Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including OCZ Vertex 450 SSD Reviews, AMD Kabini Mainstream APU Notebook Platform Preview, Noctua Fans Review, Sitecom Wi-Fi Router X6 N900 (WLR-6100) Review, and Cooler Master V-series 1000W PSU review



OCZ Vertex 450 – 256GB SSD Review @ Myce.com

t was only last month that I reviewed the OCZ Vertex 3.20. The Vertex 3.20 was a refresh of the original Vertex 3, basically using the same SSD controller, but this time using 20nm IMFT NAND.

This month I’m taking a look at OCZ’s new Vertex 4 refresh, the Vertex 450 series. For the Vertex 450 series, the transition to 20nm NAND has been made. But it’s not only the NAND that has been updated from the original Vertex 4, the controller has also been updated. The original Vertex 4 used Marvell silicon, and in house Indilinx infused firmware. For the Vertex 450 series, OCZ has gone all in house, and used a new variant of the Indilinx BareFoot 3 SSD controller, the BareFoot 3 M10, and their own Indilinx infused firmware.

OCZ were kind enough to send me a review sample of their new Vertex 450 SSD. The review sample they sent was the 256GB version, but OCZ also offer a 128GB and 512GB versions of the Vertex 450. So let’s find out how the Vertex 450 performs in this review.

OCZ Vertex 450 – 256GB SSD Review @ Myce.com

OCZ Vertex 450 SSD Review (256GB) @ The SSD Review

Our introduction and analysis of the OCZ Vertex 450 6Gbps SSD marks the first release of the Vertex family with an Indilinx controller since 2009, a return that includes some very attractive features…including price.

The OCZ Vertex 450 contains the new and improved Barefoot 3 M10 controller and follows the Vector’s lead by using OCZ in-house ASIC technology. Considering the success and performance of the Vector, one just has to wonder what makes the Vertex 450 so special.

OCZ Vertex 450 SSD Review (256GB) @ The SSD Review

Samsung BD-F7500 Review @ TechReviewSource.com

Samsung's BD-F7500 Blu-ray player has a lot going for it. It's full of features, it looks good, and it has just the right connections for a high-end home theater. On paper, it should be the cream of the consumer Blu-ray player crop. However, at $279.99, it's pricey compared with nearly every Blu-ray player.

Samsung BD-F7500 Review @ TechReviewSource.com

i-Mego Walker Junior Noise Cancelling Headphones Review @ TestFreaks

I’ve got a nice assortment of headphones and earbuds that I’ve collected over the years of reviewing products but it occurs to me I’ve never owned or reviewed a set of headphones that feature active noise cancelling. I don’t know why I don’t have any, it’s just worked out that, but I finally do and I think I know understand better why people like them so much. Today for review I have the i-Mego Walker Junior Noise Cancelling Headphones that feature, as you might have guessed, active noise cancelling. The Walker Junior headphones actually need a battery to power the noise cancelling feature, something you might not expect a pair of headphones to need surely. The headphones are made for the traveler so they can fold up to a small size making them easily transportable. These aren’t just for travelers of course, anyone who likes good sound and the ability to keep outside noise out will appreciate the Walker Junior headphones. So read on to learn more about the Walker Junior headphones…

i-Mego Walker Junior Noise Cancelling Headphones Review @ TestFreaks

AMD A4-5000 APU @ Techradar

The last five years or so for AMD CPUs have been sub-spectacular to say the least. But things are looking up and one of the good news stories very much revolves around the new AMD A4-5000 APU, codenamed Kabini. More precisely, it's the new Jaguar cores inside this APU that are making waves. That's because they're found in both Microsoft's new Xbox One console and the PlayStation 4 from Sony. Yup, AMD's Jaguar architecture is a very big deal.So what exactly is it? Our first taste of Jaguar comes in the form of the quad-core AMD A4-5000 APU. It's fitted to what's known as a whitebook laptop.

AMD A4-5000 APU @ Techradar

OCZ Vertex 450 256GB SSD Review @ Legit Reviews

Finally, OCZ has ditched the faux (Marvell controller & OCZ firmware) Indilinx controlled Vertex 4 and replaced it with the splendid Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller we first had a look at in the impressive Vector series drive. They've paired it with 20nm flash hardware and a smaller form factor for what we'd consider a major product improvement. It's known as the Vertex 450 and it may just be your next SSD.

