Here a roundup of the latest reviews and articles:

10 Rare and Unreleased Graphics Cards
A.M.P Pulse Bluetooth Wireless Headset Review
AMD A10-7850K Kaveri APU Review
Android Curveball: LG G Flex Review
BitFenix Colossus Mini-ITX
Crucial M500 480GB SSD
Diamond Xtreme Sound 7.1 HD Sound Card Review
GAMDIAS HERMES Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review
Intel’s 3rd Generation SSD Controller Manufactured By LSI
Low Level Graphics API Developments
MSI R9 290 OC Gaming Edition Review (1600p, Ultra HD 4K)
NETGEAR D6200 WiFi Modem Router Review
NVIDIA GTX 680 vs GTX 770 - Should I upgrade?
Ozone Neon Review
Philips 231C5 SmoothTouch 23" IPS Touch Screen Monitor Review
QPAD QH-85 Review
Silverstone SST-EP02 USB3.0 to SATA Adaptor & SST-MS07 HDD/SSD Case Review
SteelSeries Rival Gaming Mouse Review
Team Group Vulcan Gold 2400MHz 8GB Memory Kit Review
Tesoro Lobera Review
The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot - What's New and The Runaway Overview
Thecus N2310 NAS Server Review
Thermaltake Tt eSPORTS POSEIDON Illuminated Keyboard w/ Cherry MX Brown Review
Toshiba Encore Windows 8 Tablet Review

10 Rare and Unreleased Graphics Cards

Many times we get the chance to check out new graphics cards and technology before they are released at trade shows like the Consumer Electronics show. It is often that many of these products do not make it to market for one reason or another. Here we have compiled a list of 10 Rare and Unreleased graphics cards.

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

A.M.P Pulse Bluetooth Wireless Headset Review

With a healthy and bountiful selection of mobile products available today such as: smartphones, tablets, and other Bluetooth enabled devices; it is no wonder that Bluetooth headsets have taken off in popularity as well. Whether a person is listening to a lecture, speaking with a friend via a smartphone, or perhaps enjoying a jam session from their favorite music band; sound quality is a very important aspect to the overall listening experience. Coupling that with comfort and ease of use, these are attributes that are used to distinguish great headsets from the bad and the ugly.

We recently had the opportunity to test drive the SPzero Bluetooth Portable Speaker from A.M.P., or Antec Mobile Products, to see just how their amazing new mobile product lineup performs in a category bleeding with high expectations from consumers.

Read full article @ FunkyKit

AMD A10-7850K Kaveri APU Review

After our A8 review at launch day we still owed you guys a test on the A10 APU from AMD. So yeah, let's review the AMD 10-7850 APU from AMD. This APU is based on AMD's new Kaveri architecture bringing the CPU and the GPU even closer together as the two "segments" now really have been merged into the die. Kaveri will aim at several segments in the processor business like notebooks, desktops, embedded and even server solutions. Armed bit a whopping 2.41 Billion transistors and based on a 28nm fabrication process, today we look at the mainstream Kaveri APU, the AMD A8-7600. Now in this review we'll focus on the desktop APUs and within this segment AMD initially will release three processors. In the A10 (fastest) lineup you will see the A10-7700K and A10-7850K chips. In the A8 series we'll see one product launch initially, the A8-7600. AMD A10-7000 series APUs each have have 4 Steamroller CPU cores tied to a unified 4 MB L2 cache and will carry a 95, 65 or 45 Watt Thermal Design Power.

With improved performance levels the APUs now can be considered a more mainstream product, you'll notice a decent speed improvement on the processor side and a significant increase on the GPU side of the APU. The big distinction here is that the CPU and GPU really have been merged, sharing the very same memory pool and they can address each other; making this a much more efficient design compared to previous architectures. Combined together, they offer a nice amount of processor performance, especially with OpenCL and GPU assisted applications. Yeah that hybrid symbiosis called APU remains hard to beat in terms of features performance. Kaveri APUs offer up to 12 compute cores in total (AMD adds 4 x CPU cores to 8 x GPU cores to get to this figure). The new chips also include AMD's TrueAudio technology and thus come with an integrated DSP.

Read full article @ Guru3D

Android Curveball: LG G Flex Review

LG's new G Flex smartphone is the "world's first curved flexible smartphone" according to the company. We've seen smartphones that have curved bodies before, but this is the first smartphone to feature a display and battery that are curved as well. LG claims the curved design of the G Flex is optimized for the average face to provide better call and sound volume quality. For users who are going to put the phone in their back pocket, the curved shape of the phone also makes it fit more comfortably.

In addition to its curved form, there's one other very noticeable feature of this smartphone, and that's its large 6-inch display. If you set this phone next to any average-size smartphone, there's no mistaking the G Flex offers a LOT of screen real estate.
In an effort to take full advantage of the G Flex's large display, LG is also including a number of unique software features with the device that are designed to give the user greater multitasking functionality.

