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VisionTek showcases extreme AMD involvement, Fury X, R7 300, R9 300

Chris Smith | Graphics Cards | Jun 25, 2015 8:34 AM CDT

If you're thinking about upgrading, maybe now is the time as VisionTek announces its launch of a Radeon R9 Fury X card alongside the R9 300 and R7 300 series - all made available from June 24th 2015.

Michael Innes, President of VisionTek is excited for this release, stating in a recent press release that "We are focused on alignment with PC Gamers and are excited to announce the new features embedded in AMD's Fury X design." Also interested in the advancement of Virtual Reality, Innes continued "We believe Virtual Reality will transform the way we experience and interact with our PC. We are embarking on a new universe of entertainment and the new VisionTek AMD powered cards create the required platform for launch."

Offering LiquidVR Technology, Freesync Technology and Virtual Super Resolution, these cards by VisionTek cater towards 1440p and 1080p gaming situations and all feature a similar styling scheme, brandishing a mainly-black color outlay with hints of red.

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Continue reading: VisionTek showcases extreme AMD involvement, Fury X, R7 300, R9 300 (full post)

Addonics released USB 3.1 PCIe 2X controller

Chris Smith | Storage | Jun 25, 2015 5:28 AM CDT

Set out to support high speed 10 Gbps USB 3.1 applications, Addonics today announced its USB 3.1 PCIe controller. Installed into any PCIe 2x slot, this USB 3.1 controller boasts the full transfer speed possibilities of 10 Gbps, doubling normal USB 3.1 speeds.

Designed to be hot-swappable, this product contains two USB 3.1 ports installed onto the card itself, accessible through your PCIe bays on the rear of your chassis. If you're running low on PCIe port options, this device can work with PCIe 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 ports and can be used with Windows 7, 8.1, 10 and Windows servers.

Starting at $29.99, more information can be found here.

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Continue reading: Addonics released USB 3.1 PCIe 2X controller (full post)

Club 3D shows off its AMD Radeon Fury X, claiming world's fastest GPU

Chris Smith | Graphics Cards | Jun 25, 2015 4:27 AM CDT

Soon after the official global announcements came, Club 3D's AMD Radeon Fury X offering has also been unveiled, self-claimed as "the fastest GPU in the world and it's here to take your gaming performance to a completely new dimension."

Boasting High Bandwidth Memory, an all-in-one cooling system, 6K surround capabilities and a marketing spiel tailored towards 4K gaming, the Club 3D 4GB HBM AMD Radeon Fury X seems to be available for purchase immediately, or so as the press release eludes to.

If you're wanting one for yourself, we've been told that websites like Newegg and Amazon should have pricing listed, however after a quick look no results came back positive. Either you're going to have to wait or email them yourselves for a copy of this model.

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Continue reading: Club 3D shows off its AMD Radeon Fury X, claiming world's fastest GPU (full post)

Dota 2 rakes in one million concurrent viewers on Twitch at ESL One

Chris Smith | Gaming | Jun 25, 2015 2:31 AM CDT

With gaming on the rise, ESL has just announced its latest ESL One Frankfurt event cracked the 1,000,000 concurrent viewer milestone, spread across Twitch TV and MarsTV in China.

Dota 2 rakes in one million concurrent viewers on Twitch at ESL One

Featuring many of the worlds best Dota 2 teams fighting for sponsorship cash thrown in by GIGABYTE, G2A, NVIDIA, Corsair Gaming, NEEDforSEAT and more another large feature was the $5,000 cosplay competition which saw Timbersaw from the Czech Republic take home the gold.

Managing Director Pro Gaming at ESL, Ulrich Schulze, is certainly happy with the results, stating "It was very important to us that we make ESL One Frankfurt 2015 more than just an esports competition. We're looking to continually build on this with future ESL One events."