Knowing that the Vertex 450 was going to be very similar to the Vector series drives, we already had an idea of what we would see on the test bench. We certainly weren't disappointed with performance that lived up to the storied Vertex name. Specifically, we love seeing the consistent performance without the dips we've been so accustomed to seeing with the SandForce drives. The Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller is proving itself to be amongst the best available and frankly SandForce (LSI) needs to step their game soon if they wish to keep pace with what we are seeing from numerous other controllers...

OCZ Vertex 450 256GB SSD Review @ Legit Reviews

OCZ Vertex 450 Solid State Drive (256GB) Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

Now OCZ are bringing to market a new Vertex drive using more than a little tech from their Vector series of enthusiast SSDs. Today the Vertex 450 launches and we have the 256GB model in our test system to see where it fits into the current market.

OCZ Vertex 450 Solid State Drive (256GB) Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

OCZ Vertex 450 SSD Review: Vector-like Performance For (Slightly) Less

After OCZ's acquisition of Indilinx in 2011, the company has been slowly moving towards having a unique range of SSDs using their own controllers. Late last year we checked out OCZ Vector, the first drive entirely developed in-house by OCZ based on the Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller, and surely it didn't dissapoint.

Prior to the release of the Vector, OCZ relied on third-party controllers from SandForce, Marvell and Indilinx itself. With careful work on the drives' firmware, they were still able to market their drives well against competitors, but ultimately found themselves at somewhat of a disadvantage versus behemoths Intel and Samsung.

Nevertheless the wait to see what the collaboration between OCZ and Indilinx might yield was worth it once the Vector arrived. Unlike almost all SSDs that we have reviewed over the years, the Vector's performance was consistently strong. This was made more impressive considering it was going up against the Samsung SSD 840 Pro which to this day is one of the fastest, if not the fastest SSD available.

OCZ Vertex 450 SSD Review: Vector-like Performance For (Slightly) Less

OCZ Vertex 450 256GB SSD Full Review - Indilinx drives 20nm flash @ PC Perspective

Last month OCZ introduced the Vertex 3.20, which took their popular Vertex line to 20nm flash territory. The Vertex 3.20 used the same tride and true SandForce controller used in previous iterations of that line. The older Vertex line was starting to show its age, and the move to 20nm didn't really help the issue. We knew it was just a matter of time before they brought 20nm to their Indilinx Barefoot line, and that time is now. The new model suggests OCZ may abandon the Vector name, and resurrect the performance of their flagship product line by shifting their Indilinx Barefoot 3 (BF3-M10) over to a newly dubbed Vertex 450

OCZ Vertex 450 256GB SSD Full Review - Indilinx drives 20nm flash @ PC Perspective

AMD Kabini Mainstream APU Notebook Platform Preview @ Legit Reviews

AMD today launched three new additions to its 2013 A-Series and E-Series Mobile Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) lineup. We take a look at the AMD A4-5000 APU with AMD Radeon HD 8330 graphics in the Kabini reference design notebook. Read on to see how this new entry-level notebook platform does against the original AMD Brazos platform and some Intel Ultrabooks.

The power consumption results at idle and load are nothing short of amazing. The AMD Kabini reference platform was 2-3 times faster than the original Brazos platform and uses far less power! The AMD A4-5400 APU isn't a power hog at all and at idle the entire system used just 4.9 Watts of power. In Prime95 the Kabini system peaked at just shy of 15W...

AMD Kabini Mainstream APU Notebook Platform Preview @ Legit Reviews

OCZ Vertex 450 Solid State Drive Review @ HotHardware

OCZ already offers a wide array of popular, high performance SSDs, but to the company's credit, it's not resting on its laurels. After employing SandForce controllers on some of the earlier Vertex SSDs, OCZ snapped up Indilinx and is using what is now its own proprietary silicon in many of its drives.

Thus, the brand new OCZ Vertex 450 SSD we'll be showing you here today with an Indilinx Barefoot 3 M10 series controller inside, is very much a "vertical" effort, with the Indilinx and OCZ-owned PLX teams building both the silicon and firmware.

