IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 2/4/2015

Samsung teases 'What's Next' for Samsung Unpacked event on May 1
Mobile World Congress 2015 is just around the corner, so it's about time that Samsung began teasing its Unpacked event. Samsung will be hosting Samsung Unpacked 2015 on March 1, in Barcelona, Spain.

We should expect Samsung to unveil its new Galaxy S6 smartphone, as well as other devices during the show, which leads directly into Mobile World Congress 2015. Samsung Unpacked 2015 starts at 18:30 local time, which is 12pm New York or 9am on the west coast. Be sure to tune in, but if not we will be getting all of the news up as it happens.


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Rockstar confirms GTA 6 is coming, says 'we've got some ideas'
We haven't even received GTA V on the PC yet, which was delayed from January to March, but now we're hearing the first rumbles of GTA VI. Yes, that's Grand Theft Auto 6.

During a talk with Develop, Rockstar Games' President, Leslie Benzies said: "We've got about 45 years worth of ideas we want to do. We don't know what GTA 6 will be, but we've got some ideas". Benzies continued, somehow thinking that teasing the world of one of the biggest franchises of all world would be fine, adding: "It comes from the idea first. Where is it going to be set is the first question. Then that defines the missions; you're doing different things in LA than in New York or Miami. The map and story get worked up together, and the story is a basic flow of how it works out so you can layer the missions in".

Now we have the pleasure of imagining where Rockstar could take GTA VI if it wasn't held back in shackles by the previous generation consoles. What could GTA IV turn out to be like if it were built from the ground up on the Xbox One, PS4, and the PC? What if Rockstar made it with the PC as the lead platform, with VR in mind and then just baked down to the consoles? I'm obviously making too much sense with that last bit, so I'll leave it at that.

Thanks to our tipster George for this news!


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Rooster Teeth animator Monty Oum has died at 33 years of age
The Rooster Teeth community is in shock right now, with the creator of RWBY, Monty Oum, dying at the young age of 33. Oum died due to an extreme allergic reaction during a routine medical procedure. Oum fell into a coma, and never recovered, where he passed away at 4:34pm on February 1 "surrounded by people who loved him very much".

Rooster Teeth has released a message to its fans, saying: "As for honoring Monty, we will do that in our own way. In lieu of flowers or gifts, we ask that you simply do something creative. Use your imagination to make the world a better place in any way that you can. If you know Monty like we do, then you know he would certainly be doing that if he were able to".

There's already a GoFundMe campaign that has been opened up, to help Oum's family with the medical costs. Our thoughts are with his family, as it's such a sad way to go. Did you enjoy Oum's work? Are you a fan of Red vs. Blue?


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Planetside 2 developer SOE breaks away, is now independent of Sony
H1Z1 and Planetside 2 developer Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has announced that it has snapped away from Sony, where it is now operating as an independent company.

How did this happen? Well, an investment management firm based in New York City, Columbus Nova, bought the company out from Sony for an undisclosed amount of money. The studio has said: "This means that effective immediately SOE will operate as an independent game development studio where we will continue to focus on creating exceptional online games for players around the world, and now as a multiplatform gaming company".

Yes, you read that right. SOE can now make games for the Xbox, mobile, and many more platforms. Jon Smedley, President of SOE has already said "Yes, that means PlayStation and Xbox, mobile, and more!". From this day forward, SOE is now known as Daybreak Game Company, with the new studio saying: "This name embodies who we are as an organization, and is a nod to the passion and dedication of our employees and players. It is also representative of our vision to approach each new day as an opportunity to move gaming forward".

Daybreak Game Company has added that there will be no disruption to any of its services and games, saying: "It will be business as usual and all SOE games will continue on their current path of development and operation. In fact, we expect to have even more resources available to us as a result of this acquisition. It also means new exciting developments for our existing IP and games as we can now fully embrace the multi-platform world we are living in".

SOE was founded in 1995, where it started off as Sony Interactive Studios America. This changes in 1998 to Sony Online Entertainment where they worked on games for the PlayStation, but they've started transitioning toward free-to-play games for the PC, and now changed to Daybreak Game Company. The studio finished by saying: "Our games and players are the heart and soul of our organization, and we are committed to maintaining our portfolio of online games and pushing the limits of where we can take online gaming together".


