Here a roundup of todays reviews and articles:

20 of the Worst PC Setups – October 2014
A first look at the Microsoft Band
ADATA Premier DDR4-2133 16GB Kit 4x 4GB DDR4 Review
Asus G751 Gaming Laptop: Mobile Maxwell Done Right
ASUS ROG Gladius gaming mouse Review
ASUS ROG Swift PG278Q G-SYNC Monitor Review
ASUS' ROG G751 review: a properly oversized gaming laptop
Best workstation: the best enterprise desktop for you
D-Link DHP-W310AV PowerLine AV+ Wireless N Mini Extender
Deep Cool Gamer Storm Maelstrom 240mm Liquid CPU Cooler Review
DimasTech Bench/Test Easy V3.0 Review
GeForce GTX 980 PCI-Express Scaling
Mini-ITX Game PC - October 2014
NVIDIA's Linux Driver Can Deliver Better OpenGL Performance Than Windows 8.1
OCZ ARC 100 240GB Solid State Drive Review
Phorus PR5 Mini Review
Raijintek Arcadia Mid-Tower Chassis Review
Tesoro Gandiva H1L Laser Gaming Mouse Review
Tesoro Lobera Full Color

20 of the Worst PC Setups – October 2014

I’m sure at some point you had a bad PC setup. Maybe moving into a new place, waiting for a new desk to arrive or you just ran out of room. I can remember my horrible PC setups from when I was living at the dorms in college. If you have ever ventured over to the Shitty Battlestations sub-reddit you will find a lot of horrible PC setups. We will are going to pick 20 each month and feature them as 20 of the Worst PC setups for that month. Here are some of the bad ones from October!

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

A first look at the Microsoft Band

Microsoft's first wearable is designed to tell you how unhealthy you are.

Read full article @ Arstechnica

ADATA Premier DDR4-2133 16GB Kit 4x 4GB DDR4 Review

DDR4 memory modules are on many hardware shopping lists at the latest since the introduction of the Intel Haswell-E processors.
DDR4 modules are not only interesting in the server area, but conquer also the upper mainstream area thanks to higher bandwidth and lower power consumption.
But what are the DDR4 advantages compared to DDR3, which DDR4 memory you should buy and how high can one overclock DDR4 memory?
We have today at OCinside.de a 16 GB DDR4 Quad Channel Kit tested, consisting of four ADATA Premier 4 GB DDR4-2133 CL15 memory modules.

Read full article @ OcInside

Asus G751 Gaming Laptop: Mobile Maxwell Done Right

The PC laptop market is a funny place. Good laptops are fairly easy to find, but great laptops are staggeringly rare. This is true even at the boutique end of the market, where manufacturers have a tendency to choose powerful components, but cram them into a chassis that can't handle the heat without sounding like a jet turbine, or pick great, quiet hardware but opt for a sub-par 1080p screen whose quality leaves something to be desired.

The Asus G751 is not a good laptop. The G751 is a great laptop. It is, in fact, the single best gaming laptop I have ever reviewed. If you're in the market for a system of this type, we hope you read on. This machine is powered by the excellent, Maxwell-based NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, but Asus deserves a significant amount of credit for the G751's design and construction choices...

Read full article @ HotHardware.com

ASUS ROG Gladius gaming mouse Review

Most people are aware of mechanical keyboards these days, with their multiple switch options allowing a level of customisation that many other peripherals cannot match. But what if they could? That is one of the features that the ASUS ROG Gladius takes very seriously, giving you the chance to change its mouse feet, cable and even its left and right click switches.

This is a no-nonsense mouse that is not trying to sell you a high DPI, but accuracy, comfort and hardware options. At least that is what the marketing material says.

