Here a roundup of todays reviews and articles:

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Review
Cougar 700M Gaming Mouse and Speed Large Mouse Pad
Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4-2400 16GB Kit 4x 4GB DDR4 Review
Crucial MX100 512GB Solid State Drive Review
Fractal Design Node 804 Micro-ATX Chassis Review
Gainward GTX 980 & GTX 970 Phantom
GALAX GeForce GTX 970 EXOC Black Edition Review
How to make money playing games - Kitguru TV speaks with Fnatic COO
How to track your run with the Microsoft Band
HyperX Predator 16GB 2400MHz CL12 DDR4 Memory Kit Review
Logitech K480 Bluetooth Multi-Device Keyboard Review
MP4Nation Brainwavz S5
Noctua IndustrialPPC and Redux fans
Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Digital Headset Review
Sapphire R9 290X Vapor X 8GB CF Review
Tesoro Gandiva H1L Laser Gaming Mouse Review
The 8 Best Office Suites On Android For Getting Work Done
Toshiba 1TB SATA 3.0 SSHD Review
Ubuntu 14.10 Utopic Unicorn review
Urban Armor Gear for the Surface Pro 3 Review

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Review

Just over two years ago, I wrote my first game review for Borderlands 2. Since then I have written many more and started the Years-Later reviews, which gave me the opportunity to write a review of Borderlands with its DLC in preparation of the game I am reviewing now. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is the third game in the franchise, but is actually set between the two other titles, presenting us with the origins of Handsome Jack, the antagonist of Borderlands 2.

Like the other games of the franchise, The Pre-Sequel is an action-FPS-RPG with a loot generation system that provides more weapons than you can shake a stick at. Even a really big stick. Unlike the other games the action is not set on the planet Pandora, but on its moon Elpis and the Hyperion Helios space station (the big 'H' seen in Borderlands 2). This has enabled some interesting mechanics, including low gravity and oxygen as a resource. Lasers have also been added as a weapon class, and we now have Ice type weapons too, among many other additions and tweaks.

The Pre-Sequel has received an M rating from the ESRB for blood, violence, language, and sexual themes. None of the media in this review has been censored (though some videos may have been edited together) so if that content is not appropriate for you, this review likely is not either.

With that covered, the question that remains is if we should go vault hunting once more, or leave the past in the past? Time to find out.

Read full article @ OCC

Cougar 700M Gaming Mouse and Speed Large Mouse Pad

Cougar is a company that was founded in Germany back in 2007, but they really made their presence known in the USA in 2013 with the release of the Spike mATX case. This case still gets plenty of attention thanks to its styling, handful of higher end features, and ridiculously low price. Cougar has a handful of other products in their line up though; including power supplies, fans, keyboards, and mice.

For this review, Cougar has sent over a new mouse, the rather futuristic looking 700M gaming mouse, shown in the promotional image above. The 700M does not have the look of a traditional mouse, and it looks as if it is poised to transform at any moment to join Optimus Prime in battle. We will find that while this design may look like it is from another galaxy, it offers features that make it very appealing for every day use (here on Earth). Before getting to the sample provided for review, let's take a look at some published features and specifications taken from the official product page on the Cougar website.

Read full article @ Bigbruin.com

Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4-2400 16GB Kit 4x 4GB DDR4 Review

Today, here at OCinside.de we test another 16 GB DDR4 quad channel Kit or rather two 8 GB DDR4 kits consisting of two 4 GB DDR4 modules.
The Crucial Ballistix Sports 4 GB DDR4-2400 CL16 memory modules are equipped with heat spreaders and also have XMP profiles.
Let us see how well the DDR4 modules can perform and how high this kit can be overclocked stable with or without voltage boost.

Read full article @ OcInside.de

Crucial MX100 512GB Solid State Drive Review

I have been following technology for quite a while and in that time I have witnessed the birth of solid state drives and many companies bringing them to the masses. When they first came out like all new technology they were very expensive. I remember when many people were debating on getting a new graphics card or a solid state drive. The past couple of years have been kind to the consumer with solid state drives continuing to drop in price. Most people are able to afford a solid state drive for at least their OS drive. The best way to cut costs and keep drives competitive is to decrease the lithography of the NAND that is inside the drive. This is the case for the drive we are taking a look at today. It features Micron’s new 16nm 128Gbit MLC NAND. The drive that I am talking about is the Crucial MX100. The 512 GB version that we are reviewing today is currently selling for a little over $200, which if you can remember that is what most 128GB drives were selling for just a couple of years ago. The MX100 effectively replaces Crucial’s M500 solid state drive while the MX550 still remains as their high performance offering. The 512 GB version of the MX100 offers sequential read and write speeds of 550 MB/s and 500 MB/s respectively. Let’s see what this drive can do!

