Podcast #202 Aftershow - Much Ado about Storage

Subject: Editorial, General Tech, Storage | May 17, 2012 - 05:05 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: podcast, aftershow

After the normally scheduled podcast recorded last night, the PC Perspective staff hung around in the chat room to talk with our fans and readers about various random hardware topics.  Rather than just throw that data away, we decided to save it and post the video here as a sort of "aftershow" for those of you that want a bit more PCPer in your life.

Enjoy!

Podcast #202 - GTX 670, NVIDIA's GK110 Tesla card, our AMD Trinity Mobile review and more!

Subject: General Tech | May 17, 2012 - 03:16 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: trinity, tesla, podcast, nvidia, kepler, gtx670, GTC 2012, gk110, GK104, dv nation, a10

PC Perspective Podcast #202 - 05/17/2012

Join us this week as we talk about the GTX 670, NVIDIA's GK110 Tesla card, our AMD Trinity Mobile review and more!

If you want even more PC Perspective this, check out our "aftershow" event as well.  Event might be an over-statement though...

You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.

The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!

• iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
• RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
• MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file

Hosts: Jeremy Hellstrom, Josh Walrath, and Allyn Malvantano

Program length: 1:05:16

Program Schedule:

1. 0:00:21 Introduction
2. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
3. http://pcper.com/podcast
4. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
   
5. 0:01:15 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Graphics Card Review - Kepler for $399
   1. GeForce GTX 670 vs GTX 570 Performance Update
   2. The GTX 670 and the Case of the Missing (and Returning) 4-Way SLI Support
6. 0:11:20 Graphics Card (GPU) Stock Check - May 10th, 2012
   1. Hard to make a profit when no one can find Kepler cards for sale, NVIDIA
7. 0:14:25 NVIDIA Reveals GK110 GPU - Kepler at 7.1B Transistors, 15 SMX Units
8. 0:20:20 Lenovo IdeaCentre Q180: Atom's Wake
9. 0:24:30 AMD A10-4600M Trinity For Mobile Review: Trying To Cut The Ivy
10. 0:33:40 Just Delivered: DV Nation RAMRod PC - Sandy Bridge-E, 64GB DDR3, 480GB RevoDrive 3 X2
11. 0:35:42 Plug and Pray PCIe SSD that you can upgrade; OWC's Mercury Accelsior
12. 0:40:40 GTC 2012: NVIDIA Announces GeForce GRID Cloud Gaming Platform
    1. NVIDIA Pioneers New Standard for High Performance Computing with Tesla GPUs
    2. NVIDIA Introduces World's First Virtualized GPU, Accelerating Graphics for Cloud Computing
13. 0:53:00 ZOTAC announces ZOTAC GeForce GT 630, GT 620 and GT 610 series
14. 0:55:00 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
    1. Jeremy: Only to be used for evil
    2. Josh: Since NV doesn't have an answer yet at this price range...
    3. Allyn: If you need your files secure - without the destruction
15. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
16. http://pcper.com/podcast   
17. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
18. Closing

Microsoft will fix what their OEM partners break -- for $99

Subject: General Tech, Systems | May 17, 2012 - 03:13 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: Microsoft Store, crapware

“Factory computers” have been loaded with demos and trials for several years now in an effort to subsidize part of the cost, get lower prices, and bloat your computer -- that last part is unintentional. Microsoft created their “Signature” lineup of PCs a couple of years ago to highlight products that only have software which Microsoft intended to install. Microsoft will soon offer a service to bring existing PCs to what Microsoft deems a Signature status for $99 if you can find a Microsoft store.

While our readers are affected by this story they are probably less so than just about any other blog.

If you did not acquire your computer by having it assembled -- and if you did, we hope you consulted our regularly updated Hardware Leaderboard -- you probably purchased it from an OEM. To make their product seem more appealing most OEMs load their products with product demos and other advertisements. This is particularly bad for PCs because they are not only annoying but also tend to bog the machine down.

What is it with Microsoft Stores and awkward $99 products lately?

