AMD’s R9 Fury X is a beast, but 4K gaming is still a waste
Since the rise of 3D graphics cards, the inexorable trend in PC gaming has been around getting bigger, better and faster. That led to a culture of PC gamers obsessing over frame rates and doing whatever it took to push their hardware as much as possible. But now that even relatively affordable graphics cards can hit a silky smooth 60 fps at 1080p, there’s only one big mountain left to climb: 4K gaming. And that’s exactly what a powerhouse card like AMD’s new Radeon R9 Fury X ($650) is poised to tackle. The only problem? 4K gaming still isn’t worth your time and money.Slideshow-312778
The Radeon R9 Fury X is the sort of thing that’s built expressly to make PC gamers salivate. While the card itself is relatively minimalist with a jet-black design, once it’s turned on you get a blingy glowing “Radeon” logo and LEDs that show off how hard the GPU is working. But, most impressively, the card also has an external water cooler attached, which takes the place of a rear fan in your computer case. It’s not the first video card to ship with water cooling, but it’s an impressive setup nonetheless (although it will make installing the card a bit more complex). It’s also worth noting that the R9 Fury X’s direct competitor, NVIDIA’s GTX 980 Ti, ships with air cooling. That’s a sign of much more power-efficient hardware. (I would have liked to compare the two cards directly, but I’m still waiting on review hardware from NVIDIA.)
While the R9 Fury X can achieve speeds of up to 1050MHz out of the box, its water cooling setup could lead to some decent overclocking potential down the line. I didn’t want to risk harming my loaner card from AMD, but initial overclocking attempts by AnandTech led to modest (75Hz) gains. With some more tweaking, though — especially going beyond the limits AMD implements in its desktop software — I wouldn’t be surprised if you could reach higher speeds. Then again, given how fast the card is already (it also packs in 4GB of “high-bandwidth memory” RAM), you might not want to bother with the whole mess of overclocking.
On my gaming rig — which consists of a 4GHz Core i7-4790K CPU, 16GB of 2400Mz DDR3 RAM and a 512GB Crucial MX100 SSD on a ASUS Z97-A motherboard — the R9 Fury X didn’t break a sweat when gaming in 1080p with every setting on high. No surprise there (and if that’s all you’re looking for, consider the plethora of sub-$300 cards out there). But once I started testing out games in 4K (with a Samsung UE590 monitor loaned by AMD), the card truly started to shine. Both The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Batman: Arkham Knight got around 35 fps on average with high-quality settings, and while that might not sound like much, the fact that they’re both beyond 30 fps is a decent show of progress from last year’s cards. It means you can actually play those games in 4K without any noticeable stuttering.
But enough of the numbers: How do games look in 4K? For the most part, pretty darn great. For The Witcher 3, in particular, I was able to make out even finer detail in character models, their clothing and the overall environment. But I also quickly realized that minor bump in fidelity wasn’t worth the drop from the 1080p 60 fps I was used to, which looks a lot smoother. Moving The Witcher’s Geralt of Rivia around the game’s incredibly detailed environments was less jerky and more life-like than in 4K. Basically, It’s hard to get used to lower frame rates when 60 fps was the ideal I was striving toward for years. There were also occasions where games dipped below 30 fps, which was hard to stomach on a $650 video card.
Slideshow-312789
On a broader level, 4K isn’t really worth the investment for most PC owners; 4K monitors are still relatively expensive, starting at around $400 to $500 for 27-inch models (1080p screens are around half that), and their panels typically aren’t as high-quality as lower resolution screens. Some 4K monitors only offer 30Hz refresh rates, which limits your gaming to 30 fps and leaves little room for graphics upgrades down the line. (The monitor I’m using advertises 60Hz 4K, but I’ve been unable to reach that with multiple cables.) And, perhaps most damning, Windows 7 and 8 still isn’t well-suited to 4K screens. You’d have to upgrade to Windows 10, which offers much better high-resolution scaling, for a decent 4K experience.
