Month: May 2017

By Thomas Soderstrom @ Tom’s Hardware

With a specifications sheet that reads like a geek’s wish list, Biostar’s Z270GT9 should be selling like hotcakes by now. Perhaps the reason we’re not hearing more from readers about this board is that many haven’t realized yet that the $330 version has a factory-installed 256GB Intel 600p M.2 SSD? Perhaps it’s because the $240 version (without SSD) never came to market? And if we simply subtract the price of the SSD from the price of the board, we’re left with a motherboard that costs less than its onboard 10Gb/s Ethernet solution. What a deal, right?

Read The Review Here

By Hilbert Hagedoorn @ Guru3D

Cooler Master has something to celebrate and as such released the Cosmos II 25th Anniversary Edition. The chassis with its familiar looks is an Ultra tower, yep 70 cm / 28″ in height. It looks, feels and breathes the same stuff same as the 2012 model but now comes with a long requested feature as it is a tempered glass side panel version. This unit houses the biggest big XL-ATX motherboards and comes with brushed aluminum side panels; unlock and swing them open like doors instead of panels. Yeah, the 25th Anniversary feel is already kicking in, isn’t it?

Read The Review Here

Check out these latest hardware announcements for today from around the web. Also included are some hardware news bits, and on some days, a few rumors tossed in for good measure. Click on the links below to read the official press release, visit the products web page, or to an independent news source.

• Cooler Master Announces COSMOS II 25th Anniversary Edition Case
• Introducing a New Range of CORSAIR LINK Fan and Lighting Controllers
• AOC Announces AGON AG251FG 240Hz G-Sync Monitor
• ASUS Launches ROG STRIX Ryzen Motherboard
• Acer Announces the Predator Z35P – 35″, 1800R, 3440*1440, G-SYNC
• FSP and Bitspower Unveil the Hydro PTM+ Liquid Cooled PSU
• EK Releasing GeForce GTX FE Full-Cover Water Blocks
• Plextor Announces M8Se Series SSD Availability
• Colorful to Showcase VulcanX and CN600 NVMe SSD at Computex
• SilentiumPC Intros Vero L2 Bronze Series PSUs
• Alphacool Intros the Eisblock XPX CPU Water Block

Tripwire Interactive is pleased to announce the official release date for Rising Storm 2: Vietnam, the sequel to the smash hit Rising Storm, PC Gamer’s 2013 ‘Multiplayer Game of the Year’. The game will be available to play at 12:00PM Pacific Time on Tuesday 30 May. Fans who pre-ordered should be able to pre-load before that. The game will also be available to buy via Steam, at a 10% discount for the day, with the Standard Edition available for $24.99 and the Digital Deluxe Edition priced at $29.99 normally.

Tripwire Interactive is also including a new “goodie” for Killing Floor 2 PC owners who pre-order or buy the Rising Storm 2: Vietnam Digital Deluxe Edition. They will receive four bonus Rising Storm 2: Vietnam themed weapons skins to use in Killing Floor 2 for the PC. Those weapon skins include the RPG-7 rocket launcher, the M16 with M203 grenade launcher attachment, the M1911 automatic pistol and the classic Lever Action Rifle. Note – the weapon skins will be available as part of Killing Floor 2’s next major update which will be announced at a later date.

Tripwire and Antimatter Games have also created and released a series of tutorial videos for Rising Storm 2: Vietnam that offer up some great insights into the various aspects of gameplay. They can be viewed here.

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is currently under development by Antimatter Games and will be published by Tripwire Interactive for PC.

Stay up-to-date with the latest Rising Storm 2: Vietnam news and information at the games official website.

Also includes original Sudden Strike Trilogy free of charge to all Steam pre-purchase customers

Kalypso Media is thrilled to announce the launch of a Steam beta testing campaign for upcoming strategy title Sudden Strike 4, available to all Steam (Windows PC) pre-purchase customers starting…now! As an added bonus, Steam pre-purchase customers will also receive immediate access to the original Sudden Strike Trilogy (worth £12.06 as a bundle or £4.49 individually per game) completely free, also launching on Steam today for the very first time, complete with new cloud saving support, giving long-time series fans a hit of nostalgia and a look at the series’ evolution to newer players.

The beta will run all the way to the game’s full release on 11th August 2017, offering pre-purchase customers a first look at Sudden Strike 4, with access to the game’s tutorial, three singleplayer missions (Battle of the Bulge, Stalingrad and Balaton Defensive Operation) and two multiplayer/skirmish maps. Testers will also have exclusive access to the Beta Test Forum on Steam, where they can submit feedback and bug reports to the developers as they continue to polish the game in the run up to launch. The beta will be available in the following languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Korean, traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese.

To celebrate the launch of the Sudden Strike 4 beta, Kalypso has released Part 4 of its ‘General’s Handbook’ video series, which goes into detail about everything players can expect to see in the beta campaign.

• Watch Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 of the ‘General’s Handbook’ video series
• View Sudden Strike Gold, Sudden Strike 2 Gold and Sudden Strike 3 on Steam
• View the Sudden Strike Trilogy bundle on Steam here

About Sudden Strike 4
Developed as a fully-fledged series entry and not a remake or reboot, Sudden Strike 4 sends you off on three extensive campaigns set amongst the battlefields of World War II. Commanding the British and American, German or Soviet troops, you will lead over 100 different units into battle, including the German bomber Heinkel He111, the Russian T-34 tank, the British Hawker Typhoon fighter plane and the notorious German Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger. In a first for the Sudden Strike series, you can now choose from one of nine individual commanders, such as George Patton or Bernard Montgomery, who will each allow for different approaches to combat and boast unique abilities.

