General Gaming Article

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• GTX 760 Video Card Roundup
• Column: We're Not Living in a Post-PC Era
• July 4th Special: Get Digital Back Issues of Maximum PC for 99 Cents!
• Steve Ballmer Steps Into Don Mattrick's Shoes to Lead Xbox Division
• Yahoo Takes AltaVista Search Engine Off Life Support
• Hackers Infiltrate Ubisoft's Servers and Swipe User Data
• Razer Blade Review
• Newegg Daily Deals: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 Motherboard, AMD A10-5800K APU, and More!
• Rebuilt Opera Browser Now Available for Windows and Mac
• Microsoft's Don Mattrick Headed to Zynga, Stock Surges

GTX 760 Video Card Roundup Posted: 02 Jul 2013 05:46 PM PDT Video card vendors have an overclocking frenzy with Nvidia's newest GPU Nvidia dropped its new GTX 760 this week and gave gamers a cheaper 700-Series card in the process. MSI, Gigabyte, Asus, and EVGA have all recently announced overclocked $260 versions of the card as a result.  MSI MSI recently launched its GTX 760 Gaming edition video card and adorned it with its new aftermarket Twin Frozr IV cooler. The video card features a core clock of 1,085MHz and a boost clock of 1,150MHz, and sports 2GB of video RAM with a clock of 6,000MHz. MSI claims that the card tops out at 71C and 22 dB under load. MSI's Gaming GTX 760 gets the similar PCB and black and red color scheme that its Gaming GTX 770 has. Along with the release of the new video card, MSI also released a new version of its Gaming App, an overclocking tool designed to let gamers change the clock and fan speeds of its video cards. Gigabyte Gigabyte dispatched an overclocked GTX 760 outfitted with its Windforce cooler. The firm's new card features the same 1,085MHz and 1,150MHz core and boost clock that MSI's GTX 760 Gaming uses. Gigabyte's triple fan Windforce cooler, first seen on the GeForce GTX 770, also cools Gigabyte's GTX 760. Asus Asus decided to bring its Direct CU II cooler to the GTX 760 party and slightly overclocked the card to have a core clock of 1,006MHz and a boost clock of 1,072MHz. The video card also supports the newest version of GPU Tweak, Asus's overclocking software. Asus says that its GTX 760 delivers 20% better cooling, and is vastly quieter than the reference card. Asus's Direct CU II cooler attaches itself to another 7-Series GPU. EVGA EVGA released eight GTX 760s equipped with a variety of different cooling configurations and clock speeds. The most notable thing about EVGA is that it is the only OEM currently offering a GTX 760 card with 4GB of video RAM.  EVGA brings its newly designed ACX Cooler to the GTX 760. You can check out the rest new EVGA GTX 760's here on the EVGA website.  The performance of all of the cards should provide a boost in performance over the stock-clocked GTX 760. Look out for the reviews of these cards in the near future. Below is a chart showing the differences and similarities between the new GTX 760 cards.

Column: We're Not Living in a Post-PC Era Posted: 02 Jul 2013 04:50 PM PDT Take back the messaging As a close observer of politics and messaging, I've noticed that the politician who controls the terminology, controls the message. Thus inheritance tax becomes a "death tax" and a $1 trillion tax increase turns into "revenue enhancement." The PC has long been a victim of this. Years ago, when the "do everything on the server" crowd tried to fight back against the rising adoption rate of PCs in companies, they pointed to the higher cost of PCs, and started calling their products "thin clients" and PCs the "fat clients." No matter what your physical stature is, we can all admit that labeling something "fat" conjures up the image of some slovenly dude wearing a T-shirt stained by Taco Bell Fire Sauce. Rather than fight back with its own messaging by calling thin clients "weak clients," the PC industry shrugged its shoulders and sheepishly accepted the label. You can't even watch 4K videos on a tablet, let alone edit them. More recently, the industry, analysts, and media have embraced the phrase "post PC" as a way to describe the end of the PC. Rather than you sitting in an office all day under greenish fluorescent lighting processing TPS reports from a desktop, you'll be using your post-PC device while reclining in the grass under the warm sun of the Hobbit Shire. Because that's how we'll all work in the post-PC world. Hell, why go to the office at all? Why not just tell your boss you're working from a café today on your tablet? I'm sure she'll give you the thumbs up. Steve Jobs talking about the "post-PC era" I'm not going to let them control the messaging anymore. The "fat client"? That's actually a "fast client" or "productive client" now. Oh, you say you can't even view 4K video, let alone edit it, on your thin client or tablet? Perhaps you might want to use a productive client for it. Is anybody really ready to totally give up their physical keyboards in favor of digital ones? And just as the Mayan's predicted: On January 4, 2014 (1.4.14), a gravity wave will obliterate all of the major PC vendors and hardware suppliers, leading to a post-PC apocalyptic world. With no fast PCs left in the world, editing of 4K video or converting 12GB of RAW image files from a 36MP DSLR camera can only be done on a post-PC apocalyptic device, such as your dual-core tablet. Also, those really long essays? They'll have to be done by touch or on an exceedingly cramped and unreliable Bluetooth keyboard. I don't know about you, but I'm not looking forward to living in a post-PC apocalyptic world.

