my second pc build.Any advice or criticism?

there's something weirdly seductive about PC gaming, if you have the spare money. You can always build a monster, you can always spend just a little more to make your rig better. On consoles, there might be a couple of different versions of something—maybe there's the normal version, the slim version, and maybe there are a few different color options. But you can't just drop some extra cash to get the juiced up version of the newest Xbox.
 
PC gaming has a lot of benefits, but the act of putting together a computer for the first time feels like running the gauntlet. Of course people are going to boast about it after surviving it. Over the years, I've heard people say over and over that building a computer isn't hard. If you've never built a computer before, I don't mean to scare you. 

 

Intel core i7-4790 clock speed @ 3.6ghz turbo boost 4ghz 8M/LGA1150,Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Cooler. Processor Fan with Heatsink and Pipes and Aluminium Fins; Noise Level of 36 dB ThermalTake,Carbide Series 200R, EVGA 500W PSU, Asus H97 Plus motherboard + Western Digital 2TB WD1003FZEX 7200RPM SATAIII Hard Drive, 2 Western Digital WD5003AZEX 500GB, HyperX Kingston16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Model  Evga Nvidia GTX 750Ti Gaming graphics card with 2GB DDR5,DVD Writer

NVIDIA's GTX 980...For Notebooks

Gaming notebooks. Not all that long ago those two words were very much mutually exclusive since, in order to provide a modicum of gaming performance, a notebook needed to be upsized to ridiculous proportions. Even then, framerates were typically lackluster at best. NVIDIA is about to change that equation in a big way with their GTX 980, a graphics processor that’s making its way from desktop into the notebook space. It may not sound like a big deal but this one addition could turn the gaming notebook space on its head

Those supersized proportions for I just described above were typically needed in order to accommodate the large cooling assemblies necessary for the high end components that resided within the chassis. In addition, while it was certainly possible to game in an unplugged state, actually doing so resulted in sub-single hour battery life, major clock speed sacrifices or a combination of both. As the manufacturing process used on both CPUs and GPUs boosted overall efficiency and technologies like NVIDIA’s Optimus added situationally-aware battery saving optimizations, the dream of a truly portable high end gaming rig came tantalizingly close to reality.

Even with the advantages of a 28nm manufacturing process and advanced control over power management, today’s gaming notebooks still struggle to compete against even mid-tier desktops. During the age of 720P and 1080P notebook screens, somewhat hobbled performance was perfectly adequate for most games but with today’s mobile gaming stations moving to 1440P and even 4K displays additional horsepower is essential. This is where the new GTX 980 for notebooks gets factored into the equation. 

While I can talk all day about the disparity in performance between notebook and desktop graphics processors, the fact remains that NVIDIA’s current GTX 980M is in fact a highly potent gaming companion. Based off of the same –yet slightly cut down- GM204 core as the previously desktop-bound GTX 980, it offered some phenomenal potential. However, as you can see by its paper specifications, even the most efficient of today’s architectures have to make sacrifices in order to achieve passable TPD numbers for use in notebooks. In this case that meant lower overall core / memory frequencies and less primary GPU processing resources.

The new GTX 980 (note the lack of the “M” moniker) for notebooks goes about things quite differently. It utilizes a fully enabled GM204 core, 4GB of GDDR5 memory running at 7Gbps and is meant to fit snugly into the chassis of today’s gaming notebooks. That’s right; NVIDIA is introducing a full GTX 980 that can be shoehorned into a highly mobile platform.

The reasoning behind the variable TDP and core frequency numbers really boils down to the decisions of each system integrator. If a given notebook includes better cooling, it can effectively operate the GPU and associated components at higher speeds while slimmer designs should theoretically be able to handle a lower-clocked GTX 980. There are of course exceptions to these rules but regardless of how NVIDIA’s partners choose to handle this part, its base clock will remain at 1126MHz.

Once everything is said and done, NVIDIA expects the mobile GTX 980 to perform within just 5% of its desktop sibling. This should finally bring desktop-like performance into the hands of notebook gamers.

 NVIDIA was able to add this new generation of GTX 980 to their notebook stable in very much the same way AMD was able to achieve such high efficiency with their new R9 Nano. They have binned GM204 cores with an eye towards selecting the lowest TDP examples for use in their “new” product. While this may mean there will be less available cores, the GTX 980 for notebooks isn’t meant to move huge volumes so keeping the channel stocked shouldn’t be a problem.

Other than the obviously binned cores, this GTX 980 also has an advanced power delivery subsystem consisting of a four to eight-phase PWM that delivers 50% higher peak current than previous mobile designs. Supposedly the GPU will be available as either an MXM 3.0 add-in module or an integrated solution for direct-mount onto a notebook’s motherboard.

Is AMD prepping a new R9 380X to tackle the midrange GPU market?

