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Weekend Gamer: Hogwarts Legacy and Encased

Hogwarts Legacy (Original Video Game Soundtrack) Hogwarts Legacy (Study Themes from the Original Video Game Soundtrack) Read More Harry Potter The J.K. Rowling/Harry Potter-themed dance party named Wizard Fest just took place at the Cabooze in Minneapolis on Thursday night (September 27th). ... Harry and the Potters We’ve been kind of fascinated with these guys, Harry and the Potters, ever since we wrote about them as the leading pioneer of “Wizard Rock” (yes, that is a thing) in 2007. The brothers (Paul and Joe DeGeorge) just released …

Hogwarts Legacy
hogwartslegacy.com

Harry Potter fans are loving the new Hogwarts Legacy video game. However, there are some people that are banning the game and some “reviewers” are giving it a 1 out of 10 based on their dislike of J. K. Rowling’s transgender comments.

The people calling for the boycott or gave it a bad review is probably not going to buy the game anyway, so I wouldn’t pay attention to their outrage.

From what I’ve seen, this looks like a great game for Potter fans. Of course, having said that, I personally haven’t bought the game as I’m not a huge Potter fan… but I am mildly interested in picking it up when it goes on sale. I do this for most games, and I know all prices goes down a year later (in some cases like Gotham Knights it went on sale a month after it was released). So eventually, one day, I’ll probably own this game to play on my Steam Deck.

Anyway, if you bought the game and love it and want more… I’m happy to report that WaterTower Music has released two separate albums of music from Hogwarts Legacy. The two albums offer a total of 75 incredible tracks from the game soundtrack composers chuck e. myers “sea”, J Scott Rakozy, and Peter Murray.

The two albums are named The Hogwarts Legacy (Original Video Game Soundtrack) and Hogwarts Legacy (Study Themes from the Original Video Game Soundtrack). The first one, Original Video Game Soundtrack version is available on vinyl (via Mondo), streaming, and digital. The second one, Study Themes version, is available for streaming and digital only.

The composers, Myers, Rakozy, Murray, along with Alexander Horowitz, had this to say:

“We feel so unbelievably lucky, privileged, and grateful to be a part of the amazing team behind Hogwarts Legacy. So many talented and brilliant people have poured their hearts and minds into this game - made by fans for fans. It is so impressive on a multitude of levels. The moment you step foot inside these great halls of Hogwarts, you can sense the love and passion that each person involved gave to this project. It’s an experience like no other. It is our sincere hope that fans of Hogwarts Legacy will experience the joy, the awe, and the magic we felt when immersing ourselves into the game and its music. We’re excited to see players' reactions as they see and hear this world for themselves.”

Hogwarts Legacy is out now on PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. PlayStation®4 and Xbox One will launch on April 4 and Nintendo Switch on July 25.

The Hogwarts Legacy (Original Video Game Soundtrack) and Hogwarts Legacy (Study Themes from the Original Video Game Soundtrack) are available now on WaterTower Music.

Track List: The Hogwarts Legacy (Original Video Game Soundtrack)

1. Overture to the Unwritten* 2. The House Cup 3. Fig’s Search 4. A Proper Hogwarts Welcome 5. Potting Mandrakes 6. Seeking the Keepers 7. Ranrok’s Rage 8. A Lost Friend 9. Everybody Grab a Broom 10. All Roads Lead to Hogsmeade 11. Anticipating Rookwood *(from "Hogwarts Legacy")

12. Miriam’s Memory 13. Grasslands Vivarium 14. A Fitting New Home 15. Isidora’s Pain 16. See You After Class 17. Hog’s Head Jig 18. Guardians Awaken 19. Accio! 20. Legacy of Magic 21. Ruins of a Noted Seer 22. A Portrait of Love 23. The Greenhouse

24. Ollivander’s Wand Shop 25. Coastal Vivarium 26. The Four Houses 27. You’ve Made Your Choice 28. Soaring over Hogwarts 29. Haven 30. The Halls of Hogwarts 31. The Room of Requirement 32. Niamh’s Lullaby 33. Trespassers 34. Tribute

