General Gaming Article

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• Sapphire Radeon R7 265 Dual-X Review
• Three Kickstarter Alternatives In-Depth
• Nvidia Releases GeForce R337.61 Beta Hotfix to Address 4K Display Issues
• Microsoft Reaches 5 Million Xbox One Console Shipments
• AMD Rides Next Generation Console Launches, Posts 28 Percent Bump in Revenues
• Toshiba Throws 4K Crowd a Bone, Launches World's Fastest microSD Memory Cards
• Newegg Daily Deals: Corsair Hydro Series H110 Liquid Cooler, Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti, and More!

Sapphire Radeon R7 265 Dual-X Review Posted: 18 Apr 2014 11:12 AM PDT Meet the new king of Budget GPUs In the roundup of budget GPUs from the May 2014 issue, the Sapphire Radeon R7 275 is the odds-on favorite due to its impressive specs and the fact that it consumes more than twice the power of Nvidia cards. Sure, it's an unfair advantage, but hate the game, not the player. This board is essentially a rebadged Radeon HD 7850, which is a Pitcairn part, and it slides right in between the $120 R7 260X and the $180ish R7 270.  The R7 265 Dual-X actually has the same clock speeds as the R7 270, but features fewer streaming processors for reduced shader performance. It has the same 2GB of memory, same 925MHz boost clock, same 256-bit memory bus, and so on. Its TDP is a very high 150w, or at least it seems high given the fact that GTX 750 Ti costs the exact same $150 and is sitting at just 60w. Unlike the lower-priced R7 260X Bonaire part though, the R7 265 is older silicon and thus does not support TrueAudio and XDMA CrossFire (bridgeless CrossFire basically). It will support the Mantle API however, some day. The Sapphire card delivered the goods in testing, boasting top scores in many benchmarks and coming in as the only GPU in this roundup to hit the magical 60fps in any test, which was a blistering turn in Call of Duty: Ghosts where it hit 67fps at 1080p on Ultra settings. That's damn impressive, as was its ability to run at 49fps in Battlefield 4, though the GTX 750 Ti was just a few frames behind it. Overall though, this card cleaned up, taking first place in seven out of nine benchmarks. If that isn't a Kick Ass performance, we don't know what is. The Dual-X cooler also kept temps and noise in check too, making this the go-to GPU for those with small boxes or small monitors. $160, www.sapphiretech.com