I found that gaming at a 2,560 x 1,440 (WQHD) resolution was the best compromise between fidelity and frame rate. It’s sharper than 1080p (which runs at 1,920 by 1,080), and the R9 Fury X was able to reach 60 fps in that resolution easily. You’ll still pay a premium for WQHD displays, but models like the Dell UltraSharp U2715H (which our friends at The Wirecutter recommend as the best 27-inch monitor) sport high-quality IPS panels, so they’ll look a lot better than many 4K monitors. Plus, 2,560 x 1,440 on a 27-inch monitor is also a usable resolution for desktop work — no microscope required.
At this point, 4K gaming feels like the worst aspects of PC gaming: expensive and counterintuitive, with radically diminishing returns. It’s a badge of honor if you have a system that can actually play games in 4K, and nothing more. It could eventually become commonplace for gaming, especially as VR headsets demand more pixels, but for now you’d be better off trying to get the highest frame rate you can with a lower resolution.
Filed under:
Desktops, Gaming, HD, AMD
Tags: 4K, amd, ArkhamKnight, engadgetirl, hdpostcross, irl, R9FuryX, TheWitcher3, videocards
Fitbit adds Cortana support, Xbox One app coming this year
Fitbit’s updated its Windows app for Windows 10. The app features all-new Live Tiles, pushes notifications to the Action Center, and supports Cortana voice commands. Saying things like “Fitbit, I ate chicken for dinner” or “Fitbit, I went for a three-mile run” will see Cortana automatically logging that activity. The app supports the entire Fitbit range, including its smart scale, and, as it’s a universal app, it’ll also eventually play nicely with other Windows 10 platforms. That means it’ll come to both Windows 10 phones and — for the first time — the Xbox One console later this year.
Although third-party support for Microsoft’s mobile platforms has been limited at best, Fitbit has always worked to ensure its devices work with Windows. Apps are already available for Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1, and Windows RT. You’ll have to wait a little for the mobile and console versions, but you can check out Fitbit’s new app at the Windows Store now.
Filed under:
Gaming, Wearables, Software
Via:
VentureBeat
Source:
Fitbit (PDF), (Windows Store)
Tags: app, cortana, fitbit, update, voicecommands, windows10
ICYMI: Far away haptic hello, birthing robot mom and more
Today on In Case You Missed It: The Haptoclone allows users to touch and interact with distant objects, in a way you have to see to understand. But basically, long-distance makeouts over Skype are coming. Cambridge University researchers designed a robot that can make it’s own ‘children,‘ then test them for the strongest features, to then incorporate for the following generation. And the FIA Formula E Championship (the E is for electricity-based power) just showcased its new cars for the start of its second official season.
Then we needed to show you the beauty of artist Charles Young’s 3D mini-models.
If you come across any interesting videos, we’d love to see them. Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag @engadget or @mskerryd.
Filed under:
Misc, Gaming, Peripherals, Robots, Transportation, Science, Internet, Software
Tags: 3Dart, 3Dhouse, art, artist, Cambridge, CambridgeUniversity, CharlesYoung, engadgetdailyshow, engadgetvideo, FE, FIA, FormulaOne, haptic, hapticdevice, Haptoclone, icymi, InCaseYouMissedIt, minihouse, robotmom autonomousrobot, robots, robottakeover, video
League of Legends’ first pro female player weighs her options
“I just want it to be known that I accomplished my goal for real, and I accomplished it for me, my teammates, and girls in eSports. That’s it. No one else. Don’t fucking put me on some LGBT agenda or some bullshit.”
That’s part of the statement that Maria Creveling, known as “Remilia” on the gaming stage, posted to Reddit this morning, following her team’s explosive victory in the North American League of Legends Challenger Series last night. The win bumped her team, Renegades, into the League of Legends Championship Series, meaning all of its players are now officially pro — and making Remilia the first professional female player in League of Legends history. However, she may choose to leave the LCS without ever playing a pro game.
After Renegades’ win on the Challenger Series stage — a tie-breaker match that ended in a convincing full-team push to destroy the rival team’s base — all five players jumped to their feet, threw down their headsets and hugged, clearly ecstatic. Remilia usually shies away from the limelight and she even asked Riot, the company behind League of Legends, to not show her on-camera during the match. But, after that win, she says she felt “really comfortable,” so she stuck around in front of the crowd and the rolling cameras.
