Here a roundup of todays reviews and articles:

8 Backup Tools Explained for Windows 7 and 8
Catalyst On Ubuntu 14.04 Linux Competes Well With Windows 8.1
Dell Venue 11 Pro Windows Tablet Review
Enermax Liqtech 120X CPU Cooler Video Review
Fractal Design ARC XL Chassis Review
Gigabyte Aorus Press-Event
Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7 Motherboard Review
Gigabyte Z97X-SOC Force Preview
Intel Haswell Refresh Reviewed: Core i7-4790, i5-4690, i5-4590 and i5-4460 Tested
Intel Z97 Review - M.2 vs SATA
Kingston Class 10 UHS-1 Ultimate SDXC Card (64GB) Review
Logitech G502 Proteus Core Review: Tunable 12,000 DPI Gaming Mouse Review
OCZ Vertex 460 (240GB) Review
PC And Projector In-One: Gigabyte's Brix Projector Reviewed
Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower Review
QNAP SilentNAS HS-210 NAS Server Review
Samsung XP941 256GB M.2 PCIe SSD Mini Review
Silicon Power Diamond D20 500GB USB 3.0 Portable HDD Review
Some Thoughts on Half-Life 2 and Portal on Shield
Surface Pro 3: A four hour plane ride and a test of lapability
The 10 Best PC Games Ported To iPad
Thermaltake Tt eSPORTS Poseidon Z Illuminated Cherry MX Blue Keyboard Review

8 Backup Tools Explained for Windows 7 and 8

Backups on Windows can be confusing. Whether youre using Windows 7 or 8, you have quite a few integrated backup tools to think about. Windows 8 made quite a few changes, too. You can also use third-party backup software, whether you want to back up to an external drive or back up your files to online storage. We wont cover third-party tools here just the ones built into Windows. Backup and Restore on Windows 7 Windows 7 has its own Backup and Restore feature that lets you create backups manually or on a schedule. Youll find it under Backup and Restore in the Control Panel. The original version of Windows 8 still contained this tool, and named it Windows 7 File Recovery. This allowed former Windows 7 users to restore files from those old Windows 7 backups or keep using the familiar backup tool for a little while. Windows 7 File Recovery was removed in Windows 8.1.

Read full article @ Howtogeek

Catalyst On Ubuntu 14.04 Linux Competes Well With Windows 8.1

After this week having carried out benchmarks showing Intel's Windows 8.1 OpenGL driver is outperforming their open-source Linux driver but NVIDIA's driver on Ubuntu Linux is commonly faster than Windows 8.1, the time has come to benchmark several different AMD Radeon graphics cards under Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and Windows 8.1 Pro x64 with all available updates and each OS using the latest Catalyst 14.4 driver.

Read full article @ Phoronix

Dell Venue 11 Pro Windows Tablet Review

As much as Microsoft would love for you to think otherwise, the battle for tablet supremacy is still mostly a two-horse race. You’ve got the iPad family on one side and you’ve got the range of Android tablets on the other side, but then you really shouldn’t forget about the Windows 8.1 tablets hanging out by the wayside either. They can offer you a much fuller experience as they really are full-blown PCs. And when you connect the Dell Venue 11 Pro to its keyboard dock, you’re effectively getting a convertible touchscreen Ultrabook. Dude, should you get this Dell or are you better off getting all official with a Microsoft Surface instead?

Read full article @ MEGATech

Enermax Liqtech 120X CPU Cooler Video Review

Today DaveChaos will be testing the 120X from the Liqtech series from Enermax, a sealed liquid CPU cooler designed for Intel and AMD processors.

Read full article @ HardwareHeaven.com

Fractal Design ARC XL Chassis Review

Computer chassis have really evolved over the years. We have seen almost everything from flashy designs completely blinged out from top to bottom with lighting to simple and sleek designs. Whatever your preference may be, you will have no trouble finding that case that fits your personality, space requirements, feature needs, or visual appeal. Not to mention, features such as broad support for liquid cooling, SSD storage support, and hybrid cooling are becoming more common in even the most basic of chassis.

