The Downside to Digital Distribution
Posted on 30th Apr 2009 at 10:27 by Antony Leather with 22 comments
Overclocking the ATI Radeon HD 4770
Posted on 29th Apr 2009 at 15:40 by Tim Smalley with 12 comments
One thing we unfortunately had to cut out of our AMD ATI Radeon HD 4770 review yesterday was overclocking. Understandably, a number of our readers asked why we'd not bothered to overclock the card.
The answer is that we simply ran out of time when we made the decision to double (and triple) check all of our Far Cry 2 performance numbers when the new Radeon came out on top against the cards we'd compared it to. Although the results were theoretically possible - compared to the much-loved Radeon HD 4850, it has a higher pixel fillrate and very similar theoretical shader throughput (it's just four percent lower), we wanted to be not just doubly sure, but triply sure before publishing our conclusions.
Yesterday afternoon, I dragged myself back down into the benchmarking sweatshop that is the bit-tech and Custom PC labs to find out how well our reference card overclocked. It's worth noting that it's not the only Radeon HD 4770 we've got in house - there are a couple of partner cards already and we'll be looking at them in due course - but we've only focused on overclocking the reference card for now.
The answer is that we simply ran out of time when we made the decision to double (and triple) check all of our Far Cry 2 performance numbers when the new Radeon came out on top against the cards we'd compared it to. Although the results were theoretically possible - compared to the much-loved Radeon HD 4850, it has a higher pixel fillrate and very similar theoretical shader throughput (it's just four percent lower), we wanted to be not just doubly sure, but triply sure before publishing our conclusions.
Yesterday afternoon, I dragged myself back down into the benchmarking sweatshop that is the bit-tech and Custom PC labs to find out how well our reference card overclocked. It's worth noting that it's not the only Radeon HD 4770 we've got in house - there are a couple of partner cards already and we'll be looking at them in due course - but we've only focused on overclocking the reference card for now.
The CoolIT Domino ALC: low cost liquid cooling still has problems
Posted on 29th Apr 2009 at 11:21 by Richard Swinburne with 35 comments
Since several Domino ALCs found their way to the bit-tech labs, I for one have been using them extensively. CoolIT claimed the cooling and price are comparable with the ThermalRight Ultra Extreme except with fewer compatibility issues as the ALC's water block will never interfere with any memory or heatsinks around the CPU socket, and it'll cool anything thrown at it. It's a sealed system - there's no taking it apart and CoolIT reckons it'll last several years before needing a refill - "with constantly upgradable mounting brackets, you'll never need another CPU cooler", it boldly claims.
I took these claims literally, but despite impressive first discussions, things have gone downhill at almost every turn. In no particular order, here are my experiences...
I took these claims literally, but despite impressive first discussions, things have gone downhill at almost every turn. In no particular order, here are my experiences...
How to get BBC iPlayer in HD
Posted on 28th Apr 2009 at 09:58 by Alex Watson with 18 comments
The BBC recently released a big update to iPlayer, replacing the original, Windows only Download Manager with iPlayer Desktop. As it’s built on Adobe Air, it’s now compatible with Linux and Mac OS X as well as XP and Vista.
This new update also coincides with the introduction of 720p HD content. The easiest way to find HD content on iPlayer at the moment is to browse by channel, and go to the BBC HD channel.
This new update also coincides with the introduction of 720p HD content. The easiest way to find HD content on iPlayer at the moment is to browse by channel, and go to the BBC HD channel.
Should We Change Our Game Reviews?
Posted on 25th Apr 2009 at 12:35 by Joe Martin with 54 comments
This is a blog post I’ve been thinking of writing for a long time, but I’ve chosen not to get around to it until now because it hasn’t really been very relevant.
There’s not been that many good PC games coming out lately that have required an in-depth look at graphics. Well, not from me anyway. A good thing about being part of Dennis Publishing is that delegation is nearly always an option.
The crux of this blog post rests on one question; how useful is the graphics coverage we give in PC game reviews at the moment?
If you don’t know what I’m talking about then, well I guess that gives me an answer right there. You see, before I joined bit-tech the site had a policy of doing very in-depth graphic analysis for each and every PC game review that came along and console games were mainly ignored. Tim, Richard and co. would even graphically analyse new patches for games and game reviews would focus heavily on graphics.
