#anyone need an old GTX 1060?

[deathcupcake]

I scraped my knee on the case of my newly built computer and drew blood.

✔ Blood sacrifice complete

[stepphase]

Cyberpunk 2077 Download for PC? Official Video Games

Cyberpunk 2077 has invited you to explore Night City. Of course, there is a fictional metropolis on America’s west coast that is jam-packed with the crime, opportunity, and anything your black heart desires. After all, it is based on Mike Pondsmith’s tabletop RPG. As well as, Cyberpunk is a bleak game that sees the corporations.

In fact, both domestic and foreign keeps a stranglehold on the military tech, drugs, health care, virtually, cybernetic advancements. Everything in common person could need or want. As well as, you can play as a mercenary V. In fact, a person is caught up in a job that is lasting in repercussions throughout its story campaign. As well as, you must hack, shoot, and slice your way out of trouble in a sprawling, open-world action-RPG. After all, this is a highly anticipated PC game offers that is thrilling gameplay that you will love it. Also, atmosphere-oozing sights also sound and those hours of story that have heavy missions but it feels undercooked because of large and small bugs.

The State of Affairs

After all, the Cyberpunk 2077 society has spiraled in a state of Weimar like debauchery and decadence. With advertisements which is peddle of everything from the snacks to the sex plastered on nearly city facet. As well as, the Humankind has embraced cybernetic modifications. Also, every dinky neighborhood across town have a cybernetic mod. Which is called a Ripperdoc, also eager and they are ready to slap new and also, horrifying body enhancements in you for right price.

In fact, You will play as V. Of course, the mercenary who will takes odd jobs across the Night City vast underworld. After all, the game will start that you can customize V look, stat and background. As well as, its character creator is not particularly robust. After all, there are many interesting option which is to explore like tattoos and cybernetic facial implants. In fact, You are starting to stats boost specific talent that once you are into the game proper. like for an example I boosted V's Cool stats and Reflex. So its weapon and stealth and weapon perks opened up relatively early in my playthrough.

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After all, The background that you have select is determines V's prologue tutorial. And those impacts how you will tackle mission objectives. As well as, a side quest tasked a Nomad-based character with searching for a cop. Who has rocked the proverbial boat by investigating the criminals with clout than she had anticipated? In fact, no one knows the cop location. So it was up to if I will ask around. After all, an odd hooker recognized her, but the demand is a cash for the intel. Of course, V recognizes Nomad in the neighborhood who offer intel after a few if conversation. As well as, it's letting me bypass the sex worker extortion. After all, these Scenarios pop up regularly throughout 2077's campaign.

The Future You Chose

After all, this game is classic and future-noir tropes. As well as, its content is familiar to anyone who has played the Deus Ex games or seen the Blade Runner films are not present in the main storyline. In fact, they are prominently featured in Cyberpunk 2077 a lot of side missions. As well as, its campaign paints the world which has moved beyond its ethical quandaries which are trans-humanism raises. As well as, its Technology and synthetic is a part of everyday life. And its concepts like organic barely exist. Of course, everyone is enhanced in some ways and its culture is grown to embrace also fetishize cybernetic technology.

In fact, This campaign does not ask for big questions that set an action-packed journey through the flashy and bizarre Night City streets. After all, its side quests are where are the story's of the heart truly lies. Of course, it is similar to Assassin Creed Valhalla. In fact, Cyberpunk 2077 side quests flesh is out from the world and people in ways that its campaign does not. Also, the backstories add more to the narrative which should not be optional. In fact, they are essential for playing if you are ready for the full Night City experience.

Blast, Hack and Slash

After all, there are many ways that are to build V. As well as, you can go all-in just on hacking. That will give you the multitude of saboteur abilities that will let you hijack the cameras, defense enemies, and systems. If you will find yourself outgun, and hack grenades on your assailant’s belt and blow him. So nearby compatriots to kingdom come. Or else you can just use a local network to infect the enemies with the debilitations to prevent them from moving. The cool stat of umbrella houses all the assassination and sneaking abilities that you could want in. After all, if the poison, or silent movement, and the bonus damage undercover are more in your speed. This is the place where you have to invest your level-up points.

As well as, the skill trees are massive that is bloated by the passive boosts like reload speed, damage, or critical-hit chance. In fact, that is not to say that the unique moves and the abilities are not there. Also, you can build for melee damage, stealth, evasion, gunplay, and other combat styles. In fact, the skill tree is not nearly as expansive as it initially seems. After all, you will make many incremental improvements to your character rather than the larger ones that are more noticeable. In fact, I would have perks that are consolidated to have more impact. That delivers a smaller and more concise, skill tree system.

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After all, the combat is satisfying so thanks to the game's play style and the weapon variety. As well as, the Power Weapons is fancy lingo for the ballistics like machine guns, shotguns, and revolvers shred targets. Of course, you can easily decapitate assailants if you will pop them into the right place. Also, tech weapons will use railgun-style electromagnets to evaporate anything. If any problem you will aim at the disappears with the pull of the trigger. In fact, the smart weapons will target and curve the bullets around to the cover and corners. which will remind me of the silly weapon scene from The Fifth Element.

