General Gaming Article

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• Old School Monday: Deschutes - Welcome to Speed Country
• April 2011: The Cheapskate's Guide to Power Computing
• Spotify to Be Invite-Only in the US
• Chrome Web App of the Week: 20 Things I Learned About Browsers & The Web
• Alienware Offering Bigfoot Wireless-N Adapters In Gaming Laptops
• China Shows Off New Petaflop-Pumping Supercomputer
• Dream Machine 2011: How We Created the Best PC Ever
• Researcher Claims Web Surfers Are Suckers For Pretty Websites
• Department of Homeland Security Warns of Imported Electronics Being Spiked with Spyware
• Firefox 6 Reaches Beta Stage, Now Available for Download

Old School Monday: Deschutes - Welcome to Speed Country Posted: 11 Jul 2011 03:20 PM PDT It may seem quaint viewed from our world of tomorrow, but back in 1998, people got legitimately hot and bothered by Intel's move to an amazing—wait for it— .25 micron process in the second-gen new Pentium II. For those too used to our Nanometer ways, the original Deschutes .25 micron processor would be 250 nanometers. Besides the move to 250 nanometers,  Deschutes also ushered in the 100MHz front side bus for the Pentium II ( although the 100MHz FSB didn't make it for this story.) The reign of the Pentium II should be remembered for Pax Intel— a time when its chips would bring fear into its competitors who were still trying to make AGP work with Socket 7.

April 2011: The Cheapskate's Guide to Power Computing Posted: 11 Jul 2011 02:59 PM PDT In the PDF archive of the April 2011 issue you can find: The Cheapskate's Guide to Power Computing High-Performance Keyboard Roundup Gaming Awards Deathmatch: UEFI vs. BIOS Ask the Doctor Best of the Best 6 Technologies to Stay, 6 Technologies to Scrap And a whole lot more! Click the cover image on the right to download the PDF archive today!

Spotify to Be Invite-Only in the US Posted: 11 Jul 2011 02:23 PM PDT Yet more news on the impending Spotify US launch has surfaced today. This time we're hearing that the popular music streaming service will  be launching soon, possibly even this week, but it will be invite-only to allow the service to scale. Those with preview accounts will have invites to send out, and access will expand from there. Spotify just finished off a $100 million round of financing in preparation for the US launch. So far licensing deals with UMG, EMI and Sony have been finalized. A deal with Warner Music is still in the works, though. Even those lucky few who get invites early may not see all the tracks they want. It's still unclear how this possible invite-only service could work out if Spotify is integrated with Facebook, as previously rumored. How do you think the Spotify launch will go?

Chrome Web App of the Week: 20 Things I Learned About Browsers & The Web Posted: 11 Jul 2011 11:39 AM PDT There's no shame in not understanding how a computer does what it does. Then again, folks shouldn't feel too good about it either. As desktops, tablets, and laptops become more and more complex, it's not always easy to understand exactly what does what under the hood. The same goes for the internet: Cookies? Malware? Phishing? While the comprehension of topics like these might be second nature to many Maximum PC readers, the same can't always be said for our partners, acquaintances, or family. The next time one of your technologically-impaired inner circle asks you a question about the internet or online security, consider directing them 20 Things I Learned About Browsers & The Web, our Chrome Web App of the Week. Developed by Google and designed to read like a story book, 20 Things I Learned About Browsers & The Web explains a wide variety of internet and browser-related topics in plain English, making concepts such as HTML, online identities and cloud computing less intimidating. The text is broken down into 20 chapters, each covering a unique topic. The book can be read from end to end, or consumed in smaller sips of specific information as needed. To make sure that 20 Things I Learned About Browsers & The Web reaches its intended audience, Google was thoughtful enough to include a number of sharing options including links for Facebook, Twitter as well as--and this is kicking it old school--print it out. If your parents still haven't figured out how to program their DVD player's clock or even worse, still call you for advice on how to work their VCR, this app is gonna be your BFF from the get-go. Be sure to check back every Monday for another edition of Maximum PC's Chrome Web App of the Week.

Alienware Offering Bigfoot Wireless-N Adapters In Gaming Laptops Posted: 11 Jul 2011 11:26 AM PDT For years, if you wanted a cool looking, high-end gaming machine but didn't feel like spending dozens of DIY hours on a badass custom rig, the odds were good that you settled on an Alienware (assuming you could afford one). Now, the gaming PC field has been blown wide open, with several different vendors offering powerful, Battlefield 3-ready set-ups. If you're Alienware, how do you make yourself stand out from the crowd? By staying cutting-edge. Starting today, you can snag one of Bigfoot's "Killer" line of gaming-optimized network adapters with your new Alienware laptop. Alienware's M18x, M17x, M14x and M11x notebooks will give users the option to upgrade to Bigfoot's Killer Wireless-N 1103 high-performance network adapter, the companies announced in a press release. The adapters offer up to 450Mbps wireless data transfer rates and Bigfoot's "Advanced Stream Detect" technology, which improves network performance by "automatically classifying and prioritizing latency-sensitive network traffic such as online games, HD video, voice and audio." That means that your Battlefield frag fests won't be interrupted by your mom's Netflix streaming. If you prefer a more hands-on approach to network shaping, Bigfoot's "Visual Bandwidth Control" lets you fine-tune bandwidth allocations for individual applications. The truth's already out there, X-Files fans; you can find the Bigfoot-Alienware union for sale on the custom PC supplier's website starting today.