As far as I’m aware that started to change when my predecessor Ryan joined bit-tech. Console games started to get a bit more attention and the graphics coverage of specific games became less quantitative and more comparative – like in this Darkstar One review.
There’s not been that many good PC games coming out lately that have required an in-depth look at graphics. Well, not from me anyway. A good thing about being part of Dennis Publishing is that delegation is nearly always an option.
The crux of this blog post rests on one question; how useful is the graphics coverage we give in PC game reviews at the moment?
If you don’t know what I’m talking about then, well I guess that gives me an answer right there. You see, before I joined bit-tech the site had a policy of doing very in-depth graphic analysis for each and every PC game review that came along and console games were mainly ignored. Tim, Richard and co. would even graphically analyse new patches for games and game reviews would focus heavily on graphics.
As far as I’m aware that started to change when my predecessor Ryan joined bit-tech. Console games started to get a bit more attention and the graphics coverage of specific games became less quantitative and more comparative – like in this Darkstar One review.
A brief site and forum update
Posted on 23rd Apr 2009 at 13:58 by Tim Smalley with 9 comments
I'm sure many of you have noticed that there are now a couple of new forum sections in the forums for Custom PC, our sister magazine.
The editorial teams on bit-tech and Custom PC have been working close together for a few months now and we have been working hard to not only continue making bit-tech the leading destination online, but to also create the best print magazine for hardware and technology enthusiasts, modders and gamers with Custom PC.
Custom PC also has a website associated to the magazine, but it makes little sense to dilute the team's efforts by offering two very similar propositions online. Not only is bit-tech's reach much wider than custompc.co.uk, but the technology powering the site is far superior as well. As a result, Dennis is in the process of closing the Custom PC website down and moving relevant parts of the site across to bit-tech.
The editorial teams on bit-tech and Custom PC have been working close together for a few months now and we have been working hard to not only continue making bit-tech the leading destination online, but to also create the best print magazine for hardware and technology enthusiasts, modders and gamers with Custom PC.
Custom PC also has a website associated to the magazine, but it makes little sense to dilute the team's efforts by offering two very similar propositions online. Not only is bit-tech's reach much wider than custompc.co.uk, but the technology powering the site is far superior as well. As a result, Dennis is in the process of closing the Custom PC website down and moving relevant parts of the site across to bit-tech.
My history of RAID and storage
Posted on 23rd Apr 2009 at 10:46 by Richard Swinburne with 13 comments
So I run three terabyte Samsung F1 drives in RAID 5 at home from a motherboard with an Intel ICH9R Southbridge with Matrix RAID. It's 'onboard RAID' but even so, I've still been impressed.
My experience with Matrix RAID has transversed the ages ever since Intel introduced the technology. Previously I've played with Western Digital Raptor 74GB hard drives connected to an ICH6R (on an Intel 925X reference board) and getting all sorts of super-sized theoretical bandwidth figures for fun and it booted a fresh install of Windows XP like lightening. Yay for a bit of e-peen swinging, hey?
My experience with Matrix RAID has transversed the ages ever since Intel introduced the technology. Previously I've played with Western Digital Raptor 74GB hard drives connected to an ICH6R (on an Intel 925X reference board) and getting all sorts of super-sized theoretical bandwidth figures for fun and it booted a fresh install of Windows XP like lightening. Yay for a bit of e-peen swinging, hey?
Is iTunes the best for digital distribution?
Posted on 22nd Apr 2009 at 09:07 by Clive Webster with 17 comments
Yesterday Joe wrote a story about iTunes being the best digital distribution system. How laughable - as if iTunes can rival Steam!
True, Steam has its flaws. I re-installed Windows over the weekend and tried to move my save games - why I had to do this manually despite asking Steam to backup all game data I don't really know. It saw me trawling through forums and FAQs to find out where the hell Empire: Total War kept its save games. They were in the always useful, hidden folder C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\The Creative Assembly\Save_games (or the weird Roaming folder if you're using Vista). Useful.
True, Steam has its flaws. I re-installed Windows over the weekend and tried to move my save games - why I had to do this manually despite asking Steam to backup all game data I don't really know. It saw me trawling through forums and FAQs to find out where the hell Empire: Total War kept its save games. They were in the always useful, hidden folder C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\The Creative Assembly\Save_games (or the weird Roaming folder if you're using Vista). Useful.
