Here a roundup of todays reviews and articles:

AMD AM1 Platform with Athlon 5350 and MSI AM1i Motherboard Review
AMD Athlon 5350 (28nm Kabini) Review
AMD Athlon 5350 APU On Linux
AMD Athlon 5350 Kabini AM1 APU Review
AMD Kabini AM1 Athlon 5350 APU (FS1b) Review
AMD Radeon R9 295X2 8GB Graphics Card Review
ASUS Xonar U7 USB Sound Card and Amp Review
AVEXIR Blitz 1.1 DDR3 RAM Memory Review
Bitfenix Comrade Review
Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini-ITX Case Review
Corsair Obsidian 450D Review
CyberLink PowerDVD 14 Review
GeForce GTX 660 Ti vs GeForce GTX 760
GIGABYTE R9 290X OC WINDFORCE 3X Video Card Review
Grovemade Bamboo Case for iPad Air Review
Install Kubuntu on Windows XP systems
Install Lubuntu on old Windows XP PC, keep it alive
iOCEAN X7S 8-core Smartphone Review
MSI GE60 2PE Apache Pro 15.6in gaming notebook
Office Mobile For iPad and iPhone Review
Plextor M6S SSD Review (256GB)
Sapphire Radeon R9 295X2 finally detailed

AMD AM1 Platform with Athlon 5350 and MSI AM1i Motherboard Review

The AM1 Platform takes APU technology and looks to keep costs as low as possible while maximising performance and features in the budget market. Today we take a look at MSIs AM1I motherboard along with AMDs $59 Athlon 5350 APU.

Read full article @ HardwareHeaven.com

AMD Athlon 5350 (28nm Kabini) Review

We take a look at desktop Kabini's potential. AMD invigorated its desktop Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) lineup recently with the launch of Kaveri parts presented in an FM2+ form factor. Designed to take over from previous Richland and Trinity APUs, these new chips brought the Steamroller core and GCN graphics to play for the first time on the desktop.

Yet Kaveri isn't the first AMD APU to bake GCN graphics into the die. That honour goes to the embedded and laptop-bound Kabini and Temash APUs released last year. Not only that, Kabini also uses low-power Jaguar CPU cores instead of variants of the Piledriver architecture routinely found on desktop APUs.

Kabini chips are APUs in their broadest meaning; they integrate everything into the silicon, including CPU, GPU, I/O, and memory controller. System-on-chip (SoC) is a better term for explaining their design, which makes sense as they go into space- and thermally-restricted environments.

Read full article @ Hexus

AMD Athlon 5350 APU On Linux

Now that we've covered the general information about the new socketed Kabini APUs, here are our first benchmarks from the Athlon-branded Kabini APU we were seeded with by AMD: the Athlon 5350 with Radeon R3 Graphics. Let's see how this 25-Watt APU with four processor cores can perform under Ubuntu 14.04 Linux.

This article is the first of many benchmarks of the Athlon 5350 and other socketed AM1 APUs to come on Phoronix for our Linux testing of this exciting entry-level desktop platform. In this article are the initial Athlon 5350 performance figures I was able to generate over the past few days of having this AMD APU review sample.

Read full article @ Phoronix

AMD Athlon 5350 Kabini AM1 APU Review

The new AM1 platform from AMD features the Kabini APU. The Kabini line isn't truly new, but rather a variant of the Kabini that is already released into the mobile market and is featured in AMD powered laptops and other x86 based mobile devices.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

AMD Kabini AM1 Athlon 5350 APU (FS1b) Review

Today we are looking at AMD’s new AM1 platform and given that I am writing with the realms of a traditional “tech enthusiast” website you’ll either think this is a great platform with potential, or just too slow to add anything new to the market. However, I am in the former, not the latter, camp – I can see the massive potential of AMD’s socketed Kabini APU. I have always been keen on budget and small form factor computing solutions; the Raspberry Pi is a great example of something that caught my eye. Of course at just $35 the Raspberry Pi is hardly comparable to AMD’s new Kabini socketed APUs that will cost a similar amount for just the APU. However, you can build a Kabini quad core system with a motherboard for just $64 – less than twice the cost of Raspberry Pi but no doubt with way more than twice the performance. The ethos with AMD’s AM1 platform is to bring the Athlon and Sempron product lines (that are orientated towards value for money and “upgradeability”) back with a bang.

