Who doesn’t like April Fools’ day, a day each year when we let our inner pranksters out to play harmless jokes on our friends and family? It’s also become a day each year when PC hardware vendors can unleash their creativity and announce ridiculous products without repercussion.
Over the years, we’ve seen some unique and hilarious inventions from hardware brands. Sometimes, the announcements are clearly hoaxes, but others are so well done that you may think it’s real. So, following the annual tradition, we’ve compiled a small round-up of the most unusual and interesting April Fool’s day hardware announcements.
Sapphire’s
You’ll love the Sapphire Top RX 7999 XTT Mega (opens in new tab) if you like overengineered graphics cards. The RDNA 3 graphics card comes out of Sapphire’s trunk of unreleased graphics cards. The triple-slot graphics card has a trio of cooling fans and vibrant RGB lighting.
While the specifications are a mystery, Sapphire confirmed that it rocks “100GB of GDDR0401” memory and impressive clock speeds. The Sapphire Top RX 7999 XTT Mega is built for future 14K gaming. However, the graphics card is only available today, so don’t think twice before pulling out your credit card.
Asus’ Steam Deck Killer
Asus has revealed the ROG Ally (opens in new tab), the brand’s first gaming handheld console. The device uses an unspecified, custom-made AMD Ryzen APU. It’s on Windows and supports different gaming platforms. Equipped with a Full HD display, the ROG Ally flaunts a dual-fan cooling solution to run cool and silent in your hands.
The ROG Ally is compatible with Asus’ ROG XG Mobile eGPU, which employs a GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU to take your gaming experience to another level. The eGPU allows ROG Ally owners to stream their favorite games on the big screen, similar to the Nintendo Switch.
Asus even put up a preorder minisite (opens in new tab) at Best Buy.
MSI’s Energy Drink For True Gamers
MSI (opens in new tab) unveiled a unique energy drink that’s made for gamers. The drink is sugar-free and elevates gamers’ energy levels to great heights. Unfortunately, MSI didn’t share what flavors the drink is available in. However, the ad claims that it’s cooling and refreshing.
Gigabyte’s RGB Cat Bed For Flurry Companions
If your cat needs a comfortable and relaxing bed, Gigabyte (opens in new tab) has you covered. The manufacturer has launched the Aorus Cat Master, a cat bed that’s 280mm wide that sits on top of your PC case.
The bed features a flexible mesh design that facilitates airflow toward your favorite companion. The Aorus Cat Master is not only comfy but also looks great, thanks to the integrated RGB lighting on the bed stands.
NZXT’S First GPU?
NZXT is better known for PC cases or CPU liquid coolers. So, you know something bizarre was going on when NZXT tweeted (opens in new tab) what appeared to be an AI-generated render of the company’s first alleged graphics card. It’s a shame it was a joke since consumers could use another competitor in the graphics card market after EVGA’s exit.
The graphics card doesn’t look half bad, sporting a beautiful, all-white exterior to match the company’s motherboards. The dual-slot graphics card features a standard cooler with NZXT-branded two cooling fans. The rear I/O cover has a unique design flaunting a vent with a circular pattern, three DisplayPort outputs, and one HDMI port.
be quiet!’s Dead Silent Fan
Meanwhile, be quiet! (opens in new tab) has rolled out a press release (yes, an actual press release) announcing the company’s Zero Wings AI fans. The bladeless fans (yes, you read that right) leverage the brand’s Controlled Airflow Technology (CAT) design and FANOS AI technology that controls the Zero Wings AI’s fan speed and airflow, depending on the environment.
Thanks to the bladeless design, Zero Wings AI fans can direct your system’s airflow in any direction. For example, if your graphics card is running too hot, the fans send a stream of air toward it. be quiet! claims that the Zero Wings AI’s performance is equivalent to a standard 120mm fan spinning at 8,500 RPM. The advantage of the Zero Wings AI is that it emits zero noise. Hey, silence is literally built into be quiet’s name, and if it works for Dyson (opens in new tab), why not for PCs?
Razer’s Razer To Keep Your Face Looking Sharp
Razer has revealed the Razer Razer (opens in new tab), which the brand touts as the world’s first gaming mouse that doubles as a razor for… shaving. Featuring Razer Chroma RGB, the Razer Razer wields 1,337 micro blades to provide a clean shave on even the most delicate skin. The razor shaves at 360 FPS (follicles per second), so gamers can remove the hair from their faces in record-breaking time.
Can the Razer Razer be used on areas other than my face?
Yes. But please, for the love of all that is good, wash the Razer Razer before you plan to shave your face again.Razer
According to Razer, test subjects have experienced a 69{fa54600cdce496f94cc1399742656d2709d9747721dfc890536efdd06456dfb9} performance boost in gaming after using the Razer Razer. Performance seemingly deteriorates as the subjects’ hair grows back, though. The company even put up a FAQ for the razor, which is amusing.
Silverstone’s Old-School Yellowish Case
Silverstone (opens in new tab) has revealed the company’s SST-FLP01-W and SST-FLP01-B cases that pay tribute to the PC cases from the ’90s. Although Silverstone defines the case as white, it’s more old-fashioned beige. Yes, there’s even a Turbo button on the case. The SST-FLP01-W accepts Micro ATX, ATX, and even SSI-CEB motherboards. In addition, there’s enough spacing for graphics cards up to 300mm in length, so the SST-FLP01-W should have no problems accepting today’s best graphics cards.
The SST-FLP01-W’s most unique selling point is the two 5.25-inch floppy disk bays, which you don’t see on cases anymore. So if you still have the original Doom stored away somewhere, now’s the time to replay the iconic title. The SST-FLP01-W also has three 12cm cooling fans and USB Type-C support.