Back-to-school season is upon us, which usually means the endgame for avid players. (Nothing puts a crimp in an epic quest quite like a term paper due in the morning.) Thankfully, in recent years makers of gaming gear have begun to design peripherals with the specific needs of students in mind: immersive speakers compact enough for even shoe-box dorm rooms; high-performance headsets that won’t wake your early-riser roommate; and staggeringly comfy chairs well-suited for all-nighters of the midterm and master sword variety. With the right hardware, you’ll set yourself up for academic success this semester without sacrificing achievement hunting. How’s that for problem solving?
Targus 17”-18” Strike II Gaming Backpack
This durable gamer-on-the-go everything bag is, as onemight say, ludicrously capacious: there’s an ultra-padded laptop compartment big enough for even 18” monster consoles, plus dedicated pockets for the rest of your peripherals, including a loop to hang a headset. (There’s even an easy-to-access side pocket so you don’t have to open the whole backpack just to retrieve it.) Expect ample cushioning, and even a sternum strap for added stability, so both precious cargo and your back are well protected. Bonus points for the elastic trolley strap that lets you slide your bag on a rolling suitcase. Priced under $US80, it clocks in at just under 2 lbs when empty. How about when it’s filled? Let’s just say it handily totes the weight of your parents’ expectations, along with the controllers they bought you for Christmas.
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Corsair TC500 Luxe
Enthusiasts know the acute pain of suffering through long hours of gameplay in a chair about as comfortable as a bicycle seat. A really good gaming chair is an investment piece you’ll gladly lug around to the ends of the earth. Behold, the Corsair TC500 Luxe ($US549), with impressive four-way adjustable lumbar support specifically targeting lower back pain. The seat itself is wider and flatter than most chairs on the market, accommodating a beefier range of body types. (It can support up to 264 pounds and is recommended for heights up to 6’2”.) The armrests deliver 4D range of motion, so you can adjust them exactly how you want them, and the seat reclines up to 160 degrees, lending itself well to quick study breaks thanks to a magnetic memory foam pillow cushion. (We know, we know, you’re just resting your eyes.) While so many other gaming chairs seem to take design inspo from back issues of Motor Sport Magazine, the TC500 Luxe is a veritable throne, kitted out in a stain-resistant, velvety synthetic fabric that looks like leather. True, the 2-year warranty isn’t as attractive as, say, the 5-year warranty on the ultrapopular Secretlab Titan Evo, but the Corsair is so fetching, you may actually find yourself eager to hunker down in it for an all-nighter. (Doing homework, of course.) Available in Shadow (grey), Sherwood (green) and Frost (white).
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SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5X Wireless
When it comes to headsets, it’s easy to fall into the iPhone trap: shell out big bucks for the latest and greatest, only to feel soaked when a newer model drops a year later. Fortunately, there are plenty of mid-priced gems like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5X that deliver on the major requirements (and then some), ideal for budget conscious college gamers. Weighing nearly 270 grams (or a half pound), the Arctis Nova 5x is disarmingly light and boasts breathable, rotating memory foam-covered earcups. Translation: no sore ears after hours on Twitch. The sound quality is way better than it should be at under $US120, with clear highs and deep lows, plus intuitive on-ear controls to adjust volume and mute the fully retractable mic. While it’s definitely designed for gaming, you won’t feel at all shortchanged using it for music and movies. The big selling point, though, is its connectivity: thanks to the USB-C dongle, the 5X lets you toggle between XBox, PC, Playstation, Switch and other devices. And at 60 hours, the battery life is materially better than most in this price point. Retailing for under $US120, the 5X punches above its weight.
