Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including Great Games You Can Run from a USB Stick, The Haswell Ultrabook Review: Core i7-4500U Tested, MSI GeForce GTX 770 Lightning review, Noreve Sony Xperia Z Leather Case (Tradition B - 21038TB) Review, and AMD "Richland" A-Series A10-6800K



7+ Great Games You Can Run from a USB Stick @ MakeUseOf

Fill your USB stick with great games, so you can play even on computers that don’t allow you to install software.

Whether you’re at work, the library or even someone else’s house, sometimes you cannot – or simply don’t want to – install a game on a computer. But what if you could take some games with you on a USB drive, and play them on any Windows computer? Turns out you can with a wide variety of software – all of it portable.

Find below my humble attempt to outline some of the best portable games out there. You’ll find shooters, strategy games and platformers – there should be something for everyone. Please note: most (not all) of these downloads requires the Portable Apps Suite, so be sure to look into that software if you’re confused by the .PAF files you’ve downloaded.

Read more: 7+ Great Games You Can Run from a USB Stick @ MakeUseOf

Club 3D HD7970 royalAce Review @ Vortez

In today's climate it would be easy to dismiss the AMD HD7970 in favour of a product from the 'other' side however, with recent advancements in the Catalyst driver suite, the HD7970 has become a serious force to be reckoned with. It had reclaimed the performance crown from the mighty NVIDIA GTX680 and was declared the best card on the market save for the dual GPU solutions from both red and green teams. Fast forward a few months and the GTX TITAN was released however due to the cost, the HD7970 was still seen as the safe bet. In recent weeks however, the HD7970 has two new competitors vying for top spot, the GTX770 and GTX780.

Read more: Club 3D HD7970 royalAce Review @ Vortez

AIAIAI TMA-1 DJ Headphones With Mic Fools Gold @ NikKTech

Whether it’s for listening to music, watching movies or playing games (or all of the above especially at night) a good quality headset is always one of the very few investments one can make that will probably last for a long time to come. Now as some of you know it's extremely rare for me to spend time testing basically the same product twice and when i say extremely rare i really mean it since it has happened only once so far in all the years i've been testing electronics and PC hardware. Still some products do deserve the highest amount of exposure possible due to their outstanding award winning performance and so when we finished testing the quite amazing TMA-1 DJ and Studio Headphones With Mic models by AIAIAI we turned our focus on the TMA-1 DJ Headphones With Mic Fools Gold Limited Edition.

AIAIAI is an audio design company dedicated to developing high quality audio products for everyday use. AIAIAI’s modern, minimalist headphones and earphones deliver clear, amplified sound. Headquartered in Copenhagen, AIAIAI is proud to contribute to Denmark’s worldwide reputation as leader in acoustic and electro- acoustic design and engineering. Informed by a heritage of Scandinavian design, AIAIAI strives to create high quality, accessible audio products that deliver value far beyond trend-driven aesthetics. AIAIAI boasts a world-renowned network of industrial designers, audio technicians and DJs as part of its unique and highly collaborative development process. Exploratory and experimental, the process enables AIAIAI to develop new products on the leading edge, independent of current market trends.

Read more: AIAIAI TMA-1 DJ Headphones With Mic Fools Gold @ NikKTech

Buying Guide: 10 best running gadgets: the top tech for training @ Techradar

Free running is all very well, but we've all got different goals and circumstances. Some run to lose weight, others to boost their aerobic fitness, while speed is the top priority of the more experienced. Either way, there are gadgets that can help you get through the run - from tiny MP3 players, wireless headphones and the latest in running-centric trainers, armbands and backpacks - to those that help you monitor your progress. Think activity trackers, GPS watches and heart rate monitors.

Read more: Buying Guide: 10 best running gadgets: the top tech for training @ Techradar

The Haswell Ultrabook Review: Core i7-4500U Tested @ Anandtech

I don’t think I had a good grasp on why Intel’s Haswell launch felt so weird until now. Haswell less than a month after the arrival of a new CEO, and it shows up a couple of weeks after the abrupt change in leadership within the Intel Architecture Group. Dramatic change at the top is always felt several levels below.

To make matters worse, there are now four very important Haswell families that need to be validated, tested, launched and promoted. There’s desktop Haswell, mobile Haswell, ultramobile Haswell ULT (U-series) and Haswell ULX (tablet, Y-series). The number one explanation I’m getting for why we don’t have a socketed K-series SKU with Crystalwell is that everyone is already too busy validating all of the other variants of Haswell that have to launch as soon as possible.

