Here a roundup of todays reviews and articles:

20 Mini-ITX cases review: the desktop turns mini
20 of the Worst PC Setups – September 2014
Acer XB280HK 4K G-SYNC Gaming Monitor Review
ASUS Rampage V Extreme Review
Fujifilm HQ-Pro SSD review
Func KB-460 (Cherry MX Blue) Mechanical Keyboard Review
GeForce GTX 970 SLI Review
GPU Charts - 1080p, 1440p, UHD - Updated
How to Boot Linux ISO Images Directly From Your Hard Drive
MSI GTX 980 OC Review
MSI Z97 XPOWER AC Motherboard Review
Noctua IndustrialPPC Fans Review
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 SLI
Nvidia: We will focus on G-Sync, not Adaptive-Sync
Samsung Galaxy Alpha Smartphone Review
Sapphire R9 285 ITX Compact v MSI GTX760 Gaming Mini ITX
Scythe Mugen Max Review
SilentiumPC Aquarius X90 Pure Black
SuperTooth Disco Twin Bluetooth Stereo Speaker Review
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 Review: Featuring EVGA
Transcend SSD370 128GB SSD Review

20 Mini-ITX cases review: the desktop turns mini

2014 could be the year of the small desktop. An ever growing number of motherboard manufacturers are introducing Mini ITX boards, as well as a lot of new cases that are being put on the market. We thought this called for a new test on Hardware.Info of this formfactor with a new test platform.

It is no news that the desktop market has been under pressure over the last few years, but we are seeing encouraging signs of improvement. Sales of All in One PCs for instance are steadily growing, even though many see this form factor as the combination of the disadvantages of both a laptop and a desktop PC (very difficult to upgrade and not suitable for mobile use). The main reason for the growing popularity of All in Once PCs is the ever decreasing price levels and the fact that mobile processors nowadays are fast enough for most tasks, making the choice for an All in One less of a compromise than a few years ago.

If you are looking for proper processing power however a All in One will not suffice. Even the most expensive models are equipped with a mobile GPU, only comparable to their desktop equivalents by the model number. To be able to get rid of the heat generated by modern GPUs you need ventilation space, something that is not available in an All in One PC. However there are plenty of small form factor desktop cases that do offer room for a dual slot graphics card, and these Mini ITX cases are the ones we are testing in this article.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

20 of the Worst PC Setups – September 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 September!

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Acer XB280HK 4K G-SYNC Gaming Monitor Review

Last year, when I was first exposed to NVIDIA’s G-SYNC technology, I turned to one of our contacts at the company and said, “The moment someone comes out with a nice 4K version, I’ll hand over my credit card”. At the time, I had been riding along on a 30” HP display with a resolution of 2560x1600, and quite frankly, was itching to upgrade. After all, smartphones and tablets were already available with high-resolution screens that put the pixel densities of typical PC displays to shame. And after years of upgrading every other part of my personal workstation (multiple times), I was yearning for something new. There really wasn’t anything better available at the time, though.

Save for a smattering of relatively small, 3K and 4K laptop displays, we haven’t quite gotten to the same type of pixel densities available on today’s high-end ultra-mobile devices, but thankfully the display space has really heated up as of late. 4K displays have generated a large part of the excitement, and today, we can show you the first one that supports NVIDIA’s G-SYNC technology, the 28” Acer XB280HK...

Read full article @ HotHardware.com

ASUS Rampage V Extreme Review

Today we take a look at another X99 based motherboard in our Asus Rampage V Extreme Review.

