Here a roundup of the latest articles, including Best Gaming CPUs For The Money, Canon PIxma MG6320 Review, Acer Iconia Tab W510 Windows 8 Hybrid Tablet Review, Taking an Accurate Look at SSD Write Endurance, and Vantec NexStar NST-D300WS3 WiFi HDD Dock Review



Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: February 2013 @ Tom's Hardware

Six new processors are available since our update last month. In addition, AMD's flagship FX-8350, based on the Piledriver architecture, underwent a significant price reduction. How do these changes affect our recommendations? See for yourself!

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: February 2013 @ Tom's Hardware

Canon PIxma MG6320 Review @ TechReviewSource.com

The Canon Pixma MG6320 is a photo-centered all-in-one printer that does a good job at printing color photos and scanning them too. It is simple to setup and has a forward-thinking design, but it does have costly ink cartridges and slow print speeds.

Canon PIxma MG6320 Review @ TechReviewSource.com

Cooler Master HAF XM Full Tower Chassis Review @ eTeknix

Today we will be looking at the HAF XM Full Tower from Cooler Master, a chassis manufacturer who have proven themselves worthy time after time, but can this chassis live up to the reputation of the rest of the HAF range? The 922, 912 Plus, 932 and many others have already proven popular with system builders and especially case-modders.

While the HAF range maybe popular and have a reputation to uphold here so too does Cooler Master who have already established a large following of fans in the PC building community. Their designs are generally regarded as robust, packed with features and for the most part affordable in terms of price vs performance. While they do have some budget friendly cost effective solutions, Cooler Master are well known for their flagship range of Cosmos chassis such as the Cosmos II and lets not forget the CM Storm range with the ever popular Scout chassis. So it will be interesting to see where in this vast range that the HAF XM fits in.

The HAF XM isn’t exactly a new chassis to the market, it’s been available for some time now, I already know its proven itself popular both with gamers, enthusiast level performance system builds and case modders, so why am I reviewing it you might ask? Well it’s plain and simple, I want to see what all the fuss is about, so let’s get started by taking a closer look at the specifications and then we’ll take a look at the chassis itself.

Cooler Master HAF XM Full Tower Chassis Review @ eTeknix

Razer Ouroboros Ambidextrous Gaming Mouse Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

Recently Razer released their Lamborghini inspired mouse, the Ouroboros. With multiple interchangeable parts, ambidextrous layout, wired and wireless operation, changeable shape and a distinctive design it looks to compete with some impressive gaming mice at the high end of the gaming market.

Razer Ouroboros Ambidextrous Gaming Mouse Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

Razer Deathstalker Ultimate Review @ Techradar

You wait all year for a super-expensive gaming keyboard with touchscreen controls and then two turn up at once. Following hot on the crazy-priced heels of the Mad Catz STRIKE 7 comes this ultra stylish, ultra techie riposte from peripherals guru Razer. Like the STRIKE 7 it comes with a touchscreen interface, but aside from that and the £250 price tag, they are almost entirely different takes on the gaming keyboard.

Razer Deathstalker Ultimate Review @ Techradar

ASUS MX279H Review @ Techradar

As ASUS continues to branch out into the sexier world of phones, tablets and hybrid PCs, there is still a place on computer store shelves the good old stand alone PC monitor. Perhaps aware that this isn't the most desirable vertical it is in, ASUS tries to spruce up the MX279 with splash of design. So much so that its marketing team have dubbed this series 'Designo', like a cape-wearing superhero on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

ASUS MX279H Review @ Techradar

Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 Midi Tower PC Case Review @ NikKTech

The introduction of high quality PC cases with lots of features, spacious interiors and designs to match the above from the top manufacturers such as Lian-Li, Corsair, Cooler Master, Thermaltake and Silverstone is something that all of us more or less expect from companies that have been around the block for many years and pretty much know what consumers want. However what is least expected by everyone is when a brand new manufacturer emerges and manages almost with no delay to design and manufacture a PC Case that can rival those manufactured by the leaders in the field. Nanoxia is not really new since they've been around for quite a few years manufacturing top notch fans and fan controllers but it wasn't until a few months back that they started the design and manufacture of PC cases such as the Deep Silence 1 we reviewed a while back. Well it seems that they are here to stay so after the very successful test run of their Deep Silence 1 Midi Tower PC Case they released the Deep Silence 2.

Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 Midi Tower PC Case Review @ NikKTech

Acer Iconia Tab W510 Windows 8 Hybrid Tablet Review @ HotHardware

Ultra-portable Windows 8 devices range from ultraportable notebooks to touchscreen tablets that feature attachable keyboards. We've seen a number of hybrid ultrabooks as well. So what's the best form factor and hardware combination? Truthfully, it depends on the user and what you're trying to accomplish with the device.

Acer's new Iconia W510 series offers users the portability of a tablet along with the flexibility to use the tablet with an attachable keyboard to provide a notebook experience or the ability to use the machine as a presentation device by rotating its keyboard dock 295 degrees, using it as a stand.

The W510 is powered by an Intel Atom Z2760 processor, 2GB of RAM, and either 32GB or 64GB of solid state storage. It's also important to note that the W510 runs a full version of Windows-not Windows RT, so you'll have the ability to run all of your favorite X86 software and apps with this system.

In this review, we'll take a closer look at the high-end model in the Acer Iconia W510 line, the W510-1422.

Acer Iconia Tab W510 Windows 8 Hybrid Tablet Review @ HotHardware

JDSLabs O2+ODAC DAC & Headphone Amplifier @ techPowerUp

JDSLabs's O2+ODAC combination combines two designs by NwAvGuy with excellent build quality and a sturdy enclosure. The O2+ODAC sells at just $285 which, performance considered, is a bargain. We test whether this amplifier and DAC combination is really the giant slayer it is made out to be!

JDSLabs O2+ODAC DAC & Headphone Amplifier @ techPowerUp

In Win GT1 Case Review @ Hardware Secrets

The GT1 is the latest mid-tower case from In Win, coming with an excellent suggested price (USD 69). Let's see what this case has to offer.

In Win GT1 Case Review @ Hardware Secrets

Western Digital WD TV Play Media Player Review @ Legit Reviews

Western Digital has introduced their newest WD TV media player, the WD TV Play. Designed and built for users who want instant entertainment like movies, television and music, the player has a number of different apps in a customizable GUI. Read on to find out just how well this player does!

Western Digital WD TV Play Media Player Review @ Legit Reviews

X-mini UNO Capsule Speaker Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Sound beyond size, claims the packaging of the X-mini Capsule Speaker. This tiny collapsible speaker pops open with a twist, and a built-in cable jacks into whatever audio device one desires. With the flick of a switch, and a press of Play, sweet tunes fill the air for up to 20 hours. Does the full package deliver? Read on to find out. X-mini was nice enough to hook us up with one of the UNO Capsule Speakers at CES 2012.

X-mini UNO Capsule Speaker Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Taking an Accurate Look at SSD Write Endurance @ PC Perspective

Last year, I posted a rebuttal to a paper describing the future of flash memory as ‘bleak’. The paper went through great (and convoluted) lengths to paint a tragic picture of flash memory endurance moving forward. Yesterday a newer paper hit Slashdot – this one doing just the opposite, and going as far as to assume production flash memory handling up to 1 Million erase cycles. You’d think that since I’m constantly pushing flash memory as a viable, reliable, and super-fast successor to Hard Disks (aka 'Spinning Rust'), that I’d just sit back on this one and let it fly. After all, it helps make my argument! Well, I can’t, because if there are errors published on a topic so important to me, it’s in the interest of journalistic integrity that I must now post an equal and opposite rebuttal to this one – even if it works against my case.

First I’m going to invite you to read through the paper in question. After doing so, I’m now going to pick it apart. Unfortunately I’m crunched for time today, so I’m going to reduce my dissertation into the form of some simple bulleted points

Taking an Accurate Look at SSD Write Endurance @ PC Perspective

Two 2 Bay NAS Review: Synology DiskStation DS213+ and QNAP TS-269 Pro @ Custom PC Review

Nearly a year ago, I reviewed the Synology DiskStation DS212 and at the time I wasn’t very familiar with just how far NAS units have come these days in terms of software and features. Unlike NAS units of the past, NAS units of today are filled to the brim with features and are better considered as servers rather than what their name, Network Attached Storage, implies.

Today, we’ll be reviewing both the Synology DiskStation DS213+ and the QNAP TS-269 Pro 2 bay NAS units. These are small business oriented NAS units, which means they’ll be right at home running web servers and database servers, but they’ll still do the typical NAS activities such as sharing files, and backing up your PC just fine.

Let’s take a look at the hardware for the two units.

