General Gaming Article

---

• Newegg Daily Deals: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit, WD Red NAS 3TB HDD, and More!
• Thinking Inside Boxx: Why Overclocking Workstations Makes Sense
• Microsoft to Open Five-Story Flagship Store in New York Next Month
• GeForce Now Service Streams Games to Nvidia Devices for $8 Per Month
• How PC Power Supplies Work

Newegg Daily Deals: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit, WD Red NAS 3TB HDD, and More! Posted: 30 Sep 2015 12:59 PM PDT Top Deal: Everywhere you look it's Windows 10 this and Windows 10 that. Hey, we get the excitement -- the desktop experience is back! It's also a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8/8.1 owners, though if you're building a new system and need a brand new license, you'll need to pony up for one. Nevertheless, there's no need to pay full price. Just check out today's top deal for Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (OEM) for $80 with $3 shipping (normally $100 - use coupon code: [EMCAXPA24]). Maybe you prefer Windows 7 to Windows 10, in which case enjoy! And if not, this is your upgrade ticket to Windows 10 without paying the full asking price. Other Deals: Samsung 850 Evo 2.5-inch 250GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive for $78 with free shipping (normally $90 - use coupon code: [EMCAXPA27]) Western Digital Red NAS Hard Drive 3TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5-inch NAS Hard Drive for $105 with free shipping (normally $112 - use coupon code: [ESCAXPA22]) Seagate Hybrid Drives 1TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s NCQ 2.5-inch Laptop SSHD -Bare Drive for $70 with free shipping (normally $77) Asus Radeon R9 380 GAMING 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express GAMING Video Card for $210 with free shipping (normally $247)

Thinking Inside Boxx: Why Overclocking Workstations Makes Sense Posted: 30 Sep 2015 12:48 PM PDT Big things in a little package Boutique builders come in different sizes and specialties. There are the ones primarily focused on gaming, like Maingear and Digital Storm, and a select few that deal with professional builds. The latter is the category Boxx fits into, though don't mistake the outfit for a cookie cutter operation. There's an enthusiast edge to Boxx, hence today's introduction of what the company claims is the "world's smallest overclocked workstation," the Apexx 1. That's if you go with the Core i7 option, otherwise you can configure an Apexx 1 with a standard Xeon E5 processor, up to an 18-core Xeon E5 -2699 v3. Essentially your choice boils down to clockspeed or core count (that's an oversimplification, but you get the gist), both of which are liquid cooled. The Apexx 1 is a compact machine measuring 4.7 (W) x 8.5 (H) x 9 (D) inches, yet it can pack some serious hardware. We're talking up to 32GB of DDR4-2133 memory, two 2.5-inch drives bays with up to 1.2TB SSD options, M.2 SATA support that can be fitted with either a 256GB or 512GB SSD, and a PCI-E 3.x x16 low profile slot with Nvidia Quadro or AMD FirePro graphics. It also has four USB 3.0 ports, two USB 3.1 Type A ports, eSATA, dual GbE LAN, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. 7.1 channel audio, and a few other odds and ends. To Overclock or Not to Overclock? It may not seem obvious to overclock a workstation. These systems tend to work with more mission critical applications than a typical gaming rig, but that hasn't scared off the folks buying systems like the Apexx 1. "We have a steady demand for overclocked workstations. Once we educate our customers on the benefits of overclocking and how it can benefit their workflow, they're on board," Boxx Senior Product Marketing Manger Chris Morley told Maximum PC.  And what are those benefits? It starts with faster performance and trickles down from there.  "Overclocking may net more frame rates for gamers, but it makes money for creative professionals," Morley added. "Professionals can get more work done, faster, with an overclocked workstation" and in turn "get home to their families." That's all fine and dandy but it all goes right out the window if a system is blue screening at every turn. Morley says that's not the case. In fact, he tells us "there's almost no difference in failure rates in the field" where there are thousands of overclocked Boxx systems currently in use. Nevertheless, we wondered if customers tended to shy away from overclocked workstations. Surprisingly, they're not. Boxx's overclocked machines are finding homes all over the place -- virtual effects houses, defense contractors, major architectural firms, and so forth. Boxx's approach to overclocking is somewhat unique in that it guarantees the specific speed of a system during the warranty period, which could be three years. What that means is if an overclock proves unstable, Boxx won't dial it back 100MHz or whatever the case may be, it will replace the part that's having trouble keeping up. "We also have universal BIOS settings for each model.That means an Apexx 2 Model 2401 @ 4.5GHz will have the same OC settings whether you buy 2 or 200," Morley says. It's an interesting proposition, particularly for a compact box like the Apexx 1, which is 70 percent smaller than the aforementioned Apexx 2. Pricing starts at $3,895 for a Xeon-based Apexs and $4,710 for a Core i7-5960X Extreme Apexx.