Ever since AMD debuted the R9 285 more than a year ago, there’s been speculation about whether or not the chip, codenamed Tonga, was a “full” implementation. Its die size and power consumption have always hinted that there might be more GPU horsepower under the hood, especially after AMD acknowledged that the chip had an additional four compute units that weren’t enabled on the original card. Now, “Fat Tonga” has supposedly been spotted in the wild, courtesy of Expreview in Japan and early shots of an XFX GPU.

If accurate, it implies that AMD has one more refreshed part to launch. Currently, the R9 380 (1792 cores, 112 TMUs, 32 ROPS) is a $199 part with 2GB and 4GB of RAM, while the R9 390 is a 2560:160:64 GPU with 8GB of RAM and a $329(Kshs.34,900) price tag. It’s not hard to see where a refreshed R9 380X would fit. A 2048:128:32 configuration would combine the original HD 7970 / R9 280X’s GPU firepower with Tonga’s bandwidth compression and slightly improved performance-per-watt. The major questions are how large the memory interface would be (AMD has only admitted to a 256-bit interface on Tonga, but 384-bit has always been rumored) and how AMD would set the clock speeds. AMD could theoretically drop 6-8GB of RAM on the card if it wanted to offer a unique option, but since the price point is likely below $300(Kshs.31,800), we’re betting on a 4GB SKU.

Our hypothetical R9 380X should be moderately faster than the old R9 285 or current R9 380, but it’s unlikely to break speed records or blow anyone’s doors off. At $249(Kshs.26,400), the most likely price, the R9 380X would be a bit faster than the GTX 960 and R9 380, which are generally evenly matched. It’s still well below the ~$329 level of the R9 390 or GTX 970, however, and of course these prices can fluctuate depending on which sales and specials are running at various retailers.

Once the R9 380X launches (assuming that’s what this is), AMD’s 300 series is likely complete. A number of you have asked if AMD will bring HBM lower in the product stack this year, but the answer to that is probably not. HBM and GDDR5 require different memory controllers, and AMD would have to rework its chips to make that happen, without any guarantee of higher sales. With 14/16nm GPUs expected next year, the benefits of launching HBM1 parts now as opposed to waiting for HBM2 in a year or less are very small.
If AMD has held on to the 384-bit 4-6GB version of Tonga for this long, it’s likely because the company wanted one more ace up its sleeve to respond with. Hopefully in 12 months we’ll be saying hello to GCN 2.0, as opposed to 1.3.

AMD R9 Nano confirmed: launching in September for $650(Kshs.67,500)

Last week I reported on some leaked information about the AMD R9 Nano graphics card. Now AMD has unveiled the official specifications, along with a release date and pricing information.

The six-inch R9 Nano will be going on sale on September 10 for $650(Kshs.67,500), the same price as its full-sized R9 Fury X.

Surprisingly, the R9 Nano looks set to be very similar to the Fury X, despite being smaller and having a lower TDP at 175W. The Nano has 64 compute units, 4,096 stream processors, 256 texture units, 4GB of 4,096-bit high bandwidth memory, and 64 ROPs, all of which are identical to the bigger card. The core clock speed is the only difference, which AMD lists as “up to 1,000 MHz”, compared to the 1,050 MHz of the Fury X. It’s expected that the clock speed will be lower because of the lower power consumption. Our colleagues at Maximum PC believes that demanding workloads like Furmark that hit the thermal throttle could push the clock speed as low as 600 MHz, although games should be running at around 850-950 MHz.

The only other difference between the Nano and the Fury X is the cooling solution, with the Nano using air cooling rather than the water cooling of the Fury X. AMD is targeting an operating temperature of 75 degrees celsius, which it says is 20 degrees cooler than the R9 290X. The card’s thermal throttle point is 85 degrees, but AMD says that it should never reach that point.

AMD claims that performance is better in the R9 Nano than the Radeon R9 290X by 30 percent, and says that it is both the fastest and most power efficient Mini-ITX card available, which certainly looks to be the case. AMD has also released numbers which say the Nano has a 50 percent performance per watt advantage over the Fury X, thanks to its lower power draw.

So, it seems the Nano and the Fury X are essentially the same card, except the Nano is smaller and will use less power, while the Fury X strives for maximum performance. It will be interesting to see how they line up when we get our hands on one in September.

Build of the week: F3 Scout 2 Advanced.Build one Like This

Builder David Cathey figured he’d only do what was natural and combine his love for fast vehicles and fast computers in the design for the F3. So he gutted and warped and spit-shined a case to channel his love for sports bikes. And even though it won’t let anyone tear through the streets at frightening speeds, the F3 will certainly layer on a spiritual dose of speed-demonry while tearing through Los Santos.