Read full article @ KitGuru

ASUS ROG Swift PG278Q G-SYNC Monitor Review

The ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) SWIFT PG278Q 27-inch WQHD G-Sync display has been lauded as the best gaming monitor for the second half of 2014. This monitor boasts a 27-inch WQHD LED display boasts a 2560 x 1440 (16:9) screen resolution on a TN panel with 109 pixels per inch (PPI) all tucked inside a sleek looking enclosure that has a supper narrow 6mm thick bezel. Brightness on the PG278Q is rated at up to 350 cd/m² and it has a 1000:1 contrast ratio with the ability to display 72% of the NTSC color gamut. It also has gamer oriented features like NVIDIA G-Sync technology, a super fast 144MHz refresh rate, 1ms response times, support for NVIDIA 3D Vision, Ultra Low Motion Blur (ULMB) and This display won't be able to match the Adobe RGB performance seen on IPS or IGZO monitors, but you should be able to calibrate it for 100% sRGB and it looks pretty damn good at nearly any viewing angle. Basically, this is one high-end gaming monitor! Read on to learn more about it!

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

ASUS' ROG G751 review: a properly oversized gaming laptop

So, you noticed that NVIDIA has trotted out its latest GPU architecture and you're wondering if you should retire your old gaming laptop for something with a little more... pep. You aren't alone. Every time NVIDIA downsizes its flagship GPUs for the notebooks, manufacturers flood the market with new and improved laptops promising to give desktop gaming rigs a run for their money. The phrase "desktop-class" usually gets thrown around with reckless abandon, but the new machines never quite match the performance of their fully grown counterparts. Will this year's Maxwell-based 980M GPUs fare any better? Let's find out: The ASUS ROG (Republic of Gamers) G751 just landed in Engadget's bullpen, and it's aching to be reviewed.

Read full article @ Engadget

Best workstation: the best enterprise desktop for you

What comes to mind when we say workstation? If you're thinking some big, spaceship-like contraption, you'd traditionally be right. But these days, workstations are sleek and trendy machines that still provide intelligent performance for most applications. They're useful tools for designers, engineers, financial analysts and researchers running more demanding applications, like rendering complex graphics, financial analysis and computations and digital content creation.But, with so many on the market, what merits do the office power users look for when deciding upon which workstation is the best investment for an increase in productivity, limited downtime and improved reliability?1. Dell Precision T7610Boasted by Dell as the world's most powerful workstation, the Precision is a capable mid-range workstation, born out of the years of experience from the Austin-based vendor. It is well thought out, expertly designed, sturdy, powerful and reasonably priced for its value proposition to customers. This Dell system sticks to the big box approach, standing large at 438 (h) x 216 (w) x 545mm (d) (16.95 x 8.50 x 20.67 inch) and 14kg (31lb.), unlike Apple Mac Pro's minimalist look-and-feel and HP Z1 G2's all-in-one approach.

Read full article @ Techradar

D-Link DHP-W310AV PowerLine AV+ Wireless N Mini Extender

Those pesky Wi-Fi dead spots. I'm sure everyone has experienced those annoying times when you can't just seem to get a solid Wi-Fi signal. Those times when you get a brief weak Wi-Fi signal and then disappears are the worst ones, they are so frustrating! When you have a single wireless router, Wi-Fi dead spots exist no matter what you do, there's just parts of the home or business that's just too far away to obtain a fair wireless signal.

So what are your options? Do you shell out $50 for a bigger wireless antenna (if replaceable) and hope it gets the job done? Or do you shell out another $100 for a wireless router that comes with 3 antennas? Heck, what about spending over $300 for the latest wireless router with 6 (yes you read that correctly!) antennas? I don't know about you, but, I have a hard time justifying investing over $300 for a wireless router, no matter how many antennas it has on the back.

Two of our most recent reviews have been talking about a new way that you can connect your Internet enabled device to the Internet, instead of having to pull and run long lengths of Ethernet cabling to wherever you have the device and or Wi-Fi dead spot. We've been talking about Powerline networking, sometimes known as Home Plug, where it utilizes the electrical wiring in your home to create a wired network. Your home's electrical wiring essentially becomes the Ethernet cable, without the mess of cabling; I know, it sounds amazing!

