Windows Phone users will finally get access to the hit game Jetpack Joyride. Android, iOS, BB10, and Windows 8 have all had access to the app, though for varying amounts of time. However, why it's taken so long to get to Windows Phone is a mystery. After all, Microsoft originally announced that the game would be coming to Windows Phone seven months ago when Windows Phone 8 was launched.
While it's not too important what the hold up was, it's still interesting that it took seven months to arrive. But now that it is here, gamers can rejoice. The Windows Phone version of the app comes with Xbox Live integration, allowing challenges, acheivements, and other Xbox Live features to be utilized in game.
You can download Jetpack Joyride from the Windows Phone Store.
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AMD has stated that they are willing to work on semi-custom chips that are capable of running Android or Chrome OS. AMD believes that a market is emerging for the operating systems and their CPUs or APUs could be perfect for the job. This would mark the end of their Windows x86 exclusivity.
"We are very committed to Windows 8; we think it's a great operating system, but we also see a market for Android and Chrome developing as well," said Lisa Su, senior vice president and general manager of global business units at AMD.
AMD would like to work with companies to provide semi-custom chips tailored to that customer's needs. AMD has already shown their ability and willingness to do this with the three design wins in next-gen consoles. AMD is looking to expand their custom chip manufacturing business as the PC market slows.
The new chips would make use AMD's upcoming designs that combine x86 and ARM architectures onto a single chip. Add in one of AMD's powerful Radeon GPUs and you get a combination that could be hard to beat.
Microsoft has been exceedingly good about providing monthly updates to the Surface tablets ever since their respective launches. This month's update will bring improvements to the Surface Type Cover and Touch Cover via a software update. "Surface is great and only getting better," Microsoft's Brian Hall wrote.
The updates will come next week as part of June's monthly updates for the Surface tablets. The changes are rather minimal, but still important as it shows Microsoft's dedication to the Surface line of tablets. Microsoft is adding the ability to toggle the functionality of the top row of keys between their primary and secondary uses. Users currently have to hold down the Fn key to access the secondary function. To toggle between users, simply press Fn + Caps.
Microsoft is also adding a few extra commands to the keyboard, which are below in bullet form:
Reports of Apple planning to sell ads for an upcoming iRadio music streaming service have surfaced. Some expect Apple to unveil what many are dubbing iRadio as soon as next week at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference. These ads would likely be extremely targeted, making them valuable to advertisers and Apple.
Highly targeted advertising would fetch higher prices for Apple and would be in demand by marketers. if this is the case, it could be all doom and gloom for the already-struggling Pandora. According to a former Apple executive, the ads will be sold via Apple's existing iAd mobile ad network.
As Apple has access to more than just a user's listening tastes, ads could be even more targeted than those provided by Pandora. Pandora is only able to target ads based upon music listening preferences, gender, and zip code.
Of course, all of this is just speculation up until Apple actually unveils the service. If it makes an appearance at next week's WWDC, you'll be able to read about it here on TweakTown.
Many are excited for some of the improvements Windows 8.1 will bring to Windows 8. While we still don't have a public preview to play around with, Microsoft has whetted our appetite by releasing a video detailing some of the changes we can expect to see when the public preview goes live at the end of this month.
Some of the larger changes include the Al;l Apps screen, which has received the ability to sort Apps by the date installed, most used, or category. Users can now select, pin, and personalize multiple apps with a simple gesture. Search has also seen an improvement, bringing together local and web content in one location.
Watch the video and let us know if the new improvements are enough to encourage you to switch to Windows 8.
YouTube has rolled out the new YouTube "One Channel" design to all users. The new design is meant to unify the layout across desktop, TV, and mobile. It features cover photos and trailers, but comes with many more advantages according to Google.
The One Channel design originally launched back in February, but as a limited trial. In March, YouTube allowed channel users to make the switch if they wanted to check out the new design for themselves. Back in May, YouTube announced that everyone would be switched over to the new design today. Google says the following are advantages of the new layout:
We've occasionally written about FreedomPop here on TweakTown. The company looks to offer a small amount of free 4G data--usually 500MB--and then charge if users would like to use more. Now, the company is looking to expand into the cellular communications market with a similar strategy.
FreedomPop announced that they will be offering unlimited SMS, 200 minutes, and 500MB of data each month for free. Included in this free service is unlimited calling between FreedomPop users for no extra charge. Of course, there will be no hidden charges, no dealing with wireless carriers, and no monthly fees.
The service will launch later this summer on "several popular Android phones."
Amazon has once again started selling its large Kindle DX e-reader. The Kindle DX was originally available back in 2010 and features a massive 9.7-inch display. It was available up until October 2012, at which time Amazon announced the Kindle Paperwhite and new Kindle Fire tablets.
The reason for its return isn't exactly clear, nor is it clear how long the Kindle DX will be available. Some suspect that the device might be available for a limited time, so you would be encouraged to pull the trigger on it sooner rather than later.
In other Kindle-related news, Amazon appears to have finally stopped selling the Kindle Keyboard.
Computex Taipei 2013 - We didn't get a lot of time to talk with ADATA today, so more details will follow shortly. At the booth we found several interesting products though. First up are two personal cloud products that use NAS technology to give users access to their data anywhere in the world through other devices. You can use the Internet--err 'the cloud'--to access your files. I use this technology everyday on my notebook, smartphone, and other people's hardware to get to my files. Since I'm literally on the other side of the globe right now, it's an important detail to toss in.
We're not going to try to BS you, this is obviously a rebranded unit from ASUSTOR. ADATA's global network of distribution should help products like this gain traction. I've said for years the most important tech in my home and office is my NAS server and that digital home needs one as the foundation for ever device to connect to. With the new cloud features, your data is no longer tied to a physical device on your person as you can access it from anywhere.
The new dual-bay unit from ADATA is called Premier Pro NP210. It has a small footprint but packs big features, several more than listed on ADATA's short list shown at the show.
Even smaller is the new Premier NP100, a single drive solution optimized for low power consumption.
No word on pricing, but we didn't get a lot of time to speak with ADATA today due to other meetings. We'll drop in tomorrow and get all of the details and report back if we can find pricing and availability details.
Computex Taipei 2013 - ADATA's SX series branding has always been associated with LSI SandForce controllers. Even before SX, the S Series products like S510 and S511 were LSI SandForce. It's been quite some time since we've seen ADATA using a Marvell controller. The last time I can think of is at Computex three years ago when ADATA closed a section of their booth so we could test a then new SATA III product based on the same controller used in the Crucial C300, the world's first SATA III controller.
Looking to increase diversity to the brand, the SATA SX920 uses a Marvell controller and appears to be ready for entry into the channel. We suspect this is the same controller used in the SanDisk Extreme II and Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme. Talking to the product manager at the show, we learned that SX920 uses Type C Toggle NAND, the good stuff that everyone wants but few are getting access to.
With 20nm yields down and next-gen LSI SandForce stuck somewhere in 3Q or 4Q, ADATA needed a product to compete with M500 and Extreme II. Personally I would have liked to have seen ADATA not follow the SX product naming scheme and release this under a different name since SX920 is quite a bit different than SX900 and SX910. The five-year warranty from the SX910 didn't carry over either.
Microsoft has commissioned a study that shows that Internet Explorer 10 is the most efficient browser on Windows 8. The study's data suggests that if every user of Windows 8 switched to Internet Explorer 10, we would save enough energy to power 10,000 US hoseholds.
Microsoft will likely use this new "fact" as part of its marketing push to regain some of the browser market share. However, just how important is power consumption? Quite frankly, I'm not going to make the switch to Internet Explorer just because it uses slightly less power. On a notebook, though, the argument starts to gain some validity.
After all, most people surf the web for the majority of their computer use, so saving up to 18 percent of your battery life could result in a big boost. But with Haswell's jump in battery life, this argument starts to lose some of its impact.
Computex Taipei 2013 - With our meetings at Hyatt finished, Cameron and I finally had a chance to get to the show floor for a few minutes today. There we saw the future of SSDs at just about every booth we stopped by: NGFF or Next Generation Form Factor, commercially known as m.2. Over the next few days, we'll have a lot of NGFF product images and slide in some details about the interface that most are not familiar with yet. We should be able to take a few products back to the test lab as well.
The largest crowd at Plextor's booth was around the two NGFF products seen above. This form factor has several versions, roughly 14 or 15 the last I looked into it. That number will come down to just a few common sizes once system builders roll out motherboards, notebooks and Ultrabooks with the new form factor.
Electrically, NGFF can connect to a SATA bus or PCIe. The PCIe connection moves us past the limits of SATA III, making SSDs exciting once again from a performance standpoint. Companies will once again race to maximize the performance of products and more distinction in the market place will occur.
Right out of the gate, NGFF will bring sequential read performance close to 800MB/s. Sequential write performance will increase as well. Plextor's offering shows up to 780MB/s read and 550MB/s write at this point in time in the marketing documents.
Computex Taipei 2013 - Off to the side at the Plextor booth and getting little attention was an early look at what may become the M6 Series. We were told it's a working product name but considering the M1 through M5 product naming scheme M6 seems appropriate since it's next in line.
The specifications shown are very close to those found on the existing M5 Pro model that's selling today.
That means the baseline M6, or M6S depending on your market, should have nearly identical performance to the existing M5 Pro product but at a lower cost. With that said, where are the M6 Pro specs? That's the model we want to see since the Pro versions in the Plextor product series are the bleeding edge performance drives. We'll get out the shovel tomorrow and look for treasure.
Computex Taipei 2013 - We learned today that Plextor has dropped any immediate plans to release the 2.5" TLC model shown at CES 2013 and CeBIT 2013. Citing endurance concerns, a Plextor rep stated to TweakTown that the TLC model shown at previous shows has been shelved. "With Toshiba's new 1y NAND flash we can meet the same or better price point and not [have] issues with endurance."
The product in question used a Marvell 88SS9189 controller with Toshiba TLC NAND, lithography unknown. In 512GB capacity size, the rated performance was 540MB/s sequential read and 465MB/s sequential write speeds. The quoted IOPS performance was 80K read and 72K write, 4K aligned. These numbers are significantly higher than Samsung's 840, especially the write performance. Allowing TLC NAND to write at those speeds would have been an issue since TLC has lower PE cycles than MLC NAND.
The buzz around the show is that 1y will change the SSD market from a price perspective. Also, new controllers are emerging that can scale beyond 512GB and new interfaces that work over PCIe will mean moving beyond the limits of SATA III. These new products should start hitting e-tail stores in 3Q.
Struggling smartphone maker BlackBerry is reportedly already testing a new device. The A10 is reportedly undergoing testing and is slated for a November launch on Sprint. The various reports claim that the A10 will be an even better flagship device for BlackBerry.
The A10 is said to be more curvy than the Z10, BlackBerry's current flagship device. Some say it looks quite a bit more like the Samsung Galaxy S4, but no pictures have leaked out as of yet. It reportedly uses 2GB of RAM and runs BlackBerry OS 10.2, though these are just rumored for right now.
You can probably expect to see a quad-core processor and full HD screen, though these have not been supported by any reports as of yet. As soon as we get more details, we'll pass them along.
Apple has reportedly filed to trademark the term iWatch in Russia. The report comes courtesy of Izvestia, a Russian newspaper, and states that Apple has filed an application for two International Classification of Goods and Services trademarks. The first is a 9th grade of Nice Classification, which covers computers and peripherals. The second is under the 14th classification, which relates to "hours."
The newspaper report says that the first trademark application for iWatch was filed in Jamaica on December 3, 2012. Around that time, the Apple rumor mill started pumping out rumors of an impending iWatch device. Of course, a trademark doesn't mean they are currently making an iWatch; the actual product could still be years off in the future.
This morning, Yahoo announced that it has redesigned its search page and claims this new look "put[s] your results front and center." Search results are now placed higher on the page and Yahoo is even touting improved performance thanks to several undisclosed improvements to its search algorithm.
Yahoo has also integrated its Google-like top navigation bar to the search page in an attempt to improve the user experience. While these changes are small, they are part of Yahoo's larger plan to revamp their image and combine utility with beauty. The company says that today's changes are just the first step in achieving that goal.
Mozilla, the developers behind Firefox, are planning a major design overhaul for the popular web browser. The changes will appear in Firefox 25 which is slated to arrive in October. Those who wish to preview the changes are in luck as Mozilla has set up a special Nightly UX channel for Firefox 25. (Source #2)
For those of you who just want to know the differences, keep reading. The new look is awfully similar to the current user interface for Google's Chrome browser. The tabs have been rounded over, and Firefox is ditched the top left settings drop-down in favor of a more Chrome-like menu icon at the right hand side of the URL bar which is affectionately known as the "hot dog icon."
Other features include:
Additional changes to the browser include updating in-content user interface styles, refining all aspects of the existing UI, as well as several bug fixes. Firefox warned developers that they should plan for a minimalistic toolbar UI and that the API to add toolbar buttons will be very different.
Computex Taipei 2013 - Going hand in hand with all the memory that is being shown off this year we've got a ton of motherboards that support the latest chipset from Intel. We headed over to the MSI booth this afternoon to have a look at what is exactly on offer.
One board that really took our eye is the upcoming Z87 XPOWER which is due in the coming weeks. Sporting the PLX chip for faster 4-Way GPU support the upcoming board which isn't quite ready yet looks good. Along with the PLX chip we've got the Sound Blaster X-Fi3 HD audio chip.