Track List: Hogwarts Legacy (Study Themes from the Original Video Game Soundtrack)

1. Your Journey Awaits… 2. Sorting Hat Ceremony 3. Slytherin Common Room 4. Gryffindor Common Room 5. Hufflepuff Common Room 6. Ravenclaw Common Room 7. Honeydukes 8. Hogwarts’ Best & Brightest 9. Focus on What You Need 10. Gateways to the Far Stars 11. How to Care for a Beast 12. Contemplation 13. Aire on the Side of Love 14. Hall of the Keepers

15. Morning at Marunweem Lake 16. The Room of Hidden Things 17. A Trick of the Light 18. A Delicate Art 19. The Quest Begins 20. Forbidden Forest Waltz 21. A Focused Mind 22. Mysteries of the Cosmos 23. The Escape 24. “Intra Muros” 25. A Faded Path 26. Lost 27. Outside the Castle Walls 28. The Observation Deck

29. Potions Class 30. Meeting with Professor Weasley 31. Caring for a Puffskein 32. Friendship to Be 33. An Intense Aversion 34. Dance of the Mooncalves 35. Central Tower 36. The Arrival 37. Hope Fades 38. A Forgotten Mystery 39. Ancient Magic Coda 40. Submerged 41. Gringotts Vault

Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG Read More Encase Currently, the free game is Encase. I don’t know too much about the game, but it looks like it was inspired by that Fallout gameplay… so I’ll check it out. …

Encased
encasedgame.com

I’ve been playing a lot of Encased, by Dark Crystal Games, over the weekend (I’ve already sunk 33 hours into the game so far). The game is over two years old now, originally early access in 2019 and a full release on September 2021. I didn’t know about the game until I got it for free via Epic Game’s Christmas Giveaway 2022. I tried it out and I love it, so I bought it again on Steam during their Winter Sale 2022.

If you’ve ever played the first two Fallout games, it plays the same way. My biggest criticism is that, as far as I know, there is no way of resetting your stats. For example, I had to restart the game a few times because I was putting my points into the wrong traits. Wish I’d known that I can’t get a certain “Perk” if I have some stats too low, etc.

My third time restarting the game, I think I have the best solution: go for the Renaissance Perk, since that boosts all your stats to 6. Once I started with that strategy, I was able to level up much faster and it made the game much easier (I’m playing on Normal). The game can be very punishing and unforgiving if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Right now, my build is an Energy Weapon user. I’m at level 12 right now and got my first Power Armor after becoming champion of Junktown. It feels so much like Fallout, I love it. The more I play, the more I wish Bethesda would make a new Fallout game in this style.

Encased is normally $30, but sometime it’ll go on sale - such as GOG currently listing it for $6.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Weekend Gamer: Epic's Christmas Game Giveaway

Death Stranding Read More Epic Games I guess all that waiting was worth it, as currently, the game is free on the Epic Game store. I know a lot of people hate on Epic, saying they’re a bully, saying that they’re …

It’s that time of the year. Epic Games is doing their annual 12 Days of Christmas giveaway… well, it’s more like 15 days of Christmas.

Already, I’m very happy to now own Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role-Playing Game (includes Fallout 1, Fallout 2, and Fallout: Tactics) on Epic. I’ve previously own these classic Fallout games on GOG and Steam… so it’s nice to see it on my game list on Epic as well.

Last year, Epic ended their Christmas giveaway with all three Square Enix’s Tomb Raider games on December 30th… which was amazing.

Encased

Currently, the free game is Encase. I don’t know too much about the game, but it looks like it was inspired by that Fallout gameplay… so I’ll check it out.

Update: Wow, can you believe it? For Christmas Day, Epic gave away Death Stranding for free. This is a $60 triple A title. The game is by legendary game creator Hideo Kojima and stars Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, and Lindsay Wagner.

I’ve always been curious about the game, but never bought it because all the reviews said it was kind of boring and the game was a “walking simulator”.

Hey, for free, I will check out the game someday.

