Immersion cooling is typically associated with large-scale server environments where conventional air-cooled setups are insufficient. Efforts have been made to commercialize the technology, but, of course, enthusiasts wanting to push their hardware will not wait for any revolution—they'll push through to power their own breakthrough.

Such is the story of u/Tra5shL0rd on Reddit, who took to r/nvidia to showcase his crazy DIY immersion cooling apparatus, only with a further twist. In lieu of mineral oil—which is typically used for these endeavours—he dipped his graphics cards in ATF, or Automatic Transmission Fluid, that is used in cars.

The cooling works remarkably simply. The host took a large plastic container in which he put a ROG Strix GTX 1060 stripped down to its PCB and heatsink, connected via a PCIe riser cable to a clean motherboard outside. He poured 2.1 gallons of ATF on top of it, filling the tub about halfway through. Then he installed a submersible pump inside the tub to circulate the fluid, which was connected to an external pump that facilitated the exchange of hot ATF for cold. That was the first loop.

The second loop involved taking the aforementioned warm ATF and running it through a Dodge Journey transmission cooler, which acted essentially as a radiator to cool it down. The chilled fluid then flows back into the tub, completing the loop and actually creating something akin to a real car's internal mechanism. It's wild, and entirely non-practical, but it's exactly the kind of thing hobbists enjoy.

1080Ti overclock, powered by Dodge motors and Valvoline. from r/nvidia

TrashBench, as the tinkerer is called over on YouTube, ran some benchmarks, and the results were great. Across various gaming and synthetic tests, he saw a consistent improvement of about 10%, and up to 16% in 3DMark. This was attributed in large part thanks to the 2160MHz boost clock that the GTX 1060 was able to achieve, surrounded by ATF, up from 1886MHz stock speeds. Overall, a resounding success that netted 1st place in Firestrike global scores.

Curiously, a 1080 Ti was also thrown into the mix with a similar teardown of the Strix variant, but these results were milder. The 1080 Ti was running at around 1960 MHz with air cooling, but it pushed to 2114 MHz when cooled with the ATF. TrashBench saw a roughly 7% increase in FPS, but because the 1080 Ti is already a power-hungry GPU with minimal headroom, this was not as impressive. The GTX 1060 more than doubled the 1080 Ti's gain and ultimately emerged as the real winner.

All in all, it was a fun experiment, but it left a whole lot of mess. TrashBench even specifically advises against using ATF, as it stains everything and is a nightmare to clean, which is something you'll be busy with since transmission fluid will get into every nook and cranny of your hardware. The Reddit post ends with a tip of the hat to Dodge, who helped power this cooling system with their transmission cooler. The ATF was from Valvoline, who unfortunately missed the shout-out.

Modern data centers (DCs) use a variety of cooling system types. Most DCs today still use air cooling as the baseline, with chilled air circulated through racks and hot air exhausted out, but this method struggles with modern high-power CPUs and GPUs. Starting with Nvidia's Hopper and expanding with Blackwell, operators are moving toward liquid cooling, specifically cold plate and direct-to-chip solutions, which can be integrated with existing air-cooling infrastructure.

However, while more advanced systems like immersion cooling exist, they see limited adoption despite claims of explosive benefits in performance density, overall cost, and efficiency. However, as next generations of AI accelerators are set to increase power consumption, immersion cooling may become inevitable three or four years down the road. But is the industry ready?

Data centers are getting hotter

AI data centers dissipate heat using a combination of airflow, liquid circulation, and heat exchange systems that move the thermal load outside the facility. The basic principle is to move heat away from hot chips (CPUs, GPUs, switches) into a medium — air, water, or a dielectric fluid (such as water glycol) — and then carry that heat to cooling towers, chillers, or evaporative units where it is released into the atmosphere.

In air-cooled DCs, servers push hot exhaust air into return plenums of HVACs, which is then cooled by chillers or evaporative cooling towers before being recirculated, which is cheap and easy to implement, but is insufficient for AI data centers that use power-hungry hardware such as Nvidia's Blackwell GPUs (which are some of the most power hungry processors in the industry).

In liquid-cooled systems, the heat is absorbed by circulating coolant, which flows to a heat exchanger, then the heat is either rejected into facility water loops and cooling towers or partially dissipated through evaporative cooling and then vented outside the premises. In this case, this allows liquid cooling to remove the bulk of the heat load (let's say, 80% - 85%), whereas residual heat is still handled by traditional air cooling.

For now, Nvidia recommends using direct-to-chip (D2C) cooling, wherein a cold plate with liquid running through it is mated with the processor, for Blackwell data center GPUs that can typically be deployed in combination with existing air cooling and liquid cooling infrastructure. Nvidia and its partners believe that D2C cold plates deliver sufficient cooling capacity for Blackwell GPU thermal design power that spans from 1.2 to 1.4 kW. Furthermore, cold plates can be engineered directly into SXM module reference designs and server chassis, which simplifies standardized deployment across OEM partners (Dell, HPE, Lenovo, Supermicro, etc.).

Nvidia's Blackwell GPUs consume up to 1.4 kW per unit, so a GB300 NVL72 rack consumes at least 120 kW, which is well beyond what traditional air-cooled and even liquid data centers were designed for. As a result, data center operators had to upgrade their power delivery infrastructure, which includes new busbars, power distribution units (PDUs), higher-capacity cabling, backup UPSes, and electrical rooms. In addition, they had to upgrade their cooling loops. However, the critical part is that they did not have to completely rebuild their data centers because of Blackwell's power consumption.

And will get even hotter

However, next-generation AI data centers — or as Nvidia calls them AI factories — will likely require more upgrades, or will have to be built from scratch as power consumption of future AI accelerators is expected to increase dramatically in the coming years.

Nvidia's next-generation Rubin and Rubin Ultra data center GPUs are expected (by KAIST and some industry sources) to increase power consumption to 1,800W to 3,600W, respectively, which will again increase the power draw of data center facilities. However, it is projected that Nvidia and its partners will continue to use direct liquid cooling with these processors, even with NVL576 systems (with 144 compute chiplets) based on the Kyber rack architecture. Meanwhile, exascalers planning to use Kyber racks will still have to upgrade their power delivery infrastructure and computer halls substantially to accommodate such systems.

Immersion cooling rises

However, starting with Feynman GPUs due in 2028 that are expected to consume 4,400W per package, KAIST and some sources familiar with Nvidia plans believe that the company is indeed looking towards immersion cooling systems. This requires placing the server boards and equipment directly in a vat of cooling liquid that isn't electrically conductive.

Immersion cooling is nothing particularly new. Placing electrical equipment — such as transformers — into dielectric fluids for cooling purposes was already practiced before 1887, according to Wikipedia. Cray and IBM experimented with immersion cooling in the 1960s and the 1980s, but no large-scale supercomputer with immersion cooling was built back then.

However, immersion cooling came back to the focal point in the mid-2010s when its total cost of ownership (TCO) benefits made it attractive for cryptominers, which pushed the technology towards maturization. In 2017, numerous start-ups built immersion cooling systems for crypto and growing data center cooling needs.

In 2018, the Open Compute Project added immersion under its Advanced Cooling Solutions track, followed in 2019 by the first industry standards unveiled at the OCP Summit in San Jose. Intel has worked with various companies on immersion cooling technologies and, in 2022 – 2023, even announced some practical results.

Immersion cooling offers superior efficiency and can manage extremely dense racks with heat dissipation of well over 100 kW, yet it requires specialized infrastructure and lacks vendor certification. To that end, Nvidia does not exactly endorse immersion cooling for Blackwell GPUs for many reasons:

• Firstly, the long-term reliability of components in dielectric fluids is uncertain, and without established data on component lifespan, the company can hardly provide any warranties.
• Secondly, modern compute halls are not ready for immersion coolers. Immersion requires purpose-built tanks, pumps, and fluid management systems that are (at least for now) not compatible with existing data center plumbing.
• Thirdly, while OCP seems to have standards for immersion cooling setups, the technology is still not completely standardized, which makes its implementation expensive for partners.

Also, not all immersion cooling systems work the same way.

Different types of immersion cooling

Immersion cooling systems typically used by cryptocurrency mining farms and demonstrated at tradeshows like Computex represent Single-Phase Immersion Cooling. Servers are submerged in a non-conductive dielectric oil (or a special engineered fluid) that absorbs heat directly from components. Pumps circulate the warmed liquid to a heat exchanger, where it releases the heat, gets cooler, and then gets recirculated. Such immersion cooling systems are relatively cheap (you can get a turn-key 12 kW-capable one with coolant for $2,108) and useful for cryptocurrency and small-scale HPC, but are hardly scalable to what Nvidia calls 'AI factories'.

In Two-Phase Immersion Cooling systems, servers are immersed in a dielectric fluid with a low boiling point. Heat from chips causes the fluid to boil into vapor, which rises, condenses on a cooled coil or plate at the top of the tank, and drips back down, thus creating a self-contained cooling cycle. This cycle removes heat more efficiently and can support extremely high rack densities, well exceeding 100 kW.

Furthermore, since two-phase immersion cooling systems do not have any pumps or other means of forced convection, this means one or two fewer potential points of failure. However, the systems themselves rely on specialized and expensive fluids like 3M Novec (which is no longer produced as they contained hazardous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which 3M committed to no longer produce), they must be hermetic to prevent evaporation, and they require carefully engineered infrastructure that will replace that of traditional data centers.

For now, a 40U rack equivalent tank costs $20,000, according to DataCenterDynamics. Specialized dielectric fluid with a low boiling point can cost another $15,000 - $20,000 (3M Novec replacements can cost $1,876 per pail). Also, since 3M ceased to produce dielectric fluids with a low boiling point in 2024, this greatly complicates the development and standardization of two-phase immersion cooling.

In fact, liquids are among the biggest concerns as they are not standardized and nobody knows how they can influence hardware over the long term, which may cause abnormal failure rates. In addition, vapor loss causes frequent fluid top-ups, which increases servicing costs. Meanwhile, servicing submerged hardware itself requires throttling or shutting down tanks to limit boiling, which potentially increases downtime.

Without set standards or even a clear path to the evolution of liquid immersion cooling, different companies try different approaches. For example, Vertiv proposes building hybrid systems that combine two-phase immersion cooling with other cooling strategies, including the use of water loops or rear-door heat exchangers to remove residual heat.

Few deployments so far

When it comes to big companies, none have deployed immersion cooling at scale. Neither AWS, Google, Meta, nor Oracle has confirmed deployments of immersion cooling at any scale.

Microsoft was the first major cloud provider to place two-phase immersion cooling into real production, using tanks filled with a low-boiling dielectric liquid to cool down CPUs and GPUs at its data center in Quincy, Washington, in 2021. The setup co-designed by Microsoft and Wywinn submerges 300W CPUs and 700W GPUs into 3M's engineered fluid, which boils at about 50°C.

Microsoft's tests showed that this method can cut energy use per server by 5% to 15% compared with conventional cooling, while also enabling overclocking to absorb workload spikes such as those seen during peak Teams meeting times. Beyond efficiency, immersion also allows denser server layouts, which push computing capacity higher without the limits of airflow.

Microsoft also mentions that immersion cooling may also lower hardware failure rates by reducing exposure to oxygen and humidity, similar to findings from Project Natick's underwater data center trial. If proven viable, immersion cooling could be used in environments where components are not immediately replaced when they fail. However, the company has not announced any updates to its immersion cooling project, so we do not know whether findings of the experiment can be used to cool down next-generation AI data centers several years from now.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

There might be light at the end of the tunnel. Intel and Shell introduced the first fully certified single-phase immersion cooling solution for data centers earlier this year. The collaboration also involved Supermicro and Submer, which provides it with some weight in the industry.

The solution relies on Shell's single-phase dielectric fluids developed from the company's gas-to-liquids (GTL) chemistry and ester formulations for maximum thermal performance. These fluids are electrically non-conductive, PFAS-free, and biodegradable to varying degrees, which makes them safer and more sustainable than 3M's discontinued fluorocarbon-based options.

Shell claims that using its fluids instead of air cooling, power consumption can be reduced by as much as 48%, capital and operating expenses can drop by up to 33%, and even computer hall floorspace can shrink. Intel hasn't disclosed the exact benefits for its CPUs, though it is obvious that it can get server temperatures significantly lower with single-phase immersion cooling systems.

The solution is validated to operate in ambient conditions at up to 45°C and is certified for usage with platforms running the 4^th and 5^th Gen Intel Xeon processors, with Intel providing an Immersion Warranty Rider to cover their use. On the one hand, this reaffirms that Intel can guarantee that immersion cooling provides durability equal to air-cooled systems. But on the other hand, the warranty is only valid for previous-generation Intel Xeon CPUs, which are not exactly used for the most powerful machines around.

But the key thing about the announcement is that three major high-tech companies —Intel, Shell, and Supermicro — joined by Submer are actively working on solutions for single-phase immersion cooling systems. We do not know whether this collaboration can be expanded to two-phase immersion cooling solutions, though.

Summary: Industry should act now

Traditional data centers rely mainly on air cooling, but this approach is increasingly insufficient for AI data centers that use high-power CPUs and GPUs like Nvidia's Blackwell-series GPUs. To cope with rising power densities, DC operators are adopting liquid cooling, which is expected to work for today's hardware as well as accelerators like next-generation Rubin and Rubin Ultra that are expected to reach 1.8 kW – 3.6 kW. However, industry sources and institutes like KAIST expect Nvidia and its partners to require immersion liquid cooling for codenamed Feynman GPUs that are projected to have a power consumption of around 4.4 kW.

But while immersion cooling is a likely necessity within the next few years, it is hardly ready for prime time. Single-phase immersion is relatively cheap but hard to scale for AI data centers that house thousands of GPUs; whereas two-phase systems, which use boiling dielectric fluids, are far more efficient but expensive and complex to build.

So far, none of the big cloud service providers (except Microsoft, but we do not know the scale of its experiment) have attempted to deploy immersion liquid cooling at any significant scale, despite the fact that OCP outlined specifications for immersion liquid cooling in 2019. To that end, it does not look like all large CSPs are interested in immersion cooling.

Momentum may build again as Intel, Shell, Supermicro, and Submer recently introduced the first fully certified single-phase immersion solution for Intel's Xeon processors that does not void warranty. The collaboration signals growing interest in standardized, certified immersion solutions; however, we are talking about only four companies, which is not enough to prep the immersion cooling ecosystem for launch in 2028 – 2029.

Enermax, which is known for its high-end PC components like power supplies, cooling solutions, and PC cases, just showed off an immersion-cooling system at Computex 2025, designed to handle up to 3,300 watts of power. The Cirrus Mk1 uses two-phase liquid immersion cooling to effectively cool components.

The thermally conductive dielectric liquid used for the system has a low evaporation point, allowing it to effectively transfer heat away from the CPU and GPU. A condenser inside the tank then transfers that heat away and pushes it out to a heat exchanger located away from the system.

This means that the Cirrus Mk1 uses two independent thermal loops, ensuring better efficiency and thermal management. This also ensures that the refrigerant is isolated from the rest of the environment, especially as it uses short-chain PFAS. This specific coolant has zero ozone depletion potential and ultra-low global warming potential, but it’s still likely expensive, so you don’t want to accidentally spill it.

The system displayed on the showroom floor features an AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7960X paired to four Nvidia RTX 5090 GPUs and a Gigabyte TRX50 AI-TOP motherboard. Overall, the system is quite hefty, measuring 700 mm tall and 500 mm in diameter and weighing 70 kg. It also has a heat exchanger and a control pump, so this device will take up a lot of space on your desk.

Power is delivered through two Enermax Platimax II 2400 watts, putting out a total of 4800 watts for both the cooling and computer systems. This is more than what the average outlet can handle, so you definitely need a custom-made electric circuit if you plan to deploy this system.

Intel today announced that its innovative immersion cooling technology has gained its first big customer - the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Intel's cooling tech will be developed and implemented with the backing of $1.71 million in funding over three years. This particular technology, which is expected to come into play in the DOE's data centers, was outlined back in April, including novel technologies capable of cooling processors up to 2,000 W. Intel is one of 15 organizations that the energy department has entrusted with creating cooling solutions for upcoming data centers. 

The hefty funding comes via the COOLERCHIPS program – Cooling Operations Optimized for Leaps in Energy, Reliability, and Carbon Hyperefficiency for Information Processing Systems. This program is supported by the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). Apparently, the goal is to "enable the continuation of Moore’s Law," by allowing Intel to include more processing cores to its highest performance processors, with the reassurance that there will be coolers capable of handling 2,000 W chips. For context, today's most powerful data center processors are fast approaching 1,000 W.

Intel is working with a mix of academic and industry researchers to create its two-phase immersion cooling solution. Being of the two-phases type means that, as well as the electronics being cooled by being immersed in liquid, the cooling action is enhanced by the coolant going through a phase change. From Intel's description, we understand that its immersion system is combined with vapor chambers (the phase change location). Moreover, heatsinks within the phase change chambers use a kind of coral-like design for efficient fluid flow, enhanced by innovative boiling enhancement coatings. The way that the coral-like heat sink design will be generatively created and 3D printed reminds us of cooling technology solutions touted by Diabatix and Amnovis, but Intel's press release doesn't specifically name any industry partners. As for the chamber coatings, they might use nanocoatings, possibly graphene, for the touted "boiling enhancement" properties.

As well as enabling chips approaching or exceeding 2,000 W TDPs, the new immersion cooling tech from Intel is claimed to be more efficient than any existing cooling technologies. This is important, as Intel claims that cooling currently accounts for up to 40% of total data center energy use. Intel says the teams assisting in this project are aiming to improve the two-phase system that is in development. Its ambitious goal is to improve the 0.025 degrees C/watt capability of the existing system by 2.5X or more.

Intel researchers are working on novel solutions to cool next-gen chips up to 2000W. The iconic x86 chipmaker already threw its weight behind immersion cooling a few years back. However, the march of Moore’s Law and increasing chip densities means Intel is now busy looking to adapt/augment its best cooling technology with “new materials and structures.”

Cooling is a very serious business, especially in the data center. Improvements to cooling efficiency can significantly impact the bottom line of a data center operator. Powerful processors will chew through the lion’s share of watts, but research suggests cooling accounts for up to 40% of a facility’s power consumption. Better cooling could also allow chips to run faster.

Tantalizingly, Intel says that it will be working closely with innovative cooling technology companies on solutions that “seem squarely in the realm of science fiction.” It doesn’t name names, but the clues are big enough for us to have an educated guess about two of its major collaborators.

Coral-like Structures, Tiny Liquid Jets

One of the new cooling solutions is said to be based on technology “like 3D vapor chambers embedded in coral-shaped heat sinks.” This sounds like it could be a collaboration with Belgium’s Diabatix, which specializes in heatsinks and cold plates created by a generative design software platform. The results look highly organic, like coral growth, and the structures make for ultra-low thermal resistance.

Intel also mentions that a partner has technology that features “tiny jets, adjusted by artificial intelligence, that shoot cool water over hot spots in the chip to remove heat.” Again, Intel doesn’t name any names, but the technology sounds very similar to that championed by MIT spinoff JetCool. This Massachusetts-based firm also fits the brief of providing integrated die-cooling technology for “exceptional” performance.

Elsewhere in its blog about potential new cooling technologies, Intel mentions it is looking closely at cooling technologies utilizing 3D vapor champers, advanced materials, and boiling enhancement coatings. This work is “existentially important for our future,” said Tejas Shah, lead thermal architect for Intel’s Super Compute Platforms group.

Cooling isn’t all about efficiency and saving energy, though. Intel asserts that new cooling technology has the potential to enable processors to run at lower temperatures and thus deliver “a 5% to 7% increase in performance for the same power.”

Immersion cooling specialist Iceotope has published a study sharing its findings in the wake of a series of tests completed at one of Meta’s (Facebook) data centers. The study looked carefully at the pros and cons of precision single-phase immersion cooling in businesses that use high-density data storage servers. Iceotope asserts that its results were “conclusive” in demonstrating this cooling methodology is a superior solution when compared to air cooling, as well as other forms of liquid cooling such as cold plates, tank immersion, or two-phase immersion.

HDDs are still in high demand in data centers, with Seagate saying that 90% of cloud storage uses this mechanical magnetic storage technology. At the same time, consumer demand for higher bitrate content, and the generation of storage-hungry new content (photos, videos, etc) will continue to ramp up for the foreseeable future. Thus it is important for companies like Meta, who partnered with Iceotope for this study, to optimize storage facilities with regard to reliability, efficiency, and total cost of ownership (TCO).

In the tests, a standard air-cooled commercial storage system with 72 HDDs and supporting components was re-engineered to work with Iceotope’s precision single-phase immersion cooling. Specifically, the modified system used a dedicated dielectric loop connected to a liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger and pump. Single-phase cooling is much simpler than dual-phase - where the coolant boils from liquid to gas, travels into a condenser and then flows back into the system (hence dual-phase). Instead with single-phase, the coolant just flows around the hotter and cooler areas of the loop, doing its job without any phase change.

Four main observations were made by the Iceotope testing team. Firstly, the 72 HDDs showed very little variance in temperature (just 3° C) wherever they were located in the server array. It is important to highlight that the storage array used hermetically sealed helium-filled HDDs. Secondly, the liquid could climb in temperature to an easily manageable 40°C with no impact on reliability. Thirdly, the power consumption of the cooling system was <5% of the system total. Lastly, it was noticed that the single-phase precision cooling was virtually silent and vibration free.

Overall, these benefits can lead to improved TCO figures and greater reliability of the storage hardware. Thanks to the demonstrable benefits,  Iceotope’s solution can also be beneficial to a company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) regulatory evaluations.

But of course, this is a study undertaken by a company that sells this service. So take it with a few grains of salt. And let huge companies like Meta incur conversion and cooling costs for at least a few years before deciding it's worth it to liquid-cool the media collection currently sitting on your NAS drive. 

Intel and immersion cooling specialist GRC have partnered in a deep exploration of the potential uses for immersion cooling technology in High Performance Computing (HPC) environments. The Register reports that the two companies have recently published a joint whitepaper exploring the actual benefits for data centers in adopting immersion cooling technologies instead of much more ubiquitous air cooling. The benefits? Increased power efficiency, lower environmental impact, and higher compute density: a holy trinity by any other name.

Datacenters worldwide already consume an estimated 1.5 to 2% of the world's available power, at a rate of approximately 3400 TW/h. As an aside, much is said about Bitcoin mining's environmental impact. However, it consumes less than 0.12% of that same worldwide pie - even less now that miners have been investing in improving mining efficiency.

HPC's power consumption and environmental impact is central to the argument for improving its energy efficiency - especially as predictions show that HPC's energy footprint could rise towards 13% throughout the next decade. It's easy to see how this could happen, considering the increasing pushes towards Exascale supercomputing and the surfacing and scaling of yet another computational method - quantum computing.

Of course, higher energy efficiency also entails lower operating costs for the same or higher workload performance - and what HPC operator wouldn't want to jump at that possibility? 

Adding fuel to the fire is that around 40% of HPC's energy consumption is devoted not towards actual computing but simply for cooling. 10 to 15% of that value is sourced from the spinning fans in the various elements that constitute a server. This is partly why HPC has been stuck at a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) wall of 1.6 for a decade now. And as transistor and chip density increase (think about AMD's MI 300 APUs and Nvidia's Grace Superchips), air cooling is moving closer and closer to its practical limits. There's only so much heat cooling fans can dissipate.

Adding immersion cooling reduces the moving (and thus prone to failure) fans and improves the overall temperatures of the entire system. However, no matter how good airflow design is, there will always be second-tier spots where cool air doesn't reach. It's estimated that air cooling only captures 30% of servers' heat output and is concentrated on the most pressing hotspots.

Losing the moving fans and running dielectric fluid through heatsinks naturally helps reduce dead space between components. This allows for an increase in server densities, which could also lead to lowered infrastructure costs.

Of course, not all is rosy in the immersion cooling land: that's why the tech isn't as widespread as it seems like it could (or maybe should) be. Moises Levy, Omdia's Senior Principal Analyst for Data Center Physical Infrastructure, did caution that immersion cooling does have more specialized installation and maintenance costs. It also requires more specialized surveillance of the cooling mechanism, involving maintenance of the filtering system, software that can detect subtle pressure variations that could indicate a leak, and monitoring the quality of the dielectric (non-electrical conducive) fluids themselves.

As an added bonus, using immersion cooling fluids will also allow datacenters to cut back on their water consumption for power generation and auxiliary cooling - estimated at 5.13 × 108 m3 in 2021.

Intel is in this for the long game, as this latest partnership builds upon the company's early May announcement to invest $700 million in a new, 18,580 square-meter "mega lab" devoted to qualify, test, and demo its datacenter portfolio using a variety of cooling tech. Besides investment in the facility, the company announced that its Taiwan division was developing an open reference design for immersion cooling systems for its chips.

Intel on Thursday said it would invest $700 million in its new research and development facility that will design next-generation immersion liquid cooling solutions and other data center-oriented technologies. In addition, the company rolled out the industry's first open intellectual property (open IP) immersion liquid cooling solution and reference design that enables data centers to start using immersion liquid cooling without investing in expensive custom solutions.

The first step towards democratization of immersion liquid cooling solutions commenced today when Intel introduced the industry's first open IP reference design of an easy-to-deploy and easily scalable total immersion liquid cooling solution. The reference design is a proof of concept that will be completed in collaboration with Intel Taiwan and across the Taiwanese ecosystem in a phased approach. Many server OEMs reside in Taiwan, so working closely with them will allow Intel to address server suppliers and server users.

But Intel does not stop with a single reference design. The company plans to establish its new Oregon Research and Design Mega Lab in its Jones Farm campus dedicated to immersion cooling, water usage effectiveness, and heat recapture and reuse. Construction of the new center will start today, and it will begin operations in late 2023.

The new lab will ensure that Intel's future data center products are Xeon, Optane, network interfaces, switch gear, Agilex FPGAs, Xe accelerators, Habana accelerators, and other products under development and ready for immersion liquid cooling. Essentially, Intel wants ILC to become as widespread as traditional air and liquid cooling systems. 

Modern Intel Xeon Scalable CPUs have a thermal design power of around 270W per socket. In contrast, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing accelerators can consume up to 700W of power per OAM or SXM5 socket. Furthermore, with heat dissipation of around 6000W per machine, air and liquid cooling are losing their attractiveness in terms of costs and efficiency as power consumed by today's chillers accounts for 35% ~ 40% of total data center power consumption, according to data by 2SRSi. 

Intel believes that immersion liquid cooling with energy reuse could reduce the power consumption of data center cooling systems and carbon emissions, making data centers cheaper to operate and lowering pollution emitted by various power plants. But there is a problem with immersion liquid cooling (ILC) solutions: virtually all deployments of ILC use expensive proprietary hardware designs. To make immersion liquid cooling more accessible to mainstream customers, Intel has been working with various ILC specialists for the past year or so. 

"Intel's dedication to its global partnerships is evident with these announcements today," said Sandra L. Rivera, Intel executive vice president, and general manager of the Datacenter and AI Group. "The future of the data center and data center design is based on innovative and sustainable technologies and practices, and I am proud of the work we are doing every day to help make a sustainable future a reality."

The Razer Kraken V3 is the second in a family of four new sleek RGB-powered V3 series headsets released by Razer in 2021. Despite its confusing name scheme, the V3 is an improved version of the base Razer Kraken V3 X (we initially thought the V3 X would be the better one, but it is actually the budget option). 

As such, the V3 comes with improved Hybrid Fabric and Leatherette Memory Foam ear cushions, Razer TriForce Titanium 50mm Drivers (over the V3 X’s 40mm), and of course THX Spatial Audio instead of 7.1 Surround Sound. 

For under $100, the Razer Kraken V3, with its streamlined design, offers a lot of comforts and, at times, some impressive audio output thanks to the enhancements its software provides. Against all the bells and whistles, however, this inexpensive headset lacks some quality of life and compatibility options under prolonged usage.

Specifications - Razer Kraken V3

Design and Comfort of Razer Kraken V3

Although RGB lights have become a bit tired in the PC enthusiast space, these cans make them look great. It’s even better if you live under the Razer Ecosystem as I do, as Synapse’s software allows the headset lights to match the mouse and keyboard if they’re also Razer products. I’m using the BlackWidow V3 Pro and Deathadder V2 Pro in tandem with the Kraken V3, and it truly enhances the ambiance of my setup.

The unit’s cushions and adjustable padded headband also feel like a dream. The cans themselves sit so lightly on your head that sometimes you can forget they’re even on. I had them on for an entire day, and my ears weren’t scalding hot or sore by the end of it. The V3 also features a flexible HyperClear Cardioid microphone that can detach from the headset, which is excellent because audio playback is the core of what makes the V3 worthwhile. The headset also has a dedicated button on the left cup next to the volume wheel.

Audio Performance

This iteration of the Kraken V3 introduces Razer’s TriForce Titanium 50mm Drivers to the family, described to push out “exceptional highs, mids, and lows that [don’t sound] muddy, providing a more dynamic listening experience for deeper immersion,” according to the Kraken V3’s landing page on Razer’s site. 

I tested this by immediately listening to a few songs, starting with Busta Rhymes’ “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” and “Truck Volume” on Spotify. Both records deliver heavy kicks and epic bass, respectively. The cans produced the thump I was looking for out of the box, but the track(s) truly began to shine when I played around with the enhancements Synapse provides. I played around with the bass meter under the Music preset under the Audio Equalizer until I was satisfied with the results, and boy was I satisfied.

However, the true litmus test for finding the best settings combination was listening to a Trance track called “Deep Down” by Josh Dresden and Winter Kills. It showcases the perfect blend between soft, angelic vocals and heavy kicks to the backdrop for some serious bass. I landed on boosting the base by 25% and turning Sound Normalization to 50% while using the Music Preset. I also went into the settings of Spotify and toggled the Highest Playback and Loud Volume settings on. Lastly, for the heck of it, I signed up for a free trial of Dolby Access and used the Detailed option under the Music Intelligent Equalizer for some extra clarity. The resulting playback was godly. Although Dolby Acess may be a bit excessive and the settings above sound great without it, the Spatial audio noticeably sounds better alongside Atmos. 

This sentiment also extends to watching films with the V3. Using Dolby Access Detailed settings alongside the Movie Preset in Synapse was true immersion. I watched Dune for my third time, this time using the headset. In this watch-through, I realized just how much Hans Zimmer’s score contributes to the epicness of the film. 

THX Spatial Audio helped immensely while playing games with that type of audio already baked in, like Cyberpunk 2077. The echo of my steps as I gave chase to a Cyberpsycho in-game gave me anxiety, and the crisp sound of the shotgun blast that took my enemy out made me recoil in my gaming chair. I also grew to appreciate the sound quality of each gun during online sessions of Back 4 Blood.