In fact, Melee is nothing to sneeze at it either. As well as, the bare knuckles do the surprisingly well in the scrap. But you can not arm yourself with a limb-hacking swords, good old bludgen, grappling mantis claws. Or the other body modifications that will enhance your brutish and physical prowess. After all, the enemies are resilient but not spongey like the shooter-RPGs. In fact, the foes to take a beating but they are stick around enough for you to get the creative that how you kill them. Of course, I had never felt to cheated what the game threw my way. Of course, I run the low ammunition regularly. because I went half on melee and running out of the ammo.

Kinks to Iron

After all, the Cyberpunk 2077 is the fascinating world and the great gameplay systems. In fact, the game is pack with bugs. As well as, sometimes the elevators do not load or do not work. Of course, enemies occasionally bug out and the mindlessly stand around waiting for you that you will shoot them. In fact, the characters teleport into scenes if they did not load properly. Also, NPCs drive through scenery and speed off in sunset. Also, the side quest did not complete correctly. Of course, I force to restart the game from the previous checkpoint.

As well as, these issues are the game-breaking problems and they are frequent. In fact, if you will buy the game at launch then you have to expect to see the bugs at play through. After all, the Developer CD Projekt Red have patch alleviate these issues.

Can Your PC Run Cyberpunk 2077's?

Of course, the Cyberpunk 2077 is open-world games. After all, this is grimy aesthetic off-putting. When compared to Deus Ex then the Mankind Divided's the clean and bright environments. Also, the Night City is larger and more interconnected to the world that is fallen on hard times.

Of course, the Night City is pack with a visual delights. Also, the car is interiors drip to detail and the streets is densely pack ads and cyber-enhanced NPCs. As well as, It is good to drive around the town also in the environments. After all, sitting in the shadow room and conversing with gangsters, clients, and kingpins looks stylish and cool.

After all, the game elements are not pulse-pounding action sequences stories. It is driven around the town during missions and enjoying Night City's sounds and sights. In fact, CD Projekt Red have craft world that visual settings suit PC and the game at best atmosphere.

Cyberpunk 2077 System Requirements

Of course, the Cyberpunk 2077 is the first game in Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 graphics card feel latest. After all, this game is default to the Medium settings on my gaming desktop. With CPU AMD Ryzen 5 3600 / GPU GTX 970 / RAM 16GB. In fact, this setting deliver best visuals that moved at 30 fps. Also, the Low frame rate will dance betweem 40fps and 50fps. But the gameplay is not smooth the visual hit. After all, playing on the High or Ultra High will drop the frame rate to 20s low that is not the trouble.

Of course, to play the Cyberpunk 2077 you have to need a PC that contains atleast the Windows 7 OS / CPU: AMD FX 8310 or Intel i5 3570k / Graphic Card: AMD Radeon RX 470 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 / RAM: 8GB / Space: minimum of 70GB or more. After all, the recommended system requirements setting is Intel CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3200 or i7 4790 / Graphic Card: AMD Radeon RX 590 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 and RAM is 12GB.

In fact, you can purchase the Cyberpunk 2077 at jsut $59.99 from video game stores. As well as, this game is supporting many features of steam like Steam Trading Cards, Steam Cloud, and Steam Achievements. In fact, this is full controller support. There is no way to make character stroll when using a keyboard and mouse.

Unpolished Gem

In fact, I was not impress with the Cyberpunk 2077. Because the distinct west coast grime turn me off and few perks that did not appeal to my play style. After all, I fell so good and fall in love with the Night City. As well as, if bugs can get iron out then the Cyberpunk 2077 is potential Game of the Year candidate. Here’s we are hoping that the CD Projekt Red will push out fixes.

We are here to hear from you

After all, you can contact us to let us know if we are missing something on our page. I hope you like it and thank you for your visit.

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[epicmeetsfail]

Gears 5 graphics performance looks as slick as a well-oiled Lancer https://ift.tt/2SAx42v

Good news for anyone looking forward to playing Gears of War 5 later this year, as this weekend’s multiplayer tech test has been showing some very promising results in the old graphics card performance department. I played a chunk of it yesterday and saw lots of lovely high frame rates from both my 6GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 and GTX 970 GPUs, showing you don’t need to shell out for a shiny new graphics card (*cough*Control*cough*) just to get a stable 60fps. Here’s how I got on.

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July 22, 2019 at 11:29AM

[tech-battery]

AMD RADEON RX 5500 XT 8GB REVIEW

AMD's retail Radeon RX 5500 XT series of graphics cards are here, bringing additional options to the budget and mid-range graphics card market. I looked at the Radeon RX 5500 XT 4GB last week for the launch, and now it's time for a review of the 8GB card. Just how much does doubling down on VRAM do for performance? As you'd expect, it depends on the games and settings you're running.

If you haven't read the 4GB model review, I suggest you start there. AMD's Navi / RDNA architecture hasn't changed, though Navi 14 does cut the potential number of compute units (CUs) from a maximum of 40 down to a maximum of 24—with the 5500 XT enabling 22 of the CUs. The two cards I'm reviewing look identical, which is expected as both are Sapphire Pulse models. The only difference is the VRAM and a $30 increase in price.

