Is Windows 10 Getting A Game Mode?

Rumours are that Windows 10 may be getting what's being described as a "Game Mode". If it happens it would most likely be part of a future Creators Update.

Theoretically, the gamemode.dll would allocate system resources to prioritise the resources needed by games when in the game mode, which would work in a similar way to the Xbox Operating System. As this is not available yet, there are obviously questions around it. Such as:

Will it work with older games and games from other platforms?

Will it work automatically or will it be something that needs to be manually enabled?

Will it require specific hardware in your setup?

Boosting gaming performance has only got to be a good thing, I think we'll all agree, but time will tell as to how this "Game Mode" will actually work and how it can be utilised by developers. If it is reserved for purely the Windows platform, it may not have the over all impact that gamers would like. Microsoft apparently have nothing further to share on this currently, but we will look out for updates so why not sign up by entering your email address in the box provided, to get updates straight to your inbox?

If your looking for any gaming related tech, use the below search bar to find what your looking for!

We're Getting Even Bigger!

As part of our continued success, GlygaTech as part of the GlygaWeb group of sites, are proud that we can now offer a vast product range via Argos, one of the best known and loved retailers in the UK.

Argos are part of the Home Retail Group which is a FTSE-250 company. Their first stores opened in 1973 bringing their new way of shopping to the high street and they have been growing ever since. They have a vast product range which you can access by clicking any of the Argos links on our websites.

The massive product range fits well with our current core areas in technology and motoring so we will be able to provide even better information and deals to all of the visitors to our websites.

Remember...........we do the searching so that you don't have to!

Best PC Gaming Graphics Cards - Great Deals!

PC gaming is all about response speed and high quality hi-res graphics. The PC processor speed and the amount of RAM are obviously key to this, but the other important part is the graphics card. The higher spec the on-board graphics processor is and the more on-board RAM means the better performance and a much better gaming experience. Other than RAM, the graphics card is also relatively easy to change and upgrade as new games come out that need higher spec machines. This page is dedicated to providing details and deals on the best graphics cards to make your search when you are building a new PC or just upgrading easy. Just click on the BUY NOW link when you've found the graphics card that suits you.

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The Gigabyte NVIDIA GTX 750Ti 5400 MHz 4 GB 128 Bit Graphics Card is a great place to start if your looking to upgrade. It has 4GB of on-board GDDR5 RAM, a fast 1059MHz processor, built in fans for cooling and 2 HDMI out connections. With a 4 star rating on Amazon, this really is a great budget graphics card. 

£118.98 + free UK delivery, your saving £26.01 over the usual price.

                                                      

               

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For the latest technology, the EVGA Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 FTW ACX 2.0 Graphics Card could be a perfect choice. Powered by the next-generation NVIDIA Maxwell architecture, the performance of this card is exceptional and designed to power the next generation of gaming. It has 4GB of on-board GDDR5 RAM, a super fast 1216GHz processor, EVGA ACX 2.0 cooling for optimum performance and 1 HDMI out port.

£283.49 + free UK delivery, saving £32.50 over the usual price.

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For great performance at a great price, then the MSI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING X Graphics Card is for you. This card has 3GB of on-board GDDR5 RAM and on-board cooling to deliver smooth performance and is VR and 4K ready! It does only have 1 HDMI port however. If you are looking for a more cost effective way of matching or even out performing the GTX 970, this is the card for you.

£199.98 + free UK delivery, saving £50.01!

To go with your new graphics card, why not visit our Xbox Controller page to get a Windows 10 compatible controller? Click here to view and buy.

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If your budget can stretch a little further, the MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Founders Edition Nvidia Graphics Card really is a high spec card. It has 8GB of on-board GDDR5 RAM and a super fast 1683GHz processor to give smooth performance and is also designed with VR and Ultra High Definition compatibility.

£427.70, saving a massive £52.29 over the usual price.

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For the ultimate in performance, the MSI NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1080 Founders Edition GDDR5X Graphics Card really does give you what you are looking for. With 8GB of GDDR5 RAM and a massive 2560 GHz processor, this card gives outstanding performance. It is ready for VR and Ultra High Definition and supports multiple displays. If you have the budget this really is the card to go for.

