1

Hardware / Peripherals / The Armageddon Aquila: a cheap-ass Kana

« on: December 02, 2014, 11:19:53 am »

So Armageddon has a history of making legendarily shitty mice, save for one: the Aquila. This thing, for some bizarre reason, actually turned out to be really good for the price (around 3.5k). So, purely for the sake of comparison, I bought one. Here it is beside my old Roccat Lua.
 


Holy shit, it's a Kana

The shape's obvious. Steelseries took the Microsoft Intellimouse, made it flatter and called it their own ambidextrous shape. Armageddon did the same to Steelseries. Why spend on design when someone else is doing it for you, eh?

Size-wise, and it terms of feel, it's exactly like a rubberized Kana. It's not as large as the Sensei, not as small as the Kinzu, and very comfortable to hold. Minus a little bit of the build quality: you can see the light peeking out through the sides of the left and right click buttons. Even the underside is the same. Armageddon supplies you with extra teflon mouse feet that are almost a 1:1 match to the steelseries feet.

The reason I compare this to the Kana is because of its sensor. I took the mouse apart. Inside is a Pixart PAW3305DK sensor running at a maximum of 3200DPI.

Guess which mouse used the same sensor? The Steelseries Kana, v1. Some bugger over at Overclock.net even managed to replicate the pixel jump bug that affected some V1 Kanas. http://www.overclock.net/t/1333180/armageddon-aquila-review

Real-life usage

The blasted DPI switch turns green past 1600 DPI and the software is shitty rebranded OEM junk. You'd be better off writing your own. It looks shadier than Slim Shady.



As for me, I found the tracking at 800DPI acceptable with a slightly faster mouse speed in Windows, and again at 1600. 3200 seems a bit off I operate two monitors at two different resos, so that might be it. I settled for 1600 with a mouse speed one notch below normal. Make sure you turn off that "enhance pointer precision" option in Windows as this seems to introduce some odd acceleration into the mouse.

Final words
This thing is a Steal(series).  It literally is a Kana for much cheaper, and it's also very comfortable. I'm not surprised - Steelseries's sensors aren't anything special; their bling is more reliable performance and the build quality. If the Armageddon Kana (read: Aquila) lasts at least a year, it's totally worth the money. Next stop: introduce it to my cat.
 

2

No Game Zone / README.lk - SLCG - the Finale

« on: October 08, 2014, 03:09:28 pm »

Hey, all. We've realized quite a few of you drop by Readme.lk occasionally, but sometimes the stuff in there isn't appealing to everyone. Here's some stuff that I think you'll like. We'll keep this list updated.

Recent (updated 22/12/2014):  [/b]

The only thing that matters right now: SLCG: The finale

The stories of what happened, especially in Dota, and why three Xiphos players, one NA and one TM player joined hands to play as one team for League.

http://readme.lk/slcg-day-finals-jrc-maximums-joint-push-kades-impossible-moment/


Archived:

Best gaming mice for your money: Rs 5000+
We continued the hunting between 5K and 10K.
http://readme.lk/gaming-mice-money-part-two-rs-5000/

Best earphones for your money
The best stuff that you can find on SL streets within 1 to 7K,  with both budget and higher-end picks from the team.
http://readme.lk/earphones-money/

The Great Gaming Laptop shooutout
http://readme.lk/asus-msi-gigabyte-great-gaming-laptop-shootout/

We reviewed the Asus G56, a 220,000 rupee gaming laptop. Then Redline called and said they have three laptops that would like to take a crack at that ASUS. And so, meet four of the best gaming laptops in Sri Lanka - reviewed.

The Best Gaming Mice Under 5K
http://readme.lk/rs-1000-rs-5000-gaming-mice-money/
What can you find for under 5,000 bucks? A lot. Some of which you can laugh at, some of which might legitimately make you question why you're spending that much money on a gaming mouse.

http://readme.lk/pick-camera-beginners-guide/
^ Buying a camera? We hunted down some of Colombo's most popular photographers and compiled their advice into the beginner's guide here.

http://readme.lk/ellois-youre-for/
^ There's a new social network on the loose. It's called Ello, and we managed to get in for a look. Here's what we think of it.

http://readme.lk/opinion-sri-lankan-apps-suck/
^ Why Sri Lankan apps suck.

