Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including Acer C720 Chromebook Review, PowerColor R9 270X PCS+ 2 GB, Wren V5AP AirPlay Speaker for Apple iOS Devices Review, Western Digital RED 4TB Hard Drive Review, and Seasonic Platinum Series V2 660W/760W/860W review: extremely efficient



Acer C720 Chromebook Review @ HotHardware

...Despite what some might view as a hamstrung operating system, the reason that Chromebooks are a tempting option is that most of them are very inexpensive. The one we're looking at today, the Acer C720 Chromebook, costs a mere $249, which is about on par price-wise for many Chromebooks these days.

The question then becomes, can such a device possibly replace a laptop?

Here's the good news: We have an answer for you, but it's a complex answer, so you'll have to read on to fully understand the big picture.

Along the way, you'll get a closer look at Chrome OS as well as the Acer C720 Chromebook itself.

Read more: Acer C720 Chromebook Review @ HotHardware

CM Storm Power-RX Review @ ocaholic

Some gamers spend a lot of time and money to find their ideal combination of mouse and gaming keyboard, not paying attention to the mousepad they're using. Most of the work is done by the mouse sensor but also the pad plays a crucial role. Today we will analyze the Power-RX from CM Storm and check if it's able to convince.

Read more: CM Storm Power-RX Review @ ocaholic

PowerColor R9 270X PCS+ 2 GB @ techPowerUp

PowerColor's R9 270X PCS+ comes overclocked out of the box and introduces a completely new cooler design. In our testing the card delivers good temperature and noise levels. With a price of $200 it's also the cheapest R9 270X available at this time.

Read more: PowerColor R9 270X PCS+ 2 GB @ techPowerUp

Cooler Master GXII 550W Power Supply Review @ HiTech Legion

Shortly after purchasing a Pentium 4 based PC back in 2001, my parents had to get it repaired several times because parts kept failing. First, the CPU went out, then the motherboard, and finally the power supply. When the power supply was replaced it only lasted two weeks before the CPU failed and the cycle started again. After a while, Dell decided to replace all three of the parts in one go and the PC kept chugging along until 2011 when we gave it to a family so their kids could do homework. It might still be running. Turns out that a bad power supply had damaged the voltage regulators on the motherboard, which knocked out the CPU and eventually the rest of the motherboard, which then damaged the PSU and ad infinitum.

We say it all the time here. You can't skimp on a power supply, especially in a high end rig, but it's a simple fact that we have to repeat for those who may be reading a power supply review for the very first time. Motherboards are designed to help regulate voltages, but even those circuits will burn out if the power fed to them is unstable. Believe it or not, but as someone who works with microcontrollers and building circuits, I can affirm that too little voltage can be just as deadly to a computer as too much, especially in something so complex and sensitive as a CPU or a motherboard.

Read more: Cooler Master GXII 550W Power Supply Review @ HiTech Legion

Fractal Design Tesla R2 650W Power Supply Review @ Legit Reviews

Fractal Design is a Swedish company which started off as a computer case designer and manufacturer. Like most such companies, after they have established a foothold in their original segment of the market, they began diversifying into other segments as well. Naturally, Fractal Design began their diversification towards power supply units, releasing several products, which are today divided into three series based on their 80Plus certification; Integra (Bronze), Tesla (Gold) and Newton (Platinum). The power supply which we will be reviewing today is the Tesla R2 650W. As the name suggests, this is the second revision of the Tesla series.

