IT-Code-News: Hardware

Showing posts with label Hardware. Show all posts

Thursday, May 5, 2016

IT News Head Lines (Overclockers Club) 06/05/2016

Built-in Ad Blocker Now Live for Opera
Back in March, Opera announced that it was releasing a development version of its web browser that had built-in ad blocking. The company has now moved this version to the official release channel for all to utilize. CEO Lars Boilesen reiterated the companies stance on the issue stating, "We do this because we want to provide people with the fastest browsers in the market. Our speed test shows that online ads slow down the browsing experience." Opera only controls a very small share of the Internet browser market, with recent estimates at around 2% according to Net Applications, and users of other browsers will still have to rely on third party software. It will be interesting to see if this will increase the usage of Opera and, perhaps more interesting, if it will spur other companies to adopt a similar policy for their browsers.
Source: Computer World

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Star Wars Action-Adventure Game in Development at Respawn Entertainment
In honor of Star Wars Day, which occurs yearly on May 4, Respawn Entertainment has announced that it has been developing an action-adventure game set in the Star Wars universe for the past two years. Respawn is best known for its work on Titanfall, and the upcoming sequel. The studio hasn't released any other substantial information about the game, but has said it will bring "a whole new adventure to the galaxy." I would love to see something similar to Knights of the Old Republic, especially if it expands on the Star Wars universe instead of focusing on areas covered by the existing movie and television properties.
Source: Ars Technica

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Journey Off the Coast of Maine in Fallout 4 - Far Harbor; Arrives May 19

The final piece of Fallout 4's three initial DLCs has finally been revealed, as the official trailer for Fallout 4 - Far Harbor has arrived. Far Harbor is a massive new add-on for Bethesda's latest RPG, as a new case from Valentine's Detective Agency puts us on the trail of a young woman and a secret colony of synths. We make for the coast of Maine and the island of Far Harbor, a place where the radiation levels were far higher and mutated the wildlife that much more. This is a feral world, a deadly world, and I just hope the plants aren't trying to kill you. It's going to be bad enough with the mirelurks, ghouls, these strange lizard/newt-like creatures, an angler fish monstrosity, and whatever else awaits us on the island. Oh, and let's not forget about the residents, Children of Atom, and the synths that call Far Harbor home.

Far Harbor is Bethesda's largest landmass for any add-on it's ever made, and it already looks like there is plenty to see and do on it. A growing conflict between the human and synth inhabitants might require intervention on your part, especially as you try to find this young woman and (presumably) bring her home. New factions, faction quests, settlements, higher-level weapons and armor, and new dungeons all await us on Far Harbor. Plus those dangerously lethal creatures on it, too.
Fallout 4 - Far Harbor arrives on May 19 for the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Once it arrives, the wait begins again for news on the next pieces of DLC for Fallout 4.
Source: Bethesda.net

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Steam Review System Seeing Significant Changes
Game reviews, whether they are multi-page articles or one line recommendations, can be very important to people before making a purchase, but while they do provide valuable information, the state of the game may have changed since then. To address exactly that issue with Steam Customer Reviews, Valve has changed how the system works to emphasize more recent reviews.
With how the system originally worked, newer reviews were not always as visible as older reviews that were deemed 'most helpful.' Now recent reviews will be featured more prominently, to give customers a more up-to-date view of the game. Additionally the review scores that are listed at the top of the product page have also been tweaked to be based on reviews from the past 30 days (if there are enough reviews from that period and the game is at least 45 days old). The overall score that includes older reviews are still listed, should you want to see them.
There is a bit more information at the source link if you want to read it. Personally, I am fairly happy to see these changes. I have experienced many games changing significantly post-launch from new content being added, bugs being fixed, and performance optimizations. A system to help capture these changes in reviews should benefit everyone who chooses to look at them, and the developers who invest the effort to make those changes.
Source: Steam News

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Hardware Roundup: Wednesday, May 4, 2016, Edition
Today is Star Wars Day, when nearly everybody takes the journey to that galaxy far, far away. We do have a couple of items to help bring you back, like a review of the Corsair Carbide SPEC-ALPHA case, the company's latest model. This case features a unique design that may seem small, yet can fit a ton of hardware inside while not breaking the bank. Our other item for the day is the Phiaton BT 110 Bluetooth Headset, a water-resistant model that can keep your tunes going regardless of the weather or workout intensity, and still make your calls when needed.
Cases