Prove your tactical expertise in over 20 demanding single player scenarios, the challenge-focused skirmish mode, and the competitive multiplayer mode. A new reward system rewards clever and tactical play, awarding the player with skill points and bonus content, such as historical film footage of the era.

By Hilbert Hagedoorn @ Guru3D

We review the Plextor M8Se 512GB SSD. Armed with stylish looks, proper cooling and using a fast M2 SSD as basis this new storage unit uses the NVMe express (NVME) protocol and that means storage technology at terrific speeds while remaining competitive in pricing.

Read The Review Here

Source: TechPowerUp!

NVIDIA today released its latest GeForce “Game Ready” drivers. The new GeForce 382.33 WHQL drivers come game-ready for the week’s big game releases – “Tekken 7,” and “Star Trek Bridge Crew.” It also addresses bugs such as Windows Store not opening on Windows 10 Creators Update with 3D Vision enabled on TITAN X; stuttering noticed in “Prey” with GTX 1080 Ti, extended monitors not drifting into Sleep in Windows 10 Creators Update with GTX 1070, and GTX 970 SLI machines not being able to toggle SLI unless Norton 360 is disabled or Windows is booted into “Safe Mode.”

You can download the new GeForce 382.33 WHQL drivers from GeForce Experience and GeForce.com.

By Bruce Kuklick @ WWII Magazine

In the late evening and early morning of November 12-13, 1942, the United States and Japan engaged in one of the most brutal naval battles of World War II. Minutes into the fight, north of Guadalcanal, a torpedo from Japanese destroyer Amatsukaze ripped into the port side of the American light cruiser USS Juneau, taking out its steering and guns and killing 19 men in the forward engine room. The keel buckled and the propellers jammed. During the 10-15 minutes the crew was engaged in battle, sailors vomited and wept; to hide from the barrage, others tried to claw their way into the steel belly of their vessel. The ship listed to port, with its bow low in the water, and the stink of fuel made it difficult to breathe below deck.

Read on…

Source: Blue’s News

Activision announces the full release of Continuum, the second map pack for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. This was released one month ago for PlayStation 4 and now comes to the Windows and Xbox One editions of the first-person shooter. This adds four multiplayer maps, including a modernization of one from Modern Warfare 2, as well as a new installment of the zombie saga. There are details on the Call of Duty website and previously released trailers show off the multiplayer maps and the Shaolin Shuffle zombie episode. Here’s the pitch:

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Continuum, the second DLC Map Pack for the game, is available now on PlayStation®4, Xbox One and PC. Continuum delivers four new maps, including the return of one of the most beloved maps from Modern Warfare 2, Rust, re-imagined for today’s generation with an ultramodern look. The new DLC pack also features “Shaolin Shuffle,” the next chapter of the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare zombies experience set in 1970s disco era New York.

Shaolin Shuffle, features the return of Willard Wyler, the mysterious movie director villain. This time, Wyler has trapped the four protagonists inside a new horror film, set in the unforgettable 1970s. Players face all-new zombie enemies across a variety of disco-era New York locations, including subways, flashy nightclubs and a martial arts dojo headed up by the “Shaolin Sister.” In addition to hallmark Call of Duty action, Shaolin Shuffle introduces four unlockable fighting styles, each with its own set of unique combat moves. The four playable characters return, and are voiced by the same actors from the original story, but now take on funky, over-the-top roles from the ‘70s era including “the Punk Rocker,” “the Sleazebag,” “the Street Poet,” and “the Disco Chick.”

In addition to the Shaolin Shuffle, Continuum includes four new multiplayer maps:

• Turista: A plush spa and resort, Turista is nestled in the middle of a giant skeleton of an ancient creature. With sniper spots scattered across a majestic, central waterfall, Turista also boasts tight interiors for fans of close-quartered combat and a three-lane design that caters to a variety of play styles.
• Scrap: Set in an abandoned junkyard on the Moon, Scrap features a combination of extended sightlines and tactical pathways that reward players who engage in both long and short-range combat.
• Archive: Fast, frenetic action sets the pace in Archive, a post-futurist art gallery where tight engagements contrast with open exterior battlegrounds in this wide three-lane style map.
• Excess: Perched atop a gilded penthouse in a sprawling future metropolis, Excess is a small, circular map re-imagined from the classic Modern Warfare 2 map, Rust, that retains the intense, fast-paced combat from the original.

Source: Blue’s News

Steam now offers early access to Flight Sim World, a new flight simulator with an emphasis on realism. You can judge whether this flies in this trailer with a brief look at the game. Here’s the pitch:

Flight Sim World®, developed by specialist simulation developer and publisher Dovetail Games, has now been released into Steam’s Early Access program.

Take control of your exquisitely modeled aircraft from take-off to landing through a variety of dramatic weather conditions. Either fly with friends in multiplayer mode, or fly solo from over 24,000 airports worldwide.

If you are new to flight simulation, learn the basics while working towards obtaining your in-sim qualifications in our true-to-life flight lessons. For those who demand more of a challenge, a series of complex missions will push your skills to their limit.

As part of Flight Sim World’s release into Steam’s Early Access program, regular updates will be delivered over the coming months – including a weather system upgrade, flight planner expansions, and enhanced multiplayer functionality. Additionally, the Flight Sim World team will be collating and acting on player feedback for the complete duration of the early access period.

“The flight sim community is a fountain of experience and expertise and early access is our way of drawing upon that knowledge to make Flight Sim World the best it can be,” said executive producer Stephen Hood. “With this release, we are forging a brighter and more vibrant future for flight simulation.”