Here a roundup of todays review's and articles:

AMD Has A Vulkan Linux Driver, But Will Be Closed-Source At First
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero Motherboard Review
G.Skill Ripjaws KM780 RGB & MX780 RGB Keyboard and Mouse Review
Hands-on review: Amazon Fire 10 HD
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Gameplay And Performance Review
Noctua NH-D15S Review
NZXT S340 Review
SilverStone CS01B-HS Mini-ITX Case Review
Sony PSZ-HB2T Review
Synology DiskStation DS715 Review
The Best, Most Efficient Graphics Cards For 1080p Linux Gamers
WD My Passport Ultra (2TB, 7th Gen) Review

AMD Has A Vulkan Linux Driver, But Will Be Closed-Source At First

One of the most anticipated talks of XDC2015 Toronto was the update on AMDGPU / the open-source Linux driver strategy... Vulkan details were revealed!

Read full article @ Phoronix

ASUS Maximus VIII Hero Motherboard Review

During the Z87’s heyday ASUS introduced a new addition to their Republic of Gamers motherboard lineup: the Maximus Hero. This newcomer was carefully crafted to interest consumers who may have craved the PC gaming / enthusiast ethos of the RoG namesake, but could never justify the steep cost of entry.

To create the new Hero boards, ASUS changed up their RoG formula (no, not the famous Formula motherboard) by taking their usual 'everything and the kitchen sink' and 'budget is of no concern' philosophy and paring it down somewhat. If the RoG Formula and Extreme boards were the gaming versions of their Deluxe series, the Hero was very loosely based upon the more affordable but still perfectly capable PRO models. Essentially, ASUS kept the basic DNA of their extreme overclocker-friendly and gamer-centric RoG boards but packed in predominantly essential features rather than a bunch of stuff most folks would never use. This design philosophy quickly endeared the Hero series to folks who usually skip the RoG boards and opt instead for Pro or Deluxe models.

Read full article @ Hardware Canucks

G.Skill Ripjaws KM780 RGB & MX780 RGB Keyboard and Mouse Review

The KM780 RGB mechanical keyboard and MX780 RGB gaming mouse mark G.Skill's debut in the gaming peripherals world. The former includes features such as three mode hotkeys, six dedicated macro keys, on-board memory to save your settings and lighting patterns. The MX780 RGB features a height adjustable palm rest, interchangeable side grips and gaming grade PTFE glide pads on the underside.

Read full article @ TechSpot

Hands-on review: Amazon Fire 10 HD

There might be some among us that though Amazon might give up on the tablet game - but instead the brand has gone away and created yet another iPad competitor.While journalists are usually labelled as lazy for instantly comparing Apple's device to any new tablet on the market, in this case it was Amazon making the claim. It said that it put the new Fire HD 10 in a tumble dryer for 200 revolutions to see how well it held up, and bar a few dents it was fine. It did the same with the iPad Air 2, and that apparently only lasted 30 cycles before the glass broke and created 'dangerous' fragments that could splinter into your finger.

Read full article @ Techradar

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Gameplay And Performance Review

The wait is over. The time is nigh for sci-fi super-spy gadgets, cigar-smoking, and rampant exclamation points. Oh yes, the one-eyed one has returned. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has landed on the PC and it’s a doozy. Utilizing the same Fox Engine for its visuals, this latest effort nicely follows-up last year’s Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes—the prequel which set the stage for this, the epic and more open-ended Phantom Pain.

On the following pages, we'll give you our experience testing with and playing Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain on a brand new test machine.

Read full article @ HotHardware

Noctua NH-D15S Review

The performance is on par with the D15, which is really no surprise. The D15S is clearly built to keep the heat of overclocking under control with its massive dual towers and capable (and quiet) NF-A15 fan. Noctua's well-known SecuFirm2 multi-socket mounting system makes the installation a breeze. If you have ever installed a Noctua cooler with the SecuFirm2, you know what I mean. There are two key factors that determine the success of a cooler. One is a properly designed heat sink that can effectively transfer the heat away from your CPU and into the fin stack, and the other is a fan that can efficiently move air through the fin stack. The NF-AF15 140mm fan effortlessly handles this task.