Corsair Carbide SPEC-ALPHA @ TechSpot
Speakers/Headphones

Phiaton BT 110 Bluetooth Headset @ Benchmark Reviews

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Mighty No. 9 Goes Gold; Launch Date Revealed
Late last year, it was reported that Mighty No. 9 was expected to be released to gamers on February 9, 2016. That date has long come and gone, and those interested in the game still have not been able to play the exciting video game title. Fortunately, Keiji Inafune has just recently revealed to the public that the game now has a concrete launch date of June 21, 2016 for North America and Asia, and June 24, 2016 for all other regions of the world. Inafune also noted that Mighty No. 9 has officially gone gold, and that the video game is in the final stages of development before it can be purchased from retail outlets or digital channels.
Despite the game launching in late June of this year, Inafune revealed that portable versions of Mighty No. 9 for the PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS will be available at a later point in time.
Source: Mighty No. 9 Official Site

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Endless War Returns in Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III

The time has come once again to wage endless war, as Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III has been officially announced. Developed once again by Relic and this time published by Sega, following THQ's bankruptcy part out, Dawn of War III sees the Space Marines, Orks, and Eldar fight on a galactic scale. Little else is known right now about the game, except those three races are joined by a fourth race that Relic is keeping tight to its chest. Maybe we'll see the Tyranids or the Forces of Chaos once again, or perhaps the Tau or Necrons instead. Relic does promise Dawn of War III will be its biggest game yet, with base-building, epic heroes, gigantic units, and huge battles. It looks to bring us back more to the style of the first game, while also keeping in aspects of the second game, too.

Battles should be easier to follow, with laser blasts clearly showing where the fights are happening and finer unit details easier to pick out. It also looks to have more of a tabletop flair with bright unit colors, so no more ultra grimdark gameplay here. The previous entry was fantastic, but sometimes it was hard to see what you were doing, so here's hoping Dawn of War III corrects that. Hero units return, with them taking on the role of individual heroes (like Gabriel Angelos), elite squads like Assault Terminators, or even super units like an Imperial Knight walker (a one-man version of WH40K's massive Titan units). As mentioned before, base-building is back, producing your everyday troops to wage war and capture requsition points, work units for power generator building, and even drop pods for the Space Marines to load into and deploy across the battlefield. Nothing says death from above quite like a drop pod full of Space Marines crashing into a horde of Greenskins. Orbital laser cannons, a revamped cover system, and more await us in the battlefields of endless galactic war.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III has no release date just yet, but it is real and it is coming.
Sources: PC Gamer and the Official Website

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Hardware Roundup: Tuesday, May 3, 2016, Edition
Tuesday is here, bringing with it a few items to help get you through the day. There is a look at the ECS Z170-Claymore motherboard, which has plenty of enthusiast-level features for a price that is budget friendly. For those needing a new phone, perhaps the InFocus M560 Smartphone, featuring an octa-core SoC, Android 5.1, and a Foxconn design, should be on your list. Ending things for today is a look at 20 of the worst PC setups seen during the month of April.
Motherboards

ECS Z170-Claymore @ PC Perspective
Mobile

InFocus M560 @ Madshrimps
Miscellany

20 of the Worst PC Setups - April 2016 @ ThinkComputers

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Dawn of the Singularity (eBook) Available for Pre-Order

For anyone interested in some more of the story behind the recently released Ashes of the Singularity, you will soon have an opportunity to explore it. On May 12, David Simpson's new book, Dawn of the Singularity releases for the Amazon Kindle, but you can pre-order today for $4.99 or purchase the print version, also on Amazon, for $12.99. You might already know David Simpson as the author of the bestselling Post-Human series
Dawn of the Singularity is set a near future, long before Ashes of the Singularity takes place, and examines what may happen as humanity reaches the technological singularity. With a strong AI surpassing humans taking shape, some people will welcome it as a new friend and ally, while others will consider it a sign of doom. This is the first book in The Singularity Saga and the first from Fearless Publishing, which is located in Plymouth Michigan, where Stardock, the publisher of Ashes of the Singularity, is also located.
Source: Press Release

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Dead Facts Trailer Released for Dead Island Definitive Collection
In March, Deep Silver and Techland announced the Dead Island Definitive Collection. This package includes Dead Island, Dead Island: Riptide, and all of their DLC rebuilt in the latest version of Techland's Chrome engine. This means updated graphics, improved performance, and availability on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Today we are getting another look at the collection with the "Dead Facts" trailer, which reminds us of the fun of a zombie apocalypse. The collection launches May 31 for $39.99 for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 and includes the mini game Dead Island Retro Revenge. The definitive editions of the two main games will also launch that day, for both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Source: Deep Silver

