Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

Asus Maximus VIII Hero, Z170, Skylakes Hero!
Blossom Smart Watering Controller Review
Case Mod Friday: I am Iron Man
EMTEC Stay Earbuds Wireless Bluetooth Earphones Review
Gigabyte Z170XP-SLI Motherboard Review
How To - AMD FX ATX Gaming Rig
MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti Lightning Review
Nixeus MODA v2 Mechanical Keyboard Review
Pad & Quill Luxury Travel Pouch Kit for Apple Watch Review
Samsung Galaxy Note5 And Galaxy S6 Edge+ Review: More Of A Good Thing
UE MEGABOOM Wireless Speakers

Asus Maximus VIII Hero, Z170, Skylakes Hero!

The Asus Z107 Hero VIII was the initial launch board we received to review the Intel Core i7 6700 and we would like to thank our partners at Asus for the Hero VIII and their support during the Skylake 6700K Launch. Without their guidance and timely updates Skylake might have been SkyPuddle but they came through like gangbusters. The Asus Hero VIII is one of the first ROG boards ready for SkyLake and considering the timeframe Asus had to work with they put out an impressive board.

Most noticeably the Asus Maximus Hero VIII doesn’t support the same color scheme we’ve seen on other Maximus ROG boards. It has a few hints of Red a little chrome flash and compared to previous generations of Maximus boards is rather muted. The Hero VIII will support a pair of Video cards, supports USB 3.1. an M.2 drive and is feature rich enough that we can tell Asus is aiming the Hero at mid-level to enthusiast end users. the board can be found for 235$ from Amazon at the time of writing.

Read full article @ Bjorn3D

Blossom Smart Watering Controller Review

Home automation has garnered renewed attention, thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT) revolution. Many vendors targeting this market look to deliver solutions for aspects appealing to a broader audience. Some examples include lighting, temperature control, security using IP cameras etc. Irrigation control is a niche within the home automation niche. At first glance, it appears to be a limited market, as only those with gardens big enough to require scheduled / automated watering of multiple zones might need it. Surprisingly, there are many options for people looking to gain IP control over their irrigation / watering systems functioning. iConservos  Blossom is one such option. Read on for a detailed look at the Blossom Smart Watering Controller.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Case Mod Friday: I am Iron Man

Welcome to another Case Mod Friday showcase! This week we have DiLuzio Customs “I am Iron Man” build. Here is what he had to say about it, "So It's time for my annual build. I actually got started a couple of weeks ago, but now that I have enough content it's time to post. The theme of this build is Iron man as you can guess. This build will be based on the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv MAtx build for 2 reasons. Reason one, the Full ATX version of the case is huge, and this case will have to come with me when I travel. Reason 2 is the Mini ITX version of the case is made out of Steel."

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

EMTEC Stay Earbuds Wireless Bluetooth Earphones Review

One thing I have noticed about elementary school is the number of hands-on projects teachers give to students. Whether they were dioramas, models, or other artwork, there were always a handful each year. As for myself, I have never been good at art, whether the visual or performance arts, yet I enjoyed the projects. I stopped playing piano when I was in grade three, and I vowed to never touch instruments again. I also recently pulled out a drawer in my basement with all the art projects I did when I was less than five feet high, and I grimaced at how terrible some of my projects turned out. I made a lot of mistakes, and rather than trying to fix or improve the situation, I settled with less than ideal. However, as I get older I realize these artistic skills we developed in our early years are very important. Precision and accuracy, in addition to hand-eye coordination, are involved in many everyday activities. Thus today I still enjoy sketching and playing my ukulele or electric bass, even if it is more casual. As for the products we review, we also want to see a precise, accurate, and polished product. Some products we review may not be as visible on a daily use, such as internal computer components, but we still inspect its looks. If anything is sloppy in build or design, it can translate into bad performance too. But as always, the product should strike a balance between an aesthetically pleasing design and a functionally capable performance. Today's review unit of the EMTEC Stay Earbuds Wireless are quite visually attractive, but what about its performance? Is this one set of wireless earbuds to "stay" with me? This review will aim to answer these questions and more!

Read full article @ APH Networks

Gigabyte Z170XP-SLI Motherboard Review

Gigabyte’s Z170XP-SLI is aiming to tempt users looking for a motherboard that offers the Z170 platform’s core features, but without requiring a significant cash outlay. In the Z170XP-SLI, Gigabyte offers one of the lowest cost boards to support SLI, while also retaining features such as USB 3.1, USB Type-C, and a 32Gbps M.2 connector.

Read full article @ KitGuru

How To - AMD FX ATX Gaming Rig

Today we're going to show you a guide on how to build an AMD based system. This rig should be a multi-talent and we want it to perform everyday tasks very well. Therefore we occasionally wish to play games with FullHD resolution. We also want this system to be very silent and upgradeable.

Read full article @ ocaholic

MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti Lightning Review

In this article we test and benchmark one of the most anticipated GeForce GTX 980 Ti cards of the year the Lightning edition graphics card. This GeForce GTX 980 Ti based product comes factory overclocked and sports some seriously cool cooling. Armed with 6 GB graphics memory this product is bound to impress. Thunderclouds hover above the Guru3D test-lab as the MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti Lightning edition will now get a review.

