Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including AMD FX-9590 and FX-9370 review: AMD's return to the high-end market?, CPU Gaming Performance - AMD / Intel, Gigabyte R9 290X OC WindForce Review (1600p, Ultra HD 4K), Hands On With Lenovo's New X1 Carbon and ThinkVision 28 Smart Display with Next-Gen NVIDIA Tegra, and In depth: Steam Machine: which Steam box should you buy?



AMD FX-9590 and FX-9370 review: AMD's return to the high-end market? @ Hardware.Info

Last year AMD introduced the AMD FX-9590 and FX-9370 processors, its fastest CPUs. We have now extensively tested both of them.

You probably know the story. AMD has lagged behind Intel in terms of raw processor performance since the launch of the Core 2 Duo. In the high-end segment, where Intel has the Core i7 processors, AMD hasn't had any products for a couple of years now. The fastest AMD processor until recently, the 8-core FX-8350, falls between the Intel Core i5 4670K and Core i7 4770K in multi-threaded benchmarks, and definitely not the 6-core Socket 2011 processors.

In order to have something for the high-end segment, AMD created the FX-9590 and FX-9370 processors based on the same 8-core Vishera chip as the FX-8350 and the other current FX models. The new chips have been carefully selected and tuned to run at a maximum of 5 GHz and 4.7 GHz, respectively. That's a significant step up from the 4.2 GHz of the FX-8350. This also significantly increases the energy consumption, and the FX CPUs weren't the most efficient to begin with. The FX-9370 and FX-9590 have a TDP of no less than 220 watts. To put this in perspective, the FX-8350 has a TDP of 125 watts and the fastest Intel desktop CPUs have a TDP of 130 watts.

Read more: AMD FX-9590 and FX-9370 review: AMD's return to the high-end market? @ Hardware.Info

CPU Gaming Performance - AMD / Intel @ ocaholic

Our series of gaming performance articles where we take one CPU and put it up against another one and run a series of game benchmarks, is very well known meanwhile. With this chart list we're going to give you an overview regarding all benchmark results we received regarding AMD as well as Intel CPUs.

Read more: CPU Gaming Performance - AMD / Intel @ ocaholic

GIGABYTE BRIX Pro: A First Look at the Intel i7-4770R with Iris Pro HD 5200 @ Anandtech

Intel's high-end Crystal Well, the Core i7-4770R, has remained out of reach for consumers despite being introduced back in June 2013. While Apple's notebooks use the mobile Crystal Well parts, the 2013 iMac restricts itself to the Core i5-4570R. Users wanting to stay out of the Apple ecosystem have been left in the cold. Gigabyte is coming to the rescue with the launch of the BRIX Pro in the NUC form factor. The higher end SKU is equipped with the 65W TDP i7-4770R. Read on for our first look at the BRIX Pro along with some quick benchmark numbers.    

Read more: GIGABYTE BRIX Pro: A First Look at the Intel i7-4770R with Iris Pro HD 5200 @ Anandtech

Gigabyte R9 290X OC WindForce Review (1600p, Ultra HD 4K) @ KitGuru

AMD fans may have had to wait several months for custom cooled R9 290/x cards to hit the channel, but today we follow up on our December review of the Sapphire R9 290X Tri-X OC (http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/sapphire-r9-290x-tri-x-oc-review-1600p-ultra-hd-4k/) with a look at the latest Gigabyte R9 290X OC solution, featuring their excellent triple fan WindForce cooler.

Read more: Gigabyte R9 290X OC WindForce Review (1600p, Ultra HD 4K) @ KitGuru

MSI GTX 780 Ti Gaming 3 GB @ techPowerUp

MSI's GeForce GTX 780 Ti is the best graphics card I've reviewed in a long time. It is very fast, thanks to its overclock out of the box, yet doesn't run hot at all. Its powerful TwinFrozr cooler also enables MSI to run the card at fantastic noise levels that are quieter than most other graphics cards on the market.

