Our Most Recent Reviews
Asus Z77 Roundup
When doing all of our Ivy Bridge launch prep we spent a LOT of time benchmarking and testing a whole collection of boards. You guys have seen our reviews of the Intel and Gigabyte boards. When it came time to write about the four different Asus Z77 boards I realized that most of you are not going to want to read through a lot of information that we would cover over and over on each review. We decided to roundup all four of the boards and cover them together. This way we can get to the point a little quicker, saving you time, as well as giving us a chance to talk more about the differences between the variety of boards that we tested.
ASUS P8 Z68-V/GEN3
Perhaps one of the most daunting tasks after making the decision that you do not wish to purchase an off-the-shelf computer is attempting to figure out which components go in the machine. There are fun aspects, like the graphics card and processor, and then there are the not-so-fun aspects, like the motherboard (at least in my opinion). Why do I think it is a whole lot of not fun? There are so many out there to choose from, with all sorts of features. When shopping you will likely come across the ASUS board that I am going to review today. Arguably, it is one of the better all-around boards out there, with features like good integrated graphics and killer sound. But to a gamer that generally does not mean squat. Does the ASUS P8 Z68-V/GEN3 board have what it takes to function as a serious gaming component? Read on to find out!
XFX R7750 Black Edition DD
Not everyone is looking to spend $500 on their video card, in some cases that is the total budget for a build. When you are up against a wall trying to pack the best performance you can get into a budget build you still want to get the most performance you can out of your video card. That’s where cards like the XFX R7750 Black Edition Double Dissipation come into play. XFX has taken the styling and cooling from their high end cards and combined it with the price of budget cards like the HD 7750. Today we are going to take a look at how those two things do combined in XFX’s R7750 Black Edition Double Dissipation.
Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X
Earlier this year when AMD introduced the HD 7770 we took a look at cards from both Sapphire and XFX. Although we were impressed with the cards performance it was a little ill-timed due to AMD still clearing out discounted back stock. Three months later we are able to revisit the situation with today’s release of Sapphires new HD 7770 Vapor-X. With Sapphires Vapor chamber cooling technology along with a nice overclock over the reference design, the Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X could be a great option for a gamer on a limited budget. Let’s take a look.
Motherboard Sizing
When we got in a few oddly sized dual CPU motherboards from EVGA and Asus I posted up a few pictures on our forums and on Facebook. The problem was that even though they looked large there wasn’t any prospective. So we tossed in a couple other boards to give everyone a little perspective. This lead us to digging out even more motherboards to put together all of the standard motherboard sizes all together for everyone to be able to see the differences. Along with the picture we also have a breakdown on the dimensions of each size standard; I hope this helps everyone as some point. Sometimes it can be hard to understand all of the different motherboard sizes and how they all relate.
Android to the Maxx, DROID Razr Maxx
The list of different Android based phones available at any time is both overwhelming and frustrating. It’s almost impossible to get good feedback from friends who have the same phone because of this. So it’s rare than you have any one phone that manages to stand out. Doing something different is the only way to do this normally, but most times this ends off coming off as gimmicky or just lame. When Motorola introduced the Droid Razr Maxx it caught my attention right away. This was just before our trip out to San Francisco for the GTX 680 Editors day, what a better way to put the Maxx’s proposed batter life to the test!
Lian Li PC 100 “The Hammer”
We have had a few different Lian Li chassis come through the LanOC Offices and there hasn’t been a time that we haven’t been impressed with the new and interesting features Lian Li always seems to slip in. When they wanted to ship over their new case “The Hammer” PC 100, we signed up right away. We had seen the case previewed from a few shows prior and this time around Lian Li took a new perspective with its design, I was very interested to see how their changes worked out. Let’s jump in and see what it’s all about!
