Today's the day that most people from the computing industry are waiting for. The time when ASUS showcases some of our upcoming motherboards based on the X79 chipset from Intel. While I cannot disclose the performance benchmarks yet, or any specific details about the numbers side, here's a little teaser of what's coming up for ASUS & Republic of Gamers. Pictures were taken by me, feel free to share them wherever you want.
Missing a few graphics cards, but 4-way SLI/CrossfireX capable natively. Without the NF200 chipset.
Another view of the 5x PCI-E slots. Can fit 4 dual-slot video cards, or 2 triple-slot video cards + 1x PCIe addon card.
The back IO of the Rampage IV Extreme, what can you see?
The top part of the ASUS Rampage IV Extreme, you can see the 8-DIMM design. Fitting 8 RAM slots is hard when you add so much features on a high-end motherboard, but we did it :)
The middle of the ASUS ROG Rampage IV Extreme. You can see clearly see the sexy colour scheme.
Southbridge PCH including an active fan.
6 of the SATA ports including the new Subzero Sense, integrates 2x Type-K probe digital thermometers onboard. For the Ln2 guys.
Another view of the sexy Rampage IV Extreme. Note all the heatsinks are connected via copper heatpipes for optimum cooling.
The OC Zone. The Overclocker's best friend. From L-R: Debug Q-LEDs, Voltage measure points for various points on the motherboard, PCIe x16 Lane Switch to test the status of VGAs. Start/Reset button. Slow mode jumper for the LN2 guys to get the best CPU clocks. Debug Q-CODE to get a hex reading of the current status of the motherboard.
If you look around the Internet, you should be able to see images & also videos of other ASUS X79 motherboards like the P9X79 series & also the newest Sabertooth motherboard, the Sabertooth X79!
Do you know who else loves our new ROG motherboard range? EA! We're partnering with EA to bundle a full version their awesome new Battlefield 3 game with a select range of products, more details will be available soon!
In the meantime, ASUS Australia will be showing more and more about the new gaming motherboards & video cards on Facebook which can be found here: CLICK ME <3
We'll be doing a few big things in the next few months, some exciting times!
Let me know your thoughts about the new motherboards, and ask any questions you may have :)
It has been said that the gaming industry generates more income than Hollywood does in making movies, Gartner, (a technology industry advisory) said the industry will be worth a mind-boggling $74 Billion in 2011, (yes, billion with a B). And the best way to check out the up and coming games are gaming conventions, where gaming hardware & software vendors strut their stuff to prospective customers. All around the world, there are some gaming expos that are bigger than others; America has E3, Europe has GamesCom and Australia had nothing - till EB Games Expo.
Estimated about 15,000 gamers walking through the doors over the weekend.
The outside of exhibition centre, showcasing the Battlefield 3 game.
Originally open to EB Games store managers and other VIP guests, this year EB Games & gaming vendors opened their products to the Australian media and Australian gamers. Held at the Gold Coast, (EB Games' head office is in Brisbane), it was estimated that 15,000 gamers would pass through the door - and it happened. Over 13,000 tickets were sold before the event even started - the night before, the only way to get in was by lining up in the morning of the event - trying your luck to see if you could purchase one at the door.
Image courtesy of ebexpo.com.au
The entrance of the exhibition centre.
Tickets were available to Australian gamers months before the event started, a general admission ticket purchased online would cost you $29.95. Die-hard gamers may purchase the VIP experience ticket, (limited to 400 per session) for $99.95. Both tickets will only give you one session of entry over the weekend, at six hours per session. The biggest benefit of VIP was the ability to join "VIP-only" lines to try out games.
Gaming publishers from around the world attended this event, from 2K Games (Bioshock & NBA 2K series) showing off their new game; The Darkness II to the two big honchos; Electronic Arts & Activision Blizzard. While Blizzard was not a presence at the event, Activision brought their game to the Gold Coast, (pun not intended) offering a sneak peak of the highly-anticipated, (somewhat) game; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 to a selected few gamers at any one time. The ten XBOX360 consoles were running a preview of COD:MW3 behind closed doors & Activision staff made sure no recording devices would leave the bags & pockets of the gamers.
Activision brought their game to Gold Coast ... with a tank.
Activision's queue was very long, wrapping around their huge stand, but was no match to EA Games' most hyped game; Battlefield 3, which received a lot of enthusiasm. Gamers were provided a sneak peak of the single player missions to the attendees, (played on PS3). Even though there was a public BETA for PC/XBOX360/PS3 - I think the line was even longer than COD:MW3. There as also a pretty big line around the Bethesda's new game; The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, It was large enough to block the gamers trying to reach the other side of the room.
