Last week after a fair amount of expectant hype Apple announced an updated iPod range with new versions across every model. The biggest changes where reserved for the new Nano which got a new shape, a whole range of colours and some neat new features courtesy of the accelerometer previously only seen in the iPhone and iPod Touch. The Nano is also now apparently much more eco-friendly with Apple claiming it is now “very recyclable”.

IPod Touch

The second generation iPod Touch was also announced and if you read this blog on a regular basis you will know I believe the iPhone and iPod Touch to be a computing platform and the closest we have come yet to reaching convergence of phone/computer/media player/games machine into one unit.  This release is more of an evolution rather than a revolution with some fairly minor updates. The iTouch is now thinner, has been given a built in speaker and boasts new separate volume control buttons on the side. The volume controls are an important addition as on the older version if an applications available on the App store didn’t provide a “soft” control you had no way to control the output volume.

WiFi and App Store

The thing that in my mind though that really makes this platform more attractive is the combination of best in class WiFi Internet access and the ever increasing offerings, from games to small business applications, that are available from the App Store.  Of course these are available on the old model as well, so there is probably nothing new that would require an upgrade from an old version. But the fact that new version is being sold cheaper then the old suggests that there will be some good reductions on the older models of the iPod Touch over the next month or so.

Our last post looked at a gaming keyboard and today I thought I would look at another peripheral for the gaming enthusiast.  When I was quite a bit younger than I am today I was quite keen on the flight sim games, or more specifically space flights sims like the classic Wing Commander. Unfortunately they don’t really make many of these games anymore!

Something that one really had to have to play these games was of course a joystick as playing these games with a mouse was never easy or particularly convenient.  A joystick was perhaps the first accessory that I ever bought for my computer. Joysticks have come a long way since the one I first purchased which just about had the directional control and a couple of firing buttons. They now often come with separate throttle controls, multiple buttons and switches.

A good example of what is available of the market these days is the highly rated Saitek X52 Flight Control System. This beauty comes with a separate throttle control which includes its own set of buttons and can act as a mouse for easy in game control.  The joystick unit has plenty of programmable buttons and two “hat” controls for point of view control.

Do you use a joystick for gaming? Which joystick do you prefer?

We have talked a lot in the previous series of posts about gaming and in particular gaming with laptops. If you read those last posts you will know that my personnel recommendation, if you are looking for a computer system for which the main use will be gaming, is to go for a desktop system. This is because you will get a much better price performance ratio, more bang for the buck.  And the money you save on the key components, CPU, GPU and memory for the desktop system can then be put towards gaming peripherals, like gaming keyboards, mice, joysticks etc.

Good gaming peripherals essential

Now I cannot  profess to having a deep knowledge or experience of gaming, apart from the odd long game of Civilization. But having talked to some gamers and my own sons they tell me that good gaming peripherals can make a big difference.  Take keyboards for instance, they need to be good quality to take all the bashing that a gamer is going to give it, but they also have to be responsive and easy to use.  While the best often provide gaming specials like programmable keys which can be assigned on an as required basis to command macros. These can be extremely useful to the under pressure gamer.

Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard

One really good and rated gaming keyboard is the Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard which has nice big responsive keys,  and a whole array of programmable keys and provides the tools to get the best from these.  If you are looking for a gaming keyboard it may be worth taking a good look.

Have you bought a keyboard specifically to support gaming? Do you want to tell us about it?

In the last post we looked at laptops for gaming and when I was looking around for good examples I found quite a few.  I thought I would share today what I think must probably the ultimately gaming laptop that I found.  Have a look at the Rock Xtreme SL Pro XSLPRO-TL60 Laptop.

Gaming Power

If you remember that for gaming the most important requirements are a good fast processor, a fast GPU (graphics card) and plenty of memory. Well the Rock Xtreme SL Pro comes with a massive 20 inch screen, a fast AMD dual core CPU,  two SLI Nvidia graphics cards and two hard drives.  This should be more than able cope with any game that you chose to play.

True gaming value?

Of course while the Rock Xtreme SL Pro is obviously a very capable computer, it comes with quite a hefty price tag and with a 20 inch screen it is beginning to move from portable to a “luggable” computer.  In other words it can be lugged around if required, but it is hardly something you are going to carry around everywhere you go!  These aspects also illustrate nicely the point I made in my previous post that laptops are the not in my opinion the way to go for the dedicated gamer.  Just imagine the desktop gaming rig you could put together given the same money, probably something with even better components complete with large screen, awesome sound and good gaming peripherals.

Do you have examples of what you think is the ultimate gaming laptop?

We have previously looked on this blog at computers for gaming. In that previous post we looked at a desktop computer as an example of a possible gaming rig.  But as laptops these days are outselling desktop computers it is probably about time to have a look at gaming laptops.  So what is a gaming laptop and what makes a good one?

What is a gaming laptop?

A gaming laptop is essentially a notebook computer that is both portable but also plays games as well as it does any of the other things you want a computer for.  A laptop that is as happy playing the latest game as it is for writing emails and running office applications.

What makes a gaming laptop?

Most modern games require power, so just like in our previous post a gaming laptop will have to have a powerful, near top of the range components.  The single most important component is the graphics processor, look for the laptop with the best you can afford.  Next important is a powerful CPU followed up by us much RAM memory that you can get.  Essentially there no such thing as a specialist gaming laptop (although there are some that are marketed as such), it just needs to have sufficiently high specification components to be able to meet our gaming requirements. A great example of a good gaming laptop would be MSI GX700-204 UK which comes with a great graphics card, an Intel dual core processor and 3GB of RAM.