China Shows Off New Petaflop-Pumping Supercomputer Posted: 11 Jul 2011 10:43 AM PDT No matter what side of the Google-China shouting match you fall on, you can't help but admire the country's drive towards bigger and badder processing power. China's Tianhe-1A, capable of 2.57 petaflops per second, held the crown as the most powerful supercomputer in the world until Japan's "K Computer" blew away the competition with 8.16 petaflops last month. China's newest supercomputer is the Tianhe-1A's baby brother, creatively named the Tianhe-1. The Tianhe-1 entered service in the Changsa supercomputer center over the past weekend. With a theoretical max speed of 1.1 petaflops, the new computer doesn't run quite as fast as the Tianhe-1A, but if its Chinese handlers feel like rigging it with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 and a badass gaming mouse, it could handle Crysis 2 in its sleep. Computerworld reports that the machine should be running at a theoretical 3 petaflops by October, which would make the Tianhe-1 the fifth-most powerful computer on the planet. "It will be used to perform simulations that will forecast the weather, help with disaster prevention and aid industrial fields including automobile manufacturing and medical research," Computerworld says. So what's a petaflop? It's a unit of measurement for processor floating point calculations; 1 petaflop equals one quadrillion floating point operations per second.

Dream Machine 2011: How We Created the Best PC Ever Posted: 11 Jul 2011 10:14 AM PDT Join us as we celebrate another year of Pure PC Power In an age of overly synthesized catchphrases ginned up by some suit to commercialize new soda pop or body spray, the term "pure PC power" was never intended to be marketing hype. Instead, it was conceived to describe our obsession with performance computers and it has withstood the test of time. Who would have known that 16 Dream Machines later, the pursuit of all-out computing power could still be viable? But that's just what this year's Dream Machine again proves: Despite pundits predicting the PC's death many times over—speed still matters. For this year's Dream Machine, we decided to build a rig that balances top-notch performance with the style and elegance of an exotic sports car. The overall package is well-behaved and even fairly modest at power consumption, considering the amount of performance it packs. As always, it's not just about the PC proper, though. For our Dream Machine, we tracked down the best hardware available, such as NEC's freaking-awesome PA301W panels and the wireless Cyborg R.A.T. 9 mouse, to make a lust-worthy setup that any of us would kill to have grace our desktop. So join us as we celebrate another year of the PC's supremacy. For all of this years Dream Machine coverage, click here! Under the Hood THE ONLY THING MISSING FROM DREAM MACHINE 2011 IS THE SWEET SMELL OF EXHAUST Corsair Hydro Series H100 Even the most risk-averse person can admit that coolers such as Corsair's super H100 pose very little chance of leaking. And the fact that it's easy to install and requires zero maintenance makes it a win for even those of us who aren't plumbers. Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 To run SLI, we needed a motherboard that features Nvidia's nForce 200 chip. The GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 has that and is also chock-full of cool features such as the ability to charge your phone via USB while your PC is off. Intel Core i7-2600K We've read figures that 50 percent of all 3.4GHz 2600Ks will overclock up to 1GHz past stock—and those are the "bad" ones. The rest will run well past 4.5GHz. Our D2-core chip is older, but even so, runs quite stable at 4.8GHz. EVGA GeForce GTX 580 Superclocked—Times Three After much soul searching, we decided that EVGA's Superclocked GTX 580 cards in tri-SLI were the right option because they offer better scaling than four GPUs for most games, and hell, the next version of Unreal Engine 3 was demoed using three GTX 580s. OCZ Vertex 3 Intel's native SATA 6Gb/s implementation is simply awesome, and with the right drives, you're in storage nirvana. With two Vertex 3s in RAID 0 on the Intel PCH's SATA 6Gb/s ports, we hit in excess of 1,000MB/s read speeds. Need we say more? Category Part URL Price CPU Intel 3.4GHz Core i7-2600K www.intel.com $317 Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 www.gigabyte.com $350 GPU 3x EVGA GeForce GTX 580 Superclocked www.evga.com $1,557 ($519 each) Case Cooler Master Cosmos II Prototype www.coolermaster-usa.com $350 RAM Corsair 16GB Vengeance www.corsair.com $180 PSU Silverstone Strider ST1500 www.silverstonetek.com $380 Cooler Corsair Hydro Series H100 www.corsair.com $120 SSD 2x 240GB OCZ Vertex 3 www.ocztechnology.com $1080 ($540 each) HDD  3x 3TB Seagate Barracuda XT www.seagate.com $600 ($200 each) ODD Plextor B940SA www.plextor.com $169 Speakers Corsair SP2500 www.corsair.com $250 Mouse Cyborg R.A.T. 9 www.cyborggaming.com $130 Keyboard  Razer BlackWidow Ultimate www.razerzone.com $80 Monitor 3x NEC PA301W www.nec.com $6900 ($2300 each) OS Microsoft Windows 7 Professional www.microsoft.com $125 Total Cost     $12,588 You Have to Build it or Get Off the Pot The classic dilemma in technology hasn't changed in the 16 years we've been building our annual Dream Machine: Build now or wait for the next big thing? In our case, it's never been so glaringly apparent as this year. That's because the worst-kept secret in the industry is Intel's Sandy Bridge E chip that's coming out in about two months. Sandy Bridge E (for either Enthusiast or Extreme) is a rebadged Xeon chip and is screened to hit high clock speeds. The accompanying X79 chipset will feature no fewer than 12 SATA ports—six of them at 6Gb/s speeds—PCIe 3.0, and quad-channel RAM support, on the new LGA2011 socket. Yeah, your mouth is probably watering already, so why not "wait" for this new CPU and chipset combo? And at the same time, we should probably also wait for the next-generation GeForce or Radeon card. Oh yeah, and while we're at it, let's see what the next round of SSDs, coolers, motherboards, cases, speakers, and mice brings us, too. You see where this gets you? Pretty soon you're waiting for the "next big thing" while driving a Pentium 4 box in the slow lane while your fellow gamers scream at you to get the hell off the server and quit dragging down the pings. In the end, you have to go with the components you have, not the components you wish you had. In the here and now, Dream Machine 2011 is the best PC you can build, and it even has a logical upgrade path as Intel's upcoming 22nm Ivy Bridge chips will drop right into this beauty. Intel 3.4GHz Core i7-2600K THE CHEAPEST CPU WE'VE EVER USED IN A DREAM MACHINE—AND PERHAPS THE FASTEST, TOO Winston Churchill once said, "Never in the field of computing was so much power given so cheaply." OK, we're making that up, but if Churchill had access to Intel's Core i7-2600K part, such a proclamation would be inevitable. And it's not just that the Core i7-2600K is so freaking cheap, it's also freaking fast! An overclocked quad-core Sandy Bridge chip will give even Intel's Big Kahuna, the Core i7-990X, a run for its money in many benchmarks. Even better, the chipset for the 2600K is modern, not the old fogey still powering LGA1366 motherboards, and if all goes as planned, it offers an upgrade path to the 22nm-based Ivy Bridge CPUs next year. For DM2011, we overclocked the 3.4GHz part to 4.8GHz, which appears to be the limit of our D2 core sample. That's fine with us. For $317, we'll take it and smile too. Three EVGA GeForce GTX 580 Superclocked Cards TRI-SLI IS READY AND RARING TO RUN UNREAL ENGINE 3 For our GPU selection, we had two possible routes to take: three-single GPU cards or two dual-GPU cards. Dual dual-GPU cards are sexy, but many games simply don't scale to four GPUs. And getting multiple GPUs to behave on a single card often requires clocks to be scaled back. That's not the case with individual GPUs in three-way mode. It's this thinking that led us to select three of EVGA's GeForce GTX 580 Superclocked cards. The cards run fairly cool, even with the factory overclock, and thus don't pump heat into a case. Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 RUN TRI-SLI WHILE YOU CHARGE YOUR TABLET We'll admit that for our purposes, Z68 gives us no performance advantage over P67. We're not, after all, going to run SSD caching since we have two big, fat Vertex 3 SSDs in place. With three GPUs, we're also unlikely to run the integrated graphics. Still, there's no reason to use the end-of-life P67 if Z68 is here. And that's what Gigabyte's GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 gives us. It's pretty much the same as a GA-P67-UD7 board, but with the updated chipset. The board itself has everything we need: the ability to charge high-drain devices via USB, even when the board is powered off; a crapload of SATA connectors; USB 3.0 internal headers; and not just SLI and CrossFire X, but also tri-SLI. Tri-SLI is accomplished by using an nForce 200 chip to balance the load from the single x16 PCIe 2.0 in the Sandy Bridge CPU. Two 240GB OCZ Vertex 3s SQUEEZE THE MOST OUT OF THAT 6GB/S SATA CONTROLLER What's faster than one SF-2281-powered SATA 6Gb/s solid-state drive? Two of 'em, in RAID 0. A single OCZ Vertex 3 can hit sustained read speeds of 550MB/s and writes of over 250MB/s; we hit nearly twice that using Intel's onboard RAID: 1,000MB/s reads and 500MB/s writes. Two 240GB drives give us 480GB of storage for our OS and any game we care to play or app we care to install. Cooler Master Cosmos II (Prototype) YOU SAW IT HERE FIRST, FOLKS The case for this year's Dream Machine is so new you can't get it in stores. In fact, we barely got ours in time for this month's issue. Cooler Master's Cosmos II isn't supposed to be revealed at all for another month, but given our fondness for the Cosmos S (the chassis for our 2007 Dream Machine), the company snuck us a preproduction model of the Cosmos II. Since it's not a production model, it still has some kinks to work out, but it's a beaut nonetheless. The Cosmos II is fully 20 percent larger than the Cosmos S, and takes full advantage of four years' worth of improvements in chassis tech. The PSU and six drive bays are sequestered in a compartment at the bottom of the case, while the motherboard compartment features cable-routing cutouts, hot-swap docks, more toolless drive enclosures, and room for a 360mm radiator up top. The result is a roomy, well-ventilated chassis with plenty of space to accommodate our tri-SLI setup, five hard drives, a 240mm radiator, and more, while still looking classy. And that's before we added the custom Smooth Creations paint job. The Crowning Glory: A Custom Paint Job Acquiring a preproduction model of the majestic Cosmos II was plenty special in its own right, but this being Dream Machine, we had to kick it up a notch. Enter Smooth Creations. The company, which was founded in 1999, is the originator of custom graphics on boutique PCs. Smooth's case-painting masters got their start on automobiles and custom bikes before their love of hardcore PC gaming led them to their present calling. With any case-painting job, preparation is no small matter. A case has to be completely disassembled to properly prep all the different substrates. But our Dream Machine case presented its own unique challenges. As Smooth Creation's CEO Jim Saling