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aion-rsa · 3 years

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The Best PC Cases from be quiet! for Every Budget

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This article is presented by be quiet!

New year, new PC? With exciting new hardware available to buy, it may feel like it’s time to upgrade your rig. And if you’re undertaking serious PC surgery this year – or if you just want to make your PC run cooler and quieter – the case is a great place to start.

We’ve got some fine PC case recommendations from the cool and quiet obsessives over at be quiet!, but first, here are a few things you need to consider when picking a new chassis for your rig:

Why now is the perfect time to upgrade your PC case

There’s one big reason why it’s the perfect time to give your PC a bit of a spruce up: a whole line of new, next-gen GPUs designed to give you the ultimate gaming experience.

Both AMD and NVIDIA have new graphics cards out now. And while the former’s Radeon RX 6000 series and the latter’s GeForce RTX 30 family are like gold dust at the moment, if you aim for one to sit proudly in your PC at some point, you might need to make a bit of space in your rig.

Both GPUs are designed to give your gaming rig a shot in the arm, with substantial improvements over the previous generation of already powerful cards. AMD’s CES event showcased the new RDNA architecture offering between 1.8x and 2.2x the frame rate in 4K games against its previous generation 5700XT cards, while even the $400 NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti comfortably beats the (previous) heavyweight RTX 2080 Ti in performance tests (launch price: $699). This kind of power opens the door for stunning ray tracing effects, where each beam of light is individually mapped for realistic light, shadow, and reflections.

Now, how does that all tie back to your PC case?

What to look for in a PC case

The first thing to consider is the size of the case you’re looking for. Theoretically, most people would agree that a smaller footprint would be better, which means your new case will take up less space and be easier to move around.

In reality, there are more factors at play, though: the smaller the case, the less room you have for chunky graphics cards. And even if you did somehow manage to squeeze the RTX 3090 into a tiny case, the lack of airflow would, at best, make it extremely noisy. At worst, you could be looking at serious overheating problems that could damage your expensive components.

Fortunately, you’ll find cases tend to come in four sizes. In descending order, these are: Full Tower, Mid Tower (or ATX), Micro-ATX, and Mini-ITX. This corresponds to the size of the motherboard that will fit: Extended ATX, Standard ATX, Micro-ATX, and Mini-ITX.

While you can get top of the range hardware for all form factors (MSI, for example, makes an ITX version of the brand new GeForce RTX 3060 Ti), as a rule of thumb, the more space you have, the more choice you’ll have. Some of the RTX 30 GPUs are real chonksters, with RTX 3090 cards coming in at nearly 12 inches long and taking up the space of three motherboard slots.

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Size also plays a factor in terms of cooling. Not only do you want plenty of space for airflow if you’re going to be working with hardware that turns up the temperature, but you need space for cooling equipment – be it fans or liquid cooling.

You should also pay attention to what options a case offers for cable management. Otherwise, you’re making a bit more work for yourself and possibly setting yourself up for a messy PC which looks bad and doesn’t help your cooling situation, either.

Finally, of course, you’ve got to consider your budget. While we’d never suggest cheaping out on a flimsy case (you’ll likely end up buying another when you discover it’s a hot, noisy mess) money saved means more cash for top-tier internals.

Fortunately, the PC building experts at be quiet! have considered all of the important concerns highlighted above, and bring something for every budget. The German company has been making PC hardware since 2002 and knows a thing or two about keeping things quiet and cool – hence the name.

Here are the company’s best picks for every budget:

Entry level: Pure Base 500DX ($100)

The Pure Base 500DX is a compact ATX case that’s focussed on keeping things cool and quiet, even when you’re trying to push your framerates hard.

Despite its relatively small frame, the Pure Base 500DX has plenty of room inside, with support for water cooling radiators of up to 360mm and five SSDs (two of which can be displayed in the main chassis and viewable through the tempered glass panel, while the other three can be neatly hidden away behind the motherboard tray). There’s space for large GPUs and coolers, and it comes with three 140mm Pure Wings 2 fans preinstalled.

In short, be quiet! has really thought of everything – there’s even a removable dust filter to keep your components from getting gunked up. But the tempered glass side panel will let you keep an eye on things anyway – assuming you’re not too distracted by programmable RGB lighting, that is.

Learn more at bequiet.com

Performance level: Silent Base 802 ($170)

Available with or without a window, depending on whether you want to see your PC at work, the Silent Base 802 is a great foundation for your gaming PC.

A large mid-tower chassis, it comes with everything you’d expect for quiet and cool operation, including three pre-installed Pure Wings 2 140mm fans as well as support for water cooling radiators of 420mm in length and up to seven (!) SSDs out of the box. The sides pop up at the press of a button too, saving you the need to track down a screwdriver every time you want to tinker.

But the real trump card of the Silent Base 802 is the option to switch between silent operation and performance depending on your needs. The case ships with a closed front panel and sound dampened top cover, but either or both of these can be swapped out for bundled high-airflow versions to bring down the internal temperature.

Learn more at bequiet.com

Enthusiast level: Dark Base Pro 900 Rev. 2 ($270)

The top of the range Dark Base Pro 900 wowed gamers when it debuted in 2016, and be quiet! has refined the formula for the second revision.

Its modular design makes it extremely adaptable for enthusiasts who want to use water cooling and overclocking. It supports water cooling radiators of up to 420mm in length, comes complete with a full circuit airflow system and noise-dampened vents, and has a multifunctional PSU shroud for neatness.

It improves on the 2016 original with more ways of hiding messy cables and drives, double the number of fan controllers with two channels for different fan speeds, and a new front I/O panel with USB 3.1 Gen. 2 Type C connectors. There’s even a quick charging option for smartphones. For power users, this is the ultimate choice.

Learn more at bequiet.com

Have any other questions about be quiet!’s range of PC cases, or how to choose the right one for your build? Let us know in the comments!

The post The Best PC Cases from be quiet! for Every Budget appeared first on Den of Geek.

