GamingRig
Latest
ASUS shows off G50V / G71V gaming laptops
Wait a second -- you mean ASUS actually had something other than subnotes at Computex? Tucked away in some surely obscure corner were these two gems: the 15.6-inch G50V and 17-inch G71V. The first of the two rigs was packing a 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT graphics card, a WXGA "3D display," Intel's Centrino 2 platform, support for 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a pair of 320GB SATA drives and a sturdy keyboard built for gamers. The larger sibling was said to posses the same GPU and platform, though it was sporting twin 500GB drives and support for DDR3 memory / CPU overclocking. Beyond that, we're left to wonder what on Earth could be hiding behind those somewhat unsightly shells, but hopefully ASUS won't keep us wondering for long.[Thanks, David]
Engadget Chinese goes hands-on with Acer Predator
Aw, snap. Our Chinese branch just happened upon Acer's totally unmistakable new gaming rig at Computex, and while they couldn't spend enough time with it to confirm or deny whether it really was faster, better, stronger or longer than anything else, they did manage to capture a few shots. Granted, that little "Don't Touch" sign technically makes this a hands-off, but either way, we're sure you'll enjoy the close-ups found in the read link below.
Dell's XPS 730 H2C gets benchmarked, overclocked and rated
A general review is fine and dandy when you're lookin' at Hello Kitty laptops, but this is Dell's XPS 730 H2C we're talking about. A rig this big demands to be benchmarked, and the mad scientists over at Hot Hardware did that and a whole lot more after it arrived in their lab. Here's the highlights: reviewers were able to hit 4.25GHz (though not for long), the unit itself walked all over its rivals and it was deemed "an absolute monster in any productivity and multimedia task." Sadly, gaming performance was seen as "less decisive but still extremely impressive," but it nevertheless managed to "blaze" through every title tossed at it. Grab your cup of joe and head on down, as you'll be reading for quite some time before seeing that coveted Editor's Choice award there at the end.
Acer's Aspire Predator gaming PC gets previewed
Look out, Alienware -- your fancy new Area-51 ALX has a carnivore hot on its trail. The Acer Aspire Predator, which was officially unveiled yesterday, has already found its way into the loving arms of Bit-Tech. Over there, folks were able to spend a good bit of time with the rig, snap a smattering of photos and dish out some initial impressions. There's some pretty interesting tidbits to be had (for example, every single part possesses its own bar code, the motherboard is a customized MSI nForce 780i SLI, etc.), so be sure and tap the read link to get their view on how this beast will likely shake out.[Thanks, Daren]
Alienware relaunches Area-51 ALX desktop with overclocked 4GHz QX9770
Hold onto your frame rates folks, as Alienware has just relaunched its more-potent-than-ever Area-51 ALX desktop. The bona fide gaming rig packs a 3.2GHz Core 2 Extreme QX9770, but rather than being satisfied with Intel's work, this thing comes overclocked to 4GHz -- it's "maximum stable output." As expected, you'll find the outfit's own High-Performance Liquid Cooling solution to keep things from turning into molten hot lava, and you'll also have your choice of twin NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GPUs or an ATI CrossFireX configuration with dual ATI Radeon 3870 X2 cards. Furthermore, you'll notice 4GB of DDR3 RAM, dual Ethernet ports, an optional Blu-ray burner, oodles of hard drive space and all the other high-end niceties you've come to expect from the company. Only problem? The $5,549 starting price that comes along with the 4GHz CPU and required 1,200-watt PSU.
Alienware to launch low-cost, AMD-based gaming rig
Hot on the heels of the news that Dell is axing its XPS gaming line to focus attention on Alienware, we've got word that Alienware will intro a new, low-end model soon. Clearly aiming for a bigger chunk of the market, the eyeball-shattering-system makers will offer a $1,699, AMD-powered desktop, featuring 4GB of RAM, a 2.2GHz quad-core 9550 Phenom X4 CPU, and an ATI HD 3870 X2 graphics card. The system will be based around the AMD 790FX chipset, which will be served up on an ASUS motherboard. In a feat of absurd cliché, Alienware spokesman Marc Diana claimed, "It's not your granddaddy's AMD system. We're talking top-of-the-line quad core." The PC will be available sometime in the next two weeks, so stay alert.
