General Gaming Article |
- No BS Podcast 241: Diluted Surface Books And VR Porn
- Gogo's Giving In-Flight Wi-Fi a Major Speed Upgrade
- Newegg Daily Deals: PowerColor PCS+ Radeon R9 380, Acer 23-Inch Monitor, and More!
- Gigabyte Expands Xtreme Gaming Line of Overclocked Graphics Cards
- Michael Dell Dismisses Post-PC Era Chatter, Makes Case with Numbers
- QNAP Now Offers Two NAS Units With Android
- Asus Confirms It's Definitely Making AR Glasses
- QNAP TVS-EC1080+ 10-Bay NAS Review
- Microsoft Releases Win 10 "Threshold 2" To The Masses
| No BS Podcast 241: Diluted Surface Books And VR Porn Posted: 13 Nov 2015 06:00 PM PST | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gogo's Giving In-Flight Wi-Fi a Major Speed Upgrade Posted: 13 Nov 2015 11:05 AM PST Faster Wi-Fi in the sky For the most part, Wi-Fi speeds on airplanes are nothing to brag about. That's because there's limited bandwidth to share among dozens of travelers with an assortment of connected devices. Well, good news -- Gogo is launching a new Wi-Fi technology that should put an end to slow connections. The technology is called 2Ku, and according to Gogo, it's capable of matching or surpassing the bandwidth of any other system that's currently offered. As part of its in-flight testing, Gogo said it was able to stream videos on more than 40 devices at the same time, while still providing enough bandwidth for more devices to surf the web. "This is a tremendous milestone for Gogo. In about a year and a half, we've been able to fully develop and bring this new technology to market, a speed which is unprecedented in this industry. The accomplishment really highlights Gogo's leadership in this space and the tremendously talented employees we have within our ranks," said Michael Small, Gogo's president and CEO. "Gogo created the in-flight connectivity market in the U.S. through its technological innovations, and we expect 2Ku to be the technology that kick-starts this industry for global aviation." Gogo's 2Ku satellite Internet technology provides airplanes with 70Mbps connections. That has to be shared with all passengers wielding Internet-connected devices, but trials so far have been promising. "I am 100 percent sure that everyone will be able to browse on a plane," Small said, according to CNN Money. "I think it'll be fine for streamers too." Gogo's been testing 2Ku connectivity on eight airlines representing more than 550 aircraft. It expects to launch faster Wi-Fi service in the coming months. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Newegg Daily Deals: PowerColor PCS+ Radeon R9 380, Acer 23-Inch Monitor, and More! Posted: 13 Nov 2015 10:44 AM PST Top Deal: In case you haven't heard, AMD has some big things planned in graphics. It's getting ready to kick the Catalyst Control Center to the curb and introduce a new "Radeon Software Crimson" interface that will bring with it several improvements, including more frequent driver updates. Exciting stuff, and if you're looking to jump into Radeon territory for when this all begins, then check out today's top deal for a PowerColor PCS+ Radeon R9 380 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 ATX Video Card for $189 with $2 shipping (normally $210 - use coupon code: [EMCKBKN22]; additional $20 Mail-in rebate). It includes several improvements over the reference design, such as a 5+1+1 multi-phase design and a custom cooler for better thermals. Other Deals: Corsair 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply for $41 with free shipping (normally $45 - use coupon code: [EMCKBKN23]; additional $20 Mail-in rebate) Acer Black 23-inch 5ms (GTG) HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LED Backlit LCD Monitor, IPS Panel 250 cd/m2 ACM 100,000,000:1 (1000:1) for $120 with free shipping (normally $133 - use coupon code: [EMCKBKN27]) Gigabte GA-Z170X-UD5 LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard for $153 with $2 shipping (normally $180 - use coupon code: [EMCKBKN24]; additional $10 Mail-in rebate) Samsung 850 Evo 2.5-inch 120GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-75E120B/AM for $64 with free shipping (normally $67 - use coupon code: [EMCKBKN25]) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gigabyte Expands Xtreme Gaming Line of Overclocked Graphics Cards Posted: 13 Nov 2015 10:25 AM PST Pushing the pedal to the metal The nice thing about factory overclocked graphics cards is that the manufacturer assumes all the risk, at least until the warranty period is over. That doesn't seem to be a deterrent for Gigabyte, which just added five new overclocked cards to its Xtreme Gaming series. In addition to the GTX 950 Xtreme Gaming that it already offered, Gigabyte just announced the following cards:
