General Gaming Article

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• 20 Software Easter Eggs
• Newegg Daily Deals: Two PNY 240GB SSDs, WD Black Series 750GB HDD, and More!
• Intel Announces Insanely Fast 750 Series Solid State Drive Line
• Samsung Ports 850 Evo SSD Over to M.2 and mSATA Form Factors

20 Software Easter Eggs Posted: 03 Apr 2015 12:14 PM PDT For the Geek in all of us With Easter right around the corner, we thought it would be fun to update our old software easter eggs story to encompass 20 of our favorites. Do you have a personal favorite software Easter egg? Or perhaps you'd like to share one that we didn't mention? Let us know in the comments below!

Newegg Daily Deals: Two PNY 240GB SSDs, WD Black Series 750GB HDD, and More! Posted: 03 Apr 2015 11:59 AM PDT Top Deal: What's better than one solid state drive? Two, of course! It opens the door to RAID 0 (see our guide on how to set one up) for increased performance and all-around awesomeness, though it's not always cost effective. Ah, but that's why you should check out today's top deal for two (yes, TWO) PNY 2.5-inch 240GB SSDs for $160 with free shipping (normally $180). That's 480GB of storage for a pittance. Other Deals: WD Black Series 750GB 7200 RPM 2.5-inch Internal Notebook Hard Drive for $55 with free shipping (normally $65 - use coupon code: [ESCARAN29]) HGST Touro Mobile 1TB USB 3.0 2.5-inch Portable Hard Drive Black for $50 with free shipping (normally $55 - use coupon code: [EMCARAN36]) Seagate NAS HDD 2TB Internal Desktop Hard Drive for $90 with free shipping (normally $100 - use coupon code: [ESCARAN28]) ViewSonic Black 23.6-inch LCD Monitor w/ Built-in Speakers for $140 with free shipping (normally $150 - use coupon code: [EMCARAN25])

Intel Announces Insanely Fast 750 Series Solid State Drive Line Posted: 03 Apr 2015 08:36 AM PDT How does 2,400MB/s read performance suit your fancy? Intel's new 750 Series solid state drives should come with a label that reads, 'Warning, may cause whiplash and will result in uncontrollable giddiness'. After all, Intel's 750 Series takes center stage as the company's highest performing client SSD to date, with performance that's more than four times better than that of most SATA-based SSDs. The trick lies in utilizing four lanes of PCIe 3.0 and the NVM Express (NVMe) standard. The 750 Series is available both in add-in card form for systems with an accessible PCIe 3.0 x4 slot and in a 2.5-inch NVMe form factor, though the latter isn't like the majority of 2.5-inch SSDs currently on the market. Instead, it uses the new SFF-8639 connector that's more commonly found in the enterprise. However, you can still use the the drive with an M.2 slot -- Intel provides an SFF-8639 to SFF-8643 (mini SAS) cable and M.2/SATA power connector. In half-height half-length (HHHL) add-in card form, here's the kind of performance you're looking at: 400GB: 2,200MB/s read, 900MB/s write, 430,000 IOPS (read), 230,000 IOPS (write) 1.2TB: 2,400MB/s read, 1,200MB/s write, 440,000 IOPS (read), 290,000 IOPS (write) Note that the first set of read and write metrics are sequential 128KB, and the second set are random 4KB. The same performance metrics (as supplied by Intel) also apply to the 2.5-inch versions. Pricing for the 750 Series is $389 for the 400GB models and $1,029 for the 1.2TB models (either form factor). In addition to the 750 Series, Intel also announced the availability of its 535 Series, available in both M.2 and 2.5-inch form factors. The M.2 models come in 120GB, 180GB, 240GB, and 360GB capacities, while the 2.5-inch versions add a 480GB capacity. The 535 Series uses 16nm NAND flash MLC memory and offer up to 540MB/s read and 490MB/s write performance. Street pricing for the 535 Series runs about $116 for 120GB, $138 for 180GB, $168 for 240GB, $236 for 360GB, and $301 for 480GB. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Samsung Ports 850 Evo SSD Over to M.2 and mSATA Form Factors Posted: 03 Apr 2015 07:45 AM PDT A power play for ultrathin PCs Samsung's been on a roll with releasing solid state drives that offer high performance at comparatively reasonable price points. One of those drive series is the 850 Evo, which Samsung is now offering in M.2 and mSATA form factors. They're about one-tenth the weight of a traditional 2.5-inch SSD, and of course smaller, making them ideal candidates for high performing ultrathin systems. The drives also feature Samsung's 3D V-NAND technology. By stacking 32 cell layers vertically on top of each other, Samsung is able to achieve a greater density and better performance with a smaller footprint compared to trying to continually decrease cell dimensions to fit onto a fixed horizontal space. This is the direction SSDs are going, as Micron and Intel recently announced the availability of 3D NAND flash as well. Samsung is offering its 850 Evo mSATA drives in 1TB, 500GB, 250GB, and 120GB capacities with same read and write speeds as their 2.5-inch equivalents (up to 540MB/s read and up to 520MB/s write). The M.2 versions come in 500GB, 250GB, and 120GB capacities rated to read and write data at up to 540MB/s and 500MB/s, respectively. Also on the topic of performance, the 500GB and 1TB 850 Evo drives use Samsung's TurboWrite technology to achieve random write speeds of up to 88,000 IOPS and random read speeds of up to 97,000 IOPS, which translates into high performance for large data transfers and complex multi-tasking operations. Samsung didn't say how much the drives will cost. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