(and yes I realize the image is inaccurate because I chose a non-consumer workstation)

Since Microsoft tends to get the brunt of the bad recognition when a Windows machine it comes to no surprise that they eventually attempted to encourage a more vanilla experience. The Microsoft “Signature” lineup of PCs were OEM-produced machines which have been removed of all software that should not come with Windows -- except maybe a few Windows Live Essentials products.

Microsoft will expand their Signature program to any PC if you can find a Microsoft Store and pay $99 to undo what their partners did.

It is unclear what specific goal Microsoft is hoping to accomplish with this program. Everyone’s first reaction would be that they are attempting to cash in at the expense of their users but that just does not make sense. They could be attempting to promote the Windows store but this certainly seems less like a carrot and more like a wet noodle. They could also be trying to pressure their OEMs by reducing the cost-per-impression they can acquire for each ad because of how easily it could be removed.

It would be most like Microsoft to honestly believe that this service will be appreciated by users. If that is true, I must disagree. ZDNet has already used this as an excuse to promote Apple computers -- which makes me headdesk because $99 is pocket change compared to that -- so I expect that if that was Microsoft’s intent it will backfire wholly.

What do you think Microsoft’s goal is: selfish vulching their consumers or something less devious?

Corsair Giving Away Five Vengeance 2000 Wireless Headsets

Subject: General Tech | May 16, 2012 - 10:45 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: vengeance 2000, vengeance, headset, gaming, corsair

Popular computer case and power supply maker Corsair recently launched a sweepstakes to get the word out about their new Vengeance 2000 wireless gaming headsets. They will be giving away five of the new virtual surround sound headsets to winners.

The contest is open to new entrants until Monday (5/21/12), and is very simple to enter. To enter the contest, head over to their Facebook contest page and hit the “Like” button. Then click on the green “Enter Sweepstakes” button. After that, they invite you to tell your friends about the contest. They have a couple thousands entries so far, so get in while you can! The Official Rules are linked on the bottom of the contest page but it looks like anyone over the age of 18 not affiliated with the company is eligible to win.

The Vengeance 2000 is essentially the wireless version of the company's Vengeance 1500 USB gaming headset with a noticeable makeover. The headset uses 50mm drivers and 2.4GHz wireless technology to deliver virtual surround sound without a wired connection to the PC, and up to about 40 feet. It also features a rechargeable battery in the headset and an adjustable noise canceling boom microphone. The headsets have an MSRP of $149 USD.

Best of luck in the contest, and if you win be sure to let us know what you think of them!

Rumors About Upcoming NVIDIA GTX 680M Emerge

Subject: Graphics Cards | May 16, 2012 - 10:40 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: nvidia, gtx 680m, gpu, mobile, kepler

Videocardz.com managed to get their hands on some rumored details about an upcoming NVIDIA mobile graphics card–the GTX 680M. According to rumors, the mobile chip will be launched at Computex 2012 in Taiwan next month.

There aren’t many details about the mobile chip, but it is set up to be a scaled down version of it’s Kepler based GTX 680 desktop counterpart. The GTX 680M will have approximately half as many CUDA cores at either 744 or 768 cores depending on the source. Either way, the card keeps the same 256-bit memory interface and can support SLI configurations. In addition, the 680M will be able to have up to 4GB of GDDR5 memory. Reportedly, it can use as much as 100 Watts of power.

When paired with an Intel Core i7 3720QM processor, the GPU was able to get a score of 4,905 points in 3DMark 11’s Performance present benchmark. It is supposed to be as much as 37 percent faster than the GTX 670M, which is not surprising considering that chip has only 336 CUDA cores and is clocked at 598 MHz (no word yet on what the GTX 680M will be clocked at).

No matter what the GTX 680M turns out to be, you can bet it will only be found in the highest end gaming notebooks where performance is more important than battery life. Until then, feel free to brush up on your Kepler architecture knowledge by visiting our GTX 680 (desktop) review.