Three Kickstarter Alternatives In-Depth Posted: 18 Apr 2014 10:25 AM PDT Crowdfunding sites have made it possible to raise money for a business venture from your computer. While Kickstarter is king in this realm, there are other noteworthy alternatives. We kick the tires on three of them What do Bret Easton Ellis, Ricki Lake, and Whoopi Goldberg all have in common? Believe it or not, they have all successfully launched projects through Kickstarter—the world's largest crowdfunding site. They're not alone, either; since the site first debuted in 2009, more than 5 million users have made donations, funding over 50,000 individual ventures that otherwise would never have seen the light of day. It is fair to say that Kickstarter has been a modern phenomenon, helping to fund a wide variety of different projects, from video games to fashion labels and even multi-million dollar feature films. It truly is an entrepreneur's playground. But while Kickstarter is number one for a reason, being top dog doesn't necessary mean it's the right choice for you. Competition is rich in the crowdfunding sector, with literally hundreds and hundreds of sites out there all vying for your attention, so you are hardly stuck for choice when it comes to alternatives. If you are keen to get involved with crowdfunding, either by donating and supporting projects, or by seeking financial backing for you own brilliant idea, it's really worth your while to explore many avenues before making any commitments. Indeed, you may already have used Kickstarter and found it difficult to raise funds, and are wondering which other sites have a good track record of raising money. The problem is, there are just so many to choose from. Which ones should you consider? Leaving aside the specialist sites that concentrate on one particular area or industry, here at Maximum PC we have done all the hard work for you, whittling down the hundreds of Kickstarter alternatives to three main contenders: Indiegogo, Rockethub, and Fundable. Read on, to find out how they differ from Kickstarter and why they might be worthy of your attention. A word of caution: Unfortunately, there are no guarantees with crowdfunding that you will be able to safeguard your ideas or any investments you make. Any money you decide to commit to a project is done at your own risk. Indiegogo Pioneering crowdfunding site boasts openness Arguably Kickstarter's biggest and longest running rival, Indiegogo started life in 2007 when Danae Ringelmann met fellow business partners Eric Schell and Slava Rubin while attending the Haas School of Business at the University of California. They shared a common goal of creating a fund-raising model that would allow people a means of raising revenue for their business ideas. They officially launched Project Keiyaku—an early version of Indiegogo that, to begin with, focused purely on funding movies—at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008. Since those early days, the site has changed its name to Indiegogo and diversified the projects it hosts to cover just about any venture an entrepreneur can think of. In the ensuing five years, the site has emerged as one of the perennial crowdfunding ventures, having launched over 50,000 campaigns. Indiegogo removed the middleman and helped pioneer the way for the "modern" crowdfunding solution, influencing numerous other sites, including Kickstarter itself. Indiegogo doesn't just limit itself to business ventures; it covers pretty much everything—you will find just as many private causes, such as appeals to raise money for charity or helping the needy, as you will more commercially minded projects. The site prides itself in its openness; you can take part no matter what country you come from—as opposed to Kickstarter's limits on residents of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—and over a third of Indiegogo's business is conducted globally, making it a truly international venture. How It Works Open to any industry and any idea (as long as it's legal), Indiegogo isn't fussy when it comes to what you can raise money for—unlike many of its rivals that impose restrictions on what type of campaigns you can run, Indiegogo is free of rules, no matter how serious or trivial your idea. You can even raise money for personal needs if so desired, although your needs would probably have to be pretty compelling to get people to part with their money. To get started at Indiegogo, you have to set up an account and a funding page. You then decide on a list of perks to offer users who donate, depending upon their level of investment. It's then up to you to promote your Indiegogo page through social networking platforms in order to gain publicity. You keep all of the money a campaign generates until its target revenue is achieved, and there is no limit to the amount you can raise. Once your campaign has reached its goal, a charge of 4 percent is levied to Indiegogo. Should your campaign not reach its goal, then you have the choice of keeping all of the money raised thus far, but paying a 9 percent fee to Indiegogo because you didn't reach your stated goal, or simply refunding all of the money back to your donors. Benefits over Kickstarter More favorable rates and a greater diversity of projects allowed on the site are the two main reasons you might opt for Indiegogo. Unlike Kickstarter, Indiegogo distributes your funds immediately when contributions are taken through a donor's PayPal account. On the flipside, payments made by credit card are held by Indiegogo until the end of the campaign. Indiegogo's 4 percent charge for funds (when the target is reached) also bests Kickstarter, which charges a 5 percent commission on successful campaigns. As mentioned above, you can even keep the money if your project doesn't reach its goal, for a nominal 9 percent charge. Kickstarter users don't have this option—if a project doesn't reach its goal, they will receive no money at all. Setting up a new project on Indiegogo is both quick and easy—the step-by-step guide takes you through everything you need to do in order to get your project up and running. As mentioned earlier, Indiegogo tends to support any project, no matter what it is. If your project doesn't meet Kickstarter's criteria—such as not allowing you to raise money for causes—then chances are Indiegogo will accept it. Size really does matter when it comes to running a successful publicity campaign, and Indiegogo scores high in this area, too. Half the battle when running a promotion is finding an audience with which you can engage. Being the second-largest crowdfunding site on the Internet, Indiegogo ensures your project will be part of a vibrant community that will share your project with their friends and grow a following organically. Notable Projects With tens of thousands of successful campaigns under its belt, it is not surprising to find that Indiegogo boasts a number of famous projects. Let's Build a Goddamn Tesla Museum was launched to establish a science museum in Long Island, New York, and sparked a surge of public interest, with the campaign taking home $1.7 million in just six days. An Indiegogo project in action: Genesis 3D Movie is going great guns, and thankfully has nothing to do with the Phil Collins band of the same name. Canary: the First Smart Home Security Device for Everyone broke the Indiegogo record for most money raised for a project, at $1.9 million. Its original goal of a modest 100K was met within a few hours of its launch in July this year, and it went on to gather contributions from nearly 8,000 users across the world. Indiegogo's most famous project, however, was Let's Give Karen – the Bus Monitor – H Klein a Vacation! After a number of disturbing videos were posted online depicting a hapless bus monitor being ruthlessly bullied by students, a campaign was set up to give Karen a well-deserved vacation. The original goal was to raise $5,000, yet all in all $703,833 was raised by people sickened by what they saw. The victim of the videos said she planned on using $100,000 of the money toward setting up an anti-bullying foundation. 5 Steps to Getting Attention Your project may be the best thing since sliced pizza, but no matter how innovative it is, unless you attract the attention of others, you will struggle to find the financial backing needed to get it off the ground. After all, your project is just one of hundreds on a given site. So, how do you make your project stand out from the crowd and get the attention it deserves? Here are our five top tips for crowdfunding glory. Best Practices Before you rush headfirst into a campaign, take your time and study what others have done first. Look at what projects have been successful, and find out how they set about attracting publicity and backing. Follow their lead and use their success as an inspiration. Be Prepared to Change Devise a flexible business plan that will allow you to adapt should your original idea need tweaking. If things are not going to plan, you will need to be prepared to make changes so you can appeal to your target audience. By repositioning your product if needed, you could achieve greater results and more backing. Plan Ahead Even before you have reached your goal, make sure you have all eventualities covered should you get asked any tricky questions about your project's launch and long-term future. Embrace Social Media Twitter and Facebook are powerful tools when it comes to promoting your ideas. Not only can they help spread the word, but they can also be a useful forum for gathering feedback from your fans and followers. Be Ready to Go Prepare for your project's completion. You should devise a marketing plan that you can start using straight away, along with lining up any suppliers you may need to use once your project is launched. This way you will hopefully be able to eliminate long delays after you reach your goal. Click the next page to read about Rockethub.   