We've also got a bunch of buttons on the board helping overclock on-the-fly. One set controls the multiplier, the other controls the BCLK. There's also a toggle switch that lets us adjust the BCLK by 1 or .1 depending on the kind of tuning you want to do. We look forward to seeing a sample in the coming weeks.
We've also got a couple of new boards under the new Gaming series from MSI with a couple in our lab already. Along with two based on the higher-end Z87 chipset; MSI is offering a cheaper one that carries the B75 chipset.
Microsoft has just released its first teaser trailer for the upcoming E3 Expo. The teaser hints at new games such as Forza 5, Gears of War, Halo, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Splinter Cell, Battlefield 4, and Fifa 14, along with revealing images of the new Xbox Live, Xbox One, as well as some updating content for the Xbox 360.
With Microsoft promising "a new generation of games," it is no question that the Xbox One will be the star of the show. The only thing that could still upstage the Xbox One would be the hardware unveiling of Sony's upcoming PlayStation 4.
TweakTown will have full coverage of the E3 Expo with our own Trace Hagan on the ground putting in the footwork to bring you the latest and greatest from the gaming world. Stay tuned to TweakTown for all of your E3 and Computex coverage.
Computex Taipei 2013 - Still one of my absolute favorite series from video cards come from our friends at MSI and while they didn't have a new Lightning based GTX 780 to show us, they did have the slightly cheaper GTX 770 on display which has also already arrived in our Taiwan labs.
Again while not on display; the first question that did come to mind was when will we see a GTX 780. While not ready just quiet yet MSI are indeed working on it and it looks like we should see it sometime in July. We're excited about both models as the Lightning series continue to be one of the strongest series of video cards available.
Outside of the new Lightning cards due, MSI are expanding the new Gaming series with the release of the GTX 770 and GTX 780 under it. We're quickly becoming a fan of the new Gaming series of cards and while we haven't got the GTX 780 variant yet, it's coming soon. So make sure you keep an eye out in the coming weeks for reviews on all the latest MSI Video Card offerings.
Computex Taipei 2013 - Inno3D today showed off the ever expanding iChiLL series of video cards with the GTX 780 Accelero Hybrid, a model that carries with it an All in One water cooling system. Considering the warmer nature of the new GTX 700 series from NVIDIA; we're really looking forward to seeing how the model goes once water has been thrown into the mix.
Alongside the new Water Cooled model which will of course carry with it quite a hefty price tag, Inno3D are showing off a chunky air cooled solution on both the GTX 770 and higher-end GTX 780. Looking below you can see the new GTX 770 HerculeZ 2000 sorts with it a pretty mean looking dual fan solution
The higher-end GTX 780 on the other hand sports a massive triple fan cooling solution which looks fantastic. If previous triple fan solutions from Inno3D are anything to go by, the upcoming i-Chill GTX 780 HerculeZ X3 Ultra should perform extremely well. We'll be keeping an eye out in the coming weeks for a sample to find out just what the new cards are capable off.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, the HTC One is most likely the nicest Android handset on the market at the moment, and I have long thought that if HTC released a smaller version that packed the same features, it could easily become the dominant handset in the Android arena.
This morning, images surfaced on the Internet of what appears to be the HTC One Mini, which just might be the greatest Android phone ever made. The device packs a 4.3-inch 720p display alongside a dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage.
A 4-megapixel UltraPixel rear facing camera will handle all of your photographic needs and we are assuming the front facing camera is the same 2.1-megapixel that is the on its larger twin. At the moment unnamed sources say the phone will launch in August in the European market at a price tag of â¬400 but no word yet on a US release date.
Computex Taipei 2013 - Following the trend of most memory companies; GeIL had some new Haswell ready memory kits that are due to hit soon. While information on the modules was a little scarce; we know that the new EVO POTENZA memory modules will offer speeds of up to 3000MHz DDR; a number that we're seeing a lot of companies offer.
Outside of 3000MHz DDR we'll see the company offer the modules in a number of other speeds but as we mentioned the exact numbers weren't on display at the moment. Looking above, though, you can see some of the color combinations the new kit.
As soon as the kits are available we'll be sure to get some samples and let you know how GeIL is going with Haswell memory in the coming weeks
Computex Taipei 2013 - Memory is pretty big this year at Computex thanks to the new Haswell platform which is offering us some truly insane speeds out of the box. G.Skill was showing off its new 3000MHz DDR with a 12-14-14-35 setup. What's really impressive, though, is not just the out of the box speed but also the fact that we're dealing with a 16GB kit instead of an 8GB one.
Showing that the memory was more than capable on multiple boards we saw the new kit running on both the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC and ASUS Maximus VI Extreme with both boards of course running the new Haswell-based Core i7 4770K processor.
Not only did G.Skill show the kit running on multiple boards but they had the modules overclocked even higher with both boards seeing 3252MHz DDR with the slightly relaxed timings off 13-15-15-35. In the next two days, though, we should see the overclockers really start to ramp up memory speeds and bring some impressive results. So make sure you keep an eye out.
Really out of nowhere, I got an email from a marketing representative that asked that we make contact with DEEPCOOL because they wanted to showcase some of their products on TweakTown. After a few emails back and forth about what sort of a test system I was using, and what sort of coolers we typically look at, the conversation ended with a pair of products being delivered. One of those is a laptop cooler with speakers built into it that we will be looking at very soon, but the other is a very well priced, stock cooler replacement for both AMD and Intel builds, and that is what we are here to discuss.
For those of you that are unaware of the DEEPCOOL name and company, let me give you a bit of history. They jumped into the market in 1996 originally only making server coolers and coolers for ODM partners. Since that time, with a bit of exposure, DEEPCOOL is now a widely known name in this game. The company prides itself on being ECO-friendly, professional, innovative, quality control, and the fact that they are constantly updating to fit the needs of the latest offerings in the PC marketplace. A little fun fact while we are on the history lesson. The name DEEPCOOL is a spin on the old IBM program Deep Blue. They figured since PCs were the way of the future, they want to be as successful as that program was in its time.
Today we are looking at a tower cooler from their long established GAMMAXX series of CPU coolers. The basic idea is to offer a stock replacement cooler that will afford users more room in thermal results if they live in warmer climates or want to try their hand at a minimal overclock. They also kept the price point way down to make this latest cooler affordable to the masses, and are a perfect solution for those who do a lot of mid-range builds. The last thing offered in these coolers is the fact that you will also have much less noise to deal with than would be found in a stock cooler.
With this in mind, let me introduce to you the DEEPCOOL GAMMAX S40 CPU cooler that we are testing today on the next page.
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Somewhere back some six to six and a half years ago, the original Scythe Mugen was introduced with the SCINF-1000 name, denoting at the time it was based off an Infinity series design back then. What Scythe didn't know back then, was that taking this original concept that could hold fans on every side of the cooler was going to be such a success, enough even to make the Mugen a standalone series. Since the original release, there was the Mugen 2, Mugen 2 Rev. B, Mugen 3, and the Mugen 3 Rev. B as well. After five chances to get it right, Scythe decided to give the Mugen another go.
Along all of these incarnations of the Mugen, various things were tried. Five heat pipes, six heat pipes, a dog bone fin design, completely square, separated individual towers and even various bases. While the bases were two pieces surrounding soldered in copper heat pipes, Scythe toyed around with skived heat sinks on the top of the base, as well as some without. Another thing that has evolved is the hardware. While obvious changes have needed to be made to allow the cooler to fit on new sockets, things weren't just updated with new holes; there is a whole new way of mounting the Mugen with the latest release.
Today with the sixth go at the Mugen series of coolers, Scythe has delivered the Mugen 4 for testing. Not only has the hardware changed, but the styling, fin stacking, and the overall size is much more accommodating and will allow users access to most of the components near it, unlike some of the previous models. With as many releases of the Mugen, there is a lot of what people will expect to see, and the Mugen 4 does hark back to the designs of the earlier coolers; you can definitely see the Mugen in it right out of the box.
The thing is though, the latest version is something that is definitely a one off design as well, and while having some hints of the older coolers, just at a quick glance, you can see Scythe it trying a mix of a lot of new ideas with the Mugen 4, and I believe it will be well worth your time to continue on and see what the Scythe Mugen 4 has to offer in today's market.
As the title suggests, when delving into a full custom build where you plan to remove the stock fans and install a ton of water cooling into the chassis, once you start to ponder a push/pull orientation on a couple of double radiators, powering and maintaining the wiring of all of these fans is something most will overlook on their first glance of parts needed to complete a clean build. Of course, you could install a couple of fan controllers to allow you to install more than six fans, since most fan controllers stop there without the addition of any Y-splitters or any way of daisy-chaining the fans onto a single power connection. You could also go and buy a bunch of Molex to 4-pin fan adapter plugs, but going that route leads you into a real mess of PSU wires and stacks of Molex adapters that you have to hide.
What if there was a small, self contained device that would allow you to simply plug multiple fans into it, and have only one power source? This would alleviate most of the wiring issues associated with the fan controllers and Molex adapters right out of the gate. You would also be able to locate this device anywhere you see fit to allow all of your fans to easily be plugged in without the need for extensions as you would likely need to connect a controller to fan wiring in the bottom of the chassis. With a device such as this, I can see this becoming the new must have device for most, if not all custom case builds, just like braided cables and lighting are.
This is where NZXT steps in to offer something that used to be, in its original form, a fan hub that was sent inside of the new Switch cases. Because the chassis had a load of fans, and due to the size of those cases, fan wiring was an issue, and they needed to devise a solution. Once the device was a success in the cases, they took the original design, wrapped it in a clean looking black plastic box, threw their name on the front of it, and even added some LED lighting to it, so if you do decide to show it, it looks even better once powered on.
Now any system builder, no matter the chassis manufacturer, can still have this sweet little 10 port fan hub that NZXT calls the Grid.
There are literally hundreds of 3D printer kits on the market at the moment, and in many ways they are essentially the same kit with the same parts and being sold by a different seller. I am not trying to belittle any of the kit makers out there as piecing together kits is a tedious, and tough task, so much in fact that you do need to exercise caution when choosing a kit to buy. Some kit makers like to pull the wool over customer's eyes and will sell enough kits to order the parts before piecing things together. This can lead to weeks or even months before your kit will arrive.
Another thing you must look out for is kits that appear to be complete, but are missing key components like printed or laser cut parts, extruder parts or even guide rods. While most sellers are upfront about these missing parts, some leave little or no clue to what you need to finish the kit.
In this installment I am going to showcase a few of the best kits on the market, as well as point you in the right direction if you want to go the entire DIY route.
I covered this section in the last article, but I really want to make sure that you understand the two main types of 3D printer DIY kits. One will path will take you into the realm of hardware sourcing, while the other will provide you with almost everything you need to build your own printer.
Scratch Built 3D Printer - Are you the DIY type who prefers to build things from scratch? If so, then you might consider going to DIY RepRap route. While it is up in the air if this method will actually save you any money, there is something to be said for building your own 3D printer from scratch. You become very intimate with the printer and will know every nut, bolt and quirk it has by the time you are successfully printing. The big problem with scratch building is the sheer amount of time that it takes to source everything. With hundreds of nuts, bolts, wires, belts pulleys and much more to locate, order and inventory before you can begin building, this method is by far the longest route one can take. Once all of the hardware has been sourced, you will still need to select and purchase or build a controller board, and depending on your skills level, this can range from easy to almost impossible.
Kit Built 3D Printer - If you would still like to save some money, but not have to deal with the hassle of sourcing parts and modifying them to fit together, then maybe a kit is the way for you. Many manufacturers sell kits with "easy-to-assemble" instructions included. You still must be somewhat mechanically inclined and able to understand basic geometry. Many of these kits come with the electronics already built, but there are a few that require you to break out a soldering iron and populate the PCBs.
If soldering is not your bag, then I would definitely avoid a kit that requires soldering. Like a scratch build, you will need to spend hours adjusting, calibrating and configuring things before your machine is printing at a good level of quality. The image above is the typical RepRap Prusa Mendel kit you will find for sale around the web.
Following the end of Star Trek: Voyager in May 2001 and despite the diminishing returns in viewership over that time, the United Paramount Network were keen the lucrative Star Trek franchise alive on the small screen with a new series, although much discussion was focused on what form it would take. In September 2001, the Enterprise pilot Broken Bow aired to mixed reviews, with many polarized from the opening minutes with the controversial theme song. As the season continued with some mediocre to badly written episodes Enterprise hobbled along, continuing to lose viewers and further contrasting viewer opinions.
12 years on and 8 from the broadcast of the last episode of Star Trek on television screens, interest in Enterprise has been rekindled by the relative success of the new feature films, and the high definition debut of the much loved Next Generation series. Whilst none of the 26 episodes that make up the first season can be considered classic, there are some good episodes, including the pilot Breaking Bow and Shuttlepod One an effective character exploration on minimalist terms.
I still have gripes with the cold sterility of the first season, but there is more to like that I remembered, and importantly it does get better over time. For those willing to give Enterprise a second chance, they'll find a competent and enjoyable series that acts as a nice alternative to some of the pretenders that have cropped up since (I'm looking at you Into Darkness
Video
Star Trek: Enterprise Season One is presented in the series original aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with AVC MPEG-4 compression.
