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Hardware 8 - Many CPUs, Dream PCs and mobile gaming

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:17:49 +0000

We're back with another Hardware Podcast - so good it's spelled in capitals. Rich, Harry and Clive get together to talk about all the hot (and just power-efficient) hardware of the last fortnight. Tune in to hear what we think of Intel's Atom (clue - it's not very good, is it?) VIA's new Nano processor and news on what Intel's up to.

Free Games I Like: Small Worlds

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:51:13 +0000

This blog post will be, like the game it’s about, small. I don’t really have a huge amount to say about Small Worlds, which was developed for a recent Casual Games Competition with the theme 'Explore', other than that it’s a remarkably elegant and effective piece of pixel-art brilliance.

A game which only ever alludes to having a deeper plot, Small Worlds opens with a single line before jumping to the gameplay – “There is too much noise”.

The gameplay itself is simple. At the start of each of the five levels the viewpoint is zoomed in on you – a small red line with a pale face and zero animation. The aim of each level is then to find the exit, which returns you to a hub level before you move on to the next world. There’s no fighting, no skill trees and no enemies. It’s just a gentle and rather lovely paced matter of exploration.

Gigabyte TweaKING OC Event: European Final

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:55:36 +0000

Gigabyte TweaKING OC Event

European Final

Manufacturer: Gigabyte

Gigabyte are well known for its overclocking events: the Gigabyte Open Overclocking Championship (GO OC) ran earlier this year and encouraged competitors to overclock their Core i7 CPUs using any means possible, and ran Super Pi 8M and 3DMark 06 for the best scores.

18 Teams competed from all around Europe. Click to enlarge

The TweaKING event in Paris is the European leg of this new style of OC tournament. Less emphasis is placed on the quality of CPU and more is placed on the ability of the teams to tweak the memory and motherboard. How? The CPU frequency is capped at 4GHz, meaning the teams had to crank the memory and baseclock on their Lynnfield i5-750 CPUs up as high as possible to achieve the best result.

Much time was spent in the BIOS tweaking settings. Click to enlarge

This still puts an emphasis on CPU quality to some degree, but its also brings the motherboard back into play more, which is an angle Gigabyte obviously wants to push. There was no limitation on the OS tweaks allowed too; so WinXP hacks a plenty were rolled out: services were neutered, registry was copiously tweaked and anything deemed excess was cut off.

However, every team had a standard set of hardware to use: nothing extra was allowed, not even an additional fan. Even screwdrivers were provided!

Asus Xtreme Global Summit – highlights from the first round of blogs

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:11:40 +0000

Following several weeks of prodding, tweaking and possibly lovingly caressing your fancy new Asus kit from the AX:GS event, it’s now time to reveal your first impressions of the hardware you were awarded.

Yes, the first round of AX:GS blogs is now up in lights, and last week’s posts have been successfully digested by the bit-tech judges. Before we share the highlights with you, though, we would like to thank you for your patience while we’ve been ironing out the gremlins with our, ahem, gremlin iron. Thankfully, most of the problems have now been sorted out, and most of you have access to the blogging area on the Asus Republic of Gamers website, but please drop us a line if you encounter any other issues so that we can get them sorted out.

What we're reading

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:13:49 +0000

Probably the laziest way to start any article is to take a pertinent word and tell readers how many times it shows up in Google.

'Did you know that death by jam is a real danger? Well it is! There are over 44 million pages on Google talking about it!'

We get it. There's a lot of stuff on the internet. But what's good? What's worth reading? How can you avoid being killed by jam?

Well, now we can answer the first two questions with our brand new 'What we're reading' section.

Gaming Podcast 6 - IWNet, Windows 7 and Yak Meat

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:27:18 +0000

With Alex and Tim both available for a podcast this week, we sit down to discuss all the latest gaming news and controversies - from Activision's unveiling of IWNet for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to games compatibility in Windows 7.

That's not all we've got going on though - we also sit down for a quick snack of Chinese Yak meat live on tape and hand out the first of a new set of prizes in our Guess The Screenshot competition. Fun times!

On top of all that we've also got the usual Reader Mail and we finally talk about how good games packaging used to be when everything came in a huge cardboard box.

In the next podcast we'll be discussing how to get into the games industry and whether it's more important to have a recognised qualification or some experience in the real world. We'd love to hear your thoughts on all this, so drop your opinions in the forums or send them to the usual email address - Podcast@CustomPC.co.uk. Please be sure to mark your emails as 'Gaming Podcast'.