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Latest Game Ready Drivers Available Ahead of Battleborn Launch
NVIDIA continues to follow its pattern of releasing Game Ready versions of its GeForce video card drivers for upcoming or recently released games with the Game Ready 365.10 WHQL drivers. The focus of this update is Battleborn, which combines "first-person shooting with MOBA-style gameplay" and is available tomorrow, and these drivers hope to provide the "best possible framerates and frametimes in Battleborn's high-stakes multiplayer matches." NVIDIA is also throwing in some improvements for a trio of upcoming game betas including Forza Motorsport 6 Apex, Overwatch, and Paragon. All three games will host open betas starting May 5, May 4, and this weekend, respectively. Head over to the NVIDIA website to get your hands on the drivers now.
Source: NVIDIA

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Could Have 6GB of RAM
Details surrounding the next generation of NVIDIA graphics cards, rumored to use the 10X0 naming convention, have been trickling out over the past few months. In March, rumors began to spread that the card would be available near the end of this month with the high end GTX 1070 and 1080 mentioned specifically. Images leaked last month showed a cooling shroud with GTX 1080 clearly visible. We have now got our hands on some details about the mid range card, known as the GTX 1060, with the expectation that it will utilize 6GB of GDDR5 video RAM. Also included in the details is that the "GTX 1060 (or Ti) will be using the GP104-150-A1 GPU while the GTX 1080 uses the GP104-400-A1 and the GTX 1070 with its GP104-200-A1 GPU."
Source: Tweak Town

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Hardware Roundup: Monday, May 2, 2016, Edition
May is here at last, bringing with it several items to start the month off right. We have a review of the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, a dual GPU card packing two Fiji XT cores onto one PCB for what should be some impressive performance numbers, if you can stomach the $1500 price. Switching things up, the Intel 750 Series 400GB NVMe SSD gets reviewed to see what this little PCIe card can do. If you need to hear your games better, maybe the SteelSeries Siberia 350 Gaming Headset, with its affordable price, is for you. Wrapping things up for today is a look at how buying an older flagship smartphone might be the better option than picking up a new budget phone.
Video Cards

AMD Radeon Pro Duo @ PC Perspective
Storage/Hard Drives

Intel 750 Series 400GB NVMe SSD @ ThinkComputers
Speakers/Headphones

SteelSeries Siberia 350 Gaming Headset @ Madshrimps
Mobile

Better Buy: Older flagship smartphones are better than current budget offerings @ TechSpot

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Available Tags:Opera , Steam , Hardware , NVIDIA , GeForce , GTX ,

Thursday, April 28, 2016

IT News Head Lines (Overclockers Club) 28/04/2016

XFX R9 Fury Triple Dissipation Review

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Fallout 4's Creation Kit Finally Arrives; PC Mods Now, XBO in May, PS4 in June

At long last, the Creation Kit is here for Fallout 4, bringing with it the official tools to properly build and integrate mods into Bethesda's latest RPG. Of course, this hasn't stopped modders since the game came out in November, as the Nexus has more than 8,000 files available to downloa and work into your game (I'm already up over 180 installed mods on my copy). It's an impressive amount when you consider these modders have done it all without the Creation Kit, so now we can only go up from here in terms of content and options. New quests, voiced companions and NPCs, new lands, more outfits and weapons, expanded dialogue, and far more is possible with the Creation Kit, with everything handled inside of Fallout 4. That's right, you can browse, download, install, provide feedback, and select favorites from inside the Mods menu in Fallout 4. For the Creation Kit, you just have to grab the Bethesda.net launcher and go from there. It's all quite streamlined and simple, which is nice to have for a game.

To go with the Creation Kit, Bethesda has an update on mods for the consoles. The Xbox One will receive mod support in May, with PlayStation 4 getting it in June. Any mod posted to Bethesda.net can be downloaded on your console of choice, while anything not shared there is PC-only. Bethesda did say some mods won't be allowed on Bethesda.net and the consoles, but for the most part any you can find on the Nexus will more than likely be available on all platforms. The Creation Kit is still considered an open beta, so features may change over time, but it's nice to have the official tools either way. Now we can see what kind of mods and creations await us, along with the Far Harbor DLC next month and whatever else Bethesda has planned later this year.
Sources: Bethesda.net and Nexus

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HTC Offering Support for VR Development
HTC is planning to help speed up the adoption of its virtual reality headset, the Vive, by launching an accelerator program for startups interested in developing VR technology. The program, known as Vive X, is starting with a pool of $100 million and is taking applications in Beijing, Taipei, and San Francisco. The goal of the program is "to offer mentorship, help securing investment, and access to VR tech, doing things like temporarily providing office space and hosting demo days for potential investors." HTC isn't doing this entirely out of the goodness of its heart as it will seek "a small amount of equity" in exchange for investments between $50,000 and $200,000. Its partnership with Valve in creating the Vive should put the device on a strong track in the gaming market, but the Vive X program could certainly help increase its presence in other areas.
Source: The Verge

