General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


Newegg Daily Deals: Asus Z97-A Motheroard, Corsair CX Series 430W PSU, and More!

Posted: 02 Dec 2014 01:26 PM PST

Asus Z97-Anewegg logo

Top Deal:

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are down and over with, but the discounted prices aren't. So, if you missed out on all the sales, don't hang your head low -- there are lots of deals still to be had. That includes today's top deal for an Asus Z97-A motherboard for $120 with free shipping. It supports both M.2 and SATA Express, has an 8-phase power design, and a one-click optimization button to ensure everything is running in tip-top shape without diving into complicated settings.

Other Deals:

Asus VX238H-W VX238H-W White 23-inch HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor with Built-in Speakers for $140 with free shipping (normally $200 - use coupon code: [EMCWHPH38]); after a $20 mail-in rebate

G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM Desktop Memory for $60 with free shipping

Adata Premier Pro SP600 2.5-inch 256GB SATA 6Gb/s MLC Internal Solid State Drive for $80 with free shipping

Corsair CX Series CX430 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 Plus Bronze Certified Active PFC Power Supply for $20 with free shipping; after a $20 mail-in rebate

HP Elitebook 1020 SE Blends MacBook Air Aesthetics with Windows Functionality

Posted: 02 Dec 2014 12:47 PM PST

Billed as the world's thinnest and lightest business-class laptop

HP Elitebook 1020HP today introduced its Elitebook Folio 1020 family highlighted by the Elitebook 1020 Special Edition (SE), supposedly the world's thinnest and lightest laptop in the business world. Comparisons to Apple's MacBook Air are inevitable, and that's because of the physical design -- HP said it used an exclusive blend of magnesium-lithium alloy and reusable carbon fiber to achieve a weight of just 2.2 pounds.

"The HP Elitebook 1020 represents game-changing innovation in both materials and mechanical engineering to create the world's thinnest and lightest business notebooks in a form factor that enables our customers to be more productive in more places," said Alex Cho, vice president & general manager, HP Commercial PCs. "Customers demand not only a stylish, thin and light notebook, but also a device that delivers advanced security and can withstand the rigorous demands that come with a highly mobile lifestyle – and the HP Elitebook1020 delivers this complete solution."

In terms of durability, the 1020 SE was designed to pass military-grade (MIL-STD 810G) testing for drops, shocks, and exposure to extreme temperatures and humidity, as well as high pressure testing.

HP Elitebook 1020

Both the regular Elitebook 1020 and Special Edition measure 15.7mm thin and sport a 12.5-inch display with fanless cooling and SSD storage options. The regular model will have a 1920x1080 resolution and optional touch support, whereas the Special Edition will boast a Quad HD (2560x1440) resolution, also with optional touch.

The Elitebook 1020 will be available in February of next year and the Special Edition will release in April.

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Sprint Makes a Bold Move, Offers to Halve Phone Bills for AT&T and Verizon Defectors

Posted: 02 Dec 2014 11:04 AM PST

Scissors DollarMobile wars just got real

In what might be the boldest move yet by a wireless carrier, Sprint today announced it will cut in half the monthly rate plan for Verizon and AT&T customers if they jump ship and swim to Sprint beginning Friday, December 5. It's called the "Cut Your Bill in Half Event," and customers who make the switch will get unlimited talk and text in the U.S., regardless of their current plan, plus the same data allowance that they're currently receiving, for half of whatever they're paying.

"The Cut Your Bill in Half Event clearly demonstrates that Sprint delivers the best value in wireless," said Marcelo Claure, CEO, Sprint. "It's as simple as this: Bring Sprint your Verizon or AT&T bill along with your phone and we'll cut your rate plan in half. That's a 50 percent savings on your rate plan every month. And this great deal is not just a promotion. This will be the customer's ongoing price."

To give an example, if you're an AT&T subscriber with four lines and 15GB of shared data, you're paying $100 for data access and $60 for line access, bringing the total to $160. Switching to Sprint cuts that in half to $80 per month.

That's fine and dandy, but what about activation fees and early termination fees? Those would surely offset any savings that might be had, right? Not so fast.