Read more: Fractal Design Tesla R2 650W Power Supply Review @ Legit Reviews

Wren V5AP AirPlay Speaker for Apple iOS Devices Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Music is a huge part of many people's lives. It lets us escape, forget about the stress of life and gets us excited. For me I always like to have music playing when I am working, cleaning up the house or even relaxing. Many people do not have the need or want for larger speaker systems that take forever to set up and are not all that portable. Today we are taking a look at a very powerful wireless AirPlay speaker that will fill an entire room with sound and will work with any Apple iOS device wirelessly. That means you do not have to worry about finding the right dock connector, you can walk around with your iOS device in your pocket and still be able to listen to music. Let's take a look

Read more: Wren V5AP AirPlay Speaker for Apple iOS Devices Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Moto X on Verizon Wireless @ lanOC Reviews

The rebound phone from my love of the Motorola MAXX had to be something that shared a lot of its features but helped me get over the amazing battery life. Verizon Wireless sent over the Moto X, a phone that shares the same hardware other than a smaller screen and the battery of the MAXX. I have been toying with the Moto X for some time now and I wanted to talk a little today about how it performed. Will it just be a rebound phone, or will things work out between the Moto X and I. Stay tuned for more after the break, these are the Days Phones Of Our Lives.

Read more: Moto X on Verizon Wireless @ lanOC Reviews

MSI GT70 2OC Gaming Notebook @ KitGuru

Today we look at the latest high powered 17 inch gaming laptop from MSI, the GT70 2OC. Performance certainly won't be a concern as the machine is equipped with an 8 thread Intel Core i7 processor and a 3GB Nvidia GTX770M discrete graphics card. MSI have also included a fast 120G8 GB solid state boot drive, paired up with a 1TB hard drive to handle storage duties.

Read more: MSI GT70 2OC Gaming Notebook @ KitGuru

Cooler Master Hyper TX3 Evo Reader Review @ OcInside.de

OCinside.de today published a new reader review.
This time the reader Hattiro tested the inexpensive Cooler Master Hyper TX3 Evo CPU cooler.
He published his experiences and make a purchase recommendation for this Cooler Master Hyper TX3 Evo CPU cooler.

Read more: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 Evo Reader Review @ OcInside.de

WD Black2 Hybrid Hard Drive Review @ Techspot

It's no secret that hard drives -- with or without RAID -- have long been the weakest link of an enthusiast PC but until somewhat recently flash-based alternatives weren't affordable enough for the masses. In 2009, SSDs including OCZ's original Vertex were fetching $3.00 per gigabyte or about $350 for a 120GB model, quite a bit more than a 2TB hard drive at the time, which were going for as little as $0.06 per gigabyte.

Prices have dropped significantly since then, with high-end SSDs such as the Samsung SSD 840 Evo costing as little as $0.75 per gigabyte for a 120GB version. That's still a serious premium over a disk drive such as the Western Digital Black 3TB, which only costs $0.06 per gigabyte, while 2.5" laptop drives such as the WD Blue 1TB can be had for $0.09 a gig. This discrepancy can make it hard to balance speed and space.

Read more: WD Black2 Hybrid Hard Drive Review @ Techspot

Sonos PLAY:1 Wireless Speakers @ MEGATech Reviews

We have smartphones. We have smart TVs, smartwatchs and even smart appliances, so why can’t the speaker systems in our home be smarter too? And what if there were a more affordable way to get into the world of smarter sound? It is perhaps along that line of questioning that we find ourselves looking at the Sonos PLAY:1 wireless speaker, the least expensive entry into the Sonos HiFi wireless system to date. Is it up to the task?

Read more: Sonos PLAY:1 Wireless Speakers @ MEGATech Reviews

Audioengine 2+ (A2+) Powered Desktop Speakers Review @ Custom PC Review

It’s been almost a year since we last reviewed a product from Audioengine and when we found out about their recent release of some brand new speakers, it piqued our interest to say the least. Last year we received the opportunity to review the Audioengine A5+ speakers along with the Audioengine D1 USB DAC, and we were thoroughly impressed. Audio quality on the Audioengine A5+ was better than anything we’ve ever heard for a set of speakers designed for computer use – something we unfortunately don’t see too often.

