General Gaming Article

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• HTC One Sans Sense Software is Reportedly in Development
• No BS Podcast #203: Nvidia's GeForce GTX 780, Reader Questions, and an Intern Rant
• Eurocom Scorpius Review
• Maker Faire 2013: 50 Pictures
• Netflix Chief Sparks Mini Revolt Among Some BlackBerry 10 Users
• Gigabyte Attaches Cooling Guarantee to Tri-Fan GeForce GTX 780 OC Edition
• Newegg Daily Deals: Plextor M5P Xtreme 256GB SSD, AOC 23-inch Monitor, and More

HTC One Sans Sense Software is Reportedly in Development Posted: 24 May 2013 12:14 PM PDT This is the One for stock Android lovers. Handset makers and wireless carriers love to load up Google's Android platform with custom overlays, user interface tweaks, and third-party programs that don't ship natively with the open source operating system. That's great for them, but most power users would prefer a clean version of Android to work with, which is why the third-party ROM community is popular. Well, following in the footsteps of Samsung and it's custom S4 that was announced at Google I/O, HTC is reportedly kicking around the idea of offering a Google Edition of its One smartphone. News of the custom HTC One comes from Russell Holly over at Geek.com. Citing un-named sources, Holly says the Google Edition device would be offered in the U.S. first, though it's unclear if it would be carried in the Play Store like the Galaxy S4 will be. Other details are equally light and vague, though Holly claims an official announcement could come within the next two weeks, with a release likely planned for sometime this summer. Assuming prices are roughly the same, which would you rather own, a clean version of the HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S4? Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

No BS Podcast #203: Nvidia's GeForce GTX 780, Reader Questions, and an Intern Rant Posted: 24 May 2013 12:03 PM PDT GTX 780 mega-podcast! We were busy little bees this time and could only spare three people: host and Senior Editor Josh Norem, Associate Editor Tom McNamara, and legendary intern Chris Zele. Ironically, we spent most of our time jabbering on about Nvidia's newest high-end video card, the GTX 780. We didn't have the MSRP in time for the taping of episode of #203 of the Maximum PC No BS Podcast, but you can't let missing things like "facts" stop you from having an opinion! We also tackled reader questions, one of which was about the systems we used at home. So if anyone else was on the edge of their seat and waiting for this information, your day has finally arrived. Also, with Gordon unavailable, we had Chris do his rant at the end. We'll let you judge the results. Note: We're having our video-editing monkey slave away at editing the video. Provided he doesn't keel over, we'll embed it as soon as we can! If you want to catch future episodes, you can: Subscribe on iTunes Fan us on Facebook Tweet us on Twitter Subscribe to us on Youtube Check out our Windows 8 app in Microsoft's app store Email us at maximumpcpodcast@gmail.com Subscribe to our RSS feed Leave us a voicemail at 877-404-1337 x1337 Thanks for listening! We wouldn't be here without all of your support! -Maximum PC Staff

