Here a roundup of todays reviews and articles:

A Guide to Smartphone Camera Hardware
Antec ISK 600 Mini ITX Case Review
Hands-on review: Canon PowerShot SX400 IS
Hands-on review: Canon PowerShot SX520 HS
HIS Radeon R7 250X and 260X iCooler Graphics Cards Review
Icy Dock MB981U3-1S Hard Drive Dock Review
Intel Haswell-E Core i7-5960X de-lidded
MSI Nightblade Z97 Barebones System Review
Nokia Lumia 520 Smartphone Review
Rearth Ringke Fusion Case for Samsung Galaxy S5
Samsung 845DC EVO SSD 960 Gigabyte Review
Samsung Galaxy Tab S Review, Top Shelf Android
Seasonic Platinum Series 1200 W Review
Silicon Power Superior SDXC UHS-1 64GB Review
Streacom FC8 EVO Review
Synology Diskstation DS414j 4-Bay NAS Server Review
XFX XTS 520W Passive Modular Power Supply Review

A Guide to Smartphone Camera Hardware

For many people smartphone cameras have replaced standalone point-and-shoots as the go-to device for everyday photography, as they're easier to access and more compact to carry with you. But just what goes in to making a good smartphone camera? What hardware do companies use? What do pixel sizes and f-stops really mean? In this article I'll be exploring the hardware, key terms associated with photography, and some comparisons along the way.

Read full article @ Techspot

Antec ISK 600 Mini ITX Case Review

A few weeks back we promised to bring you several reviews of mITX/mATX PC Cases and today we have yet another one for you from our friends at Antec. My first encounter with an mITX case by Antec was back in 2009 when i managed to get their brand new then ISK 300-65 in my hands and started building a small HTPC with equipment from ASRock, OCZ and other manufacturers. It was a great little case but it lacked space for anything more than just the smallest hardware components one could find around something which in the end forced me to change my plans and search for something larger. Fast forward almost 5 years in the future and Antec has finally upped their game quite a bit so they've finally released something that i only wish i could have back then the quite affordable yet gamer oriented ISK 600.

Antec, Inc., is the leading global brand of high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) markets. Founded in 1986, Antec is recognized as a pioneer in these industries and has maintained its position as a worldwide market leader and international provider of efficient, quiet, and reliable products. Antec has also achieved great success in the distribution channel, meeting the demands of quality-conscious system builders, VARs and integrators. Antec’s offering of enclosures includes a large range of cases, such as its technically advanced Performance One Series, cost-effective New Solution Series and server grade cases designed for the needs of all workstation and server markets. Antec’s products also include front line power supplies such as its TruePower Quattro Series and EarthWatts, the most environmentally friendly power supplies available. PC gamers are an increasingly significant consumer of performance components, and many Antec products are geared toward the gaming demographic, like the Nine Hundred, the premier gamer enclosure. Antec also offers a computing accessories line comprised of many original products, including its patented LED Fans and Notebook Cooling solutions. Antec is headquartered in Fremont, California, with additional offices in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, as well as in Germany, China and Taiwan. The company’s products are sold in more than 40 countries throughout the world. Please visit www.antec.com for more information.

The ISK 600 is much more popular compared to the previous ISK models for 5 very important reasons, you can use up to two single slot graphics cards or a dual slot graphics card up to 317.5mm long, there's enough space for CPU Coolers up to 170mm in height, the rear 120mm fan mount can also accommodate an 120mm AIO liquid cooling solution, you can mount up to 5 drives (2x2.5"/3x3.5") inside and there's also enough room for a normal sized ATX power supply unit. Quality-wise the aluminum plates used to make up the ISK 600 may not be the thickest ones around but the same applies for most mITX cases in the market and in the end it matters not when it packs such features. Time however to take a close look and see just what the ISK 600 by Antec is all about.

Read full article @ NikKTech

Hands-on review: Canon PowerShot SX400 IS

Canon's replacement for the SX170 ditches the superzoom compact styling and goes for an out and out DSLR look.Canon feels that the superzoom bridge camera is a really interesting area of the market at the moment, and that customers are looking for those really high zooms. It's certainly true that the bridge camera area seems to bucking the general downward trend of the compact camera market at the moment, probably because of the flexibility the zooms offer compared to a smartphone. While the SX170 was a flatter, compact style camera, it also only offered an 18x optical zoom, compared to the now 30x optical zoom offered by the SX400IS. Like several other Canon compacts, iSX400 IS is also equipped with ZoomPlus technology, boosting that up to 60x. With its 24mm wide angle zoom, the optical reach goes up to 720mm, or 1440mm if you include the digital zoom.

