General Gaming Article

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• Zotac Unveils the ZBOX Sphere OI520 Mini PC
• Dropbox vs. Western Digital My Cloud
• LG Advertorial: Work Smarter & Faster with an LG UltraWide Display
• Newegg Daily Deals: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB DDR3-1600, Seagate Barracuda 1TB, and More!
• iBuyPower Teams with Gigabyte to Unveil ‘OptiBoost’ Gaming Laptop Configuration Program
• Security Bug in Internet Explorer 8 Still Roams After 7 Months
• Graphics Cards Shipments Down Slightly During Seasonal Lull
• Lian Li's Hybrid Desk Chassis Shipping in July Starting at $989
• AVADirect Adds Supermicro FatTwin 4U Server Solutions for Power Efficient Workloads

Zotac Unveils the ZBOX Sphere OI520 Mini PC Posted: 22 May 2014 05:18 PM PDT A mini-PC with an orb form factor For those looking for a round PC experience, hardware manufacturer Zotac International has unveiled the new ZBOX Sphere OI520 Series. The form for this series of mini PCs is in the shape of a sphere and is powered by the Intel Core i5 4200U processor (1.6 GHZ base, 2.6GHz Turbo).  The ZBOX O-series offers two types for consumers. The OI520 base model comes with Intel HD 4400 graphics but no RAM (there are two DDR3L slots to acommadate up to 16GB of RAM) or hard drive. But not to worry, the ZBOX is supposed to be easy to upgrade. Just twist off the top and insert the necessary components. However, if you don't want to bother with the RAM or HDD the OI520-Plus model will come with 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a 500GB HDD.  In addition, both models have four USB 3.0 ports (located on the back panel), 3 USB 2.0 ports (two on the back, one on the side), one HDMI output, and one DisplayPort.  Both units also have GbE LAN port, Wireless 802.11ac, and Bluetooth 4.0 support.  No price or release date was provided.  What do you think of the ZBOX Sphere? Too circular for your tastes? Follow Sean on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Dropbox vs. Western Digital My Cloud Posted: 22 May 2014 01:10 PM PDT Dropbox vs. Western Digital My Cloud Every power user has hopped on the cloud storage bandwagon because it's awesome having all your files synced to any Internet-connected machine, but there are two problems. First, we have some privacy concerns; second, it's ridiculously expensive. WD's new My Cloud addresses both of these issues by being dirt cheap (by comparison) and by storing all your data on a "personal cloud," also known as a NAS drive. It's time for a clash of the clouds! Dropbox vs Western Digital My Cloud ROUND 1: Cost Dropbox first entices you with 2GB of free storage for signing up. For each friend you convert to Dropbox, you earn an additional 500MB, with a maximum capacity set at 18GB of free storage. If this still does not satisfy your appetite for storage, Dropbox offers 100, 200, and 500GB options with a linear cost progression; for each dollar you pay, you get one gigabyte of storage (yearly). My Cloud blows this model out of the water by starting at $150 for a 2TB drive, so My Cloud offers 13 times the storage capacity per dollar. The My Cloud also lets you add an external USB 3.0 hard drive for even more storage, pushing the dollar-to-gigabyte ratio even further in its favor. My Cloud will also soon offer a 4TB drive, making it by far the least expensive "cloud" backup option available. In this category, the My Cloud wins by a landslide. Winner: My Cloud WD My Cloud is part of the new "personal cloud" movement, i.e, NAS drives that you can easily connect to from anywhere. ROUND 2: Ease of Use Western Digital makes it easy for even the most novice networker to set up and configure his or her own slice of the cloud. You can easily connect to the My Cloud from any computer on the Internet, and uploading and retrieving files is also straightforward. Granting users access and permissions is also streamlined and simple, making it the slickest NAS we've ever tested. It also includes mobile apps, as well. Kudos to My Cloud, but there's good reason why Dropbox has over 175 million users: It's arguably the slickest cloud storage solution available. Configuring Dropbox is painless and uploading files is as easy as dragging-and-dropping into a folder. As soon as you sync files, Dropbox notifies you of any changes to shared files, and sharing is as easy as right-clicking a file and copying the share link. It's a tough call, but we give the win to Dropbox since it provides more info to the end user. Winner: Dropbox ROUND 3: Security My Cloud consists of a single hard disk inside the device, so it does not offer any type of redundancy. WD is planning on adding multi-bay devices with RAID support in the future, but for now it addresses this issue with a feature called Safepoints, which are basically images of the device you can save to a different volume in case of failure. You can save one anytime, and also configure the interval at which future Safepoints are created. Dropbox, on the other hand, is even more secure. It sports Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and 256-AES encryption for data transfers and storage. Files are stored in Dropbox servers all over the world, too, so it's as redundant as a data center. There is even an option for two-step verification, which the My Cloud does not offer. With features like these, it's hard for anyone to wrestle this crown away from Dropbox. Dropbox was the first company to make file sharing easy (in our opinion), but paying $1 per gigabyte hurts. Winner: Dropbox ROUND 4: Performance Since these are both network-attached products, their performance is somewhat dependent on the speed of your network. When copying files to My Cloud we measured impressive 79MB/s read and 62MB/s write speeds. We were able to stream music and movies to remote devices with no issues, but when uploading a file remotely, we experienced speeds no greater than 100KB/s. Dropbox syncs and stores files to your boot drive, but files are sent to Dropbox's servers before syncing to your local storage, so it's at a disadvantage here. What's more, Dropbox automatically throttles itself to 75 percent of the maximum network bandwidth for uploads. On the other hand, we do appreciate that Dropbox allocates even less bandwidth for syncing, so large file transfers don't choke our Internet connection. But ultimately, Dropbox can't compete with local storage when it comes to speed, so this one goes to My Cloud. Winner: My Cloud ROUND 5: Features When logging into the My Cloud desktop app, you are greeted with an easy-to-navigate interface. WD makes it easy to create user accounts, grant share access, and establish Safepoints in the event the drive fails. There are also options to reset the device, back up your iTunes and Dropbox folders, perform system diagnostics, and more. In general, WD's My Cloud offers a comprehensive set of tools for configuring and administering a NAS unit that anyone can use. Dropbox offers selective and LAN syncs, screenshot sharing, bandwidth allocation, options to connect to proxies, and supports a variety of mobile platforms such as iPhone, iPad, Android, and Blackberry. Both services offer desktop and mobile clients along with the ability to share folders with multiple people, but My Cloud is more full-featured. Plus, we like its backup features and diagnostic tools as well, which are just not part of the Dropbox experience.  Winner: My Cloud And the Winner Is… We all love and use Dropbox daily, but as a storage solution for a few hundred gigs or more of data, Western Digital's My Cloud is the victor. Along with its abundant NAS features and configurability, it takes the win by being extremely easy to use, just like Dropbox, but also more affordable and expandable. For a few gigs of files, Dropbox still reigns supreme, but for larger amounts of data, My Cloud is the better option.