The 256GB version, which is the model we put on the test bench, has sequential read/write speed ratings of 540/525 MBps and 85,000/90,000 4KB random read/write IOPS.

OCZ Vertex 450 Solid State Drive Review @ HotHardware

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Tech Report @ Tech ARP

In an industry where 6 month product cycles are considered a norm, the new NVIDIA Kepler architecture took a while to get here. The last NVIDIA microarchitecture, Fermi was launched about 18 months ago, or roughly 3 product cycles ago. In the preceding 6 months, NVIDIA had only launched two new Fermi-based graphics cards - the GeForce GTX 560 Ti Limited Edition (with 448 CUDA cores), and the budget-level GeForce 510. As such, the launch of its latest Kepler architecture is truly a breath of fresh air.

As is NVIDIA's habit, they mark the launch of a new microarchitecture with their flagship model of the family. So here we are, with the tech report on NVIDIA's latest graphics behemoth, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680. Let's take a look.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Tech Report @ Tech ARP

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 WindForce 3x OC Review @ Guru3D

AS IF the GeForce GTX 780 is not fast enough, Gigabyte is in full effect by releasing the GeForce GTX 780 WindForce 3x OC edition. It's factory overclocked allowing it to run at 'close to' Titan performance. Next to that the dual-slot cooler will keep the card under 67 Degrees C at full load ... and keeps it totally silent.

The GeForce GTX 780 is NVIDIAs all new high-end graphics card based in their Flagship product, the GTX Titan. This means it is based on the GK110 GPU and has an whopping 7.1 Billion transistors. That makes it a nice chunk faster opposed to the GeForce GTX 680 GPU. We test the product with the hottest games like Metro: Last light, Battlefield 3, Sleeping Dogs, Far Cry 3, Medal of Honor Warfighter, Hitman Absolution and many more.

Just like Titan, the GTX 780 is based on the GK110 GPU with the distinctions that the Titan has a GK110-300 GPU and the GeForce GTX 780 a GK110-400 GPU. Same stuff, yet with some things disabled. But we are a bit surprized to see NVIDIA move forward with GK110, See, the GK110 chip is BIG, and that makes it a difficult chip to bake, its recipe is refined though as the product has 2304 Shader Processing Units, 192 TMUs and 32 ROPs on a 384-bit memory interface of fast GDDR5. So yeah, NVIDIA trimmed down that that 45 mm × 45 mm 2397-pin S-FCBGA Titian with its 2688 shader/stream/CUDA processors a bit.

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 WindForce 3x OC Review @ Guru3D

Noctua Fans Review @ ThinkComputers.org

So you're putting together your all out custom build. You've got the best processor, motherboard, memory, GPU, and case you can buy. Now is the time you're going to have to start thinking about fans and cooling. Whether it be air or water, you will need fans. This is often forgotten till the end, and this item is crucial to bringing all those bits together and helping them to perform to their fullest. While there are many options when it comes to choosing fans, it is very important to be selective in order to get the right fan for your configuration as well as a good quality fan. Today we are going to be taking a look at a broad selection of 9 fans from one of the most lauded fan manufacturers, Noctua.

Noctua Fans Review @ ThinkComputers.org

HP Slate 7 Review @ V3

A decent entry into the 7in tablet space let down by a sub-par display and processor     

HP Slate 7 Review @ V3

4TB Seagate Desktop HDD ST4000DM000 @ Benchmark Reviews

Seagate has recently re-branded their consumer storage products, formerly named Barracuda, in time for the launch of their 15th-generation. The 4TB Seagate Desktop HDD (OEM model ST4000DM000, retail kit STBD4000400) features a SATA 6Gb/s interface with Native Command Queueing (NCQ). Eight data heads read and write to four 1GB disc platters which enable 625Gb/in2 areal density. Cached by 64MB DRAM, this 5900 RPM hard disk drive is specified to move files at 180 MB/s sustained data rate. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests performance and explores new features on the 4TB Seagate Desktop HDD.

