By Array on Aug 05, 2017 12:21 am
Router: Netgear Nighthawk AC1750 Smart Dual Band WiFi Router (R6700)
Whether you're editing documents over Google Docs or engaging in a competitive multiplayer match, Netgear's Nighthawk AC1750 has got you wirelessly covered. It supports more than 12 devices and both 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless signals. Its range is aided by three external antennas, and it's quite fast, with download rates that can hit 450Mbps. Price: $95
Backpack: Everki Beacon
There are a ton of cheap backpacks out there, but the Everki Beacon is a quality pack that is built to last. For its shell, the Beacon uses a lot of mesh padding, and there's rubber padding at the bottom that offers a little protection in case you drop it. The Beacon comes with a water-resistant tarp that allows you to protect it from the rain. The pack also has a separate laptop compartment that can fit the largest 17-inch gaming notebooks. In general, the backpack has a bunch of compartments that can hold all your school supplies. To top it off, the Beacon looks good, comes with a chest strap, and is comfortable to wear with its soft shoulder straps. Price: $112.73
Printer: Brother HL-L2340DW
While there are certainly cheaper printers, Brother's HL-L2340DW laser printer is arguably the best budget solution on the market. Setup is easy, ink cartridges are relatively cheap, and it works over Wi-Fi, which allows you to print from mobile devices via Apple AirPrint or Google Cloud Print. Price: $120
Speakers: Razer Leviathan
Razer might be better known for its gaming headsets on the audio front, but it also makes a quality soundbar. The company's Razer Leviathan speaker sounds clear and crisp, and it offers a ton of bass with its included subwoofer. The soundbar is also small enough to be tucked under monitors and supports NFC pairing, Bluetooth, optical, and auxiliary inputs. In addition, it supports Dolby Digital Surround with two 2.5-inch drivers coupled with two .74-inch tweeters. Price: $189.99
Webcam: Logitech C920
Logitech's C920 webcam is great for both streaming and video calls. It's a 1080p camera that has two mics, which allows it to capture stereo audio. The C920 also offers low-light correction, so you can use it in dim environments. Price: $58.58
Mic: Audio Technica ATR2500
While the Blue Yeti is a highly recommended microphone for streamers and video/audio producers, Audio Technica's ATR2500 shouldn't be overlooked. It's a cardioid condenser USB microphone that can be found on sale quite often for $69.99, which makes it worth a look. Near-professional audio doesn't have to cost you $100-plus, and if you're a student, you can always appreciate saving money without sacrificing quality. Price: $99.00 (frequently on sale for $69.99)
Entertainment: Netflix Subscription
At $7.99 a month, Netflix is a great, affordable way for students to unwind. The streaming service offers over 6,400 movies and 1,600 shows and works on almost every computing device out there. Users can also download select videos to watch offline, and the service can be canceled anytime. Price: $7.99 per month
Delivery Service: Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime gives you so much: free shipping, extra discounts, Prime Video, Prime Reading, and even Twitch Prime benefits (such as no ads and free games). You can almost find anything you'd need to buy on Amazon (books, school supplies, electronics, you name it), so the free shipping and extra discount on certain items is enough to justify a membership. And if you tend to wait until the last minute for things, many areas get same-day shipping and free two-day delivery. Price: $10/month or $100/year
Set Top Box: Nvidia Shield
The Nvidia Shield not only supports your standard array of popular streaming apps like Netflix and Amazon Video, but it allows you to play a bunch of Android games and stream PC games from locally networked computers. The device supports Google Assistant AI, so users can ask it to keep them up to date with reminders and more. Finally, it supports Google Cast, which allows people to stream videos to the device using their phones. Price: $199.99
Portable Bluetooth Speaker: Ultimate Ears Boom 2
The UE Boom 2 is arguably the best portable Bluetooth speaker around. It's loud enough for small parties, rugged enough to survive five-foot drops, and waterproof for up to 30 minutes. This makes it a great speaker to use in the shower or at the beach. It's also got pretty good battery life and can last 15 hours on a single charge. Price: $150
Pre-built Gaming PC: Cyberpower PC Syber Vapor Elite
