| Digital Storm Aventum II Review Posted: 20 May 2014 03:39 PM PDT What's red and faster than Dream Machine? This PC There's a little secret in the high-end PC market—few if any of these premium rigs actually have truly unique case enclosures. Instead, most boutique builders start with existing off-the-shelf chassis and customize from there. The more ambitious OEMs will contract small runs from case companies and tack on a customized façade or logo. Even then, if you look close enough, you'll see their mass-production lineage. 
The Aventum II's case is custom built, not a re-skin of an existing case design. That's not so with Digital Storm's Aventum II. Now in its second iteration, the rig highlights Digital Storm's efforts at creating a truly unique enclosure. Rather than contract for a few thousand semi-custom cases with a slightly different nip or tuck, Digital Storm decided to CAD/CAM its own super-tower from scratch and have it hand-built right here in the US of A. This lets DStorm change the design to suit newer hardware, and boast a case that no one else can have. The giganourmous Aventum II case is a full four inches deeper than the already-honkin' Corsair 900D and dwarfs just about all other super-towers. With any system, it's not just about the case, though. Details of the components are spelled out in our spec chart, but the highlights include a 3.6GHz Core i7-4960X processor overclocked to 4.7GHz, along with 32GB of DDR3/1866 and a four-way GeForce GTX 780 Ti setup. If you read our Dream Machine story (September 2013), you know this much hardware is difficult to juice up. We had issues with our 1,600W PSU, and the last two four-way GPU boxes have all had big PSUs, too. DStorm gets around this by integrating two Corsair AX1200i PSUs into the system. That gives the box a combined power reserve of 2,400 watts. With the depth of the Aventum II (about 30 inches) it has enough room to integrate large rads along with the dual PSUs (and yes, peanut gallery, we hear you saying that maybe, just maybe, we should have done this in DM2013, too). In performance terms, the Aventum II is in good company. Up until now, the Dream Machine has held most of our benchmark records, but that's no longer the case. The Aventum II just squeezes past the 5GHz Core i7-3670X in DM2013 in Premiere Pro CS6 and X264 HD 5.01 performance. It gets trickier on the graphics side—the Aventum II does set a new record in Batman: Arkham City but that's pretty much a CPU benchmark today. In 3DMark11, the Aventum II loses to both DM2013 and the four-way Titan-based Origin PC Genesis that we reviewed in December, by about 10 percent. The reason? DStorm couldn't get water blocks for the 780 Ti in time for our review, as the PCB layout has changed from the Titan's. And on air, the company was sensitive not to offend our acoustic sensibilities since we had just beaten up its loud Bolt PC in our micro-tower roundup (November 2013). Consequently, the Aventum II is as silent as any liquid-cooled system. So, four-way Titan is better than four-way 780 Ti, right? Nope. We decided to see what the air-cooled 780 Ti cards could do when the librarian wasn't shushing them, so we overclocked the cards by 158MHz and let them push thermals higher. With those settings, we hit 17,840 in 3DMark11, which easily bakes the four-way Titans—even the overclocked Titans—and we're sure 18K would easily be surpassed with another 10 minutes of tweaking. We have some internal figures for Tomb Raider, Hitman, and Unigine 4.0 for DM2013, and the Aventum II easily wins there too, once the noise gloves are off. For the record, it did get a little loud, but not offensively so. Still, we're torn. It's simply a crime not to have liquid-cooled 780 Tis in this Lust Red box, yet we acknowledge that the option doesn't exist today. And we also have to give Digital Storm props for its truly unique chassis, its digital fan and LED control, and the sheer straight-line speed it has in beating DM2013. As much as we wanted to withhold a Kick Ass from the Aventum II for the lack of liquid-cooled GPUs, we think the rig deserves the honor for being so dedicated to Pure PC Power. $10,905, www.digitalstorm.com |
| Chuck E. Cheese Plans to Party with Oculus Rift in Select Areas Posted: 20 May 2014 10:48 AM PDT  Oculus Rift will virtualize the ticket blaster experience
If you've ever been to a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party before, then you're familiar with the Ticket Blaster -- a phone booth sized contraption filled with single tickets, plus a special 1,000 ticket piece of paper. The kid celebrating his or her birthday gets to slip inside and try to grab as many tickets as possible as a vortex of wind swirls them around. Kids love it, but at select locations, Chuck E. Cheese will create a virtual Ticket Blaster experience using the Oculus Rift. "Kids today have unprecedented access to game consoles and tablets," said Roger Cardinale, president, CEC Entertainment, Inc. "Our challenge is to deliver an experience not available at home, and there is no doubt virtual reality does just that. Oculus Rift technology is the next frontier in the gaming industry, and