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Sprint set to buy half or RadioShack stores, possibly close others
It looks like this is the end for RadioShack, as the company will sell almost half of its retail stores to Sprint, while the rest will be shuttered. Sprint will operate the RadioShack locations under its own brand name, according to sources.

It's still possible Sprint and RadioShack won't finalize a deal, or something could change, with both companies previously discussing a co-branded retail effort.

There are about 4,300 RadioShack stores in North America, and half of those stores will close if the company is unable to entice another suitor. Employees have been ordered to slash prices and ship inventory other locations, in anticipation of future store closures.

RadioShack began in 1921 as a mail-order retailer, branching into a major electronics retailer over the decades - but has struggled to compete with Internet-based e-commerce sellers.


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EVGA unveils the GTX 980 KINGPIN ACX 2.0+ with 2.2GHz GPU core on LN2
We've been hearing the rumbles of an insane video card from EVGA for quite a while now, but here it is: the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 KINGPIN ACX 2.0. From the name alone, you can see that this is the top tier Maxwell-powered GTX 980 from NVIDIA, but the entire package is going to blow you away.

First and foremost, we have a custom designed PCB which has been tailor made to push things right to their breaking points. Under LN2, the new EVGA GeForce GTX 980 KINGPIN ACX 2.0 was capable of an insane 2.2GHz GPU clock, and 8.9GHz on the memory. Comparing this to the stock speeds of 1291MHz for the GPU and 7GHz for the GDDR5 RAM, this is an impressive result for EVGA and KINGPIN. The custom designed PCB is showing its strength here, but it'll be more interesting to see what it does with its ACX 2.0+ cooler.

Speaking of the custom designed PCB, we have a 14+3 Fully Digital VRM which will increase the stability, efficiency and the overall power capacity of the board, all while it runs at low temperatures of an average of 28C. The custom designed PCB has been made from 12 layers of copper, with two 8-pin PCIe power connectors backed up by a third, 6-pin PCIe power connector. All of this power will ensure that the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 KINGPIN ACX 2.0 has enough power when it is receiving a total thrashing in the overclocking department.

The entire PCB includes a RAM and MOSFET cooling plate which provides direct contact with the respective components in order to reduce the temperature, as well as two stacks of the cooling plate for each component that allows for much easier access to improved cooling through watercooling, or LN2. The card comes with a triple BIOS design for normal/OC/LN2, as well as an EVBot on-board connector that will allow for some even more personal tuning.

We have a card that comes in at 5.49 inches by, and 11 inches long. It is only a 2-slot card, so 4-way SLI is definitely something that can be achieved using the new video card. The stock ACX 2.0+ cooler is impressive, something we loved on the GeForce GTX 960 SuperSSC ACX 2.0+ we reviewed not too long ago. As for price, EVGA is offering up pre-orders in the US of $749.99.


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Pebble tops 1 million smartwatches sold, plans hardware changes
Pebble has sold more than 1 million smartwatches since launch, with the milestone reached on December 31, as the company's price cuts apparently helped do the trick. The Pebble smartwatch saw a price reduction down to $99, while the Steel model received a price cut down to $199 in September - and consumers were more willing to splurge.

To help build on its success, Pebble will release a new software platform and additional smartwatch products to compete with growing competition. Specifically, the company has a new software framework that it hopes will appeal to consumers and app designers:

"We've found a new framework to use as an interaction model on the watch," said Eric Migicovsky, CEO of Pebble, in a statement to The Verge. "It doesn't look like what we have today, and it doesn't look like what's on your smartphone."

As the industry anxiously awaits the release of the Apple Watch, smartwatch manufacturers will need to step up their development and marketing campaigns. In addition to Pebble - and Apple's looming smartwatch launch - Samsung, LG, ASUS, Microsoft, Motorola, Sony, and other manufacturers have jumped into the suddenly crowded market.


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Advertisers trying to pay Adblock Plus to stop blocking ads
Major advertisers such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon have secretly entered negotiations to pay Adblock Plus to stop blocking ads from their advertising networks. Eyeo, which makes Adblock Plus, said the free extension has more than 50 million monthly active users and has been downloaded more than 300 million times.

Non-intrusive advertisements could be added to an Adblock whitelist so they will not be blocked - which is how Eyeo makes money - and larger advertisers will certainly have to pay.

"Microsoft will always give consumers choice when it comes to advertisements," according to a statement Microsoft issued to the Financial Times. "We are committed to working with partners who share our vision for relevant, impactful brand interaction and respect the integrity of consumer choice."

