Peace, Love & Rockets

Adam “DOHCDragon” Owen is an old hand at winning the QuakeCon mod contest, although the last two times he won (not a typo), he bested the competition in the Scratch Build category. For QuakeCon 2015, Owen decided to mix things up a bit and enter the Bethesda/id Software category, and as you can see that worked out pretty well for him. “I have made a goal every year to build a computer for QuakeCon,” Owen says. “This year being the 20th year, I wanted to do something that celebrated the event. Every year, the best description I see for QuakeCon is ‘A weekend of peace, love, and rockets.’ This case was designed to celebrate both the 20 years of QuakeCon and the 10 years that I have been attending. It is going to become my home server, and will sit on a pedestal next to my 3D printer in my man cave. It will serve as a reminder of all the good times I have had at the event, and as a symbol of what has been and what is to come.” You might remember Owen’s 3D printer—or at least its handiwork—from the 2014 QuakeCon mod contest, in which Owen stormed the field with his operational WWII Tiger tank PC. And that’s not the only connection this mod has to QuakeCons past.

In The Beginning 
Owen won the Cooler Master HAF XB that is Peace, Love & Rockets’ foundation as part of his prize package for winning the Scratch Build category of the 2013 QuakeCon case mod contest. As you can see, the left, top, and right panels each have a unique construction that represents part of the mod’s name (and, of course, the QuakeCon logo itself is proudly displayed on the front panel). The original plan also included dry ice, but Owen says he had to scrap that idea after doing a 1:1 scale mockup and test. Then he began to work on his side panel designs in SketchUp. “The only part that changed dramatically was love,” he says. “The original design didn’t look enough like a heart, so I scratched it and redesigned it. Once it was all designed in SketchUp, it pretty much came out exactly as designed. I believe the original design had room to grow, and the final work was better than I had imagined.”

Can We Build It? 
Owen removed all of the rivets from the HAF XB, then masked the outer surfaces of the case, along with select parts of the inside. He painted the case’s interior white, and then went to work on each of the outer surfaces in turn. Peace. “I cut a hole in the right side of the case and inserted a plasma shield,” says Owen. “I added a ground strap to the side of the case to prevent people from getting shocked, then I 3D-printed a holder and covers to make the shield look like the peace sign. After I got all this done, the electronics that came with the plasma driver stopped working. I was able to purchase a $20 plasma ball from Walmart and use its internal electronics to fix my plasma plate. Then I custom-built a white cover to house the new electronics and painted an orange Q on the back to go along with the theme of the case.” Love. “I replaced the top of the HAF XB with a piece of Plexiglas. I masked off the windows and painted the edges black to match the case, then cut a hole in the center of it for the 140mm fan that I use to power the heart. The gears I borrowed from the 3D artwork I used in the 3D Printed Tiger Tank from last year; I wanted to show people how complex and yet functional the 3D printer can be. Next, I engraved ‘2015’ on both sides of the heart. The top gear goes around once for every 50 times the fan spins all the way around.” Rockets. “I wanted to use something from Quake in the build, so I took the 2D rocket image from Quake and converted it into a 3D rocket. It is lit with orange and white LEDs. The entire fixture mounts to the outside of the case.”

The Finishing 
Touch Owen made the QuakeCon logo on the front panel with—you guessed it—his 3D printer. He then built a custom shroud for his video card that bears the message, “20 Years Of,” along with symbols for Peace, Love, and Rockets. In addition to the HAF XB, this mod contains an Intel Core i7-3960X, an ASUS SABERTOOTH X79 motherboard, 32GB of G.Skill DDR3-2400, an EVGA GeForce GTX 980, a Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 1300W PSU, three OCZ Revo 3 240GB PCIe SSDs, a 3TB Western Digital Black hard drive, and a custom cooling loop and “miscellaneous fans.” Owen says he’s already begun work on his mod for QuakeCon 2016, but like many master craftsmen, he’s not ready to give up many details yet. He says he plans to start a work log on Modders-Inc.com, but not until “early November.” We’ll be watching, Adam!

VaporPhaze 360

this year at QuakeCon, Zac Glander won the Scratch Build category of the case mod contest with a mod that is not only interesting to look at, but is also an extremely impressive bit of engineering. Glander named his mod “VaporPhaze 360” because it uses a very unique form of cooling, and because the case gives you a full 360-degree view of the components inside. “I have been inspired by this technology since 2000, when I learned about liquid-immersion cooling,” Glander says. “The concept had been rattling around in my head for 10 years before I decided to start bringing those thoughts to life in 2010. From a very young age, I have had a knack for building computers. I was always wanting to know why and how they worked. At age 12, I was given my first hand-medown computer, a 486 that I took apart just to put back together. From that point on, I have been building, repairing, and maintaining computer systems of all types. I now run my own IT services business, so as you can see, I have always had a passion for computers and all that they entail.” Glander says he mods anywhere he can find space, including at home, at his office, and in friends’ shops. Once the ideas that led to VaporPhaze 360 began to fully jell in his mind, he spent approximately a year and a half designing and building the system as time allowed. He says the rig turned out exactly the way he imagined it, but not without plenty of revisions and tinkering. “I built my first system to prove that the concept could actually be made to work, and to prove to myself that I could build a working system,” Glander says. “The system is not a mod, so to speak, as it has never been done on this level. True enough, I used off-the-shelf hardware, but the rest of the computer was possible only through imagination. Thank god for computeraided drafting!”

Science 
“The system in general proves that liquid-immersion technology is relevant and a viable solution as an alternative to direct air, or any of other form of cooling,” says Glander. “I have always been a stickler for a neat computer to allow for better air flow, thus making the system perform optimally. So, to get the most cooling possible, I decided to put the computer directly into 3M Novec 7000, which phase-changes at the low temperature of 34 degrees Celsius, meaning that the fluid changes from a liquid to a gas. “During the phase change, heat energy gets transferred away from the hardware into its gas phase, where it is condensed back into a liquid in the radiator, in a closed-loop cycle. One of the best analogies that comes to mind is when you have a cut and you use rubbing alcohol to clean it. When you blow on the cut, the alcohol goes from a liquid on your skin to a gas, which makes your skin feel cold. I am able to use this exact effect that you can feel to cool computer equipment. Using this technology also allows me to cool the entire hardware package using only one 200mm fan drawing air through the radiator.” Glander says the process is not without its charms, and it has practical applications, too. “The bubbles are one of the more aesthetic effects in the system; this is the fluid actually boiling, just like a pot of water on the stove, only at a lower temperature,” he says. “This system does fill a particular need in terms of being proof of concept, to be applied to servers in the near future. A producible gaming model is also in the works, which fulfills the extreme computing needs of gamers.”

Design 
Glander custom-designed the radiator where the magic happens, and says it’s the world’s first cylindrical radiator with vertical tubes that he’s aware of. He also custom designed the cylindrical glass container that makes up the body of the case. It was built on a mandrel at 5mm thick and is guaranteed to withstand 50psi of internal pressure. The support structure inside consists fully of laser-cut aluminum with tolerances in the .0001 range. Glander hand-tapped every screw hole in the build and did the finish work for the entire structure using a Bridgeport milling machine from the 1930s. “The devices that look like small heatsinks on the components are specially designed boiling enhancement units,” Glander says. “They are heatsinks with a proprietary nano-copper coating that makes the phase change occur in more places on the surface of the units.” The rig’s lighting is brought to you by about 500 LEDs of various colors.

Tech 
In addition to its sophisticated housing, VaporPhaze 360 is an Intel Core i7-3930K, an ASRock X79 Extreme4-M motherboard, 16GB of Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer memory, dual ZOTAC GTX 680 graphics cards in SLI, a SeaSonic X-Series 1250-watt power supply, two Crucial M4 128GB SSDs in RAID 0, and of course the aforementioned single 200mm Cooler Master LED fan. Glander says his next rig will be even more powerful, with dual Xeon 2690 v2 CPUs, 64GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA TITAN Z graphics card. You can probably guess how he intends to keep all of this gear cool. “All of this will be in my newly designed liquid immersion system,” Glander says.

RevoluTtion

he winner of the Case Mod category of this year’s QuakeCon mod contest was Marc “marcam923” Molella’s RevoluTtion, and it’s a long time coming, apparently. “This is a mod I have been thinking about for roughly six years,” Molella says. “I wanted to create something that showed moving components outside the computer case (such as the working gear mechanism on the right side panel and the fans visible through the front) to coincide with electronic circuitry and the transfer of information constantly moving within, but that is not visible. “Plus, I used copper that I hand-polished, which in my thought process tied in to the industrial revolution, where these metals began being used more widely, as well as machines being implements, and the computer is a machine. Instead of just naming the machine ‘Revolution,’ I added the extra T to thank Thermaltake, the creator of the Suppressor F51, and for allowing me to bring this vision to reality.” Molella says his inspiration when modding comes from many sources: “Like most other artists or creative minds, I draw inspiration from almost everything around me: the works of others, nature, and the people that daily touch my life. I use that inspiration to take one portion of that experience, and create from it a vision. Before I begin a case mod, I see the finished product in my mind, and from that point it is simple—just make that vision a reality.” Molella says he can’t even begin to estimate the number of hours he spent working on RevoluTtion, but that the work was completed over a period of roughly three months.