Owing to the emergence of digital television at the dawn of the new millennium Enterprise was the first Trek series to be natively composed and broadcast in a widescreen aspect ratio, riding the crest of HD technology, which was still in its infancy. Sadly, this is also an Achilles heel for the Blu-ray. The 35mm scan is now, 12 years later considered to be ancient, with many of the tell-tale signs of age, including at time rampant grain and noise. A further issue is that all CG shots were rendered out at between 480p and 720p. Upscaled to 1080p, most CG shots exhibit obvious aliasing effects and shimmering. And this is before you even consider the somewhat ropey nature of some of the effects from today's perspective.
Still, it's not all bad. This is still a solid effort and the best that Enterprise has ever looked - certainly better than television broadcasts and previous DVD releases. Color balance is good, most shots feature a visible improvement in detail, and textures are nicely rendered, whether it be the fine patterns on uniforms, to the slick harshness of brushed metal.
In short, those expecting the same image quality than the Next Generation Blu-rays will be disappointed, and perhaps ironically so, but it is an improvement and realistically the best the series will ever look.
Audio
Star Trek: Enterprise Season One is presented in DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 at 24 bits.
Unlike The Next Generation, CBS have not taken the opportunity to expand Enterprise with a 7.1 audio mix, but this isn't a necessarily bad thing, because the 5.1 mix is more than reasonable, if a little conservative by modern standards.
Dialogue is recorded and presented well and I don't recall any audio sync issues. The front soundstage handles most of the shows actions, but there is reasonable bleed into the rear channels, which also houses some bleed from Dennis McCarthy's score.
Low frequency use is a bit hit or miss - some scenes feature noticeable kick in the sub, yet over scenes feature significantly less. Perhaps this is more a reflection of who was behind the audio dials upon the original mix.
Extras
For many, one of the more compelling reasons to pickup Enterprise is based on the strength and quantity of the extra features packaged, which have sprinkled over all six discs. Directors Roger Lay and Robert Meyer Burnett have once again created a significant amount of new features, in addition to previously produced extra features, making this one of the most generous Blu-ray release of a TV series yet seen. Let's take a look.
First up is the three part, 90 minute long To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise Documentary, which in quite detailed recollections from key members of cast and crew.
Next is the hour long In Conversation Documentary which reunites show runners Rick Berman and Brannon Braga ruminating on getting the show up and running so soon after years of back-to-back productions. Even after all this time, it's clear how burnt out the two were, really giving a sense of the burden that time proved, which resulted in a rocky start to the series. The candor on display is impressive, with the duo clearly comfortable in discuss the good and not so good, sharing blame equally and holding little back. I love features like this that truly peel back the onion, but sadly we see so little of it. I also particularly note the discussion revolving around the show's theme song, which is still to this day a bone of contention amongst fans! In short; hardcore and casual fans alike need to give this feature their time.
Four episodes feature newly recorded Audio Commentary, from a range of participants, whilst the pilot also features a second commentary track recorded in 2005. Three episodes also include Text Commentaries written by Trek luminaries Michael and Denise Okuda in a nicely formatted manner of display.
On The Set is a vintage produced but unreleased 30 minute look at the ups and downs of production, focusing on the "Vox Sola" episode towards the end of the first season. The Cast Introduction, and Network and Syndication Presentations are an interesting look at the techniques involved with selling the series to the networks and audiences alike.
Next we have some of the previously released DVD features which are good to retain for posterities sake (and completists like myself), but featurettes such as Creating Enterprise and Enterprise Secrets are mostly made redundant by the aforementioned 90 minute documentary. O Captain! My Captain! A Profile of Scott Bakula and Cast Impressions: Season One take a look at the human element and the show's casting (albeit from a more promotional standpoint). Star Trek Time Travel: Temporal Cold Wars and Beyond and Inside Shuttlepod One take a look at some of the more important plot points of the first season and Celebrating Star Trek which gives an insight into the weird and wacky world of Star Trek conventions.
Finally, we have a total of eight episodes which feature brief Deleted Scenes, presented in 1080p and a nine minute Gag Reel in 480p.
In 2009, a sleeper hit called The Hangover took Hollywood by storm, taking nearly half a billion worldwide on a mere $35m budget and solidifying star Bradley Cooper as a bankable leading man. Two years later and the inevitable sequel was released, memorable only because of how spectacularly unfunny it was, it's few laughs regurgitated from its predecessor. A further two years later and we now have the third (and so we're told final) entry into what's now known at The Hangover Trilogy. It will be memorable for... well, having the last laugh by pretending to be a comedy when it was anything but.
Hangover III opens with a pre-credit Bangkok prison escape scene featuring Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) and the establishment that Alan (Zach Gafilinakis) is refusing to take his prescribed medication, leading to even more outlandish behavior such as the direct death of a giraffe and the indirect death of his father Sid (Jeffrey Tambor). An intervention is staged by Alan's mother, Stu (Ed Helms), Phil (Bradley Cooper) and his brother in law, Doug (Justin Bartha) to force Alan to attend a rehab clinic in Arizona, which is accepted once it results in the reformation of the Wolfpack, but en route through the Arizona desert, their car is run off the road by drug baron Marshall (John Goodman) and Doug is kidnapped at gunpoint until they can track down and deliver Chow before their time is up.
After it's all said and done, neither of the sequels to The Hangover really did much to justify their existence. The first film worked fine as it was; a solid and memorable comedy in its own right, the second merely rehashed the best of its predecessor's jokes and when the third tries to inject a little substance to proceedings, it comes as an unnecessary and ill-advised turn.
It feels rather strange, like someone kidnapped the characters from the first film, cloned and put them in a familiar landscape. They look the same and talk the same, but they don't act the same. This is how the Hangover III felt for me.
Ultimately there are a few decent laughs sprinkled throughout, but I really stress 'few' - they can be counted on one hand. This is no laugh fest, to be sure. I can understand that the filmmakers wanted to take the franchise in a fresh new direction for the latest (and apparently last) entry in the franchise, and on a certain level I even applaud the risky maneuver. But sometimes it's an ill-advised gesture for a studio to promise one thing and then deliver another.
In short, if you really want to spend more time with the Wolfpack, I'd advise you to lower your expectations. Ideally though, rent or buy the first film on Blu-ray. You'll thank me later.
Digital Storm has provided us with their ODE gaming system for review. They've equipped our unit with Intel's new Haswell processor as well as NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 780 video card, so our system is quite top-tier.
We've previously reviewed Digital Storm's small form-factor Bolt gaming PC, which used a custom case. The ODE makes use of an off-the-shelf case that makes it have a bit better fit-and-finish.
Please note that PCMark 7 has been updated to the latest version, causing previous benchmark results to not be comparable. We have archived these results. Unfortunately, this means that we have few comparison systems for this review.
Without further ado, let's take a look at this powerful gaming PC and see what we think.
Digital Storm was able to provide us a Haswell-powered rig ahead of the NDA, giving us time to check out the latest and greatest generation. Our system is equipped with Intel's newest Core i7-4770K CPU. The 4770K, which has been reviewed by our resident CPU reviewer, features four cores and eight threads. It's clocked at 3.5GHz, but uses TurboBoost to break the 4GHz barrier.
The i7-4770K is cooled by a Corsair H100i integrated water cooling system. This all-in-one cooler should provide good temperatures for Intel's latest CPU. It will also add to the Corsair theme you'll see in this system.
The heart of the machine is supported by an ASUS Sabertooth Z87 motherboard, which is new for the Haswell line of CPUs. It makes use of the Z87 chipset and brings many of the styling cues that the Sabertooth brand stands for. The I/O panel comes with a full-compliment of four USB 2.0 ports and four USB 3.0 ports, two eSATA 6G ports, an HDMI port, Display Port and the usual audio connectors.
Digital Storm has equipped our review system with 16GB of Digital Storm-certified ADATA RAM clocked at 1600MHz. The layout is 2 x 8GB sticks, so it's an easy-and cheap-upgrade to 32GB of RAM should you need it in the future.
Graphics are provided by NVIDIA's latest and greatest GTX 780. It appears our system is rocking the NVIDIA reference card as there is no add-in board partner labeling visible on the card. It features 3GB of RAM and should easily destroy the other systems we've reviewed, save for the dual-GTX 680 powered Chimera we opened our desktop reviews with.
The ODE features a 120GB Corsair Neutron GTX SSD and 1TB Western Digital Caviar HDD. The system is powered by a Corsair 1050W Pro Silver 1050HX PSU. Windows 8 64-bit is the operating system pre-installed on our system's SSD. Users can customize the Digital Storm ODE to come with various 64-bit versions of Windows 7 or Windows 8 Pro 64-bit.
The cost for a system like this is $2,731, give or take a few dollars for sales and other discounts. Configuration is quite high. Digital Storm offers a wide variety of upgrades, component selection and customization. This is aided by the giant Corsair Graphite Series 600T case, which provides plenty of room for multiple video cards, hard drives and high-performance components.
As silly as it sounds, right now is the first time we can officially say words like "Haswell" and "Z87". Due to the general way an Intel NDA works, our ability to release specific names when it comes to upcoming platforms is rather limited. While anyone who pays just the slightest attention to computers would know that "Intel 4th Generation Core processors" indeed referred to "Haswell", till now, we couldn't officially write that in coverage.
You're going to see an absolute ton of coverage to the new platform as it brings with it so many new products. Unlike the last Intel CPU we looked at, the Intel Core i7 3970X Extreme Edition, the Core i7 4770K brings with it a new chipset in the form of the Z87 Express. The products that surround a new chipset are what are going to keep us extremely busy for the coming weeks and months.
It of course starts with new motherboards from the huge amount of vendors that exist. It's not just a matter of receiving a single motherboard from each vendor, we have up to nine motherboards from a single vendor at the moment. Weeks before launch the amount of motherboards we had already sat in double digits, and as the days go on the amount of boards we have to test is climbing at a rapid rate.
It's not just motherboards, though, a new platform often brings with it new memory. We saw the last generation Ivy Bridge platform bring with it a chance to achieve memory speeds much higher than we had seen before. The latest Haswell platform is said to take that a step further and that of course means that Corsair, G.Skill and others are jumping on the high speed memory bandwagon as quickly as they can.
We've then of course got multiple CPU models coming out for the desktop platform along with mobile versions of everything. Combining all this together means that we've then got a bunch of new systems coming from PC builders and of course laptops and ultrabooks coming from manufacturers.
Today, though, is all about two things. The new CPU's that we'll be seeing alongside the performance of the top dog Core i7 4770K. The second is the new Intel Z87 chipset. The particular Z87 motherboard that we'll be using today comes from ASUS in the form of the Z87-Expert.
We've already published reports of MyDigitalSSD's 2.5" Bullet Proof 4 (BP4) in the 2.5" size and found it to be the least power-hungry SSD on the market. MyDigitalSSD also has a new mSATA version that uses the same Phison S8 controller and new firmware that increases the drive's overprovisioning. In our testing, the new firmware came with more than just a significant performance increase from the BP3 - also increased battery life.
MyDigitalSSD set new battery life standards with the BP4 and at this time they are equal to the early SandForce B02 stepping products that we've tested in the lab. In a month we'll be at Computex Taipei 2013 and B02 should be all over the place in new products, but until then, MyDigitalSSD's BP4 is the battery life king... and they might even have the crown after Computex, too. The main difference for those buying today, the BP4 is available now and has been on sale at Amazon for over a month already.
MDSSD's BP4 uses the same controller found in the BP3, the Phison S8. As we've mentioned before, most SSD's are just simply FPGA chips and the programming / firmware is more important than the actual silicon, most of the time. Holding that statement true today, the Phison S8 in the BP4 is programmed for increased overprovisioning - that's why the marketing capacity is now 240GB. The data performance is also faster on the BP4. Random data is quicker due to new programming, and sequential performance is faster thanks to new Toshiba 19nm Toggle Type B flash.
The mSATA market is really starting to heat up and several notebooks / ultrabooks cut the red ribbon in around a month's time. In order to meet low pricing demands by customers, many of the OEMs have turned to older, slower designs that cost less than new exciting products. Soon to market low-cost ultrabooks with small cache SSD's paired with HDD's will require an upgrade to full flash based mSATA drives to make your ultrabook perform like your desktop with an SSD in it now. With the slots present, dropping in a large SSD is still the best bang for the buck upgrade most users can do, without diving under the notebook skin too deep.
Toshiba's launch of the PX02SM series of eSSDs also brings about the unveiling of 12Gb/s SAS connectivity for storage devices. Through a lucky set of circumstances, and an undisclosed 12Gb/s adapter on loan from an R&D department, we happen to have an 800GB PX02SMF080 on hand and the necessary equipment to give us a peek into the coming world of 12Gb/s SSD's. The dual-port 12Gb/s SSD features sequential read/write speeds of 900/400 MB/s respectively, and random read/write IOPS of 120,000/30,000.
Last week Toshiba announced full availability of the PX02SMx eSSD (enterprise SSD's) for European markets. Understandably, this caught us by surprise as there are currently no 12Gb/s RAID adapters or HBA's on the market. Our early samples of the PX02SMx series have been languishing in the enterprise storage lab for nearly a month, while we awaited the key component for testing a 12Gb/s SSD: a 12Gb/s adapter. All 12Gb/s adapters from the normal vendors are under NDA or currently only sampling to OEMs. Luckily, we had already set plans in motion to gain access to the necessary equipment for testing.
The launch of 12Gb/s SAS brings a doubling of bandwidth that on the surface seems to be the most compelling feature. PCIe 3.0 and SAS 12Gb/s seem to be the perfect match, but in reality, the insatiable speed provided by 12Gb/s SAS already outstrips the available bandwidth of PCIe 3.0.
