CAN WE BUILD A GAMING PC ON A CONSOLE BUDGET?

Today, I am sharing with you an article that I read yesterday. I was amazed to see how powerful PC Gaming can be. Since, I am a PC gamer, I found this article interesting and worth sharing. The article has been posted as is without much alteration. 

"There's no debating that a souped-up gaming PC will outperform an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 any day of the week, but it'll also cost you a lot more at checkout. However, what about a gaming PC that isn't top of the line, say, one that was built for $550?

This is the question we put to the test: could we build a gaming PC from scratch that could provide a gameplay and visual experience on par with a next-gen console, for around the same price as a next-gen console? While the PlayStation 4 is substantially cheaper, we wanted to make this exercise as competitive as possible, and that meant allowing ourselves the luxury of a slightly higher budget. Our own Mark Walton and Peter Brown each built one machine; one based on Intel and Nvidia chipsets, and the other on AMD hardware. Then, we put them to the test to see if Mark and Peter used their budgets wisely or if they would have been better off buying a console for great graphics on a fixed budget.

Rules and Goals

We aimed to stay within a budget of $550--roughly the most you can pay for an Xbox One in North America. In addition to acquiring the bare essentials for a PC--CPU, GPU, RAM, motherboard, power supply, computer case, and hard drive--each editor had to include the cost of a mouse, a keyboard, and a Windows license. No piracy or preexisting parts allowed!

The other goal was to build a machine that performs as well as or better than an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 in cross-platform games. The list of benchmark candidates included Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Thief, and Titanfall.

Mark Walton - AMD Gaming PC

Gaming PCs live and die by the GPU and CPU. AMD's budget offerings are a far better value for the money than either Intel's or Nvidia's. For less than the price of the cheapest Ivy Bridge-based Core processor from Intel, you can pick up six-core chips from AMD that happily outperform it. The same goes for AMD's GPUs, which offer excellent performance for less than the Nvidia equivalent.

My plan was simple: stick as much money into the CPU and GPU as possible, and work with what's left--and if I could make the computer look half decent too, all the better.

Component	Type	Price	Store
CPU	AMD FX-6300 Vishera 3.5GHz	$109.00	Amazon
Motherboard	ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3 AM3+ AMD 760G	$48.49	Newegg
Case	Fractal Core 1000	$39.99	Newegg
PSU	EVGA 100-W1-500-KR 500W	$44.99	Newegg
GPU	PowerColor AX7850 2GBD5-DH Radeon HD 7850 (open box item)	$107.00	Newegg
RAM	HyperX XMP Blu Series 4GB DDR3 1600	$40.00	Newegg
Storage	Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB	$50.95	Amazon
OS	Windows 8	$70.00	eBay
Key/Mouse	V7 Standard PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse Combo	$10.19	Amazon
	Subtotal	$520.61
	Sales Tax	$45.55
	Total	$566.16

Game	Settings	Average Frame Rate
Assassin's Creed IV	1080p, Ultra, AA	42
Battlefield 4	1080p, High, AA	72
Battlefield 4	1080p, Ultra, MSAA	42
Thief	1080p, Ultra, AA	87
Titanfall	1080p, Very High, AA	60

Note: Click the links under "settings" to view the complete list of settings used during testing.

I was pleasantly surprised at just how well this system worked. All the games I tried hit frame rates 60fps, and--with the exception of Battlefield 4--did so at the highest settings. Rendering games 1080p60 is an achievable goal on a budget, then, as long as you're realistic about which games you'll be able to do it with, and at what settings. If you're after a bit more oomph and some peace of mind for future releases, though, spending a few extra bucks here and there will give you a big boost in performance.

More RAM is the obvious choice. It doesn't cost much to bump it up to 8GB, and the less time the PC has to spend thrashing the hard drive for a swap file the better. An extra $70 toward an R270 GPU would be a wise decision too. It's good value and overclocks extremely well, putting it firmly in the high-end GPU segment for just a fraction of the cost. There's also the option of an SSD for a more responsive feel, an aftermarket cooler for CPU overclocking, and a nicer-looking case, but they're not essential.

