Here a roundup of the latest reviews and articles:

AMD Ryzen 5 2500U spotted, new APU rocks Vega GPU tech
ASUS GeForce GTX 1060 Dual 3G: Mid-Range On The Cheap
ASUS ROG Pugio Review
AZIO Retro Classic
Bad Taste Attack Brings Windows Malware to Linux (Theoretically)
Blind Test - RX Vega FreeSync vs. GTX 1080 TI G-Sync
ECS Z270H4-I Review
Fnatic Gear RUSH G1 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review
KFA2 GeForce GTX 1080 Ti HOF Review
Plextor M8SeGN 512 GB M.2 NVMe SSD Review
Samsung Galaxy S8 Showdown: Exynos 8895 vs. Snapdragon 835, Performance & Battery Life Tested
SparkyLinux 5: Great All-Purpose Distro for Confident Linux Users
Thermaltake View 31 Tempered Glass Edition Case

AMD Ryzen 5 2500U spotted, new APU rocks Vega GPU tech

AMD seems to be firing on all cylinders right now, with the launch of Ryzen ThreadRipper taking place right next to AMD returning to the high-end graphics card market with Radeon RX Vega.

Read full article @ TweakTown

ASUS GeForce GTX 1060 Dual 3G: Mid-Range On The Cheap

The 8GB of GDDR5 is clocked at 8008MHz on a 192-bit memory bus, while the card requires a single 6-pin PCIe power connector. NVIDIA really hit the mid-range champion spot with the GeForce GTX 1060, and for its price point, you're only going to buy the GTX 1060 for 1080p gaming. I wouldn't recommend a GTX 1060 for 1440p or 4K gaming, but rather the GTX 1070 for anything at 1440p - and really, GTX 1080/GTX 1080 Ti for 1440p @ 100Hz or higher. For mainstream gamers who want to tap some of those massive games like CS:GO, Rocket League, League of Legends or similar, the ASUS GeForce GTX 1060 Dual 3G is a perfect card. 3GB of VRAM is fine for 1080p gaming, and even better for 720p or so (hey, some gamers don't have new 1080p capable LCDs yet).

Read full article @ TweakTown

ASUS ROG Pugio Review

We first saw the ASUS ROG Pugio on the 8th of June at Computex. Promising triple-zone Aura RGB lighting, a 7200DPI PixArt sensor, full-ambidextrous design and swappable OMRON switches, we put the Pugio under the spotlight to find out what it's made of.

Read full article @ Vortez

AZIO Retro Classic

The Retro Classic from AZIO takes the typewriter-inspired MK Retro as a base and builds upon it in every way possible. Be it the thick zinc-aluminum alloy frame with chrome or copper plating options, the genuine leather in two finishes, full keyboard backlighting, and five language options to choose from, this is a luxury product with a price tag to match.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

Bad Taste Attack Brings Windows Malware to Linux (Theoretically)

Windows and Linux are getting along better than ever -- so much so that attackers can now use Windows installation scripts to drop malware onto Linux computers, one researcher has found. Earlier this month, Nils Dagsson Moskopp reported a vulnerability that he named Bad Taste.

Read full article @ The VAR Guy

Blind Test - RX Vega FreeSync vs. GTX 1080 TI G-Sync

AMD came to us a few weeks ago to offer us an "exclusive" that would involve its previewing of the new RX Vega before its official launch that is approaching quickly. HardOCP pioneered experiential gameplay testing in the world of GPU reviews, and what is showcased here today is very much experiential testing. In fact, that is all we are documenting here today is gamers' experiences. AMD explained what it was offering and gave us a timeline in which HardOCP's coverage could be online before similar showcases done at a Hungary event, and at PDXLan last weekend. At these events, AMD allowed attendees to play on an RX Vega FreeSync system and a GTX 1080 (non-TI) G-Sync systems, and after the event AMD announced which system was which.

While I did like the idea overall, I turned down our "exclusive" timeline, as I wanted to take a bit of time and do the gameplay testing a bit differently. Given that Dallas was for a long time the center of the First Person Shooter gaming universe, you do not have to reach out far to find folks that have a lot of experience when it comes to twitch gaming and FPS gaming in general. So instead of taking the exclusive, I took the time to plan and get some of these folks in for gameplay testing. Our list includes a whole host of ESPorts professionals (long before it was called "ESports"), one formerly of id Software, gaming journalists, and a few "kids" that I know are all hardcore computer gamers. I did however leave my own children out of the mix. So we ended up with what I think is a very good group to judge gaming performance. All of our gameplay testers are still active gamers and quite frankly spend a lot of money on new computer hardware.

Read full article @ HardOCP

ECS Z270H4-I Review

Before I poke at ECS, I want to point out that for this motherboard I can point out so many flaws because you will be hard pressed to find a Z270 ITX hovering around $100 that isn't ultra low budget or cheaply made. On top of that, components, marketing, and R&D costs money, and no company can get around this. Those factors have an impact on the final MSRP, which ECS has a very competitive advantage if you are looking for this particular form factor. However, not all is forgiven, as what stands out the most to me is placing the M.2 slot on the back. This in turn makes the feature a throwaway addition that serves little purpose. For starters, not all computer cases are made equally and from reviewing a few dozen and buying just as many of the years, I can tell you the standoffs for the motherboard are never the same. That means you will invariably come across one that has limited clearance. ITX cases tend to keep things very compact and a higher probability of short standoffs, which gives even more reason for concern. But say for the time being that height clearance is not a issue. You will then run into thermal throttling on practically any performance driven NVMe SSD because of lack of airflow on the backside and the inability to place a heat sink on the SSD.