We'll take a closer look at all of these features in the coming pages...

Read full article @ HotHardware

BitFenix Colossus Mini-ITX

Take the Prodigy and the original Colossus chassis by BitFenix, combine them, and out comes the Colossus Mini-ITX chassis. The love child of these two product lines sports the compatibility of the highly successful Prodigy and the coolness of the very first BitFenix chassis, the Colossus.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

Crucial M500 480GB SSD

When i first started testing SSDs (Solid State Drives) roughly 5/6 years ago even the cheapest 60GB model cost more than a 2TB HDD and although SSDs had a very large and clear advantage in read/write/access speeds over regular HDDs it wasn't until a couple of years later that consumers actually got interested. Fast forward to today and things have changed quite a bit not only because current SSD models are twice as fast but also because prices have taken a significant dive so as we speak 120/128GB models cost roughly the same as 1TB HDDs. However due to the fact that many more manufacturers have also jumped on the SSD wagon since then there are numerous SSD models available in the market currently with different performance levels and bundles something that's more than enough to confuse most consumers. Crucial/Micron is amongst the very few manufacturers that have been manufacturing commercial SSDs almost right from the start and since their M500 line of SSDs is considered to be one of the best in the market we decided to take a closer look on the 480GB model.

Read full article @ NikKTech

Diamond Xtreme Sound 7.1 HD Sound Card Review

Sound card, what is that?

There once was a time when a discrete sound card was a required component for any computer build and as technologies changed so did those requirements. These days any motherboard you buy will come with a sound system onboard and much like onboard video the sound card isn’t all that great. There are a few notable exceptions like the new gamer style motherboards and yet despite higher-end audio chips, digital connections and custom hardware they will never have the same quality of a discrete sound card.

Many factors play into the quality of the audio. When speaking in terms of onboard solutions the motherboard mfgs will often look for the least expensive option or something compatible with previous product designs. This saves them development cost at the expense of improved driver and hardware support. Onboard solutions also have to deal with other components on the motherboard. For instance the CPU VRM or PCI Express PLX switch may introduce noise into the audio solution causing the audio quality to diminish. In response to this some mfgs have stated physically separating the audio components from the rest of the motherboard. While this may help alleviate some of the induced noise there is still a power connection and limited room for audio components.

Read full article @ Hardware Asylum

GAMDIAS HERMES Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

When I was quite young, maybe around 10-12, my Grandfather decided that I needed to learn how to drive a real car/truck before I started to learn on the cushy simplified vehicles of the time. So he took me to the mall in his old Dodge pickup with no power steering and what was called “three on the tree” shifter. The shifter was a manual transmission with three forward gears and a reverse, but instead of a stick through the floor of the truck it was on the steering column. It was hell for a young man of such diminutive stature to steer that truck around and change gears. Even the clutch was so heavy I could not press it without squatting into the floor board and bracing my back against the seat. I did it though, I drove that truck and I did fine. As I grew up, I learned how to work on it also, but I hated that part. I mention this because times like that have really affected me and influence every decision I make when it comes to vehicles I buy.

All this leads me to the point that, the kind of tactile response I grew accustomed to while driving early on, has lead me to prefer vehicles which are “rough around the edges”. I actually wish they still made cars that did not have power steering and all the amenities that come standard on vehicles nowadays. I know that it is easier to drive a car with power steering but I feel disconnected from the road. Humans like to use all of our senses, at least I do. Car manufacturers know this and are making great strides to re-introduce the kind of tactile response I miss from my early experiences. The automotive industry is not alone; a growing demand for precision tactile response is trickling into the PC industry also, namely through gaming, of course. All sorts of new and interesting ideas for greater virtualization is coming to PC gaming. Things like the Oculus Rift and Virtuix Omni are making great strides to actually put us, our bodies, in the games we play. Until then, I am happy with simpler solutions, like mechanical keyboards that give great tactile feedback. There are quite a few different kinds of mechanical keys though, and finding the right one for you can be difficult.

Read full article @ HiTech Legion

Intel’s 3rd Generation SSD Controller Manufactured By LSI

We asked the question once again, this time unexpectedly receiving confirmation from Intel that their 3rd Generation controller, “has been architected by Intel with Intel firmware. It is manufactured exclusively for Intel. Intel contracts LSI for the manufacturing of this controller.

Read full article @ The SSD Review

Low Level Graphics API Developments

With the annual Game Developer Conference taking place next month in San Francisco, the session catalogs for the conference are finally being published and it looks like we may be in for some interesting news on the API front. Word comes via the Tech Report and regular contributor SH SOTN that 3 different low level API sessions have popped up in the session catalog thus far. These sessions are covering both Direct3D and OpenGL, and feature the 4 major contributors for PC graphics APIs: Microsoft, AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel.

