Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including How to Get Data Off an Old Hard Drive, Fanny Wang WangBuds Review, Intel Core i5-4210Y (22nm Haswell) Review, X79 Charts: 19 Boards - ASUS X79 Deluxe, and Intel Bay Trail NUC Linux Performance Preview



How to Get Data Off an Old Hard Drive (Without Putting It in a PC) @ Howtogeek

You saved an old hard drive (or three) from previous computers and now youd like to get at the data on them. Is there an easy way to access the data without cracking open your current computer and mounting the hard drives inside? Dear How-To Geek, I have a pile of old hard drives sitting in a file cabinet in my office. Some are real old (20GB IDE drives from the early 2000s) and some are more recent (100-200GB SATA drives from circa 2008-2010). Ive been pretty good, over the years, about transferring old data to new computers, but before I totally dismantle some of these older drives for security purposes (and to get at the cool magnets inside!) Id like to take one last look at them. Is there an easy way to do this without the huge hassle of opening up my current PC and installing the drives the traditional way? I dont even think my new computer has an IDE port inside to hook the oldest drives up to! Sincerely, Disk Disposing Ahhh the hassle of old hard drives.

Read more: How to Get Data Off an Old Hard Drive (Without Putting It in a PC) @ Howtogeek

Fanny Wang WangBuds Review @ TechwareLabs

Up until recently, sound quality in the main-stream mobile market was more of an afterthought than a design feature. But with the introduction of higher-end audio to the masses (Dre Beats, Monster, etc.), people have begun to realize how a good pair of headphones can really enhance their music.Today we are taking a look at a pair of earbuds from Fanny Wang called the WangBuds. Jokes about the name aside, these earbuds look like serious business with a unique design which promises to deliver amazing sound as well as comfort. Read on to see how these earbuds perform.

Read more: Fanny Wang WangBuds Review @ TechwareLabs

Disgusting Things Found Inside Computers @ ThinkComputers.org

Some people do not realize that you need to regularly clean out your PC. Many people just buy a computer and never open it up to clean it. After a couple of years the inside of a computer can look rather disgusting and things can begin living inside your computer! Don't believe me? Check out these photos of some of the most disgusting things found inside of computers!

Read more: Disgusting Things Found Inside Computers @ ThinkComputers.org

Corsair H75 120mm All-In-One Water Cooler Review @ eTeknix

Corsair have provided the industry with many great coolers in recent years, their H80 and H100 all-in-one water coolers have proven to be some of the most popular choices for system builders, capable of cooling overclocked CPU’s for a fairly competitive price tag, plus they’re rather well designed, and look great in almost any build. From that we’ve got big expectations of their latest range of coolers and their Hydro Series H75 looks like a promising solution for those looking for a 120mm radiator. With a slim rad, but two 120mm fans, we can get some sweet push/pull action going that should help shift some serious heat from our test system.

Priced at around £70 the H75 isn’t exactly cheap, but the AIO (all-in-one) water cooling market is fiercely competitive and so long as the performance is there, it’ll be worth every penny. For around the same money you can pick up the H2O 950 from Antec and the Zalman Reserator 3 Max, both of which are 120mm radiators and of a similar specification, albeit both come with a hard mounted fan, and a second fan would have to be added at extra cost, so the H75 is already sounding like great value for money given that both of its fans are fully removable and both are included in the box.

With support for all major AMD and Intel sockets, as well as a redesigned pump, aluminium radiator, a pair of 2000 RPM, high static pressure PWM fans, and a wonderful five-year warranty mean the H75 is really well equipped right out of the box. I can’t wait any longer, so let’s get right to it and see what Corsairs latest hardware has to offer.

Read more: Corsair H75 120mm All-In-One Water Cooler Review @ eTeknix

Intel Core i5-4210Y (22nm Haswell) Review @ Hexus

How much performance can you expect from a 6W chip? We've managed to get our hands on Sony's lovely-looking Vaio Tap 11. Introduced to market as "the world's thinnest Windows 8 tablet PC," this intriguing ultra-portable device promises "tablet convenience with PC productivity" and, on the face of things, looks to be a serious challenger to Microsoft's Surface Pro 2.

