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Friday, February 21st, 2014

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    12:56a
    Gaming Bundles Weekly Roundup: Humble, Indie, etc.

    I’m going to make a change with my coverage of gaming bundles; rather than focusing mostly on Humble Bundle, I’ll try to gather together a short overview of the current gaming bundles on a weekly basis. These posts will generally come on Thursday night/Friday morning, starting… now.

    First up, Humble has two bundles going on right now, their regular weekly bundle along with a two week Indie Bundle 11. Starting with the latter, as honestly it’s the more interesting bundle to me (and yes, I bought it!), six games are currently announced for the Indie Bundle 11, split into the core games as well as a couple extras that you get for beating the current average – and next Tuesday Humble will add a few more items to the bundle, as usual. The four current base games in the bundle, which you can get with any donation, are Dust: An Elysian Tail (85%, 05/2013), Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams (77%, 11/2012), Guacamelee! Gold Edition (88%, 08/2013), and The Swapper (87%, 05/2013). Beat the current average ($4.51 at the time of writing) and you also receive Antichamber (82%, 01/2013) and Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine (83%, 04/2013). Frankly, that’s a stellar lineup of indie games, and every single one is at least worthy of a bit of your gaming free time (unless you hate games I suppose, you old curmudgeon). Purchasing those six games off of Steam would normally run you up a tab of $94.94, so nabbing all six for less than a fiver is practically criminal.

    Humble’s current weekly sale caters to a different type of gamer, specifically the adventure gamer. Sponsored by The Adventure Company (and Friends), the core pack comes with four games at a “pay what you want” price: Aura: Fate of the Ages (63%, 06/2004), Dead Reefs (51%, 07/2007), Mystery Series: A Vampire Tale (NA, 03/2012), and Safecracker: The Ultimate Puzzle Adventure (69%, 08/2006). Pay $6 or more and you receive seven additional adventure games: The Book of Unwritten Tales: Digital Deluxe Edition (82%, 11/2011), The Book of Unwritten Tales: The Critter Chronicles Collector’s Edition (73%, 12/2012), Dark Fall: The Journal (68%, 07/2003), Dark Fall 2: Lights Out (66%, 08/2004), Deponia (74%, 08/2012), Edna and Harvey: The Breakout (56%, 01/2011), and Jack Keane 2: The Fire Within (52%, 06/2013) – but not the first Jack Keane game apparently. And if you’re really into adventure games, a $15 or higher donation tacks on one final game, The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief Digital Deluxe Edition (74%, 07/2013). Obviously some of these are pretty old adventure games, and some are “hidden object” games, which are IMO a lower quality sort of “adventure”; the scores should also tell you that not all of these are particularly compelling. Still, purchased separately on Steam you’d be looking at $134.90 for the whole kit and caboodle.

    Next up after Humble Bundle is Bundle Stars, who have just announced a new Reboot 1.0 bundle with seven games – and if you act fast (like in the next day), you can get the bundle for just $2. There’s no charity donation here, but if you want a way to grab a bunch of games on the cheap then Bundle Stars has quite a few options currently available. As for Reboot 1.0, you get Steam copies of Dark Sector (66%, 03/2009), Dino D-Day (53%, 04/2011), Dream Pinball 3D (61%, 2006), GTR Evolution (83%, 09/2008), Space Pirates and Zombies (74%, 08/2011), SpaceChem (84%, 03/2011) and the SpaceChem: 63 Corvi DLC (NA, 07/2011). I’m not sure what the regular price will be ($4 probably?), but at $2 if there’s even one game in that list that catches your eye it’s worth the price of admission.