Nvidia GTX 670
When Nvidia launched Kepler with the GTX 680 I was impressed with the launch price of the card but even at such a great value it is still out of reach for some people. Just because you can’t afford the top card doesn’t mean you don’t want to experience Kepler’s performance. Of course it was only a matter of time before we saw Nvidia filling in the gaps in their product line, starting first with the GTX 690 then going to the next step down from the GTX 680, the GTX 670. Today we get to have a look to see how the performance compares to both the GTX 680 as well as AMD’s offerings. We are also very curious how it compares to the GTX 580, a card that has found its way into most of our office PC’s.
ioSafe Rugged Portable
So you do the smart thing, you backup your data from your laptop and your home PC to an external or network drive and go on with life feeling confident that you have gone well and above what most people do. For the most part, you did. What about when you’re traveling, have you seen how much abuse a device can take when on the go? For some people, and I know I’m one of them, some of the data you carry with you while traveling is more important than the laptop or device that you actually carry it on. In that situation you need a way to not have to worry about your data, no matter the situation, and to have a guarantee to back it up as well. The folks over at ioSafe focus specifically on this crowd. Not only do they offer products that are according to them build to handle almost anything, but they back it up with data recovery if something does happen. Today we are going to take a look at that Rugged Portable hard drive to see what all of the fuss is about, without any more buildup, let’s dig in.
Cooler Master Storm Trigger
Just two years ago the only mechanical keyboards you would find were from companies like DAS keyboard trying to create a nitch market. Over the past two years things have really exploded with every manufacture you can think of introducing their own mechanical keyboards. Cooler Master has been especially aggressive with multiple unique designs like their Quickfire series. What they did lack was a full featured mechanical keyboard with full backlighting, until now. Today they officially introduce their Storm Trigger, although it you look around the board was available Globally before now. With full backlighting it falls into a small category of Mechanical Keyboards with very little competition. I am excited to see how it performs.
Cooler Master HAF XM
The topic of cleaning your computer out came up last week on our forums and it got me thinking about how often I really need to clean out my computer. As it turns out it’s not very often anymore. All because of improvements in case design like fan filters. You don’t really see them on low end cases yet but they have been slowly trickling down. At CES this year we had a chance to get our hands on one of Cooler Master’s upcoming chassis, the HAF XM. A mid-range case packed with the features we have come to love from their high end HAF line. Today we are going to dig into the final product and see how it came out.
Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H
Z77 boards come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and prices. Just about every manufacture has a whole lineup of boards covering the whole range to make sure you can find what you are looking for. Gigabyte is no different; they have a whole selection of boards that will fit your needs. Today we are taking a look at their Z77X-UD3H, one of their budget boards. It may not be a high end board but it is still packed with features. I am curious how it will perform now that the cat is out of the bag with Ivy Bridge. Let’s jump in and see what it’s all about.
Its almost Christmas time, have you filled out your list and checked it twice? Ah, who cares, on with the news.
World Of Warcraft Cataclysm
So we all know that WoW is the MMORPG juggernaut. With over twelve million subscribers according to Blizzard, there is no other than can touch it. With an new expansion the crowd of players comes out in force to pick up the game. Fans of Blizzard are a crazy bunch. I have never witnessed as many people that dress up for a game. You have to hand it to them for creating a game that draws so much attention. With this new release the level cap has been raised to 85 and you can now fly in Azeroth. Two new races have been introduced Goblins for the Horde side and Worgens for the Alliance side. All of the starting zones have been redesigned with all new quests. I haven't started a new character yet to see this new content. I have been working on my Blood Elf Hunter, hitting level 85 just a couple of days ago. The problem with WoW is that there is so much to do and so much to see that it turns players away. I have been playing for two years and I still haven't seen half of the game. With this new expansion Blizzard is hoping to change that. Until I create a new character I can't say how well this is done. What I can talk about is the new zones. Starting out, you want your hearthstone in Orgimmar. This is the easiest way to get around the world now. Gone are the days of sitting in Dalaran and using the portals to transfer around the world. There are ports to the new zones in Orgimmar so it makes it pretty easy to get around. I try and stay away from Undercity because my Death Knight Tauren has problems going thru doors on his mount. About the quests, these are some of the best quests that I have ever done in the game. In Wrath of the Lich King Blizzard started this with flying quests and other quests that transformed your character. In Cataclysm they really took it to the next level. There are RTS style quests. mount quests and the all important siege tank quests. I can say that the RTS style quests were quite fun. They really changed up the gameplay. It took me about 25 hours to gather enough XP for me to get to level 85. One of the biggest changes that no one mentions is how much heath you gain. Being a Hunter in Mail, I was around 30k health in moderate gear. Now, its over 100k in randoms. There is so much to do and so much to see that this would be a 100 page post. If you play WoW and you haven't picked it up, you need to rush out or download it straight from Blizzard.