Sprint is waiving its activation fee as part of the deal, which normally run $36 per line, and is also pay off early termination fees, up to $350 per line (via Visa prepaid card). Plain in simple, Sprint just threw down the gauntlet without any obvious catches. The not-so-obvious one is coverage -- depending on where you live, Verizon and/or AT&T might offer superior coverage than Sprint. That brings up the question of whether it's worth paying double for.

Image Credit: Flickr (Images Money)

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Firefox 34 Arrives with Yahoo as Default Search Engine, Doesn't Switch Automatically

Posted: 02 Dec 2014 10:12 AM PST

Firefox yahooMozilla chooses the less obtrusive path

It's the end of the Google era at Mozilla. Firefox 34 is available to download today, and with it comes Yahoo as the new default search partner in the U.S. However, don't fret if you're not cool with the change -- Mozilla isn't forcing Yahoo down anyone's throat. If you're content with whichever search engine is currently your default, Firefox will courteously leave it alone, so there's no need to make any changes following today's update.

At least that was case when we updated our browser installs. In multiple instances, Firefox left things alone and simply asked if we'd like to switch to Yahoo the first time we fired up the updated build. It's a pretty unobtrusive way of making the transition, especially since it was previously reported that Firefox would switch over to Yahoo automatically.

Also new to Firefox 34 is the One-Click search functionality. When you type a query into the search field, you'll see a grid of icons appear representing different search engines, like DuckDuckGo, eBay, Bing, and so forth. Just click on any of them to conduct a search for whatever you typed into the field and it will use that search engine without changing your default -- pretty slick.

You can find more of what's new in Firefox 34 in the release notes.

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Microsoft Sends Clip Art into Retirement, Wants You to Use Bing Images

Posted: 02 Dec 2014 09:14 AM PST

Clip ArtA casualty of the Internet

Microsoft just shut down its Clip Art library, and going forward, the company suggests using Bing's image search functionality instead. No problem, most people have already made the transition to web-based image searches when they're in need of a graphic or photographic, just not everyone has been using Bing to hunt down images. In an initial draft of the blog post announcing the change, Microsoft was blunt in saying that usage of the image library in Office has seen a steady decline as users turn towards search engines.

Prior to its closure, Microsoft's Clip Art library contained stock pictures of objects, people, animals, scenes, and more. Many were drawn in stick figure form. They were popular additions to school presentations, though as time went on, the rudimentary art became dated.

"The Office.com Clip Art and image library has closed shop. Customers can still add images to their documents, presentations, and other files that they have saved to their devices (phones, tablets, and PCs), OneDrive, and SharePoint. Customers also still have the ability to add images to their documents using Bing Image Search," Microsoft said.

Microsoft also provided a bit of guidance on how to track down images that are legal to use. The company points out that Bing Image Search uses a copyright filter based on the Creative Commons licensing system and returns links to sources of images provided.

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Sceptre Launches a 27-inch LED 1080p Monitor for $200 Street

Posted: 02 Dec 2014 07:55 AM PST

Sceptre E275W-1920Not every new monitor is 4K

Sceptre today announced the availability of its E275W-1920, a 27-inch monitor with an LED backlight and 1920x1080 display resolution. It's not the elusive (so far, anyway) 4K monitor with IPS panel, 120Hz refresh rate, and affordable price tag that we're all waiting for, but then again, there are reasons why someone might want to stick with 1080p if buying a new display, like the lack of scaling issues.

Whether or not Sceptre's 1080p display fits the bill is up to you. It seems to lack any gee-whiz amenities, like G-Sync support or any other fancy tricks. However, it is a big panel at a relatively affordable price -- it streets for around $200.

As for rated specs, it has a 5ms gray-to-gray response time, 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 250 cd/m2 brightness, built-in 2W speakers, and a stand that can tilt 15 degrees backward and 5 degrees forward. Alternately, you can detach the base and mount it to your wall. Connectivity options consist of HDMI, DVI, and VGA. There's also a headphone jack.

The E275W-1920 is available now at several retailers and e-tailers.

