Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including Can A New GPU Rejuvenate A 5 Year Old Gaming PC?, Asus VG248QE 144hz Gaming Monitor Review, Cinnarch Linux Preview, Confessions of a Retro Gaming Addict, and NZXT Kraken X60 LCS Review



Can A New GPU Rejuvenate A 5 Year Old Gaming PC? @ HotHardware.com

New video card launches from AMD and NVIDIA are almost always reviewed on hardware that's less than 12 months old. That's not an arbitrary decision -- it helps reviewers make certain that GPU performance isn't held back by older CPUs and can be particularly important when evaluating the impact of new interfaces or bus designs. The downside of this policy is that it leaves a gap in product coverage. Gamers with older systems often miss out on whether or not a new graphics card will be a meaningful upgrade for aging systems. That's particularly important as the speed of the desktop replacement cycle has slowed.

Here, we're going to compare the performance impact of upgrading the graphics card on an older system that doesn't have access to any of the substantial performance gains Intel introduced with Nehalem in late 2008. Our upgrade card of choice is an EVGA GeForce GTX 660 SuperClocked with 2GB of RAM

Read more: Can A New GPU Rejuvenate A 5 Year Old Gaming PC? @ HotHardware.com

Asus VG248QE 144hz Gaming Monitor Review @ KitGuru

Today we are looking at the latest 24 inch monitor from ASUS the VG248QE, which sports a 1080p resolution, nVidia 3D Vision support and a 144hz refresh rate for super smooth 3D gaming. We weren't overly impressed with the VG278HE 27 inch 144hz screen when we reviewed it back in October (http://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/zardon/asus-vg278he-27%E2%80%9D-144hz-gaming-monitor-review/) last year so we hope the VG248QE can produce the goods.

Read more: Asus VG248QE 144hz Gaming Monitor Review @ KitGuru

Cinnarch Linux Preview @ LinuxBSDos.com

Cinnarch is a desktop Linux distribution based on Arch Linux and using the Cinnamon as the default and only supported desktop environment. Like Arch, it follows a rolling-release development model, which is an install-once-and-update-forever model that ensures that an installed system will never need to be reinstalled, even when a new version becomes available

Read more: Cinnarch Preview @ LinuxBSDos.com

Roccat Sense High Precision Gaming Mousepad Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Granted, I haven't been using printer paper, but my first foray into a real mousepad was't that long ago. The first true gaming mouse pad I ever used was given to me by my best friend, erad1cate. He purchase an Alienware (Dell) laptop online and it came with a hard plastic “gaming surface”. Since his girlfriend had already purchased him an awesome aluminum gaming surface he decided to give me the Alienware one. Immediately I noticed a difference in my play and comfort. What have I been doing all these years? Living uncomfortably, thats what. Roccat, whose been known for solid input devices, sent us their new Sense High Precision Gaming Mousepad. This budget-friendly surface option is boasted as the solution to all your gaming needs so let's see if it lives up to that bill.

Read more: Roccat Sense High Precision Gaming Mousepad Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Confessions of a Retro Gaming Addict (Inc. Games Room Collection Video) @ HardwareHeaven.com

At Heaven Media, what do we get up to when not covering hardware? One staff member works his way through 3500+ retro games and 100+ consoles one by one...(Including video walkround of the game collection)

Read more: Confessions of a Retro Gaming Addict (Inc. Games Room Collection Video) @ HardwareHeaven.com

EVGA GTX 670 FTW Signature 2 2GB @ techPowerUp

EVGA's new GeForce GTX 670 FTW Signature 2 comes with a brand-new dual-fan cooler which provides a very quiet experience. Performance is also great thanks to an overclock out of the box that matches GTX 680 clock frequencies.

Read more: EVGA GTX 670 FTW Signature 2 2GB @ techPowerUp

Be Quiet! Shadow Rock Topflow Review @ XSReviews

The bundled items include:

The mounting system is one of the most important features of any cooler, we’ve tested quite a collection and the system that comes with the Shadow Rock Topflow is excellent.

Installation is easy, hold the back plate into the rear of your motherboard, put screws through the holes and put little black plastic clips onto the screws to hold them in place. This is possibly one of the best ideas when it comes to mounting a CPU cooler.

Once mounted the cooler is held very tightly and is certainly not going anywhere.

The included thermal paste is the second best in our testing, only .5C behind Prolimatech PX3, excellent!

Read more: Be Quiet! Shadow Rock Topflow Review @ XSReviews

Fractal Design Adjust 108 Fan Controller Review @ Hardware Secrets

Today we are reviewing the Fractal Design Adjust 108 fan controller, which has six channels, each one controlling one fan up to 36 W.

