XBOX Game Pass for PC - Stormforce Gaming

class="post-23537 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-game-guide category-gaming category-gaming-pc-recommendations tag-back4blood tag-best-gaming-system tag-coop tag-fps tag-top-pc-for-back4blood tag-xbox tag-xbox-game-pass-for-pc"

Best Gaming PC for Back4Blood

Back4Blood is finally here, the spiritual successor to Left4Dead has finally landed on all major platforms…

Back4Blood pits you and a team of three others against hordes of ferocious Ridden. A deadly parasite has turned humans into frightening creatures hell bent on overthrowing civilisation. Classic zombie coop action awaits in one of the most anticipated PC titles of 2021.

**WARNING, BACK4BLOOD IS A PEGI 18 RATED TITLE, CONTENT IN THIS ARTICLE MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUNGER READERS**

Back4Blood features a 4 player Cooperative Campaign where you must work together to survive. The game can be played with 3 friends online or you can go solo. With 8 customisable Cleaners to choose from, there is a host of lethal weapons and power ups that allow you to build your character

Back4Blood also features a competitive multiplayer service which pits teams of Cleaners against the terrifying Ridden. Both sides have unique special abilities and weapons that create a unique team based multiplayer experience.

Back4Blood is available to buy now on Steam and Epic Games Store.

Gamepass Subscribers can download the standard edition of Back4Blood on Microsoft XBOX Gamepass for PC.

All qualifying Stormforce Gaming systems now includes a one-month long pass for Xbox Game Pass for PC.
Go here to learn more

Back4Blood System Requirements

Back4Blood doesnt require a really powerful system to run well. This game feels incredibly well optimised on mid range hardware and runs nicely on entry level video cards and processors. We tried the title on a variety of new and old systems ranging from entry level to high end and each system provided really promising performance results.

Most Stormforce Gaming systems with a GTX 1650 or higher will play the game at 1080p but even modest hardware will see pleasing performance from this title.

even using hardware from a few generations ago such as the older GTX 1060 6GB graphics card, Back4Blood provided smooth framerates with very few drops in framerate or frame pacing issues.

16GB of system memory does feel necessary for a smooth gaming experience and a fast CPU certainly seems to have a very positive impact on framerates but neither are 100% necessary to play the game.

We suggest trying to run the game on the High preset as this strikes a nice balance between visual fidelity and performance.

Back4Blood supports AMD FidelityFX and NVIDIA DLSS upscaling technologies and we suggest turning them on to enhance performance of the title if your video card supports it.

MINIMUM PC SPECS
OS 64-bit Windows 10
CPU Intel Core i5-6600 (3.3 GHz) OR AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (3.4 GHz)
RAM 8 GB
GPU NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 570
DX VERSION DX 12
STORAGE 40 GB HDD
NOTES 1080p / 60fps / Low Quality Settings

RECOMMENDED PC SPECS
64-bit Windows 10
Intel Core i5-8400 (2.8 GHz) OR AMD Ryzen 7 1800X (3.6 GHz)
12 GB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon RX 590
DX 12
40 GB SSD
1080p / 60fps / High Quality Settings

ULTRA 4K SPECS
64-bit Windows 10
Intel Core i7-8700K (3.70 GHz) OR AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (3.70 GHz)
16 GB
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti OR AMD Radeon RX 6800
DX 12
40 GB SSD
2160p / 60fps / Epic Quality Settings / DLSS – Quality / FSR – Quality

Stormforce Gaming -Spec Suggestions

1080p Entry Level System – Stormforce Gaming recommends systems from our GTX 1650, GTX 1660 and GTX 1660Ti ranges.