The session descriptions only offer a limited amount of information on their respective contents, so we don’t know whether anything here is a hard product announcement or whether its being presented for software research & development purposes, but at a minimum it would give us an idea into what both Microsoft and the OpenGL hardware members are looking into as far as API efficiency is concerned. The subject has become an item of significant interest over the past couple of years, first with AMDs general clamoring for low level APIs, and more recently with the launch of their Mantle API. And with the console space now generally aligned with the PC space (x86 CPUs + D3D11 GPUs), now is apparently as good a time as any to put together a low level API that can reach into the PC space.

Read full article @ Anandtech

MSI R9 290 OC Gaming Edition Review (1600p, Ultra HD 4K)

AMD’s R9 290 and R9 290X have been well received by the gaming community over the last couple of months, especially those partner cards featuring enhanced coolers and clock speeds. Today we look at a solution that has received special treatment courtesy of MSI … their R9 290 Gaming Edition. How does it stack up?

Read full article @ KitGuru

NETGEAR D6200 WiFi Modem Router Review

Today we will be taking a look at the NETGEAR D6200, a 802.11AC dual band gigabit wireless router. The D6200 features a built-in ADSL2+ modem and supports the new AC standard. This offers speed up to three times of that we've seen with 802.11N rated models, ideal for the connected home, which now has multiple devices between set top boxes, PCs, laptops, tablets or mobile phones.

Read full article @ HardwareHeaven.com

NVIDIA GTX 680 vs GTX 770 - Should I upgrade?

A gamer simply can't get enough graphics power in their rig, which makes the upgrade question omnipresent. To show you whether it makes sense to upgrade from one generation to another we created this series of articles, where we will compare graphics cards from different generations. Today we're having a close look at the differences between the GTX 680 and the GTX 770.

Read full article @ ocaholic

Ozone Neon Review

Ozone are steadily proving their worth in the gaming peripheral arena and in the last couple of months they have furnished their portfolio with a number of new releases which include a laser gaming mouse named Neon.

Neon is a 6400 DPI laser gaming mouse which features 8 programmable buttons, an on the fly DPI switch, adjustable polling rate, adjustable response rate all contained with an ambidextrous design which has subtle and minimalist styling.

Read full article @ Vortez

Philips 231C5 SmoothTouch 23" IPS Touch Screen Monitor Review

When Microsoft announced the imminent launch of Windows 8, one of the revolutionary aspects of the new operating system was its more streamlined integration into touch screen devices. Since that time we have seen touch screen capable notebooks and Ultrabooks swarm the market and the era of the touch screen computer has changed the way that many of us have interacted with our systems. For the most part, this interaction has been on mobile devices such as Microsoft’s Surface 2 Pro Tablet and Intel’s range of Ultrabooks, however we have also seen a number of touch screen enabled AIO’s (All-In-One Systems) appearing on the market, however their appeal is not as great as that of mobile devices.

The reason for this general lack of interest is the relative performance that they have to offer in comparison to an enthusiast or gamer spec system and this is where the deciding point has been left for many users. Touch screen monitors are obviously not that new to the market, but up to this point there has not been that much of a strong appeal within the consumer markets, however since the launch of Windows 8, the interest in purchasing an after market monitor with touch screen capabilities has been growing at a steady rate.

Philips as some may or may not know are very closely related to AOC who produce some of the top gaming monitors that we have seen over the last year or so and with this partnership we have seen a range of monitors that almost covers each and every sector of the tech market. To broaden their product catalogue that bit more, Philips have been developing an all new multi-point touch screen LCD panel that offers up all the image clarity that we have come to expect from the brand, with the quality and precision that the Philips brand also has to offer.

Read full article @ eTeknix

QPAD QH-85 Review

We were impressed with the QPAD QH-90 so we were excited to take a look at the open backed QH-85 headset. Again we are fronted with the same exceptional quality from the packaging to product in a minimalistic decor that many will associate with QPAD.

The primary difference that will affect people’s choice between the QH-90 and QH-85 is that the former is closed backed and the latter is open. What that means is, literally, a closed back is sealed, reducing sound leakage going in or out, where an open earcup will leak just as much sound out as it pumps into your ears. There are advantages to using an open back of which some may prefer, such as creating a much more natural 'airy' experience with a larger 'out of head' soundstage with more detailed high tones at a trade-off of losing some bass impact.

