CTO Eric Demers to Leave AMD

Subject: Editorial, Graphics Cards | February 14, 2012 - 02:13 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: demers, cto, amd

An interesting quarter for AMD continues as I learned today that AMD's Corporate Vice President and CTO of the Graphics Business Unit, Eric Demers, has decided to leave the company.  Having just had dinner with Eric and other AMD executives last week I am more than surprised about this sudden change since Demers' opinions of the roadmap for AMD were very positive.

First, here is the official statement from AMD:

"Eric Demers, AMD Corporate Vice President and CTO, Graphics Business Unit, has decided leave AMD to pursue other opportunities.

AMD Chief Technology Officer Mark Papermaster will assume interim responsibility for the Graphics Business Unit CTO role until a replacement is found.

AMD remains fully committed to our critical graphics IP development and discrete GPU products.  We have a tremendous depth of talent in our organization, a game plan that is resonating with our customers and our team, and we are continuing to bring graphics-performance-leading products to market.  We will attract the right technology leader for this role.

We thank Eric for his contributions to the business and wish him well in his future endeavors."

As is usually the case with these types of announcements, everyone is being very hush-hush about where Demers will finally land though I can confirm that it is neither Intel nor NVIDIA.  For those of you in the know about the industry and its current direction, that doesn't leave a lot of other options and we are quite positive he will find a spot that fits his expertise.  

Eric's background goes back quite a ways and includes stops at SGI, ArtX, Matrox, ATI and finally AMD.  He has been with ATI/AMD since April of 2000 (when David Orton first arrived from ATI) and rose to become the Chief Technology Officer of the graphics division as of mid-2009.  I have personally known Eric as one of the best sources of knowledge about GPUs and technology shifts and I will miss being able to question him on the design decisions being made in our industry.

For AMD, this move comes right after the drastic shift announced by AMD's new CEO Rory Read and new CTO Mark Papermaster to turn AMD into an SoC company.  I attended that same analyst day and came away from the event feeling upbeat about the direction of the company and the individuals at the helm, Demers being one of them.  The loss of Eric's talents will definitely be missed though with the rest of the team intact I don't think we'll see any immediate negative impacts from his departure.  Longer term though, we'll just have to see.  

The AMD rep I spoke with reiterated that this move had nothing to do with the newly hired executives and wasn't caused by any kind of internal disagreements.  Also, Demers did not express any kind of dissatisfaction with the direction of the company from a technological standpoint either.  While that is good to hear, you just don't leave a company after 12+ years without some reasons even if that reason is a better opportunity somewhere else.

Update on 2/14/2012 @ 11:53pm EST: According to this update from TheVerge.com, Demers may in fact end up at Qualcomm, the largest SoC vendor on the planet.  

We're hearing rumors that Demers will actually show up for work at Qualcomm, an interesting choice indeed: the company purchased AMD's mobile graphics division and Imageon media processor back in 2009. You now know it as Qualcomm Adreno, and it's the graphics solution in all Snapdragon-powered tablets and phones.

Happy VAD from the Hewletts

Subject: Editorial | February 14, 2012 - 12:06 PM | Josh Walrath
Tagged: Valentine's Day, Kate Hewlett, David Hewlett, Assassidate

Last week David Hewlett was kind enough to drop by for our Podcast on TWiT, and this week he has put the finishing touches on his latest webisode from the Assassidate series!  In honor of Valentine's Day, David and his sister Kate explore the dark underbelly of the Valentine Annihilation Group and the giving of inappropriate cards and gifts.

AMD Verdetrol 1GHz Prescription Pills Arrive at PC Perspective

Subject: Editorial, General Tech, Graphics Cards | February 9, 2012 - 08:48 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: amd, radeon, southern islands

Working from home comes with a host of stereotypes and assumptions that the rest of world places on people like myself.  I am often accused of working in my underwear, not showering through day-long stretches, not working and instead playing games all day and of course, being a drug dealer.  And NOTHING perpetuates that vision from the outside world like an overnight UPS package arriving with the sound of rattling pills inside.  This is what greeted me after my delivering smirked away:

In preparation for an upcoming graphics launch AMD thought up a pretty interesting marketing campaign geared around a "Verdetrol 1GHz" drug that will apparently help the reviewing community "enhance performance".  Hmph.