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Continue reading: Dota 2 rakes in one million concurrent viewers on Twitch at ESL One (full post)

Intel to launch its new Core i7-6700K a week after Windows 10 launches

Anthony Garreffa | Software & Apps | Jun 25, 2015 2:01 AM CDT

With Microsoft all systems go for the release of Windows 10 on July 29, just a month from now, we're hearing about Intel's next generation processors. Intel is set to release both a new processor lined based on its Skylake family, as well as a new 100 series chipset, which will have the likes of GIGABYTE, ASUS, MSI and the rest with new motherboards on the Intel 100 series, lead by the Z170 chipset for enthusiasts and gamers.

Intel will be releasing the new Skylake processors in two stages, where during the "Intel Extreme Masters Cologne" in Germany on August 7, Intel will unveil the new Core i7-6700K alongside the Core i5-6600K. The rest of the next-gen Skylake offerings will be announced at IFA 2015 in Berlin, Germany between September 4 and 9.

We are to expect the new desktop-class Skylake-S processors in the form of the Core i7-6700 / 6700T, Core i5-6600 / 6500/6400 / 6600T / 6500T / 6400T. The high-performance mobile Skylake-H offerings will include the Core i7-6820HK / 6700HQ, Core i5-6300HQ, Core i3-6100H. Next, we have the low-power mobile Skylake-U series with the following processors: Core i7-6500U, Core i5-6200U, Core i3-6100U. Finally, the ultra low-power mobile Skylake-Y will include the Core M-6Y75 / 6Y54 / 6Y30.

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Continue reading: Intel to launch its new Core i7-6700K a week after Windows 10 launches (full post)

Destiny and Red Bull marketing plan leaked - paying gamers to be nice

Chris Smith | Gaming | Jun 25, 2015 1:30 AM CDT

With this leak shared on popular image website Imgur by a user named AgriosEndendros, depicted is the then-proposed Red Bull and Destiny partnership for 2015.

What you're reading here is the plan to ensure gamers must purchase specialty Red Bull cans in order to unlock 30 minute windows of XP gain and a new Destiny mission, which we shared news on recently. Want more bonus XP? You're going to need to buy another can.

An interesting part of this leaked document is slide number 5, which is about the "360* Marketing Campaign" and outlines the fact that there has been "300+ Opinion leader Kits seeded." In non-marketing terms, this means that people who are likely of strong opinions or influence (often people ranked high on the social or online ladder) have been sent some special information and possibly compensation in order to ensure they are always positive about this campaign.

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Continue reading: Destiny and Red Bull marketing plan leaked - paying gamers to be nice (full post)

Doom 4 cancelled because it felt like Call of Duty 'with a Doom skin'

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jun 24, 2015 11:45 PM CDT

There was a time when Doom 4 was a thing, but Bethesda decided to cancel the project after the team wasn't happy with what they were making. Bethesda boss Pete Hines talked about Doom 4 during E3, where he said during a video interview with Polygon: "We weren't happy with the game that was being made".

He continued: "We decided that it wasn't Doom enough and needed to be thrown out and started over. Some folks left and some faces changed at the studio. Out of that change - which was not easy for those guys to go through - some amazing things happened. You can probably close your eyes and imagine a 'Call of Doom' or a 'BattleDoom' game, where it starts to feel way too much like: 'Wait, this doesn't feel like Doom, it feels like we're playing some other franchise with a Doom skin on it".

Hines had more to say, adding: "It wasn't fast enough. The way that the demons worked. The visceralness of the combat. A lot of the stuff that you see with the finishing moves wasn't part of it at all. The combat was more disconnected, you almost found yourself taking cover at times and using things from other FPSes, which might be fine for them, but for Doom it just doesn't feel right".