The Copper “I created the front panel, power supply shroud, and the Tt logo on the gear mechanism on the back side panel from copper sheet,” Molella says. “I hand-polished it to a mirror shine, cut the components to what I wanted them to be, and then treated them so they would not tarnish and would stay in this condition.”

The Paint 
“I spray-painted the case’s exterior with Firemist Orange Metallic, which is why in some of the pictures, certain portions look darker than others. It takes on different shades from different angles and has the amazing metallic effect. I really wanted to draw a contrast, which is why a case that started its life almost completely black in color, is now orange and white.”

The Details 
“I truly wanted to build a piece of art; something that would make you have to take a second and third look to notice all the detail,” says Molella. “Then, after the third look, there might be things you still wouldn’t notice, possibly unless someone pointed it out, such as the customized front door opening, revealing another custom panel inside, or the gears on the back side panel. Everything was layered. I did this because I wanted to bring back the definition of why I started modding . . . why a lot of people started modding. It’s not just about the paint job or watercooling, it’s about building something truly unique that fits your character or personality.” Molella says his initial forays into the world of modding were for more practical purposes: “I began modding cases to allow for better air flow, because I was overclocking my components but couldn’t afford high-end computer cases. Once I began doing this, I started wanting to make the case look aesthetically pleasing, as well, so it became a mesh of the two worlds, overclocking and aesthetics.” The rotating gears on the right-side panel is a custom clockwork assembly painted to match the build; Molella attached his hand-cut copper Thermaltake logo, which is mounted on a piece of acrylic to create the appearance that it’s floating. He also trimmed out the case’s interior by adjusting the size of the motherboard tray so that it stays out of sight and adding custom white acrylic pieces as needed to make the copper PSU cover and the orange coolant pop. He then sleeved all of his power cables in paracord, bent 16mm rigid tubing for his cooling loop, and custom-mixed silver Mayhems Aurora 2 coolant with orange dye to make it match his paint job. RevoluTtion is a Thermaltake Suppressor F51, an Intel Core i7-5820K mounted on a GIGABYTE X99-SOC Champion, 16GB of G.Skill Ripjaws DDR4-3000 memory, an MSI GTX 970 GAMING 4G graphics card, a Thermaltake Toughpower DPS 850W power supply, a G.Skill Phoenix III 120GB SSD, and a Western Digital Black 1TB hard drive. His cooling subsystem consists of Thermaltake 16mm PETG rigid tubing, a Thermaltake Pacific W2 CPU block, a Thermaltake Pacific PR22-D5 pump/ reservoir combo unit, a Hardware Labs Black Ice GTX 360 radiator, a Bitspower GTX 970 block, and seven Thermaltake Riing case fans.

The End 
Molella says that he brought this mod to QuakeCon, then participated in the 24-hour live modding event at the show and is still putting finishing touches on that project. All of this hasn’t stopped him from thinking ahead, though, and he says he already has ideas for his next six mods. Perhaps one of them should be called “Prolific

Vulkan The open-source Vulkan API is the Khronos Group’s latest brainchild. Billed as a low-level API, Vulkan helps developers to get closer to bare metal for low latency among commands.

or low-overhead API, because they have a more direct path of control over the GPU. For example, most OpenGL drivers must include memory and error management, as well as shading language compilers and sources. Because the driver does a lot of work, it can impact performance. On the Vulkan API, the Khronos Group starts by giving developers more explicit access. The application will now be in charge of memory allocation and thread management when generating command buffers, for example. Vulkan will mean more work for developers, but the low-level API is also more flexible. “As much of the design of Vulkan is being driven by the games engine vendors, we expect to see many AAA games engines running very efficiently across multiple platforms using Vulkan,” says Neil Trevett, president of the Khronos Group. “Many nongaming applications, such as VR and CAD design, will also benefit from Vulkan’s efficient and predicable performance.” The Khronos Group indicates the Vulkan could also work on mobile devices, as well as game consoles and vehicles. Google, for instance, recently announced that it will release Vulkan for Android. The move to Vulkan should be natural for mobile app developers, as many use OpenGL. “OpenGL ships on every smartphone including Android and iOS, Windows XP to Windows 10, Mac, and Linux.” says Trevett. “Many mobile developers first write their app on a desktop machine and then take to code to mobile devices.” Vulkan won’t be finalized until later this year, so we don’t have many details on the specifics. We do know that the Khronos Group plans to use its SPIR-V (Standard Portable Intermediate Representation) language to provide native support for shader and kernel features. It eliminates the need for a built-in high-level language source compiler by allowing the high-level language front-end to provide Vulkan or OpenCL drivers with a standardized program. SPIR-V also lets developers use SPI binaries, so the code can work with discrete GPUs, onboard processor graphics, and SoCs.

Vulkan & Industry Support 
In the past, the lack of reliable support from industry partners often delayed or derailed OpenGL development efforts. With Vulkan, the Khronos Group has partnered with today’s biggest hardware developers, including Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, ARM, Qualcomm, and Imagination Technologies, as well as software developers, such as Blizzard, Epic Games, Valve, and TransGaming. Jem Davies, ARM vice president of technology, media processing group says, “Vulkan is a big step forward in enabling our ecosystem of developers to unleash the capabilities of the latest ARM GPU technology.” The Vulkan API also received a boost from AMD’s Mantle initiative, as AMD allowed the Khronos Group to use parts of Mantle to serve as Vulkan’s foundation. In its brief existence, Mantle found favor with a few game developers, such as EA with Battlefield Hardline and Cloud Imperium Games’ Star Citizen. In a blog post about the transition, Robert Hallock, AMD head of global technical marketing, says, “Mantle has seen acclaim for many improvements in gaming and game development: higher frame rates, reduced rendering latency, reduced GPU power consumption, better use of multicore CPUs, and re-pioneering new features like split-frame rendering. Vulkan combines and extensively iterates on these characteristics as one new and uniquely powerful graphics API.”

The Future With Khronos
“Khronos is fully committed to supporting and developing all of its 3D APIs as long as developers use them,” says Trevett. “Vulkan is the newest member of the family, and will be great for many developers, but OpenGL and OpenGL ES are not going away—and are being actively evolved in parallel with Vulkan—as the release of OpenGL ES 3.2 and OpenGL extensions at SIGGRAPH [2015] demonstrates.” Vulkan is also designed to port easily across platforms and hardware, so the open API should be a boon to developers that want consistent performance for games that run on all different devices. Whatever comes along, the future of open-source graphics acceleration looks much brighter than its recent history.

State Of The Art Standards OpenGL

Remember the API wars of the late 1990s and early 2000s when Microsoft’s Direct3D and early DirectX versions competed against variants of OpenGL? Microsoft’s DirectX, of course, has been the de facto standard for years, yet something still stirs in the land of OpenGL. The Khronos Group (the industry consortium that took over the development of OpenGL) recently announced the Vulkan open standard API, which is designed to provide applications near direct control over GPU acceleration. Could we soon be witness to API Wars II? We’ll examine the history of OpenGL and see what the future holds for open API standards.

SGI & OpenGL 
Short for Open Graphics Library, OpenGL has long been designed as a multiplatform, cross-language API for hardware-accelerated graphics rendering. The open-source nature lets hardware and software developers customize the API for high-performance computing fields and applications, which have historically included CAD, flight simulation, scientific and information data analysis, and videogames. As previously mentioned, Microsoft’s DirectX has been the primary area of focus of game developers over the last decade, but OpenGL is still vital for those running games on Linux and Mac operating systems. OpenGL was officially released in 1992. SGI, which is now known as Silicon Graphics International but was Silicon Graphics, Inc. at the time, developed the standard. In 1992, SGI was acclaimed for its digital visual effects platform and technology. For example, SGI products were used to create the groundbreaking visuals in “Jurassic Park” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” The initial API for OpenGL served an open alternative to SGI’s Iris GL, which was the proprietary graphics API on SGI workstations. On the whole, SGI viewed OpenGL 1.0 as a state machine that controls a set of specific drawing operations. For programmers, OpenGL 1.0 served as another way to specify geometric objects and render those objects within the card’s frame buffer. Within a typical program, OpenGL 1.0 starts with calls to open a window where the application will draw. The calls are made to allocate graphics language context, as well as to control the frame buffer. In the early 1990s, most consumer graphics cards didn’t support OpenGL, so it wasn’t initially the most useful tool for game designers. In 1996, the OpenGL API found a strong advocate in id Software’s John Carmack, who developed Quake for OpenGL and found that, at the time, it was a much better videogame API than Microsoft’s Direct3D. Carmack and id went on to create GLQuake, which was a source port for Quake and Quake 2 that took advantage of the OpenGL API. GLQuake allowed for effects such as transparent water, reflective surfaces, and shadows. In part due to Carmack and Quake’s influence, graphics card companies began to support OpenGL via MiniGL drivers that allowed for better 3D acceleration. NVIDIA would add even more augmentations to OpenGL with register combiners. This was notable because the combiners took full advantage of NVIDIA’s TNT hardware and let the GPU access, from any stage, the texture values and per-vertex colors. Versions of OpenGL evolved along with new hardware advancements. OpenGL 1.1 was released in 1997, while OpenGL 1.2 (and 1.2.1) hit in 1998. Imaging subset was one of the most important features added to OpenGL 1.2 for image processing, as the subset included core capabilities for 3D texturing and level of detail controls. When NVIDIA released its GeForce 256 (the card where NVIDIA coined the term “GPU”) in 1999, OpenGL was able to take advantage of the card’s distinctive T&L (transform & lighting) features, because the API had a dedicated T&L pipeline. Microsoft, by comparison, had to add T&L to support the DirectX standard with the release of DirectX 7.