Read full article @ HardwareHeaven

Fujifilm HQ-Pro SSD review

The Fujifilm HQ-Pro is a standard 2.5-inch SSD, built with a controller and 19nm 2-bit MLC Flash memory from Toshiba.Yes, you read that correctly. The HQ-Pro is a solid-state drive from Fujifilm, a brand associated by just about everyone with cameras rather than storage. Not that this is a particularly surprising move – other companies such as Panasonic have recently jumped into the market too, yet they're not a company with a rich history of storage products either.Actually, Fujifilm already sells a wide range of SD cards, which perfectly complements its camera business. While SSDs are a quite different technology, Fujifilm already has plenty of expertise in bringing storage products to market, so it's less of a leap than you might think.That said, while SD cards are a great accessory for camera sales, it's not obvious which markets Fujifilm has a foothold in where an SSD makes a perfect companion purchase. The company has slotted the HQ-Pro into its recording media category, which is a slight stretch.Four modelsThere are four capacities available: 60GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB. We were sent a 128GB and 256GB version, but thankfully, not the 60GB variant, since this capacity is so small it's now barely worth using when larger drives are more affordable than they were.

Read full article @ Techradar

Func KB-460 (Cherry MX Blue) Mechanical Keyboard Review

When my colleague Aaron Lai linked to my Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD5-B3 introduction regarding the "hypothetical" Javad character in his Kingston HyperX Cloud review two weeks ago, it came to me how ironic the world can be. For one thing, I described a teaching assistant as "underpaid graduate students who are overworked slaves to Dr. WhoeverHisNameIs". Well, as I sit here writing this review, I can no longer endorse that comment. The reason is simple. Three and a half years after that review was published, I am now a graduate student, who is -- by the way of all irony -- a teaching assistant. Because I stepped into the Master of Science in Electrical Engineering program right I finished my university degree, and being Asian and all, I can easily get away with looking like an undergraduate student. Recently, I attended a lecture for the class I am helping out with. I quietly sat at the back, and all the other students simply thought I was one of their classmates. Half way through the session, the professor introduced me as the TA. Suddenly, everyone turned around with an essence of awe, while I smiled and waved at their visibly surprised faces. As you can see here, it really does not matter if I look like one of them, the fact is, I am not. As we discuss yet again on the concept of appearance versus reality, here what I want to get through to you today: Did APH Networks not already review the Func KB-460? We absolutely did. However, the original KB-460 came with Cherry MX Red switches. The KB-460 we are reviewing today may look exactly the same, but underneath the keycaps are Blue switches instead. Just because something looks the same on the surface, does not mean they really are. Read on to find out if this ostensibly identical keyboard can roll out a different rating in our evaluation today!

Read full article @ APH Networks

GeForce GTX 970 SLI Review

We review that lovely GeForce GTX 970 but this time in a 2-way SLI setup. In this review we'll run the standard benchmarks, but we will also have a good look at Ultra HD gaming performance as well as a micro stuttering analysis with the help of FCAT. In this article we'll be looking at 2-way SLI performance from a single monitor point of view, so ideally with so much horsepower a WQHD resolution (2560x1440/1600) is the monitor you need to have to be able to compare to what SLI would do for you on your setup, preferably even Ultra HD of course. You will notice great performance increases with 2-way SLI as the cards scale nicely with so much horsepower.

With that in the back of our mind we created a second segment in this article. For the second part of this article we'll take it up a notch and look into Ultra High-resolution gaming as we hook up an Ultra High Definition monitor. While Full HD (1920x1080/1200) and WHQL (2560x1440) have become the industry standard within the display industry, enthusiasts will never settle for just standard and are always looking for the next big innovation in technology. Ultra HD gaming is the next evolution in immersion that gamers have been waiting for. Commonly addressed as Ultra HD, UHD or 4K, this new resolution refers to the ultra-high resolutions with approximately 4000 horizontal pixels. Ultra HD resolution also has four times the number of pixels of a typical 1920x1080 resolution. It will be interesting to find out how the GeForce GTX 970 cards will handle such extreme resolutions. Considering its nice 4 GB framebuffer but slightly dimmed memory bandwidth yet hefty GPU clocks, it's looking quite alright I'd say! With UHD (Ultra High Definition Gaming) becoming rapidly popular we'll test multiple multi-GPU setups on such a monitor. Next to that we'll perform FCAT tests to see where AMD is in Autumn anno 2014 in terms of micro-stuttering and frame pacing.

Join us in this review where we'll once again look at everything. As if you figured just one card would be interesting, you have no idea what's coming at you with two cards.