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IK Multimedia iLoud MTM MKII (pair plus ARC mic)
For students looking to maximize desk space without sacrificing what IK refers to as “physics-defying sound,” the iLoud MTM MKII speakers are a no-brainer. The full kit, priced at $US799, comes with a pair of 3.5” high-performance woofers and a 1″ high-def tweeter to sandwich between them. (The components can be bought separately.) It’s not just that the speakers are small, but that they’re designed specifically for small spaces. Another major selling point is its Automatic Room Correction (ARC) technology, which auto-adjusts the EQ to any room using a mic (comes with the kit), a simple enough process for even audio noobs. Download IK’s free X-Monitor software to access 20 studio monitor presets, letting you test how your audio might sound from a phone speaker or car, for example. While these professional-grade, albeit compact speakers are marketed to producers and engineers, gamers who prioritize sound quality, no matter when or where, simply can’t do better.
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SPONSORED BY DELL
Alienware Aurora R16 Gaming Desktop
Trick out your gaming rig with the most immersive gaming desktop on the market. The Alienware Aurora R16 is Dell’s first gaming desktop to include the revamped Alienware Command Center software, where users can create and edit AlienFX lighting across the ecosystem, choose and monitor performance mode across distinct power states, and create custom gaming profiles for their whole library. Equipped with an Intel® Core™ i9 processor, it’s easier than ever to be truly “in the game.” Starts at $US1,199.99*. Price subject to change
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Logitech M720
What’s it take for a wireless mouse to earn our grudging admiration? For starters, a sleek, ergonomic right-handed design that would have made Herman Miller himself misty-eyed; a scroll wheel that delivers both hyper-fast infinite scrolling (great for navigating long documents and web pages) and slower, incremental movement; and versatility—the Triathlon can support up to three bluetooth devices and is powered by a single AA battery for upwards of 24 months. While serious gamers might hanker for a mouse with a higher DPI, casual gamers—especially those in college—can’t go wrong with this all-purpose workhorse. Priorities, people.
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Razer Huntsman V3 Pro
The Huntsman V3 Pro is all about control, which is why gamers went slack-jaw when Razer’s tricked out keyboard first dropped last year. The wow feature is its fully adjustable actuation, which means you decide how hard you have to press a key for it to register. (If you’re playing a game like Overwatch 2, you’ll want that hair-trigger responsiveness.) Plus, you can create profiles for different games. No annoying recalibrations when you switch titles. Dual function keys mean your character can walk when pressed lightly, but run when pressed fully. And you can program a key to perform a series of steps with one stroke, particularly helpful in complex gaming. For casual gamers, these features might seem like overkill. But play long enough and you quickly realize how much of an advantage they offer, especially if you’re hammering away for hours on end. Just be sure to readjust those settings if you plan on using the keyboard for plain-old typing.
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Elgato Wave:3
It’s hard to knock this simple, $US150 powerhouse of a USB mic, best suited for gamers who stream, but a winner for pretty much anyone creating content. A multifunctional dial on the front of this 8” tall and mighty mic allows easy control of gain, headphone volume, and mic/PC audio mix. A mute button on top is convenient for quick muting during gaming sessions or unexpected interruptions. Another standout feature: the Clipguard technology, which prevents audio distortion during sudden outbursts, which are par for the course in gaming. Bonus points for the long USB cable, a smart detail, especially when outlets are scarce. Best of all, there’s no need for serious technical know-how to set it up: just plug and play. Because who has time to waste fiddling with balances and optimizing levels? Not you! Comes in white, black, and the neon-yellow spashed “quadrant”.
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Western Digital P40 Game Drive SSD
All it takes is one run-in with maxed out storage on your computer to convince you that an external drive is well worth the investment. WD’s P40 Game Drive (starting at $US100 for 500GB) is compact and lightweight—slip it in your backpocket and go. Plus it’s rugged, military-style design is basically klutz-proof. With speeds of up to 2000MB/s, you get mind-blowingly fast uploads and downloads. You’ll love the P40’s compatibility: via a USB-C, it connects to PCs and laptops, as well as PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. (While you can’t play PS5 or Xbox Series X games directly from the drive, you can store them and transfer them to the console’s internal storage when needed.) And, of course, the P40 isn’t just for gaming. We hear it can manage a book report or two. Comes in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB options.
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