    Looking for even more gaming options, like maybe some additional indie goodness? Have no fear, for we have two more bundling sites to look at. Indie Gala has their weekly update, this time the Capsule Computers bundle running with four base games and seven extra titles for donations of $5.55 or more. Three of the extra titles haven’t been named, but the base four titles are Dracula 4: Shadow of the Dragon (32%, 06/2013), Always Remember Me (NA, 05/2011), Raiden Legacy: The Return (~75%, 05/2012), and Hero of the Kingdom (~66%, 11/2013). Beat the average of $5.55 or more (currently) and you also get Dysfunctional Systems: Learning to Manage Chaos (~72%, 06/2013), Nightmares from the Deep: The Cursed Heart (NA, 04/2012), Hero Siege (NA, 12/2013), Dead Sky (~32%, 11/2011) and three additional titles that will be revealed later in the week. Admittedly, that’s not the strongest batch of games around, but perhaps some of them will appeal to some of our readers. Indie Gala also has their Interstellar bundle still available for about 17 hours if you hurry, which is arguably a better set of games – Cubicity, Interstellar Marines, Rush Bros., Beast Boxing Turbo, Sang-Froid: Tales of Werewolves, Interstellar Marines: Spearhead Edition, Finding Teddy, PixelJunk: Shooter, and PixelJunk Monsters: Ultimate are available for $6 or more.

    Finally, we have the Indie Royale Debut 10 Bundle, with seven of the eight games revealed and a minimum price of $4.55. That will get you Crater Maker (NA, 02/2014), Doom and Destiny (~81%, 11/2012), Kill Fun Yeah (NA, 05/2012), Millennium 4: Beyond Sunset (~90%, 08/2011), Spirited Heart Complete (NA, 04/2009), Strategic War in Europe (~70%, 06/2012), You Still Won’t Make It (~83%, 08/2013), and one more title to be revealed later in the week.

    And that is a lot of gaming, and a lot of links, so hopefully you can find something you’ll like in that list. Sure, there are big games coming out as well (not so many in the post-holiday doldrums of course), but those tend to get plenty of press. If I missed any great deals, though, let us know in the comments.

    9:00a
    NVIDIA Adds LTE to Tegra Note 7

    As Brian, Josh, Ian and myself prepare to head to Barcelona for this year's MWC, NVIDIA makes its first announcement before the show: the Tegra Note 7 will now be available in an LTE version. 

    The Tegra Note 7 LTE keeps the same 7-inch Tegra 4 based platform as the original Tegra Note 7 while adding NVIDIA's own i500 LTE modem. The addition of the i500 brings the Note 7's MSRP up by $100 to $299. The WiFi-only version will continue to be available at $199.

    NVIDIA expects the Note 7 LTE to be available through its usual partners worldwide (EVGA in the US) beginning in Q2 of this year. 

    A list of supported LTE and HSPA+ bands are in the table below. NVIDIA will also offer a 3G-only version for areas without LTE:

    10:20a
    The Intel Xeon E7 v2 Review: Quad Socket, Up to 60 Cores/120 Threads

    Meet the new Xeon E7 v2, codenamed "Ivy Bridge EX". We've had the new processors in our labs for the past few weeks putting them to the test, using the latest Intel "Brickland" server platform that features support for up to 60 cores / 120 threads in one quad-socket server. Join us as we see what the platform can do in the IT segment.

    4:20p
    G.Skill takes Ripjaws SO-DIMM to DDR3-2600MHz on ASRock M8

    One of the many issues presented with a SO-DIMM capable system, whether laptop or desktop, is one of performance.  In our recent Haswell memory scaling article using regular sized DIMMs, the high-performance sweet spot for memory was around the 2133 MHz CAS 9 or 2400 MHz CAS 10 marks.  The issue with SO-DIMM systems is that memory often starts at 1333 CAS 9 or 1600 CAS 11, but in recent months companies like G.Skill, Corsair and Kingston have released higher specification SO-DIMM kits, up to 2133 CAS 11.  This is still a little way off our sweet spot, but on the road.  The main barrier to this incidentally is the lack of XMP support on laptops and mobile devices, firmly shutting the door on speeds above 1600 MHz without a modified BIOS.

