General Gaming Article |
- No BS Podcast 239: Skylake, Windows 10, and Jarred's Intro
- Newegg Daily Deal: Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSD, LG 23-Inch Monitor, and More!
- Windows 10 May Punt You From Playing Pirated Games
- Dell and Google See Market for Premium Chromebook 13
- Samsung Renders Your SSD Puny with 16TB Model
- Apple Boot Camp 6 Now Supports Windows 10
- TP-Link Unleashes Mega Fast Tri-band Router
- EKWB Reveals Its First AIO Liquid Cooler
- Build It: Little PC on the Prairie
| No BS Podcast 239: Skylake, Windows 10, and Jarred's Intro Posted: 14 Aug 2015 04:28 PM PDT After a long hiatus, the crew comes back with a bunch of hot topicsYes, we know we've been gone for a while, but we're back with a vengeance, baby. On episode 239 of the No BS Podcast, we introduce Maximum PC's new Senior Editor Jarred Walton and tackle a number of hot topics that include Windows 10, Skylake/Broadwell, SSD issues, and more. Of course, we also make some time at the end to answer some of your reader questions as well! Subscribe to the magazine for only 99 cents an issue:IN PRINTON ZINIOON GOOGLE PLAYON ITUNESON THE AMAZON KINDLE STOREON THE BARNES & NOBLE NOOK STOREStalk us in a number of ways:Become a fan on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Subscribe to us on Youtube Subscribe to our RSS feed Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes email us at: maximumpcpodcast AT gmail DOT com Leave us a voicemail at 877-404-1337 x1337 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Newegg Daily Deal: Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSD, LG 23-Inch Monitor, and More! Posted: 14 Aug 2015 11:23 AM PDT Top Deal: Oh sure, we'd love to own one of Samsung's newly unveiled 16TB solid state drives. And while we're filling out a wish list, we'll take an island and a treasure chest full of gold, too. Yes, it's nice to dream, lest you want to spend an actual treasure chest full of gold, a 16TB SSD will have to wait. If you're looking for a less expensive option, check out today's top deal for a Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSD for $210 with free shipping (normally $240 - use coupon code: [EMCAWKR25]). Armed with 3D V-NAND flash memory, this drive boasts sequential read and write performance of up to 550MB/s and 520MB/s, respectively. Other Deals: Asus VN248H-P 23.8-inch 5ms Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor for $150 with free shipping (normally $170 - use coupon code: [EMCAWKR24]; additional $20 Mail-in rebate) Samsung P3 1TB USB 3.0 2.5-inch Portable External Hard Drive for $50 with free shipping (normally $55 - use coupon code: [EMCAWKR26]) Crucial MX200 2.5-inch 1TB SATA 6Gbps (SATA III) Micron 16nm MLC NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) for $350 with free shipping (normally $365 - use coupon code: [EMCAWKR37]) LG 23MP47HQ Black 23-inch 5ms IPS LCD Monitor for $120 with free shipping (normally $150 - use coupon code: [EMCAWKR54]) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Windows 10 May Punt You From Playing Pirated Games Posted: 14 Aug 2015 11:00 AM PDT Respect Windows 10's authoritah! Have you read through the End User License Agreement (EULA) for Windows 10? If not, you might be in for a surprise if Microsoft decides to follow through terms outlined in Section 7b, which warns that Windows 10 can automatically check for and block access to illegal software, including counterfeit games, and unauthorized hardware. Have a look: Sometimes you'll need software updates to keep using the Services. We may automatically check your version of the software and download software updates or configuration changes, including those that prevent you from accessing the Services, playing counterfeit games, or using unauthorized hardware peripheral devices. You may also be required to update the software to continue using the Services. Such updates are subject to these Terms unless other terms accompany the updates, in which case, those other terms apply. Microsoft isn't obligated to make any updates available and we don't guarantee that we will support the version of the system for which you licensed the software. These terms don't just apply to Windows 10, they also cover other Microsoft services and software, such as Skype, Office 365, Xbox Live, and several more. As pointed out by Alphr, which first noticed the above section in the updated EULA, the wording is not entirely clear. Obviously Microsoft is taking a stand against software piracy, and specifically games (it's not known how Windows 10 might handle cracked versions of programs like Photoshop), but the bit about "unauthorized hardware peripheral devices" is wide open. It could refer to modified or third-party Xbox One controllers, as well several other possibilities. What happens if Windows 10 detects a peripheral it doesn't want you using? That's not clear, either. Maybe a warning sign pops up, or perhaps it can be blocked like illegal software. There are a lot of "what ifs" here, and if/when we receive clarification from Microsoft, we'll provide an update. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dell and Google See Market for Premium Chromebook 13 Posted: 14 Aug 2015 09:08 AM PDT Not your average Chromebook Chromebooks are most popular in the education segment. That's because they're cheap, connected devices that haven't really drawn the attention of malware makers, and they're fairly capable if you're willing to dive into Google's ecosystem. For around $150, these machines allow students to hop on the web, research topics, hammer out book reports and other homework, and so forth. Or you could spend $399 (or more) on Dell's forthcoming Chromebook 13, a "premium professional" Chromebook designed in collaboration with Google. Dell and Google are reaching for a different audience with this "business-class" Chromebook, though it remains to be seen if business users and professionals in general have any interest in Chrome OS. What the Chromebook 13 offers is a 13.3-inch Full HD 1080p IPS display, up to 5th generation Core i5 processor options, up to 8GB of memory, a 720p HD webcam with dual array microphones, and a backlit keyboard wrapped in a premium chassis constructed of a carbon fiber weave cover and an aluminum base. There's also a magnesium alloy palm wrest. Outside of a premium collection of hardware, there are some business friendly features, such as Dell KACE (inventory management and service desk support), SonicWALL Mobile Connect (a VPN application), Wyse vWorkspace (desktop virtualization software), and so on. "Our latest Chromebook offering is designed for the mobile professional, and provides customers with an unrivaled Chrome experience which mixes the cost and simplicity benefits of Google's chrome portfolio with Dell's commitment to design," said Kirk Schell, vice president and general manager, commercial client solutions, Dell. "Not only does the solution offer customers a superior mobile working experience, but with the availability of Dell's leading security, management and ProSupport Plus service, it is also easy to integrate into wider device ecosystems." The Chromebook 13 will start at $399 for a Celeron-based configuration and will be available beginning September 17. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Samsung Renders Your SSD Puny with 16TB Model Posted: 14 Aug 2015 08:31 AM PDT Raising the storage ceiling I didn't attend the 2015 Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, California, but in my head, Samsung trotted out to the show floor and announced to attendees, "Ladies and gentlemen, we present you the PM1633a, a 16 terabyte solid state drive in a 2.5-inch form factor." What I imagine happened next is that the representative who announced the drive turned the mic sideways, dropped it, and walked away. I'm sure it didn't go down that way, though Samsung would have been justified in taking that approach. After all, the PM1633a is the world's highest capacity drive of any kind, not just in the realm of SSDs. Suddenly my 960GB SSD array feels pedestrian by comparison. According to Golem.de, the drive actually boasts 15.36TB of storage, which Samsung elected to round up to 16TB. Whatever, it's still the most capacious single drive around. Getting to that capacity in a single 2.5-inch drive was made possible by using Samsung's new 256Gbit TLC flash memory. This is the third generation of 3D V-NAND and it consists of 48 layers of 3-bits per cell on a single die. Not only is this more capacious than solutions based on second generation V-NAND consisting of 32 layers of 3-bits per cell, but according to Samsung, it sports improved read and write performance, along with better power efficiency. As for the price? Samsung didn't say, though I suspect it's in the neighborhood of an arm and a leg. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Apple Boot Camp 6 Now Supports Windows 10 Posted: 14 Aug 2015 01:09 AM PDT There's an Apple support page revealing that Boot Camp 6 for Mac is compatible with Windows 10. What's that mean to you? The ability to use Microsoft's new platform on a supported OS X "Yosemite" Mac machine. Unfortunately, Boot Camp only supports the 64-bit version of Windows 10. According to the Support page, Boot Camp users can install Windows 10 in two ways: perform a new install or perform an upgrade install. Both will require the Windows 10 ISO provided by Microsoft, which can be used to create a DVD or a bootable USB flash drive. Microsoft's ISO can be downloaded here. A list of features that Windows 10 will support include USB 3.0, USB-C, Thunderbolt, an Apple keyboard, trackpad, and mouse, Apple SuperDrive (USB or built-in), and built-in SD and SDXC card slots. A list of compatible Mac products can be found here, which include models in the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and iMac families. "You can install Windows 10 on an internal drive in your Mac," Apple states. "Boot Camp Assistant helps you create a partition on your drive that's compatible with Windows. When you install Windows on a Mac that includes a Fusion Drive, the Windows partition is created on the mechanical hard drive part of the Fusion Drive (not the SSD)." Apple customers wanting to install Windows 10 need to make sure they have the latest version of OS X and Boot Camp Assistant. The Mac firmware also must be up-to-date in order to play host to Microsoft's operating system. Microsoft launched Windows 10 two weeks ago and the customer reaction seems to be highly positive. Not only does the new platform bring back the Start Menu, but adds great features to the Windows "service" such as Cortana, DirectX 12, the Edge browser, and more. Windows 10 is currently a free upgrade for customers running Windows 7 SP! And Windows 8.1. Apple says that once customers install Windows 10, they can install iTunes for Windows to listen to their music and watch their videos. However, first customers need to make sure that the Windows 10 platform is authorized to play those files. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TP-Link Unleashes Mega Fast Tri-band Router Posted: 14 Aug 2015 12:55 AM PDT TP-Link launched on Thursday a great networking solution that's ideal for small businesses and homes that are pushing 4K video streaming to multiple devices. Called the Archer C3200, this router provides three Wi-Fi bands instead of two, coughing up a combined speed of 3.2 Gbps. The new Archer C3200 features one 2.4 GHz band providing speeds of up to 600 Mbps and two 5 GHz bands promising speeds of up to 1300 Mbps apiece. These bands are backed by six high-performance antennas, a 1 GHz dual-core CPU, and three co-processors. Other notable features include beamforming and Smart Connect, the latter of which will assign a device to one of the bands that cranks out the best possible connection. So why provide three bands? Because two aren't enough, especially if a household streams a lot of content, such as Hulu Plus and Netflix. Or take the new Xbox One / Windows 10 connectivity as an example, which likely consumes a lot of bandwidth. Customers surfing the Internet could do so on the 2.4 GHz band while the Xbox One connects to one of the 5 GHz bands and the Netflix consumer streams video on the other 5 GHz band. "Archer C3200 Wireless Tri-Band Gigabit Routers greatly increases the Wi-Fi coverage throughout a large home," the company says. "The routers utilize beamforming technology in order to easily locate wireless devices and form stronger, more reliable connections." In addition to performance, the new TP-Link router provides one gigabit WAN port for the incoming Internet, four gigabit LAN ports for wired devices like desktops, consoles, and HDTVs, a USB 2.0 port, and a USB 3.0 port. The latter USB 3.0 port could be used for sharing files across the network while the slower USB 2.0 port could be used for sharing a printer. Naturally to get those high speeds on the 5 GHz band, customers will need a device with built-in Wireless AC technology, or a Wireless AC adapter. For instance, the Archer T9E PCI Express adapter will provide 5 GHz speeds of up to 1300 Mbps and 2.4 GHz speeds of up to 600 Mbps. For a cheaper price, consumers should also consider the Archer T8E, which provides 5 GHz speeds of up to 1300 Mbps and speeds of up to 450 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band. Unfortunately, TP-Link's new router doesn't come cheap, setting customers back $259.99. Customers can purchase the router today from TP-Link and Fry's, and from additional online and brick-and-mortar retailers soon. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| EKWB Reveals Its First AIO Liquid Cooler Posted: 14 Aug 2015 12:53 AM PDT Slovenia-based EK Water Blocks has unveiled a new line of all-in-one liquid cooling solutions, the EK-Predator family. The company says that these new products are "the next big thing" that will shake things up in the liquid cooling market. That's probably because they are geared for the mainstream market but use enthusiast-based components, providing a lot of bang for the buck. According to the company, the EK-Predator units include EK-Vardar high static pressure fans and PWM controls. Arriving in 240mm and 360mm sizes, the units are also pre-filled and pre-assembled. Other ingredients include 10/16 mm Zero Maintenance rubber tubing (EK-ZMT), G1/4 threaded ports, and integrated Quick Disconnects (QDC), the latter of which allows the builder to expand the liquid cooling system without having to drain the reservoir. Some of the highlights the company provided on Thursday include the Vardar fans that were developed specifically for water cooling. There's also an integrated fan splitter hub, and a 6W liquid cooling "DDC" pump providing up to a 3x higher flow rate than competing models. Specially designed radiator dampeners eliminates the transfer of pump vibrations, providing noise-free and vibration-free operation. "Supremacy MX CPU water block, top performer in Enthusiast segment, is specifically designed for Intel CPUs and offers great hydraulic and thermal performance," the company says. "Carefully machined copper base is made from purest copper available and is further polished to absolute mirror finish. This alone greatly improves the cooling performance of the block." As for the actual dimensions, which include the integrated pump and reservoir, the smaller Predator 240 measures 295mm x 133mm x 68mm while the larger Predator 360 measures 415mm x 133mm x 68mm. The company says the smaller offering will fit most "modern" computer cases. The larger model, however, will be compatible with a number of cases that EK Water Blocks will reveal at a later date. Unfortunately, AMD customers won't get their hands on these new liquid cooling solutions until 2016. Right now the company is focusing on Intel CPU sockets, which includes the EK-Predator 240 that launches on September 23 ($199) and the EK-Predator 360 on October 19 ($239). Customers interested in purchasing these liquid cooling solutions can pre-order them now from the company starting August 23. Those who pre-order will receive free Express Worldwide shipping. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Build It: Little PC on the Prairie Posted: 14 Aug 2015 12:00 AM PDT This article was published in the August 2015 issue of Maximum PC. For more trusted reviews and feature stories, subscribe here. An ultra-budget gaming PC for the shallowest of pocketsLength of Time: 1-3 Hours | Level of Difficulty: Medium The MissionOne letter came in from retired army sergeant first class Harley Roam, who wrote in from Texas. (Texas?! Only steers and… ahem... came from Texas. Right, Sergeant Cowboy?) Harley expressed that he's not one with deep pockets. Our typical builds tend to be in the $800 range or more, but Harley was wondering if we could build a PC for $300 to $500. Challenge accepted, we thought. Couldn't be all that hard, now, could it? So, we set out scouring the web for parts on behalf of Harley. We found out that you can indeed build a PC that's sluggish and cheap, but we don't want that for Harley. We wanted to make sure he could actually play games on his rig. We also wanted to build a system that would have room for upgrades that aren't too expensive. The build we ended up with was just shy of $600, so we came out close-ish to our goal. We did the best we could to make sure Harley could build a good rig for as little scratch as we could bear. After all, we've all been in a spot where we weren't exactly flush with cash. So, pay attention, Harley, this build's for you! Rally the TroopsSetting a budget of $500 puts severe restrictions on our choices of hardware, and ultimately, we weren't able to make it. There are some things we just weren't willing to compromise, namely 1080p gaming with at least 30fps with settings cranked up. This led us to pick the GeForce GTX 960 for the GPU. We went with an Asus STRIX because we found it for about $200. While that's a big chunk of budget, it will give a solid gaming experience in many games you're likely to encounter. Going with team green also means you'll have a better experience in Linux gaming, should you choose to go with the free OS. After all, including Windows 8 in a build means saying bye-bye to a Benjamin. If you're building an ultra-budget machine, it's unlikely you have too many of them to spare. For a processor, we went with an AMD FX-6300, which was $100. Between the GPU and CPU, we thought this would give Harvey a good base to build upon. We dropped the CPU and GPU onto a Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P, which was about $60. We also dropped the idea of having an SSD or optical drive. The power supply is a little beefier than our needs called for, but we wanted to make sure the system could take an upgrade or two without hitting the upper limit of the PSU. The Enermax case we put everything into was surprisingly roomy for the build, and gave enough options for cable management and upgrades that meant we weren't left wanting.
