Reviews 52197 Published by

Here a roundup of today's reviews with 19 new articles, including FreedomPop Overdrive Pro 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot, Borderlands 2 Step By Step Modding Guide, Lumia 928 is screentastic, camerarific, Metro: Last Light Review, and From 3x Power SSDs To SATA DEVSLP - Game Changing Storage and PC Thoughts From Computex 2013



FreedomPop Overdrive Pro 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot @ MEGATech
Why pay for something when you can get it for free? And shouldn’t Internet access be made widely available to everyone, no matter where they happen to be? This almost seems like the mantra behind FreedomPop, the company that is bold enough to sell you cheap mobile hotspots and provide you with 500MB of free wireless data every month. And now they supposedly have better coverage, thanks to the new FreedomPop Overdrive Pro.

You might remember when FreedomPop launched its Photon 4G mobile hotspot last year, which connected to the Clear 4G WiMAX network. Coverage was spotty at best, but the new Overdrive Pro 3G/4G hotspot uses the Sprint’s nationwide network. It may not necessarily be faster, but it should provide better coverage, right?

Read more: FreedomPop Overdrive Pro 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot @ MEGATech

Seagate 600 240GB SATA III 6Gbps SSD Review @ Legit Reviews
Most everyone has has owned a computer in the past few decades stands a good chance of having used a Seagate drive in their system. They've been a giant in the hard drive storage arena and are now turning their sights on the SSD side of things. Their 600 series is rolling out with the Link_A_Media Devices LM87800 under the hood which we've already seen put out some solid numbers. See how it fares on our test bench.

Seagate is certainly one of the titans when it comes to PC storage options - both consumer and enterprise. It makes sense for them to use their considerable infrastructure to make their mark on the SSD market segment - something they've been slow to do. We found performance on our Seagate 600 240GB drive to be very good with the Link_A_Media Devices (LAMD) LM87800 controller handling all the heavy lifting. The specifications of 550MB/s reads and 450MB/s writes were hit without a problem and even on incompressible data, speeds were solid. IOPS performance was very good as well, exceeding the 80,000/70,000 reads/writes by a bit to place in the upper portion of the comparison list...

Read more: Seagate 600 240GB SATA III 6Gbps SSD Review @ Legit Reviews

Canon PowerShot Elph 130 IS Review @ TechReviewSource.com
The Canon PowerShot Elph 130 IS has an 8x optical zoom lens, a 16-megapixel CCD sensor and built-in Wi-Fi. It takes images of very good overall quality but has slow shooting speeds. High-definition video recording is also limited to only 720p resolution.

Read more: Canon PowerShot Elph 130 IS Review @ TechReviewSource.com

Interactive Intel processor product ID guide v2.4 @ OCInside.de
The current interactive Intel product ID guide version 2.4 contains additionally to the previous version the latest Intel Core i7 and Intel Core i5 Haswell processors with the most important processor information.
The interactive Intel product ID guide is used for a fast and easy identification of the most Intel processors.
Just select the description of the processor in the interactive guide and you will see immediately the most important technical information like the frequency, power, L2 and L3 Cache, manufacturing, architecture, Socket, etc.

Read more: Interactive Intel processor product ID guide v2.4 @ OCInside.de

AMD Richland A10-6800K and A10-6700 APU Review @ TechwareLabs.com
AMD has continued the legacy of Trinity and Llano with its newest line of APUs, Richland. These new chips feature the same proven Piledriver architecture for the CPU side, but an upgrade the the Radeon 8xxx series on the GPU side. Read on to see how these new chips stack up.

Read more: AMD Richland A10-6800K and A10-6700 APU Review @ TechwareLabs.com

Wacom Cintiq 13HD @ Techradar
The newest member of Wacom's high-end graphics tablet family is an upgrade to the previous 12WX model, and fills the gap between the high-end and high-priced Cintiq 22HD at £1,899 (AU$2,365, US$1,999) and the Intuos 5 at £430 (AU$550, US$425) for the L model). The Cintiq's unique selling point has always been the ability to draw onto the screen, and with its 13.3- inch screen and 1,280 x 1,920 resolution it's bright and responsive, making the user experience as intuitive as ever.

Read more: Wacom Cintiq 13HD @ Techradar

Borderlands 2 Step By Step Modding Guide @ TechwareLabs.com
TechwareLabs brings you a step by step guide using Cheat Engine to mod the Borderlands 2 world. Ever watch an opponent explode into a cloud of legendary weapons? Watch to blink, jump, and be immortal? We show you how using cheat engine some scripting

Read more: Borderlands 2 Step By Step Modding Guide @ TechwareLabs.com

Cougar Spike Mini Gaming Tower Case Review @ Bigbruin.com
In this review we will be taking a look at their Spike mini gaming tower case, which is shown in the promotional image above. Before taking a closer look at the sample provided, let's take a quick look at the features and specifications listed on the official product page on the Cougar website.

