General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

Asus Radeon R9 280X DC2 TOP Review

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 01:46 PM PST

The new 1080p king

At any given time, we have one GPU in our inventory that holds the title of "loudest card in the office." The current title-holder is the PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 Vortex, which sounds like a jet engine. That's just how the Radeon 7970 GHz cards are; their boosted clock speeds drum up a lot of heat, making them much louder than their Nvidia counterparts. Given this pedigree, imagine our surprise when we fired up the Asus Radeon R9 280X, which rocks the exact same Tahiti XT chip used in the 7970 GE boards. As we leaned in close to our test bed expecting to hear that oh-so-familiar fan noise, we were greeted instead with a barely audible whirring sound. It's truly miraculous what AMD and Asus have done with this formerly unruly chip, making it whisper-quiet and also surprisingly affordable at $310, which is roughly half what it used to cost.

The R9 280X is a heck of a lot more quiet and affordable than the original HD 7970 GE.

The R9 280X is a heck of a lot more quiet and affordable than the original HD 7970 GE.

Like the previous Asus boards we've reviewed, this is a DirectCU II card, so it has a fancy custom PCB, high-end components for improved stability, longevity, and overclocking, as well as a hulking two-slot cooler we've seen before (and loved). This is a 28nm Tahiti card, with 2,048 stream processors, a 384-bit-wide memory bus, and 3GB of GDDR5 memory. This card will be competing with the more expensive Nvidia GTX 770, which costs $400 as we went to press, with no indication that Nvidia will lower its price. Perhaps after reviews of this card appear, Nvidia will rethink that proposition.

This is a TOP card, which means it's overclocked, but not by much at 1,070MHz, only 70MHz higher than stock. Asus also has a super-premium version of this card named the Matrix Platinum, which has a three-slot cooler and a much higher price tag. One interesting note is that, unlike the flagship R9 290X cards with their new dies that don't require a CrossFire bridge, this card still requires a bridge in multicard configs. Thankfully, Asus threw a bridge connector into the box along with a driver CD. The card measures 11 inches long and includes two DVI connectors, one HDMI, and one DisplayPort connector.

When we ran the R9 280X through our gauntlet of PC benchmarks, two things immediately surprised us. The first was just how quiet the card was, as it is barely audible at any time, even under heavy load. The second was that it was trading blows with the GTX 770, which costs $90 more. Sure, the GK104 and Tahiti chips have always been comparable, so this is expected, we suppose, but given this card's low pricing (by comparison), it was hard to wrap our heads around the fact that it's punching above its weight class. It also handily spanked the $250 GTX 760, giving it the best price-to-performance ratio in its price segment.

In the end, this is the go-to card for ultra settings at 1080p, no question. It smokes the more expensive GTX 770 and also spanks the GTX 760, as it should. If the performance delta isn't enough to sway you, there's word that the Never Settle Forever game bundle will be coming to the 200-series cards soon, too, making this card almost irresistible. The only fly in the ointment is the Asus GPU Tweak software, which looks and feels antiquated, and is difficult to examine at a glance. Thankfully, third-party options are available, making this only a minor blemish on an otherwise perfect GPU. 

$310, www.asus.com

Sony to Close 20 Retail Stores in the U.S.

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 01:45 PM PST

Sony StoreBig changes are in store for Sony as part of a restructuring effort

Sony this week announced plans to close down 20 retail stores scattered throughout the United States, which will leave the company with 11 stores in California, New York, Florida, and Texas. The closures are casualties of a restructuring effort intended to help Sony remain competitive in an "evolving consumer electronics market," the company said. Thousands of job cuts are also in Sony's future.

The electronics maker expects the closures to result in about 1,000 job cuts. In addition, Sony previously said it would reduce its headcount by about 5,000 employees globally by the end of the calendar year.

"While these moves were extremely tough, they were absolutely necessary to position us in the best possible place for future growth," said Mike Fasulo, President and COO of Sony Electronics. "I am entirely confident in our ability to turn the business around, in achieving our preferred future, and continue building on our flawless commitment to customer loyalty through the complete entertainment experience only Sony can offer."

Earlier this month, Sony announced the sale of its Vaio PC division to Japan Industrial Partners Inc., a Japanese investment firm. The company also said it would spin its TV business into a wholly-owned subsidiary, as it puts more focus on mobile products like smartphones and tablets.

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Gateway One ZX4970-UR22 Review

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 12:29 PM PST

A budget-friendly AiO for dad

While we love powerful super-rigs that can cut through benchmarks like a hot knife through buttah, not everyone can afford an $8,000 PC. This is where a budget-friendly all-in-one computer such as the Gateway One ZX4970 comes into play. At a mere $530, it certainly presents an interesting value proposition, but is it actually a good deal or a waste of dough?

