I’ve been known to dabble in the art of overclocking from time to time. I wouldn’t describe myself as a “hardcore” overclocker though. You know the types, the ones that are dumping liquid nitrogen on their CPU so they can squeeze out every last drop of speed. Well a group of such people recently managed to push their Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 to a whopping 5.1GHz.
Keeping your CPU cool during those long gaming sessions is essential. There are any number of ways to accomplish this, though the most traditional method is with a heatsink/fan combination. While this new V1 cooler sticks to the traditional method, it looks anything but ordinary.
Can your PC run Crysis? If you keep your hardware up to date, then it’s possible that you can run it fairly well at the lowest, or possibly even medium settings. However, when the game first came out, almost no one was able to even able to crank it up to High at a decent resolution. We know that Crysis Warhead is going to be a little easier on your system, but how can you make sure that your PC can handle it? Just buy a new Crysis Warhead branded PC from EA.
I remember back in the day when the name Fatal1ty was just first being heard around the internets. This was some kid that was making a real name for himself in the professional gaming world by dominating in Quake III Arena, and going on to win (or place very well) in dozens of professional tournaments. Nowadays you don’t hear much about his victories, but you do see gaming products with is stamp of approval on them. The latest such products is the Creative Fatal1ty X-Fi USB Headest.
First, this headset is not going to improve your fragging skills, I don’t care who has their name stamped on it. However, I can bet that this guy has spent more time gaming with a headset on than most of us, so he probably knows what he’s talking about.
Low Crysis framerates got you down? There’s a good chance that your graphics card needs an update, and while some of the newer cards are finally able to play on “High” settings, you may want to consider a dual-GPU configuration. Elitegroup Computer Systems has just announced their GeForce 9800 GTX+ Hydra Pack which looks to smash the competition.
When you’re overclocking, or even just have a higher-end gaming rig, you probably like to know just how hot things are getting inside your case. More so with overclocking, as you tend to run the risk of pushing your components a little to far and frying them due to the excessive heat. Usually your motherboard will come with a nice hardware monitoring utility, but I don’t generally like those, as they take up valuable real estate on my desktop. Not to mention you can’t always check temps during a gaming session without minimizing your screen. I prefer hardware gauges, such as the new Sentry LX from NZXT, which I have had the pleasure of using.
I’ve always thought of a person’s PC case as something of form of self-expression. Often you can find a bit out about the person, and the PC simply by looking at their case. If a person isn’t big into gaming or performance, they will generally have a stock case, or a plain ATX chassis. PC gamers will generally go for a case with plenty of cooling, and a specific look that suits them. The new Guardian 921 from NZXT definitely lets everyone know that you’re a gamer.
The chassis looks sleek with just the right amount of curves, angles and blue lighting effects to look awesome, without overdoing it. It is crafted from .88mm/1.00mm steel and has a spacious interior for installing a variety of drives and larger video cards. You’ll also find a slew of peripheral connectors which always come in handy. You’ll be able to monitor your system temperature with three different temp probes, while three large 120mm fans keep things cool and quiet.
SlashGear Japan