Unfortunately, the device is USB only. As such, the V3 does not offer wireless support. Having no wireless option wouldn’t be a problem if immersion didn’t work so well with the headset. I was so into Dune that I got up and almost dragged my $1,700 PC with me to the bathroom because I forgot I had them on and plugged into my desktop. The headset is also limited to PC, PlayStation, and Mac, which is also disappointing. I would love to use this headset with an LG CX and absorb Dune in native 4K alongside a profound audio experience from the V3. I would also love to use this on mobile to play Xbox Game Pass titles on the go. But alas.

I also had a few playback issues when listening to music. At first, I thought it was due to in-app music player settings making the music peak. Then, the same thing happened during a regular video chat via Google Meet.

Microphone

The mic has a diaphragm design that can capture 360 degrees of audio, making it serviceable if needed. Still, the quality of the mic is that of a headset and doesn’t offer clarity anywhere close to the best desktop microphones. 

What’s nice are the software’s mic settings that allow users to tweak the noise gate, vocal clarity and volume normalization. It also offers mic presets like Mic Boost, Conference, and Broadcast. I found Mic Boost alongside some tweaking of the clarity to be the best overall setting. I held a video conference where I could be heard loud and clear. It was even used during a session of Back 4 Blood when someone stole my health pack. I got my displeasure over the action across very well over the game’s baked-in voice chat. 

Software

As I’ve continuously alluded to, the Synapse software is really where the V3 shines. The tabs for the V3 include: a general Sound section for assigning sound properties, a Mixer to set THX Spatial settings to individual apps, a tab for testing the calibrations of the headset’s Game, Music, and Movie Mode presets, Enhancements for audio settings, Mic for microphone settings, and Lighting to tune RGB colors.

However, I did find it confusing which software I was to install out of the box, because the Razer Kraken V3 X requires you to download 7.1 Surround Sound software from its site. To use it, though, you must have an activation code. I spent more time than I’m willing to admit looking for a non-existent activation code before I concluded that only the lesser product of the V3 family needs it. The V3 needs no such thing, and all its software can be simply added to your existing Synapse download. The drivers required will also arrive during a fresh install. 

The user interface is simple to understand, and it’s easy to adjust settings with a simple drag of a slider. The audio equalizer is immensely helpful, but the presets are so in-tune that I rarely ever needed to change the equalizer knobs themselves.

Bottom Line

The glossy Razer Kraken V3 is a stylish, budgeted headset for gamers looking for quality sound without having to spend close to double its price to get it. Although the microphone could be better, it gets the job done. The most significant selling point here is the cans’ sound quality, alongside the benefits the software brings to the headset and your setup if you’re also sporting other Razer products. As long as you’re not a mobile or Xbox player, the V3 will fulfill your gaming needs and can double as regular headphones if you need to bump music privately.

One of the main challenges for today's datacenters is efficient yet relatively cheap cooling. Air cooling and liquid cooling have their advantages and disadvantages, but as heat dissipated by CPUs and accelerators is getting to 270W – 500W (respectively), air cooling and liquid cooling tend to lose their appeal in terms of efficiency and costs. Some server makers have experimented with immersion liquid cooling for years, but now it looks like Intel itself is getting serious about immersion liquid cooling. 

This week Intel announced a collaboration agreement with Green Revolution Cooling (GRC), a developer of immersion liquid cooling solutions, to design and implement custom cutting-edge immersion cooling techniques in future datacenters and edge deployments. This is the second collaboration pact with an immersion liquid cooling specialist after Intel inked a deal with Submer in late August. 

Intel's Xeon CPUs for heavy-duty servers increased their thermal design power (TDP) from 165W per socket five years ago to 270W per socket today and they keep getting more power hungry and consequently hotter. Meanwhile AI and compute accelerators are looking at an up to 700W TDP with OAM form-factor modules. With such heat dissipation amid increasing server density, it is not particularly surprising that Intel is looking at immersion liquid cooling. GRC's existing off-the-shelf liquid immersion solutions can provide cooling performance of up to 200kW per rack, more than enough to cool down up to 42 1U machines packing high-performance CPUs and ultra-high-performance accelerators. 

As an added bonus, liquid immersion cooling can help reduce datacenters' impact on environment as generated heat can potentially be reused, converted into electricity, or monetized in some other way.

"Through this collaboration, we are able to provide customers with custom solutions to meet their computing and cooling needs to help ensure that data centers operate in a more environmentally sensitive way," said Mohan Kumar, Senior Fellow at Intel. "Our collaboration with GRC aligns with Intel’s goal of supporting cutting edge technologies that provide increased efficiency and density for data center and edge deployments." 

With GRC, Intel will work with joint customers in a bid to offer custom and fully validated immersion liquid cooling solutions for racks powered by Intel Xeon Scalable processors.

Also, the companies will work together to ensure that new fluids entering this market are safe, efficient, and compatible with developing infrastructure. Finally, Intel and GRC plan to to educate the market on the benefits of liquid immersion cooling technology. 

The pact with GRC enables Intel to offer custom liquid immersion cooling solutions to select customers that need it the most. The company also plans to develop open industry-standard immersion liquid cooling solutions for datacenters with Submer. In addition to designing open-standard immersion liquid cooling technologies, Intel also wants to ensure that there is a supply chain that can build appropriate hardware in high volumes to support next-generation datacenters with Intel's upcoming Xeon processors and Xe-HPC compute accelerators.

CleanSpark recently announced that it plans to use immersion cooling on nearly 6,000 cryptocurrency mining rigs in a bid to reduce its operating costs and boost performance. That means submerging the systems in liquid to more efficiently manage its operating temperatures. Immersion cooling is becoming increasingly popular among mining companies as they look to squeeze out every bit of performance and reduce costs to maximize profits.

The company said that switching to immersion cooling has "proven to significantly increase the hashrate of bitcoin mining machines, reduce power consumption, and extend the life of the machines—thereby maximizing financial gains."

That's why it plans to immerse 5,940 of the Antminer S19j Pro mining rigs at its Bitcoin mining facility in Norcross, Georgia. CleanSpark said it will start with 8 MW worth of the rigs in February; eventually, that figure is expected to rise to 20 MW.

"Upon completion, the 20 MW project will consist of 180 liquid-filled tanks, with each tank holding 33 units of the Antminer S19j Pro machines—the newest generation series of bitcoin miners on the market—fully immersed in a proprietary cooling liquid," the company said. "The liquid is a synthetic hydrocarbon compound that has no electrical conductivity, is fully biodegradable and safe."

Besides lowering its operating costs, CleanSpark said that switching to immersion cooling should also reduce the impact its mining has on the environment, which has become increasingly concerning to the cryptocurrency industry's critics.

Presumably switching from air-based cooling technologies to liquid immersion cooling will also provide other benefits. It would be a surprise if these mining rigs were to, say, burst into flames while fully immersed in this "synthetic hydrocarbon." 

Overclockers first explored liquid immersion cooling in the early 2000s, and select makers of servers adopted it for datacenters. Now, Bitcoin miners are turning to immersion cooling systems as they promise to eliminate overheating of cryptocurrency mining machines and maximize their earnings.

"The immersed equipment runs faster without overheating," said Nishant Sharma, founder of mining consultant BlocksBridge, in an interview with Bloomberg. "It looks like a fish tank with machines inside it. Sooner or later, all big miners will be doing large-scale immersion mining."

For example, Riot Blockchain, a Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency miner from Texas, recently announced plans to develop the industry's first large-scale immersion-cooled Bitcoin mining facility with 46,000 mining machines. The facility will consume a whopping 20 MegaWatts of power. Meanwhile, some miners used liquid immersion cooling back in 2018.

Large Bitcoin mining farms resemble datacenters. Both use loads of expensive machines that crunch numbers 24/7 (only datacenters process useful data); both need to cool these machines down; both strive to maximize compute density; and both often have space constraints.

However, there are several significant differences. Datacenters are located in special facilities designed with air or liquid cooling in mind (two methods that require large cooling equipment). By contrast, mining farms are located in abandoned industrial facilities or warehouses. Operators of datacenters are concerned about things like total cost of ownership (TCO), so they tend to choose technologies that offer the right combination of features and qualities to keep their TCO in check. By contrast, since 80% of a miner's operating costs are electricity bills, cryptocurrency miners are concerned chiefly about performance and stable power supply rather than about TCO.

These days numerous cryptocurrency farms employ immersion cooling systems to lower temperatures of their mining machines, maximize their performance, and increase earnings per machine (which are quite expensive). Immersion cooling cools all components of a system and does not require large and complex equipment like industrial air conditioners or liquid cooling systems. However, this does not mean that immersion cooling is easy (or cheap) to deploy or service. Meanwhile, usage of immersion cooling allows the installation of additional mining machines into the same building to maximize their performance, two factors that offset all possible downsides of this method for cryptominers.

Immersion cooling has existed and evolved for years, so there are loads of equipment and non-conductive liquids to choose from, depending on whether one is dealing with a single-phase or dual-phase method of immersion cooling. Therefore, miners will not have technological problems deploying immersion cooling systems. What remains to be seen is how the volatility of cryptocurrencies affects cryptomining companies' willingness to enormous amounts of money into hardware while ignoring common practices set by traditional datacenters. 

PC hardware maker MSI has introduced a new gaming monitor, dubbed the Optix MEG381CQR Plus. It's a symbolic upgrade of the non-Plus version we have already covered here. According to MSI, this is the world's first gaming monitor with a 'Human-Machine Interface' (HMI) concept. Could this new display earn itself a spot on our best gaming monitor page?

No, that doesn't mean it has a touchscreen or some other completely novel new way of interacting with the screen. But before we get into the details of what MSI deems HMI, let's look at the MEG381CQR Plus's general specs, which are nothing to complain about. It sports an ultra-wide 21:9, 37.5-inch IPS panel and a WQHD resolution of 3,840 x 1,600 pixels.

The monitor features a low 1-ms response time and is paired with Nvidia's G-Sync technology for a stutter-free gaming experience, all while achieving a 175 Hz refresh rate. It has a 2300R curvature rate, providing a more immersive feel for gamers. Vesa's HDR 600 specification is present to feed HDR images for some HDR content consumption.

So, with that out of the way, what's the new Human-Machine Interface concept MSI it's touting here? The company envisions the monitor to be more connected to humans by combining SteelSeries' light-controlling, data-displaying GameSense with MSI's own Mystic RGB lighting, to create a more immersive experience while gaming. According to the press release, "By synching with your in-game activities, it can display vital details of your game through the LED effects. That way you'll get a full grip on your game and your most important stats in a blink of an eye."

Of course, unless the game you're playing is horribly designed, chances are many of those "vital details" will already be represented on your screen, often in ways that are likely more intuitive than can be represented by what looks to be five slim RGB zones on the lower lip of the Optix MEG381CQR Plus.

That said, we welcome the idea of a company doing more with RGB lighting than just adding it to a peripheral, tossing in a few presets, and calling it a day. It will be interesting to see how MSI intends to expand its HMI features on future products. It might be interesting to see the lights on the screen also used to display things like notifications or other alerts outside of gaming as well. 

While we'll have to wait for a full review before passing final judgment on MSI's HMI, at this point it feels more like a heavy-handed marketing term than something truly novel and useful. Perhaps that will change as the company adds more substantive features. As for pricing and availability, MSI hasn't yet let that information slip. But considering the monitor's product page is up, we're pretty sure it won't be long before we know more.

If you’re looking for a jumbo-sized gaming monitor, there are plenty of routes you can take. There are multiple sizes of ultrawide 21:9 screens ranging from 34 to 38 inches diagonal. Then there’s the mega-wide 32:9, 49-inch genre. Or you can stick with flat panels in the 16:9 aspect ratio and go 32 inches or larger. Many simply opt for a TV, opening up the field to extra large displays that can top 80 inches.

If you want to stick with a desktop configuration though, the 43-inch category is a good choice. It’s large but not so big that you can’t sit close. It’s possible to play from 3 or 4 feet away, see the entire screen, and fill your peripheral vision with the image. And the 16:9 aspect ratio that 43-inch monitors come in means plenty of height, something that ultrawide and mega-wide monitors don’t have.

You can typically put a 43-inch gaming monitor on your desktop for around $1,500. That’s more than many 55-inch TVs but a computer monitor delivers a few things, like DisplayPort and high refresh rates, that consumer TVs do not. The Gigabyte Aorus FV43U makes the comparison a little easier, however, as it’s going for $1,000 as of writing. 

The FV43U is a 16:9 VA panel competing with the best 4K gaming monitors with a 144 Hz refresh rate, AMD FreeSync, HDR and a quantum dot backlight that’s specced to reach 1,000 nits brightness. It also delivers decent sound from its built-in speakers, thanks to multiple sound modes. Let’s take a look. 

Gigabyte Aorus FV43U Specs 

By starting with a VA panel, the FV43U is already ahead of many premium gaming monitors that rely on lower contrast IPS technology. Most IPS monitors are specced for around 1,000:1 contrast, while the FV43U boasts 4,000:1 on its sheet and topped that dramatically in our testing with SDR and extremely when it came to HDR. HDR is aided by the monitor’s 1,000-nit backlight enhanced by a quantum dot filter for greater color volume, which our testing will also confirm.

Video processing leaves nothing under the table. The FV43U is one of the few 4K displays that can run at 144 Hz. It manages this over a single DisplayPort cable using Display Stream Compression (DSC). That means it can process 10-bit color, though it uses Frame Rate Control (FRC) to achieve this. FreeSync operates from 48-144 Hz in SDR and HDR modes. G-Sync also works with the same signals as verified by our tests, even though it’s not Nvidia-certified. (You can see how by checking out our How to Run G-Sync on a FreeSync Monitor tutorial). 

Peripheral features include two HDMI 2.1 ports, which support console operation, namely the PS5 and Xbox Series X, with variable refresh rates up to 120 Hz. The monitor’s USB-C port accepts Ultra HD signals up to 144 Hz. This is common among USB-C monitors as USB-C can replicate DisplayPort functions, but you’ll need a graphics card with USB-C, of course. The monitor’s USB-C port also allows for KVM switching (allowing you to control multiple PCs with a single keyboard, monitor and mouse) through additional USB 3.0 ports.  

Assembly and Accessories 

Two solid metal stand pieces bolt in place on the bottom if you set up on a desktop or entertainment center. Wall mounting is supported by a 200mm lug pattern in back. You’ll have to source your own bolts which should be part of any bracket kit. 

Product 360

From the front, the FV43U looks like any modern television with a narrow bezel around the top and sides and larger bit of molded trim across the bottom. The Aorus logo and a power LED are visible in the center. The stand puts the panel a bit less than 3 inches from the table, so it’s a good height for a desktop if you plan to sit around 4 feet back. The anti-glare layer is more reflective than most smaller screens, so plan placement accordingly if you have windows in your room.

A joystick for controlling the on-screen display (OSD) menu joystick is prominently situated on the panel’s bottom center but the easiest way to control the FV43U is with its tiny remote. It only has a few keys but they’re enough to zip through the OSD, change inputs and control the gaming features.

The back is where you’ll find most of the styling elements. Two slanted shapes are rendered in shiny plastic, along with an Aorus logo in the center. The rest of the finish is matte and features some brushed textures. Angles and straight lines are the order of the day with a generous grill at the top for heat dissipation. Speakers fire from the bottom vents and deliver 12W apiece (more on that in the Hands-on section). 

The input panel is on the right side which makes it easily accessible. You get two HDMI 2.1, one DisplayPort 1.4 and a USB-C, which also supports 144 Hz and Adaptive-Sync. The HDMIs are limited to 120 Hz but support Adaptive-Sync and 4K resolution, making it fit for console gaming.

OSD Features

The OSD looks just like the menu found in all Aorus monitors but you can make it larger so it can be more legible from across the room.

The Gaming sub-menu has everything needed for competitive gameplay. At the top is Aim Stabilizer Sync, which is a backlight strobe for blur reduction. It’s one of the rare implementations that can work in concert with Adaptive-Sync, and it manages to do this without reducing brightness too much out of the box (of course, you can always turn the brightness up).

Black Equalizer makes shadow detail more visible; Super Resolution adds edge enhancement (not in a good way), Display Mode changes the aspect ratio and Overdrive offers four options. Balance is the best one, as it has good blur reduction, no visible ghosting and allows you to toggle Adaptive-Sync on or off.

The Picture menu offers an extensive array of image modes (eight, plus three custom memories), along with color temp and gamma presets and something we normally see only on professional screens: selectable color gamuts. You can choose between Adobe RGB, DCI-P3, sRGB or Auto, but in our tests, Auto did not automatically switch the color gamut for different signal types. That means that if we wanted to watch SDR content in the sRGB it’s made in, we had to select the gamut manually. 

You also get Local Dimming, which increases contrast significantly. It makes the picture very bright as well, but highlight and shadow detail remain solid, so it is perfectly usable. However, we recommend leaving it off unless your room has a lot of ambient light because you can’t reduce brightness when it’s on. If you prefer a Low Blue Light mode for reading, that feature is in the OSD too.

A single press of the large button in the center of the remote’s nav pad brings up a quick menu. Pressing left opens the Aorus dashboard, which can display your PC component’s internal temperatures and fan speeds. You’ll need a USB connection for this, but most motherboards will transmit the information to the FV43U.

A right press brings up Game Assist, which offers timers, counters, refresh rate info and aiming points. You also get a single cross in the OSD and can create additional reticles if you download the Aorus desktop app. Additionally, the OSD offers alignment marks in case you plan to set up additional FV43Us in a multi-screen configuration. Now that would be super cool! We’re thinking ultimate desktop flight simulator.

Gigabyte Aorus FV43U Calibration Settings 

The FV43U comes set to its Green (yes, that’s the term used in the OSD) picture mode. It has nothing to do with the color green but is fairly accurate out of the box – enough to make our Calibration Not Required list. But if you’re a perfectionist and want to tweak the image, choose the User Define color temp and adjust the RGB sliders. Gamma presets and color gamut options are also available. For the full native gamut, choose Auto or Adobe RGB. Either will deliver just over 100% of DCI-P3 coverage. sRGB is also very accurate, but we found it better to choose the sRGB picture mode rather than the sRGB gamut mode. Below are our recommended calibration settings for SDR on the Gigabyte Aorus FV43U.

When HDR content is present, there are four additional picture modes available: HDR1000, HLG, Game and Movie. HDR1000 is the most accurate, but locks out all image controls. Game and Movie allow for brightness and contrast adjustments and toggling and local dimming. We’ll explain that in more detail in the HDR tests. 

Gaming and Hands-on 

A question that should be answered when one considers buying a 43-inch gaming monitor is, will it function as a TV? Since some FV43Us will wind up in living rooms or entertainment centers, it’s important to know whether it can play well with things like disc players or streaming boxes.

There is no internal tuner so technically, the FV43U is not a TV. But its HDMI 2.1 inputs can accept input from any cable or satellite receiver, as well as a 4K disc player or streaming box like Apple TV. We tried a Philips BDP-7501 player and an Apple TV source. SDR and HDR10 signals were supported fine with one omission, 24p. Film cadences are present on any Blu-ray and in many streamed shows and movies from streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime (in addition to 50 and 60 Hz). The FV43U converted these streams to 60 Hz, which caused a bit of stuttering here and there. It wasn’t pervasive, but we occasionally saw artifacts. Note that the FV43U, like most computer monitors, doesn’t support Dolby Vision. We’ve only seen a few pro screens that includeDolby Vision. 

As a monitor for controlling Windows, the FV43U was a joy to use. With its vast area, we could clearly view four or five documents simultaneously. Sitting about 4 feet back, the pixel structure was invisible, but if we sat closer we were just able to see the dots. Color, meanwhile, was beautifully saturated, great for watching YouTube and browsing the web. If you want perfect accuracy for web browsing, the sRGB mode is available with a few clicks of the remote.

Gaming is also a blast with a screen this big. SDR games like Tomb Raider rendered in vivid hues with deep blacks, bright whites and superb contrast. The large dynamic range and accurate gamma mean that you’ll see all the detail present in the original content. That lends a realism seen on only the very best computer monitors.

HDR games, like Call of Duty: WWII, also showed tremendous depth on the FV43U. We played exclusively in the HDR1000 picture mode because of its very accurate luminance and grayscale tracking. The FV43Us large color gamut was put to good use here. It was readily apparent in skin tones and natural earth shades, like brown and green. That, coupled with nearly 39,000:1 contrast, made surfaces and textures pop with a tactility that we’ve only seen from premium screens like the Acer Predator CG437K or the Asus ROG Swift PG43UQ (both go for $1,500 as of writing). Without a full-array local dimming (FALD) backlight like that Acer Predator X27 and Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ have, the FV43U doesn’t quite make the very top tier of the best HDR monitors. But it comes awfully close to their image quality while delivering a lot more screen area.

The monitor’s two 12W speakers deliver sound that’s better than what you’ll hear from smaller monitors with much more bass and overall presence. Five audio modes help you tailor sound to your preference. If you’d rather use your best gaming headset, there’s a 3.5mm jack and an additional analog output for external systems.

To read about our monitor tests in-depth, please check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test PC Monitors.We cover brightness and Contrast covered on page two.

Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level 

We couldn’t quite fill our comparison group with 43-inch screens, but we do have the Acer Predator CG437K and Asus ROG Swift PG43UQ representing. At 55-inches is Philips Momentum 558M1RY. In the mega-wide, 32:9 category is the AOC Agon AG493UCX and Viotek SUW49DA. All are VA panels running at 120 or 144 Hz.

Except for the Viotek, light output is prodigious among our comparison group. You won’t want to turn the FV43U’s brightness up much past 15% though because 892 nits is beyond searing.

The FV43U takes the black level crown by a nose over the Viotek mega-wide while running comfortably more darkly than the Asus and Acer 43-inchers. Since the Aorus’ gamma is very accurate, there is no reduction in shadow detail. Resulting contrast is an impressive 6,518.1:1. This is a native figure with no picture enhancements engaged. It doesn’t get much better than that. 

After Calibration to 200 nits 

After calibration to a more manageable 200 nits brightness (see our recommended calibration settings on page 1), the FV43U is still at the top of the pack with an excellent black level of 0.0328 nit and 6,095.6:1 contrast. If you want even greater dynamic range, turn on Local Dimming. This doubles the brightness to 408 nits, and you can’t change it, but it also reduces the black level and produces an astounding 31,497.5:1 contrast ratio with no detail clipping.

The FV43U completes its sweep of the luminance and contrast tests with a win in the ANSI benchmark. It’s safe to say that among jumbo computer monitors, the Aorus offers the greatest dynamic range, best black levels and most image depth for SDR content.

Grayscale and Gamma Tracking

The FV43U can be enjoyed without calibration in its default Green picture mode. You can also view SDR content in the correct sRGB gamut by choosing the sRGB picture mode or the sRGB Color Space.

Our grayscale and gamma tests use Calman calibration software from Portrait Displays. We describe those our grayscale and gamma tests in detail here.

Measuring the FV43U in its default state, we found no visible grayscale errors. Our i1 Pro meter showed a slight red weakness but this could not be seen by the naked eye in either test patterns or actual content. Gamma tracking is slightly dark, but this is not a problem, thanks to the panel’s high native contrast.

After our calibration (see page 1), grayscale tracking is near perfection with all errors below 1 Delta E (dE). That is pro-level performance. Gamma is slightly improved as well and tracks very close to the 2.2 standard.

The sRGB picture mode (third chart) runs a bit warm with slightly visible errors in brightness steps over 50%. There are no adjustments available to fix this, but in actual content, the error wasn’t a major issue.

Comparisons

With a 2.12dE average grayscale error, there is no need to calibrate the FV43U if you choose the Green picture mode. Meanwhile, the Acer CG437K is one of the most accurate monitors we’ve reviewed out of the box. With calibration though, the FV43U is its match, as is the Asus PG43UQ.

None of the monitors here have any significant gamma issues. The FV43U keeps its range of values tight at just 0.16 and it runs 2.73% off the 2.2 spec with a 2.28 actual value. The errors are dark rather than light, which is a good thing for high contrast panels. VA can typically operate at a slightly higher gamma value and still maintain greater picture depth than IPS or TN monitors.

Color Gamut Accuracy

Our color gamut and volume testing use Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.

The FV43U has a huge color gamut and covers it with good accuracy. Generally, it’s a little oversaturated but not overly so. Red and green have a little more punch than the rest, but hue targets are on or close to the mark. Our calibration (second chart) changed little in the gamut test. The average error is only slightly lower (2.3dE versus 2.5dE) and looked the same to the naked eye. Gamers shopping for a colorful monitor won’t be disappointed.

Choosing the sRGB picture mode (third chart) delivers a superb sRGB color gamut that has no visible flaws. Red is slightly oversaturated, but the errors are below the visible threshold. This is excellent performance.

Comparisons

The FV43U lags slightly behind the other screens in our gamut accuracy test, but none of the monitors have visible errors. Gigabyte’s screen has the largest gamut, so that will put it in the win column for most users.

With over 107% DCI-P3 coverage, the FV43U is one of the most colorful monitors we’ve tested. In our database, it’s only bested by the 27-inch MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD (112% DCI-P3) and the professional Acer ConceptD CP7271K (110% DCI-P3). The FV43U’s sRGB mode also completely fills the gamut at over 102% volume. Just add in a software profile, and this screen is ready for color-critical work.

Our HDR benchmarking uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.

The FV43U supports HDR10 signals and automatically switches modes when one’s detected. Four picture modes are then available, offering different interpretations of the luminance curve with slight variations in color.

HDR Brightness and Contrast

The FV43U carries VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification, which calls for a max brightness of at least 1,000 nits. It achieved this in our tests using a 25% window pattern, while full-field measurements were around 920 nits. To say this is plenty bright would be an understatement. The 43 and 55-inch screens in our comparison group all manage to deliver over 1,000 nits, so comparisons on this basis are a wash.

You’ll get the FV43U’s best HDR black levels and HDR contrast in the HDR1000 mode, which uses the local dimming feature to be the best screen in the group with a very dark 0.0281 nit black level and 38,888.4:1 contrast. If you’re looking for good HDR, the Aorus can deliver.

Grayscale, EOTF and Color

We compared the four HDR modes and found HDR1000 to be the best for all types of HDR content. You can see in the first image above that the grayscale chart is pretty close to the mark with just slight red errors in the brighter steps. The EOTF starts out a bit too dark, then transitions to tone-mapping about 5% too early. This is only a minor issue.

For comparison, we also measured HDR Game mode with local dimming turned on. Grayscale tracking is fine, but the EOTF is well off the mark. This is due to the panel’s slow response to changing picture levels (the average brightness level of a given frame, usually expressed in percent). We could see the patterns pulse as the measurements were taken. In actual content, speedy action will cause the changes in luminance to lag behind, which is usually seen as flickering. Even though local dimming can’t be turned off in the HDR1000 picture mode, its operation is invisible.

In the HDR gamut tests, both modes show slight oversaturations. Both picture modes track the DCI-P3 gamut well and in practice, show vivid and natural color that will please nearly everyone. The final takeaway: use the HDR1000 mode for best results.

Viewing Angles

Large VA panels give up some off-axis image quality to their IPS competition, and the FV43U demonstrates this. You can see that even in the front view, there is a slight red shift at the sides, but this is because we do this testing with our camera 30 inches away, which is too close to sit in front of a 43-inch monitor. If you sit a more appropriate distance away, about 4 feet, the picture looks perfectly uniform in color and brightness. The red shift is more apparent at 45 degrees to the sides. The top view is also red with a significant reduction in gamma.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

A 12.38%, deviation is not too bad for such a large panel. Though the FV43U is in fifth place here, it is not a problem screen by any means. We saw slight hotspots in three corners of our sample when displaying a black field pattern. Higher brightness steps erased the issue, and we never saw a problem when playing games. Color uniformity is perfect, according to our measured tests.

Pixel Response and Input Lag

Click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

The main reason to consider a 43-inch monitor like the FV43U over a TV is speed. 144 Hz may not seem a lot faster than 120 Hz, but it does make a visual difference. That said, the Aorus is 1ms slower than its Acer and Asus 144 Hz counterparts. It is however significantly quicker than the 120 Hz Philips 55-inch screen. When total input lag is considered, the FV43U beats the 120 Hz monitors here and has much quicker response than most consumer TVs. 

Gaming on a jumbo screen is a lot of fun. The sense of immersion and suspension of disbelief is about as good as it gets short of one of the best VR headsets. Console gamers already know this because Xboxes and PlayStations are usually connected to a big TV rather than a desktop monitor. But when considering the newest generation of products, the lines have become blurred. Consoles now support variable refresh rates, 120 Hz and Ultra HD resolution. PCs still have the upper hand in speed though with 240 Hz screens being commonplace and 360 Hz available from some high-end, 25-inch panels.

A large monitor that does it all is certainly a desirable product, and that’s where the Aorus FV43U and its like come in. It’s a little smaller than the average TV but significantly larger than most desktop monitors. At 43 inches and with a simple stand, it can grace a desk, entertainment center or wall with equal competence.

In our benchmark and hands-on tests, the FV43U performed admirably as a gaming monitor. It’s one of the few 4K  screens that can run at 144 Hz and provides perfect Adaptive-Sync support with SDR and HDR. Plus, it delivers blur reduction from a backlight strobe that works with Adaptive-Sync -- something only a handful of monitors can do. Console gamers can also interface with it through HDMI 2.1 ports with support for 120 Hz, HDR and 4K. As a gaming screen, it truly can do it all.

When considering the FV43U against a traditional TV, you’ll miss out on a couple of things that we consider important. 24p support is a big one for anyone who enjoys watching movies. Even if you stream content, 24p is used in many shows from Netflix, Amazon and others. The FV43U converts all incoming 24p signals to 60 Hz. The other missing element is Dolby Vision support. Though this isn’t really a factor for gaming, it’s quite common in streams from Netflix and on 4K Blu-ray.

Aside from its weaknesses as a TV replacement, the Aorus FV43U amply fulfills its design goals as a premium gaming monitor. With solid speed and response, along with class-leading contrast and a huge color gamut, it’s our pick in the 43-inch genre. Users looking for the ultimate jumbo monitor experience should definitely check it out.

In the world of curved monitors, there are more things to consider than just screen size. Not only are there three different aspect ratios, 16:9, 21:9 and 32:9, they also come in a wide variety of curve radii. This number is expressed in millimeters like 1500R or 1800R. Larger numbers indicate less curvature. When you see 1000R, you know the curve is as extreme as it gets

MSI has jumped on the 1000R train with its MPG Artymis 343CQR. In addition to that tight curve, it sports a high-contrast VA panel running at 3440x1440 resolution with USB-C, HDR support, Adaptive-Sync and an impressive 165 Hz refresh rate worthy of competing with the best gaming monitors. Selling for a premium price ($900 as of writing), the 343CQR is a sharply focused display that is at its best when gaming -- going even as far as to include an aim magnifier for shooters.

MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR Specs

The 343CQR is all about gaming with support for AMD FreeSync from 48-165 Hz. It’s not G-Sync Compatible-certified, but we still got Nvidia G-Sync to work (see our How to Run G-Sync on a FreeSync Monitor article for instructions).

MSI’s specs sheet includes nearly 85% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut. You’ll be using that gamut for all content, SDR and HDR alike, because there is no sRGB mode available.

MSI designed the 343CQR with consoles in mind too. It will accept 4K resolution signals and down-convert them to 3440 x 1440 resolution. The 343CQR is also the first monitor we’ve seen with HDMI CEC (Consumer Electronics Control). Originally developed to support universal remotes, the CEC implementation in this monitor is designed to sense whether the incoming signal is coming from a PC or a console and adjust its picture mode based on designated profiles. The feature supports both PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.

Assembly and Accessories of MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR

To assemble the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR, the panel and upright are mated with four fasteners, so you’ll need to have a Phillip’s head screwdriver handy. Next, you attach the base with a captive bolt. The resulting package is rock-solid and shows impressive build quality. It certainly meets the standard one expects for the price.

Bundled cables include IEC for the internal power supply, DisplayPort, HDMI and USB. A small snap-on cover hides the panel’s mounting hardware. And if you’d rather use a monitor arm, the bolt holes are in a 100mm VESA pattern with large-head bolts included. In a nice touch, a small hook snaps onto the bottom of the panel to help manage your best gaming mouse’s cable.

MSI MPG Artymis Product 360

From the front, the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR is all business with a thin flush bezel around the top and sides and a molded strip across the bottom adorned only with a small MSI logo. A tiny LED appears red in standby mode and white when the power’s on. Around the back right is a joystick and two buttons. One activates the Gaming OSD (on-screen display) app, and the other toggles power.

The upright is very solid with a stiff-moving 4-inch height adjustment. You also get 30 degrees swivel to both sides and 5/20 degrees tilt. There isn’t even a hint of slop or wobble. A small hole helps tidy up cables. The base is solid metal with thin legs that go more than 1 foot deep. That, combined with the fact that the panel’s 6.5-inch thick means you’ll need a bit of extra desktop space to accommodate the 343CQR.

From the top, you can see the 1000R curvature clearly. That radius means that if you made a circle from 343CQRs, it would be just two meters in diameter. If you have the room for three of them, they’ll wrap around almost 180 degrees. They would make a great flight simulator or, perhaps, a solid solution for a Zwift (cycling virtual training app) setup.

The back of the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR is styled nicely with a variety of different textures and an RGB effect that shows as a strip and MSI shield graphic with a dragon. The color breaths gently through different shades. You can turn it on and off in the OSD and control it ever further with the Gaming OSD app. You can also sync up the lighting effect with that of other MSI products that support the vendor’s Mystic Light-branded RGB. That way, you can create a custom light show with everything working in concert.

The input panel includes two HDMI 2.0 ports that support refresh rates up to 100 Hz with Adaptive-Sync and HDR. Meanwhile, the DisplayPort 1.4 and USB-C inputs accept 165 Hz signals, also with HDR and Adaptive-Sync. There are no built-in speakers, but you get a 3.5mm audio port for headphones.

OSD Features of MSI MPG Artymis

Pressing the joystick brings up the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR’s OSD,which is divided into seven sub-menus. There are plenty of gaming features as well as most of what you’ll need for calibration.

The Gaming menu offers five picture modes. Four are game genre-specific, and there’s also the default mode, User. User’s the mode to pick because it delivers solid accuracy with no need for calibration. There are a few minor flaws, but the 343CQR definitely makes our Calibration Not Required list.

The Night Vision option is a shadow detail enhancer. We didn’t need it because the monitor’s black levels are both deep and richly detailed. Response Time is a three-level overdrive. Fast, the middle setting, is best. Next, MPRT is a backlight strobe that reduces motion blur and cancels out Adaptive-Sync. 

It also pegs the brightness at over 860 nits, which is unusual. You can reduce this with the contrast control, but that removes much of the picture’s depth and quality. We recommend sticking with Adaptive-Sync and leaving MPRT off. Finally, Zero Latency should always be turned on for the lowest possible input lag.

Additional features include a frame rate indicator, alarm clock, aiming points and an Optix Scope feature. This is geared at fans of first-person shooters and lets you magnify the area underneath your crosshair in multiple levels using hot keys. As this will take some finessing to execute smoothly and without slowing down your gameplay, it won’t be for everyone.

The OSD will always show you the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR’s signal status at the top with resolution, refresh rate, HDR status, FreeSync status and the active video input.

The Image menu offers three color temperature  presets, plus a User mode. Normal is the default and best choice. We were unable to make a visual improvement to the color temp with calibration. The test numbers show a tiny gain but not one that can be seen with the naked eye. The only thing we wished for was a gamma control. The default luminance curve is a tad light, though that’s somewhat mitigated by the 343CQR’s extremely high contrast.

Calibration Settings of MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR

You can simply unpack the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR, plug it in and enjoy. The image is very accurate by default -- even the brightness is already set close to 200 nits in the User picture mode. We attempted a calibration and made no visible improvement. 

Our settings are below if you want to try them. Note that in the User color temp, the RGB sliders start at 50%, which reduces brightness by roughly that amount. We turned them all up to 100%, then adjusted from there to achieve maximum dynamic range.

HDR signals lock out all picture controls. You can still access the modes, but changing them does not affect the image. HDR grayscale runs a tad red, but the EOTF is spot-on, as is the color tracking. The 343CQR also uses dynamic contrast to achieve tremendous contrast for HDR content.

Gaming and Hands-on with MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR

At 1000R, the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR is as curvy as a gaming monitor gets today. At first, we noticed a little image distortion when working in productivity apps, like word processors and spreadsheets. However, we got used to the look after a short time. 

When browsing the web, that distortion became unnoticeable. The monitor’s image is sharp and contrast-y enough to overshadow any horizontal line curvature. It’s best to set the panel exactly vertical with no back or forward tilt. By adjusting the height so our eyes were centered, it made all parts of the screen equidistant from the body. The 343CQR is perfectly usable for workday tasks.

Color was nicely balanced with slightly more than sRGB saturation but not so much that it looked unnatural. MSI has tuned the gamut so it renders SDR content more accurately without the need to switch color spaces, a capability the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR lacks. When HDR was on, color looked  far more vibrant, as it should. This is one of the few monitors that you could leave in HDR mode all the time for Windows apps. Brightness is reasonable with the highest levels reserved only for small highlights.

The monitor also supports 10-bit color, though the panel uses Frame Rate Conversion to achieve this. Despite the internal upconversion, we didn’t see any banding artifacts.

Gaming tests started with our usual trip through Tomb Raider, which clipped along at a sprightly 165 fps on a Radeon RX 5700 XT and GeForce RTX 3090. Both FreeSync and G-Sync worked without a hitch. The MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR’s middle overdrive setting, Fast, struck the best balance between ghosting and blur reduction. The MPRT backlight strobe feature also worked well at reducing blur without artifacts but at the cost of a very bright and overly harsh image. Playing games at over 800 nits peak grew tiring after a short time.

Engaging HDR for a few hours of Call of Duty: WWII proved to be a singular experience. The MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR nears equalling a FALD display when it comes to HDR contrast and color. Every hue, down to the murkiest greens and browns, leapt from the screen. Black levels seemed almost OLED-like in their depth and detail, offset by perfectly balanced highlight areas. Color accuracy was also top-notch. Though we noted a slight red tint during the grayscale tests, it did not affect games or movies we played. This is one of the best HDR monitors we’ve seen in a while.

If you download MSI’s Dragon Center software, you can also use the 343CQR's Sound Tune feature which uses “AI calculations” to block out background noise coming through a plugged in headset. Since it requires software and many of the best gaming headsets include similar tech on their own, its usefulness will vary depending on the gamer.

Another unique feature comes in what MSI calls Mobile Projector. It lets you display your phone’s screen in a 5:9 column on the side of the monitor. Although having your phone on your computer screen could generally be distracting, if you have a specific task that requires using both your smartphone and PC, this could come in handy.

To read about our monitor tests in-depth, please check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test PC Monitors. We cover brightness and contrast testing on page two.

Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

We went back in time a bit in our testing database to find a group of 34-inch ultrawides with HDR to compare the 343CQR’s performance. In the group is the Cooler Master GM34-CW, Gigabyte G34WQC, Viotek GNV34DBE and AOC CU34G2X. We also included the Samsung Odyssey G7 32-inch (C32G75T). Though it’s a 16:9 screen, it shares the same 1000R curvature as the MSI. All the panels are VA, 144 Hz or faster and WQHD or QHD resolution.

The 343CQR doesn’t crank the brightness in SDR mode. It tops out at a reasonable 355.2 nits, which is plenty of light for such a large panel. Black levels are class-leading with just 0.09 nit at maximum brightness for an impressive contrast ratio of 3,888.7:1. That’s better contrast than almost every monitor we’ve tested to date.

After Calibration to 200 nits

Our calibration (see our recommended settings on page 1) actually improved measured contrast slightly (3,938.2:1 versus 3,888.7:1), but we couldn’t actually see the difference in a side-by-side comparison. Regardless of the brightness level, the 343CQR is a standout monitor with some of the best black levels and contrast we’ve seen.

The 343CQR also leads the ANSI comparison with 3,768.9:1. Only a handful of monitors we’ve tested can beat this score, and one of them is Alienware’s AW5520QF OLED gaming monitor. The MSI’s image depth and realism are superb.

We’ve already determined that the 343CQR doesn’t need calibration and, in fact, does not benefit from adjustment. We ran our usual tests anyway to show how the monitor responds.

Grayscale and Gamma Tracking

Our grayscale and gamma tests use Calman calibration software from Portrait Displays. We describe those tests in detail here.

In the User picture mode with the Normal color temp (first graph above), the 343CQR has nearly perfect grayscale tracking. All errors are less than 2 Delta E (dE), meaning they should be invisible to the naked eye, with most below 1dE. This is professional-grade performance. Gamma tracking is the only flaw here and it is a minor one. It runs consistently light from bottom to top. It doesn’t affect picture depth too greatly, but we’d love to see what a few additional gamma presets could do. VA panels can take darker gamma settings thanks to their broad dynamic range, but MSI has chosen not to include any.

As you can see in the second chart above, our calibration made no visually noticeable difference. The grayscale error is a tiny bit lower, and gamma is ever so slightly lighter. But we couldn’t see a difference with the naked eye. There is clearly no benefit to making any picture adjustments.

Comparisons

There is no reason to calibrate the 343CQR if it only lowers the grayscale error from 0.80dE to 0.78dE. Gamma -- our only real complaint as it runs a light and 5.45% off the ideal 2.2 mark -- is nearly unchanged after calibration too. But the range of gamma values is just 0.06 from low to high. That’s a good thing.

Color Gamut Accuracy

Our color gamut and volume testing uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.

We measured the 343CQR against the DCI-P3 standard and were a bit conflicted after running the tests. In the default chart, you can see some slight hue errors in cyan and all the colors are a bit under-saturated until they reach the gamut triangle perimeter. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. It makes the 343CQR a little more accurate when showing sRGB content -- in other words, anything SDR. By keeping the inner targets undersaturated, there’s no chance of blowing out detail in the midtones, which make up the majority of image content.

Our calibration (second chart above) lowered the average gamut error a little by increasing inner saturations and fixing the cyan hue error. But we couldn’t see the difference when comparing the before and after images. So, we stand by our assessment that the 343CQR is best left at its default settings.

Comparisons

For comparison, we’re showing the pre-calibration color error of 3.49dE. Even though adjustment will bring that value down to 2.43dE, there is no visual benefit, and we think the picture settings are best left at their defaults. It puts the 343CQR at the back of the pack of the comparison group by a small margin, And, as you can see, the calibrated number would not elevate its standing. Ultimately, the 343CQR is up against some capable competition.

The 343CQR covers almost 85% of the DCI-P3 gamut, which is respectable performance that’s on the high side of average for currently available gaming monitors. Only a few examples have significantly more color, like the GM34-CW or MSI’s own Optix MAG274QRF which covers over 112%. With 125.71% coverage of sRGB, and no way to reduce that in the OSD, you’ll need a profile for color-critical work on the 343CQR.

Our HDR benchmarking uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.

The 343CQR supports HDR10 signals through HDMI and DisplayPort, with or without Adaptive-Sync, at up to 165 Hz. When detected the monitor switches automatically, and all picture controls are locked out. Image modes are still available, but changing them has no effect.

HDR Brightness and Contrast

The 343CQR is certified for DisplayHDR 400 but handily exceeds that with over 582 nits of peak output. That makes it one of the brightest monitors we’ve tested. The better news is its super-low black level of just 0.03 nit. Yes, there is dynamic contrast in play, and it results in a stupendous contrast ratio of 19,595.7:1. Only the FALD and OLED monitors we’ve tested can do better. This dynamic range shows in the real world with fantastically deep images that are vibrant with both color and realism.

Grayscale, EOTF & Color

It’s unfortunate that color temp controls aren’t available with HDR because the 343CQR looks a tad red in HDR mode. The errors are minor though, and the EOTF is absolutely spot-on with a high transition to tone-mapping at 70%. This monitor will look its best with HDR10 material mastered to 1,000 nits, which is the most commonly used output level for HDR.

Also impressive is the 343CQR’s HDR color tracking. Most targets are right on the money, except for magenta, which has hue errors that weren’t visible in the content we viewed. What we did notice was how much more vivid HDR color was. SDR color looks great, but HDR looks even better. Between the accurate color tracking and excellent contrast, the 343CQR is one of the best HDR monitors we’ve reviewed lately.

Viewing Angles

Though VA monitors are typically a little weak in their viewing angles, the 343CQR acquits itself well. Color goes a bit green with a 50% reduction in brightness at 45 degrees to the sides. Detail remains visible in highlight and shadow areas, but the image is definitely duller when viewed off-center. Performance is much the same from the top with a reduction in detail as gamma becomes lighter.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

The 343CQR looked better than its 12.07% screen uniformity test result indicates. There are measurable hotspots in the center and upper right zones of the screen, but we could only see a slight glow in the upper right. This artifact disappears at any brightness level above 0. There were no visible color uniformity issues at any brightness level. And the image looked consistent regardless of the screen’s curvature or our head position.

Pixel Response & Input Lag

Click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

The 343CQR compares well in the response test with a 7ms draw time. That’s equal to most 144 Hz screens and many other 165 Hz monitors too. We were a little surprised at its input lag result though. It was beat by all the 144 Hz panels, except the AOC. Of course, the Samsung is on another level running at 240 Hz; it’s only here because it shares the same curve radius as the MSI. If you’re shopping for the fastest possible gaming monitor, other comparable displays can buy you a few milliseconds over the 343CQR. But a total lag of 30 ms is plenty fast enough for anyone but the most competitive and skilled players.

Curved monitors have been around long enough to establish themselves as a legitimate and desirable gaming tool. Even a slight curve can increase the sense of immersion in the on-screen world, and along with 21:9 and 32:9 aspect ratios, they make a compelling alternative to VR headsets. It follows, then, that if you curve the screen more, it draws the player more into the environment. 1000R is the tightest radius currently available, and though it represents a small portion of the genre, it looks like it might catch on.

We were highly impressed with the 1000R Samsung G7 Odyssey, and MSI’s MPG Artymis 343CQR curve managed to deliver the same immersive experience for us. That it is a 21:9 ultrawide screen just adds to its merit.

The 343CQR certainly has enough pixel density -- 109 pixels per inch, the same as a 27-inch, 16:9, 1440p flat panel --to let you sit close. It delivers superb and accurate color with no need for calibration. You won’t even need to adjust the brightness slider if your preference is 200 nits. Just set up and enjoy.

Gaming performance is on par with other monitors in its price class. Though the 343CQR has slightly higher input lag than some 144 Hz monitors, it delivers responsiveness and quick gaming reflexes. However, its blur reduction feature is free of artifacts but much too bright for long-term play.

The 343CQR’s best attribute is its contrast. In SDR mode, it delivered nearly 4,000:1, which is higher than any IPS screen and most VA panels too. HDR looked amazing, thanks to a dynamic feature that bumps the range up to almost 20,000:1. That’s approaching FALD territory. If you’re shopping for a good HDR monitor but a premium zone-dimming display is out of reach, MSI might just have what you’re looking for.

With killer HDR, a tight 1000R curve, solid gaming performance, high contrast and accurate out-of-box color, the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR comes highly recommended.

We gamers do a lot in order to tune the real world out and focus on our game. We curve our screens so that all we see is the battlefield. We get the most comfortable, intuitive mice we can find to feel like we’re controlling our character with solely our own hand. And sometimes we’ll even don the best VR headsets to really escape reality. But when it comes to your typical PC gaming, sometimes the best gaming headset can go a long way in making you feel like you’ve been transported to a different world.

Many gaming cans take you away with powerful soundscapes and designs that block out outside noise. The Corsair HS60 Haptic ($130 as of writing) released in October has another trick up its sleeve. Built-in haptic bass technology provides rumbles you can actually feel when there’s a tank rolling by or an explosion in your vicinity. What Corsair has done with this USB headset is to offer the quality you’d expect at a fair price while tossing in something new that really stands out.  

Corsair HS60 Haptic Specifications 

Design and Comfort of Corsair HS60

The Corsair HS60 Haptic is compact with a sleek finish that could almost pass as non-gaming cans -- that is, until you see the grayscale camouflage pattern adorning the outside of the earcups. That clearly signals that these cans are a tactical tool. I would have preferred a less militaristic finish. This would have made the cans look less aggressive and more versatile. Others, meanwhile, may appreciate the unique design here. Regardless, it fits in with the statement that these cans are for taking to a virtual battlefield for a tactical advantage. 

Aside from the aggressive camo finish, the earcups also feature a black metallic mesh on the outside with the Corsair sails logo in black. The aluminum headband, meanwhile, is covered with a soft leatherette material, and there’s visible cross-stitching on the padding on the headband’s underside. You’ll also find this stitching on the earcup padding, which is plush memory foam. 

Corsair made the earcups in question easily adjustable via the tried-and-true push-pull mechanism. The USB Type-A cable is braided and sturdy but cannot be detached, which may present a problem with cable management, as it’s considerably long at 5.9 feet

The HS60 Haptic rocks controls on both the left and earcups, so you’ll have to remember which is where. The haptic effect control is on the right earcup, alongside an effect status LED that, of course, you usually won’t be able to see. Haptic control is, thankfully, kept away from the rest of the controls, making blind navigation easier. The left earcup has the volume wheel and a mute button. 

That volume wheel has a more tactile feel than the haptic effect wheel located on the right earcup, which scrolls smoothly. Finally, you can find the detachable and unidirectional noise canceling mic easily positioned via its flexible boom arm.

During long play sessions, the HS60 Haptic proved quite comfortable. The earcups provide ample cushioning and depth and never crushed my ears against the drivers. The headset also sat well on my head without being too tight, and travel was minimal with small adjustments. Corsair’s HS60 Haptic weighs 0.9 pounds, which is pretty standard. For example, the Razer Nari Ultimate, which also has haptic technology via Razer HyperSense, is 15.2 ounces or about 1 pound. 

Haptic Experience on Corsair HS60

The incorporation of Taction-branded haptic bass technology is how the HS60 Haptic really differentiates itself. Using audio output that Corsair describes as “high-fidelity, low-frequency,” these cans create vibrations you can actually feel, based on audio happening in the game.

In practice, this felt a lot like having a controller rumble on your head that reacts to sound in the game world. You can adjust the intensity of the effect via the wheel on the right earcup.

Taken as an effect to increase immersion, the haptic experience here is on the money. There really is something thrilling about being able to feel vibrations from explosions and gunfire on your head as you hear them simultaneously.

The jury is still out, however, on whether or not this added layer of immersion and haptic feedback increases reaction time in games. In my experience, it did not in any discernible way improve my gaming performance. What the addition of haptic feedback did do, however, was make my gaming feel more immersive and enjoyable, and that is a clear win for the HS60 Haptic. I could even see it being useful for some dramatic movie watching.

Audio Performance of Corsair HS60

In stereo mode, listening to music on the HS60 Haptic was a solid experience. Frequency response is, by default, very flat, which lends itself to hearing music the way it should be heard. Across all genres I threw at it, whether it be hip hop, ambient soundscapes or high-speed thrash, the HS60 Haptic faithfully reproduced the music as it was mixed and didn’t distort when the drivers were pushed. But while the audio quality is certainly good, the headset could stand to be a tad louder.

For gaming performance, I tested the HS60 Haptic in DOOM, CS:GO and Resident Evil 7 in stereo mode, and with Windows Sonic for virtual surround sound.

The headset was perfectly adequate in stereo for gaming, and the mid-boosted FPS Competition setting I found in Corsair’s iCue software (more on that below) proved helpful in reducing messy bass overload. Out of the box, it sounded clear and crisp, and the additional EQ presets were helpful for specific use cases (the aforementioned FPS Competition setting in particular standing out). But I found myself opting for virtual surround sound. The stereo mode is definitely no slouch, but compared to virtual surround mode, it did feel a little flat and not as lively when gaming.

Game audio really came to life with Windows Sonic enabled. The difference this makes cannot be overstated. Everything sounded bigger, more alive, and the illusion of 3D space was very convincing. Fortunately, with Windows Sonic engaged, the bass frequencies remained clear and didn't distort -- a problem that can occur in virtual surround implementations. 

Movies also benefited greatly from having this mode engaged. Battles in the beloved Lord of the Rings trilogy sounded massive. For games and movies, Windows Sonic is a thrill. Windows Sonic can be used in conjunction with any stereo headset, but not every set of cans is set up to leverage the feature to its fullest. I also tested with the far cheaper (and older) Turtle Beach Ear Force Z11 headset and the AKG earbuds that came with my phone (using an adapter) and found that the drivers did not handle the increased bass response well, resulting in distortion. Good speakers really do make a difference.

Corsair HS60 Haptic Microphone

The HS60 Haptic detachable noise cancelling microphone is a mixed bag.

First, the good news. The mic’s frequency response, which is specced for 100-10,000 Hz, is quite good. My voice sounded natural and full with none of the unpleasantly nasal tones I’ve experienced with many gaming headset mics. Clarity was likewise excellent.

Unfortunately, the mic tended to clip out on occasion. Adjusting its output level did little to mitigate this until I hit a gain reduction of about 33%. I’ve certainly heard worse microphone distortion, but the intermittent clipping (clearly seen in OBS Studio as a huge redline spike) was noticeable enough to be annoying.

The lack of a windscreen/pop filter on the mic is also disappointing, and the results are exactly what you’d expect: hard consonants punch much harder than you’d like, oftentimes hitting like a kick drum.

Noise cancelling proved good enough to cancel out ambient room noise, but the chatter of mechanical keys from my best gaming keyboard still seeped through.

All in all, the mic lands squarely in the land of slightly above average.

Features and Software of Corsair HS60

While the HS60 Haptic can be used out of the box without any additional software, using the full feature set requires installation of Corsair’s ICUE software package. Upon release, iCue was remarkable for both its versatility and seemingly requiring a 100-plus page manual to fully understand. Since then, the software has evolved to become much more intuitive, with a cleaner user interface and helpful tooltips.

Using iCue with the HS60 Haptic is. remarkably simple. You can adjust mic volume and side tone and choose between five EQ presets (Pure Direct, Movie Theater, FPS Competition, Clear Chat and Bass Boost). You can also create custom EQ curves via a 10-band graphic EQ. EQ presets, however, are disabled when Windows Sonic on.

The HS60 Haptic’s default Pure Direct setting is flat and, as such, ideal for music. The Movie Theater preset offers a boost to lows and mids, FPS Competition boosts mids with a slight low and high frequency cut, Clear Chat boosts high mids and Bass Boost does exactly what you’d expect.

Since the headset doesn’t feature any RGB, the other, more labyrinthine features of iCue don’t come into play unless you happen to own any Aura RGB enabled hardware from Asus, (including motherboards and graphics cards). Corsair iCue can control RGB on Asus Aura-enabled devices. 

If, like me, you have peripherals or components in your PC build that make use of this tech, Aura RGB will cease to function upon installation of iCue, and you’ll be required to update your Aura software via Asus Armoury Crate for your RGB to function again using iCue as the controller. Ultimately, this isn’t hugely inconvenient and offers the benefit of far more lighting effects options for your rig at your fingertips.

Bottom Line

The Corsair HS60 Haptic delivers solid stereo audio performance that can rival the HyperX Cloud line in immersive fidelity. But the real key is its implementation of Taction Haptic Bass Technology. While I can’t say that the addition of tactile rumble to my aural experience improved my gaming skills, it certainly went a long way toward making me feel like I was inside the worlds of my titles.

Haptic feedback on a headset may be a bit a little gimmick-y, but it’s a very fun gimmick and that earns well deserved points. The Razer Nari Ultimate gaming headset also enjoys this gimmick, but cuts the cord, ultimately costing $70 more than our review subject as of writing.

And at $130, a lot of what you’re paying for with the HS60 Haptic is, indeed, that haptic capability. For that price, you could get a wireless gaming headset, like the Logitech G733 Lightspeed

Is haptic audio feedback a game changer that will improve your gameplay? That’s debatable, but it’s certainly a fun feature that helps sculpt a more immersive gaming experience. The HS60 Haptic is a solid offering all around and is absolutely worth a look if you want a new way to experience game audio.

Flying around the world is something that we took for granted before COVID 19. While the world has been on lockdown Microsoft Flight Simulator has been a great way to experience the miracle of flight from your own home, if your PC is powerful enough that is. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 has received a patch to fix many “in-sim” issues that have been reported by the community.

As spotted by Anshel Sag, patch 1.8.3.0 comes in at 11GB and provides performance enhancements including an optimizations to load times, something that many have found painfully slow.

• Optimized cockpit screen display when screens are not displayed on screen.
• New option available to control cockpit screen update frequency.
• Tweaked CPU thread priorities to reduce interruption of frame critical threads.
• Optimized loading system to reduce overall loading times.
• Optimized heavy airport scenes impact on CPU.
• Reduced the amount of GPU overdraw to improve GPU performance.
• Memory optimizations to reduce software memory footprint and improve performance on memory limited computers.
• Overall performance optimizations.

The update also provides enhancements to ATC (Air Traffic Control) communications including three different voices for Azure generated ATC communications and a fix for incorrect voice packs being used. The patch goes further to improve the aerodynamics of aircraft and improves the simulation of weather and engine performance.

More details of this extensive patch can be found on the official Microsoft Flight Simulator website.

HDR support is becoming increasingly important to having the best gaming monitor. We all agree that AMD FreeSync or Nvidia G-Sync is a must regardless of a display’s max refresh rate. But more games are appearing that take advantage of HDR and the extended color of the DCI-P3 gamut. To fully realize the creator’s intent, one must consider adding these features to their shopping list.

AOC has produced many high-performance gaming screens, and today we’re looking at one with HDR and FreeSync, the AOC CU34G2X. It’s an ultra-wide curved VA panel, 34-inches diagonal, 3440x1440 resolution and the promise of high performance, thanks to a 144 Hz refresh rate and a claimed 1ms response time. 

 AOC CU34G2X Specs

AOC starts with a 1500mm radius curved panel. It features a claimed 300 nits of brightness, and although AOC’s product page doesn’t advertise the CU34G2X as an HDR monitor, it supports HDR with HDR10 and an extended color gamut. FreeSync is the adaptive refresh tech of choice, but we confirmed in our tests that the CU34G2X will also run G-Sync (follow our instructions on how to run G-Sync on a FreeSync monitor), and both flavors worked with HDR. Color depth is 8-bits, so 10-bit HDR signals are compressed, but this is common practice in all but the most expensive 10-bit native monitors.

It also features the latest connectivity with DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 (see our DisplayPort vs. HDMI analysis for comparison), and the USB ports are version 3.2. For purists who would rather do without Adaptive-Sync, there is a blur-reduction option similar to G-Sync’s ULMB called MBR, and it works at speeds up to the max refresh of 144 Hz. The lower limit for FreeSync is 48Hz. You won’t need the best graphics card or even a high-end one to drive it, but you will want enough power to keep the action above 48 frames per second (fps). 

The CU34G2X is a bit pricier than 27-inch 16:9 1440p screens with similar feature sets but that extra screen width and its tight 1500R curvature should deliver a more immersive experience in first-person games and flight simulators. 

Unpacking and Accessories

AOC provides a quality stand and solid base for the CU34G2X that attaches to the panel without tools. The carton also includes DisplayPort, HDMI and USB cables. An IEC power cord provides the necessary electrons for a panel that draws 47 watts when the backlight is set to 200 nits. 

One thing we rarely see bundled with gaming monitors is a calibration data sheet. AOC provides color error information of a Delta E (dE) of less than 3 and a screen uniformity measurement as well. Our tests agreed with the data; this monitor is very accurate out of the box. 

Product 360

The CU34G2X has a thin bezel with a flush-mounted anti-glare layer that appears frameless when the power is off. The image shows an 8mm border with a wider trim strip across the bottom. The front layer has almost no air gap, which eliminates any grain from the picture and renders it very sharply. Uniformity is excellent with no bleed, glow or hotspots visible in our sample.

Styling is clearly gaming oriented, but AOC has left out RGB lighting. The red trim seems to glow in the photos, but that is simply its reflective surface in action. The only LED lighting is a miniscule power indicator that glows white in operation and orange in standby. The red trim extends around back with two large chevrons that accent the panel and a vertical stripe on the upright.

The stand is solid and features a 5-inch height adjustment with 30-degree  swivel to either side and 21.5-degree back tilt. Movements are firm and sure with no play. If you’d rather use an aftermarket mount solution, the stand unsnaps to reveal a 100mm VESA bolt pattern. You’ll have to supply your own fasteners though.

The control buttons are in the expected place underneath on the right, but AOC chose to make them very small and recessed. Though they click firmly, they are hard to operate by feel. On a positive note, they don’t stick out visibly, but we really wish they were larger -- or better yet, replaced with a joystick.

There aren’t any side-mounted USB ports, but you’ll find one upstream and four downstream v3.2 connections on the input panel. You also get two each of DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0. FreeSync with HDR will work through any video input but to run G-Sync (unofficially) requires DisplayPort as usual. All support the CU34G2X’s full native resolution at 144 Hz.

OSD Features

The OSD is AOC’s usual strip across the bottom of the screen. It’s divided into seven sections and includes everything needed for calibration and gaming. You’ll have little need for the color controls though. The CU34G2X is very accurate by default.

The Luminance menu has brightness and contrast sliders along with eight picture modes (Eco Modes) and three gamma presets. The HDR Mode options are only available with HDR signals, meaning there is no emulation here for SDR content. We settled on DisplayHDR as the best choice for all HDR games and video.

