Happy New Year. Here the latest reviews and articles:

Advanced Network Configurator Review
ASRock X99 Extreme11
ASRock X99 OC Formula Motherboard Review: What is the Overclocking Formula?
Asus Maximus VII Impact (Z97) mITX Motherboard Review
ASUS X99-E WS Motherboard – Workstation Durability and Compatibility
ASUSTOR AS7004T NAS Server Review
BitFenix Colossus Mini-ITX and Micro-ATX Chassis Review
CM Storm Octane Gaming Gear Combo Review
CM Storm Quickfire Rapid-i Mechanical Keyboard Review
Cougar 600M Gaming Mouse Review
Cougar 700K Mechanical Keyboard Review
DXRacer K Series Office Chair
ECS Deluxe Z97-PK Review
elementary OS 0.3 Freya Beta Review
Func MS-2 Optical Gaming Mouse Review
Geek Fuel Monthly Mystery Box Review
Gigabyte Aire M93 Ice Wireless Mouse Review
Google Chromecast Review
Logitech G302 ‘Daedalus Prime’ MOBA Gaming Mouse Review
Logitech T650 Rechargeable Touchpad Review
Overclocking the EVGA GTX 980 Classified with LN2
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Chassis Review
PlayStation Plus January 2015 Free Games Preview
Raijintek Morpheus GPU Cooler Review
Razer Chroma Set Review
ROCCAT Ryos MK Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Capsule Review
Samsung Gear 2 Neo Review
Security Research At The Hague: The Mobile Malware Threat
StarTech Thunderbolt Dual SSD Enclosure S252SMTB3
Turtle Beach Z60 7.1 Audio Gaming Headset Review

Advanced Network Configurator Review

Advanced Network Configurator addresses the decade old problem of configuring Windows PCs to connect to computer networks using a single network adapter. The main issue that you will encounter is that it is time-consuming to modify network related values for the adapter whenever you change networks.

Read full article @ gHacks

ASRock X99 Extreme11

The ASRock X99 Extreme11 is a true storage monster. With 18 built-in SATA ports, Eight of which are capable of SAS 12 Gb/s, the LSI 3008-equipped ASRock X99 Extreme11 is a wet dream for those of us whose heart skips a beat for ultra-fast, high-density storage capability.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

ASRock X99 OC Formula Motherboard Review: What is the Overclocking Formula?

Within each motherboard manufacturer, there is typically a design team for each market segment they are targeting, be that server, channel or gaming. Overclocking is slightly different as most manufacturers have an extreme overclocker or two directly employed to focus on the engineering and put their name to the product. Nick Shih, former world #1, is the overclocker behind ASRocks OC range and the newest member of this family, the ASRock X99 OC Formula, bears his signature. This is the board for our review today. 

Read full article @ Anandtech

Asus Maximus VII Impact (Z97) mITX Motherboard Review

In the computing world, bigger is usually better. But that doesn’t stop us trying to squeeze the same performance out of something that is physically smaller in size. ‘Why?’ you ask. Well, perhaps desk space is at a premium or maybe you simply never plan to use multiple graphics cards with a kilowatt power supply and an array of HDDs. If that’s the case, there’s a considerable space saving to be had by opting for a Mini-ITX system.

Targeting enthusiasts and gamers who want to get the best performance out of their small form-factor (SFF) system, can the Asus Republic of Gamers (ROG) Maximus VII Impact show us just how powerful a 17×17 cm motherboard can be?

Read full article @ KitGuru

ASUS X99-E WS Motherboard – Workstation Durability and Compatibility

ASUS has many models of X99 shipping and one particular model that always interests me is the WS series of boards as they are tested to be enterprise class and then some with max capacity and normally extended connectivity along with component MTBF ratings that most desktop boards cannot even dream about. Today we have one of those very models based on LGA 2011-V3 based on the X99 chipset but it is considered a Server/Workstation product. This board boasts some really awesome slot lane allocations thanks to dual bridge chips and excellent overall component choice so lets dig in and see what we are getting.

Read full article @ Bjorn3D

ASUSTOR AS7004T NAS Server Review

When i first started using and testing NAS (network attached storage) devices well over 5 years ago their specifications couldn't compare to even the most entry level notebook and honestly back then there really was little need for anything more than that since most people used them as download servers, file sharing servers and in some rare cases for hosting pages. However things have changed a lot nowadays and so with the increase in need for serious processing power there are NAS devices out in the market as we speak with specifications equal to those of a high-end notebook or even a mid-end desktop system (minus the graphics card, for now at least). Of course because of their very high price tags (and in some cases large size) such devices are primarily aimed towards enterprise and business users who can really use the extra punch with heavy workloads. ASUSTOR recently announced their AS70xxT ultra high-end series and today with us we have the 4 bay AS7004T NAS model.