So far, these are the free Epic games giveaway:

12/15 – Bloons TD6

12/16 – Horizon Chase Turbo

12/17 – Costume Quest 2

12/18 – Sable

12/19 – Them’s Fightin’ Herds

12/20 – Wolftenstein The New Order

12/21 – Lego Builder’s Journey

12/22 – Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role-Playing Game

12/23 – Encased

12/24 – Metro: Last Light Redux

12/25 - Death Stranding

12/26 - FIST Forged in Shadow Torch

12/27 - Severed Steel

12/28 - Mortal Shell

12/29 - Dishonored - Definitive Edition and Eximius: Seize the Frontline

Update: The Epic giveaway officially ended on 12/29 with a double free game. The next free games (Kerbal Space Program and Shadow Tactics - Aiko's Choice) will be given away on January 5th, 2023.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

PS, Greak: Memories of Azur is the free game over at GOG.

Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role-Playing Game

Read more Weekend Gamer.

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Lenovo Legion Gaming PC

Specs Intel Core i5 11th Gen 11500 2.7GHz Processor NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB GDDR6 16GB DDR4-3200 RAM 512GB SSD+1TB HDD Microsoft Windows 11 Home 10/100/1000 Network 2x2 802.11ax WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.1 400 Watt Power Supply Free game: Warhammer 40,000: Darktide - Imperial Edition (must be redeemed by 11/10/2022) Read More Lenovo With Lenovo Smart Display, it’s pretty much free. If you want music, you can upload all your MP3s to Google Music and access them via the Smart Display. Of course, if you prefer, you can subscribe to Google Music, YouTube Music … iBuyPower Since owning the new iBuyPower’s Fallout computer, I’ve been spending a lot of time on the computer. I’ve been really into RGB lighting for my computer and recently purchased …

Since I got the the Straight Talk Home Internet, which promises 10-100mbps 5G speed, I’ve been enjoying fast downloads of games for my Steam Deck and Xbox Series X. I average about 30-50mbps. Unfortunately, my aging Fallout iBuyPower Computer could not enjoy the same download speed. This is because the Wi-Fi chip in the system is old (2017) and uses old protocol. Plus the computer was downstairs, far from the router. Whatever the reasons is, it has trouble connecting to the network and the speed it was getting was often under 1-4mps. I suspected it was the Wi-Fi card because the Xbox, sitting right next to my computer, was doing 80mps!

As I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve been looking around for a new gaming computer, and this was just the final straw. There are numerous problems with the Fallout computer, first the fan is starting to rattle and prevents me from doing audio recording because it was so noisy. Next, in order to upgrade the video card, I would have to replace the power supply. Also, the old computer would just not upgrade to Windows 11. Plus, it was just getting slow.

So, it was time. I bought the Lenovo Legion T5i 26IOB6 Gaming PC for $850 today from MicroCenter. This is a great price, it’s about 40% off the original asking price. Most of that money probably goes to the Nvidia 3060 video card. Just a quick Amazon search, shows that the average 3060 card is $400-$500. The 3060 card will be a massive improvement over my old 1660 card.

Download Speed

The key thing for me is the WiFi 6 card, which is the latest protocol. Of course, the first thing I did when I started up the computer was doing a speed test… and yes, it’s now fast and on par with what my Xbox was getting, in terms of download speeds.

With the fast internet connection, I’m able to re-download all the software that I need. All my movies and music are on external hard drives, so physically moving them to the new computer was effortless. I’m just afraid that with so many hard drives (6 in total), that the 400 Watt power supply might not be powerful enough. The first game I’ve re-downloaded is Elden Ring, which I am enjoying on the Steam Deck.

The new computer does have one USB-C, which is great. I’m going to have to get a USB hub to take advantage of it.

This is my first Windows 11 machine, so, at first, I’m not used to it. At first I wish it was Windows 10, as it’s what I’m familiar with… but I suppose over time, I will learn to understand and get used to Win 11.