Rockethub Links to a cable TV network give it an edge Founded by Brian Meece, Jed Cohen, and Vladimir Vukicevic, (with a forth owner, Alon Hillel-Tuch, joining a year later), Rockethub officially launched back at the start of 2010 as a means of raising money for creative projects. The owners were all from creative fields themselves, and the site came about partly because of the frustration they experienced in trying to find backing for their own individual interests. The idea was to establish a free market where artists could easily be put in touch with the financial backing they needed. In layman's terms, this very loose remit means that Rockethub could cover any industry or idea in order to encourage as many entrepreneurs as possible. That said, however, there tends to be a much stronger focus on science and technology projects compared to many of Rockethub's crowdfunding rivals. So don't be surprised to find an in-depth planned study of microbes sitting alongside more commercial projects, such as a fashion label or music album, as you explore the site. Earlier this year, Rockethub announced a partnership agreement with the A&E television network. Together they created www.projectstartup.com, a multiplatform website produced in conjunction with the cable television channel that features handpicked projects from Rockethub entrepreneurs. Rockethub's Success School teaches all you need to know about mastering the fine art of crowdfunding, so your project has a better chance of reaching its goal. How It Works For newcomers to crowdfunding, Rockethub has an introductory site called the Crowdfunding Success School, which takes you through each and every aspect of running a successful campaign. A crowdfunding 101, it shows you how to network your idea, decide upon goals, and best practices to help attract and manage the expectations of the people who fund you. It makes for compelling reading, even if you eventually decide to use another site. Rockethub encourages its users to spread the word about projects and complete set tasks, such as voting on others' projects to increase exposure, and it rewards contributors with badges for their efforts. The more badges you gain, the greater your status as a power user, who others will turn to for advice. As with other crowdfunding websites, after setting up a campaign, you decide on how much you are looking to raise and the time frame for your goal. You then decide what rewards you will give to donors in return for their backing. You will be charged a 4 percent fee (along with a 4 percent credit card handling fee) for the total money you raise should your campaign prove to be a success. Rockethub also allows you to keep the money raised even if you don't meet your goal, at a rate of 8 percent (plus a 4 percent processing charge). Benefits over Kickstarter Rockethub is a fast-growing site, and is developing at a rapid rate. Like Indiegogo, Rockethub is much more open about what you can cover in terms of projects, so if you find you cannot get featured in Kickstarter, Rockethub may be the answer. In particular, you should consider using Rockethub if you have a scientific or technical project, as there seems to be a greater emphasis on those industries than on other sites. Unlike Kickstarter, Rockethub allows you to keep all the funding you raise even if you do not make your set financial goal. Granted, if you choose to do this you still have a charge to pay (8 percent), but if you feel your project is still viable even without all of the money you originally wanted, this could be the better option for you. Rockethub also has a partnership with the A&E television channel. If your idea is innovative enough and you decide to apply for it, your project may be handpicked to feature on A&E's special project startup website, thus earning even more exposure and the potential for donations. In addition to that, A&E will also offer funding and specialist coaching for your project, which means success is almost guaranteed. The Project Startup website is run in conjunction with A&E Networks to showcase the very best projects on Rockethub. Notable Projects The gaming and web culture video series Extra Credits is Rockethub's most successful venture yet. The comedic web series discusses video games, with an emphasis on game design and using them as teaching tools. The idea proved to be incredibly popular, with the original goal of $15,000 ending up at a staggering $103,814 raised. The creators have vowed to use a portion of the money raised to help other like-minded businesses grow. AFIA: Save the World… One Dress at a Time, is one of the most noble projects to find funding, having raised $4,790, which is going to help people in Ghana. The project funds dressmakers in the African country, helping poor yet talented seamstresses acquire a fair wage and a larger market for their dresses, allowing them to be sold in the United States and other places. A special mention must also go to Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!, a clever idea that combines an illustrated children's book with a tie-in app. The highly educational app includes a system that encourages young children to read—a page of text is shown before they are rewarded with a picture. The goal was met, with the project having raised a grand total of over $15,000. Click the next page to read about Fundable.   Fundable The first site to offer the option of equity backing The most recent crowdfunding option here, Fundable was launched just last May, but has already experienced incredible growth and success during that short period of time. The site began life as a donation-only platform, but a few months later, taking advantage of President Obama's 2012's JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act, founders Wil Schroter and Eric Corl started allowing users the option to purchase equity in projects featured on the site. The JOBS Act legitimized equity crowdfunding and allowed budding entrepreneurs the ability to publicize that they were looking for backing. As a result, Fundable became one of the first crowdfunding sites to take full advantage of the act, and now runs as a dual-funding model. Fundable offers either donations or project equity, largely depending upon how much money a project's goal has been set to—for larger projects looking to raise more than $50,000, Fundable recommends the equity option. Fundable is a serious crowdfunding company, and as such it carefully vets its users. Only accredited investors—people with a net worth of over $1 million or an income of $200,000 in the past two years—are able to take part in offering equity funding to a project. Although in theory anyone can start a project, they will still have to apply in order to be approved for the site by the powers-that-be. No charitable projects are allowed, nor are any forms of gambling or money services, among other prohibited campaigns. Many more crowdfunding sites surely will follow Fundable's lead and venture into equity crowdfunding, but by being the first to do so, Fundable has gained a priceless foothold in the market. How It Works As mentioned above, there are two models you can choose from for raising money on Fundable—either from donations or through equity backing for your business. For both methods, you will need to apply to be featured on the site. Once approved, you then create a profile page that covers your project overview, your goals, and rewards for investment. Additionally, along with their public profile, equity-based projects will also need to create a private page that contains your business terms and related documents. Along with being featured on the site itself, you will also promote your page through the normal social media channels in order to gain interest. In terms of costs, entrepreneurs are charged a $99 fee each month that a campaign is running. The flipside of this is, should a project reach its goals, then no final fees are applied. You will only be able to collect your money once your pre-determined goal has been reached. This monthly charge may put a lot of people off, especially if you have the slightest doubt about raising enough capital to get your company started, but this just reinforces Fundable's place in the market for serious businesses only. Benefits over Kickstarter Fundable has been dubbed the Kickstarter for the corporate community. The equity fund-raising option is the obvious difference from Kickstarter, allowing you to sell shares in your business as opposed to offering rewards for donations. You can decide whether to go this route or stick with the more traditional crowdfunding method of raising money, although you could argue that equity is more suited to business startups. Donations are fine for creative projects, but do not offer the long-term investment possibilities that equity backing does. As more and more crowdfunding sites start to take advantage of the JOBS Act, expect to see equity fund-raising grow in popularity. Looking for equity backing? Fundable is the place to go, being one of the first websites to take advantage of the JOBS Act. Notable Projects There are a number of projects of note that have used Fundable to establish financial backing. The Fleksy app closed at $900,000, and this revenue was part of a $3 million investment raised by parent company Syntellia to develop and market a software keyboard that helps to improve typing accuracy. The company used the $900K to release the app onto iOS and plans to release versions for Android and Windows 8 in the near future. Celebrity Webchefs does what it says on the box and uses well-known celebrities to explain their culinary secrets in a series of easy-to-follow videos. Famous faces that have lent their names and cooking expertise to the videos include Gretchen Rossi from The Real Housewives of Orange County and Alan Thicke, the star of Growing Pains. It's a bold and innovative idea that, thanks in part to the star power behind it, has gained a lot of media attention. The venture was funded for $435,000 in total. When Crowdfunding Goes Bad… On the surface, crowdfunding seems like a great idea. But while the success stories get trumpeted for all to hear, there are even more tales of woe. It can be a risky business, not to mention a potentially humiliating one. Be it stolen ideas, poor planning, or a rushed campaign, here are the main pitfalls you should be wary of. Exposing your Business Plan: They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but in the crowdfunding world, a good idea is there for your competitors to see and steal for themselves. There is nothing to stop them from taking your idea and presenting a similar one themselves, so be aware that when you launch your campaign that it may only be a matter of time before it is emulated. Depending on your idea, it may well be worth taking your time to complete an IP (intellectual property) process. Tax Problems: The money you raise from crowdfunding isn't necessarily all yours to spend. Just as with any other business, you will need to declare your earnings to the appropriate authorities, and depending on what country you live in, this money may well be taxable. A qualified accountant will be able to help you here, although remember they will want payment for their services, too. Keeping Control: Should you choose an equity-based crowdfunding model, be careful to keep a controlling stake in the company you are raising money for, whether it's a new or existing business. Your stakeholders have a vested interest in your project; just make sure they do not wrestle the whole thing away from you. Be Realistic: While the temptation is always there to exaggerate to potential investors just how great your idea is, try not to build up hopes too much. You don't want your backers to feel lied to or disillusioned; at the very worst, you could end up in court as they try to claim their money back.