While the specs might not have changed, other than VRAM, the price increase has some ramifications. The 5500 XT 4GB card matches up against the GTX 1650 Super, and the two are effectively tied in performance. The 8GB card meanwhile has to take on the GTX 1660, and Nvidia's card has the same number of GPU cores, 1,408. The problem for AMD is that Nvidia's GPU cores tend to perform a bit better overall, so the GTX 1660 is likely to come out ahead in performance. At least the TDP is basically the same—120W vs 130W won't really matter either way.

There's little difference in features to speak of. Technically, Nvidia's GTX 1660 can enable ray tracing in games that support it. In practice, the 1660 isn't fast enough to make ray tracing worthwhile. There are other facets of performance—AMD GPUs often perform better in DirectX 12 games, Nvidia GPUs can do better in DX11 and other games—but overall the two sides are evenly matched in the mid-range and lower markets.

There's also a jump in generational pricing, especially looking at current street prices. The RX 590 originally launched at $279 last year; today, you can get that same card for $179. It uses more power, but performance is going to be very similar to the RX 5500 XT 8GB. Even AMD's own numbers say as much, where AMD compares the 5500 XT to the older RX 480 cards and claims a 30 percent improvement in performance. AMD's not wrong, but the RX 470/480 are three years old, so a 30 percent improvement at only slightly lower prices isn't all that impressive.

Which brings me to the real question: How does the RX 5500 XT 8GB perform? Let's get to the benchmarks.

Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB gaming performance

My standard testbed features an overclocked Core i7-8700K running at 5.0GHz. For budget and midrange cards, the CPU might be overkill, but it shows the highest potential performance for the graphics cards. Anyone considering the RX 5500 XT will probably be running a slightly slower CPU, but anything from the past several years should be sufficient. I've tested 11 games for this review, with a reasonable split between games that favor AMD hardware, and games that run better on Nvidia hardware.

Testing is done at 1080p 'medium' and 'ultra' settings (which may go by different names, depending on the game), as well as 1440p and 'ultra' settings. Each game is tested multiple times, using the median result, to ensure consistency of performance. I've included a few more GPUs this time, mostly for reference—if you're thinking about upgrading from a Vega 56, for example, the 5500 XT isn't going to be very compelling. It looks better against the old GTX 970 and R9 390, however.

At 1080p medium, there's no real benefit to the 8GB RX 5500 XT compared to the 4GB model. A few games even perform slightly faster with the 4GB card, which is a bit odd—it's probably just slight differences in memory latency. The RX 5500 XT cards are also tied with the GTX 1650 Super in overall performance, but the GTX 1660 is about 5 percent faster. Running medium quality at 1080p isn't really the goal if you're going to pay extra for the 8GB card, however.

Stepping up to 1080p ultra starts to favor the 8GB model over its lesser sibling, though it's only a seven percent improvement on average. Individual games show much larger gains, though—Shadow of the Tomb Raider performance improves by 9 percent, Forza Horizon 4 runs 15 percent faster, Borderlands 3 is 18 percent faster, and Assassin's Creed Odyssey opens up a 33 percent gap. The remaining seven games all show relatively similar performance, but there have been quite a few recent games that I'm not showing here where having more VRAM would also be beneficial (eg, Red Dead Redemption 2).

The difficulty AMD faces is that at 1080p—which is really the resolution you should plan on using with a mid-range or budget GPU—even at maxed out quality there aren't a ton of games that truly need more VRAM. And of the games that benefit from more VRAM, none of them seem to need more than 6GB. That means once again that the GTX 1660 costs as much as the 5500 XT 8GB but performs about five percent better.

At 1440p ultra, the 5500 XT 8GB shows its largest lead yet relative to the 4GB cards. It's now 12 percent faster, but we're also looking at average performance across the test suite of 45 fps. Every game still stays above 30 fps, which means performance is still generally better than current consoles, but only two of the tested games (Strange Brigade and Forza Horizon 4) average 60 fps or more. Lighter esports games like CS:GO and Overwatch should be viable at 1440p, however.

I'm not showing 4K charts, because framerates are about half what you get at 1440p, but if you're wondering: the 8GB card ends up with a 25 percent average performance lead over the 4GB model. It also comes out tied with the 1660 at 4K ultra, though both sit at 25 fps. Long-term, the 6GB and 8GB cards are a safer choice than a 4GB card, and I wouldn't touch a 2GB model at this point, but if you want more performance, you'll still be better off getting a faster GPU rather than doubling VRAM.

AMD Radeon XT 5500 XT 8GB: more and less

As a general rule, I advise people not to skimp on VRAM. I've been saying that since the GTX 1060 3GB/6GB and RX 570/580 4GB/8GB launches several years back. Yes, it costs more for the higher VRAM models, and performance doesn't always improve a lot with the extra memory. Except when it does, and then you could end up very sad that you cheaped out on your graphics card and now have to turn down some settings. The RX 5500 XT 8GB is a continuation of that recommendation. You can save $30 by purchasing the 4GB model, but long-term I don't think that's the best plan.

That's the "more" part of the equation, but it's not a clear win and there's a reason I've scored this card slightly lower than the 4GB model. First, even across 11 games, the improvement in performance at 1080p ultra is mostly minor (with a few exceptions). In an AMD-only world, I still recommend buying the 8GB model, but AMD isn't alone, there are multiple other options. Nvidia's GTX 1660 costs the same as the 5500 XT 8GB, or you can spend another $30 to get a GTX 1660 Super.