While the AM1 system may seem like it is catering to a small market – it isn’t! The majority of PCs are bought in those entry level and mainstream price points – below $200-300 shall we say. Yet if we look at emerging markets in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and so on, then we find that the sub $200 price point is even more popular. As a result the majority of Windows-orientated desktop systems that will be delivered in the future are likely to be in the entry level and mainstream categories. That logic is AMD’s justification for the AM1 platform – it will deliver Windows capable PCs for a fraction of the cost of traditional desktop systems.

Read full article @ eTeknix

AMD Radeon R9 295X2 8GB Graphics Card Review

The AMD Radeon R9 295X2 graphics card is finally upon us. I know a lot of people have been eagerly awaiting this graphics card for the last few months – I myself I have been tracking its existence since AMD phased out the HD 7990 – it was inevitable there would be a replacement. Yet when we first got our hands on the R9 290X I wasn’t so sure how feasible a dual Hawaii GPU graphics card was going to be – the R9 290X was already an immensely hot graphics card with significant heat and noise problems – how could AMD make a graphics card with two of these GPUs work? The inspiration for the AMD Radeon R9 295X2 appears to have come from ASUS’ Ares II graphics card which made use of a hybrid cooling solution on a similar dual GPU solution. AMD clearly knew of the weaknesses of the Hawaii core and they have shaped the AMD Radeon R9 295X2 to correct those weaknesses. Thus AMD’s first ever water cooled reference graphics card has been born and what a performance monster it looks set to be. With two fully enabled Hawaii GPUs the Radeon R9 295X2 boasts an impressive 12.4 billion transistors, 5632 Stream processors ( 2 x 2816) and 11.5 TFLOPS of compute power.

The Radeon R9 295X2 gets a hefty 8GB of GDDR5 memory over dual 512 Bit memory buses but course only 4GB is usable as the GPUs have to mirror each other. 4GB is still a heck of a lot of frame buffer and so this beast is really targeted at multi-panel gaming (5760 x 1080, 7560 x 1600 and so on) or 4K (3840 x 2160). Unlike the Radeon R9 290X and R9 290 the R9 295X2 easily has enough power to rip through 4K gaming with 60 FPS and upwards.

Read full article @ eTeknix

ASUS Xonar U7 USB Sound Card and Amp Review

We got an early look at an upcoming affordable USB powered sound card from ASUS called the Xonar U7. Its compact form makes it easy to setup or use with laptops which normally can’t have their audio solutions upgraded. At the same time, we’re expecting it to pack a big sound based on our very positive assessment of other ASUS Xonar cards. Clearly ASUS has remained confident in maintaining their audio products despite it being one of their smaller ventures within their varied portfolio...

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

AVEXIR Blitz 1.1 DDR3 RAM Memory Review

I love it when a company innovates and brings a product to market that people really want. AVEXIR have done just that with their Blitz 1.1 series DDR3 PC memory range – with designs based on popular gaming motherboard brands. For this review AVEXIR have kindly sent Benchmark Reviews a wide range of samples for our testing pleasure. For performance testing, two of the seven memory modules were paired together to form the equivalent of an 8GB dual channel 1600MHz CL9 memory kit (model# AVD3U16000904G-2BZ1). This review will showcase the Blitz 1.1 series PC memory range available from AVEXIR as well as providing vital performance information.

Read full article @ Benchmark Reviews

Bitfenix Comrade Review

With Comrade, BitFenix offers an ATX case with a low price perfect for everyone that is looking for an affordable and entry-level solution. The design is pretty simple with classic lines, but there are inside elements and solutions that you can find in higher-end models. At this point we're rather curious to see if this case is capable of convincing us.