Netgear Announces New 802.11ac Gear, Launches New Router

Subject: General Tech | May 16, 2012 - 09:57 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: wifi, router, networking, netgear, 802.11ac

Following up on the announcement by Buffalo Technology, Netgear has released their own 802.11ac wireless router, the R6300. (PC Perspective recently ran a giveaway for the R6300 which you can read about here). In addition to the flagship 802.11ac router, Netgear announced a slimmed down version–the R6200–and the A6200 WiFi USB dongle.

The Netgear R6300 is their highest end wireless router supporting the 802.11ac WiFi standard. It supports 802.11ac speeds up to 1300 Mbps (450 Mbps over wireless n) and is backwards compatible with the 802.11 a/b/g/n standards. It also has two USB 2.0 ports that can be used to share hard drive and printers across the network. Further, the “5G WiFI” router is powered by a Broadcom chipset, which should open the door to third part firmware(s).

In addition to the above router, Netgear has announced the R6200 wireless router. It is compatible with the upcoming 802.11ac standard, but at reduced speeds. It features approximately 900 Mbps transfer rates over the “ac” standard and up to 300 Mbps over the 802.11n standard. The router is backwards compatible with all the older consumer standards (a/b/g/n), and it features a single USB 2.0 port to share a printer or hard drive to computers on the LAN.

Last up in the announcement is the Netgear A6200. This device is a USB WiFi dongle that supports the 802.11ac standard as well as existing a/b/g/n networks. It claims to deliver enough speed for HD streaming of videos, though Netgear has not stated if it will be able to take advantage of the full 1300 Mbps theoretical maximum connection. The WiFi adapter features a swiveling antenna and a docking station for use with desktop systems.

The other neat feature that the new routers support is the Netgear Genie application, which allows users to monitor and control the network using an application on their computer or smartphone (iOS and Android). They also feature Netgear MyMedia, printer sharing, guest network access, a DLNA server, parental controls, and automatic WiFi security.

The Netgear R6300 router is available for purchase now with an MSRP of $199.99. The R6200 router and A6200 WiFi dongle will be available for purchase in Q3 2012 with suggested retail prices of $179.99 and $69.99 respectively.

Microsoft Signature Will Clean Your Windows Install For $99

Subject: General Tech | May 16, 2012 - 06:31 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: Windows 7, windows, microsoft signature, microsoft

Microsoft’s Signature program is a Microsoft Store and online service where the company resells OEM partners’ computers without all the traditional bloatware programs. The company puts a clean install of Windows on the hardware, installs Microsoft applications–including Microsoft Security Essentials, Live Movie Maker, and Live Mail–and optimized the OS for that particular machine’s hardware. This Signature install of Windows has only been available to users that purchased a new computer from Microsoft–until now.

According to Ars Technica, Microsoft is now offering to turn any OEM PC running Windows into a Signature edition of the operating system for a one-time fee of $99. DIYers and enthusiasts are likely to scoff at the nearly hundred dollar price tag for popping in a Windows 7 install disc and doing a clean install, but the Signature service is most certainly not aimed at the technically savvy market to begin with. Rather, this is a service for ordinary computer users to get the most performance out of their computer while avoiding the numerous “optimize my PC” scams and malware-programs-masquerading-as-Windows-utilities minefield. Doing a clean install and then optimizing the OS can take at least an hour (though enthusiasts can generally shave that time down quite a bit), and a straight fee of $99 is a lot less than consumers are likely to find elsewhere (especially since that includes 90 days of tech support). And that’s where I think this program is okay, and even a good thing. Most OEM systems come pre-loaded with a bunch of unwanted programs and trial offers that serve no real purpose besides making the OEM more money. There is also the issue of security. The majority of OEM systems come pre-loaded with some form of trial antivirus (usually Norton), and customers are notorious for not upgrading to the paid edition after the trial period or replacing it with (better) free antivirus applications. For $99, Microsoft will take the OEM machine and spruce it up to be the operating system that it should have been running in the first place. Besides price, the other barrier to this catching on is that customers need to bring the PC into a Microsoft Store (which are few and far between).

