If you’re into the vast world of PC gaming and by its extension, PC building, you have probably come across the names Corsair or Origin PC. Both the companies are well known within the desktop gaming community and offer varying degrees of gaming technology and peripherals. Now, Corsair in an official statement has confirmed its move to acquire Origin PC.
For those unfamiliar, Corsair is a company that is known for its gaming peripherals such as headsets, PC cases, RGB fans, RAM and much more. Essentially, if one is looking to build a custom PC, they will stumble upon Corsair. On the other hand, Origin PC is a company that sells pre-built high-performance gaming rig which helps skip much of the hassles of getting into PC gaming. Furthermore, Corsair’s acquisition of Origin PC does not, in fact, change a lot on the business operations side. The pre-built computer manufacturer will remain as a separate brand under Corsair and will still handle warranties, product support and purchases in the future.
Additionally, Corsair will still produce its own separate system like the Corsair One even after acquiring a well-known name in the pre-built PC industry. However, there will be certain changes that will be made to Origin PC’s various gaming builds. Corsair will incorporate its iCue software into the computers that will offer a system-wide lighting synchronization and system monitoring. By its extension, even the Hydro X series custom cooling solutions will soon be seen in Origin PC builds in the near future.
The press statement is big news in the gaming world as mergers always lead to more collaborations and innovation. Gamers can expect to see more added customisation options to soon be available on Origin PC gaming builds. Notably, Corsair acquired Elgato, known for its capture cards for streaming, back in 2018 so we are seeing a pattern of acquisitions. Stay tuned for more information related to gaming on iGyaan.
Reiterating on what was said before, it is the perfect time to be a PC gamer. NVIDIA had announced its RTX SUPER series cards at Computex 2019 and will mark the first refresh of its latest-gen graphics cards. Historically, Team Green has always led the charts in performance over its competitors. Even with the vanilla RTX series cards, the company has managed to stay ahead of any new-gen graphics cards released by AMD. We have already reviewed the RTX 2070 SUPER and now we see how the RTX 2080 SUPER holds up in its comparison.
Notably, the RTX SUPER series will replace their vanilla versions except the RTX 2060. Both standard RTX 2070 and 2080 will cease production to make room for the nominally faster SUPER variants. The review will follow a similar format as the prior tests and feature multiple categories to give detailed information to our readers.
Design
One of the key defining design element that the RTX 20 SUPER series feature is a new mirror finish on the steel front. The metallic texture is extremely reflective and houses the new name of the new SUPER GPU. RTX 2080 SUPER features a dual fan set up which is a welcoming change over the GTX 10 series single blower style fans. It enables a better thermal management system overall. The side houses GeForce RTX branding which is backlit by a green LED providing the graphics card with a minimalistic yet attractive aesthetic. We appreciated the sleek design, however, the design may vary depending on which 3rd party you buy it from. The version we tested was the Founder’s Edition sold directly by NVIDIA. Users can also expect triple fan variants from other retailers like Zotac, Gigabyte, MSI and much more.
Synthetic Benchmark
Users should keep in mind synthetic benchmarks record raw performance which does not always translate to a real world performance in games. Nevertheless, synthetic benchmarks do allow for better measurement of graphics cards productivity capabilities like video editing and rendering for professionals.
Geekbench 4 In Geekbench, the OpenCL benchmark has the RTX 2080 SUPER receiving a 300,000 score. The score is 10-15% boost over its predecessor the RTX 2080 but a significant bump over the RTX 2070 SUPER. Interestingly, the RTX 2080 SUPER sits right above the RX 5700 XT from AMD and below the RTX 2080 Ti.
Time Spy Time Spy test under the 3DMark benchmarking software tested the RTX 2080 SUPER on a 1440p resolution. The result was a score of 10,227 and a 60+fps average; it is a nominal bump over its predecessors as even the 2070 SUPER came really close with comparable performance. We observed a similar trend across benchmarks with 2080 SUPER sitting in between the 2080 Ti and 2070 SUPER.
Time Spy Port Royal (Ray Tracing) 3DMark also offers a special benchmarking tool that can put the ray-tracing capable NVIDIA cards to the test. Port Royal with DXR enabled offered a score of 6185 with an average fps nearing 28.86fps. Its a minor improvement over the RTX 2070 SUPER which nears the 6000 marks as well and trails behind the RTX 2080 Ti that scored over 7000.
MSI Kombsutor (Stress Test) MSI Kombustor is a stress testing app that runs a rendering frame for the GPU to measure its endurance during load. The RTX 2080 SUPER reached 90% usage and during a 15-minute run, it barely crossed the 80-degree mark during our test. The frame rate counter sat stably at 280-290fps with no signs of thermal throttling.
Gaming Benchmarks
PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds PUBG was tested on 3 different resolutions while being set on the highest graphical settings possible. At 1080p the game performed admirably with framerates crossing 140fps; while On 1440p, the game managed to average around 120fps with occasional drops to 100fps during explosions in an open environment. 4K or 2160p saw the card take a massive hit in performance but still put out a stable and smooth 60fps on the high native resolution.
Battlefield V Similar to PUBG, Battlefield V was also run on three different resolutions to see any notable difference in performance. RTX 2080 SUPER managed to score an average of about 150fps while at 1440p it managed only about 100fps. All the settings were focused for the best graphical fidelity possible and 4K performance reached a stable 70fps.