You can calibrate the CU34G2X by selecting the User color temp, but in our tests, we couldn’t improve upon the monitor’s default grayscale or gamma tracking. Among the color temp options is an sRGB mode that’s accurate and the only way to reduce the monitor’s gamut from its native DCI-P3. The brightness slider is still available, so this mode is useful to those wishing to view their SDR content in the correct color space.

The Game Setup menu has all the necessary features to tweak gameplay, including an Adaptive-Sync toggle, blur-reduction (MBR), a frame rate counter and overdrive. For overdrive, any setting above Weak produced ghosting, but at frame rates above 80 fps, there wasn’t any blur to speak of anyway. Additionally, you must turn off Adaptive-Sync to access the MBR feature, which has 20 levels of control. Each one gets darker as blur reduces. Also here is a slider to adjust color saturation and a low blue mode for reading.

Setup and Calibration

The CU34G2X’s Standard picture mode with Warm color temp and Gamma 1 is the default and best setting. Our tests showed it to be very accurate, and we were unable to improve upon the initial numbers in the User color temp mode. If you want a darker gamma, Gamma 3 looked good too, thanks to the VA panel’s high contrast. The backlight doesn’t peak at a high level and will go down to a dim 38 nits if you zero the brightness slider. 

For HDR content, we suggest the DisplayHDR mode for the best contrast and color fidelity. Here are the brightness settings for commonly used output levels in SDR mode. When an HDR signal is detected, the backlight is locked to its maximum setting.

Gaming and Hands-on

Without a doubt, the CU34G2X excelled when playing SDR games like Tomb Raider. With its extra color and contrast, details like rock faces and metallic textures just popped off the screen. You can tell AOC engineered the color well here because reds never looked oversaturated, and the all-important flesh tones appeared perfectly natural. Highlights were nice and bright with deep shadows that retained their detail. We didn’t have to employ the shadow control option to easily see everything in the game’s darkest places.

With FreeSync on and Tomb Raider at medium settings, frame rates clocked in at 65-70 fps with an AMD Radeon R9 285-powered system. Even though the AOC CU34G2X isn’t officially G-Sync Compatible, we ran G-Sync on it with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti and hit 120-130 fps with details maxed out. We also tried the various overdrive settings and settled on Weak as the best option. It added a bit of motion resolution without ghosting.

Switching Windows to HDR proved interesting. The CU34G2X isn’t terribly bright, so we maxed the control panel luminance slider, then loaded up Call of Duty: WWII. A few tweaks of the in-game controls produced decent highlights and deep blacks with good shadow detail. This title is particularly well-designed to deliver a great image on any monitor when you use the provided adjustments.

Frame rates settled at around 50 fps with FreeSync and a Radeon R9 285 and 100 fps with G-Sync and a 1080 Ti. Call of Duty: WWII demands a bit more processing power, and HDR slowed things down a little. In either case, the picture looked fantastic. We spent some time exploring a Paris office building with rooms that were either brightly lit or cast in dark lamp shadows. The extra color helped bring murky details out of the fog, while highlights shined out. We wished for a bit more brightness, but once our eyes adjusted, the view was very engaging. That’s the magic of a tightly curved monitor like the CU34G2X. Its 1500mm radius wrapped the image to the edge of our peripheral vision when sitting about 3 feet away. Pixel density was never an issue with 109ppi available.

Like all curved monitors with good video processing and a fast refresh rate, the CU34G2X provides a game experience beyond what any 16:9 flat panel can deliver. While we’ve been more than satisfied with flat screens of 32 inches and larger, the ultra-wide is still our favorite gaming tool.

To read about our monitor tests in-depth, check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test Monitors and TVs. We cover brightness and contrast on page two.

Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

All the monitors in the CU34G2X comparison group support HDR with edge backlights and max brightness that ranges from 350 to over 500 nits. Panels are a mix of VA (AOC Agon AG493UCX, Aorus CV27Q, Dell S3220DGF) and IPS (Aorus FI27Q, BenQ EW3280U). 

 Our CU34G2X sample came up short of its claimed 300 nit output level, topping out at 232 nits. This is bright enough for SDR content though you won’t want to use this monitor in a super bright environment. Luckily, it produced good black levels that are on par with the better VA panels here. Resulting contrast is 2,394:1 with default settings in place. This is solid performance but not the best among our comparison group. 

After Calibration to 200 nits

Our calibration (see our recommended settings) consisted only of lowering the brightness setting to 200 nits. We didn’t make any other changes because we couldn’t improve upon the CU34G2X’s color accuracy in the User Color Temp mode. Regardless, black levels were quite good, and contrast was a tick higher at 2,428.3:1.

With excellent screen uniformity available, the CU34G2X also posted a solid ANSI contrast score of 2,257.7:1. You can see from all our test results that VA is by far the best panel tech for native dynamic range. Until you get into monitors with full-array local dimming backlights, which you’ll find in the best HDR monitors, this is the best way to get deep blacks on a budget. 

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test Monitors

MORE: All Monitor Content

 The CU34G2X ships in its Standard picture with the color temp set to Warm and gamma on preset 1. This is the best combination of settings as it delivers astounding out-of-box accuracy. 

Grayscale and Gamma Tracking

We describe our grayscale and gamma tests in detail here.

For an uncalibrated monitor, it doesn’t get much better than this for our grayscale and gamma tracking tests. Only at 100% brightness did the CU34G2X falter with a small rise in green, but that’s something only our i1 Pro spectrophotometer can see. Gamma was also perfect with only the tiniest deviations from the 2.2 line, again, an invisible error. AOC delivered on the numbers shown in the included calibration data sheet.

For SDR games and video, sRGB (2nd chart) is the correct color gamut to use. You’ll find the sRGB option in the color temp menu under Color Setup While many users opt for the larger DCI-P3 color space when viewing any content, color purists prefer using an accurate gamut option, and the CU34G2X provides this. There are no visible errors in the grayscale tracking test, and only 10% brightness shows an error of being too light. While that error helped bring out shadow detail, some dark scenes looked slightly washed out. You can compensate for this by reducing the Shadow Control slider in the Game Setting menu. That will make blacks a little truer. This is still great performance though. 

Comparisons

The CU34G2X easily took first place in the uncalibrated grayscale test with a super low 0.60dE result. All monitors except the AG493UCX had no visible issues before calibration. After adjustment, the FI27Q pipped ahead by a nose in the DCI-P3 mode. The AOC’s sRGB mode isn’t adjustable but still comes in with a very low error of just 1.31dE.

The top four screens deliver excellent gamma tracking with a tight range of values. The CU34G2X postrf a perfect 2.2 average score, with the BenQ and Aorus screens falling slightly behind. Gamma is important not only to shadow and highlight detail but to color tracking too, and the AOC excelled here.

Color Gamut Accuracy

For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.

The CU34G2X was equally impressive in our color gamut tests. Both the native DCI-P3 and sRGB modes showed slight under-saturation in blue and magenta but compensated for it with extra luminance for those colors. The net effect is an extremely low error level in both cases. Green also came up slightly short in the DCI gamut. This is a common behavior for monitors with extended color. 

Comparisons

Thanks to careful tuning of color luminance levels, the CU34G2X managed very low errors of 1.28dE for sRGB and 1.98 for DCI-P3 after calibration to 200 nits. This is professional monitor territory for sure. Images looked natural and well-detailed with color that never looked overblown or washed out.

Since the CU34G2X’s primaries are slightly under-saturated, DCI gamut volume suffers a bit. 81.26% DCI-P3 coverage is a bit behind the latest extended color displays we’ve reviewed. The 95.03% score for sRGB is also due to its under-saturated blue primary. While these aren’t major issues, we’d like to see a tad more color saturation in general.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test Monitors

MORE: All Monitor Content

Applying an HDR signal to the CU34G2X automatically switches it to HDR mode, where you’ll find four picture options. DisplayHDR, the default, is by far the best, and it’s the only one that doesn’t apply edge enhancement to contrasting objects. 

HDR Brightness and Contrast

We had hoped to see more light output from the CU34G2X in HDR mode, but it topped out at about the same level as with SDR. The result was the same whether we measured full field or window patterns. Some sort of dynamic contrast or selective overdrive of the backlight would be a great improvement here. Many of today’s HDR screens can exceed 400 nits as the other monitors here do, and we prefer to hit at least 600 nits with HDR gaming. 

Fortunately, that is somewhat made up for by an excellent black level. The HDR contrast level is about the same as SDR, which isn’t ideal, but the CU34G2X still looks better than the FI27Q or EW3280U HDR monitors. Dynamic range is king, and no edge-lit monitor does it better than the Dell S3220DGF with over 18,000:1 contrast, achieved by some clever engineering of its firmware.

Grayscale, EOTF and Color

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test Monitors

MORE: All Monitor Content

Viewing Angles

Applying an HDR signal to the CU34G2X automatically switches it to HDR mode, where you’ll find four picture options. DisplayHDR, the default, is by far the best, and it’s the only one that doesn’t apply edge enhancement to contrasting objects. 

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

Curved monitors are generally less consistent when it comes to screen uniformity, but the CU34G2X is clearly one of the better examples. Our sample showed no visible issues, even at the edges. The anti-glare layer is fitted tightly, making that performance even more impressive. The picture modes include a uniformity option that marries up with the included calibration data sheet, but that only serves to raise black levels. Clearly, it’s not necessary anyway;  9.09% is a solid score in this test. 

Pixel Response and Input Lag

Click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

In the response time test, the CU34G2X was just 1ms off from the 165 Hz screens. We thought it would beat the 120 Hz AG493UCX, but it didn’t quite pull that off. It did lop 2ms off the total lag score, fitting in right between the 120Hz and 165Hz levels, as it should. While the most competitive gamers will want even less lag, the majority of players will enjoy the smoothness and responsiveness of the CU34G2X. We certainly observed no issues during gameplay with perfect synchronization of our gaming mouse and gaming keyboard inputs to on-screen action. 

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test Monitors

MORE: All Monitor Content

There is no question that ultra-wide displays have become a de facto standard for gaming enthusiasts. What began a few years ago as a novelty--an answer to an unasked question--has evolved into a desirable piece of hardware for gamers seeking full immersion. While the best VR headsets still provide a greater sense of sensory deprivation, a curved 21:9 screen manages to capture much of that feeling without a bulky apparatus on your head.

The AOC CU34G2X is a great example of the genre and the evolution of gaming monitors in general. It takes the staple features of fast refresh and Adaptive-Sync and adds image-enhancing elements: extended color, HDR and QHD resolution, which still represents the sweet spot between pixel density and frame rate performance. To that, it adds blur-reduction that works up to 144 Hz, a rare thing since most backlight strobes only go up to 120 Hz and some top out at 100 Hz.

However, the monitor misses its claimed 300 nits brightness and doesn’t provide any extra light in HDR mode. Though the VA panel delivers around 2,400:1 contrast, it doesn’t offer any extra dynamic range for HDR material. We saw good black levels, but there are a few HDR monitors that do more with their HDR modes.

If you’re looking for solid video processing, the CU34G2X has it. FreeSync and G-Sync (unofficially) both worked with HDR, and overall input lag kept with other 144 Hz screens we’ve tested. Panel response was fast enough to keep motion blur low, and blur reduction wasn’t necessary as long as frame rates stayed over 80 fps. At QHD resolution, that won’t require an expensive graphics card to achieve.

The CU34G2X sells at a near-premium price point but doesn’t cost much more than other 34-inch ultra-wide displays. Better HDR performance, more brightness and a larger color gamut can be had but at a higher price. However, this monitor delivers excellent performance for the money. 

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test Monitors

MORE: All Monitor Content

Supercomputing 2018

This year the annual Supercomputing conference celebrated its 30th anniversary. The conference finds the brightest minds in HPC (High Performance Computing) descending from all around the globe to share the latest in bleeding-edge supercomputing technology. The six-day show is packed with technical breakout technical sessions, research paper presentations, tutorials, panels, workshops, and the annual student cluster competition.

The conference also features an expansive show floor brimming with the latest in high-performance computing technology. We traveled to Dallas, Texas to take in the sights and sounds of the show. Some of the demonstrations are simply mind-blowing. Let's take a look.

Immerse Your Desktop

3M is known for its Flourinert fluid that's used for two-phase immersion-cooling systems in both data centers and HPC systems, but the company also had a compact demo system that contains a Core i7-7700K overclocked to 4.5 GHz on all cores and a Nvidia GTX 1080. The fluid is cooled with a surprisingly small unit that's connected via two tubes. The system was consuming ~250W during the demo, but the components inside were still well within safe operating temperatures. The surprisingly compact system would look great on a desktop, but 3M has no plans to bring it to market.

Traveling To Milan With Volta-Next

Cray's Shasta compute blade comes with multiple options for different types of compute, with the blade above wielding the power of eight of AMD's next-next-gen Milan processors crammed into one slim 1U chassis. This compute node is part of a larger system that includes GPU nodes and networking blades that all combine into one of the most powerful supercomputers on the planet.

The Department of Energy announced at Supercomputer 2018 that it had selected Cray's Shasta platform paired with Nvidia's "Volta-Next" GPUs and AMD's Milan processors to power its Perlmutter supercomputer. Those two solutions will combine to create an exascale-class machine that will be one of the fastest supercomputers in the world. The Department of Energy plans to deploy the Perlmutter supercomputer in 2020.

China Finds Zen

Sugon has a full-scale Nebula server rack that immersion cools individual compute trays that come bristling with four Nvidia Teslas and four CPUs apiece. This system is particularly interesting because it features the Chinese-manufactured Hygon Dryhana chips that are licensed, and nearly a carbon copy, of AMD’s EPYC processors.

Immersion cooling provides unparalleled performance density, but it requires specialized infrastructure to handle phase-change cooling equipment. Sugon's solution hosts 42 compute blades and comes with a secondary cabinet that includes the phase-change cooling equipment. As you can see in the video above, the sleds come with a quick-release connection that allows for near-hot-pluggable nodes without dealing with complicated tubing connections. Sugon's various HPC systems occupy 57 of the of the 500 listings on the 2018 TOP500 list of supercomputers.

IBM's Quantum Computer

IBM's 50-Qubit quantum computer made an appearance. This chandelier-looking device cools the qubits, which are held on a wafer in the canister at the bottom of the device. The company uses Helium 3 and 4 to cool the uppermost layer of the assembly to 3 Kelvin, but the cooling system becomes progressively cooler as it travels to the bottom of the device.

The silver canister at the bottom of the device falls to a mere 0.15 millikelvins, making it the coldest entity in the universe while the machine is operational. That extreme cold enables the device to churn out enough computational power to rank within the top ten supercomputers in the world, but the power is short-lived: the device only computes for 100 milliseconds. As IBM improves the device, each additional qubit will provide an exponential boost in performance. Therefore, adding one more qubit would make the device as powerful as two of the top ten supercomputers. 

Epyc Everywhere

AMD took tentative steps into last years Supercomputing conference with its EPYC Naples processors, but this year the company broke out into a run. EPYC-powered servers made an appearance at nearly every motherboard vendor, but more importantly, they were also present at several major OEMs. Both HPE and Dell had full servers on display, reminding us that the EPYC invasion into the data center is real. Other wins, such as the Perlmutter supercomputer we covered earlier, are for future supercomputers. That tells us that EPYC is here to stay for the long run.

Four TPUs in a Pod

Google announced its latest TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) v3 earlier this year. Google specifically designed these custom ASICs to handle training and inference workloads. The newest version comes watercooled and slides into massive installations called pods. It is thought that over 1,024 TPU v3 processors will come together to form a single pod. Google claims a full pod can deliver well over one hundred petaflops of performance.

Google isn't sharing many specifics of the v3 models, though we do know they can deliver 420 teraflops of performance and come with 128GB of HBM.

Nvidia T4

Nvidia's T4 makes an appearance in several of Supermicro's newest servers, but we expect these speedy AI inference GPUs to experience broad uptake in the data center. The T4 comes bearing the same Turing architecture as Nvidia's GeForce RTX 20-series gaming graphics cards, but is designed for neural networks that process video, speech, search engines, and images.

The Tesla T4 GPU comes equipped with 16GB of GDDR6 that provides up to 320GB/s of bandwidth, 320 Turing Tensor cores, and 2,560 CUDA cores. The T4 features 40 SMs enabled on the TU104 die to optimize for the 75W power profile.

The GPU supports mixed-precision, such as FP32, FP16, and INT8 (performance above). The Tesla T4 also features an INT4 and (experimental) INT1 precision mode, which is a notable advancement over its predecessor, the P4.

Allied Control demo

The Allied Control demo consisted of 20 immersion-cooled Nvidia GTX 2080's and a dual-Xeon E5 server. The company uses custom ASIC hardware and a special motherboard. The company replaced the standard GPU coolers with a 1mm copper plate that allows it to place the GPUs a mere 2.5mm apart. That's much slimmer than the normal dual-slot coolers we see on this class of GPU.

PCIe 4 Can Go Anywhere

One Stop Systems (OSS) designs external GPU and flash storage arrays for a variety of markets that span from military applications to data centers and HPC deployments. We've even tested one of the company's products when we put 32 3.2TB Fusion ioMemory SSDs head-to-head against 30 of Intel's NVMe DC P3700 SSDs.

But the industry moves on, and faster PCIe 4.0 connections between hefty enclosures with multiple GPUs and storage devices will double throughput to the host. OSS designed what it claims is the worlds first PCIe 4.0 cable adapter. The HIB616-x16 Host Bus Adapter supports an optical cable that attaches to a standard Mini-HD SAS connector repurposed to carry a PCIe signal. The connector then slides into the four-port host bus adapter, with each port providing an x4 connection between the two devices. The OSS adapter also works with standard copper cable, but that limits cable length to six meters.

Intel Does MCM, Too.

Intel's Cascade Lake-AP (Advanced Performance) processors made quite the wave when the company announced them a few days before the Supercomputing conference, but details were slight. Intel did disclose that the new chips will come with a Multi-Chip Module (MCM) design, meaning they will have more than one die inside a single processor package, similar to AMD's chips.

During the show, we learned from several sources that Intel's top-end Platinum -AP models, which will reportedly stretch up to 350W, will require liquid cooling for stock operation. Meanwhile, lower-end models with more relaxed TDP ratings will still only require air cooling, though water is an option. 

HGX-2 Expansion

Nvidia had its DGX-2 station, which company CEO Jensen Huang famously billed as the "World's largest GPU," at the show, but we also found a plethora of new HGX-2 designs on the show floor. The HGX-2 is a reference hyperscale design that allows OEMs/ODMs to build standardized supercomputers. Just like the DGX-2, which is sold directly from Nvidia, the HGX-2 comes with 16 Tesla V100 GPUs and half a terabyte of total GPU memory tied together with 12 NVSwitches. That powers up to 12 petaflops of performance in one chassis.

The large number of HGX-2 platforms is encouraging for Nvidia as it seeks to strengthen its leading position in deep learning in the data center.

Xilinx Brings PCIe 4.0 To FPGAs

Xilinx unveiled its new Alveo U280 FPGA at the show. All workloads are either bound by storage I/O, memory, or compute restrictions, and the new U280 grapples with several of those eventualities. The card brings several firsts to the FPGA space: the PCIe 4.0 interface, 8GB of on-package HBM2, and support for CCIX. The improved PCIe interface allows for faster throughput into and out of the card, helping address I/O constraints, while fast HMB2 memory provides up to 460GB/s of throughput, which helps with memory constraints.

The CCIX interconnect also weighs into providing a low-latency, high-bandwidth, cache-coherent interface for shared memory access with other CCIX-compliant devices, providing a nice path forward as the CCIX ecosystem expands.

Samsung's NF1 SSDs

We found Samsung's new NF1 SSDs in several servers at the show, which does imply that the company's proprietary form factor is gaining at least some traction in the industry. However, we also spotted a few designs that leveraged the Intel-backed EDSFF form factor (commonly known as the Ruler) that has evolved into an industry standard.

Data center customers and OEMs alike prefer to build devices based on industry-accepted standards, which doesn't bode well for Samsung's proprietary NF1 form factor in the future. In fact, the PCI-SIG standards committee recently threw the flag on incompatibility between NF1 and M.2 SSDs, which may be just the first sign that the lack of standards adoption will haunt the promising form factor.

The Mad Dash To Use Flash As Memory Cache

Western Digital has taken its existing SN200 enterprise SSDs, slathered on a bit of software magic, and created its new DC ME200 Memory Extension Drive. This NVMe drive combines with software to enable users to leverage traditional flash storage as a memory extension, thus increasing the addressable memory space in a server. The drive comes in U.2 and standard Add-In Card form factors to provide broad compatibility with existing infrastructure. The drives come in 1TB, 2TB and 4TB models that boost the addressable memory pool by leaps and bounds.

Once installed, WD claims the drive offers near-memory performance in a wide range of typical server applications. Users also get the added assurance of data persistence for the data stored on the drive, and though endurance is always a concern with flash-based devices, WD feels the 17 Drive Writes Per Day endurance rating should be sufficient for all but the most extreme use-cases. WD claims this innovative approach will boost memory capacity and reduce licensing fees, but for a small premium over normal SSD pricing.

Fujitsu's AF64FX Chip

Japan's Post-K supercomputer doesn't make its debut until 2021, but Fujitsu is already hard at work on the new ARM-based A64FX chip that will serve as the centerpiece. The chip is manufactured on the 7nm process and features 8.7 billion transistors. The 48-core processor, which also has four 'assistant' cores, is designed to excel at AI workloads and is projected to deliver up to 2.7 teraflops for FP64 operations, 5.4 teraflops for FP32, and 10.8 teraflops for FP16. Max performance weighs in at 21.6 teraflops for 8-bit integer operations.

Fujitsu claims the chip is incredibly power efficient but hasn't provided specific measurements. The chip also has 32GiB of on-package HBM2, while the chip also supports up to 1,024 GB/s of throughput from main memory.

Off To The Races With Z-NAND

Samsung had its Z-NAND powered 983 ZET at the show. Samsung designed Z-NAND to be a cheaper alternative to Intel’s Optane. Instead of starting from a blank drawing board, the company simply modified existing SLC flash by shrinking the wordlines and bitlines. The HHHL (half-height half-length) Add-In Card comes in 480GB and 960GB capacities and wields 1.5GB of LPDDR4 DRAM.

Top line performance numbers include 3,400/3,000 GB/s of sequential read/write throughput, but Samsung hasn't released the most important specification: random performance. We do know the 960GB model can absorb up to 17,520 TB of write data and comes with a five-year warranty.

Samsung Makes SSDs Smart

Samsung's SmartSSD features a field programmable gate array (FPGA) chip onboard an SSD so that data can be processed onboard the drive without eating up CPU cycles or requiring data movement. The drive features a high-bandwidth internal data path between the SSD and FPGA to speed data processing. Samsung designed the FPGA with Xilinx, but the company uses the existing SDAccel Environment FPGA programming language.

Samsung currently only offers an Add-In Card SSD, but plans to add a U.2 model in the future. Samsung envisions the drive being used in database, video, AI and ML, storage & virtualization workloads. 

Audeze is making moves to shake up the gaming headset market with the introduction of the Mobius headphones, a 3D audio gaming headset that features advanced spatial audio technology and head-tracking sensors to increase the immersion of your gaming experience.

Audeze usually makes products for the music industry and audiophiles. The company said that its headphones feature proprietary planar magnetic drivers that produce superior audio quality compared to dynamic cone drivers. Audeze’s drivers feature ultra-thin diaphragms made of a proprietary nano-scale material that the company acquired from NASA. The drivers also feature powerful magnets on both sides of the diaphragm to reduce audio distortion.

The Audeze Mobius headset features 3D sound localization technology, which helps convince your brain that you’re in the environment that you hear. The headphones feature a three-axis accelerometer and three-axis gyroscope that poll 1,000 times per second to monitor your head movement, which enables Audeze’s software to dynamically adjust the sound profile of the Mobius headset in accordance to your head position.

The headphones also include anatomy calibration software that adjusts the speaker position and 3D emulation algorithms for the dimensions of your head.

The Mobius headset offers standard features that gamers appreciate, such as a removeable boom microphone with noise attenuation, independent headphone and microphone volume control, and a mute button. Audeze also installed memory foam on the headband and replaceable earpads.

The headset offers USB-C, USB-A, and 3.5mm connections, as well as Bluetooth communication and up to 10 hours of battery life.

Audeze expects to begin shipping the Mobius 3D audio headset in June, but you can place an order now through Indigogo. Audeze said that the Mobius headset would retail for $399 when it debuts at retail, but Indigogo backers can secure one for $199.

Introduction

To be classified as a gaming monitor, a display must meet two minimum criteria: adaptive sync and a high refresh rate. These days, G-Sync or FreeSync is a must for anyone who cares about motion quality. Putting the video card in the driver’s seat means the panel only draws a frame when ordered to. It isn’t locked into a fixed refresh cycle. So then the choice comes down to Nvidia or AMD.

It seems that most premium screens choose G-Sync, with its more consistent low framerate support. If you can’t support high speeds with your current video card, it’s nice to know there won’t be tearing when the action drops below 40 FPS. To get that consistency with FreeSync, you have to check the specs carefully, because not all monitors work the same. On the other hand, G-Sync also adds a $200 tariff to the price of entry compared to FreeSync generally speaking.

Today, we’re checking out the AG352UCG, an ultra-wide member of AOC’s Agon gaming display line. It sports an 1800mm curve radius with a high-contrast AMVA panel running at 3440x1440 pixels. G-Sync is there too over a range of 24-100Hz. It’s all wrapped in a stylish chassis with colorful LED effects and a solid-aluminum stand. Let’s take a look.

Specifications

Once you’ve satisfied with the refresh rate equation, the choices in gaming displays are vast. Ultra-wide curved screens are popular for their immersive wraparound effect and greater use of the player’s peripheral vision. Many people use multiple 16:9 monitors to achieve the same thing, but now you can have a more seamless, single-screen experience. The AG352UCG’s 1800mm radius curve is about as tight as it gets. And a generous 35” size means you won’t have to sit super close to lose yourself in the game world.

Users who place resolution high on the priority list will be attracted to the Agon’s 3440x1440 specification. That means a pixel density of 106ppi, which is close to a 27” QHD monitor’s 109. We’ve long considered that good balance between clarity and speed. Speaking of the latter, 100Hz is the max refresh here, which may look a little weak next to the latest 240Hz screamers coming from Asus, Acer, and AOC. But the AG352UCG has something else to recommend it: an AMVA panel. It offers double the contrast of the best IPS or TN screens, and that’s something anyone can readily see. It might just be worth a little framerate sacrifice.

Packaging, Physical Layout & Accessories

The AG352UCG is a substantial display and it comes in a carton to match. The panel, upright, and base are separately packed and well protected by large foam blocks. Assembly requires the use of a Phillips-head screwdriver to attach the upright, while the base bolts on without tools.

Bundled cables include DisplayPort, HDMI, and analog audio. The latter is intended to complete a mic interface between the monitor and your PC. Although there is a built-in USB 3.0 hub, no cable is included. To use it, you’ll need a cable with a micro-B plug, which is somewhat unusual. The power supply is external like most ultra-wide displays, and occupies a large brick. Documentation and drivers can be downloaded from AOC’s website.

Product 360

AOC typically puts a lot of effort into its product’s styling, but the Agon line is a cut above the norm. The AG352UCG has generous amounts of silver trim and a unique LED array that not only lights up the panel’s bottom edge but adds four large accents across the back. You can choose a red, green, or blue effect in the OSD. We only wish the color would change to indicate G-Sync operation like with some other displays.

The anti-glare layer is 3H hardness like most others but has a little more shine than is typical. This increases the clarity factor noticeably, but you’ll need to take a bit more care when setting it up to avoid reflections. Luckily, curved screens are easier to deal with in this regard. The bezel is finished in a gloss black and is relatively wide with a 15mm top and sides, and 25mm at the bottom. Underneath is the aforementioned LED bar, which emits a soft glow, almost like a bias light.

The stand is one of the most substantial we’ve seen. It’s made from solid aluminum finished in a premium satin sheen. Both the base and upright are made from the same material, and the latter is capped by a useful handle. Movements are solid and sure, as good as any premium monitor we’ve laid our hands on. In addition to a 4.3” height adjustment, there’s 30° swivel in each direction and 29° back tilt with 5.5° forward. A small hook flips out from behind the upper-right to hang a pair of headphones. The stand can be removed if you wish to use the 100mm VESA mount holes.

Video inputs include one each of HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort 1.2. The former can be used at the monitor’s native resolution up to 60Hz. For G-Sync and 100Hz, DisplayPort is the only choice. You also get one upstream and two downstream USB 3.0 ports along with headphone, mic in, and mic out. Two small speakers can be seen behind the up-facing grill, just above the large silver trim piece on back. They play louder than you might expect, but there is some distortion at higher volumes.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: Best Professional Monitors

MORE: How We Test Monitors

MORE: How To Choose A Monitor

MORE: All Monitor Content

OSD Setup & Calibration

After our experience with AOC’s OSD joystick on the C400VU8, we had high expectations for the one found on the AG352UCG. Unfortunately, a different design team must have been involved because it isn’t nearly as intuitive. It is the only means of controlling the menu and doubles as a power toggle. That’s an annoying issue because when you press the stick, it turns the power off. There is no OK function. It took us a little time to acclimate and we think there is room for improvement. Press it to turn on the power. Click if fore and aft to control the volume. A left-click selects the video source, and right-click opens the menu. Once the OSD appears, fore and aft correspond to up and down. Right selects and left cancels. Just don’t press it by mistake or you’ll shut the screen off.

Rather than AOC’s usual strip across the bottom of the screen, there is a more traditional rectangle that you can place anywhere. We chose the lower-left corner. Options are few, and the first thing you’ll notice is there is no ULMB feature. We don’t consider this a deal-breaker, because we’d rather use G-Sync, and it’s not the only monitor we’ve seen to omit blur-reduction.

The Luminance menu has the usual brightness and contrast sliders plus a shadow control for low-end gamma. Increasing it helps with dark detail visibility, but we had no need for it. The AG352UCG’s VA panel has no trouble rendering fine shadow detail. You also get three gamma presets, and the first corresponds to 2.2. Four overdrive options are offered, and we found medium to provide the best performance with almost no ghosting. Game Mode has four image presets that alter color and gamma, but we found the best quality in the Off position. We’ll show you how to use the color temp options for best results.

In the color menu, you’ll find a low blue light slider along with four white balance presets. Warm is the default and sRGB is offered, but the best mode is User. It tightens up gamma tracking to perfection and doesn’t really need further adjustment, although you can tweak the RGB sliders for a little better result. We’ll show you that as well.

The OSD is available in 16 languages, can remain on the screen for up to two minutes, and has adjustable position and transparency. If you need a break reminder, a 10-second notice can be set to appear every hour.

The Extra menu has a factory reset, sleep mode (after 15 minutes of no-signal), USB charge (when the screen is in standby), LED color, and LED intensity. Those last two refer to the light bars on the bottom edge and back of the panel. They can light up red, green, or blue and have three brightness levels.

