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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Sapphire Edge VS8 Review: The $500 Mini PC

While full-sized desktop computers are still around, tablets and smartphones have proven that technology has come far enough to essentially cram a fully capable computer into a space that is suitable for your pants pocket, a purse, or a small backpack. This idea of shrinking hardware hasn?t been overlooked by manufacturers as several now feature space-saving designs based on mobile hardware.

Such is the case with Sapphire?s new Edge VS8 mini-PC powered by AMD?s A8 APU. The system is hardly any larger than an external optical drive, measuring 19.7 x 18.2 x 3.1 cms. Net weight for the mini PC is just 660g.

The Edge VS8 ships with AMD?s quad-core A8-4555M clocked at 1.6GHz, 4GB of DDR3 memory, AMD Radeon HD 7600G graphics and a 500GB 2.5-inch SATA hard drive. The Edge VS8 comes with built-in support for Bluetooth 3.0 as well as 802.11 b/g/n wireless and a bevy of rear I/O connections. Our review unit had Windows 7 installed but Sapphire also configures these systems with Windows 8 if you so choose.

Included in the retail package is the computer itself, an HDMI cable, an HDMI to DVI adapter, a power cord and 65W power adapter, chassis stand, driver disc with quick installation guide, an optical SPDIF cable and a VESA mount. Sapphire also included a Cross pen and carrying case as an extra incentive.

The system doesn?t ship with any extra amenities like speakers, a keyboard, mouse or a monitor so note that you?ll have to include those when budgeting for the system or simply reuse gear you may already own. We were able to find the VS8 as equipped here today for just over $500 on Amazon at the time of this review.

Sapphire Edge VS8 - $505 AMD A8 1.6GHz Quad Core APUAMD Radeon HD 7600G graphics4GB DDR3 So-DIMM500 GB SATA 2.5-inch Hard Drive1 x Mini Display Port, 1 x HDMI, Gigabit Lan, 4 x USB 2.0, 2 x USB 3.0 Port, SD Card Reader1 x Audio-in, 1 x Line-out, 1 x Optical SPDIF802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.011.5 x 4.25 x 10 inches, 1.3 pounds

Aesthetically, the VS8 looks more like a cable modem or router than a full-fledged computer. The chassis is coated in a smooth black rubber material with a set of activity LEDs, a microSD card slot and a pair of USB 3.0 ports gracing the front bezel ? the latter of which are hidden behind a removable access panel that you?ll need to pry open from the bottom.

The system?s power button is located on the left side of the unit and could be hard to miss as it blends in with the swooping design of the cooling vents near the top. The Sapphire nameplate is positioned prominently on the left panel in a vertical orientation.

On the reverse we find, from top to bottom: a pin-hole reset button, Mini DisplayPort connector, HDMI port, four USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet jack, DC-in connector, audio jack, optical SPDIF and a locking slot. There are three Philips screws on the back panel which we presume would grant access to the interior but aside from swapping the hard drive for a SSD or replacing the memory, there?s not much you can do in the way of upgrades.

The right side of the PC is a mirror image of the left save for the power button. You?ll also find the system?s identification stickers as well as the Windows product key on a separate sticker. The top and the bottom both feature ventilation slots with the difference being the mounting screw hole on the bottom.

The VS8 arrived with an extremely clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit. Note that the 32-bit version of Windows will limit the effective amount of RAM you could potentially add to the system as anything over 4GB will go unused unless you are running a 64-bit OS.

That aside, there were only a couple of programs that I would consider getting rid of: Moovida Media Player and Cyberlink PowerDVD 12. The latter is a strange addition as the VS8 doesn?t include an optical drive, but I digress. The lack of software means there isn?t any signature software to cover like we typically find with other desktops or notebooks from big brand manufacturers. Either way, props to Sapphire for such a tidy OS install.

The iTunes encoding tests consist of converting 14 MP3s (119MB) to 128Kbps ACC files and measuring the operation's duration in seconds. For file transfers, we measure how long it takes to copy two sets of files from one location to another on the same hard drive. On the small files test we transfer 557 MP3s, totaling 2.56GB. For the large file, these same MP3s were zipped into a single file measuring 2.52GB.

1680 x 1050 or native res, High Quality1680 x 1050 or native res, High Quality

AMD APU A8 1.6GHz Quad CoreAMD Radeon HD7600G graphics2 x 2GB DDR3 So-DIMM500 GB SATA 2.5-inch Hard DriveWindows 7 32-bit13.3" 1920x1080 LED multi-touch displayIntel Core i7-3517U (1.9 - 3.0GHz)Intel HD Graphics 40004GB of DDR3 RAM256GB SSDWindows 8 64-bit13.3" 1600x900 IPS LED multi-touch displayIntel Core i5-3317U (1.7 - 2.6GHz)Intel HD Graphics 40004GB of DDR3 RAM128GB SSDWindows 8 64-bit13.3" 1366x768 LED-backlit displayIntel Core i5-3317U (1.7GHz - 2.6GHz)4GB DDR3 RAMIntel HD 4000 Graphics2 x 128GB SSD RAID0Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

I found it of note that Sapphire sent us the VS8 running Windows 7. Although they also offer the system with Microsoft?s most recent OS, I'd suspect most people are still more comfortable with Windows 7 on the desktop.

