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.
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 the airflow to any direction in your system. For example, if your graphics card is running too hot, the fans send a stream of air towards 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 with the Zero Wings AI is that it emits zero noise. Hey, silence is literally built into be quiet’s name, and if it works 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% 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. The case 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.