General Gaming Article |
- Intel Starts Shipping Faster Clocked Skylake and Xeon CPUs for Laptops
- Thermaltake Core X5 'Riing' Edition Case is Big, Trips Your Spell Checker
- Finally, Das Keyboard Launches Peripherals for Gamers Under Division Zero Brand
- Apple, Google Beefing up VR Efforts?
- NZXT CAM 3.0 Review
| Intel Starts Shipping Faster Clocked Skylake and Xeon CPUs for Laptops Posted: 26 Jan 2016 12:23 PM PST Faster laptops on the horizonIf you haven't been all that impressed with the first batch of Skylake-based laptops to hit the market, hang tight, faster models are the horizon. Intel just added some new Core i7 Skylake (and mobile Xeon) models to its CPU price list, as PCWorld spotted, and it's only a matter of time before they trickle into new laptop offerings. This is good news if you've been hankering for a high performance laptop upgrade. Even though Skylake has been shipping since last year, laptops based around Intel's 6th generation Core architecture have mostly been aimed at entry-level and mainstream users. Among the chips Intel just added to its price list, the fastest is the Core i7-6970HQ. It's a quad-core chip with Hyper Threading support clocked at 2.8GHz and with 8MB of cache. It's listed at $623, so expect this one to only show up in premium priced laptops. Two other entries include the Core i7-6870HQ and Core i7-6770HQ. Both are also quad-core CPUs with Hyper Threading support, the higher of the two clocked at 2.7GHz with 8MB of cache and priced at $434, and the other clocked at 2.6GHz with 6MB of cache and priced at $378. These are likely to hold the high-end fort until Intel's Extreme Edition Skylake chips manifest. In regards to mobile workstations, Intel also added a trio of Xeon CPUs, all of which are quad-core parts with Hyper Threading support and 8MB of cache. From bottom to top they include the Xeon E3-1535M v5 clocked at 2.9GHz and priced at $489, Xeon E3-1545M v5 clocked at 2.9GHz and priced at $679, and Xeon E3-1575M v5 clocked at 3GHz and priced at $1,207. Celeron Too!On the opposite end of the spectrum, Intel fleshed out its Celeron lineup on the desktop with some new chips. They include the following:
You can view the full price list here (PDF). |
| Thermaltake Core X5 'Riing' Edition Case is Big, Trips Your Spell Checker Posted: 26 Jan 2016 11:13 AM PST Don't call it a typo Thermaltake is sorry-not-sorry that its new Core X5 Riing Edition computer case will eat away at the part of your OCD that twitches at typos, but ultimately decided that an extra "i" was necessary. Why? We're not really sure. What we do know is that the Core X5 Riing Edition sports two pre-installed 140mm green Riing fans, one in the front and one in the back, to give the case a look that's "nothing like your usual PC chassis." That claim is based on the ring of LED lighting that circles the fan and is viewable from any angle. The case itself is a sort of bright, neon green, which is another reason the Core X5 Riing Edition stands out from the crowd. It's big enough to hold up to an E-ATX motherboard, though if more space is required—or if you have multiple builds that need to be close to one another—you can stack the cases on top of each other. You can also stack Thermaltake's regular Core X5, which is the same case but in black and with two regular 120mm fans pre-installed instead of the flashy Riing fans. "The Core X5 and Core X5 Riing Edition offer endless stackable capacity and expandability for enthusiasts to create massive liquid cooling systems for a single system, file server, or even dual systems," Thermaltake says. "Users can customize the chassis for the best viewing presentation with an interchangeable window and I/O panel design." Both cases feature modular drive racks in a 3+4+3 configuration, giving users the ability to install up to seven storage devices. Builders also have access to eight expanson slots and three 5.25-inch drive bays. As far as clearance restrictions go, there's a lot of space to work with. Thermaltake says its Core X5 cases support graphics cards up to 480mm (around 18.89 inches) in length if yanking out the ODD cage, or 330mm (12.99 inches) if keeping it in. There's also room for CPU coolers up to 230mm (9 inches) high and PSUs up to 220mm (8.66 inches) long. Thermaltake didn't say when its new Core X5 and Core X5 Riing Edition cases will be available or for how much. |
| Finally, Das Keyboard Launches Peripherals for Gamers Under Division Zero Brand Posted: 26 Jan 2016 10:02 AM PST Look who's got game all of a sudden At long last, Das Keyboard is going after gamers with some new gaming gear, including the "utra-edgy" X40 Pro Gaming Mechanical Keyboard and M50 Pro Gaming Mouse. Both are part of Das Keyboard's new Division Zero brand. I say "at long last" because an eye towards gaming is the only thing that's been absent from the company's past mechanical keyboard offerings. Das Keyboards makes some of the best keyboards out there—I use a Das Keyboard 4 Professional with Cherry MX Blue key switches as my daily typer—but up until now the company's never really released a plank specifically aimed at gamers. That all changes to today. "At Das Keyboard we understand that winning is everything, so every detail in our Division Zero line of products was measured on its ability to take one's gaming experience to the next level," said Daniel Guermeur, founder and CEO of Das Keyboard. "We also wanted to bring something different to gamers by arming them with badass, edgy equipment that inspires them to strive for total domination. Division Zero's premium gaming products deliver a superior level of performance, durability and design for today's