Founded in 2011, ASUSTOR Inc., a subsidiary of ASUSTeK Computer Inc., is a leading innovator and provider of private cloud storage (network attached storage) and video surveillance (network video recorder) solutions. ASUSTOR is devoted to providing the world with unparalleled user experiences and the most complete set of network storage solutions possible.

Some of you may recall our review of another ultra-high-end model by ASUSTOR the AS-608T which performed extremely well and left most of its competition in the dust. Well compared to that the new AS70xxT series is in a league of its own especially in terms of specifications something which we did expect roughly two years later. So this time over ASUSTOR has used a very fast Intel Core i3-4330 CPU running at 3.5GHz (once again we see the Mesa DRI Intel(R) Haswell Desktop with OpenGL version 3.0 and Mesa version 10.0.0 taking care of the video part) along with 2GB of SO-DIMM DDR3 RAM (expandable up to 16GB). ASUSTOR didn't stop there however and so they have also improved on the connectivity of the NAS so on this model we see 3 USB 3.0 ports, 2 USB 2.0 ports, 2 eSATA ports, HDMI v1.4a output, optical S/PDIF audio output and two Gigabit RJ-45 Ethernet ports. Also thanks to the powerful CPU used, the HDMI v1.4a video output and the brand new version 13 of the well-known XBMC player the AS70xxT series can reproduce 4k content (max resolution of 2160p) and although it will take some time before such content becomes widely available for real still it's an very impressive feature. So the time has come for us to see what the 4 bay model of the flagship NAS line by ASUSTOR is capable of.

Read full article @ NikKTech

BitFenix Colossus Mini-ITX and Micro-ATX Chassis Review

BitFenix is one of the coolest names in the chassis industry. Sure they’ve been making great chassis’ for many years, but a couple of years ago they shot to legendary status with the launch of their ever-popular BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX chassis. The Prodigy really sparked new life into the mini-ITX chassis market and since then we’ve seen a wave of impressive new cube style chassis from a wide range of manufacturers. BitFenix have launched several mini-ITX and Micro-ATX chassis based around the original Prodigy design over the last couple of years, as a quick recap, here are our reviews for each of them;

BitFenix Prodigy mini-ITX
BitFenix Prodigy M Micro-ATX
BitFenix Phenom Micro-ATX
BitFenix Phenom Mini-ITX

They’re all fairly similar products and many borrow components from each other, with only a few minor interior tweaks between each model; such as new exterior panels. The two chassis I have at my disposal today are no exception. There’s been a few minor changes to the interior and of course we’ve got the new exterior panels that offer aesthetics similar to the original Colossus full-tower.

Read full article @ eTeknix

CM Storm Octane Gaming Gear Combo Review

C gaming over the past few years has taken off with games like League of Legends and CS:GO as these are games that most people can play on pretty much any PC system. With that happening we have seen an influx of PC gaming gear on the market, while not always the best gear for the price ether. There are a few great companies out on the market who make great entry level gaming gear. One of them who have stepped up to the plate with some great gaming gear over the past year is Cooler Master’s CM Storm line. Today we will be taking a look at the CM Storm Octane Gaming Gear Combo, which is made up of a gaming keyboard and mouse.

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

CM Storm Quickfire Rapid-i Mechanical Keyboard Review

CM Storm, the gaming division of legendary manufacturer Cooler Master are back once again with their latest mechanical keyboard. OK I tell a slight lie there, this keyboard isn’t exactly their latest, but it is the first time I’ve been able to get my hand on one for review. We’ve had a lot of fun in the past testing CM Storm products, as they rarely disappoint us thanks to their excellent performance and competitive price tags. The CM Storm Quickfire Rapid-i is a popular choice with a lot of gamers, so I want to see what all the fuss is about.

The Quickfire Rapid-i comes in a choice of Cherry MX switches; Blue, Brown and Red. I have the MX Brown switch model at my disposal today. The Rapid-i features a five level, five mode white LED lighting system, ABS grip coating, N-key rollover and more; pretty much everything you would expect from a mechanical gaming keyboard.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Cougar 600M Gaming Mouse Review

Cougar is relatively new to the gaming peripherals market. the company has had success with their chassis and power supply products, but as many of you know, there’s a booming PC gaming market, and Cougar want in on the action. The 600M is certainly a product that stands out, most obviously because it comes in dayglow orange. Of course you can also buy the mouse in black, but it’s the bright orange one that I have in the office today.

