Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including 10 VirtualBox Tricks and Advanced Features You Should Know About, Gigabyte GTX780 WindForce OC Graphics Card Review, Fractal Design Define XL R2 Case Review, Intel Haswell Linux Performance Remains Mixed Against Windows, and Dell Latitude 7000 hands-on review



10 VirtualBox Tricks and Advanced Features You Should Know About @ Howtogeek

VirtualBox is packed with features that you may have never used, even if you frequently use it to run virtual machines. VMware keeps many of its best features to its paid versions, but all of VirtualBoxs features are completely free. Many of the features here require Guest Additions installed in your virtual machine. This is good to do anyway, as installing the Guest Additions package will speed up your virtual machines. Snapshots VirtualBox can create snapshots that save a virtual machines state. You can revert to the saved state at any time by restoring a snapshot. Snapshots are similar to leaving a virtual machine in a saved state, but you can have multiple saved states and restore from them at any time.

Read more: 10 VirtualBox Tricks and Advanced Features You Should Know About @ Howtogeek

Intel Core i5-4430 CPU LGA1150 Haswell Processor Review @ Benchmark Reviews

When Intel sends out press samples of their new CPUs, they generally provide the top-end desktop products like the Core i7-4470K. And its fun to have the latest new super-fast processor to play with. But most people dont need this level of power, and indeed in many cases even enthusiasts wont make full use of the capabilities of a high-end part. Given that, might a less expensive, mid-range CPU be a better choice? Benchmark Reviews tests the mid-range Intel Core i5-4430 CPU, desktop processor model BX80646I54430, to find out.

Read more: Intel Core i5-4430 CPU LGA1150 Haswell Processor Review @ Benchmark Reviews

CM Storm QuickFire XT Mechanical Keyboard @ Modders-Inc

The CM Storm QuickFire XT is everything you could expect from a full layout mechanical keyboard and at $89.99 it comes in at a respectable value for those looking to jump into a high end mechanical keyboard.

Read more: CM Storm QuickFire XT Mechanical Keyboard @ Modders-Inc

Antec AMP SP1 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker Review @ Legit Reviews

Antec has been a popular brand for high-performance computer components and accessories for the PC upgrade and do-it-yourself (DIY) markets since 1986. Times are certainly changing in the PC industry and many companies are evolving in order to stay relevant. Antec noticed that the market was changing and in 2012 they introduced a new global electronics division called Antec Mobile Products or A.M.P with the goal of putting state of the art mobile and audio technology into the hands of every user. AMP has introduced a number of headsets, USB power banks and even a speaker. Today, we'll be looking at the AMP SP1 Bluetooth Speaker, which is the companies first and only speaker solution.

Read more: Antec AMP SP1 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker Review @ Legit Reviews

Gigabyte GTX780 WindForce OC Graphics Card Review @ KitGuru

Today we are looking at the Gigabyte GTX780 WindForce OC Graphics Card which ships with a proprietary cooling system featuring triple fans encased in a metal shroud “ this is dubbed the WindForce which was designed in house by the GB engineering team. The card is also factory overclocked, offering out of the box speeds of 954mhz core and 1,006mhz boost.

Read more: Gigabyte GTX780 WindForce OC Graphics Card Review @ KitGuru

EVGA Pro SLI Bridge Review @ Legit Reviews

The NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface (SLI) has been linking two or more video cards together to produce a single output since being re-introduced in 2004. For nearly a decade NVIDIA SLI bridges have been used to reduce bandwidth constraints and send data between the graphics cards directly by bypassing the computers motherboard chipset. Over the years flexible 'ribbon' style bridge cables and solid PCB bridges have been the two ways manufactures used to pair NVIDIA GeForce video cards together. After so many years seeing the same boring interconnects being used, we were very happy to learn that EVGA was coming out with Pro SLI Bridges. The EVGA Pro SLI bridges were designed to look good and they have an EVGA logo that is illuminated with LEDs! Read on to find out more!

Read more: EVGA Pro SLI Bridge Review @ Legit Reviews

be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 2 @ techPowerUp

be quiet! looks to dominate the CPU-cooling market with their Dark Rock Pro 2, having armed this behemoth with two SIlentwing fans, dual cooling towers, and seven 6 mm heatpipes. But whether it will live up to the be quiet! name or falters in the face of stiff competition remains to be seen.

Read more: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 2 @ techPowerUp

Fractal Design Define XL R2 Case Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Out of all the Fractal Design cases the one I've really wanted to get my hands on has been the Define XL, what can I say I am a fan of big cases. Well Fractal Design has recently revised the Define XL, coming out with the Define XL R2 case. The R2 takes the best parts of the original Define XL case and adds upon it. The Define XL R2 supports large motherboards like E-ATX and XL-ATX, has room for up to 8 hard drives, 4 optical drives, 9 expansions slots, has three included fans with a fan controller and much much more! Did I mention Fractal Design intends this case to be pretty quiet as well. Let's jump in!

