The Gaming Life

Ghost Recon Phantoms

2014-04-30T11:08:00.000-05:00

My disappearing act continues!

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog for a new entry. Things keep happening IRL and sometimes one simply cannot find the time to do what one really loves. So in the spirit of moving forward..... ONWARD!

One of my earlier posts talked about Ghost Recon Online, a F2P 3rd Person Tactical Shooter that was in Open Beta testing for quite a while. I started playing it on the first day of Open Beta and have been part of the community since. Well the news is that Ghost Recon Online has gone from Open Beta to Full Release and has been re-titled as "Ghost Recon Phantoms." The change of title was done to give the title a back story (A very flimsy one at that but then again, such titles do not really need a story.)

The move to Launch brought with it some nice graphical changes and some map changes. The graphics do look rather nice and some of the map changes are... interesting. I am not the best in coming up with map strategies or knowing how map changes bring out about differences in game play save for the very obvious changes. It takes me quite a few times of playing through the map to understand and come up with ideas about how to attack or defend points. With that being said though, at least some of the changes have given me something fresh to tackle. There hasn't been a big influx of new players as everyone would still be working their way up the ranks and I have yet to see new names. My alternate character which is low leveled however gets to see a lot more action with new names and faces and some old ones as well.

The Good:

1. Graphics : They have re-skinned a lot of things and given the whole game a very good makeover. Looks more polished.

2. Map Updates : Some maps have been changed for the better (Attica, yes Attica is now actually somewhat playable!)

3. Devices : The Blitz Shield deployed looks good. The Blitz now offers enhanced bullet protection when deployed. The ~~Specalist~~ Support devices look and sound great.

The Bad:

1. Match Making: The battle for MM continues and nowhere does it feel more painful then in the upper bracket. Get a high ranked fire-team going and you will wait forever to find a match. Presumably this will get better as players move up in the brackets but for now..... Great for running errands.

2. Maps : ~~Xinyi~~ Robytech is still a pain with its broken covers (The pit walls I am looking at you!) This map at least personally is not fun for me to play at all! Give me Tomsk or LZ The Nukes all day long with Attica as a distraction and I will be a happy man.

Additionally the name changes seem... Unnecessary but that could just be my opinion.

3. Devices : The Blitz looks like a backpack when it is not deployed. Currently the Blitz also feels broken as sometimes it may hit people but they do not go down. The ~~Heat~~ ADS (Active Denial System... lulz) has been changed pretty radically but I feel the deploy time has increased somewhat. Don't know how I feel about it yet. Oracle has now become Scan and I personally liked it better when it was called Oracle.

4. Lag : Lag still is a huge concern and with this game's client side detection couple with the cover based gameplay, people with bad pings actually fare better against people will better pings.

There are some future updates that I have no idea what to feel about (Smoke Grenades and Tactical Insertion) but I will know better once they are thrown in and I get a chance to check them out. But from first glance, Smokes seem unnecessary to me.

This game has been one of my favorite games to play over the last few years and I just hope it does not go downhill. Only time will tell.

If you feel like you want to check out the game, you can head on over to twitch to catch quite a few people playing this game. Some good gameplay streams to check out are

1. twitch.tv/anders_holmvik Leader of the clan zd3 (Zero Dark Thirty.) You can catch me there as one of the moderators.

2. twitch.tv/punjistick Leader of the clan NJP (Non Judicial Punishment.) With bonus hilarious teamspeak conversation. You can catch me there as one of the regular viewers.

3. twitch.tv/bournelegacy Leader of the clan PhX (Team Phoenix.) You can catch me there as one of the regular viewers.

4. twitch.tv/karachidevil Shameless self plug ^_^

If you drop by on any of these channels through this blog entry, be sure to let them know and me as well if I happen to be in there!

There is an ongoing tournament as well on Mondays and Thursdays and you can see the clans battle it out for supremacy.

Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.

KDevil's Battlefield 4 Dual Build

2013-11-06T21:16:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone,

Recently two of my friends asked me to build computers for them. The goal was simple. Play Battlefield 4 on Ultra at 1920x1080 (1080p.)

One friend went with an Intel-Nvidia Build and the other got an all AMD Build.

KDevil's AMD Battlefield 4 Build:

CASE:

CM Storm Stryker (www.coolermaster.com)

Supported Motherboards: Micro ATX/ATX/XL ATX
5.25" Drive Bays: 9
Expansion Slots: 9+1
Dimensions : 9.8" x 23.8" x 22.8"
Price : US$ 159.99

We used the case my friend previously had after servicing it and replacing fans. It has been a great case that has served him well over the year.

CPU:

AMD FX-9370 (www.amd.com)

Core Clock: 4.4 GHz
Turbo Clock: 4.7GHZ
8-Core
L3 Cache: 8MB
Price: US$ 289.99

AMDs newest offerings, the 9370 is the cheaper of the two (The other being 9590.) Performance wise its pretty spectacular although tends to run a bit hot and sits at 220W TDP (Gulp!) Comes bundled with a Liquid Cooler (Re-badged Antec Kuhler H2O 620)

MOTHERBOARD:

ASRock 990FX Extreme9 (www.asrock.com)

Max Memory: 64GB
PCI-E 2.0 x16: 4
PCI-E 2.0 x1: 1
SATA Connectors: 8 x SATAIII
Price: US$ 179.99

One of only 3 motherboards that can support the 9 Series CPUs, it is a very rock solid motherboard.

VIDEO CARD:

ASUS R9290 (www.asus.com)

Interface: PCI-E 3.0 x16
Core Clock : 947 MHz
Stream Processors: 2560
Memory: 4GB 512-bit GDDR5
Ports: 1 HDMI, 2 DVI, 1 DisplayPort
Power Connector: 6 +8 Pin
Dimensions: 10.9" x 4.3" x 1.4"
Price: US$ 399.99

AMDs newest offerings have beaten current Nvidia cards handily in both power and price. As is with AMD though, runs hot. They can output to 4K monitors so maybe in the future I can help them get one ^_^

SOUND CARD:

CREATIVE Sound Blaster ZX (www.creative.com)

Channels: 5.1
Sample Rate: Front Out: 192kHz, Headphones: 96kHz
SNR: Front Out: 116 dB, Headphones: >105dB
Interface: PCI Express x1
Price: US$ 99.99

The new line of Sound Blaster cards from Creative, Flashy looking red ^_^

RAM:

AMD Radeon RG2133 Gamer Series (www.amd.com)

Capacity: 4 x 4GB
Speed: 2133
Price: US$ 179.99

AMD has also started their own gaming RAM series and we were very excited to test it out. So far so good and just a head's up, RAM speeds in BF4 really matter so go above 1600 if you can. You will not be disappointed. You can get away with 8GB of Ram as well.

POWER SUPPLY:

Corsair AX860 (www.corsair.com)

Max Power: 860W
Active PFC
PCI-E Connectors: 6 x 6+2-Pin
SATA Connectors: 12
Fully Modular
80+ Platinum Certified
Price; US$ 189.99

A very good power supply for a power hungry system. Fully modular helps in keeping it nice and tidy inside the system.

LIQUID COOLING:

We went with the provided liquid cooler. In the event it does not work as well as we would like, I will be switching it out with potentially a Corsair H100i

HARD DRIVE:

Samsung 840 Pro Series (www.samsung.com)

Capacity: 128GB
Interface: SATA III
Max Sequential Read: 530 MB/s
Max Sequential Write: 390MB/s
Price: US$127.99

A great SSD from Samsungs Pro series. You can never go wrong with samsung when it comes to SSD!

Seagate Barracuda (www.seagate.com)

Capacity: 1TB
Interface: SATA III
Speed: 7200RPM
Cache: 64MB
Price: US$69.99

A great dependable drive for every day use. Price is nice as well.

TOTAL:

US$ 1697.91 (If you include the case. Since he already had it, the SSD, HDD and the Motherboard, his price was a little lower : US$ 1159.95)

This build will give great performance at 1080p and I believe give good performance at resolutions above it as well since FX-9 Series are more than capable of fighting it out with Core i7. We also bought peripherals over the course of the two months so I will be listing that separately at the end as well.

KDevil's Intel-Nvidia Battlefield 4 Build:

CASE:

Corsair Graphite Series 600T Arctic White (www.corsair.com)

Supported Motherboards: Micro ATX/ATX
5.25" Drive Bays: 4
Expansion Slots: 8
Dimensions: 23.30" x 10.40" x 20.00"
Price: US$ 169.99

We reused his old case which is working great still. Replaced the fans (something I always like to do.)

CPU:

Intel Core i7-4770K (www.intel.com)

Core Clock : 3.5GHz
4-Core, 8-Threads
L3 Cache : 8MB
Price : US$ 339.99

The newest generation of Intel Processors with lower power usage in mind. Clocks in at 84W (Comparing it to the AMD one..... yeah...) Hyper Threading helps in every task and also in Battlefield 4.

MOTHERBOARD:

GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD3H (www.gigabyte.com)

Memory Supported :Max 32GB
PCI E 3.0 x16 : 2 ,PCI E x1 : 3 ,PCI : 1
SATA Connectors : 6+2 SATA III (2 diff. controllers)
Dimensions : 12in x 8.6in
Price : US$ 159.99

A great little motherboard. Not too many components, not too little.

VIDEO CARD:

GIGABYTE GTX 770 GV-N770WF3-4GD (www.gigabyte.com)

Interface : PCI E 3.0 x16
Core Clock : 1046 MHz
Boost Clock : 1085 MHz
CUDA Cores : 1536
Memory : 4GB 256-bit GDDR5
Ports : 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, 2 DVI
Power Connectors : 2 x 8 Pin
Dimensions : 11.5" x 5.08" x 1.69"
Price : US$ 379.99

A solid card. Re-used from his old build

RAM:

G.Skill Ripjaws Series (www.gskill.com)

Capacity: 4 x 4GB
Speed: 1600
Price: US$ 139.99

Great set of RAMs which are very reliable. Used from older system.

POWER SUPPLY:

XFX P1-850X-XXB9 (www.xfxforce.com)

Max Power: 850W
Active PFC
PCI-E Connectors: 4 x 6+2-Pin
SATA Connectors: 10
Modular
80+ Bronze Certified
Price; US$ 139.99

A great PSU which is also Haswell Certified.

LIQUID COOLING:

Cooler Master Seidon 120 XL (www.coolermaster.com)

Radiator Dimensions : 150 x 120 x 38 mm
Fan Dimensions : 120 x 120 x 25 mm x2 fans
RPMs : 600-2400 RPM (PWM)
Air Flow : 19.17-86.15 CFM
Fan Noise : 19-40 dB
Price : US$ 89.99

Cooler Master's line of liquid coolers. Good build and good reviews.

HARD DRIVE:

Kingston HyperX 3K (www.kingston.com)

Capacity: 120GB
Interface: SATA III
Max Sequential Read: 555 MB/s
Max Sequential Write: 510MB/s
Price: US$99.99

One of the strongest enthusiast grade SSDs out there, with Kingston reliability!