Otherwise, I’ve zero complaints about the new computer. It’s fast, and it runs whisper quiet, which I absolutely love.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

PS I got the free promotional game Warhammer 40,000: Darktide - Imperial Edition when I bought the Lenovo Legion. At first, I thought the game code is inside the box, but that is not the case. If you buy it, look for the game code on your receipt. The promotion ends 11/10/2022, which is in about a week. The game official comes out November 30. You’ll need both an Nvidia and Steam account… but if you’re into PC gaming… you’ll already have one.

Read more Technology.

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Weekend Gamer: Fallout 3 free on Epic

Read More Fallout Fallout 3. Obviously, I'm still playing the game. At one point in the game, you have to go into Vault 112's virtual environment and it's seriously straight out of the Twilight Zone. You need a high Charisma or Speech skill …

Sure, you already own Fallout 3. If you don’t own it, it’s practically on sale all the time. If you’re still super cheapskate, you can finally get it for free on the Epic Game Store for free, starting October 20th.

I bought the game in 2008, not exactly convinced that the Fallout series will benefit from a first-person view. You see, I came from the original games, which is turn-based and top-down view. I love those original games! I didn’t think Fallout would work in 3-D, but I was wrong!

What I am right is that Fallout should be a single player game… taking it online in Fallout 76 is a disaster, and fans would agree with me. We don’t want an always-online game.

Anyway, if you have not played Fallout 3, there’s no reason not to play, especially if it’s free on October 20th on Epic.

Also, if you are wondering, yes, people have gotten Epic to run on the Steam Deck, using the Heroic launcher. I have Heroic, but after I couldn’t run some GOG games, I just gave up.

The other problem is that while Steam Deck can run Fallout 3, it’s not a good experience because of the controller scheme. It’s meant to be played with a mouse and keyboard, so you have to compromised when you play it on the Steam Deck, because obviously you don’t have a keyboard. However, you can always get the Steam Dock and hook up a keyboard and mouse to it… at that point, why not just run it on a dedicated computer or laptop?

So speaking of the Steam Deck, this is my only device that I’m using for gaming currently. That is because it’s so easy to start and stop, especially if you only have a few minutes on your break or waiting for something. With the Xbox, you have to sit down by a television, you have to turn it on, etc. The same can be said for my gaming laptop, I would have to log into Windows, I would have to find the game to launch, and so on. With the Steam Deck, you just wake it up and it’s good to go.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Update: Display Panel Project

Read More Site Update Since owning the new iBuyPower’s Fallout computer, I’ve been spending a lot of time on the computer. I’ve been really into RGB lighting for my computer and recently purchased and added 16GB of G.Skill RGB DDR4-3000 Ram …

It’s Martin Luther King Jr’s day, which means it’s my day off. I’ve been working on a project to update my Fallout Desktop… hoping to add a second display dedicated to just showing computer stats.

To get you history with my dual-screen setup, back in the day, I had two side-by-side monitors. They were both 19”, but when combined, especially paying a game, it offers a nice 38 inches. The unfortunately thing is that there is one giant bezel in the middle of the screen that takes me out of my enjoyment. There’s also the fact that when I’m not gaming, I only use one screen (the left one), and the other screen goes pretty much used. I sometime would just turn off the second monitor.

To solve this, I upgraded to an Ultrawide 34-inch LG Monitor, which solves my two-monitor situation. Now when I’m gaming, it’s a nice experience… and when I’m not gaming, I don’t have to worry about that extra screen.

The big problem (sorry for the pun) with a large ultrawide screen is that some programs (especially older games) does not recognize or support the large aspect ration and resolution.

For a time, I thought about having a dedicated second display just to show computer status, such as temperature and frames per second. I tried using the Lenovo Smart Display as a second display, but it’s very limited based on the inability to use it to connect to the computer. You can “cast” videos to the display, but that’s as far as it goes, due to securities and Google’s platform.

Recently, I saw someone’s computer setup, and saw how they did their computer. They basically had a small 7” screen inside their computer case to display temperature and various computer information. The person said that they were using this software by AIDA64, so I did some investigation and decided this was the route I should take.