recounts, "We had never gotten a Cosmos II before and it was sent overnight from Taiwan… giving us only two days to paint it and send it out to [Maximum PC]." He adds, "Taking it apart, with all its moving parts, and putting it back together to function properly after paint required a few notes during tear down." As for the paint itself. It's an automotive paint from Germany called Glasurit, which is used on high-end European sports cars. Our Dream Machine is painted Super Fly Yellow, a true Lambo color. Saling adds, "Will it make the PC faster? That's up to the DM builders." Well, Jim, we think you'll find that we did justice to your handiwork. Corsair 16GB Vengeance WE SAY FILL ALL THE SLOTS AND LET GOD SORT 'EM OUT How much RAM do you need? Hell, given today's prices, why not max it out? That's what we did with Corsair's 16GB DDR3/1600 Vengeance kit. As you can tell from the name, this set of 4GB DIMMs runs at DDR3/1600—no need to stress out the integrated memory controller with additional voltage. So it's no surprise that it's the only XMP-rated RAM at 1.5 volts. Silverstone Strider ST1500 ENOUGH POWER TO RUN TWO PCS OR 300 TABLETS If you've ever built a fast computer, you know how much of a pain it is to size your PSU for all of the hardware you'll stuff inside. With Silverstone's Strider ST1500, we don't have the slightest worry, even with three GPUs, five drives, and a zesty overclock loading up this 1,500W PSU. Corsair Hydro Series H100 THE POWER OF A DUAL-FAN RADIATOR WITH THE EASE OF AN ALL-IN-ONE LOOP We've long been impressed by Corsair's Hydro series liquid coolers, and the H100 promises to continue the trend. We mounted the H100's 240mm radiator at the top of the Dream Machine's case to leave the rear exhaust unobstructed, with two 12cm fans pulling air through the radiator and out the top of the case. We'd have added two more fans for push/pull cooling, but didn't quite have room, thanks to the fat voltage-regulator module heatsinks. Three 3TB Seagate Barracuda XTs 9TB OF MASS STORAGE, BECAUSE WE CAN With three 3TB 7,200rpm drives, we're not running out of storage space any time soon. Rather than run one big array, we've dedicated one drive to backups, one drive to high-def video, and one drive to everything else. Why? Why not?! Corsair SP2500 BRING THE NOISE You probably wear a headset when you game, but sometimes you just gotta go loud. Fortunately, that's what the Corsair SP2500 system can do in spades: Get freaking loud! Yes, it will also sound awesome with Schubert, while you sip white wine, but the SP2500 set is best suited for making your neighbors pound on the walls until their fists are bloody. Plextor B940SA LAST YEAR'S BD BURNER IS STILL THE BEST, IN OUR BOOK Yes, it seems wrong to be outfitting Dream Machine 2011 with the same Blu-ray burner we used last year, but we have yet to encounter a drive that offers better overall performance than the Plextor B940SA. With write speeds of 12x for BD-R and 16x for DVD+R, it handles all our optical chores quickly and reliably. Mouse and Keyboard CYBORG R.A.T. 9 AND RAZER BLACKWIDOW ULTIMATE In gaming peripherals, we look for a mix of maximum-quality construction and extra features that give us an edge. That's exactly what you get with the Cyborg R.A.T. 9, a wireless gaming mouse with heavy-duty construction that can be customized to fit your hand perfectly. We also love the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate, a keyboard with top-notch mechanical switches, a full set of gaming-grade features, and excellent software to back it up. Three NEC PA301Ws GAMES NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD The professional-grade PA301W not only offers exemplary color and detail, but it also has the unique ability among 30-inch screens to go into portrait mode. This allows us to position three of them vertically for a combined resolution of 4800x2560—and a gaming experience that's unparalleled. In fact, it was the overwhelming favorite in our Multiscreen Challenge. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional THE ONLY REAL CHOICE You know what we like about Windows 7? It served up a supersize cup of STFU to that no-talent assclown Justin Long, aka the Mac Guy. Sexiest Rigs in Dream Machine's History While unadulterated power and performance are a given in any Dream Machine build, aesthetics play an important part in setting our annual homage to excess apart from the pack. Still, some stand out more than others in looks. DREAM MACHINE 2002 This DM was inspired by BMW's famous 2002 Turbo, which audaciously featured its moniker in reverse to kindly let shepherds in the fast lane know to get the flock out of the way. Besides mimicking the 2002 treatment, this box famously featured the GPU that brought ATI back in front with a vengeance: the Radeon 9700 Pro. DREAM MACHINE 2004 Jim Saling of Smooth Creations is no stranger to the Dream Machine, having custom painted four of our premiere builds, including this year's. DM2004 marked paint job number two in that history, rendering a Silverstone Nimitz SST-TJ03 case all the more impressive. DREAM MACHINE 2008 The year 2008 saw the most expensive case ever used for a Dream Machine. We managed to pull off an incredible deal to procure an HP Blackbird 002 case ($1,000) and then had the entire sucker chromed by Computer-choppers.com, which cost well north of $5,000 to do. It was the epitome of bling. DREAM MACHINE 2012 ? We want to hear from you! How should Dream Machine 2012 look? What should it include? Comment below, or send your ideas to comments@maximumpc.com. But Is It Overkill? Three GTX 580s is a lot, we'll admit. You're not going to find any games out right now that'll push Dream Machine '11 to its limits, but that doesn't mean this system is overkill—far from it. Here's what's going to take advantage of the Dream Machine's power: BATTLEFIELD 3 The scion of one of PC gaming's greatest brands, Battlefield 3 will be both the first true PC shooter to come along in 2011 and (hopefully) the first game to really take advantage of the graphics hardware in a cutting-edge PC like ours. Though it's being released on consoles simultaneously, the PC version of BF3 is clearly superior, with better graphics, larger maps, and more players per dedicated server. RAGE We've got a few misgivings about Rage. We hate to see a great (arguably the great) PC developer creating a game with a console as a main focus, but we've got enough faith in Carmack that we believe the game will still be able to take advantage of a PC's extra power. Rage also marks the first use of the id Tech 5 engine, practically guaranteed to power some monster titles going forward. UNREAL ENGINE 3 Unreal Engine 3 is hardly new (it's been around since the first Gears of War game launched), but it's been evolving all along. The latest batch of updates, announced at GDC 2011, includes some advanced features like deferred rendering, subsurface scattering, and image-based reflections. There aren't any games that have officially committed to taking advantage of the new features yet, but we expect to see some soon. In the meantime, check out the amazing technical trailer (which takes three GTX 580s to run at 1080p resolution) at bit.ly/gLNMXo. Dream Machine 2011 Hits the Test Track CAN IT PICK UP WHERE LAST YEAR'S 12-CORE MONSTROSITY LEFT OFF? Dream Machine 2011 looks great, runs fairly quiet, and its parts list is to die for. But it's not just about looks and specs, it's also about performance. Can this machine outpace its predecessor? After all, if technology can't march forward in 12 months, something is drastically wrong. And we don't say that without first taking a really long, Jim Kirk–style pause to seriously ponder whether Dream Machine 2011 can beat Dream Machine 2010. That's because Dream Machine 2010 was an especially monstrous King Kong of a PC. Just recalling the specs of last year's Dream Machine is enough to make us pucker up in fear: not one, but two 3.3GHz hexa-core Xeon X5680 CPUs overclocked to 4GHz. Three EVGA GeForce GTX 480 Superclocked cards in tri-SLI, 24GB of DDR3/1600, and two 200GB OCZ Vertex 2 SSDs in RAID 0. Dream Machine 2010 was so mean, we had to feed it five netbooks for breakfast and then sweep up the tablets it crapped out all day long. What can a lone Core i7-2600K do against that? A lot more than you'd expect. DM2011's first victory came in our Lightroom 2.6 test where we convert a folder of raw photo files from a Canon 5D Mk II to Adobe DNG format for archival purposes. Fairly limited in threading, the benchmark favored the higher clocks of DM2011, which trounced the older DM2010 by 27 percent. That score is also a new benchmark record in the Lightroom test. We suspect that part of the win is due to the RAID 0 Vertex 3 drives. In some storage benchmarks we ran, the Vertex 3s were pushing in excess of 1GB/s read speeds and 500MB/s write speeds. No, that's not a typo—in excess of 1GB/s read speeds! You can thank the SandForce 2 controller in the OCZ drive and the excellent SATA 6Gb/s implementation in the Z68 chipset. ProShow Producer 4 also gave the nod to DM2011, by 16 percent, surprisingly, despite the application support for more compute threads. Clock speed and disk I/O couldn't help this year's Dream Machine beat last year's in our MainConcept Reference encoding test, however—but the loss wasn't as bad as you'd think. The dual-proc Dream Machine 2010 bested DM2011 by roughly 10 percent. Unfortunately, we were unable to run our Vegas Pro 9 benchmark on last year's Dream Machine because of a bug in one of the app's plugins that affects 12-core machines, but we're pretty sure DM2010 would be favored. Once we moved to graphics, DM2010's tri-SLI 480s ate dust from this year's tri-SLI 580s, with STALKER favoring DM2011 by 24 percent and Far Cry 2 (mostly a CPU test at this point) also taking 15 percent. In 3DMark Vantage, the two machines split wins. In the graphics portion, DM2011 took down DM2010 by a healthy 32 percent. But the 12-core monster came back in the CPU portion, with a score that was three times that of the DM2011. In fact, the only machines we've seen beat DM2010 in that test are other SR2-based machines running on liquid nitrogen. We're happy to report that we're mostly vindicated on our choice of the tri-SLI cards over quad-SLI. Using the brand-new 3DMark 11 test, DM2011 was able to ace all of the machines from our small form factor roundup in the July issue, three of which featured either quad-SLI or quad-CrossFireX, using two dual-GPU cards as well as overclocked processors. In the end, Dream Machine 2011 accomplishes what we wanted. It's the best PC you can build at this moment and it's even fairly well-mannered. It doesn't spool up with the sound of 1,000 fans and it uses less than 180 watts (sans monitors) while idling. We'll call that a win. DM2010 vs. DM2011 Dream Machine 2010 Dream Machine 2011 Vegas Pro 9 (sec) WNR 2,191 Lightroom 2.6 (sec) 296 233 ProShow 4 (sec) 932 801 Reference 1.6 (sec) 1,394 1,546 (-10%) STALKER: CoP (fps) 101.9 125.9 Far Cry 2 (fps) 177.5 203.3 3DMark Vantage Overall 47,179 45,360 (-4%) 3DMark Vantage GPU 40,601 53,511 3DMark Vantage CPU 91,806 31,648 (-66%) Dream Machine 2010 consists of dual 3.3GHz Xeon X5680s overclocked to 4GHz, 24GB of Corsair DDR3/1600, on an EVGA Classified SR-2. It runs three EVGA GeForce GTX 480 Superclocked cards in tri-SLI, two 200GB OCZ Vertex 2 SSDs, and two WD 2TB Caviar Black drives running Windows 7 Ultimate.