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Ashes of the Singularity Updated to Version 1.1

At the end of last month, Ashes of the Singularity exited early access with the release of version 1.0. The game is a massive RTS that leverages the features of DirectX 12 to allow large numbers of units to be rendered without the usual hit to performance. Today it has been patched to version 1.1, which has added new units, campaign options, maps, and more.
The next big update is to bring a deluxe version of the game's campaign, in-game voice narration, and more background to the world. Apparently the developers were surprised by the community's desire for more story, but are now eager to work on it further. Personally, I'm just looking forward to jumping in and trying the new content out.
Source: Ashes of the Singularity Forums

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Hardware Roundup: Tuesday, April 26, 2016, Edition
Tuesday is here, bringing with it a couple of items for you to check out as we edge ever closer to the end of April. There is a review on the RIOTORO CR1280 Prism case, a full tower design featuring RGB color options throughout and enough space inside for whatever components you can find. For those needing some power, the be quiet! Pure Power 9 600W PSU gets tested to see what this entry-level model can bring to the table.
Cases

RIOTORO CR1280 Prism @ Neoseeker
Power Supplies

be quiet! Pure Power 9 600W @ PC Perspective

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Hybrid Batteries Improved With New Means of Making Electrodes
When it comes to storing electricity, the two main ways to do so are batteries or supercapacitors, which both offer their own advantages and disadvantages. Hybrid batteries try to combine the two to get the best of both worlds, and now researchers at PNNL have found a way to make them even better.
The advantage batteries come with is tremendous energy density for their size, while supercapacitors store less energy but can be very quickly charged and discharged, unlike batteries. Hybrid batteries contain both technologies by making the electrodes out of supercapacitors, so that one can have a fast charging and long lasting device. These electrodes can be made from carbon nanotubes and it has been discovered before that spraying polyoxometalate, or POM onto them can improve their performance by adding ions to the surface. The catch is that only negative ions are desired, but POM includes both positive and negative ions. What the PNNL researchers did is change the method of applying the POM to ion soft-landing, which allows for precise control over what is applied; in this case applying only negative ions.
The resulting hybrid batteries stored 27% more energy than those made by more conventional methods. They also only lost a few percent of their capacity after 1000 charge and discharge cycles, while the conventional hybrid batteries were at half-capacity by then. When the researchers closely examined the electrodes they found that the ion soft-landing method allowed the negative ions to more evenly cover the electrodes, while the positive ions deposited by other methods resulted in the material clumping up on the electrode. This also means less POM was needed to achieve optimal results.
Source: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

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Deep Silver and Dambusters Studios Release Homefront: The Revolution 'America Has Fallen' Trailer
Deep Silver and Dambusters Studios have together released the opening game cinematic for the latest Homefront title known as Homefront: The Revolution. The video, which is known as 'America Has Fallen,' shows off an excellent story in which the United States falls to North Korea through the overall consumption of electronic devices over the years. Judging from the video game trailer, gamers are in for quite a treat when it comes to battling enemy forces with high-tech military weaponry on the very soil that makes up the United States of America.

Source: Press Release

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Available Tags:XFX , PS4 , HTC , Hardware ,

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

IT News Head Lines (Overclockers Club) 28/04/2016

XFX R9 Fury Triple Dissipation Review

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Fallout 4's Creation Kit Finally Arrives; PC Mods Now, XBO in May, PS4 in June

Ashes of the Singularity Updated to Version 1.1

Source: Press Release

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Available Tags:XFX , PS4 , HTC , Hardware ,

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

IT News Head Lines (Overclockers Club) 27/04/2016

Dota 2 Update 6.87 Announced
Just over 24 hours after Chinese team Wings Gaming beat Team Liquid at the ESL One Manila event, Valve has announced gameplay update 6.87 for Dota 2. This is the first major update since version 6.86 was released in December and it brings many significant changes to heroes, items, and gameplay mechanics. Some players will probably be disappointed that the update doesn't contain a new hero, but complaints about a stale "meta" are sure to be reduced. The addition of a ban phase to the ranked All Pick game mode is the most significant and exciting development in my opinion and should make for more interesting, diverse, and fun games. A total of seven new items were added to the game while a number of others had functionality, recipes, and costs altered. There are too many changes to be able to go into depth on all of them here, so be sure to check the patch notes for information on all of the changes. A number of professional players have already chimed in on Twitter with mixed reactions to the changes as far as people that I follow. Others are planning to do in depth analysis of the changes, likely on Twitch with the videos later available for viewing.
Source: Dota 2 Blog