CyberPowerPC offers great pre-built rigs at affordable prices. The company's Syber Vapor Elite is one that's powerful enough for design work and video production duties. Oh, and it's also a pretty competent gaming PC with its quad-core CPU and GTX 1060 GPU. The Syber Vapor Elite is small enough to fit into the tiniest dorm rooms and apartments without much issue. The company also allows you to tweak the configuration. We recommend spending $1,155 so you can get an external optical drive and a 240GB SSD coupled with a 1TB HDD. Price: $1,155
Keyboard: Corsair K68 Water Resistant Mechanical Keyboard
Those who are particular about their keyboard should look into Corsair's K68 since it comes with smooth Cherry MX Red mechanical switches. It also has a rubberized gasket underneath the keycaps that not only makes keystrokes quieter, but protects the innards from getting damaged if you spill liquid on it. Price: $100
Mouse: Razer Naga Hex V2
Razer's Naga Hex V2 mouse is designed for MOBA players with its eight programmable side buttons, but they also come in handy for productivity. Video producers, photographers, engineers can program keyboard shortcuts to these buttons to make their applications easier to use. Even writers can use these buttons for simple actions in word processing applications. Price: $80, can be found for $60
Mobile Gaming: Nintendo New 2DS XL
Nintendo's New 2DS XL is the latest iteration of the 2DS/3DS, and while it's late in its life cycle, there are so many great games to play on it, especially if you have yet to jump in. The New 2DS XL is a bit more compact than the New 3DS XL and sports a sleek design and two large screens. When you have some downtime during commutes, between classes, or after exams, jump into Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Fire Emblem: Awakening, or Xenoblade Chronicles. Price: $150
Power Bank: Anker PowerCore 10000
With mobile devices being so essential to our daily lives, it's important to keep them up and running. That's why it's important to carry a power bank. One of the best portable chargers is Anker's PowerCore 10000. As the name implies, it offers 10,000mAh of juice. That's more than enough to fully charge an iPhone 6 three times over. Considering it offers so much battery life, it's pretty small. To top it off, the PowerCore 10000 also offers high-speed charging. Price: $26
Earbuds: Plantronics Backbeat Fit
You can find cheap earbuds everywhere, but finding quality wireless ones can be a challenge. Luckily, there's Plantronics' Backbeat Fit. The Bluetooth earbuds are designed for fitness, which makes them great at keeping the "freshman 15" at bay. They're sweat-proof and water resistant with their IP57 rating, and wrap around the ear for a stable fit. They also last up to eight hours on a single charge, which makes them great for lengthy study sessions. Price: $79.90
USB drive: LaCie XtremKey USB 3.0 (32GB)
A USB thumb drive is one of the most essential tools in high school and college. Whether you're moving large video files, bringing your Powerpoint presentation to class, or just taking your essay to the library to print, thumb drives are clutch and a must-have. The LaCie XtremKey, in particular, is built to withstand harsh conditions since it's secured in a hardened waterproof aluminum case. It's also a USB 3.0 thumb drive, so data transfer will be pretty fast. We recommend the 32GB version since that's pretty spacious, but sizes up to 128GB are available. Price: $45
External Hard Drive: WD 1TB My Passport
While a USB stick works great in a pinch. If you want something larger to archive videos and documents, we recommend getting a beefier external hard drive. WD offers one terabyte solutions that scale up to 4TB with its My Passport HDDs. The portable drive is pretty fast with its USB 3.0 support and allows users to reach read and write speeds of 174MBps and 168MBps, respectively. The 1TB SKU retails for $53, which makes it pretty affordable. Price: $53
Windows Laptop: Dell XPS 13
There are a plethora of Windows laptops out on the market, but arguably the best travel-friendly one is Dell's XPS 13. It features excellent build quality and can be outfitted with good internal specs that include a quad-core i5 CPU, 8GB of memory, and a 128GB SSD. It also comes with a 1920x1080 IPS touchscreen display coupled with a 64-bit version of Windows 10. Price: $930
Apple Laptop: Macbook Air
Apple's devices are usually pretty expensive, but the company's MacBook Air is very reasonably priced. For $750, you can get a thin and light 13.3-inch Apple notebook that's equipped with a quad-core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. Despite the laptop's small size, it's got a battery that can last up to 12 hours. Price: $750
Gaming Laptop: Gigabyte Aero 15
