Here a roundup of todays reviews and articles:

21 Windows Administrative Tools Explained
ASUS RP-AC52 Dual Band Wireless AC750 Range Extender Review
BitFenix Fury 650W Gold Modular Review
CM Storm Resonar Gaming Earphones Review
Cooler Master Nepton 280L Liquid Cooler Review
First impressions of Nvidia's Shield Tablet
Gigabyte Z97X SOC Force Overclocking Motherboard Review
Gigabytes Brix Gaming BXi5G-760 mini-PC reviewed
Harman Kardon BDS 880 Home Theater System Review
Nixeus MODA Mechanical Keyboard Review
NZXT Kraken X31 Review
PCMark 8: everything you need to know
Raijintek Themis Evo Pro & Nemesis CPU Coolers Head-to-Head Review
Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon R9 280X OC Edition Review
The NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet Review
Thecus N2310 2-Bay NAS Server Review
XTracGear Carbonic Mouse Pad Review

21 Windows Administrative Tools Explained

Windows is packed full of system tools, and many of them are in the Administrative Tools folder. The tools here are more powerful and complex, so theyre hidden where most Windows users wont stumble across them

Read full article @ Howtogeek

ASUS RP-AC52 Dual Band Wireless AC750 Range Extender Review

Today we are going to take a look at one of the latest wireless networking products from Asus – the RP-AC52 Dual Band Wireless AC750 Range Extender. This product is designed to alleviate wireless range issues that may occur in large houses, or those with thick walls.

Read full article @ KitGuru

BitFenix Fury 650W Gold Modular Review

Bitfenix have earned a strong reputation in enthusiast circles thanks to their wide range of quality case designs. In the efforts to diversify their portfolio they recently launched a power supply range – dubbed the ‘Fury’. Available in three capacities – we look at the mid model today – the Fury 650W. These semi modular power supplies have all achieved 80 Plus Gold Certification and are competitively priced. One of the main talking points is actually the individually sleeved cabling, eye catching at this price point.

Read full article @ KitGuru

CM Storm Resonar Gaming Earphones Review

There are no shortage of gaming headsets on the market today, but most typically favour the over ear or on ear design. Cooler Master and their gaming brand CM Storm look set to do something a little different and have created a more compact solution with their in-ear Pitch gaming earphones.

CM Storm are not the first company to do this of course, in ear gaming headsets are nothing new and companies like Steelseries have similar products on the market, but this is the first product like this from CM Storm.

We have high expectation of the Pitch as CM Storm have impressed us in the past with their other gaming audio devices such as the Ceres 300, Ceres 500, Pulse-R, Sirus and Sonus gaming headsets. I’m not expect the same performance as a headset with 40-50mm drivers, but I am expecting a certain level of quality that we’ve come to expect from Cooler Master.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Cooler Master Nepton 280L Liquid Cooler Review

Closed-loop AIO (all-in-one) liquid coolers are no longer a new concept on the mainstream CPU cooling industry. At a time when aluminum tower heatsinks were nearing its practical limit in sheer volume and fin density, companies Asetek and CoolIT took the notion of liquid cooling (typically the domain of enthusiast computer builders) and created all-in-one solutions that catered to the conventional consumer market. Touting the efficiency of water cooling without the associated user maintenance, these were closed-loop units utilizing an integrated pump, reservoir, cold plate, radiator, and prefilled coolant. With majority of the cooling surface area mounted away from the CPU socket, they also meant less strain on the motherboard and ample clearance for tall memory.

When first introduced in 2009, consumer-grade AIO solutions were constrained to 120mm radiator units that still posed little competition to popular high-end Thermalright and Noctua air-cooled towers. Over the years however, designs have evolved to accommodate thicker (38mm) and lengthier (240mm) radiators that serve to close the gap entirely. Today, progress continues with even larger radiator solutions that take performance above that of air cooling. All the while, more and more brands are joining the fray with units like the Thermaltake Water or Corsair Hydro-i series bringing exhaustive aesthetic or software upgrades to this tried-and-true concept. Behind the scenes, what looks to be a large push into product differentiation is, in reality, rebranded units that are still manufactured and sometimes fully designed by either Asetek or CoolIT themselves. While this usually means a consistent usability experience for the end user, brands remain tied to the R&D and manufacturing paces of an external manufacturer.