    While we are doing some in-house memory scaling testing regarding SO-DIMM, G.Skill went ahead with some testing using the main overclockable motherboard for SO-DIMMs: the ASRock M8.  We reviewed the ASRock M8 as a Steam Box alternative last year capable of handling an i7-4770 CPU and a 250W GPU and gave it a Silver Award for industrial design. 

    For the overclocking test, G.Skill use their DDR3L-2133 MHz CAS 11 2x4GB 1.35V memory kit and boost the final speed to DDR3-2600 12-14-14.  Back in our memory scaling article we introduced the concept of a memory Performance Index as a rough guide to performance, and this memory kit started at a PI of 193 and ended on 217, or a 12.4% increase in potential performance.

    While G.Skill have jumped us in terms of showing that these speeds are possible, it remains to see if memory manufacturers will go ahead and make SO-DIMM modules at this speed. Or ultimately what matters more is that the platforms that use them (especially laptops and SFF) will actually adhere to XMP and allow us to enable it without any fuss.  There are speed gains to be had by moving up from the industry default of 1600 MHz CAS 11 as we showed in our Haswell memory scaling article, but there needs to be a paradigm shift from the manufacturers that implement SO-DIMM.  If the SO-DIMM modules come up to par with regular DIMMs, there might be a future where motherboard memory makes the transition. 

     

    5:22p
    MWC 2014: Archos Unveils Q1 2014 Line

    Archos is a factor in European markets and I often see their name attached to a variety of devices here in the UK at least.  They are making motions towards the US and there are a few models up on Newegg.  Ahead of Mobile World Congress that starts on Monday, Archos have released statements regarding their Q1 (+Q2) 2014 line of tablets and smartphones under their 'Elements' brand, including an 8-inch 4G tablet, a 5-inch dual-sim octo-core Mediatek smartphone with a 720p screen, a 6.4 inch quad-core Mediatek smartphone and a £100 4-inch dual-core smartphone:

    Archos 80 Helium 4G

    The Helium 4G is the 8-inch 4G tablet, using a quad core A7 processor (Qualcomm MSM8926 @ 1.2 GHz) and Adreno 305 graphics.  The screen is an 8-inch 1024x768 IPS, with the device having 1GB of DRAM and 8 GB of storage.  There is a MicroSD card for additional storage, and the unit packs a 3500 mAh battery.  Connectivity is via LTE cat 4, on the 800/1800/2100/2600 MHz bands, and the system with ship with Android 4.3.  The device is set at an MSRP of £230 in the UK.

    Archos 50c Oxygen

    The mid-point of Archos’ 4/5/6 inch smartphone range is the 50c Oxygen, using an octo-core MediaTek MT6592 (Cortex A7) at 1.7 GHz and Mali 450MP4 graphics.  The 5” 720p screen is an IPS, with the 1GB of DRAM and 8GB of storage plus a MicroSD slot matching the Helium 4G.  No 4G on the Oxygen though, but a 2000 mAh battery and 8MP/2MP cameras on the rear and front respectively.  MSRP is set at £200.

    Archos 64 Xenon

    Continuing the theme, the Xenon is a 6.4 inch dual-sim smartphone (compared to HTC One max at 5.9” and Samsung Galaxy Note 3 at 5.7”) using a quad core MediaTek MT6582 (A7) at 1.3 GHz with Mali 400MP2 graphics.  The 1280x820 IPS screen is paired with 1GB DRAM and 4GB of storage with a MicroSD slot.  The full dimensions run at 90.6x180.7x9.3mm, with a 2800 mAH battery and the device has an MSRP of £200.

    Archos 40b Titanium

    The final device from Archos is the cheaper 4” model, using a dual core MediaTek MT6572 (A7) at 1.3 GHz with Mali 400 graphics.  The 4” screen is an 800x480 IPS panel, with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage.  The MicroSD card alleviates that somewhat, but the battery is 1400 mAh and the device ships with Android 4.2.  MSRP is set at £100.

