General Gaming Article |
- Droid RAZR Revealed Early
- Can You Build A 2560 x 1600 Gaming Rig Without Breaking the Bank? We Find Out!
- Accused LulzSec Hacker Pleads Not Guilty in Sony Case
- Record-Breaking File-Sharing Case Gets Underway in Sweden
- Chrome Web App of the Week: Flixster
- AVADirect Custom Gaming PC Review
- Gigabyte Force K3: A Water Resistant Keyboard for Sweaty Gamers
- AMD Expects Better Bulldozer Performance In Windows 8 PCs
- OEMs Consider Switching to Windows 8 Tablets to Avoid Price War with Kindle Fire
- Experimental "OmniTouch" Projector Turns Any Surface Into A Multi-Touch Interface
| Posted: 17 Oct 2011 02:10 PM PDT
This may be bad news to anyone that bought a Droid Bionic last month on Verizon. The Droid RAZR is expected to be announced tomorrow, and bring the RAZR branding roaring back with a slim design and 4G LTE on board. There's a new teaser site up ahead of tomorrow's event, and it leaves little to the imagination. There is a full-size press photo of the new device on the teaser page. Unlike the Bionic and other LTE devices, the Droid RAZR looks to be extremely thin, and has a stylish kevlar back plate. Previous rumors have pegged the device as having the same dual-core OMAP chip found in the Bionic. Essentially, this looks like a better version of a phone that Verizon just released a month ago. Sources at Verizon have been saying that the Bionic launch was so bungled, that Big Red eventually just released the device out of contractual obligation. The Droid RAZR and other device may soon overtake it. At the very least, we hope that a price drop is in the Bionic's future. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Can You Build A 2560 x 1600 Gaming Rig Without Breaking the Bank? We Find Out! Posted: 17 Oct 2011 01:58 PM PDT It's easy to build a gaming machine on a budget if you're playing at 1650x1080 or 1920x1200, but if you're rocking 2560x1600, you need a little more oomph
As Maximum PC senior editor Gordon Mah Ung puts it, building a budget gaming rig for a 30-inch panel is the metaphorical equivalent of slapping a Ferrari engine into a crappy Ford car. If you can afford a display that rings up north of $2,000, then why the heck are you trying to cut corners on the system you're connecting it to? I can't answer that one for you. But what I can tell you is exactly how you can go about getting the best frame rate for your buck without purchasing a PC that's more expensive than your mega-monitor. That's my task for this build-it: killer gaming performance without needless budgetary destruction. And as you might expect, picking the perfect graphics card for the mix is the biggest challenge of this build. So in the interest of fairness, I selected two videocard setups that I put to the test in this build: the best of Nvidia's dual-GPU monstrosities, and two high-end ATI cards in a CrossFire setup. Compared to what these cards can do, everything else on this PC is practically window dressing. Choosing the Right HardwareAs far as top-notch processors go, Intel's Sandy Bridge architecture is a no-brainer for my killer system build. I've opted for the 3.3GHz 2500K instead of its 2600K cousin because it's less expensive and is easy to overclock up to the 2600K's 3.4GHz, and I don't feel that the addition of Hyper-Threading is going to make that much of a difference to gaming frame rates. To keep the system speedy (and load times low), Intel's Z68 platform and its integrated Smart Response Technology allow me to use an SSD as an expanded read/write cache for a standard hard drive. What little benefit in speeds I'd see by jumping from a Western Digital Caviar Blue to a Caviar Black drive is eclipsed by the SSD cache's performance. And now for the elephant in the room: the videocards. The point of this system build is to present an affordable PC that can dish out top-notch gaming on a 30-inch panel. That's why I'm not just taking the easy route and slapping in two Nvidia GTX 590 cards or two ATI Radeon HD 6990 cards in a paired configuration and calling it a day (don't do the math; the cost of these cards hurts.)
As for my ultimate decision to go with two ATI Radeon HD 6970 cards in a CrossFire configuration instead of a single, dual-GPU Nvidia GTX 590, I'll let the benchmarks (see page 2)—and the price points—speak for themselves. Simply put, I found that I could achieve similar or even better performance (depending on the game) from a comparably priced CrossFire setup than with Nvidia's single-card solution. From benchmark tests of Batman: Arkham Asylum, to Dirt 3, to Metro 2033, to an ever-punishing trip through Crysis 2, my CrossFire setup consistently spanked Nvidia's GTX 590. Now, I realize that my selection flies in the face of the advice that Maximum PC has been giving you since videocards were invented—namely, that you should always purchase the fastest single-card solution you can get under the presumption that you'll later be able to bolster your setup with a wicked-fast SLI or CrossFire setup, if you so desire. But with the price of these extreme videocards shooting up into the $700 range, I think we can take that suggestion and throw it out the window. If you can afford $1,400 worth of videocards, you're reading the wrong article. For the best out-of-box solution that can make your games scream on a 30-inch display without breaking your bank account, you can't go wrong with dual ATI Radeon HD 6970s. Ingredients
Hardware HighlightsCOOLER MASTER STORM ENFORCER It's always a delight to attempt to pack huge videocards inside of a mid-tower case. Not! But that's the price I'm paying for sinking most of my budget into graphics. Cooler Master's Storm Enforcer case presents a tight squeeze for parts and cable management, but its slick looks, side-panel window, and support for two USB 3.0 ports on the front of the case make it an appealing package for a sub-$100 chassis. Most of the parts and pieces you can stuff inside the chassis are screwless additions, except for your screw-dependent PCI devices—an unexpected omission by Cooler Master.