The online advertising market is valued at $120 billion, and it looks like a few of the leading companies are feeling threatened by free ad-blocking solutions.


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Facebook, Twitter enjoyed a busy experience during Super Bowl
The New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks in a thrilling Super Bowl, and it looks like the game was a major success on Twitter and Facebook. There were more than 265 million posts, comments and likes on Facebook, generated by at least 65 million users, according to the company.

An interception to effectively end the game was the most popular Facebook discussion (1.36 million people per minute), while Katy Perry's halftime performance racked up 1.02 million people per minute discussing it.

There were more than 28 million tweets posted on Twitter related to the Super Bowl and Perry's halftime performance. Not surprisingly, Malcolm Butler's interception to seal the victory for the Patriots received 395,000 tweets per minute, earning the most generated Twitter moment of the event.

Throughout the Super Bowl, there was a large volume of Facebook posts and tweets related to every commercial during the game - and continues to show how important social media can be during major sporting events. Lenny Kravitz, Missy Elliott and Perry all saw a surge in Spotify song streams following the halftime performance, with Elliott receiving a massive 676 percent increase.


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New consumer Intel 750 NVMe SSD pops up in UNH-IOL compatibility list
UNH-IOL has announced during the third NVM Express Interoperability Plugfest that twelve products were added to the UNH-IOL (University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab) NVMe 1.1b Integrators List. One item on the list that is sure to interest the enthusiast crowd is the Intel 750 SSD. News of the Intel 750 cropped up in a leaked roadmap, with release of the code-named 'August Ridge' product scheduled for Q4 of 2014. Of course, this time has passed.

There were no details in the leaked roadmap, but now we know that the August Ridge SSDs will feature the NVMe 1.1b interface. It appears, from the leaked roadmap, that the Intel 750 will be available in both the M.2 and 2.5" form factor, and come in capacities of 180, 240, 360, 480, and 600GB. NVMe will provide a low-latency interconnect that will allow Intel to finally break the SATA performance barrier. Even though the proposed release date on the leaked roadmap has passed, the Intel 750 SSD is clearly still on the way to consumers. It appears Intel is close to being the first SSD manufacturer with a consumer NVMe SSD on the market.

Another interesting inclusion is the Intel DC P3700 series of products (evaluated here). These products are already on the market with NVMe 1.1a, and will be upgradeable to offer NVMe 1.1b functionality with a firmware update.

Other devices on the list included the enterprise-oriented OCZ Z-Drive 6000, which we have covered here and here. The enterprise Samsung SM171x SSD is also listed, and the Marvell 88NV1140 controller. HGST's new Ultrastar SN100 and SN150 SSDs also made the list, and are coming to market soon.

The NVMe ecosystem continues to expand, and for those interested in learning more head over to our Defining NVMe article.


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Pres. Obama wants $14 billion to boost nation's cybersecurity defenses
In an effort to protect federal and private computer assets from cyberattacks, President Barack Obama wants to receive $14 billion in the 2016 fiscal year to put towards cybersecurity. The US government has increasingly called upon defense contractors and the private sector to provide next-generation software and hardware designed to help keep critical infrastructure safer from attack.

As part of his multi-billion-dollar cybersecurity effort, Obama wants to include additional intrusion detection and prevention solutions, along with increased intelligence sharing between the government and private sector.

"Cyber threats targeting the private sector, critical infrastructure and the federal government demonstrate that no sector, network or system is immune to infiltration by those seeking to steal commercial or government secrets and property or perpetrate malicious and disruptive activity," according to a White House summary.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon previously submitted a request for $5.5 billion to help fund cybersecurity programs.


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Witcher 3 is a massive game, will require 50GB on PS4, Xbox One
CDProjekt RED has confirmed The Witcher 3 will need almost 50GB of space for installation on the Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One game consoles. Exact figures weren't specified, but the studio told GameSpot around 50GB is an accurate estimate.

Earlier released PC specifications for The Witcher 3 revealed around 40GB of HDD space would be necessary - a massive file size for gaming consoles. There are a few games that require 40GB or more of space, but it's far less common for console games, however, that seems to be changing.

CDProjekt RED plans to release The Witcher 3 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One on May 19 later this year.


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Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise versions will not be free
Microsoft pleased the world at large by announcing a free upgrade to Windows 10 for consumers with Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. Unfortunately, Microsoft will not be extending that same offer to enterprise users.