Actually contained within are 28 jelly beans (get it, 28nm???) of a flavor I can't quite detect though I am guessing they are somehow related to this.  And of course, these pills are for "external use only" - a healthy warning.

The telephone number is listed as 905-555-7770 so you can probably guess what the hubbub is all about.

And while the directions state to take one tablet daily by fan intake, we were never one to conform.

Podcast #188 - Featuring David Hewlett - White Space Wireless, AMD and NVIDIA GPU roadmaps, Hard Drives with lasers and more!

Subject: Editorial, General Tech | February 9, 2012 - 04:08 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: wireless, whitespace, ssd, podcast, nvidia, mdt, intel 520, Intel, gpu, APU, amd

PC Perspective Podcast #188 - 02/09/2012

Join us this week as we talk about White Space Wireless, AMD and NVIDIA GPU roadmaps, Hard Drives with lasers and more!

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: Ryan Shrout, Josh Walrath, Allyn Malvantano, and David Hewlett

This Podcast is brought to you by MSI Computer, and their all new Sandy Bridge Motherboards!

Program length: 1:44:27

Program Schedule:

1. 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. 0:01:30 Introduction with David
   1. Okay, seriously, how nerdy are you really?
   2. What kind of hardware systems and specs do you have?
   3. What games are you playing today?  
6. 0:13:25 AMD Processor and GPU Roadmaps Through 2013
7. 0:28:30 Galaxy MDT GeForce GT 520 Graphics Card Review
8. 0:32:00 Intel 520 Series SSD Full Review - SandForce on Steroids?
9. 0:43:00 This Podcast is brought to you by MSI Computer, and their all new Sandy Bridge Motherboards!
   
10. 0:45:05 White Space Wireless Discussion
    1. Links for reference: - Wikipedia, US Radio Spectrum Chart (2003), 
11. 0:56:00 Increased Hard Drive Write Speed and Density - Using Frickin' Lasers
12. 1:02:00 An academic collaboration leads to a GPU/CPU collaboration
13. 1:07:25 AMD shows 18mm thin reference ultrathin notebook based on Trinity
14. 1:11:05 Tablets / Ultrabooks in Schools
    1. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204369404577209142710109710.html
15. 1:16:45 NVIDIA Kepler Graphics Cards Lineup Leak To Web
16. 1:22:30 PC Perspective Office Tour - Feb 6th, 2012
17. 1:26:40 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
    1. Ryan: Just in time for Valentine's Day...
    2. Jeremy: Now that's how you make a contest!
    1. Josh: Just got one for the wife. For great justice.
    2. Allyn: ioSafe SoloPRO
    3. David: Samsung Flexible Displays
18. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
19. http://pcper.com/podcast   
20. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
21. Closing

David Hewlett Joins PCPer for an Evening

Subject: Editorial | February 8, 2012 - 10:10 AM | Josh Walrath
Tagged: Ryan Shrout, podcast, PC Perspective, Josh Walrath, Jeremy Hellstrom, David Hewlett, Allyn Malventano

The Feb. 8 PC Perspective show on TWiT will feature special guest host David Hewlett.  David is most famously known as Dr. Rodney McKay from the Stargate television series (one of the few actors to actually show up in all three series).  He also directed, produced, and starred in the indy hit, "A Dog's Breakfast".

David is a self-proclaimed nerd and geek with a keen interest in technology.  In his misspent youth he would build his own computers and attempt some assembly coding (with limited success).  After achieving much greater success in the acting world he switched over to Macs once they adopted their current Unix/BSD based operating system.  A proud owner of a Macbook Air, iPhone, and iPad, 

Current interests include the new "white space" wireless technologies, iPad in schools, and new distribution models for TV and film through primarily online media.  David has also started a new web series with his sister, Kate Hewlett, called "Assassidate".  Currently one episode is online and the next two are in production.

David will be sharing his opinions and insights on the changing focus of technology in an increasingly mobile and connected world.  He will be piping in on several of our articles, especially that of AMD's changing focus for their upcoming products.  He might even chime in on the plight of Matthew in Season 2 of Downton Abbey.  That's just the way he rolls.

So join us all at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT at http://live.twit.tv (or just use the widget below!) on Wednesday, February 8, 2012 for this very special show!  DH-Day -1!

