Gamer's Nexus | Gaming Hardware, Culture, Features, and PC Builds

NC Maker Faire 2013: A Look at 3D Printing Functionality, Part 1/2

2013-06-18T15:39:49Z

3D Printing technology has been a central part of rapid prototyping design phases for years now, but recent advancements in cost reduction have resulted in the culmination of consumer-affordable 3D printers.

Just a few examples of practical applications: Chess pieces, a phone case, and a functional cog/wheel crank system.

Historically, new printing technology (as with most hardware innovations) enters the enterprise market first, then starts gradually removing business functionality in favor of achieving ubiquity. Looking about 15 years back, some of the first consumer laser printers entered the market in the $1000-$2000 range -- not cheap, but incredibly affordable for their relative power at the time.

We had a chance to catch up with two upstart 3D printing companies at the recent North Carolina Maker Faire, both with different objectives and mechanical execution of their printers; we'll talk about each in separate, brief articles with video components. For part one, we look to Fusion3 Design and talk about how their new F-306 3D printer works, 3D printing mechanics in general, underlying electronics, and company objectives. In a future post, we'll look at Plastibot and their approach to DIY 3D printers, theoretically empowering users to build their own printer by purchasing a kit of components, then assembling.

I'll let the video do the talking, where Fusion3 Design Founder Chris Padgett talks us through the printer and its functionality.

Intel Haswell Chipset Comparison: Z87 vs. H87, H81

2013-06-16T18:46:23Z

In continuing our Haswell coverage (following up from our "is Haswell worth it for gaming?" post), today we visit the topic of the CPU's most intimate counterpart: the Chipset. As more of you begin to evaluate the place for 4th Gen Intel components in your upcoming PC builds, it's important to understand the various chipsets and their inherent use case scenarios. If you're brand new to all of this and aren't even 100% sure what a chipset is, check out this previous article: "What is a Chipset, Anyway?"

Intel's previous generational tick (IvyBridge), known as the 3rd Gen Intel Cores, operated on the LGA1155 socket with 7-series chipsets. You're all familiar with Z77, Z75, and H77 chipsets at this point, but with the Haswell drop comes the 8-series ("Lynx Point") of chipsets -- and Intel has made a good deal of changes, especially for power and voltage regulation.

In this article, we'll compare Intel's Z87, H87, and H81 Haswell chipsets, talk about the differences, and evaluate what you need for your machine. Let's talk about the major differences between Intel's new family members.

$649 DIY Budget Intel Gaming PC - June, 2013

2013-06-14T11:58:53Z

With our high-end Haswell PC build now officially published and getting assembled by builders everywhere, we figured it was about time to post something more budget-friendly. We're keeping this build short-and-simple: It's targeted toward pure gamers looking to build a system for mid-to-high level of detail in games, so if you don't have much interest in a PC outside of gaming (read: not doing any video rendering or overclocking), then this is the build for you.

This system won't overclock in the same fashion as a Z87/K-SKU build would, so you get what you buy, but not everyone needs overclocking -- we recognize that readily. I've offered a few suggested changes in-line for those who would prefer to have the option open to them, though it boosts the final price a fair amount.

This budget H87/i5 Haswell gaming PC is perfect for those learning how to build a computer: Priced at just over $600, you get a machine that'll play games very well without over-investing, but still get the fantastic experience of system building. Let's check out the list:

Hyper HeatSig: 7 Upcoming Games to Watch, Ep. 1 [Video]

2013-06-08T21:27:43Z

The past month has quite possibly been one of the busiest months in hardware history for recent years -- we've seen the new consoles detailed, GTX 700 line launched, and Haswell drop. And that's just the hardware side of things; gaming certainly doesn't stand still and wait.

For those who recall our Greenlight Spotlight series of videos that highlighted Steam Greenlight games, we've now rebranded the series as what's now called "Hyper HeatSig," effectively a faster-paced, broader-spectrum version of Heat Signature. In Hyper HeatSig, we'll cover several major games worth paying attention to (as opposed to Heat Signature, which just focuses on a single title). We've expanded the scope of the coverage to span all distribution platforms - including Greenlight, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and plain ol' developer websites.

