General Gaming Article

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• Newegg Daily Deals: Mushkin Enhanced Chronos 240GB SSD, EVGA 1000W PSU, and More!
• Customizable MSI Gaming Laptops Now Available Through iBuyPower
• Lian Li Rolls Out Boxy Looking PC-Q01 Case for Mini ITX Builds
• Microsoft's First Android Phone (Nokia X2) Focuses on Affordability
• PNY Responds to Optima SSD Controller Controversy

Newegg Daily Deals: Mushkin Enhanced Chronos 240GB SSD, EVGA 1000W PSU, and More! Posted: 24 Jun 2014 10:47 AM PDT Top Deal: Does your hard drive sound like an aluminum can being shoved down the garbage disposal? If so, that's a bad sign. Back up your data STAT. When you're finished, consider the silver lining, which is that a dying hard drive is a perfect excuse to upgrade to a solid state drive. Need ideas? Look at today's top deal for a Mushkin Enhanced Chronos 2.5-inch 240GB SSD for $105 with free shipping. This drive boasts maximum sequential read and write speeds of up to 560MB/s and 552MB/s, respectively. Other Deals: Samsung D3 Station 4TB USB 3.0 3.5-inch Desktop External Hard Drive for $130 with free shipping EVGA GeForce GTX 760 4GB 256-Bit w/ EVGA ACX Cooler Video Card for $280 with free shipping (normally $290; Additional $10 Mail-in rebate) Samsung SD300 Series 23.6-inch 5ms (GTG) HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor for $130 with free shipping (normally $140 - use coupon code: [EMCYTZG549]) EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G2 80 Plus Gold 1000W ATX12V Full Modular 10 Year Warranty Power Supply for $130 with free shipping (normally $165; Additional $35 Mail-in rebate)

Customizable MSI Gaming Laptops Now Available Through iBuyPower Posted: 24 Jun 2014 10:01 AM PDT MSI joins iBuyPower's customizable OptiBoost program Your options for configuring a name brand gaming laptop from iBuyPower are expanding. As part of what iBuyPower is calling its Optiboost program, select notebook makers are teaming up with the boutique builder to offer customizable laptops. iBuyPower kicked off its Optiboost program last month with Gigabyte, and now MSI is joining the program with five different laptops to choose from. "Individuality is a big part of the mobile gaming experience and MSI is confident that iBuyPower's Optiboost program will deliver the ideal combination of customized performance and value," said Andy Tung, President of MSI Pan America. "We are making mobile gaming personal again." Customizable MSI gaming laptops include the GP60 Leopard ($949), GP70 Leopard ($969), GT70 Dominator ($1,649), GT70 Dominator Pro ($2,099), and GE70 Apache ($1,139). These are all 17.3-inch laptops except for the GP60, which is 15.6 inches. All five sport 1920x1080 resolutions. The upgrade options aren't quite as robust as some of iBuyPower's own systems, though you can upgrade the CPU, RAM, storage, and a few other components. You can check it out here. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Lian Li Rolls Out Boxy Looking PC-Q01 Case for Mini ITX Builds Posted: 24 Jun 2014 09:42 AM PDT A brushed aluminum chassis for smaller systems Lian Li's obvious fetish for brushed aluminum continues to influence the company's penchant for designing cases. The newest case from Lian Li to receive the brushed aluminum treatment is the PC-Q01, a mini-ITX enclosure with "ample space for hardware" and a tool-lessly removable L-shaped cover that's designed to make installations a lot easier for a mini-ITX build, the company says. It's a 13.3L case that supports double-slotted graphics cards and ATX power supplies up to 210mm in length, and CPU coolers up to 90mm in height. For storage chores, both the side panel and case floor can hold a combination of a 2.5-inch SSD and 3.5-inch HDD, or two 2.5-inch SSDs, Lian Li says. Lian Li designed the case with passive cooling in mind, though if the thought of a fanless enclosure gives you the heebie-jeebies, you can add a 120mm or 140mm fan on the case floor in place of drives. The PC-Q01 will be available this month in black or silver for $64 MSRP. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Microsoft's First Android Phone (Nokia X2) Focuses on Affordability Posted: 24 Jun 2014 08:33 AM PDT Nokia X2 rolls out globally in July for 99 euros The day has finally come that Microsoft released an Android handset. Of course, we knew this day was coming, the wheels of which were set in motion when Microsoft acquired Nokia's mobile division. Still, it's a bit surreal. That said, Microsoft's launch of the Nokia X2 isn't about dominating the Android space with a high-end handset, but about introducing the "next billion" people to the mobile Internet and cloud services. This is an entry level device from head to toe. The Nokia X2 has a 4.3-inch display with an 800x480 resolution powered by a Snapdragon 200 dual-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz and 1GB of RAM. It also features a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus and flash, 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and an 1800 mAh battery that's good for up to 10 hours of talk time on 2G, up to 13 hours of talk time on 3G, and up to 23 days of standby time. Microsoft is being careful not to overly promote the Android brand. While Microsoft is quick to point out that the Nokia X2 "provides access to a world of Android apps and popular Microsoft services," the OS is referred to as the Nokia X Software Platform 2.0, which we hear is based on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. The Nokia X2 will launch as a dual-SIM device available in glossy orange, black, and green in July for 99 euros. Later on Microsoft will add glossy yellow, white, and matte gray color options to the lineup. All of these seem destined for developing regions rather than places like the U.S. where Microsoft would prefer you purchase a Lumia handset. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