Researcher Claims Web Surfers Are Suckers For Pretty Websites Posted: 11 Jul 2011 10:08 AM PDT Your mom may have warned you not to judge a book by its cover, but if Jersey Shore has taught us anything, it's that people will eat up anything as long its wrapped in an attractive package. As it turns out, shiny objects trap the attention of computer users, too. A new study published by Australia's University of Melbourne suggests that even though malware and botnets rear their ugly heads more and more frequently these days, computer users are more likely than ever to trust websites – as long as they look pretty. The author of the study, Dr. Brent Coker, claims that people are 20 percent more likely to trust a website now than they were just five years ago. "As aesthetically orientated humans, we're psychologically hardwired to trust beautiful people, and the same goes for websites," Coker says in the University's press release. "Our offline behaviour and inclinations translate to our online existence... With websites becoming increasingly attractive and including more trimmings, this creates a greater feeling of trustworthiness and professionalism in online consumers." We're not just suckers for a pretty face, though; even attractive websites get the boot from consumers if they don't give us what we want right now. Coker's study found that if a website loads slowly or doesn't make it easy to find information on the page, online shoppers find what they want elsewhere. Even though we're more trusting than ever online, online brand loyalty has decreased by 32 percent in the past five years. Despite all the low-fi doom and gloom, we're doubtful Craigslist is going belly-up anytime soon. The final version of the study is due to be released at the 2011 World Congress in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Applied Computing, held in Las Vegas July 18th through the 21st. Image credit: roflrazzi.com

