Tag: nvidia

Triplepoints of Interest: Jan.22

In this week’s TPoI, Tencent takes $100 million minority stake in Skydance Media, Twitch wins $1.3m lawsuit against a view bot maker, and GPU prices skyrocket due to a swell in cryptocurrency popularity.

Tencent Acquires Minority Stake in Skydance Media

Shenzhen-based social media giant Tencent Holdings announced on Thursday morning that the company has acquired a minority stake in Skydance Media, a Los Angeles-based production company best known for their work on Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. The Los Angeles Times speculates that this move will help Tencent break into the Chinese movie industry, which is the second largest cinema market in the world. The Hollywood Reporter notes that the stake, while just under a 10% share of the company, is still a huge transaction worth over $100 million. Gamesindustry.biz featured a statement from Tencent chief strategy officer James Mitchell noting that the partnership should help both companies expand in their respective markets.

Twitch Wins Lawsuit Against View Bot Makers

Since early 2016, the livestreaming platform Twitch has been fighting legal battles against seven of the most popular distributors of view bots, software that artificially inflate the view counts of Twitch channels, which has finally led a California judge to rule in their favor. According to Kotaku, a California judge has ordered bot makers Michael and Katherine Anjomi to shutter their view bot service and pay Twitch a total of $1,371,139 in damages. Gamesindustry.biz notes that this case will give the company legal precedence to fight off competing services in upcoming legal battles. PC Gamer speculates that this legal win will help the company legitimize the industry of professional livestreaming.

Graphics Card Prices Skyrocket due to Cryptocurrency

While cryptocurrencies have been steadily gaining popularity in recent years, a swell in value has caused consumers to start buying up high end gaming equipment in hopes to generate more of the virtual money, making it harder for gamers to buy the video cards they need to run games at high refresh rates. GameSpot reports that this surge in interest has led high end GPUs to either go out of stock or rise in prices With the surge, cards that typically cost $200 now cost over $500 at respected retail stores. Forbes notes that many online retailers are trying to offer deals or added value bundles to offset the inflated prices, but that these do not fully make up for the price increase . Gamesindustry.biz speculates that this increased market for video cards may not last, with more companies like Steam cutting support for cryptocurrencies due to their unstable value.

Triplepoints of Interest: Jan. 8

Week of January 8th

In this week’s TPoI, Activision-Blizzard’s Overwatch League kicks off, Japanese console market sees profit increase for the first time in 11 years, and new gaming innovations are announced at the 2018 Consumer Electronic Show.   

Overwatch League Season One Debuts Exclusively on Twitch

The inaugural season for Blizzard’s Overwatch League Kicked off on Wednesday afternoon at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles. Forbes reports that the English stream for the tournament, which was broadcast exclusively on Twitch, had an average of nearly 300,000 concurrent viewers throughout the first night of matches. Gamespot featured the league’s first week schedule, which see’s each of the league’s 12 team’s playing at least once between Wednesday and Saturday. PC Gamer called the tournament a colossal undertaking which may help mainstream audiences see professional esports matches as legitimate spectator events.

Japanese Console Market See’s First Profit Increase in 11 Years

2017 was a great year for gaming as a whole, but also a spectacular year for the Japanese console market, with hardware sales increasing 73% over last year. Gamesindustry.biz reports that a key driver in growth was the Nintendo Switch, which sold over 3.3 million units in its first year on the market. Metro reports that exclusive launches like Splatoon 2, which was the first console title to hit 2 million sales in Japan this decade, pushed Japanese gamers to pick up new console hardware. Metro also speculates that the Japanese Console Market will continue to see positive growth with the launch of more Nintendo Switch and Sony PlayStation 4 exclusive releases throughout 2018.

New Virtual Reality Tech and Gaming Innovations Unveiled at CES 2018

Companies including Google, Microsoft, Intel, and Nvidia have been showcasing new products at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, all week. Some of the most exciting gaming news includes HTC announcing their latest VR headset, the Vive Pro, which Verdict praised for its increased resolution and wireless functionality through an additional adapter. The Verge also featured Sennheiser’s new Game Zero Headset, which includes features like pressure sensitive materials and suede ear cuffs. Outlets are speculating that more gaming related announcements will be published before the event concludes this weekend, with press excited to see more gaming focused products from companies like Nvidia, who have so far only shown off a new lineup of large format monitors.