Microsoft has released a statement on the issue, "Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 8/8.1 Enterprise are not included in the terms of free Windows 10 Upgrade offer we announced last week, given active Software Assurance customers will continue to have rights to upgrade to Windows 10 enterprise offerings outside of this offer - while also benefitting from the full flexibility to deploy Windows 10 using their existing management infrastructure."

Microsoft is releasing a new two-tier enterprise updating feature. The 'Current Branch for Business' feature allows users to defer new updates for 120 days while they are thoroughly tested in client versions of the operating system. The operating system will still receive up-to-date security updates.

The 'Long-term Servicing Branch' will operate in similar fashion to current Microsoft update cycles, with the latest security and critical updates delivered as usual, and a five-year update cycle. This will ensure a standard OS that requires no new training for an extended period of time.


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Microsoft vowes to support the Rasberry Pi 2 - offering up Windows 10
Unsure if the Raspberry Pi 2 is for you? Microsoft are putting their might behind this latest product offering - announcing that it's "delivering a version of Windows 10 that supports Raspberry Pi 2."

The 2nd generation of Raspberry Pi offers a more powerful processor and twice as much RAM. Often toted by retro-game emulators worldwide as an optimum product, you could always install versions of Windows on the device, however Microsoft is now working to directly offer up an Operating System tailored for this tiny computer system.

There will be more information released later as to how exactly Microsoft will be supporting the Raspberry Pi 2, with them stating this will come "in the coming months."

Set to retail for $35 and now with a specially-tailored Windows 10 offering - you can likely sort yourself out a fully-functional home computer for a tiny price.

Interested in seeing what the Raspberry Pi 2 looks like? Look below!

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Team Liquid release its eSports-focused 2014 StarCraft II Awards
Featuring a massive 22 categories covering almost anything you can think of from "best ceremony" to "worst drama" and "best Korean Terran", Team Liquid has just released their eSports-focused highly-anticipated 2014 StarCraft II awards.

Although not currently as often in the spotlight as it once was seen, StarCraft II is still a massively popular RTS game across the globe, seeing constant Blizzard support in the form of tournaments, events and game updates. Many regard StarCraft II as the birth of eSports professionals worldwide - seeing its rise in popularity begin the professional couriers of many commentators, journalists, streamers, tournament organizers and gamers alike.

Compiled by a massive team of 17 writers, one graphical artist and one editor, Team Liquids well-written and professional-presented awards are always worth a look into.


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ID Cooling T60-SFX Mini Gaming Chassis Review

Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

There isn't really much information to be found about ID Cooling; even when it comes to their own introduction page, all we can really ascertain is that the group is built of experienced people from other companies that came together under a parent company. However, that is not to say that ID Cooling is a side project - their intentions are much different than that. From what we can gather, they are all about using top-tier materials and processes to deliver products that should stand up to the majority of options already out there. Also, with ties to major companies that they have worked with in the past, they elude to the fact that they are on top of quality control, and offer dependable products.

Here at TweakTown, this is our maiden voyage with ID Cooling, and to be honest, all we have seen up until now was news some time ago about the release of a very small form factor chassis that happened to look really cool. Today, we are going to be looking at one of the five available versions of ID Cooling's latest SFX chassis to hit the market. In these five versions, it is all about color options, much like the BitFenix Prodigy cases.

Whether orange is your color of choice, or if it is all red, red and black, all white, or all black, ID Cooling has you covered. There is also a possibility that more color options will come later on if this chassis stands up to what it is supposed to be on paper. The chassis in question is the T60-SFX from ID Cooling - not to be confused with T60 from Lian Li (although, if we stretch real far, there are some similarities to be found). Now, let's find out just how well the T60 from ID Cooling compares to all of the other offerings out there.

We do like that ID Cooling takes the time to spell things out in the specifications chart provided on their site; the chart leaves little to question once it is all absorbed. First, the dimensions are provided; we find the T60-SFX is only 251mm tall, 328mm deep, and sits 160mm wide, weighing in at only three kilograms. While they do cover the Aluminum alloy used, they do not mention that it is 3mm thick, or that the top, front, and bottom all interlock. They also do not mention that the back of the chassis and the motherboard tray are made of a much thinner steel plate. However, they do mention that on any color option we choose, there is an oil based paint applied to all surfaces, inside and out.