12Gb/s also brings other enhancements and changes to the SAS storage fabric that will allow for an expansion of the SAS ecosystem. SAS has long been an interface just begging to be let out of the box, and with the inclusion of new connectivity features, SAS is finally able to expand beyond its current limitations. We will cover some of these improvements on the following pages.
The major players with NAND foundries are all now rapidly expanding their presence in the enterprise realm with a variety of tiered solutions that appeal to different environments. The Toshiba PX02SMF080 series of eSSDs is the leading edge of a full frontal assault from Toshiba into the enterprise SSD battleground.
The PX02SM aims for Tier 0 applications with a dual-port 12Gb/s SAS interface and is Toshiba's first eSSD to feature 24nm eMLC (enterprise Multi Level Cell) NAND. The entry and mid-level PX02AM series also features 24nm eMLC NAND, but utilizes a SATA connection. The low-cost PX03AN series rounds out the offerings by leveraging standard 19nm MLC NAND and a SATA connection for entry-level and read-centric applications. All three SSD's support cryptographic-erase functionality in addition to AES 256-bit self-encryption.
The SED versions of the PX02SM series, the PX02SMQ/U, also offer Trusted Computing Group (TCG) enterprise protocol self-encryption. These features are important in today's computing environment where, according to Symantec, the average loss of an enterprise data breach is $5.5 million.
The PX02SM flagship product we are evaluating today features a Toshiba/Marvell controller in conjunction with 24nm eMLC and comes in capacities of 200GB, 400GB, 800GB and 1,600GB with a slim 7mm Z-height. The PX02SM series also features longevity that scales with capacity, with up to 29.2PB of write endurance for the 1,600GB model, which translates to roughly 10 DWPD (Drive Writes Per Day). This endurance promise is backed by a five year warranty.
The PX02SM also utilizes Toshiba's proprietary Quadruple Swing-By Code (QSBC) to protect from read errors, an integral component of a layered ECC approach for improved error correction capabilities. The addition of power loss protection defends data from power loss events.
The Px02SMF080 is designed to support mission critical enterprise applications that demand performance, endurance and frugal power consumption. Toshiba has extensive history and experience with flash memory; they actually invented NAND flash over 25 years ago in 1987. Leveraging these decades of experience brings forth a serious contender to the enterprise SSD market.
Last week we saw NVIDIA launch a new high-end single GPU video card in the form of the GeForce GTX 780 3GB. While not designed to replace its highest end offering, the GTX TITAN 6GB, the $350 cheaper model does an excellent job of offering performance that's quite similar to what is the fastest single GPU video card on the market at the moment.
If the out of the box performance, though, wasn't enough, we then overclocked the model and found that with a core clock of over 1000MHz, the GTX 780 3GB did an excellent job closing the gap with the GTX TITAN, offering performance at times that was very similar to the $999 model.
Today sees the first phase of the new GTX 700 series completed with the release of the second model, the GTX 770 2GB. As the name would suggest, this model comes in below the GTX 780 3GB, much in the same way we saw a GTX 680 and GTX 670 in the last generation. General habit would tell that we'd see a GTX 760 and GTX 750 in time, but mid-range GTX 700 replacements aren't something we've heard of to date.
Let's dig in now and check out the new GTX 770 over the next pages!
This is going back many years, but my first and last wireless mouse experience was also from Logitech. Back then the MX1000 was one of the coolest mice on the planet being offered in a wireless version. While I thoroughly enjoyed using the MX1000, that isn't to say it didn't have some things that needed addressing. The main reason why I rid myself of that mouse was the way it needed to charge. At that time, the battery was onboard, non-replaceable, and you had to set the mouse on a base to get it to charge, ending any gaming you were currently enjoying. That was somewhat addressed in later models with the ability to swap batteries, and the fact that Logitech mice were sent with a pair of batteries to allow users to "hot-swap" batteries, as long as you remembered to charge them.
Another big issue to wireless mice is what we all see as lag from our input translating to movement on the screen. Back when I had it last, there was always a delay in movement if the mouse was left at rest for any period of time, and in an FPS gaming situation, I would always end up dead in the time it took for the lag to catch up to my movements. As time went on, these things were improved, but what you are about to see is something I have never seen offered in a wireless mouse, and is also something I think you will be really impressed with as well. Logitech is making huge strides to free up the desk from extra wires and clutter, while delivering a wireless rechargeable mouse that on paper should work just as good, if not better than the conventional wired offering.
The mouse in question is the new G700s rechargeable gaming mouse from Logitech. I have never seen a rechargeable mouse that didn't require a base, or one that didn't require some sort of off-mouse charging system for your own batteries. Here you are about to see not only a wireless mouse, but it can also run wired if you think you have the need. The main reason for this wire is to charge the battery inside of the mouse, but the secondary feature of it is that while you are charging, you can also continue right back to the gaming with the simple click of a mini-USB plug being added to the front of the mouse.
On top of that, there is some killer software that not only gives you full control of the G700s, but it also offers three usage profiles to either keep the mouse running full time to eliminate input lag, or you can set it completely opposite to extend the battery life as long as possible.
I have said way too much already, but also hopefully enough to keep you interested and looking deeper into what the Logitech G700s is all about and why you should have one on your desk. I know it won't be leaving mine any time soon.
To tell you the truth, Analogix Semiconductor aren't a company I know off-by-heart, but judging from this first review of one of their products, I'll remember them for quite sometime to come.
My first contact from the company had some cables being sent to me, and days later our own Managing Director, Cameron, posted an article covering the SlimPort Summit 2013 in Shanghai, asking 'What is SlimPort?'. His article covers pretty much what an introduction might cover, so you might want to check that out.
For a quick introduction, Analogix Semiconductor is a champion of high-performance mixed-signal semiconductors that enable HD everywhere. In layman's terms, they make cables that connect up to your smart device and allow you to plug them into your big-screen TV.
Before I received the SlimPort cables, I seriously expected them to be bigger, but the SlimPort HDMI adapter, which is the one we'll be concentrating on today, is just so tiny. I'll be using the SlimPort HDMI Adapter on my trusty Nexus 4.
The other set we have here to test today is a Samsung Galaxy S III and some MHL-based cables. Let's take a look at what we have here today.
One of the downsides to Analogix's SlimPort adapters are their price. Amazon sell the SlimPort HDMI Adapter for $71.42, which is quite expensive. The next entry on Amazon's website when searching for "SlimPort" is the Skiva MHL-based HDMI Adapter, which sells for just $9.99.
This is a huge difference in price, and something you'll need to consider. I think the SlimPort cables will eventually come down in price, especially if their technology becomes a standard in the future. Keep reading and you'll find out why I think that price is still justified.
The other day we got a chance to check out the performance of the new NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB in SLI with the help of a reference card and the EVGA SuperClocked version. Like most high-end NVIDIA setups, we found ourselves impressed with what the company offered.
As always, once we've finished with the stock testing, we head on over to the overclocking side of things to see just how much performance we can get out of the model. The importance of overclocking on the new GTX 780 3GB, though, is even more serious than previous high-end models.
The main reason we say that is because unlike previous new single high-end GPU models, NVIDIA currently have a model that is faster in the $999 GTX TITAN. What we discovered, though, when testing the reference GTX 780 3GB from NVIDIA was that performance between these two models was quite similar at times. What looked even better, though, was when we overclocked the GTX 780. It was then we saw just how close we could get the two cards performing to each other. Something that's important considering the $350 price difference in favor of the GTX 780.
Today we test overclocking when it comes to SLI and find out just how much performance we can get out of this $1300 setup.
Within the mobile computing market, hard drive manufacturers push the limits of what technology can offer. Packing all of the tech, and sometimes even more, found in larger 3.5" drives, into the small form factor 2.5" drives. Western Digital, at the forefront of the industry, has recently reinvented its Scorpio Blue lineup releasing a number of capacities featuring a 7mm Z-Height.
Today I will be looking over the 500GB capacity or WD5000LPVT. Building on the "Blue" moniker, Western Digital has released the WD5000LPVT as a single platter design, offering low power consumption in the thin 7mm form factor. Right out of the gate the Scorpio Blue offers two distinct advantages over its SSD counterpart; those being capacity and price, but Western Digital did not stop there.
They added SecurePark Technology to keep the recording heads off the platter when not in use. Additionally they have tightened up the power consumption figures for this new generation with just 1.4w being used during read/write operations.
Within the last few years, the transition to Advanced Format drives has begun. The transition to Advanced Format allows hard drive manufacturers to produce higher density platters for this small form factor, and already we are beginning to see the benefits with 1TB being a mainstream offering for the mobile market. Additionally, HGST has claimed the largest storage capacity in the 2.5" form factor with its new 5K1500 1.5TB drive.
The WD5000LPVT, part of the new generation of Scorpio Blue drives from Western Digital, utilizes the SATA 3Gb/s interface with a rotational speed of 5400 RPM. The drives cache is set at 8MB, with its formatted capacity listed as 500,107MB or 488GB on a single platter design.
The Scorpio Blue has always exceled in power consumption figures and the new WD5000LPVT is no different. Looking over the spec sheet, we find read/write operations are said to use just 1.4w, while idle operations are listed at 0.55w. Standby and sleep both share the same 0.13w.
Newegg at the time of writing has the WD5000LPVT listed and in stock at $59.99 or 12 cents per GB.
The WD5000LPVT comes as a bare drive and is covered under Western Digital's three year warranty.
The other day we got a chance to check out the brand new GeForce GTX 780 3GB from NVIDIA and found ourselves impressed with what NVIDIA has offered for $649. While not cheap, against the $999 GTX TITAN, it looks strong with some excellent performance out of the box.
Not only that, though, when we checked out the overclocking side of things, we saw the gap between the GTX 780 3GB and more expensive GTX TITAN 6GB really become quite small, with times showing that both video cards perform almost identical in some areas.
Today we'll be pairing the brand new EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB SuperClocked with the NVIDIA reference video card we've got on hand. Due to the fact that the EVGA comes with an overclock out of the box, we'll be increasing the core clock speed of the reference card to match that of the EVGA.
Outside of the overclock, though, we can see from the introduction picture that the EVGA version of the GTX 780 is sporting with it a different cooler design. The reference cards' 80c temperature was a little warm for us and we're hoping today that the new cooling solution that EVGA has introduced will help lower those numbers, without the cost of added noise.
On the front you can see the main details like the brand, model, and mention that it's the SuperClocked model, along with some of the key features. Turning the box over we get a bit more of a run down on some of the main features along with our first look at the card.
Moving in to the bundle you can see the typical paperwork and driver CD included. Along with that we've got a dual 6-pin PCIe to 8-pin PCIe power connector, along with a dual Molex to 6-pin PCIe power connector. Along with those two cables we've also got a DVI to VGA connector and a "Powered by EVGA" case sticker to round things off.
If publishers want a case in point in how to build hype at an E3 reveal, Far Cry 3 is the perfect case. Ever since we first heard Vaas utter those now famous words, "Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?", we have waited with baited breath. The video had action, intense gameplay and also psychological elements that sent the hype levels of the game through the roof. And so now 18 months later it's time to determine if the developers have delivered on the promise from that video and aside from a few quirks here and there and a poor ending to the story, the answer is a resounding yes.
In Far Cry 3 you take control of Jason Brody, a young college kid with rich parents enjoying life to the max on an island paradise when things go awry. Jason and his friends are captured by pirates and the infamous Vaas. Taken for ransom from their wealthy parents, Jason manages to escape with his brother and from there the story becomes that you as Jason must rescue your friends, but also as you build acquaintances on the island, decide how you want the future to be for those people. There is a point where the story just becomes boring and formulaic unfortunately, but until then it's one of the best stories of this generation.
As expected based on the first two games, Far Cry 3 puts you in a massive open world with side missions and main story to complete. One of the key facets of the title is exploration and the game significantly rewards you for exploring. Whilst there are scripted elements to some of the missions, sometimes it's just interesting to wander about the island and see what the enemy and other NPCs are doing. One example was we were closing in on an enemy kill, only to see a crocodile jump out of the water to take him alive. If someone else was to go to that exact spot, it may not happen because those sequences are not scripted.
In fact, Far Cry 3 gives one of the best representations of a living breathing world in a video game to date. You can of course choose to main line the story if you wish, but that is to completely devalue the amount of effort that Ubisoft has not only put into the side missions, but also the world itself. You will miss a lot of the awesome areas of the island and some interesting, story building sequences as well. There is also a meta game within the game where you can hunt animals present throughout the world to improve Jason's overall abilities and weaponry.
For example, if you get some shark skins, you can craft a new pouch which improves your inventory level - something which is a lot more interesting to do than just buy a new pouch. You can pick up leaves and plants to help you concoct medicine to heal Jason. At no real point in the game are you forced to buy things. For example, one area which encourages exploration is the local stores. If you manage to take over the local radio tower, the shops will give you free weapons as a reward whilst that tower is not held by the enemies. It's a really interesting mechanic that rewards exploration in a manner that is tangible rather than just 'let's see this entire island'.
For the most part the missions are also enjoyable to play as well. There are over thirty campaign missions with quite a number more side missions to complete. To complete Far Cry 3 without doing side missions will take you about 10 hours and so it is a fairly meaty game when you compare it to most releases. The game does contain fast travel once you have visited a location although sometimes it is better to just explore and see the world on offer.