That statement is where many users are not pleased with Microsoft. They believe that Microsoft should exert more control over what OEMs are allowed to do with its operating system. Certainly, that is the ideal solution, but Microsoft is not Apple and they do not have the same level of control over the resulting hardware and what is bundled into the OS after it is purchased by OEMs. The Signature program is at least a step in the right direction and making the best of the situation. Also, it is an optional service that consumers are free to shop around to find a better price (or learn how to do it themselves by checking out guides online). It may not be the best thing, but at least Microsoft recognizes that there is a problem and is offering an alternative.

I’ll admit that I reacted unfavorably when I first read about the program, especially since it seemed so expensive for what comes as second nature to me. But not everyone wants to muck around in settings and for those with more money than time the Signature program is not a bad deal. It’s not for me, but I can see situations where it will work well. What are your thoughts on the program; do you see it as useful or is Microsoft way off base here?

Coolermaster's new vapourware, the TPC-812 heatsink

Subject: Cases and Cooling | May 16, 2012 - 05:29 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: coolermaster, TPC-812, heatsink, heatpipes

Coolermaster's new TPC-812 goes beyond the heatpipes which we have all become familiar with and adds in vapour chambers as well.  The vapour chamber works similarly to a heatpipe but instead of heat only being able to travel away in one direction, the chamber allows heat to be dissipated in to directions.  Unfortunately in order to properly work it needs to remain quite small in size so while it can quickly spread out heat it needs help from something else to keep that heat moving away.  The cooler was fairly noisy when FrostyTech ran the fan at full speed but also offered among the most effective cooling performance and when they dialed the fan back its performance ended up in the middle of the pack but for someone using a moderately powerful CPU and wanting less noise it should move enough heat to remain effective.

"Vapour chambers and heatpipes work on the same principle, the difference is that vapour chambers are planar thermal devices that conduct heat in two dimensions. The two 19x3mm vapour chambers on the Coolermaster TPC-812 heatsink are double-stacked (one vapour chamber on top of three heatpipes), much like the Xigmatek Aegir. Since vapour chambers are planar devices this represents a more efficient application that piling tubular heatpipes on top of tubular heatpipes. Coolermaster's TPC-812 is the first CPU heatsink to pass our test bench employing both vapour chambers and heatpipes in one package."

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

CASES & COOLING

• Zero-Infinity Free-Flow+ @ OC3D
• CoolerMaster TPC 812 CPU Cooler @ Bjorn3D
• Deepcool/Logisys Gammaxx 400 CPU Cooler Review @ Hardware Secrets
• Coolermaster Hyper 412 SLIM Cpu Cooler @ Rbmods
• SilenX EFZ-120HA5 Heatsink Review @ Frostytech
• Cooler Master TPC 812 Vapor Chamber CPU Cooler @ Tweaktown
• Xigmatek SD1283 Dark Knight Night Hawk Edition CPU Cooler @ Pro-Clockers
• Corsair Hydro H100 Self Contained Watercooling Heatsink Review @ Frostytech
• NZXT Switch 810 Review @ OCC
• Noctua NH-C14 Low-Profile CPU Cooler Review @ NikKTech
• Cubitek HPTX ICE Review: How Far Aluminum Can Go @ AnandTech
• Lian Li PC 100 “The Hammer” @ LanOC Reviews
• NZXT Switch 810 Special Edition Case Review @ HardwareHeaven
• Antec GAME ONE Midi Tower Review @ NikKTech
• Cubitek HPTX ICE Frozen Solid Chassis @ Tweaktown
• NZXT Switch 810 Special Edition (Gunmetal) Full-Tower Case Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• NZXT Phantom 410 Special Edition Mid-tower Case Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• NZXT Switch 810 Full-Tower Chassis Review @ Techgage
• Thermaltake Level 10 GTS Snow Edition Review @ OCC

Live: First NVIDIA Kepler GK110 GPU Details

Subject: Graphics Cards | May 16, 2012 - 05:14 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: nvidia, kepler, GTC 2012, gk110

We are posting live from the "Inside Kepler" talk at NVIDIA's GPU Technology Conference with details on the new GK110 GPU.  Here is what we know so far:

• 7.1 billion transistors
• 15 SMX (modified) units
• 2880 available CUDA cores
• Greater than 1 TFLOP FP64 (double precision) compute
• 384-bit GDDR5 memory bus

The block diagram for the GK110 GPU

We will update this post with more photos and information as we have it!

