Tech News
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LEGO The Hobbit & LEGO Lord of the Rings now on NVIDIA GRID
Some interesting developments in the NVIDIA camp.
To celebrate the premier of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies movie we are releasing a pair of Middle-earth related titles on NVIDIA GRID. LEGO The Lord of the Rings and LEGO The Hobbit are two family-friendly games we hope will provide some quality holiday gameplay to SHIELD owners.
LEGO The Lord of the Ringsis an action-adventure game from developer Traveller’s Tales set in the universe created by J. R. R. Tolkien and based on the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. LEGO The Lord of the Rings follows the original storylines of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. The game is loaded with humor and has over 80 playable characters to explore the open-world of Middle-earth.
In addition, we are making the follow-up, LEGO The Hobbit, available on GRID. LEGO The Hobbit wasalso created by Traveller’s Tales and isbased on the first two Hobbit films, An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug. You can play as your favorite characters from The Hobbit films, including Bilbo, Gandalf, and the Dwarves: Thorin, Fíli, Kíli, Óin, Glóin, Dwalin, Balin Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori and Oriand visit mystic Middle-earthlocations including Bag End, Hobbiton, The Misty Mountains, Goblin-town, Mirkwood, Lake-Town, Dol Guldur, Rivendell and The Lonely Mountain.
Owners of SHIELD Tab and SHIELD portables can play both of these games for free from the cloud on the NVIDIA GRID gaming service until June 30, 2015.
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LG could introduce an 8K beast at CES 2015 @ Digital Trends
Ok so this will have early adopters a little miffed and the hardware enthusiasts rather confused. 8K seems like a nice round number and even before anyone has yet to perfect the 4K display.
Of course you have to keep in mind that CES is all about advancements and a good majority of the times shown there never actually make it to market. 8K might be nice but it will be a few years before it is affordable.
8K means a total of 33.2 million pixels, which translates to 7,680 x 4,320 resolution. Surprisingly, the display will be a “tiny” 55-inch set. That’s quite small compared to LG’s unwieldy 98-inch 8K TV prototype showcased at IFA 2014 in Berlin. It’s small even compared to current 65-inch, 4K televisions.
I'm still waiting for 4K games and legit 4K movies, once that happens I might start thinking about 8K picture quality goodness.
@ 15Hz
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China will get their own version of Borderlands
This seems like a really big deal. At first I thought it was just a random copy by some Chinese developer but this article cites that 2K and Gearbox are involved.
Chinese publisher Shanda Games is working with 2K Games and Gearbox Software to bring Borderlands Online to that market in 2015, according to Kotaku. It will launch on PC and mobile platforms. Borderlands Online will have players to choose from one of four character classes, each based on one of the originals from the first Borderlands.
The story goes on to talk about how the new game is a MMO which seems to support the ending in the pre-sequel where the guardian tells us that Lilith will need all of the vault hunters she can get.
I was never a fan of MMO games and I hate to say it but if Borderlands goes MMO i'm gonna drop the microphone and walk off the stage. (Not the Podcast one, that bad boy is expensive.)
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Borderlands The Pre-Sequel Performance and PhysX Review @ HiTech Legion
I have said this before, and in one of the Hardware Asylum Podcasts. The Borderlands Pre-Sequel sucks! and while that may sound rather bold I put in some wrench time, I have Nisha up to level 50 and completed every mission and side mission in TVHM. Sadly, that is all you can do since the "Raid Boss" is a joke and the two hidden bosses don't drop anything making the incentive to keep playing a pointless joke.
However, there is one redeeming quality to the Pre-Sequel and that is. DLC? Ya, right, go home 2K you're drunk.
If you are still curious about the game and its DX9+PhysX goodness check out this review over at HTL. They have images a video and some average FPS numbers.
Borderlands The Pre-Sequel was developed in partnership with NVIDIA GameWorks. The GameWorks platform provides tools and technologies to the developers, so that they can maximize performance without sacrificing detail levels. As is typical with the Borderlands series the graphics certainly are not the most demanding but the hilarious gameplay continues in this episode of the game.
There was a time when I was asked to do game reviews and "this" is why I don't.
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Raijintek METIS Review @ Vortez
Some of you may not know this but Cooler Master started out making heatsinks and is now one of the largest suppliers of coolers to, well, everyone. In an attempt to capture more market share and diverse the portfolio they started making cases and other computer accessories.
Seems Raijintek is doing the same.
Metis is an aluminium computer case which is primarily designed for Mini-ITX configurations. This computer chassis is super-compact, lightweight and comes in a variety of different colours. With such a low-cost offering, has Raijintek cut any corners? Let’s find out!
Truth is I believe this case was shown at Computex this year and I was rather impressed in the overall layout. Not sure I would buy one for myself but, that doesn't make it bad.
Of course the gold anodizing is likely to make the China market happy since most everyone in the western world knows better.
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Good as Gold: Thermaltake Toughpower 1500W Gold Quick Look @ Techgage
There is a common question when it comes to power supplies and we only have ourselves to blame. "What PSU should I buy?" I can say, with confidence, that a 1500w PSU is what every system should have however, since they are a bit on the spendy side you can save a few bucks and pick something that is >= (1500/2) and be good to go.
Bigger is better, right? That’s what people always say. On that basis, Thermaltake’s monstrous Toughpower 1500W Gold is the biggest, baddest PSU the company sells. Although Techgage can’t really test it (we don’t have the equipment to do so), we can show you this monster and tell you what makes it tick. Read on for our quick look!
