NZXT INTRODUCES AN
OVERWATCH-THEMED CASE
That logo is really hard to miss.
NZXT has combined its powers with Blizzard
Entertainment to create a special edition case from
its popular H500 model, one of the best PC cases, just
in time for the current Overwatch League season. Aside
from the aesthetics, not much is different about the actual
case design. It comes in a black, white, and orange color
combination, and both the front of the case and the side
are adorned with the Overwatch logo, while the entire
Overwatch name is also on the side of the case.
Other than that, since NZXT is using its own H
model, expect the same all-metal chassis, tempered glass
panel, and simplified cable management and water-
cooling installation.PCPP
NVIDIA AND OBS WANT YOU TO SAY BYE TO DUAL-PC LIVESTREAMING
New GPU-based solution makes showing the world your l33t skills easier.
Livestreaming is easier than ever, but it can still be hard on a PC.
Many streamers use dual-PC setups in which one system is used to
actually play a game and the other to stream it. But this week Nvidia
announced that a new version of OBS, the software underpinning many
livestreaming setups, is optimised to let people who use Nvidia GPUs
host quality streams from a single PC.
The optimisation arrives via improved support for the NVENC
hardware encoder used by Nvidia’s GPUs. Most streamers use GPU-
powered encoding rather than relying on their CPUs because that allows
them to use their graphics cards to their full potential instead of being
bottlenecked by their processor. That can be taxing on the GPU, though,
leading to lower in-game frame rates.
According to Nvidia, OBS Studio version 23 “reduces the FPS impact of
streaming by up to 66 percent compared to the previous version.” That
ostensibly means that streamers no longer have to choose between
lowering the quality of their streams, dealing with low in-game frame
rates, or investing in a dual-PC setup. These optimisations affect
600-series and newer GPUs with NVENC.Of course, the company also used the opportunity to highlight the
advantages its RTX graphics cards can offer streamers (we wonder why.)
Nvidia claimed using its latest-and-greatest offerings “will noticeably
improve image quality at reduced bitrates,” thanks to “architectural
improvements to the dedicated hardware encoder.” That should help
streamers with less-than-stellar internet speeds.
Aside from the above comparison, Nvidia said the new optimisations
improved framerates by up to 48 percent in Fortnite, PlayerUnknown’s
Battlegrounds, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 — Blackout and Apex Legends
compared to x264 Fast encoding (the focus on battle royale titles likely
resulting from the genre’s massive popularity on every major
streaming platform).
OBS Studio version 23 is available now for Windows, macOS, and
Linux at this website. Nvidia said StreamLabs, a popular streaming
platform that uses OBS as a base for its own app, “will implement these
improvements in their client in the near future.” Hopefully that will help
save smaller streamers from the hassle of buying and using a dual-PC
setup just to improve their stream’s quality.