Fahrenheit 
In 1997, SGI and Microsoft joined forces to “create a common, extensible architecture” under a project code-named “Fahrenheit.” The undertaking was designed to bring together the consumer (DirectX) and professional (OpenGL) graphics APIs, so developers would only need to know one API for graphics and visualization applications. At the time, Ed McCracken, chairman and CEO of SGI, said, “Today, Silicon Graphics and Microsoft are defining a clear path for developers that enables both of us to expand the market for graphics.” The alliance would last only two years. Microsoft and SGI could not find common ground, and the entire project was abandoned with little to no functional code ever produced. Experts have speculated a variety of reasons for the failed marriage, and although a general lack of industry support was seen as the primary roadblock, there’s never been a clear story about why the project failed. Microsoft, of course, continued work on its DirectX API, and when Windows 2000 was released, the OS was loaded with DirectX 7.

Progress Slows 
At the turn of the century, the once prolific group of graphics AIB (add-in board) developers had started to dwindle. Microsoft had begun to work primarily with NVIDIA and ATI, and a new version of DirectX would often coincide with Team Green’s and Team Red’s newest GPUs. OpenGL, on the other hand, tacked on support with the updates that sometimes didn’t appear until a year after the relevant hardware had been released. For example, OpenGL 1.3 wasn’t released until 2001, almost three years after OpenGL 1.2. Some have pointed towards the ARB (Architectural Review Board) as a major factor in the delay, as new features required approval from a standards committee. It didn’t help that many members of the ARB were rival companies, and intellectual property threats in particular were seen as key frustrations. In some cases, the biggest advances were made in OpenGL extensions, rather than updating the standard as a whole. With each company promoting its own technology, OpenGL began to fall behind. By 2002, Microsoft had created DirectX 9 and a high-level shading language (Shader Model 2.0) to support GPU improvements for pixel shading, vertex shading, and overall visual quality. OpenGL, at the time, wasn’t able to take full advantage of dedicated hardware shader pipelines. To help catch up, the ARB would work with 3DLABS to spearhead the development of OpenGL 2.0 and support for shading language. OpenGL 2.0 wasn’t released until 2004, and not long after 3DLABS exited the graphics card business altogether, stopping development in 2006.

Khronos Group Takes Control
At SIGGRAPH 2006, the OpenGL ARB passed governance of OpenGL’s API over to the Khronos Group. One of the first acts of the Khronos Group was to establish an OpenGL Working Group that would be responsible for controlling and evolving the OpenGL standard. At the time, ARB secretary Jon Leech said, “The evolution of the OpenGL API and the membership of the ARB have reflected the changes in the graphics industry over the years as the use of 3D graphics moved from high-end workstations and simulators to PCs and mobile laptops, thanks to a new generation of consumeroriented companies, such as Apple, ATI, and NVIDIA. We have decided to move the OpenGL specification into Khronos to ensure the future health of OpenGL in all its forms.” With a joint road map, the OpenGL train was no longer off the tracks. But by this time, OpenGL API support was not nearly as important to developers as Microsoft’s DirectX, and the standard was years behind. By 2008, the Khronos Group was able to deliver OpenGL 3.0. This release marked a major revision of the API, as it included a new version of the OpenGL shading language (GLSL 1.3) and a set of OpenGL extensions that would bring the new functionality to older hardware. AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA all made contributions to the design of OpenGL 3.0 and would immediately support it within the respective product lineups. The Khronos Group also focused on defining how the OpenGL specification would evolve and retire obsolete functions. In the press release announcing OpenGL 3.0, the Khronos Group stated, “The new OpenGL API supports the future creation of profiles to enable products to support specific market needs while not burdening every implementation with unnecessary costs. To avoid fragmentation, the core OpenGL specification will contain all defined functionality in an architecturally coherent whole, with profiles tightly specifying segment-relevant subsets.” Barthold Lichtenbelt, chair of the OpenGL working group at Khronos, said, “OpenGL 3.0 sets the stage for a revolution to come. We now have the roadmap machinery and momentum in place to rapidly and reliably develop OpenGL and are working closely with OpenCL to ensure that OpenGL plays a pivotal role in the ongoing revolution in programmable visual computing.” In March of 2009, the Khronos Group released OpenGL 3.1, which had additional shading language updates and improved programmability that would allow for more efficient development of supporting software. “The rapid nine-month development of OpenGL 3.1 demonstrates the scheduledriven approach to the standard that is enabling and inspiring cutting-edge, crossplatform GPU functionality,” Lichtenbelt said. “OpenGL 3.1 answers the requests from the developer community to streamline and modernize the OpenGL API.” OpenGL 4.0 landed one year later. The 4.0 update introduced shader stages that let the GPU offload tessellation from the CPU, as well as the ability to use per-sample fragment shaders and programmable fragment shader input positions. The greater flexibility helped to increase rendering quality and antialiasing. At the same time, Khronos introduced OpenGL 3.3 and a set of ARB extensions, which brought many of OpenGL 4.0’s new features to older OpenGL 3.0 cards. Subsequent releases of OpenGL have rolled out on a fairly consistent basis. For example, OpenGL 4.2 was announced in 2011, OpenGL 4.3 in 2012, OpenGL 4.4 in 2013, and OpenGL 4.5 in 2014. With the latter, the Khronos Group introduced core functionality for DSA (Direct State Access) that lets developers set and query the properties of objects, which could be textures, shader programs, and frame buffers, among others, without binding the object. This way, developers using or designing middleware won’t need to activate and undo bindings. DSA-like functionality has long been a part of Direct3D. For easier porting between OpenGL and Direct3D, OpenGL 4.5 offers a DX11 emulation capability

Vulkan 
With OpenGL brought up to speed with many of the most critical graphics acceleration techniques and technologies, the Khronos Group set its sights on something new. Vulkan is a ground-up design that removes much of the complex driver overhead that can slow down performance. Developers call this a low-level

In Win 805 Case

Generally speaking, predictability isn’t a terribly desirable trait for a company hoping to win the favor of discriminating enthusiasts. For In Win, though, being predictable is high praise, because its cases are predictably unpredictable. Year after year, it seems like In Win introduces a handful of cases that find new and unexpected ways to impress. The 805 happens to be the latest, and, of course, it’s magnificent. If it feels like you’ve seen the 805 before, let us confirm your suspicions: This isn’t the first time In Win has used tempered glass side panels. Last year, we reviewed the Mini-ITX 901 chassis (see page 19 in the March 2014 issue) and used the midtower 904 to kick off the 2014 season of “CPU System Workshop” (see page 33 in the February 2014 issue), and since then In Win has released several other cases that make use of tempered glass. The side panels of the 805 are tempered glass, and only tempered glass. In fact, the 805 distinguishes itself from In Win’s 90X cases by adding even more tempered glass. The 805’s front panel is glass, too, save for the thin strip of brushed aluminum at the top, where you’ll find the case’s power button and I/O ports. Here, In Win presents buyers with three color choices; the strip of brushed aluminum is either gold (pictured), red, or black. The 805’s top panel is also brushed aluminum. The rest of the 805’s chassis is also aluminum, which makes the case both lightweight and sturdy. We can’t argue with the construction. For as visually arresting as the 805 is, it’s also surprisingly accommodating for builders. There are pre-cut holes for routing cables nearly everywhere you could ask for, including the upper left and right corners, on the motherboard tray. In Win also packages the 805 with five cable retention clips with adhesive backing, so you can stick them to the back of the case’s motherboard tray exactly where they’re needed. (Because the tempered glass side panels make clean cable routing critical on both sides of the motherboard tray, providing the ability for builders to create a custom cable conduit is a huge feather in the 805’s cap.) You can reorient the tool-less drive cage so that the trays run perpendicular to the bottom panel or you can remove it entirely. The latter is a viable option, since the 805 has mounts on the back of the motherboard tray for up to three 2.5-inch drives. (The drive cage itself has a fourth 2.5-inch drive mount.) The 805 is replete with other power user perks. Radiators up to 280mm are welcome inside the chassis, provided the thickness doesn’t exceed 60mm. Likewise, you can install graphics cards up to 12.6 inches long. The version of the 805 we reviewed included a Type-C USB 3.1 port, giving you access to the standard’s juicy 10Gbps data rate. An alternate version of the case swaps this port for a standard USB 3.0 port. All versions of the 805 have at least one USB 3.0 port, plus two USB 2.0 ports and headphone and mic jacks. All of this adds up to a case that will induce double takes without zeroing out your bank account. Available for a perfectly reasonable $199, the 805 is, predictably, another In Win winner.