1080p HD – Stormforce Gaming recommends Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060/AMD Radeon RX 6600XT or higher

1440p QHD – Stormforce Gaming recommends Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060/AMD Radeon RX 6700XT or higher

4k UHD – Stormforce Gaming recommends Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060Ti/AMD Radeon RX 6800 or higher

class="post-19595 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-gaming category-news category-product-guidance tag-direct-storage tag-directx tag-genuine-os tag-microsoft tag-windows tag-windows-11 tag-windows-gaming tag-xbox-game-pass-for-pc"

Upgrading to Microsoft Windows 11

Microsoft Windows 11 is available now from Stormforce Gaming…

Microsoft Windows 11 is finally here and with the launch of the new Operating System, Stormforce Gaming have guidance for old and new customers on what to expect, what an upgrade to Windows 11 means for them and if their existing hardware will be compatible.

With the announcement of Windows 11, Microsoft provided information about the benefits of the OS to gamers as well as some specifics around the hardware required to run the OS.

We have condensed down the information we have so far to provide guidance on what systems will be compatible and offer an overview on how the benefits of Windows 11 will translate into your gaming, productivity and general computing experience.

Windows 11 brings a host of new changes to the user interface of Windows. Featuring a glass like window aesthetic reminiscent of the Windows Aero Glass theme from Vista, the new OS boasts a clean new look with transparency in open and overlapping windows. The start button and tray icons in the taskbar have also been centralised to allow for quicker access on wide screen monitors. This can be moved back over to the left hand side if you prefer and the Taskbar Settings screen allows you to control the way that the new OS presents your favourite applications.

Windows 11 enhances the way you multitask with the new Snap Layouts feature. You can configure your application windows in a setup that suits your preference then save it to make performing certain tasks much easier. Snap Groups gives you the option to switch between different workspaces as well meaning you can have multiple windows application layouts to cater for however you are using your system.

Desktops is a feature that gives you the power to change themes and appearances for different demands. Have an onscreen setup for every occasion.

Alongside the user interface, integrated apps and input features have all been overhauled to be powered by AI. This allows Windows 11 to provide you with news and information as you need it.

How about Gaming…

Gaming with Windows 11 will provide a cutting edge experience with a focus on integration within Microsoft’s persistently developing gaming ecosystem.

Auto-HDR is an XBOX feature that will automatically add high dynamic range (HDR) enhancements to games built on DirectX 11 or higher, even in games that previously only used standard dynamic range. This is a great solution for high end monitor users who want to experience a more immersive gaming experience even on titles which previously didn’t support HDR brightness and colours.

Direct Storage is an exclusive Windows 11 feature. This technology has been long anticipated and should take advantage of higher performance PCIe Gen3 and Gen4 NVME storage drives. Direct Storage allows your system to prioritise game data like textures and levels by feeding this information straight into your graphics card direct from your SSD.

Next generation consoles will include the feature too meaning that over the coming years, games will be developed with Direct Storage in mind so the latest games will certainly benefit from having the feature available.

XBOX Game Pass has seen further integration meaning it is part of Windows 11 natively. In addition to the incredible value that XBOX Game Pass for PC offers with a humongous library of quality games to play, the addition of XBOX Cloud gaming means that you can take your favourite games out on tablets and mobile devices too.

How to get Windows 11

Here’s how you can get Windows 11 right now.

Purchase a new PC pre-installed with Windows 11 from Stormforce Gaming
Purchase a Windows 10 PC that’s eligible for the free upgrade from the Stormforce Gaming website or one of our retail partners.
Use the PC Health Check app to check if your current Windows 10 PC is eligible for the free upgrade.

If you are an existing Windows 10 user, it is likely your Stormforce Gaming system will be ready to move to Windows 11. Use the Microsoft PC Health Check App linked above to check your PC for compatibility.

You may need Secure Boot and a TPM. some of our older or lower specification systems may not have these features and will not officially support Windows 11.

Your Windows 10 system should automatically present you with a prompt to upgrade to Windows 11 in the coming months. We understand that Microsoft plans to push out the new version of windows to existing customers via windows updates in a similar way to how windows 7, 8 and 10 upgraded over eachother.