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First Benchmarks Leak For AMD Radeon Pro Duo
Earlier this month it was revealed that tomorrow was the expected release of the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, a card that packs two Fiji GPUs onto a single PCB. Now that we are just a day away, the first benchmarks comparing the card to the Radeon R9 Fury X and NVIDIA GTX 980 Ti have been leaked. The card was tested using several of the latest, graphically intensive games such as GTA V, The Witcher 3, and The Division and synthetic benchmarks such as 3DMark Firestrike. The Pro Duo offered significant improvements over both cards, but this should be expected from a dual card solution. Average performance across all tests at 1080p offered an increase of 50% compared to the R9 Fury X and 32% over the GTX 980 Ti. The Pro Duo really shined at tests running at 4K resolution, with a performance increase of 60% over both comparison cards. It is clear that for a single card solution the Pro Duo offers an enticing choice for users looking for 4K performance, but the $1500 price tag may not be worth it for 1080p usage. The Pro Duo offered comparable temperature readings to the Fury X, and managed to beat the GTX 980 Ti under load, but was slightly warmer when idle. Total system power consumption was within 100W for all cards, with different cards performing better at different tests.
Source: Expreview via WCCF Tech

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Radeon Software Crimson Edition Version 16.4.2 Released
AMD has officially released version 16.4.2 of its Radeon Software Crimson Edition, which includes a variety of highlights. Some of these highlights include new or updated Crossfire Profiles for Elite Dangerous and Need for Speed, as well as full support for Thunderbolt 3 eGFX enclosures that are configured with Radeon R9 Fury, Nano, or 300 Series GPUs. The latest version of the Radeon Software Crimson Edition for AMD also includes a wealth of resolved issues, to include things like The Division experiencing flickering while utilizing AMD Crossfire technology, GPU clocks being stuck on some products after an application crashes, flickering within the SteamVR Performance Test while utilizing AMD Crossfire technology, the power efficiency toggle showing up for some unsupported products, and more.
Radeon Software Crimson Edition version 16.4.2 is available to download immediately for 32 and 64-bit versions of Windows 7, 8.1, and 10.
Source: AMD

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Hardware Roundup: Monday, April 25, 2016, Edition
The final week of April is here, bringing a few items along for the ride in order to start things off. There is a look at what is expected to be the full details of AMD's upcoming Radeon Pro Duo video card, a massive beast shoving two Fury X GPUs onto a single board to make it the new champion card. For those needing a small new home for their system or future system, the Fractal Design Core 500 case, with its mini-ITX design and support for water cooling, just might be the solution. Ending things for today is a way to get your dance groove on with the Edifier M1370BT 2.1 Bluetooth Speaker System, which can connect to Bluetooth devices or via a wire for those still sticking to our ancient ways.
Video Cards

AMD Radeon Pro Duo Preview - Final Details Leak @ PC Perspective
Cases

Fractal Design Core 500 @ ThinkComputers
Speakers/Headphones

Edifier M1370BT 2.1 Bluetooth Speaker System @ Madshrimps

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Study Finds Roles Influence Behavior in Video Games
Something shared across many video games are certain specific archetypes, such as tanks, fighters, mages, rogues, assassins, and so on. In some games you are able to select what role you get to play as, while in other games it may be selected for you, or never even described. Researchers at North Carolina State University decided to look into these roles and see if they influence a player's behavior, and if selecting a role makes any difference.
To do this experiment, the researchers create a single-player RPG (which you can play at http://go.ncsu.edu/ixd-demo-rpg) and had 210 people play it. Of those, 78 were assigned the role of fighter, mage, or rogue, while 91 were allowed to select their role, and the final 41 played without a role. The game contained twelve multiple choice decisions that were careful constructed to be aligned with the three roles, to see if players maintained the role as they played. The results showed that whether the players selected or were assigned the role, they maintained them most of the time, with fighters being consistent 65.7% of the time, mages 76.1% of the time, and rogues 69.7% of the time. Even for the players who were not given a specific role, made decisions consistent with a specific role.
This study indicates that even without explicit role-playing elements to a game, players will assume and maintain roles on their own, which could influence how game designers develop games. It also means that other studies that examine player choice should be careful to remove role as a variable, as it could skew results.
Source: North Carolina State University

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Available Tags:AMD , Radeon , Hardware ,

