Gizmodo: Pc Gaming

Novint Falcon Controller with Gun Attachment Reviewed (Verdict: Awesome)

Sean Fallon — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:00:00 EDT

It has been almost a year since we first heard that Novint would add a pistol grip accessory to their 3D Haptic Joystick—but the update has yet to hit the market. Nonetheless, Wired got a chance to play a few FPS games with the add-on and were blown away by the level of feedback and control, saying that it completely changes the experience. Targeting was precise, and each gun used in the game takes on a different recoil intensity—which can sometimes be violent when dealing with high caliber weapons. There is also a steep learning curve with the haptic controls.

More and more games are adding support for haptic controllers, so gamers interested in the experience will have a lot of choices down the line. However, we are still waiting for the pistol grip add-on. Let's just hope that it makes it out of the gate by the end of the year. When it is finally released, the grip is expected to retail for $20. [Wired]

Crysis Warhead Ultra Optimized PC Comes with Face-Melting Specs... for $700?

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:30:00 EDT

The guys at GameCyte are keyed up to try out Crysis Warhead on the Optimized PC, a Core 2 Duo E7300, GeForce 9800GT system built by Ultra and vetted by game developer Crytek to bring the game fully to life (and death). The clincher: It only costs $700. Since the GameCyte guys thought this was too good to be true, they started asking Ultra some uncomfortable questions.

Fearing that the system came as a bag of components, they were relieved to hear that it was actually a fully built and tested system. Fearing a white-box scenario where you have to add on your own OS, they again were happy to hear it comes with Windows XP Pro installed with the latest service pack—though it doesn't appear the game comes in the bundle. Ultra claims that the Optimized PC will run Crysis Warhead at the highest DX9 setting, at 30 frames per second, and that the game was actually "fine tuned" to work with Nvidia 9800 GT video card.

Pre-orders at TigerDirect.com start next week. Sounds like a sweet deal to me—even if you still have to buy the game and a monitor and speakers—but give me your thoughts... You buyin' this? [GameCyte]

HYDRA System Lets "Vastly Different" Video Cards Work, Play Together

John Herrman — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:15:36 EDT

Lucid's HYDRA GPU pairing technology could soon allow PC builders to incorporate multiple video cards that - hear this, ATI and Nvidia - don't have to be identical. What this potentially means, among other things, is that gamers could leverage old hardware instead of just sadly setting it aside, though paired cards must be of the same brand. HYDRA differs functionally from Nvidia's SLI and ATI's Crossfire solutions, which split rendering by sectioning off the screen and alternating frames between cards, respectively, by intelligently distributing highly specific rendering tasks between the GPUs. Instead of divvying up all the tasks equally, HYDRA will only send as many polygons or shader calls as each constituent card can handle (see right of the above pic for an example of what one of two cards might be rendering).

The most irritating aspects of current twin-card configurations (well, aside from the fact that you had to buy two cards in the first place) are the high cost and disappointingly low performance gains. HYDRA, which Lucid claims could scale to up to handle four unique GPUs, could remedy both of these issues if it ever comes to market. The company says it'll be soon, but that's as specific as they're getting for now. Visual learners can check out a detailed diagram of the system below. [PcPer via Slashdot]

EA to Sell PCs, Maddens 2009-2307 Coming as Well

Mark Wilson — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:30:00 EDT

EA, better known to some as Electronic Arts, was the publisher behind the most recent PC-melting game on the block, Crysis. In conjunction with the upcoming Crysis Warhead, EA has mentioned that they will be selling custom branded PCs to accompany the launch. Aimed at those who might otherwise be intimidated by a gaming PC purchase, the only problem seems to be that the systems seem tentatively priced for $600-$800. And for $600, you aren't really running Crysis (a game that can conquer systems that run ten times that) unless Warhead involves intense two-stick-one-ball minigames that are yet unannounced. So higher end models could be in the works, too. [ChrisRemo via Maxconsole]

AMD GAME! Attempts To Simplify PC Gaming, Fails

Mark Wilson — Mon, 19 May 2008 10:20:00 EDT

AMD is attempting the impossible—to make PC gaming hardware comprehensible to the masses. With their new AMD GAME! badge, they condense requirements like an AMD Athlon X2 5600+ and ATI Radeon HD 3650 to an AMD GAME! logo meant to assure potential PC gamers, "this computer will play your games all right, but not as well as AMD GAME! Ultra, of course!" That's right, AMD couldn't resist tiering the otherwise simple idea to utter pointlessness.

AMD GAME! Ultra will support higher end hardware to define its standard (current specs above). And while both AMD GAME! and AMD GAME! Ultra hope to play all major games at 30fps via in-game autodetect settings, confused PC buyers need to decide, "Am I an ultra gamer?" And chances are, they will not know, since the term is meaningless (and the real purpose is probably one big hardware upsell).

Then again, maybe we are just jaded and this new line of logos is a really good thing. After all, AMD GAME! is easier to understand than "HD 3650"—which also ultimately means very little to most people. And the standards will be updated every six months to stay relevant among current hardware options. Wish your parents luck. (They are probably not ultra, but it's not your job to break their hearts.) [CrunchGear]

PC Mag Reviews FragBox 8500 (Verdict: "Here To Kick Ass")

Mark Wilson — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:19:00 EDT

PC Mag has gotten their hands on Falcon Northwest's latest FragBox, a turn-key, budget gaming PC (if there ever was such a thing). Loaded with an Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 processor (as opposed to more expensive quad core offerings) and an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS graphics card, the semi-portable (it has a handle) 20-lb. box runs $1,895, competing well in price with Dell's XPS offerings. And PC Mag loved the machine.

The FragBox is the first gaming system I can recommend without reservations for playing Crysis at 1,280-by-1,024 resolution. Previous "DX10-ready" systems couldn't hit this level of performance, even at this less-taxing setting.

It's not a system made for expansion or upgrades, on PCIe x16 slot means no SLI or CrossFire support. But if you're just looking for a reasonably priced system that's ready to play PC games at reasonable resolutions for some time to come, the FragBox 8500 seems like a solid choice. [pcmag via ubergizmo]

Dust-Off Keyboard Quiver Makes You Biggest Nerd In The Herd

Wilson Rothman — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 12:45:00 EDT

Seriously, if you ever thought those around you doubted your supremacy in the nerdiverse, buying something called a "quiver" for your keyboard and mouse will settle the matter once and for all. It's no +2 Quiver of Plenty, but the $70 Dust-Off Keyboard Quiver, coming this October, may feel like one.

It provides ample space for keyboard and mouse, plus MP3 player, headphones, headset, cell phone, energy drink, airline-sized bag of pretzels and of course Dust-Off brand anti-dust spray (they're not stupid).

Best quote from the press release:

Until now, gamers have had no real dedicated solution for taking their most trusted gear with them when heading off to a LAN event or competition. Standard backpacks are simply not long enough to hold a keyboard and other interesting methods of transport, including hauling along the keyboard in its original box, are just not cool and can easily tarnish a gamer's image.

I'm sorry, but this thing is so dorky, if it doesn't tarnish your gamer's image, nothing would. I can see why the model never shows his face. [Dust-Off]