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they really should dim the flash light down just a bit :|

Agreed! It is nuts. At one point my roommate was on the other team on metro and I could see his flash light through a board while he was trying to pick people off - rocket to the face (what else is an engineer gonna do with rockets on metro ;) )

WTF are they playing at? Why was Caspian Sea included, and then pulled?!

I've just loaded the game for the first time FINALLY, and have spent about 15 minutes getting "A generic game error was reported" messages which doing Quick Play and basically not being able to even launch the game. Electronic Arts RULE.

I was asking about weapon/attachment choices. Also, I know that I cannot play Caspian Border that is why I was asking. On Metro I have been holding onto the rockets for now just to clear people sniping upon entering the tunnels. I just wanted to get a feel for what other engineers have been using, regardless of map and platform (since I am limited to just metro).

You must mean BSOD? Even though your screen is red that is default 'oh **** its fried" for PCs. ROD normally stands for Red Rings of Death and is associated with an Xbox 360.

Yes RROD is for the 360. I have PC and am getting Red Screen of Death not BSOD. I reboot and it is fine.

Would be nice to get on it. damn thing just keeps timing out on me or giving generic error code 1 messages. :(

Ditto. Got excited for nothing... was looking forward to trying this all day. So much for that.

Any idea how to fix unable to join due to no ping response. Checked firewall and everything looks fine. Connection is active and browseable with other games/programs able to see the connection.

Is there some plugin im not seing that needs added or something ?

Any idea how to fix unable to join due to no ping response. Checked firewall and everything looks fine. Connection is active and browseable with other games/programs able to see the connection.

Is there some plugin im not seing that needs added or something ?

use another browser i get that issue with in ie9 , i switched to crhome no problems at all.

Special drivers worked like a charm for me, and I was skeptical too as this series has not been the best indeed, but these drivers helped tremendously for me.

And while this is what makes PC gaming glorious, it is also the not so fun part of PC gaming. There are so many different combinations of hardware it is really hard to say for sure what ultimately is the issue.

And damn, just read about the Caspian servers being shut down, that officially ends my time with the Beta more or less. Oh well, never even got to check it out. Although from what I read, I was not missing much.

I haven't even tried them with the beta to see if they'd help any of the issues in the beta as it's kinda not worth it. Cause even if the drivers did improve the beta they come at the cost of making using the pc as a whole worse as nvidia still hasn't fixed the random driver crashes in every 280 release,

I hate how the menu system works, I can't even quit the game unless I'm in the match and I can only edit the options while I'm in match, if I die it gets interrupted. They did this in BFBC2 as well and it ****ed me off.

Also the terrain glitches? I certainly hope they're looking into that, I had a guy kill me from underneath the ground multiple times. I turned around and saw a hat and though it was nothing until I was shot in the back. I would end up in the ground as well running towards boulders, couldn't even snipe properly.

It's great that this is only the beta though, they have time to perfect.

I'm under Antz007x in Neowin platoon if anyone wants to add me btw linked wrong accounts for BF3 lol

As for hardware

I've got AMD X6 1090T @ stock, 12GB DDR3 1600 and HD 6950 2GB and the game runs perfectly fine at 1920x1080 on ultra (though I've never used HBAO) and high for me. I've got latest AMD BF3 driver preview and only problems I've had on both metro and caspian is occasional colour flickering on screen in some cases. I'd only suggest being careful if one has epilepsy playing or watching with it's flashing at times which can be bad but that's something that can be fixed by release. Other then that it's all in game bugs and stuff.

@Chicane-UK: You'll need to change a few things. First of all, change the name of the Beta folder to Battlefield 3 in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games". Then in Registry Editor go to the following folder: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\EA Games\BF3 Beta. There you'll need to change the destiniation folder of both GDFBinary AND Install dir to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Battlefield 3\"

well that's stupid...

Not really it was never advertised as going to be available for the Beta, the whole point of Beta is to test the changes they made since the Alpha. The only reason it was available for the first few days is because people kept leaking the private password.

Not really it was never advertised as going to be available for the Beta, the whole point of Beta is to test the changes they made since the Alpha. The only reason it was available for the first few days is because people kept leaking the private password.

It should have been otherwise they're wasting our bandwidth bundling it in the beta which would have been a lot smaller should that have not.

If i could have just downloaded a 1.2-1.5GB metro only version I would have but I also had to download caspian too so whether they advertise it or not if they're going to wave it in our faces then they should let us play it otherwise just don't simple as that really..

@Chicane-UK: You'll need to change a few things. First of all, change the name of the Beta folder to Battlefield 3 in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games". Then in Registry Editor go to the following folder: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\EA Games\BF3 Beta. There you'll need to change the destiniation folder of both GDFBinary AND Install dir to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Battlefield 3\"

I changed my Origin config before I downloaded to stick my games onto the D: drive.. so I'm guessing this doesn't apply to me any more? :)

Played the beta for a while. Definitely better than BC2.

Some things I noticed:

No zoom toggle

Can't exit chat box by pressing ESC, you must press enter which sucks if you have something typed in it (seriously, haven't they learned yet?)

If you're at the deployment screen, your chat message doesn't go through.

Different types of chatting (All, Team, Squad) don't have an indicator over the chat box, sucks if you forget your binds

Hard to see enemies at a distance with the glowy and super HDR lighting system

Grenade throwing is awkward and you can't cook grenades

The arm/disarm bar on MCOM stations resets randomly (very frustrating)

Can't bind mouse3, mouse4, mouse5 (really??)

Still debating if I'm going to get this...

I changed my Origin config before I downloaded to stick my games onto the D: drive.. so I'm guessing this doesn't apply to me any more? :)

It still might if the word "Béta" in still in the folder name.

@Kyla A: What do you mean with "No zoom toggle"? Like, pressing the right mouse button, releasing it and having the gun still scoped in? Because that's still in the game in the options menu under the tab "Gameplay" :) The second point you made really is annoying. I've even had the chat box open when a round ended. Next thing I know I was unable to use my keyboard when the next round started :s The third point you made is also pretty annoying. They had pretty much nailed the chatbox in BC2. The grenade thing wasn't in BC2 either, not really missing that tbh.

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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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