Alternatively, look at more than just the price of the graphics card and its performance. Spending 15 percent more ($230) for a 20 percent increase in framerates (ie, GTX 1660 Super) is reasonable. However, if you're putting that card into a gaming PC that costs $500 for the other components, it's really $730 vs. $700—a mere 4 percent increase in total cost, for the same 20 percent improvement in performance. That's basically what the GTX 1660 Super offers. Or you could upgrade to an RTX 2060 and it would be $800 vs $700, a 14 percent increase in PC costs for a 45 percent jump in performance. Spending a bit more money for each higher tier of graphics performance is a slippery slope, but even if you stop at the $200 mark, the RX 5500 XT 8GB doesn't come out as the champion.

Ultimately, AMD's Radeon RX 5500 XT series is a reasonable offering in the budget to midrange graphics card market. It's not clearly superior to other options, but it's also not clearly worse. If you're looking to buy a new graphics card, whether as an upgrade to an existing PC or as part of a new gaming PC build, it's worth a look. Performance of the 5500 XT 8GB is basically equal to the outgoing RX 590, while using about 100W less power. You wouldn't want to "upgrade" from a 590 to a 5500 XT, in other words, but if you're trying to choose between those two AMD options, I'd grab the newer model. If you're not set on AMD, however, I'd look to the GTX 1660 or 1660 Super.

[williamsjoan]

Razer Blade 15 Review — A Technical Marvel

I’m old enough that I (almost fondly) remember the origins of gaming laptops. Huge, loud, hot, and (typically) under-performing compared to their tower counterparts. And that was mainly how gaming laptops stayed — that is, until Razer nearly single-handedly changed the landscape offering a high-performing, attractive option under a reputable brand. Five years after their first launch of the Razer Blade, the Razer Blade 15 is on the market and is unequivocally the best gaming laptop of 2018.

To start things off, Razer is known for excellent design choices, and that carries over with the Razer Blade 15. An all-around upgrade to the stylish Razer Blade 14, the powerhouse seems like it is looking less like a beefed-up MacBook Pro thanks to more angular housing that comes off as sleek. The frame is solid and comfortably heavy, coming in just shy of five pounds (4.63 if we are being exact).

Bezel continues to be the big word of 2018, and the Razer Blade 15 manages to fit in a ton of screen into the real estate. The 15.6-inch display is surrounded by a 4.9mm bezel that makes the screen pop, thanks in part to the Full HD display.

“…the Razer Blade 15 is on the market and is unequivocally the best gaming laptop of 2018.”

Speaking more to the hardware itself, the Razer Blade 15 will have you covered in nearly every port that you need for gaming. Specifically, you will find three USB-A ports, one USB-C Thunderbolt 3, HDMI, mini DisplayPort, 3.5mm combo audio jack. Short of a dedicated Ethernet port, I’ve got no complaints with the makeup — just like pockets on dresses, any laptop with an Ethernet solution gets an automatic nod. Though one of the new base models does include that, albeit at the sacrifice of having a thicker base and slower refresh rates.

While I’m a huge fan of the unibody design that the Razer Blade 15 is going far, I have my qualms about the keyboard size — especially when it came to muscle memory. Compared to most other laptops (for instance, the MSI GS65 Stealth Thin) the Razer Blade 15’s keyboard is notably small.

Compacted due to a larger touchpad at the bottom of the rig and speakers on either side of the keyboard, playing League or Smite threw me for a loop. All of my muscle memory was slightly out of line, which isn’t typically a noticeable issue when switching to a new keyboard. On the other end, this is meant to become a dedicated system; at worst, expect only a few days of slight confusion and then you may glean some gameplay benefit over the shorter distance between keystrokes.

But speaking of the touchpad and speakers, you’ll have no qualms from me. In fact, the mild initial discomfort is (dare I say) worth it for the quality of the speakers and the large real estate you manage to draw from the touchpad. If you are buying Razer, there is a good chance you are already part of the Razer ecosystem with the desktop-based Nommo Chroma Speakers or the terrific Razer Nari Ultimate. Even still, I wouldn’t hesitate to play directly from the laptop than deal with wires because there isn’t a significant sacrifice in quality for general gaming purposes.

There are more than a few different variations you can buy the Razer Blade 15 in, with the base model (Full HD 60Hz GeForce GTX 1060) clocking in at just under $1,600. Meanwhile, the more souped-up 4K 60Hz GeForce GTX 1070 will land you as much as $2,800 when it comes back in stock, and is more in-line for the seasoned video editor or artistic soul. From a sheer gaming perspective, best bang for your buck is going to be the Full HD 144Hz GeForce GTX 1070 at $2,199 — though currently out of stock for the holiday season. However, it hits the best deal when it comes to cost, display quality/refresh rate, and graphics card for the more robust gaming experience.

