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.
Welcome back from the long holiday weekend everybody. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Back to the norm that is Gaming News. I have finished Batman: Arkham City, Serious Sam 3 is being played right now, Waves has been garnering attention on Steam, Midweek Madness is back after a crazy Autumn Sale that was on Steam and a laundry basket full of news at the end. Grab your favorite adult beverage, Gaming News starts now.
Written By: Skyler
All I can say is WOW, what a game. Other than the dreadful DX11 issues that the game is having, a patch is incoming btw, it was as good or better than the first. I had absolutely no problems running it in Nvidia Surround. The config was stupid easy, I wish more developers really took this aproach, lets just make the damn thing work, without the consumer messing around for hours on end.
On the story front of the game it was awesome. I am not going to give any spoilers out but you can keep playing after you finish the main story. Many of Batman’s foe’s appear in the game which is an added bonus. There were a couple in the first game but they really blew the doors off for the second game. As for the ending, I can’t believe that they actually went down that road, again, no spoilers, but I don’t think this is the last Batman game that we will be playing.
The voice acting in the game is another high point. I am sad to see Mark Hamill leave as the Joker but getting new people in always makes for a fun transition. Catwoman, Batman, Joker and all of the other DC Comics characters are voiced really well. You can tell that they aren’t trying to hard but it comes off just sincere. It should be interesting to see who the next voice acter will be for the Joker.
Along the lines of the DX11 issues, many sites have tested it and it affects both AMD and Nvidia cards so no one is in the clear. It does suck that it doesn’t work but I’m not going to go back and play through the story again. Once the patch hits I will throw out a Gaming News PSA and let everyone know. I will fire the game up again and see if I can tell any differences between the two but from the screenshots that I have seen it’s not that big of a difference.
Serious Sam 3 BFE
So Serious Sam 3 BFE is a bit of a different dessert than what your used to, there is actually a story, kind of, lol. It’s not going to beat Skyrim out for storytelling but it is an improvement over the last two games. It’s your basic, aliens try and take over and Sam rolls in to kick ass. Atleast it’s something rather than the last two games that had absolutley nothing going for it story wise.
The graphics engine has also been updated to Serious Engine 3.5. The graphical detail in the game really stands out this time. It’s not going to take down Battlefield 3, Crysis or Metro 2033 but it is a big improvement over the previous engine. Aiming down the sights of the weapons also looks great. It blur’s what it needs to but keeps everything else in focus. Don’t worry though, it’s just like how any other FPS does it. The gun detail has also been improved. There is much more detail now on all of the weapons. Again, this isn’t going to break any benchmarks but it is a welcome improvement. After killing multiple baddies at close range you can see your gun/s with blood dripping from them. It's not the first game to do this but it does add to the action of the game.
I am about 4 hours in so far and really enjoying it. Sometimes you just want to sit down and shoot stuff. This is the game for you then. There is no limit on enemies either. They are throwing the whole kitten kaboodle at you as you progress through the levels. If you like mowing down waves of enimies then look no futher. I can't tell you the enjoyment that is killing fifty aliens in a row and then getting that iconic health pack for +1 health. In fact, that should be a ringtone of some sort.
Either way, if you are looking for some mindless killing with a somewhat provocative story then take a look at Serious Sam 3 BFE. You can pick it up on Steam for $39.99.
Looking for a new twin-stick shooter, then check out Waves. Think fish in a barrel, top down, twin-stick shooter. I have no idea why but twin-stick shooters hold a soft spot in my heart. Check out the screenshots over on Steam. Waves is available right now on Steam for $9.99. Not interested in dropping cash on a game that you may not like? Don't worry, Waves has a demo out too. Not to bad for a one guy working on a game.
Want to be a sniper and pick off the perfect headshot? Well your in luck, cause Sniper Ghost Warrior is on sale this week. For 66% off for a total price of $10.19 you can add this game to your Steam collection. The Metacritic rating is below average with a 55 but then again your not dropping $50 on a brand new release. Pick it up today, remember, all Midweek Madness sale’s end on Thursday’s at 7pm EST.
Left Field
Lots of news this week.
Anyone for some Titanic built using Cry Engine 3?
As you may have noticed our editor-in-chief updated the website with a couple of new designs. Check out the homepage for the updated look.
A new Nvidia card was announced and you can check it out in the news section.
I am working on the Galaxy Nexus review that I posted about. I am taking my time cause I don’t want to rush it but look for it in the coming weeks
LanOC V10.0 registration is live for those of you that didn’t know.
A new Nvidia card was announced and you can check it out in the news section.
I am working on the Galaxy Nexus review that I posted about. I am taking my time cause I don’t want to rush it but look for it in the coming weeks
LanOC V10.0 registration is live for those of you that didn’t know.
Check out the newest update to Google Maps if your an Android owner. Now included are some of your favorite shops and malls. Pretty slick.
Anyone else hoard themselves with Steam games over the holiday sale?
What games is everyone looking forward to for the rest of the year?
Looks like the Galaxy Nexus is still not up for pre-order on Verizon’s website for those of you on Big Red. I am not sure what is going on but if you are on Big Red this is easily the phone to get.
That is all for this week everyone. As I write this we are getting our second snow in Indy. This time it’s actually sticking. I know from some of our community members up in the Ft. Wayne area that they are getting much more than we are.
Until next week,
Wingless is out!
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- garfi3ld
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