Seagate Barracuda (www.seagate.com)

Capacity: 1TB
Interface: SATA III
Speed: 7200RPM
Cache: 64MB
Price: US$69.99

A great dependable drive for every day use. Price is nice as well. Used from older system

TOTAL:

US$ 1589.91 (Price for him : US$ 829.95)
A great system that will give great performance in BF4 and the Power draw is low enough that your electricity bill won't go through the roof.

PERIPHERALS:

We bought two keyboards and two mice

AMD Build got

CM Storm Quick Fire TK (www.cmstorm.com)

Type: Wired
Mechanical Keys: Cherry MX Red Keys
Price: US$ 99.99

A great little keyboard with a good tactile experience and rapid response keys. Perfect for quick key strokes and also typing.

Corsair Vengeance M65 (www.corsair.com)

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 8
Maximum DPI: 8200
Price: US$ 59.99

Great if you like FPS games! Rock solid build as well.

Nvidia Build got

CM Storm QuickFire Rapid (www.cmstorm.com)

Type: Wired
Mechanical Keys: Cherry MX Black
US$ 69.99

Mx Black Keys for the ultimate FPS experience. Easy to double tap. Might be less typing friendly though.

Razer DeathAdder (www.razerzone.com)

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 5
Maximum DPI: 6400
Price: US$ 59.99

A great Razer mouse which is also very comfortable to use.

MONITORS:

Both have the same monitor which is phenomenal for gaming. Both had previously purchased it

ASUS VE247H (www.asus.com)

Screen Size: 23.6"
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Response Time: 2ms
Connectors: D-Sub, DVI, HDMI
Price: US$ 169.99

An awesome gaming monitor. 'Nuff said.

HEADSETS:

I would recommend two headsets. One I have tried and love, the other I have not but looks promising

ROCCAT Kave (www.roccat.org)

True 5.1 Surround Sound headset with 4 3.5mm connectors and USB connector. A great headset that is very comfortable for me and provides great sound.

Price: US$ 109.99

Corsair Raptor HS40 (www.corsair.com)

A USB gaming headset that provides 7.1 Surround Sound. I have not tried it yet however judging by past Corsair products, this should be good. If any of you have, let me know how it turned out for you and I just may use your experience in a review ^_^

Price: US$59.99

Closing Thoughts:
Well that is it for this rather lengthy post. Both builds are working absolutely great. The AMD system is a bigger power drain and rather noise so beware. The Intel-Nvidia is pretty quiet by comparison and of course lower power drain.

Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.

Kiyoshi Computer Build II : Small Footprint

2013-10-18T11:51:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!

So it has been ages since my last post. A lot has happened but without further ado, let's check up on my most recent build. It was for a friend who wanted a dorm friendly computer. Not big on power since this PC was not meant for gaming, but more for reliable everyday use when it came to assignments and stuff (coupled with a mid range gfx card, it can still play a lot of games on medium settings.) Dorms meant one thing, space, or more specifically lack thereof. So off we went to a mini-ITX Build!

CASE:

Fractal Design Node 304 Black (www.fractal-design.com)

Dimensions : 9.8" x 8.2" x 14.7"
Price : US$54.99

A great case when space is at a premium but you still don't want to overlook design aesthetics. Simple clean lines and also capable of holding a surprisingly big video card (with some drawbacks of course.)

CPU:

Intel Core i3-4130 (www.intel.com)

Core Clock: 3.4 GHz
2-Core 4-Thread
L3 Cache: 3MB
Price: US$129.99

The Haswell line, complete with power efficiency features and nice processor strength. Comes with HT so it has 2 physical and 2 virtual cores. Only criticism is the HD 4400 as a graphics solution.

MOTHERBOARD:

ASRock H81M-ITX (www.asrock.com)

Max Memory: 16GB
PCI-E 2.0x16: 1
SATA Connectors: 2 x SATAIII
Price: US$64.99

Complete with a host of new features such as Wake On LAN and a dehumidifying system built in, this is one great motherboard in a very small package.

RAM:

Mushkin Enhanced Essentials (poweredbymushkin.com)

Capacity: 2 x 2GB
Speed: 1333
Price: US$41.99

A great little set from the very reliable Mushkin.

POWER SUPPLY:

EVGA 500B (www.evga.com)

Max Power: 500W
Active PFC
PCI-E Connectors: 2 x 6+2-Pin
SATA Connectors: 2
Non Modular
80+Bronze Certified
Price: US$44.99

A great little PSU from EVGA.

AIR COOLING:

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (www.coolermaster.com)

The ever great, ever affordable air cooler from cooler master. Always a safe bet when you don't know much about CPU cooling.

Price: US$ 34.99

HARD DRIVE:

Mushkin Enhanced Chronos (poweredbymushkin.com)

Capacity: 240GB
Interface: SATA III
Max Sequential Read: 560MB/s
Max Sequential Write: 525MB/s
Price: US$ 164.99

Very good reviews for this awesome little SSD.

TOTAL:

US$ 536.93

THOUGHTS:

This was a fun little build to do. In the near future he may opt for a video card and an optical drive. We will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the Word! +1, Subscribe, Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.

Intel Launches Haswell Processors

2013-06-04T15:08:00.000-05:00

The start to this month brought us Intel's newest CPUs: The Haswell Bridge. It is the Tock in the Intel Tick-Tock release schedule and as such comes with a major architectural refresh (which means a new socket type : LGA 1150 and a new set of motherboards.)

Featuring a new box art, amongst other things, the biggest change this time around is not core counts or frequencies, rather a "better" experience. Intel claims the biggest battery life increase in Intel's history and unprecedented graphics in ultra-thin computing. It is clear from this that Intel is aiming at the mobile world more and more as PC and Laptop sales continue to fall in face of the lower cost, lower power ARM microprocessor powered cell-phones and tablets. In that light Haswell will be trying to make mobile PCs (Ultrabooks for example) perform more like smartphones and tablets with increased battery lifes and instant wakes.

What does all of this mean for the Desktop side of things? Well while the architectural improvements will increase overall efficiency, custom-builders have, at the moment, little need to upgrade to the newer CPU. The speeds are not all that faster and there are no more cores than the previous generation. So if you are looking to build a whole new system, it would make sense to try Haswell out, however if you already are on Sandy or Ivy Bridge, you can safely stay away from upgrading just yet.

The biggest thing to note will be that if you are going to buy Haswell Bridge, take some time and search PSU which are compatible with the new CPU as power operating states have changed dramatically and you will need a high quality power supply to ensure steady power to the PC. Check with a manufacturer for Haswell low-power compatibility.

The Model List and Launch Prices are as follows

Model	Cores/Threads	CPU Clock (GHz)	Turbo Boost (GHz)	Cache	IGP	TDP	Launch Price (USD)
Core i7-4770K	4/8	3.5	3.9	8MB	HD4600	84W	339
Core i7-4770	4/8	3.4	3.9	8MB	HD4600	84W	303
Core i7-4770S	4/8	3.1	3.9	8MB	HD4600	65W	303
Core i7-4770T	4/8	2.5	3.7	8MB	HD4600	45W	303
Core i7-4765T	4/8	2.0	3.0	8MB	HD4600	35W	303
Core i5-4670K	4/4	3.4	3.8	6MB	HD4600	84W	242
Corei5-4670	4/4	3.4	3.8	6MB	HD4600	84W	213
Core i5-4670S	4/4	3.1	3.8	6MB	HD4600	65W	213
Core i5-4670T	4/4	2.3	3.3	6MB	HD4600	45W	213
Core i5-4570	4/4	3.2	3.6	6MB	HD4600	84W	192
Core i5-4570S	4/4	2.9	3.6	6MB	HD4600	65W	192
Core i5-4570T	2/4	2.9	3.6	4MB	HD4600	35W	192

Suffixes:
K: Unlocked Multiplier

S: Performance Optimized, i.e Lower CPU frequency, reduced TDP

T: Power Optimized, i.e Lower CPU frequency, lower Turbo Boost frequency, greatly reduced TDP

Also the Integrated Graphics is now called Iris.

Initial tests show a modest gain in performance across various benchmarks for Haswell and the newer generation sits above the previous one, although, as stated before, by a very narrow margin.

The SnapKnot Camera Giveaway!!

2013-05-29T16:08:00.000-05:00

Hello All!!

It has been a while but I am back with something very cool and exciting!

SnapKnot (www.snapknot.com) are doing a DSLR giveaway that, if you win, gives you the chance to claim

1. Nikon D800

Featuring an astonishing 36.3 MP sensor, the D800 is the stuff dreams are made off. Check out the full specs by clicking here.

2. Canon 5D Mark III

Featuring an amazing 22.3 MP sensor, the Mark III is in all aspects an upgrade over the Mark II. Great for fast action scenes and a lot more. Check out the full specs by clicking here

Enter the Drawing and one of these cameras can be yours!

So how do you enter it? It is simple! Click the link below

Big thanks to the SnapKnot wedding photography directory for offering this great camera giveaway!

Be on the lookout for a new post soon.

Till Then,

Kiyoshi Out!

P.S To check out my photography visit my other blog here.

Product Review 2: Zalman ZM-300 Mouse

2013-03-15T12:05:00.000-05:00

The Zalman ZM-300 is a gaming grade optical mouse. Hot on the heels of my last purchase (A4Tech Keyboard) comes this one. Since budget is extremely limited for me, I went ahead with these two purchases and also thought it would be a good idea to start reviewing products with these two.

Here are the specs of the ZM-300:

Type: USB Wired
Tracking: Optical
DPi Range: 625 to 2500
Buttons: 7
Price: ~US$ 14.99

LOOK:

I like the way this mouse looks! I can quite put my finger on it, but it is very reminiscent of something (maybe a car...) In any event I really like how it looks.

The shiny coating tends to lock in your finger prints so you may have to clean it after every play through to make sure it stays clean and .... well shiny.

Looks: 7/10

FEEL:

There are a 7 buttons in total on the mouse (including the scroll wheel.) There is a small red LED on the side which corresponds to the DPI settings. Unlit is 625 and fully lit is 2500.

The overall finish doesn't feel as cheap as it's price indicates though it is lighter than what I prefer. Also the mouse is small and you may have to adjust quite a bit to use it effectively.

The one problem I have in at least my mouse is that if you press both the Left and Right buttons and then let go of the Left one first, it kind of gets stuck. On closer inspection I have found the main reason for this:

The cut is not clean and they get stuck when pressed together

Feel: 6/10

BUTTON PLACEMENT:

The buttons are somewhat misplaced on this mouse. I prefer the DPI button to be below the wheel so it is not accidentally pressed however this is what will happen in the beginning and during intense gaming as well. Also the click of the DPI switch is somewhat lackluster. It doesn't press reliably every time. The Auto Fire is weirdly programmed. Playing Ghost Recon Online, you have the ability to set some guns to Auto Fire, Burst Fire or Semi Fire depending on your need. With the Auto Fire button enabled, it stops shooting after two shots when your gun is set to Auto Fire, has no impact on Burst and only fires two shots in Semi before you have to press the button again. Normally on Semi, the guns shoots at a steady one bullet at a time pace but with the Auto Fire button enabled, it fires two rapid shots and then just stops.

