Here a roundup of todays reviews and articles:

Akasa Max S Passive Cooled Max S NUC Chassis Review
Anno 2205: PC graphics performance benchmark review
Aootek Foldable LED Desk Lamp Review
Asus MG278Q 27-inch QHD FreeSync Gaming Monitor Review
Fedora 23 Workstation review - Decent
MyDigitalSSD BP5e Slim 7 Series SSD Review (960GB) – Unequaled Value with TLC
OCZ Trion 100 480GB SSD Review
Razer Mamba 16,000 DPI Gaming Mouse Review
Thinksound rain2 High Definition In-Ear Headphones Review

Akasa Max S Passive Cooled Max S NUC Chassis Review

We’re back once again with another entry in the NUC chassis series from Akasa, but this one, like the others we’ve previously seen has a neat trick at its disposal that makes it stand out from the crowd. The Akasa MAX MT and the Plato X both won awards from us recently and for good reason too, they’re both exceptional products full of innovative and practical features, so we’re hoping to see a similar performance from the Max S.

Equipped with support for many great NUC motherboards, the Max S comes will a passive cooling design, support for slim and slot loading ODD drives and more, making it a versatile unit for digital advertising, multimedia systems and even desktop use.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Anno 2205: PC graphics performance benchmark review

Today we review Anno 2205 in relation towards PC gaming graphics card performance. Many graphics cards are being tested and benchmarked. We have a look at performance with the newest graphics cards and technologies. We'll also look at frame-times, graphics memory and a thing or two more. We test with the latest game patch and for AMD Radeon Software Crimson 15.12 driver and for Nvidia their 359.06 GeForce driver.

Yeah I know .. I know ... we're a little late with the performance review. So for a month now I have been wondering, should or shouldn't I test Anno 2205. It is a Ubisoft title and in the past we've had horrendous DRM issues with their games. So I figured it would be best to wait a couple of weeks. Await and passing the initial game patches and game release start issues. Surprisingly, there have been very little negative sounds coming with the game release and as such this weekend I decided to purchase Anno 2205 and give it a go as RTS (real time strategy) games are my thing gaming wise, and very few good titles are released these days.

Read full article @ Guru3D

Aootek Foldable LED Desk Lamp Review

Up for review today I’ve got another LED desk lamp but this one is very much different than the others I’ve looked at as it’s foldable and rechargeable and it has a built-in clock, alarm clock and calendar. The Aootek foldable LED lamp is one of my favorites so far as it’s really useful because of the clock and calendar function and it’s very well made of metal and plastic. Read on to learn more…

Read full article @ Technogog

Asus MG278Q 27-inch QHD FreeSync Gaming Monitor Review

Recently we checked out Asus' MG279Q, a stunning-looking 27-inch IPS gaming monitor with FreeSync, 144Hz and a premium price. Today we're reviewing a cheaper alternative -- the TN-based MG278Q.

Read full article @ Toms Hardware

Fedora 23 Workstation review - Decent

More distro fun: Here's an ultra-long, thorough review of Fedora 23 Workstation with the Gnome desktop environment, tested in a dual-boot configuration on a laptop with Nvidia graphics, covering live session, installation and post-install use and customization, including look & feel, network connectivity - Wireless, Bluetooth, Samba sharing and printing, partitioning, package management, updates, extra repos and software, tweaking tools, webcam, smartphone support - iPhone, Windows Phone, Ubuntu Phone, multimedia support - HD video, Flash, MP3 playback, overall hardware support, suspend & resume, resource usage, performance, responsiveness, stability, battery life, problems with Nautilus functionality, SELinux false positives, no Nvidia drivers, some other niggles and issues, and more. Bon appetit.

Read full article @ Dedoimedo

MyDigitalSSD BP5e Slim 7 Series SSD Review (960GB) – Unequaled Value with TLC

The competition between value based SSDs is getting ever more fierce this holiday season. Comparing back to just a few weeks ago we see most manufacturers offering great prices to entice more sales before year’s end. Building upon this steam is MyDigitalSSD with their latest model, the BP5e Slim 7 Series (http://thessdreview.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3d9b6193ffd32dd60e84fc74b&id=823c0f7ca6&e=312ec141fb) . BP5e stands for Bullet Proof 5 Eco, which is the latest variant of their Bullet Proof SSD products. We reviewed its predecessor, the BP4, back in 2013 (http://thessdreview.us7.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=3d9b6193ffd32dd60e84fc74b&id=792add274b&e=312ec141fb) , so it has been quite a while since we’ve seen one of their 2.5″ SATA SSDs. The BP5e Slim 7 Series is a new SSD developed to deliver, as MyDigitalSSD states, an unequaled price to performance ratio.