Diagram of the updated SMX for GK110

Don't expect to see this GPU until at least  Q4 of this year.

Check out our full Kepler GK110 deep-dive article we just posted!  

Runcore Launches SSD With Physical Data Destruction

Subject: Storage | May 16, 2012 - 03:50 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: ssd, sata 2, runcore, data destruction

For people worried about their personal information (or spies) RunCore has developed a new SSD that will make sure no one can steal your data. The InVincible SATA II solid state drive comes with two brightly colored buttons for different levels of data destruction. Pressing the green button will initiate the “intelligent destruction” mode wherein the drive will be wiped out and the data overwritten with zeros. And if that is not enough, users can press the red button to activate a physical destruction mechanism. In the physical destruction process, a high electrical current is delivered to the NAND flash chips causing them to burn and crack. Good luck recovering your data after that (though it’s not as flashy as Thermite)!

Just keep your cat away from the red button if you know what’s good for your hardware!

In terms of performance, the RunCore SSD is capable of up to 240MB/s reads and 190MB/s writes. The drive features a SATA II interface, and it is available with either MLC or SLC NAND flash. The internals are placed in a green 2.5” form factor case and–in addition to SATA data and power cable connections–it also comes with one red and one green button connected to the drive by two wires. The new solid state drive is now official, but pricing and availability have yet to be announced. More information on the drives can be found on the RunCore website, and you can see the data destruction in action in the video below.

This A-10 can't kill tanks but it does beat a Bulldozer

Subject: Processors | May 16, 2012 - 02:29 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: trinity, radeon, igp, gpu, APU, amd. A10-4600M

AMD's A10-4600M APU has finally arrived, showing off an enhanced Piledriver core and a new Northern Islands based graphics core.  This is a big step up from Llano in terms of general processing power but not a huge improvement over Bulldozer chips, though the raised clock speed does help it in general tasks.  Unfortunately the AMD still chip lags far behind the performance of Intel's mobile i5 processors and while the graphics are certainly more powerful on Trinity they still aren't up to an impressive level of performance.  The Tech Report liked the high end A10-4600M but think that Trinity's low power chips are really going to shine in inexpensive ultraportable machines.

You can also check out Matt's review of Llano in a reference laptop from AMD for more information.

"AMD has pulled the curtains back on Trinity, its next-generation APU, which features new Piledriver CPU cores and Northern Islands-derived integrated graphics. Join us as we outline Trinity's architecture and run it through a whole host of benchmarks, from old staples to OpenCL-accelerated apps and "inside the second" gaming tests."

Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:

Processors

• AMD Launches New Trinity APU @ TechwareLabs
• The AMD Trinity Review (A10-4600M): A New Hope @ AnandTech
• AMD A10 'Trinity' APU review @ Hardware.Info
• AMD Launches New 2012 A-Series APU (Trinity) @ Bjorn3d
• AMD Trinity Preview @ Neoseeker
• AMD Trinity A10-4600M APU Review: Jumping the Shark? @ VR-Zone
• AMD Trinity: Going Mobile with a New APU @ Hardware Canucks

The new MSI GD65, this time in Z77 flavour

Subject: Motherboards | May 16, 2012 - 01:36 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: msi, z77a-gd65, lga1155

MSI's Z77A-GD65 comes with a nice set features including THX TruStudio PRO, Lucid’s VirtuMVP, active phase switching, and HDMI 1.4 along with support for both SLI and CrossFireX.  It supports PCIe 3.0 on its three 16x slots, running 8x, 4x, 4x or 8x, 8x, 0x which should still offer enough bandwidth for multiple GPU based systems.   Overclocking Ivy Bridge on this board was not difficult, ignoring the voltage and heat issues common to all Ivy Bridge processors and overall [H]ard|OCP has found the Z77 to be one of the better designed chipsets recently released and like that it doesn't exhibit the growing pains many others  have felt on initial release.  MSI took that solid design and pushed it further, something we've come to expect from their GD65 series motherboards.

