E3 2013: Dell Alienware X51 Gaming Desktop Refresh

Subject: General Tech, Systems, Shows and Expos | June 13, 2013 - 04:17 AM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: E3, E3 13, dell, alienware, alienware x51

The launch of Haswell led to many new product launches, and so did E3. The overlap? The Alienware X51 gaming desktop has been refreshed with some very compelling components at a surprisingly compelling price.

Unfortunately, there is a slight difference between the Canadian and the American offerings; it is not a case of one citizen paying more than the another, however, as things are more shuffled around than outright better. Our Canadian readers start with a base price of $1499.99, and Americans start out at $1449.99. Americans can spend an extra $100 to upgrade their DVD reader to a Blu-Ray drive, Canadians get Blu-Ray by default. Therefore, if you desire a Blu-Ray drive, it is $50 cheaper to be Canadian; otherwise, it is $50 cheaper to be American.

Whether you are Canadian or American, I would personally recommend spending the extra $100 upgrading your RAM from 8GB to 16 GB. Sure, 8GB is a lot, but the extra can go a long way especially with the direction that web browsers have been heading. You each, also, have the option of spending $300 and receiving a 256GB SSD albeit also at the expense of, beyond the $300, reducing your 2TB HDD down to a slower, 5400RPM 1TB drive.

In all, this actually looks quite compelling for someone who wishes to have a console-esque form-factor near their TV. Unfortunately there are currently no Ubuntu-based options for this X51, although you may freely ($0) choose between Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and Windows 8 64-bit.

E3 2013: AMD tells the press their gaming initiatives

Subject: General Tech, Graphics Cards, Processors, Shows and Expos | June 13, 2013 - 02:26 AM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: E3, E3 13, amd

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is the biggest event of the year for millions of gamers. The majority of coverage ends up gawking over the latest news out of Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo, and we certainly will provide our insights in those places if we believe they have been insufficiently explained, but E3 is also a big time for PC gamers too.

5 GHz and unlocked to go from there.

AMD, specifically, has a lot to say this year. In the year of the next-gen console reveals, AMD provides the CPU architecture for two of the three devices and have also designed each of the three GPUs. This just leaves a slight win for IBM, who is responsible for the WiiU main processor, for whatever that is worth. Unless the Steam Box comes to light and without ties to AMD, it is about as close to a clean sweep as any hardware manufacturer could get.

But for the PCs among us...

For those who have seen the EA press conference, you have probably seen lots of sports. If you stuck around after the sports, you probably saw Battlefield 4 being played by 64 players on stage. AMD has been pushing, very strongly, for developer relations over the last year. DICE, formerly known for being an NVIDIA-friendly developer, did not exhibit Battlefield 4 "The Way It's Meant to be Played" at the EA conference. According to one of AMD's Twitter accounts:

@overlordkai #BF4 at #E3 is being powered by dual AMD Radeon HD 7970s and AMD FX-8350. ^SL #AMDE3

— AMD Radeon Graphics (@AMDRadeon) June 12, 2013

On the topic of "Gaming Evolved" titles, AMD is partnering with Square Enix to optimize Thief for GCN and A-Series APUs. The Press Release specifically mentioned Eyefinity and Crossfire support along with a DirectX 11 rendering engine; of course, the enhancements with real, interesting effects are the seemingly boring ones they do not mention.

The last major point from their E3 event was the launch of their 5 GHz FX processors. For more information on that part, check out Josh's thoughts from a couple of days ago.

Apple introduces PCI-Express based SSD in new MacBook Air

Subject: General Tech, Storage | June 12, 2013 - 08:04 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: ultrabook, sandisk, Samsung, pci-e ssd, Marvell, MacBook Air, macbook, haswell, apple

As Scott covered earlier this week, Apple quietly announced an update to the MacBook Air line along side the headline-grabbing Mac Pro redesign preview. Being a MacBook Air user for the past 2 years, I decided it was time to replace my Sandy Bridge-based model with some new Haswell goodness. Today marked the first day of retail store availability, and I picked up an 11" model with 256GB SSD.