Metro Exodus Metro Exodus was a title launched with support for NVIDIA’s latest ray-tracing technique. It was one of the first game to do so and we tested the game with DXR settings on at 1080p. When the game ran on 1080p and DXR off, we saw an average of 140fps at maximum settings. After DXR is turned on we see a notable hit in performance and the game drops to an average of 90 fps and when DLSS was turned on the performance got bumped to 120fps. At 1440p, the RTX 2080 SUPER managed to churn out an impressive average of 130fps and even managed to offer a stable 60fps on 4K native resolution.
Cooling & Noise
NVIDIA is renowned for a better thermal management solution over any of its competitors. Team Green has optimised its cards for optimal performance without overheating at all times. The MSI Kombustor test was a good wat to test it out and during loads, the GPU managed to hit the 80 degree Celsius mark with fans running on 57-58dBa audio levels. On idle, the card is still pretty audible at 52-53dBa and has a temperature within the 40-50 degree Celsius range during rest. All in all the RTX 2080 SUPER is a powerful card which should rarely face thermal throttling during peak gaming operations.
Driver Support
The GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER graphics card is the latest entry in the RTX SUPER series and is bound to receive the latest drivers. NVIDIA has already announced drivers for popular AAA game titles prior to the actual launch. The support will enhance graphical fidelity during gameplay and will also complement its ray-tracing solutions for great visuals. The list of the latest game titles that have been optimised by NVIDIA includes Wolfenstein: Youngblood and Madden NFL 20. Both games are the latest instalment in their respective franchises; a free copy of Youngblood will be available with the purchase of any RTX SUPER series graphics card from NVIDIA.
Price & Conclusion
NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER is available for a price tag of INR 61,400 in India (USD 599 in the US). Buyers should note that the above-mentioned price is for the Founder’s Edition from NVIDIA. The graphics card will be sold by various 3rd party retailers such as MSI, Zotac, Gigabyte, and many more may carry a slightly different price tag. For more information regarding availability, readers can check out NVIDIA’s official website; for those who wish to buy peripherals for an even greater gaming experience can also check out NVIDIA’s G-sync monitors.
The RTX 2070 SUPER retails for the INR 43,600 and USD 499 and offers performance on par with the RTX 2080. The tests have shown that the RTX 2080 SUPER offers only a marginal boost of performance over the last iteration. An average of 10-15% increase in performance is observed all the while carrying an additional INR 20,000. It is strongly recommended for people who are leaning more towards 1440p or 1080p gaming with ray tracing enabled to go for the RTX 2070 SUPER. The card is a powerful contender at a reasonable price point and should offer similar performance to its elder sibling. If gaming enthusiasts do wish to spend extra for the sweet 4K 60fps then look no further than the RTX 2080 SUPER.
Falling in line with the rapidly booming video game craze, the Indian Air Force has announced the IAF mobile game for Android and iOS platforms with a patriotic agenda. The official Twitter account of Indian Air Force has shared a short teaser that hints what to expect from the game which will be available for download soon.
Storyline and Gameplay
The teaser of the IAF mobile game initiates with a scene of a fighter pilot along with an aircfraft that seems to be the Russia made “MIG 21”. Coincidentally, the animated pilot in video game resembles ‘Abhinandad Varthaman’ Wing Commander of the Indian Indian Air Force. For readers who do not know the, the said Indian official was held captive for 60 hours in Pakistan after his aircraft was shot down in an aerial dogfight, earlier in 2019.
Speaking of gameplay, the IAF game has a wide variety of aerial vehicles including fighter jets, bomber planes and even helicopters. The players who are virtually flying these vehicles can control them via on screen controls and performs actions like aerial acrobats and shooting down planes of enemies.
In addition to the entertainment aspect, the IAF game also boasts of praiseworthy skills of real life Air force pilots and planes like refuelling while in mid air. Overall, it is a action packed game which will be a huge hit amongst old and young alike. Although it has not been revealed, the came is assumed to lack any in-app purchases like conventional games that are developoed by professional game studios.
The IAF mobile game will be available for download from the 31st of July for both Android and iOS. At the time of initial launch, the game will be limited to single player mode only, however, a multiplayer version is also planned which will roll out in the following weeks.
All in all, this is a worthy move from the Indian Air Force, as the game will not only entertain players but it will also spread awareness amongst youngsters are deriven by such games like PUBG. Subseqeuently it may even motivate it players to become a part of the presitigious Armed Forces in the future.
A couple of months ago, Activision the publisher behind the famous Call of Duty franchise announced its latest iterations. The new game is being called Call of Duty Modern Warfare which is a reboot of the original trilogy that was beloved by gamers. The original trailer that was revealed had seen the return of the series favourite Captain Price. Since then, a lot of hype has garnered for what people call, ” the game that will revive the Call of Duty games again.”
Now, Infinity Ward, the original developer behind one of the most popular first-person shooter game has dropped a new trailer and unveiled a new multiplayer game mode.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty Modern Warfare is a boots to the ground iteration of the popular franchise. It means that the game will no longer have its premise based on either the second World War or some sci-fi futuristic world; a theme common with the past iterations of the video game. The latest entry in the series will rather focus on the ‘Ugly Truth’ of war. A primary focus of the game will be the implications of global violence, terrorism as well as personal impact on the characters. Players are no longer simply in the shoes of a badass military character, but one with emotional depth and a sense of morality.
Multiplayer: Gunfight
The first trailer for Call of Duty Modern Warfare arrived on 30th May and revealed the first look of the game in all its glory. Now, Infinity Ward has uploaded the first look of its new multiplayer game mode on YouTube. Gunfight is the latest game mode to be incorporated in the game and will feature a 2 versus 2 man quick play style of gameplay. Team of 2s need to eliminate the enemy teams to win a round and the first to 6 wins the game. The game features small maps that are long in length but narrow in width. It’s a symmetrical map with both teams spawning on either end; players have about 3 routes from which they can attack the opposing team.