What Far Cry 3 manages to achieve is a believable world. This island could be a real world thing (although it's not), and the developers have clearly put a lot of work into building a fantastic world for the game. It has the crazy professor and the tribal warriors to complete the mix. But what takes it to the next level is the various fauna milling about the place. You can be swimming quietly in the rivers or ocean and the next minute a shark or crocodile attacks. The first time this happens you will literally jump in your seat and it's generally over before it even starts. You can imagine this is how it happens in the real world as well with most victims attacked before they even know it's happening.
The design of the island also allows for some open world elements to creep into the campaign missions as well. Whilst you are somewhat restricted as to the zone you can move in during missions (we guess to not break the mission entirely), you are given leeway as to how you approach the mission. Go in guns blazing? Or snipe from the mountain side? Many different ways are available to generally complete each mission and it is this variety that keeps the game fresh to the end.
On the PC at least, Far Cry 3 is a visual tour de force and one of the best games graphically we have ever played. If you have the hardware and video card to push this to the max you will see a visually stunning world with amazing graphics. Tone the graphics done a little and the game still shines even on older hardware, so it is clear Ubisoft has done its job in optimizing this game for fairly run of the mill systems as well. This is something that the original Far Cry game was criticised for not doing.
The game also features a co-operative multiplayer portion for up to four players to take part in. It is set six months before the actual events of the single player campaign and so in many ways is its own story. Introducing co-operative into such an awesome, open world game is something that Ubisoft had to do to take this game to the next level. With a length of about six hours, you certainly get your money's worth even though it's not the main campaign.
Far Cry 3 started out with a great E3 presentation that put the hype levels through the roof. Usually when this happens games significantly let us down, but in this case Ubisoft has delivered. No doubt they felt the pressure of such an awesome opening with Vaas and our main character, but instead of crumbling, they produced what is sure to be one of the best games of 2012.
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As a series Hitman has been quite successful and this is why it's puzzling that we are now only just getting the return of the game. Hitman Blood Money was one of the better games from the earliest times of this generation, but IO Interactive decided to put that to the side and come up with the new IP.
This game became Kane & Lynch which had middling success in both sales and critical format. So six years later we have the return of Agent 47 and it's not without changes. Absolution completely changes up the series in many ways and we still aren't sure if all the changes and decisions made were the right ones.
Absolution picks up with Agent 47 being tasked to kill his agency handler Diana. She has gone rogue and has been selling secrets to enemies of the agency so his final contract becomes her. The agency has produced another agent from a child, Victoria with Diana on her deathbed asking 47 to protect her at all costs. This is what the story primarily revolves around; the protection of Victoria and escaping from the agency that 47 once called home. From the outset this shows just how much of a departure Absolution is to the regular format with previous games tasking 47 with contracts to fulfil for the agency.
In terms of the gameplay there are a lot of elements that have returned from previous games. On some of the missions you will be tasked with taking down a target and you can either choose to go in all guns blazing or make the death look like an accident with the latter not only scoring you more points, but generally being more satisfying to do as well. Hitman can be seen as a puzzle game - trying to concoct together various environmental elements such as leaking oil and a bullet to take out enemies unseen.
This is only apparent on some of the levels. On many levels within the game there are no targets and instead it is 47's goal to reach another area to continue the story. As well as this there are times where the game takes control from you and performs kills in cut scenes. For a series which has focused so much on clean quiet kills from a gameplay perspective, to have this happen is frustrating. There are some sections in the game where quiet kills just cannot occur.
This is where you will like this game or not. Whilst in the past each mission was one huge environment for 47 to traverse and come up with sneaky ways to take out the target, in this game you are instead tasked with basically getting from point a to point b. Hitman in many ways becomes a third person shooter with the amount of sandbox missions able to be counted on less than two hands. Given that there are 20 missions overall in the game, this is a bit disappointing.
However, on those levels which do give you the freedom to explore and come up with various ways to take out the targets, the game absolutely shines. Previously seen at E3, the King of Chinatown level is one such example where there is many different ways to take out the target such as poisoning fish or blowing up a car. And it is these missions that you will revisit over and over again to try and come up with different ways to end the mission without being seen.
As well as the actual targets each mission contains a number of challenges to complete. Sometimes these challenges are to take out the targets in various different ways whilst other times it can be tasks such as finishing the mission only using 47's suit. Given that you very often traverse areas where you should not be, doing this is harder than it sounds.
Many of the elements we have seen in previous titles have again come back. You can still take the disguises of other characters although this is a bit harder than last time around.
Enemies will spot that you are not one of them quite easily and so it becomes a case of still having to focus on stealth even when blended in. To aid with this, 47 now has an instinct ability which allows you to see enemies through walls and walk near enemies in disguise without being spotted. You gain more instinct by performing quiet kills and tasks.
One of the more frustrating elements of Absolution is the change from limited save games to checkpoints. Instead of being able to save at any point in the game (within a limited number), you now have to track down and find checkpoints in the level. They are generally off the beaten track and this can be very frustrating especially on the tougher levels. The checkpoints also do not get retained if you leave your game which we have no idea why IO Interactive decided that was a good idea.
The enemy AI generally revolves around them being able to determine you are 47 rather than actually being tough. When things go bad you generally can get out of a tight spot with your bullets except towards the end of the game where that type of tactic just gets impossible due to the weaponry they have. Once they spot you the game moves into a very Metal Gear like alarm system. At the highest level they hunt you and shoot on sight whilst if you can manage to hide long enough, they will give up and lower the alarm level. Of course the best way is to not be spotted at all and in general this is possible on every mission.
On the visual and environmental side of things the game is generally impressive. Whilst there is quite a variety to the locations that you will visit during your time with the game, it is not as varied as it was in Blood Money with some locations being visited more than once. Some of the missions are quite large in size whilst others are almost corridors only. It goes without saying the larger missions are the ones where 47's abilities can really shine. One thing that is true is that in general IO Interactive has used the environments to the best of their abilities with 47 being able to perform numerous environmental based kills on his targets.
Multiplayer comes in the form of contracts mode and in an ironic twist this system is much closer to that of the older games. You can either build or download contracts from other users and basically you are dropped into a world and have to kill targets silently to fulfil the contract. As you do so you gain money which can be used to upgrade your weaponry in multiplayer. This is an interesting take on multiplayer and we hope that users really embrace this system because it's entirely possible this could give the game a lot of legs.
Hitman: Absolution is a game that made us think about how we review games in many ways. Should we review a game based on what the name is on the box, or what the content actually is. Of course the latter is the answer, but we can't help but feel that this is not the greatest Hitman game. It's significantly different to other Hitman titles, but it's also not a bad game. If you come into the game expecting Blood Money 2 you will be disappointed, but if you look past this you will find a competent Hitman game that has just enough elements of its predecessors to ensure you should play as 47 again.
It's fair to say that whilst the Assassin's Creed II series of games were some of the most well received games this generation, the portable versions of the game haven't really set the gaming world on fire. Appearing only on the PSP (aside from the iOS games that were not 3D), the games focused on Altair, the original protagonist, rather than the very likeable Ezio.
However, with the release of a new platform, the PS Vita, Ubisoft decided to give the portable space another crack with the AC series and have come out with mixed results. Liberation is not necessarily a bad game, but there are some areas which can be quite infuriating to play.
Liberation for the first time introduces a female character as the main lead. You play as Aveline, the black daughter of a rich businessman in the 1700's. A result of infidelity, Aveline lives with her step mother and father in New Orleans as one of the wealthy and famous. However, Aveline wants to rid the world of slavery, especially for her people and sets about trying to bring down the tyranny which existed in the time. Set in the 1700's, the game takes place during the same timeline as that of the main console game, and to get the most out of the story, you need to play both.
There are a few major changes for the franchise aside from the fact you now control a woman. The game introduces for the first time personas. Aveline has three; wealthy lady, slave and assassin. Depending on the persona (clothing) you are currently wearing will limit or improve the abilities Aveline has available to her. For example, in the wealthy dress, Aveline cannot climb buildings or walls whilst in the assassin clothing she will draw suspect looks from the guards right away.
This is probably the most interesting change to the franchise because it means you often have to change your clothing to complete tasks. Having to change clothing to complete a task can be a tad tiresome (especially when it's not clear which clothing you should be wearing), but all the same the addition enhances the franchise.
As well as the main city, you will also visit the bayou of New Orleans which gives you the opportunity to partake in tree climbing and jumping. Ripped directly from the console game with Connor you can at will climb trees and often have to when completing assassination tasks. The game controls well and it's very obvious when you can and cannot climb trees. The Bayou has a very Metal Gear Solid 3 feel to it - a large, lush jungle full of crocodiles and other animals that can hurt Aveline. The main difference being that Aveline does not need to eat animals to survive.
The structure of the game takes on that of its console big brothers. The game includes nine sequences to complete which is a little on the short side and you will have this game down in around six to eight hours depending on how good you are at it. There is no difficulty setting so once you finish it, that's it really.
There are a number of side tasks to complete and there is a meta game where you can control a shipping company to gain money, but really in the grand scheme of things, you can ignore these and easily complete the game. One of the interesting elements is that the story you get if you just play the main missions is not the actual story. To get the real ending you need to take out a particular hidden character in each sequence.
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One of the biggest bugbears we have with the game is the PS Vita controls. The main controls themselves are fine, but when the developer is trying to shoe horn in the touch mechanics of the game, it just starts to break. For example, the game will at times ask you to put the Vita camera near a bright light. It took us a while to find a light that would give the Vita what it wanted, and there was no indication at all whether we were getting closer or not.
There are also other sections of the game which use the back touchpad such as paddling a canoe. There is nothing wrong with trying to include Vita specific controls, but when they work like they do in Liberation (it's a lucky dip as to whether your motions will be picked up), it would have been best to leave them out.
The environments that the game is set in are impressive for a handheld product. The city of New Orleans is beautifully represented by period buildings and the actual city itself is quite large, but nowhere near what you find in the console games of course. The split of the bayou and the city is an interesting feature with both environments having graphical problems as well as also some impressive sections. Voice acting on the system is impressive especially for a handheld and whilst the soundtrack can become repetitive, it suits the game and setting well.
There is no doubt that Assassin's Creed III: Liberation is the most impressive handheld version of the series yet. Ubisoft has used some of Vita's power well, but also included some utterly frustrating mini games based on the touch and camera features. It is on the short side and that means it's not really suitable as something for a long distance trip, but for short spurts on the way to work, it works almost perfectly.
CITY of INDUSTRY, CA (June 2, 2013) - CyberPower Inc. http://www.CYBERPOWERPC.com, a global manufacturer of custom gaming PCs, today announced its new series of desktop and notebook gaming PCs based on the 22nm 4th Generation Intel Core⢠Processor codenamed Haswell, which promises big gains in power efficiency and graphics performance.
Because of significant improvements in thermal and power efficiency, the new 4th Generation Intel Core CPUs offers a distinct bridge between small form factor computers and powerful desktop gaming rigs giving users more choices than ever in mobile and desktop form factors, with improved performance and longer battery life. CYBERPOWERPC systems equipped with Intel 4th Gen. Core CPUs will range from Core i5 to i7 offerings - each with a minimum 10% performance gain over previous 3rd Generation processors. On the mobile side, with the new 4th Gen. Processors, customers can expect the same performance gains and nearly double the battery life.
CYBERPOWERPC will feature the new CPUs with the speedy and feature rich Z87 Express Chipset in its entire Zeus EVO Thunder series - a redesigned lineup of performance gaming PCs to satisfy the cravings of enthusiasts and gamers. The Zeus EVO Thunder will come in various forms offering both 4th Gen. Core i5 and Core i7 K-series CPUs that are unlocked allowing you to crank performance up to 30% higher with CYBERPOWERPC's Venom Boost overclocking option. The new Zeus EVO Thunder series will also incorporate NVIDIA's new GTX 700 series GPUs for a performance packed combination that delivers benchmark shattering power.
The Zeus EVO Thunder receives a new armor befitting the God of gaming PCs. Customers can select from the new CFI Boreallight full-tower ATX case or the Corsair Obsidian 900D super-tower. These top of the line cases have the airflow, expandability, and extreme water cooling support for the PC enthusiasts that wants nothing but the absolute best. All Zeus EVO Thunder gaming PC powered by 4th Gen. Intel Core⢠CPUs will also feature CYBERPOWERPC's Advance Hydro II, which features the XSPC RayStorm CPU Block, redesigned AX radiator, and a powerful D5 pump in single pump (AX240), or dual pump (AX360) setup for maximum thermal dissipation.
In addition to the Zeus EVO Thunder, CYBERPOWERPC's Fang III series, Gamer Xtreme series, and others will receive the 4th Generation Intel Core⢠CPU and Z87 Express Chipset upgrade.
New CYBERPOWERPC FANGbook EVO Notebook Series Based on 4th Gen. Intel CPUs
The award winning CYBERPOWERPC FANGbook gaming notebook has evolved into a mobile game station - a powerhouse equipped with the 4th Gen. Intel Core⢠mobile processor and new NVIDIA GTX 700 series mobile graphics. The new FANGbook EVO lets you game and multitask like never before with a revised set of hardware that provides desktop-like power.
Mobile PC gamers want longer battery life without sacrificing performance. The new FANGbook EVO will feature a similar aggressive and stylish design with several notable improvements including a new CPU and chipset along with more power efficient GPUs from NVIDIA featuring its Optimus technology that automatically optimizes battery life and GPU performance.
With the fourth-generation core, CYBERPOWERPC's FANGbook EVO gaming notebook will see a greater improvement in battery life depending on the applications and display settings. The FANGbook EVO series will come in three configurations - the EVO HX7-100, 200, and 300.
