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It doesn't have the same CPU as PS3, if they kept the CELL cpu it would have been outclassed by the next xbox, it would run hot and cost a fortune. Plus your PS3 doesn't magically stop working as soon as PS4 is released.

Sony should at least include a ps3 emulator. I dont like the idea of having to turn one console off and turn another on to play a older game. Sony has the ability to develop an emulator for the ps3. If you bought 10 ps3 games that were 40 dollars each, thats 400 dollars. I mean it would be nice to play Fallout 3, GTA IV, Gran Turismo or Just Cause 2 on the ps4!

It doesn't have the same CPU as PS3, if they kept the CELL cpu it would have been outclassed by the next xbox, it would run hot and cost a fortune. Plus your PS3 doesn't magically stop working as soon as PS4 is released.

I thought the deal was PS3 games would be streamed via cloud? Gaikai or however it's spelt.

Sony should at least include a ps3 emulator. I dont like the idea of having to turn one console off and turn another on to play a older game. Sony has the ability to develop an emulator for the ps3. If you bought 10 ps3 gamea that were 40 dollars each, thats 400 dollars.

The ability to fully emulate CELL? I do not think so.

I thought the deal was PS3 games would be streamed via cloud? Gaikai or however it's spelt.

Most likely, but BC plans if any will probably be announced at E3.

Sony should at least include a ps3 emulator. I dont like the idea of having to turn one console off and turn another on to play a older game. Sony has the ability to develop an emulator for the ps3. If you bought 10 ps3 games that were 40 dollars each, thats 400 dollars. I mean it would be nice to play Fallout 3, GTA IV, Gran Turismo or Just Cause 2 on the ps4!

That PS3 still works you know. Don't be a lazy git. If they included BC, we would be looking at an $800 PS4 just like how the PS3 was expensive as hell when it came out.

Sony should at least include a ps3 emulator. I dont like the idea of having to turn one console off and turn another on to play a older game. Sony has the ability to develop an emulator for the ps3. If you bought 10 ps3 games that were 40 dollars each, thats 400 dollars. I mean it would be nice to play Fallout 3, GTA IV, Gran Turismo or Just Cause 2 on the ps4!

The thing with emulators is that, well they're just that an emulator. And while a PS3 isn't that powerful compared to hardware today. if if you take the raw FLOPS or whatever of the PS3, the PS4 would in most cases be able to emulate that just fine. The issue is that the PS3 isn't just another architecture, had it just been another PowerPC architecture sure, but with the special split architecture, then the power required to emulate it rises exponentially. Effectively it would need a Cell CPU in the PS4 to do it, like the PS3 had the emotion engine in the start.

in any cases they'll use their streaming technology to give you BC when you have internet, and since the PS3 games are all 720 or below the compression quality reduction won't be terrible.

Looks weird, to me it looks like a cube, the fan vent image looks quite big.

Yet if it had a Microsoft logo it would be the best thing ever right?

Uh..yea right or may be I said it's a lame attempt because

1. they are obviously trying to rain on Microsoft's parade and it is a poor tactic (Microsoft has done similar stupid stuff)

2. the "tease" itself is badly done. blurry blocks and generic grills/edges. If you saw it without any PS4 affiliation, will you be able to make the connection?

but yea, I am the fanboy here...

Sony should at least include a ps3 emulator. I dont like the idea of having to turn one console off and turn another on to play a older game. Sony has the ability to develop an emulator for the ps3. If you bought 10 ps3 games that were 40 dollars each, thats 400 dollars. I mean it would be nice to play Fallout 3, GTA IV, Gran Turismo or Just Cause 2 on the ps4!

Emulating a PS3 isn't even possible now with the top of the line gaming computers, and you want them to add it into the PS4? I wish it would happen as well, but its not possible with the tech we have now.

Also, as it has been said many, many times before, you don't have to throw out your PS3 with you get a new console. It sucks, but people are making a huge deal out of this. PS3 doesn't have PS2 games native, and its been years. Stop crying about something that has been in play for 5+ years.

2. the "tease" itself is badly done. blurry blocks and generic grills/edges. If you saw it without any PS4 affiliation, will you be able to make the connection?

That's the idea behind a teaser video, if they just showed it, it wouldn't be a teaser would it? After all, Sony have already stated they'll show it at E3... so they'll show it at E3.

It's just a teaser to catch attention, which has worked because it's got you talking about it, didn't it?

That PS3 still works you know. Don't be a lazy git. If they included BC, we would be looking at an $800 PS4 just like how the PS3 was expensive as hell when it came out.

Maybe in the future then. Yes, your ps3 will still work, but once you get a new console, you dont want to go back to the old one. Remember, alot of people spent a fortune on ps3 games. I wont be buying the new ps4 console for several years anyways!