Read full article @ Vortez

Silverstone SST-EP02 USB3.0 to SATA Adaptor & SST-MS07 HDD/SSD Case Review

In the consumer market, there are a number of manufacturers that cover more than one market segment and this in most situations ranges from chassis to coolers and power supplies, fans and also solid state drives and memory as well. Silverstone is a good example of a vendor that covers a broad range of market segments with their sleek and stylistic chassis, solid power supplies, fans and so forth, but what they have in their catalogue as well as this main spread of products is one of the widest range of accessories out there when compared their competitors. These accessories range from simple fan adaptors, to fans and dust filters, mobile accessories, notebook coolers and on top of that; drive adaptors and accessories for solid state and hard drives externally as well.

The two items that I’m looking at today are just a small sample of what is on offer and like a number of individual products, these are designed to be paired together, resulting in one complete accessory, although they can also be bought separately if desired.

Read full article @ eTeknix

SteelSeries Rival Gaming Mouse Review

It doesn’t happen too often when a new optical gaming mouse receives hype. In-fact this past year up until now, all the mice we reviewed all used lasers and laser sensors. SteelSeries sent us their Rival gaming mouse which does feature an optical sensor as well as a number of other gaming-focused features.
rival_28

It’s often argued that optical sensors don’t skip and thus track more reliably than laser sensors. In any case, better mice technology has narrowed the gap. We really haven’t noticed mouse skipping on the laser mice we have reviewed and the Rival’s optical sensor has a specified sensitivity, up to 6500 DPI, comparable to some laser mice out there. We’ll have to see if the Rival stands out from the crowd or conforms to the rest.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

Team Group Vulcan Gold 2400MHz 8GB Memory Kit Review

2400MHz memory seems to be kicking 2133MHz kits out of the ‘price-vs-speed’ sweet spot. Today we take a look at an 8GB 2400MHz CL11 kit from Team Group. Is the Vulcan set of memory worth its sub-£70 asking price?

Read full article @ KitGuru

Tesoro Lobera Review

With Lobera, Tesoro have brought their first gaming keyboard with rubber dome switches to market. Apparently it looks like Tesoro is ramping up for a wider portfolio addressing gamers, that don't want to spend over 100 Euro on a gaming keyboard. At a first glance the Lobera looks like a Colada but without being made from aluminium and, as we already mentioned, without mechanical switches. Overall this sound like an interesting product. So let's have a closer look at it.

Read full article @ ocaholic

The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot - What's New and The Runaway Overview

Kaeyi Dream takes a look at the recent patch for MQFEL open beta patch and a look at the new character The Runaway. Enjoy!

Read full article @ HardwareHeaven.com

Thecus N2310 NAS Server Review

In my opinion the Network Attached Storage Server or NAS Box for short is the most useful type of storage solution out there for all of your digital stuff. NAS boxes can do just so much more than a USB hard drive or flash drive, just so much more, but they do come at high price usually but sometimes you can come across a lower priced one that can fit into most budgets. Thecus has recently introduced the N2310 which is a two bay style NAS box that offers a lot of features and great performance for a low price. So read on to learn more…

Read full article @ TestFreaks

Thermaltake Tt eSPORTS POSEIDON Illuminated Keyboard w/ Cherry MX Brown Review

We here at Techwarelabs have reviewed quite a few mechanical keyboards recently, and today Thermaltake has sent us their latest offering, the Tt eSPORTS POSEIDON Illuminated keyboard. When I first received this keyboard for review, my initial question was "What does this particular keyboard offer over Thermaltake's other models?". Thermaltake is specifically targeting the budget minded gamers with the POSEIDON Illuminated keyboard. Shifting the focus away from some of the non-essential bells and whistles and focusing on the core needs of demanding gamers, this keyboard is promises to deliver the best bang for your buck if you're in the market for an illuminated mechanical keyboard. So, does the POSEIDON Illuminated keyboard deliver?

Read full article @ TechwareLabs

Toshiba Encore Windows 8 Tablet Review

Eight inch tablets are hot items right now as consumers are discovering the perfect balance they often present between portability and usability. Apple’s iPad mini is an especially popular choice among people looking for a well-polished device with a fantastic selection of apps, but there are plenty of other competitors to choose from.

When it comes to 8-inch Windows tablets, the release of Windows 8.1 has seen many companies try their hands at crafting the perfect tablet. Acer was first with the mediocre Iconia W3 and shortly afterwards a ton of other devices came to the market from the likes of Dell, Asus, Lenovo and also Toshiba, whose 'Encore' tablet is the focus of today’s review.

Like a lot of small Windows tablets in the same price bracket as the Encore, specifications aren’t stellar especially in the display department: we’re looking at a 1280 x 800 panel, a resolution which Windows device manufacturers seem to love. There’s also the popular Intel Atom Z3740 SoC inside, as well as an 8-megapixel camera and 19.5 Wh battery, which makes its hardware package overall a little different to the Lenovo Miix 2 8, which we're also in the process of reviewing.

Read full article @ TechSpot