TESTED &
GEEK
APPROVED
RED DEAD
REDEMPTION 2Who doesn’t want to
roam the plains of the
Wild West, staring
off into the beautiful
sunset? Forget the bank robberies and
other hijinks, Red Dead Redemption 2 on
PC is the definitive way to play, and it looks
stunning. Or at least, it can.
A heads-up before you even think about
cranking all the settings to maximum: Your
PC almost certainly can’t handle the truth.
And the truth is that even at 1080p with an
RTX 2080 Ti and a Core i9-9900KS, you’re
going to see dips below 60fps—and that’s
before enabling 4xMSA A. I recommend
sticking to high quality settings, which look
nearly as good, and allow for a relatively
steady 60fps or more with a 2060 Super or
faster GPU. Also, turning down reflections
and volumetrics doesn’t affect image
quality much, but can boost performance.
There’s a lengthy single-player story
that can take 100 hours or more if you
start wandering off the beaten path. Or
you can stick with Red Dead Online and
lose yourself in the company of friends
and strangers for the next year or more.
If you’re like me, and don’t bother with
consoles, come join the fun on the best
gaming platform around. Long live the PC.
$60,www.rockstargames.comRAZER KRAKEN
ULTIMATEI’ve been spending time
with Razer’s Kraken
Ultimate headset. One
of its features is THX
support—the audio
quality assurance system that has been
synonymous with the motion picture
industry since the 1980s. While other
headsets tout 7.1 virtual surround sound,
the Kraken Ultimate takes 7.1 further with
its THX compatibility. Not only is this the
first headset I’ve worn that fits the contours
of my head, but it also sounds fantastic.
To get 7.1 to work, just download and
activate the driver from the Razer website.
The bass is warm and deep without
creating an uncomfortable vibration inside
your ear canal, and the treble is smooth
and balanced alongside the bass. There’s
no rattling, even with the volume cranked
to the max. The binaural response is also
good, which makes it easy to tell where
approaching footsteps or gunfire are
coming from in a game. The only downside
is the mic, which takes some adjusting to
increase the volume of your voice, but then
I still haven’t come across a headset mic
that I like better than my Blue Yeti.
$130,www.razer.comSenior editor, Jarred Walton, and hardware staff writer,
Joanna Nelius, kick back and enjoy the simpler thingsEditors’ Picks:
Digital Discoveries
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ARE YOU THE OUTDOORSY TYPE? Western
Digital’s subsidiary G-Technology has
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The ArmorATD has all the features
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It’s also crush-resistant up to 1,000lb,
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The rubber armor also includes a
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It’s compatible with Windows and
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$90, https://shop.westerndigital.
com/g-technologyG-Technology
ArmorATD 2 TB
maximumpc.com JAN 2020 MAXIMUMPC 93