1. Using Less Texas TeaCorsair's CX500 isn't as sexy as its modular siblings, but it gets the job done for a reasonable price. Normally, a non-modular power supply means a rat's nest of unused cables. We kept things tidy with the help of the case's beveled side panel behind the mobo. A few zip and twisty ties kept the unused power cables out of the way. The CX500's meager (to us) output means it's small compared with the 1KW monsters you'll find in bigger systems. That's acceptable because our CPU and GPU aren't super demanding. The PSU is 80 Plus Bronze certified, which is a bare minimum when it comes to efficiency. If you do eventually upgrade to a bigger PSU, we prefer modular units to help keep things neat. Power cables are the largest cables in the case, and more of them makes maintaining good airflow and closing the right side panel a pain. 2. Take It at a Mosey PlaceNothing fancy to see here, folks—move along, move along. Our limited budget prohibited us from going crazy on cooling, so the stock heatsink and fan had to suffice. It wasn't so bad though; the FX-6300 stayed fairly cool with the stock parts. Even under load, it didn't feel like the processor was heating up the room. We didn't plan on overclocking the CPU, so excessive cooling wasn't warranted here. Using the stock heatsink and fan also saves you a bit of build time. Of course, should you want to OC, we'd recommend grabbing an aftermarket cooler. For air cooling, Cooler Master's Hyper 212 Evo is only $35. 3. A Simple Kind of MoboGigabyte's 970A-DS3P is a $65 motherboard that has all the basics you need. That said, our choice of mobo was a compromise due to our budget constraints. One thing we noticed about this particular board is that the right side didn't extend all the way to the forward column of brass standoffs. This meant that plugging in the ATX power connector was a little more hairy, as the board flexed a bit under the pressure. That was easily overcome by pushing the underside of the board with the other hand, though. Still, it was a bit of a gotcha you should keep in mind if you go with this board. The motherboard is one of the parts that we consider "good enough for now," knowing that a user would probably want to upgrade it in the future. It's got all the basics, USB 3.0, and other standards like onboard FakeRAID. You can find good AMD 970 chipset boards for around $100, and 990 boards for a little more. 4. Take It EasyOne great thing about going with a stock heatsink and fan is that memory is a breeze to install. Click-click, bam! Done! For this build, we went with 1,866MHz G.Skill Ripjaws, which the motherboard took without need to overclock. We had to set the memory speed in the BIOS, but that's a relatively painless process. Eight gigabytes of memory is plenty for this build. Again, we weren't trying to go crazy. To stay within the ultrabudget range, we don't recommend going much higher in capacity or frequency. The G.Skill Ripjaws aren't the cheapest DIMMs you can find, but they are relatively inexpensive, have decent timings, and will serve you well even if the CPU, motherboard, or other components are upgraded. While 1,600MHz memory is slightly cheaper, the 970 chipset and CPU support 1,866MHz without overclocking, so we figured: why not? If you have to squeeze every penny though, 1,600MHz memory is just dandy. 5. The Lone Hard DriveThis is a budget bill, so we had to omit use of an SSD in favor of a single spinning drive. The 1TB Seagate Barracuda looks kind of lonely all by itself, but that also means the drive will have plenty of room to dissipate any heat. Building systems with spinning hard drives as the system drive is a bit antiquated. Compared with SSDs, waiting on big file transfers feels like going back to the stone ages. Unfortunately—or fortunately, depending on how you look at it—prices for spinning hard drives don't scale at the same rate capacity does. Where a 500GB SSD might cost the same as two 250GB models, a 1TB HDD is usually less expensive than two 500GB units. That price difference precluded us from using RAID as a strategy to