Tech News
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Welcome to the New Hardware Asylum
Published: Sunday, May 5, 2013 | By: DennisHardware Asylum is a computer hardware review site that will bring you the latest product reviews and current industry and gaming news. This site has been established by computer hardware enthusiasts with backgrounds in professional gaming, overclocking, system building and even web programming and design.
We are sure many of you share a similar passion or simply want to learn more about your computer, if that is the case then Hardware Asylum is the right site for you.
As with any new website it will take some time to get the various sections populated so stay tuned!
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Sega And Gearbox Software Respond To Aliens Lawsuit
Published: Friday, May 3, 2013 | By: DennisI didn't know this had gone to litigation.
If you are not familiar with the story, both Gearbox Software and Sega have been sued regarding the release of Aliens: Colonial Marines.
Basically, people that owned the game felt that both companies falsely advertised the actual quality of the game. Many people are disappointed that the actual game was nothing like the excellent demo that was showcased at E3 2012.I'm not surprised though, most people (even Penny Arcade) claimed the game was garbage.
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Bunkers and Badasses - Tiny Tina Style
Published: Friday, May 3, 2013 | By: DennisThe forth and final DLC for Borderlands 2 is set for release June 25th but that hasn't stopped the wacky overwroked Gearbox employees from leaking a poster of the new DLC to the interwebs.
Borderlands 2's 4th DLC Leaked
Like an elliepant the Internet never forgets and to save face Gearbox claimed that the poster was real and will now spend the next several weeks reaping the rewards of their misfortune.
The add-on revolves around a game of Bunkers & Badasses -- Pandora’s version of Dungeons & Dragons -- led by Tiny Tina. Original Vault Hunters Brick, Mordecai and Lilith are gathered around a table playing through Bunkers & Badasses and you are a character in their game. You'll experience their game as part of Borderlands 2 with Tina serving as dungeon master, narrating the action as it happens and even changing boss attributes, location details, character names and much more on the fly.
On the Ninjalane Podcast I speculated that the DLC would take on a richer RPG element and be played like a D&D game. So instead of the back and forth chatter and rolling for damage there will be Echo chatter from the NPCs telling you where to go and what needs to be killed.
Should be fun.
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Game Site Secretly Put Bitcoin Software on Client Computers
Published: Thursday, May 2, 2013 | By: DennisNow this is low, the article is worth a read.
Bitcoin, a digital currency whose worth has been in flux of late, is still valuable enough for enterprising users to want a lot of it. One online computer gaming site administrator recently used his players to earn more than $3,600 in Bitcoins without telling them, nearly frying their computers in the process.
Reminds me of the days when system admins would get fired for running Seti on idle machines in the computer lab. We all know that Seti was rather harmless but its not up to sysadmins to decide how to use the systems they don't own. The thing that gets me is why was the Bitcoin software in there to begin with? Most programmers wouldn't spend the effort adding something like this unless they planned to use it.
Of course 3 grand in Bitcoins later they got called out and as a peace offering they decided to donate the loot and offered a small fraction as a prize to one lucky gamer.
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Giada Q11 Android OS Mini PC @ techPowerUp
Published: Thursday, May 2, 2013 | By: DennisI know several people who use these tiny android boxes as media centers but with the proper setup they could be a rather powerfui email/web station.
Assuming you don't mind viewing websites in shoddy mobile mode.
The Android operating system is starting to invade the world of PCs. Today, we will test a mini-PC from Giada, the Q11. It uses an ARM CPU and runs on an Android OS. This unit has access to numerous applications through the Google Play store and consumes very little energy, barely exceeding 10 W at full load.
10w is pretty good, near silent for the Euro folks.
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Intel Lifts Veil on Haswell Graphics Branding and Performance
Published: Thursday, May 2, 2013 | By: DennisWe are getting really close to the Haswell launch and is seems that everyone is trying to get a "scoop" on performance numbers, motherboard shots and even overclocking results. While integrated graphics has no business in an enthusiast grade machine there is no denying that Intel has gone to great lengths to increase performance and make their GPUs some of the best in the cube farm.