Uh..yea right or may be I said it's a lame attempt because

1. they are obviously trying to rain on Microsoft's parade and it is a poor tactic (Microsoft has done similar stupid stuff)

2. the "tease" itself is badly done. blurry blocks and generic grills/edges. If you saw it without any PS4 affiliation, will you be able to make the connection?

but yea, I am the fanboy here...

Yeah trying to keep the hype up for its own console on the eve of a big console reveal is a poor tactic........

As for the teaser you really don't have a clue, it's supposed to TEASE you into wanting to know more about it, to get people talking about it.

Go back to the Microsoft forum.

Maybe in the future then. Yes, your ps3 will still work, but once you get a new console, you dont want to go back to the old one. Remember, alot of people spent a fortune on ps3 games. I wont be buying the new ps4 console for several year anyways!

If you don't want to go back to the old one why do you want to play old games?

Who cares if you have spent a lot on PS3 games, you bought them for the PS3 not the PS4. That's your own problem if you don't want to switch between them.

Maybe in the future then. Yes, your ps3 will still work, but once you get a new console, you dont want to go back to the old one. Remember, alot of people spent a fortune on ps3 games. I wont be buying the new ps4 console for several year anyways!

PS3 will keep selling for quite a while yet, especially with this years lineup. The current, and potentially still to come revisions of the PS3 are that rock solid, the worst that may ever happen over time is you needing to replace the Blu Ray laser which is very easy.

qku82uj.jpg

Everyone is wondering what this is, not part of the controller/camera....

Maybe in the future then. Yes, your ps3 will still work, but once you get a new console, you dont want to go back to the old one. Remember, alot of people spent a fortune on ps3 games. I wont be buying the new ps4 console for several years anyways!

Sony stopped producing PS2s only last year. Look how long the PS3 has been out for.

Also, after about a year or two, most people don't go back to their old consoles.

Regardless if the ps4 will be BC or not, ps4 games are going to look incredibly photo realistic! If you thought ps3 games looked good, ps4 games will be mind blowing! I am going to wait several years to buy a new playstation 4, one reason is the price, and another is games in both in amount and graphics are going be better later.

From NeoGAF, looks like controller tweaks

think they made the touch pad a bit bigger, the little speaker at the bottom has been pushed down and the share button has been moved and is now sitting at an angle.

PfiJhio.jpg

G9fiGTe.png

vYZZNkw.png

I think it's the shape that people are wondering about. Grills/vents are shown in the video and they are rectangular, not circular.

most of the rectangular stuff are the front of the console and the eye toy camera.

this is likely on the side/rear of the console somewhere and it's not a perfect "box" shape, likely one side is round. that or this is the powerbrick ;)

I'm buying both the new PS and Xbox ...

To add to my current setup of

Sega Megadrive

Nintendo SNES

Nintendo 64

Sega Saturn

Sony PS2

Sony PS3

Nintendo Wii

Microsoft Xbox 360.

Brand whoring about consoles is pathetic. Every single person here attacking because it's not shown fully must be empty inside. Why not get excited about ALL new releases? Why not buy them all? I am :) Brand ###### can suck it.

  • Like 2

From NeoGAF, looks like controller tweaks

No, the new pictures are identical to the old one. the thing is the old one is a straight top down view. the new ones are shot at angles. it's kind of like the non paralell shadows on the moon photos thing ;)

if seen strgith from the top the share button is straight, it's straight in the new pic to. but it's not on a flat surface.

And if you look at the shading of the original top down picture, you'll notice the shadows showing the speaker is in the same downward bend/curve area that the new angled pic shows off better.

I'm buying both the new PS and Xbox ...

To add to my current setup of

Sega Megadrive

Nintendo SNES

Nintendo 64

Sega Saturn

Sony PS2

Sony PS3

Nintendo Wii

Microsoft Xbox 360.

Brand whoring about consoles is pathetic. Every single person here attacking because it's not shown fully must be empty inside. Why not get excited about ALL new releases? Why not buy them all? I am :) Brand ###### can suck it.

I don't have enough time to play all the new Xbox games, why would I need another console essentially giving me mostly the same games and whatever exclusives there are on either side, I can either live without or there are as or nearly as good alternatives on the console I have. I think PC, Xbox* and Computer covers all the gaming hours I had if my days where 48hours.

So whatever console you chose to buy, I don't see the need to have both Xbox and PS.

Is anyone planning on buying a ps4? I always wait several years because games will mature in graphics, quantity, and quality and the price will drop a little overtime.

Is anyone planning on buying a ps4? I always wait several years because games will mature in graphics and quantity, and the price will drop a little overtime.