Nvidia Releases GeForce R337.61 Beta Hotfix to Address 4K Display Issues Posted: 18 Apr 2014 09:43 AM PDT Nvidia's hotfix addresses issues users have been having with certain 4K panels There are some growing pains associated with 4K displays, at least for PCs. Quirky issues tend to pop up due to the way the technology works. To run a 4K panel at 60Hz, you need to use a DisplayPort cable, which supports the refresh rate using Multi-Stream Transport (MST). However, this essentially treats a 4K panel as two displays, which introduces weird side effects. A new hotfix from Nvidia is intended to address these issues. The R337.61 hotfix is a beta download. It's intended to address issues where only half the display or no display at all is shown on Dell's UltraSharp UP3214Q and UP4414Q LCD monitors. It also fixes the Code 43 error message some users have seen after installing 337.50 beta driver on a PC with Hyper-V enabled. One way to avoid these issues is to use an HDMI cable, but when doing so, the refresh rate tops out at 30Hz. There's a noticeable difference in performance at 30Hz, even just on the desktop -- the mouse cursor is a bit laggy and takes some getting used to. You can download the hotfix here. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Microsoft Reaches 5 Million Xbox One Console Shipments Posted: 18 Apr 2014 09:22 AM PDT Xbox One is selling well, though not as well as Sony's PlayStation 4 Microsoft let the world know that it's sold 5 million Xbox One consoles since launching back in November of last year. That's a strong start, expecially compared to the Xbox 360, the latter of which saw 60 percent fewer sales during the same time period when it launched many moons ago. However, Xbox One console shipments haven't been keeping up with Sony's PlayStation 4, which has notched 7 million unit sales to date. The other thing worth noting is that Microsoft was careful with its wording, saying that 5 million Xbox One consoles have been "sold-in to retailers." In other words, that breaks down to 5 million shipments -- it's not clear how many units have actually been sold to consumers. Regardless, the Xbox One appears to be doing well, especially in the U.S. According to data from NPD Group, Microsoft sold 311,000 Xbox One consoles in the U.S. in the month of March. Software sales are averaging 2.9 games per console. And according to Microsoft, gamers are spending an average of five hours per day on the Xbox One, which collectively have added up to more than 1 billion hours spent in games and apps on the console. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