LG Advertorial: Work Smarter & Faster with an LG UltraWide Display Posted: 22 May 2014 11:02 AM PDT Say goodbye to bezels with LG's UltraWide monitors   Do you enjoy gaming across multiple monitors? Ever wanted to be free of the intrusive bezel gaps caused by overlapping screens? LG's range of UltraWide monitors promise smooth single-screen gaming at widescreen resolutions, offer a refreshing amount of workspace when you're not busy running fleet assaults in Eve Online, or snatching victory in Dota 2. It turns out games look great at cinematic aspect ratios. LG's 21x9 displays come in a range of sizes, from 25 to 35 inch, boasting IPS screens with healthy viewing angles, and a low latency that'll translate your mouse movements into game action swiftly.    If you're looking for plenty of on-screen real estate, the 34UM95's 3440x1440 resolution represents an excellent super-HD option. For graphic designers and engineers, or anyone who works with computers every day, the monitor's Screen Split technology will let you run multiple applications easily on the same display. It even looks great with the bold interfaces of Windows 8 and Steam's Big Picture mode. LG has earned a reputation for producing powerful, vivid screens, recently winning at the Technical Image Press Association Awards 2014. There the LG 34UM95 scooped the "Best Photo Monitor" gong for its robust colour reproduction and deep, accurate colours. The same technology will bring out the best in the PC's most beautiful games. Expect the electric blue oceans of Assassin's Creed 4 to look even more vibrant.   You'll get plenty of width for your buck across LG's range of smaller HD UltraWide monitors, too. The 29UM65 provides a good 29-inch alternative, and for those looking for something a little more petite, there's a 25 inch choice in the 25UM65. Both run 8-bit screens for quick and crisp visuals and accurate color reproduction. In addition, the 2560x1080 resolution won't put much extra strain on your graphics card, if you're switching up from a 1920x1080 screen. Beyond gaming, you'll find plenty of useful utilities that'll make everyday use easier. All of LG's UltraWide monitors work with Dual Linkup, which lets you share the screen between two devices—ideal for expert multitaskers. Reader Mode eliminates uncomfortable blue tones to allow for long reading sessions that are easy on the eyes. A competitive range of ports makes the UltraWide a flexible series, too. Each edition features a pair of HDMI ports, headphone sockets and, in the big 34UM95, a USB 3.0 slot. As you'd expect, movies look great. That 21x9 ratio will let you watch your favorite films with no black bars. More and more games are offering flexible resolution settings, and multi-monitor support. The LG UltraWide offers greater gaming immersion, and provides a spacious workspace between gaming sessions. Find out more about the UltraWide range on LG's site.

