ASRock releases motherboards designed to mine Bitcoins, generate internet moolah

I'm about to write a bunch of really weird words in a row, but I need you to hang in there. We'll get through this together. Are you ready?

ASRock has just released a new motherboard series designed specifically to mine for Bitcoins. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time PC hardware has been built with Bitcoins in mind. Actually, these are the first PC components built to, theoretically, make you money.

Goodbye, V-sync! Nvidia G-Sync synchronizes monitor refresh rates with GPU render rates

The standard display refresh rate is 60Hz—that's 60 images per second—but fancy GPUs can render way more than 60 frames per second. We like more frames. More frames means more responsive input—and screw compromise!—but when out-of-sync rendering traps multiple frames in a single refresh, the Horrible One emerges: screen tearing. The best we can do now is tame the beast with V-sync, but in Montreal today, Nvidia unsheathed a new weapon which it claims will put tearing and stuttering down for good.

Valve says commercial Steam Machines will support AMD, Intel, and Nvidia graphics hardware

Even as Valve is trying to ease access to PC gaming in the living room, its plans for the Steam Machine won't be held up by an adherence to a single manufacturer of graphics hardware. The proposed SteamOS-based systems will support a variety of graphics builds with GPUs from AMD, Intel, and Nvidia when they launch next year, according to a report at Maximum PC.

Driver Fusion's on Steam, and ready to scrub your PC clean of old driver bits

If there's one downside to being a PC gamer, it's probably making sure that all our pieces of hardware behave appropriately with one another, as well as keeping their associated drivers updated and making sure they don't interfere with anything. Man, the drama. Improperly updated drivers can leave remnants of old drivers strewn about your system, hindering your system's all-too-precious performance. That's why Driver Fusion, the newest addition to Steam's software selection, is looking pretty sweet.

Corsair announces the Vengeance K70 fully-mechanical keyboard

Mechanical keyboards! They're great! Unless you don't like the click-clack, but even if you don't like the click-clack, they're great! They feel so good to use, really, and Corsair's new Vengeance K70 might become a contender. "It's more mechanical" says Corsair, meaning it uses Cherry MX Red switches (which actually aren't too clacky) under every key. It's also got lovely customizable backlighting and contoured WASD keys "so you can find them fast." Well, I think finding WASD is a skill most PC gamers don't need help with, but maybe it's more comfortable.

Meet GPU Boss, same as the old CPU Boss

CPU Boss emerged on the Interknot back in January as a one-stop tool for browsing, comparing, and ogling at the various processor chips for your motherboard's square-shaped embrace. Plenty of other PC parts fit well with the website's performance breakdowns, including the almighty video card. Here's GPU Boss then, which helps you pick the right graphics card for your machine with head-to-head stat face-offs, features, and pretty charts.

CPU Boss helps you find and compare the best processors

Shopping for the perfect chip to grace your motherboard's silicon throne can turn quite tedious, especially when delving into the finer differences between model versions. CPU Boss wants to turn all that into a painless process, and it does so with easily digestible rating lists, a comparison tool, and reviews for nearly all current chips on the market.

GeForce Experience beta launches: Help Nvidia help you optimize your graphics settings

Don't Panic: Intel pledges to continue support of socketed CPUs

Amidst rumors that the 2012 apocalypse would be caused by Intel discontinuing production of socketed CPUs, causing thousands of system builders and overclockers to cry out in anguish, our friends over at Maximum PC have given the all clear. Intel has no plans to begin welding their processors inseparably to motherboards to the exclusion of producing the removable kind we've all come to know and love. Life as we know it, so it seems, will go on.

Kingston reveal Beast 64GB RAM, new SSDs and obsession with manly nomenclature

Memory specialists Kingston have hit us with a one-two combo of brand new solid state drives and a whole new memory module they’re calling the Beast.

As if the memory market wasn't already macho enough, Kingston are looking to sex things up with the latest addition to their Predator line-up of memory upgrades. It’s all ostensibly dual-channel DDR3 in speeds ranging from 1600MHz up to 2400MHz and in kits of up to 64GB (sixty-four gigabytes! I felt that needed emphasising), with a range of memory latency ratings too. The Beast title is being given to the modules carrying the new “viciously aggressive” heatspreader design and that 64GB capacity is the largest in the HyperX performance memory family.

Mad Catz tease Strike 5 keyboard with glowing eye and "full 16 million color RGB backlighting"

Mad Catz specialise in creating keyboards that look like they've been assimilated by the Borg. The Strike 7 divided opinion when it was released a few months back. If you were tempted, but put off by the $300 price point then you might be interested in the Strike 5, a $200 alternative that replaces the touchscreen pop-up module with a terrifying glowing doom-eye and some analogue buttons.

