General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

Lian Li's Gigantic PC-A79 Full Tower Computer Case Ships in September

Posted: 27 Aug 2013 12:04 PM PDT

Lian Li PC-A79Supports motherboards big and small

It doesn't matter if you're rocking a micro ATX motherboard or an HPTX mobo, Lian Li's upcoming PC-79 full tower chassis will give it a home. The same holds true for E-ATX, XL-ATX, and standard ATX motherboards, all of which the PC-79 supports. On paper, there's ample room for your hardware, as the case measure 9 inches (W) by 24.3 inches (H) by 23.4 inches (D) and supports up to nine 3.5-inch drives and eight 2.5-inch drives.

The case also comfortably holds multiple, long graphics cards measuring 13.7 inches and CPU coolers up to 5.7 inches in height. If it was built for PCs and you own it, chances are it will fit.

To make it easier to move the case about when it's stuffed full of components, Lian Li installed two rear wheels on the bottom, while the front feet add stability. It also has four USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA port, HD audio connectors,

Fan mounts can be found all throughout, as well as cable cutouts to keep clutter to a minimum (and not to impede airflow).

No word yet on price or availability.

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Logitech Expands G Line with G602 Wireless Gaming Mouse and Two Mouse Pads

Posted: 27 Aug 2013 09:59 AM PDT

Logitech G602 Wireless Gaming MouseLogitech's G line grows by three

Back in March, Logitech reaffirmed its commitment to PC gaming by announcing a dedicated G line of accessories for PC gamers. Kicking off the launch were eight new gaming products, including two keyboards, four mice, and two brand new headsets. Fast forward to today and Logitech is once again promoting its G family of peripherals, this time with the introduction of its G602 Wireless Gaming Mouse, G440 Hard Gaming Mouse Pad, and G240 Cloth Gaming Mouse Pad.

The G602 is designed to go the distance with up to 250 hours of gaming battery life using two AA batteries in Performance Mode, and up to 1,440 hours in Endurance Mode (sensor is toned down). If you want a lighter rodent and don't mind sacrificing a bit of battery life, you can actually remove one of the batteries and keep on gaming.

It also has 11 programmable controls, in-game sensitivity switching between 250 DPI to 2500 DPI, mechanical microswitches that Logitech rates at 20 million clicks, and "Delta Zero" sensor technology for high accuracy cursor control.

The Logitech G602 Wireless Gaming Mouse is available to pre-order for $80. Also available to pre-order are the G440 Hard Gaming Mouse Pad ($30) and G240 Cloth Gaming Mouse Pad ($20).

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Diamond Multimedia Launches Low Profile Xtreme Sound 7.1 Audio Card

Posted: 27 Aug 2013 08:32 AM PDT

Diamond Multimedia Xtreme Sound 7.1Discrete audio lives on

Sound cards aren't perhaps as prominent as they once were now that onboard audio solutions have upped their game (it also helps that today's multi-core processors are able to handle audio chores without a significant hit to frame rates), but they still exist. Enter Diamond Multimedia and its newest addition to its sound card collection, the Diamond Xtreme Sound 7.1, a low-profile PCI-Express sound card with support for 24-bit playback and recording.

Diamond Multimedia says the card features anti-pop protection circuitry. It also boasts four sets of 3.5mm stereo connectors for front R/L, rear R/L, side R/L, and center/subwoofer; 3.5mm stereo connectors for line-in; two RCA connectors for coaxial input and output; two optical connectors for SPDIF input and output; and an HD audio link for front audio.

"The Xtreme Sound 7.1 HD sound card also includes a digital optical output, which provides a multichannel, pure digital, distortion-free signal that can be connected via a single optical digital cable, therefore eliminating multiple cable connections and guaranteeing high fidelity audio for your home theater experience," Diamond Multimedia says.

The card is compatible with Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. It's also fairly affordable at $60 MSRP.