You can follow David on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dhewlett.

PC Perspective Office Tour - Feb 6th, 2012

Subject: Editorial | February 6, 2012 - 11:00 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: pcper, office tour

Since we started talking about plans for the brand new PC Perspective office on the podcast I had some requests to keep readers in the loop as to how construction and installation were progressing.  While I forgot to take a video before the walls came down, Ken and I stopped running Cat 6 cable long enough to take a short video and walk you through where we stand today.

You won't see much but some networking, drywall, ceiling and electrical work being done but if you want an idea of how the process is all starting, this is first look at our new studio and testing office!

If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

Podcast #187 - Our thoughts on Ultrabooks, the Radeon HD 7950, ASUS DirectCU GTX cards, and more!

Subject: Editorial, General Tech | February 2, 2012 - 03:11 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: ssd, sandforce, radeon, podcast, patriot, nvidia, Intel, gtx, arm, amd, 7950

PC Perspective Podcast #187 - 02/02/2012

Join us this week as we talk about our thoughts on Ultrabooks, the Radeon HD 7950, ASUS DirectCU GTX cards, and more!

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: Ryan Shrout, Josh Walrath, Jeremy Hellstrom, and Allyn Malvantano

This Podcast is brought to you by MSI Computer, and their all new Sandy Bridge Motherboards!

Program length: 58:02

Program Schedule:

1. 0:00:40 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. 0:01:20 Ultrabooks: Intel Knows What's Good For You
6. 0:08:30 Patriot Pyro and Wildfire SSD Review - IMFT Async vs. Toshiba Toggle-mode Flash
7. 0:14:20 AMD Radeon HD 7950 3GB Graphics Card Review
8. 0:25:50 This Podcast is brought to you by MSI Computer, and their all new Sandy Bridge Motherboards!
   
9. 0:26:38 Asus DirectCU II Roundup: ENGTX560, ENGTX570, and ENGTX580 Review
10. 0:40:35 Raspberry Pi Linux Computer Will Have Fast GPU For The Price
11. 0:44:20 If you thought Intel did well wait until you see ARM
12. 0:47:00 AMD 7700 and 7800 Release Dates Leak To Web
13. 0:51:20 Live Blog: AMD Financial Analyst Day
14. 0:52:20 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
    1. Ryan: Radeon HD 7950 Cards
    2. Jeremy: I'm giddy as a schoolgirl, albeit a very mercenary one
    1. Josh: And it is on sale! $770 off!
    2. Allyn: Corsair Force 3 - very good pricing.
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

Live Blog: AMD Financial Analyst Day

Subject: Editorial, Graphics Cards, Processors | February 2, 2012 - 12:31 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: reports, gpu, fad, cpu, APU, analyst, amd

Consider this fair warning: tomorrow here at PC Perspective you will learn the future of AMD.  Sound over dramatic?  We don't think so.  After a pretty interesting year in 2011 for the company and AMD has said on several occasions that this year's Financial Analyst Day was going to reveal a lot about what the future holds for them on the GPU, CPU and APU front.  

Hopefully we will learn what AMD plans to do after the cancelation of the second-generation of ultra lower power APUs, how important discrete graphics will be going forward and what life there is for the processor architecture after Bulldozer.  

We will be in Sunnyvale at the AMD campus covering the event and we will be holding a live blog at the same time...right here.  The event starts at 9am PST on February 2nd, aso be sure you set your calendars and bookmark this page for all the news!!

Happy Birthday Frank Miller!

Subject: Editorial | January 27, 2012 - 06:17 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: friday

It has been a while since we revisited our Forum members favourite antivirus programs, which is rectified by this thread right here.  In the Networking Forum you may find a brand new favourite storage device from iOmega, even if the dreaded 'Cloud' word is used.  Over in the Processor Forum you can get some good upgrade advice ... as in some times you don't need to unless you only use the machine for synthetic benchmarking.  Other times, the upgrade is very much worth it as long as you choose the right part for the job.