The upcoming Call of Duty Modern Warfare is the 16th instalment in the massively successful franchise and will be playable on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Call Of Duty fans rejoice as their favourite franchises latest instalments drop in the arriving 25th of October. Since the game is heavily influenced by dark and realistic themes and depictions it may not be a suitable fit for all ages. It will be a bleak representation of the reality of our time and technology. Stay tuned on iGyaan for more information regarding more popular games.
The battle royale genres explosive success can be credited to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds single handedly. PUBG took note of other games that featured similar game mechanics and made its own formula which is successful till this day. The game launched on May 2018 and has since become one of the most popular online multiplayer game with millions of active players. PUBG Corp, the company behind PUBG, is now kicking off its 4th season which was announced via a trailer on YouTube which also hints at the back story and in-game lore which was also teased previously.
What’s New?
Eragnel, the map that started it all receives additional love from the developers. PUBG PC’s first map is receiving major design refresh with season 4. PUBG Corp has stated that the update brings Eragnel more in line with the other maps that were offered later. In the new update, Eragnel will receive new buildings, a revamped terrain and improved graphical fidelity. A new car radio is also being added for improved driving experience. The update will carry balancing changes and tweaks to its various weapons and vehicles. The biggest change arrives with gamers now being able to heal and boost when they are moving.
Before (L) and After (R)
The new changes will now carry the history of the island which was turned into a battlefield. The map now carries abandoned tanks, artillery, trenches, shoreline barriers and came netting spread across the landscape. Notably, structures on the map show more damage indicating of battles fought in the past. Furthermore, the company is also reducing grass density in the map alongside saturation and overall brightness after listening to player feedback.
Story & Narrative Stand Point
We have all wondered as to the backstory behind the famous battlegrounds. Why must 100 people drop in with nothing and scour for weapons? Why must they fight and win? Is it a sport or a game? These questions will naturally arrive. PUBG seems awfully similar to movies like Hunger Games, however, the creator of the game has stated that he specifically took notes from a Chinese movie named Battle Royale. Similar to the game, the movie had a bunch of people fight it out on an island, only twist, they were all students trapped by their sadistic teacher.
The latest trailer sees the game moving towards a cinematic story narration, a first for the franchise. Previously, we had covered rumours on a standalone story driven PUBG game; but the feature might just end up in the main PC game. According to the trailer, the narrator is the one behind his, “BattleGrounds.” Apparently, the antagonist or mastermind behind the brutal blood sport is a man who originated from Eragnel.
A war tore his home apart and he witnessed much bloodshed and death when he was younger. He is supposedly the only survivor of the violent skirmish and became a powerful person which gave him the inspiration for the last man standing formula in his games. There is a possibility that similar to online streaming, a future exists where fatal sports is viewable online, similar to the movie Death Race.
The new update arrives on 24th July for PC and later on in the summer for its Console counterparts. It will bring a much needed breath of fresh air to PUBG’s gameplay and adds on the possibility of story integration. We can soon expect lore related missions being offered in the game. Stay tuned for more related articles and videos.
Nintendo is one of the big names in the gaming industry. The company has been shelling out iconic gaming franchises and popular consoles for decades. Now, the hot word in the gaming world is online game streaming. The service has existed for a while now but Google’s announcement of Stadia has started a new arms race. Many giants in the electronics industry, namely Microsoft and Sony, have already started their own respective services while Nintendo previously mentioning no immediate shift towards online gaming.
According to a new report, however, Nintendo just might finally enter the online realm of gaming with Nintendo Switch Do.
Just a couple of days ago, the Nintendo Switch Lite was unveiled to the world; it was an affordable version of the original Switch minus the modularity and TV support. Now, a new trademark application hints at Nintendo planning to introduce some form of online game streaming on its Switch platforms. The report arrives after the company was seen branching out its business to Israel, where they had filed the application.
The company was seen introducing a new name, Nintendo Switch Do, on the trademark application; what it exactly is and how it works is still uncertain. What can be gathered from the description provided is that it could possibly be an “entertainment service, provide downloadable games, a portable game with LCD screen and handheld games.”
The move could arrive to make the Nintendo Switch series all the more attractive and approachable for prospective buyers. For example, Nintendo Switch Online was introduced last year as an online multiplayer gaming subscription service. It is clear the company is going to continue its Switch series for the foreseeable future and is probably introducing the Switch Do to compliment its handheld gaming console. Unfortunately, finer details are currently unavailable and only an official announcement from the company can shed some light on the matter. Stay tuned for updates.
It is one of the best times to be a PC gamer. Both team green and team red have just unveiled its GPU lineups and they are a piece of work. AMD has seemingly kicked off this pseudo arms race of producing affordable yet powerful graphics card in the market. The Computex 2019 keynote had no doubtedly stirred NVIDIA to launch its SUPER cards just 10 months after its RTX lineup. It would mark the shortest reign of any team green generation. Now, we will see how the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER holds true from the company’s promises.
The RTX lineup from NVIDIA is being replaced by the new RTX SUPER series after AMD had apparently surpassed some of its cards. Team green claims that a noticeable 15-20% boost in performance will be seen across the board by SUPER cards over the vanilla RTX series. The review will be divided into different categories to cover all of the bases.