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my-house-of-fashion · 4 years

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AUJIK, the esoteric sect reaching supreme clarity through its work

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Initiated in 2001 by Stefan Larsson, the Japan-based esoteric sect AUJIK has taken over different video platforms with its mesmerizing and unique work.

AUJIK – pronounced ‘odjik’ – is established as an esoteric sect who believes in animism and worships nature. It divides nature into primitive (vegetation, soil, humans, animals, etc) and refined (AI, robots, nano-technology, augmented reality, etc), showing in their work the bond between both, stating that the refined nature comes from the primitive and vice versa.

AUJIK also declares everything comes from nature and it is through the convergence of both refined and primitive nature, that a state of supreme clarity is achieved. It is through their work that they aim to achieve this state and do so while focusing on the idea that everything, event the most artificial things, have a consciousness and a soul.

Recently AUJIK released a new architectural video that is a collaboration with a British composer called Sion Trefor. The video depicts various architectural structures that are mainly influenced by Tadao Ando:

What is AUJIK? How did the journey for AUJIK begin?

Stefan Larsson: “It started off as a sub-branch to another brand/concept I used to work with around 2000-2005 called QNQ. I was quite fascinated by the structures of brands back then; both visually and conceptually, so I played around with various ideas and influences and then labeled them as fictional brands.

QNQ was mainly about subversive political manifestations, while AUJIK was more orientated around technology and future visions. It went through three incarnations, starting with AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) and robotics, and then combined with influences from animism and spiritualism. A few years ago I also adapted architecture.”

Why AUJIK, why surreal architectural animations?

Stefan Larsson: “The surrealist movement was probably my first art influence when I was in my early teens and long before I started making art myself, so it had an impact on basically everything I’ve done since.

I like the idea of bending reality so it twists one’s perception. I also like combining elements from nature with man constructed objects so the outcome becomes something that resembles functional structures but without any practical function.”

Stefan Larsson: “With these architectural video projects my intention was to dissolve function and practical form into a more chaotic shape that resembles nature. I first focused on separate buildings but realized that a larger scale would present what I envisioned better, so I used a whole cityscape (as in Spatial Bodies: Osaka) where the buildings were intertwined into a giant concrete forest.”

Which are the main values, core concepts or style inclinations that, above all, will always represent AUJIK?

Stefan Larsson: “I think mainly to combine elements and concepts from various fields and looking for interesting results. As an example it started with juxtaposing trees with robotics and then I have been exploring new realms that I adapted to this format. It’s also essential to have a holistic visual style attached to it.”

As an esoteric sect who believes in animism and worships nature, what is the message AUJIK wants to convey through its work?

Stefan Larsson: “It was first structured as a sect formation; just to give it an identity to build on. I was fascinated by a Japanese cult called Pana-wave laboratories as well as Shugendo and Yamabushi monks, so I came up with fictional ideas of AUJIK being a sort of esoteric cult that divided nature in to: Refined (AI, robotics, nanotechnology etc.) and Primitive ( vegetation, rocks, organic bodies etc.). It was not necessarily a dualistic perspective, but more of a fundament to create from.

If there’s a message I like to convey it’s basically to perceive and interpret all things in this world – and beyond – without limits or any rigid and inhibited attitudes.”

What other fields and inputs, outside and inside of the design world, provide you inspiration?

Stefan Larsson: “I tend to take a lot of inspiration from architecture nowadays since it’s been evolving so much in the last decade. Mainly what’s popping up in China and the Arab countries. Also I like brutalism and metabolism architecture a lot. Fashion always was an ambivalent source of inspiration. Music is without a doubt my most important inspiration though.”

Most of your work depicts the digital distortion of architecture, urban landscapes and the natural world. What process do you follow when designing your projects?

Stefan Larsson: “Since I started working with CGI about 15 years ago I constantly make things nearly by routine on a daily basis.

There’s always new stuff I’m intrigued to try. Whether its regular character animation, particle simulations, landscapes or architecture. Most of the time I’m just goofing around by doing animation projects quite fast in a day or two. For the last year I’ve been using a render engine called Octane that makes it very easy and quick to work with animations. I used to be frustrated working with CGI because of the enormous time gap between ideas and results. During that gap, there’s usually a decrease of inspiration and motivation and it’s easy to become distracted. Now when I’m able to work more directly, the spontaneity and impulse factor is a lot higher.

With some projects I had strong and fixed ideas and made many sketches before all the computer tasks. Some of these projects took between 3 months to a year to create. Nowadays I prefer to not spend more than 3-4 weeks on it.”

The new episode of your ‘Spatial Bodies’ video series project, ‘Spatial Bodies : Hong Kong & Shenzhen’, was recently introduced. Can you tell us how the idea of the project was born and the process behind it?

Stefan Larsson: “I was invited by an architectural Biennale in Shenzhen, China called Bi-city biennale of urbanism/architecture to make commissioned work in Shenzhen and Hong-Kong.

Back in 2016 I made a similar video filmed in Osaka, Japan and they asked for something like that, but with a theme that relates to these two cities. I had pretty much free hands and decided to give Shenzhen an overall design that somehow resembles computer components and circuits.

Shenzhen being the technical capital of the world where most of the components for smart phones and computers are being manufactured. The idea for Hong Kong was initially a bit more diffuse at first.”

Stefan Larsson: “I’ve never been to any of the cities before, but was really fascinated about them and actually been thinking about going there to film for a personal project before I got this offer, so it was a bit of a dream come true.

I spent 8 days there filming non-stop. Both cities are perfect to film with a drone considering the cityscapes, then there’s all the security and surveillance that made it nearly impossible to get some decent shots. It was super intense, constantly being chased away by guards and had to hide in bushes while operating the drone.

It then took about three months to complete these two videos that are 4:40 min each. I spent more than a week just motion tracking all video scenes and deciding what to use.

When I do these I make many test versions and keep rearranging everything until there’s something worth using. The video was a collaboration with a Japanese musician called Daisuke Tanabe (he also made the score for the Osaka version). I often collaborated with musicians – mainly in the electronic genre, which really boosts the motivation factor and opens up new ideas in the working process.”

What are the main trends & future directions within digital animation and what do you think of them?