The ST4000DM000/ST3000DM003 Seagate Desktop HDD series is designed for high-capacity personal computer storage needs. Seagate has also introduced a number of refined technologies to help improve overall hard drive performance, including: dual core 40nm processor technology, DDR2 DRAM buffer, and refined caching algorithms. An efficient 2A startup current combined with improved burst rate and sustained bandwidth could give Solid State Drive (SSD) components serious competition.

Free manufacturer-supplied software tools such as Seagate SeaTools enables users to custom-define firmware parameters to enable performance features such as 'Short Stroke' and noise reduction.

4TB Seagate Desktop HDD ST4000DM000 @ Benchmark Reviews

Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 @ PureOverclock

When Nvidia launched the Kepler-based 600 series graphics cards, it represented a revolution of sorts from the previous generation cards, with engineering innovations and features to improve not only gaming horsepower but also power efficiency and temperatures. Proving popular with gamers and enthusiasts alike, Kepler was, quite simply, a resounding success. The question later became: where to go from there?

Indeed, you’re only as good as your last success, and today marks the highly anticipated launch of Nvidia’s latest, the GeForce GTX 780. We, like many others, expect big things from “Kepler 2.0″. But gaming horsepower is only part of the equation these days; lower power consumption and temperatures also tell the tale, and Nvidia is promising improvements for these as well. Fine and good, but we’re a demanding bunch and we want more. And to address that, Nvidia is introducing more GeForce Experience features such as Shadowplay, as well as Adaptive Temperature Control, and not to mention an updated GPU Boost 2.0.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 @ PureOverclock

iStarUSA BPU-340SATA Military Grade Drive Enclosure @ NikKTech

One of the many benefits of full tower PC cases are the many 5.25" optical drive bays they have (5 or more) so if you happen to own one there's no doubt you will most probably look for ways to make use of them. Personally i always use at least two in each of my test rigs one to mount a fan controller (two 5.25" bays sometimes) and the other to either mount a DVD-ROM or a Blu-Ray drive. Lately however we've started testing several 5.25" hard drive cages inside which you can mount up to four 3.5/2.5" SATA/SAS drives by making use of just three 5.25" optical drive bays. A few weeks back we tested the BPN-DE340SS hot-swap storage bay adapter by iStarUSA which not only managed to keep the temperatures of the SATA III drive we used for testing at a minimum but surprisingly enough it also improved its read/write data transfer speeds. Well today on our primary test rig we have it's cousin the BPU-340SATA military grade hot-swap drive cage.

iStarUSA Group has over 20 years of experience in the industrial computers industry. We specialize in OEM/ODM projects and manufacture of industrial power supply, rackmount chassis, enclosed cabinets and racks, data storage, and custom power solutions. Our intrinsic value is driven by one steadfast belief: "To always provide our customers with the best products and superior customer service." This credo has made iStarUSA Group a major contender in the IPC power supply industry. We cover a multitude of vertical markets. Our products are widely used in industrial computing, servers, multimedia production, DVR/Surveillance, and telecommunication industries. In the past eighteen years, iStarUSA Group has provided unsurpassed OEM/ODM products and services with exceptional design flexibility, rapid prototyping, and cost-effective solutions. The ISO 9001 certification ensures our product quality and customer commitment. iStarUSA Group bases its strength on our experience, technology, and strong partnerships. For many years, we have worked closely with major computer component manufacturers and system integrators to ensure our products are highly compatible and extremely stable. We continuously adopt new industrial standards to improve our designs. Our ability to customize products according to customers' specifications has won us a prominent and solid industry reputation. Our experienced design team and project engineers complete OEM projects within deadline and product specs. Being on the cutting edge of technology is a key to the success of iStarUSA Group and that of our customers. We believe an innovative technology leader must be able to incorporate the latest advances into all products to ensure customer satisfaction.

iStarUSA BPU-340SATA Military Grade Drive Enclosure @ NikKTech

Gigabyte C847N Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets

The Gigabyte GA-C847N is a Mini-ITX motherboard with a soldered Celeron 847 CPU. It uses the Intel NM70 chipset and has one PCI slot. Let's take a look at this little board.