Sunday, April 24, 2016

IT News Head Lines (Overclockers Club) 25/04/2016

ROCCAT KIRO Gaming Mouse Review
Roccat Kiro Gaming Mouse

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Hardware Roundup: Friday, April 22, 2016, Edition
Friday is here, bringing with it the weekend and some items for you to check out. There is a review of the AZIO MGK 1 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, which has Kailh Blue switches and RGB backlighting for a custom look to match whatever mood you're feeling. If you're planning to pick up the new Ashes of the Singularity RTS game and curious how it performs, we have a performance review that should cover you nicely. For some console gaming on the PC, both PS4 Remote Play and Xbox One Streaming offer the option, and this article examines what the differences are between the two. Ending things for today is a new case mod that is extremely slick and packed to the brim with hardware and water cooling gear.
Keyboards/Mice

AZIO MGK 1 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard @ ThinkComputers
Gaming

Ashes of the Singularity Performance Video Card @ Madshrimps

Console Gaming on the PC: PS4 Remote Play vs. Xbox One Streaming @ PC Perspective
Miscellany

Case Mod Friday: Project SEVEN @ ThinkComputers

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On-Chip RF Circulator Created That Could Double Wi-Fi Speeds
Wireless communication is something many of us rely on today for connecting or various devices to the Internet, so there is a constant drive to increase wireless speeds. One way to achieve this is to build systems that allow for the simultaneous transmission and reception of signals, but achieving this is somewhat difficult with a single antenna. Researchers at the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science though have built an on-chip solution that could bring full duplexing and doubled speeds to devices like our phones.
Currently many devices use half-duplexing to connect to a Wi-Fi network, which means that while one antenna is sending and receiving all of the information, it is not doing so at the same time. This is because the electronic structures used exhibit Lorentz Reciprocity; electromagnetic waves travel in both directions at the same time. One way to overcome this issue requires using magnetic materials to create a radio frequency circulator. When the material is exposed to an external magnetic field, reciprocity is lost, allowing the incoming and outgoing signals to be separated. Such circulators cannot be integrated into silicon chips though, and even then they are rather large for using in something like a phone. To solve this problem, the Columbia researchers created a new, electronic circulator that is highly miniaturized and uses a set of capacitors to replicate the non-reciprocal twist the magnetic circulators produce.
The researchers have already demonstrated this new circulator design by building a prototype of their full-duplex system that also features an echo-cancelling receiver. By integrating the circulator into the same chip as the rest of the radio, it should be possible to keep the size of the system and the cost down, allowing for full-duplex communications and potentially doubling network capacity.

Source: Columbia University

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Intel Broadwell-E CPUs Available for Pre-Order
We first covered the upcoming line of High End Desktop (HEDT) processors from Intel late last year, with news that the processors would fall under the Broadwell-E lineup and use the X99 chipset. As previously announced, Intel will have four models available at launch, the i7-6950X, i7-6900K, i7-6850K, and i7-6800K. NCIX US has now become the first retailer to accept pre-orders for the chips, which have an expected release of the second quarter of this year. NCIX has current prices set at $2349.99 for the i7-6950X, $1495.99 for the i7-6900K, $889.99 for the i7-6850K, and $629.99 for the i7-6800K. Anandtech has re-seller specific prices listed at $1609.37 for the i7-6950X, $1024.70 for the i7-6900K, $602.11 for the i7-6850K, and $422.60 for the i7-6800K. The article notes that pricing scheme is not yet final and prices could go up or down.
Source: WCCF Tech

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Thermaltake Announces Collaboration with Mathieu Heredia
Thermaltake is working on a design collaboration project with Mathieu Heredia, co-owner of Watermod France and the second place finisher in the 2015 Thermaltake CaseMOD Invitational Season 2. The project is known as "The Tower," borrowing its name from Heredia's entry into the contest. Thermaltake President and CEO Kenny Lin described the partnership stating, "Today, it gives me great pleasure to announce our strategic cooperation with Mathieu by turning his “Tower” creation from a concept, a casemod, to mass production. We complement each other. We share the same values and we believe in Excellent Quality, Unique Design, Diverse Combinations and Boundless Creativity to provide a high performance PC product for every enthusiast."
Source: Press Release