Go Ballistix Crucial DDR4 Lets Your Skylake System Fly High

Intel’s recently released Skylake platform supports DDR4 memory, finally freeing you from the shackles of outdated DRAM, so why on earth would you settle

for inferior modules? Crucial’s Ballistix Elite DDR4 modules are among the best money can buy.

After months of anticipation, Intel’s 6th Generation Core processors, codenamed “Skylake,” have arrived. Skylake chips represent a new level of desktop performance, which is certainly exciting. But what’s really exciting is that these new processors extend DDR4 support to a much wider audience; no longer is the next generation of DRAM exclusive to Intel’s family of HEDT processors. Although the Skylake platform does support DDR3L, where’s the fun in that? The time has come to ditch DDR3 (which is eight years old at this point, in case you need a reminder) and hitch your wagon to a younger, fresher, and faster memory technology. Because switching from DDR3 to DDR4 can yield impressive performance gains, picking the right kit is not a decision to make lightly. When choosing your new set of sticks, we recommend sticking with memory makers that have a proven track record of putting out highquality products. One company that fits that bill is Crucial. Flying under the company’s Ballistix flag, Crucial’s kits of enthusiast DDR4 are available to all power users, regardless of performance need or budget. The Elite, Tactical, and Sport lines are ready to take Skylake to new heights.

Ballistix Elite: My DDR4 Can Beat Up Your DDR4 
If you demand nothing less than the pinnacle of performance, Crucial’s Ballistix Elite DDR4 is the memory you need (and deserve). Representing the best the company has to offer, Crucial Ballistix Elite DDR4 cruises along at a cool 2,666MTps (mega transfers per second), and you can buy a dual-channel kit in either 8GB or 16GB. (And of course, as long as your motherboard has enough slots, you can always buy a 32GB kit [4 x 8GB] and load up on even more high-speed memory.) This memory is for any power user chasing the next record or higher overclock, but it’s also perfect for gamers running brutally demanding titles or prosumers who rely on gobs of ultra-fast memory to create exceptional content. In addition to its top-notch performance and incredibly cool heat spreaders, Ballistix Elite DDR4 has a secret weapon: Crucial’s M.O.D. utility. Short for Memory Overview Display, the Ballistix M.O.D. app gives you an inside look at your memory’s vital signs, including SPD data and temperature. You can monitor the latter in real time, so extreme overclockers who need to know every component temperature at all times will delight that the Ballistix Elite DDR4 makes their job that much easier.

Ballistix Tactical: Up Your Game 
The next weapon in Crucial’s Ballistix arsenal is the Ballistix Tactical memory. Like the Ballistix Elite, Ballistix Tactical modules are clocked to offer a 2,666MTps data rate, so memory bandwidth should not be a problem. Dual-channel kits of 8GB or 16GB are available, and a massive 32GB kit of four 8GB modules can be yours for the taking, too. Ballistix Tactical memory is ideal for gamers who understand that good DRAM is plenty important for modern games. For anyone who regularly edits their media— whether that’s photos, videos, music, or a combination of all three—Ballistix Tactical DDR4 definitely provides the performance needed to finish jobs faster. PC builders will also dig the Ballistix Tactical’s look. The aluminum alloy heat spreaders have a gunmetal gray finish, making them a sharp-looking addition to any system.

Ballistix Sport & Sport LT: Every Enthusiast Deserves DDR4 
As we mentioned, Skylake opens the doors to DDR4 for virtually everyone. For mainstream Skylake rigs, Crucial’s Ballistix Sport memory is more than up to the task. Operating at 2,400MTps, Ballistix Sport DDR4 memory is also energy-efficient, requiring a mere 1.2 volts to operate. (This is a trait shared with Ballistix Elite and Tactical DDR4, as well.) Whether you go with an 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB kit, Ballistix Sport memory is terrific for everyday PC use; finally, you can get the full multitasking experience of Windows 10. Casual gamers and those addicted to indie games will find that a kit of Ballistix Sport works well. Ballistix Sport and Sport LT modules have slightly different heat spreaders. Ballistix Sport memory has a simple, yet sleek design, consisting primarily of a solid gray color; its heat spreaders don’t extend b e y o n d t h e modules’ PCB, so the memory should be compatible with any desktop hardware configuration. Sport LT heat spreaders peek above the module PCB ever so slightly and feature what Crucial calls a “digital camo” design.

You Have Chosen . . .
Wisely As you consider which components to use for your Skylake build, we have no doubt you’ll be faced with more than a few tough decisions. Crucial gives you plenty of options, as well, but perhaps the best thing about the company’s Ballistix DDR4 kits is that any choice you make is a great one

ZOTAC GTX 980 Ti AMP! Extreme Edition

This month, ZOTAC sent us the highest factory overclocked 980 Ti we’ve tested to date, the GTX 980 Ti AMP! Extreme Edition. But before we explore the particulars of this card, let’s recap what NVIDIA brings to the table with its Maxwell-based flagship GPU. This GM200 GPU features 8 billion transistors crammed into a 601 square mm die made using a 28nm process. The 22 streaming multiprocessors in the GTX 980 Ti lend this card 2,816 CUDA cores, 176 texture units, and 96 ROPs. Compared to NVIDIA’s older Kepler architecture, this chip yields double the performance-per-watt. On that topic, this card has a 250-watt TDP and requires a pair of 8-pin PCIe power connectors to run. To enjoy this beast, make sure your PSU can handle at least 600 watts of continuous power. The memory subsystem of the GTX 980 Ti is very capable, even compared to NVIDIA’s other high-end cards currently available (save the 12GB TITAN X). There are 6GB of GDDR5 memory running on a 384-bit memory bus. The quadpiped memory on the stock version of the GTX 980 Ti is clocked at 1,752MHz, but ZOTAC has overclocked it by 53MHz to 1,805MHz. Although that doesn’t sound like much, it’s the highest memory clock we’ve seen yet on the 980 Ti and it’s more than enough to let you enjoy playable framerates in most games running at 4K resolutions. If you plan to run this card while connected to a 4K display, you’ll be able to use any of the three DisplayPort outputs or the HDMI output to do it. There’s also a DVI port on the card for legacy monitors with resolutions up to 2,560 x 1,600. One of the best things about this card is the factory overclock; the stock core and boost clocks are 1,000MHz and 1,075MHz, respectively, but ZOTAC’s card is clocked at 1,253MHz and 1,355MHz, respectively. We already know that it takes two 8-pin PCIe power connectors to supply the power, but ZOTAC’s oversized IceStorm cooler is what enables the GTX 980 Ti AMP! Extreme to hit those impressive core and boost clock numbers. There are a trio of 90mm EKO fans with multi-angle blades, a handful of large-diameter copper heatpipes to rapidly pull heat from the GPU, and a pair of aluminum finned heatsinks under ZOTAC’s signature carbon ExoArmor shroud.

The card measures more than two inches thick and just over 12-inches long. Other things we love about this card are the painted aluminum backplate and the OC Plus power regulation controller, which is an isolated PWM controller that lets you monitor the card’s stats, tweak voltages, and take your overclocking to the next level with the help of ZOTAC’s Firestorm software. There’s a 2-year warranty on this card, but if you register it online, you can get it covered for a third year. As you can see in the benchmarks, this card is the real deal. If you’re looking for a blazing fast GTX 980 Ti, with enough cooling capacity to handle even higher clocks, this is your best bet.