Design
NVIDIA has moved over from its angular centric cosmetics that it had featured with its past iterations of GTX 10 series cards. Team green has matured with its latest RTX cards that have an elegant and streamlined design philosophy. The GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER features a twin fan blade set up at the front which is housed in a mirror sheen metallic body. Notably, the last gen GTX cards features only a single blower fan setup. A rectangular shape is what we associate with any GPU design but the precision cut steel brick aesthetics have a unique charm to them. The front and the back carry the branding while the side has an LED backlit version of the same. All in all a great fit for minimalistic gamers after a plain aesthetics build.
Synthetic Benchmark
It should be noted that synthetic benchmark records raw performance and does not always translate to better performance in game. However, for productivity purposes these tests do matter and we have ran tests on the following benchmarking softwares.
Geekbench: In Geekbench, the OpenCL benchmark has the RTX 2070 SUPER receiving a 270,000 score. The score is reportedly a 10-15% boost over its predecessor the RTX 2070.
MSI Kombustor: The MSI benchmark is mainly to stress test the GPU to measure throttling or loss in framerates during the test. It averaged around a stable 460fps in the 10 minute test of the benchmarking software with no signs of throttling whatsoever.
PCMark 10: The RTX 2070 SUPER achieved a score of 5279 pitting it in the same scoring range as the last gen GTX 1080 Ti and vanilla RTX 2080; and a bit over last years RTX 2070.
Gaming Benchmarks
NVIDIA RTX 2070 SUPER is an upper range graphics card after all, so the focus on the test will be on the 4K range as it is more than capable of dishing out 120+ FPS at max settings on 1080p for most games. So, to see how the sub $500 video card performs we had every game set to its highest possible settings, this includes V-Sync & Motion Blur being turned off on the high resolution. Anti-Aliasing will be turned on to the highest as well to see just how far the card can go. We have tested the GPU on the following games by using NVIDIA’s proprietary benchmarking software FrameView.
Wolfenstein II: The NewColossus: Historically, the Wolfenstein franchise have been optimised for AMD graphics card. However, the RTX 2070 SUPER showcased great performance at 4K. We observed the game averaging around 70fps with occasional dips to low 60s and jumps to 80fps. No input lags or stutters were recorded during the testing and the performance held relatively stable even during the most intensive fire fights and explosions.
PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds: One of the most popular multiplayer game has had many issues regarding stability and frame rate in its performance. In our tests, the game on the highest graphical settings averaged 55fps for the most part. Notably, in door environments and gun fights were closer to 60 fps; while we saw dips to high 40s when out in the open which looked rather stunning. Minor input lag was observed during the red zone bombardment.
Apex Legends: Apex Legends, similar to PUBG, has been infamous for random frame drops and stutters during high intensive gameplay. Since the game is based on Valve’s Source Engine (also powering CS:GO & DOTA 2), capable rigs are known to power through even on the highest settings. NVIDIA’s 2070 SUPER ran the game really well with averages on 60fps which occasionally faced stutters dropping it to low 50s and indoor scenes bumping it to the 70s. For the most part, the game ran smooth even on the highest setting at 4K.
Cooling & Noise
NVIDIA’s graphics card are known to traditionally consume lesser power, have lower temps and run quieter over its competitors. It holds true in this regards as well. The GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER reached the lower 79 degrees Celsius during our stress tests. With prolonged use 80+ degree Celsius is possible but it is highly unlikely that most users would hit those high temperatures. The fans on the Founder’s Edition reached 54-56dB under heavy load and are as capable of any triple fan iterations that are sold from other brands like MSI or Gigabyte. Due to efficient draw of power and the subsequent cooler temps, the fans run less harder and also make less noise. It is one of the better video cards if cooling and noise are users concern.
FrameView
NVIDIA has just unveiled a new integrated frame benchmarking & power mapping tool by the name of “FrameView”. The new software enables accurate real-time information regarding game performance like FPS and average FPS across multiple percentile, power drawn from the board, completely customisable overlay and even a log file for analytics. The feature is currently in beta and can be downloaded directly from NVIDIA’s official website. Notably, the software was used to obtain gaming benchmarks seen above for this review.
Price & Conclusion
The cryptocurrency mining fad had left the PC components market in disarray and we finally see a great comeback being made from the company. AMD and NVIDIA are neck in neck in the mid range GPU market which only encourages competition that benefit consumers. We strongly recommend this card to gamers that are looking for great performances at a reasonable price tag.
The upper range card is being sold for $499 (INR 43,600 in India) with various 3rd party versions also being available. Considering the launch price of the vanilla RTX 2070 ($599) and the last gen flagship GTX 1080 Ti ($699), the NVIDIA RTX 2070 SUPER is well worth its price for the competitive performance offered. Hence, the launch of this card also shifts the price range of upper range GPUs to a lower cost of entry.
It’s a great day to be a gamer! Amazon has launched its Prime Day sale. The online retailer is offering a large variety of its listed products at extremely competitive prices. It also includes some great deals on gaming laptops which will be largely appreciated by Indian gamers. We have compiled a list of top 5 best gaming laptops which offer great value for money.
ASUS TUF Gaming FX570
Asus had unveiled its TUF series of gaming laptops back in 2018. For the most part, its lineup offered competitive specifications in comparison to its competitors at reasonable prices; it will make multiple appearances later down on the list. The Asus TUF Gaming FX570 is the most affordable gaming laptop currently listed on Amazon for is Prime Day sales. It offers a 15.6 inch display that will be powered by NVIDIA GTX 1050 4GB VRAM variant for gaming purposes. The laptop features i5-8250U Intel Core CPU alongside 8GB RAM and 1TB HDD. It is being sold for INR 47,990 on Amazon’s Prime Day sales.