Two 2 Bay NAS Review: Synology DiskStation DS213+ and QNAP TS-269 Pro @ Custom PC Review

MSI GTX 670 Twin Frozr Power Edition OC 2GB Graphics Card Review @ eTeknix

Many graphics card vendors have different ranges through which they group cards based on different levels of tweaked performance and for MSI this has mainly resided around the top level Lightning series cards, much like the GTX 680 Lightning that we looked at mid last year in June and the lower entry level HAWK range that offered up value options for the budget user. MSI however have noted that there is a gap to be filled in between these two card ranges and this is where the Power Edition range of cards come into play.

The Power Edition is MSI’s way of offering up a balance between overclocked performance off the shelf and great value for that performance at the same time. This is not to mean that cut backs have been in other areas however. With these cards we still see the same high level of quality that we would with any other card including the feature of MSI’s Twin Frozr cooler and Military Class III components.

The 670 Power Edition comes in a blight blue box with minimal detailing of the card’s features on the front. We do see though that this is an overclocked card and features the Twin Frozr IV cooler as well as an enhanced PWM design and triple overvoltage. Under the front flap we find a whole host of information on the cards features including a dust removal system that spins the two fans in reverse for thirty seconds to expel any dust that may have built up.

MSI GTX 670 Twin Frozr Power Edition OC 2GB Graphics Card Review @ eTeknix

NZXT Respire T40 @ PureOverclock

CPU coolers – we all know what they are and we all use them. Whether it be the stock cooler that came with your CPU or a high-end custom water cooling setup we all have one and we all need one. There are coolers that are cheap and relatively inefficient and there are coolers that are expensive and work exceedingly well. What about the happy medium? What about the best of both – price and performance? Enter NZXT and their Respire line of CPU coolers. They aim to give the best performance for the least amount of cash – but do the coolers meet those expectations? We’ve already looked at their T20 variant and were thoroughly impressed. Now we’ve got their Respire T40 here in the lab today so let’s check it out!

NZXT Respire T40 @ PureOverclock

Vantec NexStar NST-D300WS3 WiFi HDD Dock Review @ Hi Tech Legion

This approach should also be considered in terms of hardware design and sharing data. Wireless connectivity opens up a world of options beyond what wired transfer can provide and not be limited to one connection at a time. Granted, wireless transfer rates are not as fast as wired transfer rates with current available technology but it has reached acceptable levels for high-definition media streaming which is the bulk of what most users expect from wireless storage. Vantec, a well-known name in storage solutions have turned their creative focus in adding WiFi functionality on their product line, namely their NexStar hard drive enclosures.

The Vantec NexStar hard drive WiFi dock fits standard 3.5” or 2.5” drives. The NexStar WiFi dock is capable of high-speed USB 3.0 transfers as well as offering wireless support for 802.11 b/g/n standards with transfer rates of up to 150 Mbit/s. Accessible on iOS or Android devices through the Vantec WiFi App, the NexStar WiFI dock also supports Access Point Internet tethering and WEP/WPA/WPA2 security. Media playback of H.264, mov, mp4, mpv, 3gp, m4v, aac, mp3, m4a, aif, and wave are supported as well as jpeg, png, gif, tif, bmp, and tiff image files. The Vantec NexStar WiFi dock comes with a 1-year limited warranty.

Vantec NexStar NST-D300WS3 WiFi HDD Dock Review @ Hi Tech Legion

Welcome the GTX TITAN. The beast to unseat the best! @ Bjorn3D

Nvidia always seems to have a ace or two up their sleeves when it comes to GPU launches and product planning, but this time it looks like they brought a RPG to a knife fight. The GTX TITAN is here and I am ready to take it for a spin, so read on as I introduce Nvidias newest flagship single GPU!

Welcome the GTX TITAN. The beast to unseat the best! @ Bjorn3D

Mad Catz Strike 5 Review @ Techradar

This then is the Mad Catz STRIKE 5, the inevitable cheaper little brother to the impressively mad STRIKE 7. Well, I say cheaper, but it isn't cheap. It's still hitting the shelves at nearly £200, which is a lot of cash to drop on any gaming peripheral and really only something to think about if you've already bought every single other performance component that could help your rig. After all, you could buy an awesome graphics card for that much cash, and still have change. So what is missing in this cut-down STRIKE? Well, interestingly, I'm not entirely sure that you are missing very much at all.

Mad Catz Strike 5 Review @ Techradar