Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

4K Gaming Build Guide
ASRock Beebox Mini PC
Case Mod Friday: MAXXPlanck V2
Gainward Phoenix GTX 970 4GB Graphics Card Review
Hands-on review: Microsoft Lumia 950 XL
Inter-Tech K-six Smart Case Reader Review
MSI GTX 980 Ti Lightning 6GB Review
MSI Z170A XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM Edition (LGA 1151) Motherboard Review
Noctua NH-C14S CPU Cooler Review: Balance Through Asymmetry
Rosewill Viper Z Mid-Tower ATX Case Review
Thecus W2000+ NAS Review
Web Browser Performance Comparison And Database
Western Digital Blue SSHD WD40E31X 4TB Hybrid Hard Drive Review

4K Gaming Build Guide

With 4K Ultra HD displays fast becoming essential to high-end gaming PC builds, we take a crack at building a 4K gaming desktop ready for the DirectX 12 generation of games.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

ASRock Beebox Mini PC

ASRock's engineering department has been at it again, this time to bring something new to the mini-PC market. With claims of 30 FPS 4K playback using a Braswell SoC, the ASRock Beebox is a nice little box supporting 16 GB of DDR3L, dual HDMI, USB 3.1 Type-C, and mSATA/SATA.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

Case Mod Friday: MAXXPlanck V2

Welcome to another Case Mod Friday showcase! This week we have Show4Pro's “MAXXPlanck V2” build. Here is what he had to say about it, "Its been a while (1.5 yrs) since I updated my computer. I thought about upgrading to the next gen i7 (I'm still rocking the bloomfield), but didn't really see the need for a faster processor. Thought about getting the new Corsair 900D to replace my 8 year old Super Armor, but wanted to do something different.. something unique. While browsing Battlestations on Reddit for ideas, I came across a very simple yet elegant looking wall mounted computer, and that is where this whole project began."

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Gainward Phoenix GTX 970 4GB Graphics Card Review

The GTX 970 has been with us for around a year now and in that time it has cemented itself as possibly one of the best Maxwell-based cards available. Obviously the Titan X is the most powerful and the GTX 980Ti is the obvious option if you have £600 to spend, but the GTX 970 is the right amount of power to sustain consumers into the next generation of cards without taking a massive hit come resale when Pascal and HBM v2 is released.

Today in the test bench is the Gainward Phoenix GTX 970. It’s nice to see manufacturers still pushing this lower line considering how popular the GTX 980Ti has been and how saturated the market already is with competing cards.

I can’t really go into a GTX 970 review without at least touching on the issues that were present with the VRAM and miss advertised specifications. When it was first released, the GTX 970 seemed like the perfect card, 980 performance at a reduced price, then reviewers and consumers started to notice the drop in performance at high VRAM loads even though it was well within the VRAM limit of the card. NVIDIA decided to utilise an altered DDR5 memory architecture on this card which increased the speed of the first 3.5GB, but severely hindered the last 512MB. Along with that, the cores, ROP and TMU’s were all advertised higher than they really were. All that being said, the GTX 970 is still a cracking card and one of my all time favourites.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Hands-on review: Microsoft Lumia 950 XL

Being laser focused on productivity, Microsoft is perhaps in a better position than any of its rivals in the phone space when it comes the dreaded word: phablets. The $649 (about £422, AU$893) Lumia 950 XL has been touted as the ultimate phone for getting things done, but that boils down more to Windows 10 Mobile than the phone's size.Of course, the phone's dimensions certainly help. At 5.7 inches on the diagonal, this is definitely a two-hander handset for anyone that isn't The Mountain-sized or has unnaturally large mitts.Thankfully, Microsoft has made ample use of the enlarged screen size, using the extra room inside for some power-packed hardware, one way to ensure you get the most out of it and a neat method for keeping it all from burning up.Design and displaySave for a slightly different rear camera housing, the Lumia 950 XL looks nigh identical to its smaller sibling, the Lumia 950. The same matte white or black, polycarbonate (i.e. fancy plastic) shell is still here, along with the same array of volume, lock and camera shutter buttons along the right edge of the device. The bottom edge houses the same USB-C port as the 950.

Read full article @ Techradar

Inter-Tech K-six Smart Case Reader Review

OCinside.de today published a new reader review. This time MisterY tests K-six Smart PC case from Inter-Tech, which is equipped with many drive bays and can be reconfigured in several ways. Who wants to place lots of disks in his/her PC or especially when many front bays are needed for drives, fan controllers, mobile racks, LCD or similar, should not miss this Inter-Tech K-six Smart reader review.

Read full article @ OcInside

MSI GTX 980 Ti Lightning 6GB Review

In the high end MSI have earned a reputation over the years for creating some of the finest video cards known to man. Today we take a look at one of their latest flagship offerings – the GTX 980 TI Lightning. This card ships with a beautiful triple fan cooler and is supplied in a heavily overclocked state.

Read full article @ KitGuru

MSI Z170A XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM Edition (LGA 1151) Motherboard Review

Intel’s Skylake has been with us for a little over a month now and reports are coming back extremely positive, with retailers struggling to maintain stock and very few reviews having anything negative to say. We are now at the stage where motherboard manufacturers have had the chance to tweak and update drivers to ensure the best possible performance and prices have stabilised thanks to increased stock levels hitting retailers.