I spent all night on Sunday to put together a working demo my display. I already purchased the 7” inch display and cables, so I am hoping it all works out swimmingly in the next few days. I really hope that the display is thin enough that I can fit it my open area… but should that fail, I can always mount it in the front of the case. The display will be in the same Fallout theme to fit with my computer’s theme.

PS, I’m also planning on installing two extra RGB fans on the ceiling of my computer to keep the computer cool. There’s no room in the medium size case, so I’ll have to use tough double-sided adhesive tape to hold the two fans. It’ll be nice, and will provide more lights inside the computer.

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The PlayStation 5

Read More Playstation 4 Last week my PlayStation Network account got hacked/compromised. The person removed my email and added his or her email and took $50 from my bank account (that is tied to my account …

This is just a quick update. As you know, I used to be a big fan of gaming consoles, owning practically every console released since the Nintendo Entertain System. I retire them after the new ones comes out, and at the moment, I do own an XBox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. I have always had some sort of gaming PC as well, but with my ownership of my iBuyPower Fallout PC… I have practically given up all console gaming.

Why? There are many reasons why the PC is superior … first, it is because of the loading time is very fast on my PC, thanks to the ultrafast NVME storage. You don’t realize how much time you waste on a console when you’re launching a game or loading up a save file. On my PC, it’s almost instant when games launch or loading up game saves. Plus, depending on the graphic cards, my games looks a million times better on the PC than on any current console.

The other main reason is that games on the PC are much cheaper than on Xbox, PS4, and especially the Switch. In fact, Epic Games consistently gives out free games on the PC (this week it’s ARK: Survival Evolved and Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection).

Finally, in order to play online games, such as Fallout 76, you have to pay MicroSoft, Sony, or Nintendo, a monthly or annual fee. Sure, you get access to “free games”, but you don’t keep the games if you stop paying them the membership fee. I guess I’m just a cheapskate, but I just don’t want to pay for something that should be free.

Still, you know I’m still somewhat interested in seeing the next generation of gaming consoles… and today, Sony showed up what the upcoming PS5 will look like. And holy crap, it is so ugly. Particularly the optical disc drive looking like a belly bump. To me, it’s clear that Sony originally designed this “sleek” looking system without the disc drive and it looks uniform and centered. Then they added that drive and it just looks awful.

Anyway, I’m probably not going to buy one at launch. It really depends on pricing. If the rumors of it costing $600, it’s a hard pass for me - especially given how ugly it looks. Obviously, the disc-less version will be cheaper… but if we’re talking around $500 for that version, I still wouldn’t want it. Without the disc-drive, it means that you can’t play UHD or Blurays or DVDs or CDs! The only reason why I started collecting gaming consoles was that they also serve as a great media center, as it’s a powerful machine to play my discs.

I guess we’ll wait and see how well the PS5 performs, according to The Verge, the system will be powered by an eight-core AMD Zen 2 CPU and a custom AMD RDNA 2-based GPU. Based on Sony’s proprietary SSD, it should boost load times for games.

Even though I have no desire to buy the PS5, the main reason why I’m interested is for the new gaming technology. The PC can eventually adapt to it or offer their version of it… and that’s exciting.

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Play at Home

With the current Coronavirus / COVID-19 climate of self-isolation, many businesses are offering free games and books to help keep us entertained, while we’re stuck indoors.

Read More Playstation 4 Last week my PlayStation Network account got hacked/compromised. The person removed my email and added his or her email and took $50 from my bank account (that is tied to my account …

SONY’S PLAY AT HOME
playstation.com

Jim Ryan, President & CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, is introducing Sony’s “Play At Home” infinitive. They are offering two free games: Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey, completely free from April 15 to May 5.

I already own both games (one game on physical discs), but it’s a nice and convenient way of playing these games. Also note, technically the Nathan Drake is actually three games (Uncharted 1, 2, and 3), and well-worth the price of admission (Free).

My only complaint about these free games is that Sony doesn’t exactly advertise them when you launch your PS4. You think it would be under the “FREE” section, but it’s not. You’ll basically have to do a search for these games and click on “Download” to get those games into your library.

