A Case With 5.1 Surround Sound Built In? I'm Sold

Last but certainly not least, if you are a true blue-blooded gamer - if you don't shy away from being called a nerd, your social calendar is either empty or filled with LAN parties, and your computer is simply another gaming machine - then you simply have to completely trick out your PC with all the cool stuff you can. One company that is dedicated to these loyal gamers is HotSeat, which has a line of high-end gaming chassis and furniture that take the clichéd wood computer desk and leather rolling chair and replace it with an enclosed environment suited specifically to your gaming tastes.

Bringing the grand prix to your living room

Jay Leboff, the inventor of the HotSeat, started his company because his 14-year-old son complained that the typical "gaming rig" was uncomfortable and had poor sound. So Leboff decided to create his own PC gaming systems to give his son a better gaming experience (making him just about the coolest dad in the world!) When I spoke to Leboff, he summed up his line of products by saying, "we have the only chassis that includes a 6-speaker, 5.1 surround sound system as standard. This puts you in the race car, airplane or game. There is a huge difference between racing with 2.1 sound from a TV versus surround sound with the subwoofer rumbling under the seat."

The recently launched FlightSim Chassis was the centerpiece of our conversation. It's an elevated, reclined chair that can move forwards and backwards just like the driver's seat of a car, with an impressive sound system built in directly behind the chair. There's also a diagonal pedestal at the foot of the product for pedal controls, and two small desks, one for the controller and one for the monitor. It turns any PC into an arcade game cockpit.