The VIP line for COD:MW3
Part of the line waiting for a chance to play BF3's single player.
The EB Arena was were all the action lied, game publishers were given the opportunity to talk to thousands of gamers on the huge screen. Pyrotechnics, strobe lighting were used plentiful as the guys from DICE, THQ, Ubisoft, Square Enix and other vendors showcased their upcoming games with game trailers and even a quick demo of their biggest games coming to Australian gamers. There were even motorcycles doing backflips, front flips, superman grabs & seat grabs - all from inside the hall to everyone's amazement and awe!
Daniel & Lars talking about DICE's implementation of battlelog.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 creators, Square Enix demoing their new game.
Assassin's Creed
Stunts performed by some crazy guys on motorcycles.
Aside from the games, the other big attraction was the finals of the World Cyber Games National final. The four games present were; League of Legends. CounterStrike 1.6, Starcraft II & FIFA 11. EB Expo attendees were treated with a rare sight, watching the professional gamers battling it out for an invite to the WCG Finals held in Korea in December. Congratulations go to Muzza from Frenetic Array for beating Team Immunity's Mark Azzi in a thrilling FIFA 11 match played on the EB Arena stage, where hundreds of people watched, final score was; 1-2, 3-1 1-0. Muzza was all cheers the day after the win, saying that he was very excited to be attending the finals in Korea, and was a big win for Fray and their members.
Spectators watching professional gamers watching their monitors.
Fray also had a League of Legends team in the WCG National Final, but they couldn't fend off Sequential Gaming, who cleaned up Fray with a 2-0 win a few hours ago. Team Immunity's CounterStrike 1.6 team finished off with a win over DinQ around 9PM (the event closes its doors to the public at 4PM). Moonglade walks out with another win under his belt taking out tgun from FXO.
Moonglade & his girlfriend watching his competition.
Death from Archaic in a match of Starcraft II
Immunity's CS1.6 team playing in their semi-finals.
A huge TV was set up to allow spectators to watch on a bigger screen than a 22"
It was hard to not say that this event impressed me, it has been the biggest gaming event I've been to in Australia and with the organisers confirming that Sydney will host the 2012 EB Games Expo - the event can only get bigger and better.
Random Pics:
Final Fantasy showgirls
Itsa him!
Razer were showcasing their BF3 peripherals for the PC & console market
Dusting off my review hat to bring you another review. This time it isn't a motherboard, CPU or graphics card, but a NAS drive.
What is a NAS drive you guys may be asking? It's a device that has the same components of a personal computer (CPU/MB/VGA/RAM, etc) but its sole purpose is to manage data - whether it is images, video, games or audio. NAS stands for, Network Attached Storage, basically a storage device that can be accessed on the computer network. Due to this specific purpose of use, the hardware is much less powerful (and sometimes niche) compared to the everyday PC hardware brands & models.
Although there are other ways to share data on the network like; file server, external drive on the network, or even just via SAMBA. What a NAS brings to the table is the total size of the device, the extensive functions that can be found on a NAS, (different RAID configurations, DLNA/streaming to compliant devices, FTP, download manager, & other services) and also the carbon footprint. QNAP's TS-412 is a NAS device targeted towards home & SOHO users. The main purpose for my purchase of the QNAP TS-412 NAS device was to provide a backup strategy for my photography & invaluable data.
The Australian RRP of the TS-412 is $499 but you can find the devices around $450 if you shop around. The 3TB Hitachi K3000 hard drives are $399 RRP each but again, you can find them for about $185 if you shop around. So the initial cost of a configuration like mine is about $1200 if you shop around in Australia.
Hardware Specifications
There is another similar model called the TS-419+ which has a faster processor, more memory & a handy LCD screen, but is a few hundred more dollars dearer.
My QNAP TS-412 has a 1.2GHz processor powering QNAP's Linux-based Firmware 3.50 for NAS devices. Storage comes in form of up to four internal hard drives which are hot swappable. Six extra drives can also be attached externally via the four USB 2.0 ports (Front x1 Back x3) & eSATA ports at the back of the device if more space is needed. Keep in mind that individual hard drives do not come bundled by default with the TS-412, this decision means I can choose my hard drive configuration & save on the cost with the omission of a hard drive.
Size of the device isn't that big, it's certainly noticeable though. The image below compares the device to a optical disc + my mouse.
Contents of the box includes
You can also watch my quick unboxing video here:
Software Specifications
Access to the TS-412 can be achieved through the latest Microsoft Windows, Apple's Mac OSX, Linux & Unix operating systems. To access the web interface which controls the NAS device, the usual list of Internet browsers can be used to access the AJAX-based User Interface which is stored on the 16MB flash memory.
Applications of the NAS drive include the following:
* Print Server,
* Web File Manager,
* Multimedia Station,
* Download Station,
* Surveillance Station, * iTunes Server,
* Apache Web Server, and
* MySQL Server
A more comprehensive list of software specifications can be found on QNAP's website here.
Software Interface
Instead of sharing images and words with you about how great the web interface is, the video below summaries perfectly. That being said, QNAP's Management Software is really simple and laid out very well, it only takes a few clicks to get where you want to be.
This is the "front door" to get into the web interface - dragging your mouse cursor allows the user to cycle through various menus
QNAP has developed a program called QNAP Finder, which basically finds all QNAP devices on the network - for those who may have more than 1 device or is cannot remember the IP address of the devices;
Reasoning of a NAS purchase
I did think first of rummaging around my house for a spare mITX motherboard & its components, but decided against it because of the total weight when filled with hard drives, the heat & noise, & also the cost of the case + a decent RAID card from Areca or Adaptec. In the end, i wanted a device that will be an addition to my computer and not another computer.
I purchased the QNAP TS-412 along with four Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 3TB 7200RPM hard drives with the intension of putting 4 of these hard drives in a RAID6 configuration With this configuration, usable space on the RAID6 configuration became 6TB; ((3TB + 3TB) + 3TB +3TB for parity).
RAID6
It took about 24 hours to make a 6TB RAID6 partition from my 4x 3TB hard drives.
Performance (read & write speeds)
To test the speeds, I will transfer one large file & several smaller files (RAW files from my DSLR) to test the speeds, these were done via FTP.
Writing several 20MB files equaling about 2.04GB from PC >> NAS (gigabit connection) - used an SSD to remove any potential HDD bottleneck
Reading several 20MB files equaling about 2.04GB from NAS >> PC (gigabit connection) - used an SSD to remove any potential HDD bottleneck
Writing 1x 2GB file from PC >> NAS (gigabit connection) - used an SSD to remove any potential HDD
Reading 1x 2GB file from NAS >> PC (gigabit connection) - used an SSD to remove any potential HDD bottleneck
Assuming that you need at least 6Mbps to steam 1080P H.264 content & 36 Mbps to stream full Blu-Ray rips, the speeds are adequate enough @ around 80Mbps. As you can see, the speeds for read/write are averaging about 10MBps, the reasoning is the hard drives are the bottleneck in this setup, being in RAID6.
Noise levels & temperatures
This setup will be located in the same room as my bedroom, so obviously the operating temperatures & noise levels is a very important factor. Keep in mind I don't have a sound tester so I can't give you a "dB number" but if I am sitting 30cm away from the NAS (where my keyboard is) I cannot hear it on idle. When it is being accessed, the hard drives make a notable level amount of noise - but my mechanical keyboard (Blue cherry) dwarfs it in "annoyingness"). On 100% load (creating the RAID6 partition), the hard drives do get very noisy but I couldn't hear it once I put my headphones on. Operating temperatures are 29 degrees on idle and about 33 degrees load (performing SMART scan) according to the System Information section of the NAS. The surface temperature was 20 degrees, room temperature was 20 degrees when doing this measurements.
Conclusion
Obviously not all of us need a 4 bay device to store terabytes of data, but if you require the services & the feature set that a NAS device provides, there are other NAS devices in the market with 1 or 2 slots for hard drives. However, if you just need something to store your non-critical data, I do recommend at least getting an external hard drive to backup any of your data. You can even backup your data on the Internet, aka Cloud backup, services like Dropbox for various filetypes, Flickr to backup your images or even sending some of your important data to your email address to keep a copy in the cloud, Gmail is a good way of doing this, I think they have about 7GB+ of storage for your emails & files. however ~ remember to read the terms & conditions of these services along with securing with a strong password to make sure your precious data does not get lost or stolen.
But for me, I'll sleep a bit easier at night knowing my precious data is safe and sound :)
I'll be updating this blog with more content when I get into the nitty-gritty of the device.