If the shutdown continues well passed May 5th, I wonder if Sony might follow up with two additional free games.

Also worth noting, Epic Games usually offers two free games on their website, epicgames.com. This week’s free games: Just Cause 4 and Free Now. On April 23rd, you can grab For The King for free.

Bethesda is bringing their games back on Steam. As a promotion for Fallout 76 being on Steam, if you already own Fallout 76 on Bethesda’s Launcher, it’s FREE on Steam for you (plus you also get the Fallout Classic Collection for free as well). The biggest news about Fallout 76 is that it’s now worth playing with the new and free update called Wastelanders. They’ve finally added NPC (Non Player Characters) back into Fallout, and it’s awesome! Nice job, Bethesda.





MARVEL FREE COMICS
comixology.com

This is pretty impressive! Marvel Comics is offering about $100 worth of digital comics for free! I recommend just grabbing them all, even if you’ve no interest in reading them.

I can recommend X-Men: Dark Phoenix Saga, the classic Chris Claremont/John Byrne run.

Available titles:

Amazing Spider-Man: Red Goblin Avengers: Kree/Skrull War Avengers by Jason Aaron Vol. 1: The Final Host Avengers vs. X-Men Collection Black Panther by Ta-Nehisi Coates Vol. 1 Collection Black Widow Vol. 1: S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Most Wanted

Captain America: Winter Soldier Ultimate Collection Captain Marvel Vol. 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More Civil War Fantastic Four Vol. 1: Fourever Thanos Wins by Donny Cates X-Men Milestones: Dark Phoenix Saga

Also worth checking out Devil’s Due is offering their digital catalog for free on their website. If you have a My Shopify account (if you purchased anything from indie developers), you basically don’t need to sign up for a Devil’s Due account. Instead, you’ll get an email from Devil’s Due with a unique download link. The link will expire if you try to download more than 3 times, so I hope you don’t have a bad internet connection.

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iBuyPower Fallout PC: One Month Later

Read More Site Update Since owning the new iBuyPower’s Fallout computer, I’ve been spending a lot of time on the computer. I’ve been really into RGB lighting for my computer and recently purchased and added 16GB of G.Skill RGB DDR4-3000 Ram …

Just a quick update on my iBuyPower Fallout PC. As you recall, I bought a gaming computer in early March 2019 at a reduced entry price point of $710.

I knew going in that I had to replace or upgrade the interior components, so buying cheap, with its basic parts, was really the way to go. I’m still very happy with the original build, but obviously I just wanted it better. After all the upgrade, the Fallout Computer will land in the $2,500+ range… which is an expensive for a computer, but not unheard of for a full gaming PC.

The original basic computer will actually run and work just fine for the majority of light gaming users. However, if you want to play modern games, you do need to upgrade the video card.

The basic computer, right out of the box, will able to run any applications you can throw at it without any problems. Even games will work great, granted that you don’t run them at the highest/ultra setting, but you should be able to run most games.

I’ve ever own an iBuyPower computer before, but based on my experience, it worked out just great. I’ve heard bad things about the company, but I didn’t experience any of their problem… especially getting such a “cheap” gaming computer at around $700 originally.

To summarize, I love the iBuyPower Fallout Computer, it’s the best computer I’ve ever own… and highly upgradable. You can go as cheap or as expensive as you like, there’s enough options for every need.

So here’s the breakdown of the computer parts (and the price I paid):

COMPUTER:

iBUYPOWER Fallout Basic Limited Edition Gaming PC Computer Desktop ($710)

MSI Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 Ti ($300)

G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) ($120)

LG Electronics 34WK650-W 34" Ultra Wide IPS Monitor with Free Sync ($280)

STORAGE:

SanDisk Extreme PRO 1TB 3D NAND PCIe NVME ($154)

Inland 1TB 3D NAND PCIe NVME ($140)

WD Blue 3D NAND 1TB PC SSD - SATA III ($50)

M.2 PCIe Adapter M.2 NVMe SSD NGFF to PCIe Adapter ($20)