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Fractal Design Node 804 Micro-ATX Chassis Review

Cube chassis’ have been booming in popularity in recent years. Not only because they make stylish HTPC style cases for your living room, given that they look similar to your common subwoofer, but they also make great cases for the LAN gaming market. I’m sure many of you love using full tower chassis’ for the space they provide. However, there has been a shift to creating compact cases that can still pack some serious hardware and the new Fractal Design Node 804 promises to do just that.

The Node 804 isn’t exactly tiny, but it looks like Fractal Design is trying to balance a relatively compact design, without making any compromises on the kind of hardware you can install. It features a dual compartment design that allows for your motherboard, graphics cards, water cooling and more to be up front. While extra storage, your power supply, cable management and more are tucked out of sight in the back compartment.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Gainward GTX 980 & GTX 970 Phantom

Today we are checking out two new Gainward graphics cards from their elite Phantom series, based on Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 970 and GTX 980 GPUs. Armed with the third generation Phantom cooler, these new graphics cards are designed to be the coolest, quietest and most powerful options available to gamers...

Since the release of Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 980 and GTX 970 two months ago, much has changed in the GPU industry. At the time the newly minted GTX 980 and GTX 970 were to face the then $400 Radeon R9 290 and $500 R9 290X.

Read full article @ Legion Hardware

GALAX GeForce GTX 970 EXOC Black Edition Review

GALAX is back in da house, this round we review their GeForce GTX 970 EXOC Black Edition with EX as in Extreme Overclock. It's in the name as the product comes factory overclocked with a boost clock of 1317 MHz (!). The product has a custom and relatively small PCB, it's the cooler that makes it lengthy in a more regular fashion. Talking about that cooler, GALAX had a mission, it was to make the card both silent whilst offering temps in the 60 Degrees C range, and hey they certainly achieved. The card has 4 GB graphics memory, is energy efficient and comes factory overclocked for you. Let's check it out shall well?

The PC market is interesting, it has been on a decline for sure, but here at Guru3D.com we've noticed an opposite trend, gaming PCs are getting more and more popular, much like an American muscle car or should we say card. We all want a beast of a gaming rig as, let’s face it, PC gaming as an experience is just so much better than anything else out there. Roughly a year and a half ago it became apparent that Nvidia was brewing a new GPU architecture under codename Maxwell, yes, named after the mathematical physicist. The Maxwell family of GPUs is actually the 10th generation of GPU architecture for Nvidia. With several design goals in mind (higher performance and lower power consumption) Nvidia was hoping to reach 20nm by the time their high-end product would be released. It is now September 2014 and it is abundantly clear that the 20nm nodes are not yet viable for volume production of wafers with huge transistor counts. So Nvidia pretty much had to go with plan B and stick with 28nm, this makes their silicon sizable, in relative proportions of course. None the less, Nvidia has moved forward and today the 2nd Maxwell based products (GTX 750 was actually the first trial) are being released as GM204 based GPUs. Yes, correct, GM204 and not GM210, meaning Nvidia is once again using the ‘high-end’ and not ‘enthusiast class’ chip to empower the product series we are about to review. Armed with voltage, power and load limiters Nvidia these days can harvest massive performance out of chips when you think about it. They did the very same with Kepler really, GK104 versus GK110 anyone? So Nvidia is certainly doing something right. Today is testimony to that as we see two products performing in the GTX 780 Ti range of performance, but both will consume much less power. That’s actually a primary feature design target for Maxwell, more performance with less power consumption. The GPU used thus is the 28nm GM204, the two derivatives created from it are the GeForce GTX 970 and 980. Ah, you noticed? Yes, correct, Nvidia decided to skip the 800 series to avoid confusion with some of their rebranded mobile parts. Maxwell is a new and sound architecture and as such it is released with a new series name.