Intel is finally offering up details on its Haswell integrated graphics offerings after teasing it at CES 2013, including branding and some performance metrics. With the release of the company's 4th generation Core processors, Intel's new integrated graphics will go by the "Iris" moniker.
Now, we'll see Intel HD 5000 graphics along with the higher-end Intel Iris Graphics 5100 and Iris Pro Graphics 5200; previously, these were codenamed GT3 (15W), GT3 (28W), and GT3e, respectively...
Intel is also promising serious overall performance improvements over its own previous integrated graphics offerings...If anything check out the article for the pretty graphs, they have been known to do the best in the business.
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Gigabyte P2742G Gaming Laptop at Modders-Inc
Published: Thursday, May 2, 2013 | By: DennisAs Microsoft pushes their millions of users to adapt to the mobile revolution there will be an increased demand for portable computers with enough power to play some of the most demanding of game titles, like Tetris and Crysis 3.
Does the P2742G Gaming Laptop from Gigabyte have what it takes? Modders-Inc should have that answer.
Gigabyte has introduced the P2742G. This is a 17.3" 1920×1080 laptop with the Nvidia 660M at the core of this beast. With i7-3630QM processor and the ability to cram 24 gigabytes of ram in it, will the Gigabyte G2742G be enough to satiate my gaming-on-the-go appetite?
In terms of specs it is similar to the Fangbook from CyberpowerPC
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Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD4H Socket 1155 Motherboard Review @ Pro-Clockers
Published: Monday, April 29, 2013 | By: DennisMaybe one of the best motherboard packages you can buy, the Gigabyte UD4H. I got an opportunity to review this board AND the UD3H not long ago and found them to be very good despite their limited BCLK overclocking potential.
It has been a couple of months since the last Gigabyte motherboard we had our hands on. What better reunion than to bring you their newest Z77 board to market, the Gigabyte GA-Z77-UD4H motherboard for Intel’s LGA 1155 socket. The new mainboard is a model between the budget boards like Z77X-UD3H and the higher-end UD5H. Can you guess the model number? Yeah, not too hard, it’s Z77X-UD4H.
The pending Haswell launch should bring with it a new set of motherboards and if the teaser photos Gigabyte has been posting on their Facebook pages are an indication of what is to come it should be a good year for hardware enthusiasts.
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NL: Review Block - Cases, Chassis and All Manner of Computer Holdings
Published: Monday, April 29, 2013 | By: DennisYou don't always need a case but when you do its best to get a good one.
Web Reviews
- Lian Li PC-V650B @ techPowerUp
- Antec GX700 Military Case @ Rbmods
- A quick look at BitFenix's Prodigy enclosure @ Tech Report
- Cooler Master CM Storm Scout 2 - Advance Chassis @ PureOverclock
- Silverstone Redline RL04 Mid-Tower Computer Case Review @ Hi Tech Legion
- NZXT Phantom 630 Case at Modders-IncMore chassis stuff in the works, if you have a favorite be sure to post a link in the forums. Unless it is a case for a Kitchen in the UK, if you have one of those... then keep it to yourself.
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Download a All-Plastic 3D-Printed Gun in Two Weeks
Published: Friday, April 26, 2013 | By: DennisTopics like this were subject of the April edition of the Ninjalane Podcast. On that show we talked about how 3D printing has been getting more advanced and is to the point where you can create complex objects with very little effort including human body parts and moon bases.
Cody Wilson, the founder of Defense Distributed, says he is just two weeks away from 3D printing an entire handgun, out of ABS plastic. Once Wilson has printed the gun and ensured that it works, the weapon’s 3D model files will be uploaded to the internet and open sourced — so that you and I can print an almost-undetectable firearm.
Moral and Social issues aside I'm very curious about this project and may even download the plans. Although without a 3D Printer it would be rather difficult to do anything with them.
There will be two gun projects. The first is a teaching model that is basically a first prototype. It will have electrical parts to simulate the different actions. The second will be an actual working model that will fire .22 cal rimfire shells similar to what is used in the popular Ruger 10/22. The builders claim it may only fire once but once is enough to prove that the project will work.
