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Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell Processor Review
Just a year ago Intel launched their Ivy Bridge processors and now a year later we have another platform launch from Intel. The 4th Generation Core Haswell processors are the “tock” to Intel’s “tick” and “tock” release schedule. A “tock” represents a new architecture and a “tick” represents a process refinement. So Haswell brings with it a new architecture, but is still built on the same 22nm process as Ivy Bridge. Intel has introduced a new LGA1150 socket with Haswell and a new chipset so you will not be able to throw this processor in an older motherboard, you will have to buy a new one. Today we are taking a look at the top of the line Haswell desktop chip the Core i7-4770K. Of course the “K” denotes that it is an unlocked processor. This is a quad-core processor that has a default clock speed of 3.5 GHz and a turbo frequency that goes all the way up to 3.9 GHz.
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XSPC AX Radiator Desk Stand Review
One of the biggest limiting factors in what you can do with watercooling is how much room you have in your case. With so much equipment to pack in for watercooling alone, space ends up being one of the chief concerns for builders and modders. And the single biggest limiting factor: how much radiator one can fit. Radiators are large, bulky, and inflexible in how they need to be installed. This can easily lead to the builder having to sacrifice cooling surface for space. There is a solution to this problem though; external radiator stands. And if you have chosen to use XSPC’s AX series of radiators, then you’re in luck. Today we will be looking at the AX Radiator Desk Stand from XSPC.
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Win a NZXT Phantom 630 Case!
It is summer time and it is the perfect time to give you, our readers some free hardware! We have teamed up with our friends at NZXT to give away a brand new NZXT Phantom 630 Case! This Ultra Tower not only looks good it has room for quite a lot inside like long graphics cards, XL-ATX Motherboards, 8 hard drives and a lot of watercooling! Like many of our contests we will be running this one on Facebook and it is extremely easy to enter!
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Case Mod Friday: ReactorMod
Welcome to another Case Mod Friday showcase! This week we have a builders ReactorMod build. Here is what he had to say about it: It's a modded Chieftec BX-03 case. I wanted to make it look like it's quite old and kinda shabby. I was thinking about this build for quite a long time, so I managed to collect some cool stuff that I've found on a nearby scrap yard (e.g. switch or steel sheet that I used to make the radiator cover). I also used some spare parts that I had lying around.
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Enermax Triathlor FC 550W Power Supply Review
Enermax is a brand whose strong product is their power supplies, especially when it comes to the high-end spectrum. Their Platimax and MAXREVO units are some of the best out there. But these units are not cheap in terms of cost. Enermax knows not everyone has a ton of cash to throw at a new power supply so they have created the Triathlor series of power supplies. There are actually the Triathlor and Triathlor FC units. The Triathlor units are lower wattage and non-modular and the Triathlor FC units are higher wattage and are modular. Today we are checking out the Triathlor FC 550W unit which is 80PLUS Bronze certified and offers quiet operation.
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SilverStone ARM22SC ARM Two Dual LCD Monitor Mount Review
We mainly know SilverStone for their cases and for good reason, they are high quality and look great. What if SilverStone took that same quality and put it into a LCD monitor mount? Then you would have what we are reviewing today which is the ARM Two ARM22SC dual LCD Monitor Mount from SilverStone. LCD arms are a great addition to any computer setup, especially if you are using a multi-monitor system. The ARM22SC is constructed with robust aluminum alloy and steel so this is a heavy duty piece of hardware. It will support two displays with VESA mounts. Read on as we get this installed and see how it transforms our desk.
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Win a Pivos XIOS DS Media Player!
Pivos is a company we have been working with lately and they make some pretty cool little media players. We have already reviewed their XIOS DS media player and it is a very unique device. Pivos was nice enough to give us one to give away to our readers! Just like all of our contests this one is very easy to enter and we will be running it on Facebook? So what are you doing get out there and get your entry in!
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Case Mod Friday: Black and White
Welcome to another Case Mod Friday showcase! This week we have Christian Black and White build. Here is what he had to say about it: Well this is the first time I do something like this, and it really is interesting the world of case modding the project is BLACK AND WHITE and really was a design chosen because I began to paint the cabinet only and one thing leads to another as in all cases and was thinking of some ideas for covers.
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The History Of The Hard Drive
In 1953, engineers in IBM's California-based laboratory invented the very first hard drive. Since that first disk drive, technological advances have been made at an astonishing rate, with data capacity increasing and size and price decreasing exponentially, year on year. 60 years on, the hard drives of today are unrecognizable from the first models, which took up an entire room. Hard drives today are measured in terms of gigabytes and terabytes, rather than megabytes-an amount of data that would have been almost unimaginable in the early history of computers. Here we take a look back at the evolution of the hard drive as it grew from 5MB to 4TB.
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Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 Review
Lenovo has been making headlines with their IdeaPad Yoga. It is a tablet convertible that can be used as a laptop as well. There are 11-inch and 13-inch models. While the larger 13-inch model has the choice of Intel Core processors, the 11-inch does not and is rather powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 3 platform. Today we will be taking a look at that unit which does offer a very sleek and slim design, responsive 11.6-inch touchscreen, Lenovo’s patent-pending hinge design that allows the screen to flip completely over and it is running Windows RT. Let’s check it out!