All CYBERPOWERPC gaming systems can be customized with a number of performance hardware and components such as solid state drives, blu-ray drives, performance gaming memory, gaming peripherals, business and productivity software, and more at the company's website, http://www.CYBERPOWERPC.com.
All CYBERPOWERPC systems are assembled and supported in the USA. Every system is meticulously built including precise cable routing to ensure optimal airflow and a clean aesthetic appearance. CYBERPOWERPC loads every system with Microsoft Windows 8 for an enhanced gaming and multimedia experience. All CYBERPOWERPC desktop gaming systems include an industry-best 3-year limited warranty and 1-year warranty on notebook systems.
Desktop gaming systems based on 4th Generation Intel Core processors start at $559. The FANGbook EVO gaming notebook start at $ 1399
Related Press Releases
Miami, FL - June 2, 2012, 12:01AM Eastern - ORIGIN PC announced today the availability of their next generation award-winning EON17-S and EON15-S high-performance laptops. Featuring an exclusive updated top-panel laptop design, Intel 4th generation mobile processors, Dual mSATA storage drives with RAID support, next generation NVIDIA GeForce GTX 700M series and support for the new NVIDIA Quadro K1000M graphics cards, the EON17-S and EON15-S offers breakthrough next generation mobile technology for gamers, artists, enthusiastsand professionals. ORIGIN PC is offering their exclusive top-panel laptop design as a standard option in red, black, silver and custom air-brushed, or the option of a traditional top-panel free of charge.
High Res images and video:
ORIGIN PC's EON17-S and EON15-S Laptops Feature:
The EON15-S is Fully Customizable starting at $1722 and the EON17-S is Fully Customizable starting at $1784.
ORIGIN PC has also launched Intel's 4th generation processors and NVIDIA 700 series graphics cards in their award winning desktops announced in separate press releases.
"ORIGIN PC is thrilled to launch our brand new EON17-S and EON15-S laptops with the latest next-generation technology from Intel and NVIDIA. This is the best time to upgrade to an award winning ORIGIN EON laptop," said Kevin Wasielewski ORIGIN PC CEO and co-founder. "With the latest next generation technology, a customizable backlit keyboard/touchpad, Dual mSATA and Dual HDD/SSD support in RAID andour updated exclusive ORIGIN top-panel design, our new EON laptops truly offer acomplete next generation mobile gaming experience!"
All ORIGIN PC systems come with free lifetime 24/7 phone and online service based in the United States. Each customer has a dedicated support teamand free lifetime labor for upgrade needs. ORIGIN PC's Evolve Upgrade Program allows customers to purchase a customPC now, and trade in their parts when they want to upgrade. Every ORIGIN PC features a 1 to 3 year freepart replacement warranty combined with the best in class integration, quality testing and support.
Miami, FL, June 2nd, 12:01 A.M. EST - ORIGIN PC announces the availability of new Intel Core 4th generation processors to their line of award-winning GENESIS, MILLENNIUM, and CHRONOS desktops and EON laptops. Now gamers, artists, professionals and enthusiasts will have the power to game, create, work and inspire like never before with Intel's latest Core processors. The new Intel Core 4th generation processors raise the bar in multi-core processing technology with a 15% CPU performance increase over last generation, low power consumption to enhance battery life, and built in security features to help keep your data safe and secure. ORIGIN PC will also be including a free digital copy of the upcoming PC title, GRID 2⢠with the purchase of any ORIGIN PC gaming system with Intel Core 4thgeneration processors.
Intel Core 4th Generation Processors from ORIGIN PC Feature:
"ORIGIN PC is thrilled to be an official launch partner of Intel and we're really excited to include their latest 4th generation processors inside our award-winning systems" says Kevin Wasielewski, CEO/Co-Founder of ORIGIN PC. "The incredible speed, increase in performance and stunning Ultra HD 4K video playback on Intel's 4thgeneration Haswell processors really shows a whole new level of processing power inside all of our ORIGIN desktops and laptops."
"Intel's 4th generation Core processors are the perfect ingredient for delivering uncompromising power and performance inside of ORIGIN PC's award-winning systems" said Brent McCray, Worldwide Enthusiast Marketing Manager of Intel. "ORIGIN PC continues to be a key launch partner of Intel and we're excited to have our latest 4th generation processors available to power their custom high-performance desktops andlaptops." For more information on ORIGIN's award winning desktops and laptops, please visit http://www.originpc.com
SAN FRANCISCO - May 30, 2013 - Razer, the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware, software and systems, today announced the Blade Pro, the latest evolution of its award-winning 17-inch gaming laptop. Powered by a future 4th gen Intel Core processor, next generation NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M graphics and groundbreaking storage performance, the new Blade Pro is faster and more powerful than ever before.
"With the Razer Blade Pro, we've designed a gaming laptop for work and for play-appealing to on-the-go hardcore gamers, game developers, creative artists and aspiring video professionals," says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director. "The Razer Blade Pro can flawlessly run the most popular creative software applications, and is powerful enough to run the most graphically intensive games on the market today." Razer's designers and engineers refined every inner component to increase performance, while staying true to portability. At 0.88 inches thin and weighing 6.5 pounds, the Blade Pro is the most portable 17-inch gaming laptop in its class. Every detail is sleek, slim and light, all the way down to the compact power supply, making the Blade Pro the best choice for gaming performance and creative work on-the-go.
The Blade Pro, the third iteration of Razer's ground-breaking, ultra-portable laptop, features a 47-watt Intel chip, 10 watts more than the last 17-inch Razer Blade and the most powerful CPU ever fitted into a Razer system for increased professional performance. The latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M GPU is also included. All of this is packed into the thinnest and lightest form factor in the 17-inch laptop class. The Blade Pro comes with Dolby Home Theatre v4, featuring immersive audio quality that is custom-tuned to each Razer laptop to deliver a cinematic sound experience. All of this is topped-off with gaming-grade peripherals built right in, such as Razer Synapse 2.0, a fully programmable anti-ghosting keyboard with adjustable backlight and an ultra-sensitive track pad. "Innovation is happening across the PC industry, and what Razer has done with the Blade Pro is groundbreaking," says Navin Shenoy, vice president and general manager of Intel's Mobile Client Platforms. "Utilizing a future 4th gen Intel Core processor, the Razer Blade Pro delivers top-class gaming and professional performance in a very portable form factor."
"The Razer Blade Pro packs extreme performance in an ultra-portable form factor," says Rene Haas, vice president and general manager of notebook GPUs at NVIDIA. "Thanks in part to the performance-per-watt efficiency of the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPUs, the new Razer Blade Pro is incredibly thin for a 17-inch gaming laptop."
At the heart of the Blade Pro is a full-HD 17-inch LED display linked in combination with the Switchblade User Interface (SBUI), allowing users to take advantage of tools and creative possibilities at their fingertips. Driven by 10 dynamic adaptive tactile keys, a revolutionary LCD track pad and professional-grade and game apps, users can work harder and play harder. Razer's SBUI now includes several new, professional-grade apps and a wide array of new tools available at no charge, including programs like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro, Maya, GIMP and more. The Razer Blade Pro also features 8 GB of fast 1600 MHz DDR3L memory and now comes standard with 128 GB of total solid-stage storage, with optional 256 GB and 512 GB SSDs. With solid-state storage technology, gamers will now experience up to four-times the performance of a traditional 5400-rpm notebook hard drive.
Razer is also offering a new creative professional pricing program, allowing design students, game developers, development staff, Kickstarter partners and others to purchase Razer products, including the Blade Pro, at special prices. Selected developers and partners are now listed at http://www.razerzone.com/creativepro. Those not listed are encouraged to fill out an application on the page for a chance to be included in the program. The Blade Pro will be available for pre-order June 3. For more information, go to http://www.razerzone.com/bladepro.Price:Starts at $2,299 Availability:Razerzone.com - Pre-Order June 3United States and Canada Product features:
FREMONT, California - May 30, 2013 - Corsair, a worldwide designer of high-performÂÂÂÂÂÂance components to the PC hardware market, is teaming up with Intel to host the Computex OC Main Event on June 3rd in Taipei, Taiwan. The event will bring the world's best overclockers together to compete in setting the first speed records with 4th generation Intel Core processors and Corsair's soon-to-be-announced new line of highly overclockable memory.
Overclocking is a way of boosting the computer performance by increasing the clock frequency settings of components such as the CPU, memory, and motherboards. Popular with PC enthusiasts, overclocking has grown from being a hobby to a professional technical sport with competitions held in countries around the world.
At this year's Computex OC Main Event, elite overclockers from around the world will be vying for $20,000 USD in cash prizes. Competitors at the event will include some of the finest overclockers in the world including 8-Pack, Andre, Coldest, Coolice, Der8auer, Dinos22, Elmor, Hazzan, HiCookie, Lin222, lucky_n00b, Mad222, Nick Shih, Pt1t, Slamms, Smoke, Splave, tor_za, ZoLKoRn, and Zzolio. The live event broadcast by Overclocking-TV will be available at corsair.com/OCMainEvent on June 3rd from 13:00 - 18:00 GMT +8.
In addition to the overclocking competition, the event will feature presentations by Intel and Corsair, including a PC building master class and a demonstration of the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility. Attendees will also be among the first to see Corsair's new line of products that are designed for use with the 4th Generation Intel Core processor.
"We are excited to be hosting the premier overclocking event of Computex 2013 with our friends at Intel," said Thi La, Senior VP and GM of Memory and Enthusiast Component Products at Corsair. "Together we'll be unleashing the world's top overclockers for the first time on the latest Intel processors and our new line of Corsair memory. With the sheer level of overclocking talent and the capabilities of the new hardware, I anticipate seeing groundbreaking levels of performance."
"Our upcoming 4th Gen Intel Core processors will deliver amazing new levels of performance to the enthusiast community," said Zane Ball, Intel Vice President, Global Ecosystem Development. "We are excited to sponsor the world's top overclockers at this year's Computex OC Main Event."
Time and Location:
The Computex OC Main Event Marquee Restaurant & Lounge1F., No. 16-1, Sec. 5, Hsin-Yi RoadTaipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.Monday, June 3rd, 13:00 - 18:00 GMT +8
The event is invitation-only to members of the press and industry partners. For inquiries please visit the event registration page: http://ocmainevent.eventbrite.com.
For coverage of the event visit corsair.com/OCMainEvent.
Taiwanese PC cooling company Titan expanded its Dragonfly line of low-noise CPU coolers with two additions, the Dragonfly 3 (model: TTC-NC85TZ/RB) and Dragonfly 4 (TTC-NC95TZ/RB), pictured in that order. Both coolers are built in the aluminum fin tower-type form-factors, with heat pipes fanning out throughout the stacks, rather than passing through its edges. This ensures a more uniform heat transfer to the stack. The two use exposed copper heat pipes that make direct contact with the CPU.
Measuring 100 x 71.4 x 150 mm, the Dragonfly 3 uses three heat pipes, and a 95 mm PWM-controlled fan to ventilate its fin-stack. The fan has a wide speed range, spanning from 210 to 2,100 RPM, with noise levels as low as 5 dBA, and as high as 28.6 dBA. The Dragonfly 4, on the other hand, measures 120 x 71.4 x 160 mm, uses four heat pipes, and a larger 120 mm fan that spins at 150 to 1,500 RPM, with noise levels under 5 dBA at its lowest operational speed, and 28.6 dBA at its highest. Both coolers support modern CPU socket types, including LGA115x, LGA775, LGA1366, LGA2011, AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2, and FM2/FM1. The company didn't release pricing or availability information.
G.SKILL International Co. Ltd., the worldwide leading high performance memory designer and manufacturer, will be making a strong entrance in the field of PC gaming peripherals with newly engineered gaming headsets.
G.SKILL will be debuting gaming headsets with various industry-first features; it is built to provide gamers with enhanced competitiveness and unique gaming experiences. Along with G.SKILL's persistence on creating products of the highest quality and cutting-edge designs, the new headsets are set to satisfy all kinds of gaming needs. Detailed specifications and pricing will be released after the debut.
As with many new product launches of this scale, there has been a bit of misinformation spread regarding the recently launched line of 4th Generation Intel processors codenamed Haswell. This has been centered on PSU compatibility with these processors. We would like to clarify the situation to calm and reassure our customers and partners that they will be able to upgrade safely. A full list of Cooler Master power supplies is listed below. Please refer to these quick facts that the public should be aware of.
Among other improvements of Intel's latest Core Processors, power consumption in idle mode has been greatly reduced from around 6W to less than 1W. This might cause some older power supplies to shut the system off when the CPU enters idle mode, or prevent the system from waking up out of sleep mode. To our knowledge all mainboard vendors will disable this advanced power saving mode by default, and no customer upgrading to Haswell should experience any issues whatsoever.
Nevertheless, should customers experience problems or would like to enable the advanced power saving mode on older power supplies that might not support it, there is a simple fix. Simply add a single silent case fan to the system and connect it to the power supply. It should provide enough additional load to keep the system running in an advanced power saving mode.
The only disadvantage would be that power savings in idle mode on such a system would only amount to around 2-3W instead of ~5W.
Seagate Technology today announced the new Seagate Video 3.5 HDD- the industry's first 4TB, 3.5-inch hard disk drive (HDD) engineered specifically for use in video applications such as digital video recorders (DVRs), set-top boxes (STBs), and surveillance systems. Purpose-built for video solutions, the Video 3.5 HDD can store up to 480 hours of high-definition (HD) content making it the industry's highest-capacity drive designed specifically for video.