If the pre-E3 show vision all comes to fruition, and we do not get any stupid announcements between now and release (silly DRM/silly paywalls), I'll buy fairly soon after launch for sure. The change to x86 and putting gaming/developers first should be a dream come true for gamers.

The new controller looks much better than the DS3 as well, shame it's not BC :p

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    • Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it by Steven Parker If you have been reading Neowin for any length of time, you may remember that I reviewed the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro back in April. I found it to be an excellent budget sound card, even though it lacked support for formats such as DTS over the included SPDIF port. Anyway, Creative reached out to me again asking if I was interested in reviewing the Sound Blaster AE-X. It is a card mainly targeted at headphone wearers, which I'll get into a bit later. Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: Creative Labs provided a free sample without any review pre-approval. Here are the full specs of it: Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Dimensions: 179 x 126 x 18 mm Weight: 263g / 9.28 oz Platform: PCI-e DAC: ESS ES9039Q2M Connectivity Options Side: Rear: 1 x HD Audio Front Panel Connector, 1 x ⅛“ Headphone port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Left) port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Right) port, 1 x Coaxial SPDIF-out port, 1 x ⅛“ Mic in/Line-in port, 1 x TOSLINK SPDIF-in port Surround: No DNR / SNR: THD+N: 0.0001% Dynamic Range 130 dB Recording Resolution: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Direct Mode: Line Out (Stereo): PCM up to 32-bit  384 kHz Coaxial SPDIF Out: PCM up to 24-bit 192.0 kHz Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 384kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 Output Impedance: 1Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 8–600Ω, IEM: 0.5Vrms, Low: 1.5Vrms, Mid: 3Vrms, High: 6Vrms, Maximum output power: 350mW @ 32Ω (High), Maximum output voltage: 6Vrms (High) Front Panel Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128 Output Impedance: 10Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 32–300Ω, Maximum output power: 40mW @ 32Ω, Maximum output voltage: 1.9Vrms ASIO: ASIO 2.3 Total Harmonic Distortion: THD+N: 0.0006% Dynamic Range: 114 dB Scout Mode: Yes EMI shielding: No (but it passed all the FCC emission tests) Operating temperature: 0–45°C Input Power: 12V⎓0.5A Warranty: 1 Year (MSRP) Price: $179.99 / £169.99 The Sound Blaster AE-X was announced at the end of May, and it becomes clear that it is mainly for headphone wearers. I should also note that the card does not support DDL/DTS encoding technology, but it is said to support decoding through the coaxial SPDIF port. I was able to test this working with the classic Windows Sound properties, but I could not get a DTS (decode) signal through my Logitech Z906, it defaulted to 3D sound whenever I played DTS content through Plex or Emby. In addition, this card only supports two channels (stereo) over the speakers. The surround support is limited to the Headphone Amp, so before I get underway, what we have here is a card mostly intended for headphone use, especially with its SPDIF In (Toslink) port where you could connect another device like a console. So what about the highlights of this card? The AE-X is powered by the ESS SABRE DAC (ES9039Q2M), which is capable of a 130 dB dynamic range. In addition, it supports 32-bit/384 kHz playback for deeper detail and clarity. The headphone amplifier delivers up to 350 mW @ 32Ω, which admittedly far surpasses standard onboard audio, offering support for studio-grade headphones. DSD256 and ASIO 2.3 are also supported. What doesn't it have? No support for What-U-Hear, Super X-Fi, or the SmartComms Kit No EMI shielding, but it passed all the FCC emission tests (from the FAQ) I also want to make it clear that I am no audiophile. For me, it's purely subjective and it should just "work" out of the box. First impressions As I said in the introduction, I was a bit sad to see that the AE-X only supports stereo output, meaning it would not be on par with my ALC1220 over my speakers, as I mentioned it seems like this card is marketed toward headphone users. Since I am not an avid gamer that would rule me out as a potential customer, but I can still test its capabilities! The card arrived in a nice-looking box, as shown above. It's quite a bit larger than the Audify FX Pro that I reviewed back in April, and at first I thought the covering meant that it was EMI shielded, but it isn't as mentioned above in the highlights section. What's in the box: 1 x Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe card 1 x 3.5 mm CTIA TRRS to Dual TRS Headset Splitter Cable 1 x Quick Start Guide Aside from the Quick Start Guide, which someone at my age (I guess) needs a magnifying glass to read thanks to the tiny fonts, Creative Labs also has the manual online, which first requires you to prove that you're human in order to access it (so I can't direct link it). Anyway, the box is mostly made up of cardboard, and the only plastic in it is the anti-static bag for the card itself. Design Top Bottom The card itself looks pretty cool and actually wouldn't look out of place in an all-white build. There's only one connector, and for some reason it is awkwardly placed on the side (front-facing) that is for the front panel audio connector, which will let you use the headphones through the front PC audio jack. Since the front panel Headphone Amp has fewer capabilities than the rear headphone port, I decided not to use it. Rear of card PCI-e interface