All that power in such a thin, .68″ frame does come with its sacrifices. Specifically, heat dissipation. The Razer website advertises an “innovative vapor chamber cooling system,” but it came up well short of the goal. During my regular graphics testing on Kingdom Come Deliverance, the system got so hot that I had to move it from my lap to a dedicated cooling dock. Even on that, you can feel the heat on your palms. But on the plus side, not once did the laptop overheat, so the system is undoubtedly getting the cooling done… just not in a way that goes unnoticed.

“…everything big in 2018 runs fantastically on the Razer Blade 15.”

When not under massive strain, there isn’t a ton of sound behind the fans — you can expect to listen to your K-POP (or whatever it is you pull up on Spotify) without hearing the roar of a jet engine behind it. Google Chrome would occasionally set it off, but everyday tasks will be easily navigated by the Razer Blade 15 with cold and fast precision.

Now the meat of the matter: gaming. The great news is everything big in 2018 runs fantastically on the Razer Blade 15. Whether I was putting on single-player stalwarts like Kingdom Come Deliverance or the new Just Cause 4, or I was venturing into multiplayer territory with Battlefield V, the Razer Blade 15 could run the game smooth like butter. While there is a lot to be said on how the tech specs speak to this, so too does the Razer Synapse software that notably improves performance in Gaming Mode. It’s a tinkering tool and unnecessary to most anyone… but for all of us that like to min-max our gaming experiences, this isn’t something be ignored.

Outside of gaming software, I have to give Razer props for not stocking the Razer Blade 15 up with a ton of bloatware. While I’ve had more than a fair share of gaming PC’s that come with mobile games and ancillary programs that slow down the system on day one, the Razer Blade 15 ships barebones and perfect with just Synapse being the main add-on. And thankfully, Synapse is useful and localized to that one tool — you won’t have to be shifting through multiple applications to change up your RGB backlight.

While you are always going to want to plug in when playing some high-intensity games, simple tasks like answering email and watching some Netflix seemed to hit around five hours of battery (if not a bit over). I was wowed by that number — my MSI GS65 Stealth hits slightly under that, though my day-to-day MacBook Pro hits well above that at around 8 hours. Though if you are buying a gaming PC for basic tasks like web surfing and streaming, you aren’t getting the benefit of the hardware to begin with.

“…Razer Blade 15 is the closest to perfect we’ve seen so far.”

We are likely decades away from the perfect gaming PC, but the Razer Blade 15 is the closest to perfect we’ve seen so far. Despite some small sacrifices for both style and comfort, the Razer Blade 15 shows that a company as big as Razer isn’t resting on their laurels — in fact, they still provide the heaviest competition for any brand big or small on the market.

If you aren’t planning on building your own PC anytime soon or are just looking for gaming on the go, Razer Balde 15 is the best that money can buy (even if it is a lot of money). While anyone grabbing the hardware for anything but gaming is missing the main draw, it is a dollar well spent for any novice or experienced PC gamer and will be difficult for them to top on their next revision.

The post Razer Blade 15 Review — A Technical Marvel by Lou Contaldi appeared first on DualShockers.

Razer Blade 15 Review — A Technical Marvel published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/

[barbosaasouza]

HTC Vive Pro VR HMD Minimum Specs Revealed, GTX 1070 Recommended

PC specifications are important when gauging the software and hardware a user wants to utilize and has been incredibly significant when it comes to virtual reality. A poor performing VR HMD isn’t just frustrating, it can induce motion sickness in some users. The Vive Pro update is built for improved performance all around and, as it turns out, enthusiasts will need a slightly more powerful GPU if they want to give the Pro a go.

Road to VR caught the reveal of the HTC Vive Pro minimum specs, as well as the jump up for recommended. HTC suggests the GTX 1070 for the ideal Vive Pro experience, bumping the GTX 1060 down to the minimum requirement. If you’re currently using the GTX 1060, the 1070 is roughly twice the price currently. The minimum spec also changes the required USB to 3.0 from 2.0.

In our hands-on at CES, our writer had this to say about the Vive Pro:

“The HTC Vive Pro is a must-have for hardcore VR users, and I am surprised to see it hit the market so soon after the launch of the original Vive. It was especially surprising considering we have yet to hear a unit sales number from HTC. At the very least, the HTC Vive Pro is a signal from HTC that they are here to stay in the high-end VR space. The ergonomic improvements and increased screen resolution are the two major reasons I would recommend the device to anyone on the fence about upgrading, and if you have been sitting on the sideline, Vive Pro might be the perfect excuse to jump into VR. HTC has packaged together a number of smart improvements into a big upgrade for VR enthusiasts.”

The Vive Pro will feature dual-OLED panels to produce a 3K (2800 x 1600) image, which is a 78% increase over the Vive. The Vive Pro will also include dual-mics with active noise cancellation and two front-facing cameras that the engineers hope will inspire developer creativity. Here are the full specs for the new HMD:

Screen: Dual AMOLED 3.5" diagonal

Resolution: 1440 x 1600 pixels per eye (2880 x 1600 pixels combined)

Refresh rate: 90 Hz

Field of view: 110 degrees

Audio: Hi-Res certificate headset

Hi-Res certificate headphone (removable)

High impedance headphone support

Input: Integrated microphones

Connections: USB-C 3.0, DP 1.2, Bluetooth

Sensors: SteamVR Tracking, G-sensor, gyroscope, proximity, IPD sensor

Ergonomics: Eye relief with lens distance adjustment

Adjustable IPD

Adjustable headphone

Adjustable head-strap

The HTC Vive Pro launches next week and will cost $799 standalone. Current Vive owners can upgrade for less than $400 and the Pro will be compatible with old sensors and controllers.