    Source: Archos

    5:43p
    NVIDIA GeForce 334.89 WHQL Drivers Now Available

    After the previous 332.21 WHQL drivers became a part of my 2014 test setup over a month ago, NVIDIA have quickly turned around a new set of WHQL drivers.  Most of these directly impact the GPU titles I test with the GTX 770s, as well as provide support for the new GTX 750, GTX 750 Ti and GTX TITAN Black GPUs.  Ryan reviewed the GTX 750 and GTX 750 Ti a few days ago, with them hitting the $120 and $150 price points, battling the R7 260X and R7 265 at those price points respectively.

    Highlights of the new drivers include:

    Performance Boosts for GTX 770/780/TITAN/780Ti

    Up to 19% in F1 2013
    Up to 18% in Sleeping Dogs
    Up to 16% in Hitman Absolution
    Up to 15% in Company of Heroes 2
    Up to 10% in Assassin’s Creed 3
    Up to 7% in BioShock Infinite
    Up to 6% in Sniper Elite V2
    Up to 5% in Total War: Rome 2

    SLI Technology

    Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD – created profile
    Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry – created profile
    Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director’s Cut – created profile
    The Crew – created profile

    Gaming Technology

    Supports GeForce ShadowPlay™ technology
    Supports GeForce ShadowPlay™ Twitch Streaming

    SHIELD

    Supports NVIDIA GameStream™ technology

    3D Vision

    Shadow Warrior – rating now “Excellent”
    The Stanley Parable – rated “Excellent”
    Walking Dead 2 – rated “Good”
    World Rally Championship 4 – rated “Good”
    LEGO Marvel Super Heroes – rated “Good”
    Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon – rated “Fair”

    The following issues have also been resolved:

    • [Deus Ex Human Revolution - Director's Cut]: Low frame rate, frame drops, and stuttering occur in the game. FIXED
    • [Half Life 2]: The games loses Ambient Occlusion momentarily while sprinting. FIXED
    • [Google Chrome][3D Vision]: The browser opens in stereoscopic 3D anaglyph mode. FIXED
    • [SLI][GeForce GTX 460]: There is no option, in the NVIDIA Control Panel, to enable SLI. FIXED
    • [3-way SLI, Quad SLI][ShadowPlay 11.10.11.1]: NVIDIA ShadowPlay causes certain games to crash or lock up the system when launched. FIXED
    • [Notebook][GeForce GT 730A][Rome 2: Total War]: The game does not run on the NVIDIA GPU. FIXED
    • [Notebook][GeForce 9600M (GT)]: The LCD brightness cannot be adjusted. FIXED
    • [3DTV][Notebook]: Full-screen 3D content may flicker when the external 3DTV is set as the primary display in extended mode and a Windows Store App is running in the background. FIXED
    • [3DTV Play][Notebook]: For some of 3D Aegis DT displays with HDMI connectors, there was corruption in one eye for DirectX 9 applications or when running the 3D Stereo Setup Wizard. FIXED
    • [War Thunder]: Displays flicker at the menu screen. FIXED
    • [Call Of Duty: Ghosts]: “D3D device hung” errors occur when playing multi-player. FIXED
    • [SLI][Fermi-based GPUs][Call of Duty: Ghosts]: Game models fail to render and the gun scope is transparent if SLI is enabled. FIXED
    • [SLI]: System crashes while booting with a 144Hz refresh rate display connected. FIXED
    • [SLI][Surround]: The maximum Surround resolution is reduced to 4320 x 900. FIXED
    • [SLI][Final Fantasy XIV]: The game frame rate drops when switching from 4K@30 Hz to 4k@60 Hz with multi-stream transport (MST) enabled. FIXED

    NVIDIA’s latest drivers can be downloaded here for Windows Vista/7/8/8.1 64-bit, or the download page is found here.

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