Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

AKiTiO Thunder3 Quad X Review
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X/2700 and Ryzen 5 2600X/2600 benchmarks leak out
Attack on Titan 2 Review
Attack on Titan 2 Xbox One Review
Azio Retro Classic Keyboard Review
Crucial MX300 M.2 525 GB Review
Galaxy S9+ Review
Intel is redesigning its processors to guard against Spectre
Intel’s six-Core i9-8950HK, i7-8850H, i7-8750H Cinebench score leaked
LG V30S ThinQ vs LG V30
Logitech G560 RGB PC Gaming Speakers Review
Microsoft Surface Book 2 and Surface Laptop Revealed
MSI Optix MPG27CQ Review
MSI Vortex G25 (W/ i7-8700 & GTX 1070)  Review
Noctua Chromax Review
Razer Mamba HyperFlux + Firefly HyperFlux Review
ROCCAT Khan AIMO RGB 7.1 Gaming Headset Review
Surviving Mars Review
The state of Android security
TP-Link Archer C5400 Review
Ubuntu 18.04 Versus Six Other Linux Distributions On AMD EPYC
Windows 10: Everything you need to know
WiZ Colors Hero Smart Lamp Review

AKiTiO Thunder3 Quad X Review

Akitio ended 2017 on a high note by refreshing much of its Thunderbolt product lineup with the Thunder3 series. Our first look at this series comes in the form of the Thunder3 Quad X, a four-bay 3.5" drive enclosure with some unique features onboard.

One look at the Quad X and you can see and feel the inspiration from Mac Pro's of the past. The space grey exterior encompasses both the aluminum enclosure and front panel mesh. Features include Thunderbolt 3 technology with two ports supporting USB Power Delivery at 9V 3A for 27 Watts.

Read full article @ TweakTown

AMD Ryzen 7 2700X/2700 and Ryzen 5 2600X/2600 benchmarks leak out

AMD Ryzen 2000 series are roughly a month away. From AMD Ryzen 7 2700X to Ryzen 5 2600 Multiple leaks have appeared over the course of this week at various benchmarking databases. More importantly, though, they align with the slide deck leak from last week, meaning that the specs we are aware of are most likely correct.

Read full article @ VideoCardz.com

Attack on Titan 2 Review

The smash hit anime, Attack on Titan, gets another fun adaption based on on the violent second season. Join the Cadets of the 104th as they keep the human race becoming Titan food.

You play a member of the 104th Cadets. A class of rookies soldiers trained to take on humanity’s ultimate foe, creepy naked giants with an unending hunger, Titans. Attack on Titan 2 runs more or less adjacent to Season 2 of the popular anime. As a player created soldier, you’ll essentially be Forrest Gump through some of the crucial events of the TV show standing in the background and occasionally chiming in with some dialogue options that may increase your relationship status with a lot of the key players.

Read full article @ Wccftech

Attack on Titan 2 Xbox One Review

Attack on Titan 2 is a third-person action game which places you in the shoes of a young solider fighting gigantic human-like creatures. The premise of the title is simple, but the lore behind it is complex and mysterious. Over a hundred years before the beginning of the story, giant creatures called "Titans" suddenly appeared and nearly exterminated humanity. Despite the fact that these monsters were sustained by light, they still went around devouring people without any remorse.

Read full article @ Windows Central

Azio Retro Classic Keyboard Review

Every once in a while we are presented with the opportunity to experience something above and beyond normal, opulence takes over adding materials and features that may not be needed, but let something stand out from the crowd.

Well that was a bit deep, but a deserving introduction to the ridiculously luxurious Azio Retro range of keyboards, one of which I have the pleasure of reviewing.

I have not previously been aware of Azio, a company started in 2009 out of California dealing in only a few peripherals, however they do seem to focus on design and elegance along with some more outrageous products.

