Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including 9 Products That Were Too Early to Market, Sapphire R9 280X Toxic Edition OC 3GB Review, Gigabyte R9 270X Windforce, Hands-on review: Updated: Sony Smartwatch 2, and Seagate's NAS HDD 4TB reviewed



Technology Before Its Time: 9 Products That Were Too Early to Market @ Techspot

Every now and again, someone comes up with a revolutionary idea for a product or service and brings it to market. Just as often, however, the supporting technology isn’t there, consumers aren’t ready to embrace it, or management mishandles how to properly launch such a product. Whatever the reason, some ideas just aren't meant to take root, no matter how groundbreaking, ultimately falling victim to bad timing.

Finding the good in a failed product can be difficult at the time but in hindsight, it’s those same products that often serve as precursors to existing technology. In this article, we will be profiling nine such ideas that were conceived and brought to market well before their time. While some weren’t exactly failures, most were – and all are responsible for playing a role in current devices or services that make our lives more comfortable and enjoyable.

Read more: Technology Before Its Time: 9 Products That Were Too Early to Market @ Techspot

ASUS R9 280X DirectCU II TOP Review @ Vortez

With the advent of a new era of GPUs from AMD, today we sample the R9 280X is the guise of an ASUS' DirectCU II TOP. The DirectCU II cooler should need little introduction as it was examined in our ASUS GTX770 DirectCU II OC review but if you haven't had chance to read that, rest assured it is one of the best custom coolers available being both high performing yet extremely quiet.

Perhaps the main reason why you are reading this review though is to learn a little more about the R9 280X. From the outset, we can confirm that the core is for all intents and purposes the very same core used in the AMD HD7970 codenamed 'Tahiti'. AMD suggest this component is in direct opposition to NVIDIA's GTX760 however, with NVIDIAs recent price drops on the GTX760 model to sub £200, the R9 280X finds itself without a direct competitor, at least in terms of price. The GTX770 is marked up just above the £300 threshold and with no impending price reduction forthcoming from NVIDIA, the AMD R9 280X finds itself nestled between both the GTX760 and GTX770 cards. Comfotable however it is not because for little more than £200, a HD7970 can be had which as we will see, is near identical to the card we have for review today, especially if you consider the ASUS HD7970 DirectCU II TOP version!

Read more: ASUS R9 280X DirectCU II TOP Review @ Vortez

Sapphire R9 280X Toxic Edition OC 3GB Review @ KitGuru

The launch day coverage on AMD R7/R9 earlier this week may have been tied into mainly boring reference samples, but the really good products are being showcased today. This review focuses on something rather special the new ultra high end Sapphire R9 280X Toxic Edition which features a triple fan cooler, out of the box overclocked speeds and the highest build quality standards on the market. With a UK asking price of 269.99 inc vat should this be the card to get for a new high end system upgrade?

Read more: Sapphire R9 280X Toxic Edition OC 3GB Review @ KitGuru

Sapphire Radeon R9-280X Toxic @ Bjorn3D

Sapphire Has been AMDs premier partner for a long time now so it was only natural that when the new AMD R Series cards launched that we would have one with Sapphires special touches in hand rather quickly.

The model we have in hand is a R9-280X model which is a 7970 GHz model but its a Sapphire Toxic model which means it is their top clocked model. Being a 3GB model card we know that it is ready for high resolution and AA gaming and even crossfire up to 4 cards for maximum performance especially when pushing multiple high resolution displays.

The Sapphire Radeon R9-280X Toxic model comes with a MSRP of $349 which places it about 50 dollars above some other models such as the MSI gaming series card we also received. However this Toxic series is highly clocked and is one heck of a card so lets take a look at the feature set and performance to see if its worth the extra dough.

Read more: Sapphire Radeon R9-280X Toxic @ Bjorn3D

MSI Radeon R9-280X 3GB Graphics Card @ Bjorn3D

MSI as always dresses to impress with its non reference designs and well with the Radeon R series of cards there is no mistaking a MSI card from the rest as they carry very distinctive cooler designs and honestly when first seeing this card I was at a loss to tell it apart from the Nvidia 770 version I had tested some time ago when looking at it from the fans side. However once you get past the fans and shroud designs that is where the similarities end.

The Radeon R series cards for the most part are actually a relaunch of the previous gen cards for the most part with only the top end R9-290X actually being an entirely new Hawaii based GPU. This is not necessarily a bad thing though as with this refresh or relaunch so to speak AMD has dropped the price of its models in a way which caused an immediate response and a drop from the NV camp which tells us that while Nvidia may still hold the performance crown for now the competition is starting to heat back up.

