Corsair's Vengeance K70 keyboard reviewed
Corsair's original Vengeance K60 keyboard
is one of the most frustrating products I've ever encountered. On one
hand, it's brilliant. The K60 combines Cherry MX mechanical switches
with sensible extras, sturdy build quality, and a stunning industrial
design. But it doesn't use MX switches throughout. The function row and
paging block are backed by the sort of rubber-dome switches most folks
are trying to avoid when purchasing, you know, mechanical keyboards.
The semi-mechanical approach might have worked in an accountant's spreadsheet—rubber domes are much cheaper than premium Cherry switches—but it completely ruined the K60 for me. Every so often while using the thing, I'd have to hit one of those cheaper switches. Their vague, mushy feedback paled in comparison to the smooth, precise response of the Cherry MX units, serving as a painful reminder that the K60 just wasn't as good as it should have been.
Fortunately, the Vengeance K70 is much better. This second effort has Cherry MX switches throughout, rectifying its predecessor's fatal flaw. All the highlights of the original remain, and Corsair has added programmable backlighting and a blacked-out color scheme. Those changes transform the K70 into more than just a fully mechanical version of the K60. Simply put, I think the K70 is the best keyboard around.
Mechanical
keyboards are everywhere these days, but the K70 easily stands out in
the crowd. I mean, just look at the thing. They keys are laid out on a
...
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Users of Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage have reason to smile this morning. According to a post on the OneDrive blog, starting next month, users will get 15GB of storage for free (up from 7GB), and Office 365 subscribers will be able to take advantage of 1TB of space.
Microsoft says 75% of Windows users have less than 15GB of personal files on their PCs, so OneDrive could make for a good, no-questions-asked backup solution for those people. If you can fill up the base tiers, Microsoft also plans to cut ...
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But which one? The daily deals have a few candidates, including FTL and the latest Lego game. Saint's Row IV for $9.99 is pretty ...
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CPU core counts are growing. Four or eight cores are pedestrian nowadays, and core counts in the double digits are becoming increasingly common in the server space. To address the problems of efficient, scalable inter-core communication between large numbers of cores, researchers, including a group at MIT, have been exploring a design called a "network on a chip," or NoC. At the International Symposium on Computer Architecture last week, the MIT group outlined its first silicon based on the design: an experimental 36-core chip called Scorpio.
A block diagram of the Scorpio CPU. Source: MIT ...
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PC World reports that Intel expressed interest in experimenting with AMD's Mantle API. Newly-minted AMD Gaming Scientist Richard Huddy made the revelation during an interview last Friday, noting that Intel had "approached [AMD] for access to the Mantle interface, et cetera."
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Introduced almost a year ago now, Google's Chromecast is a $35 HDMI dongle that streams content from your web browser to your TV—and it may be about to get some competition from the Firefox folks. Mozilla's Christian Heilmann tweeted the following last week:
A fully open TV casting prototype device running #FirefoxOS . ...
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The
Internet rumor factory knows no respite. On Saturday, while the rest of
us were enjoying the spoils of the latest Steam sale, Android Police posted an intriguing story about what may be Google's next Nexus tablet.
According to Android Police, the device is being made by HTC, is known alternatively as Volantis (its code name) or Nexus 9 (its ...
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Holy moly, Tomb Raider and Borderlands 2 are five bucks!
We interrupt this sleepy Sunday afternoon to bring you good tidings from the Steam Summer Sale, which has just unleashed its finest selection of deals yet. Both Borderlands 2 and Tomb Raider (the recent reboot) are now selling for five bucks a pop. In my book, these are two of the best games of the past few years. Pick them up for that price while you can.
The flash sale for the excellent Sleeping Dogs at $3.99 will make you forget all about Watch_Dogs and graphics ...
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Available Tags:keyboard , Microsoft , Steam , Intel , AMD , Firefox ,
The semi-mechanical approach might have worked in an accountant's spreadsheet—rubber domes are much cheaper than premium Cherry switches—but it completely ruined the K60 for me. Every so often while using the thing, I'd have to hit one of those cheaper switches. Their vague, mushy feedback paled in comparison to the smooth, precise response of the Cherry MX units, serving as a painful reminder that the K60 just wasn't as good as it should have been.
