Articles about Gaming

While 4K is often preferred for content creators and media consumers, 1080p is still ideal for gamers. Taking things a step further, in 2019, 240Hz refresh monitors are becoming much more common.

Today, Acer launches its latest such FHD monitors. Called "Nitro XF2 Series," there are two models -- one is 25-inch and the other is 27-inch. While gamers will appreciate the high refresh rate, there is even more to be excited about -- a 1ms response and AMD FreeSync technology.

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Just when we all get used to blazing fast PCIe 3.0 NVMe solid state drives, PCIe 4.0 comes along to ruin the fun. True, current such SSDs are still more than fast enough for most, but now they are not the fastest. If you are an enthusiast or gamer that demands the very best, your PCIe 3.0 based drive is now old hat.

For instance, today, ADATA unveils an insanely fast new SSD based on PCie 4.0. Called "XPG GAMMIX S50," it is designed for gamers, but really, anybody that wants speed can take advantage. Not only are the specifications incredible, but the drive's heatsink is strikingly beautiful too. If you are someone that takes pride in aesthetics, this drive should make you happy. Keep in mind, however, you will need a new motherboard with PCIe 4.0 to take full advantage of this incredible speed.

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Google may be a publicly traded company worth hundreds of billions, but it still knows how to have fun. In other words, sometimes Google acts like a start up, even though that ship sailed a long time ago. Every once in a while, the company will hide an Easter Egg or other secret thing in its services. For instance, did you know that doing a Google search for the word "askew" without quotes will make the page tilt? It's true -- go try it! It is silly and fun.

Continuing with silly antics, Google has hidden a secret tennis game in its search engine. Believe it or not, it is actually very fun to play. Accessing it couldn't be simpler either.

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AOC has long made great monitors, and it is sad that the company has essentially lost its brand to popular politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Look, nothing against the representative from New York, but I am sure AOC the monitor maker is distraught over the whole situation. I mean, the company has been around more than 50 years! And now, if you say "AOC," most folks will immediately think you are referring to the politician. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez even scored the @AOC twitter handle!

Well, I will always think of AOC as a monitor-maker first, and today, it announces two new models. One is 24.5-inch (AG251FZ2), while the other is 27-inch (AG271FZ2). Although the resolution is "only"1080p, they both have other impressive specs, such as 240Hz refresh, 0.5ms response, 400 cd/m² brightness, and AMD FreeSync. Connectivity is bountiful, with both monitors offering DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, and VGA. You even get a built-in USB hub and integrated speakers.

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EA has fixed a series of security issues on its Origin gaming service which could have been exploited by attackers to take control of user accounts and gain access to personal data.

EA Origin's security flaws meant that more than 300 million gamers were put at risk. Israeli security firms Check Point said that attackers could take advantage of a "chain of vulnerabilities" to attack players of games such as FIFA, Maden NFL, NBA Live, UFC, The Sims, Battlefield, Command and Conquer, and Medal of Honor.

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It is only a few days since Canonical announced that it was dropping support for 32-bit packages as of Ubuntu 19.10. The fall out from this is now being felt.

While there were many developers who were not happy with the decision, Linux-based gamers are now likely to be more than slightly annoyed. Steam has announced that "Ubuntu 19.10 and future releases will not be officially supported by Steam or recommended to our users".

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They say when something isn’t broken you shouldn't fix it, and that is largely good advice. I mean, just look at how Microsoft "improved" Windows 7 with the abomination that was Windows 8. Or even more infamous, Coca-Cola and it’s "New Coke."

With that said, sometimes you can truly add to a product that seems to not need fixing and end up with something much better. Today, Logitech does exactly that. It has taken a trio of mice that consumers already loved and simply upgraded them with the excellent HERO 16K sensor. This is the same treatment given to the G502 in May and the MX518 in February.

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At E3, Microsoft has revealed details of its next-generation Xbox, dubbed Project Scarlett, which is scheduled for release in late 2020.