With such small chassis, we don't typically expect a lot of offerings on the inside, but the T60-SFX actually offers room for quite a lot considering its size. Inside, there is room for a single 3.5" drive at the top of the chassis, and down the left side is a removable rail that will house a pair of 2.5" drives. Of course, this is made for Mini-ITX motherboard compatibility only, but there is still room left for a SFX or Micro-ATX PSU. There is also 263mm for video card placement, and even 125mm worth of room for a smaller tower-style CPU cooler. The last thing to mention is the inclusion of a fan in the one and only fan location in the T60-SFX; that location is filled with a 92mm black framed fan with clear blades.

What ID Cooling has going for them, on top of using nicer materials and offering it all in a stunning package with the design of the chassis, is that in all the news and previous reviews, we were lead to believe that this chassis would retail for $79.99. While that pricing is somewhat doable for a chassis like this, even without looking into it, we feel that pricing is justified. However, the real problem comes when we look to actually buy one. The only listing we could find has this chassis retailing for $139.99, and that is at Amazon. Even thus far, we find it hard to justify an additional fifty dollars over the MSRP. By the time we are done, will we find the ID Cooling T60-SFX worthy enough to justify the price hike?

PRICING: You can find the ID Cooling T60-SFX for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing, but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.

United States: The ID Cooling T60-SFX in WHITE retails for $139.99 at Amazon, the ID Cooling T60-SFX in RED retails for $139.99 at Amazon, the ID Cooling T60-SFX in RED and BLACK retails for $139.99 at Amazon, and the ID Cooling T60-SFX in ORANGE and BLACK retails for $139.99 at Amazon.
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Kingston HyperX Sets DDR4 Overclocking World Record at 4351MHz
HyperX, a division of Kingston Technology, the independent world leader in memory products, today announced its HyperX Predator DDR4 memory was overclocked at 4351 MHz, the highest frequency among all DDR4 memory in the world. The mark was set by overclocker "Toppc" of MSI using one 4GB HyperX Predator 3333MHz DDR4 module on the new MSI X99S XPOWER AC motherboard. The valid CPU-Z screenshot can be found here. The video of the overclocking record can be found here.

In addition to having the highest frequency, 10 out of the top 20 memory clock records were achieved using HyperX Predator DDR4 memory. Eight of those records were set at the recent HyperX OC Takeover (HOT) World Finals event during 2015 International CES, where the world's top overclocker's gathered to compete for $15,000 (USD) in prize money. HyperX DDR4 memory currently also has the top scores in two other benchmarks recognized by HWBOT, MaxxMEM and MaxxMEM Read Bandwidth, respectively.

HyperX Predator DDR4 3333MHz 16GB Kit of 4 memory is the fastest Intel XMP-certified memory kit. The Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) allows users to overclock memory beyond standard specifications. To gain XMP certification, memory modules must pass a rigorous test procedure that ensures stability and reliability.

HyperX is the high-performance product division of Kingston Technology encompassing high-speed DDR4 and DDR3 memory, SSDs, USB Flash drives and gaming accessories. Targeted at gamers, overclocker's and enthusiasts, HyperX is known throughout the world for quality, performance and innovation. HyperX is committed to eSports as it sponsors over 20 teams globally and is the main sponsor of Intel Extreme Masters. HyperX can be found at many shows including Brasil Game Show, China Joy, DreamHack, gamescom and PAX.


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MSI Nightblade Now with Latest GTX 900 Series Graphics
MSI, leading gaming hardware brand, is leveling up by implementing the latest MSI 900-series video cards into the tiny MSI Nightblade powerhouse. The recent release of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980, 970 and 960 video cards enables MSI to offer gamers an even more lavishing gaming experience with the MSI Nightblade, which fits an ATX-size video card without the need for additional adapters, despite its mini-ITX form factor.

Gamers that want a powerful, compact gaming PC that can be carried to gaming and LAN events will have an excellent pick with the MSI Nightblade. By default, the Nightblade B85 gaming systems come with Killer Game Networking technology, Audio Boost 2 and Military Class 4 components, known for its stability and power efficiency. Selected resellers will also offer the MSI Nightblade with locally preferred configurations.

Red Dragon Case Fan and Optimized Airflow

The case fan inside the MSI Nightblade B85 is custom made for its chassis. The fan speed is dynamically adjusted depending on the activities done by the user. In the most extreme circumstances, the Dragon case fan can even run at a maximum of 3600RPM, much more powerful than conventional PC casefans.