Naturally, when I got back to the office there was only one route to take, installing Windows and disassembling it. While Anand uncovered the fact that these MacBooks were hiding a new unadvertised option, in a PCI-Express based SSD, I wanted to check it out for myself.

When I did some digging, I discovered that while Anand found a Samsung based SSD in his MacBook, mine actually contained a model by Sandisk. I did a quick initial benchmark in OS X, and proceeded to inspect the hardware itself.

Click here to read more!

Freespace picked back up by Interplay ... almost good news

Subject: General Tech | June 12, 2013 - 02:37 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: freespace, gaming, interplay

Interplay were the original owners of the Freespace IP and sold it off to THQ, who did absolutely nothing with it and apparently did not see any value in it as THQ just sold it back to Interplay for a mere $7500.  This is not necessarily good news as Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN points out Interplay is not necessarily the healthiest company right now.  So far there is no news about future releases nor really anything apart from the transfer of ownership, but at least we know Freespace is still somewhat alive.

"Yes, Interplay, the company who’s only slightly more existent than THQ at this point. The publisher sealed the deal with a cool-as-an-airless-vacuum sum of $7500, which is a disturbingly small amount of my total yearly rent. If I moved someplace else, I could own Freespace. Right now. I will carry this regret to my deathbed."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Gaming

• No Force Can Prevent There Being A Warhammer 40K MMO @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Metro: Last Light Review @ OCC
• Metro: Last Light Review @ Techgage
• The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing @ Kitguru
• 10 E3 Trailers You Don't Want to Miss @ Wired
• Borderlands 2 Step By Step Modding Guide @ TechwareLabs

Apple turns over a new lead

Subject: General Tech | June 12, 2013 - 01:57 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: apple, wwdc

The Tech Report spent some time thinking about Apple's keynote yesterday and decided that it demonstrated a big change in Apple's corporate philosophy.  Over the past year Apple has been bereft of direction after spending so much time with a single person at the helm and at the keynote they finally seemed to have found a new set of core values to lead their business.  It seems that Craig Federighi is a much more personable leader, willing to stray from the script and poke fun at himself which is drastically different from the serious soliloquies which has represented Apple's pubic face for so long.  Read on to see what they think these changes could imply for the future of Apple.

"There was something different about Apple during yesterday's WWDC keynote. According to TR's Cyril Kowaliski, that something was Apple's new soul—a new identity based not on one man's ego, but on human ideals we can connect with."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Giving an RC tank a fire control computer @ Hack a Day
• iOS 7 interactive guide @ The Inquirer
• Toshiba announces Q series SSDs for laptop upgrades @ The Inquirer
• KEEP CALM and Carry On: PRISM itself is not a big deal @ The Register
• Computer Tips & Tricks Everyone Should Know @ TechSpot
• Symantec claims a Linux kernel exploit has been ported to Android @ The Inquirer
• Pandora to hit airwaves with terrestrial radio station buy @ The Register
• And the Winner of Next-Gen is: PlayStation 4 (Unless Microsoft Fixes Things) @ Techgage
• Disease Outbreak Threatens the Future of Good Coffee @ Slashdot

Alienware 14 Core i7 "Haswell" Gaming Laptop @ $1150

Subject: General Tech | June 12, 2013 - 01:10 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: deals

There is another Haswell based notebook on sale today, though this one packs significantly more graphical power.  The Alienware 14 on special sports a i7-4700MQ with a top speed of 3.4GHz, 8GB DDR3-1600 and a GT750M to power the 1366x768 screen with a 750GB HDD for storage.  It also has a Killer NIC to help you out during fast paced gaming online either wired or on WiFi.

Top Deal

• Just-released Alienware 14 Core i7 "Haswell" Gaming Laptop w/8GB RAM, 750GB 7200RPM Hard Drive, GeForce GT 750M graphics for $1,149 with free shipping (normally $1,199 - use $50 coupon code BHW1L0MX0D?MCX ).