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Intel's IDF Agenda Includes Overclocking Solid State Drive Technology

Posted: 27 Aug 2013 06:15 AM PDT

Intel SSD NakedMum's the world until IDF

Once considered a dark art that required messing with DIP switches and praying to the PC gods, overclocking in the past several years has become a mainstream and mostly safe activity. Overclocking allows you to squeeze every last ounce of performance out of your parts, whether you're talking about goosing the RAM, nudging your CPU, or coaxing your graphics card to run faster than stock. After the Intel Developer Forum (IDF), you may be able to add solid state drives (SSDs) to the list of components that can be overclocked.

Intel has posted its agenda for IDF, which includes several different overclocking demonstrations. Most have to do with the firm's 4th Generation Core processor (Haswell) technology, but there's one entry in particular that had us do a double take when we read it.

"Demonstrating overclocking SSD technology," Intel lists on its agenda.

That's all Intel is saying at the moment, leaving us to speculate what that might entail. Perhaps the chip maker has figured out a way to supercharge NAND flash memory controllers, or maybe it developed a controller that can be overclocked. Whatever Intel has up its sleeve, consider us intrigued.

The overclocking session takes place on September 10 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM PDT.

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Newegg Daily Deals: Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p, Corsair Vegeance M65 Gaming Mouse, and More!

Posted: 27 Aug 2013 05:54 AM PDT

Lenovo IdeaPad Y510pnewegg logo

Top Deal:

What the flip? We're as baffled as you are as to how Lenovo can cram two GPUs into a gaming laptop that's a mere 1.4 inches at its thinnest point, surround it Haswell and other high end goodies, and then keep th price tag around a grand. Incredible? Sure, and also the topic of today's top deal, which is for a Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p notebook for $1,050 with free shipping (normally $1,150). This 15.6-inch (1920x1080) system comes equipped with an Intel Core i7 4700MQ processor, 8GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive, and dual Nvidia GeForce GT 750M GPUs in SLI.

Other Deals:

Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model for $50 with free shipping (normally $60)

Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus Black Steel Body/ABS plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case for $44 with free shipping (normally $55 - use coupon code: [CMCW20A2013]; $10 additional Mail-in rebate)

XFX Core Edition Radeon HD 7850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card for $141 with free shipping (normally $160 - use coupon code: [DYMREVGA7]; $20 additional Mail-in rebate)

Corsair Vengeance M65 White 8 Buttons USB Wired Laser 8200 dpi Gaming Mouse for $60 with free shipping (normally $70; $10 additional Mail-in rebate)

Windows 8.1 Has Reportedly RTM’d

Posted: 26 Aug 2013 09:57 PM PDT

Windows 8.1

General availability is scheduled for October 17

We are not too far away from finding out the fate of Microsoft's Windows 8.1 update, which is being seen as a great opportunity for the company to redeem itself — especially by those who don't have greater expectations from Ballmer's departure. The word on the street is that Redmond has already released Windows 8.1 to manufacturing and the update is on track for a general release in October.

According to seasoned Microsoft watcher Paul Thurrott, Microsoft completed the development of Windows  8.1 this past Friday and that it has already been released to manufacturing. All said, Thurrott says that the company will use the time leading up to the free update's general availability, which is set for October 17, to further test the code and provide OEMs with "Quick Fix Engineering" updates if any issues crop up.

"I exclusively revealed the RTM and build number of Windows 8.1—9600.16384.130821-1623—on Twitter on Friday, just as the Windows client team was signing off on it," Thurrott in a post on his WindowsITPro Sunday. "I'm told that Windows 8.1 has already been provided to PC and hardware makers."

The obvious question then is: why hasn't there been any official announcement in the three days since? The answer, if you ask Mary Jo Foley, is that Microsoft wants the media buzz around the announcement of Steve Ballmer's impending retirement to die down. Or in other words, it does not want anything else to overshadow Windows 8.1.

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