General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

Newegg Daily Deals: Sapphire Nitro Radeon R9 380, Intel Core i7-5820K, and More!

Posted: 17 Feb 2016 12:08 PM PST

Sapphire Radeon R9 380

Top Deal:

We're less than two months into 2016 and it's already shaping up to be an exciting year. Part of the reason is because of VR—Oculus and HTC both have VR headsets hitting the streets real soon, and you can bet others will follow suit. Can your PC handle VR? If you're rocking an older graphics card, then probably not. For the full Rift experience, Oculus calls for a GTX 970 / AMD 290 or greater graphics card. Need one? Then check out today's top deal for a Sapphire Nitro Radeon R9 380 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Dual-X OC Version w/ backplate (UEFI) Video Card for $190 with free shipping (normally $220; additional $15 Mail-in rebate). It's fast, has a custom cooling solution, uses high-end components, and sports a stiffer board design with a backplate.

Other Deals:

Crucial 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Laptop Memory for $55 with free shipping (normally $60 - use coupon code: [EMCEGFK73])

HGST Deskstar NAS 6TB 7200 RPM 128MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5-Inch High-Performance Hard Drive Retail Kit for $230 with free shipping (normally $268 - use coupon code: [ESCEGFK32])

Intel Core i7-5820K Haswell-E 6-Core 3.3 GHz LGA 2011-v3 140W Desktop Processor for $375 with free shipping (normally $390 - use coupon code: [EMCEGFK45])

EVGA 430W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Continuous Power Supply Intel 4th Gen CPU Ready for $35 with $2 shipping (normally $40 - use coupon code: [EMCEGFK42]; additional $20 Mail-in rebate)

Western Digital Adds My Cloud Ex2 Ultra to Prosumer NAS Storage Line

Posted: 17 Feb 2016 10:49 AM PST

Two-Bay NAS Box

WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra

At minimum, anyone who can't afford to lose their files should have a Network Attached Storage (NAS) box of some sort. There's no shortage of options out there, one of the newest being Western Digital's My Cloud EX2 Ultra, a high-performance, two-bay NAS for the prosumer crowd.

The Ultra model's been upgraded with a 1.3GHz dual-core processor to help with media chores like video streaming. There's also 1GB of DDR3 memory onboard, which should help with mutltasking and also with specialized apps.

"We know our My Cloud users, especially creative professionals, need comprehensive solutions as digital storage needs continue to soar as well as the need for ongoing streaming capability," said Jim Welsh, executive vice president, WD Branded Products. "With the My Cloud EX2 Ultra, creative professionals are able to combine high performance with multi-tasking optimization and data protection to create a NAS system that simplifies their workflow and provides peace-of-mind."

You can buy the My Cloud EX2 Ultra without any drives installed and fill it yourself. Otherwise, it's available in 4TB, 8TB, and 12TB capacities. Either way, you'll find support for RAID 0 and RAID 1, along with JBOD and spanning modes. Since it's a two-bay NAS, you won't find support for things like RAID 5 or other types of RAID that require more than two HDDs. WD pre-configures the My Cloud EX2 Ultra for RAID 1.

As with most modern NAS boxes, there's a long list of supported network protocols and services, including DHCP, NTP, Dynamic DNS, Apple Bonjour and Windows Rally, VLAN, Jumbo frame (up to 9K), UPnP port forwarding, FTP/SFTP, CIFS/SMB, and so forth.

The WD My  Cloud EX2 Ultra is available now starting at $160 (diskless).

Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Grab Call of Duty: Black Ops III Multiplayer-Only Mode for $15 on Steam

Posted: 17 Feb 2016 09:59 AM PST

Straight to multiplayer

Black Ops III

If you don't give a rat's behind about single player campaigns and just want to shoot your friends in a virtual environment, Activision has a proposition for you—buy just the multiplayer portion of Call of Duty: Black Ops III and you'll pay a reduced rate.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops III Multiplayer Starter Pack leaves out all the single player elements and lets you get right to the multiplayer action. It includes public ranked multiplayer matches, plus the Arena, Freerun, and Theater game modes. You also get access to the Weapon Paint Shop, Gunsmith, and Black Market.