Read more: The Haswell Ultrabook Review: Core i7-4500U Tested @ Anandtech

Exclusive Asus Z87 Pro Mainboard Video @ KitGuru

When you’re the biggest mainboard company in town, it’s right that you should spend time ‘shooting for the stars’. At the same time, you also need to think about customers who DO want the latest in Z87 chipset technology – but who don’t want to spend the price of a laptop on their mainboard. KitGuru’s cameras were invited along to the Asus Regional HQ for some engineer-led unboxing action. Here’s the latest: The Asus Z87 Pro mainboard..

Read more: Exclusive Asus Z87 Pro Mainboard Video @ KitGuru

MSI GeForce GTX 770 Lightning review @ Guru3D

In this review peek at the MSI GeForce GTX 770 Lightning edition. Armed with military class components, an awesome TwinFrozr cooler that is very silent and keeps this GPU chilled down at a cool 60 Degrees C temperature. Next to that is has voltage monitoring points, a reactor core, a secondary BIOS as backup and liquid cooling and well, just so much more. Have a peek at what might be one of the finest GeForce GTX 770 cards available on the market. The end result is an impressive looking beast, the customized GTX 770 has an excellent TwinFrozr IV cooler, a product that you will not hear whilst retaining really good temperatures, yeah it works pretty darn well for both performance and silence as well..

But first things first, we take a closer look at NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 770. The GeForce GTX 770 is a top of the line segmented graphics card. It uses a familiar GPU though, yes the very same GPU as the GTX 680 actually. That makes it a chunk faster, alongside a clock frequency and memory increase it will be priced aggressively, that in a nutshell, my friends, is the new GeForce GTX 770. We test the product with the hottest games like Metro: Last Light, Battlefield 3, Sleeping Dogs, Far Cry 3, Medal of Honor Warfighter, Hitman Absolution and many more.

There has been a lot of chatter in the graphics arena as to what both AMD and NVIDIA are doing for the 2013 lineup of products. With the global economy at an all-time low both manufacturers have been slowing down their development cycles in order to save on R&D. But to not release new products will stall sales, as hey .. why should anybody upgrade? In the past two weeks we have seen two new products from NVIDIA, both are sort of refreshes, one being an SKU based on GeForce GTX Titan, in another jacket called the 780. The other is today's tested product, the Kepler based GeForce GTX 770. Kepler my, fellow gurus, is the codename for the architecture behind the GeForce series 600 and 700 graphics cards.

Read more: MSI GeForce GTX 770 Lightning review @ Guru3D

The TR Podcast 135: All's well that's Haswell @ The Tech Report

This episode of the TR Podcast is all about Intel's new Haswell processors. We discuss architecture, benchmark results, and overclocking.

Read more: The TR Podcast 135: All's well that's Haswell @ The Tech Report

Noreve Sony Xperia Z Leather Case (Tradition B - 21038TB) Review @ Madshrimps

The Tradition B is another Sony Xperia Z case from Noreve, with the same high quality materials, but this time it was designed to open like a book. With this model we won’t get the option to install a belt clip mechanism, but the customization of the color and finish is included. Depending on what type of finish and color we choose, it will take some time for it to get ready for shipping since all cases are hand made.

Read more: Noreve Sony Xperia Z Leather Case (Tradition B - 21038TB) Review @ Madshrimps

Logitech T650 Wireless Touchpad @ Benchmark Reviews

With the introduction of Windows 8, Microsoft had done its best to accommodate multiple forms of input. Along with the traditional keyboard and mouse, touch had finally become a "built-in" consideration rather than a tacked-on addition. Helped along by Apple, the rapidly growing mobile device market and proliferation of touch interfaces, touch became a far more commonplace method of interfacing with a computer. Logitech, well known for their peripherals, wasted no time in updating their line of devices with the T650 Wireless Touchpad which Benchmark Reviews will be taking a look at today.

There's a good chance if you're reading this, you can look down at your desk and see a Logitech branded device somewhere. Logitech has become a name almost synonymous with "computer peripheral," and for good reason. It shouldn't be that surprising as they've been at it for more than thirty years (about twenty years longer than most of the manufacturers of peripherals I've reviewed lately)! First starting with mice in 1981, they have since developed into a company that distributes products worldwide with offices in the US, Switzerland, China and Japan. Of course, computers (and the way we interact with them) have changed since 1981 and Logitech has been there every step of the way. Still, for thirty years the mouse and keyboard have been the primary way we interact with desktop and laptop computers. What does the T650 Wireless Touchpad accomplish that the mouse cannot? Will touch enabled devices become as mainstream as the mouse? Let's find out.