Read full article @ Play3r

Crucial MX300 M.2 525 GB Review

With just $140 for the 525 GB version, the Crucial MX300 is one of the most affordable M.2 drives out there. Instead of NVMe it uses the slower SATA interface though. Our review will take a closer look at how much difference that really makes and whether the MX300 M.2 is a good alternative to 2.5" SATA drives.

Today, we are reviewing the Crucial MX300 SSD 525 GB in its M.2 variant. According to Crucial, the MX300 M.2 should be identical to the SATA version in terms of performance, because it uses the SATA interface too. This is in contrast to high-end M.2 NVMe SSDs which use NVMe over PCIe. Being SATA, the same performance constraints as with 2.5 inch SATA apply, ie, the storage interface can not exceed around 500 MB/s in speed. Just like the other MX300 variants, this drive is built using Micron 3D TLC NAND, which is paired with a 4-channel 88SS1074 controller from Marvell.

In order to boost TLC chip performance to make up for the ground lost over MLC, Crucial designates a small, variably sized amount of memory as SLC cache, which writes a single bit to each TLC cell instead of three. While much faster, such a setup is basically a speed vs. size tradeoff. In terms of technology, the SLC cache is identical to that of the MX200 (not BX200).

Read full article @ TechPowerUp

Galaxy S9+ Review

The Snapdragon 845, fingerprint reader, and camera all get tweaks.

Believe it or not, the high-end Android smartphone market isn't super competitive. LG's mobile unit is regularly the company's worst-performing division, so much so that the company is backing away from a yearly release cycle and delaying its flagship smartphone. HTC's January 2018 was the company's worst month in over a decade—until even worse numbers were reported in February. Google makes the all-around best Android phone, but it is either uninterested in creating or unable to create a competitive distribution and marketing chain, leaving many people unable to buy the phone.

Read full article @ ArsTechnica

Intel is redesigning its processors to guard against Spectre

Intel announced today that it is redesigning its upcoming processors to protect against the recently disclosed Spectre flaw at the hardware level. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich says in a new post that the Meltdown vulnerability will continue to be addressed by software updates, but the Spectre vulnerabilities will be mitigated by implementing partitioning in its next-generation Xeon processors and its eighth-generation Core processors due later this year.

Read full article @ Windows Central

Intel’s six-Core i9-8950HK, i7-8850H, i7-8750H Cinebench score leaked

Intel's high-end mobile processors are just around the corner. Here are the first benchmarks of upcoming Coffee Lake H series. Coffee Lake H The first 6-core gaming laptops are almost ready for launch. The introduction of unlocked Core i9 processors is surely an interesting development in a mobile market. So far only barebone notebooks were capable of supporting desktop CPUs unlocked for overclocking.

Read full article @ VideoCardz.com

LG V30S ThinQ vs LG V30

Is LG’s new, but not that new, flagship phone worth the investment? We compare it to last year’s almost-identical V30.

There’s nothing wrong with iterative upgrades to smartphones, especially to ones we like as much as the LG V30. But to say that the jump from last year’s flagship, which was one of 2017’s best Android phones, to the LG V30S ThinQ is an iteration on the hit formula is quite the overstatement. Barring startlingly few differences, it’s the same phone with a worse name.

Either way, we’re taking a close look at the LG V30S Plus ThinQ (the 256GB variant) to see if it’s worth your attention over the still-competent LG V30, which will likely drop in price as a result of the new phone’s release around the globe.

Read full article @ TechRadar

Logitech G560 RGB PC Gaming Speakers Review

Switzerland-based Logitech has been producing speakers for the computer market for decades, with models ranging from budget desktop stereo speakers all the way up to multi-channel surround sound offerings designed to shake pictures off of the walls. Given their popularity and position in the industry, the chances of you or somebody you know having owned a set of Logitech speakers are pretty good. Today, we are looking at a new 2.1 speaker offering from the Logitech Gaming Division, or as it is branded, Logitech G. The Logitech G560 RGB PC Gaming Speakers are a set of stylized 2.1 speakers designed for the PC gaming market and these new speakers have some tricks up their sleeve like Bluetooth compatibility, on-speaker controls and get this, multiple RGB lighting zones powered by Logitech’s newly introduced LightSync software.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

Microsoft Surface Book 2 and Surface Laptop Revealed

Microsoft just made available the entire range of Microsoft Surface devices! Let's check out their presentations, and our very own video tour of the two new *Surface Book 2* models, and the *Surface Laptop*!

