ASUS @ Insomnia 64

Bus

It wouldn’t be an Insomnia show if ASUS didn’t bring the ROG bus along, and Insomnia 64 is no exception. However, this time around it’s a totally revamped offering with insides which match up exactly to your expectations. Dark. Saturated lighting. It’s like walking onto the set of Ex Machina. If you ever see it and think that it would be pointless to take a look, put your prejudice on one side and have a shuftie. In the meantime test your monitors calibration by trying to spot the details in the bottom picture – we didn’t want to interrupt the gamers – and then click on to see what else is new.

  
  
  

ASUS Matrix and Helios

The ASUS Matrix has often blown our minds with what it could produce from an already jaw-dropping GPU, and this latest iteration is no exception. It has, are you sitting down, a built in AIO. Yes there have been water-cooled cards before, and yes attaching an H50 to a graphics card is nothing new, but this particular puppy is a built in AIO with no break-out radiator or hosing or anything. It exists within its own space. We can’t wait for a) a brighter shot and b) to test this bad boy.

  
  

Helios

When so many of your components are ROG branded it would make perfect sense to put them in a ROG case, and the new Helios is the perfect mid-tower for that purpose. Eagle-eyed, or particularly attentive, readers will recall that when this debuted at CES it had a lot of OLED accoutrements which wouldn’t make it into production, but this here is the final version that you’ll get when the courier delivers it. Obviously without the internals. You knew that though, right?

  

Wearables

We’ve often spoken here at OC3D about the prevalence of RGB lighting in every thing from motherboards to mice but we think this is either a new zenith or nadir, depending upon your own taste. It’s certainly attention grabbing. With a built in battery to charge your mobile devices as well as the rather glaring ROG Logo and stripe. We know it’ll be divisive as to whether you’d buy one but it’s undoubtedly cool.

  

If the ROG RGB back pack is a little too flashy for your tastes, or you’d worry wandering through Hackney with it on a dark Friday night, then the TUF option will let you represent without standing out a mile. It’s like getting a 5.11 rucksack without funding the military.

  

If you’ve always fancied yourself as a real-life Technomancer or cosplaying Watch Dogs then the ROG Jacket and facemask combination should set you on the path.

  

Peripherals

Everyone likes different colours and whilst it would be easy to return to the dark ages and suggest that pink peripherals are the perfect thing for the girls in your life, let’s be honest, plenty of people from all genders like pink and it’s good that ASUS are catering to this market. We absolutely love the system that was used to demonstrate this new colour option. Why go for a winder when you can have the whole thing exposed? Lush.

  
  

The ROG Delta is the world’s first gaming headset with the industry-leading, hi-fi-grade ESS 9218 quad DAC and is also equipped with a Type-C USB connector guaranteeing you not only the high end sound quality that you desire, but plenty of connectivity options on the latest hardware. Oldsters will be pleased to note that there is a Type-A option included. Ourselves? Bry wants that RGB ROG Throne included with his review sample please ASUS. Thanks.

  

Wrap Up

Of course drooling over future hardware isn’t the only thing you can do at Insomnia 64. If you’ve brought your wallet then OCUK have partnered with ASUS to bring a ROG shop to the NEC, those of you with busy Twitch lives will appreciate ASUS partner Squirrel streaming live from the show, whilst the rest of us can wonder if our partners will let us mount this incredible ROG logo on our front room wall.

Let us know your thoughts about Insomnia 64 and all these ASUS reveals in the OC3D Forums.