Hooked On A Feeling KOR-FX Gaming Vest Puts Your Body Into The Action

For years—decades, really—we’ve relied on primarily two senses to absorb and experience our favorite videogames in all their glory. We see them and we hear them, simple as that. Sure, countless technologies intended to more fully immerse gamers in their games have come along. Some, such as 3D gaming, have gone, while others, such as multichannel surround sound, are here to stay. The fate of others, such as Oculus and its VR competition, remains to be seen. What all of these have in common, though, is that they give our eyes something different to see or our ears something different to hear. Maybe it’s time to give another one of the five senses some love. Of course, we can reasonably remove two of those senses, unless smelling a Last of Us Infected or tasting a sample of World of Warcraft’s Carrion Surprise seems appealing to you. That leaves us with touch, which, in the context of gaming, is frequently referred to as haptics. Haptic feedback, which delivers various physical sensations to the body, is hardly new to the gaming scene. Videogame controllers have included various implementations for nearly two decades— who remembers the Nintendo 64’s Rumble Pak? Joysticks with force feedback were popular among flight sim enthusiasts and other aviation games. Peripherals and accessories that use haptic feedback to make games more immersive are well-established. Still, there’s plenty of room for innovation, a fact that Massachusettsbased Immerz knows well. The company’s KOR-FX gaming vest, which launched last year, is designed to take haptic feedback to new, more realistic, heights. The KOR-FX vest takes in-game positional audio of all kinds and translates it into haptic feedback that will shake you to your core, almost literally. When a grenade explodes to your right, the KOR-FX rocks your body accordingly. When a speedboat roars up to the docks to help you make your getaway, the KOR-FX delivers the physical sensation to let you know it’s here. Make no mistake, though—the KOR-FX is way more than a rumble pack you wear on your chest. The latter rely on small spinning motors to make their vibrations, while the KOR-FX’s 4DFX technology uses a pair of specially designed transducers to produce haptic feedback that is in a class of its own. This is a harness that can harness your game’s sounds like you’ve never before experienced.

Immersion Through Science
Founder and CTO Shahriar Afshar relied on the principles of neuroscience in order to engineer a product that would shake up the gaming world. “We use the human brain as the main hardware, which our electronics merely trigger to project tactile/emotional reality,” Afshar says. “We achieve this by activating the limbic system in the brain by means of concurrent audio and tactile feedback, as well as visual clues that help cement the experience as highly immersive. The end result is a physical presence that none of the preexisting technologies can deliver.” According to Afshar, the KOR-FX vest turns the wearer’s chest into an echo chamber that actually amplifies the vest’s directional tactile feedback, which it extracts from in-game audio. Specifically, proprietary algorithms use a game’s sounds to create haptic information. The vest’s transducers vibrate in such a way that mimics the naturally occurring vibrations that take place in the chest as a response loud noises or speech. The brain then interprets the vibrations that the KOR-FX generates as the real thing. “In this manner, external sounds, like the sound of a grenade explosion, are experienced as a powerful personal sensation that is immediately internalized and felt as though it happened in the real world (or something close to such an experience),” Afshar says. “The trick was finding how to extract the haptic information from ordinary audio that’s available in all forms of entertainment such as games, music and movies.”

From Kickstarter To Kicking Your Chest 
KOR-FX has at least one thing in common with Oculus VR’s buzzy virtual reality headset: Both rocketed to success by using The People’s Venture Capital Firm: Kickstarter. On June 9, 2014, Immerz launched the KOR-FX Kickstarter project, seeking a $75,000 investment from prospective backers. The community jumped all over the project, ultimately raising over $180,000 to make the KOR-FX a reality. Immerz began shipping the vest last year, starting with its Kickstarter backers, but the company can trace its history back to 2009, when Immerz developed the first prototype. “The whole process was exciting,” says Immerz CEO Seth Fandetti. “Kickstarter was a great experience and helped us build a community of like-minded enthusiasts who wanted to try our product and help fund the project. The community gave us great ideas and suggestions about what they wanted from a haptic gaming vest.” In 2009, the first-generation KOR-FX vest wasn’t a vest at all. The plastic harness looped over the wearer’s shoulder and looked like a pair of headphones lying flat against the chest, just below the collarbone. After developing two successive plastic prototypes in 2010 and 2011, Immerz realized that a different approach was needed to bring the KOR-FX to market. In 2012, the company began experimenting with various types and sizes of vest for the KOR-FX. For the next two years, Immerz honed its vest design. “Getting the ergonomics right, so that the unit is both unisex and one-sizefits- all, was the most challenging aspect of developing the KOR-FX,” Afshar says. “It took a few years to finally converge on the vest form factor as the most flexible and universal design, allowing for quick mounting and removal, easy adjustments, ease of use in any position or sitting arrangement, and, most importantly, total comfort during long gaming sessions.” Afshar says that Immerz wanted the KOR-FX to be comfortable to the point that gamers forget they’re wearing it. Last year, the company settled on a final design and took it to E3 just days after launching the Kickstarter campaign. The move worked, as Immerz reached its $75,000 goal a week later. After that, KOR-FX was no longer a prototype; it was a product. Then the real work began, as Immerz ramped up production to fill the orders of the over 1,000 backers who contributed enough to receive a KOR-FX vest.

Suit Up 
The KOR-FX system consists of two pieces, the KOR-FX vest and a wireless dongle that plugs into a 3.5mm audio source. The 3.5mm plug makes the wireless dongle compatible with a variety of audio sources. As you might imagine, this lets you use the KOR-FX on not only videogames but also music and movies. The dongle has a 3.5mm audio out jack that connects to a pair of headphones. To power the box, you’ll need a USB power source or, alternatively, four AA batteries. The vest itself runs on four AA batteries. A pair of dials on the dongle adjust the volume output to the connected headphones/headset and the intensity of the vest’s feedback, respectively. It’s a great setup, but the KOR-FX’s real magic is the number of “dials and knobs” it has, which lets you customize the KOR-FX’s acoustohaptic feedback according to the game you’re playing. On the right side of the vest, when you’re wearing it, you’ll find the power button, the Bind button (which establishes the wireless connection between the vest and the dongle), and the Mode button. On the left side are two buttons that adjust the intensity of the vest’s haptic feedback. The two intensity buttons are selfexplanatory, but the Mode button requires a brief exploration. Its primary function is to filter out portions of the audio spectrum that trigger the vest. So, for example, on the first setting, the KOR-FX will only utilize the low end of the audio signal’s frequency range—in other words, the bass. Moving up to the second setting will include the audio’s bass and mids, and this is the setting that Immerz recommends. The third and final setting incorporates the full audio frequency range for the vest’s haptic feedback. The Mode button also helps you position the vest on your body in order to experience the best possible haptic feedback. By pressing and holding the Mode, the vest’s transducers will fire at full strength, letting you adjust the vest for the best possible fit and feedback. When you’re set, pressing the button again cancels the effect. Naturally, each game you play will have a different sonic footprint, so you’ll want to tweak the KOR-FX accordingly for the most immersive experience every time. We recommend playing each game for at least a few hours in order to experience all of its nuances, letting you dial in the perfect settings. Once you’ve strapped on the vest and are ready to use it, Immerz recommends an 8-hour break-in period before the KOR-FX is able to deliver the perfect acoustohaptic experience. Afshar explains the reasons behind the break-in period: “It is both an issue of the fabric and the internal structure harmonizing to haptics signals. As with any electrical transducer, our ACH transducers reach peak performance and highest efficiency after the initial break-in period.”

The Future According To KOR-FX 
Despite the fact that the KOR-FX vest has yet to celebrate its first official birthday, Fandetti says that Immerz is already hard at work developing new hardware and software to make acoustohaptics even more immersive. Like any good piece of hardware, version 2.0 of the KOR-FX vest is already under development, Fandetti shares. “We had tons of great feedback from our customers for improvements they would like to see in the vest,” Fandetti says. “We also have a list of improvements we have been working on over the past year that we are going to build into the next version of the product.” According to Fandetti, Immerz is preparing the next-gen KOR-FX with a goal of having it ready when upcoming VR products reach the market. Although he’s tight-lipped about specific details, Fandetti reveals, “We are also looking at other forms and application for our haptic solutions in our labs and have some great ideas brewing. . . . In the future we hope to have a full product line of haptics products that complement different applications and uses.” Although the KOR-FX in its current for should work with any game, Immerz is also working on an SDK that will let game developers tweak and tune their games specifically for the vest, which should allow the vest to make games feel even more realistic. Fandetti admits that the process hasn’t been without challenges, but he says that Immerz recognizes the value of making an SDK available. “We would love to give developers the ability to trigger haptic sensations of sorts,” he says, “to help them craft and conceptualize their virtual world with visual, audio, and haptic stimulation. Having this type of immersion . . . is going to be critical to making truly immersive titles in the future. “We still have every intention of bringing an SDK solution to market, but we want to make sure we do it correctly.”