we're thrilled to be able to say it's part of the Chuck E. Cheese's lineup." The Oculus Rift VR headset will register how many tickets the kid collects as they spin a full 360 degrees. Users are supposed to feel like they're in the machine, though whether it's successful or not remains to be seen -- Chuck E. Cheese will test the technology at more than 15 locations for a period of six weeks. "We believe that virtual reality eventually will be as popular as our handheld devices," said Reel FX founder and Executive Creative Director Dale Carman. "It's a game-changer, and we're investing incredible time and talent into developing content for the Oculus Rift." This isn't exactly the kind of thing we had hoped for when Facebook acquired Oculus Rift for $2 billion back in March, but hey, it's better than virtual Candy Crush, right? Right!? Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| NZXT Tries Hand at Software, Designs CAM for Monitoring PCs Posted: 20 May 2014 10:33 AM PDT  CAM lets you keep an eye on your system's vitals
NZXT offers a robust line of case, cooling products, power supplies, and related accessories. However, one thing the company hasn't dabbled with up to this point is software. That all changes today. NZXT just launched its CAM software -- essentially a companion utility for your PC that allows you to monitor system vitals, such as GPU and CPU temps, along with a range of other data. You can create an account and sync CAM to the cloud. In doing so, you can monitor your PC away from home on your mobile device. Depending on how you have it configured, CAM will send you notifications if, say, your motherboard or graphics card exceeds a certain temperature threshold -- pretty handy if you're into distributed computing projects such as Folding@Home. CAM can also let you know if your hard drive is filling up, if a fan has lost its connection, or if your motherboard's CMOS battery is going bad, among other things. The software is free to download and use. It's available for Windows now, and will be available for iOS and Android in June. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Newegg Daily Deals: Antec Nine Hundred Case, Intel Core i7 4770K, and More! Posted: 20 May 2014 09:43 AM PDT |
| Microsoft Equips Surface Pro 3 with a Bigger Screen, Thinner Profile, and Faster Hardware Posted: 20 May 2014 09:23 AM PDT  Surface Pro 3 makes a bid to replace your laptop
As expected, Microsoft took to stage and unveiled its Surface Pro 3 device at a press event in New York City today. The third generation Surface represents an improvement over previous models in just about every way and may finally convince users it's worth using as their primary laptop. It's thinner at 9.1mm, lighter at 800g, and boasts a bigger display at 12 inches. The Surface Pro 3 is also faster with up to a Core i7 foundation. The theme during the unveiling was that Surface Pro 3 is a tablet that can replace your laptop. It certainly has the hardware -- Core i3, i5, and i7 processor options, 64GB to 512GB of storage space, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, full-size USB 3.0 port, mini DisplayPort, and a microSD card reader. All this supplements the color-calibrated 12-inch display with a 2160x1440 resolution To really replace a laptop, however, you'd be well served to invest in an optional Type Cover and/or dock. The Type Cover comes in five colors and has a more responsive touchpad that's 68 percent larger. It also has an secondary attachment mode that provides additional stability when using the Surface Pro 3 on your lap. 
Other notable tidbits from the unveiling -- the kickstand features a new hinge design that can bend all the way down to 150 degrees, the docking station can output to 4K Ultra HD displays, and Microsoft invented a new fan technology that's 30 percent more efficient than the previous version. The Surface Pro 3 will be available to preorder tonight at 12:01 am Eastern Time at Microsoftstore.com, at Microsoft Stores, and Best Buy in the U.S. It will then be available to purchase on June 20th. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Microsoft Announces New 12-inch Surface Pro 3 Posted: 20 May 2014 07:58 AM PDT  Bigger screen, slimmer profile
Microsoft kicked off its Surface event in New York City announcing a new 12-inch Surface Pro 3 tablet that's faster and even thinner than the Surface Pro 2. The biggest thing about the new slate is its new 12-inch diagonal screen with a 2160x1440 resolution. What's more the screen has 3:2 aspect ratio screen that adds a bit more vertical resolution space to read stories. Tucked inside the Surface Pro 3, it has what Microsoft Corporate VP Panos Panay says is the thinnest Core processor Intel has ever created. While it's extremely thin, the new Haswell Core i7 processor also affords the new tablet 10% more performance. You'll get "the full power of the PC in one hand," Panay said on stage. By packing in a more effecient fan, the Surface Pro 3 has been slimmed down to a mere 9.1-milimeters, a major nip tuck from the Surface Pro 2's 13-millimeter thickness. It's also over 100-grams lighter compared to the Surface Pro 2 at 800-grams. 