Now, Remilia is considering her options within League of Legends and elsewhere. She’s dealt with the harassment that seems to come standard for women playing video games, though it’s often exacerbated because of the public nature of the Challenger Series. Among the support she receives, people also levy cruel and gender-based insults at her in forums and on social media, and she’s had to deal with invasive questions about her personal life. Still, she had a goal — prove that women can compete professionally in League of Legends.
“The competition doesn’t mean much to me,” she writes. “I don’t care to be the best in the world. I love playing with a team and accomplishing stuff and being recognized for it. When I set out initially, I wanted to be the first girl in LCS. That was what motivated me. That dream I had I accomplished and yet it is being challenged in such a heartless way.”
Remilia says she’ll definitely stick around for “one more project” in League of Legends, but after that it’s unclear if she’ll try something new. Responding to comments on her Reddit thread, Remilia says she’ll discuss with her teammates and Riot whether it will be “financially viable” for her to remain in the LCS.
“I will weigh playing in the LCS along with my other options but some things are just looking so much better,” she says.
Source:
Reddit
Tags: esports, hdpostcross, LCS, LeagueOfLegends, ProGaming, Remilia, Renegades, riot, RiotGames, women
Xbox One to Windows 10 streaming has a hidden video setting
Redditor OomaThurman recently detailed a hidden “very high” video quality setting tucked within the Xbox One’s streaming app. Thurman writes, “Simply edit the userconsoledata in the xbox app folder and change IsInternalPreview to true,” though there are actually a couple of additional steps needed to do that.
The process is pretty straightforward:
- First, past the string “localappdataPackages” into Explorer on your PC.
- Find the “Microsoft.XboxApp.” folder and navigate to “Local State” within it.
- Next, find and open the “userconsoledata” file in a text editor, then search for the ‘IsInternalPreview’ variable.
- Set that variable to “true” then save and close out the file.
That’s all there is to it. The difference is certainly noticeable, as you can see between the Very High setting in the image at the top of the post versus the High setting in the image immediately above.
[Image Credit: Chickern/Reddit]
Filed under:
Gaming, HD, Microsoft
Via:
Windows Central
Source:
Reddit
Tags: hdpostcross, microsoft, settings, streaming, video, videogames, windows10, xboxone
JXE Streams: The watery mystery of ‘Submerged’
This is what we like to call a “chill stream.” That doesn’t mean it’s cold or that it involves a small river, though this particular game does feature quite a lot of water. It simply means that we’re going to take this livestream slowly, calmly and with an emphasis on chilling out. Submerged is a new, combat-free exploration game set in a flooded, abandoned city. It stars Miku, a young girl searching for supplies to help her dying younger brother. Developer Uppercut Games encourages players to explore the city at their own pace to “discover hidden objects that piece together the story of a broken world and a broken family.” Chill streams may be quieter than usual, but they can still be emotional.
Today’s Submerged livestream kicks off at 5:30PM ET/2:30PM PT on Twitch.tv/Joystiq, on the Engadget Gaming homepage or right in this post. We’re playing on the PlayStation 4 via an Elgato HD60 capture device. Join us.
Tags: hdpostcross, jxestreams, ps4, submerged, uppercut, uppercutgames
ICYMI: Robot barkeeps, Android Experiments and more
Today on In Case You Missed It: We take on two pieces of robot news, both of which seem promising for different reasons. First, a robot with responsive, human reflexes is being designed to enter dangerous situations where a real person might be injured. The secret is that the controller is a guy wearing a matching robot exoskeleton. Then, more MIT scientists executed an algorithm that allows robots to actually buzz around and serve alcohol. Obviously, we’re fans of that. Lastly, Google unveiled a video describing its Android Experiments project and some of the applications are super interesting.
For our final video, we are sharing a not tech-related video that is mesmerizing. It’s from an artist’s work that uses honey, paint and oil to show swirling close-ups as colors merge and flow together.