The chassis we are reviewing today is not so basic. Enter the ARC XL. We previously had the opportunity to review the ARC Mini R2 from Fractal Design which is the smaller sibling to the ARC XL; and we were impressed with its feature list, superb build quality, quiet acoustics, and the intelligent use of available space. You may read that review here.

Read full article @ FunkyKit

Gigabyte Aorus Press-Event

Kitguru was invited to a Gigabyte event in London this week. During the first fifteen minutes of the Gigabyte Game On Tech Tour I learned a fair amount about their WindForce and WaterForce VGA coolers as well as a specially designed cooler for Nvidia’s GTX Titan series of graphics cards.

Read full article @ KitGuru

Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7 Motherboard Review

Continuing our recent focus on gaming motherboards, we have the Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7 in for review. Hitting retail with an aggressive sub-£140 price tag, Gigabyte is aiming to lure in potential buyers with the Gaming 7 motherboard’s gaming-orientated features, striking colour scheme, and four-year warranty.

Read full article @ KitGuru

Gigabyte Z97X-SOC Force Preview

One of the most interestinge boards, which is based on Intels latest Z97 chipset - again - comes from Gigabyte and is called Z97X-SOC Force. At a very attractive price point you get no less than four full-size PCI-Express slots as well as a lot of features like Gigabyte OC-Touch buttons and voltage read-out points. It will be very interesting to take a closer looks at this particular model.

Read full article @ ocaholic

Intel Haswell Refresh Reviewed: Core i7-4790, i5-4690, i5-4590 and i5-4460 Tested

For once Intel didn't drop a bomb on the desktop market with the refresh of the Haswell socket 1150 processor generation. The high end processor aka Devils Canyon, which should create some commotion will only be released beginning of June, till then we have to sit it out and wait. Intel however already released their Z97 chipset, which is a requirement to get the most out of the upcoming Devils Canyon processor. The Haswell and refresh line-up are fully Z87 and of course also Z97 compatible; time to explore what is new and what is not with Intel's latest Haswell refresh line-up...

Read full article @ Madshrimps

Intel Z97 Review - M.2 vs SATA

Despite its release with much fanfare earlier this month Intel's 9-series motherboard platform, of which Z97 is the major chipset, has brought few genuinely new features relevant to the mainstream market. In fact perhaps the only significant exception is the implementation of the SATA Express bus interface through the use of two new storage connectors – M.2 and SATA Express – either of which unlocks the possibility of faster storage than the now ageing SATA. Whilst they won't each appear on every Z97 motherboard, together they push forward standards which have plateaued slightly since SATA 3 was implemented.

Even now, with Z87 phased out and Z97 being the dominant motherboard chipset on new PCs, SATA-Express as a connector is at present not particularly well supported by the market; the first major drive releases are expected to be announced at Computex this June. By contrast M.2 storage devices have been established for some little time thanks to embedded systems and selected Z87 motherboard models, but there is still some time to go before it has the reach of even mSATA. Eventually M.2 is expected to largely replace mSATA, but understandably is only now finding its feet.

Read full article @ Vortez

Kingston Class 10 UHS-1 Ultimate SDXC Card (64GB) Review

For today’s review we have the Kingston Class 10 UHS-1 Ultimate SDXC 64GB card. Kingston has been making reliable, high performance memory for many years. This SDXC card is no exception. It supports UHS-I technology and supports Class 10 performance when used in a non-UHS-I capable device. What is UHS-I? UHS stands for Ultra High Speed. The “-I” denotes that the card should have at least a minimum write speed of 10MB/s, aka, Class 10 performance. You will commonly see this as a “U” with a “1” inside it. The Kingston Ultimate easily meets this spec. and is rated at 45MB/s write and 90MB/s read speeds.

Read full article @ The SSD Review

Logitech G502 Proteus Core Review: Tunable 12,000 DPI Gaming Mouse Review

Having only been available for a few weeks, we're surprised by how many people have bought Logitech's new G502 Proteus Core and perhaps even more by the fact that few seem anything less than enthralled, whether by its style, specs or simply its badass name.