Additional Deals

• 256GB Crucial M4 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s SSD (CT256M4SSD2) for $184.99 with free shipping (normally $229).
• 14" Dell Inspiron 14z Core i7 Ultrabook w/8GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive + 32GB SSD, 1GB Radeon HD 7570M & built-in Optical Drive for $749.99 with free shipping (normally $1,188.99 - use coupon code R8C7B72VL7JKD1 ). 24" Dell UltraSharp U2413 1920x1200 IPS Monitor (2013 model) for $458.99 with free shipping (normally $599.99 - use BOTH coupon codes $PX1BGTSZ3G635 and W7HWC5Q9S4V6VH ).
• HP Spectre XT 15t-4000 TouchSmart 15.6" Core i7 1080p Ultrabook for $1,049.99 with $9.99 shipping (normally $1,199.99 - use coupon code NEWPC150 ).
• Webroot SecureAnywhere Complete 2013 (5 User) for $29.99 (normally $79.99).

MSI Just Game! Giveaway

Subject: General Tech | June 11, 2013 - 04:20 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: msi, facebook, contest

Head to their Facebook page for your chance to win!

Want an new OS for your mobe? Try Ubuntu Touch ... soon

Subject: General Tech | June 11, 2013 - 03:19 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ubuntu touch

At Slashdot you can see some a preview of Ubuntu Touch, the new version of the OS meant to be used on cellphones and tablets.  Following the link will take you to a slideshow that displays some of the screens and dialogue boxes to expect from the new mobile OS, which will include a terminal program as you can see below.  Unfortunately there is little in the way of information as to what hardware will support this new mobile OS, but hey it's Linux and half the fun is getting it to run on hardware that it has never run on before!

"The first developer preview of Ubuntu Touch – aka 'Ubuntu for Phones and Tablets' – was unveiled just a few short months ago. And, just a few weeks back, it was announced that the team was shooting for having a fully functional (aka "can use it as your actual phone, on a daily basis") version by the end of May. May is now over, so Bryan Lunduke published some screenshots and analysis of the core features of the Ubuntu OS for smartphones and tablets."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• 2013 MacBook Air: PCIe SSD and Haswell ULT Inside @ AnandTech
• Xbox One vs PS4 specs comparison @ The Inquirer
• iOS 7 specs and features: Everything you need to know @ The Inquirer
• US$99 7-inch tablets may appear in 3Q13 @ DigiTimes
• Windows NT grandaddy OpenVMS taken out back, single gunshot heard @ The Register
• Chance to win bequiet! Pure Power L8 power supplies @ Kitguru

HP ENVY 15t-j000 Quad Edition Notebook (Haswell) @ $725

Subject: General Tech | June 11, 2013 - 12:10 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: deals

The new ENVY series is shipping with a Haswell chip inside, specifically the i7-4700MQ @ 3.4GHz boost, 8GB DDR3 and a 1TB HDD with no optical drive which allows for a weight under 5lbs and dimensions of 4.94 x 9.87 x 1.18".  The 15.6" screen is 1366 x 768 which may disappoint some prospective buyers however with HDMI out you should be able to use the HD4600 to send 1080p to an external display.

Top Deal

• 15.6" HP ENVY 15t-j000 Quad Edition 4th-gen Core i7 "Haswell" Laptop for $724.99 with $9.99 shipping (normally $799.99 - use coupon code NEWPC75 ).

Additional Deals

• 29" Dell UltraSharp U2913WM panoramic 2560x1080 LED-backlit LCD Monitor for $479.99 with free shipping (normally $699.99 - use coupon code FNR?FNNWG4T1FD and W7HWC5Q9S4V6VH ).
• True Innovations Sport Mesh Mid-Back Chair for $64.99 with free shipping (normally $145.99 - use coupon code 1SWS81789Z348C )
•  Dell XPS 8700 Core i7-4770 3.4GHz "Haswell" Quad-core Desktop w/8GB RAM, Radeon HD 7570 & 23" UltraSharp Monitor for $849.99 with free shipping (normally $1,174.99 - use coupon code 0H9Q3PQ6L3744C ).
• Rare discount! 7" HP Slate 7 8GB, Android 4.1 Tablet w/1.6GHz ARM Cortex A9 Processor, Beats Audio, Accelerometer & 1024x600 Multi-touch screen for $149.99 with free shipping (normally $169.99 - use coupon code LOGICBUY20 ).
• LG Escape 4G LTE 4.3" Android Smartphone [w/new 2-year AT&T contract] for $0 with free shipping (normally $349.99 without contract).
• Webroot SecureAnywhere Complete 2013 (5 User) for $29.99 (normally $79.99).