"MSI has been on a roll with its motherboards as of late. It’s because of this that our expectations for MSI’s foray into the world of Z77 chipset based motherboards are so high. MSI’s "GD65" series of motherboards have been an especially solid value and the Z77A-GD65 looks to be no different."

Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:

Motherboards

• Gigabyte address Z77X-UD5H @ Kitguru
• ASRock Z77 Professional Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets
• MSI Z77A-GD65 (Z77) Motherboard Review @ eTeknix
• ECS Z77H2-AX Black Extreme Motherboard Review @ Madshrimps
• Intel DZ77GA-70K Motherboard Components @ Benchmark Reviews
• Gigabyte Z77-D3H (Z77) Motherboard Review @ eTeknix
• Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H @ Funkykit
• A First Look at Thunderbolt on Windows with MSI's Z77A-GD80 @ AnandTech
• ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe @ AnandTech
• ECS Z77H2-AX Golden Edition Review @ OCC
• Intel Z77 Motherboard Review with Ivy Bridge - ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI @ AnandTech
• ECS X79R-AX Deluxe Review @ Neoseeker
• BIOS Option Of The Week - CPU Direct Access FB @ TechARP
• Gigabyte Sniper M3 Review @ Bjorn3D
• Gigabyte A75M-D2H and A75-UD4H Motherboard Review @ OCC

NZXT Releases Switch 810 Special Edition Cases

Subject: Cases and Cooling | May 16, 2012 - 12:28 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: switch 810, special edition, nzxt, cases, atx

Popular case manufacturer NZXT has announced a special edition of it’s Switch 810 computer case. After listening to customer feedback, the company has decided to make the case available in two new colors. Gunmetal and Matte Black are the two new darker themes of the Switch 810.

In a recent press release, NZXT stated that the two new available colors are its way of showing their fans that they do listen to and value feedback.

Specifically, “Without our community’s valuable feedback and criticisms, our products would not be as unique as they are today. We always aim to maintain customer satisfaction through providing high quality products at great prices, which is why we decided to release the Special Edition to feature two of the most demanded color palettes from our loyal fans: Matte Black and Gunmetal.”

The Switch 810 is a full tower ATX case constructed of steel and plastic materials. It features support for up to 10 fans, six internal hard drives, up to an E-ATX motherboard, and plenty of room for custom liquid cooling solutions. The case also provides cable management cut-outs and tool-less drive bays.

The new Special Edition Switch 810 is available for purchase now from NZXT in either Gunmetal or Matte Black colors for $179.99 USD. When we reviewed the original version of the Switch 810, we gave it the PC Perspective Gold Award for its included enthusiast features and good execution. You can find our full review (including video) here.

Take a break from Diablo 3 to look behind the scenes

Subject: General Tech | May 16, 2012 - 12:04 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: gaming, diablo iii

Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN was given the chance to sit down with the senior world designer and the lead technical artist of Diablo 3.  One of the topics of discussion will be near and dear to those who played the previous games in the series, co-op multiplayer, which really defined the game for those who tried it.  Somehow button mashing in tandem was much more enjoyable than the already great single player experience and the development team spent a good deal of effort bringing that experience to Diablo 3.  They also talk about the difficulties of including enough lore to keep players who want some depth to the story of the game but ensuring that those players who don't care for a back story don't feel it is getting in the way of their game.  At no time were rainbows or unicorns discussed.