Dell unleashes the pricey XPS 730 and 730 H2C gaming rigs
Apparently Dell is busting out the big, expensive guns with its new gaming rig, the XPS 730 and 730 H2C. The previously outed system is quite serious, utilizing NVIDIA's nForce 790i Ultra SLI chipset, a wide variety of Intel CPUs (ranging from the Core 2 Duo up to the Core 2 Duo Extreme), support for ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 (CrossFireX) or NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT (SLI) graphics chipsets, up to 8GB of RAM, and the ability to install up to four hard drives in various configurations. The real kicker, however, is the H2C cooling system, which has been "enhanced," so this won't blow up when you're playing Crysis (which runs smoothly at 1920 x 1200 resolution, we're told). HotHardware has a nice unboxing of the beast, and PC Magazine has given a $6,629 configuration a full review, and they didn't come to the sweetest conclusion ever. The XPS 730 and XPS 730 H2C are available now from Dell, starting at $3,999 and $4,999, respectively.Read - Dell XPS 730 H2C: Four-Barreled Gaming HorsepowerRead - Dell XPS 730 H2C Unboxing and PreviewRead - Review of the Dell XPS 730 H2C
Falcon Northwest's portable FragBox 8500 gaming rig gets reviewed
Oh yeah, you've options oozing everywhere for a bona fide gaming desktop that takes up some serious square footage in your domicile, but what about those looking for a potent portable? And we're not talking laptops, either. Falcon Northwest's FragBox 8500 -- which sports a chassis that hasn't changed much in years -- was recently reviewed by the folks over at PC Magazine, and put simply, it was deemed a "game system without apologies." Checking in at $1,895, critics found the internals to be "neatly put together," the unit as a whole satisfactorily mobile and yes, they confirmed that "you will definitely be able to play the DX10-heavy versions of Crysis and World in Conflict at very decent frame rates." Did you hear that? They said Crysis. Head on down to the read link for the full review of the Editors' Choice-awarded machine.
District attorney on trial for building monster gaming rig with state money
A district attorney in Rockwall County, Dallas, is under scrutiny from the FBI due to a PC he built as a backup server -- using office money. Ray Sumrow claims he was using the system for business, but the "server" actually seems to be a tricked out gaming rig, featuring two hard drives, seven fans, high end graphics and sound cards, WiFi, and cables which "glow under ultraviolet light." Rod Gregg, the FBI examiner on the case says, "I would not configure a backup computer in that way," and added, "When I saw that, I did not think of anything related to a government agency." Charges of forgery, theft, and records tampering have been made against Mr. Sumrow due to his use of the district attorney's "fee fund," which is meant to be used for office supplies or employee salaries. Testimony will take place through the week, and prosecutors expect to hear how it was imperative to Mr. Sumrow's legal work that he, "Frag the crap out of dudes."[Via Penny Arcade]
Alienware brings quad graphics support to ALX CrossFireX
Believe it or not, Alienware's Aurora ALX rig was boasting quad SLI support two whole years ago. After yesterday's official launch of ATI's CrossFireX technology, now the ALX has another partner in quad GPU crime. Dubbed the Area-51 ALX CFX, this rig features a 3.0GHz Core 2 Extreme QX9650 processor, up to 4GB of RAM, a bevy of HDD choices, optional Blu-ray burner, a 1,000-watt power supply and of course, twin 1GB Radeon HD 3870 X2 cards (four GPUs in all). Granted, this thing will run you at least $5,649 as a CrossFireX-equipped rig, so think carefully if slicing into your son's college fund is really worth 4x the graphical mayhem.