Read full article @ ModSynergy.com

Deep Cool Gamer Storm Maelstrom 240mm Liquid CPU Cooler Review

Have you ever witnessed a violent storm? Rain pouring down and winds blowing so violently that it appears as if the rain is coming down sideways and in sheets instead of drops. Or gusts of wind so strong that you could literally lean your body into them and be supported by the raw power of the air movement. Quite impressive displays of nature. We see hurricanes that devastate entire states, tornadoes that rip through towns as if nothing could stand in its way. Tsunamis, sometimes caused by massive earthquakes, can violently destroy anything in its path with the force of the water. Maelstroms that cause a vortex of water that can suck even larger ships in if they were the result of a sinkhole or tsunami.

Read full article @ HiTech Legion

DimasTech Bench/Test Easy V3.0 Review

Using an open air case or otherwise called a test bench can save those that which out hardware on a regular basis a lot of time. Even for those that rarely change out hardware need to look at Dimastech Bench/Table Easy V3.0 for its ease of access, looks and options. Lets jump into the review and I will walk you though the build.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

GeForce GTX 980 PCI-Express Scaling

PCI-Express x16 3.0 is well established in the market, and the majority of gamers are using that interface. But what happens if you end up in a slot-bandwidth constrained situation? We are testing NVIDIA's latest GeForce GTX 980 flagship in 17 games, at four resolutions, including 4K, to assess what performance to expect.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

Mini-ITX Game PC - October 2014

The Mini-ITX Game PC is a desktop computer that is small enough to be portable, but has better performance than a gaming notebook.

Please note: the PC Buyer’s Guide is compiled based on independent component tests performed by Hardware.Info. If no new, superior products are released that should replace one or more of the components, then the component(s) will remain the same as the previous month.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

NVIDIA's Linux Driver Can Deliver Better OpenGL Performance Than Windows 8.1

Yesterday we looked at the Windows vs. Ubuntu 14.10 Intel OpenGL performance using Haswell HD Graphics to kick off our latest round of Windows vs. Linux OpenGL driver benchmarking. Out today is now our NVIDIA GeForce graphics card comparison on Windows 8.1 and Ubuntu 14.10 using the latest NVIDIA binary drivers. NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 970 and GTX 980 Maxwell graphics cards were tested as well as the mature GTX 780 Ti.

The same Intel Core i7 4770K system used for yesterday's Windows vs. Linux graphics benchmarks were used when benchmarking the GeForce GTX 780 Ti, 970, and 980 graphics cards. Windows 8.1 Pro x64 had all available system updates at the time and was running the NVIDIA 344.48 WHQL binary driver that was their latest release at the time of testing. When running Ubuntu 14.10 x86_64 on the system with its Linux 3.16 kernel, the NVIDIA 343.22 driver was used. The 343.22 driver was the latest publicly available proprietary Linux driver at the time of testing and their first to support the GTX 970/980 under Linux. All of the same hardware was used under each operating system and each OS was with its software default settings as were the driver settings.

Read full article @ Phoronix

OCZ ARC 100 240GB Solid State Drive Review

Happy Halloween! I remember back when I was in elementary school, all my friends would dress up on the last day of the tenth month. They would don the mask from superheroes like Batman or Spiderman, or put on the furry paws of animals like cats or dogs. I even remember my friend making a Blastoise (The final evolution of the first generation water starter Pokemon, Squirtle) costume. I always remember Halloween as a good day of treats, and a day of dropping everything school related to do things Halloween related. As I have grown up from those times, the days of free candy and dressing up are mostly gone. Now the best part of Halloween is the day after, or November 1st, because of the cheap candy on sale after Halloween. Most stores are trying to get rid of their stock, especially with Christmas around the corner, so they hack and slash prices to empty their valuable shelf space. And that, my friends, is the best day to actually do your Trick or Treating. Within twenty four hours of the event, boxes and boxes of candy drop by fifty, sixty and even eighty percent in price. This only seems natural as no one will be purchasing large amounts of candy until the next October 31. The only way that stores can clear through stock is to reduce the price. Thus poor students like myself love to take advantage of these clearance deals. When we turn our heads to the solid state drive market, however, we see a different situation. There is no lack of demand for solid state drives, as people are reaping the benefits of speed increases, but the prices continue to steadily decline. Rather than trying to counter a decreasing demand, manufacturers have been releasing new lines of solid state drives at lower prices to increase the scope of their audience. Nowadays, SSDs can be found below the $1/GB mark. But when OCZ released the ARC 100 series, it took this decline to a completely different level with a MSRP of only $0.43/GB, which begs me to wonder if there are any performance trade-offs. We have seen past OCZ drives with generally good results, so where does the ARC 100 fit in? Let's read on to find out!