FireFall
I can't remember where I watched the PAX footage for this game but once I did I was hooked. Do yourself a favor and watch the trailer for this game.
It looks to be a cross between Team Fortress 2 and World Of Warcraft. If you want to see gameplay from PAX watch the video below.
I really like how you can switch between first and third person on the fly, with both views looking great. What I know so far is the game is a team-based-action-shooter that is free to play with micro transactions. I know for some the barrier for World of Warcraft is the subscription fee. With FireFall you don't have to worry about that. If you head on over the their site you can check out all the info for the game and also sign up for the beta. Hopefully when this comes out its going to turn some heads. This is one of my most anticipated games for 2011.
Battlefield Bad Company 2 Vietnam
In three days the new expansion for Battlefield Bad Company 2 drops. For a measly $14.99 off the Steam store you can pick this up and join us for a great team based shooter. We will have a thread up in our forums of who has this and who is going to be playing. Remember, you must have the base Battlefield Bad Company 2 game to run Vietnam.
Steam's Midweek Madness Sale
If you haven't played Killing Floor you are missing out. If you like games with zombies, guns and weapon upgrades then this is the game for you. I have played many games with our writers Adam and Cory and have always had a great time. For $6.80 you can't go wrong. Do yourself a favor and pick this up and then play it at the next LAN on your downtime.
Also on sale this week are Just Cause 2 for $7.49, Metro 2033 for $9.99.
Monday Night Combat
Monday Night Combat is launching on PC. You can pre-order it on Steam right now for $13.49 for a savings of 10%. This is a class based shooter, think Team Fortress 2 on steroids. This was a huge hit on XBLA but remember that not many people play TF2 on consoles. This may be something to look at when it comes out January 7, 2011.
Game Nights
The comments started flowing over the last week or so about having game nights. We have a wide variety of people in LanOC which is great. Not all people play the same games. We have been thinking about setting up nights for specific games. The two biggest games right now are COD:Black Ops and Battlefield. We need our community's input of which games for which nights you want to play. Now I know that we are going to have a TF2 night and a Starcraft 2 night but we are just wanting to get your input. There are so many games out there that we all play that we can't fit them all in but we will try and figure out a system that works. One night might be a FPS night then the next be a RTS night. Just thinking out loud here but what will make this work is people showing up on game nights with games that they own and giving their input. I know that games aren't cheap and we don't all own the same games but the ones that the community agrees on will be giving first priority. Let us know what you think in this thread.
That is all for Gaming News this week. I have one final left for the semester, hopefully i'll do just as good on this one as I did on my other ones. Remember your cast of editors/writers are leaving on January 5th for CES. Please post up what you want us to cover. I hope you have a good week and remember to get your Christmas shopping done early. Or, you can be like me and order all of your stuff online, have it gift wrapped and shipped to your family. I don't know what it is but I suck at wrapping gifts, I blame it on the wrapping paper. Have a good week everyone. Wingless92 out.
