Author: Donster

$fractaldesign-core3300-case$ By Stuart Davidson @ Hardware Heaven

Over the years case designs have significantly evolved to the stage where a large portion of a system budget can be spend on that area of a build. In the enthusiast arena for example bigger tends to be better and the ability to install liquid cooling is a must, especially as GPUs are now available which have their own radiator block for a 12cm fan location. At the opposite end of the spectrum budget cases have changed too. Even in the last 4 or 5 years that has been the case and thanks to some great design we have a bunch of low cost, high quality and flexible options.

Fractal Design recently released their Core 3300 case, a model designed to appeal to those looking for a low cost chassis with plenty of flexibility. Today we take a look at it.

Read The Review Here

Cases Hardware | Donster | August 7, 2014 |

Transcend SSD340 (256GB) Review

By Kristian Vättö @ AnandTech

A couple of months ago we reviewed JMicron’s JMF667H reference design SSDs, which did relatively well in our tests especially when taking JMicron’s previous SSD controllers into account. As always, reference designs are only meant for evaluation and do not make their way into retail, so today we are taking a look at Transcend’s SSD340.

Read The Review Here

Hardware Storage | Donster | August 7, 2014 |

Just Announced Hardware for 7 August 2014

Check out these latest hardware announcements for today from around the web. Also included are some hardware news bits, and on some days, a few rumors tossed in for good measure. Click on the links below to read the official press release, visit the products web page, or to an independent news source.

Hardware | Donster | August 7, 2014 |

Historical Article: The Gallant Few

British Midnight Raid on Taranto Italy, 11-12 November, 1940

By John Dudek @ The Wargamer

The night-time skies over Taranto Italy were criss-crossed with dozens of blindingly brilliant shafts of probing, search light beams interspersed with cracking flak bursts and the staccato sound and sights of thousands of machine gun tracers arching upwards across the black sky like so many thousands of fireflies in search of a still unseen enemy. Air dropped flares suddenly lit up the Italian battleships and cruisers of their Battle Fleet anchored seemingly safe within its well protected harbor. Out of the darkness came a sight more appropriate from the past “Great War” of 1914-18 rather than this current Second World War. Nearly two dozen British Swordfish bi-plane torpedo aircraft approached flying low and slow for their final attack runs upon the capital ships of the Italian Battle Fleet. Within minutes three of the anchored battleships of the Regia Marina were staggered by numerous torpedo hits that sank one battleship and badly damaged two others, while badly damaging a heavy cruiser and two destroyers. Historically speaking the Taranto Raid was the very first successfully carrier launched air attack ever made against an enemy fleet. Following the British torpedo bombing raid only two of the three damaged Italian battleships were ever returned to active service. In one night, the Royal Navy succeeded in cutting down the size of the Italian battleship fleet by half, while tipping the balance of power in the Mediterranean once again back into her favor. For the remaining three years of Italian participation in World War II as a member of the Axis Powers, the Italian Battle Fleet avoided any further fully fledged fleet engagements against the Royal Navy, and no longer seriously sought to prevent British reinforcement from reaching North Africa or its Mediterranean colonies through the massed use of capital ships in a concerted fleet action.

Read on…

Military History | Donster | August 1, 2014 |

Sniper Elite 3 – Free New Multiplayer Map & Sniper Rifles Pack Released

Independent developer Rebellion today announced the launch of two new pieces of DLC for Sniper Elite 3 on Steam for PC, with the content due to come to Playstation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 in the near future.

FREE Lost Valley Multiplayer Map

The second of four multiplayer maps which are FREE for all Sniper Elite 3 players, Lost Valley is one of the most diverse maps ever made for the series, from perilous vertical terrain and excavated ruins, to a sinkhole, open jungle and sea shallows. Packed with secret routes, vantage points and plenty of lush foliage for cover, snipers must decide whether to navigate the dangerously exposed mountain terrain for a commanding view of the battlefield, or opt to ambush enemy combatants from the waterfront shallows, temporary airfield and tented camps below.

Sniper Rifles Pack

Some of history’s most revered rifles make a welcome return to Sniper Elite 3 in the Sniper Rifles weapons pack now live on Steam and coming to consoles soon. Available for use across all modes, the Sniper Rifles weapons pack includes the Kar 98k , M1917 Enfield, and a specially tuned version of the fan-favourite Springfield rifle.

Summer of Sniper

Having already kicked off the first in a three-part Save Churchill DLC campaign, Rebellion have promised more content to come over the summer months including another two FREE multiplayer maps, more weapons packs and the concluding two missions in the Save Churchill campaign.