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Continue reading: Doom 4 cancelled because it felt like Call of Duty 'with a Doom skin' (full post)

Project CARS to soon see its Patch 2.0 update, lots of fixes and more

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jun 24, 2015 10:36 PM CDT

Slightly Mad Studios might have just announced Project CARS 2 nice and early, but the original game is being patched up as we speak. Patch 2.0 for Project CARS is massively extensive, offering up to 5% more performance on the PC when under Ultra settings. But that's not all, check out the full Patch 2.0 release notes below:

Performance Improvements

Physics & AI

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Continue reading: Project CARS to soon see its Patch 2.0 update, lots of fixes and more (full post)

Intel's 10nm processor has been delayed, replaced with 14nm processor

Anthony Garreffa | Processors | Jun 24, 2015 9:33 PM CDT

Intel had planned to jump into the 10nm processor game as early as next year, but it looks like its 10nm-based Cannonlake processor has been pushed back, indefinitely.

The chip giant planned on releasing its 10nm processor in 2016, delaying it into 2017 shortly after. But now the company has experienced serious issues with its 10nm process, deciding to intro the Kaby Lake platform instead. There's not much known on the Kaby Lake platform, other than it being a 14nm process, and the usual dual- and quad-core processors that Intel will surely offer. We should expect the same LGA1151 socket to be used, with power to sit somewhere between 4.5W and 91W.

We should take a lesson from this: while AMD isn't sitting in the best position when it comes to combating Intel in the CPU game, Intel is now at a stalemate when it comes to ushering in a next-generation processor. With 10nm off the table for the next few years, we're looking at nearly rehashed CPUs from Intel until a new technology can be released to market from the company.

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Continue reading: Intel's 10nm processor has been delayed, replaced with 14nm processor (full post)

Batman: Arkham Knight on PC is so bad Warner Bros. has suspended sales

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jun 24, 2015 8:26 PM CDT

It was only a few days ago that we reported that the PC port of Batman: Arkham Knight was a pile of... well, you can use any word you want there. So much so, that Warner Bros. has just announced that they're suspending any and all sales of the PC version until the technical issues can be ironed out.

The company took to their company blog, saying:

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Continue reading: Batman: Arkham Knight on PC is so bad Warner Bros. has suspended sales (full post)

Destiny requires specialty Red Bull can purchase to unlock quest

Chris Smith | Gaming | Jun 24, 2015 8:05 PM CDT

It seems the 'Greentext' memes are becoming real as an "epic, new quest" explained as a "never-before-seen, multistage mission in The Taken King that will test the speed and strategic abilities of Destiny players in new ways" will require a Redbull can purchase and specialty code in order for gamers to participate. People certainly aren't happy about this new 'experience', as seen on Games Radar.

Destiny requires specialty Red Bull can purchase to unlock quest

Once entered, the code will unlock this quest for all alongside bonus experience points soaring at a rate of 50% for only 30 minutes. How do you unlock more experience bonus? Buy more Red Bull cans! The experience bonus will be made available on the 1st of July, with the quest launching on September the 15th.

Released alongside The Taken King expansion which will cost us all $40, the quest will be exclusive to Red Bull drinkers only until January 1st, 2016. It also seems this is a US-only promotion at this stage.

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Continue reading: Destiny requires specialty Red Bull can purchase to unlock quest (full post)

Fove VR headset hopes eye-tracking technology sets it apart

Michael Hatamoto | Extended Reality (XR) | Jun 24, 2015 5:53 PM CDT

Fove hopes its virtual reality technology, which uses eye-tracking technology, is able to give users a more realistic VR experience. The company's VR headset uses eye-tracking technology as the primary user interface, which is able to follow a wearer's pupils using infrared light.

As the company develops its hardware, Fove hopes the ability to use eye-tracking won't be just for video games - but in the medical world. For example, designers were able to collect data related to eye contact and eve avoidance among people suffering from Asperger's Syndrome. But let's not forget how eye-tracking can be utilized for gamers:

"From an immersion point of view, if you deal with VR characters that are completely unaware of your gaze, it creates an unnatural, even unnerving experience," said Lochlainn Wilson, co-founder of Fove, in a statement published by the MIT Technology Review. "We can bridge that uncanny barrier."