Let's get to it.

For the launch of Hyper HeatSig, we're looking at seven fantastic, new game titles, including Double Fine's Massive Chalice, indie dev Paul Zakrzewski's new spaceflight combat sim, and many other exciting projects and their gameplay. Here's that video:

$1236 DIY Haswell High-End Gaming PC Build - June, 2013

2013-06-07T19:43:14Z

Haswell's here. We've thoroughly analyzed Haswell's viability and performance for gaming and light workload applications, and with that research backing us, we can comfortably recommend that new system builders opt for Haswell over its predecessors. Fear not, though -- if you're on Ivy Bridge, Sandy Bridge, and in some cases, even Nehalem, our conclusion was that it's not necessarily immediately beneficial to make the leap to Intel's new Tock. For new builders, though, there's absolutely no reason not to opt for the newer chip, especially given its support of emerging graphics technologies by Intel and game developers.

GRID 2 is a fine example of this: Self-shadowing smoke (adding depth and volume to the tire smoke) is only available to owners of Haswell systems, whether or not you're using the IGP or a discrete card. Similarly, OIT (order-independent transparency) and other render techniques can be 'unlocked' in the options menu only by Haswell users.

This custom ~$1000 high-end gaming PC build aims to put you in a position to play almost any game currently on the market on maxed or high settings, including the likes of Crysis 3. We've got a "cheap bastard's" build coming out shortly, for those on an ultra budget, and then a normal budget build for the in-betweeners. Buying a pre-built system can't lay a hand to the level of power, customization, and affordability gained in building your own gaming PC -- let's jump to the list.

Analysis: Haswell For Gaming - When Is It Appropriate to Upgrade?

2013-06-05T03:47:22Z

Haswell's officially been out of embargo/NDA for a few days now, TigerDirect has launched its product offerings, and the internet is abuzz about Intel's 4th Gen processors. After reading through the vast majority of reviews on the web, comparing benchmark results, and studying specs, overclocking, and potential shortcomings, we've built up enough confidence to officially comment on the abounding "is Haswell worth it?" question.

As always, Intel's released around a dozen SKUs of their new CPU, two of which are K-SKU OC chips, the rest are scattered between S-series powersaving or no-suffix "casual" computing. Everything looks great on paper:

Mik's Picks: Weekly Hardware Sales - $50 CLC, $90 GPU

2013-06-03T23:13:46Z

Welcome to another edition of Mik's Picks! I took a little time off for summer, but am back with more gaming hardware deals for upcoming PC builds. I found a fan controller, 1TB HDD, CPU liquid cooler, two great monitors, and a deal on a budget GPU. Without further ado, let's get to the picks.

StarCraft 2 ProLeague: Round 5 Summary & R6 Predictions

2013-06-02T20:34:25Z

Well, round five of StarCraft 2's ProLeague has come to an end and we’ve been left with almost no breathing room before round six is set to begin. If you're new to the Korean scene of StarCraft 2 e-Sports, check out last week's article that offers a top-level intro of the major Korean teams and players.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 Official Specs, Price, SLI Benchmarks

2013-05-30T12:10:18Z

One week after the official GTX 780 and ShadowPlay announcement, nVidia's next big embargo has finally lifted, and this time, it's for the GTX 770.

Let's cut to the info you all want: Below, we'll explore the GTX 770's specifications, release date, pricing, memory bandwidth, and 770 vs. 780 benchmarks.

NZXT H630 Silent PC Case Review & Benchmark

2013-05-29T17:12:13Z

Its knee-high, monolithic stature almost resembles what you'd find in a server farm: Wide, imposing, and externally simple. NZXT's H630 was slowly leaked via a drawn-out, week-long marketing campaign, towing behind it a website revamp and the Sentry Mix 2; with all the fanfare reinforcing the H630's launch, NZXT puts itself in the vulnerable position of living up to hype. Let's see if they do.

This NZXT H630 silent gaming / PC case review looks at its benchmark performance, additional fans, specs, build quality, and briefly skims over noise level. We also tested multiple add-on fan configurations within the case, ideally helping interested buyers to determine the optimal fan configuration.