See the gaping hole in what would otherwise be a nice column of drive bays? The beauty of the Cooler Master Storm Enforcer case is its modularity: You can remove some of the drive bays in the chassis to give yourself more room for cards, cables, and delicious airflow. Good thing, too—I had to remove the case's included 2.5-inch drive bays (originally attached between the 3.5-inch bays and the PSU mount), in order to get the power supply to fit. The next best solution is to attach the SSD to a 2.5-inch-to-3.5-inch converter kit, and then use the Cooler Master's included drive rails to attach the contraption into one of the remaining 3.5-inch drive bays.
What I gained in cost savings by picking Antec's reasonably priced power supply, I lost in modularity. There's no way to get rid of cables I otherwise don't need on this power supply, which is a bit of a let-down given the already cramped confines of the Cooler Master Storm Enforcer case and the two huge graphics cards I'm packing into the rig. But that's OK—I was able to stuff the PSU's extra cords behind the right side panel.
Since this is a budget build (of sorts), Gigabyte's Z68X-UD3H-B3 motherboard delivers an appealing mix of features and affordability. I love the diversity of connections Gigabyte throws into the mix: four USB ports, two USB 3.0 ports, eSATA, FireWire, and HDMI and DisplayPort for all those times you won't be using your discrete videocard. Three SATA 3Gb/s connections meet four SATA 6Gb/s on the motherboard itself, and Gigabyte makes sure to wire up its PCI connections in such a way that populating them all doesn't disable any other connections on the mobo itself—a big problem with other inexpensive Z68 motherboards I considered. One thing you should note: The Z68-UD3H-B3's SATA ports are color-coded to indicate which of the ports are which. The gray ports are 6Gb/s SATA, but they are on the integrated Marvell controller. The two white Intel chipset-based 6Gb/s SATA ports (hint: use these for best performance!) are next to the two black 3Gb/s ports. Careful—you can't mix-and-match RAIDs across controllers. INTEL'S SMART RESPONSE TECHNOLOGY Enabling Intel's Smart Response Technology is as easy as setting a single option within the system's BIOS, installing Windows onto a non-SSD hard drive, and flicking on SRT within a small Intel software utility. The Big PictureMy initial goal with this build was to get a $1,500 PC that could run Crysis 2 at maxed-out settings. So the cost is a little higher, and the frame rates are a little lower, but I'm confident that the PC I've fashioned best straddles the line between affordability and awesome gaming. And this is all without overclocking the system a single bit—I will leave the process of jacking up your CPU and GPU speeds to your capable hands. I just wanted to showcase the kind of out-of-the-box performance you can expect from such a rig. Gaming-wise, you aren't going to get much better than an ATI Radeon 6970 CrossFire setup unless you jump into the realm of tri-card packages or dual-GPU CrossFireX/quad-SLI configurations, and those don't really bring the word "budget" to mind (which is also why I opted not to pack two Nvidia GTX 580 cards into this rig). While you might scoff at my decision to spend half this rig's cost on its graphics, I think the benchmarks speak for themselves. It's no small feat to max out the resolution and quality of the games I've picked, and my system delivered excellent frame rates on what I'd otherwise consider unthinkable playing situations.