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Data Compression Used to Detect Quantum Entanglement
The next time you archive some files and compress them, you might think about the process a little differently. Researchers at the National University of Singapore have discovered a common compression algorithm can be used to detect quantum entanglement. What makes this discovery so interesting is that it does not rely on heavily on an assumption that the measured particles are independent and identically distributed.
If you measure the property of a particle and then measure the same property of another particle, in classical mechanics there is no reason for them to match but pure chance. In quantum mechanics though, the two particles can be entangled, such that the results will match each other. This follows from Bell's theorem, which is applied to test if particles are in fact entangled. The catch is that the theorem is derived for testing pairs of particles, but many pairs have to be measured and the probabilities they are entangled calculated. This is where the researchers' discovery comes into play because instead of calculating probabilities, the measurements can be fed into the open-source Lempel-Ziv-Markov chain algorithm (LZMA) to get their normalized compression difference. Compression algorithms work by finding patterns in data and encoding them more efficiently, and in this case they also find correlations from quantum entanglement. If the data is classical, the normalized compression difference must be less than zero, but with quantum mechanics it can reach 0.24.
When tested, this approach returned a value of 0.0494 ± 0.0076, which shows the data did cross the classical-quantum boundary. It is below the 0.24 theoretical maximum because the quantum states cannot be created and measured perfectly, and the compression algorithm is not ideal.

Source: Center for Quantum Technologies at the National University of Singapore

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Corsair Unveils New RAPIDFIRE Keyboards With Cherry MX Speed Switches

Corsair is well known for its cases, power supplies, RAM, and host of other PC products, with today's focus being on its keyboard line. Three new entries are introduced with a new piece of technology to set them apart, as each keyboard benefits from the Cherry MX Speed switch. This new switch has an actuation distance of just 1.2mm, 40% shorter than other Cherry MX switches. It lets the new keyboards register presses that much faster, which is why Corsair has dubbed the new line RAPIDFIRE. The Corsair K70 RGB RAPIDFIRE, K65 RGB RAPIDFIRE, and K70 RAPIDFIRE all receive the new Cherry MX Speed switch giving them the short actuation distance and a 45g actuation force, so a light press is all that's needed.

Both the K70 RGB RAPIDFIRE and K65 RGB RAPIDFIRE feature per-key multi-color backlighting, giving you a customized look against the brushed aluminum chassis. The K70 RAPIDFIRE simply has red LED backlighting, but either one works with the Corsair Utility Engine (CUE) to set up the lighting however you wish. The lighting can be synchronized across the entire Corsair line with CUE, so your full setup can share the same look.
Both K70s are a full keyboard design, while the K65 is a tenkeyless model, so it's more compact for anyone desiring a small keyboard. All three benefit from full key rollover on USB and a 100% anti-ghosting design to register every key press. Each one comes with contoured and textured keys for FPS and MOBA layouts, with the spacebar also featuring a textured design. A key-puller is included to swap out the textured keys for regular ones or any others you might want to use, or to just make cleaning easier. A USB 2.0 passthrough is included on all three to connect a mouse, headset, or other device, while dedicated media controls mean adjusting volume or changing tracks doesn't require an awkward finger combination to pull off. The soft-touch wrist rest easily attaches or detaches for support during marathon gaming sessions.
The Corsair RAPIDFIRE keyboards are available today, with the K70 RGB priced at $169.99, the K65 RGB at $139.99, and the K70 at $129.99. All feature a two-year warranty and Corsair support.
Source: Press Release

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Record-Breaking Single Atom Magnet Created
While many of us may be transitioning to solid state data storage for greater read and write speeds, magnetic storage devices still have great data density. That density may be hitting new highs in the future as researchers at EPFL have demonstrated single-atom magnets that remain stable at a new record-high temperature of 40 K.
Magnetism is the result of the spin of electrons, which is a quantum mechanical property but works on the macroscale when the spins of many electrons line up. In a single atom though, the spin of an electron can be easily flipped by the environment, with magnetic remanence describing how well a magnet remains magnetized. The researchers were able to build prototype single-atom magnets using holmium atoms that were placed in ultrathin films of magnesium oxide. The electronic structure of the holmium atoms protect their magnetic fields from flipping, and at 40 K, the magnetic remanence is stable. Previous magnets consisting of three to twelve atoms have required even lower temperatures or poorer remanence where the holmium magnets are stable.
While 40 K is a bit too low for many practical uses, this still sets the record for smallest and most stable single-atom magnet, the ultimate goal for miniaturized data storage. Hopefully we will see this record broken before long.
Source: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

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Available Tags:Gaming , Hardware , Intel , Thermaltake ,

Thursday, April 21, 2016

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Kingston DataTraveler 2000 32GB Encrypted USB Drive Review

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Supergiant Games Announces Pyre With Trailer
Supergiant Games is the Indie studio behind popular games Bastion and Transistor. It has now announced its next project, "a party-based role-playing game called Pyre," with announced availability for PC and PS4. From the trailer, it appears the new game will "carry on the tradition of the company’s previous titles in terms of art style, atmosphere, and focus on storytelling," and this is good news for anyone that enjoyed the first two games. Players appear to be tasked with leading a small team of characters through the land of Downside as they compete against other groups in an effort to clear their transgressions. More details on the story are currently unavailable, but the game will make an appearance at PAX East, where we should learn more about it.