Calibration

By default, the AG352UCG’s Game Mode is off and its color temp set to Warm. This provides an reasonably accurate image, but we observed some clipping in the brightest content. Rather than turn the contrast down, we found that simply selecting the User color temp fixed the problem and kept color close to standard. Further adjustment of the RGB sliders lowered the errors even more. This panel provides a vivid and saturated image with accurate color and excellent contrast, and requires very little tweaking. Here are our recommended settings.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: Best Professional Monitors

MORE: How We Test Monitors

MORE: How To Choose A Monitor

MORE: All Monitor Content

Brightness & Contrast

To read about our monitor tests in depth, please check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test Monitors and TVs. Brightness and Contrast testing are covered on page two.

Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

Ultra-wide monitors represent the top end of the gaming display pricing spectrum, but the new 25” 16:9 high-speed panels are also commanding a premium. We’ve included Acer’s XB252Q along with the Z301C 30” and XB382CQK 38” screens. We're also adding the Asus PG348Q and LG’s 34UC79G to the mix.

ULMB requires some extra horsepower in the brightness department, and the only monitor here that has enough is the XB252Q. That’s not an issue for the AG352UCG since it doesn’t have blur-reduction. Its claimed output is 300cd/m², and our sample beats that comfortably with over 343. You’ll never have trouble seeing a nicely saturated picture even in brightly lit rooms.

With an AMVA panel, the black level is exemplary and only bested by the Z301C, and only by a small margin. This is the key to VA technology’s superior contrast. Some monitors we’ve tested can top 5000:1, but our curved ultra-wide examples are closer to 2500:1. It’s still more than double the best offered by TN or IPS.

Uncalibrated – Minimum Backlight Level

AOC has chosen to take minimum brightness down past the useful point at a dim 28.8939cd/m². To set output at 50nits, click the slider up to 10. This isn’t a big deal for most users, but if you want to achieve a precise white level, the control is a bit too coarse. Each notch represents around 4cd/m². The black level is where it should be, meaning that contrast stays consistent at 2243.7:1.

After Calibration to 200cd/m2

After making a few changes to the image controls, we found that contrast had been set too high by default. This showed up in our gamma tests, and we could see some detail clipping in bright areas of the picture. Selecting the User color temp fixes this issue, but it exacts a cost in contrast—26% to be exact. It sounds like a lot, but remember that we’re still well above what’s possible from a TN or IPS panel. And now we can see all the detail present in the source content.

ANSI Contrast Ratio

ANSI contrast is a more real-world indication of a monitor’s true image depth, and the AG352UCG puts up a superb number. Only a few monitors we’ve tested can boast a better result in this test. And it has now edged out the Predator Z301C. If you value contrast in a gaming display as much as we do, you won’t find much better.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: Best Professional Monitors

MORE: How We Test Monitors

MORE: How To Choose A Monitor

MORE: All Monitor Content

Grayscale, Gamma & Color

For the most part, the AG352UCG comes from the factory with excellent color, gamma, and grayscale accuracy. We suggest a few small tweaks for the very best result, but most users will be satisfied to simply set brightness to taste and play on.

Grayscale Tracking

Our grayscale and gamma tests are described in detail here.

We begin in the Agon’s default state with Gaming Mode turned off and the color temp on its Warm preset. Contrast is at 50 and Gamma is on preset 1. This gives us decent grayscale tracking with slightly visible errors at 10 and 80-100%. The darker step looks a little blue but only if you know what you’re looking for. If we hadn’t told you about it, you probably wouldn’t see it. The warmth in the brighter steps is even less obvious.

The anomaly at 10% continues in the sRGB preset. This mode fixes output at a bright 315cd/m² with an average grayscale error of 2.78dE. If you don’t choose to calibrate, we suggest selecting the User color temp. Without any RGB adjustments, it offers slightly better tracking than Warm. More importantly, it fixes a gamma problem which we’ll show you in the next section.

Reducing the red slider by two clicks tightens up tracking from 30-100%, but slight blue errors remain at 10 and 20. The chart is a bit unusual, but overall tracking is good here. Among gaming monitors, this is average performance.

Comparisons

If you’re satisfied with an average white balance error of 2.75dE, then you need only change the color temp preset to User and set brightness to your preferred level. No other tweaks are needed for excellent contrast and image quality. By reducing the red level slightly, we lowered the average error to 1.82dE. It’s a last place finish in this group but still an average result for the gaming category. The first three screens are quite good in this test and rival many professional displays for grayscale accuracy.

Gamma Response

Gamma tracking is the main reason for choosing the AG352UCG’s User color temp preset. All other modes clip highlight detail, which results in visible harshness in the brighter zones of the picture. In most cases, when we see a chart like this, we lower the contrast slider. And indeed, that technique will work here, but it reduces dynamic range by nearly 50%. The better approach is to simply select the User preset. Tweaking the RGB sliders is optional. Gamma is now as close to perfect as any monitor we’ve tested at any price. This is what ideal looks like, and it has a positive effect on color saturation and luminance.

Comparisons

The AG352UCG posts one of the best gamma scores we’ve recorded. Not only does it track an average value of 2.2, its range of numbers is a super tight .12. Several other screens in the group are close, but their tracking misses the spec just slightly. We’re being extremely picky here, but since the subject is premium monitors, high precision should be expected.

Color Gamut & Luminance

For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, please click here.

Many gaming monitors have over-saturated color, and the AG352UCG is no exception. As long as measured color points track consistently and come close to their targets, we have no problem with a little extra vividness. It doesn’t impact detail rendering and, along with high contrast, makes gaming that much more enjoyable.

AOC has taken a panel part with a slightly enlarged gamut and engineered it perfectly. The first two charts show elevated luminance levels, which jibes with the clipped white level we measured. The first one represents the Warm preset and second is sRGB. Neither is desirable thanks to that gamma issue we told you about.

Once the color temp is set to User, the issue is resolved and the luminance chart looks almost perfect. Calibration extracts that last 1% for an excellent gamut test result. Many professional monitors don’t measure this well.

Comparisons

1.29dE is an extremely low average color error. Remember, that represents the average of 36 measurements. We don’t just check the outer gamut points but also the 20, 40, 60, and 80% saturation levels for all six colors. Obviously, the over-saturation we mentioned is very small. It doesn’t negatively impact our test or the display of real-world content.

Thanks to that bonus volume from all three primaries, the AG352UCG exceeds the sRGB gamut spec by 6.55%. This is fine for gaming and any other application except proofing. For that purpose, we recommend a custom profile be created in your color management software of choice. This monitor is suitable for photo and graphics editing.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: Best Professional Monitors

MORE: How We Test Monitors

MORE: How To Choose A Monitor

MORE: All Monitor Content

Viewing Angles, Uniformity, Response & Lag

Viewing Angles

We can see a little haziness in both the horizontal planes when the viewing angle exceeds 45°. Also visible is a slight red shift though light falloff is only around 30%. The AG352UCG’s AMVA panel shows typical performance in this area. IPS will offer better off-axis quality, but with lower contrast. Given the intended use of a curved ultra-wide screen, we’ll take dynamic range every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, please click here.

Careful quality control is required to keep bleed and glow away from curved monitors, especially those with an 1800mm radius like this one. The black field test yields no problems whatsoever. Its 9.39% score puts it in a large group of quality, premium displays. We were a little surprised when it posted a higher number in the white field test, but 11.48% is not a concern. If one looks closely enough, a bright zone can be seen in our sample’s center from top to bottom. The issue is completely invisible in actual content. And the color uniformity test reveals no issues at all. 1.94dE means any errors can’t be seen by the naked eye.

Pixel Response & Input Lag

Please click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

We’ve tested two monitors recently that redefined our perceptions of speed: the Asus PG258Q and Acer’s XB252Q. Both can sustain 240 FPS when driven by a suitably powerful video card and have virtually no input lag. After being spoiled by them, it’s easy to spot the difference a 100Hz monitor makes. Though we are not highly-skilled gamers by any means, we can see the difference in motion resolution between 7 and 11ms. It may be tiny but it’s there. G-Sync certainly helps in this situation, and makes a larger impact as framerates decrease. At 3440x1440 pixels, many games won’t play much above 100 FPS anyway. 38ms is a respectable lag score, but the higher refresh screens are a little better in this test. The AG352UCG is still a great gaming monitor for nearly any player as our hands-on experience is about to demonstrate.

Gaming With G-Sync

The quest for smooth gaming is always a balance between resolution and refresh rate. The 240Hz monitors we reviewed (XB252Q and PG258Q) both run at 1920x1080 pixels, which makes it far easier for them to achieve their full potential of 240 FPS. The AG352UCG maxes at 100Hz but its 3440x1440 dot-count will require a fair amount of processing power to hit 100 FPS in more demanding titles like Far Cry 4.

We started with that game, as it still represents one of the most difficult tests of any system. With detail levels maxed, we saw right around 100 FPS during the most intense battle sequences. Our G-Sync test system recently received a brand-new GTX 1080Ti FE, which has upped performance significantly. We can’t wait to test an Ultra HD screen with it.

Our first observation was excessive ghosting when using the overdrive’s Strong setting. Though motion blur was non-existent, there were obvious black trails in areas of fine detail. They only got worse as we moved the mouse more quickly. Dialing back to Medium cured the problem.

At 100 FPS, we certainly enjoyed a smooth experience in Far Cry 4, and clarity was top notch thanks to the high pixel density. It seems even with our new video board, this is about the highest framerate we can muster. Even our 240Hz screens didn’t offer much more speed. Control response was as good as we’ve seen from any previous monitor, so skilled players should be satisfied with the AG352UCG’s low input lag. While panels with higher refresh rates post lower latency numbers, the eye and hand will have a hard time discerning a difference.

Moving on to Tomb Raider, we easily pegged the FPS-meter at 100 regardless of gameplay intensity. And we observed the same behavior in the overdrive control. Medium is clearly the starting point. We never had a situation where turning it off was the right choice, but Strong simply causes too much black ghosting.

Lastly, we spent a few hours playing Bioshock Infinite, which represents a light load to the system while providing a satisfying level of detail and interest. Control response is clearly faster than either Far Cry 4 or Tomb Raider, which required an adjustment to the mouse sensitivity to keep things from becoming too jerky. None of this translated to tears or actual stutter, however. Even with complex water textures on the screen, we never saw anything less than perfection.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: Best Professional Monitors

MORE: How We Test Monitors

MORE: How To Choose A Monitor

MORE: All Monitor Content

Conclusion

There is no question that curved ultra-wide displays have become more attractive to gamers seeking maximum immersion in their favorite titles. The extra width, coupled with the wraparound effect provided by the curve, is hard to give up once you’ve experienced it. It offers a significant advantage as well. By encompassing more of the player’s peripheral vision, he or she can enjoy maximum situational awareness. We’ve heard some gaming competitions have even banned them because they give players an edge over their 16:9-equipped competitors.

The consideration then comes down to price and speed. The AG352UCG is less expensive than most monitors in the class, but it will still reduce your bank balance by around $900 at this writing. And you can get more speed from a 16:9 flat panel, running at a higher refresh rate, that costs less. But don’t forget about that contrast ratio. Only a small handful of gaming screens offer a VA screen, and to us, that’s a major factor in any purchase decision.

There are plenty of curved ultra-wide screens with adaptive-refresh and 100Hz. But most of them are IPS, which means you’ll see 1000:1 contrast at best. The AG352UCG weighs in at 1700:1 (sequential) and 1900:1 (ANSI) after calibration, which is higher than nearly any gaming monitor we’ve tested. Add to that an honest 100Hz, G-Sync, and accurate color, and it becomes harder to find a better display.

There are a few ultra-wides that promise faster refresh rates, but they also give up pixel density in the bargain. Reader comments have shown us time and time again that resolution is important to buyers. AOC has listened to users and provided a great balance between pixel density and speed with a 3440x1440 display.

Our complaints here are few. As much as we love OSD joysticks, the AG352UCG demonstrated that they’re not always awesome. Turning off the power every time one mistakenly presses the stick gets old quickly. Plus, it isn’t nearly as intuitive as others we’ve worked with. And without a change to the color temp preset, gamma is off by enough to cause visible clipping. Luckily, that fix is as easy as changing the preset to User.

In addition to its other attributes, we feel the AG352UCG’s build quality and styling is a cut above AOC’s already high standard. The solid-aluminum stand and premium mechanism rank with BenQ and NEC for quality. That’s something we rarely see. We also like the LED accents on the panel’s edge and back. A soft colored glow makes for a nice effect in dark rooms.

There are a lot of curved ultra-wide gaming monitors to choose from right now. AOC has always been a reliable vendor of quality products that represent good value. While still a premium product, the AG352UCG will save you a few bucks over the competition.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: Best Professional Monitors

MORE: How We Test Monitors

MORE: How To Choose A Monitor

MORE: All Monitor Content

A new wheel from Thrustmaster has arrived, and rally fans will benefit the most from the new peripheral. The Sparco R383 is one of the most recognizable steering wheels in racing, and now you can use it to steer your virtual car to the finish line with Thrustmaster’s latest wheel “mod.”

The 1:1 replica, officially called the “Rally Wheel Add-On Sparco R383 Mod,” features a black suede rim with a brushed metal faceplate. Two metal paddle shifters are located in the back and measure five inches in height. You can adjust the paddles’ position so that it’s easy to reach, whether you’re on a straight or making a tight hairpin turn. It also includes nine buttons located on the edges of the faceplate, as well as a directional pad that acts as another button when it’s pressed down.

Because it’s a standalone add-on, the wheel is compatible with multiple bases in Thrustmaster’s massive lineup, which means that you can use it on consoles and the PC. You can check out the list of supported wheels below. The Sparco R383 wheel is available now for a pricey $200.

Thrustmaster Sparco R383 Supported BasesT300 RS Servo BaseT500 RST300 RST300 Ferrari GTET300 Ferrari Integral Racing Wheel Alcantara EditionT300 RS GT EditionTX Servo BaseTX Racing Wheel Ferrari 458 Italia EditionTX Racing Wheel Leather EditionTS-PC RacerTS-XW Racer Sparco P310 Competition ModT-GT

In February, Immersion revealed a haptic profile editing tool called TouchSense Force that enables developers to create complex force feedback profiles for a variety of game input devices without the need for complex code. 

TouchSense Force offers a visual editor that resembles the sort of software you would expect an audio engineer or a video editor to use. Immersion said TouchSense Force could reduce the time it takes to calibrate a haptic response from multiple hours to a matter of minutes. It also offers the ability to make real-time changes to the vibration intensity of the linear response actuators. Without the visual editor, adjustments to haptic profiles require changes to the code that must be made by a developer. With the visual editor, animators can create haptic responses while they fine tune their animations.

Immersion released TouchSense Force earlier this year, but it was available only to developers who use Epic’s Unreal Engine. Now, Unity developers have access to a visual editor for TouchSense Force technology called Haptic Lab.

“Since more games are made with Unity than with any other game technology, expanding our TouchSense Force solution to be compatible with Unity adds a tremendous opportunity for those developing games on this industry-leading platform,” said Chris Ullrich, Vice President of User Experience and Analytics at Immersion. “Developers can make their games much more engaging through the power of touch, including those for the wildly popular Nintendo Switch system.”

TouchSense Force for Unreal supports a handful of controllers, including the HTC Vive wands and the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons. However, Unity developers are limited to Nintendo Switch support, for now. Matt Tullis, Immersion’s Director of Gaming & VR, said that other platforms would be supported in the future, but the initial release of the Unity editor plugin is for Nintendo developers.

“One of the interesting things about the Nintendo Switch is that you have a controller in your left hand and a controller in your right hand now,” said Tullis. “From a haptics perspective that adds a lot of capabilities. You can have someone shoot a gun in their right hand and feel it there, or shoot from your left hand and feel it there. When you bump something on the right, you can feel it, versus when you bump something from the left. But also, you can do things by using the controllers in concert to create effects so that people feel as if something were between the controllers.”

Immersion is offering live demos of TouchSense Force for Unity at the Unity Unite conference this week, where the company is showing off some of the potential effects possible with TouchSense Force. Immersion created a spaceship demo for the Nintendo Switch that demonstrates how developers can use haptic feedback to create a convincing haptic experience.

Immersion’s spaceship demo includes a boosting function, which simulates the feeling of g-forces from accelerating. Immersion also created a “space brake” function, which feels like the pulse from an ABS braking system in a card. The demo also features a comparison between a simple and complex barrel roll action. The simple action features a left to right, right to left panning motion to help simulate the feeling of a rolling ship. The complex roll profile simulators rotational g-forces to inform the player of the active motion in a more immersive fashion.

Immersion is offering the Haptic Lab visual editor to a handful of select developers. Interested developers can sign up for access at Immersion’s website.

Haptics in gaming is one of those funny things where you usually notice them only when they’re done badly, like live concert audio. There are multiple companies that make haptics, and they work with all of the game designers, controller makers, and others that put haptics into games and devices. But behind those companies is Immersion (and others of its ilk) that make haptics possible.

What Immersion makes, as a rep told us at GDC, is not the rumble, but the thing that makes the rumble work. While visiting Immersion’s GDC suite, we got a demo of haptics on Oculus Touch controllers, a still-in-development gamepad, and the company’s new software tools.

Immersion’s primary goal is “consumerizing expensive technology” around haptics and then licensing its technology and software to others to implement. You’ve experienced Immersion’s technology if, for example, you’ve ever used a Sony or Microsoft gamepad.

Creating Haptics

The latest item on the company’s agenda is developing a software tool that makes cross-platform VR haptics development easier. (We wrote about this when it was first announced in late February.) Called the TouchSense Force for Game Developers, it’s software that lets you program haptics into games and experiences using multi-track timelines, and it’s designed for PC, console, and VR games--all from one interface. It’s available as a plug-in for Unreal and as an API for custom game engines.

If you’ve ever used audio multitracking software or video editing software, the visual interface will look familiar to you, in general. You can drop in effects, play with their length and “volume” (in this case how forceful they are, not how loud they are), add fade-ins and fade-outs, and otherwise fiddle with the waveforms.

We got a demo of the software at GDC:

The Rumbling In Our Hands

As part of the TouchSense suite, Immersion built in TouchSense for Peripherals. At GDC, they had a demo of the Oculus Touch controller and a yet-to-be-revealed gamepad that employed its haptic tech.

The Touch demo felt a bit more educational than anything else. We were placed in a shooting gallery with a table full of weapons, and we could pick them up and fire and reload. Immersion reps used this demo to point out how tricky it is to get haptics right.

For example, you can program down to a 1ms burst; if it’s off by even a hair, the experience can break down and stifle the immersion. Or take a high-RPM weapon like an uzi--you have to match the rounds as they leave the barrel, and you have to ensure that the kick isn’t too harsh or too soft, especially when compared to other weapons in a given game’s arsenal. You can’t have an uzi kick harder than a shotgun, for instance.

But the most compelling demo we experienced had to do with an unannounced game controller. It’s being made by a third party, and Immersion reps wouldn’t say who that was, and they wouldn’t let us take photos of it.

Suffice it to say, though, that if you use a gamepad for anything, you’re going to want this thing when it comes out.

They put me in an FPS game devoid of enemies and had me cycle through my vast loadout of weaponry--pistols, shotguns, automatic weapons, grenade launcher, zapper, you name it. Each weapon had distinct haptic characteristics from all the others. The aspects we discussed above--kick, rate, length, etc.--were all finely tuned.

When a weapon is empty, the feel changes, too. For example, we went to town with a Gatling gun, and as the rounds left the barrel, it was all we could do to hang onto the violently vibrating controller. Yet as soon as we ran out of ammo, the tension on the triggers went lax, and all we could feel was the gentle, rapid, click-click-click of the empty spinning gun. And when you reload, you can feel that, too.

Even oft-overlooked aspects like trigger feel have been addressed. For example, although some of the weapons in the demo had hair triggers, the shotgun requires you to squeeze much further and apply more force to fire.

We can hardly overstate how wide the range of haptic feedback was on the controller. The click of a pistol hammer on an empty revolver was minute, but the thunderous blast of a powerful machine gun kicks like a mule. When appropriate to the gameplay, the two triggers would even retract on their own--push/pull to go along with the force feedback.

The controller will be killer for regular 2D games and gamepad-based VR titles alike. There’s no word on when it will be released nor how much it might cost (probably a lot), but we know that it’s coming “later this year” and will be bundled with a game.

If you want early access to Immersion’s TouchSense suite, contact the company from here.

Be prepared to feel the digital world like never before. Immersion's TouchSense Force brings the company's TouchSense haptic feedback technology for mobile devices to the PC, VR, and console gaming markets.

TouchSense is Immersion’s haptic feedback technology for smartphone and tablet devices with touch screens. TouchSense technology takes advantage of the vibration hardware baked into your smart device to help trick you into thinking a digital button feels like a physical button. Immersion is now spreading TouchSense technology into other platforms and use cases.

If you’ve been gaming since the '90s, you’ve probably heard of Immersion before--even if you don’t remember the name. Immersion has a long history in the video game industry. The company planted its roots in 1993 when it started making technology for PC game peripherals such as racing wheels and flight simulator joysticks. In the early days, the company’s logo was regularly featured on the packages of the products that featured its technology. Anymore, the company plays more of a background role providing technology to other companies. Immersion has been servicing the mobile gaming and app industry with TouchSense haptic technology, but the company recently set its sights back on the console market and the burgeoning VR industry.

“We’ve invested heavily in research since [the 90s]. We’re a definitely a research-focused organization,” said Matt Tullis Immersion’s Director of Gaming & VR. “We hold over 2,400 patents now and [we] have customers in a wide variety of markets. The one that we’re most excited about is last month we announced that the Nintendo Switch would support TouchSense technology.”

Immersion’s January announcement stated that “with the Nintendo Switch system, game developers can now leverage the sense of touch, providing game players an incredible tactile experience that isn't currently available on any other game system.” At the time of the Nintendo announcement, it was natural to assume that the partnership meant the Nintendo Switch's display would enjoy TouchSense haptic feedback support, although that may not be the case. Immersion’s Touch Sense Force technology sounds an awful lot like the HD Rumble haptics system in the Nintendo Joy-Con controllers.

TouchSense Force is a mix of hardware and software technologies that help game developers and peripheral designers create “high-quality touch effects” for console, PC, and VR games. Immersion created visual tools to help game designers implement advanced haptic feedback into their games. The company also created a reference design for peripheral companies to follow, and it provides firmware that enables “greater control and higher fidelity” of existing haptic hardware.

“Haptics in gaming and virtual reality (VR) is in need of a creative, design-centered approach, and that is what inspired us to create TouchSense Force,” said Chris Ullrich, Vice President of User Experience and Analytics at Immersion. “By giving developers early access to this technology, we are helping them incorporate high-quality haptic effects into games on multiple platforms that have never felt more real.”

Immersion created a visual design tool for TouchSense Force that gives developers the ability to incorporate haptics into multiple different platforms simultaneously with ease. Tullis said many development teams leave haptic feedback up to the sound engineer, so Immersion modeled its haptic feedback editor, which gives you fine control over the intensity and escalation of any vibration effect, after popular audio editing tools.

If you’re developing for more than one platform, you can add a profile for each one to create the instructions for each platform in the same animation. Tullis also said the haptic profiles synchronize to the animation and adapt to changes in the sequence. This means shortening a reload animation, for example, won't force you to redo the entire haptic profile. Tullis said that without a tool like Immersion’s haptic profile editor, developers would require custom code to adjust the haptics after editing the animation.

TouchSense Force technology allows developers to mimic the feeling of resistance in buttons and triggers or simulate the sensation of firing a weapon or being near an explosion. The technology can also imitate the feeling of grasping virtual objects, which could enhance immersive VR experiences.

The advanced haptic feedback that TouchSence Force offers isn’t available for just any peripheral. The hardware must be compatible with TouchSense Force technology, which means many devices won't receive retroactive support. Immersion’s advanced haptic technology leverages the ability of linear resonant actuators (LRAs) to pull off precision vibrations. LRAs operate like speakers: They vibrate at variable frequencies, and they can switch on and off many times per second, which makes them suitable for precise frequency changes.

Tullis declined to confirm my theory that the Nintendo Joy-Con controllers support TouchSense Force; he said he couldn’t comment about how a partner chooses to implement Immersion’s technology on an unreleased product, but his slideshow acknowledged the Nintendo Switch Console as a TouchSense Force compatible device. And this statement from Immersion’s CEO reinforces my suspicion:

"We are thrilled about the opportunity to work with Nintendo to bring Immersion's TouchSense technology to their customers," said Vic Viegas, CEO of Immersion. "Nintendo sets the bar with their gaming systems, and adding advanced touch effects will give them an additional edge in delivering an incredible gaming experience to their customers."

Immersion said that Oculus Touch controllers are compatible with TouchSense Force, but the company made no mention of support for the HTC Vive wand controllers. However, Immersion is working with third-party peripheral companies to bring TouchSense Force technology to market quickly.  

With the announcement of MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries over the weekend, one of the major questions surrounding the new game was whether or not it would support virtual reality (VR). Now, we have some resemblance of an answer from two members of the development team.

A day after the announcement, a fan on Twitter asked Piranha Games president, Russ Bullock, if the game was bound to include support for VR. Bullock responded that the game is “designed to do so.” Further evidence was provided the following day in a blog post on the Unreal Engine website (MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries will use Unreal Engine 4 as its game engine). In it, lead programmer Brian Windover praised the merits of the engine, which included support for VR.

“Unreal Engine 4’s increasingly versatile Blueprint system enables our designers to quickly prototype their ideas and craft the foundations of an outstanding single-player campaign. Its core technology, intuitive AI framework, and native VR support enables our engineers to introduce truly next-gen features with great ease and reliability.”

The release of the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift this year brought many games to the VR spotlight. The inclusion of the MechWarrior franchise to VR not only could be a major attraction to fans of the series, but for VR enthusiasts as well. For years, a monitor was the window to which you could see the interior of a BattleMech unit. Adding VR to the mix would further immerse you into the experience similar to games such as Elite: Dangerous and EVE: Valkyrie. All that’s left now is an official confirmation from the studio.

Croteam dropped a "serious" bomb at E3 today. The independent developer is bringing Serious Sam to virtual reality. Headless men with bombs for hands have never been so terrifying!

Serious Sam first graced us with its presence in early 2001, when Serious Sam: First Encounter hit the market. The game was frantically fast-paced and featured an endless barrage of ridiculous enemies, such as the aforementioned Beheaded Kamikaze, which would run at you screaming (from where? They don’t have heads!) and holding two lit bombs--the Gnaar, which looks somewhat like a cyclops gorilla that will tear you to pieces, and the Kleer Skeletons, which charge at you from out of nowhere.

Croteam has released five Serious Sam games so far, including the original game and its sequel, plus remastered versions of the same games. The most recent installment was Serious Sam 3: BFE, which featured a brand new graphics engine and was released in 2011. This summer, Serious Sam makes its return in Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope, and it looks like it will be filled with action-packed madness.

Serious Sam VR is basically a shooting gallery. Once you select a mission, you’ll be dropped onto the surface of one of two planets. You’ll have an arsenal of different weaponry, including pistols, assault rifles, rocket launchers and Gatling guns. Croteam said the weapons will be upgradeable between missions using in-game currency.

Serious Sam VR will be packed with cutting edge technology. AMD’s CEO, Dr. Lisa Su, joined the PC Gaming Show at E3 and explained that Serious Sam VR is built with AMD’s Liquid VR technology. Croteam worked closely with AMD to ensure that you can put multiple GPUs to work efficiently in Serious Sam VR. Liquid VR separates the rendering work so that each eye gets a dedicated GPU. This technology will theoretically reduce latency and increase VR performance.

To our knowledge, Serious Sam VR will be the first title available that takes advantage of this feature of Liquid VR. Nvidia also has similar technology called VR SLI, and so far the only content that supports the feature is Nvidia’s own VR Funhouse, which hasn’t been released yet. Multiple GPUs should improve VR performance significantly.

Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope will launch in Early Access on Steam later this summer. The game will support HTC Vive when it launches. Croteam is also developing the game to work with Oculus Touch when the motion controllers become available.

Follow Kevin Carbotte @pumcypuhoy. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.

Update, 4/14/16, 11:02am PT: Ossic announced that it just crossed the $2 million mark in its Kickstarter campaign, which had an original goal of only $100,000. The campaign ends in just six days, on April 21.

Ossic invited us out to New York City to sample its innovative approach to 3D audio, the Ossic X headset. Although it can certainly improve your run-of-the-mill audio experiences, it's greatest capability is in making VR experiences more immersive. 

The Problem With Fully Immersive Audio

Ossic was founded by audio industry veterans from Logitech and Pioneer, with over 50 years of experience in the business combined. The company believes that for the most part, headphones haven’t fundamentally changed in over 65 years, and with audio and visual content becoming more immersive, there is a need for an equally-compelling sound experience.

Ossic said the problem with traditional headphones is that even 3D audio doesn’t take the listener’s anatomy (such as ear shape, head size and the position of your torso) into account when creating the 3D sound stage. All of these factors, which the company calls head-related transfer function (HRTF), affect how we perceive sound in the real world.

Most current 3D audio solutions use a one-size-fits-all method for its algorithms; without a personal calibration of some kind, it translates to a small listening experience, with the sound remaining close to your head rather than around you (as you would hear things naturally). It’s like hearing something through someone else’s ears, and it seems to be hit-or-miss with sound location accuracy and the overall quality.

Developing A Way To Personalize The Experience

Ossic set out to solve these issues by developing a headset that took the listener’s anatomy and HRTF into account to provide an audio experience that increases the user’s sense of auditory space with increased immersion and locational accuracy.

Working in the famous Abbey Road Studios (where a little band called The Beatles once recorded) the team collected data of sound behavior using a large assortment of model heads in all different shapes and sizes, in addition to interchangeable ear molds, in order to develop the means of measuring an individual’s HRTF. The result is a headset with onboard positional tracking that can measure the size of a user’s head, the shape of their ears, and their position in space to produce a 3D audio experience that naturally replicates the way we hear things in the real world.

Key Features

Eight individual drivers (four in each ear) supply listeners with increased sound localization and sense of presence by directing the audio to the correct portion of your ear. An anechoic ear chamber keeps outside noise isolated, and the padding is removable and washable.

The audio calibration is instant – the sensors are built into the Ossic X and can be turned on or off using a switch to swap between a normal, close-ear audio experience and the immersive 3D sound. The Ossic X also features a boom-less 3D microphone array, which captures a user’s voice without an obtrusive stick in the face.

The Experience

We got to try the Ossic X, and we were impressed with its simplicity, comfort and functionality. The lack of a visible mic lends to the device’s light design, and the Ossic X was comfortable to wear even with an HMD strapped to my face.