July 4th Special: Get Digital Back Issues of Maximum PC for 99 Cents! Posted: 02 Jul 2013 02:43 PM PDT Offer is valid now, ends July 5th In honor of July 4th, we thought we would allow you to get digital back issues of Maximum PC magazine for 99 cents! The offer is valid now and ends July 5th at midnight. You can pick up the these issues on iTunes, Google Play, or Zinio.

Steve Ballmer Steps Into Don Mattrick's Shoes to Lead Xbox Division Posted: 02 Jul 2013 12:36 PM PDT New Xbox One boss is Steve Ballmer Don Mattrick is out as Microsoft's President of Interactive Entertainment, and instead is headed to Zynga where he'll serve as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a social game maker in desperate need of guidance. That's all well and good for Zynga, but where does that leave Microsoft and its upcoming Xbox One launch? Squarely in the hands of Steve Ballmer, that's where, as confirmed by an open email from Ballmer to all of Microsoft's employees. "Zynga announced today that Don Mattrick would be its new CEO, effective July 8. This is a great opportunity for Don, and I wish him success. Don's directs will report to me and will continue to drive the day-to-day business as a team, particularly focused on shipping Xbox One this holiday," Ballmer stated in an email. Ballmer went on to talk about Mattrick's accomplishments at Microsoft, how excited he is about the Xbox brand, and then closed out his message by thanking Mattrick for his contributions to date. All that's missing is a shiny bow and an oversized smile to complete the picture. Does this seem a little bit suspect to anyone else? Just a few days ago, there were reports that Ballmer was spearheading a major restructuring effort within Microsoft, one in which very few top level executives were being consulted with, and suddenly Microsoft's Xbox boss is out the door, handing the reins to Ballmer on the way out. In any event, the future of Microsoft's Xbox brand is now squarely in Ballmer's hands without a middle man. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Yahoo Takes AltaVista Search Engine Off Life Support Posted: 02 Jul 2013 12:09 PM PDT Hasta la vista, AltaVista AltaVista is shutting down, and if you find that the least bit surprising, it's probably because you're shocked to discover it still exists. Well, it does, for a few more days anyway. On July 8, 2013, Yahoo will pull the plug on one of the web's earliest search engines, ending a run that spanned nearly two decades (AltaVista launched on December 15, 1995). How did it come to this? Google, of course. Back in the early days of the web, AltaVista was the go-to search engine. It was fast, had a multi-threaded crawler, and a rather large index that trumped the competition. Less than a year after it launched, Yahoo tapped AltaVista to provide its search results. Two things led to AltaVista's eventual demise. First, there was Google, a search engine everybody is familiar with today. And secondly, around the time Google came into existence, AltaVista began changing hands, starting with a sale to Compaq. It would eventually end up in Yahoo's portfolio as part of a larger transaction (Yahoo purchased Overture Services, Inc. in 2003, which owned AltaVista at the time). Fast forward to today and hardly anyone uses AltaVista anymore. It's understandable that Yahoo would shut AltaVista down, though one could argue that the once popular search engine deserved better than to be lumped into a blog post announcing several product closures. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Hackers Infiltrate Ubisoft's Servers and Swipe User Data Posted: 02 Jul 2013 11:43 AM PDT Time to change your password Game publisher Ubisoft today confirmed that one of its websites suffered a security breach and that the person or people responsible made off with usernames, email addresses, and encrypted passwords. Ubisoft stressed that it doesn't store any personal payment information, meaning no debit or credit card data was stolen as a result of this server hack. Nevertheless, Ubisoft recommends that you change your password right away. "Out of an abundance of caution, we also recommend that you change your password on any other website or service where you use the same or a similar password," Ubisoft said in a statement. Such is the risk of using a single password for multiple websites. If just one site is compromised, hackers can try logging into different portals with your login credentials, potentially gaining access to your email account or even your financial account. At minimum, it's recommend that you use separate passwords for bank logins than you do for forums and email, etc. As for Ubisoft's servers, the publishers said it instantly took action to close off access and is currently working with authorities to investigate the breach. In the meantime, Ubisoft's sites are temporarily down for "maintenance." Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Razer Blade Review Posted: 02 Jul 2013 10:00 AM PDT Good gaming notebooks come in small packages Razer Blade review: With both Intel's Haswell and Nvidia's new 700M-series components shrinking and sipping less power, the super-portable, 14-inch, gaming laptop revolution is about to begin. Leading the charge is Razer with its ultra-sleek new Razer Blade gaming notebook, which is a smaller take on the 17-inch version (since rebranded as Razer Blade Pro) we reviewed last year.  The Razer Blade laptop may be the sexiest laptop we've ever seen (for more pictures, scroll down to the gallery at the bottom of the review). And it certainly looks the part with as it carries the same alluring green LED backlit keyboard and black matte aluminum chassis. Though the Switchblade's LCD trackpad has been replaced by a more traditional trackpad centered under the keyboard. Arguably, the biggest selling point of the new Blade is that it's ridiculously svelte with a chassis measuring 13.6x9.3x.66-inches. Razer claims it's the world's thinnest gaming laptop and it's certainly the slimmest we've tested. With the lid closed, the laptop is thinner than a standing dime. It's light too, weighing in at four pounds, 3.3 oz. The Razer Blade is clearly one highly portable gaming laptop, though some inputs were sacrificed, as it only has three USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, and an analog 1/8-inch audio jack.  Another gripe we had is its matte TN panel instead of an IPS monitor which offers better viewing angles and more accurate color reproduction. We would have also preferred a 1080P resolution monitor, but 1600x900 is pretty par for 14-inch screens. We had no problems with the speakers, which were crisp and surprisingly loud for such a small laptop. The trackpad is more of a mixed bag. Although it's highly responsive, supports multi-touch gestures, and has dedicated buttons, rather than integrated into the trackpad, the buttons on both it and the keyboard feel very fragile, like they could pop off after a few thousand clicks. This is by far the thinnest gaming notebook we've ever tested (for more pics of the Razer Blade, check out our gallery at the bottom of the article). Beneath the keyboard, the Razer Blade is equipped with a quad-core Haswell Core i7-4702HQ, GeForce GTX 765M, and 8GB of DDR3. Disappointingly, the Blade's only means of storage is a 256GB mSATA SSD, but one can opt for the 512GB SSD configuration instead for an additional $300. With game installs eating up 25GB and more these days, that 256GB will go pretty quickly. Regardless, the Razer Blade was able to manhandle our much bulkier MSI GT60 zero point in our benchmarks. The gains weren't massive in our CPU tests, with the Blade stalemating our ZP's 2.3GHz Ivy Bridge part in ProShow and only being single digit percentages faster in Stitch and x264, but it is worth noting that the Blade's Haswell part is a lower 37-watt CPU compared to our ZP's 45-watt equivalent. The real advantage showed itself in our battery test where the Blade lasted nearly 30 percent longer.  Graphics-side, Nvidia's 765M GPU allowed the laptop to really hit its stride performing at least 30 percent better in 3DMark 11 and running 60 percent faster in STALKER: CoP. In our experiential  tests, we were able to play the graphically-demanding Far Cry 3 on high settings with average framerates in the mid 40s which is ridiculously good for such a small notebook. The laptop was also quick to boot, launching to Windows in under 14 seconds.  The Razer Blade isn't without its flaws, but the fact that it's half the size of many gaming laptops while offering much more power, all in a super sexy form factor, is crazy. It may not be cheap at $2,000, but Razer's new philosophy of squeezing the most power per cubic-inch is noble and should be applauded.   Razer Blade Benchmarks Our zero-point notebook is an MSI GT60 with a 2.3GHz IntelCorei7-3610QM, 12GB DDR3/1600, two 500GB Seagate 7,200rpm hard drives, a GeForce GTX 670M, and Windows 8 64-bit.STALKER: CoP tested at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, Tessellation, and contact hardening Razer Blade Specs Razer Blade Price: $2,000, http://www.razerzone.com/