WWDC 13: Dissecting Apple's New Hardware Changes. MacBook Air and the new Mac Pro.

Subject: Editorial, General Tech, Systems, Shows and Expos | June 11, 2013 - 04:06 AM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: wwdc 13, MacBook Air, Mac Pro, apple

Sometimes our "Perspective" is needed on Apple announcements because some big points just do not get covered by the usual sources. Other times, portions of the story can be relevant to our readers. This is one of those days where both are true. Either side should review our thoughts and analysis of Apple's recent ultrabook and, especially, their upcoming desktop offerings.

The MacBook Air has been, predictably, upgraded Intel's Haswell processors. Battery life is the first obvious benefit of the CPU, and that has been well reported. The 11-inch MacBook Air gains an extra four hours of battery life, usable for up to 9 hours between charges. The extra space on the 13-inch MacBook Air allows it to last 12 hours between charges.

Less discussed, both MacBook Airs will contain Intel's Iris iGPU more commonly known as Intel HD 5000. You cannot get Intel HD 5000 graphics without selecting a BGA socket component which you would install by soldering it in place. While there are several better solutions from competing GPU vendors, Apple will have one of the first shipping implementations of Haswell's canonical graphics processor. Iris is said to have double the performance of previous generation Ivy Bridge graphics for a fraction of its power consumption.

Also included in the MacBook Air is an 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi network adapter and Bluetooth 4.0. Apple is not typically known to introduce new standards and often lags severely behind what is available on the PC unless they had a hand in trademarking it, USB 3.0 being the obvious and recent example.

The specifications will be somewhat customizable, the user is able to select between: an i5 and an i7 processor, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and 128, 256, or 512GB SSD. It has shipped the day it was announced with base prices ranging between $999 for an entry-level 11-inch and $1099 for an entry-level 13-inch.

But now we move on to the dying industry, desktop PCs, where all innovation has died unless it is to graft a touch interface to anything and everything.

"Can't innovate any more, my ass", grunts Phil Schiller, on the keynote stage.

Whether you like it, or think "innovation" is the best word, it's a legitimate new design some will want.

While the new Mac Pro is not a system that I would be interested in purchasing, for issues I will outline soon, these devices are what some users really want. I have been a very strong proponent of OEM devices as they highlight the benefit of the PC industry: choice. You can purchase a device, like the new Mac Pro, from a vendor; alternatively, you can purchase the components individually to assemble yourself and save a lot of money; otherwise, you can hire a small business computer store or technician.

We need more companies, like Apple, to try new devices and paradigms for workstations and other high-performance devices. While it is less ideal for Apple to be the ones coming up with these redesigns, Apple's platform encourages applications to be vendor-specific (only run on a Mac), it can still benefit the PC industry by demonstrating that life and demand still exists; trying something new could reap large benefits. Not everyone wants to have a full ATX case with discrete components but still want workstation performance, and that is okay.

Now when it comes to actual specifications, the typical coverage glossed over what could be easily approximated by a trip to Wikipedia and Google. Sure, some may have been in a rush within the auditorium, but still.

The specifications are:

• Intel Xeon E5-2600 V2-class CPU, Ivy Bridge-E, 12 cores max (suggests single-socket)
• 4-channel DDR3 ECC RAM, apparently 4 DIMMS which suggests 4x16GB (Max).
• Dual FirePro GPUs, 4096 total shaders with 2x6GB GDDR5.
  • Pretty clearly based on FirePro W9000
  • Seems to be slightly underclocked, losing about 0.5 Teraflop per GPU.
• PCIe SSD
• Thunderbolt 2, USB3.0, and WiFi ac (+ a/b/g/n??), Bluetooth 4.0

Now the downside is that basically anything you wish to add to the Mac Pro needs to be done through Thunderbolt, Bluetooth 4.0, or USB 3.0. When you purchase an all-in-one custom design, you forfeit your ability to reach in and modify the components. There is also no mention of pricing, and for a computer with this shoplist you should expect to pay a substantial invoice even without "The Apple Tax", but that is not the point of purchasing a high-end workstation. Apple certainly put in as close to the best-of-the-best as they could.