Read full article @ OCC

NZXT S340 Review

The manufacturer NZXT is well known for their futuristic computer cases and hardware accessories. Today, however, the manufacturer sends a case into the race, which looks conservative only at first glance. In this review, we want to determine if the NZXT S340 case is a boring average, or a stylish understatement case.

Read full article @ OcInside

SilverStone CS01B-HS Mini-ITX Case Review

Two versions of the anodized black CS01B computer case exist, one with a mesh top and the option to install two 2.5″ and two 3.5″ drives. The second is the CS01B-HS, which removes the pair of 3.5″ drives in favor of six hot-swappable 2.5″ bays. Also included in both models is a single 120mm air penetrator fan, one expansion slot, and a sturdy aluminum construction throughout. SilverStone is not intending this to be used for gaming, but rather for an office environment. In this article for Benchmark Reviews, we will specifically look at the CS01B-HS version, deciding whether or not SilverStone has succeeded in creating such a product, and then deliver an overall rating.

Read full article @ Benchmark Reviews

Sony PSZ-HB2T Review

Whether it be for internal or external use, hard drives are everywhere and everyone always needs one for something. There are so many on the market and seemingly all function well to some extent in terms of speed and portability. So what makes a hard drive good? Well, it all depends on you. If you want something really small, that can be transported without issue, check out the Samsung Portable T1. If you want something with more capacity designed for a small-to-midsize business, then the Western Digital DL4100 is perfect for your outfit. But, if you are someone who needs a portable, high-speed hard drive, that suits your rugged lifestyle, then the Sony PSZ-HB2T 2TB ($189, £121.26, AU $256.22 for 1TB) drive is just for you.

Read full article @ Techradar

Synology DiskStation DS715 Review

Synology's DiskStation DS715 borrows an interesting feature from the DS1515 that we recently reviewed. Look on the rear panel of this dual bay NAS and you will see that in addition to the dual Gigabit Ethernet and two USB 3.0 ports you also get an eSATA connector. This port can be used to connect a DX513 expansion unit (which costs £340) that can house an additional five hard drives. In other words this dual bay NAS can be transformed into a seven bay NAS which has a huge effect on the maximum capacity and also means you can explore the options of RAID 5 with a parity drive to protect your data, or you can divide the drives into a number of arrays. You get many more options with seven drives than you do with two but while this is interesting we don't have the DX513 to hand and are considering the DS715 purely as a dual bay NAS.

Read full article @ KitGuru

The Best, Most Efficient Graphics Cards For 1080p Linux Gamers

Earlier this week I posted a graphics card comparison using the open-source drivers and looking at the best value and power efficiency. In today's article is a larger range of AMD Radeon and NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards being tested under a variety of modern Linux OpenGL games/demos while using the proprietary AMD/NVIDIA Linux graphics drivers to see how not only the raw performance compares but also the performance-per-Watt, overall power consumption, and performance-per-dollar metrics.

I've ran some similar tests like this before, but now with having the latest drivers, it's time for another go: NVIDIA 355.11 and the brand new Catalyst 15.9. It's similar to the open-source comparison earlier this week but with more hardware, more interesting tests, and using these OpenGL 4 proprietary drivers generally relied upon right now by Linux gamers.

Read full article @ Phoronix

WD My Passport Ultra (2TB, 7th Gen) Review

Bags of storage, capable performance and cute colour options. Need a portable hard drive with lots of capacity and a good track record? Tumbling prices and fierce competition ensure that there are plenty of available options, but the one that first springs to mind is WD's My Passport.

The overall premise hasn't changed much in recent years, My Passport is essentially a WD hard disk wrapped in a cute little shell that's designed to travel, but the drive remains a go-to solution for users seeking portable storage and plenty of it. This year, the My Passport Ultra has been given a seventh-generation makeover and we have a 2TB sample in for review.

Read full article @ Hexus