Features:

» The SPIKE delivers availability and expansion capability in a space-saving design to
fully complete the gaming mission!
» Interior black painting.
» Advanced USB3.0 port for maximum data transfer speed.
» Support for 4 fans: front 80/90/120mm fan x 1; rear 80/120mm fan x 1 ; side 120mm fans x 2.
» Rear COUGAR 120mm fan x 1 is pre-installed.
» Support for longer high-end graphics card up to 330mm.
» Screw-less mechanisms on 5.25" & HDD devices.
» Support installing 2.5" HDD/SSD at bottom cover.
» Support 4 fans for strong cooling performance
» Front - 80/90/120mm Fan x1pcs (optional)
» Left side - 120mm Fans x 2 (optional)
» Rear: 80/120mm Fan x1pcs (optional)

Read more: Cougar Spike Mini Gaming Tower Case Review @ Bigbruin.com

Infortrend EonNAS Pro 510 Review @ TechwareLabs
The EonNAS Pro series is comprised of Infortrends SOHO/SMB solutions and they come in 2, 5, or 8 drive variants. For the most part, all of their current x10 models come with 2GB of memory and are powered by an Intel Atom Dual-Core 2.13Ghz Processor. They do have a couple variants of the EonNAS Pro 850 which ramp up the installed memory to 8GB of memory and the processor to an Intel Core i3 Dual Core 3.3Ghz chip. In todays review, we will be taking a look at the EonNAS Pro 510 specifically, which Infortrend sent to us with 4 x 1TB drives installed.

Read more: Infortrend EonNAS Pro 510 Review @ TechwareLabs

Cooler Master Seidon 120M CPU Cooler Review @ Hardware Secrets
The Cooler Master Seidon 120M is a mainstream liquid cooling system for processors. It has a 120 mm radiator with one 120 mm fan. Let's test it.

Read more: Cooler Master Seidon 120M CPU Cooler Review @ Hardware Secrets

Lumia 928 is screentastic, camerarific @ ArsTechnica
PureView camera does well in low light, and PenTile AMOLED looks great with WP8.

Read more: Lumia 928 is screentastic, camerarific @ ArsTechnica

AMD's Richland vs. Intel's Haswell GPU on the Desktop: Radeon HD 8670D vs. Intel HD 4600 @ Anandtech
The run up to Computex has been insane. Kabini, Haswell and Iris hit us back to back to back, not to mention all of the travel before receiving those products to get briefed on everything. Needless to say, we're in major catchup mode. There's a lot more that I wanted to do with Haswell desktop that got cut out due to Iris, and much more I wanted to do with Iris that I had to scrap in order to fly out to Computex. I will be picking up where I left off later this month, but with WWDC, Samsung and a couple of NDA'd events later this month, it's not going to be as quick as I'd like.

One part that arrived while I was in the middle of launch central was AMD's Richland for desktop. Effectively a refresh of Trinity with slightly higher clocks, a software bundle and more sophisticated/aggressive turbo. Richland maintains socket compatibility with Trinity (FM2), so all you should need is a BIOS update to enable support for the chip. AMD sent over two Richland parts just before I left for Computex: the 100W flagship A10-6800K and the 65W A10-6700. I didn't have time to do Richland justice before I left, however I did make sure to test the 6800K in tandem with Haswell's GPU just so I had an idea of how things would stack up going forward as I was writing my Iris Pro conclusion.

For all intents and purposes, Iris Pro doesn't exist in the desktop space, making Haswell GT2 (HD 4600) the fastest socketed part with discrete graphics that Intel ships today. In our Haswell desktop review I didn't get a chance to really analyze HD 4600 performance, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to refresh the current state of desktop integrated processor graphics. Unlike the staggered CPU/GPU launch of Trinity on the desktop, the situation with Richland is purely a time limitation on my end. This was all I could put together before I left for Computex.

Read more: AMD's Richland vs. Intel's Haswell GPU on the Desktop: Radeon HD 8670D vs. Intel HD 4600 @ Anandtech

Dell XPS 18 Portable All-In-One Desktop Review @ HotHardware
We've hit a turning point in technology, one in which the old ways are, well, old and outdated. Traditional desktops still exist, sure, but bulky towers are fading right before our eyes just like that scene in Back to the Future where the people in Marty's photograph slowly disappear. In place of medium and large-size rectangular boxes are space-saving form factors like Intel's Next Unit of Computing (NUC) and, to a lesser extreme, sleek looking all-in-one (AIO) designs that are winning favor among consumers.

At the same time this is happening, increasingly powerful mobile devices are flooding the market, forcing OEM PC makers to respond. There are some who believe tablets are little more than a passing fad destined to become a footnote in the history of tech, but for now, it's the hottest form factor around, and it's cannibalizing computer sales. What's a PC maker to do?

Read more: Dell XPS 18 Portable All-In-One Desktop Review @ HotHardware

Metro: Last Light Review @ OCC
What about the nearest to it; Metro 2033? How does it compare to its predecessor? I would say they come out about equal, as far as overall quality and experience. As discussed in the story section, 2033 and Last Light have a different mechanic to their stories, as the earlier title drives you through the world, and this one places you in it. This causes some aspects in one to be better than in the other, so without taking these differences into consideration, you cannot fairly compare these two titles to each other. When you do though, you find two very well made games that serve themselves and their franchise very well.