Connectivity options on the VS8 were abundant, especially considering the system?s small size. Of notable interest were the two USB 3.0 ports, Mini DisplayPort and the HDMI connector. Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are also a plus as you won't have to run an Ethernet cable to the system to get online.

A clean OEM Windows install. Somewhat of a rarity these days.

AMD?s quad-core A8 APU was able to muscle through most daily tasks like web browsing without much fuss although our informal YouTube 4K resolution video test pushed the CPU to 99 percent and resulted in a jittery, unwatchable experience.

What?s more, the AMD Radeon HD 7600G graphics are capable of playing some older titles on moderate settings but don?t expect miracles, especially when you crank up the resolution. Far Cry 2 and StarCraft 2 are far from last-generation titles, and those were mostly unplayable at decent settings on the Edge VS8. In fact, the performance resembled that of Intel's HD 4000 built-in graphics used on most laptops these days.

The good news here is that none of the internal hardware requires a ton of power which means less heat, less noise and ultimately, a lower power bill.

If I could change one thing about this system, I?d swap the 500GB 2.5-inch SATA hard drive for a speedier solid state drive. I have a feeling that would really wake up the system and put the bottleneck firmly on the CPU/GPU instead of on the storage system. I also found it a bit odd that Sapphire shipped the driver pack on a CD rather than on a flash drive as the system doesn?t include an optical drive.

A system like this will most likely appeal to someone with limited desk real estate, someone that wants a secondary computer for basic tasks like web surfing, e-mail and keeping up with friends and family on social networks or someone that wants a true computer to use as a HTPC.

Priced at just over $500 at the time of this review, one could make a solid argument that the same amount of money could be invested into a capable notebook computer that takes up even less space and includes a display, keyboard, etc. That wouldn?t really be an option, however, if you aren?t interested in a notebook. But as a small form factor computer, the Sapphire VS8 excels in a number of categories.

Pros: Small and quiet, plenty of ports, solid GPU performance for the price. No bloatware.

Cons: Slow hard drive. $500 not as cheap after factoring in monitor and peripherals.

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By: Unknown On 10:59 PM

LG 29EA93 Review: Are Ultra Wide Monitors Next?

The Flatron 29EA93-P is LG?s first entry into the still nascent category of ultra-wide consumer displays. There remain few options to compete against the 29EA93?s expansive 21:9 aspect ratio (16:9 is typical). However, LG, Dell and a few others ostensibly believe there?s a market for ultra-wides and I?ll admit -- I think they?re right.

While the 29EA93 seems suitably equipped to watch movies, how does it fare against other types of computer use? Could it possibly be a worthy replacement for your trusty dual-monitor setup? Does the display?s quality, features and novelty justify its $699 street price? Those are some of the questions I?ll be exploring.

When 4:3 displays (e.g. 1600 x 1200) gave way to 16:10 screens (e.g. 1920 x 1200), the event was schismatic in terms of consumer preference. Professionals sometimes favored the aging 4:3 standard for its potentially superior vertical real estate -- a particularly useful thing for vertically organized content like word processing and websites. Meanwhile, gamers, videophiles and most other consumers were seduced by the benefits of wider displays, as they were perfect for watching movies and monitoring your periphery in FPS games.

When 16:9 (e.g. 1920 x 1080) hit the scene though, computer-savvy consumers were left scratching their collective noggins. The initial shift to wide screens had already limited vertical real-estate, so why narrow it even more? The fast-paced adoption of high-def standards (720p and 1080p) are mostly at fault as manufacturers built their displays around HD video standards. To the chagrin of some though, 16:9 is now by far the most ubiquitous widescreen format.

That understanding brings us back to the 29EA93. With its truly ultra-wide aspect ratio of 21:9, LG delivers 2560 x 1080 pixels in a 29-inch package. It?s an impressively wide display -- but obviously not wide enough to fully replace two side-by-side 1080p (16:9) monitors. Why then, should any company settle upon a seemingly arbitrary aspect ratio of 21:9? The short answer is: movies.

When it comes to films, 16:9 has been a very popular aspect ratio. Meanwhile, 720p-based and 1080p (16:9) displays have pushed their elder 4:3 progenitor into extinction. These days though, Panavision-inspired cinematographers are cranking out films with ARs north of 2.35:1 (i.e. 21.51:9). This makes 21:9 just about right for watching super-wide flicks without the necessity for visual tricks like cropping, letterboxing or anamorphics. In theory (and in practice, as it turns out), the 29EA93 is perfectly suited for watching HD movies.

While unboxing and setting up our 29EA93, I developed a positive opinion of its build quality. It?s clear LG spent time attending to physical details. The result is an attractive, solid feeling product with a comforting (but hopefully unnecessary) three-year warranty.

The chrome-like finish found on its base is actually plastic; however, the stand as a whole is solid and rigid. The stand doesn?t snap into but screws into the monitor?s frame; have your phillips screwdriver handy, by the way.

For anyone who prefers to mount their monitor to the wall or elsewhere though, the 29EA93?s got you covered. The display sports VESA MIS-D (100 mm) mounting holes.

