Next-Gen peripherals: Oculus Rift

 

Oculus Rift is a new virtual reality (VR) headset designed specifically for video games that will change the way you think about gaming forever. With an incredibly wide field of view, high resolution display, and ultra-low latency head tracking, the Rift provides a truly immersive experience that allows you to step inside your favorite game and explore new worlds like never before.

 

Upcoming technologies for gaming:

Nvidia G-Sync:

NVIDIA G-SYNC is groundbreaking new display technology that delivers the smoothest and fastest gaming experience ever.

G-SYNC’s revolutionary performance is achieved by synchronizing display refresh rates to the GPU thus eliminating screen tearing, input lag and stuttering.

With current monitors, the GPU has a feature (V-sync) which locks the frames to 60 to provide a stable image, but when the frame rate drops, V-sync would generate additional frames to compensate and this creates a lot of stress on the GPU and creates lag.

AMD Mantle:

Mantle is a driver within the AMD Catalyst™ software suite that lets applications speak directly to the Graphics Core Next architecture. 

Mantle reduces the CPU’s workload by giving developers a way to talk to the GPU directly with much less translation. With less work for the CPU to do, programmers can squeeze much more performance from a system, delivering the greatest benefits in gaming systems where the CPU can be the bottleneck.

By shifting work to the GPU, a mid-range or older CPU isn’t the same handicap it was before. With Mantle, the GPU becomes the critical part of the system, and GPU upgrades will have a bigger impact than before.

 

Various gaming peripherals:

Computer keyboard:

Keyboards allow the user to input letters, numbers, and other symbols into a computer that often function as commands.

The alphanumeric part is the primary portion of the keyboard that contains letters, numbers, punctuation and some of the symbol keys. Today most users utilize QWERTY style keyboards, as shown in the below graphic illustration.

 

The keypad is used for easy access to numbers and mathematical symbols for calculations.

The arrow keys enable the user to scroll through pages.

The function keys are often short cuts in programs (example F1 is help in many programs).

When playing a game, it would have been up to the programmer to decide which key does what, but usually the arrow keys are used in menu navigation and the WASD are used for character movement.
PS4 controller:
 
The DualShock 4 Wireless Controller for PlayStation 4 defines the next generation of play, combining revolutionary new features with intuitive, precision controls. Improved analog sticks and trigger buttons allow for unparalleled accuracy with every move while innovative new technologies such as the multi-touch, clickable touch pad, integrated light bar, and internal speaker offer exciting new ways to experience and interact with your games.