AMD Rides Next Generation Console Launches, Posts 28 Percent Bump in Revenues Posted: 18 Apr 2014 08:26 AM PDT PlayStation 4 and Xbox One sales contributed to a 118 percent jump in semi-custom SoC revenue Propped up by next-generation console launches by Microsoft (Xbox One) and Sony (PlayStation 4), AMD today announced first quarter revenue $1.4 billion, which is a decrease of 12 percent sequentially but up a whopping 28 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago. Unfortunately for AMD, the jump in revenue still amounted to a $20 million loss, or $0.03 per share, though the Sunnyvale chip designer feels good about where it's at. "AMD continued our momentum by building on the solid foundation we set in the second half of 2013, further transforming the company," said Rory Read, AMD president and CEO. "Backed by our powerful x86 processor cores and hands-down best graphics experiences, we achieved 28 percent revenue growth from the year-ago quarter. We are well positioned to continue to grow profitably as we diversify our business and enable our customers to drive change and win." It's been a rough run all around for traditional PC sales, which resonated with AMD. Its Computing Solutions segment saw an 8 percent sequential decrease in revenue and a 12 percent decline year-over-year, both of which AMD attributed to decreased client unit shipments. Revenue from AMD's Graphics and Visual Solutions segment decreased 15 percent sequentially, but ballooned 118 percent year-over-year. This growth was driven in large part by AMD's semi-custom SoCs, which are primarily used to power game consoles. AMD also notes strong demand for its Radeon R7 and R9 family of products. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Toshiba Throws 4K Crowd a Bone, Launches World's Fastest microSD Memory Cards Posted: 18 Apr 2014 07:53 AM PDT The first memory cards to comply with the UHS-II standard Toshiba is crowning its new microSD memory cards as being the fastest the world has ever seen. They're supposedly the first in the industry to comply with the UHS-II interface standard, which is an ultra high speed serial bus interface defined in the SD Memory Card Standard Version 4.20. Specifically, the new cards are UHS Speed Class 3 enabled, which allow for 4K video capture at constant minimum write speeds of 30MB/s. There are two capacities available -- 32GB and 64GB. The 64GB cards top out at 260MB/s read and 240MB/s write speeds, while the 32GB cards offer a maximum read speed of 145MB/s and a maximum write speed of 130MB/s. That represents an 8x write speed improvement and 2.7x read speed improvement when compared to Toshiba's current 32GB microSD UHS-1 cards. "This means that 4K2K video, live broadcast and content can be recorded on high-performance cameras," Toshiba said. Toshiba has begun sampling shipments to chipset vendors and manufacturers of smartphones and other mobile devices. It's not clear when the cards will be available to the general public or for how much. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: Corsair Hydro Series H110 Liquid Cooler, Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti, and More! Posted: 18 Apr 2014 07:32 AM PDT Top Deal: You're not using a stock cooler on your CPU, are you? Oh the humanity! The humiliation! The...actually, there's nothing wrong with using a stock cooler, so don't sweat it -- go one with your bad self. However, if you want to kick things up a couple notches and experiment with overclocking (or just have cooler temps), then you'll need more than what a stock setup can provide. Intrigued by liquid? Then check out today's top deal for a Corsair Hydro Series H110 Extreme Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler for $105 with free shipping (normally $115 - use coupon code: [0415WBTR103]. It has "Extreme" in the name, which automatically makes things run cooler! On a more serious note, Corsair's cooler packs a 280mm radiator with dual fans. Other Deals: Corsair HX series HX650 650W ATX12V 80 Plus Gold Certified Modular Power Supply for $90 with free shipping G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin SDRAM DDR3 1866 Desktop Memory for $130 with free shipping (normally $145 - use coupon code: [0415WBTR185]) Biostar Hi-Fi A85W FM2 AMD A85X HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard for $60 with free shipping Asus GTX750TI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready Video Card for $150 with free shipping