Desktops still better for games

In my opinion though, unless you spend a lot of time traveling and need the portability that a laptop gives you, a gamer is going to be far better off with a desktop. Why? Well there can be big downsides to these laptops in that, they are inevitably big & heavy,  get very hot and can be very expensive.  Often for the same price as the laptop you can buy a desktop with a great screen, even better core components and this coupled with high quality peripherals such as joysticks, keyboards would ultimately deliver a superior gaming experience.

Do use a laptop for gaming? Why did you go for the laptop rather than a desktop?

When I was …, well just a little younger than I am today, I liked to rebuild and upgrade my desktop PC as far as I possibly could until eventually it no longer made any sense to do so. One of my desktops bought in 1995 lasted for about 10 years as a result of upgrades. During the early years it was a very capable games machine with a very good graphics card (for the time), and a superb sound card. During the later years it was my Linux desktop by which time all the components were very well supported in terms of drivers, and was used by my young children to play basic games.

These days there seems to be much less of a reason to upgrade, especially with the general swing towards using laptops. In the “good old” days graphics cards and sound cards where nearly always provided as separate components while today these are usually provided as an “on-board” capability of the mother board.

Sound Cards

For most people the on-board audio provided by the motherboard will be fine, but if you are a big gamer, someone who uses their PC to watch a lot of DVD’s or wants to have the best music experience then upgrading to a decent sound card is going to make all the difference. One of the most recommended cards is the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi series. These cards are provided in various modes, for gamers, music lovers etc., are highly regarded and come at a reasonable price. Most people will be amazed at the difference the sound card will make, with either headphones or speakers.

Do you upgraded your sound card? Did it make a difference?

I have mentioned before that I can be a bit of a closet gamer on the side, and I have even in the distant pass tried to code some basic games. Nowadays I would never have the time to sit and play games, much less sit and spend the time trying to code something.

But I have to admit that I have always had an secret ambition to create my own “empire“ type of game in Python or some other “simple” coding language. If you don’t know what game I am talking about try searching for “classic empire” on Wikipedia or Google. Empire a game I used to play for hours while working night shifts a very long time ago! Actually programming games is really quite hard and you need to be reasonable fluent in a computer language to really get going. This is something that has proved a barrier for myself and my kids.

Things are changing slightly with initiatives like Metaplace which will eventually allow for the easier building of online worlds and games. I the present the ability to create and share homemade games is being easier for Xbox 360 and Windows users with Microsoft announcing the release of a community oriented service based on a set of tools called XNA, which gives amateur game coders a framework through which it is easier to build games. The new community based service will allow people to proudly share their efforts online.

Of course if you really want to take advantage of this new initiative you will really need to get hold of a Xbox 360 if you haven’t already got one. Perhaps it is time to create an XNA version of empire!

I mentioned in my last post that when traveling with my laptop, I like to carry a small travel mouse. Now a mouse can be especially useful for playing games. I don’t know about you, but I don’t often have enough time on my hands to play a gams. But on the odd occasion when I am at a loose end, and the motivation to do something constructive is low, I do like to have a go at something a bit more challenging than Solitaire or Minefield.

So what is the best game for the gaming “Road Warrior”? Of course as I only have a laptop that is beginning to show its age and not being equipped with a blazing fast desktop complete with the latest video card, I will obviously not be playing the very latest first person shooter. I think the answer is probably quite personal as it will depend a little on what you want from your game. In my case I look for something that has engaging game play, requires me to think a bit, thats not too repetitive while at the same time providing a bit of action. Also as I only play now and again the game must either be short or easy to save and come back to later.

So what game is the right horse for my particular laptop? Well in my view it is Civilization IV, which will just about run on my most recent laptop. (On older laptops I still run Civilization III, which doesn’t require nearly as much graphics power). I think the beauty of “Civ” is that it gives you nearly everything on my wish list, and while you wouldn’t call it an action game there is always enough trouble with the neighbours to keep things interesting. If there is a drawback it is that the games do tend to be very long, often around 24 hours game time, which in elapsed or real time for me can be anything up to a year! Just watch it though it can be addictive and can become trapped in “just one more go” mode and before you realize it hours have passed!

So what in your opinion is the best laptop game?

In my introduction to desktop computing I said that we would have a look at a number of the specific functional groups into which we can categorise a desktop computer. Well I thought gaming PC’s would make a good place to start.

So what makes a gaming PC? Well these days apart from some very specific technical functions, games are probably the applications that push the components of a PC to the limit, far more so than the majority of the day to day reading of email and the odd letter to the bank.

Ok, so what is it you actually need, you ask. Well there are a number of things you need, power, power and more power! Yes you guessed it, it’s all about power! A powerful processor and a powerful graphics card, backed up with plenty of memory. Of these the graphics card is the most important followed equally by the processor and the memory. Get the best of these that you could afford would be a general rule.

However as well as the pure power you need to ensure you have a number of other components to ensure a good gaming experience. A good sound card is a must and great interface tools, things such as the keyboard and mouse, which may need to take a fair bit of punishment, are also important. Of course every month sees newer and more powerful PC components, so to all these considerations you should probably add the ability to upgrade. The more upgradeability your PC has, the longer you will be able to keep it providing you with a good gaming experience.

I thought I would begin a series of posts that will look at good candidates for the components that make up a great gaming machine. Of course purchasing the individual components are only important if you are building your own or upgrading. If you are looking for a complete gaming machine then the HP Pavilion Elite m9085 would be a good place to start, with a top of the range processor, graphics card and 3 GB of memory. Nice!