Peter Brown - Intel/Nvidia Gaming PC

A budget of $550 is unusually small for a gaming PC, especially when the cost of an operating system is factored in. My strategy for this build was centered around a few key tactics.

First, I planned to keep the system's power draw as low as possible to save money on the cost of the power supply. I wanted to build small because smaller form factor cases and motherboards are usually cheaper overall unless they're particularly fancy. I also decided to use an unusually modest CPU. Intel makes excellent processors, but this quality isn't limited to the Core line. As long as I wasn't going to risk bottlenecking the GPU's performance, I looked for the simplest and cheapest option available. That way, I could focus on the linchpin of a gaming PC: the GPU. In this instance, I was aiming for Nvidia's Geforce GTX 750 Ti due to its great price/performance ratio.

Component	Type	Price	Store
CPU	Intel Pentium G2130 3.2 GHz	$74.99	Newegg
Motherboard	Biostar H61MGV3	$36.99	Newegg
Case	Topower TP-1687BB-300	$34.99	Newegg
PSU	300W SFX Power Supply (included w/case)	n/a	Newegg
GPU	EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2 GB	$154.99	Newegg
RAM	Team Elite 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333	$39.99	Newegg
Storage	Western Digital Blue 500 GB 7200 RPM 16MB	$54.99	Newegg
OS	Windows 8.1 64-Bit	$99.99	Newegg
Key/Mouse	Rosewill PS/2 Wired	$12.98	Newegg
	Subtotal	$509.91
	Sales Tax	$38.24
	Total	$548.15

Game	Settings	Average Frame Rate
Assassin's Creed IV	1080p, High, FXAA	40
Battlefield 4	1080p, High, 2x MSAA	50
Thief	1080p, High, FXAA	55
Titanfall	1080p, High, No AA	50

Note: Click the links under "settings" to view the complete list of settings used during testing.

Like Mark, I was surprised how well my rig performed. I had faith that the GTX 750 Ti would hold up under light pressure, but given its partner in crime, the Pentium CPU, I presumed that I would have to dial down the in-game settings a bit more. In practice, all it took for most games to play near 60 frames per second at 1080p was to disable a few flourishes like ambient occlusion and aggressive anti-aliasing. With my $550 PC, I was able to handily outperform the Xbox One in every case, and the PlayStation 4 in most cases, which says a lot about the value of the PlayStation 4 given its lower $400 price point.

If I had had a larger budget, I would have sprung for a better CPU and a bit more RAM. My inexpensive Pentium CPU held up quite well considering that it cost only $80, but it was typically running at full speed with little to no remaining overhead. Unfortunately, given my skimpy power supply, there's little hope for tossing a better Nvidia GPU into this build down the road without other additional upgrades. In the end, with our meager budget, Mark's AMD focus gave him a slight advantage in terms of performance and upgradability.

Closing Thoughts

As it turns out, you can build a gaming PC for around the cost of an Xbox One that will outperform both next-gen consoles given the current stock of cross-platform games. You'll also enjoy a massive library that neither the PlayStation 4 nor the Xbox One will ever be able to match from a pure numbers standpoint. Plus, your PC is upgradable, and its functionality in non-gaming areas only adds to its value. AMD has an advantage when it comes to the balance of price and performance on the low end, but there's nothing stopping you from mixing and matching components from different manufacturers, which very well might be the best plan if you've got a larger budget to work with.

Keep in mind, too, that current cross-platform games on consoles perform best on a PlayStation 4, which currently sells for $100 less than an Xbox One. If you were to try to build a gaming PC for $400 to $450, our experience has taught us that you would end up with a machine that can't compete with either next-gen console. Though we both succeeded in our goal, $550 was proved quite limiting when it came to picking components."