The inclusion of a power brick may be unwelcome news for some, but I consider it a nice touch in terms of quality. Consider this: it?s far simpler to replace an external power supply than an internal one. If the power brick ever fails, it will be a quick and cheap fix. It shows LG is thinking. Alternatively, Dell, HP and Asus are all notable brands who?ve all opted for internal power supplies on their high-end monitor offerings. Just one more thing to consider.

Inside the box, we found one dual DVI-D cable, one MHL cable (for tablets, smartphones), one 3.5mm audio cable, and one A-B USB 3.0 cable. the aforementioned power supply and cord. Absent from the box are, most notably, HDMI and DisplayPort cables.

The 29EA93 boasts a thorough variety of ports sans VGA. Inputs found on the monitor include: 1 x DisplayPort, 1 x HDMI, 1 x HDMI/MHL, 1 x DVI-D, 3 x USB 3.0 inputs and a jack for 3.5 mm audio. For outputs, we have 1 x USB 3.0 and a single 3.5 mm audio (headphone jack). I?m unaccustomed to seeing high-end monitors without a VGA port, but it is certainly a forgivable omission these days.

Those three USB 3.0 inputs serve as a USB 3.0 hub, which is always a welcome addition.

Ports are recessed in the rear and allow for no-nonsense, 90-degree cable insertion. There?s no need to flip the monitor over or to remove concealment panels to access the ports

The 29EA93?s controls are touch-sensitive and located underneath the bottom right of its bezel. There are buttons for the OSD (on-screen display) menu, volume up/down, selection and power.

Although monitor OSDs are typically horrendous, this Flatron boasts a refreshing OSD: it?s intuitive, packed with fine-tuning adjustments and even sports a polished look. Inside the OSD, you?ll find a rich assortment of options and features, including Picture-in-Picture, 6-color calibration, automatic color calibration (when coupled with compatible hardware), aspect ratio selections and a power LED toggle. The 29EA93?s OSD also includes functions for adjusting black-level and response times (more on this later).

As expected, the 29EA93?s built-in pair of tinny-sounding speakers are essentially devoid of bass and warmth. However, despite its absence of audio fidelity, the 29EA93 gets relatively loud. While the integrated speakers won?t produce sparkling highs or rumbling lows, the sound it does muster can easily be heard from across the room. Anything beyond office work though will warrant a separate set of speakers.

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By: Unknown On 10:55 PM

AMD Radeon HD 7990 Review: Dual GPU Comeback

The current generation AMD GPU series collectivelly known as "Southern Islands" were released over a year ago, with the beginning of its rollout in January 2012. Sixteen months later, the Radeon HD 7000 series is still very much relevant, as AMD continues to release new models under the same GPU family.

The Radeon HD 7790 released last month it?s a product most gamers have the potential to enjoy considering its $150 price tag. The HD 7790 took the chip count for the series to 10 distinct 28nm GPUs. Today AMD has a wide range of prices covered starting at $100 with the Radeon HD 7750 up to $450 with the 7970 GHz Edition.

Those able and wanting to spend in excess of $450 on a single graphics card need to look in Nvidia?s direction at either the GeForce GTX 690 or the mighty GTX Titan, both extravagant $1000 options. Alternatively, if you can support multiple graphics cards, which let's be honest most gaming systems can, then a pair of Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition graphics cards should work nicely (well, kind of).

Still AMD feels they need to offer an ultra-expensive graphics card as well and therefore today they are releasing the Radeon HD 7990. Although it's been over a year since they launched the Radeon HD 7970, we are just getting an official dual-GPU version, in truth they have been around for some time.

Products such as the PowerColor Devil 13 HD 7990 6GB, HIS Radeon HD 7970 6GB IceQ X2 and Asus ROG Ares II have been doing the rounds for quite a while now. So while the release of an official Radeon HD 7990 might not be radically new, it does mean a few things. For one, pricing will be unified, as will the specifications and features. Most importantly availability and actual driver support, making it much easier for cashed up gamers to get their hands on one.

The Radeon HD 7990 is very similar to the 6990 and the 5970 before it (ohh, and the 4870 X2 before that) in the sense that it's basically a pair of flagship GPUs from its respective generation stuck to the same extra long PCB.

In the case of the Radeon HD 7990 it takes a pair of 7970 GPUs with overclocked cores (from 925MHz to 1000MHz), while boosting the GDDR5 memory from 1375MHz to 1500MHz. These clock speeds happen to match the 7970 GHz Edition, though the 7990 doesn?t feature a Boost clock, so we feel the GPUs are better compared to the standard 7970.

Here are some figures that AMD is throwing around to describe the Radeon HD 7990: 8.6 billion transistors, 4096 stream processors, 8.2 TFLOPS computer power, 6GB GDDR5 and 576GB/s memory bandwidth.

But, of course, as a dual-GPU graphics card those figures are not nearly as impressive as they might otherwise be if we were talking about a single GPU solution. 8.2 TFLOPS of computer power is nothing to be sneezed at either, so we will be keen to see how the 7990 handles itself shortly.

The Radeon HD 7990 is a monstrous graphics card measuring 30cm long (12 in), making it 3cm longer than the 7970 GHz Edition.