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MMORPG News

MMORPG News


Star Wars: The Old Republic: The New Discipline System Primer

Posted: 02 Dec 2014 03:30 AM PST

The New Discipline System Primer

The latest expansion pack for Star Wars: The Old Republic has arrived, and with it the game is graduating to version number 3.0. One of the banner features of the upgrade, although not specifically tied to the expansion pack, is the new method for dealing with skills: Disciplines.

Guild Wars 2: Seeds of Doubt to Launch Today

Posted: 02 Dec 2014 03:43 AM PST

Seeds of Doubt to Launch Today

ArenaNet has announced that the next installment in the Living Story Season 2 for Guild Wars 2 will launch today. Seeds of Doubt keeps the story moving along as heroes chase down leads to find Caithe. The update features some new content in the Silverwastes during the journey.

General: Age of Wulin Expansion Launches in EU

Posted: 02 Dec 2014 05:22 AM PST

Age of Wulin Expansion Launches in EU

Webzen has announced the Age of Wulin expansion, Chapter 3: Wisdom is a Journey, has launched on its EU servers. The expansion brings new quests, adventures and locations to explore as well as character improvements such as a fourth Internal Skill and more. Players will also be able to challenge themselves with new, more difficult versions of some dungeons.

The Secret World: Issue 10 Nightmares in the Dream Palace Coming Soon

Posted: 01 Dec 2014 03:10 PM PST

Issue 10 Nightmares in the Dream Palace Coming Soon

The latest Secret World Producer's Letter has been published. Of most notable interest is the announcement that Issue 10 - Nightmares in the Dream Palace is expected to go live in the first half of December. Nightmare will bring a new area to explore and will also feature some quality of life improvements. With Issue 10's arrival, players will be able to customize the UI. New players will also see a new monster difficulty panel to assist in battle.

Guild Wars 2: Matchmaking Redefined

Posted: 01 Dec 2014 05:18 AM PST

Matchmaking Redefined

This month, Guild Wars 2 will be updated with significant changes to the PvP system. We caught up with Justin O'Dell to find out more about matchmaking and how it will be altered with the next patch. Check it out!

Guild Wars 2: Giving Thanks

Posted: 29 Nov 2014 04:02 PM PST

Giving Thanks

I'm sure that when the Pilgrims first celebrated their bountiful autumn harvest, nearly four centuries ago, they didn't just give thanks for surviving in the New World. I'm pretty sure they were equally thankful for their high-speed Internet connections and for their Native American buddies with whom they could play the latest online video games, like Madden Lacrosse '22 and Grand Theft Carriage Online. That all totally happened, right?

World of Warcraft: Welcome to Draenor

Posted: 30 Nov 2014 03:24 AM PST

 Welcome to Draenor

This week I share my thoughts on the Warlords expansion so far and then we check out some of the Tier 17 gear we'll find in the upcoming Highmaul raid.

Shards Online: Crafting Explored in New Video Diary

Posted: 01 Dec 2014 08:03 AM PST

Crafting Explored in New Video Diary

The Shards Online team has taken to the airwaves and released a new video developer diary. This time, Lead Systems Designer Logrus gives fans a first look at the crafting system and how it will work in the game. Check it out!

MMOGaming News

MMOGaming News


Tree of Savior Will Release Mobile Version and International CBT

Posted:

Tree of Savior Will Release Mobile Version and International CBT


During G-Star 2014 period, IMCgames has unveiled more details about their highly anticipated MMO Tree of Savior, many of you guys must have read our earlier news about it, this time, we're gonna introduce more exciting info of Tree of Savior, read on~

ArcheAge Players Got into Trouble of Unscheduled Maintenance

Posted:

ArcheAge Players Got into Trouble of Unscheduled Maintenance


The North American ArcheAge servers had been unavailable on Sunday, November 30 for an unscheduled maintenance. Currently the two separate servers (NA and EU) have been brought up to speed.

Black Desert Leveling Guide for the Upcoming Russian version

Posted:

Black Desert Leveling Guide for the Upcoming Russian version


Soon the Russian version of Black Desert Online will be released and many people will start to play it, and of course you will try to level your character as fast as possible.