Read full article @ Techradar

Hands-on review: Canon PowerShot SX520 HS

The bridge camera sector of the market is one that continues to grow and expand, despite the relative downturn in the rest of the compact camera arena.These cameras are DSLR style in shape and sometimes size, but find themselves within the compact camera area of the market because of the size of their sensor, which is generally the same as standard compact cameras. In addition, the lens is fixed rather than interchangeable.The Canon SX510 HS has been around for some time, and with the increase in competition from Sony, Panasonic and Samsung, it's not surprising to see Canon introducing new models in this sector.In terms of its zoom range, although 42x is long, by some standards, it's actually fairly modest. As it stands, 62x optical zoom is the current market leader. However, with a 24mm wide angle lens, that gives you an impressive reach of 1008mm at the telephoto end of the optic. Canon has also included its ZoomPlus technology for this camera, which is its type of digital zoom.

Read full article @ Techradar

HIS Radeon R7 250X and 260X iCooler Graphics Cards Review

HIS is constantly releasing new fast and silent graphics cards. Some time ago we presented the Radeon R7 240 and R7 250 graphics cards. Since then a couple of new graphics processors were released. One of them is the already popular R7 260X and the other one is the R7 250X that many readers probably did not know about.

HIS introduced both GPUs the R7 250X and 260X in a new and improved, iCooler edition. In our review we will take a closer look at these cards and show what you can expect when deciding between one of these inexpensive video cards.

Read full article @ FunkyKit

Icy Dock MB981U3-1S Hard Drive Dock Review

There always comes a time where a hard drive dock comes in handy. It could be you are building a new system and need to transfer files, want to share files with a friend, or you can even use a hard drive dock for an external hard drive setup. Hard drive docks are extremely convenient and today we are taking a look at the MB981U3-1S from Icy Dock. This USB 3.0 hard drive dock supports 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch SATA hard drives and has USB 3.0 Boost UASP support. Let’s take a look...

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Intel Haswell-E Core i7-5960X de-lidded

Overclockers and enthusiasts can rejoy as the newest picture of a de-lidded Intel Core i7-5960X Haswell-E CPU shows that Intel is using soldered thermal interface material (TIM) for its upcoming line of High-End Desktop (HEDT) Haswell-E CPUs.

Guys from the OCDrift.com managed to get their hands on a picture of a de-lidded the flagship Haswell-E CPU, the Core i7-5960X, which shows that Intel has decided to solder the die of the chip to the IHS with a strong epoxy. This is good news for enthusiasts and overclockers, as the soldered IHS will allow much better heat conductivity, something that was a big problem on Intel's previously available Core i7-4790K, Core i7-4770K and the Core i7-3770K CPUs.

Read full article @ Fudzilla

MSI Nightblade Z97 Barebones System Review

Not only is the Nightblade designed with the gamers in mind, but everything is designed in a small compact system, meaning you can easily take it to LAN parties.

Read full article @ HiTech Legion

Nokia Lumia 520 Smartphone Review

The Nokia Lumia 520 is a smartphone with a 4.0 inch touchscreen that runs the Windows Phone 8 operating system, powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.0 GHz dual-core processor. It has 512 MiB of RAM and 8 GiB storage space, a 5 MP main camera. Let's take a look at it.

Read full article @ Hardware Secrets

Rearth Ringke Fusion Case for Samsung Galaxy S5

Today up for review is the Ringke Fusion DIY designed by Rearth. This particular case is designed for the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the color, or lack thereof is clear. This is offered in several different colors on their website and other fine retailers online: black, champagne, deep blue, mint and crystal clear. I feel like I am a little at a loss for words to begin because this is such a simple case that it does not take much to describe it. And simple can be a good thing, and in this case (get it) it is. It’s an all-around good solid case for those (me being one) who are looking for a thin, no frills case to protect your Galaxy S5.

Read full article @ TestFreaks

Samsung 845DC EVO SSD 960 Gigabyte Review

Next to the 845DC PRO Samsung has also launched the 845DC EVO series. This drive is equipped with TLC NAND flash memory chips and therefore it's suitable for read-intensive workloads, preserving precious write cycles. Furthermore TLC NAND allows for highly competitive pricing, which you will get with this drive. Overall we're curious to see how this drive is going to perform.

