| Rig of the Month: Parvum Titanfall Posted: 20 Aug 2014 02:38 PM PDT 
An amazing machine that's straight out of Titanfall This month's Rig of the Month is a bit different. Instead of pulling from reader submissions, we've reached out to James Walter, who recently completed his latest build: Parvum Titanfall. Based on the design of the limited-edition Xbox One Titanfall controller, Parvum Titanfall is a masterclass in clean, crisp PC building. From the moment James saw the orange, white, and black controller he was immediately inspired to create a matching rig. After finishing a Robocop-inspired, full-tower build, he set out to find the right platform to work with. The Parvum Systems S2.0 was his final choice because of a proposed partnership: Parvum would provide a custom S2.0 built to James's specs. With Parvum onboard, the project continued with Swiftech, Ensourced Sleeved Cables, Mayhem's Dyes, and ColdZero. With plenty of hours logged in Titanfall, James decided to create something straight out of the Titanfall universe. A computer—"a sort of Dell of the Titanfall universe,"—that could very well have been made by Hammond Robotics. The military theme, serial numbers, and paintwork are the result of James's initial decision. The custom-painted motherboard armor, radiators, and other parts mesh well with the predominantly white case. James used a Silhouette-brand craft cutter to fabricate all of the extra ornaments—serial numbers, barcodes, and the like. Little details like colored vinyl set into the grooves of the case and the Mayhem's Aurora 2 Supernova liquid-dyed to a deep orange really complete the build. As beautiful as the rig is on the outside, the system itself is equally impressive when you factor in the sheer number of water-cooling components. There's an EK CPU block, RAM block, and two GPU blocks as well as a Swiftech pump, a Bitspower reservoir, two EK radiators, and a bunch of fans. The system components include an Intel i5-4670K that sits on an Asus Gryphon Z87, 8GB of Corsair Dominator GT memory, two EVGA GTX 770 Superclockeds, a 250GB Samsung EVO SSD, and a Corsair AX860 power supply. The reception to the finished rig has been so great that James and Parvum will be teaming up again for another game-themed build. Stay tuned to James's Facebook for details on the upcoming Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare build. Have a case mod of your own that you would like to submit to our monthly feature? Make sure to read the rules/tips here and email us at mpcrigofthemonth@gmail.com with your submissions. |
| DFC Intelligence: Nearly All PC Game Sales are Digital Downloads Posted: 20 Aug 2014 10:15 AM PDT  Physical media in the PC gaming sector is nearly dead
Think for a moment about the last 10 PC games you purchased. If the statistics presented by analyst DFC Intelligence are correct, than at least nine of those games were digitally downloaded as opposed to physical copies. Long gone are the days when you'd walk into Software Etc. and emerge with a bag full of game boxes containing floppy disks, and later CDs. According to DFI Intelligence, 92 percent of all PC game sales around the world in 2013 were digital. DFC Intelligence provided that tidbit to PCR, though it didn't say what the outlook for 2014 looks like. However, there's no reason to believe that trend is reversing, especially if you've walked into a GameStop lately -- the PC section has been reduced in most stores to a sad little rack that would normally hold a few accessories. Going digital isn't a bad thing, nor has it hurt developers and publishers. DFC said earlier this year that the PC games market leapfrogged console gaming in revenue for the first time. "Among core gamers there is a heavy overlap with most console gamers also playing on a PC. The big difference is that consoles are now the luxury item and PCs are the necessity. Just a few years ago the reverse was true. This means PCs have the broader audience," DFI Intelligence owner David Cole explained at the time. It's not hard to believe. As our sister site PC Gamer points out, EA announced in its Q1 financial results for fiscal year 2013 that it made more money from PC sales than PlayStation 3, and it credited digital sales as the reason why. Welcome to the future. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Barnes and Noble Rolls Out Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook for $179 Posted: 20 Aug 2014 09:42 AM PDT  Welcome back to the tablet scene, Barnes and Noble
After failing to compete in sales with the likes of Amazon and its Kindle Fire line, Barnes and Noble is officially invested in tablets again with the introduction of the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook. The Galaxy Tab 4 Nook is essentially a combination of the Android-based Nook platform baked into the Samsung's Galaxy Tab 4 hardware and billed as the first ever full-featured Android slate. The device measures 7.36 (H) x 4.25 (W) x 0.35 (D) inches and weighs 9.74 ounces. It has a 7-inch display with a 1280x800 resolution (216 ppi), 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of onboard storage (expandable via microSD card slot), 802.11n Wi-Fi, micro-USB 2.0 port, 3.5mm headset jack, 1.3MP front-facing camera, 3MP rear-facing camera, GPS, and Android 4.4 KitKat. "The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook is the most advanced Nook ever, delivering the great Nook experience our customers have come to love, with the high-performance tablet features they've asked for," said Michael P. Huseby, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. "We invite reading and entertainment fans to visit their local Barnes & Noble store to experience the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook. Once they do, we're certain they will make this innovative device part of their daily routine." B&N says the new Nook is geared towards reading, and to get users started, it comes bundled with $200 of free Nook reading and entertainment content, including three bestselling e-books -- Freakonomics, The Wanderer, and I Am Number Four. You can grab an ad-free Galaxy Tab 4 Nook right away for $179 after a $20 instant rebate. The device is available black and white color options. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Steve Ballmer Leaves Microsoft's Board to Focus Energy on Los Angeles Clippers Posted: 20 Aug 2014 08:54 AM PDT  Ex-Microsoft chief cuts last remaining tie to go all-in with the Clippers
Admit it, you miss Steve Ballmer, even if just a little bit, right? Okay, so maybe some of you don't -- perhaps you're still holding a grudge over Windows 8, or perhaps Ballmer's slow play into mobile has you shaking your head. He hasn't always made the right decisions during his time at Microsoft, but nobody can question his passion. Now it's the Los Angeles Clippers organization and fan base that will get to see his antics on a consistent basis. In an open letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Ballmer announced he's stepping down as a board member at Microsoft, thus truly marking the end of a 34-year run with the company. It's been nearly six months since Ballmer relinquished his role as CEO of Microsoft, and now that he's no longer on the board of directors, his only remaining tie with the organization is that of a shareholder, which anyone can become with a $45 investment. Ballmer said it would be "impractical" to remain on the board as he takes on teaching responsibilities and the constant demands of owning an NBA franchise after acquiring the Clippers for $2 billion. He offered some parting advice for Nadella, telling him that "Microsoft will need to be bold and make big bets to succeed in this new environment." Ballmer believes the future success of Microsoft lies in part with enterprise subscriptions, hardware, and advertising revenues. He also imparted plenty of optimism and said Nadella is free to bounce ideas off of him. "I bleed Microsoft — have for 34 years and I always will. I continue to love discussing the company's future. I love trying new products and sending feedback. I love reading about what is going on at the company," Ballmer wrote in his letter to Nadella. "Count on me to keep ideas and inputs flowing. The company will move to higher heights. I will be proud, and I will benefit through my share ownership. I promise to support and encourage boldness by management in my role as a shareholder in any way I can." As for Ballmer's future, he's already made his presence and style know to Clipper nation during a fan rally in which he brought his usual high energy and fervor. You can watch the fan rally below. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Acer Introduces a Pair of Space Saving Veriton Desktop PCs Posted: 20 Aug 2014 08:14 AM PDT  Mini desktop systems take aim at businesses and education
Acer today announced its new Veriton N4630G series of commercial mini desktops for businesses and educational institutions in the U.S. There are two models in the new series -- Veriton N4630G-i54570X and Veriton N4530G-i34150X -- both of which offer security features in a space saving, one-liter chassis. They're also fairly affordable, with the former selling for $649 and the latter going for $549. In terms of simplifying routine IT tasks, both rigs come with various software tools for managing system images and protecting intellectual assets. These include Acer Officer Manager (AOM), which allows IT workers to remotely configure system settings and deploy usage limits, and Acer ProShield, which wraps various security features (encryption, file shredding, BIOS import and export tool) within a unified interface. As for the hardware, the i34150X sports an Intel Core i3 4150T processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GbE port, two USB 3.0 ports, three USB 2.0 ports, SD card reader, VGA and DisplayPort output, mini PCI Express slot, and choice between Windows 7 Professional 64-bit or Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit. The i54570X is nearly identically spec'd, save for the processor, which is bumped up to an Intel Core i5 4570T. Both systems are available now. 
Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Broken Age Review Posted: 20 Aug 2014 07:57 AM PDT Two stories, tons of creativity, yummy ice cream, no grog That's fair advice for the half of you who will start out Broken Age in a miserable funk instead of a monster-filled fairy tale. At least, that's how we felt when we initially began our trip through Tim Schafer's imaginative title—the first half of a two-part, point-and-click adventure from the industry veteran whose previous credits stand well on their own within the genre: Day of the Tentacle, The Secret of Monkey Island, Full Throttle, et cetera. The game splits the two protagonists' (seemingly) separate story lines right from the start. We started our journey with the boy, Shay, but found the initial ramp-up to his adventure a bit too convincing. 