£637.98 + free UK delivery.

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The Asus Nvidia GeForce GT 730 Silent GDDR3 Graphics Card is a fantastic graphics card at a budget price. With 2GB of GDDR3 on-board RAM, a 902MHz processor and HDMI output, it gives great performance for the price, although not necessarily the best choice for 3D.

£42.99 - saving a massive £28.00 over usual price!

We will be updating this page to keep the latest products available so please check back regularly or why not sign up for email updates by entering your email address in the box provided.

Best Xbox One Controllers & Accessories

For every gamer, the controller is something that they need to be comfortable with whilst playing and can be customised to make them individual. This page shows the best available controllers and controller accessories currently available, to save you trawling through page after page on the main Amazon site for example. Just click on the BUY NOW link to buy when you've found what you want. Also related to gaming tech is the Finebuy Spencer Gaming Chair, click here to see our review page on this and to buy.

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The standard Microsoft Wireless Controller, great if you are looking for a replacement or as a second controller. With Bluetooth technology it's also compatible with Windows 10 PC's and tablets and the Xbox One S.

£43.60 + free UK delivery.

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Take your gaming to the next level with the Elite
Wireless Controller. Fully customisable with Hair
Trigger Locks, interchangeable paddles and rubberized diamond grip and you can even swap thumbsticks and D-pads to improve
your accuracy and speed.

£94.99 + free UK delivery - reduced!. You save £25.00 over the usual price.

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If you love playing Gears of War then you need the Gears of War 4 Crimson Omen Limited Edition. This controller has Bluetooth so can be used with Windows 10 PC's and tablets and it's also compatible with the Xbox One S.

£47.99 + free UK delivery.

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If you want to be a little different, then the Dawn Shadow Special Edition is for you. With texture grip and Bluetooth technology so that it can be used with Windows 10 PC's and tablets, this is a great controller to show your individuality

£54.99 + free UK delivery.

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Something that it's difficult to do without unless you want to get through lots of batteries is the Microsoft Xbox One Play and Charge Kit. It charges while you play and also charges while the Xbox One is in standby mode. Fully charges within 4 hours.

£16.14 - great value!

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Another great accessory if your in to messaging using your Xbox One, the MP power @ 2.4G Wireless Keyboard. Powered by the controller, there's no need for extra cables.

£13.99 - reduced!

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If you've got 2 controllers, you need to keep them charged! Why not use this Xbox One Twin Charging Cradle. You can charge 2 controllers at the same time from one supplied USB cable. Also supplied are two additional battery packs, so this really is a great value accessory.

£12.99 - great value!

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Want a cheap and easy way to customise your controller? Try one of our range of high quality silicone skins. This one comes as a pack of 3 different camo skins so you can easily change the look of your controller as often as you want. The skins provide a comfortable grip while you are blasting your opponents and allows for all of the controls to be perfectly accessible and the charging point of your controller is also fully accessible so that you don't need to remove the skin to charge it. Due to the quality of the silicone, the skins also help to protect the controller for normal drops and scratches that may occur during games play and the skins are also dust repellent.

£7.99 - a great cost effective way to customise your controller.

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Just want to change the colour of your controller? No problem. This pack of silicone skins gives you 4 options!

£8.06 - great value!











All of our controller skins fit snuggly over the controller and there is no need to take the controller apart which is something that you need to do with some rigid face plate covers.

We will be updating this page to keep the latest products available and adding new accessories so please check back regularly or why not sign up for email updates by entering your email address in the box provided.

Every Gamer Needs A Cool Gaming Chair! - Try The FineBuy SPENCER Rocking Soundchair with Speakers & Subwoofer

Whether your a serious gamer or someone who likes to play occasionally, we all know that being comfortable while your playing is essential. It also helps to concentrate, which we all know is really important when your running around maps shooting opponents on Call Of Duty Infinite Warfare or trying to get past someone's defence on FIFA 17. Ideally that means a dedicated gaming chair. If you have a chair that can connect to your console or PC to improve the sound quality, even better, as that helps to get even more immersed in your game. The FineBuy SPENCER Rocking Soundchair is a great choice and available via Amazon. Below is a review of the chair along with some of the tech details.

