Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including Cooler Master Xornet Review, G.SKILL RipjawsZ 1866MHz CL9 16GB DDR3 Review, and Sapphire Radeon HD 6450 FleX Edition Graphics Card Review



Cooler Master Xornet Review
XSReviews has a new review of the Cooler Master Xornet gaming mouse

There's two main schools of thought when it comes to gaming nice. There's the heavily evolved, multi buttoned, feature and software packed beasts. They might have changeable weights, a little LCD display, 10+ buttons etc.

The other camp is cut back and basic in comparison. However it dispenses with a lot of the unecessary guff that's often bundled with the hardware of the first group. Today I'm looking at a similar rodent, though it's also a budget offering. The Cooler Master Xornet, with its rubberised sides and compact design embodies the simplified nature that some of the popular mechanical gaming keyboards do.

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Fractal Design Define XL Case Review
Hardware Secrets posted Fractal Design Define XL Case Review

The Fractal Design Define XL full-tower case is targeted to users building a high-end gaming PC who want a huge cooling performance and, at the same time, the quietest computer possible. Let's see how the Swedish manufacturer was able to achieve this goal.

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One For All Smart Control Review
Tech-Reviews.co.uk posted a review on the One For All Smart Control

We've all seen universal remote controls for TVs, but the One For All Smart Control takes things to a completely different level. The Smart Control provides the ability to control your devices with just a simple flick, or tap, of the remote control. Retailing at only £17.50, the One For All Smart Control is an absolute bargain considering you're receiving quite a few features. Let's take a closer look...

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Verbatim’s Mini Wireless SlimBoard Review
TestFreaks posted a review on Verbatim’s Mini Wireless SlimBoard

For today’s review we will be looking at the Verbatim’s Mini Wireless Mini Wireless SlimBoard which is a slim keyboard and mouse bundle. This low profile keyboard/mouse uses 2.4 Ghz wireless technology along with a Nano wireless receiver. It is a low-priced option for those needing something portable or in a small form factor for their computing requirements.

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Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Review
Hardware Secrets posted a review on the Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet

Since the release of Apple's first iPad, competitors have been trying to duplicate its features in a less expensive tablet. No one has succeeded. Now Amazon has released the Amazon Kindle Fire – a tablet that takes a new approach. Amazon didn't try to match the features or even the size of the iPad. They simply tried to create a new tablet that can provide Web surfing, email, and a wealth of entertainment options at an affordable price. We took a close look at the Fire to see if Amazon's new approach created a worthwhile device.

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Aperion Audio Intimus 4T Tower Speaker Review
MissingRemote posted a review on the Aperion Audio Intimus 4T Tower Speaker

Creating the right audio environment is a critical part of enabling an immersive home theater experience, but is often neglected either due to ignorance or the erroneous assumption that good sound is unattainably expensive. The process of finding the right speakers is made even more difficult with few shops providing an adequate listening environment, let alone one with options in an affordable price range. Speaker manufacturer Aperion Audio has a solution for these issues, offering their 150 watt, $550/pair Intimus 4T tower alongside a no-risk thirty day trial with shipping covered both ways, so they can be tested in the actual environment where they will see use.

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NZXT Phantom 410 Case Review
Legit Reviews posted a review on the NZXT Phantom 410 Case

White became the new black back in 2010 and the NZXT Phantom full tower PC case was one of the key drivers of this popular movement. NZXT just released the mid-tower follow up, the Phantom 410, and sent us a sample to check out. Does this case live up to its big brother? Read on to find out if the NZXT Phantom 410 is the right case for you!

The outside of the NZXT Phantom 410 is a mix of painted steel on the sides back and bottom with matching ABS plastic on the top and front. This allows NZXT to create this unique theme with the Cadillac like angles and the triangle air vents. The front of the case is clean with the offset front vent covering one of the included 120mm fans for intake air...

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Sony VAIO S Series (VPCSE13FX/S) Review
TechReviewSource.com posted a review on the Sony VAIO S Series (VPCSE13FX/S)

The Sony VAIO S Series (VPCSE13FX/S) has an attractive and portable design that will please most users. While it may not have the best performance out there, it does offer good performance for the money. The 15.5-inch display has excellent quality that makes this laptop one to consider.