Source: Game Rant

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Kingston Announces Industrial Temperature microSD Card

Kingston has announced a new microSD card, the Industrial Temperature, which as the name suggests was designed to withstand a wide range of temperatures. The card is rated for operation and storage from -40°C to 85°C and is also waterproof, shock/vibration proof, and X-ray proof, certified by IEC, MIL-STD, and ISO standards. The cards are UHS-I Class 10 with read and write speeds up to 90MB/s and 45MB/s, respectively. The Industrial Temperature cards will be available in capacities of 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB.
Source: Press Release

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Hardware Roundup: Wednesday, April 20, 2016, Edition
We have arrived at the middle of the week, with several items along the way to get you over the hump. The AMD Athlon X4 880K CPU, featuring a 4GHz core clock and a budget-friendly price for enthusiasts, gets reviewed to see how something without an integrated GPU (for once) performs. The Fnatic Gear RUSH G1 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is complete with Cherry MX Red switches and red backlighting to provide a solid experience for any games, thanks to its pro gamer testing. For those using something much smaller, the Datamancer Oaken 60% Case is a snazzy way to carry around your 60% keyboards without getting them damaged. Wrapping things up is the Creative Sound BlasterX G5 7.1 HD Audio Portable Sound Card, a convenient way to boost your audio on the go while also providing a headphone amp.
CPUs

AMD Athlon X4 880K @ Neoseeker
Keyboards/Mice

Fnatic Gear RUSH G1 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard @ Benchmark Reviews

Datamancer Oaken 60% Case @ LanOC Reviews
Sound Cards

Creative Sound BlasterX G5 7.1 HD Audio Portable Sound Card @ Madshrimps

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Single-Atom Heat Engine Created
Heat engines have been around for a long time and are used to convert thermal energy into mechanical force. Now thanks to researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University, a single atom has been turned into a heat engine, which could have applications for studying thermodynamics and quantum thermodynamics.
The core of this heat engine is a single calcium atom that has been electrically charged to be held in a trap. It can then be heated with electrically-generated noise and cooled with a laser beam, which results in it going through a thermodynamic cycle. That means the atom moves back and forth within the trap, just like the strokes of a heat engine. While the single atom only generates 10^-22 watts at 0.3% efficiency, scaling the engine up to match the mass of a car engine, the output would be comparable.
Chances this design will not be used to actually generate power, but instead be used to study the thermodynamics of single-particles and if the operating temperatures can be lowered sufficiently, it could become a window to thermodynamic quantum effects. It is also possible to reverse the cycle to make it a single-atom refrigerator for cooling nanosystems.
Source: Johannes Gutenberg University

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Further Information Available About PlayStation 4 Update
Rumors began to swirl last month about a new version of the PlayStation 4 with support for 4K resolutions. Giant Bomb is now reporting from "multiple sources" that the new PS4 is codenamed NEO and will feature updated hardware and functionality. The original PS4 had an eight core CPU at 1.6 GHz, 18 GPU cores at 800 MHz, and 8GB of GDDR5 at 176 GB/s. NEO will have eight cores at 2.1 GHz, 36 updated GPU cores at 911 MHz, and 8GB of GDDR5 at 218 GB/s. Sony will begin requiring developers to ship games with a "Base Mode" and "NEO Mode" in October. Base Mode will run on current systems and will run the same on the NEO, while NEO Mode will utilize the additional hardware to provide "increased and more stable frame rate and higher visual fidelity, at least when those games run at 1080p on HDTVs." The NEO will support 4K output but will not require games to support native 4K resolution. The NEO is expected to have an MSRP of $399 and the new model could potentially drive down the price of current models.
Source: Giant Bomb

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First Image of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Cooler Leaks
An image that appears to depict the upcoming NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 has surfaced, showing a rather large silver cooler with the name of the card on it. There is no heatsink or PCB visible through the acrylic window, indicating that this is likely just a preview of the cooler shroud. This follows an earlier image with GTX 1070 visible with speculation that it could simply be "the creation of a modder that designed these shrouds for his own personal amusement." It remains unclear at this point if the next generation of cards will even be referred to as the GTX 1070 and 1080 as there has been no confirmation from NVIDIA. The one thing that does appear to be certain at this point is that the new cards will be available sometime this summer, with a potential official reveal at Computex.
Source: WCCF Tech

Thursday, May 5, 2016

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Thursday, April 28, 2016

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Wednesday, April 27, 2016

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Thursday, April 21, 2016

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