Killing is Fun
Posted on 21st Apr 2009 at 18:41 by Alex Watson with 12 comments
Konami’s recently announced Six Days in Fallujah rolls into town at the head of a of convoy of outrage over the fact it’s based on a very real and very contemporary battle of an ongoing war.
In a well-weighted editorial on Eurogamer, Rob Fahey nails why this outrage is nonsensical, and why it’s particularly unpalatable when it comes from the tabloid press:
“It's not just the fact that the [Daily] Mail and others are essentially calling for the worst form of censorship, the blocking off of an entire event and saying ‘this is off limits, and may not be portrayed’ - something which would stab to the very heart of the freedom of expression our media should be championing... the thing that rankles most about this situation is the fact that this is a tabloid newspaper telling another medium that the way in which it's handling current events is insensitive. I won't need to remind any reader who walks past a news stand on the way to work, or flicks on Sky News or CNN in the evening, just how ‘sensitive’ the news media is in its coverage of war.”
The whole piece is worth a read as it eloquently defends the right of games to portray reality. Fahey’s defence of games isn’t totally blind though – indeed, he challenges those making games such as Six Days in Fallujah to engage more fully with their subject material:
“If a game like Six Days in Fallujah is to have any value, it must come from adding something to that discussion [of the war]. This isn't about taking a pro-war or an anti-war stance - although both are valid starting points, there are countless others. It's about making people think, informing them through their entertainment experiences, and commenting, as creators, on the media we create and the events we portray.”
Games based on real combat aren’t uncommon – the Call of Duty series has been at it for longer than the duration of World War 2 – and Call of Duty 4 is the most notable depiction of combat in Iraq gaming has seen so far (although, bless its little corporate socks, Activision has decided to tell players it was actually set it in unnamed MiddleEastistan). What makes Six Days in Fallujah interesting is that unlike other ‘real war’ games, it’s not an FPS, or an RTS. Instead, it’s a third person ‘action’ game.
In a well-weighted editorial on Eurogamer, Rob Fahey nails why this outrage is nonsensical, and why it’s particularly unpalatable when it comes from the tabloid press:
“It's not just the fact that the [Daily] Mail and others are essentially calling for the worst form of censorship, the blocking off of an entire event and saying ‘this is off limits, and may not be portrayed’ - something which would stab to the very heart of the freedom of expression our media should be championing... the thing that rankles most about this situation is the fact that this is a tabloid newspaper telling another medium that the way in which it's handling current events is insensitive. I won't need to remind any reader who walks past a news stand on the way to work, or flicks on Sky News or CNN in the evening, just how ‘sensitive’ the news media is in its coverage of war.”
The whole piece is worth a read as it eloquently defends the right of games to portray reality. Fahey’s defence of games isn’t totally blind though – indeed, he challenges those making games such as Six Days in Fallujah to engage more fully with their subject material:
“If a game like Six Days in Fallujah is to have any value, it must come from adding something to that discussion [of the war]. This isn't about taking a pro-war or an anti-war stance - although both are valid starting points, there are countless others. It's about making people think, informing them through their entertainment experiences, and commenting, as creators, on the media we create and the events we portray.”
Games based on real combat aren’t uncommon – the Call of Duty series has been at it for longer than the duration of World War 2 – and Call of Duty 4 is the most notable depiction of combat in Iraq gaming has seen so far (although, bless its little corporate socks, Activision has decided to tell players it was actually set it in unnamed MiddleEastistan). What makes Six Days in Fallujah interesting is that unlike other ‘real war’ games, it’s not an FPS, or an RTS. Instead, it’s a third person ‘action’ game.
Games I Own: EVE Online
Posted on 16th Apr 2009 at 11:34 by Mark Mackay with 41 comments
We’ve all got those games that we keep coming back to in life. You play for a few months, a year or maybe more until your attention and enthusiasm ends up elsewhere for a time. Eventually though, you get this burning desire, like a flame rekindled, to dig out and fire up that classic for some nostalgia gaming. With its recent re-release I thought I’d talk about one such a game that I always end up coming back to, EVE Online.
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