The rear of the card is completely open and is normally where you would find the front panel connector. The PCIe interface side is completely covered, which initially made me think it was EMI shielded. I/O panel Side (front-facing) with Front panel connector On the outer rear bracket side we have the TOSLINK SPDIF in, Coaxial SPDIF out, RCA line out (Right), RCA line out (Left), Headphone out, and Mic/Line in ports. On the front facing portion of the card itself is the F-panel connector. Usage Test System Our test system consists of the following: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER (BIOS F12) Corsair RM1000x (2024) Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut (33x33x0,2mm) 2x 32GB Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 6000MT/s CL36-38-38-80 T-Force Z540 2TB (PCIe Gen5) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition (NVIDIA) Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Windows 11 25H2 Pro I installed the card into the Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER which includes the RealTek ALC1220 onboard audio. For our subjective listening tests, I used the Coaxial SPDIF port to my Logitech Z906 speakers. For headphone tests I used the OneOdio Studio Max 2 Wireless DJ Headphones that I reviewed last month. After installing the audio driver, I installed Creative Nexus, which is a relatively new app designed for the latest Sound Blaster cards. Then I discovered the AE-X needed both a driver update from 1.00.15.0001 to 1.01.09.000 and a firmware update from 1.00.06.0000 to 1.00.06.0002, then I was set to go. It should be noted that the card did not work without the driver (not Plug and Play). As you can see above, you can manage the firmware, driver, and inputs via Advanced Settings on the Device tab. By default Nexus enabled "Direct Mode". Upon clicking on Acoustic Engine, the Equalizer can be enabled and set to four different presets, which are: Gaming Music Movies Footsteps Enhancer There's also a dedicated Scout Mode for gamers. I mainly used Tidal and Spotify in the past week to listen to some of my Liked Songs (which now total over 700) in Shuffle mode; there were no pops or interference that I could hear. I also found a 5.1 Surround Music playlist on Tidal that sounded really great over Studio Max 2 headphones. When I reviewed the Audigy FX Pro, I went out and purchased a Logitech Z906 set second-hand for €100 specifically to use with the card, but in this instance all I could get on the AE-X was the 3D output of surround sound through Coaxial SPDIF and although it still sounded great, it isn't quite as good as DTS Interactive via my onboard Realtek ALC1220. Conclusion So what have I learned? The AE-X lacks multi-channel support for 5.1/7.1 setups and drops support for modern surround technologies like Dolby or DTS, functioning strictly as a stereo output device. So to really benefit, you will need Studio-grade headphones to "hear" the benefits of this card. With that being said, I can imagine it will appeal to gamers who are switching between console and PC. By utilizing the SPDIF in port, you could just plug your headphones into the AE-X (front or rear port) and then switch between PC and Console without having to move the headphones to a different port. As I said in the Sound Blaster Audigy review, the EQ in the Creative Nexus app offers safe presets, which allows a user to further tweak the lows, mids, and highs for a personal listening experience. Of course it all depends on the headphones you hook up to it. Speaking of headphones, I kind of wish I had higher-quality Studio-grade headphones to really test this card with; I'm not usually wearing headphones in my day to day duties. The only time I will wear them is if I want to listen to music very late at night and I don't want to disturb my neighbors, so my rating (verdict) is based on this fact. Someone with a PC/Console setup and wears headphone religiously to game, and consume media will benefit much more than I from the high-quality Headphone Amps that are included in the AE-X. Once again, I do feel like Creative could have gone the extra mile to support the S/PDIF port a bit more. Why include it if you're not supporting the main popular digital formats? It seems like the decision was more of a legacy-based one, offering uncompressed 2-channel PCM audio, for users with high-fidelity audio systems and external DACs. Maybe I will be lucky enough to review a card that truly includes all these features in the future. I am sure readers with far more knowledge on audio systems than me will correct me in the comments below. I'll just say I am happy to learn what I don't know! Where to buy The Sound Blaster AE-X is available to purchase now in preorder for $179.99 on the U.S. Creative website, or for £169.99 on the Creative UK website and will start shipping to customers from June 25.
    • $80 or 90%, anything else would be financial suicide one way or another.
    • Or... just use Bitwarden. Free, and has on-prem option as well. Works both on desktop and mobile, wherever you are. The age of local password files is over.
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    • I actually got to use one of those so called "backup codes" once. It was for a customer, I choose the backup code option, and by the grace of god, they actually hade them printed out. Imagine my surprise, when after using the backup code, Google then told use we had to enter a code they just sent to the gmail address we currently did not have access to. I was not amused, Google backup codes should be the end all get out of jail free card, because you had to have access to the account to even get them.
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