Today in the test bench we have the simply stunning MSI XPOWER Z170A motherboard, but this isn’t any old XPOWER version, this is the Titanium Edition. The entire PCB has been created with a non-reflective silver finish, which is designed to make you think that the entire motherboard has been made from Titanium, ignoring the electrical impossibilities of course. This new design has been inspired by MSI’s use of new Titanium chokes which was introduced on Military Class 5 component range. These new chokes are capable of withstanding higher temperatures, which results in longer lifespan and potentially higher overclocking capabilities.

Along with the new chokes, this motherboard features a unique OC Dashboard. This little addition is a small rectangular PCB with additional buttons and switches with could help overclocking and troubleshooting. The best part of this is that you can fix this onto the front of your case with the extension cable provided. This is the most expensive MSI Z170 motherboard option to date, let’s find out if this motherboard isn’t just smoke and mirrors and can actually perform well.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Noctua NH-C14S CPU Cooler Review: Balance Through Asymmetry

Not every big problem requires an equally big solution. Sometimes all the change required may seem miniscule but when executed correctly, can result in great gains and improvements. This is the approach Austrian CPU cooling expert Noctua has taken with their latest high-end C-type cooler offering: the NH-C14S. Noctua's products are generally held in high regard but they also tend … Read more.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

Rosewill Viper Z Mid-Tower ATX Case Review

Rosewill, which is owned by online computer parts reseller Newegg, was established in 2004 as a manufacturer of computer components such as power supply units, cases and cables. Rosewill boasts that they currently manufacture over 1,400 different products in various categories. One perceived issue by enthusiasts is that due to the wide scope of their product offerings, Rosewill doesn’t have focus on just enthusiast products and isn’t catering to or relying purely on support from the enthusiast community. While Rosewill products are not typically a first choice among enthusiasts, the company has been making pushes towards the enthusiast market by producing relevant products, such as their RK-9000V2 keyboard, which offers Cherry MX switches, in addition to sponsoring various e-sports competitions.

I haven’t had any personal experience with Rosewill products to draw from, so I am looking forward to reviewing the Viper Z, a modern styled mid-tower ATX case with a pretty extensive feature set for $51.99 shipped after rebate and a promotional discount. The ATX case market is extremely competitive right now, so Rosewill will have to truly make an impression with their Viper Z for it to be considered a viable contender. With Rosewill tagging the Viper Z as a “ferocious warfare machine” and then including a windowed side panel and blue LED fans, this is obviously a case targeted towards PC gaming enthusiasts. Let’s take a look at the specifications for the Viper Z and see if there’s anything of note.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

Thecus W2000+ NAS Review

The W2000+ is a 2-bay NAS designed with small businesses in mind, as is evident with the inclusion of the Windows Server OS. Most NAS units are capable of connecting to a small business or even corporate network, but the W2000+ is designed to take on a more authoritative role in the network. Active Directory Domain Services provides a solid base for account management among other things, and the additional features of the included OS allow for a fully functioning server. While we typically look at devices aimed at consumers, it never hurts to get your feet wet in other areas such as the small business arena. While the W2000+ probably won’t be able to replace an established server environment, it can provide a great starting block to work from when moving from a pieced-together environment to a more organized and capable structure.

Does the move from a Linux-based appliance NAS to a “mini-server” like the W2000+ fit the bill for you? Read on to see how the Thecus W2000+ performs.

Read full article @ Bjorn3D

Web Browser Performance Comparison And Database

The Internet is an ever changing congruous mass of standards, design, and interoperability challenges. Keeping on top of it all can be a daunting task. It's a delicate balance between features, security and performance. If you are considering swapping out your browser for something new and fresh, but uncertain over the real performance difference, this article should help with lots of insight.

Read full article @ HotHardware

Western Digital Blue SSHD WD40E31X 4TB Hybrid Hard Drive Review

Have you ever met someone who likes to affix all their honors and achievements after their name to make them look more important? Recently, I was talking to a friend, who sent me a PowerPoint slide of a professor in university who had more than half a dozen of such abbreviations when introducing himself to the class in his first lecture. Now, do not get me wrong; there is nothing wrong with plugging in proper credentials when introducing yourself. But if someone went around and said they were "Dr. Awesome, PhD, MSc, OBE, MLA, MD, LLB, CPA, CPU, PSU, RAM, HDD, PCI, LCD, VTEC, BBQ, PB&J" and so forth, and the audience has no idea -- or even cares -- what three quarters of those abbreviations mean, then it will make as much sense as me showing off my Xbox Live achievements in front a panel of academics at a technical conference: It is totally meaningless. Of course, it is only meaningless if it was overdone and used in the wrong situation. I think many people will find it reasonable if I ever inserted myself in as "Jonathan Kwan, PhD, MSc EE, P.Eng" in a professional setting to give them an idea of who I am (Full disclosure: I am none of those... yet). Recently, Western Digital sent along a sample from their mainstream hard drive line, the Blue series, for us to check out. Traditionally, the company do not add suffixes and abbreviations to their products to make things simple, but this time around, they did. Called the Western Digital Blue SSHD, which adds 8GB of NAND flash memory to give it a boost in speed for frequently used data, the WD40E31X 4TB aims to compete against Seagate's Desktop SSHD ST4000DX001 4TB, a very similar product also equipped with 8GB of NAND flash memory in attempt combine the speed of a solid state drive with the capacity of a traditional hard disk. Will the SSHD tag be just a game of adding random letters for WD with no substance, or will being a solid state hybrid drive really represent nice boost in desktop performance? We benchmarked one to find out.

Read full article @ APH Networks