Read full article @ APH Networks

Phorus PR5 Mini Review

Whether you're throwing a party or settling in with some tunes, chances are your smartphone will be on its auxiliary leash right next to the speaker system. It's sad leaving your device unattended, and it's no fun hunching over or – gasp – getting up just to be within reach. The $179 Phorus PR5, which is currently only available stateside, utilizes a clever set of technologies that can set your phone free, back into your pocket, and upgrade your speaker system into a wireless setup.The receiver smartly takes advantage of your Wi-Fi connection to stream lossless audio within a smartphone app to your speakers. Being able to rejuvenate technology that you already own in ways you never imagined is amazing, but at $180, is it worth it?DesignThe Phorus PR5 is a thin, attractively designed, oval-shaped device that's no bigger or heavier than a modern router. It's small enough to slide into small spaces in your entertainment center, but it'd be wise to keep it out of cramped spaces.

Read full article @ Techradar

Raijintek Arcadia Mid-Tower Chassis Review

Raijintek is back once again with yet another product that promises great quality at an affordable price. Raijintek have been on a winning streak here at eTeknix; every product we’ve seen from the company has been excellent and competitively priced, can their new Arcadia chassis keep that trend going? I certainly hope so.

The Arcadia is a budget chassis. With a price tag of just £25 there is no doubt that this is an affordable product. Cheap cases are often associated with being lower quality, but in the last couple of years we’ve seen several chassis’ hit the market that offer incredible value for money, without skimping on features. I’m hoping we’ll see something similar from the Arcadia.

As you can see from the specifications below, the Arcadia is available in black or white and it supports ATX and MicroATX motherboards. There are two 5.25″ drive bays, a range of 2.5″ and 3.5″ mounts, USB 3.0 support and more. Cooling is managed via four 120mm fan mounts with a single 120mm fan pre-installed.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Tesoro Gandiva H1L Laser Gaming Mouse Review

Tesoro may not be the biggest name in the gaming peripherals market, but their past efforts have proven to us time and time again that they’re quickly working their way up the popularity ladder. They’ve already made some of the best looking and performing gaming products on the market; with the added bonus of offering some truly unique aesthetics that sets them apart from the rest of the market.

Today I’m very happy to have their latest laser gaming mouse, the Gandiva H1L, which promises ultra high-end performance, stunning aesthetics and a whole lot more. Will it keep up with the high standards set by previous Tesoro products? I certainly hope so.

Tesoro love to put a little more thought into their product names than most and the Gandiva is no exception; just take a look at the official product description below to get an idea of what I mean. It’s clear that Tesoro see their gaming peripherals on the same level as mythical weapons of great power.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Tesoro Lobera Full Color

For the past few years the only thing that membrane keyboards still had over mechanical keyboards has been the ability to run full RGB backlighting. Well this is no longer a problem, nearly everyone has their own RGB mechanical keyboards in the works or coming out now. A great example of this is the new Tesoro Lobera Full Color. Tesoro has had a few variations on their Lobera but up until now they all just had a single backlight color. Today I’m going to see if going full RGB is worth it. Additionally this will be the first time I have had the chance to check out a Tesoro keyboard, we can see how they compare to the competition.

Read full article @ LanOC Reviews