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G.SKILL RipjawsZ 1866MHz CL9 16GB DDR3 Review
Vortez posted G.SKILL RipjawsZ 1866MHz CL9 16GB DDR3 Review

We've seen the RipjawZ before and we were impressed so hopefully this quad channel kit will be equally impressive. While it is the first kit we have reviewed fully on the X79 system, we will be pitching it against a very similar Corsair kit (expect a review soon) but before we get to the testing, let's take a look at the specification of the G.SKILL kit.

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Fractal Designs Arc Midi Mid Tower Case Review
MissingRemote has released a new review on the Fractal Designs Arc Midi Mid Tower Case

We are continuing our reviews of Fractal Design cases today with their Arc Midi mid tower desktop case. We have previously reviewed the Core 3000, Define Mini, Array R2, and Define XL. Like the other Fractal Design cases, the Arc Midi features a sleek, minimalist design, but it stands out as a versatile case that would work equally well for gaming, HTPC, as a media server, or a combination of all three. It can work as an HTPC but with more built in storage than the R2 and Define Mini. It has 2 fewer HDD bays than the XL, but won’t cost near as much (~$50 less) if you are looking for a great server option, and although the Core 3000 is the closest in design and price, the Arc Midi is slightly larger (8 HDD bays as opposed to 6, more fans, etc.) and has a USB 3.0 port that the Core 3000 lacks.

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Rosewill Ranger Mid-Tower Computer Case Review
Benchmark Reviews posted a review on the Rosewill Ranger Mid-Tower Computer Case

A couple of months ago Rosewill sent us a full tower case for review, the THOR v2, and today they have sent Benchmark Reviews their new mid-tower case, the Ranger. Rosewill's Ranger mid-tower case is the latest in Rosewill's case lineup and enters perhaps the most competitive case class there is. With excellent mid-tower cases to be had for 70-80USD, such as the Cooler Master HAF series and the aging but venerable Storm Scout, among others, any manufacturer entering a case into this class is entering into pure case warfare. Even though Rosewill's THOR v2 was a knockoff with some Rosewill specific tweaking, it was a good case and I gave it high marks. Let's see if the Ranger can measures up to its intended market like its big brother did.

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Kingston HyperX Genesis PC3-12800 16GB Kit Review
TweakTown posted a review on the Kingston HyperX Genesis PC3-12800 16GB Kit

Today we're actually checking out another kit in the HyperX Genesis series which is the entry level HyperX series. The particular kit we're looking at is, like most other kits we've looked at lately, a Quad Channel kit designed for the new X79 platform that we've been looking at heavily.

To check the specifications on the kit, though, and find out exactly what we're dealing with, we headed over to the Kingston website and the 1600MHz DDR kit comes with a 9-9-9-27-1T setup. These are "ok" timings; they're not super tight, and considering the speed they're probably a little on the looser side of things. It's ultimately what the Genesis series is all about, though.

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Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Low Profile CPU Cooler Review
Hi Tech Legion posted Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Low Profile CPU Cooler Review

The Scythe Big Shuriken 2 may be low profile, but it packs in many of the features found in much larger coolers. Scythe uses five 6mm heat pipes in the Big Shuriken 2, which wrap 180 degrees to maintain length while keeping the profile extremely low at 58mm. Aiding in keeping the low profile, the Big Shuriken 2 uses a 120mm fan that is only 12mm in thickness that blows directly down through the fins and over the heat pipes. Despite the low profile and 120mm fan, the Big Shuriken 2 provides ample clearance for standard height RAM and motherboard components, while the downblowing fan helps to cool them.

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Sapphire Radeon HD 6450 FleX Edition Graphics Card Review
eTeknix.com posted Sapphire Radeon HD 6450 FleX Edition Graphics Card Review

2011 has been a big year for gaming with the releases of Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3 and Skyrim to name but a few and getting good quality graphics comes with a price and you can always go one better in the hope of getting the best possible graphics.

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Samsung Green 8GB DDR3-1600 VLP Review
PureOverclock has published a review of the Samsung Green 8GB DDR3-1600 VLP memory kit.

The Samsung Green lineup feature very low profile memory modules that are power-frugal, and appear to be ideally suited to a setup like an HTPC. These aren't extreme performance overclocking sticks, but they come with an attractive price tag of only $55 for an 8GB DDR3-1600 kit. They look sleek, the slimline design is rare, but what about performance? Do the Green modules sacrifice too much in speed results? To test this, we'll pit them against a high performance memory kit to see what happens.

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