If you are a gamer and a PCPer and have yet to join the Fraggin' Frogs, shame on you!  Every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 8PM Eastern time you will find them playing a random game; right now it is a good chance of BF3 on the PCPer server.  When you aren't gaming, have you considered joining up with the Folding Frogs or one of our BOINC teams and donate your spare CPU cycles to cure cancer, spot pulsars or even help chug data from the LHC?   If you'd rather generate heat of a different sort, the current GOP candidate race has the Lightning Round sparking.   Remember, the more you post the more people will read and join in on the discussions on our forums, positive feedback in the most literal sense!

Podcast #186 - Gigabyte GTX 580 Super OC, Intel and AMD Results, Kepler Rumors and more!

Subject: Editorial | January 26, 2012 - 05:10 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: video, podcast, kepler, Intel, HD 7970, GTX 580, gigabyte, amd

PC Perspective Podcast #186 - 01/26/2012

Join us this week as we talk about a Gigabyte GTX 580 Super Overclock card, how much money Intel and AMD made (or didn't make), Kepler rumors, HD 7970 stock and more!

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: Ryan Shrout, Josh Walrath, Jeremy Hellstrom, and Allyn Malvantano

This Podcast is brought to you by MSI Computer, and their all new Sandy Bridge Motherboards!

Program length: 1:02:56

Program Schedule:

1. 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. Puget Systems Genesis I Sandy Bridge-E Workstation Review
6. Gigabyte GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB Super Overclock - Last Hurrah for Fermi
7. Intel Reports Massive Q4 and Yearly Earnings
8. AMD Announces Q4 2011 Results
9. Are AMD's Southern Islands about to be swamped by a Kepler tidal wave?
10. LaCie's Little Big Disk now comes in Thunderbolt
11. AMD Radeon HD 7970 3GB Cards In Stock - For Now
12. AMD Catalyst 12.1 and AMD Catalyst 12.2 Preview drivers
13. Email from Scott
14. Email from Branden
15. Email from abouechot an Intel SRT "hack"
16. Voicemail about memory qualification on X79
17. Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
    1. Ryan: MAINGEAR EPIC T1000 Thermal Cooling Solution
    2. Jeremy: Remember MakerBot and RepRap?  Well, 3D printing keeps getting better
    1. Josh: I love memory.
    2. Allyn: Logitech c920 WIIIDE SCREEEEN
18. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
19. http://pcper.com/podcast   
20. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
21. Closing

RIP Etta James, your voice will be missed

Subject: Editorial | January 20, 2012 - 06:18 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: friday

It has been a while since we last visited the PC Perspective Forums, what with the holidays and CES taking up large amounts of time, so it is only proper to take a look at what has been going on.  One member is having troubles with their gaming rig, not during gaming though, only when trying to watch Netflix, while another has been tasked to build a secure connection between a Doctor's office and a remote server. 

If you are looking to build a high end system, check out this mega-post covering the setup and performance of a Core i7-3960 and GIGABYTE G1.Assassin2 utilizing Intel's self contained watercooler.  The Processor Forum has threads pointing out the limited benefits of switching an i7-920 for an i5-2500K while the Cases'n'Cooling Forum features a Cooler Master Storm Enforcer which has been modded into an homage to Dead Space 2.  There is also an in depth look at how to make your own 3 bay, 5 drive adapter. 

The Audio forum offers up some suggestions to a user with broken leads on their motherboard while in the Storage Forum the imminent death of a Caviar Black drive is discussed.  Our Small Form Factor Forum has plenty of discussion about tablets and the Trading Post is stuffed with new For Sale threads.  Head on over to the Forums and see what you can learn, teach or both!

Podcast #185 - ASUS EeePad Transformer Prime, an overclocked XFX HD7970, AMDs Lightning Bolt and more!

Subject: Editorial | January 19, 2012 - 07:05 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: podcast, Intel, amd, ssd, hdd, nvidia, kepler, GK104, gpu, cpu

PC Perspective Podcast #185 - 01/19/2011

Join us this week as we talk about the ASUS EeePad Transformer Prime, an overclocked XFX HD7970, AMDs Lightning Bolt and more!

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: Ryan Shrout, Josh Walrath, Jeremy Hellstrom, and Allyn Malvantano

This Podcast is brought to you by MSI Computer, and their all new Sandy Bridge Motherboards!

Program length: 1:25:22

Program Schedule:

1. 0:00:26 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. 0:00:55 SOPA and PIPA Chat...
6. 0:06:35 ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime Review: Thinner, Faster
7. 0:07:23 Acer Extensa 5420 Retrospective Review: How Far Have We Come?
   