As a standalone product (without using a VR headset), the Ossic X can be used to add depth to your music, movie and gaming experiences. Ossic demoed this functionality by playing Dark Side Of The Moon (Dad’s music) with the positional tracking enabled. Swapping between the two modes, it was easy to distinguish the difference – Ossic’s positional tracking and 3D audio algorithms provided an immersive experience that created fixed points of sound that remained perceivable no matter which way I turned my head. It made it sound like Pink Floyd was playing right inside the room.

Ossic showcased its headset’s VR capabilities using an HTC Vive and its immersive Secret Shop demo, which provides plenty of multi-directional sounds to test the device. When connected to a VR headset, the Ossic X interfaces with the positional tracking of the HMD to provide accurately-placed sound. This was a completely new VR experience for me, and I could instantly locate sounds from creatures and events not just to my left or right, but also above, in front and behind me, as well.

In the corner of the VR shop was a set of chimes that you could interact with, so I took the opportunity to test the Ossic X by using the touch controller to ring the chimes while turning away from the source of the sound. From my perspective, the chimes remained in the same auditory space no matter which way I turned (even when I tilted my head), adding even more depth to the immersive experience.

This technology is impressive. As a simple set of 3D headphones for use with music, movies and gaming, the difference in the experience is night and day. Typical left and right panning seems almost droll by comparison, and users don’t need to own an expensive VR headset to appreciate the Ossic X. However, pairing the device to an HMD brings another whole layer of immersion to the VR experience.

Availability

Ossic’s kickstarter campaign is active now, but it will end on April 21 at 11:00am EDT. You can preorder your pair of Ossic X headphones now for $249, but the estimated delivery is January 2017. Early backers already pledged through the company’s expired early bird offer will start seeing their headsets a little earlier, starting in November 2016. When the Ossic X hits retail, the price will rise to $399.

Derek Forrest is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware and Tom’s IT Pro. Follow Derek Forrest on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.

I recently attended Immersed 2015, and after going through my notes, an obvious recurring theme emerged: Many, if not most, of the speakers and panelists at the event were of the same opinion that the auditory experience in VR is just as important as the visual experience -- if not more important.

"Sound is 50 Percent Of The Movie Experience"

There were many presentations at Immersed 2015, and if I learned one thing from them, it is that the people working diligently to bring the best, most compelling virtual reality experiences to fruition have all realized that audio can't be ignored, though it largely has been thus far.

Many of the early VR experiences that are available for the public to download and play have been unconcerned with the auditory experience, but a bad one can completely break the immersion. George Lucas once said, "Sound is 50 percent of the movie experience," and for virtual reality content, this is probably even more true. 

One of the early presentations at the conference was "Working With Immersive Audio For Virtual Reality" by Jan Nordmann, Senior Director Business Development, New Media at Fraunhofer USA (inventors of the MP3 codec and co-developers of AAC). His company is working on new audio standards for immersive 3D audio in virtual reality and has already partnered with Samsung on the Gear VR.

Nordmann said that people perceive where sound is coming from based on the delays heard in either ear. In virtual reality, this becomes incredibly important, especially in things like virtual cinema. Imagine looking away from a TV screen but the audio still sounds like it's right in front of you.

The way that noises sound is important, as well. If you leave an office building and head outside into a busy street, it shouldn't sound like you are still inside the building. This type of thing can break immersion quickly.

Fraunhofer has developed a technique called Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF), which uses binaural sound recordings to simulate the direction sound is coming from. The process to record sound this way requires two microphones placed where a person's ears would be, with speakers around the room delivering audio from all directions. Despite being recorded with multiple speakers, Jan believes that the typical VR experience will require headphones for total immersion.

Movies Need Surround Audio, Why Wouldn't VR?

On day two, there was a discussion panel called "The Audio Of VR" that was moderated by Jason Jerald, Principal Consultant at Nextgen Interactions. Jan Nordmann was one of the two panelists. He was joined by Mary Spio, President of Next Galaxy.

To start off the discussion, Jerald brought up a great point: Most people would consider watching a film without sound to be a ludicrous idea these days, so why do we see so many VR demos without audio? He said this makes the user deaf.

The answer to that question seems to be that audio has been treated as an afterthought in the quest for pushing virtual reality to fruition. Companies developing both hardware and software for VR have been spending their time and resources on solving the visual problems first. Based on my experience at Immersed, though, it appears that industry insiders are starting to make the shift to audio immersion.

The first generation of immersive audio technology is focused on getting the head tracking working in the audio environment. To keep things simple, Fraunhofer is working with stereo sound for the first generation. Second-generation immersive audio will bring object-based sound into VR, making the environments all-the-more realistic and believable.

Mary Spio and her company, Next Galaxy, are using a very different approach from Fraunhofer's. Next Galaxy uses sound tracing to imitate sound profiles for different environments. Spio said this is a physics-based approach of estimating the environment and replicating the sound to match it.

The company uses seven different variables to determine whether to lower or raise sound levels to mimic a sound's 3D origin. Spio said that by using this technology, even some compressed audio files can be processed this way, and that some existing audio content can benefit from sound tracing enhancements, as well.

The Trouble With Immersive Audio

Immersive, object-based audio will bring VR immersion to a whole new level, but that kind of audio profile will come with its cons. Developers and audio engineers are going to have to learn how to use the new set of tools required to create these immersive audio profiles. Spio believes that there are too many tools on the market right now. People might be waiting for a clear standard.

Jan Nordmann mentioned that immersive audio is going to cost more in processing resources. Stereo sound is the easiest to process and is much simpler than surround sound. Immersive audio will be a similar step up and will be even more demanding still.

It's Not Just The Audio Experts Talking About Audio

Later in the day we heard from three more speakers who reiterated several of the points that Nordmann and Spio brought up earlier. They all believe that sound is a key element in the VR experience.

Ricardo Laganaro, Director of O2 Films in Rio de Janeiro, has been working on a project to build "The Museum Of The Future," which focuses on current and future technology. He and his team are not VR developers -- they are film makers -- so they have been learning a lot as they go, but one thing they learned quickly is that audio can make or break an experience.

Laganaro and his team were trying to build an experience that would intentionally throw you off balance. They experimented with and without sound, and they found that having audio that tracked with the environment made it a much more powerful experience.

Resh Sidhu is the Creative Director at Framestore VR Studios. She and her team have been responsible for some incredibly immersive 4D experiences, such as the Game of Thrones: Ascend the Wall VR experience, which debuted at the second annual HBO Game of Thrones exhibition in 2014, and the Merrell virtual hike experience that had people walking a rope bridge in VR and in, er, literal reality at the same time.

One of the main points in Sidhu's speech, "The Power of Virtual Immersion," is that sound is an integral part of an immersive experience. She said that building the soundscape for a virtual experience should be considered from day one. Even the simplest sound should not be underestimated, because it can have a powerful effect on the experience itself. "VR is about fooling all the senses," Sidhu said.

The last presenter to mention immersive audio was Josh Farkas, CEO of Cubicle Ninjas. His take on developing experiences for VR is that audio and input are both just as important, if not more important than the visual experience. Without believable audio, it doesn't matter how good the visuals are, it won't be as great as it should be.

Farkas mentioned an experiment that the creators of Radial-G performed on pain management therapy with virtual reality. He didn't have the data on hand, but he said that their findings showed somewhere around a 20 percent improvement in effectiveness when audio was added.

Farkas's company has built a number of virtual reality experiences, and his team has learned that 3D positional audio makes a huge impact on the user experience. He recommends using multilayer audio with different sounds layered overtop of themselves and multiple points of audio. An example he used was of his company's Guided Meditation VR application, where you are sitting on a tropical beach. The sound coming from the ocean is constant, but there are other environmental sounds, such as seagulls flying overhead, that move about throughout the scene. 3D positional audio sources are key to make that work.

What About The Reverb?

Farkas did mention one thing that didn't get much attention by anyone else -- in fact, he specifically called out that no one talked about it. He believes that reverb is incredibly important when creating a sound environment. Applying the correct reverb can mean the difference between believing you are actually in the virtual environment, and thinking that something is slightly off, which can break the immersive feeling.

It's clear to see that audio is the next frontier for true immersion in virtual reality. Developers and audio professionals are starting to consider its impact on the experiences being created for VR, which is great, but it's also clear there is much more work to be done. While everyone agreed that audio is of massive importance, everyone seems to have their own approach to how this will be done. Eventually a standard will emerge, but I think we'll be seeing a fair bit more experimentation before that happens.

Update, 10/21/15, 2:17pm PT: Fixed typos.

Follow Kevin Carbotte @pumcypuhoy. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

ImmersiON-VRelia isn't very well known yet, though you may start hearing more about the company now that it is shipping its first consumer product. We first took a look at the ImmersiON-VRelia's GO headset at Immersed 2014. During the conference we were told that pre-orders were already being accepted and that the HDM was nearing release. ImmersiON-VRelia is likely expected to be shipping earlier than today, but in any case, we can confirm that the GO smartphone HMD is in fact going out to early customers this week.

The GO HMD from ImmersiON-VRelia is designed to work with modern smartphones and is capable of using the phone's integrated camera for augmented reality elements. The front of the headset has two large openings, so there should be no problem with the camera position of any phone.

Google Cardboard, Eat Your Heart Out

The GO HMD uses custom mounting parts for each style of phone. ImmersiON-VRrelia said this approach allows for the most secure hold and guarantees that any phone, no matter what size, will always be centered. Each phone design requires a unique bracket design, and the company includes parts for the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, Samsung Note 3, Note 4, S4, S5 and the OnePlusOne. Additional mounting pieces can be printed with a 3D printer, and ImmersiON-VRelia will supply the STL files for many popular phones.

Basically, the GO headset can accommodate iOS and Android phones with screens between 4 and 6 inches, so there's no shortage of phones that should fit.

ImmersiON-VRelia's GO headset features a custom optic design. The company claimed there is no need for glasses with this device because of the available adjustments. The GO headset includes a patented mechanism for IPD and diopter adjustment, so it can accommodate most of the population.

Gamepad Included

ImmersiON-VRelia is including a small Bluetooth gamepad from Viaplay with the GO headset. The special edition Viaplay gamepad features the typical d-pad; A, B, X, Y buttons; and dual analog sticks. There is also a pair of shoulder buttons on each side, five more face buttons, and a switch so it should work with many game genres. The Viaplay gamepad is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that ImmersiON-VRelia said offers several hours of gameplay.

ImmersiON-VRelia has developed its own SDK to help developers support the AR and VR capabilities of the GO headset. The company said the SDK is an open platform, and all the documentation for it is readily available to developers.

The ImmersiON-VRelia GO headset is available to pre-order for $139.99. Shipments for new orders are expected to be fulfilled within five to seven weeks. The first round of production is already sold out, and shipments are underway for early supporters.

Follow Kevin Carbotte @pumcypuhoy. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

Big event keynotes, especially during developer conferences, have become awe-inspiring trips into the future, intended to make you want that future to come more quickly, and for the company to show its long-term vision. Today's Intel Developer Forum (IDF) keynote in San Francisco was no exception, with Intel CEO Brian Krzanich (aka "BK") spending his time outlining the notion of immersive experiences powered by the next generation of Intel-provided technology, with a heavy emphasis on IoT and RealSense.

Because IDF, like Google I/O or Apple WWDC or Microsoft Build, is really a developer conference, this makes sense. Intel's role is to create some of the underlying platforms and hooks and, yes, vision, so that developers can build that future. Thus, most of the announcements Krzanich made were developer-focused. These included Intel Smart Sound, with "wake on voice," as well as some sound latency tweaks Intel developed for Android in conjunction with Google; some new extensions and partnerships for RealSense; and security and other enhancements around IoT.

There was a passing mention of Skylake, and some quick, staged benchmarking of 3D Xpoint, but the tastiest hardware morsels will have to come later. The vision thing, as it were, had some pretty compelling moments, built around three assumptions Krzanich and Intel are making around the future of computing: Sensification, Smart and Connected, and Extension of You. Let's put a few pieces of meat on those bones.

Intel's Take On "Immersion" Driven By RealSense

"Immersion" is a term generally reserved for virtual reality experiences, but Intel co-opted the term to describe some of its new experiences and technologies. Really, Intel just has a different take on immersion. "What is changing is that computing and the computing experience is becoming personalized," said BK from the stage. In other words, whereas the VR world sees immersion as being completely wrapped up in a virtual experience, Intel's idea is that your computing devices will surround you, weave in and out of the things you do, and, ideally, enhance your lifestyle in meaningful ways.

Intel SmartSound technology — which was "co-developed by Intel and Microsoft" and thus points to some potentially exclusive Windows 10 integration — uses an audio DSP that the OS can use to be "always listening" for your commands, even in low power states. The feature is called "Wake On Voice." In an onstage demo, an Intel rep said, "Hey Cortana, wake up," and within a few seconds, Cortana was awake and ready to work. Clean, simple, nice. The feature will be available in a wide swathe of Skylake-based chips, from Atom to the desktop Core series CPUs.

In another demo, Intel showed its reduced audio latency technology on a tablet running Android KitKat. Simply, they tapped a software keyboard on the screen to show how little latency there was. (Latency has been a nagging problem for musicians using consumer tech for years.)

A key here is that this demo was not about Android — it was about the Intel chip inside. The reduced latency tech will only be available on Intel processors, not on otherwise-powered Android tablets.

On the visuals side, Intel produced a little treat in the form of Google's Project Tango. Things have been a bit quiet on the Project Tango front of late, but there it was onstage: A prototype smartphone, "enhanced" by a RealSense camera (or several).

They used the prototype to do a quick (maybe 30-second) scan of a room that had been constructed onstage to show how Project Tango and RealSense could quickly 3D map a space. This process, we were told, is called "meshing," and Intel claimed that it's a step beyond simply 3D scanning a single object or person.

Meshing is what enables the real-time room scanning; the tech can "see through objects" and "connect" them, stitching them together to make a three-dimensional facsimile. As you can see in the images, the scan is rough (if we're being polite), although the fact that it was in color is impressive. There's also a white line showing a trace of where your phone/camera moved. We didn't get to see anything more than that, but note the tabs at the top of the screen. You can apparently adjust RGB sensitivity and color, and toggle the view, among other things.

To us, this looks like a proof of concept more than anything else, and although the raw capability to do a full 3D scan on a mobile device is impressive, the images that the RealSense cameras produce are less than stellar.

This has been the case in virtually every RealSense demo or application we've seen. Intel needs to find a way to make RealSense look better, whether that's improving the cameras or the SDKs. In terms of immersion, a grainy, gritty image just won't cut it for consumers. (We'll certainly see more new RealSense demos during IDF.)

To that end, during the keynote, Intel announced Razer's RealSense-powered device that's designed for game streaming and "VR." In a demo, we saw someone sit down in a drool-worthy racing sim setup (built by iRacing and VRX), which was comprised of a chair reminiscent of a race car cockpit (that moved when appropriate), three huge displays, and surround sound. The RealSense cameras tracked his head movements so that his view from the cockpit moved with him.

In a less scintillating but still solid demo, we saw a demonstrator's avatar in a child's racing game (which involved a third-party POV). Although BK was actively waving his arms behind the presenter, the RealSense camera knew not to "see" him, focusing entirely on the person in front of the camera.

Computing Is An Extension Of You

The idea that "computing is an extension of you" can perhaps sound a bit creepy, but Intel is getting at the idea that wearables are not just things that you compute with, but devices that seamlessly integrate themselves into your life.

We saw this last year at IDF as Intel began to push out its wearables strategy, and things have progressed since then. BK stated from the stage that the wearables market has exploded in 2015, and thus the company's interest in the area is a worthwhile endeavor.

Continuing its original plan, Intel is still working closely with fashion brands to bake intelligence into items that average consumers will already want to buy — such as Fossil's Basic Peak Edition smart watch (not really a "smartwatch," but a "smart" watch), which includes a heart rate sensor and Intel's IQ software technology (which you can read about further down the page).

Fossil, along with other fashion brands such as Michael Kors, will be producing his and hers connected bracelets, and connected watches, as well as a watch running Android Wear. Fossil believes that these sorts of products will become "must have" items; the spending public will be the final determiner of that soon, as these products will be available at the end of October.

IoT And Curie

Intel continued its work on Curie, the company's IoT and wearables platform module, featuring the Quark SoC, Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE), radio, sensors, DSP, and battery charging.

This year, Intel focused on its use in digitizing the sports world, showcasing a BMX rider with handlebars and seat Curie-enabled. (At one point, he flew off a ramp, jumping the bike over a standing BK. Live demos, indeed.)

Curie can act as a central device. It has a dedicated pattern-matching accelerator. In the bike demo, the sensors sent back data on a variety of factors, like air time, max height, bar spin, landing impact and so on. Trainers and riders can analyze this data to help improve performance. There's also an obvious application for those viewing sporting events as well. We've seen sensors employed in everything from golf clubs to basketballs and soccer balls and more, and it's clear Intel wants in on this.

Intel has already released what it calls IQ SDKs (Body IQ and Social IQ) for the body and social activities, and the company announced two new SDKs that will be released before the year ends: Time and Identity. Time IQ is for managing tasks, calendar and other planning activities. Identity IQ is for things like access control, to confirm the identity of the wearer.

BK characterized Identity IQ as enterprise-grade security at consumer-level usability.

To demonstrate an Identity IQ proof of concept, Intel had an employee wearing a bracelet using the technology. She was able to walk up to a computer system and be automatically logged in. This, BK said, could be extended to building access, system access, and even access to secure resources in the cloud.

In the demo, Intel had employed multi-level authentication. When the employee took off the bracelet, her access returned to a level where she would need to authenticate using a password; when BK put the bracelet on, it would not let him in. To re-authenticate herself, she simply donned the bracelet again, entered her password, and she was back in action.

This demo created an authentication token for how and when the bracelet was authenticated. It leveraged User Authentication Service (UAS), a BTLE technology currently being standardized by the Bluetooth SIG. It will also be compatible with True Key and will allow authentication into its password vault and cloud services.

More on Curie will come at the Maker Faire in Rome, but the platform, with hardware will be available to select OEMs and ODMs in Q4. (It's worth noting, though, that Curie is not yet authorized by the FCC. The approval is no doubt pending, though.)

The Horror

In a classic "one more thing" moment to close out the IDF 2015 keynote, BK demonstrated his control over an army of robot spiders.

If you just heard Marlon Brando's voice in Apocalypse Now whisper "The horror" in the back of your mind, then your reaction to the preceding sentence is precisely the one we had witnessing it in person.

The stage staff rolled out a table full of robot spiders — more than a dozen white ones, and a large black one in the center. BK donned a wrist controller, and with a gesture, woke up the lot of them. "My spiders are all quiet," he said gently but ominously, beholding the group.

He made various movements, such as pumping his fist, and they would mimic him, and he was able to command them to, for example, lay down. (It was more terrifying to behold than it is to read, we assure you. Why couldn't Intel have made something adorable to control, like an army of ladybugs, or butterflies? Why spiders?)

And then it got weird. A curtain parted, and out of a doghouse on one side of the stage stumbled a giant mother spider, an 8-legged beast larger than a mastiff with what looked like the Project Tango phone for a face. Music began to play, and a group of human dancers flanked the momma spider and her babies (and their father, BK?) as a disco ball and several more robot spiders descended from the rafters.

It was one of the strangest and most disorienting things I have ever seen — in stark contrast with the rest of the keynote, which showed much of Intel's upcoming technologies in the wearables space, RealSense and IoT developments, Xpoint and more.

It's unfortunate that we didn't get to hear more about SkyLake, but that's all coming soon.

Seth Colaner is the News Director at Tom's Hardware. Follow him on Twitter @SethColaner. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

While at Gamescom 2015, we sat down with a number of representatives from AMD, who gave us some of the company's thoughts on where it stands in VR and where it intends to go, and it devised a handful of numbers to explain its targets.

The core theme of VR is presence. Nobody seems to have precisely defined what presence really is, but it's essentially the connectedness to the experience, the way that you're part of the game or video; or put another way, it's how you forget that you're in a virtual environment. Some of the things that detract from presence are low framerates, high latency, low-display resolutions, incomplete input (such as missing hand-tracking) -- all the obvious things.

Of course, we know that AMD is working with various developers and manufacturers on its LiquidVR SDK, but what I talked to them about wasn't about LiquidVR. Instead, the red team had done some research and brought up a rather interesting subject: What do we need for a truly immersive VR experience? What do we need for absolute presence?

To explain, we must start with explaining why we shouldn't be measuring the resolutions of VR displays as we do the resolutions of computer monitors, but in a slightly different way. Here's why. Common sense would seem to say that a VR headset with a 1440p resolution will be sharper than one with a 1080p resolution, but that's not all there is to it. Two 1440p headsets may be very different, with one being sharper, and the other having a higher field of view.

That's where the issue lies -- simply expressing the resolution in a height and width doesn't tell you anything about the headset's field of view, and therefore not precisely how sharp the image will be. Instead, AMD brought up an older term -- PPD -- which is short for "Pixels Per Degree." You need PPD and two angles to give you the complete picture of a VR headset's display.

Using PPD, AMD calculated the resolution required as part of the recipe for truly immersive virtual reality. There are two parts of the vision to consider: there's the part of human vision that we can see in 3D, and beyond that is our peripheral vision. AMD's calculations take into account only the 3D segment. For good measure, you'd expand it further to include peripheral vision. Horizontally, humans have a 120-degree range of 3D sight, with peripheral vision expanding 30 degrees further each way, totaling 200 degrees of vision. Vertically, we are able to perceive up to 135 degrees in 3D.

With those numbers, and the resolution of the fovea (the most sensitive part of the eye), AMD calculated the required resolution. The fovea sees at about 60 PPD, which combined with 120 degrees of horizontal vision and 135 degrees of vertical vision, and multiplying that by two (because of two eyes) tallies up to a total of 116 megapixels.

Yes, you read that right: 116 megapixels. The closest resolution by today's numbers is 16K, or around 128 megapixels.

Additionally, consider that VR needs to run at framerates above 90 FPS, and ideally with latencies below 20ms to avoid drawing you out of the presence.

If you consider that we're still a ways off from pulling off photo-realistic graphics on ordinary monitors at framerates and latencies that absolutely wouldn't be suitable for VR, and that these monitors have resolutions as high as about 8 megapixels for a 4K monitor, you can start to see that we're still quite a ways away from the hardware that allows us to create absolute presence.

So, do you now understand why Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus VR, really isn't digging that we don't have unlimited GPU power?

Follow Niels Broekhuijsen @NBroekhuijsen. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

In a little secret side room within Nvidia's expansive VR Experience center at the Grand Hyatt during Computex this year, a company called CCP Games was demonstrating Disc Arena using an Oculus Rift DK2 camera mounted on a Kinect 2 sensor with gaffer tape, and the DK2 HMD. The company first demonstrated these experiences at EVE Fanfest in Iceland earlier this year.

My colleague, Seth Colaner, and I got to spend some time with it. It's the first full-body VR experience we've been part of among the many chances we've had with (irony alert) pedestrian VR gaming demonstrations. 

It was pretty spectacular, and it's one of those demonstrations that opens your eyes to the creative entertainment possibilities that virtual reality will usher in, and it's what has us — skeptics about many technology trends like smartwatches — excited about VR and the future of gaming. In other words, Disc Arena was yet another level of ah-ha.

CCP Games operates three studios. One is focused on mobile games, namely for the Samsung Gear VR, and is located in Shanghai. We played a space shooter game/tech demo, called Project Nemesis; it was simple and raw and fun. The second, Newcastle, is located in the UK and develops EVE Valkyrie, a VR space-based fighting game. And finally the studio in Atlanta, where the company created Disc Arena. And of course, HQ in Iceland is where CCP works on EVE Online.

CCP has experimented with using the PS Move controller for prototyping. "Using that hardware enables a different interaction model and a different avatar from the Kinect 2 user," a company rep told us. It's team in Atlanta is also "looking into" Leap Motion and how it could be integrated into the experience.

The Workshop

Our demonstration started with what the company called The Workshop, a four-minute training experience that was, in itself, spectacular. It included four different interaction stations, each enabled with broad, swiping hand gestures. The first required picking up a fireball or electroball and tossing it at objects and watching it all explode.

The second station built a pyramid of giant building blocks in front of us, and we could punch and kick the blocks and watch them fly. Obviously, you're not feeling anything, but the body tracking was pretty realistic, all the way down to our toes. 

The third station created a tiny holograph-like avatar of ourselves, and while the resolution wasn't good enough to make out detailed features, the avatar was clearly us, obvious in our body frame and posture.

Finally, the fourth station presented a geometric surface field of cylinders, and as we moved our hands over the field, we could push them down. It's sort of the virtual version, in a way, of that metal pin art toy.

Each of these stations showed us the detailed head, hand, and full body tracking. It's important to point this out, because in most VR demonstrations, you can't see your feet or other body parts. Leap Motion does some incredibly detailed hand tracking, and this is definitely not that. But then again, the games are not made for that level of tracking. We've also seen the Sixsense demonstration, but that doesn't involve your feet.

Most of this was pretty realistic, albeit not photorealistic by any stretch. There was an extremely high degree of ghosting around the fireball and our hand movements. The full body renderings of ourselves were heavily pixelated and lacking significant detail, but I could see that my image was an accurate rendering of me, at least structurally.

Disc Arena

And when I faced off with Seth for a dual in the Disc Arena, I could see his tall, lanky bearded self — or more accurately, a VR-rendered image of him — standing before me. I flipped him the bird, and saw him taken aback, and he returned the gesture. The battle was on.

In Disc Arena, you're given an endless supply of digital discs, and you're in an enclosed arena (just like the name implies), not unlike a more cramped racquetball court. Every five seconds a new disc appears in your hand, and you can throw it at your opponent. Each of you has a shield, and with that shield you can destroy a disc, or with a well-executed arm swipe you can send it flying back at your opponent. It's a very digital-looking shield, and during the game I kind of lost track of it, or at least what it looked like, but I was always aware that it was there.

The walls in the arena are part of the game, and discs can bounce off of the walls, making things a bit trickier. I'll give Seth credit, because I stupidly started by just throwing my discs straight at him, and he started by using the walls, and he immediately threw off my timing. But I catch on quickly, and I would toss my disc against a high or a low wall and then reflect his discs back to him, but also using the walls. My goal was to have discs flying at him from all angles at different, but quick intervals. And soon I saw his plan was the same.

When I say the walls are part of this, I also mean the back wall, which is important because VR games typically let you see completely around you — the field of view is roughly around 170 degrees, but as you turn your head you can see up and behind, and we always had to be careful about discs we'd dodged, or that somehow slipped by us only to bounce off a back wall and take us out. I was constantly turning around to see a disc within inches of me, knowing that back out in front, more were coming. 

Disc Arena, then, involves both ambidexterity and quick reflexes, in addition to a fair bit of planning and savvy. It's not a complex game, but it is pretty intense. As you might imagine, since I'm writing this, and Seth isn't, I won. He probably has a handful of excuses and any added comments you see here after I submit this are likely his own revisionist-history handiwork. In other words, excuses.

(Editor's [Seth's] note: There must be some bugs in the Disc Arena system, because there's no way I got hit six times. And there's no way I dinged the tall, lanky non-bearded Fritz only four times. Because it took him so long to figure out the bounce strategy, and to remember that the shield is both an offensive and defensive weapon, I had four or five discs zipping at him simultaneously from multiple angles before you could say, "Born before video games were a thing.")

(Editor-in-chief's [Fritz's] note: It's always best to have the last word: Scoreboard. Game over.)

Marching Toward Titles

As virtual reality marches to its inevitable opening gambit in the next six to nine months or so, with major systems expected to ship from HTC/Valve and Oculus, we're starting to see more gaming content concepts, and we expect to see even more at E3 in less than two weeks.

We're also starting to see the VR experience expand, making demonstrations from even a few months ago seem practically rudimentary. For example, the HTC/Valve Vive demonstrations have clearly evolved expectations around the idea of more natural human action within an immersive VR world.

The hardware required to perform head tracking without introducing any perceptible visual latency has been one of the major factors in the lengthy delay from development kit to commercial availability. In order to make VR a comfortable and realistic immersive experience, Nvidia and AMD had to give developers access to some of the nuances of their rendering pipelines.

For Disc Arena, the specs outlined by Oculus will do, but the system powering what we saw had an Intel Core i7-5820K processor, 32 GB of DDR4 SDRAM, a 256 GB SSD and an Nvidia Titan X graphics card. 

You can read about our experience with HTC/Valve Vive here, with Leap Motion for precision hand tracking here, and SixSense for more peripheral VR add ons here. All of these, and including what CCP Games showed us, are really the next immediate frontier in VR gaming, one that takes us into what both immersion and game-level interaction, and with each other and with game elements and characters, can be.

It's coming. And it's coming really soon. 

Update, 6/5/15, 5:15am PT: Updated info on PS Move and Leap Motion.

Follow Fritz Nelson @fnelson. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

For the last couple of years, ever since Oculus' successful Kickstarter campaign, many people have had the opportunity to try out virtual reality for themselves. Often, one of the first questions after putting on a VR HMD is "Where are my hands?" The feeling of being in a digital world loses much of its "realness" once your brain realizes your hands aren't visible.

Leap Motion was one of the first companies to recognize this disconnect and quickly refocused its plans of bringing gesture control to VR. Early iterations of such controls were interesting, yet clunky. Most users who tried the Leap Motion controller in conjunction with VR didn't feel the experience was all that good. The digitized hands being shown in the scene never really felt like they were your own.

Now, Leap Motion released a new version of the Unity Core Assets bundle used to develop for Leap. The latest version brings with it support for a new feature called Image Hands, which uses aspects of both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Using the Leap Motion camera, the software projects raw images of your own hands on top of the 3D hands already known to Leap Motion users.  

By projecting the raw image of your hands onto a 3D mesh, the Image Hands software is able to bring your real hands into the virtual environment. With the use of the twin Leap Motion cameras, the software is able to use both images of your hands to track depth correctly. Hands can now be seen disappearing behind 3D objects, for example.

Leap claimed that the use of this hybrid infrared/dual camera system to track hands reduces jitter effects. Dropping the artificially generated hands out of the equation made a big difference. Hands are represented on the screen accurately even when passing through other objects.

This has been used as an advantage. Leap has included a function where the onscreen hands glow to help guide users to form proper hand gestures. A similar function was included to indicate interaction with objects. When an item is touched in the real world, the onscreen hands light up. This is a simple substitute for the lack of haptic feedback from the virtual environment.

All the information you need to use Image Hands in your own project is available here, and you can download the core assets pack from here. If developing for Leap isn't your thing, but you'd like to give it a try, ElementL: Ghost Story is a free game that has support for the new hands.

Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

I First Experienced VR In Barcelona

I recently tried HTC's and Valve’s Vive VR headset. I cried. And grinned. And laughed. And had one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had in my life. I was also in Barcelona (at Mobile World Congress) for the first time, and while it's definitely an amazing city, sadly (or not) my memory of that week is probably going to be of it being the one when I lost my VR virginity.