Before you pounce on this, gander a list of features NOT included:

  • Zombies game mode
  • Campaign game mode
  • Ability to play in Multiplayer custom games
  • Ability to Prestige (your level will be capped at 55 in the Starter Pack)
  • Access to mod tools or modded content (once released)
  • Access to unranked server browser (once released)
  • Ability to Fresh Start your profile
  • The ability to access Dead Ops Arcade II and Nightmares mode

The omission of the zombie mode is probably the biggest bummer, second to perhaps the level cap. However, there's still a fair bit of multiplayer fun to be had for a comparatively low price. And should you later decide to upgrade to the full game, Steam will deduct what you paid for the Multiplayer Starter Pack. That applies to both the regular version ($45 after discount) and Deluxe ($85 after discount).

It looks like the Multiplayer Starter Pack is a temporary deal—Steam says the offer expires on February 29, 2016.

Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Toshiba Builds Its First 1TB Capacity M.2 Form Factor Consumer SSD

Posted: 17 Feb 2016 09:33 AM PST

Big capacity in a little stick

Toshiba SG5

Toshiba's proud as a peacock about its new SG5 series of consumer focused solid state drives. Why? The SG5 series is Toshiba's first client SATA SSD to support a 1TB capacity in an M.2 form factor.

That's not the only capacity available—the SG5 series will also be available in 512GB, 256GB, and 128GB capacities, all of which use Toshiba's proprietary Quadruple Swing-By-Code (QSBC) error-correction technology. It's essentially a tweaked version of ECC that Toshiba says is optimized to protect data from corruption while improving reliability.

There are two versions of the M.2 drives—single sided and double sided. Toshiba will also offer the SG5 series in a traditional 2.5-inch form factor (7mm high). All three will use the company's triple-level cell (TLC) NAND flash memory, and while Toshiba didn't break down performance by form factor or capacity, it lists up to 545MB/s for sequential reads and up to 388MB/s for sequential writes.

"We understand our customers' needs for performance are constantly changing. The SG5 Series gives our customers the flexibility of system configuration with a selection of various capacities and form factors," said Cameron Brett, director of SSD product marketing at Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. "As the inventor of NAND flash technology, we leverage our NAND expertise to introduce state-of-the-art TLC NAND to optimize SSD performance in a small form factor, while giving our customers the ability to strengthen their data integrity with data protection features like Toshiba's proprietary QSBC and wipe technologies."

Toshiba's comments amount to a bit of chest-puffing, as does its claim that these drives are intended for higher end notebooks (as well as consumer laptops and desktop PCs). However, if priced right, the SG5 series could turn out to be compelling.

Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Technolust: Welcome to Shop Class

Posted: 17 Feb 2016 12:00 AM PST

Stuff to build stuff

One of the great things about working at Maximum PC is that I'm always building things. And by things, I mean PCs. Like many people, I enjoy working with my hands and doing projects myself, as long as I have the appropriate hardware and tools at my disposal.

I have a handful of projects for the house that I've procrastinated on, and many of them are due to the limited number of tools I have on hand. Sometimes you can get away with what you have if you're clever, but having the right tool for the specific job is always the best way to go. Usually, the right tool tends to be a big, heavy expensive tool. That's not a problem, provided you'll use it for more than one project and buy an item with enough durability that it'll last a good long time.

One of those projects I've always wanted to tackle is building my own PC case from scratch. That's no easy task, and making sure a case has the proper dimensions and locations of I/O panel and PCI slot cutouts and ATX motherboard standoff holes is crucial. Most everything else is up to someone's imagination, but in every case I've seen, those elements are always in the same place relative to one another.

To build a case, you need tools that can get the job done. Here are a few that could start me off on the right foot.

DeWalt DWS780 Double Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw

DeWalt DWS780

When you have raw material—any raw material, really—you almost always have to cut it to the length and shape you want. This sliding compound saw will help chop down wood and metal so fast it'll make you head spin.

Sporting a 12-inch blade, the $600, 56-pound DeWalt DWS780 can make short work of anything you need chopped down to size. The sliding capability lets you make bigger slices, in case the material you're trying to cut is wider than the blade.

Of all the cutting tools you can find in a shop, the compound miter saw is probably my favorite tool with a blade. The tool allows you to make precise cuts at a variety of angles. Compound miter saws allow movement along three axes, which I'll call yaw, pitch, and roll. You can move the saw along the yaw and roll axes to find the right angle before locking the saw into place. You move the saw along the pitch axis to cut your material.

This DeWalt saw also has a dust-collection system to help capture the particles generated from cutting. While the saw has a passive system, it's not too hard to connect a shop vac hose. The saw can also cut 2x14-inch planks in a single go, as well as vertical pieces up to 6 ¾ inches tall.

For most people, you don't need a saw with this many features, as a single-bevel "chop" saw will often meet your needs for simple, straight cuts. But you need a compound saw for those to make bevels for molding or other projects.

What will this saw offer that I don't have now?

Currently, I don't have a miter saw. While I really like my Makita corded circular, a miter saw offers far more accuracy for cutting angles. Using a miter saw is also much, much faster for making repeated cuts of a known length.

Delta 18-900L 18-Inch Laser Drill Press

Delta 18-900L

When it comes to cutting holes in material, a corded or cordless drill usually does the trick. I currently use an 18-volt DeWalt for my drilling jobs around the house, but I have no delusions about that tool being the best drill for every use.

When you need a truly accurate drill, the only way to go is to use a drill press. Unless your personal strength and dexterity stats are through the roof, it's unlikely that you'll be able to make holes like a drill press can, especially at an angle.

I went looking around online for the best drill press you can get outside of an industrial supplier, and the Delta 18-900L came up as the best drill a consumer is likely to get their hands on. The 18-900L isn't the best drill press for the money, since it costs a pretty penny at $1,085. However, it is the most feature-packed and won't bat an eye at almost any job you throw at it. In this sense, it's a lot like the GTX Titan X. It's kick ass, but probably not the item a sane homeowner would go out to buy, unless they have deep pockets and a penchant for doing lots of heavy-duty projects.

As if drill presses weren't accurate enough already, the 18-900L has a pair of lasers that intersect exactly where the centerpoint of the bit will hit the work surface. That makes lining up the drill much easier for repeated bores, since you don't have to lower the bit and align each piece. (This also allows you to keep the drill on between bores.)

Drill presses aren't just for making holes, either. By using a cutting bit or a sanding bit and locking it into position, you can shape materials with the press as well.

What will this drill press do for me that I don't have now?

Creating accurate, perfectly aligned bores is a lot harder than it looks, but using a drill press makes it a piece of cake. If I wanted to build a PC case from scratch, this is the part that I'd need to make holes for the motherboard standoffs. No other method would be accurate enough for my taste. A drill press also makes drilling through round objects (pipe, dowels, etc) super easy.

Hobart Handler 210 MVP MIG WelderHobart Handler 210 MVP

After you cut your metal and drill holes in it, you have to put the pieces together. Sure, you could use a series of bolts, but welding them together will render a smoother look without any wiggle.

I'd love to learn to weld, but I haven't (yet) had the time to take a class at the local community college to do so. That said, I looked around for a MIG welder that could weld thinner sheets of aluminum or steel, like those used in a PC case. The Hobart Handler 210 MVP looked like it would be a unit that would meet those demands.

For $900, the Handler 210 MVP comes with just about everything you need to start welding: a MIG gun with 10-foot cable, removable plug adapters, a gas regulator, and a spool of flux-core wire. The Handler can run off of 115V or 230V, and automatically detects input voltage.

What does the welder do for me that I don't have now?

Like I mentioned, I don't have a welder right now, nor do I have the knowledge of how to MIG weld properly. Having this welder would allow me to cover half of that shortfall. After I learn how to weld, I would be able to construct all manners of metal things (including PC cases) for fun or utility.
Posted by Shri Krishna

Total Pageviews

statcounter

View My Stats