1337 Performance For Your Gaming Needs
In the interest of full disclosure this review is based on a prototype of the MLG Pro 600 Stand Mixer. Three dozen of these elite gaming/baking rigs were delivered just before St. Patrick's Day to myself and a handful of industry professionals. I expect that these are going to be an uber hot ticket item until well into the third quarter of ’09, but for those of you who, like me, insist on nothing but the most cutting edge tech, do whatever you need to in order to get your hands on one early.
As further testament to their ability to rule the competitive gaming scene, Major League Gaming has entered into another successful partnership with the hottest manufacturers in the biz to deliver world-class equipment branded with that MLG flair. Built from the ground up as a gamer-first stand mixer, the MLG Pro 600 proves again that the world’s greatest gamers know what is best for you- with playlist settings and in your kitchen.
When I first received the package, via special courier, I knew before I opened it that it was going to be something special. I had gotten the Elite Bundle so with the included HDMI cables and Ion Drum kit adapter (more on that later!) the total weight of the box was a hefty 17.25 kilos. In or out of the box this already looked and felt like professional grade equipment. I had tried and been disappointed with Sennheiser’s earlier efforts at bread kneading tech, and when Halo 3 shipped I had gotten duped by the Turtle Beach Stick mixer, so I had been carefully skeptical about the MLGP600. I didn’t want my heart broken again! Let me tell you though, unpacking it was like ChristmaHannuKwaanzikah morning at the Bubba House! The unit came packaged with quick connect cables with multiple ends, its own programmable pre-amp and a burnished metal spiral dough hook. As expected with any high-end electronics it came with a clear-plastic splatter shield and pouring guide, but unlike my old Sennheiser it didn’t have that “rainbow oil slick” look across the curve of the plastic. Real “clear” plastic! You go MLG!
The unit itself is sleek and, like all of the prototypes, the Arterial Red finish. According to the literature that shipped with it a full spectrum of finishes from Matte Black to Gun Metal Gray are planned for the final SKU. The all metal transmission and 1500 watts of mixing power make this unit capable of grinding whole grains to flour to dough in a single three minute pulse as well as pwning an army of potatoes into smashed helplessness. The mixer’s 10 speed slide control allows smooth adjustment from slow-stir to fast whip and between 802.11n 20 and 40 MHz bandwidth. The Soft start sensor allows for gradual build up to final stir speed alleviating “powder puff” from dry ingredients while still supporting both Dolby 5.1 and Surround. While I can already feel my impending love affair with this must-have accessory growing, I have to caution readers that without the promised connectors for the TEW-621PC card, I was unable to give it a complete and thorough workout with the azimuth test system. I will say that Sundance DiGiovanni did call my Christmas 2.0 cookies the “flakiest, butteriest, [sic] cookies since a fat little guy named Ghostayame rolled into town.”
Good news for podcasters out there! The MLGP600’s preamp is daisy-chainable! I get the added benefit of offloading surround duties to the pre-amp, saving system resources, maintaining the integrity of softer ingredients, and simultaneously letting me decide what the soundtrack for my baking sessions will be. The bad news is that it does not have VPN endpoints so I’m relegated to having to find another way to terminate those tunnels and purchasing a stand alone vegetable/cheese shredding attachment. The good news is that the attachment point is easily accessible on the front of the unit so travelling to tournaments is as easy as stuffing pre-stressed sausage casings.
I have not noticed any discernible lag using it with my 60 inch Plasma at home -- even with overclocking to beat egg whites to a stiff peak. However, just to be on the safe side I’ll be testing it with the LCD when I make fruitcake this season. The Beta forums have been silent on the subject so I’m assuming that I’ll have no problems. Unfortunately, while it is supposed to support UPnP out of the box, I have had some compatibility issues with my vidcap setup. So for now, no in-game footage : ( I will say that since I started churning out the pizza dough I’ve gotten my brig on three separate playlists in under 72 hours on my twink tag. Time for some more 30 day free cards and another batch of banana bread!
While the rules committee has been silent on what the MLGP600’s fate will be when introduced in tournament play, MLG greybeard Walshy is reported to already own two of them. One of them he had signed by President-Elect Obama in Hyde Park and one that he won off of the Ogre twins at a private function that he leaves at home when he travels. With the backing of the league’s grizzled vets and new MLG sponsor Cuisinart, I think we can expect this as standard equipment for the ’09 season. MLG has ripped a page from the M$ playook as well and developed layers of pricing that will make the MLGP600 accessible to almost everyone serious about pwning and baking. The Elite Bundle I tested will reportedly ship for a modest $1300. While a stripped down version for those of you just getting your feet wet in the hardcore playlist and cookie game will retail for a mere $899. The main difference from the cables supplied and 5 quart mixing bowl will be a total throughput of only 144 mbps. Good enough for P2P and gaming apps, if only barely.
Just in case it isn’t obvious from the tone of the article to this point, I’m rating the MLGP600 two very enthusiastic thumbs up! I urge all of you to run, don’t walk, to your nearest electronics dealer and bribe them with huge amounts of cash to get as high on the waiting lists as you can for one of these must-have rigs. Throw away your Blackberry Storm and drive your Prius into a lake. The future of gaming is here and MLG will once again tip the scales of global gaming domination.
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