New PC Controller Contains Cooling Fans

Posted on September 1, 2006

If you get overheated from playing video games Logitech may have created the controller for you. Logitech has come out with a new PC controller that includes ChillStream hand-cooling technology. What they have actually done is put a fan inside the controller. They do claim the fan is quiet, which it would have to be to not interfere with game play.

"We're always evaluating the different kinds of materials and technologies that can help make the gaming experience more comfortable," said Ruben Mookerjee, Logitech's director of product marketing for gaming. "But for intense action-games, there is nothing that can substitute for moving air -- it's the best way to keep hands cool and dry. This new controller offers Logitech's unique ChillStream hand-cooling technology without compromising on the size and design of the controller. And the fan is extremely quiet -- you'll know it's on only because you can feel the air cooling your hands."

Logitech's exclusive ChillStream Technology includes a built-in 40 mm fan that circulates up to 3.41 cubic feet of air every minute, while generating very little noise. Because of the fan's compact size, Logitech can deliver the ChillStream feature in a standard-size controller. Three narrow vents on each side of the controller push air directly onto the four fingers, the base of the thumb and the palm of the hand -- the three areas of the hand that need cooling most. The air stream has three settings -- high, low, and off. The air vents are recessed from the surface of the controller and rubber linings surrounding the vents are flush with the surface -- making the vents barely noticeable to the touch during gaming.

Engadget says the ChillStream looks "awfully like the S Controller for the original Xbox, which probably isn't a bad thing (if you dig that style)." The New York Times calls it an Xbox controller with gills. So, if you want an Xbox-like controller with built-in fans for use on your PC this might be the controller for you.

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