Tech News

  • Gigabyte Mod2Win Concept Winners Announced

    Earlier this month I had submitted a modding concept for the Gigabyte Mod2Win 30th anniversary casemodding competition in hopes of winning one of their build packages.  Well, the winners have been announced.

    and..  I didn't get selected.

    However, some great concepts did get picked including a scratch build in the shape of a big 30, a triangle shaped scratch build and finally a pretty typical build that was all blue and black.

    I will admit the competition was tough and while the majority of the submissions were pretty "builds" there were a few mods including a few that might be difficult to pull off.  

    Be sure to check out the modders-inc.com forums for ongoing activities related to the #Mod2Win contest.  It goes on until November of this year and while the "build package" was just an incentive to get people started in the contest that doesn't exclude others from sniping in at the last minute.

  • X2 introduces the RINDJA gaming chassis series

    Maarheeze, The Netherlands, 05 July 2016. An accompaniment for all the computer gamers, X2 proudly presents the astounding RINDJA.

    The all new RINDJA 8020 full-tower pc enclosure is built for the sophisticated computer gamer that demands style and high performance. Not only is the design well thought out, the features are also something to look up to. Build out of strong SPCC 0,55mm steel with more than ample room for up to 3 SSD drives, 7 expansion slots for the installation of long graphics cards ( 370mm length VGA card ) and superior cooling through divided PSU compartment and the support of 9 x 120mm fan mount locations throughout this chassis.



    The RINDJA 8020 offers easy upkeep shortcuts like tool-free removal of front panel and window side panels, hard drives, and graphics cards as well as plenty of room for cable routing and management. The new X2 RINDJA case is looking superb and is ready to be challenged your gaming power and skills.

    Main Features:
    Large front panel mesh design, large air intake
    Total space for 9* 120mm cooling fans
    2* 120mm RED LED fans included
    2* USB3.0 + HDAudio & AC97
    Removable filters for dust reduction
    Super clean internal look
    Bottom ATX PSU with bay cover
    Partition divider for better airflow
    Sufficient cable management (25mm)
    Watercooling radiator up to 360 mm mountable
    Acrylic window side panel
    2 years manufacturer warranty

    Availability:
    The RINDJA Series are available in two color versions, one all black and another black with red touch. Both are now available for ordering from Spire Corp in Shenzhen, China. From our European warehouse, The Netherlands only the all black version is available from 20 July.



    MSRP:
    Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price: € 69.95/ $ 79.95

    About X2:
    X2 is originated by a team of PC enthusiasts based in The Netherlands, the design heart of Europe. X2 believes in exceptional style coupled with genuine product quality, redefining the meaning of performance PC hardware.

    Product url:
    RINDJA black: http://www.x2products.com/computer-cases/rindja-x2-s8020b-cer-2u3/
    RINDJA red: http://www.x2products.com/computer-cases/rindja-red-x2-s8020r-cer-2u3/

  • Overclocking Community Gets Nostalgic @ Intel

    This was posted a couple months ago and is taking about the neostalgia behind overclocking old school hardware.  Honestly this was how the Ninjalane HWBot team as born and you would be suprised at how many points you can get benching old hardware.

    These days HWBot has walked away from point based compeitions in favor of an eSports model but, you can still submit scores for the fun of it.

    In the world of computer modding, overclocking is the dark art of custom tuning computer parts to achieve a performance boost. The unbridled passion for tinkering with chips and specs is spreading across generations, pulling this dark art out of the shadows.

    “Overclocking has evolved into a sport,” said Dan Ragland, an engineer at Intel. “It has really taken off in the last 5 years.”

    Overclocking has become a phenomenon as more people custom-tune the stock performance of their computer hardware. Traditionally this has been done by entering the computer’s basic input/output system (BIOS) to adjust the stock clock speeds as well as the voltage going to the components. A number of settings can be tweaked, including the speed of the processor, graphics card and memory.

    An overclocked computer can lead to better gaming performance or bragging rights for breaking benchmark records.

    A fun read if you have some time. 