Now could people stop claiming the PC is dead and work towards sustaining it? I know people love stories of jarring industry shifts, but this is ridiculous.

WWDC, not WWSJD

Subject: General Tech | June 10, 2013 - 01:01 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: apple, ios 7, mac, wwdc

If you are wondering what is going on in the computer world on the other side of the fence, you are either watching the live stream from Microsoft (which will not always be on, regardless of their slogan), or you are wearing a black turtleneck and counting down the hours until the big reveal.  Apple is, as always, rather secretive about what the next new release is but The Inquirer has a few well informed hypothesis about what you can expect.  The most interesting will probably be the new operating systems, the new iOS, the first mobile interface designed by Jony Ive and likely to be somewhat different from previous incarnations.  Desktop devices will also be seeing a new interface with the arrival of OS X 10.9, this will likely not change to the extent of the mobile version but it might arrive on a peice of new hardware for you to salivate over.  Their last informed guess is the arrival of iRadio to compete with Spotify and other streaming providers, though completely conjoined to your iTunes account

"SOFTWARE GIANT Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is just a few hours away, with excitement building over what analysts are calling Apple's most important announcements to date.

The firm is widely expected to unveil its next generation iOS and Mac operating systems, as well as its long-awaited Spotify rival, so here's a rundown of what we can expect."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• The TR Podcast 135: All's well that's Haswell
• Sneaky new Android Trojan is WORST yet discovered @ The Register
• Samsung Galaxy Note 12.2 leaks, set for third quarter release @ The Inquirer
• Google To Buy Waze For $1.3 Billion @ Slashdot
• Live from Microsoft's Xbox E3 2013 press conference

Dell UltraSharp U2413 1920 x 1200 24" IPS @ $459

Subject: General Tech | June 10, 2013 - 12:18 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: deals

Dell's UltraSharp U2413 1920 x 1200 24" IPS claims a 6ms response time which makes it suitable for gaming, as well as offering superior colour support.  As it is a new model it supports HDMI, DisplayPort 1.2, DVI-D and mini DisplayPort inputs as well as acting as a 4-port USB 3.0 hub.

Top Deal

• 24-inch Dell UltraSharp U2413 1920x1200 IPS Monitor (2013 model) w/USB 3.0 hub, DisplayPort, miniDisplayPort & 3-year warranty for $458.99 with free shipping (normally $599.99 - use BOTH coupon codes $PX1BGTSZ3G635 and W7HWC5Q9S4V6VH ).

Additional Deals

• 1TB Seagate Barracuda SATA 6Gbps 3.5" Internal Desktop Hard Drive (ST1000DM003) for $62.99 with free shipping (normally $69.99 - use coupon code 6XR$VZZ$QF35T9 ).
• 17.3-inch HP ENVY 17t-j000 4th-gen Core i7 "Haswell" Laptop for $749.99 with $9.99 shipping (normally $899.99 - use coupon code NEWPC150 ).
• 15.6-inch Dell Inspiron 15R 3rd-gen Core i5 Touchscreen Laptop for $649.99 with free shipping (normally $799.99 - use coupon code 0H9Q3PQ6L3744C ).
• HP ENVY h8-1360t Core i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad-core Desktop w/ Windows 7 for $549.99 with $9.99 shipping (normally $949.99 - use coupon code NEWPC150 ).

Computex 2013: The Comedic Return of the Ultra GPUs

Subject: Editorial, General Tech, Graphics Cards, Shows and Expos | June 10, 2013 - 02:49 AM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: Ultra, geforce titan, computex

So long to Computex 2013, we barely knew thee. You poured stories all over our news feed for more than a whole week. What say you, another story for the... metaphorical road... between here... and... Taipei? Okay, so the metaphorical road is bumpy and unpaved, work with me.

