an ultra durable 100 million keystroke rating. The keyboard is also splash-proof finish, features swappable key switches, full RGB backlighting, Aorus engine integration and more.
WD My Passport Wireless SSD
Another one of our favorite products at CES 2018 was the WD My Passport Wireless SSD. This handy device sports a built-in SD card reader and one-touch “copy” button that makes it super easy to transfer data to the internal SSD while on the road, without having to use a computer. Of course, the My Passport Wireless SSD also has a USB 3.0 port for transferring data from a PC and it can stream 4K video content wirelessly, as well as display an array of media files (including RAW photos). The My Passport Wireless SSD is available in variety of sizes including 250GB ($229.99), 500GB ($299.99), 1TB ($499.99), and 2TB ($799.99).