Department of Homeland Security Warns of Imported Electronics Being Spiked with Spyware Posted: 11 Jul 2011 07:28 AM PDT A high ranking official at the Department of Homeland Security admitted to Congress that foreign made hardware and software sold in the U.S. are sometimes laced with spyware, malware, and other foul components that can compromise security. The revelation came from Greg Schaffer, acting deputy undersecretary of the DHS National Protection and Programs Directorate, who testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Schaffer didn't go into great detail about compromised hardware and software being imported into the U.S., but did reluctantly admit to being aware of instances where items were purposely embedded with security risks. Possibly related to Schaffer's testimony, FastCompany.com, which first reported the story, dug up a couple of interesting paragraphs in the White House's Cyberspace Policy Review the site thinks is an admission that the Executive Branch knows there's something fishy going on with imported tech. The paragraphs read: "The emergence of new centers for manufacturing, design, and research across the globe raises concerns about the potential for easier subversion of computers and networks through subtle hardware or software manipulations. Counterfeit products have created the most visible supply problems, but few documented examples exist of unambiguous, deliberate subversions. A broad, holistic approach to risk management is required rather than a wholesale condemnation of foreign products and services. The challenge with supply chain attacks is that a sophisticated adversary might narrowly focus on particular systems and make manipulation virtually impossible to discover. Foreign manufacturing does present easier opportunities for nation-state adversaries to subvert products; however, the same goals could be achieved through the recruitment of key insiders or other espionage activities." That was written several months ago, and it would appear that Homeland Security has since found examples of what the White House was worried about all along.