Being the first mouse to tout a staggering 12,000 DPI is of particular interest to us because it should be ideal for 4K gaming, though the G502's advanced sensor is complemented by a host of other features that also make for the ultimate gaming companion.

Read full article @ Techspot

OCZ Vertex 460 (240GB) Review

The acquisition of OCZ by Toshiba at the beginning of this year has put the company in a very interesting position. OCZ now joins the likes of Intel and Samsung where it not only makes its own controller but also NAND chip. This means OCZ SSDs can now all build with in house components.

While OCZ continues to use third party controllers (SandForce to be specific) on their enterprise SSDs, they have switched the NAND on these drives from Intel/Micron to Toshiba. For the consumer market, the in house Indilinx controller is the sole controller and like the enterprise drives, the NANDs on these drives are also gone through the transition to the Toshiba NANDs. We first saw it with the Vector 150 that is the successor to the last year’s Vector. The Vertex 460 that we have here today is essentially the successor to the Vertex 450 with the 19nm Toshiba NAND.

Read full article @ Bjorn3D

PC And Projector In-One: Gigabyte's Brix Projector Reviewed

These are the days of form factors. The PC market is changing rapidly as tablets supplant some laptops, new players such as the Chromebook disrupt the old WIntel model, and innovations in processors and graphics allow for ever-smaller PCs such as Intel’s NUC. Here’s a new one for you: a tiny NUC-style PC that doubles as a video projector.

It's an interesting combination and that’s we have for you today with the Gigabyte Brix Projector. The little PC ships as a bare-bones unit without storage or memory, but it actually has some solid specs under its diminutive hood and capabilities not found in virtually any PC product on the market to date...

Read full article @ HotHardware

Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower Review

Phanteks has been on the forefront in manufacturing thermal solutions. They are known for their high performance fans and air coolers. Phanteks this year took the industry by surprise when the company ventured into computer case manufacturing. They introduced the award winning Phanteks Enthoo Primo full tower chassis, specifically targeting the computer enthusiast and water cooling aficionado.

Today will be looking at the Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower. This is a scaled down, budget version of the coveted Enthoo Primo. The Enthoo Pro is somewhat similar looking, sporting many of the distinct features and design cues of its predecessor. It includes multiple radiator support, modular HD cages, a power supply shroud, and a brushed aluminum look. The Phanteks Enthoo Pro is available in both a windowed and non-windowed version; read on as we take an up close and personal look into this budget friendly chassis and see how it stacks up against its bigger brother.

Read full article @ PureOverclock

QNAP SilentNAS HS-210 NAS Server Review

Judging by sales numbers around the globe it seems that NAS servers have finally managed to replace full computer systems in some areas due to their size, low power consumption and easy to use menus and functions. This of course applies mostly to large enterprise environments where several such devices get used and thus the benefits from the mentioned features are even greater. Small business and home users also turn towards NAS servers to cover their needs (mostly for office use) but to my knowledge at least not many people actually choose to use NAS servers purely for their media sharing capabilities and the ones that do never really place them inside their bedrooms to avoid getting disturbed by their noise levels (even just 20dBA is quite audible at night). QNAP is the first NAS manufacturer to address that issue by releasing the first dual bay model of the SilentNAS series called the HS-210.

QNAP Systems, Inc., as its brand promise "Quality Network Appliance Provider", aims to deliver comprehensive offerings of cutting edge network attached storage (NAS) and network video recorder (NVR) solutions featured with ease-of-use, robust operation, large storage capacity, and trustworthy reliability. QNAP integrates technologies and designs to bring forth quality products that effectively improve business efficiency on file sharing, virtualization applications, storage management and surveillance in the business environments, as well as enrich entertainment life for home users with the offering of a fun multimedia center experience. Headquartered in Taipei, QNAP delivers its solutions to the global market with nonstop innovation and passion.