Newegg Daily Deals: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 Motherboard, AMD A10-5800K APU, and More! Posted: 02 Jul 2013 09:15 AM PDT Top Deal: Building a new system around Intel's Haswell architecture? We like the way you think, and we'd like to help. That's why today's top deal is for an ASRock Z87 Extreme6 LGA 1150 motherboard for $175 with free shipping (normally $190). This ASRock board is the real deal with HDMI input, dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi support, USB 3.0, and more. Heck, it's even waterproof (to an extent) thanks to a special layer of Conformal Coating! Other Deals: AMD A10-5800K Trinity 3.8GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Quad-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 7660D for $130 with free shipping ($20 Newegg promotional gift card with purchase) Asus VS239H-P 23" Widescreen LED Monitor IPS Panel for $170 with free shipping (normally $200; additional $10 mail-in rebate and $15 Newegg promotional gift card with purchase) AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor for $200 with shipping for $1 ($20 Newegg promotional gift card with purchase) Toshiba Canvio Connect 2TB USB 3.0 Blue External Hard Drive HDTC720XL3C1 for $130 with free shipping (normally $150)

Rebuilt Opera Browser Now Available for Windows and Mac Posted: 02 Jul 2013 09:02 AM PDT Meet the new Opera It's the dawn of a new era for Opera Software. The Scandinavian browser maker just finalized its Opera 15.0 browser, but more than just a version upgrade, this latest release is packing a brand new engine underneath the hood. Pop the top and you'll no longer find Presto working its magic, as Opera Software decided to switch to Google's Chromium-based Blink rendering engine, which is a fork of WebKit. Chromium is an open-source browser that serves as the foundation for Chrome. After struggling to compete for market share, Opera Software may have ultimately decided that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and that's essentially what the company did. The result is an Opera browser with a fresh look and new features. For example, Opera now combines the address bar and search bar. Opera 15 also introduces a feature called Stash, which records the location, meta data, and a screenshot of a page. That information is then placed into a collapsible list entry on the browser's Start Page, which you can search by keyword or scan visually by screenshot. The biggest benefit, however, is speed. It feels faster than previous Opera builds and certainly looks "lighter" thanks to its streamlined interface. You can download Opera 15 now. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Microsoft's Don Mattrick Headed to Zynga, Stock Surges Posted: 02 Jul 2013 08:26 AM PDT Zynga's getting a new chief Usually it takes some time before Internet rumors are either confirmed or debunked. Not so with the news that Microsoft's Don Mattrick would be jumping ship and swimming over to Zynga to assume a high level position with the social game maker. Following unofficial reports of Mattrick's move, Zynga has now confirmed that the former president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment division is joining Zynga as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Mattrick replaces Zynga founder Mark Pincus as the company's new chief, news of which sent Zynga's stock surging. Company stock rose more than 12 percent after it was rumored Mattrick would be stepping in, and is up around 23 percent since he was officially named CEO. "Don is unique in the game business," Pincus said in a statement. "He can execute in multiple domains – hardware, software and network, and he's been the person responsible for game franchises like 'Need for Speed,' 'FIFA' and 'The Sims.' He's one of the top executives in the overall entertainment business and he's a great coach who has inspired people to do their best work and build strong, productive teams. He deeply understands the value of a network and the importance of creating lifelong consumer relationships. He turned Xbox into the world's largest console-gaming network, growing its installed base from 10 to 80 million and transformed that business from deep losses to substantial profits. And he has grown the Xbox Live player network from 6 to 50 million active members in 41 countries." Pincus added that going forward, he'll continue in his role as Chairman and Chief Product Officer, but is more than happy to concede his position as CEO to Mattrick, who spent the last six years at Microsoft. His challenge will be to turn around a company that was once on top of the social game world but has had trouble maintaining its success. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

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