HTC Vive Pro VR HMD Minimum Specs Revealed, GTX 1070 Recommended published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[matewayer-blog]

ASUS ROG Strix GL553VE Gaming Notebook

Welcome to a Biomedical Battery specialist of the Asus Laptop Battery

The more features and oomph you want the more willing to pay you need to be. This is the cardinal rule of laptop shopping. The aforementioned things are emphasized in gaming notebooks which have all the bells and whistles and performance you could ever ask for. One newer, interesting addition to the gaming laptop scene is ASUS ROG Strix GL553VE, a 15.6-inches rig with GeForce GTX 1050Ti. Expectations are high given the specs and price, but what will a closer examination reveal us…?

ASUS ROG Strix GL553VE with battery such as Asus UX21E-SH52 Battery, Asus UX21A Battery, Asus UX21E Battery, Asus UX21E-KX020D Battery, Asus A31N1311 Battery, Asus F102BA Battery, Asus R103B Battery, Asus X102B Battery, Asus X102BA-DF1200 Battery, Asus X102BA-BH41T Battery, Asus A31N1519 Battery, Asus X540LJ Battery carries a good gaming card, the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti equipped with 4GB memory. Of course it is not the best of the best, but I don’t think many players would find this Ti version of GTX 1050 disappointing. It can hold proper frame rates, take a look at these few examples:

– GTA 5, +50 frames – The Witcher 3, +30 frames – Doom, +60 frames

Settings were mostly at high, some ultra. Resolution was of course 1080p.

One minor quibble can be the missing VR support. Virtual Reality works on GTX 1060 up but unfortunately not here!

Is the performance good for software use?

To answer the above question, easily! The processor is one of the fastest units there currently exists, the Intel Core i7-7700HQ. The Intel uses a quad-core setup and up to 3.8GHz clock frequency with turbo – indeed the base speed is somewhat lower 2.8GHz. As noted, not many other processors can beat its score of ~9000 points in CPU Mark. If you want to make sure your programs (no matter how much they hog resources) run smoothly, this i7 should be your choice number one.

The storage setup of ASUS ROG Strix GL553VE is just perfect. If you’re after a huge data storage you’ll find 1TB 5400RPM hard drive inside. It will eat myriads of data before filling up. On the other hand, if you want the best performance, store your files on the 256GB M.2 SATA part. It will serve the files or programs or games in the blink of an eye!

There is nothing to complain about the memory. After all, 16 gigabytes is installed which is more than sufficient for anyone I can think of. However feel free to add more if you really want to, one free slot is waiting for you. The maximum is 32GB, and the memory type is the newer DDR4.

ASUS ROG Strix GL553VE has a set of useful ports sprinkled on its sides. There you will find four USB connectors. One of them is USB 2.0, the slower standard, while two are the faster USB 3.0. Yet, there is also a single USB 3.1 Type-C port. It’s a sort of All-in-One port because it works with so many interfaces and technologies, including HDMI and DisplayPort. You just need the right kind of cable to be able to benefit from this multi-use USB Type-C!

That being said, the laptop also sports a single HDMI output, spitting 4K resolution to a monitor connected to it. Thus, don’t be afraid of connecting larger televisions to this rig, they should be handled fine.

Nothing is coming in your way of connecting this thing to Internet. You can choose the Gigabit RJ-45 port, or then the WiFi adapter. The wireless adapter is very fast and also has long range thanks to the dual-band, 2×2 ac standard. Bluetooth is supported, too.

To install programs and games the “old-fashioned” way from discs, you can use the notebook’s built-in DVD burner. It also accepts SD and MMC cards through its memory card reader. Those offer a handy way of transferring data using a physically small medium.

Surely the 15.6″ display of ASUS ROG Strix GL553VE is great. The user reports talk about high image quality which is believable given the price and things such as matte finish, 1080p support and IPS-like panel. Thanks to the last feature the screen can be viewed from sides no problem, 178 degree angles. The top panel hosts a webcam which can be used for YouTube filming.

The laptop’s 4-cell 48Whr battery unit is nothing to be proud of. You see, the components inside demand power and will draw the battery empty rather fast. A realistic estimate is 1.5-2 hours if you’re gaming. Double that if just browsing the web. To add insult to injury, the battery is of non-replaceable type.

ASUS ROG Strix GL553VE is a newcomer to the Republic of Gamers family and it doesn’t seem to be a useless addition at all. The Asus does its main job, which is to keep players happy, well: you can throw all kinds of games at this rig without worries of low frame rates – especially if you need not maximum settings on every single one of them. Other components are in check too since there is a new 7th Gen Core i7 powering the system and SSD serving your files fast. The only blunder, which is common in all gaming systems, is poor battery life. If you don’t care about that there are no real drawbacks. So choose this ASUS ROG as your new laptop, that is my advice!