It's design is maximised for comfort with padded upholstery and head and neck support. Even the armrests have padded upholstery. For storage or space saving purposes, the chair is also designed to be collapsible as you can see below. It should be noted that the upholstery isn't leather, but 100% polyurethane, however, that does mean it's hardwearing and also easy to clean.

The sound setup is important on any gaming chair and with this model you get a 2.1 system with 2 speakers either side of the chair at head height and a subwoofer located on the back of the chair. As standard, the connectivity from the sound source is via RCA cable, however, with a readily available Bluetooth receiver, the chair can easily be converted to wireless. The volume and bass have individual adjustments so that you can optimise the bass from the subwoofer to your liking depending on the type of game. You can even link chairs together for sound if you are lucky enough to have multiple sound sources.

If black isn't your colour then you can choose different colours as shown here.

For comfort, design and sound setup this is definitely a chair worth considering.

Currently on sale for £209.95, your saving £40.00 over the usual price so click HERE to buy now.

Garmin Nuvi 57LM 5 inch Sat Nav - Review Of This Feature Packed In Car Tech

Having now had two Garmin Sat Nav's, the above one most recently, I have found them to be reliable from a navigation point of view and have the features that I need. The only reason that I purchased the 57LM really, was because the previous version that I had didn't come with free lifetime updates. The small difference in cost between paying for the updated maps and getting a new unit was so small that I went for the new one as that came with the free lifetime updates. It's also the number 1 best seller on Amazon, which is another indication that it was a good purchase to make.

The Garmin Nuvi 57LM has a 5" touch screen which is quite responsive, an improvement over my previous version where you needed to press hard on the screen sometimes. Along with preloaded maps, in this case for UK and Ireland and the free lifetime map updates and voice guidance, the other things that I specifically look for in a Sat Nav unit are speed camera alerts and lane guidance, both of which this unit has.

When the lane guidance activates, it gives a clear view of which lane you need to be in at junctions along with road sign visibility too, as you can see above. Also displayed as you drive are any speed limits in force where you are driving, your current speed and if you are using navigation, your time of arrival. The 57LM also has the Garmin "Up Ahead" feature, which is customisable, showing you places coming up in the direction of travel such as petrol stations or restaurants. As I mentioned this feature is customisable to your own preferences (I always include restaurants, but that's just me!). Similarly it also includes data from Foursquare so there are millions of locations, such as restaurants and other points of interest.

Input to find locations or what you may need at the time is easy as you can see from the above picture.

Access to input where you want to navigate to is also really easy and also allows navigation using postcodes along with being able to use the Garmin direct access feature or data from Fourquare for example to go to specific locations. This is really useful if you need to go to somewhere such as a shopping centre or another point of interest.

Using Garmin Express software on your computer, you can manage and update your maps etc. When you buy the unit is comes with a USB cable to connect to your computer, along with a power cable for the car, a suction cup bracket to fit in your car, pictured above and a quick start manual to get you up and running.

Compared to the previous unit that I had, the 57LM is greatly improved in terms of the usability and features, although it doesn't have Bluetooth connectivity for connection to your phone for handsfree calling as my previous model did. The wasn't essential for me however, as Bluetooth is fitted in my car. This is a great value for money Sat Nav with lots of useful features and is easy to use.

Currently you can save £20.99 on this unit giving a selling price of just £79.00, with free UK delivery via Amazon, so just click here to buy. This is also available via our motoring Car Care website where you can view and buy other motor accessories.

Can you take better photo's on your iPhone? Yes you can!

If, like me, you like taking photo's on your iPhone, there is a way to get better quality pictures than you would normally get using the default iPhone camera app. This article gives some pointers around how to do this.