Stefan Larsson: “There’s the obvious VR, AR and mixed reality. I’ve been really into that since Oculus released their early VR prototypes (Oculus DK1 & DK2). The development curve was very steep for a couple of years, but now has been slightly stagnating.

As for CGI and rendering; there’s a huge evolution with GPU-based/unbiased render engines such as OTOY’s Octane. It’s fabulous to render out ray traced animations without any glitches or flickering in just a short amount of time – compared to CPU-based rendering.

Also Unreal’s latest game-engine is highly impressive and is able to achieve photorealistic results in real-time. Then there are the nearly unlimited possibilities with Houdini if you are working with VFX and particle simulations.”

Stefan Larsson: “The whole CGI community expanded a lot during the last couple of years. I guess since the learning curve of many softwares such as Cinema 4D is easier for most people than for an example Maya or 3D studio Max.

There’s also a huge source of assets that are easy to import such as Quixel Megascans and their photogrammetry based objects and shaders. Need to mention CGtrader, Turbosquid and Sketchfab that have an enormous amount of assets that are easy to use. Everything became more accessible and user-friendly. I used to build everything from scratch, which made it limited and time consuming. Now it’s possible to create a realistic landscape scene in just a few hours.

It’s all very impressive and I’m very keen on seeing how it develops.”

The post AUJIK, the esoteric sect reaching supreme clarity through its work appeared first on DesignWanted.

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the-fitsquad · 6 years

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J20 Gaming Pc Workstation

Laptop Workstation Equipment

HP Desktop Workstations offer industry leading overall performance with enterprise-class reliability and ISV certification making certain compatibility with the prime computer software manufacturers in design and style, science, finance, and geology. According to Apple, the most recent Mac Pro attributes the all new quad-core Intel Xeon “Nehalen” processor which makes the job of a graphic designer a lot less difficult. The workstations are largely dependent upon processors but in video editing softwares gpu also play an crucial role in generating unique effects in videos. Applications and games for PCs are usually created and distributed independently from the hardware or OS manufacturers, whereas computer software for numerous mobile phones and other portable systems is authorized and distributed through a centralized on the web shop.12 workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Despite the fact that the recommendations described in this plan can benefit anyone who makes use of a laptop, they are mainly intended for departments with folks using desktop computer systems.

Resource record is an entry in a name server’s database. On the other finish of the spectrum, industrial workplace desks and legal desks have much more generous proportions, extra leg space, multiple drawers, and at times even an attached bookcase to generate ample space for storage. Workstations generally support much more more rapidly CPUs, far more memory modules and larger challenging drives than laptop systems, and their components are much less expensive. NOTE: Z620 systems configured with E5-1600 series or E5-1600 v2 series processors might not add a 2nd processor. Performance Advisor permits works to get a consolidated report of their workstation’s hardware and application configuration and makes it possible for them to tune their system particularly for expert application in a handful of straightforward actions employing a quite user-friendly and intelligent interface.

Yet another UK-primarily based outfit, Pc Planet , is a single of the handful of vendors we know of that delivers desktop workstations based on AMD’s antiquated FX platform. Higher-finish individual computer systems are equivalent to low-finish workstations. The CineBench test shows the pure raw CPU processing energy of each and every workstation, and on this test, the Z420 lags each Lenovo ThinkStations and the HP Z220. As for the best specs for a graphics card: buying for these is potentially the most confusing element of acquiring any Pc. The difficulty is graphics card developers preserve altering their rules for what the specifications on the cards in fact mean. The activation server reported that the product important has exceeded its unlock limit. And suppose we choose not to use Solidsworks just just Vray 3ds Max and Google SKU what would be the best graphics processor to go with Quadro or GeForce.

Even though many hardening measures can be utilised for a kiosk method for guests, the PAW architecture is made to supply larger security for higher sensitivity accounts, not higher security for reduced sensitivity accounts. Like their predecessors, which remain obtainable, all of the new HP Z-series workstations feature tool-significantly less access. Desks with storage can be incorporated into a selection of rooms in your home, from complete-sized pc desks in a property workplace, to a modest work desk tucked into your entry, or a family workplace desk placed well in your kitchen, it is all about your private needs for placement and overall size. It is 1 of the best-identified CAD (Pc-Aided Design and style) applications. As a side query, with regard to the limiting factor in time to answer, I guess what I never truly know is how considerably time in the solution is spent with the cpu cores cranking away on the equations, vs updating the data in the RAM, but I’ll suppose for the time becoming that my CFD dilemma will be memory bandwidth restricted.

Still don’t know where to download AutoCAD to your Computer? Considering that Paul and John are really experienced, I utilised a number of hold vehicles. Scaling the PAW Program as your PAW program scales to encompass a lot more admins and roles, you need to continue to guarantee that you maintain adherence to the safety requirements and usability. Workstation Specialists is a UK market specialist in supplying bespoke workstations, render nodes and mobile options for the media sector. It has to charge you with renewed passion everytime you appear at it and over time and as you progress closer towards your vision, you may discover that some of the photos or photos on your vision board do not genuinely carry as a lot emotional impact on you as they did ahead of. Xeon E3 v5 Socket 1151 CPUs now feature Skylake architecture, some CPUs with on-CPU HD video, up to 64GB DDR4 ECC memory, and expanded SATA3, M.two, and USB capabilities.