It was substantially more difficult to decipher the name of a video card a number of years ago. Back then, products would be classified by their model numbers and often assigned a suffix like: "Ultra", "Pro", or "LE". These suffixes actually meant a lot, performing noticeably better (or maybe worse) than the suffix-less number and possibly even overlapping with other number-classes.

Image Credit: zol.com.cn via Tom's Hardware

Just when they were gone long enough for us to miss them, the suffixes might make some measure of a return. On the show floor, Colorful exhibited the NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan Ultra Edition. This card uses a standard slightly-disabled GK110-based GeForce GTX Titan GPU, with the usual 2688 CUDA cores, and 6GB of GDDR5. While the GK110 chip has potential for 2880 CUDA cores, NVIDIA has not released any product (not even Tesla or Quadro) with more than 2688 CUDA cores enabled. Colorful's Titan Ultra and the reference Titan are electrically identical; this "Ultra" version just adds a water block for a cooling system and defaults to some amount of a factory overclock.

But, this is not the first time we have heard of a Titan Ultra...

Back in April, ExtremeTech found a leak for two official products: the GTX Titan LE and the GTX Titan Ultra. While the LE would be slightly stripped down compared to the full GTX Titan, the GTX Titan Ultra would be NVIDIA's first release of a GK110 part without any CUDA cores disabled.

So if that rumor ends up being true, you could choose between Colorful's GTX Titan Ultra with its partially disabled GK110 based on the full GTX Titan design; or, you could choose the reference GTX Titan Ultra based on a full GK110 GPU unlike the partially disabled GK110 on the full GTX Titan.

If you are feeling nostalgic... that might actually be confusion... as this is why suffixes went away.

OCZ Releases Haswell PSU Compatibility List

Subject: General Tech | June 7, 2013 - 10:58 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: power supply, ocz, haswell, c7, c6

OCZ recently posted a list of its power supplies that are fully compatible with Intel's new 4th Generation Core "Haswell" CPUs and their new C6 and C7 processor sleep states. The new sleep states can draw as little as 0.05A from the 12V rail, and not all power supplies (especially older models) were built with that use case in mind. Somewhat paradoxically, as power supplies have ramped up in Wattage and power delivery characterists, other PC internals have started moving in the other direction towards increased power efficiency and lower power usage overall.

OCZ seems well prepared for Haswell, however, with a number of PSUs that are already fully compatible with Haswell CPUs. Even going as far back as its Z Series which launched in 2009 are compatible, which is comforting.

The full list of Haswell compatible OCZ power supplies is available below.

• MK III Silencer
  • PPCMK3S1200
  • PPCMK3S850
  • PPCMK3S750
• MK II Silencer
  • PPCMK2S950
  • PPCMK2S750
  • PPCMK2S650
• Fatal1ty Gaming Series
  • OCZ-FTY1000W
• ZX Series
  • OCZ-ZX1250W
  • OCZ-ZX1000W
  • OCZ-ZX850W
• Z Series (EOL)
  • OCZZ1000M
  • OCZZ85M

With that said, even if your OCZ (or PC Power & Cooling) power supply is not on this list, it will still work in systems that utilize Intel Haswell processors. However, you will not be able to take advantage of the new power sipping C6 and C7 sleep states.

As the launch of Haswell approaches, more and more PSU manufacturers are releasing compatibility information. So far, the following companies have put together compatibility lists.

• Be Quiet!
• Corsair
• Enermax
• Seasonic

E3 2013: Serious Sam 4, Humble Bundle, 4 Serious?

Subject: General Tech, Shows and Expos | June 7, 2013 - 08:21 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: serious sam, E3 13, E3

We still have another 5-or-so days left on the Serious Sam Humble Weekly Sale and so if you were interested in donating a bunch of money for mindless shooters, you still have a chance. Also, you apparently have another reason to do so.