Dell's XPS 630 gaming desktop gets official, reviewed
Hailed as a rig that "gamers won't outgrow," the XPS 630 that we originally peeked at CES is finally official. As expected, the tower is ATI CrossFire and NVIDIA SLI-ready and will support Intel's Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Extreme processors on the nForce 650i SLI chipset. You can beef things up with 4GB of DDR2 RAM, 1TB of HDD space or an optional Blu-ray drive and AGEIA PhysX accelerator, and you'll have plenty of room for all those peripherals thanks to six total USB 2.0 ports, an optional 19-in-1 media card reader, gigabit Ethernet, audio in / out, FireWire and even PS/2 mouse and keyboard connectors. Also of note, it's the first pre-fab PC to support the Enthusiast System Architecture (ESA), and you can snag your own for as little as $1,249 right now. Click on through for more of the breakdown. Oh, and if you're interested to see how this beast stacks up, you can check out reviews from PC Mag, Hot Hardware and Computer Shopper. %Gallery-16948%
Vigor's Colossus gets you close to Skulltrail, bankruptcy
We're not going to set this one up with some creepy bedtime story like Vigor does on its own website, but seriously, this beast is kind of scary. The aptly-dubbed Colossus houses Intel's Skulltrail platform along with two Core 2 Extreme QX9775 quad-core processors, and that's just the beginning. You'll also find a menacing (albeit somewhat unsightly) chassis, a 1,000-watt PSU, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, twin 74GB Raptor hard drives, 2TB of storage on a pair of RAIDed SATA HDDs, dual 512MB GeForce 8800 GTS Xtremes, a dual-layer DVD burner (skimp much?) and a 3.5-inch floppy drive for loading up your tax template from 1998. As you can probably surmise, this one won't run you cheap, so we'll leave it to you to decide if forking out a small fortune $6,799 is worth it.[Thanks, Zee]
CSM's Ultimate Gaming rig is pretty potent, cheap... in the UK
Every so often, we get wind of a mysterious gaming rig that's so powerful, so mighty, that the entire world just has to see it. Unfortunately for most, this particular one will remain a pipe dream, primarily due to the UK's impeccably strong pound and America's woefully weak dollar. Nevertheless, those shacked up on the other side of the pond can grab Computer Supermarket's (we know, we know) Ultimate Gaming rig, which is home to an Intel Q6600 quad-core CPU, 8GB of DDR2 RAM, a 750GB SATA II hard drive, NVIDIA's 512MB 8600GT graphics card, a dual-layer DVD burner, 22-inch LCD, Windows Vista, keyboard / mouse and a fairly decent assortment of ports. All this pizazz can be yours for just £938.83 if you're in the right place, but for $1,829, we'll probably look elsewhere over here.[Via RandomlyAccessed]
Gateway intros FX540 series desktops
Not quite finding everything you need in the FX7020? Fret not, as Gateway is offering up the FX540 series to cater to light gamers, multimedia freaks and folks who just love black / red motifs. As for specs, you can equip your rig with one of Intel's dual- / quad-core processors, dual NVIDIA GeForce 8800 cards and an optional NTSC / ATSC TV tuner. Additionally, you'll find a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer, a 9-in-1 media card reader, room for 1.5TB of hard drive space and an optional Blu-ray / HD DVD combo drive to boot. Unfortunately, Gateway's not doling out any pricing deets at the moment, but we'd imagine that these will be available to those interested real soon.
HP Blackbird 002 gaming rig reviewed
If the HP Blackbird 002's good looks weren't enough to justify is sky high price tag for you, than perhaps HotHardware's review of the top-end gaming rig will be enough to push you over the edge. The folks there got their hands on a pre-release version of the system, loaded with a Core 2 Extreme QX6850 processor factory overclocked to 3.67GHz, 4GB of Corsair dual channel DDR2-8500 RAM, and two GeForce 8800 Ultra cards running in SLI mode, among other desirable specs. Not surprisingly, with all that under hood the system couldn't help but impress, with it delivering a few benchmark scores higher than any other machine they've tested. They also, of course, dug the system's case design, which not only looks good but makes upgrading an ease (they replaced a hard drive in 12 seconds flat). On the downside, they found the system to be "somewhat noisy," and the slot-loading optical drives could limit upgradeability further on down the line. Then, of course, there is the price, which starts at $2,500 and tops out over $7,000 when packed to the gills.
Reader WoWspace of the week: Crumbs
This week's Reader WoWspace was sent in by Crumbs, who has managed to fit twice the geeky goodness and a whole lot of desk space into one nifty corner of his office. As Crumbs told us here at WoW Insider, he had been playing a Hunter "forever" but when Burning Crusade came out, he decided to make the jump to a new character. He has since switched to a L70 Draenei Priest named Chilee of the guild <Epitome> on the Thrall server that he's been enjoying raiding with.For more cool pictures and details of Crumbs' WoWspace, check out the information after the jump!