Read full article @ Guru3D

How to make money playing games - Kitguru TV speaks with Fnatic COO

Spend any time around kids and you will be asked, "Can I be a gamer when I grow up?". When there was no money in electronic sports (eSports), the question was moot - there was no living to be made. Then a handful of plucky players started to earn some cash and, in 2015, the amount of money that will be picked up in tournaments etc will be absolutely huge. KitGuru caught up with Team Fnatic's Chief Operating Officer to get the full truth about being a professional gamer.

Read full article @ Kitguru

How to track your run with the Microsoft Band

We've already shown you how to track a workout with the Microsoft Band. Another cool tracking feature is within the Run tile. This tracker is recommended for activities that cover distance. Some examples are running, walking, cycling, or kayaking. Want to see it in action? Watch our hands-on video!

Read full article @ Windows Central

HyperX Predator 16GB 2400MHz CL12 DDR4 Memory Kit Review

Legit Reviews has looked at nearly a dozen kits of DDR4 memory over the past several months and we’ve had a chance we’ve had a chance use some of the not so exciting JEDEC standard 2133MHz kits and then the super high-end 3300MHz memory kits that were the fastest that one could be. The first DDR4 memory kit that we reviewed was the Kingston HyperX Predator 16GB 3000MHz DDR4 memory kit that runs $373.99 shipped online. Over the past several months we’ve found that once you hit a certain DDR4 clock frequency it doesn’t make financial sense to buy such kits. If you go with a good 2400MHz memory kit and tighten up the timings the chances are very slim you’ll see any performance benefit from a 3000MHz or beyond memory kit. Our favorite DDR4 memory kit to date is the Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB 2400MHz DDR4 memory kit. We were able to overclock that 2400MHz memory kit up to 2666MHz with 12-12-12-24 1T timings and it only cost $449.99 Shipped when our review went up on October 11th. Since word has gotten out about how good that kit is the price has skyrocketed up to $528.41 shipped, which has put Legit Reviews back to work to see if we can find another solid memory kit for enthusiasts. We went looking to see if other 2400MHz memory kits might be as good and we gave the Kingston HyperX Predator 16GB (4x4GB) DDR4 memory kit a shot.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

Logitech K480 Bluetooth Multi-Device Keyboard Review

As our mobile devices gets more powerful, especially when we are talking about tablets, the need for a proper input device is increasing. There are options available for most devices, especially if you include the bluetooth keyboards but for the most part it is a pain in the butt if you have more than one device and want to use the keyboard for them all. The solution for this is to allow you to connect more than one device to the keyboard and just switch between them. This is what the Logitech K480 allows. It is a keyboard that allows you to connect up to 3 devices and with the flick of a switch switch between them. It supports IOS, Android, ChromeOS, Windows and Mac.

Read full article @ Bjorn3D

MP4Nation Brainwavz S5

MP4Nation Brainwavz S5 - the name of the company's newest high-end in-ear model priced at just $99.50. The S5s use a single 10mm driver in a very small housing. They also feature a full bundle and even include a set of Comply foam tips.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

Noctua IndustrialPPC and Redux fans

For years now I have been a huge fan of Noctua products, especially their fans. I will admit though, it took me a while to get used to the odd brown colors that they use. After a while I came to the conclusion that it was worth having fans that didn’t necessarily go with my builds because their performance is amazing. Recently Noctua finally introduced two new fan product lines that feature two new color schemes that most likely will fit a little better with most builds while still being unique enough to still stand out as Noctua fans. Today I will be checking out their IndustrialPPC and Redux fan lines. IndustrialPPC is black with a dark brown and Redux are light grey with a dark grey. We know how well Noctua fans perform so today I will mostly just be showing off the new color schemes. Enjoy!

Read full article @ LanOC Reviews

Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Digital Headset Review

Overall I thought the Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Digital headset is a solid performer. The audio quality from the headset is excellent. At just slightly under full volume the headset is LOUD!

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

Sapphire R9 290X Vapor X 8GB CF Review

Today we finally get the chance to look at Sapphire’s R9 290X Vapor X 8GB graphics card. Prices of Ultra HD 4k screens may have dropped in price recently – but sadly this is only part of the overall cost. Driving smooth frames at 3,840×2,160 places a very intense demand on the system – particularly the graphics card. Even current generation cards such as Nvidia’s GTX980 struggle in single formation. Today’s article focuses on Sapphire’s new 290X 8GB Vapor X cards in Crossfire against a selection of other high end hardware running in Crossfire and SLI.

