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Links from around the internet are only a short click away.  We have stories about tips and tricks for Windows 8 as well as Windows 8 upgrade paths.  Also, a few gaming keyboard and mouse reviews, Radeon 7950 review, a review of Team Fortress 2 after 857 hours of game time, Qbeh Indie Impressions and more.

PC Hardware/Software

Windows 8 Tips and Tricks – Tom’s Hardware

Microsoft made many drastic user interface changes in Windows 8. The Start menu we’ve all gotten accustomed to over the past one and half decades is completely gone. They’ve given us what they call a Start screen, charms, and mouse and touch gestures, but Window 8 will require quite a learning curve for new users to figure out how to get around and be productive. Based on our experience thus far with the public Windows 8 Release Preview we offer these efficiency tips.

HP Envy 14 Spectre Review – PC Perspective

One of the most impressive laptops at CES 2012 was the HP Envy Spectre. It was a sleek, attractive laptop that seemed to indicate that HP was really starting to understand what the Envy brand could be about. It’s been a long time since a PC OEM was able to challenge Apple in the arena of design. The Spectre indicated that might change.

HIS Radeon HD 7950 Turbo Review – Guru3D

When AMD launched the first series 7900 graphics cards based on the Tahiti XT GPU, the Radeon HD 7970 series was received positively in the market, a product that competes well with the GeForce GTX 580 and it can even keep up with the GeForce GTX 670.

CoolerMaster CM Storm Mouse and Pad Review – Neoseeker

Today Neoseeker will be taking a look at the CM Storm Sentinel Advance II gaming mouse and the CM Storm Speed-RXL gaming mouse pad from Cooler Master. The manufacturer is always looking to take its game one step further, and the Sentinel Advance II aims to do just that with a long list of features including 200-8200 DPI tracking resolution, 128 KB Sentinel-X memory for profiles and macros and customizable multi-color LED light system, to name just a few.

Genius Imperator Pro Gaming Keyboard Review – Benchmark Reviews

Genius introduced a strong lineup of gaming peripherals this year and today we will take a look at the GX-Gaming Imperator Pro MMORPG/RTS Gaming Keyboard. This is based on the Imperator baseline model except with extra features that you may want in a premium keyboard. Benchmark Reviews takes a look at this product today to see how well it stands against competition.

Windows 8 Upgrade Options - ZDNet

Microsoft has shared with select partners some specifics about what those upgrading to Windows 8 can expect when moving from Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Corsair Vengeance C70 Case Review – Tech Power Up

I must say, I was more than just impressed when taking a look at the case for the first time. Corsair has truly managed to take the military look, tone it down and apply it to a chassis. If they would have added stripes or military text to the case, things would have been completely different. Instead the Vengeance C70 manages to hit the golden middle in terms of design, while still remaining appealing for the masses.

PC Gaming

Source Filmmaker – Steam Store

The Source Filmmaker (SFM) is the movie-making tool built and used by us here at Valve to make movies inside the Source game engine. Because the SFM uses the same assets as the game, anything that exists in the game can be used in the movie, and vice versa. By utilizing the hardware rendering power of a modern gaming PC, the SFM allows storytellers to work in a what-you-see-is-what-you-get environment so they can iterate in the context of what it will feel like for the final audience.

Steam Greenlight – Official Site

Steam Greenlight is a new system that enlists the community’s help in picking some of the next games to be released on Steam. Developers post information, screenshots, and videos for their game and seek a critical mass of community support in order to get selected for distribution. Steam Greenlight also helps developers get feedback from potential customers and start creating an active community around their game as early in the development process as they like.

Team Fortress 2: 857 Hours Later – Rock Paper Shotgun

When the gentlemen of RPS asked me Wot I Thought about Valve’s now-free team-based FPS, Team Fortress 2, I was busy playing the game, and completely failed to notice their entreaties. They tried shouting and waving over my swearing at a pyro, but my ‘enjoyment exhalations’ – which sound a lot swearing practice and slamming a mouse on a desk – drowned them out. In the end, they had to go into the game and buy me a special ring, a novel item that sends a message through the game, and got my attention.

Indie Impressions: Qbeh – Official YouTube

Platforming and puzzles await as you figure the best way to get through the islands in the sky. The jumping is definitely a tad on the difficult side, but I was reassured by the developer that they are working on addressing this in a future patch.

Click here for title reference.

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  • ferongr

    >Windows 8 upgrade paths

    No such thing exists.

    • http://truepcgaming.com Adam Ames

      If you mean not wanting to upgrade at all, I totally agree. Win8 looks like a quick cash grab all the while attempting to push mobile technology on desktop users.

      I will stick with Win7 for the vast foreseeable future.

  • UK_John

    As long as 90%+ of single player PC games are console conversions from machine nearly 8 years old.and as long as PC is known for MMO’s that need mid level graphics to allow the maximum number of players, I do not see how PC high end hardware manufacturers will survive. For example, why do I need an AMD 7950 when my 4850 runs absolutely everything from Half Life 2, the first game I got with my upgraded machine 5 years ago, to Crisis 2, Witcher 2 and other PC only games. As to the console conversions, like Bioware titles Jade Empire and Mass Effect, I can play those 500% easier!

    As I say, if a game is written to run on an 8 year old console, why wouldn’t it run on a 3-5 year old PC that is twice as powerful?!

    If anything my current 5 year old PC is UNDERUSED with these console conversions. With games like Dreamfall: The Longest Journey having to load through every tunnel and in and out of every door! This is all about the limits of the console, not the PC. I could list others…!

    • http://truepcgaming.com Adam Ames

      When we recorded our next TPG Cast yesterday, I mentioned not having to upgrade my PC for a long while after I built it in 2006. I ran with a 8800 until last year when I got a 460.

      Unless you are into games like Metro 2033 or Crysis, there is really no reason to get the latest and greatest. Especially when the price tag is close to $400.00.

      • UK_John

        This is what I mean, we both have 5+ year old PC’s and we can play Metro 2033 and Crysis! These are PC only games. So these are part of the 10%. But for the other 90%, like Skyrim, Kingdoms of Amalur, Fallout 3 and New Vegas, etc, these games don’t push the PC at all, having to work well on 8 year old consoles! Why do you think Skyrim only takes 5GB hard disk space, when PC only games take 7-15GB?!

      • Steven S

        My last PC lasted me almost 12 years, I went from Windows 98 to Vista for crying out loud! I custom built my current machine specifically to be able to comfortably run Fallout 3 on Ultra settings. My 3GHz dual processor is the weakest chip the motherboard can handle so there is room to grow in that respect as well as only having 8GB of RAM versus the MoBos max capacity of 16GB. When the next generation of consoles come out in 2 years I doubt I’ll have any trouble keeping up with the crummy PC ports.

        Although a small part of me hopes that I’m making a mistake and should expect super high quality made for PC games in the near future. A small part of me wants to see game developers having to apologize to console users for the crummy console ports of PC games that have the graphics turned down and a lot of features cut to make them work on inferior machines. Of course this is all because a big part of me wants an excuse to build a new computer so I can get that Vengeance case, being ex-military that style really appeals to me.