Games Done Quick is a charity video game marathon organization that features high-level gameplay by speedrunners to raise money for charities such as Doctors Without Borders and the Prevent Cancer Foundation. To commemorate our partnership for their 2017 Summer Games Done Quick event this year, we've put together a custom gaming PC in a Crystal Series 460X chassis. The custom paint job and laser etching featuring the Games Done Quick logo was done by our friends at Controller Chaos. We've partnered with them before on several custom peripheral projects over the past year and their expertise definitely shows in the custom work done to the 460X chassis. Once you dig inside the case, you'll notice that we've put together a system that provides everything you need for gaming. We've partnered with Gigabyte who generously provided their AORUS GA-Z270X-GAMING K7 motherboard and AORUS GTX 1060 graphics card for the system. At the heart of the system, we installed an Intel Core i7-7700K cooled by a Hydro Series H100i V2 alongside 32GB of high speed VENGEANCE RGB DDR4 RAM. For our OS drive we used a 120GB Force Series MP500 NVMe M.2 SSD supplemented by a 480GB Neutron XTi SATA SSD for storage of games and programs with a 1TB HDD for mass storage for larger game libraries and other files/programs. Hiding under the custom painted power supply shroud is one of our popular RMx series power supplies, specifically the RM650x, which provides more than enough power for the components currently in the system with enough headroom for overclocking and additional components/upgrades in the future. We also outfitted the power supply with one of our premium cable kits featuring all white cables to go with the theme of the build. Not leaving it at high performance hardware and custom paint/glass, we also paid attention to the lighting in the system. We grabbed one of our new LIGHTING NODE PRO RGB lighting controllers so that we could put together an awesome blue and white light show using the brilliant lighting provided by our HD120 RGB fans and the individually addressable RGB LED strips we've installed in the chassis. The 2017 Summer Games Done Quick run from July 2nd - July 9th and will be raising funds for Doctors Without Borders. To learn more about GDQ check them out at gamesdonequick.com.
RPGs are all about player choice and customization, but some games take that concept a step further. In some games, the addition of moral choices turned the common decision of “Do I want this sword” into the more complex dilemma of “Do I want this sword enough to sacrifice my in-game sister and be condemned by everyone.” It IS a cool sword, though. [Warning, this article contains minor spoilers for the following games: Fable, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Mass Effect, Mass Effect 3 and Telltale’s Walking Dead.] Fable The Fable series (specifically looking at the first) laid out the player’s choices in a very black and white fashion. Boiled down to the basics, most choices ended up in mercy or death, righteous or greedy. Based on your decisions your appearance changed to reflect the choice, which resulted in the varying degrees of public worship or fear. Fable’s binary “choice” system was overly simplified, but created a lot of replay value and was one of the first instances of moral dilemmas for gamers. <br>(Art by Brussman) Fallout The wasteland in the Fallout series has always been a place where the player was presented with many crossroads where they could make a quick buck, but often at the expense of the more naive NPCs. Megaton’s fate was like a rite of passage for Fallout 3 but New Vegas explored the ability to join a cause the player thought was right, or at least the one that annoyed you the least. Many choices in these games were fueled by cold, hard caps, but those attempting to role play their very own “White Knight” character had quite a few positive outcomes to fight for. <br>(Video credit: James Osborn) Mass Effect Carrying the weight of past decisions into sequels was one of Mass Effect’s crowning achievements. Gamers either celebrated their wise decision to rescue Ashley back on Virmire or instantly regretted choosing Kaiden. The addition of “Interrupt” moments in conversations added an extra dimension of player choice and more often than not the more radical Renegade options were much more fun than the pacifying Paragon moments. RIP Mordin Solus. <br>(Video credit: Buttwind) Telltale’s Walking Dead Telltale took the binary choices from games like Fable and maniacally laughed. Rather than leave hints that indicate one decision is “good” or “evil,” Telltale litters their games with choices that leave the players wondering if they made the right choice, no matter which path they took. Even one of the writers went on the record saying that ultimately “all choices are equally wrong.” (Photo credit: Gameinformer) Presenting the player with choice is a great way that games like Fable and Mass Effect pushed their players to emotionally invest in the world. Others like some of the Far Cry series, Life is Strange and Witcher 3 contain certain quests that push the player to genuinely think about what's right and wrong, or at least an outlet for wanton destruction. What games presented you with an impossible choice that left you lying awake at night wondering what could have been? Which side did you choose?
