General Gaming Article |
- Newegg Daily Deals: Intel Core i7-4790K, Lenovo Core i5-4460S Desktop PC, and More!
- More Crappy Cables: Apple Recalls MacBook USB-C Charge Cords
- Google to Shutter Picasa, Focus on Google Photos Instead
- Nvidia Releases Game Ready 361.91 Driver for Street Fighter V, Hitman Beta
- Creative Sound BlasterX H5 Review
| Newegg Daily Deals: Intel Core i7-4790K, Lenovo Core i5-4460S Desktop PC, and More! Posted: 15 Feb 2016 10:51 AM PST Top Deal: Not feeling the performance benefits of Skylake just yet? That's okay, you can still build and/or upgrade a PC on previous generation architecture and still have a powerhouse on your hands. Case in point, today's top deal for an Intel Core i7-4790K Devil's Canyon Quad-Core 4.0 GHz LGA 1150 Processor for $325 with free shipping (normally $340 - use coupon code: [EMCEGFG67]). Based on Haswell, the 4790K is still a fast part with four cores clocked at 4GHz (4.4GHz Turbo), 8 threads, and 8MB of cache. Other Deals:' Lenovo Desktop Computer Intel Core i5 4460S (2.90 GHz) 8 GB DDR3 1 TB HDD Intel HD Graphics 4600 Shared memory Windows 10 Home 64-bit for $370 with free shipping (normally $390 - use coupon code: [EMCEGFG54]) Acer Black 25-Inch 4ms HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor IPS for $130 with free shipping (normally $140 - use coupon code: [EMCEGFG68]) Toshiba 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5-Inch Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive for $75 with free shipping (normally $90 - use coupon code: [ESCEGFG23]) Asus M5A97 R2.0 AM3+ AMD 970 + SB 950 6 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), gray USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS for $80 with $3 shipping (normally $90 - use coupon code: [EMCEGFG28]) |
| More Crappy Cables: Apple Recalls MacBook USB-C Charge Cords Posted: 15 Feb 2016 10:41 AM PST USB Type-C Cable controversy Cable makers are apparently having a bear of a time constructing reliable USB Type-C cables, and it's not entirely clear why. Perhaps they're underestimating the importance of building these newfangled cables to spec or maybe they're cutting corners to save a few pennies—whatever the case might be, consumers are paying the price. The latest example of this is a voluntary replacement program Apple initiated for a "limited number" of USB Type-C charge cables that were included with MacBook computers through June 2015. According to Apple, these cables suffer from a design issue that could cause them to fail and not charge the MacBook they're attached to, or only charge intermittently. If you have an affected cable, Apple will replace it free of charge. The recall applies to both cables included with MacBooks and Apple brand USB-Type C charge cables that were sold as standalone accessories. To see if you have one, look on the cable itself. If it says, "Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in China" and nothing else, then it's eligible for a replacement. The redesigned cable will contain the same text, but with a serial number added. Shoddy USB Type-C cables have been an ongoing issue. It came to light when a Google engineer named Benson Leung began leaving user reviews for USB Type-C cables sold on Amazon. He called out the ones that were out of spec while highlighting the potential dangers, including any issues he might have run into himself, and praised the ones that were as advertised (and did so in a transparent manner). As a result of his efforts, OnePlus offered refunds to anyone who purchased its own brand USB Type-C cable, which was found to be out of spec (it used a 10kΩ when it should have been using a 56kΩ resistor). More recently, Leung paid a hefty price for his crusade when a badly constructed USB Type-C cable fried the USB ports on his Chromebook Pixel, along with the device he was using to test them with. |
| Google to Shutter Picasa, Focus on Google Photos Instead Posted: 15 Feb 2016 10:17 AM PST Forced retirement It doesn't make a whole lot of sense for Google to maintain two separate but similar photo services, and so it's not going to—Picasa is out and Google Photos is in. Google didn't come at this decision lightly. Instead, Google said it decided to phase out and retire Picasa over the coming months only after giving the situation "much thought and consideration." The time spent mulling the issue led Google to decide that it can build a better experience by focusing its efforts entirely on one photos/videos application rather than juggling two. "We believe we can create a much better experience by focusing on one service that provides more functionality and works across mobile and desktop, rather than divide our efforts across two different products," Google stated in a blog post. Google expressed sympathy for those who might have spent hours managing their collection of photos and videos in Picasa. As an acknowledgement to that, Google said it won't rush through the transition process, making sure it has sufficient time "to do this right" and also provide users with various options and easy ways of accessing their content. The process has already begun. For those who have photos or videos in a Picasa Web Album, they'll find that same content by logging into Google Photos where they can continue to upload new ones and organize things as they see fit. There's no need to go into Picasa and make backups and/or re-upload to Google Photos. What if you're a Picasa user and don't want to use Google Photos? Google said it's creating a new place where you'll still be able to view, download, or delete your content. However, you won't be able to create new albums, nor will you be able to organize or edit existing ones. You have some time to adjust to the changes—they'll begin rolling out on May 1, 2016. Then on May 15, Google will stop supporting the Picasa desktop application. If you already have it downloaded or installed, it will still function, it just won't receive any further updates. |