Engineered to deliver superior performance and operation in three key areas of importance to manufacturers- high capacity and streaming capability, reliability and acoustics- the Video 3.5 HDD is ideal for satellite and cable providers and surveillance system builders. Featuring capacities up to 4TB, the drive supports up to 16 simultaneous HD streams or 20 standard-definition streams as well as 24x7 operation capabilities making it ideal for video content applications.
"Leveraging Seagate's 10 years of experience understanding the requirements of the video market, we've combined our knowledge on heat, acoustics and power to deliver what we believe to be the most reliable DVR drive in the world," said Scott Horn, Seagate vice president of marketing. "Our commitment to deliver a drive with unrivaled reliability ensures the safekeeping of consumers' content as well as keeping DVRs, STBs, and surveillance systems in the field longer."
Featuring industry-leading reliability, the Video 3.5 HDD has a 0.55 percent annual failure rate enabling product to be kept in the field longer while reducing the cost of field deployment and maintaining customer retention- making it ideal for manufacturers who need reliable product with long lifespans. The drive is engineered for low power consumption and heat emissions allowing solution providers greater design flexibility.
"We congratulate Seagate on its newest innovation," said Mark Jackson, president of EchoStar Technologies, one of the top DVR manufacturers for the satellite market in North America. "Seagate is a leader in the dedicated video HDD space, delivering top-of-the-line products that help us bring customers the most advanced and reliable DVRs in the industry."
The living-room environment requires superior acoustic management to limit audible distractions during operation of DVRs and STBs and the Video 3.5 HDD enables designers to build the quietest home entertainment systems possible. Boasting near silent acoustics, the drive operates below the range of audible sound for the human ear at just 2.3 decibels providing optimized acoustics for home entertainment components - crucial for consumer electronics and video applications.
For more information on the Seagate Video 3.5 HDD please visit this page.
ORIGIN PC is the first to begin offering their innovative CRYOGENIC liquid-cooling solution for NVIDIA's latest GeForce GTX 780 graphics card in SLI to their line of award-winning GENESIS desktops starting today. Engineered for maximum performance, the award winning ORIGIN PC CRYOGENIC custom liquid cooling system makes sure you are always at your best.
The advanced cooling power of the ORIGIN PC CRYOGENIC system allows for optimal temperatures when overclocking and offers a unique air and liquid cooling option designed to keep you running cool even at peak performance during intense gaming sessions.
Here are our top 10 posted press releases from the past week!
Taipei, Taiwan - May 23, 2013 - ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash application products, has launched a new DashDrive UV150 USB Flash drive, a value-priced USB 3.0 solution with an attractive pearlescent exterior.
The sleek contour of the UV150 makes the drive as easy in the hand as it is on the eyes, and the USB connector cap snaps in cleanly in the rear of the drive to prevent cap loss. A broad lanyard slot at the base of the drive allows for use with a wider range of carrying straps than is often seen in USB Flash drives. These factors, combined with a weight of only 9g (0.3oz), make the UV150 an essential accessory in today's world of value-driven digital mobility Read transfer speed reaches 90 MB per seconds, provided the needed performance for the most common data storage needs.
Purchasers of the UV150 can also take full advantage of ADATA's free and proprietary value-add software, including UFDtoGO, OStoGO and the latest Norton Internet Security 2013 (60-day trial). The DashDrive UV150 is backed by a lifetime product warranty.
The DashDrive UV150 is available in colors of glossy black and scarlet. Capacities are 8, 16, and 32 gigabytes.
AvailabilityFor more information about UV150, see the website at http://www.adata-group.com/index.php?action=product_feature&cid=1&piid=214
CITY of INDUSTRY, CA (May 23, 2013) - CyberPower Inc. http://www.CYBERPOWERPC.com, a global manufacturer of custom gaming PCs, today unleashes the Zeus EVO Storm, a series of performance desktop gaming PCs based on NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 780 extreme performance GPU.
CYBERPOWERPC gaming systems powered by the new GeForce GTX 780 GPU will allow users to ding their gaming rivals without putting a dent in their wallet. The new GPU delivers the ultimate combination of performance, efficiency, control, power savings, and acoustics that PC gamers and enthusiasts demand.
Beginning May 23th, CYBERPOWERPC customers can configure their new gaming PC with the GeForce GTX 780 as an upgrade option across the entirety of its Fang III, Zeus EVO, Gamer Xtreme series and more. The powerful NVIDIA GTX 780 series will be the favored weapon on the new Zeus EVO Storm series - a lineup of enthusiast class systems featuring the latest and greatest extreme edition processors from Intel and graphics by NVIDIA. Base price of a GTX 780-based gaming system will be $1179.
The Zeus EVO Storm delivers the best graphics performance by utilizing the X79 chipset from Intel with high-speed PCIe x16 lanes for full bus-speeds in single and multi-GPU setups. Users will benefit from the performance gains with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 in SLI, 3-Way SLI, and even Quad-SLI configurations.
The Zeus EVO Storm incorporates the Advance Hydro II liquid cooling kit that combines the new XSPC RayStorm CPU block, redesigned AX radiators that provide a greater surface area, and high-performance D5 pumps in single or dual pump setups to provide unparalleled cooling power. The new GeForce GTX 780 can be optionally liquid cooled for even lower noise output and greater thermal headroom. The all new Zeus EVO Storm series start around $1499.
CYBERPOWERPC systems based on the GeForce GTX 780 offer all the premium features gamer expect such as 4-Way NVIDIA SLI technology to intelligently scale graphics performance by combining multiple NVIDIA GeForce GPUs on a single motherboard as well as NVIDIA TXAA and NVIDIA PhysX technologies combine to provide the refined image quality on all gaming titles. Users upgrading to the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 GPU can expect a minimum of 25% performance gain over previous generation GTX 680. The new GeForce GTX 780 powered systems are also NVIDIA 3D Vision and Surround ready. Support for NVIDIA 3D Vision brings a fully immersive stereoscopic 3D experience to the PC and transforms hundreds of PC games into an immersive 3D experience. It also enables streaming of 3D movies and 3D digital photographs from 3DVisionLive.com in crystal-clear quality. The Vision Surround feature provides support for gaming across three displays in full stereoscopic 3D with one single GPU for the ultimate "inside the game" experience. NVIDIA surround also supports triple-screen gaming with non-3D Vision monitors.
Users can tweak their CYBERPOWERPC system with GPU Boost 2.0 Technology, which allows for smart monitoring of clock speed to ensure that GPUs run at its peak and games at the highest frame rate possible. It also offers new levels of customization, including GPU temperature target, overclocking, and unlocked voltage. All CYBERPOWERPC GeForce GTX 780 equipped gaming systems can be customized with a number of performance hardware and component upgrades such as liquid cooling, solid state drives, blu-ray drives, premium sound cards, performance gaming memory, gaming peripherals, business productivity software, and more at the company's website, http://www.CYBERPOWERPC.com.All systems are housed in gaming chassis from top-tier manufacturers that are designed to provide ample features and intelligent functionality with a strong emphasis on advanced cooling, silent performance and extreme airflow. All CYBERPOWERPC systems are assembled and supported in the USA. CYBERPOWERPC loads every system with Microsoft Windows 8 for an enhanced gaming and multimedia experience. All CYBERPOWERPC gaming PCs include an industry best 3-year limited warranty.
May 23, 2013, Taipei, Taiwan - Apotop, a provider of memory, storage, and mobile products and accessories, will showcase its newest line of wireless storage products for mobile devices, a line of Thunderbolt products, including external SSDs and docking stations, Apple peripherals and memory products at COMPUTEX Taipei 2013. Apotop invites all attendees to visit their booth (# I0802 Nangang Exhibition Hall 1F) and get a hands-on experience with the latest product offerings.
Thunderbolt ConnectivityAt Apotop's booth, visitors can take a look at Apotop's developing Thunderbolt line, which includes docking stations and external SSDs. The docking stations have HDMI, USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt connections which to other devices such as printers, monitors, stereos and other storage device for fast data transfer.
Wireless Storage DevicesApotop will be displaying the Wireless Storage Device Series, including the DW21 Wi-Copy which is the only portable product on the market that can transfer data from SD cards and USB flash drives right to Android and iOS devices as well as directly copy data between the SD card and USB flash drive. Besides being a wireless card reader, Wi-Copy also integrates the functions of a Wi-Fi router and power bank. More new feature rich additions to the Wireless Storage Device Series will also be shown.
MacBook Storage PeripheralsThe MacBook Storage Peripherals Series includes two products that cost effectively enhance the storage capacity of SSD equipped MacBooks, AP-U2 and SmartSuit. The AP-U2 is a mini-external drive of 32GB that sits flush in the USB port of the MacBook Air. The SmartSuit is a thin sleeve that can be easily slid into the SD card slot of a MacBook. - upgrading the internal storage.
Memory / Storage DevicesApotop's memory products include a variety of flash memory devices such as SSDs, USB flash drives, SD/microSD cards and DRAM modules.
For more information about Apotop, please visit:http://www.carry.com.tw
May 23, 2013Computex Taipei 2013, the largest annual ICT exhibition in Asia and second largest of the world, is coming up from June 4 to June 8 at the TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei. PQI, a global leader in wireless storage solutions, will be on the first floor of the exhibition at Booth I1109a. The five major product lines will be on display - PQI Storage, PQI Air, PQI Power, PQI Audio, and PQI Mobility - along with products exclusively from PQI and a wide range of the latest electronics technology from the company. The booth is designed to be simple and bright with product kiosks to demonstrate a real user environment. Stage events will interact with showgoers and showcase the charm of PQI products!
On the upcoming exhibition, Mr. Alan Chang, CEO of Global Operations at PQI, mentioned: A recent New York Times article pointed out the lack of "innovation" in the electronics industry of Taiwan; this is a huge and most challenging aspect for a company. For many years, PQI has been investing and combining resources within the corporate group, as well as more than 15 R&D and manufacturing centers from around the world. PQI's persistence shall be rewarded at this exhibition with exceedingly high expectations! Industry Leading Technologies:
PQI Connect is the Best Storage Solution for Smart Phones and Tablet ComputersDual Micro-USB and USB connectors
The Connect features the PQI exclusive patented COB3.0 (Chip-on-Board 3.0) technology to enable the world's smallest storage solution for smart phones and tablet computers. Its "lightweight and thin" design is just the size of a penny but features both the micro-USB and USB dual connectors. Simply plug the micro-USB connector directly into the smart phone to transfer files without the need for additional cables. The file system is automatically categorized for syncing and sharing to Facebook with your photo, video, and music files. The USB connector can be directly to any USB port on the notebook or personal computer just as any USB thumb drive. The small design sits flush with the Ultrabook and MacBook Air to become one with the ultraportable devices. PQI Thunder with Extreme SpeedsUnmatched Capacity and Performance
PQI Thunder 1 is the smallest bootable thumb drive in the industry. Its SSD controller technology supports USB3.0 and Windows 8 for high performance and low latency file access.
PQI Thunder S501 is the Credit Card-Sized SSD with Upgraded Capacity. No more bulky SSD drives, the PQI Thunder S501 is a credit card-sized drive encased in metallic gold. It is a sophisticated and distinguished design offered up to 1TB capacity. The side-access USB3.0 connector is designed for the portability and convenience of an external SSD drive. It is reliable, shock-proof, and has low power consumption while operating. PQI NFC (Near Field Communication) Thumb DriveProtects Your Most Secure Data
This NFC-enabled thumb drive provides a deeper layer of protection for your personal information and industry trade secrets. Simply plug the thumb drive into a USB port and use an NFC-equipped smart phone in close proximity to engage the encryption mechanism and access files stored on the thumb drive. Your personal files are safeguarded from prying eyes with the highest level of protection. PQI Air for a Wireless Lifestyle
PQI's Air series features Wi-Fi technology to get rid of transfer cables for instant sharing and storage solutions. It features the "Communication-enabled expandable storage device" and "Communication-enabled card reader" technology patents to bring true wireless access to the products and consumer lifestyles. Power, Audio, Mobility to Diversify the Product Lineup
PQI will be expanding and diversifying the PQI Power, PQI Audio, and PQI Mobility brands into the agent markets starting in 2013. Portable, modern, simple, and practical products from millions of brands worldwide will be hand picked by PQI for the consumers. Brands to be showcased at this exhibition includes BlueAnt, Kross Precision, Mujjo, PhotoFast, Verbatim, @Muse, iKit, Joy Factory, Puregear, AproLink, PGL+, and Soundmatters. These are the global brands with leading products in protection, power, Bluetooth, and Hi-Fi stereo to fully complement your unique lifestyle. We welcome you to come to our booth and experience a new world of personal gadgets that will rock your senses!
Richmond, VA - May 23, 2013 - Velocity Micro, the premier builder of award winning enthusiast desktops, laptops, peripherals, and Cruz tablets announces the immediate availability of custom desktops powered by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780. With 2,304 total cores and 3GB of GDDR5 memory, this bleeding-edge card offers Velocity Micro customers not only extreme performance, but improved thermals and acoustics and acoustics as well. The GTX 780 will be available on the Edge Z55, Raptor Z90, Raptor Signature Edition, and Overdrive PC BigBlock.GTX starting at $2,249.
"Since our first Editors' Choice award in 2002, we've seen PC hardware come a long way. NVIDIA has always led the way in that innovation," said Randy Copeland, President and CEO of Velocity Micro. "After spending a few days testing the GeForce GTX 780, all I can say is WOW - they've done it again. This is seriously fast hardware and a must have for enthusiasts."