Read full article @ KitGuru

Tesoro Gandiva H1L Laser Gaming Mouse Review

Yesterday i went to the local Nike store to pick a couple of new running shoes since it's time to replace my old ones and it was then standing in front of a wall with almost 30 different models that i realized how hard it must be for people to choose the right pair between several different models. Of course this example isn't just for shoes but pretty much everything else in the market including electronics and PC hardware and peripherals (besides to me running shoes are what power supplies and SSDs might be to someone else). This stands especially true for gaming peripherals since choosing the right ones to cover your needs is not the easiest thing since much like shoes we're not talking about a product that you simply can't base your decision on performance numbers. Although new Tesoro so far has a perfect track record in the gaming peripherals market and today with us we have their latest Gandiva H1L Laser Gaming Mouse.

Tesoro Technology USA Inc, a team of U.S.A gaming enthusiasts. With the objective of designing unique products specially catered to the gamers. We focused on PC gaming and our mission is to create products with better design, increase and reach for peak performances. In the recent years the gaming industry has developed into the ultra-competitive market that we see today. While we are still a relatively young company, established in 2011. Tesoro will continue to strive for the best and continuously evaluate our performance against the very best of the best. Tesoro could not exist without the gaming community who inspire us to excel in the design and production of our award winning gear. As a gamers company, we will continues to expand into new horizons and push the limits further with each product unveiling. We Strive to develop innovative cutting edge computer gaming peripherals to help improve your gaming experience. We maximize our ability to meet the needs of the fast changing PC gaming industry.

For the Gandiva H1L Tesoro has used a laser sensor which we've seen in many other high-end gaming mice the ADNS-9800 by Avago so once again we find ourselves holding a mouse that features a maximum resolution of 8200DPI (dots per inch) with 12000FPS tracking (frames per second), 150IPS speed (inches per second), 30G acceleration and 10.8MP sensor rate (megapixel). Tesoro has also given the Gandiva 8 programmable buttons, 1000Hz polling rate, adjustable LED illumination and 128kb of onboard memory used to store up to 5 profiles with up to 40 macro commands for each. What really impressed us however the moment we saw the preview of the Gandiva H1L almost a year ago was its strange design which has remained practically the same since and is probably something users will either like or dislike from the get go, i really don't think there's a middle ground here.

Read full article @ NikKTech

The 8 Best Office Suites On Android For Getting Work Done

Towards the end of college, I used a Honeycomb tablet to take notes, type up papers, and manage presentations. Since then, Microsoft has brought a portable version of Office into the Play Store, and Google has released a set of dedicated Docs, Slides, and Sheets apps. Old players such as Polaris Office and OfficeSuite are still alive and kicking, while QuickOffice has disappeared after being bought by Google. Quite frankly, the entire landscape has changed over the last couple of years, and its now very easy to get work done using Android devices.

Read full article @ MakeUseOf

Toshiba 1TB SATA 3.0 SSHD Review

Toshiba has released their SSHD series couple of months ago but we've recently received a review sample so we wish to share our experience about this still new storage device.
As most users already know SSHD is a mix of HDD and additional NAND memory for caching the data. In this way we are receiving faster drive which has high capacity and doesn't cost as much as SSD. Sounds like a perfect drive for all who care about high speed and capacity at the same time.
In our review you can find out how Toshiba SSHD performs in various tests. If you wish to know if it meets your expectations then stay with us and check next pages of this review.

Read full article @ FunkyKit

Ubuntu 14.10 Utopic Unicorn review

You will hate me today, more than the usual share, that is. So, on the agenda, we have a horribly negative review of Ubuntu 14.10 Utopic Unicorn 64-bit edition, unsuccessfully tested on a laptop with Intel graphics and SSD and quad-boot configuration, due to severe problems with the display, filesystem and missing repo content. In simplified English, a total fail. Enjoy. NOT!

Read full article @ Dedoimedo

Urban Armor Gear for the Surface Pro 3 Review

When I think of heavy duty protection for smartphones and tablets, I conjure up the image of a bulky, rubberized monstrosity that resembles more of a fat suit than a case. Sure, it will protect your device from nearly any threat, but it also makes it look like a swollen tick with bad fashion sense. Urban Armor Gear must have had a similar image in mind when designing their tough case for the Surface Pro 3 because it avoids those very pitfalls. Rather than being a tough and ugly movie monster, the Urban Armor Gear for the Surface Pro 3 is the rugged, handsome action star.

Read full article @ Windows Central