Read more: Metro: Last Light Review @ OCC

ASUS Z87-DELUXE Motherboard Review @ HiTech Legion
Since you have seen the title, yes I am talking about a motherboard but buyer beware, there are brands out there that appear to be giving you the moon at a great price. These boards usually boast great overclocking potential or even have more than an enthusiast board would have, but if you look real hard under the skin, they don't. I would give you my bear in the woods analogy but I don't have the time. So look at it this way, the quickest way between two points is a straight line. If there are too many forks in the road then travel becomes longer, this is what many of those great looking boards have and that is too many forks. One of a few boards I have found to be just shy of enthusiast level is the ASUS Deluxe Series. I have found that other than a few BIOS differences and Ichibon 10k capacitors, the features and highways are the same as those found on the more expensive boards.

The ASUS Z87-Deluxe Motherboard offers many features you would expect to find on an enthusiast level motherboard. The Z87-Deluxe, built for the 4th Generation Intel Core Processors, comes with dual LAN (one being Intel), a Wifi/Bluetooth module, which is 802.11 ac as well as a software package and UEFI BIOS that many consider second to none. The ASUS Z87-Deluxe is LGA 1150 and is built upon the Intel Z87 chipset. It also has CPU Level Up options that can be either done manually by turning on the TPU switch right on the motherboard, via the BIOS, or in your OS using the new ASUS AI Suite III.

Read more: ASUS Z87-DELUXE Motherboard Review @ HiTech Legion

From 3x Power SSDs To SATA DEVSLP - Game Changing Storage and PC Thoughts From Computex 2013 @ The SSD Review
Where we believed this year to be a very quiet year in the world of SSD technology, Computex 2013 has become one of the largest and most important SSD news events to date. We should have known. From 32 stories up on our day of arrival, we experienced a level 6.5 earthquake first hand with room pictures having to be reset and people below us running to the street. The comfort that we gained during last years earthquake, once again in Taipei and during Computex where we were told not to worry as this is normal and the buildings are constructed for such events, wasn’t so comforting. That being said, we still can’t complain about the view.

Read more: From 3x Power SSDs To SATA DEVSLP - Game Changing Storage and PC Thoughts From Computex 2013 @ The SSD Review

Fractal Design Tesla R2 1000 W @ techPowerUp
We already reviewed Fractal Design’s top PSU offering, the Newton R3 1000 W. It left us quite satisfied with its overall performance. Today, we will take a good look at its budget sibling, the Tesla R2 1000 W. It is made by the same manufacturer—ATNG—and is based on the same platform. Some compromises had to be made in order to lower the final price, and these have resulted in a non-modular design and several internal component changes, but with the 80 Plus Gold certification, efficiency is still very high despite the lower-grade components used internally. The cooling fan remained the same and utilizes ball-bearings instead of an inferior sleeve-bearing.

The R2 1000 W features a single +12V rail that can deliver up to 80 A of current, is equipped with six PCIe connectors, so it can feed up to three high-end VGAs, is covered by a three-year warranty, and has a maximum operating temperature of 40°C at which it can deliver its full power continuously. All the above sounds very interesting, and the Tesla unit will score a pretty high price / performance ratio, which is what most users pay attention to first when they plan out their next purchase, if it manages to register a good overall performance on our test bench. The lack of modular cables will most likely turn many off, but modular cables apparently cost a lot and are the first to be left out when the price has to go down significantly. I personally prefer keeping the grade of internal components high, which makes leaving out a modular cabling system to keep costs down a reasonable tradeoff.

Read more: Fractal Design Tesla R2 1000 W @ techPowerUp

Cooler Master N200 Review @ OCC
The Cooler Master N200 looks unassuming and innocent - quietly waiting in the shadows. But this little case has some big features. The one that really stands out is the support for a front mounted radiator. This allows the case to retain its small size, but pack a punch in the cooling department. Surprisingly, there is enough space for a full 240mm radiator in a push / pull fan configuration - and this is something that some full size tower cases have a hard time pulling off. For maximum airflow I recommend adding a side fan even if you don't go with a water cooled system. A discrete GPU would benefit from some cool fresh air from a side fan. As SSDs become more popular, case manufacturers are getting creative and making room for them. And with a front USB 3.0 port, plus four SSD mounting locations, this little case can run with larger cases.

Read more: Cooler Master N200 Review @ OCC

Corsair Obsidian 350D Windowed Edition Case Review @ KitGuru
Corsair's success in the case market has been undeniable, yet there has always been that one missing option; a micro-ATX chassis. Enter the 350D, a chassis which sits in Corsairs Obsidian series and aims to provide enthusiast m-ATX users with a high-quality enclosure.

Read more: Corsair Obsidian 350D Windowed Edition Case Review @ KitGuru