General Gaming Article

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• OPPO N1 Launching With CyanogenMod Installed
• GPU-Z Update Adds Support for 12 Additional Graphics Cards, Stomps Out Bugs
• Winamp Sale Could Save Media Player From Extinction, Shoutcast Too
• XFX is Busy Building a Super Cool and Quiet Radeon R9 290X Graphics Card
• Acer Announces 20-inch FT200HQL Capacity Touch Display for $199
• BlackBerry Bleeds Red Ink on Massive Charges, Posts $4.4 Billion Loss
• Newegg Daily Deals: Asus RT-N66U N900 Wireless Router, Intel 530 Series 240GB SSD, and More!

OPPO N1 Launching With CyanogenMod Installed Posted: 20 Dec 2013 04:00 PM PST Cyanogen teams up with Oppo for the first dedicated CyanogenMod smartphone CyanogenMod has come a long way from its roots as an alternate ROM for the HTC Dream. Its latest milestone is the impending launch of the first smartphone running CyanogenMod straight from the factory: the CyanogenMod OPPO N1.   It's a limited edition version that repurposes the existing OPPO N1 White hardware with CyanogenMod 10.2 in tow. That's a good thing because the N1 White packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 Quad-Core 1.7GHz processor, a 5.9-inch (1080x1920) Gorilla Glass 3 screen, and a rotating 13-megapixel camera.  What makes the incoming N1 particularly interesting is that it's already passed Google's compatibility test suite (CTS) which means that the Google Play Store will be available on the device by default. The partnership seems to be more than just a simple install at the factory. "This was an awesome, and incredibly challenging project given the crazy timeline we were on," wrote Cyanogen co-founder Steve Kondik in a Google+ post. "Myself and a bunch of other guys have not slept for over a month now." If this sounds like something you'd want, it'll be available starting Dec. 24—probably at a price close to the N1 White which costs $600 for the 16GB version and $650 for the 32GB version. Follow Ben on Twitter.

GPU-Z Update Adds Support for 12 Additional Graphics Cards, Stomps Out Bugs Posted: 20 Dec 2013 01:10 PM PST Handy utility displays your GPU's DNA and vitals Every power user has a set of go-to programs and utilities that he or she carries around on a USB thumb drive. One that should be included is GPU-Z, a lightweight utility that takes up all of 1.3MB or 1.4MB of space (depending on whether you want the standard version or the one with an Asus ROG skin). Even though it has a teeny-tiny footprint, it can tell an awful lot about your graphics card, which can come in handy when troubleshooting. The newest update -- version 0.7.5 -- released today adds support for 12 more discrete GPUs and an additional integrated GPU. They include: AMD Radeon R7 260 AMD Radeon HD 7600A AMD Radeon H 8850M AMD Radeon HD 8400 AMD Radeon HD 8240 AMD Radeon HD 7620G Nvidia GeForce 705A Nvidia GeForce GTX 645 Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 OEM Nvidia Grid K260Q Nvidia Quadro K5100M Nvidia Quadro K6000 Intel GMA (Bay Trail) HD 4200 In addition to recognizing a bunch of new GPUs, the latest release fixed a few issues, including one that caused the utility to hang or crash on Nvidia Optimus and/or during CUDA detection. Voltage monitoring support has been added for new Bonaire/Pitcairn SKUs, Windows 8.1 is now detected properly, and sensor data in shared memory will now update once per second, as intended. You can download GPU-Z from TechPowerUp. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Winamp Sale Could Save Media Player From Extinction, Shoutcast Too Posted: 20 Dec 2013 11:40 AM PST Don't turn out the lights, the party might not be over If you've been crying crocodile tears over the impending demise of Winamp, you can put that box of tissues back in the bathroom, the popular media player form yesteryear may not be getting unplugged after all. AOL is reportedly close to finalizing a package deal involving both Winamp and Shoutcast, and if completed, both would continue to exist under new ownership. News of the potential deal comes from TechCrunch, which is owned by AOL. TechCrunch says Microsoft was previously in talks to purchase both Winamp and Shoutcast, though it's not clear if the Redmond software giant is the mystery suitor this time around. Even if the negotiations run past today, TechCrunch's source says its unlikely either service will shut down, so long as a potential deal is on the table. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