The Kepler-based GeForce GTX 780 is designed to be fast and powerful, pairing perfectly with the ultra-performance hardware and superior quality of a Velocity Micro desktop. Key selling features and enhancements of this innovative graphics card include:
All Velocity Micro desktops are hand built and supported in the USA. To custom configure an award-winning desktop featuring a GeForce GTX 780 or any other home office, workstation, enthusiast, or gaming desktop, notebook, or All-in-one, visit VelocityMicro.com.
May 23, 2013, 9:00 am EST, Miami, FL, - ORIGIN PC is thrilled to announce the launch of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 GPU to their award-winning desktops for gamers, professionals, artists andenthusiasts. The new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 marks an evolution in gaming performance by providing an insanely fast, smooth, and whisper-quiet gaming experiences like never before. Featuring a powerful NVIDIA Kepler GPU with 2,304 cores, 3GB of high-speed GDDR5 memory and NVIDIA GPU Boost 2.0 technology, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 provides the performance capabilities needed to game at the most extreme settings. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 is perfectly tuned for today's advanced gaming technologies with features such as GeForce Experience for one-click driver and settings optimization, plus NVIDIA PhysX and TXAA for smooth, crisp graphics on any ORIGIN PC desktop system.
The new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Graphics Card features:
For more information on ORIGIN PC'saward-winning desktops with the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780, please visit: http://www.originpc.com/landing/geforce-gtx-780/
"NVIDIA continues to evolve their amazing Kepler architecture with the incredible performance and efficiency ofthe GeForce GTX 780", says Kevin Wasielewski, CEO/Co-Founder of ORIGIN PC. "I expect more and more gamers to evolve their gaming experience and choose an ORIGIN PC equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 over the PS4 and Xbox One. With backwards compatibility, gaming in 4K resolutions, a huge library of triple-A-quality free to play games, wireless PC game streaming from the NVIDIA SHIELD, and game changing Virtual Reality technology, it's becoming more and more obvious that PC gaming is the best gaming experience right now and that won't change even with next generation consoles launching."
"ORIGIN PC shares our dedication and passion to PC gaming and builds some of the world's best custom high-performance PCs," said Scott Herkelman, general manager of the GeForce GPU business at NVIDIA. "We are very excited to see ORIGIN PC push the performance of our already insanely fast GeForce GTX 780 GPU to a whole new level for their customers."
SAN JOSE, CA - May 23, 2013 - OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCZ), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced the release of the Vertex 450 SATA III SSD Series featuring the company's proprietary Indilinx Barefoot 3 M10 Series controller. As part of the leading-edge Vertex series, Vertex 450 lives up to its name and bridges the gap between high performance and mainstream solid-state storage. With advanced storage performance, reliability, and quality, the Vertex 450 utilizes 20nm process geometry NAND flash to meet the needs of today's high-end consumer and client applications.
"As one of the industry's most highly awarded SSD Series to date, the Vertex name has become synonymous with the latest and greatest in flash-based storage providing an exceptional balance of performance and cost efficiency," said Daryl Lang, Senior Vice President of Product Management for OCZ Technology. "The Vertex 450 marks the first time this popular OCZ series utilizes in-house ASIC technology delivering an even greater level of speed, reliability and value for our customers."
Replacing the 25nm-based Vertex 4, the new Vertex 450 uses NAND flash based on the state-of-the-art 20nm process geometry to deliver superior, cost-effective solid state storage and features. The Vertex 450 provides bandwidth of up to 540MB/s read, 530MB/s write, and 4K random write performance of up to 90,000 IOPS, dramatically accelerating gaming, content creation, and multimedia applications, while driving an improved overall computing experience.
With its powerful and feature-rich Barefoot 3 M10 Series controller, the Vertex 450 is fine-tuned to deliver high speed sequential transfers and consistent sustained performance over time, regardless if the data file formats are compressed or uncompressed for faster file transfers, boot-ups, and a more responsive storage experience. The BF3 M10 controller is a derivative of the original product which adds AES-256 encryption and a power-optimized clock. This gives OCZ the ability to offer a power/cost optimized solution targeted for the mainstream market. With a priority on reliability and flash-optimized endurance, the Vertex 450 also features an advanced suite of flash management tools that analyze and dynamically adapt to increasing NAND vulnerabilities as flash cells wear, heightening data integrity over the long term.
Vertex 450 SSDs feature an ultra-slim 7mm alloy housing for compatibility with the latest thin form factor notebooks, and come bundled with a 3.5-inch adapter bracket as well as Acronis True Image cloning software with Windows 8 support to easily transfer data from legacy hard drive storage. The Vertex 450 will be available in 128GB to 512GB capacities and is backed by a 3-year warranty.
May 23, 2013 - City of Industry, CA - If you want the best graphics on the market, bar-none, we've got it. iBUYPOWER is excited to announce the availability of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 780 graphics cards in its performance gaming systems. Gaming performance from a GeForce GTX 780 is screen shredding, tearing apart frame rate barriers and delivering incredible details at ultra-settings in games with authority.
Packing 2,304 shaders, 192 texture units, 3 GB of GDDR5, 1,502 MHz clock speed, and weighing in at 7.1 billion transistors, the GeForce GTX 780 spares nothing in terms of cutting-edge features. "We always stay on the forefront of performance, and equipping our systems with the latest graphics technologies allows us to give our customers the best possible experience," said Darren Su, Co-Founder and VP of iBUYPOWER. iBUYPOWER is the official gaming PC of Major League Gaming. NVIDIA's latest GeForce GTX 780 graphics cards are available right now in iBUYPOWER's award winning systems. Check out the new levels of performance here:
http://www.ibuypower.com/info/nvidia-gtx-780.aspx
Rosewill, the leading brand of PC Components and Peripherals and award-winning power supplies, computer cases, and gaming keyboards, is expanding its offering of powerline networking members due to the success of their RPLC-200KIT and RPLC-500KIT adapters. Joining Rosewill's growing family of wireless routers, switches, wireless adapters, network adapters, and powerline adapters, Rosewill is proud to present 3 additional members to join the line-up of networking products for all networking needs.
The RPLC-201KIT, a 200Mbps Powerline AV mini Wall-Plug Adapter which utilizes HomePlug AV technology, RPLC-201PKIT, a 200Mbps Powerline AV Wall-Plug Adapter with pass-through, allows the expanding of high speed networks to multiple rooms through any home wall power outlet, and the RPLC-200PKIT AV+ Premium, command a 30% speed improvement over a standard AV200 powerline. The RPLC-201KIT, RPLC-201PKIT, and RPLC-200PKIT Powerline adapters includes a Built-in Noise filter to reduce power interference and enhance data transmission quality, secures data with a 128-bit AES Encryption, and QoS support. The built-in QoS allows prioritization of services and ensure lag free use of VoIP, video streaming, media streaming, or online gaming. All units feature a power savings feature to power down and idle when not in use.
The RPLC powerline adapters' push button setup will secure your extended network and have it up and running within seconds with a simple push of a button on each pair. The mini size of the RPLC-201KIT is designed to save room for your limited power outlets and the pass-through feature of the RPLC-201PKIT and RPLC-200PKIT provides a one for one offer where it will take one power outlet and give one back. The RPLC Powerline adapters are the perfect solution for those looking to extend their network where wireless is weak, cannot reach, or have the ability to install extensive wiring of networking cables to expand high speed internet access for High-Definition media streaming, online gaming, and other bandwidth intensive applications.
For more information, visit the product pages of RPLC-201KIT, RPLC-201PKIT, and RPLC-200PKIT.
EK Water Blocks, Ljubljana based premium water cooling gear manufacturer, is proud to introduce EK-SF3D Inflection Point EVO, company's second product from the line of liquid nitrogen (LN2) evaporation coolers for competitive overclockers.
EK-SF3D Inflection Point EVO is a high performance universal CPU liquid nitrogen evaporation cooler, the result of a joint venture between Petri 'SF3D' Korhonen, legendary overclocker and extreme evaporation cooler designer from Finland, and EK design & engineering team. The product is made of electrolytic grade nickel plated copper in order to provide the necessary mass to even out the temperature fluctuation. Excellent weight to surface area ratio ensures confident controll over temperatures. Precise and rapid response at any working temperature is what this product is all about - even when cooling the hottest CPUs on the market. Top extension is made from black anodized high quality aluminium alloy.
The key feature that makes Inflection Point EVO evaporation cooler stand out from the pack is the new, socket specific revolutionary mounting system enclosure, making it easier for beginners to dive into the world of extreme overclocking while the veterans will surely appreciate the even clamping force.
EK-SF3D Inflection Point EVO key features:
The product is readily available for purchase through EK Webshop & Partner Reseller Network and comes with Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of 149.95 euros incl. VAT. Each socket-specific mounting mechanism costs 39.95 euros incl. VAT. At the moment only Intel LGA-115x variant is readily available for purchase while LGA-2011- and AMD variant will follow by mid June.
AMD today launched three new additions to its 2013 A-Series and E-Series Mobile Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) lineup -- delivering solutions ideally positioned to address today's evolving PC market with dramatically increased performance and power efficiency, as well as a portfolio of unique user experiences, and superior gaming and graphics:
These new APUs are designed to effectively balance the needs of a wide range of new and traditional mobile PC users and are available beginning today from the world's top computer manufacturers, including products announced today from Acer and HP.
"The client market has evolved -- with greater diversity in the types of mobile form factors and higher performance demands from the software -- and AMD is uniquely positioned to deliver the best processors to meet the needs of mobile device users today," said Lisa Su, senior vice president and general manager, Global Business Units at AMD. "As computing becomes more visual and the graphics processor can be leveraged to do other types of processing, our dedication to the software community and the APU architecture sets us apart from the competition and enables us to deliver the best user experience whether on a tablet, a hybrid device or a notebook."
2013 AMD Mobile APU Platform Details
2013 AMD Elite Mobility APU
2013 AMD Mainstream APU
Combine either two or four "Jaguar" x86 CPU cores with Graphics Core Next AMD Radeon HD 8000 Series graphics, enabling stunning visual performance and all-day battery life6.
2013 AMD Elite Performance APU
2013 AMD Mobile APU User Experiences
All AMD APUs are designed to deliver the best user experience for the computing activities that matter most to consumer today. AMD is uniquely positioned to do this due to its breadth of experience that spans not only the traditional x86 compute architecture that's best suited for productivity-focused tasks like word processing and spread sheets, but also graphics processing for today's new user interfaces, and media- and graphics-intensive workloads. And the three new AMD APUs announced today offer a multitude of features related to looking at, and interacting with, mobile devices in a new way.
AMD Elite Experiences Software -- Leverage the power of the combined compute and graphics cores in AMD Elite APU Platforms to accelerate a suite of available software experiences that can dramatically expand and enhance the user experience:
HP today announced the HP ENVY Rove20 mobile All-in-One PC, the company's first mobile All-in-One PC, which frees the desktop PC from the desk and allows families and friends to enjoy a shared entertainment experience with a built-in battery, unique design and advanced touch technology. HP also announced new consumer notebooks, all-in-one PCs and printers that give people more flexibility in how they access and share information. With affordable touch technology and new form factors, HP's new additions provide seamless integration of technology into customers' busy lives.
"Customers are looking for mobility and flexibility in their computing devices to give families new ways to bring generations together," said Ron Coughlin, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer PCs and Consumer Solutions, HP. "HP is evolving to meet our customers' needs by designing next-generation form factors, like the Rove mobile All-in-One PC, which will enable people to connect, share and create in ways they never imagined."
The desktop that leaves the desk behind
The HP ENVY Rove20 can easily move from upright to completely horizontal for a tabletop entertainment experience. Using advanced multitouch technology, multiple users can interact with games and more at the same time. Multiplayer games such as Electronic Arts' Monopoly, Fingertapps JigsWar Puzzle, Fingertapps Musical Instruments, and nsquared makewords are an ease to play when the PC is laid flat.
In addition to sharing games, families and friends can enjoy multimedia content on the 20-inch 1,600 x 900 IPS LED panel that enables wide viewing angles, rich colors and sharp graphics, while built-in Beats Audio offers crisp, clear sound. Powered by 4th generation Intel Core processors, Intel HD graphics and 10-point touch, the HP ENVY Rove20 packs power for productivity tasks and an immersive entertainment experience with the ease of touch interaction.
Additional information about the HP ENVY Rove20 is available on The Next Bench.
Affordable touch for every task
HP offers an intuitive Windows 8 touch experience at great value with new all-in-one PCs and powerful consumer notebooks that feature multitouch display technology. With products at a range of price points, touch has never been more accessible. Users will benefit from new design elements that enhance durability, usability and performance.
To enable hassle-free printing at home and on the go, HP also is introducing two new sleek, compact printers, the HP ENVY 4500 and 5530 e-All-in-Ones. Ideal for printing professional color photos and documents, the HP ENVY 4500 e-All-in-One and HP ENVY 5530 e-All-in-One offer mobile printing solutions via HP wireless direct and HP ePrint. This allows family members to print from virtually anywhere. Customers also can print photos, tickets, emails and more from their iPad, iPhone and iPod touch using AirPrint.
HP also introduced additional HP TouchSmart PCs and a selection of stylish, reliable notebook PCs that offer performance for everyday computing, at a reasonable price.
Enhanced solutions for an intuitive experience
Pricing and availability
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