Gigabyte C847N Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets

Patriot Aero 1TB Wireless Mobile Drive @ Techradar

Most portable hard drives lack glamour. They're tiny workhorses, useful for doing backups and transporting large files and little else. Patriot's Aero goes way beyond those basics, offering WiFi connectivity, tablet compatibility via custom apps and a rechargeable battery.

Patriot Aero 1TB Wireless Mobile Drive @ Techradar

OCZ Power Supply Roundup @ KitGuru

For this review today we approached OCZ to send us a range of power supplies at various price points. These units are designed to cater to a wide audience. The budget models on test today are big sellers due to the very competitive pricing. Many OEM builders use these units. The high end models are designed for hard core gamers who are running multiple, expensive graphics cards in Crossfire or SLI configurations.

OCZ Power Supply Roundup @ KitGuru

Sitecom Wi-Fi Router X6 N900 (WLR-6100) Review @ Madshrimps

Sitecom has reinvented itself with a new look on both the website and the products. Their latest X6 N900 WLR-6100 is a dual-band router with 450Mbps rating on both frequencies, which also sports SCS (Sitecom Cloud Security) subscription free for the first six months, but also multiple mounting possibilities and two USB 2.0 ports for connecting printers and storage devices.

Sitecom Wi-Fi Router X6 N900 (WLR-6100) Review @ Madshrimps

AMD A4-5000 Review: The affordable ultraportable APU @ Techspot

In 2006 AMD announced 'Fusion', a project aimed to develop a system on a chip that combined a CPU and GPU on a single die. Making the dream a reality for AMD was their acquisition of graphics chipset manufacturer ATI that same year.

The project wasn't without technical difficulties however, and it took AMD 5 years until the first Fusion APU saw the light of day. Based on the Lynx architecture, this first chip combined K10 CPU cores and a Radeon HD 6000 series GPU. Shortly after AMD would release APUs designed for desktop (Llano), mobile (Sabine), ultra-mobile and embedded (Brazos) platforms. All of these APUs and even current generation ones managed to fit a CPU and GPU into a single die, but still required a chipset to properly function.

If AMD could move the chipset on-die, then they would have created a true SoC solution and would be a step closer to a Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA).

AMD A4-5000 Review: The affordable ultraportable APU @ Techspot

Ninjalane Podcast - Paintball at SuperGame @ Ninjalane

Ninjalane Podcast Episode 29 Extra has been posted

Ninjalane Podcast - Paintball at SuperGame @ Ninjalane

Thermaltake Non-Interference Cooler NiC F4 CPU Cooler Review @ Proclockers

When Thermaltake went into CES this year, their objective was to show consumers they are more than just another company manufacturing various hardware items. Thermaltake emphasized that their products address what gamers want as well as for those that are looking for elegance…. see the S21 chassis review as well as the power user. For the latter, please refer to our latest review product.

Thermaltake’s newest CPU cooler consist of four cooler models for now and the line-up is called the NiC or Non-Interference Cooler series. The reason behind the name is that the coolers allow for the builder or end user to fill all of their motherboard DIMM slots. This is something that is often not possible with most coolers because of their massive size. With that in mind, you can be at ease to know the series allows for maximum ram slot usage.

It’s great that we didn't need to fill all the memory slots but it is another issue if we have to sacrifice performance. Well, you don’t have to worry because each of the coolers on this series is rated to a certain wattage level. The Thermaltake NiC F4 model we will be looking at today is rated up to 180 watts of TDP. The other three models are the F3, C4 and C5 and are rated at 160W, 200W and 230W respectively.

Thermaltake Non-Interference Cooler NiC F4 CPU Cooler Review @ Proclockers

Cooler Master V-series 1000W PSU review @ Hardware.Info

At CeBIT, Cooler Master showed off two new series of power supplies, including the V series. These new PSUs, available in 700W, 850W and 1000W, use the single-rail approach are are 80 Plus Gold certified. We tested the 1000W model.

Cooler Master V-series 1000W PSU review @ Hardware.Info

Roccat Kone Pure review: a mouse for delicate hands @ Hardware.Info

The Roccat Kone Pure is the smaller sibling of the Kone [+] mouse. It's about 91 percent the size of the original, which is perfect for people with smaller hands. Roccat claims that the smaller dimensions do not lead to lesser performance, however. Today we will take a closer look at this very orange mouse to see whether that's true.