competitive gamers who desire a new edge." Whether or not it was worth the wait remains to be seen and we'll reserve judgement until we've spent some hands-on time with the company's new products. In the meantime, here's what we know. The Division Zero X40 Pro is purportedly the only mechanical gaming keyboard with interchangeable metal top panels. There are four color options, including red, olive (green), mustard (yellow), and sliver, and two different designs. Beyond the attention grabbing aesthetics, Das Keyboard said it developed brand new Alpha-Zulu key switches specifically for the X40 Pro. They have gold contacts (as does the Das Keyboard 4 Professional) and 1.7mm actuation, which is a bit shorter than the 2mm distance that Cherry MX key switches feature. There are two kinds—Alpha Zulu Tactile (audible) and Linear (quiet), both with an actuation force of 45g and rated for 60 million keystrokes. Other features include a column of five dedicated macro keys on the left-hand side, quick-access media controls, a red LED backlight with five levels of brightness, USB 2.0 pass-through, full N-key rollover, audio jacks, and braided cables. Second up is the M50 Pro mouse. Designed for both right- and left-handed gamers, this ambidextrous rodent is made of "premium materials" and "metal components." There are 9 programmable buttons on the M50 Pro. You can create up to 6 game profiles and save them to the mouse's onboard memory. Other notable features include a 6,400 DPI 4G laser sensor, on-the-fly adjustable DPI settings, 4D tilt scroll wheel, red LED lighting, diecast aluminum shoe and Teflon feet. Finally, some new mousepads round out the assortment of gaming gear kicking of the Division Zero brand. There are three different kinds with varying degrees of friction to account for different types of games. The X40 Pro keyboard is available to pre-order now for $149 with shipments expected in mid-February; the M50 Pro mouse is available now for $79, as are the mousepads starting at $19. |
| Apple, Google Beefing up VR Efforts? Posted: 26 Jan 2016 05:32 AM PST Back in June 2014, Google first revealed Google Cardboard, a cheap virtual reality alternative that consisted of a cardboard box that can be folded into wearable glasses. It's not meant for a fully immersive experience, but a cheap way to get some VR thrills without having to sink hundreds of dollars into actual hardware (outside the need for a smartphone, that is). That said, a few job postings have appeared on Google revealing that the company may be working on dedicated VR hardware to rival the upcoming Oculus Rift headset. These jobs, discovered by RoadtoVR, were posted over the last several days and are looking for a Hardware Engineering Technical Lead Manager, VR, and a PCB Layout Engineer, VR. Currently, there are around seventeen job openings at Google that focus on virtual reality. "As the Hardware Engineering Technical Lead Manager for the consumer hardware products, you will drive the design and execution of our ever increasing product portfolio," reads the Hardware Engineering listing. "You will be responsible for the building multiple CE devices and will put together the right team that will scale with our product offering." News of the job openings arrive after Google's VP for Product Management, Clay Bavor, apparently shifted focus at the company to manage Google's virtual reality products. According to Re/code, Bavor has a new title at Google: VP of Virtual Reality. Serving Google for over ten years, his prior responsibilities included running apps like Gmail, Drive, Docs, and the company's Cardboard product since its introduction two years ago. Google isn't the only company dashing to create a virtual reality product. The Financial Times reported last week that Apple hired a top virtual reality researcher, former Virginia Tech computer science professor Doug Bowman. So far there's no indication of what Bowman will be doing at Apple, although his background points to the possibility of VR. Bowman's bio, listed on Virginia Tech's website, shows that he served as the principal investigator of the 3D Interaction Group, focusing on the topics of "three-dimensional user interface design and the benefits of immersion in virtual environments." Bowman's bio also says that he served as the general chair of the IEEE Virtual Reality Conference in 2007 and 2008, and as the lead author of the book 3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice. Google and Apple's move into "hardcore" virtual reality should come as no surprise. According to Goldman Sachs analysts, virtual reality and augmented reality could create an industry worth billions of dollars, and could be as "game changing" as the invention of the personal computer. VR headsets could possibly outsell desktop PCs, tablets, and televisions by 2025. Goldman analysts expect Apple to fully participate in the AR/VR market in the near future. In a note to clients, they said that Apple is likely investigating the challenges of the tech and how consumers will want to interact with VR, before revealing its AR/VR hand to the public. |