Pro:
One of the most affordable gaming laptop currently available.
Reliable specs for smooth gaming on popular games like CS:GO, Rainbow Six Siege, PUBG Lite and DOTA 2.
Reasonable offering of RAM & ROM configurations alongside display size.
Cons:
Will have trouble running more demanding games like PUBG PC, and other modern AAA gaming titles of recent years.
The laptop does not feature a high powered gaming processor or H variant, rather the low powered U variant from Intel
ASUS TUF Gaming FX505DT
The TUF gaming laptop from Asus offers few of the best features for a highly lucrative price tag. It features a 15.6 inch FHD display which has a surprising refresh rate of 120Hz. The gaming laptop offers NVIDIA’s latest GeForce GTX 1650, the latest generation budget GPU that will replace the GTX 1050. It also features the AMD’s Ryzen 3-3550H CPU with 8GB RAM and 1TB HDD. All in all it is a great buy for the price of just INR 55,990 on Amazon’s Prime Day sales.
Pros:
120Hz display, a rarity among budget gaming laptops.
Great price to specifications offered ratio.
Powerful AMD CPU with NVIDIA’s latest budget yet powerful GPU.
Cons:
Hitting 120 fps on some games might be difficult and users may have to drop graphical settings or even resolution, sacrificing visual fidelity for performance.
MSI Gaming GL63 9RDS-864IN 2019
MSI is a well recognised brand in the PC gaming industry. It is renowned for being a provider for PC components and gaming peripherals. The GL63 offers a 15.6-inch FHD display that runs on the 9th Gen Intel Core i5 CPU. The laptop features NVIDIA’s GTX 1050 Ti GPU with 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD storage offering. It is available for INR 59,990 Amazon’s Prime Day sales.
Pros:
i5-9300H is a powerful laptop processor.
Fast SSD storage will help with quicker booting time and loading big games.
GTX 1050 Ti is a popular and reliable GPU.
Cons:
512GB is still underwhelming as a storage option and user might need to add on a separate HDD.
The more powerful GTX 1650 would’ve been a better offering.
ASUS TUF Gaming FX504
Asus TUF Gaming FX504 is one of the pricier gaming laptop in the list, but offers specs to validate the price tag of INR 64,990 on Amazon’s Prime Day sales. It offers a 15.6 inch FHD display with the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti. The laptop features i5-8300H with 8GB of RAM. Notably, the configuration offers a pair of 1TB SSHD + 256GB SSD offering. An SSHD is a faster than an HDD but slower than the SSD. The inclusion of both only makes it a great performer at base levels.
Pro:
Amazing specs offered at great pricing.
The SSHD and SSD are a great plus point
8th Gen Intel Core i5 CPU and GTX 1050 Ti are a reliable pair.
Cons:
The GTX 1650 should’ve been offered at this price.
Cheaper laptop offers the 9th Gen Intel CPU.
ASUS TUF Gaming FX504 1060 Variant
It is essentially the same laptop as the aforementioned laptop we have just listed, however with a notable jump in performance and price. The gaming laptop offers the most powerful GPU on the list with NVIDIA’s GTX 1060 6GB variant selling for INR 69,990 on Amazon’s Prime Day sales. It also features the same i5-8300H CPU with 1TB + 256GB storage configuration.
Pros:
It offers the most powerful graphical prowess in the entire list.
Fast storage with quick boot times and game loading times.
Cons:
Most expensive gaming laptop on the list.
9th Gen Intel Core CPU would’ve been a great addition.
We have provided the buying links for all the gaming laptops mentioned on the Amazon Prime Day sales. These laptops will all run the latest versions on Microsoft’s Windows 10. For more updates stay tuned on iGyaan website and stay active on our social medias profile. Do let us know in the comments below if you have purchased any of the aforementioned laptops.
One of the most popular franchise, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, has made various collaborations throughout its history. PUBG Corp was just seen offering unique skins on its original PUBG PC with purchase of any NVIDIA RTX Super cards. Now, its latest iteration under the battle royale genre, PUBG Lite, will team up with Reliance Jio to offer some unique cosmetics in game.
According to a new report, it has revealed that the company behind PUBG are collaborating with India’s Reliance Jio group. The partnership will see all Jio users that have registered for PUBG Lite receiving free and unique cosmetics items and skins in game exclusively. If you’re a Jio user, here is how to accept the rewards.
How To Register For The Reward
Users need to first visit Jio’s official gaming website and fill up a 2 step registration form.
After registration, users will receive a verification link on their registered email IDs.
Once verified, users will thereon receive another mail with a unique redemption code which can be claimed in game.
How To Redeem The Code
First, users must download and install the official launcher for PUBG Lite from the official website.
Once in game, users will have to navigate to the menu options and click on “Add Bonus/Gift Code.”
Lastly, users have to enter the unique code provided and click on redeem.
PUBG Lite is a toned down version of the original PC variant that started the massively successful multiplayer titles that we see and love today. The game features the same formula of the PC version with mechanics heavily influenced from PUBG Mobile. It is still in open beta, meaning it is still rough around the edges. However, the game is gaining in traction and could soon see explosive success as they did with the mobile iteration. PUBG Lite is catered for a broader audience and will run on most low specced PC and laptops.
Nintendo is one of the most recognisable name in the gaming industry. The company is famous for its popular game title like Mario to even its consoles like the legendary NES. Now, the company has announced the launch of its latest portable gaming console catered to a more affordable range of audiences. The Switch Lite will be a smaller device that is exclusively built for handheld play.