Read more: MSI GTX 780 Ti Gaming 3 GB @ techPowerUp

MSI Z87I Gaming AC review: Mini-ITX gaming motherboard @ Hardware.Info

Last month we reviewed the MSI Z87M Gaming, MSI's Micro ATX gaming motherboard for Intel Haswell processors. MSI seems to like the smaller form factor, because they also released the Z87I Gaming AC, a Mini ITX board. Today we take a closer look at that one.

In 2009 ASUS was the first to release a Micro ATX board that boasted ATX-like features, with the first Republic of Gamers Gene motherboards. It was a new concept at the time, but it made a lot of sense.

Read more: MSI Z87I Gaming AC review: Mini-ITX gaming motherboard @ Hardware.Info

Silicon Power Sky Share S10 Wi-Fi 16GB SD Card Review @ Madshrimps

With the help of the Sky Share S10 Wi-Fi SD Card from Silicon Power we are able to transfer multimedia content via Wi-Fi to our computer or directly to portable devices, without the need of a middle man. The transfer rate on Wireless can be influenced by several factors and is recommended to place the camera as close as possible to the destination device in order to overcome interferences or low signal issues.

Read more: Silicon Power Sky Share S10 Wi-Fi 16GB SD Card Review @ Madshrimps

Enermax TwisterOdiO 16 Notebook Cooler Review @ Madshrimps

Enermax, one of the pioneers in power supplies, has gone through some changes over the years. Alike Corsair the lineup has extremely diversified, starting with the addition of enclosures. Later on to be followed HDD enclosures, peripherals, moving on to processor air/water cooling and even notebook coolers have been added to the lineup. The TwisterOdiO 16 is a notebook cooler, nevertheless don't just consider the TwisterOdiO 16 as a basic cooling device, it has another build-in-extra up the sleeves. The included Dreambass technology and build-in speakers should be able to lift your notebook sound experience to a new level. Time to put the TwisterOdiO 16 for a spin and see what it can bring us in cooling as in the sound department.

Read more: Enermax TwisterOdiO 16 Notebook Cooler Review @ Madshrimps

Edifier e1100 Predator 2.1 Speakers @ PureOverclock

The Edifier e1100 Predator speaker system has one of those one of a kind designs with a unique sci-fi appearance. The speaker system contains 2-inch satellite speakers and a 5-inch downward firing subwoofer that produce a total output of 20 watts rms. Will this sci-fi inspired 2.1 speaker system blend in with your sci-fi addiction and offer a good value in audio
performance? Read on to find out!

Read more: Edifier e1100 Predator 2.1 Speakers @ PureOverclock

Hands On With Lenovo's New X1 Carbon and ThinkVision 28 Smart Display with Next-Gen NVIDIA Tegra @ HotHardware

...The ThinkVision 28, which is priced at $999, is a unique product since it operates as both a monitor and an AIO system. This 28-inch panel also sports a 4K resolution as well as 10-point multitouch. As you can see in the video, there are multiple USB ports, three HDMI ports, a microSD slot, DisplayPort, Ethernet port, and more on the base. When disconnected from a PC, however, the monitor functions as an Android-based AIO system running Android 4.4 on a "next-gen NVIDIA Tegra" SoC, aka Tegra K1, though Lenovo won't confirm that.

While at Lenovo's suite, we also had a chance to see the new Miix tablets, 11-inch Yoga 2, Flex 14D and 15D, and the hot new ThinkPad X1 Carbon that has been updated with Haswell, a thinner, sleaker design and a top row of remappable function buttons.

Read more: Hands On With Lenovo's New X1 Carbon and ThinkVision 28 Smart Display with Next-Gen NVIDIA Tegra @ HotHardware

Alienware 18 Laptop Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

Today we are sticking with the 18" theme and on our test bench is the Alienware 18, a laptop/Desktop replacement which features high end Intel CPU and SLI'd 780M GPUs. We will be putting it through its paces in synthetic and real world tests including Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty Ghosts.