“COUGAR 600M has been designed with the clear objective of offering gamers a mouse that can both provide state-of-the-art technology, all the features necessary to enhance the gaming experience and an aesthetically pleasing design. Its premium components (OMRON switches, ADNS-9800 Sensor, premium quality soft touch surface) guarantee a flawless performance during gameplay, and its 32-bit ARM processor and 512KB on-board storage provide virtually instantaneous responses and the possibility, without depending on any computer or external device, of keeping up to 3 full configuration profiles stored on board.”

Read full article @ eTeknix

Cougar 700K Mechanical Keyboard Review

Cougar is pushing hard to make an impact on the gaming scene and so far, they’ve been doing a great job. They’ve already had success with their K-series of keyboards and more recently, their new gaming mice such as the 600M; now they’re back once again with their flagship 700K mechanical keyboard.

Cougar is well-known for their unique chassis designs and reliable power supplies, but we’ve seen time and time again over the last year that they’ve got what it takes to make some great performing and unique looking peripherals. The 700K is packed full of features that are going to appeal to a gaming audience; there’s full key backlighting, on-the-fly macro recording, dedicated multimedia keys, a palm rest, windows lock key, mechanical switches and a whole lot more!

Of course, all those features come at a price and the Cougar 700K will set you back around £100 from most major retailers. This is expensive, but this is a feature packed mechanical gaming keyboard, which often cost in excess of £100. I’m really looking forward to testing this keyboard out and seeing if Cougar has got what it takes to compete against the big players of the peripherals market.

Read full article @ eTeknix

DXRacer K Series Office Chair

You might know the saying “for every butt there is a seat” well I get the feeling DXRacer recognizes this with their wide selection of seating options. I have taken a look at a few of their chairs in the past and after visiting their US office I can say for sure that they have a wide selection of seats. They have seven different chair series as well as a ton of colors in each series. When it was time to upgrade my wife’s office chair I decided to go with DXRacer’s latest line, the K Series. The high weight capacity wasn’t needed for her but the large size is great for when she sits in her chair Indian style. On top of that, the high weight capacity means when we have people over for small LANs we won’t have to worry about big buys like me breaking the chair.

Read full article @ LanOC Reviews

ECS Deluxe Z97-PK Review

The novelty started with this board, was the quick bundle sale it was originally packaged with. You could get the board and an Intel Pentium G3258 Anniversary Edition for $104 from Newegg. The deal only lasted a couple of days and the short deal was gone. The ECS Z97-PK is now set at $79, but is still one of the cheapest boards for the socket out there. The board and chip were said to be best friends, so we had to go out and get the chip to pair them together for this review – sadly our chip wasn't quite as worthy as some of you might have hoped. Either way…the focus here should be on the ECS Z97-PK motherboard, it is the main case for this review. The actual use of the chip was just a bonus.

The ECS Z97-PK is a low-cost motherboard, designed to handle the Pentium G3258, OC, or run a higher-end CPU on stock clocks. You'll get all the higher-end features that you normally won't get with a low-cost board. It's an mATX form factor, so you can squeeze it into some of your smaller build designs, including, but not limited to, home theater builds. The support of even the Pentium gets you a pretty solid starter gaming build, the idea of gaming only on a quad core or more is not valid, this combo brings affordability to even the most extreme budget gamer. At $150 with current sales, it's a little harder to sell in my opinion, but let's see what the benchmarks say.

Read full article @ OCC

elementary OS 0.3 Freya Beta Review

The last article of the year is a long, largely negative review of elementary OS 0.3 Freya (beta) 64-bit edition, tested and installed in a quad-boot configuration on a laptop with Intel graphics and SSD, including look & feel, network connectivity - Wireless (2.4GHz and 5GHz), Samba, multimedia playback - Flash and MP3, partitioning, applications, system resources, stability, suspend & resume, and many problems like browser, file manager and software updater crashes, broken printing, issues with window screenshots and minimize action, installer slideshow, Flash playback and browser support, Software Center, missing basic software, and more. Happy New Year!