No Compromise on Gaming Features

The MSI Nightblade B85 comes with Killer Game Networking technology for the best network speed while playing games. MSI's well-known Military Class Components provide a high stability in high demanding circumstances, such as gaming.

ATX Graphics Support

Despite its Mini-ITX form factor, the small sized Nightblade provides enough space for a full-size two slot-in video card via a PCI-E 3.0x16 slot. Graphics cards up to a lenght of 290mm and a thickness of 35mm can fit in, making the Nightblade a vicious tool for gamers craving for amazing in-game images while exploring virtual world's and battlefields.

Carrying Handle

A useful handle at the bottom-front of the Nightblade can be used to pick up and carry this gaming beast around from one LAN-event to the next. The level of mobility doesn't stop there. With help of the rubber covers fitting the metal screws on the backside of the Nightblade, this system can even be stacked up vertically after carrying it around. That way, the panel and connectors on the back remain unharmed each time when arriving at a new gamer's den.


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MSI Announces Limited Edition GeForce GTX 970 and GTX 960 Graphics Cards
To celebrate the grand milestone of selling over 100 million NVIDIA GPU based video cards from the moment MSI started to manufacture these until 2015, MSI has prepared a special limited edition of its recently launched GTX 960 GAMING and much awarded GTX 970 GAMING models with a striking NVIDIA green color scheme.

Both cards feature the well-known MSI Twin Frozr V cooler with Zero Frozr technology and Torx Fan design with innovative award-winning cooling technology for silent and cool gaming graphics. They will also come with a backplate to improve structural rigidity and most of all complement the exclusive premium appearances. As a token of appreciation, a special gift for dedicated MSI fans is included in the box. The MSI GTX 960 GAMING 100 ME and MSI GTX 970 GAMING 100 ME are now globally available.

100 Million Edition

The long-standing partnership between MSI and NVIDIA dates back to the nineties, before the first GeForce cards were available and Riva TNT was the benchmark. Over the years, MSI have brought you some of the most innovative, cutting edge and exotic cooling technologies like the Seaweed-Blade Fan and Cyclone Thermal Design. Ultimately introducing the revolutionary Twin Frozr design in 2008 which evolved into today's celebrated Twin Frozr V cooler. According to internal data, MSI is currently the most popular brand for performance users and enthusiasts in many regions. The accomplishment of selling over 100 million NVIDIA based MSI video cards is a testament to MSI's number one position in gaming and devotion to ever improving product performance and quality.

Twin Frozr V Thermal Design

The MSI Twin Frozr V Thermal Design is the pinnacle of video card air cooling. With a smaller than 2-slot design the Twin Frozr V is able to surpass previous generations by a large margin. The advanced 10cm Torx fans ensure huge amounts of silent airflow and visually complement the bold look of the latest Twin Frozr design. The heat sink itself is re-organized through the SuperSU design which increases heat pipe efficiency, especially when combined with Airflow Control Technology. Zero Frozr is a throwback to 2008 when MSI was the first to market high-end, zero noise video cards thanks to fans that stop spinning in low-temperature situations

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Super Flower Announces World's First 2000W Consumer PSU
Announcing the world's first consumer 2000W power supply unit on the market. Super Flower and Ian '8Pack' Parry have collaborated to produce an extreme PSU that can handle 4-Way SLI and 4-Way CrossfireX with ease, and with efficiency levels of up to 94%. Offering extreme power without compromises, the 8Pack way.

8Pack is the world's number one overclocker, with several hundred records broken and many competitions smashed, he is known for benching high-end hardware, from processors to video cards, and also his ultra high-end systems range exclusive to Caseking Group.

8Pack draws huge amounts of power when benching and a powerful power supply is highly important. Multi Award winning Super Flower power supplies are renowned for being extremely reliable and stable, together with the knowledge of 8Pack, they have developed a unit that is the highest wattage power supply on the market with a platinum rated efficiency.

One of 8Pack's signature systems, the 8Pack Supernova has been updated with the addition of new 2000W Super Flower power supply.

A fully modular design, with an 140 mm DBB fan in conjunction with an ECO intelligent thermal control system, full Japanese 105°C capacitors, and a single rail design all covered with a 5 year warranty.

