IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 6/23/2015

AMD caught using Intel Core i7-4790K processors in Project Quantum
The AMD versus Intel debate is one that will seemingly run until the end of time. The latest update in this slew of arguments is the unfolding information that AMD's E3-announced Project Quantum will be powered by an Intel Core i7-4790K processor instead of an AMD-made addition.

Sitting atop an ASRock mini-ITX motherboard, the internals will be topped off with two 'Fiji' video cards in crossfire, half-height Crucial Ballistix RAM and an AMD labeled SSD.

As for cooling, the Project Quantum will feature a custom Asetek watercooling system that hooks up to the video cards, the processor and the PCG.


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PowerColor shows of its PCS+ Radeon R7 300 and R9 300 video card range
Adding to the myriad of AMD Radeon Radeon R7 300 and R9 300 releases is that of PowerColor and its PCS+ series announcement, marking a long stint of AMD graphics manufacturing ranging back to 1997.

The PCS+ R9 390X/390 models come complete with 8GB of GDDR5 memory and 2816 stream processors adding to a 1060MHz and 1010MHz core clock respectively. As for cooling, PowerColor claimed in its latest press release that "the anodized back plate is attached to the back of the card to protect the components as well as helping to lower the temperature" in addition to a fan controller which ensures minimal RPM is upheld in low-use environments.

Supporting Virtual Super Resolution, FreeSync, Liquid VR and 4K resolution applications, the whole range of cards is expected to be released soon with no pricing currently listed.

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Chrome has snuck in an audio listener your PC
If you're a Google Chrome user, on the 17th of June your browser will have downloaded and installed an audio listener onto your computer as reported by We Are Change.

This was discovered by a user noticing that microphone and audio capture were now switched automatically to "Yes" on their PC, allowing Google to listen in to what's going on through the help of your beloved internet browser without consent.

Said to be added in order to ensure "Ok, Google" working quickly and efficiently, many users are upset about this claimed breach of their privacy as it basically means Google can listen in at any time without asking you to install this update.

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NASA wants to find out if Jupiter's moon of Europa supports life
NASA wants to launch a mission to Jupier's moon Europa, as it seems like the most logical place in the Earth's solar system able to support life. Beneath Europa's icy surface, researchers believe they will be able to find liquid oceans.

Despite being about half the size of our planet's moon, some scientists estimate there could be twice as much water as the Earth has. Based on the NASA Galileo Mission that studied Jupiter in the late 1990s, it would appear Europa has all the necessary ingredients for life: plenty of salt water, a rocky sea floor, and tidal heating that contribute necessary energy and chemistry.

If everything goes according to plan, NASA wants to launch a spacecraft sometime in the 2020s, which would take the several year journey. Orbiting the entire planet of Jupiter every two weeks, NASA researchers would have plenty of chances to capture data about Europa.

"We're excited about the potential of this new mission and these instruments to unravel the mysteries of Europa in our quest to find evidence of life beyond Earth," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator at NASA' Science Mission Directorate, in a statement published earlier this year.

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ASUS develops 0 dBA idle Radeon video cards
If silent is what you're seeking, ASUS has now shown off its Radeon R9 390 and Radeon R9 390X cards featuring an all-new triple-fan STRIX DirectCU 3 cooling setup - this technology ensures that all the fans are switched off when the card is at idle, quoted by TechPowerUp as "common desktop / light-3D loads."

With this air cooler said to be identical to that seen in the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti STRIX, ASUS has developed a giant aluminum fin-stack heat sink, attached to the GPU by four 10mm nickel plated copper pipes and cooled by three 100mm fans.

Complete with a 50MHz core overclock when compared to the 1000 MHz reference, the R9 390 STRIX is slightly edged out by the 390X which sits at 1070 MHz compared to 1050 MHz reference.

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EVGA showcases its USB 3.01-ready X99 Micro2 LGA2011v3 motherboard
Including a single USB Type-C port, EVGA has showcased its new micro-ATX form factor motherboard, the X99 Micro2.

Adding to the feature list is two USB 3.1 ports in total, a 10-phase CPU VRM, three PCI-E x16 slots, one 32Gb/s M.2 SATA connector and support for up to 64GB of quad-channel DDR4 memory. Coupled with NVMe BIOS support is ten SATA 6/Gbps ports, six USB 3.0 ports, 8-channel HD audio and gigabit Ethernet.

EVGA certainly hasn't gone light on the features in this new small motherboard but unfortunately there is no release date or pricing listed just yet.


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Researchers testing the limits of virtual reality for the real-world
The Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University has the unique research task of seeing how virtual reality can be used so humans are able to improve our relationships in the real-world. The lab has studied VR for more than 10 years, but the past few years have provided great opportunities with the emergence of Oculus, Project Morpheus, and other hardware platforms.

The gaming potential for VR is huge, but there are other tasks that could be used to help educate and inform the public. One task is using VR so we can experience what it's like to be a refugee living in an active conflict zone, which would help improve human empathy. Another topic of focus is geared towards training and simulations that can be utilized prior to real-world work experience.

"Virtual reality is an experience. Your brain is saying to you 'This isn't real,' but the back of your brain says 'Wow, this feels real to me,'" explained Jeremy Bailenson, director of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab, in a statement to CBS News. "We like to say the brain is not yet evolve to know that a virtual experience is not real."

As for the future of VR, Bailenson predicts VR could be in a growing number of living rooms by the holiday season, as the price of VR hardware continues to drop. Even with more consumers able to test VR, there will always be a need for researchers and "social scientists" to use VR.


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Are you ready for GIGABYTE's AMD Radeon R9 300 and R7 300 Series?
Adding to the range of video cards on offer is GIGABYTE with its AMD Radeon R9 300 and R7 300 Series, running off its very own WindForce air cooling technology.

With the whole G1.Gaming range being factory overclocked, its GV-R736OC-2GD brandishes core speeds of 1200 MHz out of the box cooled by a single 90mm fan. This sits alongside the GV-R737WF2OC-2GD/4GD (2GB and 4GB models) which sits at a factory overclocked core speed of 1015 MHz and is cooled by a WindForce 2X setup.

The top of the range is pictured through the R9 390 and 390X, featuring 2-slot designs complete with 2 fan WindForce 2X cooling and running at core speeds of 1025MHz and 1060MHz respectively.

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Nintendo thinking of opportunities away from just gaming consoles
Nintendo is best known as a gaming company with a focus on video game consoles and handhelds, but company officials want to embrace new technologies. It looks like Nintendo wants to help create a gaming ecosystem that combines gaming hardware, video games and the gaming community - and everything is on the table.

"We're a development-driven company," said Charlie Scibetta, senior director of corporate communications at Nintendo, in a statement to Forbes. "With the people that make the games back at NCL and our localization staff here, they're always thinking, 'Is this fun to play or not?' They're not thinking about increasing market share, trying to branch into new areas of entertainment. It really comes back to, 'Is this a fun experience?' If everything goes through that filter, then we think we're going to stay on the right course."

Nintendo has spoken publicly about its desire to focus more on mobile gaming opportunities, with at least five mobile game titles expected by March 2017.

In May, the company announced it made $350 million net profit for the fiscal year that ended in March, and was significantly higher than the estimated $250 million profit. It looks like the Japanese gaming company still has plenty of fight left, and is very much looking forward to future endeavors.


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Oops. Heinz ketchup bottle's QR code leads to porn website
A German customer scanned a QR code printed on a Heinz ketchup bottle and was directed to a pornography website. The QR code was supposed to lead Daniel Korell to a special promotion offering personalized ketchup bottles, but... didn't.

The domain in question, sagsmithheinz.de, wasn't renewed by Heinz - and a German porn company snagged the domain. To capitalize on the unique marketing opportunity, the porn company also offered Korell a complimentary subscription.

"We really regret the incident," a Heinz representative told Korell on Facebook. Heinz offered a personalized ketchup bottle to Korell as an apology, and while he admitted he "probably" wouldn't suffer permanent damage - but accepted the offer.


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Konami assures gamers: No pay to win option in Metal Gear Solid V
Konami has released a 40-minute game play video of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, after screenshots and details about the game were published earlier this month. Although gamers are excited, there has been concern regarding how the game will support microtransactions.

Microtransactions have been included to assist gamers "who might not be able to spend as much time with the game," according to Konami. Here are some additional details about microtransactions in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain:

"While it is true that a few microtransactions options do exist, the entire game has been carefully balanced to be fair and enjoyable with or without using these options," Konami said. "There's no pay to win option. Rest assured that every single item, weapon, and mission in the game is available to all players without paying a single cent."

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is scheduled for release on September 1, playable on PC, Sony PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

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IGN and Ubisoft want you to jump into the Rainbow Six Siege beta
Want to be a beta tester for Rainbow Six Siege? It doesn't matter if you're a PC gamer or Microsoft Xbox One, Sony PlayStation 4 console owner - you can throw your hat into the ring right now. Visit the sign up page.

"Come join IGN and Ubisoft for the Rainbow Six Siege Closed Beta event and put your wits and combat skills to the test. Uniquely skilled Operators, the thrilling Siege gameplay, and destructible, intimate combat arenas await in a playable first-person shooter gaming experience you can't miss," the signup page says.

The signup page recommends users sign up sooner rather than later, as the beta access codes will be distributed using a first-come, first-served basis. You can also opt in for a chance to win a few prizes, including a Samsung 65" 4K UHDTV, an Xbox One console, or Rainbow Six Siege Gold Edition and standard game copies.

I tend to just want to jump into a firefight and cause absolute mayhem, so Rainbow Six Siege doesn't seem like the right game for me. However, I tend to enjoy beta testing games, so look forward to giving it a go.

Rainbow Six Siege is scheduled to launch on October 13 for the PC, Xbox One and PS4.


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Sony official is a bit skeptical of Xbox One's backward compatibility
Microsoft's announcement that the Xbox One would be backward compatible to support Xbox 360 games was quite a surprise. Of course, Sony has said PlayStation 4 gamers shouldn't expect backward compatibility - and displayed a bit of skepticism regarding Microsoft's claims.

"I didn't think it was possible. There must be lots of engineering effort," said Shuhei Yoshida, head of Sony Worldwide Studios, in a statement to Eurogamer. "They talked about 100 games, but what kind of games will be included? Is it smaller games or big games? We don't know."

Expect a proper backward compatibility launch for the Xbox One before the end of the year. Xbox gamers have the chance to vote on which titles they would like to play on the Xbox One, with Microsoft looking at each game individually.

Microsoft's decision has earned praise from gaming retailer GameStop, as plenty of console gamers have aging game libraries collecting dust.


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Taylor Swift's '1989' album won't be available on Apple Music
Taylor Swift previously pulled the majority of her music from Spotify, the No. 1 streaming music service, and doesn't have any interest in Apple Music. Her record label, Big Machine, has confirmed that the "1989" music album won't be available on Apple's music service, which launches on June 30.

Swift, of course, has issued a statement saying this decision is thinking of the rising musicians and songwriters. It seems Swift is most distraught over the three-month free trial that Apple will provide music listeners before the mandatory $9.99 monthly service kicks in:

"This is about the new artist or band that has just released their first single and will not be paid for its success. This is about the young songwriter who just got his or her first cut and thought that the royalties from that would get them out of debt. This is about the producer who works tirelessly to innovate and create, just like the innovators and creators at Apple are pioneering in their field... but will not get paid for a quarter of a year's worth of plays on his or her songs."

Music listeners are transitioning from paid downloads to streaming music, and it's a trend that won't suddenly stop. Apple has a close relationship with the music industry, but trying to win over musicians and record labels is still proving to be difficult.


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AMD shoots down spin-off talk, remains committed to long-term strategy
Despite previous reports that claim AMD plans to spin-off into two separate businesses, the company has been quick to deny those reports.

The Reuters report indicates AMD wants to focus on graphics and licensing away from its server business, with speculation that the ATI brand could be reborn once again.

"AMD provided official confirmation that we have not hired an outside agency to explore spinning-off/splitting the company," said Sarah Youngbauer, spokesperson at AMD, in a statement to eTeknix. "We remain committed to the long-term strategy we laid out for the company in May at our Financial Analyst Day, which encompasses all parts of the business."

Of course, it's a carefully worded statement that indicates AMD hasn't recruited an outside consulting firm to weigh the company's options. The Reuters report initially said the discussions are just in the "consideration stage," so it's possible a spin-off could still occur in the future. The Silicon Valley company has mulled a similar move in the past, but never pulled the trigger - and with major cross-licensing agreements with Intel and other companies, current agreements would need to be closely analyzed.


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Lexar JumpDrive P20 128GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review

Over the last few years that I have been here at TweakTown, flash drives have been coming through in droves. I have seen everything from the budget friendly to extreme performance solutions, and yet again we add to the latter with the JumpDrive P20 from Lexar.

The P20 is the latest and greatest from Lexar carrying both extreme capacity up to 128GB and extreme performance. Marketing depicts performance numbers of 400 MB/s read and 270 MB/s write for both the 64GB and 128GB solutions.

Beyond the capacity and performance, the P20 shares the same design as both the JumpDrive Triton and P10 with its aluminium chassis and piano black plastics. The P20 like the others carries a slider design and remains compatible with Windows 7 and 8+, along with OS X. MSRP of the Lexar JumpDrive P20 is listed at $109.99 with a lifetime warranty.

The P20 in its retail form is packaged in clear plastic. The front of the container houses capacity information at the bottom left with performance to the right.

Above, you can see the aluminium structure of the P20.

Capacity of the drive is listed within the middle of the drive when slid open, in the background you can see the lanyard Lexar has included with the P20.

Here we have a look at the port side of the drive, of course blue in color.

EncryptStick Lite is software made for Lexar flash drives. It allows you to secure your data when you are on the go. This software works on any Lexar flash drive old or new, but does come preinstalled on the P20.

To setup the software, after launching you simply setup a password and hint accordingly.

Once in the software, you will see a list of files that are protected on the flash drive at the top of the menu, while your computer's file directory sits below.

For testing, we first start with Windows 8.1 where we found the P20 to reach 374 MB/s read, followed by 266 MB/s write.

We then moved on to OS X 10.10 to find similar results with 361 MB/s read and 254 MB/s write.

Price/Performance put the P20 in second place at 91.6% next to the Rage 2 from Patriot.

With each release from Lexar, we get closer and closer to reaching the full potential of USB 3.0. Build quality as expected is top of the line, the plastic and aluminium design being largely unchanged for quite some time now still works as flawlessly as it did on day one. Adding to the P20, the EncryptStick software allows users a method of securing their data on any Lexar based flash solution.

Performance as noted in our testing was quite good, and while we didn't reach full marketing numbers, we were able to touch 374 MB/s read in Windows, while OS X produced just shy of that at 361 MB/s. Write performance was equally as good where Windows 8.1 gave us 266 MB/s with 254 MB/s coming through OS X. Price/Performance was good to the Lexar P20 as it landed in our second spot thanks to the price per GB declining.

Overall, it's certainly good to finally see pricing come down for Lexar solutions, as I personally feel they are some of the most reliable solutions on the market today.

... Read the rest in your browser!



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Sapphire Announces NITRO Series Graphics Cards
Today SAPPHIRE Technology introduces a new line of video cards based on the latest Graphics Core Next architectures from AMD. The new SAPPHIRE NITRO series is an evolution of our market-leading, award-winning, high-end video card technology developed with features designed to be attractive to the majority of PC gamers. At the same time, SAPPHIRE will also promote a new community website for gaming enthusiasts - SAPPHIRE NATION.

The excellent performance, quality, reliability and stability of high-end video cards has always been the preserve of the hardcore gamer. Until now. The SAPPHIRE NITRO series boasts a range of features previously reserved for high-end cards, including long-life capacitors and award-winning SAPPHIRE Black Diamond Chokes, as well as new versions of our award-winning cooling solutions. Its elegant contours with purposeful black and gunmetal finish have been designed to suit any build. And the latest graphics architecture from AMD paired with larger frame buffers delivers fast, reliable gaming performance as well as support for the latest technologies including DirectX 12, AMD FreeSync, TrueAudio, Liquid VR, VSR scaling and Ultra HD. So whatever kind of gamer you are, the SAPPHIRE NITRO series offers you the maximum gaming experience for your budget.

The SAPPHIRE NITRO R9 390 features the latest version of our award winning Tri-X cooler now with dual ball bearings in each of the three fans for higher reliability and enhanced Intelligent Fan Control (IFC-II) which turns off the fans completely for silent operation under light load. Its heat pipe array including industry leading 10mm heat pipe and diecast heat sink design keeps the card running cool even under the most demanding applications, and the use of long life capacitors and SAPPHIRE Black Diamond chokes contributes to consistent performance and high reliability. The SAPPHIRE NITRO R9 390 has 2560 Stream Processors, 8GB of the latest GDDR5 memory running at 6000MHz, and an engine clock speed of 1010MHz. It delivers a SAPPHIRE Performance Index* of 4 which means it is guaranteed to breeze through games at 1080p on maximum settings and deliver a great gaming experience at 1440 and beyond.

The SAPPHIRE NITRO R9 380 features the latest version of our award winning Dual-X cooler now with dual ball bearings in both of the fans for higher reliability and enhanced Intelligent Fan Control (IFC-II) which turns off the fans for silent operation under light load. Its industry leading 10cm fans and diecast heat sink design keeps the card running cool even under the most demanding applications, and it also features long life capacitors and SAPPHIRE Black Diamond chokes for consistent performance and high reliability. The SAPPHIRE NITRO R9 380 has 1792 Stream Processors, 4GB of the latest GDDR5 memory running at 5800 MHz, and an engine clock speed of 985 MHz. It delivers a SAPPHIRE Performance Index* of 3 which is guaranteed to deliver a great gaming experience in high detail at 1080p and beyond.

The SAPPHIRE NITRO R7 370 also features a new Dual-X cooler with dual ball bearings in both of the fans for higher reliability and the enhanced Intelligent Fan Control (IFC-II). Its new shroud design and diecast heat sink keep the card running cool, and it again features long life capacitors and SAPPHIRE Black Diamond chokes for consistent performance and high reliability. The SAPPHIRE NITRO R7 370 has 1024 Stream Processors, 4GB of the latest GDDR5 memory running at 5600 MHz, and an engine clock speed of 985 MHz. It delivers a SAPPHIRE Performance Index* of 2 which means it is guaranteed to deliver a great gaming experience at 1080p and beyond.

Gaming enthusiasts will also be interested in a new website also being launched this week. SAPPHIRE Nation is a SAPPHIRE community website for technology enthusiasts and gamers. It serves as a central hub for promotional activities and coalesces several social media campaigns under a single website. It is a source of more sophisticated content that would not fit on other channels, including news and views by gamers for gamers, and will play a supportive role in our future marketing campaigns. It will become the most content-rich place on the web related to SAPPHIRE, so gamers seeking knowledge, news or tech support for SAPPHIRE should consider http://www.sapphirenation.net as the #1 place to visit.

Availability - The SAPPHIRE NITRO Gaming series will be available from our usual etail and retail partners from the 18th June 2015.


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Sapphire Announces Radeon R9 390X Tri-X 8GB Graphics Card
Building on the success of the previous generation, the new series features the latest Graphics Core Next architectures from AMD, paired with larger frame buffers and the evolution of our award winning cooler solutions to deliver the very best performance ratings and support for the latest technologies including DirectX 12, AMD FreeSync, TrueAudio, Liquid VR, VSR scaling and support for Ultra HD. This new generation includes models with our industry acclaimed Tri-X and Dual-X cooling technologies and will be available from 18th June 2015.

At the top of the range is the new SAPPHIRE Tri-X R9 390X which features the latest version of our award winning Tri-X cooler. This now features dual ball bearings in each of the three fans for higher reliability and enhanced Intelligent Fan Control (IFC-II) which turns off the fans completely for silent operation under light load. Its heat pipe array with its industry leading 10mm heat pipe and diecast heat sink design keeps the card running cool even under the most demanding applications, and the use of long life capacitors and SAPPHIRE Black Diamond chokes contribute to consistent performance and high reliability.

Based on the latest GCN architecture from AMD, the SAPPHIRE Tri-X R9 390X supports all the latest technologies including DirectX 12, TrueAudio, AMD FreeSync, LiquidVR and Ultra HD. The new SAPPHIRE Tri-X R9 390X has 2816 Stream Processors, 8GB of the latest GDDR5 memory running at 6000MHz, and an engine clock speed of 1055 MHz. This makes the SAPPHIRE Tri-X R9 390X the perfect choice for the enthusiast who demands great performance in a variety of serious applications as well as gaming.

It delivers a SAPPHIRE Performance Index* of 4 which means it is guaranteed to breeze through games at 1080p on maximum settings and deliver a great gaming experience at 1440 and beyond.

Availability - The new SAPPHIRE Tri-X R9 390X will be available from our usual etail and retail partners from the 18th June 2015.

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PowerColor Announces PCS+ Radeon R7 300 and R9 300 Graphics Cards
TUL Corporation, a leading and innovative manufacturer of AMD video cards since 1997, has released a whole new line of video cards that you have all been waiting for. All models are based on the latest GCN architecture to help deliver outstanding and extraordinary graphics performance and image quality. PCS+ R9 390X/390 both utilizes 8GB of GDDR5 memory with 2816 stream processors and ships with core clock speed at 1060MHz for the 390X, 1010MHz on the 390, and 1500MHz memory clock speed which is connected via a new high speed 512-bit memory interface. For enhancing power efficiency and preventing losses, Digital PWM solution is provided to work at a higher frequency in order to support fine tuning adjustment and low ripple at an output voltage. Moreover, the total of 8 phase (6+1+1) board design is applied to the models for power efficiency, stability, and delivering ultimate performance at OC mode.

PowlRstage increases the power up to 3-13%, features up to 1.0 MHz switching frequency, and supports efficient cooling ability. Also, the anodized back plate is attached to the back of the card to protect the components as well as helping to lower the temperature. The Efficient Trio Fan design with the Mute Fan Technology delivers intelligent fan controlling to provide noiseless environment as well as reducing the power consumption when the GPU temperature is lower than 60°C. For the best thermal solution, the card is equipped with pure copper GPU block to absorb heats from GPU. This block is connected to 3pcs of 6mm heat pipes and 1pc of 8mm heat pipe to help deliver heat to the nickel plated aluminum fins heat sink. These two models support AMD's newest technologies such as Virtual Super Resolution, FreeSync, Liquid VR, and 4K resolution.

PCS+ R9 390X/390 both utilizes 8GB of GDDR5 memory, ships with core clock speed at 1060MHz and 2816 stream processors for the 390X, 1010MHz and 2560 stream processors on the 390, and 1500MHz memory clock speed which is connected via a new high speed 512-bit memory interface. PCS+ R7 370 utilizes 2GB of GDDR5 memory with 1024 stream processors, and ships with 985MHz core clock speed and 1425MHz memory clock speed, also connected via a speed 256-bit memory interface. Both models adopt the features of Ferrite Conducting Power (FCP) for delivering extreme stable voltage power, multi-phases board design for enhancing the power efficiency and stability, and PowerPAK SO-8 for minimizing conducting losses and providing the excellent and stable voltage.

The Mute Fan Technology and Double Blades Fan design (80mm on R9 380 and 90mm on R7 370) are used for both models. The heat sink on the R9 380 is made by the nickel plated aluminum fins covering the PCB to significantly increase the thermal efficiency and has 2pcs of 8mm heat pipes and 1 pc of 6mm heat pipe connected to the heat sink. On the other hand, R7 370's thermal solution is different compared with R9 380. Two pieces of U-shape heat pipes are directly touching with the GPU surface, which is called "Heat pipe Direct Touch (HDT), in order to increase the heat transfer rate by 20% compared to ordinary cooling solutions. PCS+ R9 380 supports AMD's newest technologies such as Virtual Super Resolution, FreeSync, Liquid VR, and 4K resolution. However, PCS+ R7 370 adopts all of AMD's technology same as PCS+ R9 380 except FreeSync.

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THE WANG STRIKES BACK IN SHADOW WARRIOR 2 FROM FLYING WILD HOG AND DEVOLVER DIGITAL
Independent developer Flying Wild Hog (Shadow Warrior, Hard Reset) and rogue game publisher Devolver Digital (The Talos Principle, Hotline Miami) have announced Shadow Warrior 2, a striking follow-up to the global best-selling first-person shooter Shadow Warrior for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. Shadow Warrior 2 marks the triumphant return of Lo Wang and his trademark use of blades, bullets, and a sharp tongue to strike down the demonic hordes - but this time he's not going at it alone.

"The incredible reception of Shadow Warrior from both longtime fans and gamers new to the series was overwhelming," said Michal Szustak, Studio Director at Flying Wild Hog. "Shadow Warrior 2 will expand on and improve every element that made the original so unique and strike a balance between classic FPS action and modern design."

Shadow Warrior 2 is the stunning evolution of Flying Wild Hog's offbeat first-person shooter following the further misadventures of former corporate shogun Lo Wang. Now surviving as a reclusive mercenary on the edge of a corrupted world, the formidable warrior must again wield a devastating combination of guns, blades, magic and wit to strike down the demonic legions overwhelming the world. Battle alongside allies online in four-player co-op or go it alone in spectacular procedurally-generated landscapes to complete daring missions and collect powerful new weapons, armor, and arcane relics of legend.

"While the game is busting with stunning visuals and exquisite combat, it's the near constant barrage of Wang jokes that is going to move product," said Devolver Digital CFO Fork Parker. "The kids love thinly veiled dick jokes. Love 'em."

Shadow Warrior 2 will be available to demo via appointment only at E3 2015 with the first look at gameplay debuting live on Twitch.TV Monday, June 15th at 12:30PM Pacific [twitch.tv/twitch]. Shadow Warrior 2 is set to launch on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in 2016 or whenever Lo Wang damn well pleases. For news and information on development, follow @ShadowWarrior on Twitter or visit http://www.shadowwarrior.com.


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NVIDIA to sponsor ESL One and more!
NVIDIA signs as global partner for the world's largest Counter-Strike league, the ESL ESEA Pro League and ESL One, with confirmed collaborations to include;

• ESL One Frankfurt, Commerzbank-Arena, June 20-21
• ESL One Cologne, LANXESS arena, August 22-23
• ESL One at New York Super Week, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, October 3-4

"ESL One is about the best players in the world playing in the biggest arenas, so it is only fitting that they would play on the best hardware - which is exactly what NVIDIA provides for us," said Ulrich Schulze, Managing Director of Pro Gaming at ESL. "Together I am sure we will be able to accomplish great things for our competitors, allowing them to bring their best game to the competition at hand."

NVIDIA's presence will not only include offline competitions, but also encompass online tournaments, such as the Dota 2 Cup series' in the CIS region, the ESL Pro Series in China and many more. The company's continued partnership further emphasises its commitment to the future of eSports and its community.

James Grunke, Director of Global eSports at NVIDIA said, "By integrating GeForce GTX and G-SYNC desktop monitors into the tournament infrastructure, we can ensure that pro-gamers are able to play on the most advanced platform possible. Being able to eliminate any kind of tearing and stuttering during gameplay is crucial in a competitive environment, and we're able to offer a smooth and fast experience where the only difference between winning and losing will be based purely on the skill of the player."

For more information regarding the sponsorship, competition and more, please visit http://www.eslgaming.com


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Lian Li Launches PC-O8 Dual-Compartment Chassis
Tempered Glass Panels and RGB Lighting Put the Spotlight on Hardware

Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd today launches the PC-O8 dual-compartment chassis. Comprised of aluminum and tempered glass, the PC-O8 allows DIY builders to show off their high-end, intricate setups, while hiding cables and less eye catching components in the large compartment behind the motherboard tray.

Two Compartments

Through the front glass panel, the PC-O8 is divided into two zones. Zone 1 allows DIY enthusiasts to show off their motherboard and video cards through the edge-to-edge side panel windows. On the other side of the motherboard tray, Zone 2 gives plenty of room for cables and less eye-catching components such as hard drives and the power supply.

Adjustable RGB Interior Lighting

DIY enthusiasts can adjust the interior lighting through the included RGB lighting kit complete with LED strips, cord clip, dimmer and controller. The back mounted controller allows instant analog color selection.

Tremendous Water Cooling Support

With plenty of room to work with, installing elaborate water cooling setups is simplified in the PC-O8. In Zone 1 the top panel can support a 240mm radiator, while in Zone 2 the front intake can house a 360mm radiator in a push/pull configuration.

Modular Hard Drive Cage

The PC-O8 chassis supports up to six 3.5″ drives and two 2.5″ drives in the removable drive cage in Zone 2. This HDD cage is actively cooled via two mounted 120mm fans.

Tool-Less Installations and Features

The PC-O8 has many tool-less features allowing for simple setups and installations. This aluminum and tempered glass chassis features easily-removable panels, tool-less mounting for hard drives as well as slide-in dust filters.

Versatile Cable Management Design

Clamps on the reverse side of the motherboard tray can be adjusted and positioned for optimal cable management setups.

Hardware Capability

The PC-O8 does not restrict hardware capability. Graphics cards up to 370mm (14.5") and CPU coolers up to 170mm (6.7") are supported. Additionally, PSUs of all sizes are supported with clearance of 298mm (11.7").

Connectivity

The top I/O panel includes four USB 3.0 ports and HD audio connections.

Price and Availability

The PC-O8 will be available at the end of June at Microcenter for the suggested retail price of USD 395.

Learn more about the PC-O8 here:

http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-o8/

Video Overview of the PC-O8:

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OCULUS EXPANDS VIRTUAL REALITY CONTENT AVAILABLE IN GEAR VR APP STORE BY MORE THAN 1,000% WITH RELEASE OF TWO YOUVISIT APPS
YouVisit today introduced two new apps into the Oculus Gear VR Store that increase by more than 1,000% the total number of virtual reality experiences available to users. The debut also makes New York City-based virtual reality technology innovator YouVisit the first and only company to date to launch two unique apps in the Oculus Store. Both apps are accessible for free.

• The "YouVisit Colleges" app enables users to discover and explore more than a thousand colleges and universities from around the world, including Yale, Harvard, and North-West University in South Africa.
• The "YouVisit Restaurants" virtual reality app allows users to step inside and explore hundreds of New York City's best restaurants, including iconic locations such as Tavern on the Green, Galli and Delmonico's.
• These two apps combined offer users more than 1,000 virtual reality experiences, enabling users to seamlessly navigate and interact with real-world virtual reality content.

"Becoming the first company to launch multiple apps in the Oculus Store is a testament to the scalability of our virtual reality platform and the quality of our virtual reality experiences," said Abi Mandelbaum, YouVisit's CEO and cofounder. "Consumers have an insatiable appetite for virtual reality, and we are happy to lead the way by enabling them to explore more than 1,000 interactive real-world virtual reality experiences."

YouVisit plans to launch more apps to give consumers direct access to interactive real-world experiences in multiple other industries, including travel, hospitality, real estate, entertainment, venues and events. YouVisit's virtual reality platform makes virtual reality content seamlessly available to consumers via the Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift, and Google Cardboard headsets. For those that do not yet have headsets, the content is accessible as unique 360-degree web browser experiences on its website, http://www.youvisit.com.


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G.SKILL Memory Broke 18 Overclocking Records Since Computex Week
With Frequency Record of DDR4 4GB at 4431MHz & 16GB at 3872MHz

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory, solid state storage, power supply units, and gaming peripherals, proudly announces that 18 overclocking records in various benchmark categories were broken since Computex 2015. These amazing overclocking milestones include the highest DDR4 4GB module frequency at 4431MHz and 16GB module frequency at 3872MHz. Both of the frequency records were achieved with the G.SKILL Ripjaws 4 extreme DDR4 memory built with Samsung ICs.

During the five days of Computex 2015, G.SKILL organized and hosted the 4th Annual OC World Record Stage with the participation from 14 of the world's top overclockers representing the top five major motherboard brands. Each day, different systems would be overclocked under liquid nitrogen to push their limits in front of a live audience. Check out the video link below for an overview of the live event:

We would like to thank to the 14 professional overclockers from different countries around the world, and the five world's leading motherboard venders, including ASUS, ASRock, EVGA, GIGABYTE, and MSI. With the skill of overclocking with extreme LN2 and the best products from each of the vendors, people around the world are able to witness not only the performance of next generation hardware, but also the incredible overclocking potential of the latest and newest products. Even with the end of Computex 2015, these overclockers continued to persevere and break records in the following week of the event, producing further results.

The details of 18 overclocking records can be found below.

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Samsung Announces the Thinnest and Lightest 4 TB External HDD in the World
Samsung HDD, a division of Seagate Technology, today announced 4TB M3 Portable and the P3 Portable external hard drives, which are the first 4TB USB-powered single drive solutions to come in 2.5" cases in the world.

"Previously only attainable in desktop or bulky multi-drive internal designs, we can now achieve a 4TB capacity in a compact drive thanks to the latest Samsung HDD technology," said Dave Klenske, director of product line management, Samsung HDD. "By going to a single drive solution, we can power the drive through just a USB connection while fitting it into a case that is only a 1/10 of an inch thicker than our 2TB drive. They are the perfect lightweight drives for notebook computer owners who need to access media collections too large to fit on traditional internal storage options."

The 4TB Samsung M3 Portable and the Samsung P3 Portable drives measure 0.78 inches thin and weigh only 8.3 ounces and operate at USB 3.0 speeds without requiring any external power supplies.

"The Spinpoint M10P 4TB hard drive enables this innovation with the highest aerial density, 800GB per disk in the world," said Doug DeHaan, general manager, Samsung HDD division. "With consumer demand for external storage capacity continuing to grow, the P3 and M3 4TB answer the increasing appetite for storage and are positioned to lead future capacity needs from the mobile market."

Availability

The Samsung 4TB M3 and MP Portable hard drives will be available in late June through authorized distributors.

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Jonsbo-Cooltek Announces the RM1 Chassis
With the RM1 we present a particular compact Mini Tower, which offers an unusual flexibility for the installation of hardware. Despite the minimalistic design, the RM1 offers enough space for ATX systems with dual VGA card support. If needed, a 5.25 inch drive can be installed, when using either a Mini-ITX or Micro-ATX motherboard. The RM1 uses brushed aluminum and shines with its superb quality. By using materials of the highest quality the RM1 offers a superb and exquisite look. The deliberately kept simple design of the RM1 harmonizes perfectly with any environment.

Motherboards of up to 305 x 245 mm can be installed in the RM1. This allows not only the installation of Mini-ITX or Micro-ATX systems in the compact case, but also of full size ATX boards. Despite its compact dimensions, the RM1 offers enough space for a powerful system. Thus, VGA cards of up to 290 mm in length and CPU-coolers with a maximum height of 95 mm can be installed in the elegant aluminium case.

Up to four hard disk drives can be mounted in the RM1. At the bottom, a 2.5 inch and a 3.5 inch drive can easily be installed, using decoupled rubber grommets to reduce vibrations. Up to two 2.5 inch SSD can be mounted on the ODD holder. If an optical drive is installed, one of these installation slots cannot be used.

Two color options (black and silver) will be available in stores from early next week, the MSRP for the case is 79.99 Euro, incl. 19% VAT. The case is sold in Europe under the label "Jonsbo - powered by Cooltek".

Technical data RM1:

• Form factor: Mini-ITX, M-ATX, ATX
• 5.25 inch bay external: 1 x
• 3.5 inch bay intern: 1 x
• 2.5 inch bay internal: max. 3 x
• Case fan (front): 1 x 120 mm
• PCI expansion slots: 6
• Height: ca. 349 mm
• Width: ca. 211 mm
• Depth: ca. 287 mm
• Material: Aluminium
• Max. length of VGA cards: 290 mm
• Max. height of CPU coolers: 95 mm

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