While Dell's XPS 13 and Apple's MacBook Air are great portable notebooks, they can't match the power that a gaming laptop offers. With its 1080p IPS panel, quad-core 7700HQ CPU, GeForce GTX 1060, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB SSD, it offers balanced specs that make it great for gaming or productivity. It's also very portable for a gaming laptop and offers good battery life. Price: $1,899
Chromebook: Asus Chromebook C202SA-YS02
For the student who just needs to do some word processing and browsing, there's the Chromebook category. Asus' offering here might only offer 16GB of storage, but it doesn't need much since its operating system is essentially just Google's Chrome browser. It's also only $199. Still, for that price, you get a spill-resistant keyboard and decent specs that include Intel's Celeron N3060 processor coupled with 4GB of RAM. Because the Chromebook isn't very power hungry, it can also last up to 10 hours. Price: $199
Tablet: Asus ZenPad 10.1
There's a sea of tablets out there, but for the student, Asus' ZenPad 10.1 is a compelling choice. The one-pound 10.1-inch tablet is affordable and uses a 1280x800-resolution IPS panel that's equipped with a quad-core 64-bit processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage. It also supports Micro SD cards up to 64GB. Price: $156.64
By Chris E. Hayner on Aug 04, 2017 04:28 am
Donkey Kong, 1981
Gaming legend Mario has evolved quite a bit since his 1981 debut in Donkey Kong, but he still retains his signature style. Here's how he's changed over the years. Console: Arcade (later ported to home consoles) (Image credit: Nintendo)
Mario Bros., 1983
Console: Arcade (later ported to home consoles) (Image credit: Nintendo)
Super Mario Bros., 1985
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) This is Mario's debut on the NES. (Image credit: Nintendo)
Punch-Out!!, 1987
Console: NES Mario serves as referee to the boxing matches. (Image credit: Nintendo)
Mario Bros. II, 1988
Console: NES (Image credit: Nintendo)
Super Mario Land, 1989
Console: GameBoy (Image credit: Nintendo)
Super Mario Bros. 3, 1990
Console: NES (Image credit: Nintendo)
Dr. Mario, 1990
Console: NES (Image credit: Nintendo)
NES Open, 1991
Console: NES (Image credit: Nintendo)
Super Mario World, 1991
Console: Super Nintendo (SNES) (Image credit: Nintendo)
Mario's Time Machine, 1993
Console: SNES and PC This is one of a few educational Mario games released over the years. (Image credit: Nintendo)
Hotel Mario, 1994
Console: Philips CD-i This is an ultra rare example of a Mario game developed for a non-Nintendo console. (Image credit: Nintendo)
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, 1995
Console: SNES This game marks the first appearance of Baby Mario. (Image credit: Nintendo)
Super Mario 64, 1996
Console: Nintendo 64 (N64) (Image credit: Nintendo)
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, 1996
Console: SNES (Image credit: Nintendo)
Mario Golf, 1999
Console: N64 (Image credit: Nintendo)
Paper Mario, 2000
Console: N64 (Image credit: Nintendo)
Super Mario Sunshine, 2002
Console: Nintendo GameCube (Image credit: Nintendo)
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, 2005
Console: Nintendo DS (Image credit: Nintendo)
New Super Mario Bros., 2006
Console: Nintendo DS (Image credit: Nintendo)
Super Paper Mario, 2007
Console: Nintendo Wii (Wii) This is Mario's debut on the Wii. (Image credit: Nintendo)
Super Mario Galaxy, 2007
Console: Wii (Image credit: Nintendo)
Super Mario 3D Land, 2011
Console: Nintendo 3DS (Image credit: Nintendo)
New Super Mario Bros. U, 2012
Console: Nintendo Wii U (Wii U) This is Mario's debut on the Wii U console. (Image credit: Nintendo)
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, 2013
Console: Wii U (Image credit: Nintendo)
Super Mario Run, 2016
Console: Apple iOS, Android This is Mario's debut on mobile devices. (Image credit: Nintendo)
Super Mario Odyssey, 2017
Console: Nintendo Switch Slated for release on October 27, 2017, Super Mario Odyssey will be the first Super Mario game on the Switch console. (Image credit: Nintendo)
By Jimmy Thang on Aug 04, 2017 02:49 am
Best Cheap Gaming PC Build
Last updated August 3, 2017 Shopping for PC components can be intimidating if you're not up to date on hardware news. Fortunately, we've done the research for you and have put together three tiered builds (cheap, mid-range, and high-end) geared to deliver great gaming experiences. You can certainly build a PC for less than the budget-oriented rig we're recommending here, but it's often a good idea to spend a little more to mitigate serious bottlenecks and avoid harsh compromises. With that in mind, we spec'd out components that will deliver an excellent 1080p gaming experience for less $650. Listed prices reflect time of publish. Click through the gallery to read why we chose our respective components.
