Here a roundup of today's hardware reviews, including Corsair Obsidian 750D, SSD Charts 2013: 48 SSDs - Samsung 840 Evo mSATA 250GB, ASUS R9 290X DirectCU II OC Review, ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 Surround Headset Video Review, and, Dell UltraSharp UP2414Q review: 24-inch UHD / 4K monitor



Corsair Obsidian 750D @ techPowerUp

The Obsidian 750D aims to fill the compact full-tower chassis spot in the updated Obsidian family. With the 900D taking the top and the 350D firmly situated in the mid-tower segment, the 750D has a price tag to match its size, but will it be able to deliver everything to warrant the Obsidian name?

Read more: Corsair Obsidian 750D @ techPowerUp

Attitude One Almaz Review @ Vortez

The development of audio fashion was an inevitability and is synonymous with those popular on-ear headphones stylised with a lower case B... Moving on from that, it is an understandable move, where audio products are concerned, to hit that huge market with a stylish and sleek product that has function and value to stand out against competitors.

Attitude One have taken that formula and produced the Almaz headphones. They are available in Orange, Green, White, Blue, Black, Pink, so there is a good selection to pick your favourite from. Aside from coloured glossy plastic, these closed back on-ear headphones are armed with high performance 40mm drivers, supplied with various cables for different situations and are backed by a 2 year warranty.

Read more: Attitude One Almaz Review @ Vortez

CM Storm Ceres 500 Gaming Headset Review @ Modders-Inc

The Ceres 500 easily makes the previously released Ceres 400 look like a toy, not just in aesthetics, but in function as well. The build quality is superior and, in my opinion better than even the CM Storm Sonuz headset.

Read more: CM Storm Ceres 500 Gaming Headset Review @ Modders-Inc

AMD Radeon R7-260 review @ Guru3D

Today we'll review the AMD Radeon R7-260, a budget brother of the 260X. Before we begin, this review is a little shorter and less extensive opposed to what you are used to from us. But due to time constrictions and this card arriving really late this'll have to do as we have a lot of other stuff in the pipeline right now.

The Radeon R7 260 as tested today is fitted with a Curacao Pro core which has cut down specifications with a total of 768 Stream processors, a compute performance of 1.54 TFlops, 1 GB of GDDR5 memory and a low TDP of 95W which will be supplied through a single 6-Pin power connector. Clocks are set at 1.0 GHz for the core while the memory operates at 6.0 GHz effective clock speed aside a 128-bit memory interface. The card is PCI-Express 3.0 compatible. Equipped with AMD’s Graphics Core Next Architecture and providing 2x the performance of similarly priced products 2-4 years ago, the AMD Radeon R7 260 graphics is ready next-generation games being played ona budget. The AMD Radeon R7 260 graphics comes features like AMD TrueAudio Technology is AMD CrossFire compatible as well AMD Eyefinity Technology and AMD ZeroCore Power ready. The card would be an excellent HTPC card, but you can certainly play games with it as well if you stay away from the higher resolutions of course.

Read more: AMD Radeon R7-260 review @ Guru3D

SSD Charts 2013: 48 SSDs - Samsung 840 Evo mSATA 250GB @ ocaholic

The Ceres 500 easily makes the previously released Ceres 400 look like a toy, not just in aesthetics, but in function as well. The build quality is superior and, in my opinion better than even the CM Storm Sonuz headset.

Read more: SSD Charts 2013: 48 SSDs - Samsung 840 Evo mSATA 250GB @ ocaholic

ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets

"The MAXIMUS VI EXTREME is the most high-end motherboard from ASUS for socket LGA1150 processors. It is based on the Z87 chipset and brings 10 SATA-600 ports, eight USB 3.0 ports, a Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac interface, and a Bluetooth 4.0 antenna. But the highlight of this motherboard is the overclock control panel, which can be used to monitor and control overclocking parameters.

Read more: ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets

Ozone Lepton & Neutron Review @ Vortez

For the gamer, there are a set of tools which are essential to guarantee success. One of these items is the humble mouse pad. Pairing up a decent gaming surface with a reliable gaming mouse can help gamers get onto that road to success and today we are looking at two new gaming pad solutions from Ozone Gaming.