Reader Advised HTPC Buyers Blog, Oct 09 #1

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:28:32 +0000

Yep, you read that right, I want your help in designing a Home Theatre PC reference guide to go on the site and in the mag.

I get constantly asked for one, but we simply don't test enough HTPC hardware to be as widely knowledgeable as I'd like in order to recommend a setup with 100 percent confidence.

The difficulty is that HTPCs vary by country; in the UK we don't have analogue HDTV (cable) access like the US, not to mention other issues, like varied internet TV services and user need - does it need terrabytes of storage or is gaming compatibility a priority, for example?

With that in mind we want your advice; what have you seen that works? What would you recommend to others that fits the spec below?

Download The CustomPC Media Benchmarks Here

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:30:20 +0000

A couple years ago, CustomPC made its own suite of benchmarks to test motherboards, PCs, laptops and so on. We wanted to create a set of tests which aped how people use their PCs and would show the benefits (or not) of faster hardware and overclocking in a way that was relevant to real-world use.

One of the most important elements, apart from the obvious stuff above, was that the benchmark suite must be distributable and completely self-contained. We've therefore used Open Source applications, all of which install into a standard folder (with no entries into the Registry, or links to any OS services or applications). This means that you can download the benchmarks, install them and run them without any outside influences from OS updates and so forth.

Hardware Podcast 7 - this time it's loud!

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:37:27 +0100

First off, apologies for not getting this up yesterday, and for it being so quiet the first time - the podcast fairy has been pretty slack this week. This is the seventh hardware podcast, and Rich, Harry and Tim are joined by Asus bod Iain Bristow. If any other manufacturers would like to join us for pod, please let us know and we'll try to organise it. Up for discussion are:

Own an Intel SSD? Tell how worn out it is!

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:45:07 +0100

Kingston dropped an interesting titbit that we thought we'd pass on to all Intel SSD owners - of which there's soon to be a lot more once the latest value X25-X drives arrive.

Basically, the biggest unknown factor in NAND Flash technology is wear and tear. The cells have a limited amount of data writes, so don't last forever, even though intelligent wear algorithms mean an MLC drive will last 10 years having written a few hundred GB a day to it - far more than any normal user will do.

One question that will get more important as time goes on is the second hand market: How can you account for wear if you're buying it off someone else?

How are you getting on with Bing?

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:10:05 +0100

Since the release of Microsoft’s new search engine named Bing, it’s been something of a hot topic. The company’s previous attempt at a search engine, Live Search, was a woefully lacklustre addition to Internet Explorer and something of a non-event for the world of internet search.

Clive blogged his thoughts about Microsoft being on to a winner with Bing while Alex thought otherwise. But has Google gone unchallenged for such a long time that it’s possible the search giant could be caught unawares by a decent newcomer?

Games I Own: Deus Ex 2

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:46:47 +0100

Deus Ex 2: Invisible War is a game which gets a bad rap whenever you see it discussed among PC gamers, who inevitably love the first game and loathe the sequel. To be honest though, I never thought it was half as bad as anyone was making out. If approached with reasonable rationality and not the more obvious optimism, the game actually held up quite well.

Yes, Invisible War had issues. It obviously suffered from attempts to bring the series to consoles. The tiny, insular and empty levels. The universal ammo system. The constant load times and clunky, overly rounded feel of the engine – these were all issues that dogged the game and deservedly so, but slamming Deus Ex 2 for not living up to the legend of it’s predecessor is easier than fist-fighting with a one-armed toddler.

Instead, I prefer to think of the good things about Deus Ex 2 – the things it did better than the original. Believe me, they’re there.

SSD performance tips for Intel chipsets and RAID-0

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:02:00 +0100

We had a chat with the Kingston labs team this week in California and noted down some free performance improvements, and limitations, you should be aware of if you own one or more SSDs:

The Intel SATA ICH9R/10R/P55 controller under RAID-0 has a maximum real world performance capacity of about 600MB/s in total between it and the CPU.

Despite the fact you'll need several (four+) SSDs to hit this limit at the moment, it's worth bearing in mind that to get ludicrous performance you'll need at least a PCI-Express x8 card.

Until Intel increases its DMI and/or SATA controller bandwidth, this could prove a more regular limiting issue when future SATA 6Gbps parts arrive.