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Continue reading: Fove VR headset hopes eye-tracking technology sets it apart (full post)

Bethesda stopped Doom 4 because it felt like CoD 'with a Doom skin'

Michael Hatamoto | Gaming | Jun 24, 2015 4:06 PM CDT

Bethesda Softworks publicly unveiled Doom during E3, the studio's latest attempt at renewing the famed gaming franchise - and things are going so much better than when Bethesda tried to put together the failed Doom 4 project a few years ago.

"We weren't happy with the game that was being made," said Pete Hines, VP of PR and marketing at Bethesda, in a statement to Polygon. "We decided that it wasn't Doom enough and needed to be thrown out and started over. Some folks left and some faces changed at the studio. Out of that change - which was not easy for those guys to go through - some amazing things happened."

It seemed like nothing went right with the original Doom 4 project that was underway years ago, with demon and enemy AI all the way to "the visceralness of the combat," which was "more disconnected." Instead, gamers would have had to work through the game in the same fashion as Call of Duty and other war-style games - take cover and be extremely strategic in gameplay.

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Continue reading: Bethesda stopped Doom 4 because it felt like CoD 'with a Doom skin' (full post)

Report: Even more employees going mobile in the workplace

Michael Hatamoto | Mobile Devices | Jun 24, 2015 3:31 PM CDT

The US mobile worker population in the United States will increase from 96.2 million in 2015 up to 105.4 million in 2020, according to the IDC research group. By 2020, mobile workers will make up 72.3 percent of the total US workforce, as smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices become even more important in the workplace.

The dropping price of smartphones and tablets, along with acceptance of bring your own device (BYOD) programs by workplaces are helping drive the rising number. In addition, employees can enjoy newer forms of mobile technologies: biometric readers, augmented reality, wearables, voice control, and near-field communications (NFC) are making it increased mobility possible.

"Mobility has become synonymous with productivity both inside and outside the workplace, and the mass adoption of mobile technology in the United States has cultivated an environment where workers expect to leverage mobile technology at work," said Bryan Bassett, research analyst of the Mobile Enterprise Device Solutions at IDC. "The expectation will be supplemented by new solutions specifically intended to manage the challenges associated with the growing needs of the mobile workforce."

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Continue reading: Report: Even more employees going mobile in the workplace (full post)

AMD Radeon R9 Fury X works in 4-way CrossFire, and 8-way under Linux

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Jun 24, 2015 9:02 AM CDT

A few days ago we were in Sydney, Australia for the AMD unveiling event for the new Radeon 300 series and the new Radeon R9 Fury X. During a Q&A session with AMD's Chief Gaming Scientist, Richard Huddy, we asked if the Radeon R9 Fury X could be used in 4-way CrossFire configurations.

AMD Radeon R9 Fury X works in 4-way CrossFire, and 8-way under Linux

Huddy replied saying that you can indeed use the Radeon R9 Fury X in 4-way CrossFire setups, but that the team has already played with 8-way setups under Linux. But, I also asked if it was a problem with the massive radiator that is attached to each Fury X, and that a 4-way CrossFire configuration would be quite hectic, even inside the biggest chassis.

AMD didn't seem to clearly answer the question, but noted that Fury X in 4-way CrossFire has been done before. We have secured ourselves a second Fury X for some CrossFire lovin', so expect some Fury X CrossFire scores in the coming days.

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Continue reading: AMD Radeon R9 Fury X works in 4-way CrossFire, and 8-way under Linux (full post)

Report: GCHQ illegally spied on human rights groups

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Jun 24, 2015 4:20 AM CDT

The GCHQ British intelligence agency didn't follow protocol when it intercepted data on two non-government organizations, according to the country's Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT). Retaining emails for longer than it is supposed to is a violation of GCHQ internal procedures - but the IPT says the data interception was legal.

"We welcome the IPT's confirmation that any interception by GCHQ in these cases was undertaken lawfully and proportionately, and that where breaches of policies occurred they were not sufficiently serious to warrant any compensation to be paid to the bodies involved," a government spokesman said, in a statement published by the BBC.