The Force MP500 provides the breakneck speed of NVMe SSDs in an ultra-compact M.2 form-factor that allows it to be installed in any current PC platform. Here's a quick how-to so you can hit the ground running while making sure your MP500 is performing at its best. To install the Force MP500, you first need to have a motherboard that sports M.2 sockets. These will usually be between the PCIExpress slots on the motherboard (also double check your motherboard manual to ensure that the M.2 sockets support PCIe devices at 4x Gen 3.0, some older motherboards have M.2 sockets that only support SATA-based drives). Remove the Force MP500 from its packaging, you'll notice that it's safely stored in a plastic clamshell. Remove the screw from the M.2 standoff if pre-installed on your motherboard (some motherboards don't have the M.2 standoff and screw pre-installed, so check the contents of your motherboard's packaging in case they come packed-in, rather than pre-installed out of the box) Gently insert the MP500 into the M.2 slot. The M.2 slot is keyed in such a way that the MP500 will only insert one way (if it doesn't go in, don't force it in or else you'll risk damaging the MP500 and/or your motherboard). Press down on the MP500 so that the notch on the left of the drive lines up with the screw hole. Secure the MP500 by reinstalling the screw. And that's it! Now to make sure we've got it going on the OS side. Boot up your PC and go to disk management. You should get a notification that a new unformatted drive has been installed. Follow the prompts and you're good to go! Alternatively, you can use cloning software or do an OS reinstallation to migrate your OS to the Force MP500 if you'd rather have your main OS boot up from your new drive.
Cooling and lighting control for a modern system can be convoluted and messy. One program controls your lighting, another controls your fans, and maybe even a third monitors your temperatures. Our CORSAIR LINK software and the new Commander PRO combine these features into a single device and software combo. The Commander PRO is the key to controlling almost every aspect of your build’s cooling and lighting. You can monitor temperatures with the included thermistors, control PWM and DC fans, RGB LED strips, and even connect other CORSAIR LINK USB devices such as our intelligent power supplies and Hydro Series coolers with the integrated USB 2.0 HUB. Connectivity<br>
After unboxing the Commander PRO, you’ll notice that it’s surprisingly compact. Measuring in at 133mm x 69mm x 15.5mm with a single internal USB 2.0 cable and SATA power cable.<br>
Taking a quick look at the Commander PRO’s onboard connections, you’ll notice the following:<br>
2x RGB LED channel ports<br>
4x Thermal sensor headers<br>
6x 4-pin fan headers<br>
2x USB 2.0 headers Inside the Box<br>
The Commander PRO includes the following:<br>
2x RGB LED hub cables<br>
4x Thermal sensors<br>
5x Fan extension cables<br>
2x pieces of mounting tape Physical Installation<br>
Installing the Commander PRO is simple, find a flat surface inside your case and stick it in place with the included pieces of double-sided mounting tape. Make sure to plan ahead and pick a location that is reachable by all the fan and LED cables (the included fan extension cables provide added flexibility). Once you have everything connected, you’ll see something like this screenshot when you launch CORSAIR LINK. Lighting<br>
Just like the Lighting Node PRO, the Commander PRO unlocks a plethora of lighting effects that you can sync across your compatible LINK RGB devices, or you can control each device individually for wild effects. All the classic modes are there, and as of Corsair LINK 4.7 (which you can download here) you’ll have access to:<br>
- Sequential<br>
- Marquee<br>
- Strobing<br>
- Visor After you’ve given your build some personality, you’ll want to dive right into temperature sensors and fan control. This is where the Commander PRO really shines.<br><br>
Fans and Temps<br>
Several preset fan curves can be chosen from to auto adjust fan speeds. However, you can also choose fixed RPM, fixed percentage, and a custom curve mode so you can have your fans set exactly where you want them. For example, if you want a quiet system and your system temperature runs within acceptable limits, you can have the Commander PRO turn off all your system fans with a custom fan curve. You can assign this curve to multiple fans with the “Copy to” buttons so if you want all your intake fans to dynamically spin up based on your GPU temperature, you can group this configuration to a thermal sensor and using the drop-down menu to the right, copy this configuration to the appropriate fans. There’s no limit to the customization you can do. It’s your build, cool it how you want to.<br><br>
Extended Connectivity<br>
In addition to all the onboard devices you can plug directly into the Commander PRO, there’s also an integrated USB 2.0 HUB so you can plug in other USB devices that would otherwise take up a USB header on your motherboard. This is especially handy if you want to have one of our intelligent power supplies or Hydro Series liquid cooler plugged into a single USB header.<br><br>Mapping out Your System<br>
Once you have all your devices connected and configured, you can create a map of your system by going to the “Configure” tab in CORSAIR LINK. You’ll be able to pick an empty view of your chassis (with a selection of CORSAIR cases available to choose from) or you can upload your own image of your case.<br>
You can then drag and drop items from the sidebar to the left to their appropriate position on your case image. You can see I went ahead and put my fans, temperature sensors, and lights all where they should be in my Vengeance C70. The Commander PRO combines powerful fan controls and advanced lighting modes into a single device powered by CORSAIR LINK. The Commander PRO is available now and if you have any questions, feel free to ask us in the CORSAIR Forums.