What really separates the SilentNAS HS-210 from most NAS servers in the market is its design since it's shaped like a DVD player something that was obviously done in order for it to blend in beneath TV sets (set top design). That however is also a downside since QNAP may not have been able to implement a serious passive cooling system something that will obviously disappoint demanding users. Specs-wise the SilentNAS HS-210 packs a Marvell 1.6GHz Processor with 512MB DRAM and 16MB of flash memory so although it uses a passive cooling system the specifications are not half as bad as one would had thought, not for a home oriented NAS unit. The HS-210 also features two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, SD Card Slot and a Gigabit Ethernet port and yes as you will have noticed already it doesn't feature an HDMI port something that really left us baffled since we are talking about a set top design NAS aimed for people who want to use such a device for media sharing and playback in their homes (more importantly beneath TV sets). That alone steals many points from the SilentNAS HS-210 but there are many things we need to check so without further delay let’s do it.

Read full article @ NikKTech

Samsung XP941 256GB M.2 PCIe SSD Mini Review

One of the most exciting new features of the Intel H97 and Z97 chipsets is the increased data transfer speeds available for storage drives. So, you want to toss your SATA III SSD into the trash right now and go out and purchase a board and M.2 PCIe SSD right? The Samsung XP941 M.2 PCIe SSD is one of the few drives available and it boasts sequential read speeds of up to 1,170 MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 950 MB/s. Read on to see how the Samsung XP941 256GB M.2 PCIe SSD performs.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

Silicon Power Diamond D20 500GB USB 3.0 Portable HDD Review

By adopting a slim design and a chassis which combines both plastic and aluminum, Silicon Power has released the new Diamond D20 USB 3.0 portable HDD which comes in 500 and 1TB capacities. The free SP Widget downloadable utility adds extra value to the product by providing backup and security functions.

Read full article @ Madshrimps

Some Thoughts on Half-Life 2 and Portal on Shield

If you talked to me seven years ago, the concept of phone games beyond Snake and basic flash games would've been beyond me. That wasn’t really on my mind, especially because playing games like Battlefield 2 effectively required a desktop. I did try it on a Dell XPS M170, with an Nvidia 7800 GTX graphics card, 1 GB of RAM, and a Pentium M processor, but even then, it was no guarantee that it would load the game consistently. Crashes to desktop were common because of the RAM requirements, and hitting the page file would cause frustrating freezes. Of course, things have completely changed since then.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Surface Pro 3: A four hour plane ride and a test of lapability

Microsoft's new Surface Pro 3 is touted to be a great device for your lap - but after four hours of use on a plane, the verdict is not quite so clear on whether or not you can dump your laptop yet.

Read full article @ Neowin

The 10 Best PC Games Ported To iPad

Every PC developer who crafts a solid game inevitably hears fans beg for an iPad version. For many the iPad as come to replace handhelds like the Nintendo DS as the mobile gaming platform of choice, but high-quality titles are hard to come by outside of a few genres. Thankfully, some PC developers are filling the gaps with iPad ports, and many are a perfect fit for the tablet. Hearthstone: Heroes Of Warcraft Blizzard’s computer card game was only just released in the iPad, but the port feels like it could have been the game’s original platform.

Read full article @ MakeUseOf

Thermaltake Tt eSPORTS Poseidon Z Illuminated Cherry MX Blue Keyboard Review

It’s a fairly common theme to see technology or trends that are supposedly outdated to come back in the modern era in some form or another. It shouldn’t be a surprise then that mechanical keyboards, which have largely been replaced by membrane keyboards, are resurfacing and gaining traction amongst die-hard enthusiasts and a new generation of both gamers and typists alike. I personally still remember when I had an old mechanical keyboard in my youth, mostly because the loud clacking of the keys is something very hard to forget. However, I can’t even put a date on when I made the switch to membrane keyboards. In fact, I have no idea how I didn’t realize that most keyboards were suddenly much quieter than what I was used to. Needless to say, mechanical keyboards became a long forgotten memory until very recently, when there was a sudden resurgence in their popularity. It then hit me just how much I missed the loud clicks and clacks, the keys with feedback you could actually feel. So when I was offered to review Thermaltake’s Poseidon Z Illuminated Keyboard, I will admit I got giddy.

Read full article @ TechnologyX