In another external change the new tablet has a fully articulating kickstand rather than the two-stop hinge on the Surface Pro 2. This new fiction hinge allows the tablet start off from a 22-degree angle to a nearly laid flat canvas mode making the tablet easier to type and write on. 
Panay says they've also reinvented its type cover with an extra magnetic latch that clips into the bottom lip of the tablet to make it more stable when laid across your lap. It's a small addition but Panay demonstrated the way an extra point of stability almost like a laptop. The new type cover is also thinner and has a much better track pad reducing friction by 70% and a two-finger scroll that actually kicks in when you want it to. 
The Surface Pro goes one sale starting tomorrow starting at $799 with a Core i3 model complete with 4GB of memory and 64GB of SSD storage. It's $999 for the next tier up with Core i5 processor, 128GB of storage, and the same ammount of RAM. For double the storage and RAM it's $1,299. Getting into the first Core i7 chip with the same internals as the previous Core i5 spec costs $1,549. Lastly power users can pick up the top-end Core i7 model with 512GB of SSD space for a hefty $1,949. |
| MakerBot Now Shipping Replicator Mini Compact 3D Printer Posted: 20 May 2014 07:55 AM PDT  MakerBot's $1,375 3D printer has begun shipping to customers
Perhaps one day in the future, 3D printers will be as common as any other appliance in the household, like a toaster or microwave. In the meantime, it's all about small victories as the technology inches closer to the mainstream. Taking a step in that direction, MakerBot today announced that its 'MakerBot Replicator Mini Compact 3D Printer' has begun shipping out to customers. The Replicator Mini, as we'll refer to it from here on out, is one of the company's new fifth generation 3D printers. it was originally announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas earlier this year and has won a handful of awards since then. "As soon as we announced the MakerBot Replicator Mini, we received calls and orders from customers who couldn't wait to purchase this easy and affordable 3D printer," said Bre Pettis (PDF), CEO of MakerBot. "We see the MakerBot Replicator Mini as a turning point in the 3D printing industry. Much like the transition of the computer moving into the home 30 years ago, the MakerBot Replicator Mini is one of the first 3D printers to shift from the office to the home." Though it's billed as a comparatively affordable 3D printer, the Replicator Mini carries a $1,375 price tag, which isn't exactly chump change. However, it's affordable in the sense that some other 3D printers can run much more, and it's the least expensive one MakerBot offers. Using the Replicator Mini, you can find and download 3D printable items from Thingverse.com. The online destination has over 300,000 free downloadable digital designs to play with. You can also purchase and download files from the MakerBot Digital Store, or create your own 3D prints. You can find out more (and place an order) on the Replicator Mini product page. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Alienware Expects Steam Machine Will Be Least Profitable System Posted: 20 May 2014 06:13 AM PDT  Dell is up to the challenge of pushing Steam Machines through its Alienware arm
After much hype, the hoopla surrounding Valve's Steam Machine initiative seems to have died down, though it's only the calm before the storm. They're coming, and though Valve won't receive royalties from PC makers who build Steam Machines around its Linux-based Steam OS, there is sufficient pressure to keep pricing on the level of traditional game consoles. This is something Alienware admits will be a challenge, though it's one the company is more than happy to tackle. "It's going to be very challenging," Frank Azor, general manager of Dell's Alienware division, told The Wall Street Journal. "This will absolutely be the least profitable system we ever sell." If that's the case, the obvious follow-up question is why even bother with the Steam Machine initiative? Alienware's answer is the power of Valve and the impact Steam has had on PC gaming. Azor expanded on that sentiment to our sister publication, PC Gamer. "Alienware is very optimistic about PC gaming's future and its opportunity to extend to the TV. We have been partners with Valve since the inception of the Steam Machine over 2 years ago," Azor explained. "Our decision to invest in developing the purpose-built Alienware Steam Machine, pairing it with incredible performance and pricing it as aggressively as possible has everything to do with how much we believe in this vision and want to see it materialize." In some ways, Alienware and the other dozen or so OEMs jumping on board are taking a leap of faith that Valve's vision is spot on. If Valve is right, everyone involved will benefit -- OEMs, gamers, game publishers, and of course Valve. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
