S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - A Beginner's Guide to the Zone

There's no hiding it, I'm a freak for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games.  These are PC exclusive, open world, first-person survival shooter games set in the Chernobyl disaster zone between 2011 and 2012.  The game is known for its atmospheric presentation, complex storyline and mixture of FPS and RPG elements.  S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 should be out in 2012, and you will see it on PC and consoles.  So to those console gamers, here's all the studying material you'd need to be ready to enter the Zone!  This guide also has information that the games do not discuss and may provide for an interesting read.

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P55 Overclocking Guide

Warning: Overclocking is something you do at your own risk. Intel does not officially support overclocking. Overclocking will void the warranty of your CPU. Then again, so does adding new CPU coolers and thermal paste.

Overclocking is becoming more common since it's a good way to alleviate CPU bottlenecks. Thankfully, overclocking on P55 based motherboards is not an extremely difficult task as you are about to see. For this guide, I am using the EVGA P55 FTW motherboard, Intel Core i5 760 and G.SKILL ECO 2 x 2 GB DDR3 1600 CL7 memory. Many of these terms and strategies apply to X58 overclockers as well.

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Computer Fans: Information and Recommendations

Fans are becoming more and more necessary for modern computers. They're used to simply move air through the computer or cool specific components. What more people should realize is that not all fans are the same, and it is a wise choice to select high quality fans that last long, fit your noise tolerance and provide enough airflow for your needs. In this guide I'll make recommendations on fans to choose from, and go over several important things you should know about fans.


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GPU Overclocking guide

Some people are unsure on how to overclock the GPU. Quite frankly, the GPU is the easiest thing to overclock in a system.  The first thing I recommend is to grab some useful programs and the latest drivers. The programs I recommend are Rivatuner, MSI Afterburner, or EVGA Precision (for the overclocking/monitoring), GPU-Z (monitoring/GPU info), and OCCT, Furmark, MSI Kombustor, or EVGA OC Scanner for stability testing.  Once you download these, you're ready to get started!


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Computer Airflow Guide

In order to properly cool your PC and its components, a good airflow setup is a necessity. Most pre-built PCs come with lousy airflow, thus heating up your components rather quickly. The use of fans is very important, and so is the location and orientation of the fans.  In this guide you'll find information on general fan setups inside of a computer case, as well as the differences between positive and negative air pressure.

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