Newegg Daily Deals: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB DDR3-1600, Seagate Barracuda 1TB, and More! Posted: 22 May 2014 10:35 AM PDT Top Deal: Some kids grow up wanting a pony, others pester their parents for a dog or fish. So what happens? We all ended up with cats, and now the Internet is filled with various cat-themed memes. That's okay -- we love cats, and we love many of the memes. But what we really wanted growing up was RAM! And lots of it! "Where would we even buy a RAM?," our parents would ask. "At CompUSA!," we'd reply, only to be ignored afterwards. Well, now that we're adults, we can own as much RAM as we want. And what better time with prices being having plummeted over the last decade or so! For example, look at today's top deal for a G.Skill 16GB (2x8GB) Ripjaws X Series DDR3-1600 RAM Kit for $141 with free shipping (normally $165 - use coupon code: [EMCPEHH25]). The only thing you need to feed it is data! Other Deals: Western Digital Elements 1TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive for $60 with free shipping (normally $70 - use coupon code: [EMCPEHW52]) Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120G 2.5-inch 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive for $60 with free shipping Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5-inch Internal Hard Drive for $55 with free shipping (normally $65 - use coupon code: [EMCPEHH23]) Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit for $125 with free shipping (normally $140 - use coupon code: [EMCPEHH52])

iBuyPower Teams with Gigabyte to Unveil ‘OptiBoost’ Gaming Laptop Configuration Program Posted: 22 May 2014 10:21 AM PDT Customize a gaming laptop just like you would a desktop Boutique builder iBuyPower is introducing OptiBoost, a fancy name for a customization program that will offer many of the same configuration options when shopping for a gaming laptop as you'll find when customizing a desktop PC. iBuyPower isn't really breaking new ground here, but presumably you'll have more options to choose from than when typically shopping a laptop PC. And to kick things off, iBuyPower will offer its OptiBoost program on select Gigabyte gaming notebooks. "This is going to be a game changer. As customers know more, they also demand more. And when you're serious about performance, you want to have things done your way. That's the whole idea behind OptiBoost," said Darren Su, Vice President of iBuyPower. Game changer or not, you'll be able to customize the core components of your laptop, including the processor, graphics card, SSD and/or HDD, and more. "Gigabyte is excited about cooperating with iBuyPower on this new OptiBoost program," said Vincent Liu, sales director at Gigabyte notebook division. "Combining our leading edge gaming notebooks with the configurability and flexibility of the OptiBoost program will allow users to not only build a truly bespoke notebook, but to have exactly the system they need." Initially the OptiBoost program will apply to Gigabyte's Ultraforce line of notebooks, namely the P3a4Gv2, P35Gv2, and P35Wv2, though iBuyPower says it will be expanding quickly. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Security Bug in Internet Explorer 8 Still Roams After 7 Months Posted: 22 May 2014 09:43 AM PDT Will Microsoft ever bother to squash this security bug? There's a zero-day security flaw in Internet Explorer that's been known for at least the last 7 months, yet Microsoft has yet to release a patch. Perhaps it never will -- after all, IE8 is the last version of Microsoft's browser to support Windows XP, which itself is now an unsupported operating system. Alternately, Microsoft might just be having a really tough time with this one -- the Redmond outfit doesn't have a whole lot to say on the matter. According to Zero Day Initiative, the vulnerability allows remote hackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations. The exploit requires user interaction, in that the target has to first visit a malicious website or open up a malicious file. In either case, it could spell bad news for the victim. So, what's going on with Microsoft? "We build and thoroughly test every security fix as quickly as possible. Some fixes are more complex than others, and we must test every one against a huge number of programs, applications, and different configurations," a Microsoft spokesperson told CNET. Understood, though a recent zero-day bug discovered in multiple versions of IE shortly after support for XP ended was patched by an out-of-cycle update in less than a week after its discovery. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Graphics Cards Shipments Down Slightly During Seasonal Lull Posted: 22 May 2014 09:14 AM PDT Add-in board graphics is mostly a two horse race Market research firm Jon Peddie Research (JPR) said the decline in add-in graphics boards (disrete graphics cards, in other words, as opposed to integrated GPUs) during the first quarter of 2014 was "disappointing, but seasonally understandable." On a sequential basis, AIB shipments dropped 6.7 percent, though on a year-to-year basis, they're only down 0.8 percent, compared to desktop PCs as a whole, which declined 1.1 percent. The attach rate of AIBs to desktop PCs has fallen sharply over the last several years, dropping from 63 percent in Q1 2008 to 45 percent in Q1 2014. That's not surprising when you consider that both Intel and AMD include integrated graphics on their processors these days. In addition, the attach rate is actually up compared to last quarter, when it was 43.8 percent. According to JPR, Nvidia's share of the AIB market is now 65 percent, up a tick from 64.9 percent last quarter and 64.2 percent a year ago. Meanwhile, AMD's share is holding steady at 35 percent, the same as it was last quarter and down a smidgendd from 35.6 percent a year ago. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Lian Li's Hybrid Desk Chassis Shipping in July Starting at $989 Posted: 22 May 2014 08:48 AM PDT Is it a desk or a computer case? It's both! Lian Li teased a prototype computer case that doubles as desk back in January of this year. At the time, the company wasn't sure if the design would move past the prototype phase and become an actual product, but apparently a decision has been made. Lian Li announced today that it will begin shipping two versions of its computer desk -- DK-01X and DK-02X -- in the U.S. this July starting at $989. One is a single-system enclosure (DK-01X) and the other is a dual-system chassis (DK-02X). Both are constructed of aluminum and sport an all-black design. There's a lockable sliding door to make installing and upgrading hardware easy, along with an adjustable and removable keyboard tray. You'll also find a side-mounted pocket with headphone rack for storing unused accessories. There's plenty of space in each configuration with support for motherboards up to HPTX for both models, plus support for mini-ITX motherboards on the gaming oriented side of the DK-02X. Both support liquid cooling and can accommodate 360mm radiators on the side, along with removable brackets on the front -- the DK-01x has a 360mm bracket and the DK-02X has two 240mm brackets. Other options include support for up to 10 removable hard drives on the DK-01X and 17 HDD bays on the DK-02X (8 for the smaller system and 9 for the larger system), CPU coolers up to 7 inches in height, power supplies up to 11 inches in length, and graphics cards up to 16.5 inches in length. The DK-01X will sell for $989 and the DK-02X will go for $1,189. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

AVADirect Adds Supermicro FatTwin 4U Server Solutions for Power Efficient Workloads Posted: 22 May 2014 08:18 AM PDT Supports dedicated GPUs for added horsepower AVADirect, the boutique system builder based in Ohio, is now offering Supermicro FatTwin 4U server solutions with up to Intel Octa-Xeon processing and dedicated GPU options. The FatTwin uses a four-blade form factor that can be stuffed with high-end hardware, depending on what you're trying to accomplish. According to AVADirect, the FatTwin is adept at a number of different tasks, including complex calculations, video rendering, 3D modeling, simulation, multi-virtual machine environments, hosting, and more. You'd be hard pressed to fill a FatTwin to the brim, both from a cost standpoint and from a needs standpoint. To wit, each node contains 16 DIMM slots that support 32GB modules up to 1866MHz; if you want to push 1TB of RAM, you'll need to use LRDIMMs, AVADirect says. Each node also supports two Socekt 2011 Xeon processors, two 3.5-inch hot-swappable SAS drives, three double-wide PCI-Express 16x 3.0 expansion slots (plus two additional PCI-E 8x 3.0 slots), dual 10GBase-T, two USB 2.0 ports, and a shared 1620W high-efficiency power supply. You can build your own now starting at around $10,100 (or simply window shop). Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

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