Why's that? It's simple: I ran benchmarks that cranked antialiasing as high as it would possibly go on each game, a practice that's all but unnecessary when you're playing at a 2560x1600 resolution. You just aren't going to need to maximize the visual-smoothing feature during common gaming. And as soon as you've turned that setting down a bit, boom—time to enjoy Crysis 2 in its raw, speedy glory. Wave goodbye to the 40 frames per second as reported by our maxed-out benchmark settings (including DirectX 11 and the high-resolution texture pack add-on; I'm not kidding when I say I tried to melt faces with this game). Since every Build It invariably generates its share of "I could do that for cheaper" comments, here are some of the downgrades I'd consider if I really wanted to stick to a $1,500 price point. First off, there's the case: You can always find a cheaper (albeit lamer) case, but it's going to be a journey worthy of Indiana Jones to find an inexpensive one with USB 3.0 support that doesn't stink. I might also drop down to ATI Radeon 6950 cards sprinkled with an overclock or a third-party firmware update that unlocks the cards' shaders. If worse comes to worst, I could always drop the SSD and SRT. But that's not very Maximum PC now, is it? Especially when all you're left with is a fairly average, non-eye-popping hard drive. For a tad over $1,500, you now have a system that's capable of rocking out on a monitor that costs just as much, if not more, than the system itself. God speed, gamer. Benchmarks (fps)
Best scores are bolded. All benchmarks run at maximum/ultra-quality mode across both setups, DirectX 11 mode used when appropriate. Crysis 2 benchmarks incorporate DirectX 11 patch and high-resolution texture patch. All benchmarks run four times, with frame rates recorded for second, third, and fourth runs. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accused LulzSec Hacker Pleads Not Guilty in Sony Case Posted: 17 Oct 2011 01:57 PM PDT
The prosecution claims that Kretsinger assisted in the attack, as well as posting personal information to the group's Twitter account. "From a single injection we accessed EVERYTHING," LulzSec said at the time. There have been accusations that some of the same individuals may have been involved with the PlayStation Network hack as well, but this case relates only the the smaller Sony Pictures hack. If found guilty, Kretsinger could face up to 15 years in prison. None of the other members of LulzSec, or Anonymous (which LulzSec is reportedly associated with) have been charged in this particular attack. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Record-Breaking File-Sharing Case Gets Underway in Sweden Posted: 17 Oct 2011 01:43 PM PDT
Interestingly, this case does not revolve around torrents, as most now do. Rather, the accused infringement occurred in 2007, when the defendant is alleged to have used a Direct Connect (DC) client to connect to a sharing hub. As the case began, the woman admitted that she had downloaded some tracks in the past, and the defence didn't even really object to the 45,000 track number, which seems like an error in judgement. The prosecutino may only have proof of 50 or so infringements, but log files from a search of the woman's PC could be enough to get to that 45,000 number. The case will likely hinge on whether or not the woman knew that the tracks were being shared. TorrentFreak suggests that given the advanced age of the judges, the outlook is not good. A verdict is expected in two weeks. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chrome Web App of the Week: Flixster Posted: 17 Oct 2011 12:41 PM PDT
Flixster allows users to browse and preview thousands of movies ranging from well-known favorites to obscure cult classics and everything in between. By offering users access to Rotten Tomatoes' review system, Flixster makes it easy to gauge whether that flick you've been thinking about taking in is worth seeing or not. Flixter provides a wealth of onscreen information for each movie it features, giving users access to information about the film's cast, director and in most cases, the movie's theatrical trailer.
If you like what you see, just click on the showtimes button to find out where a movie is playing in your area, and when it comes to older films, Flixster even offers the option to purchase DVDs online and have them delivered to your front door. Be sure to check back every Monday for another edition of Maximum PC's Chrome Web App of the Week.
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| AVADirect Custom Gaming PC Review Posted: 17 Oct 2011 11:49 AM PDT AVA finds a way to mix performance and silenceIn our world, performance and silence go together about as well as Aliens and Predators. Each one has its appeal, but put them together, and you generally get a turd. That's a fact AVADirect has set out to disprove with a PC apparently named by U.S. Army logistics command: Custom Gaming PC, Silent PC, Low-Noise Custom Computer System. Despite its funktastic name, the AVADirect PC doesn't disappoint and seems capable of creating its own alternate reality where performance commingles harmoniously with peace and quiet. Sure, Puget System's virtually silent Serenity Mini that we reviewed in our August issue was certainly fast with its 3.3GHz Core i5-2500K overclocked to 4.5GHz, but its Radeon HD 5750 didn't have the ponies for heavy gaming tasks at high resolutions.