3

No Game Zone / The README podducastu [UPDATED]

« on: October 05, 2014, 09:54:14 am »

Hey, guys. A few weeks back we started a podcast - every Sunday, talking about the latest news in tech - in Sri Lanka and out of Sri Lanka. We've got enough positive feedback to be convinced to keep doing it. So, without further ado...here's the Readme podcast!
EP #1:

EP #2:

EP #3:


Suggestions, comments welcome. Anything you'd like us to rant about on the next one?

4

Classifieds / Playstation 4

« on: January 14, 2014, 11:58:23 am »

Hi folks. A friend of mine is bringing down Playstation 4's - brand new, complete and whole, for Rs 80,000.



It's a hell of a lot cheaper than the other places in SL (which are selling this at 99 thousand).

8 units were brought down yesterday and I believe 5 are already gone, so reserve ASAP.

PS: This is the 500GB / 1 Dualshock controller model.

5

Game Dev / Minecraft reMODeled

« on: August 05, 2013, 09:44:29 pm »

Everything actually started with this epic world the game randomly came up with for Zer0. This thing is a mountaineer's dream. Skyscraping mountains, floating islands everywhere: bordered on one side by snowy forest, on the other by swamp, with the sea running below. Plenty of charcoal lining the cliffs.

So we've been playing this world at Redline today, taking turns to do crazy stuff. Zer0 came up with that bunker on top of the mountain. I built the Grand Stairway to the floating island above the next mountain. Mahesh [DC Android] fell off said staircase, swam into a mine and tunneled all the way down into the earth, killing himself by landing on an albino spider in hiding (don't ask) and incidentally discovering a iron mine in the process. Oh, and we were hunted down by an Enderman. Eventful first day, eh?

I took the world home with me. I'll be modding and exploring it bit by bit. And taking it to work everyday, of course. I've discovered sand at sea level: we're going to build a glass penthouse at the end of the Stairway overlooking the entire world.


Floating chunks of rock


Mountains everywhere


I don't even know WHAT we're seeing in the distance, but we're going to find out


The Stairway. Big plans for this.

Currently infused with MCPatcher and Summerfields Texture Pack.
Seed: -6252543319687573623
Player spawn: -19, 64, 252 (from here it's just a short hop to the Stairway base)

6

Game Dev / Post your [GAME] mods here!

« on: August 03, 2013, 12:50:59 am »

It seems like we have quite a few GLK members interested in modding games! If you have any mods to share, feel free to post and discuss them here.

Most of you are already familiar with this (http://gamer.lk/index.php/topic,21803.0.html - the result of a certain amount of heavy tinkering my Sachi911 and myself)

In that vein -->

I've been recently lured back into the world of Minecraft. Time to start modding again!

For starters: texture packs! I don't like these countless "photo-realistic" texture packs out there: they looks great in screenshots but screw up the charm of Minecraft. This time went with Summerfield. http://www.9minecraft.net/summerfields-texture-pack/ Underrated but beautiful. I've used this once before in Minecraft 1.00: time to go get the update. Here are some old screenshots of mine with Summerfields (that's my two-storey house on top of the hill).

7

Classifieds / [BUYING] 1080p monitor

« on: August 02, 2013, 09:26:51 pm »

I'm interested in buying a used 1080p monitor. My only requirement is that it be in good condition and support DVI or HDMI: warranty is nice, but not essential. If you have one, please send me and offer with the model. Thanks.

8

Hardware / Peripherals / GTX 780 Overclocked to 1.85 Ghz

« on: July 20, 2013, 09:59:18 pm »

The GTX 780 has been overclocked, and has set a world record for single-GPU performance.