In the spotlight today is Lepton and Neutron; Lepton features a firm upper surface whilst Neutron features cloth. Both pads are designed to work well with both optical and laser gaming mice but can these new products take us to gaming stardom?

Read more: Ozone Lepton & Neutron Review @ Vortez

ASUS R9 290X DirectCU II OC Review @ Hardware Canucks

Ever since its release gamers have been anxiously waiting for the R9 290X to receive its usual dose of board partner excitement. Custom cooling solutions and higher out-of-box clock speeds have taken a while to make their way onto the market but they’re finally here and in this review, we take a look at what will likely be one of the most popular examples: the ASUS R9 290X DirectCU II OC. This certainly won’t be the only non-reference R9 290X out there but it does come with ASUS’ long history of success in the custom graphics card field.

The excitement behind this particular “launch” of custom cards hasn’t been completely fueled by the usual suspects of overclocking, a better component selection and more choices. Rather, due to AMD’s PowerTune algorithms curtailing core frequencies while they struggled to balance heat and power consumption, many felt the reference R9 290X was never able to fully reach its potential without reaching insane acoustical levels. That’s exactly what we saw in our launch day review and it continued into retail samples as well.

While the thermal issues with AMD’s latest core have been well publicized, board partners have experienced some extreme challenges when engineering heatsinks for their custom R9 290X cards. According to our conversations with them, the Hawaii architecture is one of the hottest-running they’ve come across since the original Fermi and many previous cooler designs had to either be tweaked or thrown out completely. This led to some delays for others but ASUS was able to carry over their well-regarded, DirectCU II design en masse. This is great news since every other time we’ve come across this particular heatsink, it has achieved some impressive results.

Read more: ASUS R9 290X DirectCU II OC Review @ Hardware Canucks

Watercool HTSF2 - Heat Transformer @ PureOverclock

In the forum, we often get asked – “what is the best water cooling block?” – but we seldom get asked about the radiator. For as much attention and dedication as water blocks have been given throughout the years, the radiator (heat exchanger) has sat as a dark horse and unheralded system component. Yet, of course, it is a necessary part of the whole cooling system. Luckily times have changed. In the last few years we’ve seen some glamorous high quality build radiators surface on the market.

Watercool has a well-earned reputation for manufacturing top notch water cooling products for enthusiasts. The Heatkiller water block series provide one of the best water blocks available from the German water cooling pioneer. Today we are going to focus more on their HTSF2 heat exchanger to see how it compares to their excellent water block series. The HTSF2 stands for Heat-Transformer and the number 2 represents version two. Watercool offers two flavors for the HTSF2 series; the LT and LTX. These are available in single (120mm), dual (240mm) triple (360mm), and even in quad (480mm) size.

We have the HTSF2 3×120 LT in our water-cooling lab and we’re ready to put it through some rigorous tests to see if its performance is as good as its glamorous aesthetics.

Read more: Watercool HTSF2 - Heat Transformer @ PureOverclock

Fractal Design ARC Mini R2 Case Review @ OCC

Next, there is included support for larger video cards and CPU coolers, making it a very welcome addition to this small chassis. Lastly is the water cooling support, which to me it is a dud because you lose either one or both bays when installing anything other than a 240mm radiator on top. The reason why I kept it in the Pros was because it's very uncommon to support a custom liquid cooling setup in the realm of small chassis, but Fractal Design added it anyways, even if it might be less than practical. It does not hurt the chassis in any way by including it, so it is a warm welcome in my eyes.

Read more: Fractal Design ARC Mini R2 Case Review @ OCC

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings 2-Years Later Review @ OCC

Is The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings a game to remember, or one best left forgotten? In my opinion, this is one memory you want to remember. The graphics, story, and gameplay are of high quality and I cannot think of another game that outmatches this excellent combination. Indeed it leaves me in an awkward position as the only thing preventing me from saying, "The Witcher 2 is a great game," is that I cannot think of another game that borrows from this one to make itself better. If I had reviewed this game when The Witcher 2 was still a new release though, you can be certain I would laud it as a great game for its genre and potentially the game industry (Editor's Note: Still is!). It has left me that impressed.

Read more: The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings 2-Years Later Review @ OCC

In Win 904 Mid-Tower Case Review @ HiTech Legion

There is something to be said for being unique. But how unique can something be before it is so niche as to be nearly useless? I refer to cars a lot, and while I am not a big sports car guy I grew up building hot rods with my grandfather, everything from T-buckets with blown out 302’s to ’66 Charger Fastbacks with 383 big blocks. That being said I have always tried to find a balance between awesome and functional. There are a lot of cars out there that simply could not realistically be used on a daily basis; of course those cars are the ones that turn heads. But really who could justify driving a Lambo around Dallas or something? The car would be torn apart by city streets. The other side of that is that most cars that are great for daily use are so bland and boring that no one even notices.

The same can be said for custom computers and especially ones that are heavily modded. When I go to shows like QuakeCon and see some of the gorgeous builds that people bring I always wonder if that is also their regular PC that they use at home every day. It seems like it would be difficult to maintain and swapping parts out could be downright unfeasible. I am the kind of person who really goes for utilitarian looks. Form follows function. But I do also want to have things, cars, and computers, even furniture and stuff that looks great.

Read more: In Win 904 Mid-Tower Case Review @ HiTech Legion

ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 Surround Headset Video Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

Today Kaeyi Dream tests out the Kave XTD 5.1 Surround Sound USB Headset from ROCCAT with USB remote.

Read more: ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 Surround Headset Video Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

ADATA XPG V2 Review: 2x8 GB at DDR3-2800 12-14-14 1.65 V @ Anandtech

The final kit in our current run of DDR3 on Intel reviews falls at the feet of a kit that blends a high rated speed with density. When it comes to high MHz numbers, we typically see 4 GB modules as the standard, due to a higher density kit being more difficult to push in frequency. ADATA sampled us two of their DDR3-2800 C12 kits in 2x8 GB form, representing perhaps one of the final hurdles before DDR4 reaches the market, as long as your wallets are deep enough.    

Read more: ADATA XPG V2 Review: 2x8 GB at DDR3-2800 12-14-14 1.65 V @ Anandtech

Dell UltraSharp UP2414Q review: 24-inch UHD / 4K monitor @ Hardware.Info

For a long time very high resolution displays were reserved for tablets, smartphones and, to a certain extent, laptops. As we're approaching 2014, signs are more promising now for desktop monitors as well. WQHD models are becoming more affordable and various manufacturers have announced new 4K or UHD screens for 2014. Dell announced no less than three monitors that boast a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels. We tested the 24-inch model, the UltraSharp U2414Q.

Read more: Dell UltraSharp UP2414Q review: 24-inch UHD / 4K monitor @ Hardware.Info

Kingston DataTraveler HyperX PREDATOR 1TB USB 3.0 Flash Drive @ NikKTech

With storage capacity needs increasing all the time it's somewhat expected for people to be on the lookout for higher capacity portable storage media such as USB Flash Drives and Portable Hard Drives. Portable Hard Drives are of course the obvious choice for most consumers not only because in the market one can currently find up to 2TB capacity 2.5" models but also because of the quite low price tags that accompany them. USB Flash drives on the other hand may be a lot smaller and faster (most of the times) compared to PHDs but they do cost much more and are nowhere close to reaching the same capacities. The HyperX PREDATOR 1TB USB 3.0 Flash Drive by Kingston offers the highest available capacity currently at very high read/write speeds and although we had the 512GB model on our test bench when it got launched a while ago we decided to also take a closer look at its larger brother.

Read more: Kingston DataTraveler HyperX PREDATOR 1TB USB 3.0 Flash Drive @ NikKTech

AMD Radeon R7 260 1GB Review @ Hardware 360

For a card that flew in under the radar the AMD Radeon R7 260 is a great product for any gamer on a tight budget. When playing through our benchmarks (with high settings) we only ran into a few games that had noticeable stutter while playing, but the games with issues are still some of the most demanding on the market.

Read more: AMD Radeon R7 260 1GB Review @ Hardware 360