AVADirect took gaming to heart with its silent PC. Besides overclocking its 3.3GHz Core i5-2500K to 4.7GHz using a Prolimatech Megahalems cooler, AVADirect matches that chip with Asus's three-slot ENGTX580 card. With its beefy build and giant fans, the yuge ENGTX580 is generally intended for overclocking, but if you don't overclock, you can run the card quietly. So damn quiet, in fact, that the fans on the ENGTX580 don't spool up to any noticeable level. There's something cool about running tri-SLI or quad-SLI, but it's also pretty cool—nay, way cool—to run the Unigine Heaven benchmark at 2560x1600 and not hear the GPU make a peep. We're so used to noise, either very loud or low-level system noise, during gaming tests that the AVADirect's silence is a bit unnerving, in the way hybrid cars can sneak up on you at the crosswalk. The rest of the machine's specs are laid bare in our spec chart, but the highlights include an Asus P8Z68-V Pro board, 8GB of G.Skill DDR3/1600, a 120GB OCZ Vertex 3, and a 2TB WD Caviar Green. The Caviar Green is already silent, but to make sure you can't hear the HDD at all, AVADirect seals it up in an enclosure for extra measure. The NZXT H2 itself is an interesting take on the standard bearer of quiet cases: Antec's P180 series. One thing we like is the three-position fan controller that lets you toggle the speeds without having to reach in back. The NZXT case doesn't have the fancy baffles of the P180, but it will take a full-size ATX board while still being almost as small as the microATX Mini P180 case. In performance, the AVADirect doesn't break any records; in fact, many of the small form factor boxes we reviewed in August (including AVADirect's shriektastic entry) are faster. But none of them are as quiet, either. And a Core i5-2500K at 4.7GHz with a GTX 580 is certainly no slouch, no matter how you cut it. OK, so the AVADirect won't take any records, but it wins in the one area the company was shooting for. So brew yourself a cup of organic herbal tea, burn some incense, and start grenade spamming and sniping away in blissful serenity. $2,135, www.avadirect.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gigabyte Force K3: A Water Resistant Keyboard for Sweaty Gamers Posted: 17 Oct 2011 11:23 AM PDT
This isn't a rugged keyboard by any stretch, but it does boast an enhanced four-layer frame structure with an extra chassis in the middle. This allows the single rubber sheet to be firmly attached to the bottom of the keyboard and gives the plank a bit of drop resistance. It's also shock resistant, meaning it's not supposed to move around on your desk as your adrenaline causes you to press keys with a little more force than you normally would. The thing weighs 900g, Gigabyte says. Adding to its durability, the keys are also water resistant to protect against spilled drinks. Gigabyte promises a "good bargain!," but has yet to announce a price or release date. Image Credit: Gigabyte | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AMD Expects Better Bulldozer Performance In Windows 8 PCs Posted: 17 Oct 2011 11:03 AM PDT Reviewers – including us – got their grubby little hands on AMD's long-awaited "Bulldozer" 8-core FX -8150 chip a week ago, and while there is plenty to like with the processor, a lot of folks were expecting, well, a bit more. Benchmark tests showed performance similar to Intel's Core i5-2500k pretty much across the board. But wait! AMD expects more efficient multi-core CPUs to work more efficiently with Windows 8 than they do with Windows 7. But will the new OS make that much of a difference?
Xbit Labs points out a screenshot that it says AMD has pushed out recently; in it, the frame rates of a number of popular games as played on a Bulldozer-packing PC are displayed. As you can see, they do run a bit more smoothly on the Windows 8 Developer Preview than they do on Windows 7 (assuming, of course, that the numbers are accurate). It isn't much of a jump, though. Most games show fps improvements under 5 percent. At the bottom, the newer Deus Ex: Human Revolution only runs 2 percent faster, while at the top, the older Left 4 Dead 2 runs around 10 percent faster, which translates to about 14 extra frames per second. Unfortunately, we have no idea what kind of configuration was used to test the games. Do you think Windows 8 will boost Bulldozer to bigger, better, Sandy Bridge-busting heights? Image credit: Xbit Labs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OEMs Consider Switching to Windows 8 Tablets to Avoid Price War with Kindle Fire Posted: 17 Oct 2011 10:54 AM PDT
News and rumor site DigiTimes says Hewlett Packard and Dell are two of several PC vendors planning to invest more heavily in Windows 8 tablets rather than try to compete with low cost Android slates. For this strategy to work, OEMs will try to target business users, somewhat similar to what Research In Motion tried to do with its BlackBerry tablet. Those who are sticking with Android are finding they have no choice but to cut prices. Motorola, for example, recently announced a special Family Edition version of its Xoom tablet for $379 at Best Buy. It's the same as a regular Xoom, but with a collection of pre-loaded software. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Experimental "OmniTouch" Projector Turns Any Surface Into A Multi-Touch Interface Posted: 17 Oct 2011 10:23 AM PDT
The project is only in the research, proof-of-concept phase, TechCrunch reports, so don't expect to waltz into a Best Buy and pick up an OmniTouch any time soon. The shoulder-mounted rig includes a pico projector and a 3D scanner to pick up your movements, and it is capable of detecting whether users' fingers are actually clicking or touching the projected interface or simply hovering over the surface. Not too shabby. CMU and Microsoft say the technology doesn't require any special training, expertise, or calibration – it's basically fire it up and get to work! OmniTouch has already passed tests that show it's capable of pinpoint crosshair accuracy and drawing on a number of surfaces ranging from hands to books to walls. TechCrunch has an awesome video of the tech up on their site – go check it out! |
ANTEC HCG-750 PSU
GIGABYTE Z68X-UD3H-B3
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