Crowdfunding is popular these days, we even did it. Basically anyone can set up a project, collect money from random people on the internet, and give perks in return. In this case, according to PC Gamer, Croteam is apparently using revenue collected from the Humble Bundle to fund the creation of the next Serious Sam: Serious Sam 4.

If you wish to snag a bunch of Serious Sam games for yourself or your friends, all while supporting Croteam and their future titles, then donate to the Humble Sale by Thursday, June 13th, 2013 at (I believe) 2PM EDT. By the way, that is the last official day of E3.

E3 2013: Thief trailer & confirmed PC, PS4, and Xbox One

Subject: General Tech, Shows and Expos | June 7, 2013 - 06:24 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: E3, E3 13, thief, Thief 4

The pre-expo press conferences are still three days out but only suckers want to get swamped in the press coverage, right? It is like people who leave work two days early to beat the traffic caused by people leaving a day early from a long weekend to beat traffic. This is all like that, if it were directed by Michael Bay.

And speaking of live action E3 movies, Eidos released a trailer for their upcoming Thief reboot. I really cannot tell which sections are in-engine, which are pre-rendered, and which are live action. As for the game? Well, all I know is that you are going to be stealing stuff.

Thief will be coming to the PC, PS4, and Xbox One sometime in 2014.

Let us play a little game here: what do you think is in-engine; what do you think is pre-rendered; and what do you think is live action? Let us know in the comments.

Computex 2013: New Haswell-Ready PSUs From SeaSonic Pictured

Subject: General Tech, Cases and Cooling, Shows and Expos | June 7, 2013 - 03:56 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: seasonic, PSU, m12II evo, m12II bronze, haswell, computex 2013, computex

Following Intel's announcement of new Haswell sleep states, various power supply manufacturers have released compatibility lists detailing which PSUs are able to deliver the low load necessary to support the power sipping sleep states on the 12V rail (which has not been much of a concern until Haswell).

One such PSU manufacturer was Seasonic, who has quite a few Haswell-ready power supplies across several lineups including its Platinum, G, and M12II series, among others. Included in that compatibility list were two new power supplies that Seasonic is showing off at Computex this week: the Seasonic Platinum 1200 and Seasonic M12II Bronze Evo Edition.

SeaSonic Platinum 1200

The Platinum 1200 is a high-end modular power supply that is capable of powering beefy multi-GPU setups. It is 80+ Platinum rated and is up to 92% efficient at 50% load.

Sesonic M12II Bronze Evo Edition

The Seasonic M12II Bronze Evo Edition is an updated version on past models and includes two SKUs that come in at 750W and 850W. It is a fully modular unit with flat black cables and fan control tech. It is 80+ Bronze and Energy Star rated, and is compatible with Intel's 4th Generation Core processors.

Also read: The full list of Haswell-compatible Seasonic power supplies @ PC Perspective.

ARM was right, they can steal server rooms from under the noses of AMD and Intel

Subject: General Tech | June 7, 2013 - 03:18 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: arm, 64bit, servers

With Calxeda and Applied Micro showing off ARM64 based servers at Computex this year, in addition to the existing products coming from Marvell and Dell, DigiTimes prediction that 64bit ARM processors will quickly grow in popularity seems to be based in fact.  It was not too long ago that many thought that ARM was fooling themselves if they thought they could take server space from AMD and Intel but it looks like they were right to develop server chips.  With low power usage becoming more popular than processor overkill and modularity growing in importance ARM seems poised to perform far beyond expectations.  Expect to see a lot more new on ARM64 processors and products over the coming months.

"Although Intel platforms are still the mainstream in the server industry, since 64-bit products have a broader range of applications, and ARM has been aggressively promoting related products, sources from the server industry expect more 64-bit ARM-based products to appear in the market between the end of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• One Year After World IPv6 Launch — Are We There Yet? @ Slashdot
• The best and worst of Computex 2013 @ The Inquirer
• YES, Xbox One DOES need internet, DOES restrict game trading @ The Register
• Interview: Steve Jackson, role-playing game titan @ The Register
• Neteller vs Payoneer - Online Payment and Prepaid Cards @ FunkyKit
• How to Install Linux @ Linux.com