A button allows you to toggle the light behind the Gateway logo on and off. Fancy!

A button allows you to toggle the light behind the Gateway logo on and off. Fancy!

The first thing you'll notice about the ZX4970 is its 21.5-inch screen. It's not small, but it is dwarfed by most other AiOs on the market, which generally come in 23- and 27-inch form factors. Furthermore, the display's TN panel offers subpar viewing angles, besides being a bit dim. But where the ZX4970 really falls short is in its omission of a touchscreen, which is a shame given the presence of the touch-friendly Windows 8 OS. On the upside, we don't have much beef with the integrated 2.5-watt speakers beneath the monitor—they serve decent volume levels, though they obviously can't match a dedicated 2.1 setup.

On the left side of the screen, the ZX4970 features two USB 3.0 ports, an SD card reader, and both a headphone and mic jack. To the right of the monitor is a button that lets you switch the AiO's HDMI port from in to out (or vice versa) and a DVD burner. The HDMI port itself resides behind the monitor, along with four USB 2.0 ports and an Ethernet jack. It's not an exorbitant amount of ports, but it covers most common needs. Cables can be routed through a cutout on the stand in the back. The stand allows you to bend the monitor back roughly 20 degrees, which could be useful for use from a standing position if not for the fact that the screen doesn't support touch and the included full-size keyboard and mouse are wired, so you're essentially tethered to your desk anyhow.

If you're hoping to play the latest PC games or put the machine through heavy compute tasks, the ZX4970 is not for you. While the AiO features a respectably hefty (for this price, that is) 1TB hard drive, the rest of the ZX4970's parts are pretty bare-bones. The unit is running a dual-core Ivy Bridge–based Intel Pentium G2030 clocked at 3GHz, has 4GB of DDR3/1600, and lacks discrete graphics. Compared to our Asus ET2300 zero-point AiO, which features a quad-core processor, twice the amount of RAM, and a GeForce GT 630M GPU, Gateway's offering faced a whole lot of pain in our benchmarks. It performed roughly 20–30 percent slower in our ProShow Producer 5 and Stitch.Efx CPU tests, and was left in the dust in x264 HD 5.0 benchmark, which thrives on cores. Our ZP AiO is by no means a tank, but compared to Gateway's ZX4970, it was like an M4 Sherman facing off with a Volkswagen microbus full of hippies. And as far as graphics go, high-end integrated graphics are on the cusp of matching low-end mobile GPUs, but the ZX4970 uses a meager Pentium integrated-graphics solution, so it found itself roughly 60–70 percent slower than the ZP's GeForce GT 630M in both the STALKER: CoP and Metro 2033 benchmarks. In our real-world test, we booted Borderlands 2 and ran everything on low at 1366x768 resolution and got an average frame rate in the mid-teens. No, it's notß pretty for anything beyond casual gaming.

While the ZX4970 is dang cheap, it's an unfortunate example of "you get what you pay for." It reminds us of the affordable eMachines of yesteryear, in AiO form. Although it may be a decent computer for Aunt Peg, for an enthusiast, we recommending spending a little more to build a much better desktop.

$530, www.gateway.com

Cooler Master V8 GTS Review

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 12:22 PM PST

Not firing on all cylinders

When it comes to keeping your CPU cool under pressure, it's hard to beat a closed-loop liquid cooler (CLC). They're on the expensive side, though, so there's still plenty of room at $50 and below for conventional air cooling. What, then, do we make of an air cooler with an MSRP of $100? It's gotta be pretty fancy to command that kind of scratch, and the Cooler Master V8 GTS sure seems like a contender.

The fans have small embossed arrows to indicate airflow.

The fans have small embossed arrows to indicate airflow.

As its name suggests, it's an update of the original V8, which used a single 120mm fan to cool four sets of radiator fins. That version is actually still compatible with recent CPU sockets, but it's rated for "only" 180 watts of heat dissipation. The GTS version ups the cap to 250 watts, with dual 140mm fans and a vapor chamber. But despite its bulk, it will still play nice with high-profile RAM sticks and large motherboard heatsinks, such as those on the Rampage IV Extreme in our test-bench machine.

However, the fans are not designed to be removed, making installation a bit awkward. You know that things are not going to go swimmingly when the bundled items include a proprietary tool for tightening nuts. And sure enough, we had to pull the RAM, video card, and motherboard from the case to get enough clearance to crank this widget. This is also a four-way SLI motherboard, so the first slot is designed for the primary video card. But unfortunately, there was not enough space there to install it. We can just use a different slot in our test system, but you may run into trouble if you're already using your slots for other devices.