Read more: Fractal Design Adjust 108 Fan Controller Review @ Hardware Secrets

Asus VivoBook S400CA Review @ TechReviewSource.com

The Asus VivoBook S400CA is a Windows 8 touch screen ultraportable laptop that offers a strong feature set and solid performance all without a high price. It does lack in battery life and overall display quality, but for the money, it is still a good value.

Read more: Asus VivoBook S400CA Review @ TechReviewSource.com

Antec Kühler H2O 620 v4 @ Rbmods

Liquid coolers have become more and more popular these days. There are many manufacturers who sell service free liquid cooling systems and DIY setups are becoming obsolete. Today we will take a look at Antec’s newest water cooling setup called H2O 620 V4. Let’s see how well it performs.

Read more: Antec Kühler H2O 620 v4 @ Rbmods

NZXT Kraken X60 LCS Review @ Guru3D

Today we test the Kraken X60, see NZXT recently unleashed the Kraken X60 liquid cooler and we just had to review this mythological beast.

Now then, first a history lesson. I'm sure you've all seen Pirates of the Caribbean, HAR! The name Kraken derives from the Norse from Draken, sea-dragons. The Kraken is a mythical sea monster that attacked ships out in its territory. Different myths have different Kraken theory but all are similar. Some believe Kraken was the world's largest squid, others said he was brother of the Loch Ness, Kraken has also been known to be a whale, a monster with horns (in Rampart) and even a dinosaur-type lizard. The Kraken was supposed to have very large tentacles, which could seize even the largest ships. Like the Midgard serpent in the Norse myths, the Kraken was supposed to rise to the surface at the end of the world.

With that explaination and liquid cooling in mind, please have a peek at the photo at the lower part of this page

Read more: NZXT Kraken X60 LCS Review @ Guru3D

News: Local game streaming: Coming soon from the PC @ The Tech Report

In his latest blog post, TR's Geoff Gasior discusses Nvidia's Project Shield and how PCs can become home gaming hubs capable of serving multiple clients.

Read more: News: Local game streaming: Coming soon from the PC

Cougar GX-S 600W @ PureOverclock

While premium kilowatt power supplies may garner much of the attention and buzz in the marketplace, it is the more affordable, mid-range units that quietly bring in the profits. After all, most consumers aren’t well-heeled enough to consistently spend hundreds of dollars on components for a system that can cost thousands. You don’t really need the most leet gaming rig out there to play Call of Duty, let’s face it.

We’ve also noted a general trend for improved power efficiency, to offer better power supplies to consumers that are more frugal, saving money and better for the environment at the same time. 80PLUS Bronze used to the be the standard, but that’s now the minimum we can expect from modern power supplies. 80PLUS Gold is certainly preferred, but we don’t want to spend a fortune in the process. And that’s where the Cougar GX-S 600W might offer a solution.

Read more: Cougar GX-S 600W @ PureOverclock

Corsair H60 (2013 Edition) CPU Cooler Review @ Hi Tech Legion

Although pricey and lagged behind in terms of performance compared to popular air-cooled heatsinks when they were first introduced, all-in-one liquid cooling kits have eventually caught up after a few years of trial-and-error in terms of design. As one of the leading brands in the market, Corsair has a healthy stable of self-contained CPU liquid cooling kits dubbed the “Hydro series” which target various price points. They have been updating their older designs in response to consumer feedback and the latest to receive a refresh is their entry level high-performance unit called the H60.

Read more: Corsair H60 (2013 Edition) CPU Cooler Review @ Hi Tech Legion

Phanteks PH-TC12DX Review @ OCC

Under load at both stock and overclocked settings, the Phanteks PH-TC12DX kept the Core i7 2600K processor marginally cooler than Sapphire's latest creation, the Vapor-X Universal CPU cooler and our case test cooler the Noctua NH-U12P SE. It does so with a design that is dimensionally similar to the other two coolers. This brings to light the use of its proprietary P.A.T.S. (Physical Antioxidant Thermal Shield) and C.P.S.C (Cold Plasma Spraying Coating Technology) technologies as the point of difference.

Read more: Phanteks PH-TC12DX Review @ OCC

Epson Expression Premium XP-605 Review @ Techradar

Epson's new Expression Premium XP-605 multifunction USB and Wi-Fi printer is around 40% smaller than previous models, but not at the cost of features. For printing from mobile devices and over the internet, it's AirPrint, Google Cloud Print and Epson Connect compatible. It has automatic Duplex and PictBridge, reads all popular memory card formats and prints directly onto CDs and DVDs. Its twin paper trays open from the front of the printer.

Read more: Epson Expression Premium XP-605 Review @ Techradar