[davidegbert]

Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060 Review

One of the most obvious differences between PCs and game consoles is that you can’t practically set up a full-sized PC in your living room and use it with your big-screen TV. On the other hand though, consoles lock you in to their ecosystems and aren’t very versatile. Enter Zotac, one of the world’s best known Nvidia partners, with its Zbox Magnus series of compact PCs designed specifically to fit in where no ordinary PC would be welcome.

With a device like this, Zotac hopes it’s giving you the best of both worlds. You get the flexibility of a gaming PC, and the convenience of a console. The company sells these boxes as barebones, which means you get only the motherboard, CPU and GPU which are pretty much fixed and not upgradable. You have to add your own storage, RAM and OS.

The current Zbox Magnus range comprises of models built around mobile versions of Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1060, 1070 and 1080 GPUs. Note that Nvidia has dispensed with the M suffix for its mobile parts – you’re still getting slightly constrained versions of each. We have with us today the smallest and most affordable of the trio, the Zbox Magnus EN1060.

Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060 look and feel While today’s top consoles are slick glossy boxes with distinctive designs, the Zbox Magnus EN1060 looks a bit plain. It’s all black matte plastic except for the usual Zotac ‘O’ on top (which doesn’t light up) and a glossy front panel. The look might pass for industrial, thanks to the vents around the top and general boxiness of the whole unit, but we think that Zotac missed a bit of an opportunity here. It’s neither minimalist nor distinctive; somewhat like an oversized router or maybe a DTH set-top box.

However, it certainly is compact and light. If you need to travel a lot and take a PC with you, the EN1060 would work well. It does have a fairly large external power brick, like most powerful laptops, though. If you aren’t thinking of a living room setup but just want a compact non-AIO PC, this box would be extremely unobtrusive on a desk. It could also work very well for a kiosk or similar kinds of applications. The only thing it lacks is a VESA mounting option, even in the form of a bracket or sled.

The front panel has a large power button with an orange LED ring around it, an exposed SD card slot, USB 3.1 Type-A and Type-C ports, and two 3.5mm audio sockets. Hidden but also present is an Infrared receiver which should work with standard programmable remote controls (no remote is included). The front panel layout is a bit haphazard, and the text labels aren’t printed very cleanly – it’s this kind of attention to detail that Zotac needs to work on if it’s aiming for general consumer acceptance in this day and age.

On the back, there’s a DC power inlet, two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, two HDMI 2.0 and two DisplayPort 1.3 video outputs, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, and a Wi-Fi antenna terminal. A short antenna is included in the box and can be screwed on within seconds. The fact that there are so many display outputs and Ethernet ports reinforces our opinion that Zotac was thinking of embedded and industrial applications for this model – all four video ports can apparently be used simultaneously which could be particularly interesting for full-motion high-resolution digital signage.  

After removing two thumbscrews on the back, the bottom of the Zbox Magnus EN1060 slides off with very little effort. You have immediate access to the two SO-DIMM RAM slots, a 2.5-inch SATA bay, and an M.2 slot. We love the fact that we can have two SSDs or a secondary hard drive for bulk storage – obviously, we recommend going for a PCIe-based M.2 SSD for the highest possible performance. You’ll also see a mini-PCIe slot pre-populated with a Wi-Fi/ Bluetooth card. The fact that this is removable gives us another potential upgrade path.

Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060 specifications and setup While the star of the show is the GeForce GTX 1060 with its 6GB of dedicated VRAM, the CPU is no slouch either. It’s an Intel Core i5-6400T, which is interestingly a socketed 35W desktop part, with four cores running at between 2.2 and 2.8GHz. While it might be technically possible to upgrade the CPU and GPU, the EN1060 is not designed with access to those components in mind, and its thermal management capabilities are not likely to be able to scale very much.

You can have up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM and whatever combination of storage devices you like as per the slots available. Zotac has partnered with Mumbai-based hardware distributor PrimeABGB to offer SSD and RAM combo deals, and we tested our EN1060 sample with one such bundle – a single 16GB stick of Kingston HyperX Impact DDR4 RAM and a 480GB Kingston HyperX Predator M.2 SSD. These are both high-end units, and this particular combination costs Rs. 42,401, pushing the total price of the Zbox Magnus EN1060 as we tested it up to Rs. 1,16,000.

It took us less than two minutes to install our RAM and SSD, and we don’t think anyone should have a problem getting that done. Of course, you’ll have to install Windows (or your choice of OS) from scratch, and that’s potentially an extra cost as well. Zotac includes all drivers on a USB stick in the box, which is a nice touch, but we still downloaded all the latest ones from the company’s website. Everything went off without a hitch.

The USB 3.1 ports on the front work at full Gen 2 (10Gbps) speed, and each of the HDMI and DisplayPort outputs can handle up to 4K 60Hz displays as long as you have the right cables. There should be enough ports for anyone, and we’d recommend using a wireless keyboard and mouse or even a gamepad if you prefer a clean look.

Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060 performance We were hoping that the Zbox Magnus EN1060 would run cool and quiet, and for the most part, it does. There’s a very soft high-pitched whine which we could hear from up to a few feet away, but there’s no massive exhaust noise. At the most, you’ll hear the fans flutter when they come to life. The outside of the box stays cool at all times.