It's not uncommon for overclocked graphics card to only include a speed bump (over reference) on the GPU, though for the above cards, Gigabyte also gooses the memory. If you want to take things even further, Gigabyte says each card is equipped with a LN2 BIOS and extra 6-pin PIC_E power connector. Otherwise, here are the clockspeeds you're looking at: Gigabyte says it uses high-quality components on its Xtreme Gaming series, along with extra power phases to make the MOSFET work at a lower temperature. These cards also sport a metal back plate with a "breathable coating" protect against moisture, dust, and corrosion. No word yet on when these cards will be available or for how much. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michael Dell Dismisses Post-PC Era Chatter, Makes Case with Numbers Posted: 13 Nov 2015 09:47 AM PST Setting the record straight Analysts are prone to sound the alarm on the PC industry by noting drops in shipments while ignoring the fact that hundreds of millions of new systems find their way into homes each and every year. Apple CEO Tim Cook took things a step further this past week by ignoring numbers altogether and essentially claiming that the iPad Pro tablet would snuff out what remains of the traditional PC market. What does Michael Dell think about all this nonsense? "The post-PC era has been great for the PC. When the post-PC era started there were about 180 million PCs being sold a year and now it's up to over 300 million, so I like the post-PC era," Mr. Dell told The Telegraph. His slightly snarky remarks are a breath of fresh air amid what's become a stale refrain, one that started when the first generation iPad entered the scene. And true enough, the tablet category exploded, but in more recent quarters, there's been a decline in tablet growth, and that includes iPad sales. Instead of dedicated tablet devices, the market's trending towards 2-in-1 devices like the Surface Pro and Surface Book, the latter of which Mr. Cook sees as a "deluded" device that tries too hard to be a notebook. Sales figures will determine if he's right or not, but as far as the PC market in general goes, the numbers favor Mr. Dell's perspective. "For the last 11 quarters in a row, we've been gaining share in PCs. Last year we outgrew HP and Lenovo," Mr. Dell added. "It's a business with an installed base of 1.8 billion PCs, 600 million of them are more than four years old, and as we create new beautiful, thin, powerful PCs that are better than the thing you bought five years ago, people will replace the old ones. And we are getting more and more share of that opportunity each quarter that goes by." That's not to say the market isn't changing. It is, but even so, Dell continues to generate more than half its revenue from PCs. Going forward, OEMs like Dell are banking on Windows 10 driving demand for system upgrades. Dell is also participating in a rather large "PC Does What?" advertising campaign alongside Microsoft, HP, Intel, and Lenovo, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| QNAP Now Offers Two NAS Units With Android Posted: 13 Nov 2015 04:41 AM PST QNAP launched on Thursday two new network attached storage (NAS) units, the TAS-168 with one drive bay and the TAS-268 with two drive bays. Both come packed with two operating systems crammed into a visually-pleasing chassis that will look good both in the home and the office. What's unusual about these two NAS units is that they feature the Android 4.4.4 operating system, turning them into makeshift Android PCs. The specifications show that both units include a dual-core processor clocked at 1.1GHz, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, and 4GB of flash memory, which isn't much considering that many Android games take up 1GB of space. Also included is one USB 3.0 port on the front, four USB 2.0 ports on the back, HDMI output, a gigabit Ethernet port and an SD card reader. "Connecting the NAS to the network is simple, after connecting the NAS to the home wired or wireless router with the network cable, entering the Cloud Key ID printed right on the unit allows the unit to be initialized and configured," the company states. "Incredibly easy for those accustomed to far more complicated installations." Once the NAS is connected to the network, users load up a web browser to access the company's QTS management interface. To access the Android platform, users simply hook the NAS up to a screen that accepts HDMI input. The company says that there are literally "thousands" of apps that the user can download and install from Google Play. At a glance, the single-drive model supports up to 6TB of storage and the double-bay NAS supports up to 12TB of storage. Both are capable of streaming content to Chromecast and DLNA devices, and are supposedly super simple in regards to storing media like music, movies, TV shows and other media. The content is even accessible through QNAP's apps for Android and Apple iOS. For those unfamiliar with QTS, this platform allows the NAS owner to download and install apps from QNAP. For instance, Cloud Drive Sync from the App Center will sync files with Google Drive and Dropbox. The platform even supports apps like Google Chrome, BitTorrent Sync, Facebook, Firefox, Joomla and tons more. Both Android-packed QNAP units are available now to purchase from Sears, Walmart, Newegg, Amazon and other online and offline retailers. Pricing wasn't available at the time this article was published. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Asus Confirms It's Definitely Making AR Glasses Posted: 13 Nov 2015 04:35 AM PST Asus chairman Jonney Shih hinted last month that the company may make its own augmented reality (AR) glasses. Now CEO Jerry Shen has confirmed those plans, reporting that the product will be released next year. Shen made the revelation on Wednesday during an earnings webcast, saying that the company believes AR will be important for people's lives. During the webcast, Shen told investors and reporters that augmented reality headsets will be more useful than virtual reality headsets (like the upcoming Facebook-backed Oculus Rift). "You can make a real setting meld together with yourself and the AR (augmented reality) portion," he said. "Internally, we are talking about how to prepare." Last month, Shih indicated that Asus was working with Microsoft to produce a cheaper version of the latter company's upcoming HoloLens. While there's no definite confirmation that Asus will have any ties to Microsoft's AR headset, Asus may be following in the footsteps of Samsung, which is getting ready to release Gear VR, a $100 VR headset created with the help of Oculus VR. The consumer version of Oculus Rift is expected to cost more than $350. The difference between the HoloLens and the Oculus Rift is that HoloLens doesn't engulf the user in a virtual environment. Instead, it will project virtual objects into the wearer's field of vision. While virtual reality should hit big with consumers looking for a new gaming experience, AR and Microsoft's HoloLens should change the way consumers interact with the real world. As of this article, Microsoft plans to release the developer model of HoloLens sometime in 2016 for a meaty $3,000. Microsoft first introduced HoloLens back in January during a Windows 10 event, revealing that wearers will have the ability to build 3D models, have video conferences, and more. So far there's no indication of how much HoloLens will cost the general consumer when it's ready for the masses. Would the Asus version be based on Windows 10? If there's an agreement in place between Microsoft and Asus to produce a cheaper model, we may very well see Microsoft's platform powering the Asus hardware. Also, will it be released under the Asus Republic of Gamers (ROG) label? We may actually find out in a few months during CES 2016 this January. VIA: CNET | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| QNAP TVS-EC1080+ 10-Bay NAS Review Posted: 13 Nov 2015 12:00 AM PST A NAS for the power hungryThere are NASes, and then there are uber-NASes. The QNAP TVS-EC1080+ is one such uber-NAS. Pitched as an enterprise-level unit, the TVS-EC1080+ packs in killer hardware features, as well as a host of applications that users should find useful. At times, we find that some of QNAP's NAS units can be a bit confusing. Like the TVS-871 that we reviewed not long ago, it's sometimes hard to see the clear lines between enterprise and consumer. There are a lot of features in both units that are clearly targeted toward consumers, although they don't have to be used. If we focus purely on pricing though, the TVS-EC1080+ is definitely a business appliance. At $3,300, we suspect that few home users would consider the TVS-EC1080+, except for the few that feel they must have only the best. So, what does a $3,300 NAS get you? THE QNAP TVS-EC1080+
The specifications speak for themselves. Small- to medium-sized offices would find the TVS-EC1080+ useful, especially with its large capacity support and integrated 10GbE support. The primary function overall for the TVS-EC1080+ is to serve files, and serve them fast. In a business environment, most of the software features in the TVS-EC1080+ will not be used. Photo backup, photo serving, torrent downloading, and media playback are some of the consumer features available to you out of the box, but we're far more interested in the performance that the TVS-EC1080+ brings to bear. QNAP designed the TVS-EC1080+ with integrated SSD caching in the form of not just one, but two 128GB mSATA SSDs. Customers are able to install SSDs to four more bays and use them as caching drives for the most performance-demanding usage scenarios. Dual 10GbE and Quad 1Gb Ethernet built in for the ultimate