"Diablo III is now a thing that you’re capable of owning and (hopefully) playing. Just before the launch, when those network problems were yet to freeze Hell over, I sat down with senior world designer Leonard Boyarsky and lead technical artist Julian Love to keep them company as queues formed in the streets outside. Along the way, I discovered that having an ex-Troika chap on your game means that ‘lore’ is a very important word indeed, that the distant roguelike heritage hasn’t been forgotten and that technological progression doesn’t necessarily alter design principles."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Eyefinity/Surround Analysis of Rayman Origins @ Widescreen Gaming Forum
• Botanicula PC Review @ eTeknix
• Diablo III Midnight Launch and Signing Gallery @ HardwareHeaven
• ins of a Solar Empire Rebellion Beta @ Benchmark Reviews
• Inside the Atari 2600 @ Hardware Secrets
• Lucid PC Review @ eTeknix
• A Chat With Rocket, Creator Of Day Z @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN!

Gigabyte USA Announces Gigabyte eSports LAN

Subject: General Tech | May 15, 2012 - 06:22 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: LAN party, lan, gigabyte, gaming, case mod contest

Popular motherboard manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co. recently announced the Gigabyte eSports LAN (GESL), which is its first eSports event in North America. The even includes a BYOC (bring your own computer) LANFest, tournament competitions in Starcraft II and League of Legends, a case mode competition, presentations, and an event raffle. The competitions each feature various prizes for winning including Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3 motherboards, graphics cards, RAM, and other computer hardware. Starcraft II and League of Legends further offer $11,000 and $10,000 prize pools respectively.

The event will be held at the California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, California from June 15th to June 17th, 2012. In additon to Gigabyte, the eSports event is co-sponsored by Kingston and Cooler Master, among others. The LAN competitions will be broadcast in HD for free during the event for those that can’t attend in person. Alternatively, users can purchase spectator badges for $15 USD. There will also be an event raffle during the GESL that will give away various pieces of computer hardware and company swag to attendees.

Further, the case mod contest will showcase systems from participants of the BYOC LANFest or spectators, of which five winners will be chosen. They will receive computer hardware and coverage in CPU Magazine should they win.

More information on the event can be found at the Gigabyte eSports LAN website (thegesl.com).

Buffalo First To Market With 802.11ac Gigabit Wi-Fi Router

Subject: General Tech | May 15, 2012 - 05:38 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: wireless, router, networking, ethernet bridge, buffalo, 802.11ac

Netgear and Buffalo have been working hard to build and get to market new wireless routers based on the 802.11ac (pending ratification) standard. PC Perspective recently ran a giveaway for the Netgear 802.11ac router, but it seems that Buffalo has managed to beat them to market with their new gear. In fact, Buffalo yesterday released two 802.11ac devices with the AirStation™ WZR-D1800H wireless router and WLI-H4-D1300 wireless Ethernet bridge. Both devices are powered by Broadcom’s 5G WiFi chips (what Broadcom refers to 802.11ac as–the fifth generation of consumer WiFi) and based around the IEEE standard that is set to become an official standard early next year.

The Buffalo 802.11ac Router (left: front, right: rear view)

The router and Ethernet bridge both support the upcoming 802.11ac standard as well as the current 802.11 b, g, and n standards so they are backwards compatible with all your devices. They also support all the normal functions of any other router or bridge device–the draft support for 802.11ac is what differentiates these products. The router stands vertically and has a router reset and USB eject buttons, one USB 2.0 port, four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, and one Gigabit Ethernet WAN port. Below the WAN port is a power button and DC in jack. The Buffalo Ethernet bridge allows users to connect Ethernet devices to a network over WiFi. It looks very similar to the router but does not have a WAN port or USB port on the back. It also does not act as a router, only a bridge to a larger network. The largest downside to the Ethernet bridge is pricing: (although out of stock now) Newegg has the bridge listed for the same price as the full fledged router. At that point, it does not have much value–users would be better off buying two routers and disabling the router features on one (and because the Broadcom chipset should enable custom firmwares, this should be possible soon).