Read full article @ OCC

Fnatic Gear RUSH G1 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

Since Fnatic Gear has had some time developing mice like the Clutch and the Flick, it only makes sense for them to start their journey into keyboards as well. Not just the ordinary keyboards either, ones that are tuned for the gamer, and while using a widely available mechanical switch, delivers a feel found in no other Cherry MX Red switch keyboard we have ever used. Now, this keyboard is not all decked out with fancy RGB LEDs, nor is the software all that involved. What you are about to find here today is a mechanical gaming keyboard which is tuned to the basic needs of all gamers, as not to be a distraction, but to be used as a tool of war to deliver effortless control while playing any game. Fnatic Gear has brought forth the Rush Pro, or Rush G1, keyboards, depending on where you look for the name. This mechanical keyboard may have simple styling, but with some of the features not always found on a gaming keyboard, Fnatic Gear can deliver exactly what is needed, without crossing the line into obscure and unneeded add-ons. Since this is the first attempt to please the masses with a single keyboard, we do think we should cut Fnatic Gear some slack, as what we will compare it to, those companies have had years of development to improve on things. However, the reality is, Fnatic Gear hit the nail on the head with the Rush G1 Silent mechanical gaming keyboard, and we are about to show you why.

Read full article @ TweakTown

KFA2 GeForce GTX 1080 Ti HOF Review

It is time once again to take and test the best that Galax / KFA2 has to offer, their mighty HOF (Hall Of Fame) graphics card, based on that GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. This graphics cards comes 100% customized with factory tweaks, a triple fan and cooler and a very impressive RGB solution with even an LCD display.

Read full article @ Guru3D

Plextor M8SeGN 512 GB M.2 NVMe SSD Review

Today, we test the brand new Plextor M8SeGN 512 GB M.2 NVMe SSD. Who already knows the numerous M.2 reviews on OCinside.de, is familiar with the advantages of a NVMe SSD: high performance! However, the Plextor M8Se without heatsink achieved such a very high temperature, that we recommend purchasing the M8SeY or M8SeG version or at least a M.2 heatsink. The new Plextor NVMe SSD will be available soon. We show today some benchmarks, compare the results with dozens of SSD benchmarks, give some tips about the NVMe installation and show infrared thermal images of the M.2 NVMe SSD.

Read full article @ OCInside.de

Samsung Galaxy S8 Showdown: Exynos 8895 vs. Snapdragon 835, Performance & Battery Life Tested

The Samsung Galaxy S8’s headline features are its edge-to-edge Infinity Display and striking new design. Of course it still comes packed with the latest hardware and technology like previous Galaxy phones, including iris recognition, wireless charging, and a flagship SoC. Actually, there are two different SoCs for the S8 and S8+. Most regions around the world will get Samsungs Exynos 8895, while regions that require a CDMA modem, such as the US and China, will get Qualcomms Snapdragon 835. Both SoCs are built on Samsungs 10nm LPE process and are paired with 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 64GB of UFS NAND.

While no market receives both types of phones through official channels, with the wonders of modern shipping, anyone with a bit of time and patience would have little trouble tracking down the out-of-region version of the phone. Consequently, for the nerdy among us, we simply have to ask: how do these dueling SoCs compare? Which SoC – and consequently which phone – is better?

Today we’ll delve into the performance differences between the Snapdragon 835 and Exynos 8895 to help answer those questions. Well also see how well they work with the Galaxy S8’s other hardware and software when we evaluate its system performance, gaming performance, and battery life.

Read full article @ Anandtech

SparkyLinux 5: Great All-Purpose Distro for Confident Linux Users

When I first reviewed the Game Over edition of SparkyLinux several years ago, I called it one of the best full-service Linux distros catering to game players you could find. That assessment extends to last month's release of the non-gaming edition of this distro. Based on the testing branch of Debian, SparkyLinux 5.0 features customized lightweight desktops.

Read full article @ LinuxInsider

Thermaltake View 31 Tempered Glass Edition Case

Computer case designs have come a long way since the days of the beige box and that is something we talk about quite often on the Hardware Asylum podcast. On that show we often bring up how trends in the case design world tend to change every few years mimicking what system builders and modders are doing in the real world. These days it is all about LED lights and making sure you can show off what is inside your case.

To help make that happen many cases have started coming equipped with LED lighting provisions and new tempered glass side panels that not only open up the entire side panel of a computer case but look great and resist scratches. These scratches are common to the plastic windows we normally see that cannot be easily removed..

In this review I’ll be looking at the Thermaltake View 31 Tempered Glass Edition. This case is wider that most mid tower cases and features tempered glass side panels, both right and left sides, along with a clear plastic front panel. In a way I would call this a converted chassis given that the basic frame is a Core X31. To change the design Thermaltake has replaced the front panel with a shaded plastic unit and replaced the side panels with tempered glass.

Read full article @ Hardware Asylum