Read more: Logitech T650 Wireless Touchpad @ Benchmark Reviews

OCZ Vertex 3.20 240GB SSD Review @ Hardware Canucks

Since the release of their high performance Vector series, OCZ has been rather quiet but that silence ended with the OCZ Vertex 3.20. The Vertex 3.20 240GB is actually the first new drive from OCZ being released this year, which is quite the change for a company which used to have one of the broadest SSD portfolios around. However, this more sedate and measured release schedule is keeping with OCZ’s new focus which chooses quality over quantity. The new Vertex 3.20 240GB is a perfect example of this new commitment in action.

The original Vertex 3 lineup had its fair share of hiccups which were mostly caused by the use or lack of 25nm NAND and OCZ vowed never to repeat that performance. While this new Vertex 3.20 may resurrect the old brand name, there’s very few similarities between it and its predecessor. More importantly, this time around OCZ is being completely upfront with the NAND being used. The reason for the addition of the ‘.20’ to the name is simple: it uses latest generation 20nm NAND instead of 34nm or 25nm NAND found in previous Vertex 3 drives. Naturally, additional performance and cost benefits will stem from this decision.

Read more: OCZ Vertex 3.20 240GB SSD Review @ Hardware Canucks

Gigabyte GTX 650Ti BOOST 2GB OC Video Card @ HiTech Legion

I recently remodeled the bathroom, and going in was simply looking at replacing the drywall and tub to freshen things up. Even though I should have expected it, given previous work, I was somehow surprised that once the walls were off I was looking at a total rebuild if I wanted things done right. All new plumbing, complete re-framing, new sub-floor and electrical all were needed. It wasn’t an investment I was looking to make at the time, but the fact of the matter is, now that it’s done, I know that everything is done right, and is going to perform the way I want it and is going to last. Not all rebuilds need to be complete overhauls, but that end result is really the key.

The Gigabyte GTX 650 Ti Boost is a complete re-invention and re-build of what is already a proven performance platform. Using the GK106 based GTX 650 Ti Boost, Gigabyte took the rest into their shop, coming out with an all new PCB and Windforce 2X cooler to ensure that every aspect of the platform is done right. The enhanced Ultra Durable 2 PCB features a good rigid base, with low RDS MOSFETS, ferrite core chokes and solid Japanese capacitors delivering clean power, all while upping durability and longevity. A four heatpipe design Windforce cooler with two slim, silent fans keeps the GTX 650 Ti running cool with incredibly low noise. To boost performance, the Gigabyte GTX 650 Ti Boost receives a factory OC to 1032MHz with Boost set to 1098MHz, and 2GB of GDDR5 is clocked to 6008MHz. To help reel in the potential of the 650 Ti Boost, Gigabyte’s OC Genie II can tweak and monitor clock speeds, voltages and fan curves to get the most from your 650 Ti Boost. In addition, OC Genie II will check for driver and BIOS updates and can perform the updates directly through its interface.

Read more: Gigabyte GTX 650Ti BOOST 2GB OC Video Card @ HiTech Legion

AMD "Richland" A-Series A10-6800K @ PureOverclock

In 2011 when AMD first launched its new fusion technology processors, there were many questions with its performance to value ratio. This new APU series was the first of its kind, and no one was sure how well it would develop in the consumer world. However, over the last few years, we have seen AMD improve this platform with the release of its “Trinity” processing power and the APU series has grown to be a leading performer with this unique platform. The AMD APU series combines the CPU and GPU under one processing unit providing great computing prowess while fitting in consumers’ budgets.

Today, we are going to be previewing a new advancement level with this technology. AMD has taken the FM2 based socket and its improved “Piledriver” Cores to the next level. With the improved emphasis on performance, we can’t wait to dive in and put this new AMD A-Series A10-6800k to the test.

Read more: AMD "Richland" A-Series A10-6800K @ PureOverclock

MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming Review @ OCC

Stock performance was impressive across the board when compared to the Intel solution in just about every single test, showing how well the clock speeds are dynamically managed to deliver higher performance metrics. Overclocking is a way to further drive improved performance and the Z87-GD65 is no slouch in this department, able to easily take my Core i7 4770K up to its limits with no problems. As far as the memory/clock speed ratio is concerned, MSI has the board tuning down to allow the end user the ability to get the most out of the installed memory and processor. OC results of 4.7GHz on the CPU cores running the system memory at 2600MHz illustrates that yes, your parts stand a chance at getting to the top of the Gaming charts. If tuning manually is not your style you can always use OC Genie 4 with multiple profiles to step up the performance a bit.

Read more: MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming Review @ OCC

Phanteks PH-TC12DX Cpu cooler @ Rbmods

Phanteks sent us their newest cooler called PH-TC12DX for review. It is an aluminum based cooler with a copper base and single 120mm fan (compatible with two fans). Let’s see what it has to offer and how well it performs in our test bench.

Read more: Phanteks PH-TC12DX Cpu cooler @ Rbmods