| Nvidia Releases Game Ready 361.91 Driver for Street Fighter V, Hitman Beta Posted: 15 Feb 2016 09:28 AM PST Ready, download! Street Fighter V arrives on PC tomorrow (along with PlayStation 4), and if you want to be prepared for the brawls that await, Nvidia has a new Game Ready driver available to download, version 361.91. This is not an unexpected driver release—Nvidia and its driver team works feverishly "up until the last minute" before every new major title arrives on PC to make sure its graphics cards will deliver the best possible gaming experience, both in terms of performance and bug fixes. In this instance, version 361.91 is optimized for a handful of titles, not just Street Fighter V. Nvidia says it's also the best driver for ARMA 3, Monster Hunter Online, and the episodic Hitman reboot (beta). Nvidia also added and updated some SLI profiles. They include:
Getting back to Street Fighter V, for those of you planning to play the game on PC, Capcom's minimum and recommended specs call for the following:
Street Fighter V is powered by Unreal Engine 4. It will feature 16 characters at launch, with more being added in future updates. The game will also feature cross-platform gameplay between PC and PS4. A version for Linux will be released at a later date. You can still pre-order Street Fighter V from Steam for $60, or $90 for the Deluxe Edition (includes all future DLC via Season Pass). If applicable, you can download Nvidia's new driver package here. |
| Creative Sound BlasterX H5 Review Posted: 15 Feb 2016 12:00 AM PST A lightweight contenderWhen someone sits down to work or play games, the expectations of a headset can vary wildly from one person to another. The average length of time you expect to wear it per session should be a major factor in choosing a headset. As it turns out, the Creative Sound BlasterX H5 is a headset I can comfortably wear for hours. AT a GlanceFloat like a butterfly: Lightweight with a durable and flexible headband; great stereo sound; detachable mic and cable. When I first opened the package, I noticed how much the H5 reminded me of the Kingston HyperX Cloud IIs we love. The metal frames that hold the ear cups stood out, as did the removable, bendable mic. If you didn't know better, you could mistake the headset for the Cloud IIs from a distance. The first thing that's key to know about the H5 is that this is an analog stereo headset, and doesn't have any surround capabilities built into it. You can emulate surround in software with Creative's BlasterX Acoustic Engine software (which you have to register an email address to download), but the H5 itself isn't billed as a surround headset. Lots of vendors offer surround supplied by software (like Logitech, for example), but since the H5 uses an analog connection, that sound quality will only be as good as your sound card, and won't show up as a device running its own drivers. On the upside, this also means that the headset will work equally well on Windows, Linux, and your phone. Even though this is a set of stereo cans, they sound damn good, and on par with the Cloud IIs in terms of audio response and quality. The isolation offered by the soft leatherette ear pads are on par with the Logitech G633, and feel much more like a hug on the sides of your head. Ear cup material preference is something that's highly subjective, but these pads do feel comfortable for long periods of wear. However, the material will lend to a little more sweating for long periods of gaming in warm temperatures. It's still winter at time of writing, so the pads are quite comfortable. When talking about feel, it's important to note just how feather-light these cans are. While some may not mind heavier headsets like the Polk Audio Striker Pro, gamers who don't want to feel the pressure of headset on their noggins for hours will see the H5 as a breath of fresh air. The H5 feels a touch lighter than the G633, without the bulkiness. For portability, both the H5's mic and cable detach from the headset. The detachable mic and not-so-over-the-top design makes the headset suitable for wear away from your PC as well, so tip of the hat for a street-friendly design. The cable terminates in a mic/stereo 3.5mm male jack, which can be inserted into the included 3.5mm mic and stereo splitter for use with a PC with discreet input and output female jacks. The in-line control on the cable features a mic mute switch, volume control, and a dual-function play/pause and call answer button. One thing I really like about the headset is the headband; it's more robust than it looks, springing back into place after we bend it up so that the headband is nearly flat. Creative did this by using steel underneath the padding instead of plastic. While doing this with other headsets often makes me cringe, the H5 happily takes the bending in stride. One thing that seemed to be missing is that the H5's ear cups don't rotate along the z-axis. (If you're holding the headset upright, you can't twist the cups from left to right.) As someone who used to DJ as a hobby, I have a habit of lifting one ear cup off my ear to listen to someone. A rotating ear cup allows the wearer to do this without adjusting the position of the other ear cup. It's not a huge omission (and would have added to the headset's weight), but it's a feature that both the G633 and Striker Pro have that I would've liked to see. All in all, the Creative Sound BlasterX H5 is a great lightweight stereo headset. It's not much to look at, but for a no-frills set of cans, the H5 gets the job done and doesn't break your neck doing it. With audio quality that you'd expect from the HyperX Cloud II if you bypassed the USB device and plugged the 3.5mm jack directly into your PC, the H5 is a great headset. At $130, the H5's price is higher than the Polk Striker Pro P1 ($100), but the H5 delivers great sound in a lightweight package. Creative is one of the oldest players in the game when it comes to sound on the PC. With PC memory companies (Kingston, Corsair) edging in on the audio peripheral market, it's good to see Creative's Sound Blaster brand compete in a space that it helped create. I'm pleased with the H5, and we're looking forward to finding out how the Sound BlasterX H7 (the USB 7.1 surround version) performs. |
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