Read full article @ Guru3D

GPU Charts - 1080p, 1440p, UHD - Updated

With these chart lists we're publishing benchmark results from recent graphics cards with three different resolutions: FullHD, 1440p and UltraHD. In all cases we've set details to maximum and we're listing minimum framerates as well as maximum framerates. Other than that we will be updating and expanding these charts on a regular basis.

Read full article @ ocaholic

How to Boot Linux ISO Images Directly From Your Hard Drive

Linuxs GRUB2 boot loader can boot Linux ISO files directly from your hard drive. Boot Linux live CDs or even install Linux on another hard drive partition without burning it to disc or booting from a USB drive.

Read full article @ Howtogeek

MSI GTX 980 OC Review

Today we get our first look at a custom GTX 980 in our MSI GTX 980 Review which features their hybrid/silent cooler and an overclocked spec.

Read full article @ HardwareHeaven

MSI Z97 XPOWER AC Motherboard Review

MSI continues to update their range of Overclocking motherboards with each new major chipset release. When Intel released their brand new socket 1150 Z97 chipset MSI was ready with another three motherboards targeted at the OC crowd. The affordable Z97 MPOWER exists in two versions: the Z97 MPOWER and the Z97 MPOWER MAX AC and the ultimate flagship of all LGA1150 motherboards must be the Z97 XPOWER AC. The latter being the one and only Z97 based motherboard supporting out of the box 4-way SLI GPU setups. The included accessories are too numerous to list, most interesting for overclockers will be the inclusion of the Delid guard and the OC Fan stand. Time to unravel MSI's latest OC addition...

Read full article @ Madshrimps

Noctua IndustrialPPC Fans Review

The Noctua Industrial PPC line packaging is similarly Spartan like the new Noctua Redux line, packed without extras such as adapters, splitters and alternate mounting options but comes with a 4-piece screw mounting kit.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 SLI

NVIDIA's $550 GeForce GTX 980 shook up the high-end graphics card market, today we are testing two of these cards in SLI. This killer combination will let you build an Ultra HD capable gaming system, or enjoy smooth fragging with G-SYNC Surround.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

Nvidia: We will focus on G-Sync, not Adaptive-Sync

Nvidia Corp. on Friday told KitGuru that it will focus solely on its proprietary G-Sync technology and not on a potentially competing Adaptive-Sync (http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/nvidia-plans-to-support-adaptive-sync-technology/) , which will become available sometimes in 2015. According to Nvidia, G-Sync-enabled graphics cards and monitors are available today, which is why it is natural to concentrate on development of appropriate eco-system.

Read full article @ KitGuru

Samsung Galaxy Alpha Smartphone Review

We take a look at the new Samsung Galaxy Alpha 4.7-inch smartphone, which will compete directly in the market with the Apple iPhone 6 smartphone.

Read full article @ Silicon Republic

Sapphire R9 285 ITX Compact v MSI GTX760 Gaming Mini ITX

If you are building a new Mini ITX system then the graphics choices can be limited. Two of the leading solutions on the market right now are the MSI GTX760 Gaming Mini ITX and the Sapphire R9 285 ITX Compact. Both of these diminutive cards ship in a moderately overclocked state with custom coolers. Both solutions are priced below the £200 ‘sweet spot’, but how do they compare?

Read full article @ KitGuru

Scythe Mugen Max Review

Scythe have been around since 2002. You may be most familiar with their cooling fans, but they also have an impressive line of fan controlers and CPU coolers. Now, I have to admit that I was only familiar with their fans, so the coolers are new to me.

The word Mugen is of Japanese origin meaning dream, fantasy, or infinite. The Mugen Max is the latest in the Mugen series that consists of several previous models; the Mugen 4 and Mugen 3 still being available. The progression that brings us today's Max, which is more refined, more efficient, and easier to install, began around 2007 with the release of the first Mugen. Fast forward to today and we have the Mugen Max with 6 large heat pipes and a 140mm GlideStream PWM fan. There doesn't seem to be an official price release, but it seems to be around $50; however, I have seen it close to $100 too — which is quite a range. There is a lot of worthy competition at both ends of price range. Let's take a closer look and see how the Mugen Max handles the heat.