From open world to first person shooter to real-time strategy, we all started gaming somewhere, and our first choice of games often influenced our taste in games to this day. Quite a few of us at CORSAIR regularly play games (some at more appropriate times of the day than others) on our own or together, and sharing fond memories of games is one of the easiest things that all of us can relate to. Here's a few of our best memories! Robert W. TES III: Morrowind I spent so many hours running around, using the physical map to explore new towns or regions, but funnily enough never actually beat the game. As a kid the quest system was a little difficult to understand, so I would use console commands to gear up in toddtest and then teleport to new places I’d never been until I’d explored every inch of the island. I’m playing through it right now to try and fulfill a mini bucket list goal of completing the main quests! (Art by StormAndy)<br><br>Blake A. Ultima Online I started my journey back in 2001 when I was given an Ultima Online CD and started playing on a private server. This is what started my addiction to online gaming and MMOs in general. I put hundreds and hundreds of hours into Ultima Online talking to friends and building communities, it’s a wonder how I even managed to graduate high school. This then passed on to World of Warcraft where I spent even more time due to not having any school and having only a part time job. I got heavily into PC gaming and always wanted to play the newest games, so I needed the right hardware. This lead into a mild obsession of building one of the best rigs one could buy at the time. It opened up a whole world of PC customization for me, like sleeving cables or painting my case. Thanks to PC gaming, it’s one of the main reasons I ended up here at CORSAIR. Justice D. Mario Party My favorite nostalgic gaming memory comes from the ‘Ghost vs Bicycle’ minigame in Mario Party 1. No, not the entire game. What a waste of time. I’m talking about that one mini-game where your character had to power a light bulb by peddling a bicycle… so that, uh, the ghost wouldn’t get you, or whatever. The one that came out when we were like 12 years old. The one where you had to rotate the N64 thumbstick faster than the other three players. The one where, if you were at all competent, you palmed the stick and used your entire arm to motor a clockwise rotation. The faster you spun, the greater chance of victory. But also: open wounds, blood, destroyed controllers, and tears. Literal tears. Oh man, it was great. This was the first ever time I’d seen physical torture being a part of a game. I wish more of today’s video games implemented this sort of immersion. No simulated world, character story, or VR experience will ever be as stimulating as an open blister on your dominant hand for a week. Thanks, Mario Party. (Art by ChrisMMiller) <br>Scott E. Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance XWA was the first time I really got deep into a multiplayer game. It was also the first PC game that inspired me to start upgrading my components for better performance. I have such fond memories of flying 2 vs 2 X-Wing or Z-95 Headhunter matches. The tournament matches were timed with an infinite respawn. It was so harrowing to be the lone survivor of a ‘furball’ (dogfight) and desperately trying to juke your damaged ship back to your wingman’s jump point. This all happened at a time when leaderboards weren’t automatically updated. You had to fill out an online form and submit screenshots to make progress. I haven’t checked in years, but I believe I’m still one of the top 20 pilots for X-Wing Alliance. Justin G. Super Mario Bros. For me, it has to be Super Mario Bros. on the NES. I must admit (however embarrassing) that I had never gotten past the first dungeon level (World 1-2) in my younger years. But what made this extremely fun were the countless hours spent with my family, especially my little brother watching me play it - actually jumping when Mario jumped or moving left and right when Mario moved in game. Yeah, they laughed when I did that but look at where we are now - motion-sensitive controls, VR experience. I’d like to think that I helped pioneer these gaming experiences. Up to this day, I have yet to get past World 1-2. I’m just horrible with platform games. (Art by SilentKV)<br> Chris L. Final Fantasy VIII FFVIII was the first game that I got to experience without my two older brothers being involved. We were always a Nintendo/PC household, and I was usually left waiting for the second controller as my two brothers raced through Star Fox, Super Punch Out, Super Mario World and others. One holiday season we got the original PlayStation, and I was given Final Fantasy VIII. Being able to game by myself in my own fantasy world was a dream come true. I got lost in the world of chocobos and magic, and realized for