Firefox 6 Reaches Beta Stage, Now Available for Download Posted: 11 Jul 2011 07:01 AM PDT Mozilla over the weekend gave its Firefox 6 browser a groom and haircut so that it can pass for a beta release. The next step is to give the 6.0 release a suit, tie, and spiffy pair of shoes so that it's ready to mingle with the public at large. Until then, you can download the beta build and get acquainted with Firefox 6, which offers a handful of changes and improvements over previous builds. New to Firefox 6 is an address bar that now highlights the domain of the website you're visiting. Firefox 6 also makes it easier to manage permissions for individual websites. You can access the menu by typing about:permissions, which brings up a straightforward menu to grant individual sites the ability to store passwords, share your location, set cookies, and other functions. The Firefox 6 beta boasts improved startup time when using Panorama, improved usability of the Web Console, improved disoverability of Firefox Sync, and other features, as well as a whole bunch of bug fixes. Firefox Beta Download Firefox 6 Beta Release Notes

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MMO News

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MMOHut Weekly Recap #42 July 10 – Bright Shadow, Asta, & More Posted: 10 Jul 2011 11:28 AM PDT MMO Weekly News #42 – Bright Shadow, Asta, & More Weekly MMO News summary for the week ended July 10 (July 4 – July 10). A quick look and discussion for every major announcement and update during the week! This week we discussed updates from the following games: Bright Shadow, Elsword, Zentia, MapleStory, Prius Online, Asta, Dream Drops, Luvinia Online, Dragon NEst, Rise of Immortals, and The Chosen. You can view all the individual news articles mention over at the MMOHut.com News section.

Heroes of Newerth Gameplay – Devourer Posted: 09 Jul 2011 12:19 PM PDT To Learn More About the Game, Check out our Heroes of Newerth Page. Heroes of Newerth is a 3D MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) style MMO published by S2Games – the same company behind Savage and Savage 2. In its core, Heroes of Newerth plays a lot like Avalon Heroes, League of Legends, Realm of the Titans, Rise of Immortals and other “DotA” inspired titles. The game keeps track of all of your wins, losses, deaths and even replays. It has over 40 playable heroes, with new ones being added regularly. Free trial users are limited to non-ranked public games only. To learn more about Heroes of Newerth check out the official MMOHut Heroes of Newerth page which includes a detailed review, tons of screenshots, and additional videos.

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MMO Updates

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• Turbine sweetens the deal for DDO subscribers
• SOE Fan Faire 2011: DCUO reveals new downloadable content: Fight for the Light
• The Tattered Notebook: EverQuest II highlights from SOE Fan Faire 2011
• ArcheAge parkour video shows off city architecture
• Grimlands to debut at Gamescom
• MV Guide: July 11 - 17, 2011
• DUST 514 may go true F2P in the future
• The Daily Grind: What challenges have you added to your game?
• SOE Fan Faire 2011: A look at Free Realms with Sr. Producer Harvey Burgess
• EVE Evolved: The evolution of microtransactions
• SOE Fan Faire 2011: An update on Vanguard
• One Shots: Introducing Slappy
• Heatwave CEO talks Gods and Heroes population
• Rise and Shiny recap: Gilfor's Tales
• SOE Fan Faire 2011: Star Wars Galaxies Gathering -- the final hurrah

Turbine sweetens the deal for DDO subscribers Posted: 11 Jul 2011 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Business models, Free-to-play, Promotions Dungeons and Dragons Online's free-to-play model has been the belle of the F2P ball since it was released in 2009, but that doesn't mean that Turbine's given up on luring players into subscribing. Today, the studio announced a "summer gift" to those who sign up for VIP status: double bonus points per month from July 11th through September 11th. This means that every month a player is subscribed, he or she will receive 1,000 Turbine Points to spend in the DDO store instead of 500 TP. Turbine's also made sure that the price point for VIP subscriptions is attractive, as it's offered players the ability to sign up for three months at $29.97 (effectively $9.99 a month). By taking advantage of both deals, players can enjoy three months of VIP status and earn 3,000 Turbine Points for just $30. VIP status means that all of DDO's adventure modules are available to enjoy, including the new ones that came with Update 10. Turbine sweetens the deal for DDO subscribers originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

SOE Fan Faire 2011: DCUO reveals new downloadable content: Fight for the Light Posted: 11 Jul 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Expansions, News items, DC Universe Online At SOE's Fan Faire this year, DCUO fans were treated to a look at the Fortress of Solitude, part of the new game update that's coming soon. But while the community address highlighted the fact that heroes and villains alike will work together to defeat Brainiac, it seemed that any news about the game would be the same thing fans had already heard and seen at E3. Little did they know that there was much more on the way, because later this summer, DCUO will have its first download pack arriving on both the PC and PS3. Curious about what the new content will be? Put on your power rings and read below the cut! Gallery: DCUO: The Green Lantern Continue reading SOE Fan Faire 2011: DCUO reveals new downloadable content: Fight for the Light SOE Fan Faire 2011: DCUO reveals new downloadable content: Fight for the Light originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Tattered Notebook: EverQuest II highlights from SOE Fan Faire 2011 Posted: 11 Jul 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Expansions, News items, The Tattered Notebook The EQII news from Fan Faire seems never-ending this year. The team has revealed several major announcements for the direction of the game, including new content for Game Update 61 and some exciting new features for the upcoming expansion in November. There are several big questions regarding the new changes, like what will Beastlords be like? How does the dungeon creator work? And why is Executive Producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson wearing a kilt? Read on for the answers! Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: EverQuest II highlights from SOE Fan Faire 2011 The Tattered Notebook: EverQuest II highlights from SOE Fan Faire 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

