Addon Review: TradeSkillMaster
TradeSkillMaster is a modular addon used to help you to simplify your gold-making processes. The goal of the addon is to consolidate all the different tasks needed to make gold in an efficient way while remaining light-weight and customizable. If you used it during beta and had qualms about the UI, note that it has been significantly improved since then.
One of the more useful features is a module that allows you to see the profit involved in just purchasing and crafting things for your profession. It still requires common sense though, as some things may be profitable but not in demand anymore. Another useful module is the Mailing module, that allows you to mail items to your other characters according to the settings. If you often craft things that need to go to another character, this can save many clicks. There are many more modules that are useful as well, take a look at the full list for more details!
LFR Compilation and FAQ
Azshira put together a nice summary of the LFR changes and boss tactics for DPS, Healers, and Tanks on each fight.
Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
LFR Item Level Requirement Reduction
We're currently looking into reducing the item level requirement for Mogu'Shan Vaults LFR from 463 to 460. This should mean that more players will be ready to go once LFR is rolled out, but their gear should still be at an appropriate level for the fights. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Monk vs Rogue Energy Usage
I don't know much about monks, but their system is similar to rogues right? Does their system use both resources for finishers?
Nope, Monk abilities consume singular resources.
While true, the abilities Monks use to generate Chi are not very damaging, while the strikes a Rogue uses to create combo points are core damage abilities. Monks need Chi to execute bread and butter damage abilities at all. It's not a very good direct comparison.
One should always be careful when comparing how one class's abilities work versus another to take into account all the variables. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Horde vs Alliance in MoP
Where is it? I mean I see a lot of it in Jade Forest, but after our big Skirmish I don't see them again till Kun-Lai summit, which is just building up a foothold and getting some panda allies, then I don't see any more Alliance or Horde again till I hit 90 and talk to Auldin about getting those gates open, that's it. I heard this expansion was putting the WAR back in warcraft, I see a lot of Bugs and Mogus or whatever waring, but not a lot of Alliance versus Horde.
Anyway, if you saw some Waring, let me know I have two other toons to level up, and I want to see all I can.
We've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating here for those that may have missed it. The start of the expansion has been meant to introduce (reintroduce) the war between the Horde and Alliance, but spends a little time introducing you to Pandaria itself. It's (at first) about exploration of this new land. Though, don't be fooled. The war between the Horde and Alliance is there, and will be progressing as the patches progress. The war itself coming to the peaceful shores of Pandaria has stirred up an old enemy of the Pandaren and needs some dealing with too. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Computers - Setup of the Month (by chaud)
Each month or every 2 months, depending on the hardware evolutions, the lovely chaud will work on a couple of hardware setups for those of you who are thinking of upgrading their computer!
This month
Hard drive prices are stagnant and still above the pre-flood prices, so now is still a good time to buy a SSD. The current SSD prices seem to have bottomed out for now, with almost all SSDs under $1 per gigabyte. A few sales have even gone under 50 cents per gigabyte, so look for something on sale!
Unless you are doing a lot of video rendering or something that is similarly multithreaded, you do not need the 3770K and should spend that money elsewhere. New CPUs from Intel won't be here until sometime next year, so there is nothing new coming anytime soon in that area.
Make sure to keep your AMD and Nvidia drivers up to date.
Don't hesitate to post any feedback in the comments of that news post, and don't forget to visit the Computer Forum for any extra questions! If you are interested in Folding@home, take a look in our team's thread.
Peripherals/Monitors
| Component | Puppy | Dolphin |
|---|---|---|
| Monitor | Acer V223W EJBD 22-Inch Widescreen - $138 | ASUS VW246H 24-Inch Widescreen - $188 |
| Keyboard | Logitech Media Keyboard K200 - $17 | Cyborg V.5 - $48 |
| Mouse | Logitech G400 - $37 | Razer Deathadder - $47 |
| Speakers | Logitech S220 2.1 Speaker System - $27 | Logitech Z313 Speaker System - $38 |
| Component | Narwhal | Unicorn |
| Monitor | ASUS VE278Q 27-Inch - $305 | HP ZR2440W 24-inch (IPS Panel) - $379 |
| Keyboard | Logitech G110 - $58 | Razer BlackWidow (Backlit)- $70 ($111) |
| Mouse | Logitech G500 - $60 | Razer Naga (Buttons on the Side) - $71 |
| Speakers | Logitech Z323 2.1 Speaker System - $58 | Logitech Speaker System Z523 - $80 |
Puppy and Dolphin
Overclocked Puppy will outperform Dolphin when multiple threads are in use (Not WoW) and come close in most other cases.
Mix and match anything but the CPU/Motherboard combo between Puppy and Dolphin. Pick one of the two CPU/Motherboard combos.
Mix and match anything between Dolphin and Narwhal.
Overclocked Puppy will outperform Dolphin when multiple threads are in use (Not WoW) and come close in most other cases.
Mix and match anything but the CPU/Motherboard combo between Puppy and Dolphin. Pick one of the two CPU/Motherboard combos.
Mix and match anything between Dolphin and Narwhal.
| Component | Puppy | Dolphin |
|---|---|---|
| Case | NZXT GAMMA Classic - $40 | NZXT GAMMA Classic - $40 |
| Power Supply | Corsair CX500 - $60 | XFX Core Edition PRO 550W - $66 |
| CPU | AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition- $98 | Intel i3-3220 - $128 |
| Heatsink | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - $26 | Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - $31 |
| Motherboard | ASUS M5A97 AM3+ 970 - $95 | Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H - $125 |
| Memory | 4GB PNY Optima DDR3 10600 - $25 | 8GB G.Skill DDR3 12800 - $49 |
| Graphics Card | XFX 7770 - $107 | XFX 6870 or ASUS DCII GTX 560 - $140 / $160 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB - $64 | Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB - $103 |
| DVD | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $23 | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $23 |
| Total | $539 | $698 - $731 |
Narwhal and Unicorn
All of these parts can be mixed and matched to create a build between Narwhal and Unicorn. SSDs are always optional.
All of these parts can be mixed and matched to create a build between Narwhal and Unicorn. SSDs are always optional.
| Component | Narwhal | Unicorn |
|---|---|---|
| Case | Cooler Master HAF 912 - $60 | Cooler Master HAF X - $180 |
| Power Supply | Corsair 650TX V2 - $90 | Corsair 750HX - $145 |
| CPU | Intel i5-3570K - $220 | Intel i7-3770K - $330 |
| Heatsink | Thermaltake Frio - $57 | Noctua 6 NH-D14 - $83 |
| Motherboard | ASUS P8Z77-V LK - $128 | ASUS P8Z77-V - $190 |
| Memory | 8GB G.Skill DDR3 12800 - $49 | 8GB G.Skill DDR3 12800 - $49 |
| Graphics Card | XFX 7870 - $240 | XFX 7970 Black Edition OR EVGA GTX 670 FTW - $398 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black - $103 | Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black - $103 |
| SSD | SAMSUNG 830 128GB (Review) - $90 OR OCZ 120 GB Vertex 3 (Review) - $80 | Crucial 128 GB m4 (Review) - $100 OR Corsair Force Series GT 120 GB - $115 |
| DVD | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $23 | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $23 |
| Total | $990 - $1090 | $1406 - $1543 |
Curse Weekly Roundup
The team is back with news about Mojang's, Mists of Pandaria, Indie Game Movie for Netflix, the Mass Effect 3 DLC, Playstation Plus and the Game Forecast.
More...