the first time that video games could have complex plots with deep character motivations. It changed my perspective on video games and I've been hooked on JRPGs ever since. Adam J. Age of Empires This was my first ever true gaming experience on a PC. I fell in love with the city building aspect of it and for being able to create a massive army to take out my enemies. I played hour after hour of this game. Of course every once in a while I'd have some fun with cheats. If you've played the game then you're familiar with the phrase "big daddy". Nothing like driving a missile launcher loaded black car into the medieval era! ;) (Art by Trebuxet) Tracie H. StarCraft: Brood War My favorite ‘old’ game is StarCraft: Brood War. Not only is it the most iconic RTS game of all time, but it is a game that helped drive my passion for video games and eSports to a point where I still follow the StarCraft scene to this day. One of my favorite aspects about Brood War was the unique units for each race, and their incredibly memorable voice lines. I still find myself quoting “Battlecruiser Operational!” and feeling a sense of nostalgia for the great memories that Brood War brought me. The game made such an impact on me that I am still playing StarCraft to this day – I consistently play the current SC2 expansion, Legacy of the Void, on a regular basis and am constantly reminded of the “good old Brood War days.” I am so excited that Blizzard is releasing a remastered version of StarCraft – I know that myself and many other gamers will be happy to re-live those classic StarCraft moments in this newly remastered version. What game brings back fond memories? Let us know in the comments! <br>
From open world to first person shooter to real-time strategy, we all started gaming somewhere, and our first choice of games often influenced our taste in games to this day. Quite a few of us at CORSAIR regularly play games (some at more appropriate times of the day than others) on our own or together, and sharing fond memories of games is one of the easiest things that all of us can relate to. Here's a few of our best memories! Robert W. TES III: Morrowind I spent so many hours running around, using the physical map to explore new towns or regions, but funnily enough never actually beat the game. As a kid the quest system was a little difficult to understand, so I would use console commands to gear up in toddtest and then teleport to new places I’d never been until I’d explored every inch of the island. I’m playing through it right now to try and fulfill a mini bucket list goal of completing the main quests! (Art by StormAndy)<br><br>Blake A. Ultima Online I started my journey back in 2001 when I was given an Ultima Online CD and started playing on a private server. This is what started my addiction to online gaming and MMOs in general. I put hundreds and hundreds of hours into Ultima Online talking to friends and building communities, it’s a wonder how I even managed to graduate high school. This then passed on to World of Warcraft where I spent even more time due to not having any school and having only a part time job. I got heavily into PC gaming and always wanted to play the newest games, so I needed the right hardware. This lead into a mild obsession of building one of the best rigs one could buy at the time. It opened up a whole world of PC customization for me, like sleeving cables or painting my case. Thanks to PC gaming, it’s one of the main reasons I ended up here at CORSAIR. Justice D. Mario Party My favorite nostalgic gaming memory comes from the ‘Ghost vs Bicycle’ minigame in Mario Party 1. No, not the entire game. What a waste of time. I’m talking about that one mini-game where your character had to power a light bulb by peddling a bicycle… so that, uh, the ghost wouldn’t get you, or whatever. The one that came out when we were like 12 years old. The one where you had to rotate the N64 thumbstick faster than the other three players. The one where, if you were at all competent, you palmed the stick and used your entire arm to motor a clockwise rotation. The faster you spun, the greater chance of victory. But also: open wounds, blood, destroyed controllers, and tears. Literal tears. Oh man, it was great. This was the first ever time I’d seen physical torture being a part of a game. I wish more of today’s video games implemented this sort of immersion. No simulated world, character story, or VR experience will ever be as stimulating as an open blister on your dominant hand for a week. Thanks, Mario Party. (Art by ChrisMMiller) <br>Scott E. Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance XWA was the first time I really got deep into a multiplayer game. It was also the first PC game that inspired me to start upgrading my components for better performance. I have such fond memories of flying 2 vs 2 X-Wing or Z-95 Headhunter matches. The tournament matches were timed with an infinite respawn. It was so harrowing to be the lone survivor of a ‘furball’ (dogfight) and desperately trying to juke your damaged ship back to your wingman’s jump point. This all happened at a time when leaderboards weren’t automatically updated. You had to fill out an online form and submit screenshots to make progress. I haven’t checked in years, but I believe I’m still one of the top 20 pilots for X-Wing Alliance. Justin G. Super Mario Bros. For me, it has to be Super Mario Bros. on the NES. I must admit (however embarrassing) that I had never gotten past the first dungeon level (World 1-2) in my younger years. But what made this extremely fun were the countless hours spent with my family, especially my little brother watching me play it - actually jumping when Mario jumped or moving left and right when Mario moved in game. Yeah, they laughed when I did that but look at where we are now - motion-sensitive controls, VR experience. I’d like to think that I helped pioneer these gaming experiences. Up to this day, I have yet to get past World 1-2. I’m just horrible with platform games. (Art by SilentKV)<br> Chris L. Final Fantasy VIII FFVIII was the first game that I got to experience without my two older brothers being involved. We were always a Nintendo/PC household, and I was usually left waiting for the second controller as my two brothers raced through Star Fox, Super Punch Out, Super Mario World and others. One holiday season we got the original PlayStation, and I was given Final Fantasy VIII. Being able to game by myself in my own fantasy world was a dream come true. I got lost in the world of chocobos and magic, and realized for the first time that video games could have complex plots with deep character motivations. It changed my perspective on video games and I've been hooked on JRPGs ever since. Adam J. Age of Empires This was my first ever true gaming experience on a PC. I fell in love with the city building aspect of it and for being able to create a massive army to take out my enemies. I played hour after hour of this game. Of course every once in a while I'd have some fun with cheats. If you've played the game then you're familiar with the phrase "big daddy". Nothing like driving a missile launcher loaded black car into the medieval era! ;) (Art by Trebuxet) Tracie H. StarCraft: Brood War My favorite ‘old’ game is StarCraft: Brood War. Not only is it the most iconic RTS game of all time, but it is a game that helped drive my passion for video games and eSports to a point where I still follow the StarCraft scene to this day. One of my favorite aspects about Brood War was the unique units for each race, and their incredibly memorable voice lines. I still find myself quoting “Battlecruiser Operational!” and feeling a sense of nostalgia for the great memories that Brood War brought me. The game made such an impact on me that I am still playing StarCraft to this day – I consistently play the current SC2 expansion, Legacy of the Void, on a regular basis and am constantly reminded of the “good old Brood War days.” I am so excited that Blizzard is releasing a remastered version of StarCraft – I know that myself and many other gamers will be happy to re-live those classic StarCraft moments in this newly remastered version. What game brings back fond memories? Let us know in the comments! <br>
From open world to first person shooter to real-time strategy, we all started gaming somewhere, and our first choice of games often influenced our taste in games to this day. Quite a few of us at CORSAIR regularly play games (some at more appropriate times of the day than others) on our own or together, and sharing fond memories of games is one of the easiest things that all of us can relate to. Here's a few of our best memories! Robert W. TES III: Morrowind I spent so many hours running around, using the physical map to explore new towns or regions, but funnily enough never actually beat the game. As a kid the quest system was a little difficult to understand, so I would use console commands to gear up in toddtest and then teleport to new places I’d never been until I’d explored every inch of the island. I’m playing through it right now to try and fulfill a mini bucket list goal of completing the main quests! (Art by StormAndy)<br><br>Blake A. Ultima Online I started my journey back in 2001 when I was given an Ultima Online CD and started playing on a private server. This is what started my addiction to online gaming and MMOs in general. I put hundreds and hundreds of hours into Ultima Online talking to friends and building communities, it’s a wonder how I even managed to graduate high school. This then passed on to World of Warcraft where I spent even more time due to not having any school and having only a part time job. I got heavily into PC gaming and always wanted to play the newest games, so I needed