Read full article @ OCC

SilentiumPC Aquarius X90 Pure Black

A chassis with the ability to hold some serious liquid cooling within its belly, six USB ports, and with enough to still satisfy air cooling fans - at less than 100 USD? It seems as though such is possible with the Aquarius X90 Pure Black - but will this case be a beacon of light and hit its crowded market with guns blazing, or does it shoot with nothing but blanks?

Read full article @ techPowerUp

SuperTooth Disco Twin Bluetooth Stereo Speaker Review

After having used a large number of portable Bluetooth speakers from most companies in the field it just hit me that by definition all of them were single unit ones designed for maximum portability. That's certainly not a bad thing since that's obviously what you'd expect from a portable speaker but wouldn't it be nice if you could also use that same device while at home? Of course the only problem with that is that we all would rather use at least a stereo speaker system at home and that's not something portable Bluetooth speakers offer, at least not the vast majority. After quite a bit of searching it seems that SuperTooth one of the most popular manufacturers in the field has released a product that offers true stereo sound coming from two individual speakers which are connected wirelessly to each other. The name of the product is the Disco Twin Bluetooth Stereo Speaker and it just might be what we've been looking for all this time.

SuperTooth, headquartered in France, is a world leading manufacturer of Bluetooth speakerphones and portable accessories, with a presence in more than 50 countries. In 2004, SuperTooth created the concept of a Bluetooth speakerphone that could be clipped to a car’s sun visor providing hands-free phone call capability. Today the Bluetooth expert is continuing to pioneer audio accessories that are powerful, reliable and affordable, also integrating new NFC technology. SuperTooth owns its own factory, managing and operating the entire production and supply chain – from initial designs and concepts, to the manufacturing and packaging. For more information, visit www.SuperTooth.net.

The SuperTooth Disco Twin Bluetooth Stereo Speaker consists out of two portable tower speakers that feature Bluetooth v3.0 connectivity (supports A2DP, AVRCP and Remote functions), two drivers and a bass reflex system (each tower) resulting to a total of 32 Watts RMS total (WRMS/16WRMS each tower) and Nickel–metal hydride battery packs (one in each tower) which give them up to 10 hours of life at medium volume levels. These two tower speakers use a 2.4GHz wireless band to connect together wirelessly up to a range of 10 meters and that alone is quite impressive since you can create a stereo soundstage without the obvious limitations of cables (10m should be more than enough for example to place each on both ends of any room). At first glance the build quality of both towers may not be the best we've seen and the design is certainly not great but audio quality, range and battery life are far more important when testing portable speakers (especially ones which are not ment for outdoor use) so let's see what SuperTooth brings to our table with the Disco Twin model.

Read full article @ NikKTech

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 Review: Featuring EVGA

Last week we took a look at NVIDIA’s newest consumer flagship video card, the GeForce GTX 980. Today in the second part of our series on the GTX 900 series we're taking a look at its lower-tier, lower priced counterpart, the GeForce GTX 970. With a price of just $329, GTX 970 is just as interesting (if not more interesting overall) than its bigger sibling. The performance decrease from the reduced clock speeds and fewer SMMs that comes with being a GTX x70 part is going to be tangible, but then so is a $220 savings to the pocketbook. With GTX 980 already topping our charts, if GTX 970 can stay relatively close then it would be a very tantalizing value proposition for enthusiast gamers who want to buy in to GM204 at a lower price.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Transcend SSD370 128GB SSD Review

Transcend might not be the first name that comes to mind when one thinks about storage drives, but the brand has been around for years and we've found that they have what it takes to be competitive in the consumer market. Transcend recently released the SSD370 series of 2.5" SSDS and they are competitively priced and ready to take on budget friendly drives like the Sandisk Ultra II (TLC), Samsung Evo 840 (TLC) and Crucial MX 100 (MLC). Read on to see how the Transcend SSD370 128GB SSD performs!

Read full article @ Legit Reviews