obtain higher transfer rates. For that reason, we recommend upgrading to an SSD as soon as there's spare money to burn. 6. See the SightsThe videocard we chose is modest by many counts. Nevertheless, the GTX 960 can still produce playable frame rates at 1080p for a wide array of games. Don't think you'll be playing Grand Theft Auto V maxed out, but you can still get good-looking visuals for a pretty reasonable $200. The Asus STRIX implementation of the GTX 960 is quite the compact card. The STRIX's size would pay off a lot more in a smaller, tighter system like an HTPC. But in the Enermax case, the card has plenty of room, making for a simple installation and power connection. The card is also inexpensive enough that buying another one down the road and using the two in SLI is a perfectly viable upgrade. You'll have an easy time getting the card to work in Linux, as Nvidia's proprietary drivers are still the best performers on the open-source OS. So you'll be able to play BioShock: Infinite on Linux, should you go the way of the penguin. 1. It's rare that we leave a CPU with nothing more than a stock heatsink and fan, but we can get away with it since we're not overclocking. Wide-Open Spaces with Room to GrowLow-balling on price isn't something we normally do here. We love our big $100 cases and $300 CPUs, but we get it that not everyone can afford to build in the $1,500 range. At the same time, if we're going to compromise in the name of budget, there are some things we just aren't willing to skimp on. Even with a relatively modest $100 CPU, gaming relies heavily on GPU performance. Investing that $200 in a GPU will pay off in the long run, as other components are upgraded. Building PCs is more than just performance, it's a hobby and passion for us. If money is tight, it's sometimes better to get a modest base and improve it all the time. That will make a story out of the continual work. Just as a project car can go from rust-bucket to show material, a computer can go from a budget build to a face-melting machine that bends space-time given enough time, blood, sweat, tears, and disposable income. We wanted to create a solid base to build on. The case offers plenty of opportunities for expansion, and the GPU and CPU combo will get the system started in the right direction. While the build drags its ass for a number of reasons—namely, the modest CPU and a spinning hard drive for the OS—the six cores of the FX-6300 combine to get work done in multithreaded applications. Also, you should be able to play quite a few games at 1080p at modest settings with the GTX 960. Transforming this build from modest to mighty can take any number of approaches with incremental improvements. An SSD will level-up your data-transfer speeds significantly, and is the best way to enhance the build. The boost in storage speed should be followed by a more robust motherboard with features like M.2 support. A mobo upgrade will present the choice to stay with the AM3+ socket or to switch over to an Intel board. If you choose to stay with AM3+ and go with a better AMD CPU or overclock the FX-6300, investing in a closed-loop water cooler is ideal. Packing in more case fans will make life easier for overclockers, as well. With this case, there's plenty of room for a small cooler and extra fans. Going with Intel will cost you some extra coin, but will allow for a less aggressive cooling solution. We enjoyed this challenge, even if we couldn't quite get it down to $500. Sorry about that, Harley, but we wanted to make sure you'd have a better base machine for gaming and video. Prices do fluctuate, and we saw a few rebates that brought the build down by $40–$50. By the time you read this, maybe you'll be lucky enough to take advantage of a couple of deals and get started. Happy trails!
Our current zero-point consists of a hexa-core 3.2GHz Core i7-3930K (turbo 3.8GHz), 16GB of Corsair DDR3/1600, on an Asus Sabertooth X79 motherboard. We are running a GeForce GTX 690, an OCZ Vertex 3 SSD, and 64-bit Windows 7 Professional. |
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