If you had a budget of $550, which platform--PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or PC would you choose? How would you build a gaming PC on a console-size budget? Let me know in the comments below.

Source: Gamespot

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INTERACT WITH YOUR WINDOWS PHONE IN NEW WAY WITH GESTURE BETA APP

Microsoft has just released a utility app, Gestures. The app is in Beta but with Gestures you can control some of the functions of your phone without touching the display.

You can: 

1. Answer a call by picking up your phone and putting it to you ear
2. Mute your mic during a call by placing the phone on a flat surface with the display facing down
3. Put the call on speaker by placing the phone on a flat surface with the display facing up
4. Silence the incoming call ringer by flipping device display down.

This is the first release of the client, so it is likely that more features will make their way as updates roll in. You can give your feedback and ask for the feature you want to see in the coming upates.

Please note that you'll need to restart your phone after installation to be able to use the feature.

Microsoft has mentioned that devices like Lumia 635, Lumia 630 and Lumia 530 will have limited functionality may be because of less sensors.

Let us know what functionality you'd like to see in upcoming versions in the comments.

Download Gestures Beta

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SWEDISH POLICE RAID THE PIRATE BAY

Yesterday, police in Sweden carried out a raid in Stockholm today, seizing servers, computers, and other equipment. At the same time The Pirate Bay and several other torrent-related sites disappeared offline. Although no official statement has been made.

For many years The Pirate Bay has been sailing by the seat of its pants so any downtime is met with concern from its millions of users. 

This morning, for the first time in months, The Pirate Bay disappeared offline. A number of concerned users emailed TF for information but at that point technical issues seemed the most likely culprit. 

However, over in Sweden authorities have just confirmed that local police carried out a raid in Stockholm this morning as part of an operation to protect intellectual property. 

“There has been a crackdown on a server room in Greater Stockholm. This is in connection with violations of copyright law,” read a statement from Paul Pintér, police national coordinator for IP enforcement. 

Police are staying quiet on the exact location of the operation and the targets involved but the fact that the national police IP chief is involved at this early stage suggests something sizable. 

In addition, expert file-sharing case prosecutor Fredrik Ingblad has commented on the raid, further adding weight to the incident. 

“There were a number of police officers and digital forensics experts there. This took place during the morning and continued until this afternoon. Several servers and computers were seized, but I cannot say exactly how many,” Ingblad told SR. 

Ingblad would not be drawn on any arrests during the operation but TorrentFreak has learned that police may have detained at least one man connected to the site. 

While it seems certain that The Pirate Bay has been targeted today. Several other torrent related sites including EZTV, Zoink, Torrage and the Istole tracker are also down.

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NEXT ASSASSIN'S CREED GAME WILL BE SET IN VICTORIAN LONDON

The 2015 edition of Assassin's Creed will be set in the city of London during the Victorian era, according to a Kotaku source, and will be called Assassin's Creed: Victory.

As announced by Ubisoft over the summer, development of Victory will be led by Ubisoft Quebec. It's expected that it will be the only "main" Assassin's Creed game released in 2015, and is currently planned to come out in the fall.

Kotaku described the seven-minute-long "target gameplay footage" video its staffers viewed as "slick" and said it could pass as an E3 presentation. The mission in the video once again pitted the Assassins against the Templars, and featured a grappling hook that allowed the assassin to go vertical.

Several stills from the video are up at Kotaku and they certainly look good, very Victorian and all that, but there is something irksome about seeing the next Assassin's Creed—even by way of leaked footage—while the current game is still such a mess.

Ubisoft has now relased a statement:

"It is always unfortunate when internal assets, not intended for public consumption, are leaked. And, while we certainly welcome anticipation for all of our upcoming titles, we're disappointed for our fans, and our development team, that this conceptual asset is now public. The team in our Quebec studio has been hard at work on the particular game in question for the past few years, and we're excited to officially unveil what the studio has been working on at a later date. In the meantime, our number one priority is enhancing the experience of Assassin's Creed Unity for players."

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