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 1200
AMD recently released two good budget CPUs with its Ryzen 3-series processors. Unlike Intel's entry-level Core-i3 equivalents, AMD's chips feature four cores instead of two. Four cores is the minimum number of cores we recommend for any respectable gaming PC. That's why we're going with the Ryzen 3 1200 for our processor. It's an affordable quad-core CPU that offers a 3.1GHz base clock and a 3.4GHz boost clock. The CPU is also fully unlocked, which means you can overclock it as long as you have an AM4 motherboard with the B350 or X370 chipset and proper cooling. The same can't be said of all Intel i3 CPUs. Its quad-core architecture makes it VR-ready and provides some future-proofing for games that will be optimized for four cores. It also has four threads; coupled with 8MB of L3 cache and 2MB of L2 cache, this makes it a pretty good chip for productivity, too. And you don't need to worry about spending more on an aftermarket cooler since the CPU comes with AMD's Wraith Stealth solution. Price: $109
GPU: EVGA GTX 1060 Gaming
The Cryptocurrency craze has unfortunately greatly inflated the price of graphics cards since GPUs are so good at mining data, but we were able to find an EVGA GTX 1060 for $220. It's a really good GPU, too. From our testing, it's on par with the GeForce GTX 980, which was Nvidia's $550 flagship graphics card in 2014. In terms of specs, the EVGA variant carries a stock 1506MHz core clock and 1708MHz boost clock along with 3GB of GDDR5 RAM. It's by far the most expensive component in our build and you can argue that it belongs more in a mid-range build, but we think it's worth the investment for a gaming rig considering it should be able to max out most games at 1080p with smooth, playable frame rates. Price: $220
Motherboard: ASRock AB350M-HDV
Since we selected a Ryzen 3 CPU, we'll need an AM4 motherboard to pair it with. We're going with ASRock's AB350M-HDV ATX mobo. At $70, it's the most affordable board we could find that will allow us to overclock our CPU. It also supports DDR4 RAM up to 3200MHz. Finally, it has an M.2 slot, which gives you the option to install super-fast NVMe SSDs. Price: $70
RAM: Patriot Viper Elite 8GB (2 x 4GB) 2800MHz
Any respectable gaming PC should have at least 8GB of RAM, so we're going with 8GB of Patriot's Viper Elite sticks clocked at 2800MHz. Patriot is known for its memory, and these modules in particular are compatible with our Ryzen CPU. We're getting our RAM across two modules, so we can run it in dual-channel mode to get more memory bandwidth. Price: $70
Storage (SSD): Kingston A400 120GB
While solid-state drives are more expensive than hard drives, we couldn't recommend building a system without one, even in a budget-centric rig. As an affordable solution, we're going with Kingston's 120GB A400 SSD. That's not a ton of storage, but it should be enough for the operating system and some of your favorite games and programs. In terms of speeds, it's a SATA III drive that's capable of delivering read and write speeds up to 500MB/s and 450MB/s, respectively. In layman's terms, this will make your PC boot up faster, load programs quicker, and feel much more responsive overall. Price: $55
Storage (HDD): IBM/Seagate Constellation ES 1TB Hard Drive
While we absolutely recommend getting a solid-state drive for at least your boot drive, 120GB isn't going to be enough for all your needs. That's why we're supplementing our SSD with a 1TB hard drive. More specifically, we're recommending the IBM/Seagate Constellation ES drive, which is a 7,200RPM HDD that provides plenty of space for the price. Price: $40
PSU: EVGA 500 B1, 80+ Bronze 500W PSU
Even though we're putting together a budget rig, it's vital that you don't skimp out and buy a cheap, no-name power supply. A PSU that fails can really damage the rest of your components. With that said, we're going with EVGA's 500 B1 PSU. The company is one of the best PSU manufacturers on the market, and its 80 Plus Bronze rating provides safety at an affordable price. Its 500-watt output also offers more than enough juice to power all of our components. Price: $36
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Lite 3.1
Just because our case is under 40 bucks, it doesn't mean that we have to get one that looks ugly or cuts corners on features. Cooler Master's MasterBox Lite 3.1 is built with acrylic glass front and side panels and supports two 120mm fans at the front, a 120mm fan in the back, and has a cutout at the bottom for your PSU fan. The case fits full-length graphics cards and offers front I/O that includes a headphone jack, mic port, USB 3.0 port, and USB 2.0 port. Overall, the case looks pretty sleek as well. Price: $40
Total
The total for our build comes up to $751.92 You can certainly build a PC for less, but this build represents a killer gaming rig that will be able to max out the most graphically demanding games at 1080p with smooth frame rates. It'll also be able to handle VR and plenty of 1440p games as well. It has all the core components you need in a great gaming PC.
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