Most desks combine a number of functions to increase efficiency. VeryPC mobile workstations utilise high efficiency discrete graphics processors from Nvidia to optimise the actual time show of 3D objects on your screen. Although the unit we have right here is extremely nearly an entry-level configuration (quad-core Intel Xeon E5-1620 processor, 16GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, dual 2GB AMD FirePro D300 GPUs), I also had the opportunity to test out a more tricked-out version. File Server Resource Manager failed to access the volume. With dual Intel® Xeon® processors (22 cores max), up to 3 skilled, dual-width GPUs, and an unmatched 256GB of maximum memory, APEXX 4 7902 offers unparalleled multi-threaded functionality for ANSYS and other specialist applications. The Computer software Licensing Service determined that the license package is invalid.

two.’Part modeling: ‘The feature tree is serial in nature and for that reason A SINGLE CPU core need to start off at the best and work its way down the tree. The HP Z2 Mini G3 ($714.00 commence, $1,698 as tested) is the latest version of HP’s tiny wonder, the ultrasmall workstation Pc. Although it is still something of a curiosity, it may not stay that way for long. Users will also be capable to take benefit of HP Quick Keys that are developed to be application conscious and can be utilised for customizable shortcuts in software, such as the Adobe creative suite. Inside you are going to find 4 PCIe slots (one PCIe x16 slot that’s full, plus 3 open MiniPCIe slots), four memory slots (32GB maximum), and 3 USB 2. ports. The Z600 tower workstation has dual PCI Express two. x16 graphics slots for driving up to eight external displays with most current ATI and NVIDIA graphic cards in several configurations.

Pc desks indispensable in most offices. It will not be as strong as the P71, but you are nonetheless searching at 7th-generation Core processors , up to 32GB of RAM, an optional 4K display and Quadro M520M video. The two graphics cards I am proposing each and every have 512 cores of GPU processing power and three Gb or GDDR5 memory. When climbing the tower in the course of construction activities, employees need to be protected from falls utilizing a fall arrest method meeting the criteria of 29CFR1926.502 or a ladder assist safety device meeting the specifications of 29CFR1926.1053(a). Bigger pc workstations offer a wider choice of characteristics such as lockable drawers, fixed desk pedestals, additional printer – all of which supply extra storage space and cost-free up the prime surface for any other office gear.

Outside of Teradici PCoIP software program, the only issue preinstalled by the business are hardware drivers and the software that may well come with them (eg: Intel SSD Toolbox). Standard gamers cards like a Nvidia GeForce talk in DirectX. IF I do determine to go with Water Cooling, I do have to contemplate that I would at some point need to have to Watercool 2 processors – and I will undoubtedly want some in-depth expertise & tips on that from men and women who’s accomplished that initial-hand. If you require to take your enterprise to the next level of overall performance, expandability, and no compromise reliability, the HP Z440 workstation and HP Z640 workstations are the proper decision for you. We do not recommend operating SOLIDWORKS with a gaming card (GeForce or Radeon) as you can experience graphical show (quality) concerns with these cards.

System Memory 256MB ECC Registered Module (PC133) for IBM 256MB PC133 registered ECC SDRAM memory upgrade for Pc-primarily based workstations and servers. So, the price of the workstation isn’t just related to beefier hardware, the price also reflects the reality that CAD workstations are built for durability. • Since charges are usually incurred at remote points of sale, and guest and non-guest folios are maintained at the front workplace department, posting of diverse guest and non-guest charges shall be performed. Log service has reached the maximum allowable containers allocated to a log file. If you fancy your self a energy user, HP’s got a “world’s initial” trick up its sleeve that may well lure you in. Earlier today, the Palo Alto outfit took the wraps off its newest all-in-one , the HP Z1. This workstation is a mere distant cousin to HP’s customer-focused Omni and TouchSmart lines – not that that is a negative thing.

Though the generic user interface enables the image processing capabilities of the UWGSP to be applied and tested in basic image processing applications, a keyboard controlled menu strategy is not optimal for most applications. The Application Licensing Service reported that license management info was not discovered in the licenses. We hope you now have a greater understanding of the distinction amongst try these out desktop and workstation cards and that you will have an less difficult time creating a selection amongst the two when taking your demands into consideration. All purchases that add to the University’s asset base or computer workstations will demand a justification statement on the Buy Order and approval by the Director, Technology Solutions.

With regards to the comment about Thinkpad’s lack of DisplayPort – please note that Thunderbolt encapsulates a complete DisplayPort protocol, and Thuderbolt to DP adapters are cheap and accessible everywhere (although sadly, at this time they are mostly presented as Apple-white peripherals, instead of Thinkpad-shiny-black). Our group offer a completely integrated service, focusing on the demands of the enterprise and its men and women. A representative is designated to you especially, which indicates that you will deal with the very same particular person every single time. The GSE supplies basic workplace furniture (including desk chair, desk, and some storage, e.g. file cabinet). Once once again, we can’t support and do not advocate gaming graphics cards. Sesaat sesudah itu (akibat banyaknya keluhan dari para pelanggan), Intel pun merilis versi Intel Pentium III Xeon yang juga berbasiskan Cascades tapi menawarkan cache level 2 sebesar 2048 KB, untuk kemudian disebut sebagai “Cascades 2MB”.

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game-refraction · 7 years

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I built a new PC - A Technophile's Journey

There comes a time in every man, women and child’s life when their current computer just isn’t up to the daily tasks you throw at it. It’s time for an upgrade. Recently I did just that, and I want to take you on the journey into my new PC experience.

The FX6802-07c

Let’s go back to where my current system started. Back in Late 2009 (September or October, I don’t recall) I walked into my local FutureShop store and started browsing, like I always did. I loved looking at electronics and I enjoyed ogling all the stuff I wish I had. I don’t recall what computer I had at that time, but I know it was some cobbled together mid spec’d system that did just enough to do what I needed it to do, which was gaming. In the FutureShop Computer section a shiny black and orange motif caught my eye. This was a Gateway FX 6802-07c, a FutureShop exclusive model that had a Core i7 920 CPU, 12GB of memory, and an Nvidia Geforce GTX 260 graphics card. This thing was light years beyond my current system, and the price was amazing. $1,500 +tax, including a 23” wide-screen LCD. I was sold. I wanted it. No – I NEEDED it. After a phone call to the (ex)wife to convince her that I needed this beast of a machine it was decided to go ahead. Lucky for us, the FutureShop employee discussed with me that if I got a FutureShop credit card, I could pay for this computer monthly with no interest. It was as if the stars and planets had aligned and I was destined to get this computer. The transaction processed flawlessly and it was mine. I was giddy as I walked out of the store with my 2 big boxes. I couldn’t drive fast enough to get home and tear into the packages and get this machine running.