The GPU core is clocked at 1000MHz, 8% higher than the HD 7970, while the memory is clocked 9% higher at 1500MHz (6.0GHz DDR). Pairing that frequency with a 384-bit memory bus gives the HD 7990 a theoretical bandwidth of 288GB/s per GPU, for a whopping 576GB/s total.

Like the Radeon HD 7970 which comes loaded with a generous 3GB memory buffer, the 7990 allocates 3GB to each GPU for a total card capacity of 6GB.

We've found that when using multi-monitor setups at extreme resolutions, the larger buffer of AMD cards provide a significant advantage over Nvidia's, which are limited to 2GB for the most part. That said, the new GeForce GTX Titan does boast a 6GB memory buffer for a single GPU.

The core configuration, or as we should say ?cores?, of the Radeon HD 7990 are the same as the single GPU 7970 versions. It carries 2048 SPUs, 128 TAUs and 32 ROPs on each GPU, so in a sense you can double those figures.

Connecting the two graphics processors is the PEX bridge from PLX Technologies, which is the same method employed by all previous AMD dual-GPU graphics cards. However, the HD 7990 gets the latest 3.0 PEX8747 bridge which boasts 48 PCI Express 3.0 lanes for 96GB/s of inter-GPU bandwidth.

Cooling the "Malta" GPU are two massive aluminum vapor chamber heatsinks, each with 62 fins and four heatpipes. The vapor chamber design was first implemented by the Radeon HD 5970 and has since been adopted by numerous high-end AMD and Nvidia graphics cards. Heat is dispersed by a trio of 75x20mm axial fans that pull air in from inside the case and push it out the back.

The HD 7990?s fan operates quietly for the most part, but despite the card's impressive idle consumption of just 15 watts, it still chugs up to 375 watts under load, so the fan does kick up a little during heavy gaming sessions.

The heatsink and fan are enclosed in a custom housing that conceals the entire graphics card, a common practice for AMD flagship products and one we tend to like. Nvidia has also done this in the past, though this is a design method that is typically reserved for only the most high-end products.

To feed the card enough power, AMD includes dual 8-pin PCI Express connectors -- the same setup you'll find on the HD 6990.

Naturally, the HD 7990 supports QuadFire (Crossfire) and so there is a connector for bridging with another card. The only other connectors are on the I/O panel. Our AMD reference sample has a dual DL-DVI connector and four mini-DisplayPort 1.2 sockets which allows support for five simultaneous monitors right out of the box.

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By: Unknown On 10:50 PM

Sapphire Edge VS8 Mini PC Review

1680 x 1050 or native res, High Quality1680 x 1050 or native res, High Quality

A clean OEM Windows install. Somewhat of a rarity these days.

The good news here is that none of the internal hardware requires a ton of power which means less heat, less noise and ultimately, a lower power bill.

Pros: Small and quiet, plenty of ports, solid GPU performance for the price. No bloatware.

Cons: Slow hard drive. $500 not as cheap after factoring in monitor and peripherals.

View the original article here

By: Unknown On 10:21 PM

Pebble Smartwatch Review

The Pebble smartwatch for iPhone and Android is a prime example of the bizarre times in which we live. In an era of people increasingly telling time by looking at the corner of their computer's screen or their smartphone lock screens, Pebble wants to make the wristwatch everyone's preferred timepiece. But instead of pitting the watch and smartphone as competitors for one function, Pebble tries to go beyond the default use case for either device and do much more.

Sony, Microsoft, Motorola, among others have also tried to turn the watch into more than just a timepiece, but even their millions of dollars in R&D and years of manufacturing experience couldn't quite get the category right. Yet Pebble, a humble Kickstarter project embraced by nearly 70,000 backers, is the most buzzed-about smartwatch yet. Have those early believers been vindicated by the release of a phenomenal product or are they just another cautionary tale of what happens when reality doesn't meet the hype?

Pebble retails for $150, and that cost doesn't buy good looks. The watch features a plain rectangular plastic face connected to an equally plain - though to be fair, quite comforting - band made of smooth rubber.

Multiple colors are available for the watch portion, but the glossy plastic frame and exposed charging connector are about as stylish as a watch found in a sporting goods store. The nondescript design is forgivable considering that no one is buying Pebble to make a fashion statement. While it's not the prettiest timepiece on the market, Pebble is simple enough to not clash with most attires or look cheap.

A 1.26-inch black and white e-paper display with 144 x 168 resolution shows the time and compatible notifications from an iOS or Android device. A backlight makes the screen more legible when in the dark. This light can also be automatically triggered by gently flicking one's wrist.

A menu button and a charge connector are on the left side, and navigation buttons for scrolling and selecting are on the right. Pebble is light as a feather, so pushing the buttons with too much force will cause the device to slant at an uncomfortable angle, but the light feel is otherwise a blessing.

Key specs to know about the Pebble include:

Scratchproof, shatter-resistant, and 5 ATM water-resistantVibrating motor to send notifications and alarms Accelerometer sensor to use gesture detection Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and Bluetooth 4.0Replaceable 22mm watch bands

Pebble's superficial shortcomings are a non-issue for most. The real value of a smartwatch is its "smarts" offered through software. While craftsmanship and fashion play a much larger role when selecting a standard wristwatch, Pebble attracted scores of customers by promoting the idea that their watch could do more than simply tell time. The Bluetooth 4.0-capable watch can link with a smartphone to download customizable clocks, relay notifications from a smartphone, and even initiate controls on an Apple iPhone or Google Android device.