Today we’re very excited to review the new Audioengine A2+, which is Audioengine’s latest pair of powered desktop speakers. The Audioengine A2+ is actually an update to the older Audioengine A2 that’s been on the market for quite a while. While we didn’t have the chance to review the original Audioengine A2, we’ve been told that the sound characteristics on both the A2 and the A2+ is very similar with the differences being that the A2+ now also includes an integrated DAC, a variable output (for adding a subwoofer or additional speakers), upgraded speaker connections, a 1/4″ threaded insert for wall mounts, an upgraded power supply, and upgraded accessories. Beyond that though, this review should be able to cover both the Audioengine A2 and the A2+ as both speakers utilize the identical custom built boxes featuring Audioengine’s 3/4″ silk dome tweeters and their 2″ Kevlar woofers.

Read more: Audioengine 2+ (A2+) Powered Desktop Speakers Review @ Custom PC Review

JunPus D9000 & DX1 Diamond Thermal Paste Review @ Hardware 360

Up until a few weeks ago I wasn't aware of JunPus a thermal compound company based in Taiwan, as I am sure most of you were not either. This gave me little to go on going into the review, but after I applied their nano-diamond thermal paste and ran our load tests I was impressed to say the least.

Read more: JunPus D9000 & DX1 Diamond Thermal Paste Review @ Hardware 360

Western Digital RED 4TB Hard Drive Review @ Hardware Canucks

Western Digital’s RED series is quite unique since it was from the ground up for home-use RAID environments and to compliment WD’s other NAS-centric products like the SE and RE. This is very much a middle-of-the road type product which hopes to bring mass storage to a desktop environment for those who have long since outstripped the limited space cloud-based solutions provide.

Unlike its siblings’ focus on datacenter environments with their scalability and enhanced longevity, the RED’s goals are less extreme. In order to appeal to price conscious users, it features a lower initial cost which has been achieved by cutting out some of the higher end models’ enterprise-centric features. It goes without saying that system administrators will likely avoid the RED but it provides an enticing option for everyone else.

Read more: Western Digital RED 4TB Hard Drive Review @ Hardware Canucks

Cougar Spike Mini Gaming Case Review @ Hardware 360

At $34.99 there is very little to complain about, the COUGAR Spike has a good amount of expansion, support for high end graphics cards and it can accommodate a single SSD, which is necessary in today's market. With a few alterations, the Spike could be one of the best options in its price range, but even in it's current form it is one of the most affordable cases on the market that has impressive features considering the low cost.

Read more: Cougar Spike Mini Gaming Case Review @ Hardware 360

Titan Dragonfly 4 Review @ OCC

Cooling performance was at the high end (higher temperature) of the comparison field. Turn up the heat, and the Dragonfly 4 struggles a bit to keep the temps down. The Dragonfly 4 is not likely targeted at systems that are regularly pushed to the thermal limits, so keeping that in mind, if you don't overclock or tax your CPU with a heavy workload for long periods of time, then the Dragonfly can keep up. Adding a second fan may help a little, but air flow is only part of the equation, and a smaller cooler just doesn't have the surface area that a large cooler has. But for cooling that is much better than stock, the Dragonfly gets the job done quietly, and with an unobstructed design.

Read more: Titan Dragonfly 4 Review @ OCC

Titan Dragonfly 4 CPU Cooler Review @ PureOverclock

We have seen many CPU coolers in recent years starting to get larger and larger to accommodate those who are looking for the ultimate in cooling. Especially for those who are going to be overclocking, most seem to think bigger is better. Then there are those who are looking for coolers that are smaller in size so they can squeeze it into a small form factor. Well today we are going to be looking at a cooler that has outstanding cooling in mind, packed into a slim profile. How well will this perform? Well. we are going to find out exactly that with the Titan Dragonfly 4 CPU Cooler. So without going into too much detail here let's jump forward and take a closer look at what the Titan Dragonfly 4 CPU Cooler has to offer.

Read more: Titan Dragonfly 4 CPU Cooler Review @ PureOverclock

Corsair CS650M Power Supply Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

Today we take a look at our first CS-M series PSU from Corsair. This is the 650w model and is designed to offer gold efficiency with competitive pricing for builders on a tight budget.