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• Ask Massively: What's with all the WoW hate?
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Ask Massively: What's with all the WoW hate? Posted: 18 Apr 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Culture, MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous Today's Ask Massively question comes from Kirk because he wanted to open up a can of worms all over the column apparently. Why do people have to hate on World of Warcraft so much? I quit playing WoW about two years ago and never looked back, but that game encompassed the best gaming experience of my life! Now everyone wants to say its crap. But I have roamed the landscape without a real home for gaming; nothing has ever been as much fun as WoW. What person who plays MMOs didn't play Warcraft? How many of us had a great time in that game at some point? Can't we just leave it at that? I look back and admire a game that brought even my wife to the MMO table! I have no hate, just love for a game that I no longer play, and I think that's OK. Can we all move on now? What is the hold up? Let people who play WoW play WoW, and everyone else can play the game of his or her choice. Why does every chat panel in every game need to have the WoW topic constantly flowing through its veins? Honestly, I'm tired of it. Let's move on already! Because hating is fun! No, wait, that's true, but there's so much more to it than that. Continue reading Ask Massively: What's with all the WoW hate? Ask Massively: What's with all the WoW hate? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Apr 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

FFXIV's Yoshida on successful relaunches, switching from sub to F2P Posted: 18 Apr 2014 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, Interviews, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Final Fantasy XIV, Subscription Final Fantasy XIV producer Naoki Yoshida speaks from a unique position, both because he's responsible for an ultra-rare triple-A MMO relaunch and because Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn debuted with -- and continues to sport -- a subscription model. Gamasutra recently interviewed Yoshida about FFXIV's success, whether or not he feels any sort of vindication, and his thoughts on the future of future subscription-based MMOs. While Yoshida says that there are pros and cons to both subs and F2P, he ultimately prefers subs, and he believes that most other MMO developers do as well. "Some titles have to make the hard decision to switch over to free-to-play and try to gain a quick buck, pretty much, and raise their ARPU, and try to gain revenue in that manner," Yoshida explains. "I feel that they're not flipping over because they want to; sometimes, they're forced to go into that because they need to update." FFXIV's Yoshida on successful relaunches, switching from sub to F2P originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Apr 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Gamasutra

World of Tanks' 9.0 out this week, includes Historical Battles Posted: 18 Apr 2014 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Historical, Trailers, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, PvP, News Items, War, Free-to-Play, World of Tanks Wargaming has released World of Tanks' ninth iteration, complete with redesigned battlefields and vehicles and a new game mode called Historical Battles. "With a focus on competitive balance and exciting gameplay, combat locations including Severogorsk, Pearl River, Malinovka, and Serene Coast have all received an overhaul," Wargaming says. The firm has also revamped many of the game's vehicles with new high-resolution models and textures. Finally, the new Historical Battle mode aims to recreate famous tank engagements and simultaneously fill your garage with credits and XP. Don't forget to watch the Update 9.0 trailer after the break. Continue reading World of Tanks' 9.0 out this week, includes Historical Battles World of Tanks' 9.0 out this week, includes Historical Battles originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Apr 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Update 9 notes

SOE's new Player Server initiative debuting in H1Z1 Posted: 18 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Horror, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, Sandbox, Player-Generated Content, H1Z1 Did you watch SOE's late-breaking H1Z1 livestream last night? Are you excited for the zombie survival sandbox MMO? Well, here's another nugget to chew on courtesy of CEO John Smedley and his Twitter feed. The game will feature private servers. Today I'd like to announce H1Z1 will be the first game to implement our new Player Servers. In addition to the traditional servers that we set up and run (what you've come to expect in MMOs), we will allow the players to come together in any way they wish and if they can get enough people together to vote for the server we will make it for them. At first this will be for specific pre-defined rulesets. Later we will expand past rulesets into adding more features. For example perhaps one community prefers to go more militaristic. So they add more military vehicles. So we're truly letting you, our players get exactly the kind of thing you're looking for. Mechanically this will allow players to buy pledge tokens in Station Cash to vote on a proposal. However, should the vote [succeed] we refund. [Thanks BabaGraPL!] SOE's new Player Server initiative debuting in H1Z1 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Apr 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Smed's Twitter

The Daily Grind: Which MMO has the best economy? Posted: 18 Apr 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Economy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous, Crafting, Player-Generated Content I'm an incurable trader and merchant, maybe even more than I'm a crafter, so I'm forever droning on about the good ol' days in long-gone sandboxes where players, not raid bosses, delivered all the objects used in the world. Making stuff is great, and lots of MMOs, even themeparks, have that, but I also I like setting up shops, trading on auction halls, finding great deals, and knowing just went to buy low to sell high, which isn't always the type of creative PvP gameplay that modern MMORPGs enable, let alone embrace. But you can't trade in long-gone sandboxes, either, so today I want tap the collective wisdom of the Massively readers: Which MMO has the most vibrant crafting and trading economy, right now, in a legally playable and living MMO? Specifically, where's the best MMO to truly be a player merchant? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind! The Daily Grind: Which MMO has the best economy? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Apr 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Classic Guild Wars' ninth anniversary celebration is underway Posted: 17 Apr 2014 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Events (In-Game), Game Mechanics, News Items, Anniversaries, Buy-to-Play If you're not too busy checking out the new feature pack in Guild Wars 2's version of Tyria, you might be interested to know that the more classic edition of the game world is celebrating its ninth birthday this month. Also, it has Cantha. Just saying. Yes, Guild Wars 1 is having a party, and you're invited. Though the anniversary update was originally scheduled to begin on April 22nd, a note from Joe Kimmes on the official wiki mentions that a fortuitous typo led to the event's partial stealth-implementation on April 2nd instead, so while you'll have to wait until next week for the complete event, players are reporting that bonus items have been dropping all month and that some of the minigames are underway as of today. The official site is silent about the anniversary so far, but the login screen announces the festivities: The party is on for the anniversary of Guild Wars! Starting April 22nd at Noon Pacific (-7 GMT), we open Shing Jea Boardwalk, Dragon Arena, and the Rollerbeetle Races. In addition, Birthday Cupcakes and many other special items will drop all throughout this weeklong event. Classic Guild Wars' ninth anniversary celebration is underway originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Wiki discussion page, Anniversary wiki, GW Guru