Up until this experience, I considered myself a VR virgin. I've used Gear VR, and although it’s a great experience, in the world of VR it's really just like getting to second base. There have been a few opportunities for me to use the Oculus Rift DK1, DK2 and Crescent Bay, but a combination of circumstance and not wanting to have a suboptimal experience meant I haven't used anything I'd consider full blown VR.

So if the Gear VR was second base, then my time spent using the Vive was akin to hitting a home run. Scratch that, it was like hitting a grand slam and having the ball smash the stadium lights. I should also note that in the process of losing my VR virginity, I’ve gone from being mildly interested in the technology to now being a full-blown VR fanatic.

The Hardware And Demo Setup

For the demonstration, I was taken into a room devoid of anything but the equipment needed to use Vive. There were no cameras allowed in the demo room, and the only hardware I could photograph was the headset itself, which you can see pictured.

The headset is connected to a gaming PC that I was told was running a single graphics card, probably a GTX980 or R9 290X – they wouldn’t divulge any additional details. Unfortunately, one of the weaknesses of the Vive prototype I tried was that it was connected to the PC with a lot of wires. The picture below shows that the prototype Vive is connected via HDMI, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. I was told that future versions of the Vive will be connected with only one cable, but we are not sure if that is referring to the developer edition or only the full retail version. In order to keep the wires out of the way, I wore a harness around my waist that helped keep them manageable. While there were a few times in my demo where I did feel them getting in the way, it was only for a split-second until the developer running the demo moved them out of my way.

The other hardware that the Vive uses is a pair (to prevent occlusion) of laser-emitting "lighthouse" base stations that were positioned in the opposite upper corners of the room. Like the rest of the hardware, these were big prototype units that will shrink in size when the retail Vive is launched. These base stations work in conjunction with the 25 or so sensors on the headset to track its position. There are also additional sensors such as accelerometers in the headset that provide additional positional data.

The real star of the Vive’s show, and part of what makes it so special, are its SteamVR controllers. Unlike the currently controller-less Oculus Rift, the Vive’s controllers are integral to its experience. They are Wiimote-ish devices for each hand with a large hexagonal-shaped sensor array on top so they can be tracked by the same laser lighthouses that track the headset. The units I used in my demo were fairly rough prototypes with what looked to be 3D printed components, but more finished versions were shown at GDC (which we unfortunately did not photograph).

The controllers also have a clickable circular trackpad that sits under your thumb, a trigger for your index finger, and buttons on either side of their handgrips. These are activated by squeezing, though for the demos I tried I did not have to use these buttons. They also feature subtle haptic feedback and utilize the same advanced feedback system as the Steam Controller uses, with motors that can simulate difference forces, rather just having the controller simply vibrate. As mentioned above, they are wired into the headset, which is then wired to the PC, but I was told that the final release version of the Vive will have wireless controllers.

The sensors on the headset and controllers both work with the base stations to determine not only your head’s place in the environment, but also where your hands' and body's, and you can freely move around in the environment. This is what Valve and HTC are calling “360-degree room-scale VR.” For my demo, I was limited to a 15-by-15 foot space, which may seem small, but in the world of VR it's positively huge.

Since MWC, Valve has also clarified that the Vive is not limited to 15 x 15 feet, and the "room-scale" VR Valve is referring to is flexible and can be configured to fit different room sizes.

While you are in the virtual space, the Vive indicates when you are about to get close to the edge of the physical playing area, so you don’t walk into a wall and hurt yourself. It does this by throwing up a glowing grid-like representation of your boundaries that subtly reminds you of your limits without being too distracting from the virtual experience.

The headset itself goes on like a scuba mask, with three stretchable straps. Because I haven’t had any experience with any other VR headset apart from the Gear, I can’t comment on how comfortable the Vive is in comparison to others. There was no discomfort for me while I used it and it was light enough that I soon almost forgot that I was wearing it.

In the headset you look through two Fresnel lenses, which are lenses that can be made with a wide aperture and short focal length without taking up as much space as a traditional lens. This is important when designing a headset to be a compact as possible. There are what looks like two cameras on the headset, which you can clearly see in our photos. We were told that they could potentially allow elements of the real world to be added to your virtual experience, or possibly used for depth sensing.

The last part of the hardware used for the demo was a set of over-ear headphones. These are not an integrated component, but just standard headphones that plug into an audio jack on the Vive headset. For me, the weakest link in the demo was the audio, because in the rush to get things going I don’t think they were put on my huge noggin properly. Because of this, the audio throughout my demo experience was sometimes muffled. I was not told if the final design will incorporate built-in headphones, and I did not learn anything about whether the Vive has 3D positional audio.

The Vive uses two screens (one 1080 x 1200 screen per eye for a total resolution of 2160 x 1200) that refresh at 90 Hz, which also then requires the PC hardware to maintain a constant 90 fps. Although this last feature isn’t controlled by the Vive itself, you can be sure that the minimum hardware specs recommended by Valve and HTC will be high enough to ensure that it can push that framerate in every SteamVR title.

Although Valve and HTC have not disclosed the Vive’s field-of-view, from my understanding, its horizontal FoV is equivalent the latest Oculus Rift and Sony Morpheus. However, one major difference between Vive and other solutions is that the screens for each eye are taller than wider, being portrait-orientated.

The screen-door effect of the Vive’s resolution was also noticeable when I first put it on, and I was worried that it would impact my experience. However, as soon as the demos started and all the other aspects of what makes Vive so great came online, such as the hand and body tracking, the lack of peripheral vision and resolutions issues were no longer noticeable. The sense of presence and the immersion level of Vive is so great that it overpowered any other technical issues that may exist in the prototype.

I will say that the statement by Gabe Newel that no one using the Vive gets motion sickness is mostly likely accurate. Due to its 90 Hz refresh rate and incredibly accurate motion tracking, at no time during my demo did I feel any nausea, and I am someone who often gets motion sickness in real life.

Although its specifications are already very good, between now and the release of the final consumer model HTC and Valve have the chance to improve the Vive’s hardware. That means there’s a chance we’ll see improved specs, such as screen resolution and FoV, in the consumer model.

The Demos

Let’s move on to the actual information you most want to hear: a description of the actual VR demos that I experienced. There were seven demos in total (if you count the short tutorials), but I’m only going to talk about the four that impacted me the most.

Before I could dive into the full Vive experience, there were a number of short tutorials that I experienced. These orientated me as to how to use the SteamVR controllers and how to move around in the 15 x 15-foot space. One important thing to note is that your hands are graphically represented in the virtual space, either as variations of a controller or, in one demo, as actual hands.

The amazing thing about the Vive is that the learning curve, at least for me, was very shallow. Within a matter of seconds, I acclimatized as to how to interact and navigate within the environment and what my limitations were. Every move I made, both hands and body, was translated precisely into the virtual space and felt natural, despite all the technology involved. That’s a testament to how well the Vive’s different components all work together in harmony.

Exploring The Ocean Depths

In this demo, I found myself standing on the deck of a sunken ship. Initially, my mind questioned how I was able to be underwater and still breathe. While I soon suspended my disbelief, I do think it would have felt even more realistic if there was some simulation of wearing scuba gear. Your vision when using the Vive already has that appearance, so why not add some audio and visual cues to this one demo to further that illusion?

In spite of that, I still found myself in awe of the virtual world in front of me. There were fish swimming by, and I was able to reach out and swat at the smaller ones in front of me, which caused them to quickly dart away from my hand. The graphical fidelity of this demo (which was the TheBluVR: Encounter VR demo by WEVR) was very good – almost photo-realistic, which you can see in the screenshot below.

I was also able to move around the deck of the ship, and while the space available was dictated by the 15 x 15-foot playing area, I didn’t feel constrained in the environment. The area available to me made sense within the context of this demo. I walked over to the railing of the ship and looked down into the depths and could see a crashed airplane below. I then turned around and walked back along the deck until I reached some broken deck machinery, which blocked my way since it was the edge of the playing space.

One thing that did seem off to me, and did briefly break my suspension of disbelief, is that when I looked straight down I had no body or feet (flippers?). However, in order to incorporate an accurate representation of your body when you look down, the Vive would have to somehow track your feet, too, so they appear in the digital space where they are in reality. Perhaps the camera on the front of the Vive could help achieve that.

It was then that my VR Master (the HTC demo rep) suggested that I turn around so as not to miss what is the star of this demo’s show. I did, and found myself face-to-face with a huge whale that was swimming by way too close for comfort. As it swam by me, I found myself staring it to its huge, extremely life-like eye, and it was at this moment that I was completely sold on this demo. It honestly did feel like I was looking at a living creature staring right back at me, and it was slightly unnerving.

As the baleen behemoth continued to swim by, one of its massive flippers passed over my head and I instinctively ducked. Then as it was about to leave, it flicked its humongous tail down which caused me to jump back out of the way, both in fear and awe. The sheer wonder of just this one moment had me laughing with joy. By the end of this demo, I was already complete sold on Valve’s and HTC’s VR vision, and I wasn’t even halfway through was I was going to see.

(Virtual) Art School Confidential

The next demo was a much-enhanced of Skillman & Hackett’s Tilt Brush VR painting application that is already available on Android (for Google Cardboard) and for Oculus Rift. You can see a screenshot from that version below (but note that the UI for the Vive version is substantially different).

I found myself standing in a dark space, and the controllers became my painting tools – my right hand was my brush and my left was my pallet. I was able to touch the brush to a color wheel on the pallet to change the color of the paint, and I could also use the trackpad on the left-hand controller to scroll through different brush types. Because my time was limited, and I was already so overwhelmed by the experience, the only thing I could think to do was draw my name, which hung there in three-dimensional space.

On the suggestion of a colleague who had tried the Vive before me, I then changed my brush and paint color and tried to paint over the same strokes I had just made. What I wanted to see is how accurate the depth tracking of my hands was and to see if I could reach out to the very same spot in space again.

It turned out that I could. I was able to precisely paint over both the front and back of the strokes I initially made. As I was doing this, I was walking around my painting without even thinking and was able to lean in closer so I could precisely apply the second layer of paint.

Throughout the demo, I never once had to consciously think about how to move to where I wanted to be, or how far to move my arm to paint where I wanted to. I just did it, and my real-world actions were perfectly translated to the digital world.

Kitchen Nightmares

Now it was time to put my virtual culinary skills to the test. The next demo was Owlchemy Labs’ VR game Job Simulator, and the job I was going to be simulating today was chef. Of all the demos I tried on the Vive, this one had the most things that you could do.

I found myself standing in a kitchen, and while the graphics were a lot less realistic than the preceding demo, the experience was just as impressive, but for different reasons. For the demo, I was instructed to make some soup in a limited amount of time, following a recipe displayed on a screen on the wall in front of me. Of course, I started off by completely ignoring the instructions.

In this demo, there was a cartoon representation of my hands, and the first thing I did was pick up the rolling pin with one and throw it as far as I could. I then picked up bottle of wine, accidentally dropped it, then bent down to try and pick up the broken glass (which I sadly couldn’t do). Next, I put another bottle of wine in the microwave behind me and zapped it, which turned it into a smoking pile of goop.

With time running out, I went back to trying get the soup made and started tossing ingredients into the pot. There weren’t enough mushrooms on the tablet, so I had to go in the fridge (that had a time-saving automatic opening door) to grab some more. As the clock ticked down, I started panicking that I wouldn’t get it done in time. In my haste, instead of figuring out that you can pick up the hot sauce and shake it over the pot to season the ingredients, I simply tossed the bottle in the pot. This still worked, and my ingredients were magically transformed in a can of soup that I quickly put on a tray at the pass to be whisked off by a robotic waiter.

Even though the graphics in this demo were a lot simpler than any of the others, my level of immersion was just as high because of the freedom of movement and level of interactivity this demo allowed. It didn’t matter if the tomato I picked up didn’t look like a real one. The fact that I could simply reach out with my arm and pick it up in virtual space the same way I would in meatspace meant that subconsciously I felt like I was actually there.

Also, the 360 degrees of movement that the Vive allows for meant that I could effortlessly navigate the game space with both of my hands, my feet and my body to get the task assigned to me done.

Out of all the demos I played, I’d have to say that I had the most fun playing the Job Simulator demo because it was the most interactive of them all. As we all know, gameplay always trumps visuals, even in VR.

Let Them Eat Cake

This was the last demo I tried and was Valve and HTC’s pièce de résistance. As soon as the demo started, I knew exactly where I was. I was inside a Valve game, inside Portal, in a robot repair room at Aperture Science.

The fidelity of the graphics in this room where beyond anything else I had seen before, and a robot voice started giving me directions as to what to do. I was instructed to open a drawer, and, of course, there was more than one, and I wasn’t directed as to which one I needed to open. The wrong ones contained some funny Valve Easter eggs – one had a half-eaten moldy cake, and another one contained a miniature world of the black 2D stick-figures of the Portal 2 promotional videos.

I was then told to turn around and pull a lever to open a large door, and behind it was a robot – Atlas, the round robot from Portal 2, to be precise. He looked to be out of order, but he suddenly sprang to life and moved through the doorway into the room, in an ungainly fashion due to his state of disrepair.

The sight of this huge robot that was as tall as me (and much bigger-looking in person than he looked when playing Portal 2) coming towards me was a little unnerving. I backed away as he entered the room.The sense of scale that you get when using the Vive is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. No matter how "big" something is, when you view it on a 24- to 32-inch monitor, it just isn’t the same.

The Atlas before me was incredibly detailed and realistic. I was told to pull another lever on him to start the robot repair, and all his internal components sprang out and were suspended in space in front of him. The detail on each of these individual animated parts was incredible. Later, I found out it was because this demo was running on Valve’s new Source 2 engine. You can see a short video clip from the demo over here.

I was then instructed that I had to repair Atlas, and I had a limited amount of time to do it. I don’t remember how long it was, but it felt like a minute at most. As I struggled to work out what to do, which I figured out involved rotating parts of the robot, the timer was ticking and the disembodied robotic voice’s instructions became more and more complex. I was destined to fail, even though the HTC rep walking me through my experience assured me that there had been only four people who did successful repair Atlas. (That could have been a lie though!)

And fail I did. The timer ran out, and Atlas’s parts fell to the floor, and the robot slumped down in a state of disrepair. Suddenly, the walls of the room began to fall apart around me. I guess failing this task wasn’t a good thing, and my electronic instructor began to berate me for my poor performance.

It was then that GLaDOS (Portal’s main antagonist) appeared. As her enormous robotic armature moved towards me, her robotic eye’s glare burning into me, I jumped back again in fear and awe, just as did when I encountered the whale. Again, the sense of scale was unparalleled. You can’t imagine how large GLaDOS until you actually (virtually) meet her.

It was this demo where I cried. Not because it was immeasurably better-looking (though it was) or more interactive than the others, but because it was the first time that the magnitude of what the Vive would allow hit me. Valve’s Half-life/Portal universe is one that I’ve be able experience for almost 20 years of my life, but it has always been as an outsider looking through a window into that world. I currently game using a triple monitor setup, headphones, and an insistence that I only play when there is nothing else to distract me to maximize my immersion into the game world. However, my current setup can’t hold a candle to the level of immersion I got when playing this demo.

For the first time, I felt like I was actually transported into a universe that I know and love. Being able to actually walk around and interact with a room in Aperture Science, rather than view it through a monitor, or (if I was using a competing VR solution) just look around it from a fixed position was absolutely mind-blowing. It felt real. I was there. Never for a minute did my subconscious doubt that. At the moment GLaDOS confronted me, I wasn’t experiencing a demo in Barcelona, Spain. I was there in a room with her, one of gaming’s greatest villains, staring down at me, wondering if I was about to live or die.

As GLaDOS was talking to me in her incredibly creepy monotone voice, the world was disintegrating around me, exposing the scale of the huge facility I was in. There were other platforms and areas off in the distance, both on the same level as me and above and below me. I was almost freaking out at the HTC demo rep, asking him to reassure me that the floor wasn’t going to drop from under me and I was going to fall to my death. I don’t think I could have handled that. There’s even a chance I would have lost control of some bodily functions -- it was that intense.

Thankfully, GLaDOS decided to spare me, and with that and the appearance of a Companion Cube, my time with the Vive ended.

What Is Valve And HTC’s Secret Sauce?

Quite simply, when using the Vive, the level of immersion is unparalleled. It is the first VR system to offer the feeling of what is termed "constant presence." The more senses a VR system can completely fool into thinking that you’re somewhere else, the more your brain subconsciously perceives it as reality. From what I understand from others who have used them, competing VR systems are also able to provide the same level of presence that the Vive does, but it is often only fleeting. Restrictions in the range of movement or issues with the accuracy and latency of head tracking quickly snap your mind out of this feeling, back to the reality that you are just wearing a headset and staring into a screen.

When I used Vive, this didn’t happen to me once. From the moment I put on the headset and was handed the controllers until the end of the demo, I simply felt like I was somewhere else at all times. This is what I mean by constant presence. Vive can achieve this is due to a combination of a number of factors.

To start, the Vive’s head tracking, using the laser Lighthouse base stations, is incredibly solid. It didn’t glitch once in the time I demoed it. They are also able to track 360-degrees of movement because there are two at opposite corners of the room. Along with this solid head tracking (which, from what I understand, the Oculus’ Crescent Bay is also capable off), the Vive adds the just-as-solid 360-degree tracking of your hands’ movements by precisely tracking its controllers. In addition, their advanced haptic feedback adds another layer of immersion.

On top of that is the freedom of movement that the 15 x 15-foot space offers you. Being able to move around the game space with your body as you would in reality instead of having to push a button on a controller or keyboard makes a huge difference as to how your mind perceives the virtual space you are in.

Finally, the Vive instills a sense of confidence in you with the precision of its tracking and the way that it controls you movements within the virtual space to make sure you don’t actually walk into a real wall.The glowing grid that appears in front of you in the virtual world when you are near a real wall lets you know when to stop. Knowing the system is monitoring your position like this gives you the confidence to freely explore the virtual space without any fears.

Right now, the only impediments to total immersion are the cables that tether you to the system, but in my time with the Vive I hardly noticed them. The final developer version will only have wireless controllers, with just one cable from the headset, which should be a lot easier to manage.

It’s For More Than Just Games

As soon as the high of using the Vive began to wear off, I started thinking about all the use cases for VR. While I've heard the party line from so many VR companies and evangelists before that VR is for more than just gaming, to be honest, part of me until now thought they were full of it. Facebook's PR for Oculus after they bought them was full of the fact that it was these big ideas that made them buy into VR in a big way.

However, after trying Vive, I have seen the light. There are so many applications for VR outside of gaming, and the immersion level that Vive brings to the table means that these experiences are going to be just as amazing as playing Portal 3. One of the use cases I thought about was using VR for therapeutic purposes. A soldier suffering from PTSD could work with a therapist in VR to relive the experiences that led to their trauma and explore ways to help them heal. Moreover, what do you know, when I was researching for this article I discovered that there is already a start-up called Psious developing ways that therapists can use VR to help their patients.

There are also less live-saving non-gaming uses that can also be imagined for Valve and HTC’s vision of VR: virtual conferences/meetings, virtual tours of real estate, 3D content creation, non-interactive entertainment, and a lot more. After trying the Vive, I could now see why I perhaps would want to look at some potential property in VR. Instead of just being able to view a room in 360-degrees, with the Vive I could actually walk around it and get a much better sense of the space. For content creators, designers and engineers, the Vive could be used to present their work in a much more immersive way. A designer could show off their latest furniture design to a client, who could then walk around it and examine it from multiple angles.

On the non-interactive front, imagine being able to experience your favorite television show by stepping into the scene and becoming an extra in the background. Clearly Valve and HTC are thinking along the same lines, as both HBO and Lions Gate Entertainment were mentioned as partners when the Vive was announced.

The Wrap-Up

Before trying the Vive, a colleague told me about his Vive experience, so I did know what to expect, and I was worried that I had spoiled the impact of my experience by doing this. However, I had nothing to fear. No words, mine nor anyone else's, no matter how good, can come close to describing the experience of Vive. It is often said you have to try something to truly appreciate it, and Vive is that times one thousand.

Even though I had not used any of the other VR solutions prior to Vive, I wasn’t a skeptic. From everything I had read, I knew VR is real, amazing, and here to stay. But now that I’ve lost my virginity, I’ve moved my enthusiasm to the next level. I want to experience VR as much as I can, and I then want to grab the nearest person and passionately tell them why it is the most amazing thing ever. I’ve gone from being a Christian that doesn’t go to church to a full-on evangelist!

I remember when I got my first home computer as a child, turning it on for the first time, and being in awe at the potential that was in front of me. After trying the Vive I felt that same level of wonder, and I haven’t felt like that about any technology for a very long time. As a long time science fiction fan, I never thought I’d be able to experience in my lifetime the kind of virtual world written about in books like Neuromancer and Snow Crash. While the experience of the Vive is still far removed from what William Gibson and Neal Stephenson described in their books, I now know that it won’t be too long before VR technology will be at that level. That both excites and scares me!

I hope that this article has at least given you a small taste of what it's like to use the Vive. While it’s unknown if HTC and Valve will allow the public to try out what they're are showing now, I’m sure there be a chance for others to experience Vive sooner rather than later [Editor's Note: there actually was such an event in L.A. just recently at the VRLA Spring Expo]. For me, it's jumped right to the top of my must have list, and its release date later this year cannot come soon enough.

You can learn more about the HTC Vive and sign up for updates on the official site here.

Follow Alex Davies @alexbdavies. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

Looking for a new gaming headset for your desktop or laptop this holiday season? Asus' Republic of Gamers may have what you're looking for with the launch of the Strix 7.1. This headset promises true 7.1 surround sound immersion by using five neodymium magnet drivers on each side: front (40mm), subwoofer (40mm), center (30mm), rear (20mm) and side (20mm).

The new headset is based on USB connectivity, and it comes packed with its own "audio station" that serves as an external audio card. There are four pre-set modes the gamer can choose from, including Racing Mode, Action RPG mode, Footsteps Mode and Gunfire Mode. Simply turn the control knob on the top to choose between these four settings.

"These profiles are instantly selectable from the USB audio station and let gamers choose the best audio experience for the type of game they are playing," Asus explained in its press release. "For example, FPS Footsteps Mode enhances the sound of footsteps in first-person shooter games, helping gamers to pinpoint enemies quickly and gain a competitive edge."

In addition to the four game modes, the audio station provides controls for the microphone, individual surround channel volume, the master volume and the lighting effects. For lighting, gamers can toggle between a "breathing" effect and a constant "static" effect. The headset also promises 90 percent environmental noise cancellation so that users are totally engulfed in the game without the distracting outside noise.

The headset has an impedance of 32 ohms and a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The detachable unidirectional microphone has a frequency response of 50 Hz to 16 kHz, as well as a sensitivity of -40 ± 3dB. The protein leather-covered ear cups are comprised of full-size hexagon-shaped memory foam that reaches 130 mm across, making for a comfy fit.

Based on the provided information, the Asus Strix 7.1 seems to offer what PC gamers need for the best immersive experience. The drawback here is that the headphones depend on a USB connection, so customers won't be able to use them on a tablet or smartphone.

Still, the headphones sport a unique form factor that should turn some heads, including the way it folds up for easy transportation, an HDMI speaker jack and an included HDMI-to-3.5 mm adapter. The headphones are extremely attractive and should please the PC gamer on your holiday shopping list.

The actual availability and pricing was not provided at press time, so keep your eyes peeled.

Follow Kevin Parrish @exfileme. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

TBS Discovery Pro: Building And Flying A Quadcopter

Do you remember the first time you built a PC? There was much reading, followed by a surge of confidence. Of course, the adrenaline probably dissipated as soon as it came time to order parts. “Is this really the hardware I need?” You hit the Checkout button anyway, hoping for the best.

All of the pieces arrived a few days later, and you arranged them on a table. One by one, you carefully unpacked each box, handling the CPU, motherboard, memory and graphics card ever so gingerly. You wore an anti-static wristband for protection and tried your best not to touch any of the surface-mount components. You felt like a doctor preparing for surgery.

Whether the process took a few hours or a few days, in between work shifts and before bed, you built your first PC. Maybe it booted up the first time you nervously pressed its power button. Or maybe, like mine, it didn’t. But after some troubleshooting, you ironed out the wrinkles and found yourself with a functional machine…which sat there telling you it needed software.

Depending on how far back that story takes you, you might have discovered the worlds of BIOS configuration, operating system setup and driver installation were learning experiences unto themselves. Nowadays it’s all a lot more streamlined. However, I remember booting DOS from a floppy disk, configuring a serial mouse input card one jumper at a time and socketing RAM chips directly onto motherboards.

Those Same Butterflies…

All of those same feelings rushed back as I researched, then shopped for, purchased and started building my first quadcopter—Team BlackSheep’s Discovery Pro.

Now, for those of you already on the multi-rotor scene, you’re thinking, “Dude, that’s way over the top for a first quad. Start small, man.” And you’re right. Pilots don’t decide they want to fly and immediately jump into 727s. But I know my way around a soldering iron, I can build PCs in my sleep and I flew R/C aircraft as a kid—all of the ingredients for a false sense of security. My interest in quads started way before Clym Montgomery wrote Multi-Rotors, First-Person View, And The Hardware You Need back in June. But his introductory story set the stage for where we are today. If you haven’t already read that piece, it’s a great place to start.

As Clym worked on his coverage, I was reading, adding items to a shopping cart, asking questions and starting over. The community of multi-rotor enthusiasts isn’t as large as the group of folks building PCs, so it can be more difficult to find solutions. Moreover, companies like Team BlackSheep are busy developing their platform, selling it and enjoying the sport. My emails to them mostly went unanswered. I’d have to figure this out on my own.

After a couple of months waffling on parts, it was time to put up or shut up. Two decades ago, I nervously ordered the pieces for my first PC build. Now it was time to do the same thing for my rookie multi-rotor effort.

Placing The Order

I was able to buy everything from Team BlackSheep’s website, though you don’t have to do the same. There are plenty of hobby shops distributing TBS’ parts, and an even greater number selling the components manufactured by third parties. I simply took the path of maximum convenience, hoping to leverage some of the company’s expertise with compatibility on its own frame. The downside was being put at the mercy of TBS’ supply chain; it took almost a month and a half for the order to ship. To Team BlackSheeps’ credit, as the multi-rotor landscape changed during that time, it made adjustments to the components I bought. A Futaba transmitter was substituted out in favor of FrSky’s Taranis, and the difference in cost was refunded back to me. My motors were upgraded free of charge as TBS introduced its 1000kV set and ran out of the 900kV motors I had ordered. And when the gimbal motors sold out, TBS followed up my initial shipment with the parts I needed, no additional freight added. Kudos to the company's post-sales customer support.

So there I was, several weeks after placing my order, staring at a pile of boxes. I had the parts for the Discovery Pro itself, my transmitter setup, the FPV equipment, and a groundstation. It was time to reacquaint myself with the manuals and commence building.

TBS’ Discovery Pro Gimbal Frame

Consider this the platform on which your multi-rotor is built. At its simplest, TBS’ Discovery Pro consists of a top and bottom plate with a number of bundled and integrated subsystems, including its own CORE on-screen display module, a licensed controller for the brushless gimbal, and a camera switcher.

Of course, TBS’ aluminum gimbal frame is a centerpiece of the package, allowing you to strap a GoPro onto the quad and film high-def content. Enabling good-quality footage requires vibration isolation, which TBS addresses through a grommet set. There’s also a bundled GoPro output board to interface with the camera, two direct-drive motors for controlling the GoPro on horizontal and vertical axes and Team BlackSheep’s inertial measurement unit. All of the cables, screws, standoffs and bearings you need to assemble those components are included.

You can start with this basic package for about $600 bucks and add to it using hardware from other vendors. Or, remain on TBS’ site and fill in the blanks through a number of customization options. The Discovery Pro Gimbal Frame leaves you in need of frame arms, to which motors and props must be attached, four speed controllers to drive those motors, a flight control computer, a battery, transmit/receive hardware for flight input and transmit/receive hardware for your first-person view (plus the GoPro, if you plan on filming it all).

Yes, that’s a lot of “leftover” equipment to purchase, and yes, it adds up quickly. But TBS expounds on its baseline offering with a few different packages that at least take guesswork out of the equation. In addition to Team BlackSheep’s entry-level Discovery and Endurance Discovery Pro, you can buy the Discovery Pro as a Starter Set or Long Range Set. Don’t know the difference? Think back to Clym’s introductory story (or pull from your knowledge of Wi-Fi, even)—lower frequencies penetrate obstacles more effectively. So, the Starter Set includes a 5.8GHz video link and 2.4GHz remote control, while the Long Range kit features 2.4GHz video and 433MHz EzUHF remote control. I wanted to spread my wings and really fly, so I picked up the latter configuration.

Beyond the $600 base package, stepping up to the Long Range Set gets you four Flame Wheel F450 arms, DJI’s Naza Lite Flight Control + GPS, four 900kV motors, a quartet of TBS Bulletproof speed controllers, Graupner propellers, FrSky’s Taranis X9D remote control, an EzUHF transmitter module, TBS’ own 4S 3.3A LiPo battery, a charger, TBS’ 59 FPV camera, Fat Shark Dominator video glasses, a Lawmate receiver, TBS' own Unify 2.4GHz video transmitter, a TBS Groundstation LiPo 3S 5Ah battery and a Flame Wheel VTx mount, along with the little bits you’d find yourself missing otherwise like servo extensions, Velcro straps and connectors. Again, that’s a long list of parts, and there’s something to be said for a group of enthusiasts hand-picking them.

Of course, that doesn’t mean everything in the Long Range Set is top-of-the-line. Even after committing to a $2300 kit, TBS gives you a long list of options worth considering. Upgrade the Naza controller (I did), step up to the 69 FPV camera (I did), add another battery to extend your afternoon of flying (I did), upgrade to a bigger battery, trading agility for range (again, I did), have TBS tune components, upgrade to more powerful motors, swap in a longer-range antenna. Over and over, I did these things until my price tag crested $3000. The only option I deliberately avoided: have TBS build and set up the Discovery Pro for me at a cost of $350. That much I wanted to share with you today, regardless of how it turned out.

The Build: Are We Ready For This?

There were still a few tools to track down before the fun began. Some soldering is required, so I snagged a higher-end iron. I also bought some zip ties, low-strength thread lock and a prop balancer. Then, with all of the parts from TBS’ Discovery Pro Long Range Set laid out in front of a friend and me, the quadcopter started coming together.

The first step in the process is assembling the brushless gimbal. Minimizing vibration is critical to recording good-looking video, and TBS makes that a priority by bundling several bags of silicone damping balls at different elasticity levels. Before you get to see anything resembling a multi-rotor, you’ll spend a couple of quality hours trying to stuff grommets into mounting plates.

