Here a roundup of the latest reviews and articles:

ASRock E3V5 WS (Intel C232) Super Alloy Motherboard Review
Corsair Carbide SPEC-ALPHA Review
G.Skill Ripjaws V F4-2400C15D-32GVR 2x16GB DDR4 RAM Review
Gladiator Computers BATTALION 800 Gaming PC Review
NVIDIA VR performance featuring ASUS
Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim 1TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive Review
Silverstone Raven RVX01 Case Review
Turtle Beach Impact 700 Mechanical Keyboard Review: The Sweet Spot?
Windows 10 & GWX Control Panel

ASRock E3V5 WS (Intel C232) Super Alloy Motherboard Review

The ASRock E5V5 WS uses an LGA 1151 socket and the board is compatible with both E3-1200 v5 processors such as the one I’ll be using later on in this review, but it also supports normal 6th Generation Intel Core processors – so basically the entire Skylake and Skylake-S line-up. As backbone behind the CPU that you end up using is the Intel C232 chipset that is perfectly tuned for workstation environments and a motherboard like this. Memory wise you can use normal DDR4 DIMMs as well as ECC UDIMM memory modules with a speed of up to 2133 MHz in the four DIMM slots with 15μ gold contacts for a total of up to 64GB RAM.

The gold contacts in the memory slots aren’t the only quality feature in this motherboard. The E3V5 WS motherboard is part of ASRock’s Super Alloy series and comes with premium 50A power chokes and is made of a high-density glass fabric PCB. It also features ASRock’s full spike protection that protects from sudden surges, lightning, and electrostatic discharges (ESD).

The network connection isn’t controlled by the average low-performance controller either and we find an Intel PHY i219LM controller on this motherboard. The Gigabit Ethernet controller supports Wake-On-LAN, supports 802.3az energy efficient ethernet and PXE. The Ethernet controller is one of the parts that is protected by the Full Spike Protection. The second part with protection is the USB. The ASRock E35 WS features two USB 2.0 ports and four USB 3.0 ports on the rear panel and you can connect another four USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports via headers. All of these are protected by the ASRock Full Spike Protection. The audio is also protected by this and we find a 7.1 channel HD Audio controller, the Realtek ALC892. It features Blu-ray audio support and uses ELNA solid audio capacitors. Last but not least, you also find legacy PS2 connectors for both your mouse and keyboard.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Corsair Carbide SPEC-ALPHA Review

Corsair’s SPEC lineup within the Carbide Series has been a popular set of computer chassis which tend to lean towards the gamer who wants an affordable enclosure while still receiving a good balance of features and build quality. Back in 2014 we reviewed the SPEC-01 and were mightily impressed by the budget conscious offering to which Corsair presented and today we’re to look at their latest addition to this series and range with the SPEC-ALPHA.

The SPEC-ALPHA first made its appearance at CES 2016 earlier in the year and it attracted lots of attention with its funky and bold styling. SPEC-ALPHA is a mid-tower chassis and is really designed for gamers who want to make an impact – the case has a large Perspex window, a trio of cooling fans (which also include LED lighting) and plenty of space for high-end systems.