The type of smartphone someone owns greatly affects just how smart Pebble can appear. An iPhone is currently able to receive notifications for incoming calls, calendar appointments, text messages, and iMessages, but not all apps are able to send notifications. The watch proves to be a nice timesaver because it shows Caller ID information and can accept or decline calls, though it doesn't automatically turn on speaker mode, so you'll still have to pick up the phone. I also loved Pebble's music control feature that's able to start, pause, and select next or previous tracks in the Music app. There are no volume controls, but the pause and next track buttons also work in other apps like Pandora and Slacker.

The Android version of Pebble is noticeably more powerful. In addition to the standard reminders and music controls previously mentioned, the Pebble Android app supports notifications for the Email, Gmail, Calendar, Google Voice, WhatsApp and Facebook apps. Even more control is available by using a third-party app that can route notifications from any app to the Pebble, something not available on an iPhone unless you are on a jailbroken device.

One uncomfortable aspect is that Pebble requires Gmail login information to access Gmail notifications, something that many might be hesitant to do, and for good reason in light of concerns for account security. Another shortcoming is that the app treats notifications on a last come, last served basis. There's no way to scroll through alerts, so it will only display the most recent message or tweet to appear, so you could conceivably miss an important notification.

Apps were also supposed to be a part of the Pebble package, but the watch sadly does not yet have those features. The original plan for Pebble included added functionality for apps, the most notable being run stats being displayed on-screen for RunKeeper. Despite having an SDK available since last spring, and an early demonstration of the feature, RunKeeper and other third-party apps are sadly absent from Pebble. The only things downloadable so far are additional clocks, which are nice but not enough to make anyone forget about what Pebble is capable of accomplishing.

As I alluded to earlier, Pebble is not the first device that attempts to extend the power of connectivity from the pocket to the wrist. The difference is that other solutions have used power-sucking LCD screens that require frequent charging, which is a non-starter for most people. Pebble avoids that issue entirely because the e-paper display is long lasting, and Bluetooth 4.0 uses less energy when paired with a capable smartphone. Pebble has an advertised seven days of battery life, but that can be lessened if Bluetooth is always on and someone constantly accesses the backlight.

I managed to use the Pebble frequently, with both the Bluetooth and backlight always enabled, for more than four days before the battery indicator began warning that it may be time to charge the device. Pebble lasted for at least another six hours even with the indicator on. The only concern will be related to the smartphone, which will noticeably drain faster depending on the device and usage habits. Pebble will continue to function as a watch when disconnected, but notifications will obviously cease once Bluetooth is disabled.

Pebble is a bold project that clearly ran out of the gate faster than anyone expected. The small startup that developed the watch has had to learn and adapt on the fly because of unexpected demands, and that has led to the device falling short of its potential.

The good news is that there's still a lot of upside and room to grow. Apps will eventually help fulfill Pebble's promise, and the device is already a good product. Over the past week, I've enjoyed being able to skip songs without having to reach for my phone and cut down on the amount of calls missed when I was in another room. I've even found a new way to locate my frequently misplaced phone by remotely starting a song and following the noise.

That won't be enough for most people to spend $150, so Pebble is currently a fancy toy with a chance at being more. Pebble is not yet the elegant solution that its Kickstarter project inspired, but it's a functional timepiece well on its way to becoming something special.

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By: Unknown On 10:06 PM

BioShock Infinite Review

Depending on where in the country you live, you might have the nagging feeling that portions of the United States have broken clean off. Just up and decided to veer into their own orbits, consequences be damned.

And, because any notion that these States aren't United is a really uncomfortable one, a cacophony of voices all jostle to demonize their opposing factions. They say that the other side has selfishly detached themselves from the reality that we Americans are all supposed to share. How dare they?!

BioShock Infinite takes that nagging feeling of disunion and makes players wade through its century-ago antecedent, in a way that lays bare the agonizing personal costs paid to the grinding cycle of history.

Columbia is a chunk of America that has in fact gone to pieces. And the result is horrifying. But beautiful, too.

You haven't been to a place like this before. The fictional floating city where Infinite is set is all clockwork platforms and brass gears, its many sections populated with hucksters, strivers, lovers and schoolchildren. One minute, you're walking past a sheer drop, the next a park swings down into the open space. Sure, they seceded from the Union but it's such a bloom-lit paradise that you almost can't blame them.

Why: BioShock Infinite isn't just a worthy sequel to a much-loved predecessor. It also manages to be about America - touching on its past, present and possibilities ? in a way that makes it a must.