Read more: Fractal Design Define XL R2 Case Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Picking your keyboard key switch @ LanOC Reviews

If you are on the market for a new keyboard there is a good chance given the market trends that you might be considering a mechanical keyboard. Back with membrane keyboards all you really needed to consider was the keyboards features, software, and to some branding. Now, even once you have decided to go with a mechanical keyboard you have to consider what kind of switch type you want and of course most people don’t really know what the colors mean. This is one of the questions I’m asked all of the time, because of that I figured I would talk a little about it here. I hope it helps you on your decision.

Read more: Picking your keyboard key switch @ LanOC Reviews

Kingston HyperX 3K Na'Vi 240GB Review @ Vortez

Kingston are experts in the storage sector, their product lines and experience span over two decades. Kingston’s HyperX brand has been well received over the years, we ourselves have applauded the original HyperX and 3K SSDs, just recently Kingston announced a new limited edition variant of the popular HyperX 3K…

The HyperX 3K Na`Vi SSD Series is a limited edition option based upon Kingston’s sponsored gaming team Natus Vincere aka Na`Vi. Aside from the visual appearance, this drive remains much the same as the original 3K version – carrying with it SandForce SF-2281.

Read more: Kingston HyperX 3K Na'Vi 240GB Review @ Vortez

Mobile CPU Comparison Guide Rev. 10.0 @ Tech ARP

There are so many mobile CPU models that it has become quite impossible to keep up with the different models or even remember their specifications!

Therefore, we decided to compile this guide to provide an easy reference for those who are interested in comparing the specifications of the various mobile CPUs in the market, as well as those already obsolescent or obsolete.

Currently covering 860 mobile CPUs, this comprehensive comparison will allow you to easily compare 19 different specifications for each and every CPU. We hope it will prove to be a useful reference. We will keep this guide updated regularly so do check back for the latest updates!

Read more: Mobile CPU Comparison Guide Rev. 10.0 @ Tech ARP

Intel Haswell Linux Performance Remains Mixed Against Windows @ Phoronix

Last month I published benchmarks showing Windows 8 beating Ubuntu Linux when it came to the Intel OpenGL performance for the latest generation Intel "Haswell" desktop processors. Since then there's been lots of commits to Mesa and continued improvements to the Linux kernel and for some tests the open-source Linux driver is in better standing. For the testing today is a comparison of Windows 8 Pro against the latest Ubuntu 13.10 development packages when using a System76 Gazelle Professional laptop with Core i7 4900MQ CPU.

Read more: Intel Haswell Linux Performance Remains Mixed Against Windows @ Phoronix

DeepCool Gammaxx S40 Heatsink Review @ FrostyTech

It's nice to once again encounter a heatsink that stands less than 150mm tall and doesn't feature some kind of complicated self contained water cooling heat exchanger... these days it's getting more difficult to find CPU coolers for compact computer systems.

Read more: DeepCool Gammaxx S40 Heatsink Review @ FrostyTech

ASUS GTX 670 DirectCU MINI Review @ Hardware Canucks

Most gamers and enthusiasts focus on getting the highest possible performance for their money and push secondary concerns like power consumption and card size aside. However, there’s a growing niche that understandably wants their PCs to be minimally intrusive in their environments. That means moving towards smaller, more compact form factors.

At this point in time the SFF market is relatively well represented, with quite a few enclosures, motherboards and even CPU heatsinks catering to confined environments. Unfortunately, gamers who wanted a smaller system either had to sacrifice GPU performance or move their system into a slightly larger case since a high end graphics card typically led to a larger footprint. Not anymore.

Read more: ASUS GTX 670 DirectCU MINI Review @ Hardware Canucks

Saints Row IV Review @ OCC

In prior Saints Row games, you were a gang leader trying to dominate the city you are in by crushing other gangs. In Saints Row IV though, you are the President of the United States, and instead of having multiple gangs to face, you just have the alien Zin Empire to defeat. When the empire invaded Earth, they took you and other members of the Saints gang prisoner, trapping them within simulations meant to break their will. Of course your response is to break the simulation, which does not go over particularly well with Emperor Zinyak. In response he throws you into a new prison, modeled after Steelport, but he makes multiple changes to demonstrate his dominance over the simulation. With a computer genius like Kinzie Kensington on your side though, the simulation becomes less a prison and more a playground as you acquire superpowers (super user powers?).

Read more: Saints Row IV Review @ OCC

Gamescom 2013: Watch Dogs Gameplay Video @ HardwareHeaven.com

Kaeyi Dream visits Gamescom 2013 and gets hands on with Ubisoft's upcoming title Watch Dogs checkout this gameplay video.

Read more: Gamescom 2013: Watch Dogs Gameplay Video @ HardwareHeaven.com

Dell Latitude 7000 hands-on review @ The Inquirer

We give our hands a dance with Dell's fresh enterprise ultrabook     

Read more: Dell Latitude 7000 hands-on review @ The Inquirer

CM Storm Pitch Gaming Earphone Review @ KitGuru

The gaming peripheral market has been one of the fastest growing sectors over the last few years with companies like Cooler Master even setting up their own gaming range, CM Storm. Today's product is the CM Storm Pitch Gaming Earphones which feature 10 mm drivers, a solid metal casing, passive noise isolation and in-line super slim microphone.

Read more: CM Storm Pitch Gaming Earphone Review @ KitGuru