The Mouse Wheel is solid and the small rubber coating ensures that your finger won't slip during extended usage. The Wheel click is solid and easy. The side buttons also have a reliable and great click. I did not like the placement though as the pressing the front one is a bit of a stretch for your thumb and you will have to be really clawing your mouse to reach it all the time. It is fine for gaming but for daily use, I would prefer if the side buttons were placed a little better.

Button Placement: 6/10

LONG TERM USAGE:

The mouse is working great a month in to my buying it. Aside from the two buttons grinding each other, the mouse is working well. Only time will tell how well it stands up to rough usage. For now it is working great.

LTU: 6/10

CONCLUSION:

I am somewhat surprised at how well this mouse is holding up. It does not feel as cheap and is standing up to daily gaming without showing any wear and tear. The buttons need to be better placed and I would like it to be heavier then it is. Aside from this I would recommend that you give it a try.

Final Score: 25/40

Product Review 1: A4Tech G800V Keyboard

2013-03-11T15:07:00.000-05:00

Hello all!

Today I will be doing my first product review.

The A4Tech (www.a4tech.com/) G800V Keyboard. It is a part of their X7 Gaming Devices line.

I recently purchased this keyboard from a sale at Newegg. It was delivered fast as always.

LOOK:

The G800V sports a black and grey paint job with a built in palm rest. It has 8 rubberized key caps (WASD, Arroy Keys.) There are a total of 15 Macro Keys and Media Control Keys as well.

It sports a Mode Key and a key to turn the Windows Key On and Off. However this part of the keyboard feels very cheap as it has a sticker with a very small "bump" of a key and spoils the overall aesthetics somewhat. Also the Right Shift key sits much lower than the rest of the keys and that looks somewhat odd as well.

Also, as seen in the picture, the G6 key sits somewhat higher than the rest of the keys. I do however like the fact that they haven't shortened the Backspace key. Interestingly there is no "G8" key. They skip over it from G7 to G9 and that is a little odd.

Looks: 6/10

FEEL:

I personally prefer a more "clickey" feel to keys whereas the G800V sports a very soft click. It is not a negative feature just more of a observation. If you like soft click you will enjoy it. The keys G1 through G4 actuate with much more force than the rest of the keyboard and I actually like it. The Rubber keys feel very good to touch and give a good grip.

Feel: 6/10

SOFTWARE:

The software is quite easy to understand and operate (though I haven't delved much in to Macro Settings.) and it also let's you download custom macros for some games (Most notably Counter Strike.)

Software: 7/10

LONG TERM USAGE:

This is where I feel I cannot give high scores to this keyboard. After about a month of using it, I have started noticing some small things.

Look at the 2 & 3 Keys

I press the 2 and 3 key with my middle finger and as you can see they have started slanting. They 2 Key is slanting more to the left while the 3 Key more to the right.

Similar deal with the Left Ctrl Key. I don't use it as much but it has started sitting askew as well. The F Key as well is now sitting at a lower place than the rest of the keys surrounding it.

It seems like the most often used keys are sitting lower as compared to other keys and this is somewhat disconcerting. I feel like this keyboard will not last as long as it should. Also for being a "Gaming" Keyboard it should outlast my budget keyboard which was basically a $4 keyboard and it is still serving me great after 4 years of heavy use.

Also when you tap the keyboard, some of the keys jiggle. All of this combined makes me feel like this keyboard will not last too long.

LTU: 4/10

CONCLUSION:

I had high hopes for this keyboard when I un-boxed it. However over time, I feel less and less pleased with my buy and were it not for the sale, I would not recommend anyone else buying it. The options are good, the software pretty easy to use however, I am less than pleased with the rest of the things. Specially the price point at which it is sitting (US$ 59.99 on NewEgg) it competing against Thermaltake, ROCCAT, SteelSeries and that is a challenge it is definitely losing.

Final Score: 23/40

A Long Hiatus

2013-03-10T14:01:00.000-05:00

So,

This time it has been a very long break.

I do apologize for it however there have been so many things going on that I just could not find the time to sit and write.

But now I am back so look out for regular posts from now on.

What have I been up to?

1. Job challenges (finding a decent one is challenging) and in the short term I have been overworking to just survive and that did not leave me much time.

2. Some Computer Repairs. Which I will be talking about in future posts.

3. Snowstorms, Thunderstorms and a broken car which needs fixing. Needless to say this presented me with self logistical issues. The Snow may be gone and the storm is over but my car still needs fixing and I am saving up money for that.

All of this leaves me with very little time and motivation.

However one by one these things are resolving so as I am moving forward, I am finding time to write again.

With that out of the way, onward to the continuation of this blog.

Razer Edge Pro

2013-01-08T15:03:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone!

Today I came across Razer's (www.razerzone.com) newest offering. No it is not a mouse or a keyboard.

Rather it is their first gaming tablet!

That is right! This nifty little tablet is capable of some serious gaming and any other tasks you can think of throwing at it. The Tech Specs are impressive to say the least

Specs:

CPU: Core i7 Dual Core with HT running at 1.9 GHz /Turbo 3.0 GHz
RAM: 8G DDR3 @ 1600MHz
Video: Intel HD4000 and an Nvidia GT 640M LE with 2GB DDR3 VRAM
Display: 10.1" 10-point capacitive touch screen
Storage: 128/256 GB SATA III SSD

It features a full Windows 8 so you can run any game and applications you can think of.

It can be operated in four different modes namely,

1.Tablet for touch screen usage

2. Keyboard Mode for a more traditional notebook styled use

3. Mobile Console Mode, for gaming on the go!

4. Home Console Mode, for a more console gaming feel.

You can also connect to your TV if you want to play on a larger screen.

The Tablet has a host of features which are incredible but the thing to keep in mind is that all the modes other than the tablet mode require docks which you have to purchase (from the looks of things) separately.

Base Price for the Razer Edge Pro Gaming Tablet is : US$ 1299.99

Game Pad Controller: US$ 249.99

Docking Station: US$ 99.99

Keyboard Dock: US$ 199.99

All together (or even just the tablet alone) will make this a rather expensive buy relegating it to a more niche market. The money you can spend on buying this, no doubt, awesome tablet can actually get you a very powerful PC. Of course the tablet has it's own uniqueness which will make sure Razer is going to have a good customer base for it.

If you do manage to get your hands on one... befriend me! :-P

That is all for this post folks, I will be coming out with the part two of the Ghost Recon Online Review soon.

Until then,
Kiyoshi Out!

Ghost Recon Online I : Introduction and Classes

2012-12-29T13:05:00.001-06:00

Hello everyone!

Wow! This time around I have been away for a much longer time than I realized. Part of it was there was a wedding in my family and if you know anything about South Asian (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh etc...) you should know this, our marriages take forever. Multiple events spread out over multiple days. Anyways I am now free after all that and here is my newest post.

Click here to go to the website

In one of my older posts, I talked about Ghost Recon Online and how excited I was about playing it. Well that is exactly what I have been whenever I have spare time. The game and the community have me hooked! The game is still in Open Beta so it is going through changes almost every week but the core of the game is very solid.

GR:O is a 3rd person, team-based, class-based, tactics heavy shooter. Your squad will deploy against an enemy squad in a 8v8 battle. For now there are two game modes:

Onslaught - The attacking side has to take over two points on the map to unlock a final third point while the defending side has to ... well defend all three

Conquest - Both sides start the game contesting the middle point in a five point map and the objective is to take over all five or hold the most points for victory.

A total of five maps are available as of this post, 2 Onslaught and 3 Conquest maps.

CLASSES:

Each class has access to two main weapons, two devices, two squad supports and one handgun.

ASSAULT:

Armed with the Assault Rifle and Shotgun, the Assault is the slowest of the three classes and the one with the most armor and health. Use the Assault class to take over points and to hold the points. The two devices Assaults have access to are:

Blitz:

Dashing with the Blitz deployed

The Blitz shield is on your back and when it is there, it provides you with a little more armor in case somebody flanks you and shoots you from behind. When the Blitz is fully charged, you can enable it by pressing F (default key) and then use it as a battering ram to knock down your opponents and have your team (hopefully) kill them in your wake. You can also use it to defeat the Heat and Aegis. It is however not a hundred percent bullet proof as you can still get hit on your legs. Also the Blackout device can disable it.

Heat:

Switches to Infra-Red view and cooks anyone not in cover

Heat is a device which emits microwave rays to suppress your enemy. It can prevent them from shooting or pretty much restricts them to cover. However again it is not a perfect device as it can be neutralized by the Blitz or Blackout device. Also if somebody is very close to you, they may have a chance to shoot you as they can maneuver quicker than you while Heat is deployed. You can zoom in for extra damage.

Squad Support:

The Assault Class has two squad supports:

Combat Regen: Increases your and any nearby team-members health regeneration.
Armor Harden: Hardens your and your nearby team-members armor making them tougher to kill.

SPECIALIST:

Armed with Light Machine Guns (LMG) and Shotguns, the Specialist is the support class of the game. They have medium armor. They can be used to spearhead attacks, team protection and also disrupting the enemy team so they cannot attack your team.

Specialists have access to:

Aegis:

Notice the shield just a small distance away from the specialist

The Aegis shield when deployed creates a bullet proof "bubble" which can protect several team-mates allowing everyone to move up. Great as both an offensive and defensive device, The shield however depletes faster as your enemy shoots at it. The enemy can kill you if they enter the bubble and also grenades can cause damage. The Blitz can knock you down and the Heat can still suppress you while the Blackout as always stops any devices.However a well timed charge with the Aegis for protection is very difficult to stop.

Blackout:

You can see the aftereffects of the emp discharge around the specialist.

Blackout is an EMP discharge which disable all devices, stuns the enemy and also disables their guns for a limited time. However your enemy has to be in the area of effect for all of these effects to work. When enabled the Blackout has a increasing "ring" of effect and you can run in and stop your enemy in their tracks. It is a great tool but is difficult to aim correctly and it has a sound when it deploys which tells everyone there is a blackout in the vicinity. However once it is mastered it is indeed a very frightening (and annoying) device to run in to. Can be stopped by weapons, grenades or if you don't deploy it fast enough.

Squad Support:

The Specialist Squad Support are:

Ammo Resupply: Regenerates ammo for you and any team-mate within range.
Device Recharge: Recharges the devices faster for you and your team-mates.

RECON:

The intelligence gathering and all around mayhem causing class, the recons are the fastest of the three classes with the lowest armor of the three. They have access to Sniper rifles and sub-machine guns (SMG.)

Recons have access to:

Oracle:

"Pinging" the enemy through walls. Not my Oracle though as I am carrying cloak in this instance

The Oracle can be used to detect your enemies so your team can maneuver around to neutralize them. It can pick up cloaked recons and can pass through walls. Every team should have at least one Oracle!