If you come across any similarly interesting or noteworthy videos, we’d love to see! Please tweet us (or comment below) with the #ICYMI hashtag to @engadget or @mskerryd.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Cameras, Displays, Misc, Gaming, Handhelds, Robots, Transportation, Science, Internet, Google
Tags: Alphabet, android, AndroidExperiments, boozebot, engadget, engadgetdailyshow, engadgetvideo, google, icymi, incaseyoumissedit, MIT, robot, robotbarkeep, video
‘Super Mario Maker’ lets you record custom sounds in Mario levels
Prepare for joyful levels full of farts, curse words and all manner of silly sounds. When it launches for the Wii U on September 11th, Super Mario Maker will feature an option to add custom, recorded sounds to your own Mario levels, alongside pre-recorded noises and musical notes. That’s just one feature shown off in a seven-minute overview video Nintendo released today. Check out how you’ll edit levels, make music, use Amiibo, add perfect long jumps and unlock new elements in a handful of Mario universes. Maybe start perfecting your animal noises now.
Filed under:
Gaming, HD, Nintendo
Tags: hdpostcross, mario, mariomaker, nintendo, supermariomaker, WiiU
The countdown begins in August for limited-time game ‘The Flock’
The Flock is a multiplayer horror game with a twist — its in-game population begins at 215,358,979, and every time someone dies, the counter drops by one. When the population hits zero, the game will no longer be available for purchase and only those who already own it will be able to participate in The Flock‘s final phase. The games begin on August 21st, when The Flock hits Steam and the Humble Store for $17.Slideshow-305479
The Flock is set in the year 3000, when the Earth has been ravaged by pollution so thick that it blocked out the sun, forcing humans to extinction. A skeletal, agile race called the Flock now roam the land. They discover an illuminated Light Artifact that transforms whomever holds it into the Carrier, a humanoid creature. Players attempt to capture objectives as the Carrier or simply survive while holding the Light Artifact, fighting off entire hordes of Flock with its radiance. The Flock is a tale of extinction and developers at Vogelsap hope to convey the harsh realities of life among a dwindling population.
Plus, as they write in a new FAQ page:
Most indie multiplayer games lose their player base within a year. Even heavy hitters such as Titanfall and Evolve have a fast dwindling player base. The most popular games such as League of Legends and Counter-Strike still have a somewhat anticlimactic ending of their players’ experience. Because in the end at some point — and this can be after five years or two months — you’ll stop playing because you either got bored of it, you’ve seen it all or you, or your friends have no longer time to play. We want to tackle that problem, and make sure The Flock ends with a climax after which the game will be fondly remembered.
Vogelsap developers also address how they’ll handle hacking and bots in the game. First,they’ll give the hacker a warning and revert all lives, even legitimate ones, that he or she has removed from the game. Repeated hacking or use of bots will result in a ban. In-game suicides shouldn’t impact the population much, developers say: “We rather hope you have fun scaring your friends and enjoy the extra content we’re planning to release. Also, there’s a respawn time.”
The only way Vogelsap would add lives to the in-game population is if developers launch the game on other platforms, such as the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. If this happens, all platforms will share a single population pool. “The finale is something to be experienced only once by the players of The Flock,” Vogelsap writes.
Anyone who pre-orders The Flock from the Humble Store or Vogelsap’s website, or buys it during launch week on Steam, will receive an extra game key to give to a friend. Or an enemy. Your choice.
Tags: hdpostcross, humblestore, Indie, STEAM, TheFlock, vogelsap
Capcom finally greenlights a ‘Resident Evil 2’ remake
It’s official and it feels oh-so good: Capcom is working on a remake of 1998’s survival-horror masterpiece Resident Evil 2. This one has been a long time coming for many fans, as Resident Evil 2 is widely considered to be one of the best games in the series — and one of the best survival-horror video games, period. Producer Yoshiaki “H” Hirabyashi announced the remake in a video, noting, “We at R&D Division 1 will do our best to take on your feedback and deliver the gameplay experience you’ve been waiting for.”
There’s no word on a release window or targeted platforms for the remake, but H promises to deliver news about the game directly to fans via Facebook.
Source:
Resident Evil
Tags: Capcom, hdpostcross, remake, ResidentEvil2
AIVAnet 