Valve expected to showcase Steam Box hardware next week

Valve co-founder Gabe Newell recently reignited talk of a Stream Box during a keynote at LinuxCon 2013. As part of his speech, Newell promised to offer more information about the hardware opportunities Valve sees for bringing Linux into the living room as early as next week.

AMD says PC gaming will benefit from next generation consoles

Next generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony are just around the bend. Many have forecasted their arrival as a blow to PC gaming but according to AMD’s Matt Skynner, that simply isn’t the case. Instead, he believes PC gamers will actually benefit from the arrival of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Far Cry 3 delayed three months, U.S. release is December 4

Although previously scheduled for a September 4 release, Ubisoft has announced it will delay Far Cry 3's launch date by three months. The official North American release date for the first person shooter on all platforms, including PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, is now December 4, 2012. Ubisoft states that the game will land on shelves November 29 for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Earlier this year, a Far Cry 3 trailer was leaked, ultimately making its way to YouTube. The video claimed a September 6 release date.

Additionally, a couple months ago, we also saw a five minute video which highlighted some of the multiplayer aspects of Far Cry 3. The footage originated from a pre-alpha build.

Based on the multi-player video demo, fellow news contributor Shawn Knight pointed out some of the similarities between Far Cry 3 and Battlefield or Call of Duty, namely experience points, levels, kill-cam and carpet-bombing air support.

Although FC3 definitely borrows some elements from other modern shooters, there were some unique aspects as well. Check out the multi-player video for yourself here. Multiplayer is also expected to feature a 4-player co-op mode, seemingly not unlike what Left 4 Dead offers.

Far Cry 3 E3 2011 Gameplay Demo -- Warning: NSFW - strong language and violence

Far Cry 3 will be based on Ubisoft's Dunia 2 game engine, the successor to Far Cry 2's original engine by the same name. Little is known about Dunia 2, but certain elements from Dunia have made it into other games, like Assassin's Creed II. Currently, Avatar (the game) is the only title based on Dunia other than Far Cry 2 itself. Assassin's Creed II uses its own "Anvil" game engine, however developers borrowed Dunia's excellent foliage and vegetation algorithms.

60beat introduces GamePad accessory for iOS gaming

Smartphones may not be as suited for gaming as traditional handhelds from Sony and Nintendo, but that isn't stopping iOS and Android from dominating the mobile games market in terms of revenue. A number of factors have contributed to this phenomenal growth, such as the high adoption rate of new smartphones and tablets, and the super cheap prices for quality titles compared to those for dedicated portable gaming systems.

But for all the convenience of smartphones and tablets, we can hardly say that relying on touch controls is ideal for gaming. With that in mind a company called 60beat has launched the 60beat GamePad, which connects through the headphone jack to enable console-like controls on your iOS devices.

It sports a similar design to Sony’s PlayStation 3 controller and the button configuration is rather similar as well -- there are a couple of analog joysticks, a D-Pad, 10 action buttons and 3 menu buttons. The GamePad draws power from your iDevice, eliminating the hassle of changing dying batteries and making it heavy to hold.

Games have to be programmed to support the new device and so far only 2 titles support it: Bugdom 2 and Aftermath. But the accessory maker says a "full collection" of supported games will be added in February 2012. The 60beat GamePad is priced at $49.99 and is compatible with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

OnLive gaming hits Android devices, iOS app coming soon

Video game streaming firm OnLive has launched a mobile client for select Android devices, bringing the latest and most graphically intensive titles to the fastest-growing category of consumer electronic devices. The service, which launched last year for Windows and Mac OS X systems, promises console-like gaming on a multitude of devices without compromises and without big downloads gobbling up local storage.

There are currently over 25 games optimized for touchscreen environments, some of them using overlay controls, while others including L.A. Noire and Defense Grid have been specifically redesigned for touch input. The company is working with publishers to make more games in the OnLive library touch-compatible.

For those not too keen on playing AAA game titles using a touch interface, OnLive plans to release a $50  wireless controller compatible with smartphones and tablets that allows users to explore the entire OnLive game library. It also works with the Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Mac or OnLive's MicroConsole using a USB dongle.

OnLive's Android app is free to download and includes a copy of Lego Batman: The Videogame for free to get you started. An iOS version will be out soon pending approval. Users will be able to stream games through both Wi-Fi and mobile networks, provided they can get speeds between 1Mbps and 5Mbps.

Here's a list of devices that currently support OnLive's mobile client:

Tablets

• Acer Iconia Tab A500
• ASUS Eee Pad Transformer
• HTC Flyer
• HTC Jetstream
• Motorola Xoom
• Samsung Galaxy Tab
• Sony Tablet S
• Toshiba Thrive

Smartphones

• HTC EVO
• HTC Nexus One
• HTC Rezound 4G
• HTC Sensation
• HTC Sensation XL
• Motorola Droid 2
• Motorola Droid X2
• Motorola DROID BIONIC 4G
• Motorola DROID RAZR 4G
• Motorola Photon 4G
• Samsung Galaxy S II 4G

eVGA Frostbite vs Arctic Silver Céramique

Introduction

With the market for extreme PC cooling growing at a rapid rate over the past few years, we are seeing a much greater number of PC components and accessories geared to this end of the spectrum.  This goes back to the Foxconn “Quantum Force” line, which was kicked off with a killer mainboard, theBLACKOPS with features that had never been seen before.  Fast forward a few years, and now all the top manufacturers are mimicking elements from that board, and pushing forward with other innovations geared towards extreme cooling enthusiasts.