First-Person Shooters Sniper Elite 3 | Donster | August 1, 2014 |

Call of Duty: Ghosts Nemesis Trailer

Source: Blue’s News

Here’s a new trailer showing off the upcoming Nemesis DLC for Call of Duty: Ghosts, the latest installment in this military shooter series. This is coming to Xbox next week and other platforms after that, fulfilling the game’s Season Pass. PC gamers disappointed at not being able to grab this now can scratch that itch by heading over to Steam where they have a whole bunch of personalization and weapon packs to sell you. Here’s word on the Nemesis pack’s contents:
The four new small-to-medium multiplayer maps in Nemesis are designed specifically for Call of Duty’s distinctive fast-paced, gun-on-gun gameplay.

“Goldrush” is set in an abandoned gold mine in the Southwest United States, where an intricate network of cavernous tunnels and perilous shafts create the ideal setting for medium to long range combat; while two mine carts race along the abandoned tracks offering players a fast way to traverse the map. Players who complete the unique field order on Goldrush will unleash a howling pack of wolves that will descend upon their enemies.
“Subzero” drops players into a frigid Canadian submarine base that has been hastily evacuated, with control room, submarine pen and research facilities all left eerily empty. Built around the traditional three-lane design, this medium-sized map harbors a mysterious terror that will decimate your enemies upon completion of the map’s unique field order.
In “Dynasty,” players are transported to a lakeside Chinese village surrounded by picturesque mountains, vivid gardens, and spectacular architecture – a serene environment that is anything but Zen-like. Multiple pathways crisscross the village in this medium map with a variety of elevation and numerous back alleys that create flanking routes. The unique field order on “Dynasty” allows players to call in an air strike of vertical takeoff fighter jets, while one lingers behind to give you unmatched air superiority.
Nemesis cranks the frenetic multiplayer action to unprecedented levels with the fourth multiplayer map, “Showtime,” a sadistic reimagining of the smallest map in Call of Duty® history, the fan favorite map from Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare® “Shipment.” In the futuristic arena of “Showtime,” blind corners and narrow pathways provide momentary reprieve from the outright mayhem within the central square comprised of several shipping containers. Tight confines call for shotguns and SMGs. Survive long enough to be rewarded with one of three killstreaks: lethal automated gun turrets at key locations on the map, an air drop with multiple care packages or a deadly gas attack that forces the action back into the center of the arena.

Closing out the final DLC Pack for Call of Duty: Ghosts is the dramatic conclusion in the Extinction narrative, “Episode 4: Exodus.” Following the CIF Unit’s harrowing escape from the alien underworld and the successful recovery of Dr. Cross and the cortex, the team has flown in to fight off the Cryptid army’s siege of the last bastion of human resistance. Your mission is to get key personnel to safety by restoring power to the shuttle and launching the shuttle to a low earth orbit space station.

Call of Duty: Ghosts First-Person Shooters | Donster | August 1, 2014 |

WWI Flight Sim: Ilya Muromets Early Access

1С Game Studios and the Russian Military Historical Society are excited to announce that the Early Access program for Ilya Muromets, a new flight sim from the creators of IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad, starts today.

The official Ilya Muromets web site has been launched and is available at www.ilyamuromets.net. It contains all the latest assets including screenshots and game trailer.

The Ilya Muromets early access version will be available for purchase and download at the official web site for the price of $19.99 USD starting from August 1st, the day when Germany declared war on Russia and the Russian Empire entered World War I.

Ilya Muromets covers the events of the air war on the Eastern Front during World War I and features the gigantic and legendary four-engine bomber of the Imperial Russian Air Force. This plane became the first large bomber in the history of aerial warfare and is the forefather of the multi-engine long-range strategic aviation of later conflicts.

Ilya Muromets will feature several additional fighter planes and attack planes from Russia, Germany and Austro-Hungary. A map covering a portion of the Eastern Front (territory of modern day Ukraine) will be included in the game. This was an active theatre for the Ilya Muromets during the war where several famous missions took place. The game will include a set of challenging single-player mission scenarios along with a quick mission builder and multiplayer capability.

The game is scheduled to be released in October 2014.

Combat Flight Sim Ilya Muromets | Donster | August 1, 2014 |

Enermax Liqtech 240 AIO CPU Liquid Cooler Review

Author: Marc Adams @ HardOCP

Enermax comes to us today with its Liqtech 240 AIO liquid cooling system for CPUs sporting healthy list of features including; copper cold plate with patented Shunt-Channel-Technology (SCT), seamless contact radiator fins, non-permeable flexible tubing, and a fan control system offering three cooling modes.

Read The Review Here

Hardware System Cooling | Donster | August 1, 2014 |

AMD A10-7800 Kaveri APU Review

Author: SKYMTL @ Hardware Canucks

AMD’s new A10-7800 is a more affordable alternative for those who don’t need the multiplier unlocked A10-7850K by offering good x86 processing performance alongside excellent graphics capabilities for about $150.

Read The Review Here

Hardware Processors | Donster | August 1, 2014 |

Just Announced Hardware for 1 August 2014

Hardware | Donster | August 1, 2014 |