Read full article @ Dedoimedo

Func MS-2 Optical Gaming Mouse Review

Func may be new to the market with their range of peripherals, but if the HS-260 are just a taste of what is to come from this brand then we are in for a very good year indeed. I’ve been using the same brand of headsets for almost two years now and in that time I haven’t found anything that could tempt me away from my Tritton FREQ7, but the HS-260 make music sound fantastic and are really comfortable, which is impressive given they cost less than half as much as what I currently use.

Build quality is pretty great, the headband can be bent and twisted a lot without any issues, and the headband extender feels pretty durable too, the only thing that really separates this headset and ones that cost twice as much is the fact that the construction here is mostly plastic. The plastics used are really nicely finished, blending soft textures and hardly any of the glossy plastics we often see on mid-budget headsets, more expensive models typically favour more metal exterior components, but I don’t get any indication that the HS-260 will fail any time soon, they’re nicely put together, joins in the plastic are close and there are no obvious glue marks and screws on show to cheapen the overall style.

In terms of aesthetics they’re pretty stylish too, with just a small Func logo on the side of each ear cup it is likely that most people won’t even realise what brand you’re wearing on your head, but without a doubt they’re a great looking set of headphones that are just as suitable sitting a your desk as they are plugged into your smartphone while sat on the bus.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Geek Fuel Monthly Mystery Box Review

oday I have a new review for you sort of, maybe it should be called an unboxing or actually and extended unboxing, but it’s still a review I guess. Geek Fuel is a new company that makes geek or nerdy themed mystery boxes that you can get delivered to your door every month for a low price. I say low price because I figured out an estimated cost of the items in the box and it’s about three times more than the actual cost you’ll pay for the box from Geek Fuel if you bought everything separately. Right there you’re getting an excellent value overall I think, but let’s take a closer look at everything so you can get a better idea of the stuff you can get in one of these mystery boxes from Geeks Fuel.

Read full article @ Technogog

Gigabyte Aire M93 Ice Wireless Mouse Review

Gigabyte is one of the biggest names in the computer industry. They’ve won countless awards for their motherboards, graphics cards and more; they’ve even won quite a few of those awards from us here at eTeknix. Peripherals may not be the biggest market for Gigabyte, but we’ve seen before that they have what it takes to make some seriously cool headsets, mice and keyboards.

Today we’ll be taking a look at their Aire M93 ICE, a fairly common wireless mouse that promises versatile performance. Wireless technology isn’t always ideal for gaming, but this isn’t really a gaming mouse; the Aire M93 has been tailored towards use with notebooks, in the office and other work environments.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Google Chromecast Review

Streaming media is nothing new. We have been watching YouTube and IPTV for years now, but over the past couple of years streaming video services have become extremely popular and are not just reserved for your PC or mobile device anymore. No one wants to sit around someone’s laptop to watch movies and other videos. Google has come up with a very simple and inexpensive way to bring all of that streaming content to any TV that has an HDMI port. The Google Chromecast is a simple HDMI dongle that allows you to stream content from any Google Chrome tab and from a wide variety of supported apps. Let’s jump in and see what this thing can do!

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Logitech G302 ‘Daedalus Prime’ MOBA Gaming Mouse Review

Logitech’s G-series of mice have been getting a lot of attention from the enthusiast audience. We already reviewed the G602 wireless and G502 ‘Proteus Core’ mice last year and today we are looking at the latest entry to the product line, the G302 ‘Daedalus Prime’. This mouse features new switches for more responsive mouse clicks, supposedly giving MOBA players an edge in competitive play.

Read full article @ KitGuru

Logitech T650 Rechargeable Touchpad Review

Windows 8.1 has made us rethink the way we interact with our computers. The traditional type and click keyboard/mouse setup has been augmented with touch screens and gestures, sometimes to the point that mice are being left out of the equation all together in favor of touchpads.

Read full article @ Windows Central

Overclocking the EVGA GTX 980 Classified with LN2

Overclocking is an interesting hobby and while I include some sort of overclocking with every Motherboard and Video Card review I adhere to a strict set of rules so that my results can be replicated by most anyone. Of course I have been known to change things up from time to time and may do my overclocking tests with a Single Stage Phase chiller for some added clockspeed. As you can imagine every overclocking and cooling method has its advantages followed by an even larger list of disadvantages but, that is the hobby and as Tyler Durden once said: “You determine your own level of involvement.”

In this article I’m going to use an EVGA GTX 980 Classified the way EVGA had intended and overclock the card using LN2 (Liquid Nitrogen). Of course the card is extremely solid without LN2 and offers better performance over reference designs with a full EVGA warranty but, I want more.