| Posted: 26 Jan 2016 12:00 AM PST A big leap forward for system toolsAs a PC enthusiast, you're always building, tweaking, testing, monitoring. It's the endless life-loop of a PC junkie. At least, that's how it is for us here at Maximum PC. We've used our fair share of tools and tricks to get our PCs running in tip-top shape—everything from CPUID to HWMonitor to Corsair Link to GPU-Z. But what if there were a tool that could do all of that and more? And what if that tool could actually help you analyze your system performance over time? Meet CAM, an all-encompassing tool that's pitched as the only utility you'll ever need. The brainchild of NZXT—the McLaren wannabe of PC cases and accessories—CAM takes the best of all the most popular system utilities and combines them into one cohesive package.  We've been playing with CAM versions 1 and 2 for a while, and while NZXT had the look down, it hadn't quite nailed the functionality. CAM was primarily designed to control NZXT's own hardware devices, such as its Kraken liquid cooler, and Hue LED lighting system, but it hadn't provided anything else beyond those main features. CAM 3.0, however, is an entirely different beast. In fact, NZXT wants to disassociate itself with CAM as a PC chassis and accessories design house. According to NZXT founder Johnny Hou, "We wanted CAM to be a complete system tool for everyone, not just NZXT fans. I think of CAM as being the go-to app for all gamers and PC users, it doesn't matter if they have NZXT hardware. We want CAM to be the centerpiece to your PC, without being tied to proprietary hardware." That's a generous statement to make, but can CAM 3.0 meet that vision? Upon installation, CAM requests that you sign up for a CAM Cloud account. You don't have to, but if you do, the real intelligence behind CAM comes out in full force. Yes, CAM does all of the things you expect it to do: monitor CPU and GPU data, voltages, fan speeds, etc. But the killer app for CAM is to be able to see historic data.  CAM monitors and records your frequency and FPS data, if you let it, and uploads it to CAM cloud. From there, you can track your history. You can also compare your results with those that have the same system specs, or those that have better system specs. Using this feature, you can know what kind of performance to expect compared to others. Thinking of upgrading from that GeForce GTX 780 to a 980 Ti? CAM lets you see others with 980 Ti's, and what to expect in the games you play. For those who do a lot of overclocking, this feature is also smart. You can compare overclocking results with others directly through CAM. Right now, CAM Cloud has several thousand users, but as its database grows, it'll become even more detailed and granular. NZXT tells us that in a near future update to CAM, you'll be able to tell it the kind of performance that you want, and it'll suggest upgrades for your rig.  From the screenshot above, you can see that according to 314 others with the same specs as our system, average idle temps for our CPU should be around 30C. At 29C, we know our 4960X is being cooled slightly better than average. This live comparison feature also works with the GPU, and we find it incredibly powerful. What if you want to see all the details in your system? CAM can do that, too. You can use CAM in three different modes: basic, advanced, and expanded. In basic mode, CAM shows you all the critical details of your system. Advanced mode gives you live graphs of CPU cores, temps, RPM, and a bunch more details. The beastly mode is CAM expanded, where you get an entire overview of every detail in your system.  CAM shows you far more detail than we can cover here, but we're particularly pleased that you can check out full stats on your SSD, like how long its been operating, any errors, and expected cell life, etc.  If you have NZXT hardware, such as a Kraken, Hue+, or Grid, CAM will allow you to control all those devices, too. As a side effect, if you have an Asetek-based all-in-one liquid cooler, CAM will recognize it and allow adjustment and control, as NZXT's Kraken series are made by Asetek. For gamers who want to track their live hardware stats, CAM also allows you to do in-game overlays. Just enable the overlay features in CAM, select the data you want to be displayed and where you want them shown, and you'll be able to see your stats as you play. CAM will also log all your gameplay sessions, to let you see historic data on frame-rate performance. You can see if your system has degraded over time, or see how much of an improvement you got from a new hardware purchase. Useful!  The FutureRight now, CAM doesn't allow you to overclock your system. You can't adjust voltages and can't adjust CPU frequencies. NZXT says its working on an update where you will be able to do all that. For those who are interested in overclocking, that future update to CAM can't come soon enough. Combined with CAM Cloud, CAM will be able to let you overclock your system to a target system, based on the target's stable settings. Since CAM Cloud sees all details from other users, such as voltages and frequency settings, overclocking could be made extra easy. For now though, we'll have to wait.  Aside from progress, CAM 3.0 is a major step forward for system-monitoring apps. CAM goes beyond just monitoring and lets you compare your performance data with others. Future update features appear promising as well. Can CAM completely replace all of our tools? That depends on whether NZXT can get deep access to change motherboard values, and how many people get into using CAM. NZXT tells us they have bold visions for CAM, and lots of interesting features on the CAM roadmap that the company doesn't want us to talk about yet. But from what we were told, if all the features do come true, CAM will be huge for PC builders. Already innovative with its cloud-based feature, CAM 3.0 is a good step in the direction that NZXT says it wants to go. With CAM Cloud, we can imagine plenty of useful functions for CAM. Right now, CAM 3.0 is like NZXT making a rabbit disappear. CAM 4.0 might be where NZXT pulls that rabbit out of a hat. NZXT CAM 3.0 Gallery |
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