The R9-280X we are looking at today is a 3GB card with a Tahiti based GPU and for all intensive purposes is a HD7970 GHz edition card with a new name. The great part about this though is this R9-280X model launches with a MSRP of $299.99 which means while it may be an aging model it is a top end card in the 300 dollar price range with a full custom PCB and loads of performance. Lets not forget this is a 3GB card which means that even at extended resolutions you have some framebuffer headroom should you come across the need to feed multiple high res displays or even a 4K display.

Read more: MSI Radeon R9-280X 3GB Graphics Card @ Bjorn3D

AMD Radeon R9 270X & Sapphire TOXIC R9 270X Video Card Reviews @ Legit Reviews

When it comes to discrete graphics, the $199 price point is known as the gamer's sweet spot by both AMD and NVIDIA. This is arguably the front line in the battle for your money when it coming to gaming graphics cards. The AMD Radeon R9 270X is AMD's offering to gamers at this competitive price point. Read on to see how it performs!

Read more: AMD Radeon R9 270X & Sapphire TOXIC R9 270X Video Card Reviews @ Legit Reviews

MSI Radeon R9 270X Hawk Edition Video Card Review @ HiTech Legion

I’m not much into commercials but I happen to get a kick out of the one with the guy who asks the children if more is better. I have always believed that more is better as long as it is not in excess. I like a nice balance of the more at not so much of the more price. Think about it, is more weight better or worse? Is having more buttons a godsend or a hassle? Does having to climb more steps make your life easier? On the other hand 33% more or getting a larger engine with more horsepower at the same price is a bargain. Having reviewed a lot of computer components, there are some I would consider bare bones and others which were so over the top it made the price unreachable for the average consumer. Yes, there is a so called pecking order or class that most components fall under but just because something is added to a product will it be utilized by the buyer?

Most peripherals and minor components are normally priced in an affordable fashion but, when we delve into the world of motherboards and video cards, extra features can and usually equate to increased price, increased power consumption and increased weight. Do most of us who purchase these so called “Enthusiast” class products use everything we are paying for or was the purchase based on one particular feature and the rest considered a bonus if the opportunity to use them ever arrived? Hence, I will refer to my statement above, as I have become more knowledgeable I prefer a product that is going to deliver a nice balance of extra features at a minimal price. MSI has announced the availability of the latest Radeon Series video cards. I have specifically chosen the MSI Radeon R9 270X Hawk Edition to review. The 270X Hawk Edition is a non-reference card with added features at an increased price but is there a balance between both?

Read more: MSI Radeon R9 270X Hawk Edition Video Card Review @ HiTech Legion

Gigabyte R9 270X Windforce @ LanOC Reviews

Every new launch means new custom PCB designs from the manufactures. The first to hit our office this time around was an R9 270X from Gigabyte with their Windforce cooler design and an overclock. In the past I have been impressed with Gigabytes Windforce designs for their pure cooling power, I’m excited to see what three cooling fans on a large heatsink will do for keeping the R9 270X cool. But first let’s take a look at the card.

Read more: Gigabyte R9 270X Windforce @ LanOC Reviews

The Sapphire R9 280X Toxic Review @ Anandtech

Today we're taking a look at Sapphire's Radeon R9 280X Toxic, the latest of the custom 280X cards to come rolling through our labs. With the Toxic series of cards Sapphire shoots high, and their 280X is no exception. Shipping with a factory overclock greater than any other 280X card, the 280X Toxic is the fastest of the 280X cards, which as we'll see has some very interesting performance and power consumption repercussions.    

Read more: The Sapphire R9 280X Toxic Review @ Anandtech

Hands-on review: Updated: Sony Smartwatch 2 @ Techradar

We're currently putting the Sony SmartWatch 2 through its paces in our in-depth review, so check back here soon for the full review! With all the hoo-ha surrounding the Samsung Galaxy Gear, we've take another close look at the other smartwatch - and one with a more obvious name too.

Read more: Hands-on review: Updated: Sony Smartwatch 2 @ Techradar

Review: Toshiba Satellite P70 @ Techradar

The laptop landscape is dominated by sleek Ultrabooks, but we're pleased to see machines such as the Toshiba Satellite P70-A-109 emerge - it's a larger laptop that has more versatility and power than any ultraportable notebook can hope to match.It's built around a high-end Haswell processor, and the rest of the specification is suitably impressive: a discrete Nvidia graphics core, two hard disks, 16GB of RAM and a Blu-ray writer. The 17-inch screen has a Full HD resolution, too.The £1,199 Toshiba Satellite P70 needs to impress, though, because it's up against some heavyweight competition. The Samsung Series 7 Chronos - now known in some circles as the Ativ Book 8 - includes a powerful processor and a superb 15.6-inch screen in a sleek chassis, and the HP Spectre XT TouchSmart arrives with a swish all-aluminium build.