Nvidia launches new budget graphics cards - do you care?

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:17:39 +0100

After years (well, one at least) of Nvidia saying that it doesn't see the need in DirectX 10.1 because developers aren't demanding it and it has some DX10.1 features in its GT200 design anyway, it's finally made a DX10.1 GPU. However, it isn't a huge high-performance part to rival the HD 5870. It's a low-end part.

Nvidia has also trialled the 40nm fabrication process with this new GeForce GT 220 and GT 210 line-up.

The question is, do you care?

Gaming Podcast 5 - Art, Advertising and Attitude

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:35:52 +0100

The fourth Gaming Pocast from the CustomPC and bit-tech team, again hosted by Joe and this time with Harry, Mark and Antony joining in for plenty of discussion about the latest events in the games industry across all platforms.

This week we talk about whether games journalists should have to develop games as a qualification, whether games can ever really be considered as an art form and why we've all been put off by the new advertising for Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2.

We also talk about the pending release of Windows 7 and why Joe isn't going to upgrade, as well as whether Valve might have a hidden dark side. Chilling stuff.

We've got a new prize to give away in the competition this week too, so listen closely and if you can guess the game we're describing then send your clearly labelled emails to Podcast@custompc.co.uk - and remember to put 'Gaming Podcast 5' in the subject line, or drop your thoughts in the forums.

What Happened To The Flight Sim?

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:59:54 +0100

Cast your mind back to the 1990s. Chances are if you were in to PC games at the time you remember playing a flight sim, or at least some kind of game that involved a set of wings and a propellor or afterburner and some machine guns or missiles.

Fleet Defender, Aces over Europe, Red Baron, Battle of Britain, Hind, 1942: Pacific Air War, Air Warrior 3, Apache Longbow, Operation Overlord. I could go on for quite a while before I have to mention Microsoft Flight Simulator which was just a drop in the pond. But this isn't a list of flight sims released in the last 20 years, it's that of those to hit the shelves in a fraction of that time in the 1990's when the PC gaming isle in your average Game store was a little longer. It was also crammed full of flight sim titles.

So what happened? In case you haven't noticed, flight sims have been listed in the endangered species list of PC game genres for several years now. With the demise of ACES Studio, the guys behind Microsoft Flight Simulator, the longest running game franchise on the PC, there are but a handful of companies actually left in the genre now - and even fewer produce combat flight sims!

Asus Xtreme Global Summit – Blog about your prize and win a trip to Taiwan

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:04:55 +0100

It’s time to flex those fingers, dust off the thesaurus and prepare to start hammering out your own exciting tech journal. If you were one of the lucky winners of a ticket to the recent Asus Xtreme Global Summit in London, then Asus wants you to blog about how you got on with your shiny new prizes. What’s more, your blogging skills could even win you the chance to get flown out to the Asus factory in Taiwan to hobnob with the R&D guys.

In the first round of blogs, we want to read all about your first impressions of the kit you took away on the day. You may have even noticed some interesting features about your new hardware that isn’t widely known, for example. We basically want to know what tasks you’ve thrown at your prize, and how you’ve got on with it. In particular, we also want to know how useful you’ve found any of Asus’ own features that you won’t find on other manufacturers’ hardware.

Do Actors Have A Place In Games?

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:36:09 +0100

It would be true to say that there have been many a great game with actors in it. Actors (or celebrities, to be exact) don’t necessarily make games bad. It just seems to me that there are so many terrible games with actors in that you've really got to question why developers bother.

Let’s start off with Red Alert 3, a game which Joe liked, but I thought was an overworked load of pants. And then lets take Gemma Atkinson, for example. Now, most people that live in the UK will be familiar with Hollyoaks. It’s a teen-type soap opera of epically fail acting.

Lab Update: AMD Athlon II X4 620 and Lynnfield Memory

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:17:18 +0100

This week I have been mostly testing AMD's Athlon II X2 620 CPU.

Yes, we're a bit behind, but the Radeons arrived and deciding between a and75 quad core or the latest and shiniest DirectX 11 graphics cards is like wondering whether we'd rather eat out at Marcus Wareing, or go to a burger van at a motorway lay-by.

For the record, The Berkeley is fantastic.

Hardware Podcast 6 – Nvidia has a Fermi, snigger, and the new F3 is epic

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:35:19 +0100

The sixth Hardware podcast sees Antony, Clive, Harry and Rich chat about all the latest hardware goings on. Discussed in the episode is Nvidia’s new GPU architecture, Fermi. Yes, yes, Nvidia’s got a Fermi – stop sniggering at the back!