TRIPLEPOINTS OF INTEREST – WEEK OF FEB. 20

This week’s TPoI features the first reactions to Nintendo Switch, big shakeups over at Disney and Maker, Nvidia’s transformation into a gaming platform, and the response to the death of Twitch streamer Brian Vigneault.

Nintendo Switch: Here’s What the Critics Are Saying

This week, intial reactions and reviews started to surface from lucky journalists that were able to review Switch, prior to its official launch next week. Overall press reaction has been positive despite these early versions of Switch lacking the crucial “Day One” update that will go live on launch. The update will allow network connectivity, social media integration, and some minor bug fixes. Business Insider reports that the Nintendo Switch is a fast and efficient system that smoothly combines portable and console gaming with the caveat that some games, when played on a TV, have “issues with consistent framerate.” Similarly, Polygon also reports that the fit and feel of the Switch as a finished product is fantastic, but there are some issues with the Joy-Con controllers losing connectivity while the handheld is docked. The trouble surrounding the Joy-Con controller doesn’t end there as Ars Technica also writes that the controllers are, “a little hard to get a solid grasp on.” With the launch less than a week away, the Switch is shaping up to be a great product for those who like to game at home and on the go.

Disney cuts about 80 jobs in digital media unit that includes Maker Studios

LA Times reported that the Walt Disney Company has laid off about 80 employees in its digital media unit, which includes Maker Studios, the digital media company representing YouTube successes such as “Epic Rap Battles of History” and PewDiePie. Earlier this month, Maker severed ties with PewDiePie in response to a story from The Wall Street Journal that alleged anti-Semitic references the creator was including in videos. The PewDiePie scandal, and the recent cutbacks at Maker, have reportedly caused the company to further cull their roster of YouTube creators. Polygon reported that Maker will now only sponsor 300 content creators; the company currently supports more than 60,000. According to Develop, Maker will now look for two qualities in affiliated creators – 1) that the creators have their own established audience and large following, and 2) that the creator material is family friendly and in alignment with Disney’s corporate culture.

In The Wake of Marathon Streamer’s Death, Twitch Community Discusses Healthy Streaming Practices

In what was both a tragic and eye-opening week for Twitch users, Brian “PoShYbRiD” Vigneault passed away last Sunday after attempting a 24 hour charity stream for the Make-A-Wish foundation. Vigneault has done multiple charity streams in the past, raising over $10,000 to date for various organizations by playing, World of Tanks. According to IGN, World of Tanks issued a statement of condolence and to pay their respects to Vigneault’s family. Polygon has reached out to Twitch for comment, but as of yet the company has not made an official statement. In addition, Kotaku reports that Vigneault’s death should help raise awareness towards the unseen pressure on streamers to grow their fan base at the cost of their own health. The outlet also called for Twitch to “choose to take a firmer stance against unhealthy streaming practices.” According to IGN and Kotaku, Twitch has yet to make official comment. His fans have set up a GoFundMe page and turned his Twitch channel into a memorial.

NVIDIA GeForce Has Moved From Graphics Card To Gaming Platform

NVIDIA has set the gaming world astir with hints at a potential announcement of the long awaited GTX 1080 Ti at GDC next week in San Francisco. The company is coming out with all guns blazing, choosing to unveil the previously delayed graphics card on the same day that competitor AMD streams its Capsaicin event to announce its next-generation Vega graphics cards. Although details regarding the announcement and the card itself are still uncertain, Digital Trends implies that both NVIDIA and AMD are racing to make virtual reality the mainstream form of gaming. In addition, according to Forbes, NVIDIA is aggressively competing with mobile, console, and handheld gaming platforms through its GeForce line, which is responsible for the company’s high level of growth and success. Look for the drama between NVIDIA and AMD to unfold in a few days at GDC.

5 Tips for Building your Gaming PC, Continued

Earlier this week, I wrote a blog post that outlined 3 things to consider when looking building your own gaming PC. Part 2 of this article covers the two remaining tips for constructing your PC and getting it up and running.

Part 4: Setup and construction of your PC. You’ve now picked out your parts; you have your core components unboxed and are ready to create the monster that will be your gaming PC. The most important first step that many people skip over is making sure all of their ordered parts work, specifically before you begin to put your parts into your case. It is extremely important to take this first step because it is much easier to test and swap out non-working parts before they are secured into your case.  Important side note: make sure to ground yourself to avoid harming your computer parts with electrostatic discharge. In addition to this, anytime you are connecting or disconnecting parts, unplug your power supply from its electrical source, and ensure that the switch on the back is in the “off” position.