Team BlackSheep does a fair job with its build guide, and there’s really no reason to rehash the process step-by-step. If you can follow instructions, what appears to be a daunting task is broken up and made more manageable thanks to plenty of words and well-shot pictures. My only complaint is that the PDF document doesn’t sync up well with the YouTube walk-through TBS published. You sort-of have to pick one, the other, or a cross-referencing of both.

Fortunately, an fpvlab.com community member recently posted several hours of video-based guidance to help fill in the gaps. I had already wrapped my build when Oliver’s videos went online, but they would have been a perfect complement to the official documentation.

If you abide by TBS’ Discovery Pro manual, the quadcopter’s frame is assembled after the camera gimbal. Solder pads on the frame are tinned, the battery pigtail (the leads with a connector) is attached, spacers are screwed in and the four speed controllers are soldered on. You’ll hook up the Naza flight controller, along with the corresponding servo cables.

With most of the electronics handled, the next step is securing the frame arms and strapping down the ESCs with those zip ties you bought. Motors mount to the arms using bundled screws—don’t worry about the direction they spin just yet. Further on in the build, you’ll power up and test this (without propellers attached). Any motor spinning backwards is easily reversed by swapping bullet connectors on the speed controllers.

The top plate sandwiches the frame arms, spacers, and flight controller. If you’re using pulse-width modulation channels, you’ll need to make connections between the top and bottom plates to facilitate signal paths. Pulse-position modulation is preferable though, so long as your equipment is compatible. Mine is, and so the information corresponding to all eight channels travels through the TBS link cable, which also moves the current sensor signal, +5/12V up, ground, and battery voltage information.

Why is it necessary to jump from the top plate to the bottom? Well, control inputs reach the quad through its receiver (in my case, ImmersionRC’s EzUHF Long-Range RC Rx). Those signals go through the top plate, down to the bottom, and into DJI’s Naza-M flight controller. You’re simply connecting the various subsystems.

At this point, I had something that looked like an actual multi-rotor. Most noticeably missing, though, was the FPV gear—the camera and supporting hardware that’d allow me to fly with a cockpit view. I got TBS’ 69 FPV camera mounted and wired into the frame, and then did the same with LawMate’s video transmitter. Back on the ground, a receiver would pick up that signal and feed it into my video goggles, along with an LCD for nearby observers to watch. Separately, I’d strap in a GoPro Hero2 I’ve had sitting around for a couple of years. That camera would record my hijinks at higher resolution. Any time I wanted to swap between the 69 FPV and GoPro, logic in TBS’ CORE facilitated this through the remote control.

This brief synopsis skips a great many steps critical to the success of your build, as you might imagine. Screws need to be secured with thread lock. DJI’s GPS needs to be mounted on its pedestal. The center of gravity needs to be optimized so that all four motors work most efficiently. There’s a lot to do. But the instruction manual and videos cover everything (the official guide is found here)—don’t let the perceived complexity dissuade you.

Weighing In On TBS’ Discovery Pro

Perhaps more relevant is a commentary on TBS’ package and presentation. The Discovery Pro really cannot get any more base—after all, it shows up as a couple of black fiberglass boards, screws, frames and the modular components you can buy separately on the company’s website. It’s a lot like a PC in that way. And yet, a lot of steps are taken to simplify the build, yielding a cleaner finished product. Much of the quad’s wiring is built into the frame, so power distribution and certain control signals only jump from bottom to top through one connector cable. TBS’s CORE on-screen display and current sensor come integrated, so there’s no need to solder and shield those components yourself. And although TBS took quite a bit of heat at one time for leaving out odds and ends like screws and straps, the latest iteration is quite complete.

The CORE module is the one piece of circuitry TBS secures in place prior to shipping. It conveys vital statistics about your quadcopter over the pilot camera video feed. You’ll find a great many options for third-party OSDs, but there appears to be a consensus that CORE covers the basics, including flight pack voltage, mAh consumption, a flight timer, and R/C signal strength. Fancier alternatives might enable distance meters, home indicators and flight tracking, but of course those aren’t necessities. In fact, some enthusiasts consider them distractions. By exploiting the EzUHF OSD Link built into the Discovery’s top frame, it’s easy enough to extract additional uplink information without any special configuration. That data is piped straight to the CORE through on-board traces.

I can imagine a past when you had to pay close attention to the voltage output of your battery and the quad’s cumulative current draw. But not once was this an issue for me. TBS preconfigured my frame for 5V, and I attached all of the kit’s components using bundled cables. This is part of why I went with TBS’ package to begin with—knowing that the hardware is vetted for compatibility takes guesswork (and math) out of the pre-purchase research. Moreover, if you do decide to deviate from the path most traveled, a trio of buttons facilitate easy navigation of the CORE’s menu system through your FPV goggles or groundstation, which you can use to change TBS’ default settings.

One feature not enabled from the factory is PPM support for the gimbal. Adding a solder bridge between two pads on the top plate fixes that. And, when everything was said and done, I had eight channels streaming sequentially through a single header as a result.

Based on the degree of integration, this is clearly the product of much learning and experience. As a frame, the Discovery Pro is excellent—a complementary challenge for anyone who considers themselves a PC enthusiast. One of my only complaints concerns the grub screws holding the tilt motor in place—they don’t grip the motor shaft tight enough, so any time the gyroscope fights an opposing force, enough play is introduced to require retightening. Overall I seemed to have more trouble than most getting the gimbal communicating and calibrated. Fortunately, TBS hosts a helpful FAQ section that addressed the toughest issues. And a number of forum posts solved the rest.

The Software Side Of TBS’ Discovery Pro

What caught me most off-guard was the abruptness with which TBS’ Discovery Pro manual ended. I sat at my kitchen table with an assembled quad-copter and no real idea what to do next. I should have known better, but I assumed that the kit I purchased would come with guidance that’d flow together cohesively from start to finish. Instead, I found myself hitting forums, flipping through other manuals and copying the work of those who went before me.

Again, this is something greatly improved today by instructional videos, which better-connect the construction process and software-based configuration. At the time, though, I struggled to set up the highly-programmable FrSky Taranis, which worked through the EzUHF receiver and interfaced with DJI’s Naza—each component complemented by its own software utility. Getting video output from the 69 FPV camera was far easier, though I ran into another roadblock trying to stabilize the gimbal’s chattering motors. Overwhelmed by the handful of knots left to untie, I set the project aside for a couple of weeks and regrouped.

It helped to mentally break the pieces down into subsystems and tackle each on its own. Most of the hardware is installed in a logical order as part of the frame construction process. However, the build is more about working around tight spaces rather than dialing in specific functions from start to finish. So the final bit of finessing requires a different approach.

Remote Control: FrSky And ImmersionRC

The combination of FrSky’s Taranis X9D, ImmersionRC’s EzUHF system and DJI’s Naza-M V2 enables remote control of the Discovery Pro. It also requires the lion’s share of software-based configuration.

When I received my Long Range Set from TBS, the Taranis transmitter was configured to communicate at 2.4GHz. Extending its range necessitated an upgrade to ImmersionRC’s EzUHF JR module, which offers up to 500mW of power in the 430 to 440MHz frequency range. Of course, the Taranis supports the JR standard, so it was easy to pop off its back cover, line up a few contacts and slide the module into place (even if a manufacturing defect kept it from seating fully).

Similarly, I had no trouble connecting the module via USB to my Lenovo Helix and confirming its control software. The same went for ImmersionRC’s EzUHF Long-Range RC RX, which sits on the Discovery Pro and receives input from the transmitter. Both components require matching firmware (already installed in my case). Should you find occasion for an update, ImmersionRC Tools is the utility you’ll use. It also facilitates customization of frequency settings, servo mapping, real-time spectrum analysis, antenna configuration and channel count. Oh, and if you plan to exploit PPM technology, and I highly recommend you do, that’s set in ImmersionRC Tools, too. Switching to PPM allowed me to hook the Long-Range RC RX up to TBS’ header block through just two servo cables: one carrying the PPM signal and the other for switching between cameras. Otherwise, each PWM channel interfaces through its own cable.

Binding the transmitter and receiver so that they’re able to “talk” to each other is a straightforward process akin to pairing Bluetooth-enabled devices. Don’t count on the link between you and your quad becoming a bottleneck in this build.

Configuring the Taranis controller is decidedly more time-consuming—but not in a bad way. The FrSky radio system offers audible alerts for the settings, values and alarms you want announced (particularly relevant if you have FPV goggles on). Additionally, a model system allows you to import a fellow enthusiast’s Discovery Pro setup. It supports up to 16 channels and is highly programmable. In short, you end up with a ton of freedom that simply needs to be harnessed.

This isn’t something I would have ever figured out on my own after reading through FrSky’s manual. Even the YouTube and forum walk-throughs weren’t complete. I needed three or four different sources to get my Taranis working the way I wanted. There’s the basic throttle/rudder/elevator/aileron setup, of course. But you’ll also want to add gimbal tilt/roll control, along with a way to flip between the FPV camera and GoPro. The real zinger was customizing a three-position flight mode switch to toggle between the Naza controller’s GPS, Attitude and Manual modes, all of which can be overridden by a second switch triggering Failsafe mode. After dialing in all of that, I still hadn’t touched 10 of the 13 property pages defining my Discovery Pro model.

The radio is mostly a pleasure to use, though. Movement in the control sticks is confident, the toggle switches snap into each position, FrSky’s backlit LCD readout is easy enough to navigate and the chassis is rugged enough to take abuse without imposing too much heft. It’d be nice if the built-in antenna was removable, and the bundled Ni-MH battery is pretty crummy. However, the Taranis is based on open-source software, allowing anyone to download its code to make modifications. The radio is also significantly less expensive than competition from Futaba, which saved me quite a bit of cash.

Flight Control: DJI's Naza-M V2

So, the FrSky controller transmits a signal through ImmersionRC’s hardware, and that information is fed into DJI’s Naza-M V2 autopilot system—the computer, if you will, responsible for “taking the stress out of multi-rotors” by self-leveling and holding altitude. As with all of the other components in my build, there are alternatives to the Naza, many of which Clym discussed in his introductory piece. But DJI’s offering is considered to be the easiest for getting flying faster. I lack experience with MultiWii, KK2, ArduPilot or any of the others, so I’ll have to trust the community on this one. DJI sells a couple of other models, including the A2 and WooKong-M. But TBS is sticking with the Naza family for its Discovery Pro kits.   

The box includes a main controller, a power management unit, an LED block with USB connectivity and a GPS. DJI spells out the purpose of each component in its documentation. But in brief, the PMU takes a 7-25V input and outputs 5V at up to 3A. The LED conveys system status through a series of red, yellow and green blink codes, additionally hosting the microUSB interface used to attach your PC. Naturally, the GPS fixes on satellites to triangulate your position. Should the radio lose contact (or you simply get into trouble and manually trigger it), a failsafe mode engages—the quad hovers for three seconds, and if you haven’t regained control, returns to the spot where you established satellite lock and started the motors. A multi-rotor flying under 20m ascends before making the journey automatically. A quad above 20m maintains its altitude and flies straight back before hovering for 15 seconds and then landing itself. Sound like useful functionality to have on a $3000+ aircraft? It is. Just don’t lean on it as a crutch. Twenty meters isn’t very high, and your quadcopter will plow into any tree, building or pole in its way if you aren’t clear of obstacles.

Of the configurable components in TBS’ Long Range kit, the Naza-M V2 is easiest to set up. DJI’s Assistant Software is superb. Although it includes pages of options, each setting is explained in sufficient detail for the neophyte to understand what it does and why it’s important. Some of the controller’s capabilities, like the Low-Voltage Alert and Intelligent Orientation Control, are eschewed by many enthusiasts. But the Enhanced Failsafe, Flight Limits and Command Sticks Calibration features are utilized universally.

Despite DJI’s excellent work, don’t be discouraged if some of the software’s fields just aren’t intuitive. For instance, input gains vary depending on frame, motors, propellers, and weight. Determining optimal settings would be daunting to a beginner. However, there’s a more experienced pilot out there with your exact hardware who already spent a weekend experimenting. Do a little sleuthing and you’re sure to find balanced gains to get you started. TBS suggests figures that cover the Discovery Pro and its own 900kV motors; my upgrade to 1000kV powerplants threw those numbers off, though.

The Gimbal

It also took me a bit of thread-hunting to figure out that I wasn’t to touch DJI’s Gimbal tab in the Assistant Software. TBS says its gimbal should be good to go straight from the factory, but mine needed adjustment before it’d switch to PPM channels. This actually takes place in yet another utility, SimpleBGC.

BaseCam’s software gives you access to the proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller settings, motor controls, R/C options, plus real-time data from the accelerometer and gyroscope. Just be sure you stick with version 2.1, which matches the integrated controller’s firmware.

I should have been fine switching from PWM to PPM in SimpleBGC. However, issues with motor chattering and off-center calibrations compelled me to experiment in the utility, which eventually necessitated reloading both factory-programmed profiles. TBS’ defaults really are best-fit; the software is mainly useful for troubleshooting an issue not otherwise apparent from a visual inspection.

With the gimbal configured to accept roll input on channel five and pitch on channel six using PPM, I was ready to move on. Just bear in mind that my configuration is optimized for a GoPro Hero2. Compatibility originally extended to the GoPro Hero3 series, and was recently updated to include GoPro's Hero4 through a component revision.

FPV: Lawmate, Fat Shark And TBS

As an R/C enthusiast growing up, I already knew the joy of standing under an awning at a hobbyist’s airport and flying rectangular patterns, being careful to keep my craft close enough to determine its orientation. Fly too far and it became difficult to tell front from back, and I watched more than a handful of planes tumble through fields when their pilots strayed too far away and couldn’t tell whether to roll left or right.

The idea of FPV got me excited because it plopped me into the cockpit. And if you plan to take your quadcopter out of LoS, then its first-person-view subsystem is incredibly important. I went with a tuned 2.4GHz transmitter (TBS’ Unify wasn’t available yet) and tuned receiver, upgraded to include the groundstation and a 5000mAh 3S LiPo battery to match. A set of Fat Shark Dominator video glasses plug into the receiver through one long combination video/power cable. It’s all quite fancy-looking on the ground.

Pretty much opposite the R/C hardware, an FPV subsystem beams video from the quadcopter’s camera, through a video transmitter and into a receiver on the ground. You can observe the feed through an LCD screen, as with TBS’ groundstation, or with FPV goggles on.

There’s no real software configuration involved, aside from any options you want to change in TBS’s CORE menu (like enabling camera switching). Setup is as easy as running power from the Discovery Pro’s frame to the transmitter, picking a channel via DIP switch, matching that channel on your receiver, and plugging in your FPV goggles. If you upgrade to the groundstation like I did, you get a compact LCD display that observers can watch as you fly through the Fat Shark Dominators. You can hook the goggles up through a long bundled cable or, if you prefer a little more freedom, add a 5.8GHz repeater to broadcast video to them wirelessly. I didn’t plan to wander too far from the groundstation, so I passed on that option.

FPV is the defining characteristic of this experience. Yes, the quad-copter itself is amazing to fly, and the ability to record video from hundreds (or thousands) of feet up presents a multitude of practical applications. But a pilot’s view is what attracted me to TBS’ Discovery Pro after so many years away from the R/C world. TBS, leveraging its own products and hand-picked third-party offerings, not only makes it easy to get started, but also enjoy a professional-quality experience. As of this writing, my video link still isn’t perfectly clear and stable out to long distances. But there are enough enthusiasts out there successfully flying the same equipment several kilometers and back that I’m confident I just need one more weekend to iron out the remaining few bugs.

Be A Responsible Enthusiast

Back when I wrote Nvidia Shield Review: Tegra 4-Powered Handheld Gaming, I had no problem taking the handheld console out to my front yard and flying Parrot’s AR.Drone 2.0 around the cul-de-sac. And while I was eager to start flying TBS’ Discovery Pro as soon as I finished building it, this time was different. The AR.Drone is a $300 multi-rotor. I was in for more than 10 times that on the Discovery. It could fly farther, its motors are capable of doing more damage, and I certainly didn’t want any of my neighbors thinking I was peeking in at them. So, I waited for a nice clear day and took the quad to a local park with plenty of space to learn the nuances of FPV flying without putting anyone at risk.

Really, that’s a great place to wrap any hands-on discussion of multi-rotor hardware. The build process is engaging, the software-based configuration afterward can be challenging and flying from the virtual cockpit rewarding. But the freedom to enjoy this hobby is accompanied by an obligation to respect it. High-flying craft with high-resolution cameras are easy to abuse. Abuse is countered by regulation. And heavy-handed laws have a habit of transcending the good old fashioned common sense a responsible hobbyist should be using anyway. Hearing about pilots flying multi-rotors up to peer through high-rise windows or near commercial aircraft is aggravating; those lapses of judgement affect the rest of us who want to enjoy the hobby responsibly.

Team BlackSheep does a good enough job compiling complementary components and documenting the build process that any PC enthusiast well-versed in searching online forums should surface from a weekend’s worth of work with a functional Discovery Pro. Still, this isn’t the quad-copter you want to start with. It’s a roughly $3000 collection of parts that I’m sure I’ll crash at one point or another. Get your feet wet on the more mainstream side of the spectrum, learn how to fly proficiently and then sink big bucks on top-shelf gear. Given the rate at which TBS introduces upgraded components and fresh recommendations, you’ll end up with an even better setup than what I put together—perhaps for less money, even.

Check out the following album for more pictures of our build.

Motion tracking hardware and software developer Sixense Entertainment said last week that it plans to launch its new wireless motion tracking platform, the STEM System, as a Kickstarter project on September 12. The company claims this new system will precisely capture the user’s every move, both at the desktop and throughout the living room. The system will be ideal for gaming, virtual reality and other applications that require physical interaction.

"The STEM System platform is an evolutionary step in Sixense motion tracking technology, which has previously powered the Razer Hydra PC gaming controller," the company said. "Advancements for the STEM System platform include much longer range, a wireless, modular form factor, and better tracking performance at all ranges."

The STEM System platform will support up to five wireless motion tracking modules, or STEMs, for full position and orientation tracking of the entire body or other configurations. It's also an open platform, meaning software developers can create content with virtually no restrictions, and device makers can embed STEMs for tracking their own peripherals or wearable devices. The second-generation Sixense SDK covers both the new features, and provides backwards compatibility with games and hardware powered by the previous generation, including Razer's Hydra.

"The STEM System is our first Sixense-branded hardware, and it embodies our vision of the ideal user interface for virtual worlds and digital media," said Amir Rubin, co-founder of Sixense. "The funding and feedback we receive from the Kickstarter project will forge an essential partnership between Sixense and a community that has embraced emerging technologies in gaming and VR. By delivering STEM System developer kits to Kickstarter backers first, we will be able to make a much better consumer product than we could on our own."

Sixense Entertainment is the developer responsible for bringing PlayStation Move control to Valve's Portal 2. Founded in 2007, the company has commercialized ultra-precise motion tracking hardware technology and 3D multi-touch software for gaming, fitness, 3DTV control and other interactive applications. Technologies supported include electromagnetic trackers (Razer Hydra), depth cameras (Intel's upcoming desktop camera) and hybrid inertial/optical systems (PS Move).

Sixense is currently teamed up with Virtuix and Oculus at PAX Prime 2013 to demonstrate a complete VR setup. The demo includes the Oculus Rift HMD for seeing and navigating the virtual environment, the Virtuix Omni "tredmil" for walking, and the STEM system to naturally and intuitively interact with the virtual world thanks to full position and orientation tracking.

"The STEM System creates new possibilities for full motion control in VR," said Jan Goetgeluk, CEO and founder of Virtuix. "Not just walking, as we provide, but hand motions and independent gun tracking. We are excited about this great technology."

The videos below demonstrate the STEM System combined with Oculus Rift using three and four STEM tracking modules. Oh yeah.

During E3 2013, I got a chance to check out the Omni gaming peripheral in a private showing offered by Virtuix. The device builds upon the immersion effect offered by Oculus Rift and other VR headsets by allowing users to actively walk and run though virtual environments rather than passively use gamepads and the standard keyboard/mouse combo.

The Kickstarter campaign for Omni started on June 4, and actually reached its goal of $150,000 in two days -- and it's still climbing. That's super impressive, and should help Virtuix refine its product way beyond what was shown during the gaming convention.

The Omni comprises of a passive, concave base with ridges for traction, a built-in circular stand for gripping with your hands and keeping your body in position, and a belt-like device that clips around your waist and rests upon the stand for even more stabilization. There are also shoes with a special sole that somewhat fits into the grooves in the base, and software that allows the user to map the foot movements to the directional keys in a PC game.

The current prototype also uses a Kinect for Windows camera to actually detect the user's foot movement. While this indeed works, it's not entirely accurate either: you may start moving and Kinect won't pick up until a second later – same for stopping. Virtuix plans to actually create sensors that will be built into the shoes for less latency and more precise virtual movement.

The demo provided during E3 2013 used Half-Life 2 and the Oculus Rift. Thus, after I slipped on the shoes and was locked into the Omni, I was asked to practice moving in various directions. Essentially you have to walk forward in one spot without actually moving or reverting to marching in one place. The base doesn't move like a treadmill either, so the process is a little weird.

Once users get the hang of pseudo-walking, the Oculus Rift is slapped on their face. With a gun in one hand and your other hand gripping the Omni's circular stand (the "belt" actually frees your other hand), you must "walk" though the environment and shoot down enemy targets firing back at you. Being thrown into the Half-Life 2 environment and seeing NPCs that have up until now been "flat" and on a PC/console screen, the encounters were highly jarring. Throw in actual walking and turning, and you have a new method of losing weight.

And then it hit me: this would be awesome in a non-VR gaming application. Take the Wii for instance: you can jog in a virtual world by placing the Wiimote in your pocket. Why couldn't you actually run in place using the Omni? Even more, throw in the Oculus Rift and you're transported into a virtual realm where you can jog alongside other virtual athletes.

The Omni will be sold on its own, so users can purchase any VR headset they want. The company also plans to make the stand adjustable so that it accommodates most users of various heights. Unfortunately, there's no chance of sensor clip-ons later on down the road for your current pair of shoes: the system will come packed with its own set of special shoes for the ideal experience.

"Gaming on a keyboard, mouse or gamepad while seated pales in comparison to the intense experience and fun that comes from actually walking, running, and jumping in games," said Jan Goetgeluk, CEO of Virtuix. "Bringing this innovation to Kickstarter will accelerate the integration of natural motion into emerging virtual reality applications such as gaming, fitness, and simulation."

There's definitely a lot of promise in the Omni, and I look forward in seeing how this VR tech will handle movement once the Kinect is ditched for built-in shoe sensors. Like the Oculus Rift, it's the next step in the evolution of gaming without forcing customers to borrow money from the bank.

Could Memory Really Be Holding You Back?

Every few years we write a story showing how most applications get the most performance out of ordinary memory. Today, "ordinary" means DDR3-1600. Recently, something changed though. We observed noticeable speed-ups in at least one game after changing a few memory settings. Since we still had the system from FX Vs. Core i7: Exploring CPU Bottlenecks And AMD CrossFire set up, we thought it'd be a perfect time to follow our CPU-oriented gaming analysis with a version more intently focused on memory.

The things we said about frequency and timings six years ago still apply today. CAS latency is still measured in cycles, DDR3-2133 cycles are still twice as quick as DDR3-1066 cycles, and so DDR3-2133 CAS 10 still has the same response time as DDR3-1066 CAS 5. Moreover, DDR3-2133 continues to offer twice the bandwidth of DDR3-1066. 

Fortunately, chasing value doesn't mean you're stuck at DDR3-1066, and bandwidth-seekers are no longer stuck at CAS 10. Cheap DDR3-1600 and mid-priced DDR3-2133 CAS 9 are now the norm.

Combining those developments in memory technology with the availability of quad-channel platforms, we have the perfect chance to compare frequency, latency, and bus width. That is, we can make such a comparison without resorting to unrealistically-handicapped configurations.

We're armed with an overclocked CPU and a pair of high-end Radeon HD 7970s in CrossFire to alleviate bottlenecks. So, how much gaming performance can we extract from a few changes in memory configuration?

Test Settings And Benchmarks

Intel’s LGA 2011 platform gives us the flexibility to test both dual- and quad-channel memory configurations. Asus’ P9X79 was retained from our previous case round-up, with an upgraded C2-stepping Core i7-3760X CPU.

Due to its 100 MHz base clock, the P9X79 motherboard sets G.Skill’s old DDR3-2200 CAS 9 to DDR3-2133 CAS 9-11-9-28. We used the same memory and timings for our DDR3-1600 C9 test. Our reduced-latency configuration uses this memory at DDR3-1600 CAS 7-9-7-21.

If you own a pair of Radeon HD 7970 graphics cards, there's a good chance you're looking to game at 2560x1600 or better. We started at 1920x1080 and worked our way up to 5760x1080.

Results: 3DMark And Aliens Vs. Predator

Though it doesn’t represent the performance of a real-world game, 3DMark does give us an easy way to compare numbers with enthusiasts and their systems. It also shows us that the Physics test runs slower as memory data rate drops. This makes sense, since the Physics suite taxes all available processing cores. Starving them of data is a surefire way to reduce their performance.

Aliens vs. Predator demonstrates negligible differences between our various memory configurations, even as its moderate 2560x1600 frame rate appears to be GPU-bottlenecked by a powerful pair of Radeon HD 7970 graphics cards.

Results: F1 2012 And Metro 2033

F1 2012 is actually the raison d’être for today’s test. We stumbled upon significant performance improvements as we turned up memory bandwidth and cut into latencies.

Conversely, Metro 2033 exhibits little performance difference between various memory configurations, likely as a result of its dependence on graphics muscle. We’ll take a closer look at its performance-over-time on the next page.

Metro 2033, Second By Second

Metro 2033 gives us a handy second-by-second FPS chart, but including this data for each of our 24 tests would only crowd the page. Instead, we're comparing the highest- and lowest-performing memory configurations, and included remaining charts in this article’s photo gallery.

When we target 40 FPS as the minimum for average performance, we’re actually trying to assure that the frame rate always stay above an instantaneous 20 FPS minimum. These cards can do that at Very High detail levels, even with memory operating at a modest DDR3-1600 CAS 9.

Unfortunately, we can’t reliably maintain a playable frame rate at 4800x900 using Very High detail levels. We’ll need to turn-down the eye candy to reach 5760x1080.

Metro 2033 performance dips mostly in response to smoke or fog. Fortunately, those dips don’t jam-up gameplay at 5760x1080 when we disable MSAA. It is a little disturbing that the valleys are lower in the quad-channel memory configuration, though. With more bandwidth, we'd expect better minimums, not worse.

Results: Battlefield 3 And Skyrim

The performance variations in Battlefield 3 are too small to attribute to configuration differences. So far, it looks like cheap DDR3-1600 is a bargain.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim benefits from faster or quicker RAM, but those benefits decrease as resolution is increased and graphics load goes up.

Battlefield 3, Frame By Frame

Frame times are far more telling than average frame rates, because slow frames are what break up the immersion of a realistic title, causing you to lose focus, hit a wall, or get fragged. When we require an average of 40 FPS average or at least 20 FPS, we’re actually trying to make sure that no single frame appears on our screen longer than 50 milliseconds. In this test, lower is better (quicker).

Games often start out choppy, but in this case, that choppiness coincides with Fraps firing up. Fortunately, none of those stutters last 50 ms or more.

Skyrim, Frame By Frame

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim shows us frame times under 50 ms until we reach 5760x1080, where all memory configurations become equally problematic.

Although average performance drops when we enable Skyrim's Ultra detail level, frame times also even out as well. We see only one disqualifying frame per configuration, and we could probably live with it.

Power, Average Performance, And Efficiency

Since it didn't involve overclocking, we were able to drop our DDR3-1600 C9 configuration to 1.50 V, shaving a few watts off our system’s power consumption.

Unfortunately, that lower data rate also negatively impacts our average performance results.

Intel XMP, or Extreme Memory Profiles, are an automatic overclocking configuration setting for memory. Because faster RAM yields better average gaming performance, system efficiency actually increases as we overclock memory.

Bandwidth And Latency Matter, Sometimes

Two out of five game tests, F1 2012 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, showed us that that both bandwidth and latency can influence frame rates significantly. Both variables appear equally important, too. We might have guessed we'd see the results we did; after all, both titles are already known to be less graphics-bound than the others.

On the other hand, Metro 2033, Battlefield 3, and Aliens vs. Predator demonstrated no changes at all. The performance of the first two titles is most consistently associated with the speed of a given machine's graphics subsystem, so it makes sense that we don't see a big impact from memory bandwidth or timings. And when it comes to the high frame times that impose perceived choppiness, those appear tied exclusively to graphics performance, not memory throughput or latency.

Getting back to the games that were affected by memory performance, only one title exhibited differences significant enough to be noticeable during real-world play. Even then, the average frame rates were so high that your eyes (and displays) would need to be about twice as fast as ours to realize the real-world benefits of faster RAM.

The game in question, F1 2012, consistently averages more than 100 FPS, yet also scales well with memory improvements. Really, that's only important to sustain if you're using AMD's HD3D and Eyefinity technologies at the same time, encouraging frame rates two times the 60 Hz refresh rate of most monitors. If you don't have a trio of stereo-enabled screens, large performance bumps above and beyond already-high frame rates are really only good for bragging rights.

Immersion in gaming is something developers have sought to accomplish since the advent of 3-D graphics and advanced polygons. Tactile feedback is important for humans to identify with activities and situations.

Many companies, such as Immersion, use haptic feedback in video game controllers to convey a sense of inclusion. While other companies like TN Games, develops more radical equipment to enhance “the realism of entertainment media through advanced sensory experiences.”

TN Games recently announced that it is developing a force-feedback helmet that will function with their already released 3rd Space Gaming Vest. The HTX helmet is designed to deliver “blows to the head when you are fired upon.” TN Games promises players a level of immersion in their games never before felt. The ability to feel bullets whiz by your head or the feeling of a “headshot” would certainly bring a new level of fear to your games.

The technology behind TN Game’s force feedback products is a small air compressor system that inflates/deflates air pockets inside the gaming gear that delivers up to five pounds of force per actuator. According to TN Games, five pounds of force feels similar to dropping a roll of pennies six inches above your stomach. Each actuator is capable of independent firing rates and force. The specifics are being controlled via TN’s proprietary software drivers in conjunction with supported games.

TN Games insists that the Gaming Vest and the HTX Helmet are both safe, fun and poses no physical danger as long as it’s being used according to instructions. We are not sure if such level of immersion is necessary for you to fully enjoy a game of Call of Duty but if you are so inclined and prefer a side of pain to your entertainment, the 3rd Space Gaming Vest can be purchased directly from TN Games for $139.99 USD in three different styles and colors. The HTX Helmet is currently still in development but has an expected release sometime in 2009.