8. 0:10:15 Corsair Hydro Series H100 Liquid CPU Cooler Review
9. 0:11:10 Video Perspective: Cooler Master Cosmos II Case Review
10. 0:14:00 XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Black Edition and CrossFire Results
11. 0:22:45 AMD and IBM inside the Xbox Next?
12. 0:31:30 Lucid Cloud Gaming (VGWare) and XLR8 on Tablets Demo
13. 0:44:55 Nvidia May Launch GF104 "Kepler" GPUs Ahead Of Schedule
14. 0:51:00 AMD Lightning Bolt Strikes At Intel's Thunderbolt
15. 0:53:00 AMD Countering Ultrabooks With Ultrathin Notebooks
16. 0:55:00 Random Storage stuff at CES? also this link
17. 1:05:00 Alienware X51 Desktop -- Console Sized PC, $700 and up.
18. 1:10:30 Email from Tom about 7970 CrossFire
19. 1:13:34 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
    1. Ryan: Behringer XENYX 802
    2. Jeremy: EVGA SR-X
    1. Josh: Decent and cheap for the AMD enthusiast:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103962
    2. Allyn: Mophie Juice Pack Powerstation, oh, and my current house rep is my anti-pick
20. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
21. http://pcper.com/podcast   
22. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
23. Closing 

CES Day 4 Podcast - 1/11/2012

Subject: Editorial, General Tech | January 12, 2012 - 11:04 AM | Ken Addison
Tagged: ultrabook, razer, podcast, nvidia, Intel, CES, amd

PC Perspective CES 2012 Day 4 - 1/11/12

Join us tonight as we talk about our final full day of CES 2012 - including yet more Ultrabooks, New products from Razer, and our closing thoughts on this years show.

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: Ryan Shrout, Josh Walrath, Matt Smith and Allyn Malventano

PC Perspective's CES 2012 coverage is sponsored by MSI Computer.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!

CES 2012 Day 3 Podcast - 1/10/2012

Subject: Editorial | January 11, 2012 - 08:36 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: ssd, podcast, ocz, nvidia, Intel, gpu, CES, amd

PC Perspective CES 2012 Day 3 - 1/10/12

Join us tonight as we talk about our third full day of CES 2012 - including a new entry level Corsair Case, a Thunderbolt external GPU enclosure, and Ivy Bridge motherboards!

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: Ryan Shrout, Josh Walrath, Matt Smith and Allyn Malventano

PC Perspective's CES 2012 coverage is sponsored by MSI Computer.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!

CES 2012 Day 2 Podcast - 1/9/12

Subject: Editorial, Shows and Expos | January 10, 2012 - 04:45 AM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: ultrabook, Transformer, spectre, podcast, memo, Intel, hp, envy, CES, asus

PC Perspective CES 2012 Day 2 - 1/9/12

Join us tonight as we talk about our second full day of CES 2012 - including Digital Experience, ASUS, more from OCZ, Thermaltake and more!!

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: Ryan Shrout, Josh Walrath, Matt Smith and Allyn Malventano

PC Perspective's CES 2012 coverage is sponsored by MSI Computer.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!

CES 2012 Day 1 Podcast - 1/8/2012

Subject: Editorial | January 9, 2012 - 02:34 AM | Ken Addison
Tagged: podcast, CES, Intel, amd, nvidia, ocz, ssd, thunderbolt, hdd, Lenovo, laptop, ultrabook

PC Perspective CES 2012 Day 1 - 1/8/2012

Join us tonight as we talk about our first day of CES 2012 - including Storage Visions, CES Unveiled and more!

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: Ryan Shrout, Josh Walrath, Matt Smith and Allyn Malventano

PC Perspective's CES 2012 coverage is sponsored by MSI Computer.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!

PC Per(sonal) Game of the Year 2011

Subject: Editorial, General Tech | January 8, 2012 - 02:36 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: opinion, gaming, game of the year, fps, deus ex: human revolution, deus ex

I have to say that 2011 was a pretty good year for PC gaming. Sure, it wasn't without some drab moments; however the diamonds in the rough more than made up for it. Those gems are the PC games that especially stood out for being of quality stock and most of all were awesomely fun.