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MMORPG News

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• General: A Spoiler-Less Post on Patch 2.55
• VoidExpanse: Steam Version Launched
• DC Universe Online: Checking Out the New Munitions Power Set
• Kyn: Come hang with the devs and Bill tonight!
• Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft: Blackrock Mountain Expansion Arrives
• Star Trek Online: Delta Recruitment Event Begins
• H1Z1: A Big Damn Patch Deployed
• Star Wars: The Old Republic: The (B)Austin Cantina Tour Stop, Including Spoilers
• General: Victor Vran Devs Add 4-Player Coop Mode
• Guild Wars 2: Points of Interest to Cover Heart of Thorns Story
• General: Camelot Unchained - Alpha Video Thoughts
• Elite: Dangerous: Now Available on Steam

General: A Spoiler-Less Post on Patch 2.55 Posted: 02 Apr 2015 04:31 PM PDT Don't have time to scroll through the often-long FFXIV patch notes? Here's an overview you can get through in 5 minutes.

VoidExpanse: Steam Version Launched Posted: 02 Apr 2015 02:36 PM PDT Atomic Torch Studio has announced that VoidExpanse, a top-down space exploration RPG, has officially launched on Steam. To celebrate the momentous occasion, a new trailer has been released to entice players into the game. Check it out and let us know what you think!

DC Universe Online: Checking Out the New Munitions Power Set Posted: 02 Apr 2015 07:40 AM PDT Yesterday we were able to catch a livestream with the DC Universe Online team at Daybreak Games, focused entirely on the brand new Munitions power set coming to the action MMO in the next couple of weeks. Based around obscure heroes like Sgt. Rock, Munitions is all about the firepower.

Kyn: Come hang with the devs and Bill tonight! Posted: 02 Apr 2015 12:14 PM PDT We first previewed the strategic Action RPG Kyn a few months back on our stream, and tonight we're getting an update from the duo of developers as Bill plays the updated build and chats with the guys about their upcoming launch. Join us!

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft: Blackrock Mountain Expansion Arrives Posted: 02 Apr 2015 11:59 AM PDT Hearthstone players will want to head be sure to grab a copy of the latest expansion, Blackrock Mountain. The expansion brings new cards and adventures to the game. Over the next five weeks, new wings will be added that can be purchased for 700 gold or $6.99 from the Blizzard Store. All five wings can be purchased for $24.99.

Star Trek Online: Delta Recruitment Event Begins Posted: 02 Apr 2015 11:53 AM PDT Cryptic Studios and Perfect World Entertainment have announced the Delta Recruitment event for Star Trek Online has launched. It is part of an ongoing story arc that has been building for the past five years. The Iconians are poised to invade the universe resulting in all races putting out a call for recruits to fight the threat.

H1Z1: A Big Damn Patch Deployed Posted: 02 Apr 2015 11:36 AM PDT Daybreak Game Studio has revealed the deployment of the self-titled "Big Damn Patch" for H1Z1. True to its name, the BDP brings a host of bug fixes and improvements to stability and game play, as well as a new male character model and the news that customization options are on their way.

Star Wars: The Old Republic: The (B)Austin Cantina Tour Stop, Including Spoilers Posted: 01 Apr 2015 04:44 PM PDT Fulfilling their promise to make up the canceled Boston Cantina Tour stop with a livestream on Twitch, BioWare Austin's team presented a rather meaty event that promises better, more fan-satisfying events in the future. In this one, jokingly referred to as the (B)Austin Cantina Tour, they went over many of the details of Game Update 3.2.

General: Victor Vran Devs Add 4-Player Coop Mode Posted: 02 Apr 2015 10:44 AM PDT Victor Vran early access players will be pleased to hear that Haimont Studios, developers of the action RPG, have added a 4-player cooperative mode. This is the latest in a series of updates that have been applied to the game since Steam early access launched in February.

Guild Wars 2: Points of Interest to Cover Heart of Thorns Story Posted: 02 Apr 2015 10:38 AM PDT Tomorrow's Guild Wars 2 Points of Interest live stream will be a fascinating one for players looking forward to the upcoming Heart of Thorns expansion. The broadcast will take place at 12:00 pm Pacific / 3:00 pm Eastern in the Guild Wars 2 Twitch.tv room. Lead Writer Bobby Stein and Narrative Designer Scott McGough will be discussing how story will be embedded in every part of the expansion.

General: Camelot Unchained - Alpha Video Thoughts Posted: 01 Apr 2015 04:28 PM PDT City State Entertainment released a in game video for Camelot Unchained over the weekend to the masses. Rob watched the video and checks in this week on his thoughts the progress the game has made so far.

Elite: Dangerous: Now Available on Steam Posted: 02 Apr 2015 08:57 AM PDT In an unexpected move this week, Frontier released Elite: Dangerout on Steam. New players can grab a copy for $59.99 with existing players able to add Elite: Dangerous to the Steam Library through the "non-Steam game" option.

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