Eurocom Scorpius Review Posted: 24 May 2013 11:52 AM PDT 3D notebook offers hefty power for a hefty cost The Eurocom Scorpius lives a dual life. On one hand, it's a dull-looking workstation; on the other, this highly configurable laptop can also be outfitted with a 3D monitor and killer gaming specs. We opted for the latter. The Scorpius has a backlit keyboard that can change to seven different colors. Along with a 120Hz refresh rate, the 17.3-inch monitor features a built-in 3D emitter that syncs up to a pair of bundled Nvidia 3D Vision 2 glasses. To test the 3D experience, we played the 3D Vision Ready–title Batman: Arkham City and sampled some 3D movie trailers from 3DVisionLive.com. Nvidia's stereoscopic technology rivals the best that movie theaters have to offer in terms of depth, and never bothered our eyes, but the experience wasn't perfect. Even though Nvidia purports to have solved the dimming issue with its Vision 2 glasses, you're still essentially wearing sunglasses, so the experience is going to be darker than viewing content in 2D without glasses. We also feel that wearing glasses in and of itself is cumbersome. The most vexing problem is that when 3D is enabled, performance suffers greatly. Our frame rate dropped by half, from 50s to mid-20s, when playing Batman in 3D as opposed to 2D. In our opinion, these various issues detract too much from the experience; we'd rather play in 2D mode. As for the TN panel in 2D mode, while some sing the praises of 120Hz's ability to improve even 2D image quality, we didn't see any noticeable improvement over 60Hz performance when surfing the web, watching videos, or playing games. We had little complaint with our system's internal specs, however, which included a 2.8GHz Intel Core i7-3840QM CPU, 16GB of RAM, and not one, but two GeForce GTX 680Ms in SLI. In our more CPU-intensive tests, the Scorpius scored modest wins of 6–13 percent. However, when it came to the more GPU-intensive applications, our zero-point's comparatively humble Fermi-based GeForce GTX 670M GPU got severely stung by the Scorpius's two Kepler beasts. In our STALKER: CoP benchmark, the Scorpius performed an amazing 112.5 percent better than the ZP; the performance gap only widened in our 3DMark 11 test, where it performed an astonishing 248.1 percent better. Because these benchmark stats were so amazing, we loaded up Far Cry 3 to give it a real workout. While the Scorpius wasn't able to run the super-graphically intensive game on "Ultra" (the game's highest settings), it ran at "Very High" with frame rates in the mid-40s to low-50s range, and often outperformed a 2.8GHz AMD quad-core gaming desktop armed with a GTX 590. It seems unfair to bring up the fact that the far less expensive ($1,500) GT60 zero-point laptop wasn't even able to muster a solid 30fps on FC3's "High" settings. The only performance test where the GT60 bested the Scorpius was in battery life, where Eurocom's laptop lasted a poor 103 minutes. Something's got to give when you're powering two 680Ms. In terms of storage, the laptop comes with two drives: a 128GB mSATA Micron and 512GB SSD. While the two speedy drives are appreciated, the lack of a hefty HDD really limits the overall package. Luckily, the laptop takes up to three 2.5-inch storage drives and installing an additional HDD requires the removal of just one screw from the bottom of the laptop. Users can also access the motherboard from underneath and swap out the RAM. Eurocom has made the main compartment easily removable, with only four screws holding it in place. While the laptop certainly performs well, it still has issues. Its trackpad is unresponsive and can be an exercise in frustration to use. Perhaps a bigger problem is that this thing is heavy. With a carry weight of more than 13 pounds, the Scorpius is in backbreaker territory. Finally, at almost $4,000, it's very expensive. Fortunately, most of these issues can be mitigated. You can save money by skipping out on the 3D monitor and second SSD. And you can overlook its battery, weight, and trackpad issues by understanding that the Scorpius is best used as a desktop replacement. Its performance is simply off the charts, and complaining about its other problems is like complaining about how a Ferrari is expensive, bad with fuel economy, and doesn't have enough cup holders. If those issues are enough to bother you, you're looking at the wrong machine. This laptop is all about performance and here the Scorpius is a stinger. $3,915, www.eurocom.com

Maker Faire 2013: 50 Pictures Posted: 24 May 2013 11:08 AM PDT Pictures from one of the largest DIY conventions in the country This past weekend Maximum PC had the chance to check out Maker Faire 2013 in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area. The event, billing itself as "the greatest show and tell on Earth," is one of the largest DIY conventions in the country and has inventors from all around the globe showing off their latest and greatest doodads. While it is technically an arts and crafts show, technology played a big part of Maker Faire 2013 with inventors showing off everything from interesting PC case mods to robots.   You could really feel the spirit of creativity at the festive event. If you didn't have the good fortune of attending Maker Faire 2013, fret not as you can still see some of the unique devices in our extensive picture gallery below. What's your favorite DIY invention here? Let us know in the comments!

