| AMD Will Celebrate 30 Years of Graphics and Gaming with Live Webcast Posted: 22 Aug 2014 05:41 PM PDT  How time flies
AMD has been keeping itself busy these days. In addition to its Mantle API, the company is working on a line of Radeon-branded SSDs and there are rumors that it will cut the pricing on its FX processors in September. Despite all of this, AMD will be celebrating 30 years of graphics and gaming this Saturday, August 23, with a live broadcast. The live stream will start at 7:00 AM PST/10:00 AM EST with AMD chief gaming scientist Richard Huddy as the master of ceremonies. Huddy was a guest on the No BS Podcast #226 for an in-depth interview that we recommend you listen to. The event will be broadcasted live from the company's Lone Star Campus in Austin, Texas where game developers will be asked about their latest projects. Unfortunately, AMD did not reveal what developers would be interviewed. It will also provide stories that cover the history of the company and, supposedly, there will be some new product announcements. Everyone will be able to watch it on AMD's website and TwitchTV while a re-broadcast of the event will be available to watch four hours afterwards. Will you be watching the broadcast tomorrow and what do you hope to see? Follow Sean on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Google’s Self-Driving Car Will Have A Steering Wheel Posted: 22 Aug 2014 04:57 PM PDT  California's new testing rules the reason why
Google has been working on its own self-driving car and putting the vehicle through its paces. One of the interesting things about the car is the fact that it doesn't have a steering wheel. However, a set of new testing rules from California's Department of Motor Vehicles will change that, reports The Wall Street Journal. Now Google's self-driving car will have a steering wheel and a pedal system. In order for people to test Google's car, according to the new rules, a test driver is "either in immediate physical control of the vehicle or is actively monitoring the vehicle's operations and capable of taking over immediate physical control." In response to the rules, that will take effect on September 16, Google will comply by developing a small, temporary steering wheel and pedal system that can be used during the tests. Commenting on the new trappings, Google spokeswoman Courtney Hohne said, "With these additions, our safety drivers can test the self-driving features, while having the ability to take control of the vehicle if necessary." Prior to the rule change, the self-driving car only had a screen that showed the vehicle's route and buttons to start and stop the car. Google plans to produce 100 of its self-driving cars, that have the speed limit capped at 25 MPH, with testing on private roads to begin next month. Would you feel safer now that Google's self-driving car has a steering wheel and pedal system? Follow Sean on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Newegg Daily Deals: Corsair Hydro Series H105 Extreme Liquid Cooler, BenQ 27-inch LCD, and More! Posted: 22 Aug 2014 11:06 AM PDT |
| HP Pushes Windows 7 PCs for Back to School Season with Instant Discounts Posted: 22 Aug 2014 10:55 AM PDT  Save money on a Windows 7 system
With Windows 9 (Threshold) rumored for an introduction next month along with a Release Preview for consumers and developers alike, it's safe to say that the Windows 8 era is winding down, though some would argue it never truly began (market share figures would back that argument). So, what do you do if you're an OEM looking to pick up sales for the back to school season? Well, if you're HP, you promote Windows 7 and offer shoppers an enticing discount. HP has been sending out a newsletter to customers with the heading, "Windows 7 PCs on sale, just in time for school." That's an interesting sales pitch some two years after Windows 8 has been on the market. Nevertheless, consumers just haven't reacted to Windows 8/8.1 the way Microsoft hoped they would, so this isn't a terrible move by HP. If you head over to HP's "Laptops & hybrids" section, you'll see HP pushing Windows 7 laptops with instant savings of up to $170. You can save up to 20 percent off of Windows 7 laptops in certain cases, such as the HP Pavilion 15t-n200 -- it normally sells for $750 but is currently marked down to $600. The HP Envy 15t-j100 Quad Edition is close behind with a 19 percent reduction to $730, down from $900. Time is running out for Microsoft's hardware partners to sell Windows 7 PCs to consumers. After October 31, they'll no longer be able to sell systems with Windows 7 as a standard option. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Study Shows Near Equal Split Between Female and Male Gamers Posted: 22 Aug 2014 10:32 AM PDT  Fun facts about the video game industry
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) released a report titled "Essential Facts About the Computer and Video game Industry" that's filled with sales, demographic, and usage data. According to the report, 59 percent of Americans play video games with an average of two gamers in each game playing U.S. household. Some 51 percent of U.S. households own a dedicated game console, and of those that do, most own two. As for the gender breakdown, 52 percent of gamers are male and 48 percent are female. However, things get interesting when you examine the breakdown by age. "Women age 18 or older represent a significantly greater portion of the game playing population (36 percent) than boys age 18 or younger (17 percent)," ESA states in its report (PDF). Also interesting is that the number of female gamers age 50 and older increased by 32 percent from 2012 to 2013. ESA didn't provide any reasons for the rise, but we'd guess it has to do with accessibility, such as playing games on tablets and smartphones. Not surprisingly, casual and social game play on mobile devices and online went up "significantly" as well. Among the most frequent gamers, social games are now the most popular, increasing in popularity by 55 percent from 2012 to 2013. Image Credit: Flickr (włodi) Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| EVGA Posts Teaser Shot of Classified X99 Micro ATX Motherboard on Instagram Posted: 22 Aug 2014 10:02 AM PDT  Haswell-E can't come quick enough
Hoping to build a small form factor (SFF) system around Intel's upcoming Haswell-E and X99 chipset launches? That seems to be the trendy thing these days, and you can bet motherboard vendors will step to the plate with smaller size motherboard options. These won't be chintzy slabs, either. EVGA posted a picture to Instagram showing off a small board built around the X99 chipset. The EVGA X99 Micro is an mATX board ready for Haswell-E. According to Fudzilla, it sports a 10-phase VRM design. You can also see four DDR4 memory slots (two on each side of the CPU socket), six SATA 6Gbps ports, three PCI-Express 3.0 slots, mSATA slot, USB 3.0 and 2.0 connectivity, on-board power and reset buttons, and LED POST. It's rumored the board will sell for about $250, which is a bit high for an mATX motherboard, though keep in mind it's part of EVGA's Classified family aimed at overclockers and enthusiasts. As for Haswell-E, there's no official launch date, though recent chatter now has it pegged for August 29th. All Haswell-E chips will require a new X99 motherboard with the revised Socket 2011-3 layout. These boards will also support DDR4 memory. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| AMD Rumored to Cut FX Processor Pricing on September 1, 2014 Posted: 22 Aug 2014 08:56 AM PDT  Big savings might be just around the corner
Save for a stint during the socket 939 era when Athlon 64 X2 chips carried premium price tags, AMD has mostly been about delivering competitive pricing compared to Intel. In keeping with that trend, AMD is reportedly getting ready to slash prices of its FX-9000 "Centurion" processors, as well as trim prices less aggressively on select FX Series parts and discontinue certain older models. According to Xbit Labs and a few other sources on the web, AMD will roll out its new prices on September 1, 2014. One of the biggest cuts is purportedly coming to the FX-9590, which will go down to $215 when purchased in mass quantities supplied in trays -- you can expect retail pricing to be a bit higher. At present, the chip sells for $299, though Newegg has a coupon code that cuts the cost to $260. Other price reductions include the following: - FX-9370: $199 (down from $219)
- FX-8350: $169 (down from $189)
- FX-8320: $139 (down from $149)
- FX-6350: $119 (down from $129)
- FX-6300: $99 (down from $109)
- FX-4350: $95 (down from $119)
- FX-4300: $95 (down from $99)
On top of the above, AMD is reportedly planning to either discontinue or keep the present pricing on its FX-8150, FX-8120, FX-6200, FX-6100, FX-4170, FX-4130, and FX-4100 processors. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| G.Skill Unveils Ripjaws 4 Series DDR4 Memory Kits with Redesigned Heatspreaders Posted: 22 Aug 2014 07:47 AM PDT  More parts in preparation for Haswell-E
One thing you won't have to worry about when Intel rolls out its Haswell-E processors is finding supplementary components to accommodate the new parts. That includes DDR4 memory. G.Skill is the latest to jump on the DDR4 bandwagon, and it brought along its familiar Ripjaws branding. The new Ripjaws 4 Series of DDR4 memory kits represent the fourth generation of Ripjaws, and with it comes a redesigned heatspreader. The aggressive looking heatspreaders come in red, blue, and black. Though the heatspreaders on these kits are reflective of a brand new design, G.Skill says each module still measures 40mm high, the same as previous generation Ripjaws RAM. G.Skill is releasing a whole bunch of Ripjaws 4 Series kits ranging in frequency from 2133MHz to 3200MHz. They include: - 2133MHz; 15-15-15-15; 1.2V; 16GB (4GBx4), 32GB (8GBx4 / 4GBx8), 64GB (8GBx8)
- 2400MHz; 15-15-15-15; 1.2V; 16GB (4GBx4), 32GB (8GBx4 / 4GBx8), 64GB (8GBx8)
- 2666MHz; 15-15-15-35; 1.2V; 16GB (4GBx4), 32GB (8GBx4 / 4GBx8), 64GB (8GBx8)
- 2800MHz; 16-16-16-36; 1.2V; 16GB (4GBx4), 32GB (8GBx4 / 4GBx8), 64GB (8GBx8)
- 3000MHz; 15-15-15-35; 1.35V; 16GB (4GBx4), 32GB (8GBx4 / 4GBx8)
- 3000MHz; 16-16-16-36; 1.35V; 32GB (8GBx4)
- 3200MHz; 16-16-16-36; 1.35V; 16GB (4GBx4)
Memory kits above 2400MHz support Intel XMP 2.0 for easy tuning, and all Ripjaws 4 kits have been validated for compatibility with "most X99 motherboards," G.Skill says. The Ripjaws 4 kits in capacities up to 32GB are available now ranging in price (street) from around $260 to $530. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