  • Happy Day After the 4th of July

    For the Hardware Asylum readers located in the US I trust you had a great holiday filled with BBQ, drink and blowing stuff up.  Now would be the time to ensure you have all of your allocated appendages and start cleaning up.  Summer is here and this isn't the time to be slacking.

    I have some good things planned for the remainder of the summer including a couple casemods, plenty of reviews and with any luck some overclocking.  Top of my list is to finally get ahold of a GTX 1080 however, given the hardware based voltage restriction I'm a little concerned that the GTX 980Ti will be the last great overclocking video card. 

    Unless, AMD

    Time will tell, and with any luck the enthusiasts will once again win out.

  • Why It's So Important Quake Champions Runs at 120Hz

    Finally a new reason to have top of the line hardware and overclock.  Or even kinda crappy hardware and overclock.

    F-it, everyone overclock. big grin smile

    When id Software announced Quake Champions at E3, creative director Tim Willits stressed that the shooter would run at 120Hz. Now, he's shared some further details on why the high refresh rate is so important.



    In an interview with GameSpot, Willits said while many people may not be able to tell the difference between 60Hz and 120Hz, the pro players can--and without them, the game might suffer.



    "It's everything from input sampling of the mouse to making sure that your monitor refresh rate is fast enough," he said. "Because even with Quake Live, we have found throughout the years that going from 30 to 60 is huge, but even 60 to 120--is noticeable.

    Looking back on the FPS race it was started by 3DFx to help sell Voodoo cards.  They were accelerators afterall and what better way to sell products then to talk about the benefits.  NVidia and ATI/AMD did the same for years until the hardware started surpassing the games.

    Thank you consoles

    After that even enthusiasts were saying 30fps is enough due to CRT monitors, after that NVidia started pushing G-Sync and with it that 60fps was enough.  Well, the time has come for the world to know that 30 and 60 fps is not enough.  We need 120fps, you know to match the 120hz monitor that nobody has.

    btw I am really looking forward to this game!!

  • CyberPowerPC Delivers Fully Customizable Arcus 34 Curved Screen AIO Series

    Ultra-wide QHD curved monitor offers one of the most immersive gaming experiences

    CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA (June 29, 2016) CyberPower Inc., www.cyberpowerpc.com, a global manufacturer of custom gaming PCs, gaming laptops, and performance workstations, today announced delivery of its Arcus 34 AIO (All-in-One) series of gaming PCs - a customizable AIO gaming system that doubles as a TV with a 34-inch curved screen.


     
    With its curved display, users will get better viewing angles and a more immersive gaming experience when compared to traditional flat-screen monitors. The Arcus 34 offers an unprecedented amount of on-screen real estate for game playing, web browsing and other general computing needs. The Arcus is the equivalent of having a pair of monitors, permanently-bonded on your desk for immersive gaming without the space needed for a traditional gaming computer.
     
    The Arcus can accommodate the latest Intel Core i7 processor and supports up to a NVIDIA GTX 1080 a graphics card. The 34-inch curved display features WQHD 3440 X 1440 resolution; 60Hz Refresh Rate; and 21:9 ultra-wide aspect ratio. The series utilizes off-the-shelf components that are easily upgraded along with top-of-the-line multimedia capabilities for rich sound and easy content sharing across devices.
     
    Both air and liquid cooling are offered, and in addition to the custom webcam with dual mikes, the dual 2.5-inch HDD/SSD, the standard desktop UDIMM memory, the 2 USB 2.0 ports, and a 4-in-1 card reader make the Arcus 34 series the ultimate entertainment desktop. The system is also WiFi and Bluetooth-ready to allow easy access with the rest of the world.
     
    Because the Arcus 34 is built non-proprietary high performance gaming components, the systems can be easily upgraded like a standard desktop PC. Despite its smaller appearance, the Arcus 34 can fit all of the parts from a regular PC, giving customers the perfect blend of familiarity along with uniqueness.
     