Shuttle XPC SD39P2 handles Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Extreme
Although Shuttle's been known to kick out a few majorly fresh offerings that deviated from the company norm from time to time, the XPC SD39P2 seems to be sticking quite firmly to the beaten path, as it retains the stylish good looks of its all-black predecessor and just adds support for a few new pieces of hardware. The SFF barebones kit boasts Intel's 975X / ICH7-R chipset and supports up to 8GB of DDR2 RAM, Intel's latest Core 2 Quad / Core 2 Extreme processors, NVIDIA's 7950 GX2 / 8800 GTX and ATI's Radeon X1900 graphics cards, and eight-channel HD-audio as well. Moreover, users will find expanded BIOS settings for CPU clock ratio and DDR2 voltage, a PCI-Express slot, room for a trio of 3.5-inch hard drives along with a single optical drive, gigabit Ethernet, a whopping seven USB 2.0 ports, FireWire, eSATA, and a 400-watt SilentX power supply. The 12.8- x 8.7- x 8.3-inch box also sports Shuttle's I.C.E. heat-pipe cooling module and linear fan control to keep the heat (and noise) out of your machine, and while we still dig the idea of a portable LAN gaming rig at our disposal, we'd certainly think twice before dropping €419 ($554) for just the enclosure.[Via TGDaily]
Designing the ultimate gamer's cabinet
We were very impressed by Flickr member kriseattle22's design for his gaming cabinet. Besides the finely crafted woodworking involved, the cabinet also featured hooks on each side for controller storage as well as two blue-lighted CPU fans for each console. The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii have all been elevated so that heat can be exhausted below, as well. Let's use this as a template for the ultimate gamer's cabinet and improve upon the design. Some improvements, both serious and farcical, we'd like to see: An upright Wii console. No offense to those who prefer the Wii lying flat, but the console's beauty comes from its vertical position. We're also wagering that the elevated platform and fans are a little extreme for the light-on-high-tech Wii console. Can we adjust the fans (and lighting) to be console specific? For example, have only the two adjacent fans on when the Xbox 360 is in use. And make them light up green. Side- or top-mounted AA battery recharger units would rock. Speaking of the Xbox 360, why not have a mini-fridge to house the power brick?* The controller hooks are a nice touch, but the convenience of sitting down and turning on a console wirelessly is lost. How about a custom-built coffee table to complement the cabinet? That NES up top looks mighty lonely ... That bunny adjacent to the stand? Lose it -- Nabaztags are the way to go. Every cabinet, obviously, should be tailored-made to the specific gamer and his or her respective consoles and console needs. If you were building yourself a console cabinet (or having one built for you), what would like to see on it? [Via MAKE]* Joystiq does not support the idea of placing any sort of technology into a refrigerator / freezer compartment.
Vadim Computers unveils $8,800 quad-core gaming rig in the UK
Just moments ago, we're sure a hoard of you rushed off to purchase the newest OMEN PC from VoodooPC in order to have the most intense gaming rig in your neck of the woods, but we've got news for you: it's already been outdone. Vadim Computers is offering a custom-built machine that packs the latest and greatest computing hardware the world has to (currently) offer, outdoing even VoodooPC's latest offering. Inside the liquid-cooled case, you'll find Intel's quad-core 2.66GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6700 processor nestled in an Asus P5N32-SLI Premium motherboard, surrounded by such niceties as 2GB of DDR2 RAM, dual nVidia 8800GTX 768Mb PCI-e graphics cards, twin 150GB Raptor 10000 drives (and a 750GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 just for storage), dual-layer DVD burner, CD-burning combo drive, and a Creative 7.1 X-Fi ExtremeMusic sound card -- and that's just the bottom-of-the-line configuration. The "3-to-20 percent variable overclocking," as well as the system itself, is backed by a two-year warranty, but similar to the Mac Mini, you'll be providing your own mouse, keyboard, and monitor. The tally on this incredulous beast comes to £4,622.23 ($8,818) -- which isn't quite what Dell demanded for its all-inclusive Renegade 600 -- but that's before the government even takes its share. Pony up, fellas.[Via The Inquirer]