SOUND:

Razer Nommo Chroma 2.0 PC Gaming Speakers ($140)

Corsair VOID PRO RGB Wireless SE Premium Gaming Headset ($75)

CORSAIR ST100 RGB Premium Headset Stand with 7.1 Surround Sound ($60)

INPUT:

Razer Lancehead Tournament Edition ($50)

CORSAIR K70 RGB MK.2 SE Mechanical RAPIDFIRE Gaming Keyboard ($120)

CORSAIR MM800 Polaris RGB Mouse Pad - 15 RGB LED Zones ($40)

Fallout T-51 Nuka Cola 4 Port USB Charger ($70)

MEDIA:

LG 6x WP50NB40 Slim Portable Blu-Ray Writer ($100)

UGREEN USB Card Reader USB 3.0 Hub 3 Ports with SD TF MS M2 Card Adapter and Phone Stand Dock ($20)

TOTAL PRICE: $2,449

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Site Update: RGB Ram and Ultrawide Monitor

Read More Site Update Before I bought this iBuyPower Fallout PC, I had two “gaming” computers: one running an Nvidia 750Ti that I bought for $400 (plus $150 video card) in Dec 2013, and an AMD Radeon R9-based computer that I bought in Jun …

Since owning the new iBuyPower’s Fallout computer, I’ve been spending a lot of time on the computer. I’ve been really into RGB lighting for my computer and recently purchased and added 16GB of G.Skill RGB DDR4-3000 Ram for $120 via MicroCenter (a little more expensive on Amazon). I originally kept the existing (slower) 8GB-2666mhz RAM DDR4 ... but after failing to boot up the first time and general slowdown of conflicting speed and manufacturing - it’s probably the right decision to only use the same make and model of RAM.

According to experts, you only need 16GB to run any game, but I think maybe I’ll just invest and buy 32GB to light up the whole RAM area (especially since I think it’s priced just right).

Just a note, but even though I purchased the 3000Mhz Ram, system benchmark only shows it running at 2733Mhz... this may be because of my motherboard or I have to overlock the Ram. In either case, I didn’t do the research or, honestly, don’t really care since the extra speed is not very evident to me. So, maybe save some money and buy middlerange speed vs the ultra highend.

I also swap out my old 27” ACER monitor for an old LG Ultrawide Monitor 29UM58 (29 inches). It’s not curved and it’s not the greatest (it feels smaller - even though it’s much wider). I did buy it a few years ago (the monitor shows a date of January 2016) and didn’t love it, because most games didn’t support Ultrawide (at the time). I retired the monitor as a Roku/Movie display ... but with the Fallout Computer, I’ve decided to give the Ultrawide monitor another chance.

If you’ve ever used a dual monitor setup, then you basically would want to replace that setup with an Ultrawide. You’re basically getting two monitors, but without the terrible black center bezel. Also, gaming on an ultrawide gives you a better gaming experience, since you can see much more gaming area. First person shooters gives you a fuller picture, Diablo-style games gives you a playing field advantage. Overall, the bigger the viewing area, the better it is.

I think the next step, after I upgraded all the RAM and add a 1TB NVMe, I’m going to have to think about getting a larger display, maybe 34 inches... maybe curved.

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iBuyPower Fallout Gaming PC

iBUYPOWER Fallout Basic PC Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 6-Core 2.8 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo) RAM: 8GB-2666mhz RAM DDR4 Hard Drive: 240GB SSD Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 2GB (VR Ready | Display Connectors: HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI) Software: Genuine Windows 10 Home 64-bit Connection: 802.11AC Wi-Fi, RJ-45 Network Ethernet 10/100/1000 Connectivity: 4 x USB 3.0 | 2 x USB 2.0 | Audio: 7.1 Channel Special Add-Ons: limited edition Fallout case | Liquid Cooled | 16 Color RGB Lighting Remote Controlled Case | Free iBUYPOWER Gaming Keyboard & RGB Gaming Mouse | No bloatware Enough space for more Fallout Bobble-heads! Read More Site Update I have been meaning to upgrade the graphics card in my computer for a long time now. The integrated Intel video card, for the most part, worked fine, but it won't exactly run graphically intensive games (shooters, big diablo-style …