    The Arcus 34 series includes four models:

    Arcus 34 Core
    Intel Core i5-6500
    GTX 950 2GB
    240GB SSD
    8GB
    MSRP $1695
     
    Arcus 34 Elite
    Intel i5-6600K
    AMD RX 480 8GB
    8GB DDR4
    480GB SSD
    MSRP $1950
     
    Arcus 34 Pro
    Intel Core i7-6700K
    GTX 1070 8GB
    16GB DDR4
    480GB SSD
    MSRP $2135
     
    Arcus 34 Xtreme
    Intel i7-6800K
    GTX 1080 8GB
    1TB SSD
    16GB DDR4
    Liquid Cooling
    MSRP $2940
     
    Fully-assembled desktop systems from CYBERPOWERPC include an industry-leading 3-year limited warranty for our customers’ optimal satisfaction. For more information, http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/landingpages/Arcus34/

  • Guru3D Rig of the Month - June 2016

    A new rig of the month has been picked over at Guru3D.  This is a pretty cool contest with some tangible prizes and featured article on their website.

    The winner this month created a vertical style PC with triple radiators, dual reservoirs, dual cards and some really amazing cable work.

    Oh and its green.

    Ya'll meet the June edition of the Guru3D Rig of the Month 2016. This months build is is called "Project p5yche" by Guru3D familiar Darwin P. The man in reality is a scientist, but likes to modify PCs. Meet his latest creation.

    The mod is using the Thermaltake P5 case which can help showcase your build and is really configured well for this kind of system.  Funny thing, the original Level 10 that BMW designed was configured to be a tower but should have been a wall mount.  Seems the P5 is finally making that a reality.

  • ASUS ROG GTX 1080 STRIX GAMING Video Card Review @ [H]

    There once was a time when STRIX was name to have, it was also the name you could never attain.  Despite what we know this triple threat of large VRM goodness is the EVGA Classified killa.  With its triple fan, dual slot cooler design you are left wondering.  Did they copy from Sapphire or just simply sample from Zotac and reduce the calorie count. happy smile

    Today we examine in full detail our first custom GeForce GTX 1080 video card. ASUS has decked the ROG GTX 1080 STRIX GAMING out with a factory overclock, the STRIX cooling system, and fully customizable lights to enhance your style points. Let's see this beast overclock and compare it to the previous gen's GTX 980 Ti and Radeon R9 Fury X.

    All joking aside this looks like an amazing card and I would simply love to put it under LN2 and see just how fast the Pascal can really be.

    Then again I haven't seen any "records" for the 1080 coming out of the HWBot camp so you have to wonder, did NVIDIA finally win the war against Enthusiasts?

  • 13 Inches Of Gorgeous @ HotHardware

    Clickbait warning, or Clickbate warning?!?  Either way there is something strange going on over at Hot Hardware, they seem to be getting all Hot and Steamy on their hardpr0n set reviewing the latest...

    Laptop?

    Ugg

    There's a first time for everything, as the saying goes, and the Alienware 13 OLED is a first for us without question. Though there were a couple of OLED (Organic LED) display driven laptops at CES 2016 this year, Dell's Alienware division is the first in the door here at HotHardware with a retail ready product.

    Alienware revamped its 4.5 pound light-weight gaming laptop with the latest Intel 6th gen Skylake Core series processors, and although the external skins look virtually identical, there are a few other tricks under the lid of the AW13, not the least of which is its swank new OLED display.

    Well at least the laptop is representin' all that is good and wholesome in the world.  Now run along and find some warm apple pie.

  • Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Tempered Glass Edition Release @ TechX

    Have I told everyone how much I love this case.  I mean, ya Enthoo Evolv by itself is pretty good however adding tempered glass side panels and RGB lighting just put it over the top.  Look for a mod of thiis case very soon.

    Oh and check out our review of the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Tempered Glass Edition for the real story.

    Full glass panels, LED strip lighiting and a beautifully crafted frame of 3mm aluminum are just a few of the amazing features you are going to hear of today in our release of the Enthoo Evolv Tempered Glass Edition by Phanteks.

    Such a short quote for such a great case.  Its almost like they are tracking how many people click on their email links so they can embed alexa tracking cookies and pump up their rankings.