Features

• 100% Full Modular Cabling Design For Easy Cable Management
• 80 PLUS Platinum Certified, 92% 94% 90% Efficiency At 20% 50% 100% Rated Load
• Full Range Auto Voltage Detection Design 100V~240V (Active PFC)
• Comply With Energy Star Standard & EuP (Energy Using Products) Regulation
• Over Voltage Protection / Over Current Protection / Over Power Protection / Short Circuit Protection / Under Voltage Protection
• Support All Intel/AMD Multi-Core CPU & ATX/BTX Compatible Motherboards
• Support NVIDIA SLI & ATI CrossFireX High Performance Graphic Card
• More than 2,000 times On/Off test
• Unleaded Green Materials with RoHS/WEEE Compliance
• Perfect For Professional & High Performance Gaming System

Specifications

• Dimensions: 150 x 86 x 220 mm (W x H x D)
• Fan: 140 mm DBB(automatic control)
• Colour: Black (power supply, fan)
• Fully Modular Design
• Efficiency: max. 94% (230V), 80 Plus Platinum certificate
• Form Factor: ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.92
• Power: 2000W
• Active PFC
• 3.3V: 24 A
• + 5V: 24 A
• + 3.3V & + 5V combined: 120 W
• + 12V: 1999.2 W / 166.6 A
• -12V: 6 W / 0.5 A
• + 5VSB: 15 W / 3.0 A
• Safety: cTUVus/TUV/CB/CE/FCC/C-Tick/BSMI/RoHS/CCC
• Partcode: SF-2000F14HP

Connectors

• 1 x 20+4-Pin ATX12V/EPS12V
• 1 x 8-Pin EPS12V
• 1 x 4+4-Pin ATX12V/EPS12V
• 9 x 6+2-Pin-PCIe
• 5 x 6-pin PCIe
• 18 x SATA
• 5 x 4-Pin-Molex
• 2 x Floppy
• 5 Year Warranty

The new 8Pack 2000W Super Flower power supplies will be available from Caseking for 369,90 EUR ($419.76 US)


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EVGA Announces GeForce GTX 980 KIngpIn Edition
The rumors are true, the world's most advanced GeForce GTX 980 has arrived. The EVGA GeForce GTX 980 K|NGP|N video card is meticulously designed for the extreme overclocker. With a 14+3 power phase design, this new digitally controlled VRM can deliver up to 600A of current, all delivered through 3 power inputs, 8pin + 8pin + 6pin. ACX 2.0+ keeps the card running cool, and the ability to go single slot, (with included single slot bracket) makes this one of the sleekest video card designed to date.

Vince "K|NGP|N" Lucido is an extreme overclocker who has achieved many 3DMark World Records with EVGA hardware. He contributed to the design of the GTX 980 K|NGP|N Edition video card with EVGA, and had this to say: "The power designs for both the GPU and memory on the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 K|NGP|N video card should allow some insane overclocking and some of the highest clockspeeds seen to date. Also, with the new multi-color LED cooler, you can customize the look of the card to fit any system."

Built for Overclocking

• Customizable Lighting - Full color control allows you to fine tune the LED colors to your liking using EVGA PrecisionX 16.
• 14+3 Phase Fully Digital VRM - Improved efficiency and power capacity and an average of 28C cooler operating temperature.
• Single Slot Ready - Included single slot bracket allows you to convert to a true single slot card with waterblock.
• 12 Layer PCB - Robust PCB layout with extra copper for smooth power delivery.
• ACX 2.0+ Cooling & Metal Shroud - Improved cooling with lower fan power consumption and 400% longer fan lifespan. All surrounded in a premium metal shroud.
• EVBot Onboard - Allows robust tuning and control over all aspects of the video card.
• Included Backplate - Built on backplate with backlighting allows full control over brightness and color.
• MMCP+ - Memory MOSFET cooling plate provides direct contact with memory and MOSFETs reducing temperature. MMCP+ comes in two separate pieces, allowing you to cool the GPU separately while still using the MMCP on the MOSFETs.
• OTS - Onboard thermal sensors allow for automatic realtime extreme overclock tuning to achieve the highest overclocks possible.
• QST - Quick Switch Triple BIOS allow you to switch to the second or third with the flick of a switch.
• SHP - Straight Heat Pipes offer 6% better heat dissipation than bent heat pipes with reduced thermal resistance.
• dBi - EVGA's ACX 2.0+ fan turns off below 60C generating 0dB of noise

Learn more about the new EVGA GeForce GTX 980 K|NGP|N video card here.


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