A team of overclockers from HKEPC -- Mad222, Stephen Yeong, John Lam, and Mr. Wong -- have set a world record for overclocking the GTX 780 graphics card. Using liquid nitrogen, they have managed to get the card to outperform even the dual-GPU Radeon HD 7990, using the single-chip GTX 780.

The clock speed they have achieved is 1855.2 MHz GPU; they got the memory running at an effective speed of 7.4 GHz. At these speeds the card scored a grand total of 41,180 points in the 3DMark Cloud Gate benchmark, which is a very, very respectable number, and according to other sources, even a world record for single GPU performance. For comparison, the GTX Titan scores about 27,000 points stock, and the Radeon HD 7990 scores around 32,000 points, all with a degree of variation depending on the configuration used.

The CPU used for the benchmark was an Intel Core i7-3960X, which was clocked at 5.5 GHz.

 - Toms Hardware

Initial post: http://www.hkepc.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=1972809&extra=page%3D1

9

Classifieds / [SOLD] EVGA GTX 580 Black Ops Edition

« on: June 20, 2013, 11:07:05 pm »

Selling: one EVGA GTX 580 Black Ops edition. It's a brand-new card - just recently got it as a warranty replacement for a dead 580, and hasn't been used since. Originally purchased from Techzone. No warranty left. Complete set available.

MAXIMUM power draw: 244 W. In this case you'll need a good 500 watt or decent 600 watt PSU to run it. Idle power consumption: 40-45 W.

Asking price: 25, 000. Somewhat negotiable. Drop your offers in a PM or comment.

10

Game Lounge / Torchlight going free!

« on: June 19, 2013, 12:37:11 am »

If you haven't played the excellent Diablo-esque game "Torchlight", here's a chance. Gog.com is giving it away free.

#NoDRM Summer: Get Torchlight FREE for 48 hours!

Every GOG.com user can grab a free copy of Torchlight until Thursday, June 20, at 12:59PM GMT.

The title says it all: to celebrate the beginning of our phenomenal 2013 #noDRM Summer Sale, we're giving away the hack-and-slash masterpiece Torchlight for absolutely free to all of our users, for both Windows and Mac. You have exactly 48 hours to grab your copy of that incredibly fun and addicting action-RPG, complete with a level editor and a sensational MP3 soundtrack. No strings attached, and--of course--absolutely #NoDRM!



All you need to do, is to visit the Torchlight product page and put it in your cart. You'll pay exactly $0.00 for it, as long as you complete your purchase before Thursday, June 20, at 12:59PM GMT. Say, since you're putting games in your cart, why don't you take a look at all the other fantastic deals we've prepared for you in our 2013 #NoDRM Summer Sale? For instance, just $4.48 more gets you the Wide A. Wake Bundle, a complete collection of Alan Wake games. More deals coming up, so visit us frequently.

Have a great day, and enjoy your free game!

11

Action/Adventure / The Dark Sorcerer by Quantic Dream

« on: June 12, 2013, 08:14:49 am »

More of a humorous tech demo than anything, The Dark Sorcerer is the latest Quantic Dream illustration of how graphically advanced computer games can get on consoles. See the full thing




If you haven't seen any of QD's previous work, here's Kara. This will blow your mind.

12

Classifieds / [SELLING] Red LED strip

« on: June 12, 2013, 01:30:21 am »

Approx. 3 metres of unused RED led strip (white PCB - flexible - with a 3M sticker layer at the back) available for Rs 2000. I bought it to set up lighting for my new rig - now that it's done, I don't need these anymore. You can cut into into whatever sizes you require and hook each to run off a molex connector from any power supply.

Real photo attached. Comes with a plastic coil and bag.



If interested, contact me on 0775496911. If I don't pick up, or if my phone is switched off, drop me a text, I'll get back to you.

13

Game Dev / Skyrim - reMODeled

« on: May 26, 2013, 10:59:51 pm »

Some of you guys might have seen the famous "Skyrim running 100 mods" screenshots, with amazing CGI-like landscapes giving around 6 FPS on a GTX 670.
Now Skyrim is a wonderful but absolutely shitty-looking game, so I wanted to see how close I could get - while maintaining 60 FPS.