The GCHQ intercepted communications from the Legal Resources Centre and Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, with both groups saying their data was illegally examined and retained. However, the IPT didn't offer a statement regarding claims from Amnesty International and other NGOs.

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Continue reading: Report: GCHQ illegally spied on human rights groups (full post)

Google wants to fight 'inhuman' Islamic State social media videos

Michael Hatamoto | Internet & Websites | Jun 24, 2015 3:21 AM CDT

Google wants to fight back against the Islamic State's "viral moment" that has been effective in posting rather disgusting and gruesome videos and images on social media.

The Internet giant wants to allow users to be educated about the barbaric and violent actions of the Islamic State, but doesn't want to serve as a distribution method for beheading videos and other content.

"ISIS is having a viral moment on social media and the countervailing viewpoints are nowhere near strong enough to oppose them," said Victoria Grand, policy director at Google, while speaking during the Cannes Lions advertising festival. "ISIS, in particular, has been putting up footage that is inhuman and atrocious. We are still seeing about two or three of these beheadings each week. They are heeding advice from a decade before from Osama bin Laden and they are taking it to another level using social media."

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Continue reading: Google wants to fight 'inhuman' Islamic State social media videos (full post)

Sony will launch 1TB PS4 Ultimate Player Edition in July

Michael Hatamoto | Gaming | Jun 24, 2015 3:09 AM CDT

Sony has announced the 1TB PS4 Ultimate Player Edition will launch in Europe and other markets starting on July 15. Gamers had the chance to upgrade their storage capacity with the PS4 if they wanted to, but this is a stock option from the Japanese electronics company.

Sony will launch 1TB PS4 Ultimate Player Edition in July

The debut of a 1TB PS4 is an answer to the Xbox One receiving 1TB storage - and designed to help gamers cope with the growing number of digital game downloads. Pricing information wasn't released by Sony.

In addition to the 1TB PS4 Ultimate Player Edition, Sony also has modified the 500GB model so it's lighter and more power efficient. The new 500GB models will be available in Japan before the end of June, and will be released worldwide in staggered launches.

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Continue reading: Sony will launch 1TB PS4 Ultimate Player Edition in July (full post)

Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan discusses Apple Music drama

Michael Hatamoto | Business, Financial & Legal | Jun 24, 2015 1:09 AM CDT

The ongoing drama involving Apple Music, which has been pitted as Taylor Swift vs. Apple Music, has given other musicians the chance to speak out. Apple Music launches on June 30, and there is a bit of drama and chaos regarding the music service already, so the streaming music market could be even more exciting.

"Apple is making the same mistake Tidal made," Corgan recently said while speaking with Squawk Alley." "I applaud her for taking a stand, but this is going to be played out by the media as 'Taylor versus Apple,' and that's not the real story."

Corgan noted that Apple's attention to just the top-tier artists is a mistake, and could make things rather interesting moving forward:

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Continue reading: Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan discusses Apple Music drama (full post)

Xbox One in Japan hits a new low, selling just 100 units in one week

Michael Hatamoto | Gaming | Jun 23, 2015 5:40 PM CDT

Microsoft just can't catch a break while promoting the Xbox One in Japan, selling just 100 units from June 8 to June 14, according to 4Gamer. The PlayStation 4 sold 10,822 units - and the aging PlayStation 3 managed to rack up 2,633 sales during the same hellish week for Microsoft.

It's not a surprise that Japanese gamers prefer hardware from Sony and Nintendo - and Microsoft knew it'd be a major fight to sell the Xbox One in Japan - but this is a new all-time low for Microsoft. However, the original Xbox and Xbox 360 didn't struggle this much in Japan, where a tech and gaming savvy population loves embracing new technologies.

Late last year, Xbox boss Phil Spencer noted that Japan isn't an easy market for the company's consoles, but vowed to try to "conquer Japan." Well, keep trying Microsoft...

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Continue reading: Xbox One in Japan hits a new low, selling just 100 units in one week (full post)

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