Then there is Cooler Master, one of the few brands that designs and manufactures its own AIO liquid cooler lineup. Less than 2 years after the debut of its original Seidon 120M, Cooler Master has quickly introduced an entourage of closed-loop liquid coolers under the mid-range Seidon, high-end Nepton, and ultra-high-end Eisberg and Glacer naming schemes. A few weeks ago we already reviewed the Seidon 120XL and observed the standout benefits owing its in-house design – excellent performance and practically flawless installation at a competitive price point.

Read full article @ Neoseeker

First impressions of Nvidia's Shield Tablet

The Shield Tablet is basically a portable gaming console crammed into an 8" slate. It has a Kepler-infused Tegra K1 processor, a high-res IPS panel, and a proper gamepad. And it can stream PC games from GeForce-equipped PCs. Read on for our initial take on what it's like.

Read full article @ The Tech Report

Gigabyte Z97X SOC Force Overclocking Motherboard Review

One of the largest parts to building a brand is not only name but, reputation and legacy as they help to define public perception. Back in the old days DFI did this with their LanParty series and while the brand is no longer sold in retail markets the motherboards are still in demand. A similar situation is happening with Gigabyte following the launch of their OC line of motherboards designed for overclockers. Overclocking itself is a rather niche market however the products inspired by overclocking continue to sell well and influence consumers to look at other products from the same manufacturer.

In this review we will be looking at the Gigabyte Z97X SOC Force motherboard. As the name suggests this is an overclocking enabled motherboard that was created as a successor to the Z87X OC and Z87X OC Force motherboards from the previous generation. At Computex this year we were introduced to the new OC and Gaming motherboards and were told that the products shifted a little this year. For instance the OC boards lost the ability to run 4-Way SLI and no longer feature an overbuilt VRM. Instead these options were moved up the chain to the G1 Gaming series which also consumed many of the Ultra Durable skus.

This may seem a little counterproductive until you realize that most overclockers using LGA 1150 have concentrated on memory overclocking and rarely use more than two video cards. Knowing this empowered Gigabyte to streamline the OC series and focus more on delivering CPU and Memory overclocking options while leaving the GPU power for gamers.

Read full article @ Hardware Asylum

Gigabytes Brix Gaming BXi5G-760 mini-PC reviewed

Gigabyte's Brix Gaming BXi5G-760 is a mini-PC on steroids, with a discrete Nvidia GPU and a dual-core Haswell CPU inside. Can it hang with traditional gaming PCs? We put it through some tough tests to find out.

Read full article @ The Tech Report

Harman Kardon BDS 880 Home Theater System Review

I’m reviewing the Harman Kardon BDS 880 which is a combined 3D Blu-ray player (the BDS 580) with its integrated 5.1-channel decoder/ 325Watt amplifier and the HKTS 65 speaker system. You’ll get everything you need to transform your living room into that home cinema experience you’ve always wanted (except the TV of course). If you think 5.1 isn’t enough, then you’ve the option to upgrade to 7.1. You can get the BDS580 separate to the HKTS 65, but I’m looking at the bundle which comes in one colossal box and is the “all-you-can-eat” of home theatre systems.

Read full article @ TestFreaks

Nixeus MODA Mechanical Keyboard Review

Founded in California of 2009, Nixeus is still a bit of a newcomer to the PC hardware industry looking to build up a bigger name in the world of monitors and peripherals. Their aggressively priced 1440p monitors which carry the same LG panels found in the iMac displays have been their mainstay for much of that time, but recently Nixeus is expanding to the PC gaming market including the Moda mechanical keyboard being reviewed here on Legit Reviews. Read on to see how this keyboard performs!

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

NZXT Kraken X31 Review

NZXT gives you a six-year warranty, great performance, great build quality, and the flexibility to be used as a GPU cooler with the G10 kit from NZXT (sold separately). For the $79.99 price tag, I think you get a lot of bang-for-the-buck. You get an All-in-One liquid cooler that can handle the heat of overclocking and, being an AIO, you get the space savings of a small, compact pump and remote mount radiator. No problems getting to your RAM or fan headers with this cooler. Easy installation, convenient software control, and top-notch performance all add up to great value. If you are looking for a knock-out cooler, then the Kraken X31 should be on your list.