Windows 10 booted up quickly, and our 4K Asus PB287Q monitor ran at its native resolution and refresh rate as soon as we had the Nvidia drivers loaded. General performance was snappy, thanks to our SSD, and we had no trouble whatsoever with normal PC usage. We dipped into the BIOS for a look and found that it was a bit old-school in terms of layout and navigation. There are no deep tweaking options for fans, voltages and speeds, but no casual user should really miss these.

Performance benchmarks showed us scores in line with those of a modern mid-range desktop. We got 3,738, 6,129, and 2,586 in PCMark 8’s Home, Creative, and Work suites respectively. Cinebench gave us 422cb points, and POVray ran its render benchmark in 4 minutes, 9 seconds. If you buy the same SSD we tested with, you should expect performance in line with our SiSoft SANDRA scores of 938.67MBps and 899.1MBps for sequential read and write speeds.

Of course, gaming is the main attraction here, and as usual we started with 3DMark. The Zbox Magnus EN1060 managed 3,292 in the Time Spy DX12 test, and 2,512, 4,732 and 8,552 in the Fire Strike Ultra, Extreme and standard test runs. We ran Unigine Valley at 1920x1080 at its Ultra preset, and got an average score of 59.2fps. Running the same test at 2560x1660, we got a score of 36.6fps. The Star Swarm stress test also gave us an average of 62.91.

Ashes of the Singularity only managed 41.1fps at 1920x1080 using the High preset. Taking it down to the Low preset, we got a score of 44.8fps. Metro: Last Light Redux’s built-in benchmark gave us 76fps at 1920x1080 using the High quality setting, and 101fps at Medium. We were surprised by the low scores in Rise of the Tomb Raider’s built-in benchmark – we averaged only 27.17fps at 1920x1080 using the Low preset, which was as far as we were willing to reduce image quality. Things were a bit better when playing the game manually, but we still saw a lot of textures popping in as we moved about, which makes for a unsatisfying overall experience.

We then played through a number of games manually to get a feel of the EN1060’s real-world performance. Doom (2016), as expected, ran like butter. We switched to the low-level Vulkan renderer and used the game’s built in diagnostic display, and observed performance in excess of 120fps at 1920x1080 using the Ultra quality setting. Feeling adventurous, we bumped the resolution up to 4K, which caused the frame rate to plummet to 30-40fps on average with a few dips below that level. The game was still playable, but not as enjoyable – we would settle at 2560x1440 as a happy medium.

Far Cry 4 is well suited to the capability level of this hardware. We also tried this game at various settings, and settled on 1920x1080 with the High quality preset. At this point, we logged a comfortable 76fps average using FRAPS. What’s interesting though is that examination of the frame pacing graph shows a highly irregular pattern, with a significant number exceeding the average frame time of 12.3ms. This wasn’t visible to the naked eye and is still within reason, with just a few outliers beyond the 33ms threshold.

Battlefield 4 did somewhat better, with an average of 57fps even at 4K using the High preset. Gameplay was smooth, and the average frame times were quite tightly packed around the 17.7ms average. If you stick to low-impact or older games, you’ll definitely have a much better time.

Verdict There is an impressive amount of power on tap for a box this small, but Rs 73,599 is a lot more than today’s gaming consoles cost - and that’s before considering the money you’ll need to spend on RAM, SSDs, and an OS. The components we tested with push the price up to well over what a solid gaming laptop such as the MSI GP62 7RD Leopard Pro would cost. Even if you go with only a basic 240GB SATA SSD and a single 8GB stick of DDR4 RAM, you're spending at least Rs. 82,000 in total - plus you'll need a Windows license, monitor, keyboard, mouse, headset, etc. This well exceeds the cost of what we would consider a solid value-focused gaming desktop.

Because of this cost, we’re just a little unsatisfied. If you want to play current- or previous-gen games at full-HD and don’t plan on buying a 4K TV anytime soon, the EN1060 could work out. We would personally prefer something with a bit more room to grow as newer titles come out, and we don’t want to have to settle for the Low quality setting just a year down the line.

If we consider use cases beyond gaming, we can’t really slot the EN1060 into any single role. Its hardware is overkill for an HTPC or even a media server, and those are limited purposes for something this expensive. We’re more inclined to see this device as a compact PC for a desk, when space and looks both matter but an AIO won’t do because you want to be able to play games. If you’re really sure that the size and convenience of such a device are worth spending so much on, there’s nothing else like it which can deliver this much power. Just remember that if and when you feel that the CPU or GPU need to be upgraded, you’re going to have to replace the entire box.

We wish there were more small-form-factor PCs in the market. The EN1060 makes us feel like we aren’t getting enough bang for our buck, but at the same time, there aren’t many other choices, especially ones this small and convenient. Zotac is serving a very niche market here, and needs to figure out different balances of size, cost and power if it wants to make a dent in the mainstream.

Price (MRP): Barebones: Rs. 73,599; As tested: Rs. 1,16,000

Pros

Compact and unobtrusive

Enough power to run most games at 1920x1080 or beyond

USB 3.1 (Gen 2) Type-C

Easy to install SSDs and RAM

Cons

Expensive for a barebones PC

No OS included

Looks could be better

Ratings (Out of 5)

Design: 3.5

Performance: 3.5

Value for Money: 3

Overall: 3.5

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