Fast forward 7 years and 8 months later, this time it is June 2017. The FX6802-07c sits on my desk, seemingly happy to chug away at my games of World of Tanks or a moderately modded Skyrim. Our video editing from conventions, slow but still get done. This machine, which at the time I named back in 2009 as ‘IX’ (from Dune, the planet of new machines, as I am a huge Dune fan) had been slightly upgraded over the years. A new Asus GTX 560ti in 2014, a 120Gb Kingston SSD in 2014. Everything else was stock, aside from a new 32” LG LCD TV as bigger monitor. The 23” one still worked, and was my transportable screen when I went over to a friend’s house for our Lan parties.

I take good care of my computers, and my family’s computers. Every 6 months they get a decent dusting and maybe a system tune up. I always keep them running as smooth as possible when I can, and always fix any issues with them that arise. IX had been solid and never let me down, but I knew that his age was catching up with him. While windows always ran smooth and fine, and other than video editing and rendering taking a long time, which is normal, things were seeming fine. Skyrim ran decently fine, but did crash from time to time, and I attributed that to the mods, which probably was 99% accurate. I had switched cases from the stock Gateway case a month earlier, needing a visual refresh of the computer. This new case had a small window on the side panel so I could see in. I don’t know exactly how I discovered it, but I was looking in the window one morning while I was killing time before work, and it practically hit me in the face. A puffy capacitor.

Now for those of us not technically savvy like myself, the motherboard has lots and lots of capacitors, they are like little batteries that charge and discharge, and generally help stabilize voltage and signal levels in circuit paths. I won’t go into too much more detail, because it isn’t really that important. Generally, the capacitors (or caps) used in computers are of the electrolytic type. They have an electrode and a dielectric, which is generally a fluid. Over time the fluid dries out or expands, which causes the pressurized can of the cap to bulge or pop. You see this type of failure lots on older motherboards. When this happens, the machine will begin to fail and it’s time for a new computer. Here is a quick video from Linus Tech Tips which explains a little more detail.

Those of us who are capable in electronics have the ability, tools and knowledge to attempt a repair of this type of failure, but a repair shop might charge a lot of money for this repair because it is tricky and time consuming (well not really, it’s more of an annoyance). Since I am one of these people I decided to attempt the repair.

The bad capacitor, it looks puffy

2 Similar caps that are still good

So, after dismantling all the components from the motherboard, and removing the motherboard from the case, I took it to work where my soldering station is located. I won’t go into too much detail of the repair, but I did end up removing and replacing the damaged cap, and when hooking everything back up it continued to work. IX was back to his old self and things were back to normal.

But this isn’t exactly true. You see I am a technophile, and I love tech, which is probably why I work in the R&D department of an Oilfield instrumentation company. I work with electronics every day, and I work on a computer at least 16 hours a day. I used to be a big follower of computer modding, and tried keeping up with the tech back before 2009, but without ever having a budget to spend on these new parts and gear, it was always just a pipe dream to build a monster system. When I purchased IX, which was my first boxed system, I kind of let all that slip away, because this was the monster system (at the time) and it ran every game and task I threw at it without blinking. Now in the months leading up to the cap issue with IX, I was determined to build a new gaming system again, as Skyrim wasn’t running as smoothly as I wanted, and with all the new PC titles out there I wasn’t able to fully enjoy them to their visual glory. I shopped online, looked over specs and prices, compared pre-built systems to base parts and I wasn’t set on any one thing, and I needed money. Due to the age of IX, this was going to be a full upgrade. As a starting point, I know I needed a new video card, but the limitations of my older CPU meant a bottleneck. The CPU, being a 1st generation i7. It would need to be upgraded, and because a new CPU was needed, so was a new motherboard and ram. So, I decided I needed a new CPU, motherboard, ram and video card. I could reuse the power supply and hard drives, since they were still good and I could save a little bit of money, possibly getting me a new system sooner (I hate waiting). I browsed some pre-built system sites, to give me an idea of what the cost would be for a pre-built system, then I went and priced out comparable parts on the main retailers I use (NCIX, Newegg Canada and Memory Express). In any case with just the base 4 components I mentioned above, I was looking at about $1,000CAN or more as a starting point. I would need time to save up and get a budget together to allow me to buy something. Often the pre-built systems seemed the most tempting, as they were complete and tested, and I could also remove parts most of the time like the hard drives to save a little on the price. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, I just needed time to get some funds together. Did I mention I hate waiting?

No Pax – Boo, New House – Yay!

As luck would have it, time was on my side. Every year, Tali and I plan to go to Pax West in Seattle. We “try” to save up for it, but you know how that goes. Now before you get the idea that I spent our vacation money, no, that isn’t what I did, and we cancelled our trip to Seattle for different reasons. You see we bought a house, and we move in August. So, when we were discussing the option of buying a house, or going on a trip to Seattle to take part in the amazing Pax West convention for my 5th time. It was a tough choice, but ultimately, we decided buying a house was better for the long run. Don’t worry Game-Refraction is still going to Pax West, just Tali and I are not going. We will go next year. You see we have also been working diligently on our finances this year, and we’ve made amazing progress on our debt load. Anyway, it seems I went off topic a little. Where was I ……

Oh yes, we decided to buy a house, and to make that possible we cashed out a bit of both our RRSP’s to make the down payment. This is a standard practice with buying a house in Canada, so we decided that if I withdrew a little extra, say $1,000, I could potentially use that to build a new PC. Now as nice as I would love to build a monster system with an unlimited budget, I have always had some sort of financial end cap that would restrict the amount of hardware I would be allowed to purchase. While this makes me financially responsible, it can be restricting in a sense that I won’t be able to get the latest and greatest. I felt this was a challenge, I had a limit of $1,000, let’s see if I could get everything I needed and stay within the budget. Going over the budget meant that item would have to wait until I had saved up a little more funds. Challenge accepted.

I knew a pre-built system was totally out of the question unless I felt I would get lower end stuff, and I wanted to go a little higher end. Did I mention I hate waiting?