Not Your Father’s VR 
Clearly, we’re still a long way away from fanciful implementations of VR, such as a fully functional holodeck. Nevertheless, the virtual reality hardware available to gamers today is miles ahead of its ancestors. “It’s a very exciting time in technology, where being immersed in your environment is the next evolution of many forms of media,” Fandetti says. We are evolving our haptic solutions daily and are so excited to show the world the next generation of haptics

Skylake Lands In Chicago GIGABYTE Unveils Its Z170 Boards

As we were putting the final touches on our August issue, GIGABYTE, Corsair, and Intel invited us out to Chicago for a one-day press event to give us a hands-on preview of all the goodies that we’d be seeing from GIGABYTE’s Z170 motherboards, Intel’s new Skylake processors and chipsets, and the slightly less new DDR4 memory. The morning kicked off with a product deep-dive with GIGABYTE’s new Global Marketing Director, Jonathan Geoffroy. He spoke at length about GIGABYTE’s new Z170 chipset-based motherboards and the features that make them an ideal platform for the enthusiast looking to upgrade. GIGABYTE is releasing numerous 100-series motherboards in three categories that should already be familiar to our readers. They all feature new heatsink designs, reinforced PCIe x16 slots, and familiar color schemes. The red, black, and white G1 Gaming Series is for people who use their computer primarily for gaming. The orange and black Overclocking Series boards are for the performance perfectionists among us. And the black and gold Ultra Durable Series offers a balanced mix of performance and durability features to appeal to professionals and users who tend to perform more varied computing tasks

G1 GAMING 
One of the first innovations we were treated to, and one that is featured on GIGABYTE’s flagship Z170X-GAMING G1 motherboard, was the Intel USB 3.1 controller backed by a quartet of Gen 3 PCIe lanes. This unique chip supports bandwidth up to 32Gbps total, or up to 10Gbps per port. USB 3.1 is of course backward-compatible with USB 2.0/3.0, and a handful of GIGABYTE’s motherboards will come with both the familiar and ubiquitous USB Standard-A connector and the new USB Type-C connector, which is reversible and considerably more compact. Another GIGABYTE-exclusive feature is the USB 3.1 front bay accessory, available with select motherboards, which gives you a more convenient way to plug in your fancy new USB 3.1 devices. The Z170 chipset lets the PCIe controller wear an M.2 hat, with access to the same four lanes described above for per-device bandwidths up to 32Gbps. And because there are two of these M.2 connectors on the GAMING G1, RAID becomes a very enticing option. This board supports both the PCIe and 2.5-inch versions of Intel’s NVMe-capable 750 Series SSD, the latter of which utilizes the included M.2- to-U.2 mini-SAS card adapter. The gamer-centric motherboard also comes with discrete-quality sound processing, courtesy of its quad-core Creative Sound Blaster ZxRi audio components. Features include Burr- Brown High-End 127dB DAC, support for 120 dB+ SNR headphone jack output, and the same high-end Nichicon fine gold and WIMA FKP2 audio capacitors typically found on audiophileclass equipment. In addition to the hardware’s ability to produce richer bass and clearer high frequencies, Creative also lets you take greater control over your audio experience with its SBX Pro Studio software.

Overclocking Series 
GIGABYTE’s SOC (Super Overclock) motherboards are getting the Z170 treatment, as illustrated in the Z170X-SOC FORCE. Highlights of this board include three PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots that split a 32Gbps pipeline and support a handful of RAID configurations. Another thing that caught our eye (also available on the Z170X-GAMING G1 board) is the G1/4 fittings that let you add the VRM heatsink to your custom liquid-cooling loop. The board also features plastic shields over the entire I/O side of the board and around the newly redesigned OC Touch buttons, which give you an impressive amount of control over the CPU ratio, BCLK (Base Clock) ratio, BCLK steppings, PCIe slots, CMOS settings, and more without ever having to sift through BIOS screens. Additionally, the Z170X-SOC FORCE features OC Connect USB ports that make it easier to apply BIOS updates and perform other USB-based tasks without having to reach over to the lessaccessible I/O panel. The left side of the board also now sports an OC PEG connector for adding supplemental power to the PCIe slots. GIGABYTE bundles its OC Brace with this board, which gives overclockers the ability to install up to four graphics cards in an open bench without worrying about the PCIe slots snapping off. GIGABYTE’s Q-Flash Plus port is a time-saving feature directed at power users that lets you update the BIOS via USB without having a CPU or memory installed.

Ultra Durable 
The Ultra Durable line of motherboards doesn’t get the same attention regarding new exclusive features, but that’s part of the point. These motherboards are designed to offer the best of all worlds, with features for gamers, casual overclockers, and general PC enthusiasts. Standout features you’ll see on these boards include a dualport Intel GbE LAN controller with support for Teaming, up to three SATA Express ports for up to 16Gbps data rates for compatible storage devices, and multi-GPU support for 2- and 3-way CrossFire and SLI configurations. These boards, in addition to GIGABYTE’s G1 GAMING and SOC boards, all feature the firm’s familiar Ultra Durable components, such as Audio Noise Guard PCB layer separation and discrete digital and analog grounds to reduce EMI, 10,000-hour solid-state black capacitors, and 15μ gold plating on the socket pins for more reliable conductivity. They also come with a handful of onboard buttons for overclocking, clearing the CMOS, debugging, and managing your BIOS mode.

Skylake Sneak Peak 
Following the rundown of GIGABYTE’s latest motherboards, Intel Desktop Chipset Business Operations and Roadmap Manager Eric Ingersoll gave us a brief introduction to the new 14nm Skylake K Series processors that launched on August 5th (but would not become available until August 14th). Intel is keeping many of the architectural specifics under wraps until the Intel Developer Forum on August 18th, but we did glean a few notable facts. The flagship Core i7-6700K ($350 MSRP) features a 4GHz base clock, a 4.2GHz Turbo Boost clock, 8MB of Intel Smart Cache, Hyper-Threading support for processing up to eight threads at once, and a TDP of 91 watts. The more affordable Core i5-6600K ($243 MSRP) lacks its sibling’s Hyper-Threading and makes due with a 3.5GHz base frequency, a 3.9GHz Turbo Boost frequency, and 6MB of Intel Smart Cache. Both chips rely on Intel’s new HD Graphics 530 engine, which sports 24 execution units, a 350MHz base clock, and a 1,150MHz dynamic clock. Both also drive as many as three displays, with the Core i7-6700K supporting resolutions up to 4,096 x 2,304 and the Core i5-6600K supporting up to 3,840 x 2,160.As these are K Series processors, you can bet overclocking is a big part of the appeal of both 6th generation Core processors. Of course the unlocked multiplier is a big hit with us (and likely you), but Intel also adds much more granular clocking capabilities. Systems with either of these processors and a Z170-based motherboard no longer require PEG/DMI ratios, the PEG/DMI domain features an isolated 100MHz clock, and the BCLK has full fine-grain overclocking capabilities. To help you capitalize on these features, GIGABYTE’s motherboards feature a 4th generation International Rectifier digital controller and 3rd generation PowIRStage ICs, up to an impressive 22 phases. That’s enough to ensure your components have all the clean, reliable power they need, whether you’re pushing your system hard, or pushing it even harder to break some OC records.

DDR4 For All 
Colin Brix, the Corsair Technical Marketing and PR Director (formerly with GIGABYTE) spoke about the firm’s Hydro Series liquid coolers and how they make a great team with Intel’s new K Series processors, which won’t ship with CPU coolers of their own. He also talked about the DDR4 and DDR3L memory support on Z170 motherboards. Although the memory controller in Skylake is limited to dual-channel, the platform will benefit greatly from highspeed DDR4. By most early accounts, Skylake overclockers are seeing between 4.5GHz and 4.8GHz overclocks, and a liquid cooler is a must-have for anyone wanting to hit those numbers.

Fun At The Lake 
Intel’s CPU architectures have taken us from Bridges to Canyons and Wells, but the view from the Lake looks to be better than ever. In the coming weeks and months, CPU will be taking a much closer look at Skylake processors and numerous Z170 motherboards, so stay tuned.