Post Tagged with: "Steam"

Steam Might Let You Share Your Games With Your Friends

Steam Sharing

Sharing games you have already purchased has always been pretty easy when it came to consoles, you would just take the disc or cartridge over a friends house. When it comes to PC gaming things are a little bit harder because of licensing issues and DRM. This might change very soon as the latest beta client of Steam has a short section of code that mentions a “Shared Game Library”.

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Steam To Add Trading & Gifting Options to Client

Steam Gifting & Trading

Valve is always updating the Steam client. It seems every time I open it up to play a game game there is some type of update. There are normally bug fixes and other small improvements. According to Gamersbook Valve will soon be adding both a trading and gifting option to the client.

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Valve Opens Steam for Linux Beta To All

Valve Opens Steam for Linux Beta To All

The announcement is short and sweet, and that’s all it needs to be. Linux gamers eager to play games from Valve and other developers natively can get on Steam now. The Steam for Linux beta client is now available to all Steam users, so if you’ve been patiently waiting for an invitation to join us, consider yourself officially invited! With a growing catalog of Linux-supported games, an active Steam for Linux community group, and a new GitHub bug reporting repository, the timing’s right to jump in and share your feedback.

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Valve Developing Home Theater PC to Compete with Consoles

Valve Developing Home Theater PC to Compete with Consoles

Valve has been making a lot of headlines lately especially with their Big Picture Mode launching. Many people have suggested that Big Picture is just the first step in Valve creating a hardware solution for the home theater and we have even hinted at it before. Now that is all but confirmed as Kotaku says according to Valve boss Gabe Newell, “you’ll be able to buy a living-room-friendly PC package next year”.

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Steam Big Picture Available Now

Steam Big Picture Available Now

Valve today announced the public release of Big Picture, Steam’s new mode that lets gamers access all of their favorite Steam games on a television from the comfort of their sofa. Big Picture has been designed to be used with a traditional gamepad, while also fully supporting keyboard and mouse input. To celebrate the public launch of Big Picture, over thirty controller-friendly games will be on sale from now until December 10, with savings up to 75% off.

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Steam Expands Beyond Games, Adds Software Section

Steam Expands Beyond Games, Adds Software Section

Valve has finally expanded beyond games on it’s extremely popular cloud gaming service Steam. Just launched is the new software section. To start there are only six titles: ArtRage Studio Pro, CameraBag 2, GameMaker: Studio, 3D-Coat, 3DMark Vantage and 3DMark 11. While only having six titles does not seem like a lot it is a step in the right direction. In a press release Valve stated, “Many of the launch titles will take advantage of popular Steamworks features, such as easy installation, automatic updating, and the ability to save your work to your personal Steam Cloud space so your files may travel with you.”

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Valve ‘Jumping In’ to Hardware Developement

Valve ‘Jumping In’ to Hardware Developement

For quite a while now many people have been talking about a “Steam Box”. A piece of hardware that would allow you to play your steam games in your living room, dorm room or wherever you are. Valve has always denied these rumors, but things like the Steam Big Picture Mode always kept us thinking about a Steam Box. Now Steam has a new job listing on their website for a an industrial designer. The post says, “Valve is traditionally a software company. Open platforms like the PC and Mac are important to us, as they enable us and our partners to have a robust and direct relationship with customers. We’re frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space though, so we’re jumping in.”

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Steam’s Big Picture Mode Beta to Launch in September

Steam’s Big Picture Mode Beta to Launch in September

Have you heard of Steam’s big picture mode? First announced last year, Big Picture Mode allows users to easily navigate the steam interface on a large TV screen. Big Picture Mode will be open for beta access in September, as confirmed by product design executive Greg Coomer.

Many steam games play very well with a controller, but even if you have your PC connected to your TV you will need at least a mouse to get the game started. With Big Picture the Steam UI is designed to be used with larger TV’s and with a controller, although you can still use a mouse and keyboard of course. Bringing this new UI to the “lounge” or living room area steam hopes to allow greater accessibility to their digital distribution platform.

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Gaming Friday: DotA 2

Gaming Friday: DotA 2

Many games have since been made emulating DotA’s basic principle, and an entire genre has been created in its honor. MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) games have grown at a phenomenal rate, and an example of success is League of Legends. Enter DotA 2. The first true successor to the original custom map is currently in-development by Valve and in closed beta. More people are added frequently, with online numbers reaching around 30,000 people at any time of the day.

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Gaming Friday: Payday The Heist

Gaming Friday: Payday The Heist

Have you ever thought about robbing a bank, c’mon I know you have.  This is just one of the scenarios that you are able to play out online with friends or in single player mode on Payday: The Heist.  This first-person shooter is unlike others where you are fighting in a war, against aliens, or in some arena.  Here you are able to play the bad guys and break the law and six action-packed and thrilling scenarios, one of which is robbing a bank.  Read on to see what this game is all about!

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