in speed. We configured our TVS-EC1080+ with equally impressive drives from HGST in the form of the Ultrastar He8 8TB helium drives. HGST offers the Ultrastar He8 in both SATA and SAS, but the TVS-EC1080+ only supports SATA. The Ultrastar He8 drives are fast and offer copious amounts of capacity, and are perfect for a NAS such as this. Why didn't we go with "NAS" drives? Well, the Ultrastar He8 drives are designed for environments such as this, as well as rack-mounted applications. Enterprise NAS drives have optimized firmware, high-grade components, longer warranties, and features such as top- and bottom-mounted spindle motors to increase rigidity and decrease vibrations. The Ultrastar He8 drives are no exception. HGST's use of helium in its drives also decreases internal turbulence and air friction, and the second generation He models deliver the same performance as other drives in their class but with roughly 23 percent decrease in energy use. Businesses using multiple NASes, or racks full of drives will appreciate the power savings over the long run. We filled all 10 bays with HGST Ultrastar He8 drives for a total raw capacity of 80TB. Any more drives and it would have floated away. GETTING THINGS UP AND RUNNINGThe TVS-EC1080+ is no more difficult to set up and use than any of the other NASes in QNAP's line-up, and it operates much in the same fashion as the TVS-881 we previously reviewed. The following setup portion was taken from our TVS-871 review: We simply installed the hard drives into their cages, and plugged them in. You're able to configure the storage array via the built-in HDMI interface or by logging in to its web interface. We opted for setup using the web interface, since there's only so much you can do with the two-line built-in display. Upon login and the obligatory administration setup, we immediately configured the TVS-EC1080+ to RAID 6. The system recommended RAID 6 by default, but you're able to choose whatever RAID level you desire. On a NAS like this, there's really no point in using RAID 0, since performance won't be realized over 1Gb Ethernet, and you'll want some sort of redundancy. At our 80TB of total system capacity, RAID 1 would get you 40TB and allow up to four drive failures before complete catastrophe, but halving our total capacity seemed wasteful. We went with RAID 6 because you get the best combination of performance, redundancy, and capacity. RAID 6 is essentially like RAID 5, but with support for double drive failures. With RAID 6 configured, we were left with a total usable capacity of 57.09TB. Special to the TVS-EC1080+ is onboard SSD caching. The TVS-EC1080+ utilizes two 128GB mSATA drives, in this case from ADATA to act as one 256GB cache volume in RAID 0. Frequently accessed data will be allocated to the SSD volume for faster access. Keep in mind, though, that this is for read operations only. Write operations go directly to disk. Because we filled up all the drive bays in the TVS-EC1080+ for the array, no drives were left to act as a hot-spare. If you're interested in reading the features of QNAP's management system, check out that section in our TVS-871 review, as they're identical on the TVS-EC1080+. TestsWe tested several features of the TVS-EC1080+, including RAID fail, and throughput. We used a 10GbE dual-port NIC from Small Tree for our testbed. Note that we used four Samsung 850 Pro 1TB in RAID 0 in order to further test the 10GbE performance of the TVS-EC1080+. We also used the Netgear ProSAFE XS708E switch and configured link aggregation to perform our tests over an aggregated link of 20GbE. Tests were done with the following hardware:
Note: Thanks to CyberPower PC for supplying the Samsung 850 Pro 1TB SSDs! THE BENCHMARKS:
From the chart above, we see the numbers are thoroughly impressive. There are plenty of usage models that could take advantage of the available performance. Multi-user setups are well suited for such high-bandwidth-capable NASes, virtualization, and iSCSI. For attached storage at this performance level, iSCSI becomes an interesting proposition, as it allows you to configure a volume on the NAS as a block-level mount. You're able to format and mount a volume as if it were local storage. For those who are interested in knowing, the HGST Ultrastar He8 performs admirably as well, reaching 207MB/s reads and writes as a single drive. This is largely due to the incredible aerial density that comes with being an 8TB drive. The best part of it is, the He8 is an enterprise drive with respective quality components as well as warranty. Again, we thoroughly recommend you go with enterprise-grade drives. Comparing our results with QNAP's own tests, which we've verified to be quite accurate, we see that we can get even more performance out of the TVS-EC1080+ with the right kind of setup. Note: QNAP utilized