Read full article @ Tech ARP

MSI Optix MPG27CQ Review

RGB on a monitor? But of course. MSI is a name whose absence has been conspicuous in the gaming monitor market. Others, notably Asus, have muscled in on this lucrative territory with a range of premium models accommodating stylish designs, both forms of adaptive sync technology, and high refresh rates.

Not to be outdone, MSI, in recent months, has begun shipping its own range of gaming monitors under the Optix line. Today's review model is arguably the most interesting of the lot, fitting in a gaming-friendly 2,560x1,440 resolution, 144Hz maximum refresh rate, 1ms response time, a gentle curve, purportedly excellent colour gamut reproduction, FreeSync compatibility and RGB to boot. Yup, RGB. Quite a list of accomplishments, so let's take a closer look at the Optix MPG27CQ.

Read full article @ Hexus

MSI Vortex G25 (W/ i7-8700 & GTX 1070)  Review

We’re seeing more adventurous machines emerging from big-brand firms these days – and the MSI Vortex G25 is one of the best that’s appeared in recent months. It’s one of the smallest systems we’ve ever seen and, despite that, it crams in an Intel Core i7 processor and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card.

Read full article @ KitGuru

Noctua Chromax Review

Let's be honest, both some of the best heatsinks and fans are Noctua’s, especially when you are looking for low noise output. The problem is they have been very stuck on their brown and tan color scheme. The benefit is that when you see them you know exactly what it is and you know it is a quality product. They ignored the clear and glowing transparent fan fad that came and went but with cases and other hardware sticking with black they resisted changing to it. A few years ago they did bring out their Industrial PPC fans that were black but they were much more expensive and even though they are great fans a lot of people have looked other directions when swapping out their fans. Well a while back Noctua expanded their Chromax lineup with a new line of fans, new cables, and covers for most of their heatsinks that help give people color options for trim and finally fans and coolers that won’t stand out like a sore thumb while still giving people Noctua quality. I’ve had them in the office for a while and as I work on catching up I just recently got a chance to play with them when a build I put together just wasn’t going with the Noctua cooler that I put in it.

Read full article @ LanOC Reviews

Razer Mamba HyperFlux + Firefly HyperFlux Review

Today we look at their introductory model into an almost-undoubtedly evolving sub-sector, the Mamba HyperFlux and Firefly HyperFlux in a single bundle, first introduced at this year's Consumer Electronics Show. Razer's Mamba gaming mouse has pedigree, making it the ideal recipient of the HyperFlux treatment, as is the Firefly mouse mat, with the obligatory RGB lighting.

Read full article @ Vortez

ROCCAT Khan AIMO RGB 7.1 Gaming Headset Review

Not long ago I brought you my views on the ROCCAT Kone AIMO mouse, well today I expand on that set of peripherals with ROCCAT’s Khan AIMO RGB headset which features 7.1 surround sound in addition to the same intelligent reactive lighting – it would hardly be part of the set without that after all. Of course, it takes a lot more than pretty, sparkling lights to make a headset any good especially considering that you won’t actually see the lighting when it’s in use, so join me as I delve deeper and discover if this lightweight headset is a lightweight (you’ll get that joke later). First though, in time-honoured tradition, the specifications as found on ROCCAT’s product page.

Read full article @ Play3r

Surviving Mars Review

Surviving Mars from Haemimont Games is a true triumph, and represents a game I've been yearning for for years.