the right hardware. This lead into a mild obsession of building one of the best rigs one could buy at the time. It opened up a whole world of PC customization for me, like sleeving cables or painting my case. Thanks to PC gaming, it’s one of the main reasons I ended up here at CORSAIR. Justice D. Mario Party My favorite nostalgic gaming memory comes from the ‘Ghost vs Bicycle’ minigame in Mario Party 1. No, not the entire game. What a waste of time. I’m talking about that one mini-game where your character had to power a light bulb by peddling a bicycle… so that, uh, the ghost wouldn’t get you, or whatever. The one that came out when we were like 12 years old. The one where you had to rotate the N64 thumbstick faster than the other three players. The one where, if you were at all competent, you palmed the stick and used your entire arm to motor a clockwise rotation. The faster you spun, the greater chance of victory. But also: open wounds, blood, destroyed controllers, and tears. Literal tears. Oh man, it was great. This was the first ever time I’d seen physical torture being a part of a game. I wish more of today’s video games implemented this sort of immersion. No simulated world, character story, or VR experience will ever be as stimulating as an open blister on your dominant hand for a week. Thanks, Mario Party. (Art by ChrisMMiller) <br>Scott E. Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance XWA was the first time I really got deep into a multiplayer game. It was also the first PC game that inspired me to start upgrading my components for better performance. I have such fond memories of flying 2 vs 2 X-Wing or Z-95 Headhunter matches. The tournament matches were timed with an infinite respawn. It was so harrowing to be the lone survivor of a ‘furball’ (dogfight) and desperately trying to juke your damaged ship back to your wingman’s jump point. This all happened at a time when leaderboards weren’t automatically updated. You had to fill out an online form and submit screenshots to make progress. I haven’t checked in years, but I believe I’m still one of the top 20 pilots for X-Wing Alliance. Justin G. Super Mario Bros. For me, it has to be Super Mario Bros. on the NES. I must admit (however embarrassing) that I had never gotten past the first dungeon level (World 1-2) in my younger years. But what made this extremely fun were the countless hours spent with my family, especially my little brother watching me play it - actually jumping when Mario jumped or moving left and right when Mario moved in game. Yeah, they laughed when I did that but look at where we are now - motion-sensitive controls, VR experience. I’d like to think that I helped pioneer these gaming experiences. Up to this day, I have yet to get past World 1-2. I’m just horrible with platform games. (Art by SilentKV)<br> Chris L. Final Fantasy VIII FFVIII was the first game that I got to experience without my two older brothers being involved. We were always a Nintendo/PC household, and I was usually left waiting for the second controller as my two brothers raced through Star Fox, Super Punch Out, Super Mario World and others. One holiday season we got the original PlayStation, and I was given Final Fantasy VIII. Being able to game by myself in my own fantasy world was a dream come true. I got lost in the world of chocobos and magic, and realized for the first time that video games could have complex plots with deep character motivations. It changed my perspective on video games and I've been hooked on JRPGs ever since. Adam J. Age of Empires This was my first ever true gaming experience on a PC. I fell in love with the city building aspect of it and for being able to create a massive army to take out my enemies. I played hour after hour of this game. Of course every once in a while I'd have some fun with cheats. If you've played the game then you're familiar with the phrase "big daddy". Nothing like driving a missile launcher loaded black car into the medieval era! ;) (Art by Trebuxet) Tracie H. StarCraft: Brood War My favorite ‘old’ game is StarCraft: Brood War. Not only is it the most iconic RTS game of all time, but it is a game that helped drive my passion for video games and eSports to a point where I still follow the StarCraft scene to this day. One of my favorite aspects about Brood War was the unique units for each race, and their incredibly memorable voice lines. I still find myself quoting “Battlecruiser Operational!” and feeling a sense of nostalgia for the great memories that Brood War brought me. The game made such an impact on me that I am still playing StarCraft to this day – I consistently play the current SC2 expansion, Legacy of the Void, on a regular basis and am constantly reminded of the “good old Brood War days.” I am so excited that Blizzard is releasing a remastered version of StarCraft – I know that myself and many other gamers will be happy to re-live those classic StarCraft moments in this newly remastered version. What game brings back fond memories? Let us know in the comments! <br>