Before I bought this iBuyPower Fallout PC, I had two “gaming” computers: one running an Nvidia 750Ti that I bought for $400 (plus $150 video card) in Dec 2013, and an AMD Radeon R9-based computer that I bought in Jun 2017 for $500. As you can tell, I’m a cheapskate gamer, and I’m not running the latest and greatest, but it works for me. In fact, both computers were running just fine and dandy and I really, really didn’t have the need to spend more money on yet another gaming computer.... but... this Fallout Computer just looks so cool!

I knew I wanted it, but I didn’t want to pay full retail price. Recently, they had a sale, and on the cheapest model, the “Basic”, had an $80 off discount. I also had a couple of $5 coupons off from Best Buy, so I decided to pull the trigger. Honestly, on reflection, I should have just bought it from Amazon has they would’ve shipped it to me in two days. With Best Buy, they had to build-to-order (which took a week) and then they shipped it (which took another week). Waiting two weeks for this computer just felt too long, but it’s not unheard of, since I bought an Alienware computer that took nearly a month to ship to me (I’ll never do that again).

Now that I have the computer as my daily driver, I had to retire the 2013 Nvidia Computer. Switching over to the new computer was a little harder to do than I thought, as I had to research all the bookmarks and re-enter in all my passwords and re-authorized everything on the new device. Plus, all the softwares that I need, I had to re-hunt them down and re-install. Trust me, it was a pain in the butt to get everything back and running to the way I had it originally set up.

So far, the Fallout Computer is pretty amazing. It’s whisper quiet, thanks to the liquid cooling and quiet RGB fans. The clear glass window lets you look at the internal and admire all the custom Fallout custom designs. The RBG lights were actually way cooler than I thought. I’ve never own a computer that had a lighting system, so I was pretty impressed with it. Despite what I might gripe about, I think $799 is a fair price for this computer: considering that you are getting an SSD Harddrive (these are expensive probably $200), the custom Fallout artwork case (probably worth $300), the Nvidia 1050 card (probably $240). Trust me, if you were to build from scratch, it’ll probably cost you about the same or more, but you don’t get the amazing Fallout design.

Now for some disappointment: no optical drive (CD/DVD/Bluray drive), no media card reader, poor design of the case blocks off thick HMDI cables, generic iBuyPower keyboard & mouse, bobblehead won’t fit on the mount, and oddly missing a screw (which points to poor quality inspection or lackthereof). They’re minor complaints, but I would’ve liked to have at least a card reader, since that is how I import photos and videos from my computer. Not a big deal, since I have several USB readers around the house. For the Bluray drive, I’ll just have to buy another one... it’s not a problem. The iBuyPower keyboard and mouse that comes with the computer is usable, but you should just provide your own mechanical keyboard or optical mouse.

I’ve also read that not all the motherboards are the same across the line. Mine is an ASRock B360M IB-R1, but someone else said the had an MSI Z370-A Pro (I’m assuming they get an upgrade if they pay more). With the bobblehead situation, it depends on the bobblehead’s base. Most of the recent bobbleheads, they have a bigger base, so it won’t fit correctly on the mount. You can just use tape or replace the bobbblehead with a smaller base one. Not everyone is going to have a spare bobblehead (like I do), so that’s going to be annoying to some fans. But again, you can just buy a different one or use tape.

Finally, it’s limited to 2,000. I think the 2k number applies to all the Fallout PC together, because unique number on my sticker does not say “Fallout Basic”. That’s my theory, I could be wrong. What that means is that once all 2,000 PCs are sold, iBuyPower (in association with Bethesda to market Fallout 76 online game) will not re-issue these beautiful computer case. So, if you’re a Fallout fan or just want a unique and cool computer, you should get it now that it’s currently on sale.

If you’re interested in purchasing one, please use our Amazon Affiliate link, no additional cost to you - but Amazon will give us a little money in return.

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