I spec’d out the 4 main components over the course of a few hours on a Saturday, tossed the list to a few tech savvy friends to make sure that I wasn’t a fool in my picking. They all said it looked decent. The parts I settled on were as follows:

Motherboard – ASUS ROG STRIX B250H GAMING LGA1151 DDR4 HDMI DVI M.2 USB 3.1 B250 ATX Motherboard

CPU – Intel BX80677I57400 7th Gen Core Desktop Processors

CPU cooler – Corsair Hydro series H60 AiO

Memory – Kingston HyperX FURY Black 16GB Kit (2x8GB) 2133MHz DDR4 Non-ECC CL14 DIMM Desktop Memory (HX421C14FBK2/16)

GPU – ASUS Geforce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB ROG STRIX HDMI 2.0 DP 1.4 Gaming Graphics Card (STRIX-GTX1050TI-4G-GAMING) Graphic Cards

Now the cost on all the items above, including tax and shipping, came to $991.14CAN. Amazingly I stayed within my budget perfectly, with a little to spare. My original plan was to reuse the new-ish case IX was currently occupying. I decided to pick up the following

Case –be quiet! Pure Base 600 ATX Case

the be Quiet base 600 case, fresh out of its box

Now with the case I was over budget, but I had a little cash saved up and I could make it work (it was on sale for $79CAN). I wanted my new system to be as silent as possible, while still performing great, which is partly why I went with the AiO cooling system, plus I know liquid cooling performs so much better, and it was pretty much the same price as a decent high-end air cooler. So, Memory Express shipped my order on the following Monday, and it arrived on Tuesday (I hate waiting) and NCIX shipped the case also on Monday, and it arrived on Wednesday. It was like Christmas to me, and well my Wednesday evening was spent disassembling, and assembling this new system. I think the hardest part for me was the Corsair H60 AiO since I have never worked with one before, but in the end, it worked well and everything went together. The be Quiet base 600 case is a little taller than my old case, and the PSU coming from IX had a little bit of a short motherboard power lead, which I needed to creatively run behind the GTX1050 for it to reach the very top of the Asus motherboard, since they decided to put it at the very top of the board, when all new cases have the power supply at the bottom (not smart). When it came time to power on everything and see if it all worked, I was presently surprised that it fired up on the first try, and everything worked amazingly well. The best part, was I hear nothing. This setup is so quiet I had to check to see if all the fans were working because they are so quiet.

So now that I have new computer, I plan to be good for the next 7 years and 8 months before I begin looking again for upgrades. I am sure I will upgrade a part here and there (new modular power supply?), but in the end this computer will keep me going for the next while. Thank you for joining me on this journey, please browse the gallery of the build, and let me know what you think.

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I built a new PC – A Technophile’s Journey was originally published on Game-Refraction

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techsoftware-blog · 7 years

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Survey: HTC 8X is the best Windows Phone 8 handset out there (Updated) Screen, camera, and speed are great, however we'd like more battery life.

Windows Phone 8 was at last discharged before in November. With it, two noteworthy contenders for the title of 'chief Windows Phone 8 handset' developed: the HTC 8X and the Nokia Lumia 920.

The Lumia 920 conveyed forward the versatile responsibility Microsoft and Nokia made to each other a year ago with the Lumia 900, yet HTC is currently making a play for the Windows Phone crown. Microsoft offered ringing supports for both passages, yet the one for the 8X felt more earnest. In the wake of dealing with the telephone for a bit, we can perceive any reason why: we judged the HTC 8X to be the best Windows Phone 8 handset accessible in the initial segment of our definitive cell phone direct. The HTC 8X just gives us more motivation to consider Windows Phone 8 important than some other handset has some time recently.

Despite the fact that HTC telephones aren't generally all-around amazing, they tend to nail one perspective more than some other producer: body plan. My most loved unsurpassed telephone to hold remains the HTC Radar, and the 8X harkens back to that outline in some ways. The adjusted edges are substantially more keen, yet the way the bended polycarbonate back feels close by is truly agreeable. The telephone isn't too thin, yet because of the decreased edges it feels substantially slimmer than its nearest rival, the Nokia Lumia 920, notwithstanding a most extreme thickness contrast of just 0.6 millimeters.The rest catch is put on the upper right corner, with a volume rocker and camera catch on the correct side. These catches are low-profile and shallow, so it's difficult to feel them click. The microUSB port is focused on the base of the telephone, and the SIM port involves the opposite side of the upper right corner. A solitary speaker is focused on the lower back of the telephone. A pointer light that turns red when the telephone is charging is put inside the speaker flame broil over the screen.

The sound nature of that speaker (Beats Audio-confirmed and endorsed by Dr. Dre, per common for HTC) is very amazing—it's uproarious with little bending at the top volume and the bass is strong, if not reverberating. Call quality is run of the mill for a mobile phone: not fabulous but rather you can recognize at an essential level what other individual is stating. They can do likewise for you.

With regards to rendering symbolism inside applications or the program, however, the nature of the screen is not all that good, especially if it's a non-portable page. Textual styles in can be a bit on the barbed side, and we frequently get pages that heap off kilter. Peculiarly, the versatile variants of YouTube pages are exceedingly vulnerable to this.

We were inspired with the nature of the 8-megapixel camera in the telephone. The focal point is f2.0, 28mm, and posterior enlightened, and we discovered it took extraordinary shots even in low lighting. HTC does not make a similar fantastic low-light claims that Nokia accomplishes for its Lumia 920, yet we didn't discover the execution ailing in any way.The screen is fresh and splendid inside the working framework, even at the most minimal shine setting (of which there are just three: low, medium, high). Contrasted with the encompassing bezel, blacks at the most noteworthy shine setting are recognizably washed out however they mix truly well at the lowest.On taking care of and utilizing around both this telephone and the Lumia 920, Ars Associate Writer Andrew Cunningham had this to state:

Originating from an iPhone or even a bigger Android telephone like the Optimus G, the 920's size is striking (and not positively). The Optimus G fits a bigger screen and considerably quicker equipment into a more slender, lighter, and more alluring bundle. The smooth, adjusted plastic body of the 920 additionally neglects to give you much to grip....By differentiate, the 8X feels substantially more pleasant in our grasp. Its screen is somewhat littler—4.3 inches and 1280x720 contrasted with 4.5 inches and 1280x768 in the 920—but on the other hand it's considerably more slender. Its back decreases more step by step than the 920, which I discover makes it sit in my grasp all the more easily. This decreased edge exists on all sides of the telephone also; the 920 has adjusted left and right edges, however the top and base of the telephone aren't adjusted by any stretch of the imagination. When I'm holding a cell phone, I more often than not end up propping the base of the telephone on my pinky finger to give additional security. The expanded weight and level base of the 920 made this considerably less agreeable.