I do like the look of the new Toughpower 1500 and while the digital version is good on technology the curb appeal is less than stellar. Give the Techgage review a look and see what I mean.
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Avexir Core Series 1600MHz CL9 memories with orange LEDs @ HardwareOverclock
I have always wondered what it is about this memory that has everyone running over park benches to get it. Sure it has LED lights but, so does most everyone else. I guess it comes down to speed and timing. 1600Mhz @ CL9 isn't all that interesting to an overclocker.
HardwareOverclock.com has just posted another review. Last week we have taken a look at the Avexir Core Series 1600MHz CL9 memories with orange LEDs. To make the RAM and the whole modded system visually unified, the Core Series provides six LED colours. One of them is orange, the right choice for our project. More about the performance and handling you can find in the review.
They are orange so maybe there is a redeeming quality to be found yet.
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Asylum Review Block: Cases Coolers n Stuff
Review block time! In this quick post I'll be picking a few notable reviews from the news@ inbox and place them here for you to (click || notclick) on.
Cases
Aerocool Dead Silence Case Review @ Hardware Secrets
NZXT Phantom 820 Case Review on Technic3D
Fractal Design Core 3300 Mid Tower Case Review @ HiTech LegionCoolers
Deepcool Gamer Storm Maelstrom 120 @ techPowerUpWindows 8 Shell Stuff
Hidden Explorer Shell Options in Windows 8 <- nothing really new in this article but could be good for some readers.Seems that the daily influx of reviews is nothing more than a never ending wall of messages blindly aimed at those who may read them. ~the deaf guy
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be quiet! officially announces its first high-end case
Silent Base 800 combines functional design with optimal performance, quiet operation and user-friendliness
Glinde, November 18, 2014: be quiet!, market leader for PC power supplies in Germany for eight successive years*, introduces its first chassis - the Silent Base 800.
This case offers generous space and is firmly aimed at the premium segment – for customers who want high end features in a low noise systems. With its innovative design, be quiet! guarantees silent operation while delivering excellent cooling performance. True to the motto ‘Form Follows Function’, each component in the Silent Base 800 fulfils a specific purpose in order to increase user-friendliness and bring performance to a new level.
Whisper-quiet operation with superior cooling performance
As usual, be quiet! puts strong emphasis on maintaining low noise level for its Silent Base800, without any reduction in performance. To achieve this goal, be quiet! has developed innovative front, top and bottom panels that provide intelligent airflow. Fresh air is deliberately drawn into the casing and transported through the interior, increasing cooling capacity compared to conventional solutions. At the same the panels prevent the sound waves from exiting the chassis. To minimise the noise level even further, be quiet! has covered the side panels and front cover of the Silent Base 800 with a brand new anechoic material. In addition, three award winning Pure Wings 2 fans have been installed, decoupled from the housing. Two of them are 140 millimeter format and have been factory installed in the front panel, another Silent Wings 2 fan with a 120 millimeter diameter has been placed in the rear. This configuration already provides optimal airflow, but that can be increased further with the installation of up to four additional fans and by opening the 3-in-1 air intakes in the side panels.
Optimum space and tool-free installation
The Silent Base 800 offers more than enough space for high-end systems and associated top-class components. Motherboards in ATX, Micro-ATX or Mini-ITX format, heavy-duty tower coolers with a height up to 17 centimeters and long graphics cards can be installed. For 3D accelerators, up to 40 centimeters of free space is available if you remove one of the pair of modular HDD cages is removed. The Silent Base 800 can also be equipped with up to three 5.25” drives, seven 3.5” and four 2.5” drives. The functional structure of the new be quiet! case allows users to install all components without tools. Silicone inserts decouple the hard drives and power supply from the case. There is also the possibility of installing water-cooling with several radiators in the 120- to 280-millimeter range.
Stability and optimal dust protection
Weighing in at a significant 9 kilograms, it’s clear just how substantial the build quality of this be quiet! chassis is. Measuring a solid 495mm x 266mm x 559mm, the housing has been constructed to an industrial standard. Be quiet! achieves this by using thick steel and high-quality ABS plastic. The manufacturer is demonstrating a new and innovative feature in the side panels: the edges are bent in a U-shape and, together with the newly developed insulation material, form an extremely rugged construction. These factors show that besides a fully functional structure and excellent cooling performance, be quiet! also gave serious focus to the build quality of the Silent Base 800. This is underlined by the numerous dust filters, which are factory-installed on all air intakes.
The Silent Base 800 will be available from November 24th in black/orange, completely black as well as black/silver color combinations at a price of 139,90 USD (excluding VAT) or 119 Euro (including VAT). For the UK the MSRP is 99 GBP (including VAT). -
MSI GTX 980 GAMING 4G Video Card Review @ [H]
Remember that big overclocking event that I helped co-host? Yes, the MSI MOA (Master Overclocking Arena) 2014. Well, one of the cards the overclockers got to play with was the MSI GTX 980 Gaming which was an interesting choice since the MSI Gaming parts typically don't overclock.
The MSI GTX 980 GAMING 4G video card has a factory overclock and the new Twin Frozr V cooling system. We'll push it to its highest custom overclock and pit it against the ASUS ROG R9 290X MATRIX Platinum overclocker, and determine the gaming bang for your buck. May the best card win.
In my latest GTX 980 Classified review I matched the card up against the MSI 290X Lighting and I have to say the GTX 980 walked all over it. I'd be interested to see if the same is true here, to find out check out the review over at HardOCP.