Welcome to Skyrim - reMODeled


Fus Ro Dah, b***h!


*coughcough


An honest-to-God potato plant! Hallelujah!


Testing the Depth of Field addition to the ENB


Yeah, it works


2K textures in action


Lydia <3

All of these are actual screenshots, none edited. Running on my overclocked 460 SC at 1366x768.


MODLIST:
ENB 1.02 Tatsudoshi / HD6 Cinematic + DOF
2K texture mod
UFO
Better Women
Accignite Vos - Shields HQ retextures
Monster retex pack
Improved Dragon Textures
Immersive Creatures
Warzones: civil unrest *
Calientes Female Body
Calientes Vanilla Armor
Realistic Ragdolls and Force
Run for Your Lives

Skyrim Flora overhaul
HiAlgoBoost
Lush Grass
Grass on Steroids
Pure Waters
Enhanced Mighty Dragons
Dragon Combat Overhaul
Enhanced Distant Terrain

Enhanced Night
SHARPE Craftsmanship - Made to Order
Customizations to Skyrim.ini to enable Skyrim to take advantage of multiple cores

When running this many mods, plug and play is not an option - invariably, I had to dig into the code and start tweaking, so there's a bit of custom code running around greasing the wheels and making sure nothing crashes.

*indicates mods not fully tested

Two mods I want to work with: aMidianBorn Book of Silence and K ENB. K ENB, for the record, is probably the most photorealistic and resource consuming ENB out there, and Ill need at least a 660Ti / 670 to work with it. If anyone's up for it, I can replace my ENB with K and send you the Skyrim folder. Send me screenshots. 

14

Downloads / DFX Audio Enhancer: for those of us without soundcards

« on: May 19, 2013, 12:42:48 am »

While browsing for a way to increase the volume of my on-board audio output, I came across this fantastic software:

http://www.fxsound.com/dfx/index.php

DFX Audio Enhancer. It's a piece of software that sits in your tray and applies a powerful amount of software enhancement to your audio output. You can use it to boost volume, ambience, 3D surround sound, the works.
DFX Audio Enhancer boosts the sound quality of all of your music, videos, Internet radio, games, and other programs. Simply turn on DFX and be immersed in HD quality sound.

 

3D Surround Sound
Immerse yourself inside the music
●
Booming HyperBass
Produce deeper, richer bass
●
Stereo Ambience
Renew lost stereo depth and body
●
High Fidelity Restoration
Eliminate that “muffled” sound
●
Dynamic Audio Boost
Pump up the volume to new heights
●
Spectrum Analyzer
“See” DFX enhance your sound
●
Headphones Optimization
Hear more pleasant, natural sounds with headphones
●
Multiple Processing Modes
Optimize sound quality for music, speech and other audio types
●
Customizable Audio Presets
Select from many factory-tuned settings or create your own
●
Preset to Song Association
Get the perfect sound for each song you play

Try it out - it's pretty useful 

15

Hardware / Peripherals / Armageddonish

« on: May 02, 2013, 08:07:12 am »

 I was browsing some keyboards on Ebay when I came across this.


THAT is the Genius K9 backlit keyboad. Looks familiar? Sure. It's the exact same design Armageddon is using for it's Nighthawk Kai-3 keyboard.

And

http://armaggeddon.net/gaming-keyboards/nighthawk-kai-13/ Again, Armageddon's flagship rubber dome KB: the Nighthawk Kai-13 is a close rip-off of the beloved Roccat Isku.


Minus the build quality, of course.
(http://www.roccat.org/Products/Gaming-Keyboards/ROCCAT-Isku/).
 All the way down to the Roccat-ish thumb buttons.

*cough* Nighthawk Kai5 = Rosewil RK-8100 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823201048).

Does anybody know of any original gaming products by Armageddon (other than their bags) or is everything a clone of better products?