Read more: Review: Toshiba Satellite P70 @ Techradar

MSI Radeon R9-270X Gaming Review @ Guru3D

In this review we take a peek at the MSI Radeon R9-270X Gaming edition. The product shares the same PCB as the HAWK and also comes with a TwinFrozr model IV based cooler. Next to that MSI overclocked the product and as such it will try to get you as much value for money as they can. It is a beastly looking card alright. This more affordable version of the R9-270X is armed with military class components, an awesome TwinFrozr cooler that is very silent and keeps this GPU chilled down at a cool 60 Degrees C temperature.

Now before we begin with the new graphics cards the first thing that you guys will need to get used to is the new naming schema. AMD ended with the Radeon HD 7000 and 8000 series graphics card in 2013. Logic dictates that AMD would have continued with a series 9000. But hey now, we already have had the Radeon 9000 series many years ago (2003), oh and who doesn't remember the Radeon 9800 Pro right? As such it was time to bring in a new naming schema, a bit more in line with AMD's APUs. R9 will be high-end and R7 will be mainstream and inevitably R5 being entry level. After that you'll notice products being tagged as 250, 260X, 270X, 280X and the coolest two of them all the Radeon R9 290 and R290X, (which have yet to be released). Though almost all of these are all new model graphics cards, most of them are respin products based of the Radeon HD 7000 series with a number of improvements. The respin products will get a new PCB, cooling, clock frequencies and much like NVIDIA boost, power, voltage, fan and load limiters. In the ling run there are three products in the lineup that come with a new GPU. For example The R7 260X and then of course R9 290 / 290X will be Hawaii GPU based. The cards with new silicon come with a truckload of new features like integrated DSPs offering TrueAudio technology. The rest (270X/280X) will keep the older specs. I agree that is a little confusing, but we'll explain it all over the next pages.

Read more: MSI Radeon R9-270X Gaming Review @ Guru3D

Primochill Wet Bench @ PureOverclock

Test benches are all the rage these days. People aren’t just using them for testing anymore – they’re actually using them to build daily use PC rigs. Don’t get me wrong, a majority of bench users (like myself) still use them for their intended purpose – hardware testing. Benches make it easy and fast to swap out components giving them the edge over traditional cases. Their open-air looks however have drawn in the modding crowd as of late, with people modding production benches and also plenty of bench-style scratch builds. Primochill recently got into the test bench market and their first offering – the Wet Bench – caters to both traditional hardware testers and daily users alike. They were kind enough to send us one to check out so let’s take a look!

Read more: Primochill Wet Bench @ PureOverclock

Tt eSPORTS VOLOS Gaming Mouse Review @ Neoseeker

The mouse is one of the more important peripherals when it comes to the computing experience. Over the course of its lifetime, your computer mouse will track thousands of miles and register millions of clicks. That number multiplies when it comes to gaming, where the probability of button mashing and quick movements is very real. Performance and comfort become definite musts in an ideal mouse.

Based in Taiwan, Tt eSPORTS is Thermaltake's sub-brand of gaming peripherals and accessories. Its lineup ranges from mice and keyboards to headphones, all marketed in the name of utmost gaming performance. With exposure to the growing eSports communities in both Asia and North America, Thermaltake definitely has experience in this department.

Today we have on hand the Tt eSPORTS VOLOS, a gaming mouse designed for MMORPG gamers. It features a total of 9 side buttons (including 4 inspired by console controller buttons), an 8200 DPI AVAGO laser sensor, 4MB of onboard storage, 16.8 million colors of LED lighting, and adjustable weights.

Read more: Tt eSPORTS VOLOS Gaming Mouse Review @ Neoseeker

Seagate's NAS HDD 4TB reviewed @ The Tech Report

Seagate's NAS HDD 4TB is optimized for network-attached storage and desktop RAID implementations. It promises better reliability than typical desktop drives, too. We take a closer look to see how the NAS HDD compares to its WD Red counterpart.

Read more: Seagate's NAS HDD 4TB reviewed @ The Tech Report

Gigabyte Aivia Neon 1200Dpi Laser Presenter Mouse @ Bjorn3D

Gigabyte Aivia Neon 1200Dpi Presenter Mouse Gigabyte has been best known for their motherboard solutions at varying levels. Here today we have one of their devices from their growing and maturing peripheral line which is a presentation mouse named the Aivia Neon.

Read more: Gigabyte Aivia Neon 1200Dpi Laser Presenter Mouse @ Bjorn3D