The Think Tank: Thoughts on PAX East 2014 Posted: 17 Apr 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Culture, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Events (Massively's Coverage), Miscellaneous, The Think Tank PAX East came and went last weekend, and as we do most years, the Massively writers got together to discuss the highlights and the disappointments of the con. Join the conversation -- what did you think was the best (and worst) MMO or reveal at PAX? Continue reading The Think Tank: Thoughts on PAX East 2014 The Think Tank: Thoughts on PAX East 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EverQuest II producer's letter outlines All Access changes Posted: 17 Apr 2014 05:30 PM PDT On April 23rd, big changes are coming to Sony Online Entertainment's All Access membership. The latest producer's letter for EverQuest II outlines how those changes will affect players as well as what updates are around the corner. All Access players in EverQuest II will have seven available character slots, a boost to both coins earned and mount speed, and doubled gain rates for alternate currencies earned in-game. There will also be early access to content and promotions available for members. The first bit of early access content will be the contested version of the High Keep dungeon, exclusive to members for two weeks and sporting all-new story and characters therein. There are also plans to create a more reliable resource to look up what's being updated in the game's near future, a necessity as the updates switch to a weekly schedule. Take a look at the full letter for more details on exclusive member perks as well as the immediate agenda for updates. EverQuest II producer's letter outlines All Access changes originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: EQ2 Producer's Letter

SOE is streaming H1Z1 live right now Posted: 17 Apr 2014 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Historical, Horror, Video, Events (Real-World), New Titles, Previews, PvP, News Items, Community Q&A, Post-Apocalyptic, Livestream, H1Z1 SOE has just announced that members of the H1Z1 dev team will be streaming the recently revealed zombie survival sandbox for the first time tonight on Twitch starting at 7:00 p.m. EDT, which is right this very minute. We've included the stream embed after the cut for your entertainment. Popcorn sold separately. [Update: The devs streaming are Game Designer Jimmy Whisenhunt and Technical Director Tom Schenck] [Source: SOE press release] Continue reading SOE is streaming H1Z1 live right now SOE is streaming H1Z1 live right now originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Elder Scrolls Online launches Craglorn teaser site Posted: 17 Apr 2014 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Game Mechanics, Patches, Previews, Endgame, News Items, PvE, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription ZeniMax has just launched a sub-site for The Elder Scrolls Online featuring Craglorn, the adventure zone that will serve as host for the MMORPG's first major content update. Aimed at veteran groups, the zone promises new quests and delves for four-person groups, a plotline revolving around "the mystery of the missing constellations," 12-man trials and leaderboards, and new gear. While the teaser site is light on new information and does ask you to click through yet another age-gate (yes, we all know you were born January 1st, 1900), it does feature some gorgeous artwork and the Craglorn trailer released earlier in the month. We've embedded it after the cut. Continue reading The Elder Scrolls Online launches Craglorn teaser site The Elder Scrolls Online launches Craglorn teaser site originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Craglorn teaser site

Destiny parts ways with composer, growing 'close to shipping' Posted: 17 Apr 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, MMO Industry, MMOFPS, Music, Destiny Destiny Composer Marty O'Donnell was either fired or peacefully left Bungie last week, depending on whether you take his or the studio's testimony on the event. In either case, the fact remains that O'Donnell is no longer part of the studio. Bungie Chief Operating Officer Pete Parsons refused to comment on the specifics of the decision but said that the game is still on track for release. He said that O'Donnell's contributions will remain part of the soundtrack, which is also being worked on by a few others. "We have a fantastic team. We're pretty close to shipping. There's a lot of polish left to do, lots of tweaking and tuning, but a lot is already complete," Parsons said to Eurogamer. Bungie claims that the studio and O'Donnell parted as "friends" while the composer tweeted yesterday that he was "terminated without cause." Destiny parts ways with composer, growing 'close to shipping' originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Twitter, Joystiq Via: Joystiq

Pathfinder Online shows off its map Posted: 17 Apr 2014 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, PvP, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, Pathfinder Online Lead Game Designer Lee Hammock is your host and guide to a tour through Pathfinder Online's detailed maps. Pathfinder's maps look a little different than a typical MMO map, offering more of a malleable report on shifting allegiances and events in a hex layout. The main map is color-coded to show terrain type, with symbols and lines representing cities, trade routes, player towns, security levels, and points of interest. Knowing which resources come from which terrain type will be crucial to building up player settlements. Hammock and his beige shirt of stunning good looks star in a nine-minute developer video that you can watch after the break. Continue reading Pathfinder Online shows off its map Pathfinder Online shows off its map originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Map dev blog

Neverwinter launching Curse of Icewind Dale on May 13th Posted: 17 Apr 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Lore, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Neverwinter If you're ready to have some chill adventures in Neverwinter, you'd better be ready on May 13th. That's when the Curse of Icewind Dale module will launch for players, bringing with it two new adventure zones, a new open PvP region, and new factions for players to fight over. Also a new Hunter Ranger Paragon path, but that really only affects Hunter Rangers, which as infographics show make up only half of the characters in the game. But why are you going to Icewind Dale? What's so important? If only there were some sort of lore trailer past the break that will give a concise explanation of exactly what's going down in the region and why players are taking part, as well as outline the factions fighting over the valuable Black Ice. That would be very convenient, wouldn't it? Perhaps you should click past the break to check out that exact trailer, then. Continue reading Neverwinter launching Curse of Icewind Dale on May 13th Neverwinter launching Curse of Icewind Dale on May 13th originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The full scoop on Marvel Heroes' team-ups Posted: 17 Apr 2014 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Interviews, Patches, Free-to-Play, Marvel Heroes Massively: Last week Marvel Heroes added a new feature to the game in the form of "team-ups." While we know the basics of this new system, we wanted to go into more detail. To help us with this, Gazillion Community Manager Ryan Collins sat down to answer a few questions. So Ryan, let's strip away the game-specific terminology: Are team-up heroes NPC companions? Pets? If you had to compare them to another game's features, what would it be to help us understand what they're like? Ryan Collins: Team-ups would be most similar to companions or hirelings. Like Diablo II's hirelings, team-up heroes have their own gear (with four brand-new item types just for them) that allow you to customize your team-up's stats. Some team-up items even convey bonuses to your hero directly. Team-ups also have a power tree that allows you to customize the way they function, the powers they use, and the passive bonuses they have. The first choice you get to make with your team-up is how they behave, for which there are three "modes." Continue reading The full scoop on Marvel Heroes' team-ups The full scoop on Marvel Heroes' team-ups originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