Well, it's not. After just a couple of days of use, we've come to the conclusion that the Tap 11 is too compromised to warrant serious consideration. Build quality is mediocre, the plastic flap covering the USB port is nothing short of horrible, the stand doesn't prevent the tablet from toppling, it's virtually impossible to use on your lap, you can't physically connect the keyboard during use, the pen hangs onto a weak clip just waiting to be lost, and to wrap it all up, it costs £1,050 for a Core i5 model.

Such poor execution of what seemed a sound idea makes Sony's exit from the business a little easier to stomach, yet our time with the Tap 11 wasn't entirely futile. Looking past the usability blunders, what makes the Sony tablet interesting is its use of a Core i5-4210Y processor.

Read more: Intel Core i5-4210Y (22nm Haswell) Review @ Hexus

Sapphire R7 260X 2GB OC 2x DVI Video Card Review @ Legit Reviews

Sapphire currently offers two version of the AMD Radeon R7 260X video card. These two cards differ in pretty much everything. The SAPPHIRE R7 260X 2GB GDDR5 OC 2x DVI (11222-00-20G) is the higher-end version that runs $129.99 shipped after rebate. This model is 8.5 long (215mm) and has a 1150MHz core clock, 6600MHz effective memory clock along with a beefed up GPU cooler with copper heatpipes and both DVI-I and DVI-D display outputs. We are looking at the Sapphire R7 260X 2GB GDDR5 OC 2x DVI video card today!

Read more: Sapphire R7 260X 2GB OC 2x DVI Video Card Review @ Legit Reviews

Raijintek Nemesis Review @ ocaholic

Raijintek is a rather new player when it comes to aftermarket coolers. Nevertheless the guys that are running this business bring years of experience to the table and that's what we see when we have a closer look at their coolers. There have been very few companies that came up with new products that were really good right from the beginning. Meanwhile Raijintek released a second batch of coolers, making competition in the high-end aircooling market a bit tougher. Their flagship is the Nemesis, which features five heatpipes with eight millimeter heatpipes and dual tower design. At this point we're curious to see how well this thing performans and also how well it is built.

Read more: Raijintek Nemesis Review @ ocaholic

X79 Charts: 19 Boards - ASUS X79 Deluxe @ ocaholic

So far we've tested 19 X79 motherboards and we have to say that sometimes we got quite interesting results. What we've also done is, we have added power consumption values as well as a performance rating which allows quick comparision of which board performs best and which is the most energy efficient.

Read more: X79 Charts: 19 Boards - ASUS X79 Deluxe @ ocaholic

Scythe Katana 4 @ techPowerUp

The Katana 4 from Scythe is a cooler that changes what one can expect in terms of performance at such a small size. It proves itself by offering good cooling at low noise levels and an affordable price, but can it cut through the competition like the sword it is named after?

Read more: Scythe Katana 4 @ techPowerUp

nPowerTek NPH-1366-115HC Heatsink Review @ Frostytech.com

At the center of the NPH-1366-115HC heatsink is nPowertek's proprietory copper heat column - essentially a 33mm diameter copper heatpipe. The inner walls and base of the heat column are covered by a sintered metal wick and the contents under vacuum with a small amount of working fluid. The nPowerTek NPH-1366-115HC heatsink is intended for socket LGA1366 Intel processors up to 150W TDP...

Read more: nPowerTek NPH-1366-115HC Heatsink Review @ Frostytech.com

Cooler Master Glacer 240L All In One Liquid CPU Cooler @ Modders-Inc

Cooler Master to bring the Glacer 240L all in one liquid CPU cooler to market. This is not the typical all in one liquid cooler. The major feature that sets the Cooler Master Glacer 240L apart from the rest of the crowd is the expandability feature.

Read more: Cooler Master Glacer 240L All In One Liquid CPU Cooler @ Modders-Inc

Xigmatek Nebula Case Review @ Techspot

t wasn't long ago that Mini-ITX was considered a niche form factor made up of a few motherboards and even fewer cases, but today major e-tailers such as Newegg have more than 60 motherboards listed and well over 150 cases, many of which are quite affordable. While we can't complain about having that kind of variety, it's increasingly difficult to know where to invest.

An enclosure like Cooler Master's new Elite RC-130 lets you cram an enormous amount of hardware into a 1.8L case that weighs just 6.8lbs (3.08kgs) and costs $50. This box can accommodate a full-length graphics card as well as a 120mm radiator in the front, four 3.5" drives and a 2.5" SSD -- essentially a modern enthusiast rig.