Corsair LINK 4.7.0.77 introduces support for Vengeance RGB and Vengeance LED DDR4 memory to the AMD Ryzen platform, bringing wirefree lighting control of DRAM to all the current mainstream desktop platforms. If you haven't installed Corsair LINK, you can find it in the "Downloads" section of our website. Alternatively, you can update Corsair LINK on your AMD Ryzen system by clicking "Options" then "About", and clicking the "Check for updates" button. Once you have Corsair LINK 4.7.0.77 installed, you should see a screen similar to what I have on my test bench in this screenshot: You'll see that your Ryzen processor is identified as well as either Vengeance RGB or Vengeance LED DRAM information and lighting. To configure lighting, simply click on any of the DIMMs in the DRAM panel and adjust lighting to your heart's content. For more information about the different lighting options available, you can check out this blog post where we covered exactly that. If you're planning on building an AMD Ryzen-based system, here's a handy list of Vengeance LED/RGB DRAM kits that are currently compatible with the platform. This list is subject to change, so for best results, it's strongly encouraged that you check your motherboard manufacturer's QVL for your particular motherboard model as well as have the latest BIOS update for your motherboard installed, especially for kits rated for speeds higher than 3000MHz. SKU Series Modules Capacity Frequency CAS CMR32GX4M4A2666C16 VENGEANCE RGB 4 32GB 2666 16 CMR16GX4M2A2666C16 VENGEANCE RGB 2 16GB 2666 16 CMU64GX4M4A2666C16 VENGEANCE LED 4 64GB 2666 16 CMU64GX4M4A2666C16B VENGEANCE LED 4 64GB 2666 16 CMU64GX4M4A2666C16R VENGEANCE LED 4 64GB 2666 16 CMU32GX4M2A2666C16 VENGEANCE LED 2 32GB 2666 16 CMU32GX4M2A2666C16R VENGEANCE LED 2 32GB 2666 16 CMU32GX4M4A2666C16 VENGEANCE LED 4 32GB 2666 16 CMU32GX4M4A2666C16B VENGEANCE LED 4 32GB 2666 16 CMU32GX4M4A2666C16R VENGEANCE LED 4 32GB 2666 16 CMU16GX4M2A2666C16 VENGEANCE LED 2 16GB 2666 16 CMU16GX4M2A2666C16R VENGEANCE LED 2 16GB 2666 16 CMR16GX4M2C3000C15 VENGEANCE RGB 2 16GB 3000 15 CMU16GX4M2C3000C15 VENGEANCE LED 2 16GB 3000 15 CMU16GX4M2C3000C15B VENGEANCE LED 2 16GB 3000 15 CMU16GX4M2C3000C15R VENGEANCE LED 2 16GB 3000 15 CMR16GX4M2C3200C16 VENGEANCE RGB 2 16GB 3200 16 CMU16GX4M2C3200C16 VENGEANCE LED 2 16GB 3200 16 CMU16GX4M2C3200C16B VENGEANCE LED 2 16GB 3200 16 CMU16GX4M2C3200C16R VENGEANCE LED 2 16GB 3200 16 <br>
We were at the UK LAN-event Insomnia 61 together with Overclockers UK. We had one of our influencers there, BoMenzzz, and we teamed up with Bit-Techs inhouse modder Dave "davido_labido" Alcock to build a custom watercooled PC for BoMenzzz that was revealed at the event. In this blog Dave himself will show how he built this custom PC. Hi folks, my name is Dave, but most people know me online as ‘davido_labido’. I have recently taken the role of an in-house computer modder at www.bit-tech.net. Which basically means I get to play with computer equipment and write about my experiences. Not a bad job huh? The first build I decided to do for bit-tech.net was for Corsair and particularly its up and coming twitch streamer BoMenzzz. BoMenzzz recently managed to gain sponsorship from Corsair so she is doing very well. When I spoke to the Corsair rep, he mentioned that BoMenzzz had a bit of an ugly computer which wasn’t fit for a Twitch streamer! We decided something needed to be done. Her old computer was a nest of cables and looked rather messy, it was quite loud and just needed some TLC. Working alongside Corsair and BoMenzzz we decided what hardware we needed and found that she wanted a white and pink colour scheme. The build would be liquid cooled to keep audio levels down. Alphacool kindly provided the liquid cooling. When all of the hardware arrived we knew it was going to be an interesting build! First thing was to strip the case down to ensure that we could make the Corsair 460X as white as possible. I wanted to try and get a build as white as possible so that the pink would contrast against it. I did this by drilling out all of the rivets, it took a while, Corsair really like to ensure their cases stay together! After the build was stripped down it looked a little like this; so many parts! Anything that was metal on the case, I popped along to the powder coaters just to save time. Everything else I sprayed myself. This included all of the liquid cooling parts and plastic parts of the Corsair 460X. Here you can see the Alphacool radiator getting a blast of paint on my spray rack. The spray rack is a garden grow rack and is very cheap indeed. It ensures that wind and rain does not affect the spraying however. To hide all of the holes in the motherboard tray that we didn’t want