ArcheAge parkour video shows off city architecture Posted: 11 Jul 2011 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items, ArcheAge It's been a while since we've seen an ArcheAge video, and AAportal has come through with an interesting clip that was recorded during the closed beta test at the end of May. The three-minute jaunt is heavy on urban exploration -- or what passes for urban in a fantasy context -- and the protagonist engages in a bit of free-running to see the sights in and around one of the fantasy title's huge cities. There's a bit of lag on display, as well as a lack of real danger given that the player character walks away from several high falls, but the clip is worth watching due to ArcheAge's gorgeous architecture. Check it out after the cut, then head to AAportal to join the discussion. Continue reading ArcheAge parkour video shows off city architecture ArcheAge parkour video shows off city architecture originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Grimlands to debut at Gamescom Posted: 11 Jul 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Events, real-world, Free-to-play, Massively Event Coverage, Post-Apocalyptic If bright 'n shiny sci-fi titles or valiant fantasy MMOs are too pristine for you liking, then you're most likely the sort that's looking for the next big post-apocalyptic game to grab with gusto. Grimlands looks to be a promising entry into the genre, with third-person shooter mayhem and dynamic content, and players will be able to get their first glimpse of the title at Gamescom next month in Germany. Grimlands has a number of intriguing concepts, including a learn-as-you-go skill system and player-controlled cities. Like many of gamigo's titles, Grimlands will be free-to-play, which should lower the barrier of entry for this scrappy little go-getter. Gamescom will take place from August 17th through the 21st. Along with Grimlands, gamigo will be showcasing Jagged Alliance Online and UFO Online. You can read up on gamigo's hot new lineup in our first look article. Gallery: Grimlands gallery Grimlands to debut at Gamescom originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MV Guide: July 11 - 17, 2011 Posted: 11 Jul 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Massively meta, Livestream, Miscellaneous, MV Guide MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively's Livestream channel. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of games to take a look at. During Livestream events, you can participate in the live chat to learn about the game, ask questions, and spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, Livestream events are subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's scheduled for this week! Continue reading MV Guide: July 11 - 17, 2011 MV Guide: July 11 - 17, 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

DUST 514 may go true F2P in the future Posted: 11 Jul 2011 06:30 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, Free-to-play, Consoles, MMOFPS, DUST 514 While we've known that DUST 514 won't be as free as originally thought, there's still hope for a true free-to-play version to come. CCP's Hilmar Veigar Pétursson told GamesIndustry.biz that while PlayStation 3 owners will have to contend with a "cover charge" -- estimated to be between $10 and $20 -- before accessing the game for the first time, the company may drop it entirely in time. This fee is meant to help with the initial start-up costs for DUST 514, and will be refunded to players in the form of in-game currency that can be spent on unspecified in-game microtransactions. Pétursson isn't ruling out the possibility that the game might go completely free-to-play in the future, however: "You're really getting the game for free but you have to pre-buy credits in the beginning. We might go fully free-to-play down the line, but in the beginning we have a cover charge just to manage the initial launch of it. We have always been a big believer in growing up a social network behind the game in a slow and predictable way. Because we have seen that if you don't do that you can end up with a very unstructured experience, where there's no cohesion to the community. By growing it at the beginning we help to make a healthy environment initially." We first reported on this cover charge during last month's E3. Pétursson says that CCP will see how the cover charge plays out during the game's testing period. The company is just now recovering from a hotbed of controversy involving EVE Online's approach to in-game item sales. DUST 514 may go true F2P in the future originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: What challenges have you added to your game? Posted: 11 Jul 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Lord of the Rings Online, Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous I'm always fascinated with stories of players who deliberately add challenges to their MMO gameplay. Sometimes you hear about folks who try to get to the level cap without killing a single creature, or people who play with naked (unarmored) toons, or those who make it their mission to complete every single achievement and quest there is. I see self-created challenges as an attempt to add spice and flavor into games, usually after you've long since gotten bored of the most efficient leveling path. Some players think up these challenges to add a slice of sandbox-style goals into an otherwise theme park-oriented title. Right now, one of my characters in Lord of the Rings Online is attempting to do every single solo quest in each zone before going elsewhere. It's challenging to slow myself down and get over that desire to progress and go for the big XP rewards, but it's a ton of fun so far as well. So, big or small, what challenges have you added to your game? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind! The Daily Grind: What challenges have you added to your game? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

