Here a roundup of todays review's and articles:

A10-6800K vs. Core i3-4150 CPU Review
Asus GeForce GTX 970 DirectCU Mini 4096MB
ASUS X99-A Motherboard Review
Battlefield Hardline VGA graphics performance Review
CRYORIG H5 Universal
Dragon Age II 4-Years Later Review
Gigabyte Brix S BXi7-5500 Broadwell Mini PC Review
Mushkin Chronos 480GB
OCZ Releases Intrepid 3700 Enterprise SSD
OCZ Vector 180 480GB SSD Review
Plex Review
The OCZ Vector 180 SSD Review
WD My Cloud EX4100 Review

A10-6800K vs. Core i3-4150 CPU Review

After testing two of the most inexpensive processors for desktop computers (A6-6400K and the Pentium G3220), it is time for us to test two mainstream models for the same platforms: the A10-6800K and the Core i3-4150. Let's see which one is the best pick.

Read full article @ Hardware Secrets

Asus GeForce GTX 970 DirectCU Mini 4096MB

An increasing percentage of our readers have been building systems for use next to a high definition television set, inside compact cases. Our review product today - the Asus GTX 970 DC Mini is designed for just such a scenario. This diminutive solution is just 170mm long and will fit inside the smallest cases available on the market today.

Read full article @ KitGuru

ASUS X99-A Motherboard Review

ASUS has a pretty complete line of X99 motherboards. There are a total of 8 motherboards currently in their X99 lineup and they range from sub-$300 boards to the super high-end of almost $500! With so many different boards it might be confusing, but today we will be taking a look at ASUS’s most entry-level X99 motherboard. This motherboard will get you on to the X99 platformfor under $300. The motherboard we are talking about is the X99-A and while it is ASUS’s entry-level X99 motherboard it has many great features you just won’t find on other motherboards out there. The board features ASUS’s patent pending OC socket, ASUS’s Dual Intelligent Processors 5, ASUS’s Crystal Sound 2 audio solution, a 32Gb/s M.2 x4 slot, and much more. Will this be the motherboard for your X99 build? Read on as we find out!

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Battlefield Hardline VGA graphics performance Review

We take over twenty graphics cards and check out Battlefield Hardline - Join us as we have a look at DX11 performance with the newest graphics cards and technologies. The new and popular title is looking pretty nice from a graphics point of view.

Now first let me state the following, We like the Battlefield series, Hardline however has a lot of cut-scenes that take way too long. It however will be a popular game and doesn't look half bad either. DRM these days however makes these VGA performance articles more and more difficult. In our situation we test on two cloned SSD images with the same PC. One Windows 8.1 clone for AMD Radeon graphics cards and one for Nvidia GeForce graphics cards.

Read full article @ Guru3D

CRYORIG H5 Universal

CRYORIG's H5 Universal is an interesting design as it offers 90% of the R1 Universal's surface area with a single 140 mm x 13 mm fan. While it may seem a bit silly to pair such a slim fan with a large heatsink, the results don't lie. The H5 Universal offers maximum memory clearance, low noise levels, and solid performance.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

Dragon Age II 4-Years Later Review

So, is it worth going to Kirkwall and becoming its Champion, or should the city be left to its crisis? As a single game, I give Dragon Age II a weak recommendation. It is not a bad game, although it does have flaws, so if you can get it (and probably some of its DLC, too) at a good price, go for it. As one game in the Dragon Age franchise, however, I am more inclined to recommend it. Like some other franchises, you are able to import saves from previous games, as I did, so for someone interested in the franchise as a whole, you do not want to miss the opportunity to influence the story here, even if the game is not all that strong. The graphics mostly look good, but are dated, which the action helps hide. The story is less coherent than I would prefer, but I obsess over story elements more than others. The gameplay is good and fun, but lacks some of the depth you expect from RPGs. Altogether, it is not a bad game, but more something I was expecting more from. Chances are, you will expect more from it, too.

Read full article @ OCC

Gigabyte Brix S BXi7-5500 Broadwell Mini PC Review

The last time we examined the Gigabyte Brix in April of last year, it performed quite well, but was somewhat noisy and ran hot. Gigabyte has learned from this experience, and has outfitted this latest model--the Brix S BXi7H-5500--with a shiny new Broadwell CPU from Intel. Yes, Broadwell, which are the all-new 14nm CPUs we’ve been salivating over since before Haswell hit the scene.

The particular chip that's the star of the show today is dubbed the Intel Core i7-5500U. This is a dual-core chip with hyper-threading, 4MB of L2 cache and a super-low TDP of just 15w. The CPU includes onboard graphics care of the on-die Intel HD Graphics 5500 series engine too...