The Kone Pure does not have any extra optional weights you can place inside the mouse to make it heavier. You also won't find a profile button, and it lacks a side-scrolling function. The illuminated lines of the Kone [+] that run across the length of the mouse have been replaced by a logo that lights up instead. The top layer of the Kone Pure is a type of soft plastic. The lack of any extra weights will likely be a drawback for some people.

Roccat Kone Pure review: a mouse for delicate hands @ Hardware.Info

Crucial M500 480GB SSD review @ CDRinfo

Today we have in our labs the latest SSD offering by Crucial, the Crucial M500 series. Announced earlier this year at CES, it is the world's first SSD series to use Micron's new 128Gbit MLC NAND die. The move to 20nm MLC NAND with a larger 128Gbit die decreases the number of die/devices needed to hit each capacity point, and it also makes 1TB SSDs cost effective. This allows Crucial to offer a 960GB version of the drive - also available in 120/256/480GB versions - for as low as $599. That's around $0.62 per GB.

Besides Micron's 20nm multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory technology, the new series uses the the Marvell 88SS9187 SATA 6Gb/s controller that’s fueled by Crucial's own custom firmware. Marvell’s 9187 controller supports DDR3 memory.

The 128Gbit implementation of Micron's 20nm process also brings support for ONFI 3.0, which offers a maximum interface speed of 400MB/s.

Crucial M500 480GB SSD review @ CDRinfo

Club3D GeForce GTX 670 royalQueen Review @ ChipLoco

NVIDIA launched the GeForce GTX 670 around 10 months ago on May 10, 2012. The green team used a quick launch plan for their GK104 line-up. The GTX 680 was the first GK104 GPU and it launched March 22, 2012, the GTX 690 followed after 6 week on May 3, 2012 and only a week later the GTX 670 surfaced. With this launch plan, the company quickly captured three important segments of the market.

The GeForce GTX 670 shares same Kepler design and features as the GTX 680 but infact it’s very similar to its bigger brother. Usually, NVIDIA’s second tier performance graphics cards have quite a lot of components missing as compared to highest end one but in case of GTX 670, they only disabled an SMX and lowered the clicks a bit and that’s all. Memory bandwidth, size and everything else is exactly same. It comes with a core clock of 915 MHz and boost clock of 980 MHz; this is 9% and 7% lower than the respective clocks of GTX 680. TDP of GTX 670 is 170W, which is 25W lower than the GTX 680. All in all, at reference clocks the GTX 670 has 91% of ROP performance, 80% of shader performance and 100% of memory performance of the GTX 680. The most surprising part of the GTX 670 is its PCB size which is only 6.75 inches. Its PCB size make it the shortest GPU in its class. However, the cooler extends a little over the PCB making the overall length to be 9.5 inches which is a norm these days. The smaller PCB design opens up the possibility of using the GTX 670 in mITX gaming systems and ASUS has already designed a custom variant of GTX 670 whose overall length is 6.75 inches. They have ditched the reference NVIDIA cooler and designed their own DirectCU Mini cooler.

Club3D GeForce GTX 670 royalQueen Review @ ChipLoco

OCZ Vertex 450 SSD review: real Indilinx controller @ Hardware.Info

After the launch of the Vertex 4, OCZ had a little explaining to do. Initially the SSD was presented as using a controller developed in-house by Indilinx, but that turned out to be a Marvell controller using their firmware. The new Vertex 450 makes up for this, as it really does have a controller developed by them and not someone else.

It's actually the second time that an SSD from the Vertex line is equipped with an Indilinx controller. The original Vertex from 2009 also had one, but the Vertex 2 and 3 used one from SandForce.

OCZ Vertex 450 SSD review: real Indilinx controller @ Hardware.Info

Antec Eleven Hundred 1100 Case Review @ Tech Lobby

A great looking case with enough style to entice yet not over complex like some of the other gaming cases on the market. We take a look at the Antec Eleven Hundred.

Antec Eleven Hundred 1100 Case Review @ Tech Lobby