It's no Mystery Science Theater movie warning, that's for sure. Without spoiling too much of the plot, Shay is trapped on a spaceship that goes above and beyond to protect him from the harshness of growing up. Shay could not be any more apathetic to the idea of daily life with his "mother," a benevolent, computerized AI of sorts, who washes him, feeds him his daily cereal, and sends him on "adventures" that end in hugs, piles of ice cream, and, most likely, a bout of depression. The other protagonist of this half-game, Vella, presents a more compelling story line. In this case, you're playing the classic damsel in distress. Rather than being eaten by a giant monster as part of her town's sacrificial ritual to avoid destruction, she decides to go on a one-woman crusade to slay said monster herself. While Vella's story line is a bit more action-packed—or at least, feels more so as a result of its classic slay-the-dragon-like premise—we actually found ourselves more proud of our experience in Shay's adventure. Our favorite moment involved trying to find a way to "kill" our character, for lack of a better way to say it, in order to see if his daily monotony could be averted somehow. Spoiler: It can. That's the most challenging example of the game's puzzles that we could come up with, as Broken Age feels perfectly balanced between "breeze on by" and "consult game FAQs" for its overall difficulty. You get just enough quirky items to keep you thinking about what goes where without feeling overwhelmed with options—this isn't a 20-item-inventory, combine-every-gizmo kind of adventure title. While Broken Age features no hint system, which might frustrate those looking for an extra boost or two in some head-scratching moments, you do have the option to switch between the two separate"story lines at a moment's notice. Think Day of the Tentacle, only, your actions in the two stories don't affect each other—a somewhat curious oversight that we hope developer Double Fine Productions changes up in the game's second half. There's no real point to spending much time talking about the game's graphics, as you'll fall in love with the beautiful visuals the moment you start adventuring. Kudos to Broken Age's original orchestration as well—it's the bread keeping the delicious presentation together. Sharp writing, endless wit, and excellent characterization (with similarly awesome voice talent) all work in tandem to deliver a welcome arrival to a genre whose blockbuster titles are not always at the forefront of gamers' minds. You won't forget Broken Age; in fact, we think you'll be clamoring for quite a while to see how chapter one's big cliffhanger ends up. More, Tim Schafer! More! $25, www.brokenagegame.com, ESRB: n/a |
| Lenovo Adds Three Business Class Desktop PCs to ThinkCentre Line Posted: 20 Aug 2014 06:00 AM PDT  Latest systems from Lenovo are all business
After five straight quarters of being on top, Lenovo shows no signs of relinquishing its position as the world's largest supplier of PCs (in terms of sales and volume). The number one PC maker is also determined to outpace the industry average in desktop PC growth, hence Lenovo just announced three new additions to its ThinkCentre desktop PC line designed for business users as companies look to leave Windows XP in the dust. The first of the new systems is the ThinkCentre E63z, a space saving all-in-one machine with a 19.5-inch HD+ display. It's decked out with business-friendly features such as smart USB protection, CompuTrace support, and a Kensington slot that doubles a chassis lock. Models powered by Intel Core i3 processors also include HDMI output, a card reader, and a Rapid Charge USB port to keep those mobile devices juiced up. Second up is the ThinkCentre M53. It comes in the same "Tiny" form factor as its high powered siblings, the M73 and M93p, but with a lower price tag. It includes a remote power up option with a supported keyboard and flexible mounting options to help make the most out of your desk space. Finally we have the ThinkCentre M79 with AMD A-Series APU options inside. It offers up to 50 percent superior graphics performance compared to its predecessors and comes with SSD and SSHD options. These mini towers can also support three independent displays with the optional DisplayPort connector. The ThinkCentre E63z is available now starting at $479 with Intel Core i3 models coming later this year. Lenovo's ThinkCentre M79 is also available now, starting at $49, and the ThinkCentre M53 tiny desktop will be available soon starting at $439. See pics of all three rigs in our gallery below. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Newegg Daily Deals: NZXT's New H440 Steel Mid Tower Case, LG 34-inch UltraWide Monitor, and More! Posted: 20 Aug 2014 06:00 AM PDT  
Top Deal: On your mark, get set, build! Go, go, go, put that PC together! What's that you say, you're missing a computer case? Oh dear, that is certainly a problem. Lucky for you, we're problem solvers. If you're need of a computer case, then direct your eyeballs to today's top deal for NZXT's new H440 Steel Mid Tower Chassis for $100 with free shipping (normally $120 - use coupon code: [EMCPBWA33]; additional $10 mail-in-rebate). It supports both 140mm and 12mm fans, the stell top and front panels come Kraken-ready and fit radiators up to 360mm in size, there's lots of room to tuck unruly cables at the bottom of the case, and other modern amenities. Other Deals: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge Quad-Core 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Desktop Processor for $220 with free shipping (normally $230 - use coupon code: [EMCPBWA27]) LG 34-inch 5ms(GTG) Dual HDMI 21:9 UltraWide LED Backlight LCD Monitor IPS Panel 300 for $580 with free shipping (normally $600 - use coupon code: [EMCPBWA34]) G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory for $153 with free shipping (normally $170 - use coupon code: [EMCPBWA39]) Seagate NAS HDD 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive for $90 with free shipping (normally $100 - use coupon code: [EMCPBWA99]) |