Cloak:

I am on the right side. Notice the disruption pattern.

Cloak can turn you nearly invisible to the naked eye. The faster you move, the easier it is to see you however it is a great way to flank. You can start shooting in cloak but you will de-cloak so make sure you can take the target down. Oracle can show your outline to the enemy and Blackout and disable cloak.

Squad Support:

Gunshot Detector: Outlines the enemy shooting within a radius.
Vector Detector: Outlines enemies sprinting.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This is part one of my Ghost Recon Online posts. As a thorough exploration of the game will take more time, I have decided to break the posts up and that way you won't have to read all of it in one go.

Be on the look out for part two!

Kiyoshi Out!

Keyboards & Mice VII : Zalman + Das Keyboard

2012-12-06T02:34:00.001-06:00

For this week, I have selected to feature Zalman(www.zalman.com) and Das Keyboard(www.daskeyboard.com). Both companies are sort of on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Zalman has more budget options where as Das Keyboard features more higher end products. Still both on their own do not have enough products to warrant separate posts so I will be talking about both in this post.

Mice:

Zalman ZM-M100:

The extremely budget friendly M100 is great as a backup mouse in case your main mouse is damaged and you need something as a standby. Or use in case of extreme budget constraints.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 3
Maximum DPI: 1000
Price: US$ 9.99

Zalman ZM-M200:

The next in Zalman's product line, the M200 is one step above the M100 with more buttons. Still in the area of extreme budget friendly.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 5
Maximum DPI: 1000
Price: US$ 14.99

Zalman ZM-M300:

Kind of cool looking, the M300 comes with an auto fire button and a DPI switch button (625dpi to 2500dpi.)

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 2500
Price: US$ 19.99

Zalman ZM-M400:

Featuring and ergonomic design and LED lighting, the M400 is a good offering from Zalman. This scroll wheel has a high grip design and it also has teflon feet for more accurate mouse control.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 6
Maximum DPI: 1600
Price: US$ 21.99

Zalman ZM-M500WL:

Zalman rounds up its mice line with a optical mouse. Ergonomic design and low battery consumption are some of the good features in this mouse.

Type: Wireless (Battery Operated)
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 4
Maximum DPI: 3000
Price: US$ 27.99

Keyboards:

Zalman ZM-K500:

Zalman has also come out with a mechanical keyboard! The K500 has Cherry MX Red keys as far as I can tell. It has a compact layout and an ergonomic design complete with 5 multimedia keys.

Price: BR Pounds 36.95 (inc. VAT)

Zalman ZM-K400G:

A very cool looking keyboard which comes with 5 Macro Keys! Though I question the placement of the macro keys (on the top of the keyboard) as you will have to remove your hand from the WASD keys to access them. Still it look gorgeous and enough memory to store 3 profiles.

Price: BR Pounds 15.83 (On QuietPC.com)

Das Keyboard Professional (Clicky):

Cherry MX blue with gold contacts, full N-Key Rollover with PS2 Adapter and 6 Keys with USB, two USB 2.0 inputs, Media Control and an extra long usb cable. The Das Keyboard Pro is an awesome keyboard and it looks gorgeous!

Price: US$ 129

Das Keyboad Professional (Soft):

The Professional also comes with Cherry MX Brown switches giving you an overall quieter tactile experience. Rest of the options remain the same.

Price: US$ 135

Das Keyboard Ultimate (Clicky):

Featuring blank keys and Cherry MX blue switches, the Ultimate is in fact the ultimate keyboard with no distractions! Initially you may find the keyboard harder to navigate with no markings on the keys, however once you get used to it, your typing speed actually increases! Get it for the cool factor.

Price: US$ 129

Das Keyboard Ultimate (Soft):

Same as the Soft variant of the Professional, The Soft Ultimate has Cherry MX Brown switches.

Price: US$ 135

Those my dear readers are the options you have. So what to buy?

I would suggest to buy the Zalman mice only as backup mice or when budget is of extreme importance. The Das Keyboard keyboards are just plain awesome and are one the best mechanical keyboards you can buy currently in the market.

Personally I prefer the ZM-M300 mouse and the K400G keyboard from Zalman and the Das Keyboard Ultimate (Clicky) keyboard.

Kiyoshi Out!

My Build + Wish List

2012-11-23T00:19:00.001-06:00

Hello everyone!

Today I thought it would be a good idea to post my build so far. I will also be listing stuff that I am looking out for to install in the near future.

CASE:

COOLERMASTER HAF 912 (www.coolermaster.com)

The case is serving me well so far. I want to put in more fans in it. In the near future there will be one 200mm intake fan in the front, one 140mm intake fan on the side (with a filter to block the dust) and one 200mm fan on the top for exhaust. The rear fan will be used for the Liquid Cooling I will installing for the CPU. Not a custom cooling setup mind you.

A good case but as time progresses, it might be small for my purposes but until that time comes, it rocks!

CPU:

AMD FX-8120 (www.amd.com)

The FX-8120 has been good enough for everything I have thrown at it so far. It hasn't been pushed yet with any of the tasks I've had it perform.

Though I would like to update it with the new FX-8320 that was recently released. It has better power draw and more performance.

Gaming wise, the CPU has been just fine.

MOTHERBOARD:

ASUS Crosshair V Formula (www.asus.com)

The board has been amazing! It has so much to offer and I haven't even scratched the surface. It has a lot setting to go through so it will take time to learn the board.

Though if I want PCI-E 3.0 video cards, I will have to swap this for an Intel build as AMD currently doesn't have any PCI-E 3.0 motherboards. Of course that is quite a ways away.

The on board audio is great!

VIDEO CARD:

XFX DOUBLE D HD-695X-CDFC (www.xfxforce.com)

This card has also been stellar. I am able to everything I have tried so far on very high settings. Most of the games I play in 1920 x 1080 and it hasn't disappointed so far!

I wish I could buy 2 more and put it in 3-Way CrossfireX but these cards are slowly disappearing from the market. Might have to rush.

RAM:

CORSAIR Vengeance (www.corsair.com)

2 x 4GB DDR3 1600. They have been great and I have zero complaints from them. I want to buy two more in red and push my system RAM to 16GB.

They are a good buy and are pretty cheap at the moment so go for it!

POWER SUPPLY:

CORSAIR TX750W PSU (www.corsair.com)

A very reliable PSU that I would reccoment to anyone. It will handle any near future upgrades as well and I think it will be okay in the 3-way Crossfire X as well. Of course I will only know that when I get the two other cards! ^_^

AIR COOLING:

COOLER MASTER HYPER N520 (www.coolermaster.com)

Less than happy with this purchase though. There is nothing wrong with it, it's just that I want my CPU cooled even more and that is out of this cooler's league.

Replacing soon!

HARD DRIVES:

HDD:

1 320 GB SATA II Western Digital 3.5" (OS, Games, Softwares)
1 320 GB SATA Hitachi 2.5" (Data: Pictures, Videos and Music)

SSD:

1 180 GB SATA III Intel Series 330 (Games) (www.intel.com)

This was on sale for an awesome price and I had to have it. I have been pleased with it thus far.

One weird thing I ran in to. I wanted to do a fresh install of my windows on it but my product key was no longer recognized by windows 7. I have no idea why so for now I have to settle for using it is a gaming disc.

Ridiculously fast!

OPTICAL DRIVE:

Samsung 22x DVD Burner SATA Model (www.samsung.com)

This drive was on sale and I bought it. It has been a rock solid drive and I would recommend it to anyone!

FUTURE LIST:

CPU COOLER

CORSAIR Hydro Series H80i (www.corsair.com)

CORSAIR Hydro Series H70 CORE (www.corsair.com)

COOLERMASTER Seidon 120M (www.coolermaster.com)

I am trying to decide between these three cpu cooler's for now. In the absence of a decent budget for custom cooling, these are the next best thing. I would probably replace the stock fans they come with for more powerful fans but let's see.

FANS:

This is a list of the fans I am currently interested in. What I may end up buying may change but for now

COUGAR Vortex (www.cougar-world.com)

This is the 120mm fans that I am looking to get for my CPU Cooler. They will be set up in a push-pull setup. They have a Hydro-Dynamic Bearing which will give long life and good performance.

Plus the color looks awesome!

NZXT FS200RB (www.nzxt.com)

I would buy two of these for my case. One in the front for intake, one on top for exhaust. Or I could also go with two 120mm in the front and two 120mm on top. I have quite a few choices so let's see what I end up doing.

For now though this is what I am thinking of.

NZXT FX140LB (www.nzxt.com)

A great 140mm fan to consider for the side of my case as an intake fan. It can be set at three different speeds for an optimal airflow.

Plus I am liking the fact that I will have white fans showing through the front, side and top.

Hmm... now that I think about, I should put white fans on the CPU Cooler as well.

VIDEO CARD:

For now, the idea is to buy two more of the same card I have though that might not be possible since they are fast disappearing from the market. I might buy something else if it comes to that.

AUDIO CARD:

ASUS Xonar DX (www.asus.com)

A neat little card that can handle 7.1 surround sound. For now this is what I am thinking.

SSD:

SAMSUNG 840 Series (www.samsung.com)

The 840 Series is Samsung's newest offering. It is the top of the line and arguably one of the fastest drives out there. All that and Samsung's phenomenal reliability makes this SSD hard to beat. I would get the 128GB and use it as a OS Disk.

HDD:

1 1.0TB Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM SATA III.

A great drive for a great price these days.

OPTICAL DRIVE:

ASUS BW-12B1ST Blu-Ray Burner (www.asus.com)

A great blu-ray burner with awesome speed!

MOUSE & KEYBOARD:

ROCCAT (www.roccat.org)

The ROCCAT Kone+ is great mouse to consider with good button placement and awesome reliability.

The ROCCAT Isku is a great compliment for the Kone+ and it looks awesome!

CORSAIR (www.corsair.com)

The Vengeance M60 looks sweet and is great for FPS gaming.

The Vengeance K90 is perfect for MMO gaming.

I feel the combination will be best for me as I play FPS, RTS and MMOs almost equally.

HEADSET:

ROCCAT (www.roccat.org)

I think I am falling in love with anything ROCCAT and this great headset is no different. The ROCCAT Kave is a 5.1 surround sound gaming headset which is lightweight and great to use. The sound is crisp and it will give you endless joy!

CORSAIR (www.corsair.com)

A great headset for gaming, the Vengeance 1500 boasts 7.1 surround sound and good weight to give you long hours of gaming.

Looks sweet!

FINAL THOUGHTS:

That is pretty much everything I have planned for my build in the near future. After this my next project will be a Intel-Nvidia build. Though when that happens remains to be seen.

Kiyoshi Out!

A map

2012-11-05T12:24:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone!

I was going through the stats of my blog and I wanted to share with you a picture.

This is a map of the visits I have had from around the world. I am both happy and humbled by the number of people who have showed up to read my blog. I am very thankful for your continued support and will diligently keep on writing. In the meantime, if you you want to read about something specific you can always leave a comment (Comments are now open to everyone to write, not just google users) and I will try my best to write about it.