Read full article @ HotHardware.com

Mushkin Chronos 480GB

Last week I took a look at Mushkins new flagship SSD. Well it just so happens I also had another Mushkin SSD floating around the office to review. This one isn’t anything like the Striker. The Chronos is a little older but with that it is also a little better value when you are shopping. Our sample is the big guy with a 480GB capacity but it is priced to compete. So today I’m going to see what is inside of the Chronos and most importantly I am going to figure out if the aging Sandforce controller is still fast enough to justify a purchase for someone who is on a budget.

Read full article @ LanOC Reviews

OCZ Releases Intrepid 3700 Enterprise SSD

A little over a year OCZ introduced its first in-house designed enterprise SSD series called the Intrepid 3000. What separated the Intrepid from OCZs earlier enterprise SSDs was the fact that it utilized a fully custom OCZ firmware with a Marvell silicon, whereas in the past OCZs enterprise SSDs relied mostly on SandForce controllers with limited customization. Today OCZ is refreshing the lineup by superseding the 3600 with a new 3700 model.

Read full article @ Anandtech

OCZ Vector 180 480GB SSD Review

Ever since OCZ went through a bit of a transformation after the departure of then CEO Ryan Peterson, they’ve renewed their focus to prioritize quality and reliability. Prior to then, time to market appeared to be the main driver and it showed with OCZ having several product gaffes on both hardware and firmware fronts. Under the guidance of current CEO Ralph Schmitt, their track record has been much improved and being under the auspices of Toshiba only helps to strengthen their commitment to this philosophy. I kick off the article in this fashion for two different reasons. First is the fact that the new Vector 180 drive that we’ll be looking at has promised greater reliability, which stands out as its most prominent improvement. This is not without some irony as the original embargo and subsequent release of the Vector 180 was delayed because of reports from a few product reviewers who had “issues” with the sample drives that were sent out (we were not privy to the details). Even though some these were engineering samples and not production models, OCZ pulled the plug on the launch date of 2/27/15 to allow for a full investigation into the claims. Delaying a product launch can be costly and a coordination nightmare (I feel your pain Mia!) so it’s not a decision to take lightly. I’m not so sure sure that the “old” OCZ would’ve taken this conservative approach to put the brakes on. Likely they would’ve launched as planned with fingers crossed and a strategy to handle any issues through customer support. I don’t point all of this out to besmirch their reputation. Quite the opposite. I applaud OCZ’s decision and transparency on this and wanted to let consumers know that they are true to their word when they say that quality is a priority for them. For the record, we had no issues at all with the 480GB drive we received and as such, we’ll move on to the overview and evaluation portion of our review.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

Plex Review

The streaming media world grows more and more crowded everyday. Between Sling TV, PlayStation Vue and HBO Now, there's no shortage of streaming options as long as you're willing to shell out the cash every month. But what if - and hang in there with me - you want to stream your own media? What if you don't want to pay for something you've already paid for four years ago? What do you do then?What you do then, my friend, is download Plex, the all-in-one media sharing server that uses your PC to distribute content to any room in your house. Plex essentially acts as a faux-server, using your computer and the media you already have as a media hub for devices you grant it access to. It's been around for over seven years now, and is pretty much a staple in any media connoisseur's arsenal.SetupPlex is divided into two versions. A free, everything-and-the-kitchen-sink version of the media server software, and a paid version called Plex Pass that gives you everything and the kitchen sink plus everything in the upstairs rooms for $4.99 (£3, about AU$6) a month.

Read full article @ Techradar

The OCZ Vector 180 SSD Review

Since its inception, the Vector series has made a name for itself as the flagship drive within OCZ’s SSD lineup but it has begun to show its age. Less expensive, more capable competitors have been introduced from numerous companies but they’re about to face a newcomer: the Vector 180.

While the new and improved OCZ have created some very impressive mainstream and entry level drives, they have been curiously absent from the enthusiast market since their reemergence as a Toshiba-backed company. This did leave the existing SSD lineup in somewhat of quandary with their 'mainstream' Vertex 460 nearly equaling the older Vector 150's real world abilities. For enthusiasts the very idea of purchasing an enthusiast grade drive that can barely outperform the mainstream version was contraindicated to say the least.

Read full article @ Hardware Canucks

WD My Cloud EX4100 Review

A four-bay NAS for creative professionals and prosumers. WD is fast becoming a serious player in the world of network-attached storage (NAS). Following on from the launch of the original My Cloud back in late 2013, the storage specialist has gone on to expand its portfolio with the consumer-oriented My Cloud Mirror and the prosumer My Cloud EX Series.

It's fair to say that WD has found its feet after early teething issues, and the company is now hitting its stride with the launch of four new additions targeting the higher end of the market. For prosumers, the new two-bay EX2100 and four-bay EX4100 tout "top of their class read/write speeds" and, for businesses, the expandable DL2100 and DL4100 offer Intel processing and the promise of "reliability, security and scalability."

All four continue to run the evolving Linux-based WD My Cloud operating system, and it's the prosumer EX4100 that's under the microscope today.

Read full article @ Hexus