Keep in mind that overclocking does void your warranty and is one reason why I’d always recommend factory overclocked card whenever possible. The Classified is factory overclocked and thus supported by both EVGA and NVIDIA. What you don't normally see if what is under the heatsink and why the Classified is designed to deliver much more.

Read full article @ Hardware Asylum

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Chassis Review

Today we are looking at a new chassis by reputable maker Phanteks. Phanteks has been known to produce some of today's top performing air coolers while using some of the most unique and are going to bring you another Phanteks case with its own unique twist: the Evolv. Let's take a closer look.

Read full article @ PureOverclock

PlayStation Plus January 2015 Free Games Preview

A new year is now upon us. What better way to start off 2015 than by firing up your console and checking out some new content? Sony has officially released the list of free games for January for PlayStation Plus subscribers. There is a great mix of games for each of their three platforms with some of them available for the other platforms as well. All games listed below will be available starting on January 6, 2015.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Raijintek Morpheus GPU Cooler Review

We have tested a number of quality GPU coolers in previous months, including both air and liquid cooled models. We are excited to see how the Raijintek Morpheus compares to other models from more established players in the market. We are particularly interested to see how it compares to the Accelero Xtreme IV, the flagship cooler from Arctic Cooling.

Read full article @ KitGuru

Razer Chroma Set Review

The Razer Chroma phenomenon is composed from the Deathadder Chroma, Blackwidow Chroma but also of the Kraken 7.1 Chroma; these are directly linked regarding the LED setup procedure and can be controlled together via the Synapse 2.0 downloadable software from Razer, which is able to save and restore profiles from the cloud.

Read full article @ Madshrimps

ROCCAT Ryos MK Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Capsule Review

2014 is drawing to a close, and today we have a review of ROCCATs flagship mechanical keyboard, the Ryos MK Pro. It was launched earlier this year and has very interesting specifications, along with a hefty price tag. Can it still compete in 2015? We will find out in this capsule review.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Samsung Gear 2 Neo Review

Want a smartwatch with longer battery life? Check out the Samsung Gear 2 Neo ($199, Amazon) – little brother of the Samsung Gear 2. It offers most of the features of the Gear 2, minus the camera and smartphone independent data capabilities. As opposed to the $199 Samsung Gear Live or LG G Watch (our review) and the $250 Moto 360 (our review), the $199 Samsung Gear 2 Neo runs the Tizen operating system, instead of Android Wear. Tizen offers a number of advantages over Android Wear (read about the various smartwatch operating systems), but does not employ any kind of touchless voice-activation.

Read full article @ MakeUseOf

Security Research At The Hague: The Mobile Malware Threat

One of the more interesting stops on our recent trip to Amsterdam was at The Hague Security Delta. For those of you who might not be aware, The Hague is the name of the government seat of the Netherlands (and yes, the article is capitalized). The Hague Security Delta (HSD) is the official title of a collaborative effort between Netherlands businesses, the government, and multiple research institutions to identify emerging security threats, share best practices, and foster collaboration between industry, governments, and universities.

One of the most interesting topics that came up during our visit was the issue of mobile network security, particularly now that Edward Snowden has let the cat somewhat out of the bag...

Read full article @ HotHardware.com

StarTech Thunderbolt Dual SSD Enclosure S252SMTB3

Even though it is popular to use a network attached storage sometimes it is nice to have storage closer to the computer, for example for Timemachine backup on a Mac or just as a way to add more storage space on a laptop with a small SSD. The Startech enclosure we are reviewing today, the StarTech Thunderbolt Dual SSD Enclosure S252SMTB3, comes with a Thunderbolt interface that not only lets you daisy-chain it with several other peripherals but also offers a lot of bandwidth making it a perfect option for increasing the storage space on a Mac Book Air or other computer with little initial storage. After testing it turns out that it performs just as well as expected with just a few minor complaints. Read on to find out more.

Read full article @ Bjorn3D

Turtle Beach Z60 7.1 Audio Gaming Headset Review

For over 35 years Turtle Beach has been a leader in the gaming headset industry, widely recognized as one of the best producers of headsets for console and PC gaming. Their catalog includes a wide range of headsets designed to fit the needs of nearly every consumer from the low cost basic headset to the high end professional gamer headset. Today, we will be taking a look at one of their mid-range PC gaming headsets, the Ear Force Z60 which can be found online for $104.99 with free shipping and a 1 year warranty.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews