Here the first reviews roundup with 17 new articles, including Understanding All Voltage Configurations from the Motherboard, ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z (Intel Z68) Motherboard Review, and OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD Review



GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 2: A Preview
Bjorn3D posted a preview on the GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 2

GIGABYTE has a new motherboard in the G1.Killer series. The G1.Sniper 2 is the successor to the G1.Sniper board, and is designed for gamers like every other board of the G1 line. However, the G1.Sniper 2 comes even more loaded, featuring 32nm Sandy Bridge support. Gamers can finally enjoy the full power of the Sandy Bridge architecture with loaded features of the G1.Killer line of boards. Keep reading to see what this board's got, and be sure to read our upcoming full review of this board.

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Understanding All Voltage Configurations from the Motherboard
Hardware Secrets posted tutorial on understanding all voltage configurations from the motherboard

One of the oldest tricks to increase the probability of a successful overclocking is to increase the voltage from the component you want to overclock. Nowadays, even entry-level motherboards present some voltage adjustments, with high-end models coming with a myriad of them. The problem is that even hardcore enthusiasts have a hard time understanding what each option really means. In this tutorial, we will explain the exact meaning of each one of them in clear language.

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Fractal Design - Define Mini reviewed
Metku.net took a closer look at the Fractal Design's Define Mini MicroATX case.

Fractal Design Define Mini is Fractal Design's case for microATX-motherboards. The design follows the lines set by earlier models such as R2 and R3.

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Xigmatek Pantheon Computer Case Review
Tweaknews posted a review on the Xigmatek Pantheon Computer Case

Xigmatek’s Pantheon chassis is a really nice case, especially for the money. For around a hundred bucks you get a distinctive look, excellent tool-free solutions and a rich feature set that makes the Pantheon a very good value, even in this crowded pricepoint. The cooling performance is very good, and the case responds well to additional case fans, at least on the side panel.

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Icy Box IB-NAS5220 NAS Review
Rbmods takes a look at the Icy Box IB-NAS5220 NAS

More and more NAS devies make it to the market and they come with more and more features. Today we are taking a look at a NAS from Raidsonic that is equipped with USB ports and printer support. Lets figure out what type of speeds we can get out of this device.

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Steelseries Shift MMO keyboard Review
XSReviews has a new review on the Steelseries Shift MMO Keyboard

After a long period of usage, keyboards become dirty. Sometimes they lose buttons. Sometimes this happens because you smack it at the wall in anger. Whatever reason you have for getting a new keyboard, you also need good reasons to buy a specific one. Maybe one that can be cleaned easily, maybe one that has better resistance to walls.

Introducing, the Shift keyboard. It's a multimedia chameleon board with removable keyset, aimed at hardcore gamers. Offering a skeleton backpplate which can be used with specialized keysets, which in turn can be programmed through the Steelseries' Engine software. Let's see if the Shift can convince you as well as us.

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ASUS Crosshair V Formula review
The Guru of 3D posted a review on the ASUS Crosshair V Formula motherboard

Once again we pop in a Phenom II processor and have a look at it's performance, which will be the same as it has been for a year now. Yep, AMD completely released the 990FX chipset in the wrong time, it should have been released alongside the Bulldozer FX series processors. But ah well, what can you do... have a peek at that lovely looking Crosshair V Formula and then let's head onwards into the review.

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ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z (Intel Z68) Motherboard Review
TweakTown posted a review on the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z (Intel Z68) Motherboard

The Republic of Gamers boards from ASUS have done a great job of impressing us. In June we had a look at the Maximus IV Extreme. Moving to July, we checked out the Maximus IV Gene-Z and today we check out the Maximus IV Extreme-Z. To be honest, before I even start testing, I have a good feeling about the board simply because of the track record. But of course, we'll see just what the Maximus IV Extreme-Z is able to offer."

Before we get into the performance side of things, there are a few other areas we need to look at which is of course starting off with the package. Once we've done that, we'll get stuck in to the motherboard itself and just see what kind of features are on offer from the Maximus IV Extreme-Z. We'll fire up the BIOS and show you all those options ASUS are offering before we get into looking at our testbed, which carries with it a few changes, along with the overclocking capabilities of the board.

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GeForce GTX 590 Water Block Roundup
PureOverclock posted a GeForce GTX 590 Water Block Roundup

Some of the advantages of full coverage blocks are their ability to cool all critical card components rather than just the GPU core. Full coverage blocks also run silent, wtih no fan noise to worry about (though the radiator does admittedly have fans as part of the overall loop). There's also the reason of bragging rights; having what is arguably the fastest graphics card on the planet on water is unquestionably an enviable achievement. With that said, the question then becomes: which GPU water block? In order to answer that critical question, today we've got a GPU water block roundup for the GTX 590 to examine products from some of the top manufacturers to try to determine just that.

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OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD Review
Benchmark Reviews posted a review on the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD

Other World Computing is well known to Apple Mac users, because they've focused on their needs for many years. But when you offer a five year warranty on PC-friendly components, it's hard to ignore the value. The OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD OWCSSDMX6G120T is built from the 2nd-generation SandForce SF-2281 controller, and delivers up to 60,000 IOPS over the latest SATA-6Gb/s connection. Best of all, OWC offers a no-risk no-hassle 30-day money back guarantee. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G solid state drive against the leading competition.

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Corsair Carbide Series 400R Mid Tower Case Review
Hardware Canucks posted a review of the new Corsair Carbide Series 400R Mid Tower Case

With a full stable of cases, Corsair has been well placed in the enthusiast enclosure market but they didn’t have anything to compete with the more budget friendly Cooler Master 690II and Thermaltake Elements of this world. Now things are about to change since the $99 400R is about to be introduced. This promises to continue Corsair’s tradition of well designed, high quality cases but at an ultra low price point.

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ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II 1GB DirectX11 Video Card Review
Hi Tech Legion posted a review on the ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II 1GB DirectX11 Video Card

The ASUS GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II has been improved beyond the reference design but keeps the standard GTX 560 Ti price. The ASUS GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II has a direct heat-pipe, dual-fan cooling design and has a completely custom PCB. Similar to other DirectCU II equipped video cards from ASUS, the GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II has Super Alloy Power technology, which consists of high-quality, heat-resistant and energy efficient components, which allow for highly stable performance and overclockability.

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ASUS E35M1-M Pro Motherboard Review
Neoseeker posted a review on the ASUS E35M1-M Pro Motherboard

The ASUS E35M1-M Pro steps its Brazos board offerings up in form factor, and expandability with a host of connectors and headers; it's the only board of its kind to offer more expansion slots than a single full-length PCI-E, and in fact the only one to be bigger in form factor than mini-ITX. At $145 it's not too expensive, now hit our review to see how it fares against its mini-ITX siblings.

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ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Review
Vortez posted a review on the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3

Just a matter of weeks ago ASRock unveiled their Gen3 Series of motherboards. Gen3 helping to identify the integration of PCI-E 3.0. ASRock are the first to incorporate this onto their motherboards. Inside this series we have the following motherboards: Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 / Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 / Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 / P67 Extreme4 Gen3 all featuring the signature gold solid CAPs and of course PCI-3.0. Today we will be taking a look at the Z68 Extreme4 Gen3, a motherboard that supports 3-way CrossfireX and Tri-SLI and delivers many features that most enthusiasts will come to expect but at a price-tag that maybe they won't.

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ineo I-NAU320U Plus USB 3.0 HDD Docking Station and I-NC05 HDD Protection Box Review
Hi Tech Legion posted a review on the ineo I-NAU320U Plus USB 3.0 HDD Docking Station and I-NC05 HDD Protection Box

For those needs, we have the ineo I-NAU320U Plus USB 3.0 HDD Docking Station and I-NC05 3.5" HDD Protection Box. The I-NAU320U has an aluminum exterior build with a lightweight and portable design. The I-NAU320U Plus uses a USB 3.0 interface for excellent compatibility and exceptional speeds. This dock supports both 2.5" and 3.5" HDDs and SATA I/II/III interfaces. Maximum capacity for 2.5" HDDs is 1TB, while the 3.5" HDDs can support 3TB. This dock is both Windows and Mac compatible. Second, we have the I-NC05 3.5" HDD Protection Box. This box offers good protection from the elements for HDD storage. This I-NC05 has a polypropylene build and features anti-shock, anti-dust, anti-spill, and stack-able properties.

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FSP Aurum CM Gold 750 W Review
techPowerUp posted a review on the FSP Aurum CM Gold 750 W PSU

FSP decided to enrich the successful Aurum series with three new models that feature more wattages and a semi modular cabling system. The latter will be of great interest to many, since nowadays more and more users seek a modular PSU in order to avoid the extra effort needed for cable management with non modular units.

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Xigmatek Pantheon Computer Case Review
Tweaknews posted a review on the Xigmatek Pantheon Computer Case

Xigmatek’s Pantheon chassis is a really nice case, especially for the money. For around a hundred bucks you get a distinctive look, excellent tool-free solutions and a rich feature set that makes the Pantheon a very good value, even in this crowded pricepoint. The cooling performance is very good, and the case responds well to additional case fans, at least on the side panel.

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