The GPU that resides on under the hood is the big Maxwell, and oh man it's a freak of nature with that kind of game rendering powah! You'd expect a product with '980' in it to have a similar slightly tweaked GPU, but no Sir. Nvidia shifted a thing or two around, the 980 Ti is based on the BIG Maxwell GPU, the same GPU that is powering the Titan X. Obviously the product has been trimmed down a tiny bit, but trust us when we say, there's plenty performance to be found. This product comes with a luxurious six Gigabytes of graphics memory and with these specs, the GTX 980 Ti should be fetching a lot of interest for the true gamers among us. The GPU empowering the GeForce 980 Ti is big, this one has a massive transistor count; it is a slightly revised GM200 A1 GPU that currently feeds the Titan X its horsepower. So yes, a slightly different iteration of the GM200. The card has five display outputs: three DisplayPorts, HDMI and DVI-I. Where the GTX 980 has 4 GB, this product has a nice 6 GB frame buffer, and close to a third more shader processors when compared to the GeForce 980, accumulating up-to 2816 of them playing the binary game in a GPU that has a whopping 8 Billion transistors (GeForce GTX 980 has 5 Billion). The card looks pretty identical to previous models with subtle changes here and there and with that familiar cooler shroud. Memory wise NVIDIA equipped its GeForce GTX 980 Ti with 7 Gbps memory, the fastest GDDR5 memory you can find on a graphics card today, that's until HBM (stacked memory) is released by the competition in the near future. Combined with GPU Boost 2.0 you will see this product is advertised in the 1076 MHz range on its dynamic clock for the reference products. The reference base clock for 980 Ti is 1 GHz. It's not that the card can't go any higher, but it is done to keep the product in line power consumption wise. With a 250W TDP, we are not complaining at all, no Sir. For the GeForce GTX 980 Ti, monitor outputs include DVI, HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort, this will vary a little with board partner products that are bound to get released after Computex, based on their own design and cooling. With a card like the ASUS GeForce GTX 980 Ti STRIX you will be able to play the hottest games including the Witcher 3 and Grand Theft Auto V at that whopping Ultra HD 8.2 Mpixels at a 3840x2160 resolution with a single card, in fact we are going to check that out in this review. The maximum allowed board design power draw is roughly 250 Watts, not bad considering the caliber of this product. The MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti Lightning edition comes with a massive whopper of a factory overclock combined with huge cooling capacity that, if I may say so, remains totally silent. The GM-200-310 GPU based graphics card now comes with a custom PWM design, 12 GPU phases and another three memory power phases all plastered into a 10 layer PCB.

Read full article @ Guru3D

Nixeus MODA v2 Mechanical Keyboard Review

Last year, we reviewed the MODA tenkeyless mechanical keyboard from Nixeus. Today we’re looking at the MODA v2 which conserves the tenkeyless form while introducing some improvements. You might be more familiar with the monitors from Nixeus which use high-end panels in a no-nonsense product. Their first MODA keyboard followed a similar fashion of straightforwardness that we expect to see in the MODA v2.

In addition to the aforementioned tenkeyless layout, the MODA v2 most notably features Kailh mechanical switches available in three varieties: Red, Brown, and Blue. Kailh switches are Cherry MX clones though they aren’t knockoffs by any significant stretch. We’ve tried out a few mechanical keyboards with Kailh switches a few times this year and realistically were unable to differentiate them from keyboards with Cherry MX switches.

The MODA v2 is packaged in a cardboard box printed with the usual graphics and information on the front and back. The usage of Kailh mechanical switches is clearly mentioned.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

Pad & Quill Luxury Travel Pouch Kit for Apple Watch Review

Just prior to my vacation on my doorstep appeared one of the latest products from Pad & Quill – the Luxury Travel Kit for the Apple Watch that includes the Luxury Pocket Stand for Apple Watch. I gladly packed this review item for my weeklong trip back to nature.

The Luxury Travel Kit is like a mini suitcase for you Apple Watch as is holds the Pad & Quill Watch Stand along with the Apple Charging Cable and a spare set of Apple Watch bands. As a runner, I prefer to use the Sport Band during exercise and then the Leather Loop ones during the rest of the day.

Pad & Quill strives for quality with its use of materials in both the leather carrying pouch and the composition of the pocket watch stand.

Read full article @ Technogog

Samsung Galaxy Note5 And Galaxy S6 Edge+ Review: More Of A Good Thing

Samsung has done very well with a couple of key design elements in their previous smartphone offerings, curved displays and the larger format Galaxy Note line. The Galaxy Note series has done especially well for the brand, with a user base that doesn't mind a bit more heft in exchange for more screen real estate, as well as other unique functionality that comes with the Note series. So too have Samsung "Edge" devices like the Galaxy Note Edge and Galaxy S6 Edge, which offer curved glass styling that turns heads and offers some additional differentiating functionality of its own.

Samsung is intent on capitalizing further on those successes in both their larger 5.7 inch Super AMOLED displays and also curved designs, with the all new Galaxy Note5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+. Both phones are plus-sized offerings, sporting a spacious 5.7 inches of QDH visibility at a 2560X1440 resolution...

Read full article @ HotHardware.Com

UE MEGABOOM Wireless Speakers

UE's highly anticipated follow up to the original BOOM has finally arrived. MEGABOOM is the grand name of this new product that is just, as the name suggests, a MEGA-version of the original design. We put it through its paces to see if it is a worthy successor!

Read full article @ techPowerUp