The next step is to connect your core components to your motherboard. This includes your processor, heatsink, video card, RAM, primary hard drive, and power supply. For your processor, make sure you read the instructions and set up your processor in the correct pin slots. Similarly, there are specific slots to put your RAM sticks in. All motherboards are different, so consult your included motherboard booklet to find the correct ones. For your PSU, make sure you run power to the 24-pin connector, and the 8-pin power connector to your mobo, as well as the power connectors on your graphics card.

With everything set up outside of your case, it will look something like what is picture above. In order to make sure your parts work, you will need to close a power circuit on your mother board. You can use the end of a screwdriver to do this, closing the circuit and connecting the two points on your motherboard panel titled “power switch.” I have included a picture here to show you what the two power pins look like in the mobo booklet as well as on the mobo itself, which are highlighted in red.

Note that there are only two pins you should be connecting, and the panel is located on the lower right corner of your motherboard. After you touch the metal end of a screwdriver to these two points, your computer should start up. You’ll notice the heatsink fan, PSU fan, and GPU fan all begin to spin, as well as various lights on your motherboard coming alive. If any of the fans are not spinning, turn everything off by flipping the switch on the back of your PSU and recheck the connection of your cables and parts.

Once you ensure that all of your parts are working, you should disconnect your entire out-of-case setup, except for the processor/heatsink, and begin to put your parts into your case, starting with the motherboard. Once the motherboard is in and secure, you can connect your PSU, GPU, RAM, hard drives, DVD drive, case fans, and case buttons to your motherboard. All motherboards differ from one another, so if you are unsure of where or how to connect a certain part, consult your motherboard user manual. Additionally, you can leave a comment on this article and I will do my best to address your concerns myself.

You’ll want to take your time in hooking everything up to ensure proper cable management. This will help prevent your parts from heating up and improve your case airflow. As often as you can, run your cables through the back panel of your case to reduce clutter around your core components. Once you have all of your parts in, put those case panels back on and hook up your mouse, keyboard, and monitor(s). Before you’re ready to game, there is one last step you need to take.

Part 5: Get your machine running. Once your computer is up and running, you’ll need to get all of your vital programs installed and running. For newer machines, you’ll want to install a 64-bit version of Windows. If you opted to get an SSD, make sure that you select to install the Windows OS on your SSD and not your internal hard drive. Once Windows is installed, you will be to install important drivers and BIOS. Your motherboard should come with a CD that has all of the software you need. Be wary of installing all of the software that is included on your disc, as some of the programs aren’t needed. All motherboard drivers differ, so if you’re unsure of what a specific driver does, Google your motherboard manufacturer with the driver name to find out more information. On top of your motherboard drivers, make sure to install the latest graphics drivers for whatever GPU you use. While your GPU may come with an installation disc, the driver in there will likely already be outdated. It’s also important to mention that if you are installer a newer graphics driver, you should completely remove the previous driver before installing the new one.

Once you have your important drivers installed, you can begin to put on software that will enhance your machine. For Antivirus software, I like to use Microsoft Security Essentials, as it is a low memory anti-virus that is free for Windows users and performs phenomenally. Additionally, you’ll want to install Malwareytes and Spybot: Search and Destroy. Both are great programs that should be run every two to four weeks to ensure that your computer stays spybot and malware free.

The other software you should put on your computer depend on your personal computing habits. When you are looking to install all of your software, unfortunately, it can be difficult finding all of the correct installers from each respective website. A great tool to use in order to easily install numerous software programs is Ninite. In a nutshell, Ninite is an installer aggregator: you select which programs you would like to install and Ninite then makes one simple installer, which will include everything you’ve chosen. Note that in order for your Ninite installer to work, you will need an internet connection.

Once your software is set up, it’s time to game! If you have any experience with gaming at all, you’re likely familiar with Valve and their gaming portal, Steam. If you aren’t, Steam is a one-stop-shop where you can buy, download, and play almost any PC game available. What’s great about Steam is that you can take your account with you anywhere, enabling you to log-in to your Steam account on any computer and download/play your games.

You are now a PC gamer; congratulations! Take solace in the fact that you can play almost anything, and at any point can upgrade your system to enable a better gaming experience. If you have any questions about setting up your PC or would like recommendations on parts to get, let me know in the comments.

Happy Gaming!

5 Tips for Building your Gaming PC

What Not to Do...