However, one area that has not seen any special attention is in the TIM (Thermal Interface Material) market, at least until now (the last time there was anything resembling this kind of enthusiast buzz over some cooling goo was when Arctic Silver hit the market). eVGA recently unleashed on the world their new TIM dubbed “Frostbite,” and for good reason.  eVGA claims this new compound is not only better for the extreme cooling crowd, but also superior for everyday users as well.  Not only that, but k|ngp|n himself is signing off on all these claims and endorsing the product for extreme cooling use.

The longtime standard-bearer for extreme cooling has been Arctic Silver’s Céramique, which k|ngp|n and many others have used it for years.  However, over the past year of so, many users have been testing alternatives.  Elmor (a top overclocker from Sweden) swears by OCZ Freeze, and there have been a number of positive reports with several other compounds as well.  Considering all the recent speculation, we needed to take a closer look at this new contender.

eVGA Frostbite

The product is shipped in a blister pack front with cardboard backing.

Frostbite front

On the back there is a simple set of directions for use.  Check that out, 30% silver content!

Frostbite back

Compared to the 22 gram syringe of Ceramique, the Frostbite is quite small…. but goo things often come is small packages. [Editor's note: I don't care if that's a typo, the pun is too good to resist.]

Frostbite VS Ceramique

It is a single 2 gram syringe, which should be enough for 5 or more GPU applications, or 10 or more CPU applications, using my application method (dot for CPU, small X for GPU).  The back side of the syringe allows you to see the amount of compound left.  It might seem too simple to be a big deal, but there have been many times we’ve wished for a level indicator — it’s nice to know whether you have enough TIM left for your next session. Good idea, eVGA!

Frostbite window

At room temperature (24C in this case), the Ceramique is very thick, and squeezing it out of the tube requires patience.  By stark contrast, the Frostbite is almost runny.  However, syringe operation was smooth, and I didn’t get any fluid at the top, nor any squirting messes from the rough syringe action I’ve experienced from other compounds.  Another big win for Frostbite!

Frostbite VS Ceramique consistency 1

To better show consistency differences between our competitors, each was smeared across the paper towel.  The Ceramique wanted to stay in a ball and just roll.  Very little smeared past the first rotation as my finger rolled off the top of the clump.  The Frostbite didn’t soak into the towel, but smeared across the entire length of the movement. It remained very opaque, suggesting its ability to be spread very thin, a big bonus for those with very flat surfaces in a highly tuned daily system or gaming machine.

Frostbite VS Ceramique consistency 2

erformance impressions and bench results

Evaluating TIM objectively in an extreme cooling environment is a very difficult proposition, so my testing will be mostly subjective.  I tested both compounds on the following setup.

System configuration

• (1) Intel Core i7 990X Extreme CPU
• (1) eVGA E760 Classified motherboard
• (1) 3×2GB Corsair Dominator GTX2 memory
• (2) eVGA GTX 285 Classified video cards
• (1) Ultra X3 1000W PSU for motherboard & CPU
• (1) Corsair AX1200 PSU for the GPUs
• (1) k|ngp|ncooling Dragon F1 Gemini with the SLOW base
• (1) k|ngp|ncooling Dominance Memory Cooler
• (1) k|ngp|ncooling Tek-9 5.0 Slim GPU cooler
• (1) k|ngp|ncooling Tek-9 FAT GPU cooler

Application

Arctic Silver Ceramique has always been one of our favorite compounds due to the ease of use.  It can be a bit stiff in the tube (warming it up helps), but getting it on the CPU and spread in a good pattern is nearly fool-proof.

Ceramique application

And as you’ll see below, the spread pattern was very complete.

Ceramique spread - CPU

Ceramique spread - pot

The Frostbite syringe action is top notch and its easy to control application.

Frostbite application

Spread was excellent, and yes, this was the 1st attempt!

Frostbite spread - CPU

Frostbite spread - pot

Gigabyte unveils Aivia K8100 variable force gaming keyboard

Samsung published a slew of press released this week, introducing several new living room accessories including a dual-sided remote control, an HD camera, and 3D glasses. The wedge-shaped remote has two sides: one features a QWERTY keyboard and a small LCD display so you can see what you're typing without looking at the TV, while the other has standard TV remote buttons. A built-in accelerometer detects the device's orientation and disables the side you aren't using to prevent accidental entries.

The company's new Smart TV camera (CY-STC1100) is designed for video calls (Samsung specifically mentions Skype compatibility) and supposedly works in all lighting conditions. Features include 720p@30fps video capture, an auto focus feature to keep the image clear when users move, and four mics that can capture voices up to 13 feet away "regardless of ambient noise." The device has an adjustable camera neck, connects to compatible TVs via USB and is mounted to the set via built-in magnets.

Samsung says it has redesigned its 3D glasses to improve picture quality, comfort and aesthetics. The SSG-3700CR is said to be the world's lightest pair of active 3D glasses, weighing about one ounce. It has a flexible nose pad and arms that can fit over regular glasses and you can even outfit the frames with a customized prescription lens. The glasses automatically turn on when worn and power off when motion or touch isn't detected. They appear to be compatible with Samsung's new CY-SWC1000A wireless charger.

Samsung is bundling the new remote with its high-end D7000 and D8000 series TVs. It's also compatible with D6300 LED TVs and up, but you'll have to buy it separately for $100 and it won't be available until sometime next month. The Skype-ready video cam is set at $149.99. The above-mentioned rechargeable 3D active glasses have an MSRP of $180, while other new models range from $129.99 to $219.99. The wireless charging station is set at $199.99. Besides the remote, everything should ship before the end of March.