a RAID 5 array in its benchmarks, which is less taxing than running a RAID 6 array due to the NAS having to compute half the parity. However, RAID 6 can withstand two drive failures while RAID 5 can only take one, and judging from our own RAID 6 vs. RAID 5 benchmarks, the decrease in performance is small enough that we'll gladly take another drive parity. For those seeking to approach QNAP's benchmarks numbers, you'll more than likely want to use SSD drives. You can attain top speeds too, provided that you have the right network and client station setups. We had to use link aggregation with an appropriate switch. A beast for SMB or insane home userLike the TVS-871 before it, the TVS-EC1080+ is more than you can ask for in a NAS. Compared to other similarly priced models from competitors, you're getting a lot for your money. We did encounter a few minor issues while working with QNAP's backup station, though. For example, syncing would at times fail, and while backing up from client PCs, there were times when both Windows and OS X's Time Machine would fail to detect the NAS. Retrying would solve the issue, but it would still happen from time to time. Where do we see the TVS-EC1080+ fitting into a business? For large-scale enterprises, rack servers are the way, and while SMBS will find the TVS-EC1080+ very powerful, smaller studios will find the NAS incredibly useful as well. Media production studios that are growing beyond single-digit client stations could really benefit from the scalability that the TVS-EC1080+ offers. Large amounts of usable capacity, exceptional performance, and 10GbE support allows the TVS-EC1080+ to grow as your business needs grow. So, where does this leave the home user? Simply put, the TVS-EC1080+ is absolutely overkill for home use. Xeon process not withstanding, it's incredibly difficult for a home environment to take advantage of the hardware that's inside the TVS-EC1080+. But if you must have an uber-NAS, the TVS-EC1080+ is one such option. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Microsoft Releases Win 10 "Threshold 2" To The Masses Posted: 12 Nov 2015 09:19 PM PST Microsoft's Terry Myerson confirmed on today that the Windows 10 "Threshold 2" update is now rolling out to the masses. He boasts that with the update installed, Windows 10 performs nearly 30% faster than Windows 7 running on the same device. That's quite a gain, a detail many Windows 7 customers may need to factor in when deciding if upgrading to Windows 10 is right for them. "With this update, there are improvements in all aspects of the platform and experience, including thousands of partners updating their device drivers and applications for great Windows 10 compatibility," Myerson reports. Prior to the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft dubbed the OS release as "Threshold." The current follow-up update, Threshold 2, isn't quite the massive leap from Windows 7/8/8.1, so don't panic. However, Threshold 2 makes big improvements to Cortana and the Microsoft Edge browser. In fact, Threshold 2 now brings a customized Cortana experience to Japan, Australia, Canada and India. According to Myerson, when Windows 10 customers make a note on the screen using the device's pen within the Cortana Notebook, the AI will recognize the information (email, phone number, etc.) to better help set reminders. Cortana can keep better track of Uber bookings, movie bookings and other events. Cortana will even notify users that coupons are available from their favorite retailers such as Best Buy and Staples. As for Microsoft Edge, the browser now sees enhanced security and improved performance. Also new is Tab Preview, which allows users to hover the cursor over tabs to get a preview of those pages without having to leave the page they're currently viewing. The browser also now syncs Favorites and Reading Lists across all Windows 10 devices. In addition to the Microsoft Edge and Cortana updates, Myerson said that Threshold 2 also includes improvements to a number of Windows 10 apps including Mail, Calendar, Photos, Groove, Xbox Store, and more. However, his blog also spends a great deal to time talking about Windows 10 and the Enterprise PC, and introduces two new free services: Windows Update for Business and Windows Store for Business. In a separate post, the Major Nelson blog reveals that the new Windows 10-based interface for Xbox One is currently rolling out to the console. Dubbed as the New Xbox One Experience, the interface resembles the Xbox App for Windows 10, throwing your friends, messages, notifications, and settings into a menu on the left, allowing the user to focus on content. The interface is more vertical than the last one, which should be good news for those who didn't like the horizontal spread. |
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