The Buffalo 802.11ac Ethernet Bridge (left: front, right: rear view)

What makes these two devices interesting though is the support for the “5G WiFi” 802.11ac wireless technology. This is the first time that the Wireless connections have a (granted, theoretical) higher transfer speed than the wired connections, which is quite the feat. 802.11ac is essentially 802.11n but with several improvements and only operating on channels in the 5GHz spectrum. The pending standard also uses wider 80 Mhz or 160 MHz channels, 256 QAM modulation, and up to eight antennas (much like 802.11n’s MIMO technology) to deliver much faster wireless transfer rates than consumers have had available previously. The other big technology with the upcoming WiFi standard is beamforming. This allows wireless devices to communicate with their access point(s) to determine relative spatial position. That data is then used to adjust the transmitted signals such that it is sent in the direction of the access point at the optimum power levels. This approach is different to traditional WiFi devices that broadcast omni-directionally (think big circular waves coming out of your router) because the signals are more focused. By focusing the signals, users get better range and can avoid WiFi deadspots.

Hajime Nakai, Chief Executive Officer at Buffalo Technology stated that “along with Broadcom, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to innovation by providing a no-compromise, future proofed wireless infrastructure for consumers’ digital worlds.”

The Buffalo AirStation™ WZR-D1800H router and WLI-H4-D1300 Ethernet bridge are available for purchase now for around $179.99 USD. The Ethernet bridge is listed as out of stock on Newegg; however, the router is still available (and the better value).

ZOTAC announces ZOTAC GeForce GT 630, GT 620 and GT 610 series

Subject: Graphics Cards | May 15, 2012 - 05:26 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: zotac synergy, zotac, nvidia, gt 630, gt 620, GT 610, GK104, geforce, fermi

Zotac has released ten different graphics cards today, three GT 630s, three GT 620s and four GT 610s if you count the PCI version.  Enjoy all the benefits of the new Kepler architecture without the price of the GTX 680 or 690. These cards are a mix of GF108, GF119 and GK107, essentially rebrands of previous GT series cards as opposed to new ones like NVIDIA would prefer you believed.

They range from this 4GB GT 630 Synergy Edition which will give you the ability to handle multiple monitors in a work environment.

To this 1GB PCIe 1x GT 610 model for low power, low profile applications where a 16x slot just won't fit.

HONG KONG – May 15, 2012 – ZOTAC International, a global innovator and channel manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today expands the successful ZOTAC GeForce 600 series with new value offerings. The ZOTAC GeForce GT 630, GT 620 and GT 610 series deliver a savory taste of Microsoft DirectX 11 technologies for an outstanding visual computing experience.

“ZOTAC is pleased to bring the GeForce 600 series to value shoppers seeking a superior visual experience discrete graphics brings to computing,” said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. “By installing one of our ZOTAC GeForce GT 630, GT 620 or GT 610 series graphics cards, users can experience faster video and image processing and perfect high-definition video playback with a simple upgrade.”

The ZOTAC GeForce GT 630, GT 620 and GT 610 series are available in a variety configurations with 512MB, 1GB, 2GB and 4GB memory options in PCI Express 2.0 x16, PCI Express x1 or PCI interfaces, and active or passive cooling configurations to cater exclusively to all user computing needs.

It’s time to play with ZOTAC and the GeForce GT 630, GT 620 and GT 610 series.

General details

• ZOTAC Expands successful GeForce 600 series
• ZOTAC GeForce GT 630 series
  • 96 processor cores
  • 1GB, 2GB and 4GB memory configurations
  • 128-bit memory interface
• ZOTAC GeForce GT 620 series
  • 96 processor cores
  • 1GB & 2GB memory configurations
  • 64-bit memory interface
• ZOTAC GeForce GT 610 series
  • 48 processor cores
  • 512MB, 1GB & 2GB memory configurations
  • 64-bit memory interface
• NVIDIA 3D Vision capable
• NVIDIA Adaptive Vertical Sync
• DirectX 11 technology & Shader Model 5.0
• OpenGL 4.2 compatible
• Hardware-accelerated Full HD video playback
• Blu-ray 3D ready
• Loss-less audio bitstream capable