Kiyoshi Out!

Custom Liquid Cooling: An Overview

2012-11-01T19:38:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

Today I wanted to talk about custom liquid cooling. Liquid cooling is a fascinating are of PC Building and it is becoming more and more common. There are various reasons why people liquid cool their PCs. Some do it for the great cooling benefits it offers and as a result, easiness of overclocking. Some do it because it is a very cool thing to do. Some also do it for the noise reduction it offers. Whatever the case, today I will be listing the parts that you will be generally using in building a custom liquid cooling system. This is not a how to, rather a summation of the parts needed. There are some excellent guides on the net that you can use to help you in building the cooling system of your dreams.

Pros:
+ Lower operating and idle temperatures
+ Decreased noise
+ Increased overclocking ability
+ Coolness factor

Cons:
- Price Factor (Depending on the parts used, you cooling solution may cost as much or even more than your PC
- Difficulty

Onwards!

1. CPU Water Block:

The CPU block is what will cool your CPU instead of the usual air cooler. The price range is rather big and depending on your budget you may find several different kinds. Usually Copper plated though as of late, everyone is coming out with Nickel plates. They are better looking (Copper tarnishes over time) with almost as good heat conductivity as copper offers.

EK-Supreme LTX - Acetal + Nickel
http://www.ekwb.com

2. GPU Water Block:

GPU blocks come in two different types. Universal which can be swapped from a variety of cards and Full Blocks which provide better heat dissipation but are often restricted to specific card types. With universals, you will have to use RAM sinks or some other after market cooler to cool the VRAM of the card.

EK-VGA Supremacy - Acetal

EK-FC6970 V2 - Acetal + Nickel
Fits non-reference Radeon HD 6970

Plus you can also get a custom backplate to go with the Full Block resulting in your GPU looking very cool from all sides.

EK-FC6970 V2 Backplate - Black

3. Optional Blocks:

You can also get water blocks for the Motherboard, Chipset, Northbridge and Southbridge. Need dependent usage is recommended (Needing to look cool definitely falls under Need Dependant Usage :-p)

EK-FB ASUS Crosshair V - Acetal
Custom created for my motherboard

EK-ASUS NB/SB 1 - Acetal

4. Reservoirs:

The reservoir is what you will need to fill your cooling loop with water and trap air bubbles as they travel across the loop. Some come with an attached pump for an easier solution. Depending on the area available inside you case, there are a lot of different reservoirs you can consider.

EK-Multioption RES X2 - 250 Basic

EK-D5 X-RES 140 CSQ - Acetal
Pump-Reservoir Combo

5. Pumps:

Depending on your requirements, you can choose from a lot of different pumps. Some are small, some pretty big and you will have to work out how to fit them in to your case.

EK-DCP 2.2 (12V DC Pump)

Laing D5 Vario 12V DC Pump

On a side note, pumps tend to vibrate quite a bit so it might be a good idea to have some kind of insulation to dampen the vibration and the accompanying noise it will make.

6. Radiator:

Arguably the bulkiest item on your list, The Radiartor is what will give you the most headache when it comes down to fitting things nicely. Most of the times you will end up placing it on top of your case. You also have to figure out which one to get as depending on that, your cooling potential can vary greatly. Research, research, research.

EK-CoolStream RAD XT (480)
Contains four 120mm fans

7. Tubing:

Tubing (tubes) is what you will use to connect all the various coolers you have been busy installing throughout the computer. They will carry the water all over the place so it pays to buy a good one. Tubing comes in several different sizes (most often measured by the internal diameter of the pipe.) 1/2" ID (Internal Diameter) is often favored because it is thick enough to resist kinks. Of course depending on your needs, you can opt for a smaller one (e.g 7/16") Tubings also come in a variety of color if you want to spruce up things a bit.

TUBE ClearFlex 12/16
1/2" ID

TUBE Masterkleer UV - Green
7/16" ID

8. Coolant & Other Additives:

What will you use to carry all that heat around the loop? Well you have a variety of options.

You can use good old distilled water which you should be able to find easily (Walmart carries it.) You can further add a Biocide to inhibit algae growth as well as other microbes. You can alternatively use a kill coil which is a 99.9% pure silver coil which should also do the job. You can also use De-Ionized water if you cannot find distilled water though it won't last as long as distilled water.

Alternatively you can use a premix fluid which contains everything listed above and some other things as well. The downside to them is that they often contain dyes which may end up staining a lot of things and make things look unattractive in the long run.

IandH Silver KillCoil

EK-Ekoolant CLEAR (premix 1000mL)

9. Barbs / Other Fittings:

There are a lot of barbs out there in the market. Fortunately most of the liquid cooling hardware uses the same G1/4 thread barbs so you won't have to struggle to find the correct barb. Just make sure the barb that you buy goes with the tubing you have. The Barb Tail should be equal to the ID of your tubing.

EK- 1/2" G1/4 High-Flow Fitting

Elbows:

You can use these to navigate tight spaces and to make things appear neater overall. Use in place of large arced or extreme bent tubes.

EK-PSC Adapter 90 deg. G1/4 Nickel

SLI/ Crossfire Fittings:

Best used when you have multiple cards setup in SLI or Crossfire. They are adjustable metal tubes which you can place between the cards to make sure they stay leveled.

DUAL VID Connector, Adjustable 2-3 Slot Spacing
http://koolance.com

10. Other Blocks:

If you so choose, you can also liquid cool your RAM and HDDs.

EK-RAM Dominator X4 - Acetal+Nickel CSQ
Can cool up to 4 Corsair Dominator RAMs

Koolance HD-57 Water Block
Cools up to two hard drives at once

Final Thoughts:

One thing you should remember. Always avoid mixing metals. If your various blocks have cooper and aluminium as their main metal, they might end up causing Galvanic Corrosion (to prevent you might have to add a corrosion inhibitor in your liquid.) It is the best practice to use the same metal throughout the loop. Research, research, research.

Personally I prefer having everything Nickel. It just looks cool.

That is it for this rather lengthy post.

Kiyoshi Out!

ANDAMIRO(안다미로) - HYPNOTIZE

2012-10-27T02:38:00.003-05:00

Hello Everyone!

I am back today with a new installment of Korean Pop Music. As you know I am a fan of KPop and always on the lookout for new and interesting songs. Today I am featuring just such a song.

Andamiro is a new and upcoming artist. Her debut song is Hypnotize which is heavily reminiscent of Euro Dance. I am a big fan of electronic music and as such got a kick out of this song. I would urge you to give it a listen and let me know what you think.

I am eager to see what she has to offer in the future and personally think she scored a knockout with her debut song.

Kiyoshi Out!

Upgrading Your Laptop

2012-10-23T01:13:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

It has been ages since I've been able to sit down and write my blog. part of it has been job related, part of it has been trying out new things that meant I wasn't at home all that much. In any event I am back with some new ideas and new things that I will be writing about.

Today I wanted to talk about laptops. We all have 'em and lug them around wherever we go. The biggest problem with laptops as far as I am concerned is the lack of easiness when it comes to upgrading them. Your options are truly limited and mostly you end up buying a new laptop. Nowadays tablets have come in to the picture and are getting popular but still most people still have laptops.

So what if you want a new laptop but can't afford it? What are your options? Well you could do several things to prolong the life of your laptop while you decide what you want to upgrade too. So what can you do?

For starters try looking up the specs of your motherboard figuring out what socket it has and exactly which processor you have and then, see if you can upgrade to a newer CPU. Granted your options might be limited but if it is an older laptop (like mine was,) you can luck out and find CPUs very cheap (like I did.) Next if your laptop is overheating, go ahead and open the cover above your CPU (Usually the one which has the fan vents on it, you can unscrew it and remove the cover.) Now clean up the fan and if you have it, go ahead and apply a new coating of thermal paste (I love Arctic Silver.)

Arctic Silver (http://www.arcticsilver.com)

Prolonged use dries out the original paste so a new layer will help you reduce heat in your laptop.

Next, see which type of RAM your laptop has and how much you have. If you have 2GB of RAM, you can safely increase it to at least 4GB (you can go higher if your OS is 64-bit since Windows 64bit OS'es can recognize more than 4GB of RAM.) Finding out your Motherboard type and other specifications will tell you how much RAM can be installed in your system (I upgraded mine from 2GB to 4GB.) When in doubt you can always try contacting the company and asking them directly the maximum supported RAM your laptop can work with. Questions to ask that I can think off:

1. How much maximum memory can my laptop have?
2. What are the minimum and maximum speeds that the motherboard can recognize for the RAM?
3. What type of RAM does it need? (144-Pin SO-DIMM, 200 Pin, 200-Pin DDR2, 204-Pin DDR3?)

After you get all the details, shop around online and go with the brand you are most comfortable with (price and performance wise.) My favorite companies are G.Skill, Kingston, Corsair, Patriot, Crucial and GeIL.

Mushkin RAM

Kingston HyperX

Or if you don't want to call, remove the cover and note down everything the RAMs say and just search for the RAM and look up what type it is and what speed it is and just buy the exact same speed RAM and you will be safe.

The next best thing you can do is to buy a new hard-drive. You can buy a SSD to boost speeds but might have to buy a smaller capacity SSD depending on your budget. SSDs are more expensive than conventional Hard Drives but give you faster speeds with more dependability (no moving parts equals to easier upkeep and potentially longer life.) Also they require lower power than conventional drives and as a result, lower your internal temperature, which in turn boosts life throughout the system.

A 128GB OCZ (http://www.ocztechnology.com) Vertex4 is selling these days for US$ 99.99 so they are getting cheaper as time goes by.

If however you want more for your money, consider a Solid State Hybrid Drive which combines features from both a SSD and a HDD. A good one to consider would be the Momentus XT from Seagate (http://www.seagate.com.)

A 500GB model is selling for ~US$ 79.99

You can then backup all your data from the older drive to the newer drive (there are several guides to show you how to do it.) Alternatively you can do a fresh install of your OS to the newer drive so that everything is as fast as it can be (backup all your data, documents, pictures,music, video etc on to a external storage in that case.)

If you are feeling more adventurous and want to try something totally new, why not try installing a Linux based OS. They are free to download and install and are getting much more user friendly with every new iteration. They will give you the fastest speeds and are a lot more stable and resource friendly (the downside being that you would have to spend sometime learning how to operate it.)

There are several flavors of Linux you can try, however the most popular ones are:

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Ubuntu is one the most popular and user-friendly flavors of linux out there today. It also has a lot of variants (Kubuntu, Lubuntu etc.) and is very easy to install.

https://www.archlinux.org/

Archlinux is another popular OS that you can try.

http://linuxmint.com/

Linux Mint is very popular as a beginner OS that you can try. It is based on Ubuntu and Debian so you can take advantage of packages from both distros and as such have a large number softwares to choose from.

I personally use Ubuntu and Linux Mint in my computers (Mint on Laptop, Ubuntu on Desktop.) They are easy to install and are easier to install software on. Go ahead and give it a try if you want to, your computer will thank you.