Read full article @ OCC

PCMark 8: everything you need to know

PCMark 8 is a benchmarking program for Windows PCs that includes a range of tests designed around common user scenarios. Each test gives a score, which you can use to compare different PCs, and detailed results to get a deeper understanding of system performance.PCMark 8 Professional Edition is the only version licensed for business and commercial use. It offers additional Extended Storage tests, command line automation, the ability to export results as XML and PDF files, and priority customer support. PCMark 8 Professional Edition costs £1,005 (or $1495.00). Site license options are also available.

Read full article @ Techradar

Raijintek Themis Evo Pro & Nemesis CPU Coolers Head-to-Head Review

Raijintek are easily my favourite cooling manufacturer of the moment, while they may be relatively new to the market compared to the established few such as Cooler Master, Thermaltake, be quiet! and more, they’ve already make a big impact on the industry. Every single one of their products we’ve reviewed so far has been an award winner, bringing class leading performance, great overall aesthetics and bargain prices; making Raijintek one of the best all round cooling manufacturers on the market.

With all that in mind, I’m expecting a lot from the two coolers we have here today, the Themis Evo Pro and the Nemesis. The Themis Evo Pro is targeted at a more budget friendly end of the market since it will only set you back a wallet friendly £27.95, but I wanted to put it against the almost twice as expensive Raijintek Nemesis to find out just how much more you get for your money; it is worth investing in one of their high-end coolers if you only need something like the Evo and of course should you want to overclock, will you need to up your budget for a high-end model like the Nemesis?

Despite the budget friendly price, the Themis Evo is well equipped; it features four 8mm heat pipes which make direct contact with the CPU, aluminium fins, a good quality 120mm PWM fans and supports all major socket types.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon R9 280X OC Edition Review

The Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon R9 280X OC Edition is a completely redesigned Radeon R9 280X graphics card, which has almost nothing in common with the reference design. In fact there is a new PCB as well as Sapphires powerful Vapor-X cooler. This combination, paired with a factory overclock sounds promising and we're hoping for a seriously quick R9 280X here.

Read full article @ ocaholic

The NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet Review

As I discussed in our launch article last week, the Shield tablet is very much the culmination of lessons learned from 2013. While the Tegra Note 7 was a decent tablet, it had to eke out a profit through hardware sales against competition that was willing to sell their tablets with no profit on hardware. Meanwhile the Shield portable was a good portable gaming device, but it was far too specialized to be anything but a gaming device. Without an established gaming ecosystem, NVIDIA struggled against established competitors.

As a result of these influences, today NVIDIA is becoming the first tablet to launch a serious gaming tablet running Android. While gaming tablets have been done before, they’ve been few and far between. Now it has always been technically possible to take a high end tablet and make it usable for gaming, but for the most part these attempts are marred by either the need for root or an application that requires extensive work on the part of the user to create proper control profiles for each game. In addition, the SoC in the tablet is often underequipped for intensive 3D gaming.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Thecus N2310 2-Bay NAS Server Review

Over the years we have reviewed a handful of Thecus brand Network Attached Storage (NAS) servers, but the last one to come through Bigbruin.com was the N3200XXX back in June 2011. Fast forward three years and we finally have something new to look at in the form of the N2310, a 2-bay NAS server designed for home and small office use. While it may have a processor running at half the speed of the N3200XXX, and feature half as much memory, the price of the N2310 is about a quarter of what the N3200XXX sold for when it was new on the market.

The promotional image above shows the no nonsense front face of the Thecus N2310 2-Bay NAS server. In this review we will take a look at this budget friendly unit in order to see exactly what you get in a sub $135 NAS server, and if it is a worthy investment for your home or small business. Before taking a look at the sample provided for review, let's look at some published information on the N2310 provided by Thecus...

Read full article @ Bigbruin.com

XTracGear Carbonic Mouse Pad Review

XTracGear (formerly XTracPads) is a company dedicated solemnly to manufacture the best mousing surfaces and accessories for gamers and professionals. This year XTracGear has decided to update some of their products, as well as introducing new ones. Please read along as Benchmark Reviews takes a look at one of their newest products, the XTracGear Carbonic Surface Mouse Pad, a low cost mouse pad which features a carbon fiber print that XTracGear claims to enhance mouse cursor accuracy.

Read full article @ Benchmark Reviews