Six new headset SKUs just hit the gaming market, all from eSports sponsor and peripheral manufacturer SteelSeries. The company has updated its lineup to scale from $60 at entry-level up through $200 with the Elite series of headsets. We've previously gotten hands-on with SteelSeries' Siberia Elite, a high-end gaming headset that's getting an update in this launch cycle.

SteelSeries new headset stack looks like this:

HyperX, Kingston's premier gaming line, announced on Wednesday the release of a white version of their Cloud gaming headset. We've been following this equipment since Kingston first announced the release of the black version. This headset has already won numerous awards this year and is used by a number of e-sports teams. As it's just a recoloring of their current headset, the specs are identical to the original version.

We've been recommending Plantronics' GameCom 780 headset alongside our PC builds for a few years now, generally calling it the "best value for gamers." The 780 has fluctuated between the $50 and $80 price range, and at either end of that spectrum, it has always dominated as a high-endurance, high-performing solution for gaming audio and input. Our original review 780 is still functional, and that's after nearly two years of constant use -- the longest time I've ever had a headset last.

Plantronics recently contacted us about a GameCom 788 refresher of the original 780. There haven't been any changes to the audio drivers and underlying audio tech, so it's all aesthetics and marketing. The 788 ships alongside updated Windows 8/8.1 compatibility, joined by most of Plantronics' other audio products.

In this review and hands-on with Plantronics' GameCom 788, we look at the headset's sound quality, build quality, comfort, and usefulness in gaming.

Technically, Kingston's been running its HyperX business unit purely as "HyperX" in recent days; the new Fury RAM doesn't even feature the Kingston branding, and the same goes for the Cloud headset that's scheduled to ship in short order. In speaking with Kingston at PAX East, it was conveyed to us that the HyperX unit is remaining under Kingston, but will be branded independently in its gaming target. The HyperX brand is stronger than ever, we were told, and has grown from a sort-of "side project" at its roots to a major competitor in the gaming hardware market.

We took a short break from weekend hardware sales round-ups to post a ton of Titanfall coverage, including two new PC build guides for those looking to get into system building. The builds were $797 and $506, so they appeal to mid-range and ultra-budget audiences pretty well. With all that out of the way, we're now back to our regularly-scheduled weekend hardware sales round-up; this weekend includes an Intel 530 SSD sale, mechanical keyboard, headset, and some RAM.

After receiving an influx of peripherals to test (see: gaming mice reviews), we've finally worked our way toward gaming headsets. Headsets are slightly tougher to review than other, more objective components; the subjective nature of audio means that these reviews will be based more upon the user experience than hard numbers.

In this Plantronics RIG review, we look at the company's new gaming headset + mixer combo package, targeted toward cross-platform versatility and unique mixing use case scenarios.

For at least a year now -- maybe two -- we've kept Plantronics' GameCom 780 headset at the top of our peripheral referral list. It's affordable, now priced firmly at $55, powerful, well-equipped for stream-quality broadcast, and durable.

As much as we've come to endorse the 780, it's still a mid-range headset; there's an entire spectrum of quality out there, as with all components, and we've yet to explore the top-tier headsets in any officially-published capacity. That changes today, courtesy of SteelSeries' new Siberia Elite headset.

We had a chance to get a hands-on with the new SteelSeries Siberia Elite headset and its accompanying software revamp while at PAX Prime last weekend. Let's hit the specs before further discussion: