Monday, February 8, 2016

IT News Head Lines (Overclockers Club) 09/02/2016

Overclockers Club



Horus GK2000 Gaming Keyboard Announced by ASUS ROG
Horus GK2000 Gaming Keyboard Announced by ASUS ROG
ASUS Republic of Gamers has officially announced the Horus GK2000 gaming keyboard. The Horus GK2000 is a mechanical input device that features Cherry MX Red switches, CNC-processed aluminum accents with a special top coating, an anodized keyboard plate with a brushed finish, and red LED lighting. The latest keyboard from ASUS ROG comes with an embedded 32-bit MCU as well as 4 MB of onboard memory, allowing gamers to store settings such as lighting and macro functions. The onboard memory allows for 10 user profiles to be stored, each containing up to 80 macro commands for mouse, PC, and media-control functions. The Horus GK2000 also features 100 percent anti-ghosting with N-Key rollover technology, a two port USB 2.0 hub, an audio and microphone pass-through, an 80 cm braided cable, a removable palm rest, a detachable stand for mobile devices, and two-way adjustable fold-out feet. ASUS ROG is even providing customers with a specially designed neoprene carrying case for the keyboard, allowing gamers to transport the Horus GK2000 and other peripherals and accessories in a protective and well designed package.
Source: TechPowerUp


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Hardware Roundup: Friday, February 5, 2016, Edition
The end of the week has arrived, but before the weekend hits, we have a couple items for you to check out. There's a look at the Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum RGB Mechanical Keyboard, which uses the company's own Romer-G switches and a fairly clean look to deliver a keyboard that should appeal to nearly everyone. Our other item is a new case mod that forgets the case and builds it into something you can mount directly on your wall. It still has all the components necessary, including a GTX 980 and a full water cooling setup, but in a fully exposed design.
Keyboards/Mice

Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum RGB Mechanical Keyboard @ PC Perspective
Miscellany

Case Mod Friday: ROG Wall @ ThinkComputers


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TrackMania Turbo Releases on March 22
The next game in the TrackMania franchise, TrackMania Turbo, is releasing on March 22 for PC, Xbox One, and Playstation 4. The game has over 200 tracks in four environments; Rollercoaster Lagoon, International Stadium, Canyon Grand Drift, and Valley Down & Dirty. The first is set in a tropical paradise while the latter three are returning areas with reworked gameplay and graphics. If you want even more tracks, the Trackbuilder Tool will allow you to build any number of tracks to test your skills. The game also features dedicated new car designs and a new artistic direction.
You can watch the Release Date trailer below, which shows off the game's matchbox cars speeding around the tracks.





Source: Press Release


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BitFenix Introduces Alchemy 2.0 Modular Cables
BitFenix Introduces Alchemy 2.0 Modular Cables
BitFenix, a creator of hardware and peripherals that grant the user the utmost control, strength, and performance to complete their computing tasks, has officially released the Alchemy 2.0 modular cable. Alchemy 2.0 improves on the original Alchemy product line thanks to the feedback received from some of the world’s most prolific case modders. The new sleeved cables from BitFenix boast a premium ultra-dense weave, a unique multi-sleeved construction, pure copper strand cables up to 16AWG thick, and high current alloy terminals that provide maximum efficiency. Alchemy 2.0, which comes in a multitude of colors and six models that support six different modular power supply series, also features rubber cable combs that prevent damage to the sleeve, thereby ensuring long life.
Source: Press Release


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AMD Releases Hotfix for Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.1.1
AMD has officially released a hotfix for version 16.1.1 of its Radeon Software Crimson Edition, which the company pushed to Radeon users just days ago. The hotfix release includes some important highlights, such as Fallout 4 and Rise of the Tomb Raider AMD Crossfire profiles, as well as performance and quality improvements for Rise of the Tomb Raider. Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.1.1 hotfix also resolves some issues for gamers, such as display corruption on systems with multiple monitors, crashing of Battlefield Hardline when altering graphic quality settings, brightness flickering in some games when AMD FreeSync was enabled, and custom game profiles resetting back to default settings after a system restart, just to name a few.
The hotfix version of Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.1.1, which is available for 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7, 8.1, and 10, and can be downloaded immediately from the source link below.
Source: AMD


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Greetings, Commander; XCOM 2's Launch Trailer Has Arrived
Greetings, Commander; XCOM 2's Launch Trailer Has Arrived
The day has finally arrived, where all of humanity can rise up and take back the planet from the alien menace. XCOM 2 has officially arrived in all regions, and whether you're taking a break from playing, waiting for it to download, or are on the fence about it, the launch trailer gives you a taste at what to expect. It's a little different, actually, as the ADVENT Speaker addresses us on the 20th anniversary of unification, where the aliens successfully took over the planet and painted the XCOM defenders as the true threat. However, his speech gets cut short, and you'll see exactly why in the trailer below. We're treated to shots of the new XCOM squad, revamped and revised alien threats, and some entirely new types that will require some careful planning to survive. Oh, and lots of shooting, explosions, and big action when your stealth plans go out the window.
XCOM 2 is available now exclusively on PC. Be sure to grab the three launch mods from Long War Studios to give your game a bit of a boost, and be sure to keep an eye on the Steam Workshop for everything else modders come up with to enhance your experience. Good luck, Commander.
Source: YouTube


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Hell Awaits You in the DOOM Campaign Trailer
Hell Awaits You in the DOOM Campaign Trailer
Hell is coming and it's up to you to fight back. In DOOM, that's exactly what we're up against, as you step back into the shoes of the DOOM Marine to combat the rampaging horde of demons, imps, and other hellspawn. Bethesda and id Software have revealed the game's campaign trailer, which gives us a glimpse at what to expect when DOOM arrives later this year. The Union Aerospace Corporation's facility on Mars has been overrun with demons, and the fate of humanity rests in your hands alone. It's the classic DOOM formula, where you and your collection of weapons are all that stand in the way of the forces of Hell. There's no cover, no health regen, and nothing else to make things easy for you while fighting back the horde; just you, your guns, upgrades, and an advanced melee system. You can see some of this and more in the trailer below.
DOOM arrives on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in May on Friday the 13th. Quite fitting for DOOM, really.
Source: YouTube


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Thermaltake Launches Website for 3D Printed Computer Components
The "Maker Movement" and 3D printing are very popular topics these days with several companies involved and an increasing number of resources for aspiring makers. Thermaltake is launching a website geared towards people that want to 3D print their own computer components and describes it as "a platform established for DIY and Modding enthusiasts to share customized PC components ideas." Users can download models uploaded by others or share their creations with the world. Thermaltake feels that the designs offered on the site fulfill its four core values which are "Excellent Quality, Unique Design, Diverse Combinations, and Boundless Creativity."
Source: Press Release
Thermaltake Launches Website for 3D Printed Computer Components

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Hardware Roundup: Thursday, February 4, 2016, Edition
The first week of February is approaching its end, with a few things to help get you through the day. We have a look at the Corsair Carbide 400Q case, a small model with sound dampening material to give you a silent build to place in any room of your home. If you need something just for your living room, perhaps the Zotac NEN SN970 Steam Machine is for you, which features an Intel Core i5-6400T, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960, 8GB of RAM, and a 1TB HDD to let you experience SteamOS and the included Steam Controller from the comfort of your couch or favorite chair. Wrapping things up today is a new podcast looking at the latest news and reviews from the past week.
Cases

Corsair Carbide 400Q @ Benchmark Reviews
Prebuilts

Zotac NEN SN970 Steam Machine @ ThinkComputers
Miscellany

Podcast #385 @ PC Perspective


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Toshiba Expecting a Bigger Full-Year Loss Than First Predicted
It is being reported that Toshiba is expecting its full year loss to be greater than the $4.6 billion previously predicted. The new expectation is that it will be a $6 billion dollar loss, and this is all following a $1.3 billion accounting scandal from 2009. That scandal involved an overstatement of profits and has led the company to restructure itself, which is an ongoing process. The CEO has also announced 240 additional job cuts or replacements as part of this restructuring effort, which is already expected to hit 10,000 jobs. The CEO also repeated plans to sell off the company's laptop and home appliance businesses, as both were loss-making. While both Sharp Corp and Foxconn (which may be merging) could be the potential purchasers for the home appliance business, it could also go to a foreign manufacturer.
Source: Reuters


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Sharp Reportedly Enters Exclusive Merger Talks With Foxconn
It's looking like Sharp may soon have a new owner, as it has reportedly entered exclusive takeover talks with Foxconn. Both Foxconn and Innovation Network Corp. of Japan (INCJ) were the frontrunners to purchase Sharp, but now it looks like Foxconn is the winner. Sharp was put up for sale early last year to try and save the troubled Japanese TV manufacturer, which saw its stocks drop 50% in 2015. The company was supposedly leaning more towards INCJ in order to keep the company in the hands of its fellow countrymen, despite Foxconn offering far more money. Foxconn's CEO, Terry Gou, made a personal trip to Sharp HQ last week to offer a $5.45 billion bid, with that bid being the winner. INCJ only offered $2.54 billion, and despite having bailed out Sharp three times in the last three years, it looks like Sharp is going with the Taiwanese tech giant.
Sharp currently supplies the screens to Apple's iPhone line, with Foxconn producing parts for Apple, Amazon, and Xiaomi, among others. If Foxconn's deal goes through, it could potentially lower production costs to those companies and more, while also absorbing all of Sharp's current debt and retaining its top management. Sharp has lost nearly $10 billion over the last several years due to lost TV sales and market share to rivals in Korea and China. Keep it tuned for updates on whether or not Sharp becomes a part of Foxconn, and exactly what it means for potentially cheaper hardware (or at least any that utilize an LCD screen).
Source: IBTimes


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Thermaltake Kicks Off Modding Fighting Championship
Thermaltake Kicks Off Modding Fighting Championship
Thermaltake is holding a new modding competition starting this month and running through the middle of June called the Thermaltake 2016 Modding Fighting Championship. Thermaltake has invited Suchao Prowphong, winner of the 2015 Thermaltake CaseMOD Season 1, and Jesse Palacio, winner of the 2015 Thermaltake CaseMOD Season 2, to compete for glory and prizes. The Core WP100 Super Tower Chassis is the medium of choice for this contest and is the "only chassis able to house more than 20 HDD cages and up to 10 expansion slots."
Source: Press Release


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OCZ Announces Trion 150 Solid State Drives
Toshiba has added the Trion 150 series of SSDs to the OCZ brand, described as "an affordable performance upgrade for mainstream notebooks and desktops." The drives have read and write speeds up to 550MB/s and 530MB/s, respectively, and 91,000 Input/Output Operations per Second. Storage capacities of 120GB, 240GB, 480GB, and 960GB will be available with the drives rated for drive endurance of 240TB total bytes written. Vice President and GM of SSD BU at Toshiba America Steve Fingerhut, Sr. described the drives stating, "We are continually looking for ways to improve both SSD real world performance and value to end users and are pleased to introduce the new Trion 150 series which leverages the latest Toshiba 15nm Triple-Level Cell NAND flash to deliver an even better storage solution for value oriented mobile and desktop users."
Source: Press Release


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Microsoft Acquires SwiftKey for $250 Million
SwiftKey, maker of the iconic predictive smartphone keyboard, has been acquired by Microsoft for $250 million. According to Microsoft, there are no plans to halt development for iOS and Android platforms, but it will be pushing for "integration of the core technology aross the breadth of our product and services portfolio."



SwiftKey can be found on over 300 million devices and supports over 100 languages, as well as bilingual auto-correction. SwiftKey also has GreenHouse, a type of beta testing environment for end users to try new potential SwiftKey features. GreenHouse currently includes SwiftKey Symbols, a symbol-based communication method to assist individuals with special needs, as well as SwiftKey Neural, which is the world’s first smartphone keyboard to use artificial neural networks to predict and correct typing.



This buyout continues Microsoft’s trend of purchasing productivity applications – it recently acquired Acompli, Wunderlist, and Sunrise. It is believed that these acquisitions will be ported over to Windows Phone in hopes to add some much needed features to the OS.
Source: Ars Technica


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Hardware Roundup: Wednesday, February 3, 2016, Edition
The middle of the week is here, with a few items along the way to help get you over the hump. We have a look at the AMD Wraith cooler to see how this redesigned model keeps AMD CPUs and APUs running cooler than the typical stock model. There's also a guide on what parts to look for when you're buying a gaming laptop, letting you get something that can perform at whatever level you desire. Ending things for today is a look at some of the worst PC setups seen last month.
CPU Cooling

AMD Wraith @ LanOC Reviews
Laptops/Tablets

Building a Well-Rounded Gaming Laptop: What specs to look for @ TechSpot
Miscellany

20 of the Worst PC Setups - January 2016 @ ThinkComputers


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Available Tags:Gaming , Keyboard , ASUS , Hardware , AMD , Radeon , Thermaltake , 3D , Toshiba , Sharp , OCZ , Microsoft

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