For those unfamiliar with the F3's titular inspiration, Cathey breaks it down: "Probably the most in-your-face feature is the top half of the case being slanted forward to resemble the look of a sportbike. I even put the temperature gauge where an instrument cluster might go and covered the top grill in seat material to carry the look further. This necessitated a new frame, which I modeled after the tube frame of the MV Agusta. The final touch was covering everything in silver and red."
And the result is a build that channels the most distinct aspects of the bike it's named after. While the parts don't necessarily channel the same energy, they get the job done. Check out the build log for more step-by-step pics and commentary.

F3 Scout 2 Advanced parts list

GPU: Asus Strix GTX 980
CPU: Intel 4690K
MB: Asus Z97-PRO
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB, Samsung 850 EVO 250GB
RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengence Pro 2133MHz
PSU: Cooler Master V850
Cooling: EK Supremacy EVO CPU BLOCK, EK GTX Strix GPU Block and Backplate, XSPC Photon 170 Reservoir and Pump Combo, XSPC EX140 Radiators, Monsoon fittings and tubing, Cooler Master Scout 2 Advanced

Don't head out on a wild goose chase when buying a GPU to play Witcher 3

[H]ard|OCP has taken the guesswork out of GPU performance on the current version of Witcher 3 in this round up featuring 10 GPUs, five from each company.  Of course only NVIDIA supports lips occluded by PhysX powered mustachios but not everyone is obsessed with perfect hair.  Indeed when it takes a $1000(Kshs.103,500) video card just to enable the lowest options on HairWorks at 1440p without disabling every other feature one wonders why HairWorks had gamers tied up in knots.  Check out the full review for performance comparisons and even some HairWorks nitpicking.
This weekend also marks the 11th Fragging Frogs VLAN party, which kicks off on Saturday August 29 10:00 AM ET and will go until the last frog has been fragged.  Sign up in this thread if you haven't already and if you are new to the Fragging Frogs follow the links to the FAQ threads for information on which patches or mods you will need to apply to your games to get playing as soon as possible.

"We take The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, using the 1.08.2 patch and latest drivers, find the highest playable settings and examine apples-to-apples performance with and without GameWorks across 10 video cards. We put a focus on NVIDIA HairWorks and how it impacts performance and find out which video cards provide the best gaming value."

Hands-on: Corsair Gaming's new K70 is the first RGB-backlit Cherry MX keyboard

Hot on the heels of Logitech's G910 Orion Spark keyboard announcement last week, Corsair's re-branding its entire peripheral depart to "Corsair Gaming" and releasing its own RGB-enabled keyboard: the K70 RGB. The difference? Corsair gets to keep those sweet, sweet Cherry MX switches. It's a back lit mechanical keyboard arms race, and I'm all too happy to watch it play out.

See, Logitech's Orion Spark uses exclusive Romer-G switches. You can read a bit more about them here, but basically it's a mod to the no-longer-under-patent Cherry MX design. Instead of the iconic Cherry MX stem, the center of the key is hollow allowing for smooth and even back lighting. The cost? At least to my fingers, the Romer-G switches feel a bit more rubber dome-esque than I prefer.

But there's a reason for Logitech's exodus—up until recently there was no RGB Cherry switch, and not due to lack of demand. According to Corsair, "Due to the current design of the Cherry MX switch, there is only room for a single 3mm LED that could mount directly onto the key switch." An RGB LED requires five millimeters of space, by contrast.

 Corsair really wanted RGB back-lighting though, so it worked with Cherry to solve the problem. The pair found that if they mounted the LEDs directly to the circuit board and used a lens to refract light, they could keep the iconic stem design and feel of the Cherry MX switches while still enabling full RGB back-lighting.

Corsair's built some intuitive software to go along with this device, and it's easy to set up anything from a solid background color to a WASD/Shooter control scheme that pulses quietly to a setup that sends waves for each key press to...well, complete visual chaos. You can just keep adding layers of lights until your eyes bleed, though you can only have a maximum of sixteen distinct colors on the board at a time.

Too lazy to make your own lighting scheme? Corsair allows you to import/export whatever you'd like, and is partnering with a few e-sports teams to, for example, make a keyboard set-up in that team's colors.

Similar to Logitech, Corsair is also putting out an SDK for the keyboard so developers can integrate the new lighting features into games—for instance, turning your entire keyboard into a health bar that fades from green to red as you take damage.

Sounds like a fantastic keyboard, right? Just like Logitech's Orion Spark, however, I expect the price to be the point where you choke: $170(Kshs.17,600) for the K70 and $190(Kshs.19,600) for the K95 (which adds eighteen dedicated macro keys to the left side, though both the K70 and K95 allow you to set a macro on any key, both on press and release)

We'll have a more extensive review sometime soon, but at the end of the day Corsair's K70 is a Cherry MX keyboard with full RGB back lighting, and it's the only such keyboard on the market. For now, Corsair's your only option if both those features are important to you.