Flyff - WEBZEN brings Its English Server to Europe

Posted:

Flyff - WEBZEN brings Its English Server to Europe


WEBZEN has opened its free-to-play manga-style MMORPG, Flyff in Europe today. Download this MMO in its website now.

Blizzard's New Ambition in eSports - Overwatch

Posted:

Blizzard's New Ambition in eSports - Overwatch


Overwatch first appearance at BlizzCon 2014 just wowed every audience there.Overwatch shows Blizzard's big ambition in the area of FPS even in the area of eSports, but whether it can be accepted by those picky eSports audience and FPS fans, win a place in this market, it need to be tested.

Ukrainian MMORPG The Skies to Steam Greenlight Top 50 Today

Posted:

Ukrainian MMORPG The Skies to Steam Greenlight Top 50 Today


It took Ukrainian team Eforb Gamebox precisely 10 days to enter the top 100 best games on Steam Greenlight with their new MMORPG called The Skies. The game currently occupies the 73rd position. Earlier media reported about the launch of campaigns for The Skies on both Kickstarter and Steam Greenlight.

League of Legends champion Ao Shin is "On Hold"

Posted:

League of Legends champion Ao Shin is


It's been more than a year since images of the upcoming League of Legends champion Ao Shin were leaked and then confirmed as legitimate by Riot Games. Lead Champion Designer Andrei "Meddler" van Roon said at the time that the character, a storm dragon, was still "quite a way off," and that's apparently still the case.

DayBreak Online Trailer+Character Customization

Posted:

DayBreak Online Trailer+Character Customization


Think Dragon Nest with better graphics. I've been getting bombarded with games now. (Thx NetEase) So I'll do my best to get everything legit out to you. This one I'll need a little time to play up into levels. Let me know what you think so far. I do have one bad point for now. Almost NO character customization. I'm not sure if I can ignore complete disregard for character choices. Even if the game play is good.

Black Desert Will Kick off Open Beta in Korea Dec 17 with New Trailer Revealed

Posted:

Black Desert Will Kick off Open Beta in Korea Dec 17 with New Trailer Revealed


In a press meeting Black Desert has announced to kick off Open Beta in Korea in this Dec 17. New teaser trailer revealed new things in upcoming beta.

Angry Birds Seasons Updated with 25 New Wintry Levels

Posted:

Angry Birds Seasons Updated with 25 New Wintry Levels


Brrr. It's cold and wintry, and also the 1st of December. That means Christmas is not far away now. And to acknowledge that, Rovio has updated Angry Birds Seasons with new butt-freezing levels. It's called the "On Finn Ice" update as it takes place in Finland, which as we all know, is where Santa Claus resides.

Skyforge Week Review: New Class Berserker

Posted:

Skyforge Week Review: New Class Berserker


Last week, My.com debuted the trailer for the chainsword-wielding Berserker class and announced the start of their special Skyforge mini-game, Aelion's Treasure! Find out what else they revealed and stick around for this week's community fan-art!

TGC 2014 Hot Games Roundup: BnS, Moonlight Blade, MHO

Posted:

TGC 2014 Hot Games Roundup: BnS, Moonlight Blade, MHO


As a friend of mine told me about Tencent Games Carnival(TCG) this year has brought lots of amazing games to CN players. As a BnS and MoonlightBlade lover, I have to say, Tencent, you win! Cause im the one fond of nice graphic games. So here I'll make some round up for the games, just share your ideas with your loved ones!

MMOsite Morning Call: Weekly Cosplay Highlight [12.01]

Posted:

MMOsite Morning Call: Weekly Cosplay Highlight [12.01]


Morning, dear MMOsiters~ Here is your Weekly Cosplay Highlight show, and some of the cosplay works are quite amazing, including characters from Final Fantasy series, League of Legends, World of Warcraft, King of Fighters,Tokyo Ghoul, Street Fighter, etc. I hope this morning call will bring you a good beginning of the brand new week! And if you are cosplay lover, you can send your cosplay works to our email: community@mmosite.com, perhaps your work will be shown at our Morning Call next week :) Enjoy!

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