Developer: Irrational Games
Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360 (version played)
Release Date: March 26
Type of game: First-person shooter that's also a twisted fable about American history What I played: Played through all of the campaign in about 10-12 hours.. My Two Favorite Things Excellent voicework all around ? anchored by Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper as Booker and Elizabeth ? makes this feel like a operatically violent radio play.Columbia is filled with gorgeous architecture and design. Fighting for survival in a place this pretty doesn't make the bullets hurt any less but does inspire awe.Two Things I Hated Despite how its wide-open spaces look, part of Infinite can feel very much llke they're on rails.Certain sections are just straight-up killboxes that will grind you up like hamburger.Made-to-Order Back-of-Box Quotes "Add Columbia to the list of video game places I wish actually existed, only without all the racism/sexism/spacetime tomfoolery." Evan Narcisse, Kotaku.com"Like Portal 2, BioShock Infinite is a sequel that builds on and maybe even surpasses the original game." Evan Narcisse, Kotaku.com

Then you come along. Well, not you. Booker DeWitt--the former soldier and Pinkerton agent players control -- isn't a cipher meant for you to occupy, like the mute protagonist from BioShock 1. He's his own man with a voice, a checkered past and reasons for staging a one-man invasion. Debt weighs heavy on his soul and the only way he can come clear of it is to fetch a supernaturally powered young woman named Elizabeth. If he gets her to the people who want her, then he might be able to get on with the rest of his life.

If you subscribe to the idea that there is in fact a formula for making a BioShock game, then Infinite will only support your thesis. Mix up sci-fi archetypes, comic-book super-science, ideologically driven conflict and old-school first-person-shooter love with narrative ambition and philosophical discord. The player character's special abilities get wielded through the left hand while weapons get gripped by the right and he must wend his way through an isolated city-state in turmoil. Once you do that, you have--in broad strokes -- the component parts of the games that have been called BioShock.

The powers you wield this time are called Vigors. You can mix and match them so that you can electrify a flock of crows after flinging them at an enemy. Or you can hold the soldiers you're fighting aloft and then set them on fire with telekinetic and pyrokinetic Vigors.

Important moments of choice have been another hallmark of BioShock games. This time out, the importance of choice isn't in where you wind up plot-wise. It's in how you play. The method in which you cobble together the upgrades you find with Elizabeth's combat support and the amazing verticality of the game's battlegrounds will leave you with a unique experience that you can transform as you go. Couple that with the various firearms and Vigors you'll collect and Infinite's play feels like it gives you more tools and a faster pace to use in an expertly crafted playground.

For all that's familiar, Irrational Games' new release does add new seasoning to that BioShock recipe. One of the big changes is in basic locomotion. Columbia's mass transit is a series of snaking pipeworks called Skylines and they provide a thrilling, vertiginous way to get around the city. They feel like a one-man roller coaster that you can shoot at people from. Aside from that, you can pounce on enemies from way on high or rain down gunshots while zipping along. And enemies will do the same to you, so these aren't an easy way out of most battles.

But it's the character of Elizabeth who represents the biggest change to the BioShock formula, which up until now gave you scant companionship on your adventures in Rapture. At first, Elizabeth might remind you in a broad way of the dog from Fable II. That pooch found you loot and helped you get around the world of Albion. You formed a simple but meaningful bond with it.

Elizabeth is far more complex. She's a fully scripted persona who aids you in combat and in scavenging, by finding and supplying health, money and ammo. Most impressively, she can manipulate tears, which are space-time hiccups that let her pull things from alternate reality through to this world. Discount vending stations, machine-gun turrets and grapple points are just a few of the assets she can summon for you. Which tears you have her manifest will affect the strategy options you have during a firefight and this branching opens up the uniqueness of the strategies available.

From an emotional perspective, things change immediately when you meet Elizabeth. She's na?ve, but with strong streaks of curiosity and desperation running through her. A skybound city doesn't feel like paradise when it's all you've ever known and she yearns to experience the world below. Columbia founder Father Comstock is a religious zealot, one who commands a city of totally obedient martyrs. When he tells them not to fight, it's far creepier than when you're battling them. He means to use Elizabeth's abilities to deliver an apocalyptic judgment to the America beneath him. But Comstock must also deal with an proletariat insurgency by the Vox Populi, who want to topple what they see as a corrupt oligarchy.

Elizabeth alternately wants to impress Booker and run away from him. They need each other and she never feels like a stack of AI scripts walking alongside you. When she throws you a health pack in a firefight, her need for you to survive is palpable. She's haunted by a lack of a past while Booker is chased by a history too full of blood. Together, their shared journey moves from wariness to warmth to resolution with real poignancy.

For all the talk of parts, this game is more than just the sum of its pieces. You're playing for story here, and that story is embedded through the entire fabric of Infinite. The more you explore Columbia, the more its made-up citizens and history pull you in. There's a mystery swirling around the clouds that surround the city and it kept me guessing until the very end of the game.

Early on, you get signs that something more than mere isolationism is amiss in Columbia. Those tears in reality's fabric are a tease to the main conceit of the game, with the gambit being nothing less than the re-writing of American history. Columbia's already well down that road as its spiritual revisionism has made demigods of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin. But you can't shake the creeping sense that many things are going to happen as a result of your actions. They do and they're all pretty weighty.