XFX is Busy Building a Super Cool and Quiet Radeon R9 290X Graphics Card Posted: 20 Dec 2013 11:00 AM PST Another card for the Litecoin miners to snatch up It's starting to get a little bit easier to find AMD Radeon R9 290X graphics cards in stock, but before you pounce on one, you may want to hold off and see what XFX is cooking up. The enthusiast brand is supposedly working on a custom cooled Radeon R9 290X that's both quieter and much chillier than AMD's reference design, the latter of which means there's less chance of the card throttling down its clockspeed. The folks at news and rumor site Fudzilla claim that one of these cards is currently being shipped to its office, with XFX telling the site that its card is "considerably quieter" than the stock cooling solution. "According to XFX the new cooler is very powerful as it manages to keep the GPU temperature under 85 degrees Celsius," Fudzilla says. "The AMD reference cooler is not as good and the reference card can hit 95 degrees with relative ease." XFX took some dark and blurry photos of the card, but there are some specs to share. The cooler features 7 heat pipes, a copper base that makes direct contact to the GPU, dual double dissipation 90mm fans, and more. It's supposed to run just 32dB versus 57dB put out by the reference cooler; its idle noise level is just 15dB to 20dB. Image Credit: XFX via Fudzilla Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Acer Announces 20-inch FT200HQL Capacity Touch Display for $199 Posted: 20 Dec 2013 10:06 AM PST A small but affordable touchscreen display Microsoft has never hidden the fact that Windows 8 works best when you're able to touch, tap, swipe, and get hands-on with your display. The problem there is that most existing monitors lack touch support, so if you want that functionality on your desktop, you're looking at investing in a new panel. Acer's new 20-inch FT200HQL is one such option, and though the 19.5-inch screen is on the small side, it supports 10-point capacitive touch input. It's also VESA wall-mountable. If you prefer to plop it on your desk, the stand tilts from 10-90 degrees, which Acer claims is especially beneficial for touch-friendly activities like playing games, viewing photo albums, flipping through cookbooks, and surfing the web. Acer's FT200HQL sports a native resolution of 1600x900 with a 5ms response time, viewing angles of up to 170 degrees horizontally and up to 160 degrees vertically, and a 100,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. It also has built-in dual speakers, a VGA port, and two HDMI ports. You can find the Acer FT200HQL selling now for $199 with a three-year warranty. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

BlackBerry Bleeds Red Ink on Massive Charges, Posts $4.4 Billion Loss Posted: 20 Dec 2013 07:39 AM PST More sour grapes for BlackBerry BlackBerry can't seem to catch a break no matter what it does. This was a year of change for BlackBerry, from a shakeup in management to new devices and even a new name. However, the end result is still the same -- losses. The latest loss comes to $4.4 billion for the Canadian handset maker's three month period ended November 30, 2013. No company wants to be staring at $4.4 billion loss, though the majority of that red ink is due to charges. Not including pre-tax charges of $4.6 billion associated with long-lived assets, inventory and supply commitments, and previously announced restructuring costs, BlackBerry's losses for the quarter came to $354 million (PDF), or $0.67 per diluted share, compared with a $248 million loss in the prior quarter. There's still not a lot of solace to be taken in those adjusted figures. Part of the problem BlackBerry faces is that customers aren't flocking to its newer BlackBerry 10 devices as the company anticipated. Of the 4.3 million smartphones it sold during the third quarter, 3.2 million were BlackBerry 7 devices. BlackBerry remains optimistic as it continues its restructuring effort. As part of that, the company announced a 5-year strategic partnership with Foxconn, the same company that builds the bulk of Apple's iPhone and other mobile products. Under the new relationship, BlackBerry says the two will jointly develop and manufacture certain BlackBerry devices, with the initial focus on a smartphone for Indonesia and other fast-growing markets in early 2014. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: Asus RT-N66U N900 Wireless Router, Intel 530 Series 240GB SSD, and More! Posted: 20 Dec 2013 06:37 AM PST Top Deal: Think all wireless routers are essentially the same? Like most other hardware, features and performance separate one router from another, and the one you choose can be the difference between getting the Internet service you're paying for, or not. One model that's definitely up to the task is the topic of today's top deal -- it's an Asus RT-N66U Dual Band Wireless N900 Gigabit Router for $125 with free shipping (normally $170; Free 5-port gigabit switch w/ coupon code: [EMCWVWL23]). Dubbed the "Dark Knight," this router rose to the top of our Best of the Best list when we reviewed it back in 2012, earning a perfect 10/10 score. It's range is incredible, it's fast, the antennas are upgradeable, and it even supports DD-WRT. Other Deals: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-16GXM for $130 with free shipping (normally $150; use coupon code: [EMCWVWL22]) Intel 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A4K5 2.5-inch 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) for $155 with free shipping (normally $200; use coupon code: [EMCWVWL224]) Asus GTX660-DC2O-2GD5 GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card for $180 with free shipping (normally $200; use coupon code: [EMCWVWL98]; additional $20 Mail-in rebate) Seagate Constellation CS ST3000NC002 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5-inch Enterprise Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive for $165 with free shipping (normally $200; use coupon code: [EMCWVWL33])

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