I'm Only Stupid Because I Know Too Much

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:09:17 +0100

I was playing Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box yesterday (in the course of writing the review) when I had a moment of utter brain failure. It’s embarrassing to even admit it, that’s how stupid it was of me.

The question was; if you have a rectangular piece of paper and fold it so that there’s an extra centimetre on one side and then you fold it the other way with a centimetre extra on the other end, then how far in millimetres would it be between the two creases when the paper is unfolded?

It’s a simple, easy question and the game gave me three spaces to write a number into. I quickly scribbled my answer down; 100mm and was told that was incorrect. Baffled, I got a piece of paper out and tried it out – measuring the gap as one centimetre. Again I put my answer in. Again; incorrect. It was only on the third go that I slapped my face and realised that there were only 10 millimetres in a centimetre – not 100. I was being a moron and had been led astray by the fact that the game gave you three spaces to put an answer in, not two. I’m an idiot.

That then got me thinking (as best as I was able anyway) about how my brain is stuffed with useless information that I use everyday and all the actual useful stuff that I never need to know has trickled away over the years. It’s ironic and twisted, but I can get more use out of game memory than I’d ever get from remembering how to do trigonometry properly.

What Makes You Quit A Multiplayer Game?

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:24:41 +0100

Those of you who listened to last week’s Gaming Podcast will know that, between the filthy jokes and my off-mike laughing fit, we talked about our lunchtime gaming habits – specifically COD4. We play every lunch time and occasionally after work too, with ‘we’ being most bit-tech, ComputerShopper and Micromart staff.

In the wake of our most recent after-work game an interesting dilemma presented itself though and we schedule our next big match for November 10th. The day that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 goes on sale. Thus is was asked; do we carry on playing COD4 for the time being, or do we switch over to the sequel?

Strangely enough, only two people said that they wanted to switch to the new game. Many reasons were given – shortage of funds, can’t be bothered to install, PCs that won’t run it, etc. My own reason however was simply that I wasn’t ready to leave COD4 just yet and don’t feel I’ve got everything I can out of it.

Using the iPhone as a Sat Nav Part II

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:33:50 +0100

I blogged a few weeks ago about my experience with the TomTom and CoPilot apps for the iPhone. In short they were all but unusable and I was left feeling pretty dissapointed, not to mention thinking that the iPhone simply wasn't up to the task - or even that it was faulty. A lot has changed since then though, I've got a refund on one, and the other has received an update which promissed improved GPS performance.

With no update planned for the unusable TomTom app combined with the fact it cost me close to and60, I decided that a refund was in order. I also decided that if CoPilot failed to work after its update, I would go for a seperate Sat Nav unit and make rude jestures at my iPhone. Luckily the refund wasn't an issue, and a quick email to Apple through iTunes saw the money back in my account a few days later.

The CoPilot update took a few weeks to arrive but during a rainy evening a few weeks ago, I installed it and went out for a drive. Things didn't start off too well with CoPilot's second test. Initially I was about to throw my iPhone out the window then reverse over it a few times. The red location icon failed to lock on to my position and showed me as being half a mile away. Things seemed to have got worse not better!

Gaming Podcast 4 - The PSPgo, Dreamcast and future of RTS games

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:01:38 +0100

The fourth Gaming Pocast from the CustomPC and bit-tech team, again hosted by Joe and this time with Clive, Mark and Antony joining in for plenty of discussion about the latest events in the games industry across all platforms.

This week they discuss the future of the Japanese games market, why none of them will buy a PSPgo and why the Dreamcast was so great. Also, rants about the evolution of the RTS genre and a chance to win a copy of Zeno Clash, plus the usual reader mail.

If you've got questions you'd like to see answered in the next podcast feel free to send them to the usual address or drop them in the forums.

Games I Own: Street Fighter IV

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:25:52 +0100

As anyone that has read my blogpost about why I don’t like consoles will know; I don’t like consoles.

However...

There was a time when console gaming was all I was interested in. When I was a wee tiddler (well, seven years old) I went over a schoolmate’s house. He had a SNES. He had Street Fighter II. That day was just shy of 20 years ago. That day was the first day that I fell in love with a game. I loved the glorified violence and being able to bring my wrath down on my opponent with my own tiny hands.