...All things considered, this is a situation where the particulars don't exactly catch what it resembles to really utilize a bit of equipment consistently. The 920 incorporates many additional advantages, yet we feel that the 8X is for the most part the more grounded, more agreeable telephone for everyday utilize. Nokia's telephone simply isn't as agreeable to hold and to bear.

Inside the 8X is a Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon processor with double center 1.5GHz Krait CPU and Adreno 225 GPU. Genuine benchmarking applications are entirely sparse over the Windows Phone stage and, unfortunately, none have risen as sound execution evaluators. For the time being, we are limited to our Javascript benchmarks from SunSpider and Google Octane v1.

The two benchmarks recount totally unique stories. The 8X performs frightfully at Google Octane with a seat of 610, a large portion of the score of the iPhone 5, Sony's Xperia TL, and far not as much as a large portion of the score of the Galaxy S III. Yet, in Sunspider, then again, it does fabulously with a seat of 901. This outscores the iPhone 5 and leaves the various telephones in the dust.The regular admonitions about Javascript execution clearly apply here: every stage utilizes diverse methodologies, and tests exhibit their qualities and shortcomings in various ways. The 8X isn't an unmitigated accomplishment around there, yet subjectively, it loads pages sufficiently quick that we aren't gravely worried by its Octane execution.

The battery life of the HTC 8X is presumably what leaves most to be coveted. HTC rates the 1800mAh battery at up to 11.3 hours of talk time, however gives no appraisals to video or music playback. We found that when we played recordings, the battery got just 5.3 hours at medium brilliance and full volume. To be reasonable, the speaker is very boisterous, so we attempted it again at half-brilliance and half-volume: 5.6 hours, almost no change. You could run bring down still with the brilliance and the volume, however we're wagering it wouldn't help much.

The telephone admissions better in everyday utilize. When we utilized the telephone for some informing, messaging, Web-perusing, and a little music-tuning in, we discovered it endured effectively into the night, until 8 or 9 p.m., before requiring a charge.

Our utilization is likely on the substantial side of typical, so in the event that you don't do as such much informing or perusing, you can traverse the day with the 8X. Simply watch your video use. A "battery saver" mode kicks in for Windows Phone handsets (shown by a heart image on the battery symbol) when power runs low, which keeps applications from running out of sight and turns off push warnings on email.

With regards to how the working framework and equipment cooperate, the HTC 8X is a delight to utilize. It's decent to hold, responsive and speedy, the on-screen console works incredible, and there are practically no hitches to discuss. Be that as it may, a similar old issue torment the Windows Phone stage: it does not have a wide determination of intriguing applications. A hefty portion of our top picks have some association with Windows Phone, yet it's not the best: there is a Netflix application that doesn't work so well; Spotify and Hulu have applications in progress however nothing official yet.Though the stage has been out for half a month now, very few noteworthy players came arranged. It's pleasant that they'll get to it, however the issue is, well, they'll get to it. To be reasonable, Microsoft was exceptionally cagey about Windows Phone 8 to the latest possible time. It doesn't appear like numerous, assuming any, engineers got the drop on making their applications work for the new discharge.

Still the stage doesn't appear like a need for some. That is reasonable, given Windows Phone's piece of the pie is in the single digits, however it's turning into a self-sustaining issue. Engineers don't generally think about Windows Phone in light of the fact that nobody utilizes it, and nobody utilizes it since designers don't generally think about it. On the off chance that you plan to do much past what the stock applications on Windows Phone offer, this position in the market must be something you consider. Be set up to, best case scenario be patient and sit tight for designers to consider it important. Even from a pessimistic standpoint, be alright with the truth it might never ascend to the highest point of any improvement studio's schedule.

However, until further notice, in any event, we can appreciate some quality handsets, especially this one. For our immediate examination of the HTC 8X against the Lumia 920 and more on why we like it better, look at section one of our Ultimate Smartphone Guide.

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pcinvasion-blog · 7 years

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New Post has been published on PC Invasion

New Post has been published on https://www.pcinvasion.com/prey-pc-technical-review

Prey PC Technical Review

Yes, Prey’s performance on PC is very good. That should immediately answer the most pressing question people will have about this release. After Dishonored 2 (and the lack of a PC Prey demo), there was a whole lot of understandable skepticism about Arkane’s technical abilities.

A big difference between Dishonored 2 and Prey, though, is the engine the game’s are running on. For their Dishonored sequel, Arkane opted to convert a version of id Tech 4 into the ‘Void Engine’. Going back as far as Rage (2011), id Tech 4 has always had a bumpy ride on PC. Prey uses CryEngine (CryEngine 5, to be precise) which hasn’t had too many outings on PC in its latest iteration, but immediately feels like a much better choice.

Before we get into some menus, numbers, and a couple of rather annoying UI omissions, here’s the PC I’m testing this on: i5-6600 / 16GB DDR4 RAM / 4GB 380X (newest 17.5.1 drivers) / Windows 10. Unless otherwise stated, any FPS numbers are at 1080p (since that’s what my monitor tops out at).

Right. Menus and options.

Resolution stuff first. Prey supports multiple aspect ratios (16:9, 16:10, 4:3 are all in there), and, though I have no way of checking this directly, ultra-widescreen (21:9) is confirmed by enough secondary sources that I’m satisfied it’s also present. 4K support is in too. I only have a 1080p monitor, but was able to test 4K through AMD’s ‘virtual super resolution’ function (downsampling).