SOE Fan Faire 2011: A look at Free Realms with Sr. Producer Harvey Burgess Posted: 10 Jul 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Interviews, News items, Free-to-play, Free Realms, Family During this weekend's SOE Fan Faire, Massively had the opportunity to talk with Senior Producer Harvey Burgess about the future of Free Realms. Burgess has been with the team since launch, and has recently taken the helm to bring lots of new content and items to the world of Free Realms. Read on for all the details, including Ranching, sports jerseys, Sunset Valley, and a new mount! Continue reading SOE Fan Faire 2011: A look at Free Realms with Sr. Producer Harvey Burgess SOE Fan Faire 2011: A look at Free Realms with Sr. Producer Harvey Burgess originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: The evolution of microtransactions Posted: 10 Jul 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Business models, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, EVE Evolved Two weeks ago, the escalating drama in EVE Online saw me drained of my normal enthusiasm as I contemplated the very real possibility that my time in the game I love was coming to an end. While the forums were filled with the most vocal and angry players, discussions with veteran players featured mainly disappointment and a distinct sadness. For those few days spent in limbo waiting for the results of the emergency CSM meeting, I and many of my in-game friends remained a hair's breadth from giving up on EVE entirely. It was a delicate situation based more on perception and poor communication than intent or fact, and I think CCP pulled things back well with formal statements from both itself and the CSM in addition to an in-depth follow-up press conference. One of the big points to come out of the press conference was that while CCP and the CSM are both confident that none of the future microtransaction plans are game-breaking, the company did not restrict itself to vanity goods such as Incarna clothing. While the CSM was convinced that CCP planned only to produce pure vanity goods, CCP Zulu was careful not to rule out gameplay-affecting microtransactions altogether. Both CCP and the CSM also talked about "game-breaking" sales rather than using a clearer term like "gameplay-affecting" or "non-vanity." It's reasonable then to assume that in the future we might eventually get non-vanity goods that do interact with gameplay but aren't game-breaking in terms of balance, mechanics or interaction with the in-game economy. In this week's EVE Evolved, I show exactly why options like selling ships would be game-breaking and then let my imagination run wild as I speculate on possible non-vanity microtransactions for the far future that shouldn't disrupt gameplay. Continue reading EVE Evolved: The evolution of microtransactions EVE Evolved: The evolution of microtransactions originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

SOE Fan Faire 2011: An update on Vanguard Posted: 10 Jul 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, News items, Vanguard, Massively Event Coverage With no official panels or events planned for Vanguard fans at this year's Fan Faire, you might wonder whether Sony Online Entertainment has any plans for the future of the game. But take heart, because Vanguard is definitely alive and on the minds of the SOE development team. Salim "Silius" Grant from SOE sat down to talk to Massively about future plans for Vanguard. Read on for an update on the world of Telon. Continue reading SOE Fan Faire 2011: An update on Vanguard SOE Fan Faire 2011: An update on Vanguard originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

One Shots: Introducing Slappy Posted: 10 Jul 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Galleries, Screenshots, Vanguard, One Shots We're finishing off pet week on a fun and silly note thanks to Massively reader Leonatus: Hi there, my name is Leonatus, and the featured screenshots is about one of the coolest pets ever created: Slappy the Cool from Vanguard's Isle of Dawn! Adventuring in Telon can be undoubtedly stressful: Always on the brink of death, killing hordes of mobs only to see their spots replaced by their amazingly similar cousins some five minutes later. Hobgoblins life is no better though, but they sure know how to party! And if you're patient enough, with just a little diplomacy they will let you attend to the shows of their funkiest star. As the old orcish saying goes: "if James Brown was an hobgoblin, his name would be Slappy the Cool". Are you ready for next week's One Shots theme? We've seen your gear, your mounts, and your pets; now it's time to see you! Snap a screenshot of your favorite character in your favorite MMO. Let us know about him or her by sending the screenshot, your name, and some information about the character to oneshots@massively.com, and we'll feature the character here on One Shots! Gallery: One Shots: 2011 One Shots: Introducing Slappy originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Heatwave CEO talks Gods and Heroes population Posted: 10 Jul 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, New titles, News items Fans of Heatwave Interactive's recently launched Gods and Heroes MMO will be happy to note that the dev team is not sitting idly by now that the game has launched. Heatwave CEO Anthony Castoro has penned an update post on the official forums that features a lot of frank talk about the game and its immediate future, including the need to "begin a promotion that will drive thousands more players to the game and turn Baccus, Mars, and Jupiter into communities bursting at the seams." Castoro doesn't elaborate on what the promotion might be, but he does say that even though Gods and Heroes doesn't need 500,000 users to turn a profit, "our current growth rate isn't good enough." Finally, Castoro notes that the game has "an awareness issue and our pricing model doesn't seem to be tantalizing enough." Whether Heatwave is looking at a freemium conversion or simply a price reduction coupled with more advertising, Castoro's post makes clear that the team is in it for the long haul. Check out the blurb on the official forums for a list of Heatwave's immediate priorities. Heatwave CEO talks Gods and Heroes population originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Rise and Shiny recap: Gilfor's Tales Posted: 10 Jul 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Video, Opinion, Hands-on, Humor, Rise and Shiny, Livestream OK, I have to admit: I liked Gilfor's Tales before and even recommended it to others, but without noticing many of the issues that came up over this last week. It should be noted, however, that many of them seemed to have happened since the last time I played and are the result of some sort of server change or update. I wish I knew more but the developer team seems to be about as communicative as a pet rock, even going so far as to finally apologize to their fans on Facebook. One fan replied "It's been a year guys..." What is this, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes? (Ba dum kssh!) So, yes, this game has many flaws. Many. I'll tell you all about them in a minute, but it's important to note that after I streamed it live (check the embedded video) I gave it more time and the game did seem to open up and become more fun. It helped that things started to make more sense, but of course how I arrived upon the answers was pretty silly in itself. Click past the cut and check it out! Continue reading Rise and Shiny recap: Gilfor's Tales Rise and Shiny recap: Gilfor's Tales originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

SOE Fan Faire 2011: Star Wars Galaxies Gathering -- the final hurrah Posted: 10 Jul 2011 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, News items, Star Wars Galaxies, Massively Event Coverage The recent announcement of the closure of Star Wars Galaxies couldn't have come at a worse time for SWG players -- Fan Faire was just around the corner, and their celebratory mood had suddenly become somber. So as the Star Wars Galaxies gathering got underway, it was hard to anticipate what the atmosphere would be like. Would players continue the vocal protest of the closure, and continue the campaign to keep the game going? Or would players gather to share memories and celebrate the highlights of a unique sandbox MMO? Continue reading SOE Fan Faire 2011: Star Wars Galaxies Gathering -- the final hurrah SOE Fan Faire 2011: Star Wars Galaxies Gathering -- the final hurrah originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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