Corsair snaps up peripheral developer, Raptor

Corsair's quest to shake off its reputation as a purveyor of fine PC memory and replace it with a reputation as purveyor of fine PC memory AND peripherals continues today, as the firm has announced it's to acquire German mouse and keyboard manufacturer Raptor.

Raptor, which was founded in 2004, only started selling outside its native German market recently, and from what I've seen of it in PC Gamer its line-up consists of mostly budget kit and a well priced mechanical keyboard, the K1. Sadly that's the one thing I haven't had chance to review as it's not generally available in the UK.

Watch a man play Starcraft 2 with a joystick

Starcraft, the most mouse and keyboard game known to man. As much about frantic clicking and precision control as it is about grand strategy. It would be impossible to play any other way, right? Wrong. This video, spotted appropriately enough by Joystiq, shows a man achieving the impossible, playing Starcraft 2 with a joystiq. Read on to find out how and more pressingly, why.

Microsoft Surface has pressure sensitive keys, could be perfect for stealth games

When Microsoft unveiled the Surface, its new tablet PC, one curious detail managed to slip beneath the radar. The tablet's integrated keyboard boasts pressure sensitive keys which, as Ars Technica have pointed out, could finally offer PC gamers the chance to control the speed of their movement.

I love my mouse and keyboard like tiny, mechanical brothers, but there are some things they don't do well. I'm secretly envious of our console playing brethren's ability to walk at whatever speed they choose, all dictated by the nuanced tilt of a game pad's analogue thumb stick. Our mice may be precision pointers of death, and our keyboards may offer us more buttons than a joypad owner's wet dream, but when it comes to movement we either walk very slowly, or run full tilt.

AMD brings turbo boost to Radeon HD7970

Should you happen to be in the market for a $500/£420 graphics card, AMD has launched a new contender for your cash today. I say new, but it's more a makeover: the Radeon HD7970 Gigahertz Edition is physically identical to the current AMD flagship, the HD7970, with a couple of minor tweaks to earn it that big sounding suffix.

The first is, as the name suggests, an increase to the core clockspeed from 925MHz to 1000MHz. To go with that the 3GB of memory has been accelerated to a full six gigahertz equivalent speed, putting it on a par with NVIDIA's top end GTX 680. More interesting, however, is the fact that AMD has also caught up with NVIDIA by introducing a feature for accelerating the HD7970 depending on the processing load and chip temperature, something which the latest GeForce cards were well praised for.

The best mice for Diablo 3

We joke about all the clicking in Diablo III, but broken mice and swollen wrists are no joke. They're bad things which make us sad. A good mouse is an important part of a balanced click-fest, so we've tested a selection of mice we think are best suited for Hell, as well as a few we don't recommend.

Note: If you're tired of Diablo III coverage, simply mentally replace any mention of it with "Torchlight II."

Intel, Plextor launch new SSDs: end days for hard drives in sight?

Intel and Plextor have both announced new additions to their SSD line up this week, hitting low price points for fast solid state drives. While they're timed to arrive at the peak of current generation SSD technology, though, it's what comes next that's really interesting.

Plantronics reveals GameCom 780 7.1 headsets/GameCom 380 headsets

Plantronics met with PC Gamer today to talk about their new headsets, the USB 7.1 Dolby Pro Logic II GameCom 780 (and their lower-priced stereo GameCom 380, with analog jacks rather than USB). The 780 and 380 are both set for US release on January 15th. At launch, they’ll be available at retail in Best Buy stores nationwide, or—if you prefer shopping via mouse and keyboard—you can snag ‘em online through Plantronics.com/us or Amazon.com. The 780 will set you back 80 clams, while the 380 will cost you $50. Read on for more details!

Hard Stuff: Origin EON15-S review

You know those folks that dress for utility instead of style? The ones that wear flak jackets and ammo belts to dinner parties? The Origin EON15-S is their laptop equivalent.

Geek toys review: Nanodots

When the carrying pouch is more entertaining than its contents, there’s something amiss. Inside an admittedly awesome yellow drawstring bag—complete with atomic logo emblazoned across the front—lies a handful of magnetic BBs called nanodots. That stick to each other. Awkwardly. That’s all they do. This is sort of like tearing open the wrapping paper off a massive box on Christmas morning only to discover a mouth-guard and a jockstrap within.