Skyrim and Battlefield 3 have received a good deal of attention and praise among the PC Per staff, but I'm going to toss the guys a curve ball and name Deus Ex: Human Revolution as my personal favorite PC Game of the Year 2011. Here's why!

Well, first a bit of history. Growing up, I was always a big PC gamer (earliest game I remember is Digger on an actually floppy floppy disk), but somehow missed the first Deus Ex. I read about it year after year on various technology and gaming sites' "Greatest PC Games of All Time" lists, but somehow never picked it up. A couple years ago, I saw it pop up on a Steam sale, so (naturally) I bought it and gave it a shot. There was a lot of hype behind it, and as such it had a lot to live up to.

Try taking away my equiptment now!

Unfortunately, it never really came close to living up to all of the hype and praise that people gave it. That is not to say that it's a bad game, just that compared to the newer games that I was used to it wasn't my personal favorite. From the perspective of comparing it with games of its time, it certainly is an interesting release and relatively really good. Compared to the much improved graphics, controls, budgets, and hardware of years later (when I finally played it); however, it simply did not measure up. One of my main gripes with the game was that the AI was not all that great and at some points would have super vision that could spot me from a football field away in the shadows. Had I played it when it came out and had games of that era to compare it to, (and the nostalgic love) I'm sure I would be among those singing it's praises but as a late comer to the game I just wasn't interested.

While PC gamers grew up with Deus Ex, I grew up with the Metal Gear Solid series and I absolutely loved sneaking around and being Solid Snake. Sure, the story was a crazy one, but the same could be said for Deus Ex. That's not to say that I didn't play PC games like Doom 3 (I went from Wolfenstein 3D to Doom 3 due to not growing up with constant internet access living out in the boonies and not having the money for a powerful GPU) but that the games that most stick around in my mind as favorites and fond memories were things like MGS (whereas others may have held Deus Ex for example). I did find Deus Ex's story interesting though even if I wasn't too impressed with the graphics or game play, so when I read that a new Deus Ex was coming out and that it was getting the proper PC attention (thanks, Nixxes!) as it should, I jumped on the chance to play it. Now that I have built a few PCs and have a decent video card, playing the new Deus Ex: Human Revolution was a "no-brainer".

Enough vents to make even Solid Snake jealous!

To make what could be a long and spoiler-ific story about Deus Ex: HR short, the game is my personal game of the year because it made me feel like Solid Snake again, vents and all. The conversations, hacking, story, augments, and graphics were all really fun and memorable. From walking around the city and listening to the people to punching through a wall to take out an enemy to sneaking through the vents and reading all the emails the game was immersive and I found myself staying up all night not wanting to go to sleep in favor of breaking into my co-workers office and reading their email... umm all in the name of keeping the office secure (some Head of Security I was!). Some of the comments I blogged about just after completing the game include that despite the long loading times, there are more vents than you can shake a stick at and being able to stealth around was very fun. More specifically, I noted:

"The emails and conversations that you overhear walking around the city are nice touches that help immersion. Some people have complained about the graphics quality; however, for what it is I find them to be very good. For a multi-platform game, it certainly runs well on the PC, which is an exceptional feat in this day and age!. . . . I have to say that it was an awesome experience!"

I'm sure that Ryan will disagree that Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the Game Of The Year, but for me it was very memorable, fun, and far exceeded my expectations. Now that I have found out about some cool sounding mods for the original Deus Ex, I may have to give it a second chance ;)

I invite the rest of the PC Per crew to share their personal Game of the Year as well as you, the readers! What was your favorite game this year, and why?

Runners up included Saints Row: The Third which is also crazy fun and Portal 2 who's story was awesome but came out so early in the year that it slipped my mind as GOTY.

CES 2012 Day 0 Podcast - 1/7/2012

Subject: Editorial, General Tech | January 8, 2012 - 02:20 AM | Ken Addison
Tagged: ultrabook, podcast, nvidia, Intel, CES, amd

PC Perspective CES 2012 Day 0 - 1/7/2012

Join us tonight as we talk about our CES predictions for this year, from Las Vegas!

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: Ryan Shrout, Josh Walrath, Matt Smith and Allyn Malventano

PC Perspective's CES 2012 coverage is sponsored by MSI Computer.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!