Launched by Pong 40 years ago, home gaming has become a staple in millions of households worldwide. Whether you’re a mobile, console, or PC gamer, the evolution of technology will continue to make all forms of gaming available to the masses.  Newer, better technology will also become cheaper, which will enable a wider audience of gamers to really immerse themselves in their hobby of choice.

While the points can be argued until the end of time, I believe best way to really experience and immerse oneself into a game experience is through a PC. Contrary to popular belief, PC gaming is not dying, and PC gaming provides a more customizable experience in terms of settings, and ease of use. In addition to this, the graphical capabilities of PCs far outweigh those available on current (and most likely future) generation consoles.

Building a gaming PC is tough, with many different parts that are combined to breathe life into a gaming monster.  Along with providing a sense of do-it-yourself satisfaction, building your own gaming PC is one of the most rewarding experiences for any hardcore gamer or technology enthusiast. Since there are many intricacies involved in creating that perfect gaming PC, I’ve created a list of 5 tips to help everyone, from budget buyers to PC aficionados, in making their perfect PC.

Step 1: Know your budget. There are a million different parts you can buy for your PC gaming machine, which makes for millions of different combinations. The great thing here is that building a machine on a budget is totally possible. I recently helped a friend build a mid-tier gaming machine for around $700, while on the flip side I built a top-of-the-line machine with literally the best parts I could buy via newegg.com just for fun. The cost? A cool $7,299.91. I did this just to prove how vast a difference there is with what you can build.

Another important thing to consider for your budget is whether or not you already have a mouse, keyboard, and monitor. A good gaming mouse and keyboard combo can cost around $120, and a single 23” LCD monitor will run you around $160, but these are one-time purchases that will last around 3-5 years or longer if cared for properly. When you are next upgrading your PC, you will likely continue to use the same mouse, keyboard, and display.

Step 2: Pick your pony (company). There are two companies that manufacture central processing units (CPUs): Intel (Integrated Electronics Corporation) and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices). Techradar has a great interview article that very thoroughly looks at the Intel vs. AMD debate.  Personally, I have always gone with Intel processors, which are more expensive but are better for overclocking. AMD CPUs are great processors at a cheaper price than most comparable Intel CPUs. In the end, it usually comes down to personal preference and who has come out with the latest CPU. No matter which one you pick, make sure you pick the corresponding motherboard (mobo).

Just like CPUs, there are also two companies to choose from when looking at graphics processing units (GPUs a.k.a. video cards): NVIDIA and AMD. NVIDIA cards focus on providing a 3D gaming experience to gamers via additional hardware. While 3D can seem like a gimmick to some, I was extremely impressed by Batman: Arkham Asylum at this year’s GDC using NVIDIA 3D. NVIDIA also just released their Kepler series video cards, which currently beat out AMD’s 7990 series as the fastest video cards in the world and for the first time allow 3 independent displays to be run from one NVIDIA card. AMD cards, on the other hand, offer something called Eyefinity through their software, which allows gamers to plug 3 monitors into one card and get a 180-degree view of whatever game they choose to play. While setting up Eyefinity can be difficult, it provides a one-of-a-kind gaming experience that really immerses you into whatever you are playing. Flying a jet in Battlefield 3 and seeing an enemy flank me through the periphery of a side monitor was a jaw-dropping experience.

In the end, it comes down to personal preference and budget. Certain NVIDIA cards are cheaper than their AMD counterparts, and vice-versa. Remember, too, that if you want to fully utilize your video card, you will need 3 displays for your AMD card to run Eyefinity, and a 3D compatible 120Hz monitor for your NVIDIA card to run 3D. 

Part 3: Pick your other parts. Since we have already covered CPUs and GPUs, we want to also look at other core components that make up computers. The most important part of a computer after the CPU and GPU is the Motherboard. As mentioned before, you’ll want to get a mobo that corresponds with your chosen CPU, be it Intel or AMD. Another thing to check is that your chosen mobo has the same socket number as your processor. For example, Intel has LGA 1155, 1156, and 1366 sockets, among others. If your CPU is an LGA 1155 socket, then you want to be sure your mobo supports an LGA 1155 socket. Other than that, ook at the SATA (Serial ATA) speed of your mobo. Most new boards will be SATA 3.0/SATA 6Gb/s. In very simple terms, the SATA number is the speed at which your hard drives will communicate with your motherboard and thus the rest of your computer. The higher the SATA Gb/s number, the faster things will run. Additionally, if you plan on using more than 1 GPU, make sure your mobo has enough PCI-e slots to run your GPUs. Asus and Gigabyte both make quality mother boards that are a great value.