Read full article @ Vortez

G.Skill Ripjaws V F4-2400C15D-32GVR 2x16GB DDR4 RAM Review

When I first built a computer, I asked Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Kwan what size of motherboard I should be going for. As this would be for my daily driver, and initially my test machine, he suggested I get a standard ATX. This would mean better options for expansion ports, while also providing more I/O such as USB ports. In addition, having the capability to SLI or CrossFire was something I was interested in, although I have yet to use more than one GPU at a time. Even though it is denoted as the standard size, the motherboard seemed relatively big to me. The desktop I used right before this, a Dell Inspiron 530, was an OEM build and it used a smaller micro ATX board. When I received today's review unit of the Gigabyte GA-Z170N-Gaming 5, I opened it up, and its size, or lack thereof, shocked me. I had never held such a small motherboard before. My first reaction was, "Oh my goodness, this is cute!" I realized I was probably one of the few people to call a motherboard, or any sort of PC component, cute. I told the Editor-in-Chief, and he mocked me for it. After seeing all these sizes, I truly have to wonder if the name motherboard is correct in denoting the sizes. Rather, I think the ATX is more of a "father"-board. Meanwhile, the mATX is a "mother"-board, which is probably what the "m" in mATX stands for, haha. So, by the same logic, the mITX could be called a "baby"-board. In all seriousness, however, the Gigabyte GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 is one tiny board, and yet it is marked under Gigabyte's gaming lineup. Therefore I will ask: What makes this tiny motherboard a "gaming" motherboard? Can this David-sized board keep up with the Goliath challenges ahead? Read on to find out!

Read full article @ APH Networks

Gladiator Computers BATTALION 800 Gaming PC Review

Gladiator Computers is the name given to Aria’s custom PC division and provides consumers with a wide range of options to suit various budgets. Just in case you’re unfamiliar with Aria, they’re one of the leading PC hardware stores and have an excellent reputation among customers. Currently, the company’s TrustPilot rating is scored at nine out of ten which evokes a sense of confidence when investing in a pre-configured PC. Of course, you can customize each model and select between various cases, memory configurations, CPU coolers and lots more! As a result, it’s incredibly easy to make savings on various components if you’re not overly concerned about colour coordination. On the other hand, consumers who demand a visually appealing system can add LED lighting or other extravagant extras.

Today, we’re taking a detailed look at the BATTALION 800 featuring an Intel i5-6500 processor, 16GB DDR4 2133MHz memory, Gigabyte Z170-Gaming K3 motherboard, 120GB Samsung 850 Evo boot drive and the Zotac GTX 970 Gaming Edition graphics card. Furthermore, Gladiator Computers have employed a very reputable air cooler to find a great balance between thermal dissipation and noise output. There’s also a quality non-modular power supply with an efficiency rating of 80+ White. I’m interested to see how this will impact on cable management especially given the budget chassis in the basic bundle. Priced at £889.99, the system is targeted towards mainstream consumers utilizing a single 1920×1080 display. Let’s see how it performs compared to other machines sporting a similar specification.

Read full article @ eTeknix

NVIDIA VR performance featuring ASUS

Despite a few supply issues, the past two weeks have seen the commercial launch of two high-end virtual reality headsets from Oculus VR and HTC/Valve, so understandably there’s a lot of buzz about the topic. Part of that buzz is whether you have a system that is capable of powering a VR set up, which requires quite a hefty PC.

Read full article @ KitGuru

Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim 1TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive Review

If you place size over available capacity the latest Backup Plus Ultra Slim portable hard drive by Seagate with a thickness of just 9.6mm is the one to go for.

Read full article @ NikKTech

Silverstone Raven RVX01 Case Review

When Silverstone released the Raven 5 they set out to accomplish two things. To bring back the 90 degree rotated motherboard layout that helped to define the Raven series and to further shrink the footprint of the chassis. They succeeded with both and while the RV05 was covered in decorative plastic panels it was an extremely compact with the same great cooling we have come to expect from the Silverstone Raven Series.

In this review I will be looking at a case from the new Raven X subcategory the Silverstone Raven RVX01. This case retains the essence of what made the original Raven series appealing such as signature aggressive styling and 90 degree rotated layout, but also cater to enthusiasts looking for more exciting designs in an entry-level price point.

Read full article @ Hardware Asylum

Turtle Beach Impact 700 Mechanical Keyboard Review: The Sweet Spot?

In some ways, for those looking for a fully-featured and fun--but not too fun--mechanical keyboard, the Impact 700 may be the sweet spot.

Read full article @ Toms Hardware

Windows 10 & GWX Control Panel

May you find joy in this short guide showing how to disable the KB3035583 GWX update offering free upgrades to Windows 10 using a program called GWX Control Panel, some additional reading and tips, and more. Bonjour!

Read full article @ Dedoimedo