With the release of iOS 10 comes the ability to take photo's in raw. This type of photo is captured directly from the camera sensor without any of the usual processing that the phone's software normally carries out. The downside to this is that this processing normally means that the file size of each photo is greatly reduced compared to a raw photo as this is unprocessed when it saves to your camera, so you do need to make sure that you have plenty of space. The upside is that the increased file size does give more flexibility to editing.

The current iPhone camera however, doesn't in itself support the taking of raw photo's so you will need to download an app to be able to do this such as Adobe Lightroom or Manual. Please also note that you can only take raw photo's on the iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, SE or the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. So if your running iOS 10 on an iPhone 5S for example, it's not going to be possible. Some apps like Manual do save the photo's to your camera roll, so just be aware that if you decide to edit them there using the usual editing tools within the app, you will end up with a lower quality JPEG image, so it's best to edit using a different tool such as Snapspeed.

If you want to edit on your computer rather than directly on the phone, if your a Mac user, you can AirDrop the files straight on to your Mac. If using AirDrop isn't something that your familiar with, then click here to see an article that I posted recently on using it.

Happy snapping!

How To Transfer Files Between iPhone, iPad & Mac Using AirDrop

If your a regular user of Apple tech, then you may already be using AirDrop regularly. It makes transferring files from one device to another easy and that's not just photo's, but speaking to people recently, even long time users of iPhones for example, aren't aware of the function or what it can do! Some people don't realise that you don't need to use Cloud sites, email or messaging to transfer files, AirDrop makes it easy. This article hopefully will give some background and pointers to using AirDrop. Previoulsy I posted an article to help people if they are considering buying a used Apple mobile device, if you haven't read it already, click here to take a look.

Essentially all you need to do is enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on your phone and providing the device that your looking to transfer to does the same, you are good to go.

It works with everything that can be shared, so not just photographs but text files etc. as well. It uses Bluetooth LE to essentially create a Wi-Fi connection between two devices, it also encrypts whatever you are sending so it makes the transfer more secure than e-mail. Because of the method of transfer, it is also quicker than other ways to transfer and the closer the devices are to each other, the easier it is to use.

AirDrop was released as part of the iOS 7 software update, so only works on devices that are running this version of the OS or higher. So it should run on an iPhone 5 or later, a fourth-gen iPad or later, any iPad mini, the iPad Pro, the iPad Air, and fifth-generation iPod Touch devices or later. If you want to transfer a file to a Mac however, you need the Mac running OS X Yosemite or later and the iOS device running iOS 8 or later, not 7.

So, to use AirDrop on an iPhone or iPad, the following steps will get you going:

• Turn on AirDrop by swiping up from the bottom of the screen to access the Control Panel. Please note that you don't go to Settings on the device/
• As mentioned earlier for this to work you will also need to enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which you can also turn on from your Control Panel.
• From the Control Panel you can turn on AirDrop for ‘Everyone’ or for ‘Contacts Only’. The ‘Contacts Only’ option means that only people in your contacts list can send you files via AirDrop. The ‘Everyone’ option allows anyone nearby who has this enabled to try and send you files. You always have the option to accept the transfer or not accept it, so if you have the 'Everyone' option enabled, be careful of what you accept.

If you are using AirDrop on a Mac, the following will get you up and running:

• Enable AirDrop by launching the Finder, clicking on AirDrop in the left panel, and turning it on for ‘Everyone’ or ‘Contacts Only’, the same options as mentioned above.
• You can drag and drop files to the device that you're sending to in AirDrop sidebar. Some apps also have a Share option that can be used with AirDrop.

Switching off the function is also easy, for iPhones and iPads just go back the Control Panel, go to AirDrop and select Off. For Macs go to the Finder and click on the AirDrop folder and select Off. Once disabled on any device, it will no longer be discoverable by another device that has AirDrop active.

To use AirDrop, due to the nature of the transfer technology, the two devices that are being used need to be within 30 feet of one another. If AirDrop is enabled on both devices, but the other device that would be the recipient isn't showing on the sender's device, try moving a little closer. Again due to the technology, transferring larger files should be easier, although it has been known for files that are a number of gigabytes in size to fail. Please note that you can't share music from the Music app via AirDrop due to  copyright issues.