Well that is all for this post. Hope you liked it.

Kiyoshi Out!

Keyboards & Mice VI : ROCCAT

2012-09-20T16:32:00.000-05:00

Hi folks,

It has been a rather busy last couple of days. I haven't had a chance to write nearly as often as I'd like. However here I am.

Today I will be talking about ROCCAT Studios (www.roccat.org), a relatively new gaming peripherals company out of Germany. They are new to the American market but internationally have built quite a strong reputation with their peripherals winning multiple awards in the process. Without a doubt they are also my favorite company . Today I will be talking about the mice and keyboards that make up the product line from ROCCAT.

Mice:

ROCCAT Kone:

Sporting a 3200 DPI laser sensor, The Kone also has a TCU (Tracking Control Unit) which analyses the surface your mouse will be running on and calibrates the laser power to give you optimum performance. Features a TurboCore Unit which processes all the mouse calculations internally. 128kB internal memory to save up to five Profiles on the mouse, customizable lights and the ability to add weight to make it heavier if that is what you prefer.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 10
Maximum DPI: 3200
Price: Will update once I find it

The Kone has two more versions : Kone + and Kone Pure.

ROCCAT Kone +:

The addition of ROCCAT's Easy-Shift[+]™ button provides you with the ability to program all the buttons with two functions giving you a total of 22 functions. Also it gives you audio feedback when you change DPI, profiles, volume and sensitivity.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 8
Maximum DPI: 6000
Price: US$ 71.99 (Newegg)

ROCCAT Kone Pure:

All the goodness of Kone on a smaller mouse, The Kone Pure features and upgraded 8200 DPI Laser Sensor, Easy-Shift[+]™ and 576kB on-board memory.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 8200

ROCCAT Kova:

Designed with ease of use in mind, the Kova can be used by both left handed and right handed people and with hardware based customization you can do everything without installing any additional drivers. Use it on Windows or Mac without worry!

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 3200

ROCCAT Kova +:

With the addition of the Easy-Shift[+]™, ROCCAT Driver (For macro programming) and sound feedback. A great mouse to consider

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 3200
Price: US$ 49.99

ROCCAT Lua:

Love to game but hate having too many buttons on your mouse? Well ROCCAT has considered that and come up with a classic three button mouse to ease your concerns. Featuring an ambidextrous design and the option to switch between seven DPI settings (250, 500, 1000, 1250, 1500, 1750 and 2000) the Lua is great who desire simplicity with great performance.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 3
Maximum DPI: 2000
Price: To be determined.

ROCCAT Pyra:

The Pyra is ROCCAT's envisioning of a mobile gaming mouse. Comes in both wired and wireless flavors and features the Easy-Shift[+]™ button and the ability to save up to 5 profiles. The wireless Pyra has a USB charging cable for non stop usage.

Type: Wireless / Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 5
Maximum DPI: 1600
Price: ~ US$69 (on Amazon)

The ROCCAT Pyra Wired.

ROCCAT Savu:

The fastest optical mouse around featuring a 4000 DPI sensor, the Savu also features the Easy-Shift[+]™ button and a customizable rear light bar. Ergonomic design and built to last!

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 4
Maximum DPI: 4000
Price: US$ 69.99

Keyboards:

ROCCAT Arvo:

A compact gaming keyboard which is still big on options. Featuring three "Thumbster" keys just below the spacebar that you can set your macros on and two more macro keys. A mode switch will allow you to switch your numpad between regular numpad and gaming modes. You can also deactivate Windows, menu, caps lock and Tab keys so they dont interefere with your gaming. Price: US$ 46.99

ROCCAT Isku:

Back-lit keys, 36 Macro keys (including 3 Thumbster keys) and the ability to have the keyboard and a Kone+ mouse communicate with each other via the ROCCAT™ Talk© protocol so you can use the Easy-Shift[+]™ key on the Isku to activate macros on both the mouse and keyboard! You can also record macros in game and the Isku also has 8 configurable media keys. All around goodness! Price: US$ 68.99

ROCCAT Valo:

Featuring back-lit keys, 41 Macro keys, dedicated profile keys to switch profiles quickly and 45 additional keys in red, light blue and blue so you can customize the macro keys to your liking. the Valo is an amazming keyboard with a plethora of options. Also features 3.5mm audio sockets so you can connect a mic and headset directly to it and an additional USB 1.1 port. Price hopefully will be unveiled soon.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

ROCCAT has so many more things and upcoming projects that I can talk about but I wanted to keep this post around their mice and keyboards only. I love the styling of all ROCCAT products and the build quality is exceptional. If you are in the market for new peripherals, do yourself a favor and check them out! For my money I would go with the ROCCAT Isku and Kone + combination (though I also love the way Kova looks) as the options that these two have will fit nicely with my playing style. The Lua and Arvo are also a great combination if simplicity is what you have in mind.

That will be all for this post folks.
Kiyoshi Out!
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Keyboards & Mice V : AZiO + Epic Gear

2012-09-13T02:42:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!

It has been a few days since my last post. I have been busy with a few things namely a new workout routine and a some other things. Today I will talk about keyboards from AZiO Corp (www.aziocorp.com) and a mouse from Epic Gear (www.epicgear.com.) They are companies relatively new to me but their peripherals intrigued me so I wanted to feature them.

Keyboard:

AZiO Levetron:

The budget offering from AZiO comes with 10 macro keys and 3 profiles. You can manually toggle the keyboard in to gaming mode which will disable that pesky windows key and also turn on the adjustable backlight. The keyboard is rugged and a good option for anyone looking for a budget gaming keyboard.

Price : US$ 49.99

AZiO Levetron Mech4:

Featuring a modular Numeric keypad and a macro D-Pad, the Mech4 also has unlimited profiles to store all your macros, a volume knob, Cherry MX Black switch mechanical keys, water resistance, 2 USB ports and the ability to program all the keys on the keyboard

Price : Hovering between US$ 80 - 130

AZiO Levetron Mech5:

As far as I can tell, the Mech5 has the same options as the Mech4 but with a different color. If anyone knows the difference between the two, please let me know and I will update this entry accordingly.

Price : US$ 109.99

AZiO Levetron Clicker:

The budget mechanical offering from AZiO. A very good reliable keyboard that you can consider if you are on a budget but still want a mechanical keyboard. Features 18 Key rollover, laser printed keycaps and rubber coated WASD and arrow keys.

Price : US$ 59.99

Mouse:

EpicGear Meduza:

Featuring a Hybrid Dual Sensor Technology (equipped with both an optical and a laser sensor so you can either or shift it into HDST mode.) Features a thumb and an index finger rest, ringer finger support and pinkie grip for great grip and comfort.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser + Optical
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 6000
Price: US$ 69.99

Thoughts:

You could pair the Meduza with the Clicker for a very good budget friendly choice or go all out and get the Mech5 keyboard. Either way, I will be happy.

That folks wraps it up for this post. It is a small one but with my new schedule I have to do a lot of things that I must do.

Kiyoshi Out!
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Crazed KarachiDevil/Kiyoshi Build

2012-09-08T02:29:00.000-05:00

So I have gone a little crazy over the past few days and came up with an equally crazy build. Followers will know that I have two main cateogires in which I split my builds: KarachiDevil Builds (High Performance) and Kiyoshi Builds (Budget.) What if you want both? A system that is both High Performance AND Budget? So this is what I came up with (Warning: It isn't what you think but still go ahead and read it ^_^)

CASE:

AZZA Fusion 4000 (http://azzatek.com)

MB Compatibility: XL-ATX, E-ATX, Full ATX, Micro ATX and ITX
External 5.25": 8
External 3.5": 4
Internal 3.5": 8
Expansion Slots: 10
Dimensions: 30.7" x 10.2" x 24"
Price: US$ 264.99

A giant of a case, the Fusion 4000 can support two systems inside the case which run concurrently or individually. I think you know where I am going with this ^_^

SYSTEM 1:

CPU:

Intel Core i5-3570K (www.intel.com)

Core Clock: 3.4 GHz
Turbo: 3.8 GHz
4-Core, 4-Thread
L3 Cache: 6MB
L2 Cache: 4 x 256KB
Price: US$ 229.99

The Ivy Bridge replacement for the Core i5-2500K. Every bit as good though runs a bit hot on overclocking. Still a great buy if you are building a new system or looking to build an Ivy Bridge Computer.

MOTHERBOARD:

Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H (www.gigabyte.us)

Max Memory : 32GB
PCI-E 3.0 x16 : 3
PCI-E x1 : 3
SATA Connectors : 4 x SATA II, 5 x SATA III
Dimensions : 12.0" x 9.6"
Price : US$ 189.99

One of the most popular boards from Gigabyte and one of the best ones out there. Buy it!

VIDEO CARD:

Gigabyte GTX 670 (www.gigabyte.us)

Interface : PCI-E 3.0 x16
Core Clock : 980MHz
Boost Clock : 1058MHz
CUDA Cores : 1344
Memory : 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
Dimensions : 11" x 5.4" x 1.7"
Price: US$ 399.99

One of the best GTX 670's money can buy. Another solid offering from Gigabyte.

SOUND CARD:

ASUS Xonar DGX (www.asus.com)

Price : US$ 39.99

One of the best cards you can find at this price. I wanted to mix things up and show some other cheaper sound cards you can buy that are also pretty decent. This one is capable of 5.1 Surround Sound.

RAM:

Kingston HyperX Predator (www.kingston.com)

Capacity : 2 x 8GB
Speed : 1600
Voltage : 1.65V
Price : US$ 47.99

A great heat sink, an awesome gaming RAM and legendary reliability, what more could you ask for ?

POWER SUPPLY:

AZZA 750W (www.azzatek.com)

Max Power : 750W
Active PFC
PCI-E Connectors : 4 x 6+2-Pin
SATA Connectors : 8
Fully Modular
80+ Platinum Certified
Price : US$ 159.99

A great 80+ Platinum modular power supply for a good price. Azza PSU for a Azza case ^_^

AIR COOLING:

Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler (www.noctua.at)

A giant beast of a cooler. Awesome cooling capability. I unfortunately don't know about whether it will interfere with the seating of the RAM because it is pretty massive so you might want to get a low profile RAM or take the heat sink off which is not the best of ideas. However with a big enough board, it is worthy of your consideration. If all else fails Cooler Master Hyper 212 is always there to the rescue. I just wanted to feature something a little different ^_^

Price : US$ 89.99

HARD DRIVES:

Samsung 830 Series (www.samsung.com)

Capacity : 1TB
Interface : SATA III
RPM : 7200
Cache : 32MB
Price : US$ 99.99

A very good, decently priced hard-drive from Seagate. Buy it already!

OPTICAL DRIVE:

LG Black Blu-Ray Burner (www.lg.com)

BD-R Write Speed : 14X
BD-R DL : 12X
DVD +R/-R : 16X
Price : US$ 59.99

A cheap, stable and fast Blu-Ray Burner. Get it while the getting is good.