Read full article @ ocaholic

Samsung Galaxy Tab S Review, Top Shelf Android

Under the hood, the Galaxy Tab S boasts of all of the high-end features you’d expect from Samsung’s latest flagship including an Exynos 5 Octa core processor, Android KitKat 4.4, 3GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB of storage, and a microSD slot that supports up to 128GB. You’ll also find a front-facing 2.1 megapixel camera that supports Full HD along with an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash. To deliver the best possible visual experience, the high-resolution Super AMOLED display found in the Galaxy Tab S supports a resolution of 2560x1600 and boasts of a 73% wider color gamut than conventional LCD displays. The display also offers deeper blacks and a 100,000:1 contrast ratio.

To further add to the functionality available with the Galaxy Tab S, Samsung includes a number of software features including Multi Window, SideSync 3.0, Samsung Knox, and others that we’ll explore...

http://hothardware.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=efc4c507c2cf964fc2462caca&id=d07b217912&e=0c004f9c13]Read full article @ HotHardware.com[/url]

Seasonic Platinum Series 1200 W Review

Seasonic recently added a new high-end model to their arsenal, a 1200 W unit with Platinum efficiency, extraordinary performance, semi-passive operation, and a fully modular cabling design. This PSU is one of the best we ever tested and teaches manufacturers a lesson in how to push analog circuits to their limits.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

Silicon Power Superior SDXC UHS-1 64GB Review

In this article we will look upon another speedy SDXC card from Silicon Power, with rated speeds of 85MB/s reads and 45MB/s writes and a total storage space of 64GB. The UHS-1 standard guarantees a new photographic experience in high-speed photo shooting and Full-HD video capturing.

Read full article @ Madshrimps

Streacom FC8 EVO Review

There is no denying that in the Small Form Factor (SFF) segment there is fierce competition from an assortment of contenders. Each of the computer case vendors are appear to be delving into this arena to offer up what they consider the best compact computer chassis.

Combine SFF with silence and this is the playground that many home theatre advocates seek. Today we are to put one such case under the spotlight.

FC8 EVO is a compact computer chassis which is primarily designed for the Mini-ITX form factor. Streacom has adorned this case with a luxurious all-aluminium construction to give it that premium feel and to ensure it sits in pride of place beside other gadgets in the living room… or den!

Read full article @ Vortez

Synology Diskstation DS414j 4-Bay NAS Server Review

We have taken a look at a handful of Synology brand network attached storage (NAS) servers over the past five years and each one has left us quite impressed with the features, performance, and ease of use. The samples reviewed to date have covered a variety of configurations best suited for home or small office use, and this article will cover one of their latest offerings that fits in the same general category. The DS414j is a 4-bay device capable of providing up to 20TB of storage (4x 5TB drives) on your network via a Gigabit network connection. While touted as being a budget friendly offering, the DS414j is advertised as offering plenty of the features that users expect in a NAS server, as well as plenty of the convenient extras that Synology is known to offer.

Before taking a look at the sample provided for review, let's take a look at some of the published information found on the DS414j official product page on the Synology website...

Read full article @ Bigbruin.com

XFX XTS 520W Passive Modular Power Supply Review

For PC users who are serious about noise there really is no alternative to a passive power supply. Sure there are power supplies on the market that operate incredibly quietly (such as Be Quiet’s Dark Power Pro range) and even power supplies that don’t spin up their fans until they pass a certain load amount, normally 40% load (Corsair’s AXi range for example). However, a fan is still a fan whichever way you butter it up and a fan means some noise irrelevant of how quiet that fan is.

Enter XFX’s latest passive range of power supplies dubbed the XTS series. Today we are checking out the XFX XTS 520 which is a totally silent, passively cooled 520W power supply with a fully modular design, 80 Plus Platinum certification and a 5 year warranty. This really is the bees knees of power supplies and while 520W may not sound like much, that’s easily enough to power a Core i7 4960X system with a GTX Titan Black and a tonne of hard drives or SSDs, lots of memory and a full sized ATX board. With that said the XFX XTS 520 is a power supply that is versatile enough for any system from a low-end workstation to a high-end gaming PC: you can even run SLI or CrossFire with this power supply.

As with all XFX power supplies the XTS 520 is based on a Seasonic OEM design: this means it is going to be a quality piece because Seasonic are one of the top vendors in the entire power supply industry. Let’s start this review by taking a look at the packaging of XFX’s XTS 520.

Read full article @ eTeknix