You might let these hassles slide if the cooler had the class-leading performance to justify its quirks. Unfortunately, our testing demonstrated that the V8 GTS was good, but not $100 good. The Phanteks TC14PE cools a little more, costs less, and is quieter and a lot easier to install. Cooler Master's own Hyper 212 Evo air cooler edges out the GTS for nearly a third of the price, albeit at unacceptable noise levels (never mind the CLCs from NZXT and Corsair that cost about the same as the V8 GTS and considerably outperform it).

The GTS's aesthetics may win over some converts, though. A silver-and-black theme rarely fails to deliver, and an overall shape evoking a V8 engine block is admittedly pretty nifty. The fans also sport several red LEDs, slotted in the top to make it look a bit like a Decepticon. More LEDs are tucked underneath, so they can't be seen directly but emit a spooky glow onto the motherboard.

But that silvery look comes at a cost; the GTS's heat pipes and contact surface are aluminum instead of copper, which can make a difference when dealing with this much surface area; copper tends to transfer heat more quickly, but it's also heavier and more expensive. It's also disappointing that the fans will be tricky to replace if they break down, get damaged, or aren't beefy enough for your needs. They use a custom housing similar to a Noctua NF-P14, but with two screw holes removed.

The V8 GTS isn't a complete indictment of performance air coolers, but we're wondering if that time isn't fast approaching.

$100, www.coolermaster-usa.com

IDC Expects Smartphone Growth to Slow to Single Digits by 2017

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 10:20 AM PST

Samsung SmartphoneSmartphone growth won't be explosive forever

Hardware makers are in a mad rush to cash in on the mobile craze, including smartphones, which are hot ticket items right now. However, growth in the smartphone sector won't always be astronomical, as has mostly been the case up to this point. Instead, market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that smartphone growth will drop to single-digit territory within the next few years.

Based on IDC's research, worldwide smartphone shipments could dip to an 8.3 percent annual growth rate in 2017 and 6.2 percent in 2018. As it stands, smartphone volume in 2013 jumped past 1 billion units for the first time, representing a staggering 39.2 percent growth rate compared to 2012.

As impressive as that is, 2014 will mark the beginning of slowed growth, IDC says.

"In North America we see more than 200 million smartphones in active use, not to mention the number of feature phones still being used," said Ryan Reith, Program Director with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. "2014 will be an enormous transition year for the smartphone market. Not only will growth decline more than ever before, but the driving forces behind smartphone adoption are changing. New markets for growth bring different rules to play by and 'premium' will not be a major factor in the regions driving overall market growth."

Though smartphone demand might be changing, IDC doesn't see much changing in terms of platform choice. Throughout its forecast, IDC expects Android to remain on top with iOS remaining a clear No. 2, followed by Windows Phone and BlackBerry.

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Intel Launches 730 Series Solid State Drives for Enthusiasts

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 09:45 AM PST

Intel 730 Series SSDLatest SSDs from Intel use a 3rd generation controller built in-house

Intel on Thursday launched a new line of solid state drives built specifically for power users and enthusiasts. The new 730 Series enters the performance storage scene wielding 20nm MLC (multi-level cell) NAND flash memory chips and a third generation Intel controller rather than SandForce silicon as found on the company's 530 Series. According to Intel, the 730 Series was built with DNA extracted from the data center and tuned for gamers and other consumers that require speed and reliability.

For now, the drives are available in 240GB and 480GB capacities. Both models boast sequential read and writes speeds of up to 550MB/s and 470MB/s, respectively, along with random 4K read performance of up to 89,000 IOPS and random 4K write performance of up to 74,000 IOPS. And while you can't adjust the controller's clock speed, Intel said it goosed the clocks from 400MHz to 600MHz and increased the NAND bus speeds from 83MHz to 100MHz.

Beyond raw performance, these drives are built for the long haul. Intel backs the drives with a 5-year warranty and states they can withstand up to 70GB of writes per day, which makes them particularly attractive for content creators working with 4K video.

The drives are also supposed to scale well in RAID 0 configurations. With two of these drives in a RAID 0 setup, 128K sequential writes jump to 960MB/s, and 128K sequential reads balloon to 1,073MB/s. Plop four drives in RAID 0, and performance can exceed 1,500MB/s, Intel says.

Retail pricing for the drives has been set at $249 (240GB) and $489 (480GB). We have a couple of the 480GB models that we're currently testing. Stay tuned for performance benchmarks!

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AMD Demos Reference Tablet Running Windows 8.1 64-bit

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 09:18 AM PST

AMDAMD looks to increase its presence in the tablet market

It's not just Intel that wants to twist some tablet market share out of ARM's grip. AMD sees an opportunity to generate additional revenue as well. The Sunnyvale chip designer is currently showing off a reference tablet built around its 28nm Mullins chip, which is a quad-core part clocked at 1.2GHz. It's also running a 64-bit operating system -- Windows 8.1 with performance described as being "quite good."

That's according to Fudzilla's Fuad Abazovic, who we suspect is reporting from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Quanta built the reference tablet for AMD, and it also sports 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a 60GB mSATA solid state drive, USB 3.0, mini DisplayPort, and a 10-inch Full HD 1080p (1920x1080) display.

Some retail tablets based on AMD's reference design should be out by the middle of this year. In the meantime, there are a few AMD-based slates already on the market, such as MSI's W30, which is powered by an AMD A4 1200 APU built on a 28nm manufacturing process.

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Razer Game Booster to Store Save Files to the Cloud With New Feature

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 08:05 AM PST

Game Booster LogoYou may never know the sorrow of losing a save file again

Razer has announced its new Save Game Manager feature. The feature will be coming to its Razer Game Booster program and will allow users to save any title's save files. The new save feature, which will be in beta upon release, is compatible with any game that has local save files and will support backup services for over 2,000 titles. Users will also be able to manually add games to take advantage of this service to Dropbox. 

In addition, Save Game Manager will sync as many save game files as the user might want, free of charge, and automatically backup a player's saves when they save their progress. However, save files are not the only things the new feature will store. Users' game settings will also be stored to Dropbox such as resolution and anti-aliasing multipliers. 

For those unfamiliar with the Razer Game Booster, it is Razer's free program that helps to optimize system settings and enhance a video game's performance. It will turn off unnecessary processes and applications, catalog games, launch games using the application, and allow users to record in-game footage and take screenshots. 

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MakerBot Now Taking Orders for Replicator Mini 3D Printer

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 07:42 AM PST

Replicator MiniA compact 3D printer for $1,375

While 3D printing may have started out as a niche hobby, it's starting to turn into a popular pastime for creative types and even mainstream users who simply like the novelty of printing out their own tchotchkes. The category still has a long way to go before 3D printers truly become commonplace, but moving in that direction, MakerBot is selling its Replicator Mini, a compact 3D printer with a $1,375 price tag.

That's expensive compared to traditional printers, but if you're serious about getting into 3D printing, it's one of the more affordable price tags around that isn't overly gimped or limited, and is actually the least expensive model MakerBot offers (other models range in price from $2,199 to $6,499). It's also a user-friendly unit, the company says.

"Reflecting on the future of our products, I imagine a lot of them will look like the MakerBot Replicator Mini," said Bre Pettis (PDF), CEO of MakerBot. "We've been working hard for years to make 3D printing easy; now, with the MakerBot Replicator Mini, it is easy. We view the MakerBot Replicator Mini as a versatile and tidy 3D printer that can fit almost anywhere – up at the Space Station, at an elite institution, or in a preschool."

The Replicator Mini is optimized for MakerBot PLA Filament, which is available in at least 17 "fun colors." It has an onboard camera, plug and play features, app and cloud enabled workflow, and Wi-Fi connectivity. In addition to making your own 3D creations, you can download ones that others have made -- there are hundreds of thousands of free, predesigned and ready-to-print models on Thingiverse.

If you're interested, you can place your order on MakerBot's website.

Newegg Daily Deals: Cooler Master Nepton 280L Liquid Cooler, Acer 23-inch Monitor, and More!

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 06:36 AM PST

Cooler Master Neptonnewegg logo

Top Deal:

Thinking about water cooling? There's a lot of research and planning that goes into piecing together a custom solution, or you can roll with a maintenance-free all-in-one kit. Lots of them exist, including one that's part of today' top deal -- a Cooler Master Nepton 280L All-in-One CPU Liquid Cooling System for $120 with free shipping (normally $140; additional $20 mail-in-rebate). This cooler has a 280mm radiator, two JetFlo fans, and an illuminated waterblock.

Other Deals:

Acer 23-inch 5m HDMI Widescreen LED Backligh LCD Monitor for $140 with free shipping (normally $150 - use coupon code: [EMCYTZT5783])

EVGA GeForce GTX 770 4GB 256-Bit Video Card for $400 with free shipping (normally $420; additional $20 Mail-in rebate and Free Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag )

Rosewill Blackhawk Blue Edition Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case for $80 with free shipping (normally $90 - use coupon code: [SUPSALE043])

Intel Core i5-3350P Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.3GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 69W Quad-Core Desktop Processor for $170 with free shipping (normally $180 - use coupon code: [EMCPHHE46])
Posted by Shri Krishna

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