Read more: Corsair CS650M Power Supply Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

Ashampoo Burning Studio 14 Review @ gHacks.net

Ashampoo's Burning Studio 14 is more than just a disc burning solution that can burn data on CDs, DVDs or Blu-Rays for you. While that may be enough for some users, others may like the additional features that German software company Ashampoo has integrated into the burning software.

It is for instance possible to author movie discs, design your own audio covers, copy existing discs for backup purposes, or create photo slideshows and burn them to disc.

As far as new features go, there are quite a few that found their way into Burning Studio 14. It is now for instance possible to burn encrypted discs or use a new cover application that will retrieve cover art for you while you are ripping music on your system.

Read more: Ashampoo Burning Studio 14 Review @ gHacks.net

A Look at LG G Flex and its Deformable Plastic OLED DIsplay @ Anandtech

Today we had a chance to get hands on with LG's very hyped flexible, curved smartphone, the aptly named LG G Flex. We're going to be reviewing it and giving it the full rundown in due time, but other than its flexible nature, it's a close cousin of the LG G2, with the same Snapdragon 800 SoC at 2.26 GHz, 2 GB of RAM, back mounted buttons, and overall hardware platform.

The highlight feature of the G Flex is its 6-inch diagonal 720p P-OLED (Plastic substrate OLED) display with an RGB stripe subpixel matrix. In the G Flex, the display is curved to a 700mm radius of curvature along the horzontal axis. The panel is then bonded to the cover glass which is thin enough to permit flexing while still affording protection the entire phone can be pressed flat. LG's panel isn't in-cell touch, so there's also a digitizer layer between the two. This is LG's first real time using its own OLED display in a smartphone. The display is flexible thanks to its plastic substrate and remains functional as it's deformed along whatever axis. LG had one of the panels standalone but connected to a nearby G Flex, and allowed us to poke, prod, flex, and deform it however we chose.

Read more: A Look at LG G Flex and its Deformable Plastic OLED DIsplay @ Anandtech

Seasonic Platinum Series V2 660W/760W/860W review: extremely efficient @ Hardware.Info

Seasonic has a series of 80Plus Platinum power supplies in capacities of 660W, 760W, 860W and 1000W. The 660W, 760W and 860W models have now been replaced by new versions, so of course we had to test the new versions of these PSUs.

The new models carry the same EAN bar codes as the original ones, but the product code has a two behind it (SS-860XP2 for the new model, where the old was called SS-860XP for example). However, it seems that some online shops are selling the new versions under the old product code, so when you order one of them it's unclear which version you're ordering. Fortunately the original has been end of life for a long time, so you can be 99% sure you're getting the new one when you order the 660W, 760W or 860W model.

Since the arrival of the first Platinum power supplies at the end of 2011 prices have dropped quite a bit, but they're still not cheap with average prices of £120, £138 and £184 / € 154, € 187 and € 211. If you read our recent review of the Corsair RM Series 750W, you'll know that you can buy a very good 750W 80Plus Gold PSU for less than £100 / €120.

Read more: Seasonic Platinum Series V2 660W/760W/860W review: extremely efficient @ Hardware.Info

ADATA DashDrive HV620 External Hard Drive Review @ Benchmark Reviews

ADATA has been in the business of developing memory and storage solutions for a dozen years and, in the process, has earned a reputation for producing high-quality devices. Its latest addition to the DashDrive lineup is the ADATA HV620 External Hard Drive. The HV620 is currently available in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities. In this review, Benchmark Reviews will take a closer look at the 2TB version of the ADATA DashDrive HV620 External Hard Drive and share the results of our testing. We will also take a closer look at its features, which include a scratch-proof surface, its glossy finish, and the raised lip around the perimeter of the device, which is meant to provide an added level of protection to the top of the HV620.

Read more: ADATA DashDrive HV620 External Hard Drive Review @ Benchmark Reviews