Design & Features
The smaller iteration of the Nintendo Switch had been rumoured prior to its official announcement. The Switch Lite sports a 5.5 inch 720p display which is slightly smaller than the 6.2 inch found on the original. It is built on a compact form factor for exclusive hand held gaming. In other words, users cannot remove the side controllers as you could before since the design isn’t built with modularity in mind. This also implies users sacrifice the option to connect to a TV or play certain popular games on the Switch Lite. The device does not feature a light sensor so brightness must be adjusted manually.
Nintendo claims that the Switch Lite offers better battery life than the original Switch. The portable gaming console can play almost every game than the original could apart from the ones that specifically involved the Switch Joy-Cons being removed or played on portrait. The company will build prompts on its online shop to lets users know which games are not compatible with the Lite version. It is built on a single piece which means most of the body is a single colour such as yellow, grey, turquoise and even a Pokémon Sword and Shield edition. The device has a matte finish on its compact form factor.
Price & Availability
The Nintendo Switch Lite will be sold for $199 which is $100 cheaper than its elder sibling. It is priced lower for a streamlined Switch experience with fewer features and certain inflexibilities. For the lower price users also skip out on TV compatibility, Tablet mode, HD Rumble and IR Motion Camera. However, it would not discourage its prospective buyers that are loyal to the Nintendo ecosystem.
Switch was a popular portable console that had won hearts across the globe. The new Switch Lite from Nintendo intends to do the same while banking on the popularity of its original iteration. Its new lower price point will make the price of entry more approachable in many different countries like India. Updates regarding the device’s launch in India will be provided soon as and when more informations is available.
Asus is well renowned for its Republic Of Gaming sub-brand that offers gaming machines or gaming-related peripherals. The company has announced refreshing its ROG lineup in India with new releases in the Zephyrus and Strix ranges of gaming laptops. The company had updated the Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX01 and ROG Zephyrus S GX531 earlier this year in March. Now, Asus is introducing its newest iteration of the aforementioned laptops.
Asus ROG Zephyrus M GU502
The Asus ROG Zephyrus M GU502 is a Windows gaming laptop that sports a 15.6-inch FHD IPS Pantone display with a refresh rate of 144Hz and response time of 3ms. It is also equipped with the Intel’s 9th generation processors alongside NVIDIA GeForce 1660Ti graphics card. The GPU is tweaked for a max clock speed of 2100 MHz in Turbo mode with ROG Boost. The new gaming laptop features an “intelligent” cooling system with 83 blade fans.
It supports an ESS Sabre HiFi digital to analogue converter (DAC) with Hi-Res Audio certification and M.2 NVMe SSDs for up to 1TB of RAID 0 storage. Notably, the Zephyrus M can be charged through its USB-C port via a mobile power bank. The keys are backlit with RGB lighting and configuration allows for up to 32GB of RAM. Asus ROG gaming laptop offers up to 6 hours of battery life and weighs a light 1.9kg. Its starting price in India is INR 1,49,000.
Asus ROG Strix Range
Under Asus’ ROG Strix series of gaming laptops, new models have been unveiled for gaming enthusiasts. The ROG Strix Scar III and Hero III models are esports ready and feature a removable NFC module called Keystone. It allows gamers to move their saved profiles from one compatible laptop to another. The Keystone has a function that unlocks hidden storage areas on the owner’s laptop. The Scar III and Hero III have been launched in 15 inch and 17 inch variants that can be configured with either Intel’s 9th Gen i7 or i9 CPUs. Both laptops are offered 144Hz or 240Hz refresh rate display options. Due to its gaming nature, these laptops will have RGB LEF strips along with their bases with an RGB keyboard.
The Asus ROG Strix III G531 lineup is equipped with NVIDIA’s latest GeForce RTX 20 series graphics card ranging from the RTX 2060 to RTX 2070; while the Hero III sports an FTX 1660Ti video card. The laptops feature a 15.6 inch IPS display with up to 240Hz refresh rate offering and a 3ms response time. The laptops can be equipped with the latest Intel 9th Gen i9-9880H CPU with the same intelligent cooling system and RangeBoost algorithm for better connectivity. It can house up to 32GB of RAM and up to 1TB storage. These laptops weigh 2.395kgs and their prices start from INR 1,39,000.
Finally, the Asus ROG Strix G Edition G531 and G731 series of laptops offer a 120Hz display with a response time of 3ms. The gaming laptop feature a 9th Gen Intel i7-9750H CPU paired with up to NVIDIA GeForce 1650 GPU. The laptop will also include Intelligent cooling and RangeBoost algorithm. the ROG G531 has its prices start from INR 59,990 on Flipkart, while the G731 will sell for INR 79,990. The later will go on sale in the second half of July.
Asus ROG PC range
Asus has also announced its range of gaming desktop PCs alongside its laptop counterparts. The Asus ROG Huracan G21CX, Asus ROG Strix GL12CX, and the Asus ROG Strix GL10CS desktops. The G21CX features up to NVIDIA RTX 2080 GPU with Intel Core i9 CPU on the Z390 motherboard which has overclocking capabilities. The gaming laptop will support up to 32GB RAM and offers 512GB M.2 SSD and 2TB storage. It will sport front and rear speakers with inbuilt WiFi, Bluetooth, Microphone and various USB ports and audio jacks. The machine is bundled with ROG Strix Flare keyboard and ROG Gladius II Mouse and starts from INR 1,99,990.