So that, my friends is the first system inside this massive case. The second system will be a mini-ITX one so here it goes.

SYSTEM 2:

CPU:

Intel Core i3-3220

Core Clock : 3.3 GHz
2-Core, 4-Thread
L3 Cache : 3MB
Price : US$ 129.99

A budget processor worthy of your consideration. It will not have the power to tackle high processor intensive applications but should do fine for everyday tasks and light gaming.

MOTHERBOARD:

ASRock H77M-ITX (www.asrock.com)

Max Memory : 16GB
PCI-E 2.0 x16 : 1
SATA Connectors : 2 x SATA II, 2 x SATA III
Dimensions : 6.7" x 6.7"
Price : US$ 99.99

A great mini-ITX motherboard from ASRock. Give it a go!

VIDEO CARD:

You can skip it and go with on board video on this one.

SOUND CARD:

You can skip it and go with on board audio on this one.

RAM:

G.Skill (www.gskill.com)

Capacity : 2 x 2GB
Speed : 1333
Voltage : 1.5V
Timing : 8-8-8-21
Price : US$ 29.99

A great little RAM for a great little price.

POWER SUPPLY:

Rosewill Stallion (www.rosewill.com)

Max Power : 450W
PCI-E Connector : 1 x 6-Pin
SATA Connectors : 4
Price : US$ 34.99

You can find cheaper ones but this is a nice stable power supply at a modest price.

AIR COOLING:

Stock heatsink will do nicely

HARD DRIVES:

Samsung 830 Series (www.samsung.com)

Capacity : 128GB
Interface : SATA III
Max Sequential Read : 520 MB/s
Max Sequential Write : 320 MB/s
Price : US$ 99.99

Not one of the fastest SSDs out there but definitely one of the most reliable and competitively priced. Look it up, buy it and enjoy it.

How about a SSD only build this time around?

OPTICAL DRIVE:

Any dvd-burner you want ^_^

TOTAL:

US$ 2077.84

THOUGHTS:

As you may now have gathered it has one KarachiDevil build and one Kiyoshi build inside of it. The Azza Fusion 4000 can actually house a mini ITX system and a regular system. It might be able to fit both a mini-ITX and XL-ATX but since I have yet to see it in person and try it for myself, I featured an ATX build aside it. As I said a crazy but fun build. I would envision using the mini-ITX for a Linux system and the other system for gaming. They can both operate simultaneously which is kind of cool.

Well that is it for this rather lengthy post.

Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.

KARA - PANDORA (판도라)

2012-09-06T12:57:00.000-05:00

On the heels of the last post comes this one. The reason? Simple this one is all about KARA! They have been one of my favorites for as long as I have been listening to KPOP ( and I have been around since the 90's.) Their newest song is Pandora and you can check out the video below. They came out with a complete new image and a very strong electronic music presence. I really like the new direction they have taken as I feel music is at it's best when it is experimental. You may get big hits and big misses but on the whole, the art of music progresses. KARA's fifth Mini Album is titled Pandora.

On a side note, Goo Hara has changed so completely that I almost did not recognize her at first!

The Goo Hara that I always knew

The new Goo Hara!

(This Image was taken from http://jkjhy.deviantart.com/art/Goo-Hara-2-323259519)

The Image change is drastic in her case. She looks like a completely different person. KPop artists change their image with the release of every new album but I do not think I have seen such a complete transformation.

I like the new song quite a bit and that is mostly because of the heavy electronic influence. I am a big Trance/Techno buff so it was with great delight that I heard this song. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.

Keyboards & Mice IV: Mad Catz

2012-09-06T12:35:00.003-05:00

Note: This is my 50th post! YAY! Thank you everyone who has stuck around with me and read all my posts. I love writing about all things PC and as such would like to thank you for your continued patronage and things will only go up from here. As you have no doubt noticed, I have started talking about KPOP as well. Look out for more future posts on KPOP, JPOP and other things as well ^_^

Really? Mad Catz? Don't they make console peripherals? Well as you may or may not know, one of the most popular mice as of late was made by Mad Catz (www.madcatz.com) under their brand Cyborg. Mad Catz has a couple of brands which create different things. They have Saitek (www.saitek.com) which creates flight simulator peripherals, general purpose mice and keyboard, Tritton (www.trittonaudio.com) which has gaming audio peripherals, Cyborg (www.cyborggaming.com), PC Gaming peripherals and accessories and finally Eclipse (www.eclipsetouch.com/) which creates some cool looking mice, keyboard, USB external video cards and a USB docking station.

The two maind brands which have PC Gaming equipment are Saitek and Cyborg so today's post will cover them. However you are welcome to go to the other websites and see the other cool options Mad Catz offers.

Mice:

SAITEK:

GM 3200:

A 3200DPI laser sensor with four stage on-the-fly sensitivity adjustment, six programmable buttons, adjustable wright and the ability to switch between two pre-configured profiles during games. This is a good mouse with pulsating light effects. Built to last.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 6 Programmable
Maximum DPI: 3200
Price: US$ 49.99 (Found it on a review website but cannot find reliable pricing anywhere else)

GM 2400:

A 2400DPI smaller brother minus the light effects. Only the fly DPI adjustments and ergonomic design.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 6
Maximum DPI: 2400
Price: ~US$ 39.99 Again cannot find reliable pricing so the price I found may be way of the mark. Sorry :-(

CYBORG:

R.A.T. 3:

A very unique looking mouse that can feel very natural and easy to use if you try it. It has a 3500 DPI optical sensor, four user-definable DPI settings, three "CYBORG" modes which means you can set three profiles for sensitivity and programmable button actions and it has three programmable buttons. The least feature-rich R.A.T mouse in the lineup.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 5
Maximum DPI: 3500
Price: US$ 59.99

R.A.T. 5:

This is the one that made the R.A.T. series famous. First question: Do you use a palm grip or a claw grip? Well it doesn't matter because the R.A.T. 5 can be adjusted to fit either way. Also features weight adjustment (can add up to 30g,) a 5600 DPI laser sensor, 4 custom DPI settings, a Precision Aim button which you can program with the desired mouse sensitivity to snipe& three "Cyborg" modes. A very good option for you to try!

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 5600
Price: US$ 69.99

R.A.T. 7:

With the same length addition the R.A.T. 5 gave, the R.A.T. 7 also has the extra option of adjusting the thumb panel for extra comfort. It also features a 6400 DPI Laser sensory, custom weight system and the Precision Aim button (same as the R.A.T. 5) and 18 user-definable commands via the 3 "CYBORG" modes. Also features 3 interchangeable pinkie grips and 3 palm rests made of different materials

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 8
Maximum DPI: 6400
Price: US$ 99.99

The R.A.T. 7 comes in a total of four different finishes.

Albino (White)

Contagion (White/Silver)

Infection (Gunmetal/Orange)

M.M.O. 7:

Featuring the same options which made R.A.T. 7 so popular, it features 15 programmable buttons which in conjunction with a 3-position MMO switch and a 2-position MMO button gives you a staggering 90 in-game commands. Features a WOW Plug-In to make it easy to configure the mouse for WOW & RGB Backlighting.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 17
Maximum DPI: 6400
Price: US$ 129.99

Keyboards:

Cyborg V.5:

Features back-lit keys, anti-ghosting, media controls and the ability to program the function keys to store gaming macros. The low-end gaming keyboard offering from Cyborg.

Price: US$ 59.99

Cyborg V.7:

Multi-color back-lighting, a touch sensitive dashboard styled control-panel with lighting, media and volume controls and a 'Cyborg' mode which (thankfully!) disables the windows key, 12 programmable Cyborg keys a USB input, audio and microphone sockets, the V.7 looks futuristic and cool!

Price: US$ 79.99

S.T.R.I.K.E. 7:

A fully Modular keyboard from Cyborg. Don't like where the numpad keys are? detach and move it. The V.E.N.O.M. TFT-LCD Touchscreen can also be moved around and provides multiple functions. Interchangeable WASD and cursor keys (standard, contoured and rubber-edged) A function strip with four programmable macro buttons (Total: 24) and TeamSpeak functionality is built-in to the touchscreen menu options.
Price: US$ 299.99 (!!)

That folks, are the gaming peripherals Mad Catz offers. Their newest addition to this list, The S.T.R.I.K.E 7 keyboard has an endless array of customizations, which I will admit are cool but the price-tag makes it almost impossible for me to recommend it to anyone.

So what to choose? Personally I would go for either a R.A.T.5 / Cyborg V.7 or R.A.T. 7/ Cyborg V.7 combination. Honestly though I like Cyborg more for their mice series than their keyboards so I would stick with just the R.A.T.7.

That is all for this post
Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.

Keyboards & Mice III : Corsair

2012-09-02T20:49:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!

It will be a short post today as I will be reviewing the gaming peripherals Corsair (www.corsair.com) has to offer. Corsair is new in the gaming peripherals market but they have come out with some interesting options for you to consider. So without further ado...

Mice:

Vengeance M60:

Featuring a 5700DPI laser sensor, the M60 is Corsair's envisioning of an FPS Mouse. Ergonomic design and a dedicated sniper button means you can play longer and lower your DPI at the touch of the button. Also features weight adjust-ability and lift detection. The blue LED also looks cool without being too bright. You can adjust DPI in increments of 100

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 8
Maximum DPI: 5700
Price: US$ 69.99 (On Corsair's website)

Vengeance M90:

The MMO/RTS brother of the M60, the M90 also sports the same 5700 DPI laser sensor. It boasts 15 programmable buttons and enough memory to store six profiles (50 profiles through software.) Button placing might be an issue for some and the software isn't exactly the most intuitive one ever created.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 15
Maximum DPI: 5700
Price: US$ 79.99

Keyboards:

Vengeance K60:

The Keyboard counterpart to the M60 mouse, the K60 is a mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX Red switches (for more about mechanical keyboards, please visit this post.) Contoured, textured WASD and 1-6 Keycaps with the option of replacing them with regular keys for general usage, it also features 20-key rollover, brushed aluminium chassis and ergonomic wrist rest. Multimedia controls and a USB port in the back for added convenience. Price US$ 109.99

Vengeance K90:

Designed with MMO/RTS gaming in mind, the K90 features 18 customizable G-Keys, 20KRO, laser etched backlit keys, software for creating up to 50 profiles and 36Kb of memory to store profiles and customizations. Easy access multimedia controls, USB-pass through and soft-touch wrist rest make this a well rounded keyboard. Price: US$ 129.99

As Corsair is still relatively new to gaming peripherals, these four are the choices you have. Personally I would take the M60 and K90 combination as I feel having that many buttons (both on keyboard and on mouse) would be too confusing for me. I would get the comfort of the M60 with extra buttons of the K90. Also M90 has a claw grip so for those who are comfortable with that, go for it. The downside is that the software provided by Corsair is not as user-friendly as you would hope, however the quality and finish of these products do make up for that shortcoming somewhat.

That is all for this post.
Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.