You can run the game in Fullscreen, Borderless Fullscreen, or in Windowed mode. V-Sync is there if you want it, as tends to be the case. Probably worth mentioning at this point that Prey tops out at 144fps. Technically a cap I suppose, but unrestricted by any practical measure. The preset graphics settings on this menu offer Low, Medium, High, and Very High.

Here are your separate graphic options. Not a huge amount, admittedly, but a little bit to play around with if you need to scale the game to your PC. The top three options have the same Low, Medium, High, Very High range. AF runs the usual path from ‘Off’ to 16x in increments of 2. Your AA options are Off, FXAA, SMAA x1, SMAA 1TX, and SMAA 2TX.

The pair of Screen Space options can be set to Off, Half Resolution, and Full Resolution. I’m really not too familiar with the specific differences between Screen Space Directional Occlusion (SSDO) and the more regularly seen Screen Space Ambient Occlusion (SSAO). I think it all falls under “lighting effects”.

Certainly, lighting, shadows, and AA are the clearest differences when comparing Prey on its Lowest and Very Highest settings. Let’s do that now (click for larger images).

Low.

Very High.

Low.

Very High.

As noted at the very start of this piece, performance on my PC was very good. This is just a sample size of one of course, but I’ve got a machine that basically sits a little below the recommended specs (GPU-wise, especially), so it should be fairly representative.

Despite being shy of the preferred GPU types, I can run Prey on Very High and get an FPS range of 70-85. I’m only a couple of hours in, so I suppose it’s possible that some gigantic open areas might show up and put more strain on the system. But since it can keep 70-odd during fights with multiple enemies in a large foyer space, I’m pretty confident that performance will hold up. There’s no discernible stuttering (I saw a couple, probably due to areas loading), and as far as I can tell absolutely none of the terrible frame pacing problems found in Dishonored 2.

With everything set to Low (or Off, depending on the option), the FPS count was more like 90-120. For a laugh, I also tried Very High at 4K. To my complete lack of surprise, that sank me into the mid-20s. Still, the fact that Prey remains even vaguely playable (well, not a slideshow) at 4K and max settings on a 380X is pretty compelling proof that performance is not an issue here.

It’s difficult to say just how far the game will scale to much lower hardware. The Minimum suggested GPUs (GTX 660 2GB, 7850 2GB) may indicate a broad limit.

Let’s move on to some aspects which, while not ruinous, are not so great. The pair of menus above are just about the extent of your HUD configuration options. You can switch off some button prompts (the larger Press F to Do Thing that pops up on things; Prey retains smaller key prompts at the side of the screen no matter what), plus hit damage numbers, and the in-game objective menu will allow you to individually turn off quest markers, but that’s about the extent of things.

Coming after the incredible HUD flexibility of Dishonored 2, that’s a bit of a let down. No option to fade out (or remove) health/armour indicators, no global toggle for objective markers. There’s also no way to turn off Motion Blur at present, though it’s not as intrusive in Prey as some applications I’ve seen.

Fans of not getting motion sick may be wondering at this point if they’ve missed an FOV slider. Sadly, you have not. There is said to be an FOV option on the way in a future update, but for now you can’t change it in-game.

You can, however, root around in a .cfg file (C:\Users\<username>\Saved Games\Arkane Studios\Prey game.cfg) and alter the default (a decent-ish 85 at 1080p) to something more desirable. Then set that file to Read Only so it’s not overwritten. Doing this won’t change the size of the weapon you’re holding, but it does help with the overall world FOV. Here’s a comparison between the default 85 and 100. It can reportedly go to 120, but may get a bit unstable at higher values.

FOV 85 (Default).

FOV 100 (Altered through config).

Before we get on to the keyboard and mouse controls, I have two more pretty minor stylistic complains. The Chromatic Aberration effect on the game’s typeface in some of the menus is absolutely bonkers, and I’m not a fan of the dark vignetting that appears at the sides of the screens while crouching. As I said, minor stuff.

What I do appreciate is Prey’s decision to display readable notes and books as plain text on static backgrounds. There’s none of that bizarre tilting which happened with documents in Dishonored 2 and made me kind of ill.

Keyboard control rebinding is in, and is pretty self-explanatory. There’s a mouse axis toggle in case you want to control Prey’s protagonist like an aeroplane (hey, whatever, it’s your kink), and a sensitivity slider which I barely touched because the default setting quite accurately matched my aimless flailing around.

There’s no noticeable mouse acceleration, but mouse sensitivity does drop a whole lot (maybe as much as half) when sprinting. Not quite sure why. It’ll potentially make aiming at stuff while running a bit odd, though hardly insurmountable.

I have one other mouse-related UI quibble. The console-like preferences wheel that you can pop up allows you to assign hotkeys 0-9 to weapons (great!) but you can’t put things like medkits on those keys. The shortcut for using a medkit is to bring up the wheel and press E, which isn’t much quicker than bringing up the inventory and using them from there. Again, minor thing, but when performance is so consistent this is what I have left to complain about.

Arkane’s chief scientist reassures Prey that this won’t be another Dishonored 2 debacle.

Aside from the absent FOV slider (Arkane have been quick in communicating why that is, and that one is on the way, so a partial pass there), and a bit of a lack of HUD customisation, Prey’s PC version is a welcome surprise. More specialised options like 4K and 21:9 support are there, keyboard and mouse controls are customisable and (baring that odd dip in sensitivity when sprinting) much better for aiming and menu navigation than the gamepad alternative. The general UI is not completely geared towards keyboard and mouse (right-click backs you out of most things, but not everything, for example), but those quirks are pretty minor.

Overall performance is terrific, and could not be more different from Dishonored 2 (which struggled to maintain 30fps at lowered settings on this exact same PC). Prey is arguably doing lighter rendering work depicting its Art Deco corridors and foyers than Dishonored 2 was with its distant rooftops, but the ultimate result here is that this game runs at a smooth 70-80fps on max settings at 1080p. Whether this improvement is down to the different engine, smoother development process, or a more serious commitment to the PC version from Arkane this time around, I’m not sure (probably a little of each). But it all means Prey should be remembered as one of the better technical PC releases of the year rather than one of the worst.

#Prey

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