Netflix Chief Sparks Mini Revolt Among Some BlackBerry 10 Users Posted: 24 May 2013 09:28 AM PDT Cries of "boycott!" emanate from the BlackBerry 10 camp. Netflix has been known to rile up its subscribers on occasion. The biggest example of this is when Netflix tried to sever its DVD-by-mail division into a spinoff called "Qwikster" so that it could focus all its efforts on streaming. That didn't sit very well with consumers, but it wouldn't be the last time the company would make an unpopular decision. Just a few days ago, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings hinted that his company currently has no plans of developing a BlackBerry 10 app. In an interview with The Canadian Press, Hastings was asked if he'd had a chance to try out any of the new BB10 devices yet. "No. Like many people I was a BlackBerry addict from 1997 or 1998 through to the iPhone but I haven't tried it. We don't currently support streaming on the BlackBerry, it's a unique operating system you have to target, and unfortunately there's just not enough volume for entertainment (apps)," Hastings responded. Hastings conceded it's a "great device" for productivity chores, but when it comes to entertainment, he doesn't believe people interact with BB10 devices the same way they do an iPhone or Android device. His comments sparked some users on the CrackBerry forum to boycott Netflix and to encourage others to cancel all subscriptions, home and mobile. "That's right all and when asked why you are cancelling, make damn sure you tell them [it's because] Netflix will not be on BlackBerry devices," the opening post reads. The post drew support from several users, though not all of them. "BlackBerry is ultimately responsible for its own ecosystem. It might not be fair, and I KNOW y'all won't agree, but while I concede that BlackBerry has worked hard to rectify the app gap, the absence of an app is BlackBerry's responsibility," a forum user posted. "I believe Netflix will come when an agreement is reached." In other words, BlackBerry made its bed, now it has to sleep in it, is what the above poster is saying. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Gigabyte Attaches Cooling Guarantee to Tri-Fan GeForce GTX 780 OC Edition Posted: 24 May 2013 08:40 AM PDT High end graphics card keeps its cool. It's only been a day since Nvidia announced its GeForce GTX 780 graphics card and as expected, the GPU maker's hardware partners are coming out of the woodwork with custom cooling solutions. We saw it with EVGA and its ACX Cooler, and today Gigabyte is giving us a glimpse of its GeForce GTX 780 OC Edition (GV-N780OC-3GD) graphics card with the latest Windforce 3X dual-slot cooling design. Gigabyte "guarantees gamers an insanely fast, smooth, and whisper-quiet gaming experience," adding that its card is further guaranteed capable of dissipating over 450W of heat. The Windforce 3X chills the GeForce card using three ultra quiet PWM fans, two 8mm copper heat pipes, four 6mm copper heat pipes, and a RAM heatsink. According to Gigabyte, it's 25 percent better than a stock cooling solution. It also looks pretty gnarly, so there's that. Cooling aside, Gigabyte's OC Edition card bests Nvidia's reference design with faster clockspeeds. The GPU runs at 954MHz base and 1,006MHz boost, versus 863MHz and 900MHz, respectively. Memory is untouched at 6,008MHz effective (1,502MHz). No word yet on price or availability. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: Plextor M5P Xtreme 256GB SSD, AOC 23-inch Monitor, and More Posted: 24 May 2013 05:18 AM PDT Top Deal: Before the advent of solid state drives (SSDs), storage was often the bottleneck of a typical PC. Are you letting a mechanical hard drive bog your system down? If so, check out today's top deal, which is for a Plextor M5P Xtreme Series 256GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD for $200 with free shipping (normally $230). It has 512MB of DDR3 cache, is rated for up to 540MB/s reads and up to 460MB/s writes, and is backed by a 5-year warranty. Other Deals: Seagate Backup Plus 1TB USB 3.0 Black Portable Hard Drive for $75 with free shipping (normally $120 - use coupon code:[EMCXRVT35]) Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case for $30 with free shipping (normally $50 - use coupon code:[EMCXRVT57]) Rosewill Stallion Series Power Supply for $50 with free shipping  (normally $80 - use coupon code:[EMCXRVT55]; additional $10 mail-in rebate) AOC e2351F 23" 5ms Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor for $120 with free shipping (normally $170 - use coupon code:[EMCXRVT63])

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