Asus ROG GL12CX PC packs the latest i9-9900K CPU which is factory overclocked to 5.1GHz. The laptop features NVIDIA’s RTX 2080Ti GPU alongside two M.2 SSDs and Intel Optane memory. It also offers up to 32GB RAM along with front and rear speakers. Under connectivity options, inbuilt Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, microphone, headphone jack, USB Type-C, USB Type-A ports are offered. The Asus ROG Strix GL12CX price in India starts from Rs. 1,49,990.
Finally, the Asus ROG GL10CS is a customisable desktop with CPU ranging from 9th Gen i5 to i7. The graphics card options go up to NVIDIA’s RTX 2060. It features two isolated air chambers for housing its CPU and GPU completely separate from its power supply unit; ensuring clean airflow and preventing heat generated from the CPU and GPU to affect the PSU and storage drives. The PC will support up to 8GB RAM with 256GB of M.2 SSD. The Asus ROG GL10CS PC starting price is INR 61,990.
Asus is offering a couple of great gaming machines in India. These laptops and desktops will cater to different categories and price segments. More options for gamers is always a good sign. It showcases the growth of the Indian gaming community in the global standards with companies placing more emphasis on the country with their products. Soon, we may begin to see more esports title tournaments being held in India as well.
Shooter games are one of the fundamental genres of the gaming industry. Popular titles like the Halo and Call Of Duty franchise are one of the founding pillars that led to its massive success. Unfortunately, the aforementioned titles and many more of the sort have gamers shell out a fair amount of money. Here is a list that’ll showcase amazing experiences to be had without ever spending any money.
Games such as Fortnite, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Team Fortress 2 will not be included. These games are already well known free to play shooters. The list will also focus on games capable of running on low-end PCs or even laptops.
PUBG Lite
PUBG Corp. has just launched the latest instalment in its battle royale focused franchise. The original PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds had seen massive success which had even carried forward to its free PUBG Mobile version. The game is in beta stages with polishing still required but in all intents and purposes is a true PUBG experience. It features watered-down textures and effects to have a broader audience similar to its Mobile version. Its key elements include:
Realistic gun mechanism and physics
Minimal size and system requirements
Indian Servers for a lag-free experience
Better graphical fidelity over PUBG Mobile emulator
The game is slowly gaining traction in India and has a positive impact on the Indian gaming community and culture. It can be played from both first-person and third-person perspective. Similar to its previous iterations it will also feature every map that has been released so far. PUBG Lite is available on PC through its official website.
Paladins: Champions Of The Realm
The year 2016 had seen the massive success of two genres, Battle Royale and Hero Shooter. Paladins from HiRez studio is a free to play first-person hero shooter with an emphasis on a team focused gameplay like Team Fortress 2 and Overwatch. The game is based in a fantasy world of magic and dragons. It is one of the top 20 most played games on Steam and has a healthy player base. Every character in the game is unique and has dedicated roles to perform in every game. If people wonder what makes it different from Overwatch that features arguably similar characters and game modes:
Free To Play
Unique Champions
In-depth card customisation and character modification options
Capable of running on low-end PCs
It is one of the more popular games on Steam and has game modes such as Team Deathmatch, Onslaught (Secure area) and Siege, where a team captures the objective and pushes it. However, Unlike the more popular Overwatch, Paladins does not have the same great graphical fidelity or mirror polish that accompanies a Blizzard Entertainment title. It is constantly updated with new characters, skins and limited-time game modes making it a must-try title. The game is available for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo via Steam.
Warframe
Does space sound enticing? Do Ninjas? Now, how about space fighting Ninjas. Warframe is a title that heavily marketed its space ninjas before its launch. It is a game based on the distant future where humanity has conquered the solar system and the biggest threats they now face are themselves with various ongoing faction and allegiance fighting over dominance. The game involves a hack and slash melee gameplay mixed with fluidic gunslinging action from a third-person perspective. The game currently holds one of the top 5 players based on Steam. Key gameplay elements include:
In-depth character customisation
Faction wars and Special Events
Fluidic Parkour movement across air, walls and ground.
Amazing Gunplay and Special attacks
Game is a looter shooter where the player can grind daily.
The game is developed by Digital Extreme game studio which is well renowned for its healthy relations with its gaming community. It is constantly updated and new features and cosmetics are always added. Warframe is available on PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One And PC via Steam.
Realm Royale
Realm Royale is a battle royale game with a unique twist in the formula. It is another game developed by HiRez Studios and adds its unique hero shooter formula to a larger map game mode. In the game 100 players drop in after preselecting their class which allows them to have special abilities or buffs in certain areas. This also includes the weapon choices that can be crafted in-game rather than constantly having to loot. The game, unlike most other battle royale titles, promotes engaging in fights rather than avoiding them to be the last man standing. Its key elements are:
Unique class systems
Class-based abilities, perks and weapons
You turn into a Chicken when downed and are auto revived after a minute
Players can summon a horse for traversing the large maps.
The game had initially taken off when it was first launched back in 2018 and had a numerous big streamers and people playing the game. Unfortunately, the game isn’t as popular as it used to be but still has a good amount of player base. The game is available on PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PCs via Steam.
Splitgate: Arena Warfare
Splitgate: Arena Warfare is a multiplayer first-person shooter that uses player-controlled portals to open a new gameplay mechanic in a first-person multiplayer shooter game. Ever had a pesky camper spawn camp? No problem shoot a portal behind him then gun him down via portals. The game places heavy emphasis on the old arena shooter like Unreal Tournament or Quake. Its unique elements are:
Players can make portals to open different angles of attack and movement.
Jetpack! To open aerial combat into the mix.
Simple but sound shooting and movement mechanics
Completely free and is extremely easy to get into.