Keyboards & Mice II : Cooler Master

2012-08-30T03:04:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone. I have updated the site a bit and included two new features. The ability to follow the blog by email and a quick list of popular posts in the last month. If you like what you have read so far and if you would prefer, kindly follow me by email.

Today I will be talking about Cooler Master(www.coolermaster.com) gaming peripherals. Cooler Master are more famous for their cases but they also have a few peripherals to offer.

Keyboards:

Mechanical Keyboards:

All of CM keyboards are mechanical so I thought it would be good to introduce people to mechanical keyboards. Mechanical keyboards use an actual physical switch underneath each key as opposed to common plastic membrane (with rubber domes) keyboards you find everywhere. The rubber domed ones are cheaper to manufacture and resist spills better but a mechanical keyboard will give you better tactile feedback when you press a key. Good mechanical keyboards also offer you N-Key Rollover which is basically a fancy way of saying that it can detect each keypress interdependently. Almost all switches used in mechanical keyboards come from a company called ZF Electronics (used to be known as Cherry Corporation.) They keys are color-coded with each having a slightly different feel and usage.

Cherry MX Blue: When you press this key, you will feel a bump and hear a click. The switch is actuated when you press the key halfway and with practice it can let you type faster using less effort since you do not have to press the key all the way down to register a keystroke. Great for typing but rather loud.

Cherry MX Brown: The tactile bump of the MX Blue minus the sound (unless you press the key all the way down, then it's loud.) Due to the switch design, you need slightly less force for actuation.

Cherry MX Black: No tactile or audio feedback, plus you need to press the key all the way down to actuate. Also require more force to actuate than the other keys. Great to prevent accidental keystrokes and marketed for high-end PC gaming. Less crisp and responsive than with the blue or brown switches for prolonged typing.

Cherry MX Red: A special variation on the MX Black. They have a low compression point and requires lower force to actuate. May increase typing errors.

CM Storm QuickFire Pro:

Interface: USB 2.0
You can buy this with either Cherry MX Black, Blue , Brown or a special Cherry MX Red Edition. Claims N key Rollover over USB Interface. Partial red colored back-lighting and the option to disable that pesky windows key. Also has multimedia shortcuts and a removable 1.8m braided USB cable with cable routing. Selling around the US$ 99.99 mark.

CM Storm QuickFire Rapid:

Interface: USB or PS/2
I prefer my keyboards on PS/2 so it is great that this board offers that. Plus it offers NKRO in PS/2 mode, Windows key disabling in game mode, multimedia shortcuts rubber coated surface with a minimalist design. Also has extra key-caps bundled with a key puller. Available in Cherry MX Black, Blue, Brown and a special Cherry MX Red Edition. Removable braided USB cable with cable routing. Hovering around US$ 79.99.

CM Storm Trigger:

Interface: USB
Comes in high durability gold-plated Cherry MX Black, Blue, Brown or Red switches. It also has five macro keys with profile management and 64kb on-board memory to store profiles. The ability to deactivate the windows keys, two USB 2.0 ports, detachable wrist rest, braided cable and non-slip rubber coating, the storm trigger is the ultimate offering from Cooler Master. Selling around the US$ 109.99 mark.

Mice:

CM Storm Xornet:

A budget friendly minimalist, lightweight mouse. Equipped with a precision anti-drift control 2000 DPI sensor. Features a rubberized anti-slip design. Has a very extended lifespan thanks to the Omron Micro Switches which are rated at 5 million + clicks. DPI on the fly! (500, 1000 and 2000)

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 2000
Price: US$ 29.99

CM Storm Spawn:

Xornet's bigger brother complete with 32kb on board memory to store button assignments, macros and other customization. Meant more for FPS gaming and those who prefer a claw grip. DPI settings can be changed via the buttons below the scroll wheel between 800, 1800 and 3500.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 3500
Price: US$ 39.99

CM Storm Inferno:

A 4000 DPI twin laser sensor mouse meant for MMO gaming. Comes with 128kb on board memory that can store up to 3 different game profiles.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 11
Maximum DPI: 4000
Price: US$ 44.99

CM Storm Sentiner Advance II:

Capable of tracking from 200 - 8200 DPI (200 increments,) 128KB on board memory, 5 profiles with 4 DPI settings each. CM's ultimate mouse offering. Complete with lighting effects!

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 9
Maximum DPI: 8200
Price: US$ 59.99

That is what Cooler Master is offering as of this moment. They are not a famous brand when it comes to peripherals but they have a good budget friendly collection that you can choose from. Seeing as how the most expensive mouse they have is around the 60 dollar mark, you could give them a chance if you so choose.
Personally I would pick the QuickFire Rapid keyboard with the Storm Inferno mouse. Both I feel are really good buys. Spawn is a very good mouse as well that you could choose if you prefer a claw grip.

As it is 3 in the morning, I shall now head off to sleep. See ya around guys!

Kiyoshi Out!
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PSY (ft. HYUNA) 오빤 딱 내 스타일 (Oppa Is Just My Style)

2012-08-26T20:28:00.000-05:00

PSY is back with the second version of his recent hit "Gangnam Style." This time around it is Hyuna who is the main singer. The lyrics have been changed a little to reflect Hyuna being the singer as opposed to PSY himself. The setting is a little different and this time around Hyuna instead of singing in her own normal singing voice, has switched to a more baby-ish lisp. For the uninitiated this type of singing maybe hard on the ears as the lisp can sound a little annoying however the intended effect is to make it a non serious sound. The singing is not to be taken seriously and to keep the humor still alive. It is still a good song thought I feel the original will be more popular (and rightly so.) Listen to other Hyuna songs and you will see that this not at all how she sounds. Below is the link to the video as well as one of my other Hyuna favorites.

PSY featuring Hyuna - Oppa Is Just My Style

Hyunseung (JS) of Beast & Hyuna of 4Minute - Trouble Maker

On a side note, Hyuna looks as amazing as ever!

Kiyoshi Out
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Keyboards & Mice I : Logitech

2012-08-26T14:06:00.000-05:00

Hello everybody!
It has been quite a while since I have been able to sit down and write a new entry. I have been quite busy in other things and I have also recently started a new training regiment which is all but keeping me out of the house. Things have finally slowed down so I thought it would be a good time to start a new post.

Today I will be talking about Keyboards and Mice, the two most important things you should have in your arsenal when it comes to gaming. A good keyboard and mouse combo will ensure that you can game at ease for hours and that your reactions will be faster. I will be going company by company in this case so look forward to a lot of future posts in this regard.

LOGITECH: (www.logitech.com)

Co-founded in Apples Vaud, Switzerland in 1981, Logitech has expanded to become a giant in the field of PC accessories. These days you cannot enter any mass-retailer or specialty shops without spotting at least one Logitech product. Their gaming products are top notch as are their mainstream devices.

Mice:

G300:

Sporting an ambidextrous design, nine buttons and three onboard profiles, the G300 is an excellent choice for those who do not want to spend too much on a mouse. It also sports user-configurable lighting which you can use to assign colors to specific profiles. Designed with longevity in mind, the G300 will be your most dependable weapon in the future.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 9
Maximum dpi: 2500
Price: US$ 39.99 (on logitech's website)

G400:

A faster 3600 dpi than the G300, the G400 also supports in game sensitivity switching from 400 dpi to 3600 dpi. It also has a DPI shift button which can switch to a predefined DPI with a single click. It also has a consistent response ratio whereby physica mouse movements translate to the same amount of cursor movement with a less than 0.5% variance. Also has programmable thumb buttons.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 8
Maximum dpi: 3600
Price: US$ 49.99

G500:

Featuring gaming-grade laser tracking, the G500 also boasts onboard memory so you can save your settings to the mouse. It also has the option of weight tuning so you can make the mouse heavier if you prefer it that way (27 grams.) Ten programmable buttons gives you more room for your macro settings and sensitivity is adjustable from 200 dpi all the way up to 5700 dpi.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 10
Maximum dpi: 5700
Price: US$ 69.99

G9x:

Arguably the most popular Logitech gaming mouse at the moment. It features interchangeable grips : Precision grip which offers a DryGrip finish and a compact shape to give you the best fingertip control or the Wide Load grip which gives you a satin finish wider body for improved hand and wrist position giving you more comfortable gaming. Onboard memory lets you store up to five profiles. Weight tuning up to 28 grams is possible.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 9
Maximum dpi: 5700
Price: US$ 79.99

G600:

If you are in to MMO games, this is Logitech's idea of an MMO Gaming Mouse. It features 20 buttons, twelve of which are thumb buttons, a clickable, tilt able scroll wheel. Three onboard memory profiles means you can store button, tracking and ligthing color information and use on any computer, no software required.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 20
Maximum dpi: 8200
Price: US$ 79.99
Colors: White, Black

G700:

For those looking for a wireless option, Logitech has got you covered with the G700. It still has the option for wired gaming in case you do not want to take any chances, the G700 is also rechargeable eliminating the need for changing batteries. Five onboard profiles, the option of storing the wireless receiver in the mouse means you can take it anywhere.

Typre: RF Wireless
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 13
Maximum dpi: 5700
Price: US$ 99.99

Keyboard:

G110:

The G110 features custom-color back-lighting with the option to choose from red or blue colors to see better in the dark and to also create custom color mixes. Integrated USB audio which you can use to plug your headphone and mic in to the 3.5mm jacks. Twelve programmable keys with the option of up to three macros per key. A hi-speed USB 2.0 hub port to connect flash drives or even your mouse, a Game mode which thankfully disables the pesky windows key! Removable palm rest, Media keys and cable management means this keyboard is the ideal one for those on a budget.

Price: US$ 79.99

G510:

The G510 boasts the GamePanel™ LCD display which can show you game stats (player rank, server IP, score, times, health status, ammo levels etc.) It also supports applets which can allow you to view YouTube videos, IM conversations and Tweets. Custom-color back-lighting is also available as is Integrated USB audio, 18 programmable G-keys with up to three macros per key. Game mode to save you from the pesky windows key and instant media access.

Price: US$ 119.99

G19:

Logitech's highest offering when it comes to keyboards, the G19 features a tilt-able 320x240 GamePanel™ LCD, custom-color back-lighting, 12 programmable G-keys with three macros per key, two high speed USB 2.0 ports, Game/Desktop mode, Cable management and instant media access and onboard memory to save your profiles.

Price: US$ 199.99

Those my dear friends, are all the current offerings from Logitech. You can also find older Logitech products online and in stores but I have listed the most modern ones Logitech offers.

Now comes the question which should you choose? Personally my opinion is if you are on a budget, you should go for the G300 mouse and the G110 keyboard. However my favorite combo from Logitech is the G9x, G510 mouse and keyboard combo. The G19 looks gorgeous but I cannot justify shelling out 200 dollars for lesser number of programmable keys and an additional USB 2.0 port. If you have the money by all means go for it. I really like the G700 mouse if only I felt I could afford the price tag.

That is it for this edition folks. Be on the look out for another product profile soon from me. Until then,

Kiyoshi Out!
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