It's not yet known what the follow-up to the Xbox One will be called, but among the launch titles is Halo Infinite. As for the console hardware, Project Scarlett will feature an AMD Zen 2 chip, Radeon RDNA graphics architecture, GDDR6 memory, SSD, and support for 120 fps, 8K graphics along with real-time ray tracing.

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Google's much-anticipated cloud gaming service, Stadia, is due to launch in November. The company has revealed the launch date, as well as details of pricing and the games you can expect to play -- including Baldur's Gate III.

In all, there are over 30 games confirmed for Stadia, and Google is ramping up the hype by giving gamers the chance to pre-order right now. Anyone placing an order for the Stadia Founder's Edition can enjoy a number of benefits including a limited edition controller and three months of Stadia Pro, the subscription option that gives access to some games.

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BlueStacks, the company whose software makes it possible to run Android games on Windows and macOS, has great news for gamers. It has announced a new BlueStacks Inside SDK which will make it easy for developers to bring their mobile games to Windows and deliver them through Steam.

Just as with the main BlueStacks software, this is not about emulating mobile devices. It's also not about porting games -- mobile games effectively become native PC games.

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The Quake franchise is a gaming behemoth, and fans of the first-person shooter will soon be able to enjoy the re-released and revamped Quake II RTX. The RTX is a reference to ray tracing, and the game takes advantage of NVIDIA RTX graphics cards to power massively enhanced visuals.

Next Thursday, June 6, NVIDIA is releasing the remastered version of the game on both Windows and Linux -- and you can play it for free.

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There’s a chance you might remember a gaming console startup named Ouya. Many of us bought in to it hoping for something that, while less than Xbox One and PS4, might at least be fun. We got the former, but not the latter. It lasted a few weeks in my home before being disconnected forever.

Apparently at some point, after it was mostly just gathering dust, it gained a TV service named Razer Forge. There was probably an announcement, but I missed it.

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People sometimes forget, but The Sims was a revolutionary game when it was first released. The innovative game essentially allowed you to play God, controlling characters on the screen. It was really unique -- almost like Sim City, but instead of a city, you simulated humans/life. Hardcore gamers often turned their noses up at the game, while many casual gamers enjoyed it immensely. In fact, over 100 million copies of games from the franchise have been sold since the initial release in the year 2000.

The fourth (and most recent) major version of the game, The Sims 4, remains wildly popular today, and it is available for Windows, macOS, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. And now, for a limited time, both the Windows and macOS versions of the game are totally FREE!

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PC gaming doesn't have to be an expensive affair, but if you are a hardcore gamer, you will have no problem finding ways to part with your money. Forget just buying the games themselves -- there will always be new graphics cards and faster solid state drives, for example, to offer superior performance. Not to mention, there are accessories too, such as mice, keyboards, headsets, and more.

Today, Logitech G unveils what it claims is something many consumers have requested -- a wireless version of its popular G502 mouse. Called "G502 LIGHTSPEED," it has RGB lighting, adjustable weights, up to 16,000 DPI, and fast-scrolling. As the product name implies, it leverages Logitech's proprietary "LIGHTSPEED" wireless technology, reducing lag and allowing it to outperform some wired mice. It is also compatible with the company's POWERPLAY mouse pad, which allows the mouse to wirelessly charge while in use.

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Does RAM speed matter? Well, yes and no. Look, it is a good idea to get the fastest memory that your motherboard supports -- as long as you can afford it. The truth is, the performance benefits from slight increases in MHz often provides a negligible speed improvement. So if you are building a new gaming PC for instance, and you are on a budget, it probably isn't wise to allot too much money for what ends up being nothing more than bragging rights. Maybe focus more on the CPU and GPU instead.

But OK, let's say you are a PC enthusiast without a budget and you do want bragging rights. Well, HyperX has some new RAM that may excite you. Its popular Predator series is getting two new speeds -- 4266MHz and 4600MHz. They will only be sold in 16GB kits -- two sticks of 8GB.

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