to see, I made a few acrylic plates. I had to then cut the holes that we wanted our cables to pass through. The holes that were cut started off very rough, like in the picture, but with a bit of filing and sanding they became smooth. Now that everything was sprayed I could do a test fit and figure out how I was going to do the loop. I knew that everything was going to be a tight fit when I requested the hardware, I didn’t realise just how tight it was going to be though. There was less than an 8mm gap between the end of the GPU and the radiator! Speaking of the graphics card, it really ruined the white and pink colour scheme, it just looked wrong. I do love the design of the MSI GPUs though, so I decided to spray it and do some other little mods. First of all we had to remove the red parts from the black surround. Once this was done, we sanded, primed, sprayed and lacquered them all so that they were a nice bright pink. This suited the build far more and tied in all of the colours. Next on the list of jobs was a set of custom sleeved cables. This meant measuring, cutting and sleeving all of the cables that would be seen. Some of these cables are ‘Y’ cables. This means that there is 1 cable at the motherboard end, but 2 cables at the PSU end. I got around this problem by creating some brand new ‘Y’ cables. Once all of the cables were done they looked great. They were the perfect length for the look that I wanted and they were now white and pink! As well as having a love for gaming, streaming and the colours white and pink, BoMenzzz really likes Pandas! I decided to try and sneak one into the build somewhere. The best place I could find was on the PSU cover that is included with the Corsair 460X. When I was spraying the cooler for the MSI GPU, I decided to add a little bit of BoMenzzz branding. Using a vinyl cutter I created a little logo on the side that lights up. I also created a really simple backplate out of some scrap acrylic and some vinyl. Once the build was done, I filled it up with some Mayhems Pastel Pink. I think this colour is awesome in the Alphacool frosted tubing. After it was all filled and everything was powered, it looked rather tasty! We decided to present BoMenzzz with the build at Insomnia 60, a UK gaming festival. Needless to say, I think she was happy with it! Her PC garnered the most attention out of all the other builds at the event which was pretty awesome considering there was some other great builds there. It was a pleasure to work with Corsair, Alphacool and also BoMenzzz! If you would like to check out BoMenzzz stream, click here: https://www.twitch.tv/bomenzzz To check out a more detailed build log, check out our three-part series on Bit-Tech here:<br> https://www.bit-tech.net/modding/project-logs/2017/03/17/bomenzzz-build-part-1/1<br>https://www.bit-tech.net/modding/project-logs/2017/03/21/corsair-460x-build-for-bomenzzz-part-2/1<br>https://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2017/04/21/corsair-460x-build-for-bomenzzz-part-3/1
The Corsair AM4 AMD Retention Bracket kit is now available worldwide for those who have made the move to AMD’s latest platform along with our Hydro Series liquid CPU coolers. /corsairmedia/sys_master/productcontent/blog_AM4BracketInstallation-Content-1.png The Hydro Series coolers listed below are already compatible right out of the box:<br><br>
H60, H110i (H110i GT), and H100i<br><br>
But if you have one of these coolers listed below, you'll need to order the AMD Retention Bracket kit to install your Hydro Series cooler: H50, H55, H75, H80i v2 (H80i GT), H90, H100i v2 (H100i GTX), H105, H110i GTX, H115<br><br>
Before we get started, let’s look at what comes in the package. /corsairmedia/sys_master/productcontent/blog_AM4BracketInstallation-Content-2.jpg/corsairmedia/sys_master/productcontent/blog_AM4BracketInstallation-Content-3.jpg/corsairmedia/sys_master/productcontent/blog_AM4BracketInstallation-Content-4.jpg<br><br>
(1) AM4 bracket for circular pumps<br><br>
(4x) Collard standoffs<br><br>
(4x) Thumbscrews<br><br> AMD AM4 Mounting Kit installation instructions:<br><br>
(1) Remove the stock AMD mounting clips from the front of your motherboard. /corsairmedia/sys_master/productcontent/blog_AM4BracketInstallation-Content-5.gif<br><br>
(2) Insert the AM4 standoffs into the original AMD back plate, collared side down. /corsairmedia/sys_master/productcontent/blog_AM4BracketInstallation-Content-6.gif (3) Replace the stock Intel bracket on your Hydro Series cooler with the AMD bracket provided in the kit. /corsairmedia/sys_master/productcontent/blog_AM4BracketInstallation-Content-7.gif And from there, proceed with your typical Hydro Series cooler installation (don't forget to plug in your power and USB cables)! /corsairmedia/sys_master/productcontent/blog_AM4BracketInstallation-Content-8.gif For more information, consult your user's guide or check out our forums!