Read more: Alienware 18 Laptop Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

Shows HyperX PCIe SSD, Fury Memory, microDuo Flash Drive and More @ Legit Reviews

Kingston demonstrated their upcoming PCIe SSD using the LSI SandForce SF3700 Flash controller. According to Kingston, it is capable of speeds up to 1800MB/s read and we were able to see it reach these speeds when we were there. Read on to see what all we found when spending some time with Kingston!

Read more: Shows HyperX PCIe SSD, Fury Memory, microDuo Flash Drive and More @ Legit Reviews

ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti DirectCU II OC Review @ ocaholic

ASUS has finally released its custom designed GTX 780 Ti graphics card and today we have a chance to check out the ASUS GTX 780 Ti DirectCU II OC version, which features the new version of the DirectCU II cooling, factory overclock as well as a custom design with a VRM part which is much better than the one on the reference graphics card. In a couple of next pages, we will try to check out if the new ASUS custom designed graphics card justifies the change from the reference design and has what it takes to cope with similar designs from competition

Read more: ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti DirectCU II OC Review @ ocaholic

Noctua NH-U12S Heatsink Review @ FrostyTech

For unyielding clearance issues Noctua has released the more modestly sized, 120mm fan equipped, NH-U12S tower heatsink which Frostytech is testing in this review. Standing 158mm tall with a footprint of 125x72mm, the Noctua NH-U12S heatsink ships with single NF-F12 PWM fan that rotates at 1500RPM. The NH-U12S is built much like the NH-U14S, but is a better fit for cloistered motherboard processor sockets.

Read more: Noctua NH-U12S Heatsink Review @ FrostyTech

Zetta Z15 HD Security Camcorder @ NikKTech

There are several reasons behind why people turn towards surveillance cameras lately the most important of which is keeping an eye for intruders, safeguarding the car, watching over the kids and in some cases even checking to see if their other half is being faithful. However although IP cameras can be used for most of the above usages there are a couple that require a more special and discreet touch. Unfortunately there aren't that many manufacturers out there that offer good quality tiny cameras with acceptable image quality and an assortment of features that can be used strictly for surveillance purposes. Zetta is one of those manufacturers and today we will be taking a thorough look of their latest HD Security Camcorder the Z15.

Read more: Zetta Z15 HD Security Camcorder @ NikKTech

BitFenix Ronin Case Review @ Hardware Secrets

Let’s take a look at the BitFenix Ronin, a mid-tower case with a big side window, six 3.5”/2.5” bays, and support for 280 mm radiators.

Read more: BitFenix Ronin Case Review @ Hardware Secrets

In depth: Steam Machine: which Steam box should you buy? @ Techradar

Valve unveiled thirteen of its official hardware partners at CES. We've added a video roundup so you can see them in all their shiny metal glory. Valve's Steam Machines have been stealing the headlines at CES 2014, with Gabe Newell unveiling an impressive roster of third-party consoles all hoping to nudge your current gaming machine out of the living room.

Read more: In depth: Steam Machine: which Steam box should you buy? @ Techradar

EVGA Z87 FTW Review @ HCW

Our first EVGA motherboard review was of the Z75 SLI, a board that had a very solid foundation, but was held back a bit by an odd chipset choice. Today we’re looking at EVGA’s midrange full ATX board, the Z87 FTW. Unlike the former, it uses the fully capable Z87 chipset, and aims to provide an excellent overclocking experience, giving users more control over their system than just about everyone else in this price range.

The Z87 FTW sells for about $220 right now, a good $30 more than the Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H we awarded with an Editor’s Choice last month. In fact at $220, the Z87 FTW is competing with the likes of the Z87X-UD5H and Asus Maximus Impact IV. We know that the Gigabyte at least is a solid board, so EVGA have their work cut out for them to compete at this level.

Read more: EVGA Z87 FTW Review @ HCW

Sennheiser G4ME Zero Headset Review @ KitGuru

Today we are going to take a look at another gaming headset from Sennheiser, the G4ME Zero. Like the G4ME One we reviewed recently, this model is targeted at the premium segment of the gaming market and commands a premium price.

Read more: Sennheiser G4ME Zero Headset Review @ KitGuru