Microsoft to Open Five-Story Flagship Store in New York Next Month Posted: 30 Sep 2015 11:26 AM PDT Raising a new flagship Microsoft is getting ready to open two new flagship retail locations, one in New York and the other in Sydney, Australia. Both locations have been six years in the making and will be Microsoft's largest stores to date. The store in New York will be Microsoft's first full size store in Manhattan (it has a kiosk in Columbus Circle in Manhattan). It's a five-story, 22,696 square foot facility located at 677 Fifth Avenue, the old address for Fendi. The store's staff will be a diverse makeup coming from five boroughs and surrounding areas, with more than 19 languages spoken. Microsoft's store in Sydney won't be quite as big -- it's over 6,000 square feet and spans two floors. It will have a retail sales space and an interactive area to serve local customers and businesses, with staff coming from over 11 countries and speaking more than 21 languages, Microsoft says. "When we architected our retail plans, we committed to providing exceptional choice, value and service, and making a positive impact on the communities in which we operate. These flagship stores will deliver on these commitments, offering premier shopping destinations," Microsoft said in a blog post. To celebrate the opening of two new flagship locations, Microsoft said it will donate more than $5 million in software and technology grants to select local organizations. Those organizations will be highlighted during the grand opening events. As with past grand opening events, you can expect there to be prizes, special guests, and probably musical entertainment. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

GeForce Now Service Streams Games to Nvidia Devices for $8 Per Month Posted: 30 Sep 2015 09:42 AM PDT Netflix of games Services like Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify have proven there's a vast market for streaming services., and it looks like Nvidia will help itself to a slice of the pie. The way it will do that is through GeForce Now, a $7.99 per month on-demand gaming service for Shield devices (namely the Shield Android TV, Shield Portable, and Shield tablet). This is sort of the end-game for Nvidia's GRID service, which has been operating in beta for the past couple of years. When GeForce Now goes live on October 1 in North America, GRID will go dark, though Nvidia insists that GeForce Now is more than just a renaming of GRID. Nvidia says it's "an entire new platform and architecture," one that's "faster, better, more reliable, and more robust," according to PCWorld. GeForce Now will still stream games at 1080p and 60 frames per second, the first non-beta cloud-gaming service to do so. It will launch with over 50 titles. Most of them are slightly older games such as Batman: Arkham Origins, Lego Marvel Super Heroes, and Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, to name just a few. Nvidia will also offer newer "Buy and Play Instantly" titles like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ($60) and Saints Row IV ($20). In other words, some games will be available for sale "GeForce NOW is all about instant gratification. But it took us a decade to invent the technology behind the service that streams GeForce GTX-quality graphics to SHIELD devices," Nvidia stated in a blog post. Up in the air? GeForce Now will kick off with a free three month trial when it launches next month. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

How PC Power Supplies Work Posted: 30 Sep 2015 12:00 AM PDT A look at the gritty details of what gives your rig its juice The power supply unit (PSU) is one of the PC components that we tend to take for granted. It sits in the case with a bunch of wires sticking out of it, and maybe once in a while we blow some air blown into it to get rid of dust bunnies. But it's arguably the most important piece of hardware in the PC because it does one thing: feeds the rest of the machine the electricity it needs. Unfortunately, electricity as it comes out of the wall socket just isn't the right kind. Electronic devices are designed to use DC electricity, while what's coming out of the wall is AC. Plus, the electricity from the wall is way too powerful. This means the primary role of the PSU is to convert AC electricity into DC electricity at a safe level. We'll take a look into how a PSU does this, and the actual hardware inside it that makes this possible. As a visual aid, we'll be cracking one open to expose its innards. Quick Primer: types of power supplies Power supplies come in two main flavors: linear and switched mode. Linear power supplies are simpler, requiring only a few steps to convert AC electricity into DC electricity. They expend energy constantly and normally dump excess energy as heat and will require larger components for high power delivery. This limits them mostly to smaller power applications. Where they really shine is that their output has little noise to worry about, and laboratory-grade bench supplies will often be linear for this reason. A switched mode power supply, on the other hand, has an internal switch that controls the flow of electricity going into the rest of the power supply. While this adds complexity, it has a couple of benefits. The first is that the power supply uses less electricity than a linear power supply. The second is that the switching action generates high-frequency AC electricity, which in turn allows some components, such as inductors and transformers, to be smaller. The downside is that the switching creates a lot of noise that needs to be filtered in the output and possibly shielded to prevent leakage. From AC to DC: steps in a power supply's process As mentioned, the primary job of the power supply is to convert AC to DC. Once the DC electricity is made, it turns this into the appropriate voltages for the components to use. It gets a bit complicated once other features are taken into account, so here's a block diagram breaking it down: Block diagram of a PC power supply. Red lines are AC, green lines are DC. Here's a picture of the PSU we're examining with the parts that do all of those steps highlighted. In case you're wondering about the white goop and plastic sheets, the goop is to minimize vibrations while the plastic sheets are to isolate components from touching either each other or the chassis, which has the ground wire connected to it. Step 1 – Filtering the AC input Electricity coming out of the wall is very noisy, for a number of reasons. The first step is to filter out as much of the noise as possible, using a combination of capacitors (known as X and Y capacitors) and inductors. In addition, there may be some protection circuitry similar to that found in surge protectors to guard against sudden in-rushes of current. If the power supply has a physical voltage switch, the input either goes into a voltage doubler circuit or continues on. The voltage doubler is used when the input is 115V, so that the rest of the power supply only has to work with 230V regardless of the actual input. If there's active power factor correction, then it takes care of this step. Thus if the power supply takes 115V–230V with no physical switch, there's a good chance it has active power factor correction. This picture shows the bulk of the AC filtering and parts of rectifying the AC electricity described in step 2. The screws in the middle of the heatsink attach a diode for power factor correction (described in step 3) and a couple of switching MOSFETs (responsible for switching described in step 4). Step 2 – Rectify and filter Electricity coming from the wall is alternating back and forth between positive and negative voltages. This causes current to flow back and forth throughout the wires, producing no real work over time. Rectifiers convert the alternating current into a purely positive current as seen in the picture below: AC input to a full-wave rectified output (from Falstad's Circuit Simulator). A reservoir capacitor is used to capture energy from the still alternating flow to turn it into a more flat and stable one. Notice that on the output, there's a sort of saw-tooth pattern. This is because the capacitor can only be charged up when the voltage of the rectified output reaches a certain point to the peak voltage. Otherwise it's discharging. The lowest and highest points in the saw-tooth form what is known as ripple. The amount of ripple depends on the quality, capacity, and type of capacitor. High-quality power supplies will keep ripple to a minimum. As an aside, the ATX specification calls for no more than five percent ripple on the 3.3V, 5V, 5V_SB, and 12V lines. Step 3 – Power Factor Correction (PFC) Power factor is a phenomena that happens with AC circuitry. There are two types of power in AC circuits: active and reactive power. Active power is power that's being used on resistive loads, like turning a motor. Reactive power is power that works on components such as capacitors and inductors to charge them up, with no work done on the actual load. Power factor is the ratio between the sum of the active and reactive power (called apparent power) and the active power itself, and is always lower than 1. Power factor correction aims to get this ratio as close to 1 as possible. While this sounds similar to efficiency, efficiency is an inherit component of electronics that cannot use all of the electricity to do useful work and dumps what it can't use as heat. There are two types of power factor correction: passive and active. Passive PFC uses inductors, a passive electric component. Active PFC uses control circuitry and transistors, or active electric components. Step 4 – Switching Switching clumps a few actions together to achieve the same effect: allow electricity to flow through to the rest of the power supply. Other functions of switching include: Protection circuitry, such as overvoltage, overcurrent, overpower, and short circuit protections. Provide basic feedback to the computer, the most important one being the power good signal, which tells the motherboard that the PSU is good to go. Create a high-frequency (in the tens of kilohertz range) AC output. The reason is that this allows the transformers used in the next step to be small. Switching requires feedback from the output in order to work properly. This is done by tapping into the output voltages that feed into the computer. This is the control circuitry for handling switching. Step 5 – Transform Transformers are used to step down the voltage to a primary 12V line and a secondary 5V line. The main 12V line is then stepped down further using DC-to-DC converters to 5V and 3.3V for the PC to use. A secondary 5V line is used to supply the 5V standby power circuitry so that the computer can turn on from the front power switch. Step 6 – Rectify output and filter After transforming the input into a safe voltage level output, it's time to rectify and filter once more, because what's coming out of the transformer is AC electricity. It's basically a repeat of step 2. The picture shows the rectifier on the right, which for this model is the half-wave type. This means only half of the AC wave is used. This is most likely a cost-saving measure to avoid needing a more complex transformer. To the left of the rectifier are the capacitors used for filtering. The output is tapped back into the switching circuit. For safety reasons, the output circuitry is not directly connected to the input circuitry. That is, there's no PCB trace or wire connecting the two. To get around this, this power supply uses an isolating transformer. In other power supplies, they may use what is called an optocoupler. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opto-isolator) Step 7 – Convert and regulate Since only 12V is created from the main transformer, DC-to-DC converters are used to create the 5V and 3.3V. Regulators help keep voltages as stable as possible. The following images show the output of these lines. The output wires are very thick because they have to support a lot of current. The 12V and 3.3V lines come out here. The 5V line comes out here. All of those wires lead into the main distributor PCB. Nothing fancy going on here. You may have noticed there were two 12V lines coming out of the output (noted by the label "12V2" on the PCB). This would imply that this particular power supply has two 12V rails, most likely distributed between the main 24-pin connector and EPS12V connector for one rail with the peripherals, including the PCI Express connector, for the other. Putting it all together: It takes a lot to convert electricity For the seemingly simple task of converting electricity, the power supply goes through more than a few steps to ensure the safe, correct electricity plugs into your components. While this article scratches the surface of its inner workings, we hope the information gives a better appreciation of an often overlooked part.

You are subscribed to email updates from Maximum PC latest stories. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States