Talking about SATA types brings us to the next vital part of your gaming PC: the hard drive. There are current two main types of hard drives, Internal Hard Drives and Solid State Drives (SSDs). Internal hard drives have moving parts, which can cause a lag when your computer performs certain operations. Internal drives are also relatively inexpensive, and are standard in most pre-built desktop computers and laptops. Solid State Drives have no moving parts, and thus much faster than internal hard drives. Most new ultrabooks (laptops that are extremely thin and fast, like the MacBook Air) come stock with SSD drives. Going from using an internal hard drive to an SSD is like night and day in terms of how much faster your computer speed and response rate will be.

My tip for building the best gaming PC is to buy a 60-120GB SSD to run your operating system (OS). This makes it so that all of the main tasks completed by your computer will be done much more quickly. Since you will be limited on space, you can then buy an internal hard drive to store your music, movies, and other large files. Make sure to get an SSD3 drive as they are the newest and fastest SSDs available.

When building your gaming PC, a big decision to make is what size case you want to have. The main difference between case sizes is not only size, but cable management and air flow. While significantly larger, full tower cases provide better airflow for your parts that are likely to become very hot, like your CPU and GPU. If you’ve got the space and extra funds, I always recommend getting a full tower case.

For power supplies (Power Supply Unit, PSU), there are a few things to consider. A regular PSU comes with all of the connection cables already attached, whereas a modular PSU comes with fewer cables attached, but enables the users to attach additional, included cables, should they need to. Newegg has a very handy Power Supply Calculator which you can use to figure out just how much power you need for your new system. There are a lot of cheaper PSUs that look nice but don’t perform well, so stick with brands like Cooler Master, NZXT , Thermaltake, and XFX to ensure you are getting a quality PSU.  If you’re going to be running more than one video card or any additional cooling, it’s better to have a higher wattage for your power supply.

The last parts you need to complete your gaming PC are Random Access Memory (RAM) and a CD/DVD Drive. RAM is additional memory your computer uses to perform intensive tasks. If you plan on doing any heavy photo or video editing with your machine, I would recommend grabbing 12GB or 16GB of RAM to ensure a smooth experience. For gaming, 8GB of Corsair Dominator or Corsair Vengeance will do the trick. Make sure your RAM frequency is compatible with your chosen mother board to avoid an unnecessary headache. Additionally, if you ever opt to upgrade from 8GB to 16GB, make sure the second 8GB you buy is the same make and type of the first 8GB you bought.

While they are becoming more obsolete, for desktop PCs I think it’s still important to grab a CD/DVD reader/burner for when you do get the occasional physical copy of a game to install. In addition, it’s important to get an aftermarket CPU Fan (heatsink) or liquid cooling for your CPU if you plan on overclocking your PC. A heatsink is like a radiator for your CPU, and while all CPUs come with a stock heatsink, these cannot handle the massive heat generated from an overlocked PC. If you try to overclock your CPU without a heatsink or liquid cooling, you could damage and possibly ruin your CPU.

That’s it for steps 1 to 3. Check out the follow-up article with steps 4 and 5: how to assemble your PC and how to get yourself up and gaming.

 

Wall Street Journal Looks Ahead to 3D Gesture Recognition

softkineticJerry A. Dicolo, writer for Dow Jones Newswires, wrote a fascinating piece in the Wall Street Journal about the emergence of 3D camera technology in consumer electronics. As computer manufacturers race to incorporate the latest touch screen functionality, another group of companies are working toward the next wave of interface technology, gesture recognition in 3D space.

Using sophisticated depth sensing camera technology, companies like Softkinetic are able to design interface software that reads a 3 dimensional image of a room. The specially designed software can then interpret the movment of a person into input commands. This technology will allow us to adjust the volume of a television with the twirl of a finger, or zoom in on an image by leaning forward. Theoretically it could become accurate enough for your computer or television to recognize individual faces.

Many people believe this technology will be available to the mass market within the next year, being implanted in televisions and sold as an accessory to video games. Right now there are two main impedements for this technology; the high cost of 3D cameras and the extensive processing power needed to interpret the immense amount of data from 3D cameras.

“What’s new here is that you can do it on a consumer-based device and you can do it well,” said Michael Steele, head of Nvidia Corp.’s visual computing business. “It’s not really ‘Star Trek’ anymore. It’s all really happening right now.”

Check out coverage of Softkinetic on KRON 4 News, and G4tv.