The Elite RC-130 isn't alone in its ability to squeeze high-end hardware in a tiny footprint, but like so many Mini-ITX cases, it's not exactly exciting to look at. Understated designs obviously have their place with a machine that might sit in your living room, but building a Mini-ITX system always feels pretty special to me and working with a boring case just doesn't seem right.

Read more: Xigmatek Nebula Case Review @ Techspot

Raidmax Horus Review @ OCC

Alright, on to the good things! I must say once again the price is almost perfect. You are getting something decent enough, even with a few flaws, and the chassis doesn't feel or look that cheap to me. Add the fact that the chassis supports the largest video cards on the market today and CPU coolers up to 160mm, you have a something that can hold its own. Lastly, I was happy to see Raidmax address my issues with the window fan mount and instead of having square fan mounting holes, it chose to make them round.

Read more: Raidmax Horus Review @ OCC

SilverStone ARM Two SST-ARM22SC Monitor Arm Review @ APH Networks

Over the years, I have owned many Dell UltraSharp LCD monitors. The first one I have owned is a 2005FPW roughly nine years ago; an exceptional 20" 16:10 widescreen LCD featuring a brilliant 8-bit S-IPS panel. Since then, I have tried to own monitors of other brands, and even ventured into ones equipped TN panels -- but I have always come back to premium UltraSharp monitors for my main setup. Its picture quality, features, and price is simply unmatched by any other manufacturer in the market today. Besides picture quality, Dell UltraSharps also ellipses other brands in terms of features. This includes stuff like a bajillion inputs, built-in card reader on high end models, and of course, the all-important height adjustable stand. Why is the height adjustable stand so important? Well, if you have been tilting your monitor back all these years, try straightening it out and raise it to eye level with some textbooks -- it makes a world of difference. However, while having a height adjustable stand is awesome, it has one significant limitation: Placement. In the past, I could not establish a dual 24" screen configuration in my room, simply because my desk is too small. Furthermore, spanning two 24" monitors across would have been too wide; making the view a pain in the... neck. But when my 2408WFP decided to kick the bucket a few weeks ago, I decided it was time for a change. With the SilverStone ARM Two SST-ARM22SC articulating monitor arm, not only could I place two 24" monitors on my desk, but I could do so while placing them at eye level, and angle them in aggressively so I can view across 3840 pixels without hurting my neck -- all without taking up any room on my desk. For a competitive price of about $200 at press time, is this your Ergotron killer? We took one in along a pair of UltraSharps to find out.

Read more: SilverStone ARM Two SST-ARM22SC Monitor Arm Review @ APH Networks

MyDigitalSSD Super Cache 2 M.2 SSD Review @ TechnologyX

If you are one of the millions of Lenovo, or other M.2 SSD contained portable laptop owners, this article may be of great benefit to you; that is if you are looking for both a performance and capacity upgrade to your present system. Our expected report of the MyDigitalSSD Super Cache 2 M.2 SSD brought forward possibilities that even we never expected. Quite frankly, enabling a dual installation (as we will discuss in the report) may have altered my thoughts on SSD caching just a bit, although not too much I can promise you.

Read more: MyDigitalSSD Super Cache 2 M.2 SSD Review @ TechnologyX

TechTip: Isolate a browser with Sandboxie to protect your PC @ PCSTATS

One way to help protect your PC from the malware and mischievous scripts a web browser is exposed to, is to run the browser in what's called a 'sandbox'. A sandbox is computer term for an isolated virtual container in which untrusted programs can be run. One such application is called Sandboxie. The program is 32-bit and 64-bit compatible and works with any web browser, or program for that matter.

Read more: TechTip: Isolate a browser with Sandboxie to protect your PC @ PCSTATS

Cooler Master Cosmos SE Case Review @ Toms Hardware

Cooler Master's Cosmos gaming cases are well-known for their extravagant carrying handles. The Cosmos SE is the smallest member of this line-up, selling for as low as $150 online. It has room for lots of fans and three radiators, attracting enthusiasts.