Fortunately, the Vengeance K70 is much better. This second effort has Cherry MX switches throughout, rectifying its predecessor's fatal flaw. All the highlights of the original remain, and Corsair has added programmable backlighting and a blacked-out color scheme. Those changes transform the K70 into more than just a fully mechanical version of the K60. Simply put, I think the K70 is the best keyboard around.
Read more...
Read More ...
Microsoft OneDrive will offer 15GB for free next month
Users of Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage have reason to smile this morning. According to a post on the OneDrive blog, starting next month, users will get 15GB of storage for free (up from 7GB), and Office 365 subscribers will be able to take advantage of 1TB of space.
Microsoft says 75% of Windows users have less than 15GB of personal files on their PCs, so OneDrive could make for a good, no-questions-asked backup solution for those people. If you can fill up the base tiers, Microsoft also plans to cut ...
Read more...
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Steam discounts Saints Row IV, FTL, Hitman and more
Day five of the Steam Summer Sale is upon us. Valve has released another batch of daily deals in addition to updated flash sales and community's choice discounts. Once again, a familiar argument is playing out in my head. "Look at the savings," one voice pleads, pointing to discounts up to 90%. "You're never going to play them," snarls another, motioning toward the growing pile of unplayed and unfinished titles already languishing in my library. At these prices, you don't need to spend a lot of time playing a game to get your money's worth, so I inevitably compromise: just one, at least for today.
But which one? The daily deals have a few candidates, including FTL and the latest Lego game. Saint's Row IV for $9.99 is pretty ...
Read more...
Read More ...
Experimental MIT chip brings cache coherency to many cores
CPU core counts are growing. Four or eight cores are pedestrian nowadays, and core counts in the double digits are becoming increasingly common in the server space. To address the problems of efficient, scalable inter-core communication between large numbers of cores, researchers, including a group at MIT, have been exploring a design called a "network on a chip," or NoC. At the International Symposium on Computer Architecture last week, the MIT group outlined its first silicon based on the design: an experimental 36-core chip called Scorpio.
A block diagram of the Scorpio CPU. Source: MIT ...
Read more...
Read More ...
Intel asked AMD for Mantle API spec
PC World reports that Intel expressed interest in experimenting with AMD's Mantle API. Newly-minted AMD Gaming Scientist Richard Huddy made the revelation during an interview last Friday, noting that Intel had "approached [AMD] for access to the Mantle interface, et cetera."
Intel's request was rebuffed, though. Mantle is still in a closed beta, and AMD doesn't plan on opening the API until version 1.0 is complete. That ...
Read more...
Read More ...
Firefox may get its own Chromecast dongle
Introduced almost a year ago now, Google's Chromecast is a $35 HDMI dongle that streams content from your web browser to your TV—and it may be about to get some competition from the Firefox folks. Mozilla's Christian Heilmann tweeted the following last week:
A fully open TV casting prototype device running #FirefoxOS . ...
Read more...
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Rumor: Nexus 9 coming next quarter with Tegra K1 inside
The
Internet rumor factory knows no respite. On Saturday, while the rest of
us were enjoying the spoils of the latest Steam sale, Android Police posted an intriguing story about what may be Google's next Nexus tablet.According to Android Police, the device is being made by HTC, is known alternatively as Volantis (its code name) or Nexus 9 (its ...
Read more...
Read More ...
Holy moly, Tomb Raider and Borderlands 2 are five bucks!
We interrupt this sleepy Sunday afternoon to bring you good tidings from the Steam Summer Sale, which has just unleashed its finest selection of deals yet. Both Borderlands 2 and Tomb Raider (the recent reboot) are now selling for five bucks a pop. In my book, these are two of the best games of the past few years. Pick them up for that price while you can.
The flash sale for the excellent Sleeping Dogs at $3.99 will make you forget all about Watch_Dogs and graphics ...
Read more...
Read More ...
Available Tags:keyboard , Microsoft , Steam , Intel , AMD , Firefox ,
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