PNY Responds to Optima SSD Controller Controversy Posted: 24 Jun 2014 06:50 AM PDT Retail Optima SSDs were found to be using different controllers than the ones sent to reviewers PNY put itself in a somewhat sticky spot when it decided to equip its Optima solid state drives bound for retail with a different brand controller than the ones that were sent to reviewers. Once it was discovered by the public, there were cries of wrongdoing over what buyers considered a bait-and-switch tactic. We reached out to PNY for an official explanation on the matter and here's what the company told us. "The PNY Optima SSD line is an entry-level and value driven product. As our website states, the Optima SSDs utilize multiple qualified controllers to offer the best available solution to our customers. We do not and have not specified any one particular brand of controller, however we do feature performance specifications which include using synchronous flash and random read/write speeds of up to 60k," PNY told Maximum PC. In other words, it's all about the performance claims. Pricing and availability may dictate which controller PNY uses at any particular time, and while two SSDs from the same product family might sport different parts, performance should be comparable. This is similar to the statement PNY provided when the controller swap first came to light. What people found sketchy, however, was that every Optima SSD sent out to reviewers used SMI controllers, while those in the retail sector were found to be using LSI (SandForce) controllers. PNY offered up an explanation for that as well. "All the reviews units were shipped simultaneously and those Optima SSDs were built with SMI controllers – one of the newer controllers currently available on the market. However the current set of Optima SSDs are being built with LSI controllers, a very reputable line which meet all advertised performance specifications," PNY added. "Either way, consumers should have peace of mind that they are receiving a solid product built with tier 1 synchronous flash. PNY has been completely transparent about the use of multiple qualified controllers which grants us the ability to offer consumers the best possible value and performance." We checked PNY's website and sure enough, the description for its Optima SSDs clearly states that it uses "multiple qualified controllers," which gives the company the flexibility it needs to "stay very competitive in the entry-level SSD market." This is different from, say, the PNY's XLR8 SSD line, in which the company lists the controller (SandForce 2281). None of this means you need to like or agree with the practice of swapping parts, especially in situations like this where reviewers and consumers received SSDs with completely different controllers. If nothing else, PNY (and other companies that might be doing the same thing) could avoid these situations by pointing out to reviewers the possibility of using different parts, which could then be included in the review. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

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