Read more: Cooler Master Cosmos SE Case Review @ Toms Hardware

Intel Bay Trail NUC Linux Performance Preview @ Phoronix

Last week on Phoronix I shared my initial impressions of the Intel "Bay Trail" NUC Kit when running Ubuntu Linux. I've been impressed by the size, features, and price of this barebones Intel system sporting a low-power SoC with built-in HD Graphics capabilities that work well under Linux. Here's some early CPU benchmarks for those trying to gauge the Intel Celeron N2820 performance under Ubuntu.

Read more: Intel Bay Trail NUC Linux Performance Preview @ Phoronix

Linux On Macs @ OStatic

On a typical PC, installing Linux is as easy as putting a CD in the drive and rebooting. But, a Mac is far from your typical PC, and if you insist on running Linux natively, you might be in for a bit more work. Apple is not exactly forthcoming with information, especially with firmware, which makes the job of the distributions that want to support Macs difficult. In addition, Macs from different release years can contain very different hardware, one MacBook is not necessarily the same as another. That being said, once the drivers are installed and the system is configured, Linux on Macs can be a very nice environment, if you are up for a bit of fiddling. This recent Reddit thread reminded me of the many times I've run Linux on my Mac.

Read more: Linux On Macs @ OStatic

Nine 21:9 monitors tested: wide enough for you? @ Hardware.Info

2013 will be known as the year when PC monitors finally started moving beyond Full HD resolution. Last year we tested a large number of WQHD monitors with 2560x1440 pixels, and today we will examine nine screens with a resolution of 2560x1080. 

The aspect ratio of these 29-inch monitors is a rare one, 21:9. That's much wider than the 16:9 aspect ratio of Full HD, WQHD and Ultra HD, but with the same vertical space. It's very close to the super-widescreen movie format of 2.39:1.

Read more: Nine 21:9 monitors tested: wide enough for you? @ Hardware.Info

Asus VivoTab Note 8 review @ V3

The Asus VivoTab Note 8 is the best small form-factor Windows 8.1 tablet available. But even with its dockable Wacom stylus, the Microsoft OS isn't suited to smaller tablets.

Pros:
Wacom stylus, Windows 8.1 productivity services, bundled with Microsoft Office

Cons:
Dull design, average screen, small display means text and desktop applications can be fiddly to use

Read more: Asus VivoTab Note 8 review @ V3

Edifier Luna Eclipse e25 2.0 Speakers Review @ KitGuru

Today we are going to take a look at the latest set of speakers from Edifier, dubbed the Luna Eclipse e25. Previous Edifier reviews have highlighted high build standards and excellent sound quality so we are interested to see how the Eclipse e25 compares.

Read more: Edifier Luna Eclipse e25 2.0 Speakers Review @ KitGuru

Hands-on review: Sony HX400V @ Techradar

Bridge cameras continue to be one area of the compact camera market which remains buoyant in an otherwise declining arena. The HX400V is one of the larger bridge models available, closely resembling an entry-level or even enthusiast DSLR/T - in overall body size at least.The key selling point of this camera is its massive focal range. It keeps the incredible 50x zoom of its predecessor, the Sony HX300V, which equates to 24-1200mm in 35mm terms. Impressively it also manages to have a maximum aperture of f/2.8 (at the widest point of the lens), rising to f/6.3 at the telephoto end. Outwardly, much of the HX400V remains the same as the camera it replaces, such as the three inch tilting screen on the back of the camera. Inwardly though, the HX400V has seen some key improvements which should equate to better image quality.

Read more: Hands-on review: Sony HX400V @ Techradar

XFX Radeon R9 290 Double Dissipation Review @ Benchmark Reviews

When the AMD Radeon R9 290X video card debuted, it first appeared to be a solid competitor to NVIDIAs GeForce GTX 780 series until heat and noise were taken into consideration. The Curacao XT-based video card offered plenty of graphics power, but the cooling system was forced to work hard and loud. When the Radeon R9 290 series arrived, this game brands such as XFX the opportunity to further improve upon the AMD reference design by incorporating a much better cooling solution paired with long-life capacitors. In this article Benchmark Reviews tests the XFX Radeon R9 290 Double D, model R9-290A-EDFD, which sells online for $499.99 (Amazon). This Black Edition Double Dissipation Radeon R9 290 features a 947 MHz UltraHD 4K resolution-ready graphics card with 2560 Stream processors and support for the upcoming DirectX 11.2 API.

Read more: XFX Radeon R9 290 Double Dissipation Review @ Benchmark Reviews