The game was launched to a welcoming audience and has a healthy playerbase. It is capable of running in various low-end PCs as well with a little tinkering. Splitgate is currently available on Steam for Xbox One and PC.
Comment below if you ever get a chance to try out any of the games. Give us your feedback as to what other gaming related information you’d like to receive. More updates similar to this and upcoming titles will be arriving soon. Stay tuned for more on the gaming world.
PUBG Mobile, the portable free version of the massively popular PC game, took India by storm. The game currently has one of its major demographics stem from the southeastern nation. It has become so popular among the youth that it’s its bad effects have started to show. A 17 year old boy in Jind, Haryana, has reportedly committed suicide after his mother prevented him from playing the game by taking away his phone.
India is not one of the major markets that video game studios target, however, PUBG Mobile’s success certainly did entice the industry. Major names like Activision are also seeking to focus more on the mobile gaming market to capture its broader potential audiences. Gaming has always existed in India, however, not having the same impact as the ones in countries like the US. But as India emerges in the gaming industry, so does its harmful effects. Issues like gaming addiction are bound to arise from popular games like PUBG Mobile.
According to a new report, the mother of the victim found the 17 year old hanging in his room the next morning after snatching away his phone. The deceased had reportedly dropped from school after the 10th grade a year prior to the incident and spent most of his time on PUBG Mobile. The boy’s father and mother had often scolded him for playing the game for hours on end. Such incidents are becoming a more common occurrence as last week a person was killed by his younger brother over the same game.
On the 6th of July, Jordan banned PUBG Mobile due to its reportedly negative effects on its citizens. The move was similarly reciprocated in Iraq, Nepal, and even the Indonesian province of Aceh and India’s Gujarat. Game addiction is now officially listed under mental disability category by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Initial rumours had claimed that Microsoft will take a new direction with its Xbox gaming consoles. Its latest generation of the console was speculated to arrive in two variants with one being beefier and higher spec than the other. That fell through after Microsoft’s E3 2019 keynote that did not feature a separate tag for a second console. A brand new report now claims that the weaker console was scrapped for an xCloud based console.
The new report may give both Sony and Google a run for their money. Sony’s PlayStation Now and PlayStation 5 and Google’s Stadia might have to rethink strategies and prices after the launch of both Microsoft consoles. Project Scarlett will be the flagship console of this generation from the company while an xCloud exclusive gaming console will be sold separately. The concept is similar to Stadia controllers which directly connects to users routers.
It seems that Microsoft is renewing its intent for a sister console according to the fresh report. An xCloud console is apparently in the works. Project xCloud is Microsoft’s proprietary take on the cloud game streaming service. The new service blew up on social media after Google had announced Stadia for the first time. It brought the existing cloud gaming service to mainstream media. The upcoming console will be a low powered machine as most of the computing hassles are taken care of by Microsoft’s own servers. It will be designed to give a low power and low latency experience designed specifically for a better gaming experience on the xCloud.
The new xCloud console could possibly sell for anywhere between the bracket of $60 to $100, not including the monthly subscription. It is a step away from the reduced graphics and performance variant of Project Scarlett. The console will be a bit more than a basic set-top box like Apple TV but will connect to an Xbox controller directly to xCloud for gaming. Finer details are still unavailable but more updates are expected to arrive soon.
The mainstream gaming term of the year can be coined under “Cloud Game Streaming.” Large corporations that are well renowned in the gaming community have already started the shift in focus towards hardware-less philosophy. The concept is not new by any means but Google’s announcement of Stadia clearly brought it to the mainstream medias’ attention. Now, Nintendo in a statement has addressed the implications of the new technology alongside its possible interests with it.
Multi-billion dollar corporations like Sony and Microsoft are already working on their own proprietary online service. The Window’s company has already announced the xCloud while the Sony will launch its PlayStation Now. Notably, both the companies already have their own major consoles, namely Xbox and PlayStation, which the service will seek to replace. Nintendo has been on the sidelines during the announcement of the aforementioned services, however, the company has not ruled it out entirely.
Nintendo, unlike Microsoft and Sony, has not revealed any involvement with the gaming buzz of the year. The company’s Switch which is a handheld portable gaming console offers much of the similar functions as the online game streaming service. One of the key selling points of cloud gaming is its portability; anyone with an internet connection can essentially game anywhere and on any device with a screen. Google Stadia was seen playing the popular gaming title Doom on the Pixel as an example.
Nintendo’s President was quoted saying that game streaming is still early but will soon catch on; the company will always strive to adapt to the dynamic gaming environment. Other top officials also stated that services like this cannot ever completely replace hardware-based consoles like the Switch. The company is rather open to future endeavours focused on cloud computing. It would help them bring its beloved title to more broader audiences across the globe.
The company is currently working on its subscription model that was teased at its E3 Gaming Expo Stage. It will review every product and offer the ones that are viable for the new business model to further expand its horizons. We might soon see one or another form of game streaming from Nintendo as a Switch was recently seen running popular AAA titles. The company while not actively promoting the service has discreetly tested games, like Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey on its handheld machine. Popular titles like Mario might be soon appearing with subscription-based models.
Metro Exodus was a title launched with support for NVIDIA’s latest ray-tracing technique. It was one of the first game to do so and we tested the game with DXR settings on at 1080p. When the game ran on 1080p and DXR off, we saw an average of 140fps at maximum settings. After DXR is turned on we see a notable hit in performance and the game drops to an average of 90 fps and when DLSS was turned on the performance got bumped to 120fps. At 1440p, the RTX 2080 SUPER managed to churn out an impressive average of 130fps and even managed to offer a stable 60fps on 4K native resolution.
