Editors’ Picks: Digital Discoveries

Hardware staff writer, Joanna Nelius, and executive editor, Alan Dexter, reveal what has been keeping them in a spin

NZXT KRAKEN Z63

Sorry RGB lighting, but I have a new cosmetic obsession: The customizable LCD screen on NZXT’s new Z-3 series AIO coolers. The screen is 2.36 inches and can display 24-bit color. With NZXT’s CAM software, you can program it to display vital system data, such as temperatures, a photo, or your favorite animated GIF. The company recently added a few new models to its Kraken line-up, the X-3 series in addition to the Z-3 series, but the while the X-3 doesn’t have LCD screens, both series feature a rotating pump or infinity mirror to keep the NZXT logo or custom image upright.

You pay a premium for this tech—$100 more than the equivalent X-3 cooler—but it’s just too darn cool not to splurge on.

Also, the Z-3 series has been outfitted with a new Asetek pump, which provides better cooling and is quieter. Other than being nit-picky about the vertically facing logo on my current Kraken X52 ( AIO coolers have different mounting brackets for AMD motherboards), it’s a bit noisier than I would like. But the Z-3 series fixes both of those problems and has a customization option way better than any RGB-lit component or accessory.

$250, www.nzxt.com

LITEON ES1 ULTRASLIM DVD WRITER

I’ve recently decided to reclaim the shelf space given over to a sizable DVD collection. Like everyone else, my family increasingly watches movies streamed from Netflix and Amazon, rather than reaching for discs. Basically, there’s not much call for an extensive DVD collection now, and the space it takes up could be put to better use.

The plan is to store the collection in the attic, after ripping it all to a NAS first. I may have only watched a handful of these discs in the last few years, but the urge to play the original cinema release of TheEmpire

StrikesBack will undoubtedly rear its head the second it’s no longer easy to do.

There’s a problem: the trend in case design that’s seen optical drives expunged from the PC’s makeup. The answer was to grab an external DVD drive and rip the DVDs that way. A trip to Amazon netted me this LiteOn drive for just $20, which has performed its function flawlessly. It’s quick, quiet enough, and is powered by the USB cable, so can hit the road with me if needed. It even came with a copy of Nero burning software, which I completely forgot existed. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a couple hundred DVDs to rip....

$20, www.liteon.com