Read full article @ The SSD Review

OCZ Trion 100 480GB SSD Review

TLC NAND, even with its lower performance, is setting the baseline for the next breed of affordable SSDs so now we will be able to look a step further at 480GB capacities which were never chosen before by the mainstream segment of buyers. Thanks to the pseudo-SLC cache Trion 100 employs, which varies in size depending on the total storage capacity of the drive, regular users which use the drive for activities which do not require sustained writes of large files will not get to see a big difference between this SSD model and other, higher priced MLC variants because they will mostly work with the included cache.

Read full article @ Madshrimps

Razer Mamba 16,000 DPI Gaming Mouse Review

Razer, one of the biggest and most recognisable gaming brands on the market, are back once again with their latest version of the popular Mamba mouse. The Mamba comes equipped with a range of extreme features that are said to put it far above the competition, making it ideal for competitive gaming, but also just as versatile for day-to-day at home use and work.

“Boasting the world’s most precise 16,000 DPI gaming mouse sensor, the Razer Mamba provides you with unsurpassable accuracy, so you’ll have an even greater edge over your competition. With its ability to track 1 DPI increments and a lift-off cut-off distance as precise as 0.1 mm, the Razer Mamba helps you to react instantly while you skillfully maneuver your way to victory.”

The 16,000 DPI sensor is going to provide some interesting benefits for gaming, as you’ll be able to swap DPI and quickly navigate even the largest RTS/MOBA maps with extreme precision. Being able to tune in your own DPI settings in 1DPI increments is also pretty special, as it frees you from the constraints of some mice, which only allow you to pick various levels, such as 200/400/800/1600/etc. Not content with a fully customizable sensor, the mouse buttons can also be tuned using an included tool, allowing you to pick from a lighter response, or a more distinctive click, and everything in-between.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Thinksound rain2 High Definition In-Ear Headphones Review

Whenever i have to go someplace without my car whether that's on foot or by using public transportation i always carry a set of earphones with me since listening to music both relaxes me and tends to make time pass by faster. Through the years I’ve tried using a few compact headphone sets but no matter how small in the end they just can't compete with a good set of earphones, at least not in terms of comfort. Unfortunately compared to even just a decade ago earphones have changed quite a bit and so nowadays people need to go through an endless number of models from a large number of manufacturers and with various features (regular earphones, earphones designed for running and sports, rugged earphones, surround earphones, etc.) in order to find the right one for them (at least the really demanding consumers do). Today we will be looking at one of the latest earphone sets to hit the market the rain2 by our friends over at Thinksound.

Thinksound was founded by Aaron Fournier and Mike Tunney, who met while working for Tivoli Audio. At Tivoli Audio, Aaron was an audio engineer, and Mike was the creative director. The duo then collaborated on the launch of Sapphire Audio, where Aaron had the opportunity to work with industry legend Cary Christie (cofounder of Infinity and founder of Artison). Following that, Aaron was a Project Leader at Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports Magazine. His experience in reviewing and testing audio equipment is vital to the strict quality control process at thinksound. After serving as Director of Engineering and Chief Sound Engineer at V-MODA, where he voiced and helped design some of the best-selling headphones on the market, Aaron re-teamed with Mike and began developing what would eventually become the first two products offered by thinksound, rain and ts01 in-ear headphones. With the firm belief that our products should be designed and manufactured responsibly, without sacrificing quality or price, thinksound was launched. Clear sound with a clearer conscience is what we believe in.

Although i never had the chance to get my hands on the original rain earphones according to Thinksound the rain2 features upgraded acoustics for more accurate sound reproduction. The strange part is that although the original rain earphones used 9mm high-definition drivers featuring a frequency response of 20Hz–20kHz with 96dB sensitivity and 16Ohm impedance the smaller 8mm ones used in the rain2 feature a wider frequency response of 18Hz–20kHz with 96dB sensitivity and 16Ohm impedance. However almost everything else remains the same since both the rain and the rain2 feature wooden housings, passive noise-cancellation, Kevlar-reinforced tangle-resistant 1.2m long cables, gold plated 3.5mm and support for Comply foam tips. Since we don't have the original rain in our hands a direct comparison is not really possible but that aside we can still check and see just how good the rain2 are in general.

Read full article @ NikKTech