World of Warcraft kicks off Azeroth Choppers Posted: 17 Apr 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Video, Culture, News Items, Subscription Are you ready to ride through Azeroth and Draenor in style? Because that's the goal of the new web series fusing American Chopper and World of Warcraft. The first episode is out now, and you can guess the heart of it just from the premise. Two bikes will be designed -- one for the Horde, one for the Alliance -- and fans will vote on which bike winds up in the game as a mount. The first episode, of course, is very much the proof of concept; it features a very early glance at the starting point for both bikes as well as a discussion of Horde and Alliance aesthetics. You can watch the whole episode just past the cut. It's going to be running at least through the end of May, so you'll get a front-row seat to see both choppers brought from concept into execution. Continue reading World of Warcraft kicks off Azeroth Choppers World of Warcraft kicks off Azeroth Choppers originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: The Race is On! Via: WoW Insider

Hands-on with Hearthstone for iPad Posted: 17 Apr 2014 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Trading Card Games, Hearthstone While I was part of the early beta crowd for Hearthstone last year, I haven't played it in quite some time. It wasn't because I became disenfranchised with the game but rather because I felt it truly belonged on a tablet -- and playing it on a PC just felt wrong somehow. So I've been waiting for Hearthstone to finally make the leap to the iPad, and when that happened yesterday, I was all over it like a murloc swarm on a noobie. In many ways, Hearthstone is absolutely tailor-fit for mobile gaming. It requires minimal manipulation; poking, holding, and the occasional swipe is about as complex as the physical mechanics get. It's a turn-based thinker's game that gives you ample time to plot your strategy and get a few other things done between moves. On an iPad, that's pretty easy; I would read a book while my opponent took his/her/its turn. The game actually kept me up past my bedtime because of the "just one more match" temptation, which tells me that the magic that fueled my interest in this game in beta is roaring more now than ever. But how does it actually handle on Apple's devices? Continue reading Hands-on with Hearthstone for iPad Hands-on with Hearthstone for iPad originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Stream Team: Landmark's castles and manors and gardens, oh my! Posted: 17 Apr 2014 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Video, EverQuest II, Free-to-Play, Livestream, Sandbox, The Stream Team, Player-Generated Content, Landmark No matter how long you have been wandering around in Landmark, you'll still stumble across new things! Massively's MJ has noted a number of spectacular creations throughout her journeys, including castles without compare. But what if you are more at home in something less grand? MJ has found some impressive manors fit for even the most discerning Norrathians. Of course, homes aren't the only thing built; creative players have designed bowling alleys, underground gardens, and so much more. Join us live at 3:00 p.m. EDT to tour some of these great places, and maybe stumble upon a few more! Game: Landmark Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Thursday, April 17th, 2014 Time: 3:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Landmark's castles and manors and gardens, oh my! The Stream Team: Landmark's castles and manors and gardens, oh my! originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Elite's latest newsletter talks hyperdrives, the Cobra MK III, and more Posted: 17 Apr 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Elite: Dangerous, Buy-to-Play Frontier has sent out issue #19 of its Elite: Dangerous newsletter. As usual, there's plenty of interesting info on the upcoming space sim sandbox, from how heat (and heat management) factors into Elite's gameplay to the design philosophy behind the iconic Cobra MK III. This latest letter concludes with more "mostly harmless questions" from the community, including bits about Kepler data and traversing Elite's mind-bogglingly big playfields. There are two modes of super luminal (faster than light) travel. Super cruise (or frame shifting) is used for travel inside systems. It was originally conceived as a sub-luminal drive, but based on the fantastic collaboration we have been having with our Design Decision Forum backers it was re-worked and is now itself a super luminal system to allow relatively rapid travel within systems. Hyperspace drives are used to travel between star systems. Hyperdrives with different ranges, charge up times and fuel consumption parameters are available, and so your particular model of hyperdrive governs your specific ability to move around the galaxy. Both will make their debut in Alpha 4 (not counting the early version of hyperspace in Alpha 3). Elite's latest newsletter talks hyperdrives, the Cobra MK III, and more originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Newsletter #19

Sony: VR 'might be quite a social experience' Posted: 17 Apr 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Consoles, Virtual Reality Sony is following Facebook onto the mass-market virtual reality bandwagon, according to comments made by the firm's London studio boss. Speaking with MCV, Dave Ranyard says that Sony has worked "quite hard" on something called the social screen in concert with its Project Morpheus VR headset, the former of which will attempt to link tablets or phones to a TV version of what the Morpheus user sees and thereby facilitate companion app play. "The 1970s future vision of virtual reality was a very solo experience of people playing on their own, Ranyard says. "But actually it might not be that, it might be quite a social experience." Sony: VR 'might be quite a social experience' originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: MCV

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