General Gaming Article |
- Newegg Daily Deals: HGST Deskstar NAS 4TB HDD, Dell 23.8-Inch LCD, and More!
- Oh Great, IRS is Having Computer Problems
- Canonical's Ubuntu Linux Arrives in Tablet Form, Doubles as a Desktop
- Asus Rolls Out Three Small Form Factor Motherboards for Skylake
- Google Boots Samsung's First Android Ad Blocker
- Rise of the Tomb Raider AMD 16.1.1 Hotfix Testing
- Use Good Headphones with a Modmic
| Newegg Daily Deals: HGST Deskstar NAS 4TB HDD, Dell 23.8-Inch LCD, and More! Posted: 04 Feb 2016 11:06 AM PST Top Deal: We're big proponents of NAS boxes. They're great for backing up data (among other things) and it's better to have a solid backup in place before the need arises (trust us on this one). If you're going to get one, mechanical hard drives still offer the best storage per dollar, and companies make HDDs specific for NAS applications. One of them is today's top deal for an HGST Deskstar NAS 4TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5-inch High-Performance Hard Drive for Desktop NAS Systems (Bare Drive) for $140 with free shipping (normally $160 - use coupon code: [ESCEGEH22]). It's capacious, features an active Rotational Vibration Safeguard mechanism to decrease wear and tear, and is backed by a 3-year warranty. Dell S2415H Black 23.8-inch 6ms HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor for $150 with $1 shipping (normally $170) Seagate Backup Plus 4TB Portable External Hard Drive with 200GB of Cloud Storage & Mobile Device Backup USB 3.0 for $120 with free shipping (normally $130 - use coupon code: [EMCEGEH23]) XFX Radeon R7 370 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 CrossFireX Support Double Dissipation XXX OC Video Card for $140 with free shipping (normally $150; additional $10 Mail-in rebate) Corsair Carbide Series 200R Black Steel / Plastic compact ATX Mid Tower Case for $55 with free shipping (normally $60 - use coupon code: [EMCEGEG23]; additional $10 Mail-in rebate) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oh Great, IRS is Having Computer Problems Posted: 04 Feb 2016 10:55 AM PST Waiting on refunds There's good news for nine out of 10 people expecting a refund after filing taxes—you'll likely receive it within the 21-day window the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) quotes. And if you're the unlucky sap in a group of 10? Well, who knows when it will come. The IRS is currently experiencing computer issues in the form of a hardware failure, and it's affecting an untold number of tax processing systems. "Several of our systems are not currently operating, including our modernized e-file system and a number of other related systems," the IRS said in a statement on Wednesday. "The IRS is currently in the process of making repairs and working to restore normal operations as soon as possible. We anticipate some of the systems will remain unavailable tomorrow [today]." You can still prepare and file your tax return as usual, and even submit them to your e-file provider of choice. However, those companies will hold the tax returns until the IRS fixes things on its end. If you've already filed your tax return, there's nothing more to do other than cross your fingers and hope you're not among the unlucky 10 percent who will end up waiting longer than 21 days (whether or not that's due to the glitch, the IRS didn't say). Don't Go PhishingIn related news, the IRS issued a news release warning taxpayers to be on the lookout for fake emails or websites looking to steal your personal information. Otherwise known as phishing, the scheme continues to be on the annual IRS list of "Dirty Dozen" tax scams. "Criminals are constantly looking for new ways to trick you out of your personal financial information so be extremely cautious about opening strange emails," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. "The IRS won't send you an email about a tax bill or refund out of the blue. We urge taxpayers not to click on any unexpected emails claiming to be from the IRS." One thing to keep in mind is that the IRS doesn't typically doesn't initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal information or financial details. If you receive such a request, consider it a red flag. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Canonical's Ubuntu Linux Arrives in Tablet Form, Doubles as a Desktop Posted: 04 Feb 2016 10:34 AM PST Fashionably late or right on time? Canonical is on a mission to reinvent the personal mobile computing experience. That's not hyperbole on our part, it's Canonical's way of describing the significance of its new and first Linux tablet, the Aquaris M10 Ubuntu Edition, which it's launching in partnership with Spanish device maker BQ. It's a curious time to be entering the tablet market—tablet shipments continue to decline while 2-in-1 detachables are gaining steam. But in Canonical's defense, the Aquaris M10 isn't an ordinary slate, it's a tablet that can also double as your desktop. Sounds like what Microsoft is trying to do with Windows 10, right? In that regard, the timing couldn't be better in Canonical's eyes. The company points out that Ubuntu is "firmly established as the preferred desktop experience of over 30 million users" around the globe, and that it's first three models of Ubuntu phones quickly sold out when they hit the market last year. Now with the release of the Aquaris M10 Ubuntu Edition, Canonical's looking at full convergence. "We're bringing you everything you've come to expect from your Ubuntu PC, now on the tablet with BQ, soon on smartphones. This isn't a phone interface stretched to desktop size – it's the right user experience and interaction model for the given situation," said Jane Silber, CEO of Canonical. "Also, in terms of applications, we have something no other OS can provide: a single, visual framework and set of tools for applications to run on any type of Ubuntu smart device." Let's look at the specs. The BQ Aquaris M10 features a 10.1-inch multi-touch display powered by a MediaTek quad-core MT8163A processor clocked at up to 1.5GHz. It also has 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage expandable via microSD, Full HD 1080p front-facing camera, 12-megapixel rear camera with autofocus and dual flash, front-facing speakers, and a micro HDMI slot. The tablet is running the mobile version of Ubuntu with hundreds of apps and scopes now available in the Ubuntu App Store. That's not a lot compared to Android, iOS, or even Windows, but when you connect a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, you get the full Ubuntu PC experience. You can also connect the tablet to an external display. Think Continuum, but for Ubuntu. Will it prove popular? Canonical seems to think so, and it's certainly not in this to be an also-ran. "We're not out to win the tablet market. We want to win the reinvention of the PC experience," Silber told ZDNet in an interview. "Today, the PC, tablet and smartphone markets are not really different things. It's what we're doing on our devices that's important. By providing one code base for all devices, our view of convergence will make it easier to deal with blurring of form factors." It's a bold statement, and starting soon—the Aquaris M10 goes on sale in the second quarter of this year from BQ's online store (no word yet on price)— we'll see if Canonical can back it up. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Asus Rolls Out Three Small Form Factor Motherboards for Skylake Posted: 04 Feb 2016 09:34 AM PST Think small Building a fast and respectable system doesn't necessarily mean going big with your setup. Lest there be any doubt, Asus has three new small form factor motherboard options for system builders looking to go small. All three are based on Intel's B150 chipset for Skylake. The first of the three is the B150I Pro Gaming/WiFi/Aura. It's a mini-ATX mobo that boasts a pair of DIMM slots supporting up to 32GB of DDR4-2133 RAM, a single PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot, four SATA 6Gbps ports, a single M.2 Socket 3 with M key, 802.11ac 2x2 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi, GbE LAN, four USB 3.0 ports, a single USB 3.0 Type-C port, four USB 2.0 ports, and HDMI and DVI-D graphics connectors. The "Auru" in the model name denotes a new LED-illumination technology exclusive to select Asus motherboards. Through accompanying software, you can control a series of RGB lights with various effects, like breathing and color-strobing, to name just two. Going beyond simple bling, you can configure the lights to change their shade based on CPU temperatures—if everything starts glowing red, you might want to check your cooling scheme. Second up is the B150I Pro Gaming/Aura. It's also a mini-ITX motherboard that's configured similarly to the one above, but without baked in Wi-Fi. Finally, there's the B150M Pro Gaming. This one's a micro ATX motherboard, so it's a bit bigger than the other two and uses that additional real estate to offer a few additional ports and slots. Specifically, it adds two PCI Express 3.0 x1 slots to the mix, has six SATA 6Gbps ports instead of two, has four DIMM slots supporting up to 64GB of DDR4-2133 RAM, and has a dozen USB ports split evenly between USB 3.0 (Type-A) and USB 3.0. Curiously, there's no Type-C connectors on this one. It also lacks onboard Wi-Fi and the Aura LED lighting. Asus didn't say how much the boards cost or when they'll be available. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Google Boots Samsung's First Android Ad Blocker Posted: 04 Feb 2016 08:06 AM PST Google has confirmed with The Verge that it has removed an app called Adblock Fast from Google Play. The company did not provide a reason, but the app's developer, Rocketship Apps, claims that Adblock Fast was removed because it violates section 4.4 of Google's Developer Distribution Agreement. Adblock Fast was developed in conjunction with Samsung and worked within Samsung's mobile browser. "You agree that you will not engage in any activity with the Store, including the development or distribution of Products, that interferes with, disrupts, damages, or accesses in an unauthorized manner the devices, servers, networks, or other properties or services of any third party including, but not limited to, Android users, Google or any mobile network operator. You may not use customer information obtained from the Store to sell or distribute Products outside of the Store," Google states in its Agreement. Until now, Adblock Fast was the first free and first open-source ad blocker on Samsung's Android phones, promising a 51 percent faster load average because it leverages seven optimized filtering rules to clean out all the advertising junk. Adblock Fast was launched on Google Play just days ago, but now it's nowhere to be found. The app made its first appearance on Apple's App Store back in September 2015, and has since racked up more than 200,000 users on the iOS platform. The app appeared on Google Play after Samsung rolled out support for content blocking as an over-the-air update over the weekend. Ad blockers have become popular as of late thanks to Apple's iOS 9 platform, which features built-in support for ad blockers. These plugins provide faster page loads, less data usage, and a cleaner browsing experience. The drawback is that advertisers aren't reaching mobile visitors. Since the removal of Adblock Fast, several other ad blocking solutions have surfaced on Google Play including Crystal (which is also on Apple's App Store) and Adblock Plus. What's unclear is how Adblock Fast has violated Google's terms and the new solutions have not. The Verge notes that Adblock Plus ran into a similar problem back in 2013 and was only allowed to come back if it was bundled in the developer's own browser. An unnamed source close to the situation told VentureBeat that this was a "unique case" because two apps are required to activate the ad blocking process. Sources also said that Google has no problems with browsers that have built-in ad-blocking solutions, or browser plugins. Thus, Samsung's Internet browser is all clear to be downloaded from Google Play, but the Adblock Fast app is not. There's now speculation that Samsung may merely distribute Adblock Fast through its own preloaded app store on Galaxy devices. As it stands, Google seems to be banning third-party apps that block ads within another company's software. Adblock Fast is currently available on Apple's App Store, and for Chome and Opera browsers for desktops and laptops. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rise of the Tomb Raider AMD 16.1.1 Hotfix Testing Posted: 04 Feb 2016 01:30 AM PST Can AMD's Crimson 16.1.1 Hotfix rise to the occasion?Last week, Rise of the Tomb Raider launched and received fairly good reviews. We then benchmarked the game to see how AMD and Nvidia GPUs stack up, along with checking out the CPU side of things. At the time, AMD was running "unoptimized" drivers while Nvidia had already released their 361.75 Game Ready drivers. We were told AMD was working to improve performance and would hopefully have an updated driver available this week, and they've followed through with their Crimson 16.1.1 Hotfix. To be clear, these are drivers that are only supposed to help with Rise of the Tomb Raider—performance in other titles shouldn't change, but AMD makes no promises. This is the difference between a beta (preview of a general update) and a hotfix (usually focused on one or two specific items that have been deemed critical). We've covered all of the benchmarking details in our earlier article, so let's just jump straight to the chase. We're focusing purely on AMD performance here; if you want to see Nvidia numbers, nothing has changed from before. The reason for limiting testing will become fairly obvious in a moment. Here's our test system:
Note that we don't currently have any CrossFire configurations available, as our second 290X has gone kaput sometime during the past two months. CrossFire support is one of the items 16.1.1 apparently fixes, so if you have multiple AMD GPUs, that's at least a good sign. As before, we're using the same five test settings:
Okay, did we miss something? Sure, the Hotfix drivers at least equal the performance of the previous drivers, but we're basically looking at margin of error here for most of the cards. There are two exceptions: The R9 390 97 percentiles are significantly better, and the R9 285 2GB is about eight percent faster. Otherwise, you basically won't notice any changes. It's too bad the same boost to minimum fps didn't happen on the Fury X, as it could have pushed the card into mostly playable territory. It's still breaking 30 fps, if only barely, but there's a lot of stuttering as you move around the game world. At 2560x1440 with Very High settings, the situation is almost worse. Yes, we're still matching performance of the earlier drivers, but the R9 285 is again the sole benefactor. Average frame rates are up six percent, and 97 percentiles are up 38 percent. Unfortunately, that particular GPU is so far from being playable at these settings that it's an almost meaningless improvement. The story is the same at 1080p Very High, with the R9 285 improving by 13 percent while everything else is less than a two percent change. The R9 380 does show a 10 percent bump to 97 percentiles, but it's not something you'd generally notice. Hey, would you look at this? At 1080p High, we actually see some decent improvements on most of the GPUs…except it's still only to the 97 percentiles. The R9 390 with its large 8GB VRAM doesn't see any benefit, but nearly all of the other GPUs are now consistently staying above 30 fps. The Tonga-based R9 380 and R9 285 both see a jump of roughly 50 percent on minimum frame rates, and at least on the 4GB VRAM card it's enough to smooth out most of the stuttering. And once again, the R9 285 sees at least a statistically significant 8 percent increase to average fps, though anything less than 15 percent is pretty difficult to notice during actual use. Such a greedy womanSo what's the problem—why is Rise of the Tomb Raider so much more demanding than 2013's Tomb Raider reboot? Judging by our earlier results, it looks like the new Lara is very high maintenance. GPUs that could pull roughly 120 fps at 1080p Ultimate settings in the earlier release are finding performance has been cut in half. In fact, even at 1080p Medium, the results with the new Lara are worse than the 1080p Ultimate results of her predecessor. We can take that a step further: At 1080p on the Low preset, performance is about equal to the old 1080p Ultimate results. Yikes! What happened? There's no easy answer, as the supported platforms remain the same (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One), so it's not like the developers were able to radically change the minimum hardware spec by dropping support for older consoles. Except, they did change the minimum hardware required to run Rise of the Tomb Raider—you don't have a prayer of playing this game on Intel's non-Iris graphics solutions, for example. What it comes down to is improved visuals, where even the Low and Medium quality settings look quite good while the High and Very High settings are even better. Consider also that previously, TressFX was only enabled with the Ultimate preset, where PureHair is now toggled on starting at the Medium preset. Bottom line: Lara is embracing her wealthy upbringing and expecting gamers everywhere to have potent systems. And more likely than not, the PC release isn't nearly as optimized for performance as the console release—though the consoles do seem to top out at the 1080p Medium equivalent in terms of image fidelity. Short of some major improvements from drivers and/or patches, Rise of the Tomb Raider also raises the bar for minimum hardware. As for AMD's 16.1.1 Hotfix, it doesn't reduce performance, but outside of mainstream cards (particularly those with 2GB VRAM), it also doesn't dramatically improve performance either. CrossFire users will definitely appreciate having support for the game as well, though we weren't able to test that at present. Still, any CrossFire support is better than nothing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Use Good Headphones with a Modmic Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:00 AM PST Need to know Product: Modmic 4.0 So you're into gaming, which means unless you're a gaming hermit, you're probably communicating with your friends and other gamers via some sort of "gaming" headset. I never understood the word "gaming" for computer peripherals—they're usually reserved for products that have ugly designs, with some exceptions. The most popular product categories to fall into the "gaming" pile are headsets, and the majority of them are not made with the best quality components. The microphone is usually terrible, or the audio is awful, or both. For the most part, 95 percent of headsets out there are pretty terrible, and if I were reviewing them, most would score a 6 out of 10. Yeah, that's a failing grade—pretty brutal. Probably the one gaming headset exempt from my scathing remarks would be Kingston's HyperX Cloud Gaming headset. It has relatively good audio, has a good microphone, and is comfortable to wear for long gaming sessions. But I still wouldn't use it for listening to music. What if you've already got a great pair of headphones sitting around and you want to use them for gaming? That's a great question. My advice is to use a product called Modmic by Antlion Audio. It's a very high-quality boom microphone that can be purchased in either omni-directional or uni-direction configuration, with or without a mute switch.  I have been recommending the Modmic to many friends and readers, as it's the best way to get great audio with a great microphone. No "gaming" headset can beat a great set of headphones in audio. This is especially true if you have an ounce of interest in the quality of your audio output for games and music. The difference can be night and day. Many readers seem to like using Sennheiser's headphones at their desk, especially the HD 598 or the HD 600. Other brands appear to be popular as well, including Audio-Technica, HiFiMAN, AKG, and Beyerdynamic. Then there are the other more boutique brands like Audeze, Fostex, Master and Dynamic, MrSpeakers, Oppo, Stax, etc. If you're familiar with any of these, and you've been looking for a way to add a microphone, look no further.  The Modmic is easy to use. The mic itself has a magnetic attachment that tethers to a small nub, which you stick onto your favorite cans. Antlion ships the Modmic with two nubs so you can use more than one set of headphones, or you can stick the second nub somewhere that you can dock your Modmic when not in use. Strange use of the Modmic. Weirdo! Once attached, the link itself can be rotated in any direction. Perhaps you have a really short or really big head, and can't find a headset that suits your size. Or maybe you prefer your mic on the right instead of the left. Position the attachment nub anywhere you want; problem solved. Some users even attach a nub to the frames on their glasses. Bizarre! Build quality is excellent, and the Modmic arm is easily adjustable so you can get the best positioning. Speaking with several people who own Modmics, they prefer using the uni-directional Modmic over the omni due to the omni picking up surrounding noises, like loud mechanical keyboard typing. The uni-directional Modmic is sensitive to your voice, but it isn't sensitive enough to pick up sounds that will annoy your buddies. The Modmic is exceptionally clear in audio performance. In our tests, it's better than just about any other integrated mic on any gaming headset—even the HyperX. The best part of it all is it's easily stowed away when not in use.  Getting back to the dual nubs, let's talk about other reasons people might like using two different sets of headphones. During our talks with users, many audio enthusiasts like having one closed set of headphones, and another set that's open. Most headphone reviewers say the same thing. In FPS games especially, or other games with an emphasis on environmental acoustics, an open-back headphone can produce a more convincing environment, which helps to determine direction from audio cues. On closed-back headphones, the sound is more centered within your skull, and many like this focused sound when listening to music. Depending on how you like your audio and what you listen to, having both kinds of headphones is a great thing. The Modmic is a simple and elegant solution for anyone requiring mic input. Pair it with your favorite headphones and ditch the world of poor mic, poor audio, poor quality "gaming" headsets. During gaming sessions, our friends easily heard the quality difference between headsets from companies like Corsair, Logitech, and Razer compared to the Modmic.  The Modmic Omni-directional muteless starts at $43, and a uni-directional with mute switch goes for $50. If the pricing seems a bit steep, it is—at first. Then you realize the quality of audio you're broadcasting is amazing, the flexibility it provides, and that you can take your mic with you should you decide to upgrade cans. Suddenly, the price isn't a deterrent, but it's a bargain instead—especially when you consider pro-level mics can get into the thousands of dollars. On the flip side, this is all in service of your friends (or for doing streaming sessions), since you don't have to listen to yourself. So if you don't care what your friends are hearing, maybe any old headset will do. But at least get a good pair of headphones! | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Can 1080p Medium results save the day for the Crimson 16.1.1 Hotfix? Not really. The R9 285 now sees a welcome 18 percent increase in average fps, and another 50 percent gain in minimum fps; that's great and it makes the card actually viable for 1080p Medium gaming in Rise of the Tomb Raider. That's a bit shocking, however, considering the R9 285 is basically faster than any of AMD's current mobile GPUs. For the other cards, Fury X and R9 380 also show improved minimum fps results, but average fps is still basically unchanged.
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