World Of Warcraft Cataclysm
So we all know that WoW is the MMORPG juggernaut. With over twelve million subscribers according to Blizzard, there is no other than can touch it. With an new expansion the crowd of players comes out in force to pick up the game. Fans of Blizzard are a crazy bunch. I have never witnessed as many people that dress up for a game. You have to hand it to them for creating a game that draws so much attention. With this new release the level cap has been raised to 85 and you can now fly in Azeroth. Two new races have been introduced Goblins for the Horde side and Worgens for the Alliance side. All of the starting zones have been redesigned with all new quests. I haven't started a new character yet to see this new content. I have been working on my Blood Elf Hunter, hitting level 85 just a couple of days ago. The problem with WoW is that there is so much to do and so much to see that it turns players away. I have been playing for two years and I still haven't seen half of the game. With this new expansion Blizzard is hoping to change that. Until I create a new character I can't say how well this is done. What I can talk about is the new zones. Starting out, you want your hearthstone in Orgimmar. This is the easiest way to get around the world now. Gone are the days of sitting in Dalaran and using the portals to transfer around the world. There are ports to the new zones in Orgimmar so it makes it pretty easy to get around. I try and stay away from Undercity because my Death Knight Tauren has problems going thru doors on his mount. About the quests, these are some of the best quests that I have ever done in the game. In Wrath of the Lich King Blizzard started this with flying quests and other quests that transformed your character. In Cataclysm they really took it to the next level. There are RTS style quests. mount quests and the all important siege tank quests. I can say that the RTS style quests were quite fun. They really changed up the gameplay. It took me about 25 hours to gather enough XP for me to get to level 85. One of the biggest changes that no one mentions is how much heath you gain. Being a Hunter in Mail, I was around 30k health in moderate gear. Now, its over 100k in randoms. There is so much to do and so much to see that this would be a 100 page post. If you play WoW and you haven't picked it up, you need to rush out or download it straight from Blizzard.
FireFall
I can't remember where I watched the PAX footage for this game but once I did I was hooked. Do yourself a favor and watch the trailer for this game.
It looks to be a cross between Team Fortress 2 and World Of Warcraft. If you want to see gameplay from PAX watch the video below.
I really like how you can switch between first and third person on the fly, with both views looking great. What I know so far is the game is a team-based-action-shooter that is free to play with micro transactions. I know for some the barrier for World of Warcraft is the subscription fee. With FireFall you don't have to worry about that. If you head on over the their site you can check out all the info for the game and also sign up for the beta. Hopefully when this comes out its going to turn some heads. This is one of my most anticipated games for 2011.
Battlefield Bad Company 2 Vietnam
In three days the new expansion for Battlefield Bad Company 2 drops. For a measly $14.99 off the Steam store you can pick this up and join us for a great team based shooter. We will have a thread up in our forums of who has this and who is going to be playing. Remember, you must have the base Battlefield Bad Company 2 game to run Vietnam.
Steam's Midweek Madness Sale
If you haven't played Killing Floor you are missing out. If you like games with zombies, guns and weapon upgrades then this is the game for you. I have played many games with our writers Adam and Cory and have always had a great time. For $6.80 you can't go wrong. Do yourself a favor and pick this up and then play it at the next LAN on your downtime.
Also on sale this week are Just Cause 2 for $7.49, Metro 2033 for $9.99.
Monday Night Combat
Monday Night Combat is launching on PC. You can pre-order it on Steam right now for $13.49 for a savings of 10%. This is a class based shooter, think Team Fortress 2 on steroids. This was a huge hit on XBLA but remember that not many people play TF2 on consoles. This may be something to look at when it comes out January 7, 2011.
Game Nights
The comments started flowing over the last week or so about having game nights. We have a wide variety of people in LanOC which is great. Not all people play the same games. We have been thinking about setting up nights for specific games. The two biggest games right now are COD:Black Ops and Battlefield. We need our community's input of which games for which nights you want to play. Now I know that we are going to have a TF2 night and a Starcraft 2 night but we are just wanting to get your input. There are so many games out there that we all play that we can't fit them all in but we will try and figure out a system that works. One night might be a FPS night then the next be a RTS night. Just thinking out loud here but what will make this work is people showing up on game nights with games that they own and giving their input. I know that games aren't cheap and we don't all own the same games but the ones that the community agrees on will be giving first priority. Let us know what you think in this thread.
That is all for Gaming News this week. I have one final left for the semester, hopefully i'll do just as good on this one as I did on my other ones. Remember your cast of editors/writers are leaving on January 5th for CES. Please post up what you want us to cover. I hope you have a good week and remember to get your Christmas shopping done early. Or, you can be like me and order all of your stuff online, have it gift wrapped and shipped to your family. I don't know what it is but I suck at wrapping gifts, I blame it on the wrapping paper. Have a good week everyone. Wingless92 out.
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