If you purchase a Windows 10 system from us whilst we transition our range over to Windows 11, rest assured that your system will be eligible if it mentions this on the product page. You will see qualifying systems marked with this logo to make things clear.

How to check for TPM and Secure Boot

The most confusing part of the Windows 11 upgrade process for existing users is TPM and Secure Boot requirements. We take care of all this technical stuff when we build our systems for Windows 11.

If you run the PC health check tool and it doesn’t allow you to upgrade, you may need to adjust some settings. If TPM and Secure Boot are disabled then the compatibility checker will tell you that Windows 11 will not run on your system.

You can also check by typing System Information into your Windows search bar. The main page of system information will have ‘Secure Boot State’ as one of the items. If this is set to Off, you will need to alter your BIOS settings.

Next, expand the Hardware Resources tree to the left side of the System Information window and click Memory.
Find the Trusted Platform Module 2.0 State in the list of strings. Make sure its status is OK

If you have had a hardware reset or set your BIOS to default settings, there is a chance that the BIOS may need some configuration changes in order to run Windows 11.

If you have ran these checks and remain uncertain if your system will run Windows 11, please contact our service team for assistance.

Stormforce Gaming use ASUS Motherboards exclusively in our systems. Please follow the official support guides from ASUS to enable TPM on your AMD or Intel motherboard if needed. The Guide can be found here

class="post-10572 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-gaming category-news category-product-guidance tag-bethesda tag-ea-pc-games tag-ea-play tag-game-pass tag-gaming-pc tag-microsoft tag-xbox tag-xbox-game-pass-for-pc"

EA Play & Bethesda comes to XBOX Game Pass for PC

EA Play has been added to the XBOX Game Pass for PC app…

Last week EA Play has finally arrived and joined the wealth of top tier games available for Game Pass subscribers. EA Play is included in the monthly cost of Game Pass and brings popular franchises from the EA Games catalogue to the Game Pass service. Need for Speed, Battlefield, Star Wars, EA Sports and more are now available to download and play on Game Pass with no additional subscriptions required.

With the addition of EA Play, older ‘must play’ franchises like Dead Space, Mass Effect and Mirror’s Edge are all on offer and it is a great time to try out these titles if you missed them the first time around.

EA Play access via XBOX Game Pass for PC also provides a discount on purchases of EA digital content and trial access to full versions of selected new game releases.

Check out the full EA Play line up HERE. With new games being added all the time, it has never been a better time to take advantage of the instant game library and superb value that XBOX Game Pass for PC offers to gamers.

Getting Started with EA Play

The process for installing a game from the EA Play catalogue is slightly different. You will need an EA account to link to your existing XBOX account to be able to take advantage of the extra titles on the service.

You will need to download the EA Desktop App which will allow you to download and install games from the EA Play catalogue. This is presented as an automatic download if you attempt to install an EA Play game from the XBOX app. It is worth keeping in mind that if you use the EA Origin app to launch your EA games already then you will need to close this down in order to run the EA Desktop App. The good news is that any EA games you have installed on Origin will be automatically detected and work with the EA Desktop App and Game Pass.

This guide posted on the XBOX YouTube channel talks you through the process of linking your EA and XBOX accounts to access all of the new content available

Bethesda Games

XBOX Game Pass has been expanding over the past month with the addition of a huge range of titles from Bethesda adding huge titles to the lineup for subscribers to the service. DOOM, Dishonored, Skyrim, Fallout and more are all now available to play on Game Pass for PC and current subscribers can access these titles within the Game Pass app.

If you are a Stormforce Gaming customer with an XBOX Game Pass trial on your system, now is a great time to activate the free 1 month trial to take advantage of the extra games on offer. Read more HERE on how to get started with your trial for XBOX Game Pass for PC.

If you are considering a new gaming system from Stormforce Gaming, our range of systems that ship with a free one month trial of XBOX Game Pass for PC is the perfect way to get started with a huge library of games for your new gaming system.

Tag: XBOX Game Pass for PC