Given the fact that there's inevitable conflict waiting to joined, you might think that a repudiation of American self-aggrandizement is all there is to BioShock Infinite. The uppity sky-dwellers in Columbia need to be taken down a peg, right? But what's more surprising than the rude awakenings is the degree to which Infinite is a celebration of Americana. It's a game squeezed out of Normal Rockwell paintings, set to ragtime music and filled to the brim with jaunty bygone slang. It zips and zings, even with it's beating you down with giant robot president enemies.

And, yes, Irrational creative director Ken Levine and crew are lobbing a slew of scholarly -isms for players to chew through: racism, sexism, anti-intellectualism, 18th century revivalism and the gospel of industrialism as a cradle-to-grave caretaker of the worker. The tribalism that's inextricably part of America's spiritual DNA is a big part of the game's factions and battlefields, too. The Vox Populi--made of common-man laborers--think they have too little while the well-to-do Founders essentially believe that Comstock's vision of America is a better one than the one lived on solid ground.

If you're acquainted with the language of revolution and regime change, then lots of the rhetoric slung across the conflicts in Infinite will ring familiar to you. Opponents from different classes and backgrounds slander each other. Divine/universal logic is on our side. That kind of thing. The difference is that Infinite places players in the fires of tumult and shows them the result of bloody revolts up close. Most of the people you overhear in Infinite are racist, classist, snooty and surly. Yet you feel bad for them as some of the illusions keeping Columbia aloft begin to crumble. It's a hell of a thing to believe in a dream with all your being, for both good and bad reasons.

BioShock Infinite may not the first game to try to say something about the very nature of the country it was made in--and the people who make it up--but it's certainly amongst the best. Some scenes reminded me of how people who looked like me had an unbelievable array of prejudicial forces from public and private institutions set against them. Yet, even as I played through those moments, I was reminded that America is a big experiment. That experiment in letting people chart their own destinies has sometimes made it so brother fights against brother.

It's easy to dismiss those people floating in the fractured mirror Americas that we disagree with. They're wrong; we're right. Who cares why they are the way they are? But BioShock Infinite asks us to consider that very question and gives an answer that mixes hope with bitterness, wonder with despair and allegory with history. The game doesn't offer any advice about how to make everyone get along better but it makes a powerful argument for owning-- and owning up to--all of our collective past.

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By: Unknown On 9:22 PM

LG Lucid 2 Smartphone Review

The original LG Lucid was behind the curve when it launched on Verizon Wireless last year. It had the 4G LTE connectivity that Verizon made requisite for all Android smartphones, but it was running the outdated Android 2.3 Gingerbread at a time when users were clamoring for the months-old Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

The Lucid 2 arrives just over a year later and is thankfully closer to what's expected of a modern smartphone. The device has 4G LTE, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, plenty of software additions courtesy of LG, and a favorable price for someone looking for a new Android smartphone (free with a two-year contract). Is it favorable enough? The LG Lucid 2 is a pleasing upgrade to last year's model, but it has to stand up against this year's competition. You may be surprised to learn how tall the Lucid can stand.

The LG Lucid 2 is absent of much flair. The phone follows the trend of plain black rectangular shapes, though small slips of silver on the right and left sides of the device help break up the monotony. The hardware buttons along the bottom of the phone - Back, Home, Multitasking, and Menu - are faintly visible when not used but light up when touched. The selective visibility helps not distract the user, but the same cannot be said for the top of the phone with Verizon and LG logos just in case someone might dare forget who produced the phone.

Made of plastic, the LG Lucid 2 is light and easily portable. At 122 x 63.75 x 9.9mm (4.82 x 2.51 x 0.39in) and 129g (4.55oz), it's a little thicker than most latest phones but it's also much shorter. The plastic material along the battery door has a rough feel as if someone is scratching vinyl -- you can actually replicate the sounds of a DJ by quickly rubbing fingers along the back of the phone. Despite the unfortunate material choice, the phone's small stature and curved back nestles gently in the palm, making the Lucid 2 comfortable to hold.

LG's latest Lucid has a slightly larger screen that measures 4.3-inches. The qHD resolution won't dazzle anyone, but it is manageable and does a decent enough job displaying colors and brightness at appropriate levels. The lack of an HD resolution makes the display noticeably inferior when held next to other devices, but the IPS display is respectable when viewed on its own. Text is clearly legible and video can be watched without much issue. At this size and resolution, the Lucid 2 screen is acceptable.

As a midrange phone, the Lucid 2 has familiar specs that can keep pace with any other smartphone in its class. Sadly, there are times when it can't keep pace with you. A combination of 1GB of RAM and a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor should make the LG Lucid 2 handle most activities with relative ease.

The phone is fast in specific apps, but it's not very nimble in navigation. The home screen often takes up to three seconds to display shortcuts, leaving users to stare at a wallpaper before content finally appears. Switching between the app drawer and multitasking button is fast, but pausing occurs far too often to be ignored.

The Lucid 2 has only 8GB of internal storage and a microSD slot supporting up to 64GB of additional storage. Other noteworthy specifications include Bluetooth 4.0 and the capability of supporting Qi Wireless Charging. The replacement door necessary to enable wireless charging unfortunately adds extra bulk to the Lucid 2, but the convenience of recharging by putting down the phone and walking away without having to fidget for any cables may be worth the increased thickness for some people.