My hopes were high for this game, and the studio not only smashed my expectations, I found myself in awe at the beauty and complexity they have managed to cram into this aggressively addictive simulation game.

Whether you're playing on Xbox One or PC, fans of city builders absolutely cannot afford to miss this game.

Read full article @ Windows Central

The state of Android security

Google has released its annual report on Android security and the message is clear: The devices running the latest version of Android are among the safest you can buy. Through a combination of features such as Google Play Protect and Instant Apps, the bug bounty program, and machine learning, Google says Android 8 “has achieved a strength of protection that now leads the industry.”That’s great news if you’re using a Pixel or have a Galaxy S9 on the way. But if you have one of the millions of phones that will never receive an Oreo update, the biggest issue with Android security is one that’s plagued the platform for a while: fragmentation. At last count, just 1 percent of Android users were running Oreo on their phones, compared to nearly 28 percent each on Nougat and Marshmallow. That means nearly 99 percent of Android phones aren’t as secure as they could be. But Google’s trying to change that narrative.

Read full article @ PC World

TP-Link Archer C5400 Review

Now that with wave 2 the perfection of the 802.11ac standard is in sight and its successor 802.11ax is in the pipeline, we can give a good picture of the limits of current technology. Today we look at the TP-Link Archer C5400 router, the current top-of-the-line model from the Chinese network manufacturer.

TP-Link's formula for the router market is well known: offering a lot of hardware at the lowest possible price. This concept has been proven several times, with the Deco M5 set and the Archer C3150 as recent examples. These were certainly not products of mediocre performance, and they kept the competition on their toes. It is high time we look at the execution of TP-Link's formula for their top model - in anticipation of the gaming version to be released later, the Archer C5400X. To what extent is this model a lot of bang for your buck? How does the device hold up to specifications of similar devices from competitors, and what are the differences with models that have a more modest price and/or hardware configuration? These are questions that we are going to answer.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Ubuntu 18.04 Versus Six Other Linux Distributions On AMD EPYC

With Ubuntu 18.04 LTS set to be released next month and its final package configuration quickly falling into place, we have begun firing up some benchmarks for seeing how this Ubuntu 18.04 "Bionic Beaver" release is comparing to various other Linux distributions. Up first as part of this series of benchmarks is using an AMD EPYC workstation/server for seeing how the Ubuntu 18.04 LTS performance compares to six other Linux distributions.

This latest Linux distribution benchmarking roundabout on Phoronix was done with an AMD EPYC 7551 32-core / 64-thread processor with the GIGABYTE MZ31-AR0 motherboard, 8 x 4GB DDR4-2666 ECC Registered Memory, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti (albeit not used as part of today's test selection), ASpeed display hardware from the Gigabyte EPYC server motherboard, and 500GB Samsung 960 EVO NVMe SSD.

Read full article @ Phoronix

Windows 10: Everything you need to know

The next Windows 10 update is always around the corner. Get all the latest info here, including the latest details on Redstone 4, AKA the Spring Creators Update.

Windows 10 is always updating. This article will keep you informed about what’s new and what’s important. Check here for our latest Windows 10 review based on the two major updates scheduled per year, plus the highlights from notable builds in between. We’ll tell you how to get Windows 10 for your PC. Finally, we’ll discuss the major features of Windows 10—including a few you should watch out for. Keep reading for everything you need to know about Windows 10. 

Read full article @ PC World

WiZ Colors Hero Smart Lamp Review

Being PC enthusiasts besides our PC build the other thing that we really take pride in our our PC setup. You know the place where we game, code, and spend quite a lot of time. At the end of last year we showed you our Ultimate Desk Setup and since then we’ve been trying to find cool things to add to this desk setup. Well today we are checking something out that will look pretty awesome on your desk, but you can even use it on a nightstand, coffee table or bookshelf. It is the WiZ Colors Hero Smart Lamp, which offers 16 million different colors, a very impressive app, and Google Home and Amazon Alexa support. Let’s take a look…

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org