Aerocool VX 700

For the most part, you want a PSU to deliver reliable power, operate quietly, and be unobtrusive inside your case. Aerocool’s VX-700 delivers on those points, thanks to the use of high-quality components and a 120mm thermally controlled fan. Under full load, Aerocool indicates the VX-700 will generate a mere 32.5dBA. The unit itself is almost entirely black, without even a label on the top of the unit to distract from the other components inside your case. As such, it’s ideal for builders who are looking for a nondescript power supply. Aerocool targets the VX-700 at entry-level system builders and prices it accordingly at $69.99, which makes it one of the most affordable 700-watt PSUs around. The VX-700 is designed with one +12V rail that supports a maximum current of 54A, which works out to a maximum wattage of 648W. The +3.3V rail can handle up to 22A, while the +5V rail can pump out 18A. The +3.3V and +5V rails support a combined maximum wattage of 130W. Aerocool designs the VX-700 to work with the C6/C7 power-saving mode of Intel’s Haswell processors, too. Similar to most every entry-level power supply, all of the VX-700’s cables are hardwired to the unit. The connector selection is what you’d expect to power a basic system build. There’s a 20+4-pin main power, one 4+4-pin EPS12V (to power the CPU), and two PCIe 6+2-pin connectors. With the latter, the two PCIe 6+2-pin connectors are wired into a single cable, but Aerocool smartly provides six inches of extension between the first and second PCIe 6+2-pin connectors, so the connectors could be split among two midrange cards that are spaced apart inside a case. Of course, you could also connect both PCIe 6+2-pin connectors to a single high-end card. To power the other devices and fans in your system, the VX-700 provides six SATA connectors, three Molex cables, and one floppy connector. We like that Aerocool provides two SATA and one Molex connector on each peripheral power cable, because the mix of SATA and Molex connectors helps to avoid routing another long cable when you just require one more SATA or Molex connector. The VX-700 includes electrical protections to ensure connected hardware won’t be affected by power fluctuations. Aerocool builds in over-power, over-voltage, under-voltage, and short-circuit protections. In terms of efficiency, Aerocool rates the PSU for a peak efficiency of 81% at 50% load. When under 100% load, the VX- 700’s efficiency is 79%. We tested the VX-700 in a system featuring Intel’s Core i7-6700K and ZOTAC’s GeForce GTX 780 AMP! Extreme Edition. To push the PSU under load, we simultaneously ran Prime 95’s Small FFT test along with the Unigine Heaven 4.0 benchmark at the highest settings and a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600. The VX-700 had no problems handling these tests, and it delivered a maximum wattage of 379W at a power factor of 0.980. At slightly above 50% load, the power factor is what we’d expect. We’ve spent a lot of time with Aerocool’s cases and fans, but this is our first experience with an Aerocool PSU. The VX-700 stays within Aerocool’s budgetfriendly wheelhouse, yet it is capable of supporting midrange builds, assuming you’re not using multiple high-end GPUs. The plain design also makes it a good choice for aesthetically-minded builders who want a PSU to blend in with a dark case. The VX-700 should be available in late September or early October.

Tt eSPORTS COMMANDER Gaming Gear Combo

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Just because you’re on a budget doesn’t mean you have to settle for components that look cheap, perform poorly, or worse—both. With a little research and patience, though, you can find solid hardware that won’t bankrupt you. Tt eSPORTS understands this, making quality gaming gear available for every gamer, including those whose wallets contain little more than a driver’s license and a handful of half-completed customer loyalty punch cards. The COMMANDER Gaming Gear Combo is a terrific example of how Tt eSPORTS has extended its stable of products to every income bracket. The COMMANDER combo is a dynamic duo consisting of a sharp-looking keyboard and mouse. There’s no question that this set looks the part. Both input devices have LED backlighting (blue, in this case), a staple of the LAN party scene. On the keyboard, that means LED backlighting at the base of each key, plus the attractive design flourishes on both sides and Tt eSPORTS’ logo, complete with the Battle Dragon, at the top. The mouse also sports a backlit Battle Dragon, and two thin strips of translucent plastic that flank the palm rest also have LED backlighting. Everything on the keyboard that isn’t LED-backlit looks awesome, too. Tt eSPORTS has designed the keyboard to look as though strips of copper have been fastened to the edges with hex key bolts. The majority of the keyboard’s surface is swathed a soft-touch rubber coating that’s become popular on a lot of enthusiast cases; the same substance coats the top of the COMMANDER combo’s mouse. Both the keyboard and mouse have braided cords to prevent tangling. If you want to dress up the keyboard even more, you can purchase separately a set of Tt eSPORTS’ METALCAPS, which are zinc alloy keycaps that have been anodized and UV-coated, We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Just because you’re on a budget doesn’t mean you have to settle for components that look cheap, perform poorly, or worse—both. With a little research and patience, though, you can find solid hardware that won’t bankrupt you. Tt eSPORTS understands this, making quality gaming gear available for every gamer, including those whose wallets contain little more than a driver’s license and a handful of half-completed customer loyalty punch cards. The COMMANDER Gaming Gear Combo is a terrific example of how Tt eSPORTS has extended its stable of products to every income bracket. The COMMANDER combo is a dynamic duo consisting of a sharp-looking keyboard and mouse. There’s no question that this set looks the part. Both input devices have LED backlighting (blue, in this case), a staple of the LAN party scene. On the keyboard, that means LED backlighting to replace the keycaps commonly used for games (WASD, QWER, and the arrow keys). Using what Tt eSPORTS calls “plunger switches with mechanical keycaps,” the keyboard is built to feel like a much more expensive mechanical keyboard. After using the COMMANDER keyboard, we’d say the overall experience falls between a mechanical keyboard and a typical rubber dome or membrane keyboard. To clarify, though, the action was far crisper than the latter two types of keyboard and certainly better than anything else you’ll find in this price segment, where the competition’s offerings are almost always a squishy, unsatisfying mess. Tt eSPORTS even includes a few bonuses you might not expect, such as a Windows key lock and repeat rate adjustment. For such a nice keyboard, you could consider the COMMANDER’s mouse a bonus, but it’s a capable component in its own right. It has four DPI settings (800, 1,200, 1,600, and 2,400), and you can switch between them on the fly. The sculpted sides felt great in our hand. In addition to the main right and left buttons, the scroll wheel, and the DPI button, the mouse has a pair of thumb buttons on its left side. In use, it moves well and clicks well, so as long as you don’t need a bunch of buttons and extensive macro support, the mouse should be up to the task. Even if the COMMANDER combo’s keyboard and mouse were half as good as they are, for 30 bucks they’re an incredible deal. (We would’ve gladly paid that for the keyboard alone.) Budget builders and thrifty gamers should keep the COMMANDER in their sights

PNY Anarchy X DDR4 2800

Skylake is finally here (kinda, retail availability was nonexistent as we went to press), and as a result, mainstream users’ interest in DDR4 is likely to rise in the coming months. DDR4 memory prices have also dropped to the point that the speed increase and power decrease compared to DDR3 make the newer specification an obvious choice. Indeed, it’s a great time to buy memory, and PNY is looking to make the most of this impending tidal wave of DDR4 buyers with its new 16GB Anarchy X DDR4-2800 kit. PNY’s kit consists of four 4GB matched modules. Although this setup is ideal for a quad-channel memory rig, it’ll work just fine in a dual-channel Z170- based motherboard. This is one of the more affordable DDR4 kits we’ve tested, but it still manages to support Intel’s XMP 2.0, which makes overclocking the memory to 2,800MTps (megatransfers per second) a simple matter of changing a single setting in the BIOS. By default, the memory will boot at 2,133MTps, but Profile #1 unleashes this kit’s full potential. The Anarchy X kit also supports 2,666MTps and 2,400MTps speeds. At its highest rated speed, this kit still just calls for 1.2V. The timings are also pretty solid, at 16-16-16-36. The heatspreaders on the Anarchy X consist of colored aluminum plates. Two anodized black plates make up a majority of the heatspreader and a central clip, available in anodized blue or red, holds the two halves together. The black plates are adorned with Anarchy X, PNY, and DDR4 logos. The PCB is 3.1mm tall and the heatspreader adds just 1.1mm to the overall profile, making this kit ideal for those planning to use oversized CPU coolers. The memory kit also comes with a lifetime warranty. In SiSoft Sandra 2015 SP2, the integer and floating point memory bandwidth scores were 53.67GBps and 55.13GBps, respectively. We also ran Sandra’s memory latency workload, which measures how long it takes to transfer a block of data from main memory. In this test, the Anarchy X kit scored a very impressive 25.6 nanoseconds. Our low resolution Aliens Vs. Predator run, designed to isolate the CPU and memory performance, yielded a 750.9fps score. That doesn’t mean much on its own, but when we underclocked the memory to 2,133MTps, the score dropped almost 100fps, to 657.7fps. For its affordable price, impressive performance, and sharp aesthetics, PNY’s 16GB Anarchy X DDR4 kit should occupy a top slot on your new parts list.

Cooler Master Master Case 5 and Master Case Pro 5

If you build your own PCs, you have no doubt thought on at least one occasion (but probably several more than one): “This case would be great if it just had more room up top for a radiator,” or “If only I could take all of the internal drive cages out,” or “Wow, if this case had a windowed side panel, it would be perfect.” It seems like no matter how careful you are in choosing the right chassis, you always end up compromising a little. With that in mind, Cooler Master developed its new MasterCase chassis series, which currently includes the MasterCase 5 and MasterCase Pro 5. (We talked with Cooler Master’s Rajiv Kothari about the case in the July issue (page 79) and got some further insights from master modders Richard Surroz and Lee Harrington in the August issue (page 86).) Spending some time with this enclosure makes it readily apparent that experienced PC builders and modders were involved in its design. Yes, all of the standard amenities are in place, such as rubber-grommeted cable management holes, a cutout for mounting a CPU cooler, tool-less drive bays in removable cages, and so on, but that’s where most cases would call it a day. The MasterCase 5 is just getting warmed up. Cooler Master also built in a very handy vertical conduit that runs from the top of the rear of the motherboard tray to very nearly the bottom (just forward of the cable management holes) for managing cables even more neatly. This conduit makes it easy to control the sprawl of cables that run from behind the front panel, as well as others, and there are three built-in nylon and Velcro straps along the channel that keep everything where you put it. Both of the internal drive cages come out with the removal of just a few thumbscrews— this is also pretty standard these days. But if you’d rather move the two 3.5-inch drive bays in the lower cage than remove them, the MasterCase 5’s internal front rails lets you adjust their position all the way down to the shelf that separates the interior into two compartments: one for the power supply and one for the motherboard and other components. This shelf includes two more cable management openings, and on its top surface are two dedicated 2.5-inch drive mounts. If you prefer your drives out of sight, you can remove the thumbscrews that hold them in place and relocate them to the back of the motherboard tray. There’s also a single, removable 2.5/3.5-inch mount at the front end of the PSU compartment, so regardless of how you configure your MasterCase 5, you’ll have options for mounting your drive(s). The MasterCase Pro 5 takes all of the standard edition’s refinements and adds a few more through the inclusion of several additional parts. (The good news is that these accessories will be also be available soon via Cooler Master’s online store, so if you get the MasterCase 5 and then decide you’d like to upgrade, you can easily do so.) The most obvious additional parts are the windowed left-side panel and the vaulted, ventilated top panel that comes with a bracket for mounting a 240mm radiator. The MasterCase Pro 5 also includes three more 2.5/3.5-inch internal drive bays in the form of an additional cage, and more cages and 2.5-inch mounting plates are available, as well. Cooler Master didn’t neglect aesthetics when building all of this functionality into the MasterCase 5 and MasterCase Pro 5; the dark grey exterior looks great in both configurations, and the interior is fully finished, too. And both trim levels benefit from the steel handles riveted to the frame beneath their plastic cowlings; they are sturdy and make moving your system much simpler. In short, it looks as though Cooler Master—and the MasterConcept team—have thought of everything.

Asus Z170 A Motherboard

At $165, power users might dismiss ASUS’ Z170-A as a budget-friendly Z170 motherboard, but one look at the board’s big heatsinks tells you this is not a run-ofthe- mill board that merely replicates the stock Z170 chipset. In particular, ASUS adds several overclocking and system optimization enhancements. The PRO Clock technology, for instance, is a dedicated base-clock control that works with the ASUS TPU (Turbo Processor Unit) to let you increase performance. With PRO Clock, you can extend the BCLK overclocking range well past Skylake’s standard 170MHz. If you’d rather, though, you can use ASUS’ 5-way Optimization to auto-tune your system. You can even set targets for CPU frequency and voltage, as well as temperature limits, so 5-way Optimization can help you reach specific performance objectives. One of our favorite features is the Turbo App, where you can save various overclocking profiles and assign network priorities to quickly load the ideal presets for the task at hand. Gamers will be able to load up the Z170-A with high-powered GPUs. There are three PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, and ASUS allows for up to quad-GPU SLI or CrossFire with dual-GPU graphics cards. If you plan on using single-GPU cards, the Z170-A supports a maximum configuration of 2-way SLI (x8/x8) and 3-way CrossFire (x8/x4/x4). (If you are considering a 3-way CrossFire build, be aware that the bottom PCIe x16 slot shares bandwidth with the fifth and sixth SATA ports.) The Z170-A also offers three PCIe x1 slots and one legacy PCI slot. The Z170-A is ready for high-capacity, high-speed DDR4. You can install up to 64GB of DDR4-3400 memory. ASUS uses its second-generation T-Topology that provides a customized trace layout, which the company says reduces crosstalk and coupling noise for better stability and compatibility. When it comes to cooling and system noise, ASUS gives you complete control of the fans, as well as the water pump headers, inside its UEFI BIOS. For example, you can control fan speed and fan spin down time to prevent rapid fluctuations in fan speed and noise. Storage enthusiasts will like that the Z170-A includes native M.2 and NVMe RAID 0 support. You can even create a RAID from a mix of M.2 storage and a PCIe add-in storage card. The onboard M.2 slot supports both SATA- and PCIe-based storage devices (types 2242/2260/2280/22110). There’s also a SATA Express port and six 6Gbps SATA ports. Above the third and fourth SATA ports, ASUS smartly adds an “OS Drive” sticker to forestall booting from the fifth and sixth SATA ports, which share bandwidth with the bottom PCIe x16 slot. Next-gen external storage is supported with two USB 3.1 ports on the rear panel. One port is of the reversible Type-C variety and the other is a standard Type-A port. High-fidelity audio is delivered by ASUS Crystal Sound 3. Here, you’ll find all of the big-time features with modern onboard audio, including audio shielding on the PCB, EMI protection, onboard amplification, and power regulation for a consistent, clean sound. The ASUS Z170-A might be up against higher-priced competition, but you wouldn’t know it from the benchmarks. This board delivered the top score in PCMark 8’s Creative Test (4865) and was second in many of Sandra’s processor-intensive benchmarks. ASUS T-Topology advantages shine through in SiSoftware Sandra’s Memory Bandwidth benchmarks, where the Z710-A produced 28.89GBps in the Integer test and 28.73 in the Floating test. Overall, the Z170-A did well in our game benchmarks, and it posted the best frames per second in Metro: Last Light (62fps). Despite its budget- friendly price tag, the Z170-A incorporates several of the most helpful hardware enhancements from ASUS’ higher-end motherboards, such as the PRO Clock, T-Topology, and 5-way Optimization features. The hardware and software additions allow performance enthusiasts to push the envelope, while smart design choices (such as the M.2 port that supports both SATA- and PCIe-based storage) maximize component flexibility without raising costs. Props to the ASUS team on a job well done.

Supermicro C7Z170 SQ Motherboard

With the arrival of Skylake, Supermicro has launched a new motherboard product family, titled Supero, and the C7Z170- SQ is the flagship of the group. The C7Z170-SQ looks the part, with a red and black color scheme that easily makes this the most attractive board we’ve seen from the company to date. The C7Z7170-SQ also has all the goodies we’d expect, including a USB 3.1 Type-C port and an M.2 port. Supermicro ports much of its server expertise over to the gaming arena with the Supero family. For example, the PCB is designed with extra layers and using material qualified by Supermicro’s server standards. Top-grade X5R or X7R ceramic chip capacitors populate the motherboard to help withstand heat, while Japanese NPCAP solid-state capacitors deliver low equivalent series resistance and outstanding ripple reduction, according to Supermicro. The result is improved stability when overclocking and greater reliability in general. Lastly, the Supero motherboards are validated using Supermicro’s full-load server testing, which includes 100% loads for at least 150 hours. The C7Z170-SQ allows for fine-tuning of the BCLK, which can be adjusted from 100MHz to up to 210MHz in 1MHz increments. Onboard power, clear CMOS, and BIOS Restore buttons allow you to easily recover from any overclocking missteps. We also like that the C7Z170-SQ comes with a new, modern UEFI BIOS interface. When overclocking, it’s now extremely easy to make quick adjustments to the clock speed, BCLK ratio, and voltages, for instance. You can run DDR4 clocked at up to 3,600MHz, and the board’s four DIMM slots can handle up to 64GB of memory. When it comes to graphics, the C7Z170-SQ sports the triple-PCIe x16 slot configuration that is common among Z170 motherboards in the $200 price range. Dual GPU setups will run at x8/x8 speed, and three-way CrossFire is supported at x8/x4/x4. Supermicro made an interesting choice with the position of the M.2 connector, which is above the top PCIe x16 slot, rather than in between PCIe slots near the bottom of the PCB. And first blush, the design would seem to unnecessary compress the PCIe x16 slots, but the open space could be extremely helpful if you wish to use the M.2 slot for an M.2- to-U.2 adapter. There are also three PCIe x4 slots, but we’ll note Supermicro’s C7Z170-SQ delivered the top frame rate in Aliens vs. Predator (64.5fps) and was near the top for many of the other graphics tests, including 3DMark’s Fire Strike Extreme, where it delivered a Score of 6465 and a Graphics Score of 6840. The C7Z170-SQ also posted the highest Sequential Write speeds in CrystalDiskMark 5.0.2 and did well in the 4K Write tests. Reliability is always going to be a key benefit for Supermicro’s products, and this board shows off how well Supermicro can take those stability additions and translate them over to better overclocks. Onboard controls, such as the BIOS Restore button and debug LED, further enhance the experience. There’s also enough core additions for performance enthusiasts, including the 32Gbps M.2 and USB 3.1 Type-C ports, to allow for component flexibility in the future.