LG has been accused of too-closely following Samsung's lead in its Android design choices, and the visual similarities between previous versions of Touchwiz and Optimus UI will not surprise anyone. However, those similarities are rare and reflect some positive changes that LG has made.

Built on top of Android 4.1.2, Optimus UI includes clever software changes like a customizable list of setting switches in the notification drawer. QuickMemo is another handy feature that allows users to take a screenshot of any page, write notes on top of the image, and then share it with others.

The interface seen in other apps is simpler and free of fluff. The Calendar app has a nice split view that can show a close-up of a day, week, or Agenda mode, and favors lighter colors that actually work well with the theme of white, blue, and gray found throughout the phone's interface.

Should the standard UI prove too daunting, there's also a "Starter Mode" that first time smartphone buyers can use in order to simplify some activities. Starter Mode is not as visually appealing, but it provides extra guidance for adjusting brightness and font size, setting up quick contact widgets, and adding favorite apps to the home screen. All of this can be achieved in the Standard view, but Starter Mode offers more hand-holding.

Verizon made a deal with Amazon to have Amazon's mobile apps appear on all Android smartphones, so the LG Lucid 2 comes with a healthy serving of preloaded software. These apps can be hidden but not deleted, so users will have to deal with Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Amazon MP3, Amazon Appstore, Audible, and Zappos on their device. The same goes for My Verizon, VZ Navigator, VZ Security, and Verizon Tones.

The default software from LG offers a little more value. Video Wiz combines photos and videos in montages, similar to what we've seen recently from BlackBerry and HTC. SmartShare simplifies the shared streaming of media over devices on the same Wi-Fi, and FileShare supports wireless media transfer. Rich Note is an enhanced note taking app that sports text, photos, audio, or written notes, which can also include information related to location or a date and time that they were created.

Chrome for Android is the default browser on the LG Lucid 2. The browser supports bookmark, search, history, and tab synchronization between the phone and desktop versions of Chrome, so that offers one noticeable advantage. It is reasonably fast, but anyone displeased with Chrome can find alternatives in Google Play.

Verizon has invested heavily to build and promote its 4G LTE network, and that has been greatly beneficial to most of the U.S. The Lucid 2 did a great job of latching on to an LTE signal during my recent trips to New York City. It fared as good or better than my Verizon iPhone 5 in terms of data speeds and signal strength. It also performed well as a phone; every call that I placed featured clear audio on both ends of the conversation.

A 5MP camera sits at the back of the LG Lucid 2, and a 1.3MP front-facing camera enables self-portraits or video calling. Both cameras are average and deliver photos that reflect the limitations of midrange devices.

One drawback to the rear camera is that it has an incredibly difficult time balancing exposure and brightness. Even when using the included HDR mode, photos were routinely washed-out. Users will typically need to manually change between scene modes, white balance, and ISO settings in order to improve the odds of snapping a quality image.

Any time a phone ships with a 2,460 mAh battery there are good odds that battery life will be good. Those odds can decrease somewhat if the processor is inefficient or a large display pulls down more power.

The Lucid 2 has a large capacity battery, a reasonably-clocked 1.2 GHz processor, and a 4.3-inch screen, so it has plenty of power to spare. In my week with the phone, I never needed to reach for the charger during the day. I went a day and a half with light to moderate usage, and managed to use the phone repeatedly from 8 AM to 10 PM during more active periods. Despite several emails, tweets, photos, videos, and phone calls, the Lucid 2 showed that it has great staying power.

Sequels are rarely better than the original when it comes to movies, but they are almost always better on the technology side of things. No one should be surprised that the LG Lucid 2 is a noticeable step up from its predecessor, but what might catch some people off guard is that it's also a step up from many mid-range devices currently on the market.

The Lucid 2 doesn't wow in many areas. It does excel at battery life, call quality, and data strength. Its screen is better than most devices in its class, and that makes the phone good in the areas that matter most. Hiccups in navigational performance are a drag in the overall experience of the Lucid 2, but they don't overshadow an otherwise strong midrange option.

Someone who plans to take a great deal of photos or do heavy lifting might want to pay for a more powerful phone, but the Lucid 2 can hold its own under the weight of normal activities. Considering that it's free when signing a two-year agreement, the LG Lucid 2 offers one of the best values available on Verizon Wireless.

Pros: Excellent battery life and voice quality. Really good value and overall package for the price (free on contract). Better than most mid-range offerings on the market. Decent quality display.

Cons: Performance is not stellar. Aesthetics leave a little something to be desired.

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By: Unknown On 9:09 PM

AMD Radeon HD 7990 Review

Here are some figures that AMD is throwing around to describe the Radeon HD 7990: 8.6 billion transistors, 4096 stream processors, 8.2 TFLOPS computer power, 6GB GDDR5 and 576GB/s memory bandwidth.

The Radeon HD 7990 is a monstrous graphics card measuring 30cm long (12 in), making it 3cm longer than the 7970 GHz Edition.

Like the Radeon HD 7970 which comes loaded with a generous 3GB memory buffer, the 7990 allocates 3GB to each GPU for a total card capacity of 6GB.

To feed the card enough power, AMD includes dual 8-pin PCI Express connectors -- the same setup you'll find on the HD 6990.

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By: Unknown On 9:01 PM