Removing An Apple ID From A Used Apple Mobile Device

Are you considering buying a used iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch? If the previous owner hasn't removed the Activation Lock from the device, then this is going to cause some problems. This article describes what you can do to remove the previous Apple ID from the device. If you have bought a device that has had this removed already, then great news! One of our previous articles, gives some information on some of the clever things that Siri can do, so please click here to read it if you haven't already.

The Activation Lock, mentioned above, is used by Apple on their iOS devices to stop unauthorised users from using the device, if it was lost or stolen for example. You may think that carrying out a factory reset may solve the problem, but unfortunately it won't because of this.

If you have bought the device privately, the best solution is to go back to the person that you bought the device from and ask them to remove the device from their associated Apple ID. This can be done by following these steps:

• Sign in to iCloud.com
• Go to Find My iPhone
• Select “All Devices” to open a list of devices linked to their account, and select the device to be removed
• Click “Remove from Account”

If you don't know who the previous owner was, if you bought it from a retailer who sells pre-owned equipment for example, then you may be out of luck. In theory Apple Stores could bypass this feature, but as it's a security feature, they may be unwilling to do it.

My advice, if you are considering buying a pre-owned piece of kit from a retailer, is to check with them that the Apple ID has been removed before you buy. A reputable dealer would normally check that this has been done with the person selling it to them anyway. The same goes for if you are buying it directly from the person who owned it previously, then you shouldn't go wrong and enjoy your new tech!

Great Value Single DIN Bluetooth Digital Media Receiver GPS Navigation

Great Value Bluetooth Digital Media Receiver With GPS Navigation.

Further to my previous post on the brilliant Pioneer AVH-X8800BT with Apple Car Play, available from Amazon, if you don't quite have that sort of budget or as importantly only have a single DIN slot on your car, you could do a lot worse than investing in this unit.

This in dash receiver with 7" touch screen supports hands free calling via it's built in microphone and Bluetooth music streaming and is steering wheel remote ready. The unit also plays DVD's so that you can watch your favourite shows and films while you are out and about. With built in GPS navigation with voice function and preloaded maps with lifetime updates, this really is worth considering.

For more information, or to purchase this unit, click here.

I find that with any purchase of audio visual equipment, the quality of the output depends not just on the equipment itself but also on equipment connected e.g. speakers, amps etc. If the speakers are not particularly high rated, this can adversely affect the quality of what is being listened to and can sometimes sound as if there is not much bass present for example. Generally you can find details of the speakers that are fitted as standard to a car online or via the dealer. Replacement speakers are generally easy to fit should you want to upgrade in this area, although always worth checking if there are any limitations dimensionally that you need to consider.

Either way, if like me, you like your car tech, upgrading the factory fitted audio system is a great place to start.

I believe that Pioneer are pretty hard to beat when it comes to audio, whether that's home cinema tech or in car. The AVH-X8800BT combines high quality audio and video. It features Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, AppRadio Mode, Bluetooth so your driving experience can be totally connected.

It also features large fully detachable 7-inch Clear Type Resistive multi-touch screen. Connectivity is excellent so you can connect additional amplifiers and speakers. Easily available from Amazon currently at £509.95 with free UK delivery, it really is a unit worth considering. For more information and to buy now, click here.

I personally have a number of pieces of Pioneer equipment, including my home cinema AV amp and Blu-ray player and for me they are really difficult to beat in terms of performance and output quality. We also have a Pioneer in car system similar to this and the quality is just what I would expect from Pioneer.

SONOS PLAY:5 Smart Wireless Speaker, Black

With a saving of £40, the SONOS PLAY:5 really is a great deal, supplied by Amazon.

Sonos products provide superb quality sound no matter how loud you like to listen to your music (anything like my house, quite loud!).

With the unit and software designed by Sonos, you can guarantee the quality of the output.

Click here for full details and to buy now. At £389 you are saving £40! and with free UK delivery, this is a fantastic deal for any music lover.

If you prefer the white version, click here.