Read full article @ ocaholic

Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini-ITX Case Review

Many enthusiasts now days are trying their hands at minimizing their PC footprint. Mini-ITX motherboards have progressed a long ways in terms of stability and feature set in the last three years. Cooler Master has a new solution for those looking to minimize while not giving up cooling or features in their Mini-ITX enclosure.

Read full article @ HardOCP

Corsair Obsidian 450D Review

Today we review the Corsair Obsidian 450D. It is the latest iteration in the series, let's call it a mainstream version in the Obsidian chassis series. Not full, mini bit a nice mid-tower intended for mainstream to high-end class PCs.The details and features are really good. Armed with a competitive price this might be the product a lot of you are on the lookout for.

Obsidian - back in the Roman Empire, if a person discovered some sort of mineral they would call him Obsius, it nearly forms the name of today's tested product. So when the Obsius found a, usually black or banded, hard volcanic glass that displays shiny, curved surfaces when fractured and is formed by rapid cooling of lava -- it was called... Obsidian.

Read full article @ Guru3D

CyberLink PowerDVD 14 Review

Last year CyberLink added the option to subscribe to PowerDVD alongside their cloud service, and that continues to be available this year with PowerDVD 14. The $44.99 per year (or $14.99 per quarter) alongside the standard purchase options of Ultra ($99.95), Pro ($79.95) and Standard ($49.95). If you opt for the subscription or Ultra 10GB of CyberLink Cloud storage is included in the price alongside the Android/iOS/Windows 8 “Metro” Power Media Player. There are quite a few new features this year, including HEVC (H.265), WASAPI audio support, and automatic cloud-based file synchronization between clients. I’ve had the chance to play with a beta release of the product – click through for some impressions an the full PR.

Read full article @ MissingRemote

GeForce GTX 660 Ti vs GeForce GTX 760

A gamer simply can't get enough graphics power in their rig, which makes the upgrade question omnipresent. To show you whether it makes sense to upgrade from one generation to another we created this series of articles, where we will compare graphics cards from different generations. Today we're having a close look at the differences between the GTX 660 Ti and the GTX 760.

Read full article @ ocaholic

GIGABYTE R9 290X OC WINDFORCE 3X Video Card Review

Graphics adapters, or video cards if you will, are arguably the fastest improving technology inside of a personal computer. When I built my first PC from scratch back in 2003, my first upgrade was a video card.

Read full article @ FunkyKit

Grovemade Bamboo Case for iPad Air Review

After a couple of months of self-imposed exile I have returned to bring you a review of a new iPad Air case. Today we will look at an iPad case made from the folks at Grovemade. This Oregon based company makes high-end cases like the ones from Pad and Quill that we have reviewed at TestFreaks in the past.

The Grovemade Bamboo iPad Case for iPad Air is exactly what it sounds like; it is a case that is handmade using bamboo ply material. This case is multifunctional with versatile standing positions, includes smart cover capability and is made from mostly natural materials. Grovemade also offers a model using Eastern Hard Rock Maple as well as iPad Mini versions.

Read full article @ TestFreaks

Install Kubuntu on Windows XP systems

In this tutorial we will install Kubuntu in a manner that you will be able to keep your Windows XP along with Kubuntu.

Read full article @ Muktware

Install Lubuntu on old Windows XP PC, keep it alive

Lubuntu is extremely easy to use, it has a somewhat familiar interface (which can be customized to resemble Windows XP) and it can be easily upgraded to newer version with greater ease.

Read full article @ Muktware

iOCEAN X7S 8-core Smartphone Review

X7S is one of the latest smartphones from iOCEAN, featuring the latest MediaTek MT6592 1.7GHz 8-core SoC, which is paired with 2GB of RAM. The 4-core GPU part is clocked at 700MHz (Mali-450 MP4) for offering good performances in 3D applications and for videos we have H.265 video decoding support along with the ClearMotion intelligent video frequency-doubling technology. The 13MP camera in the back provides us with good quality photos while the 2000mAH battery should last us from one day to a day and a half depending on the usage type.

Read full article @ Madshrimps

MSI GE60 2PE Apache Pro 15.6in gaming notebook

Laptops are rarely given much credit when it comes to gaming ability, but the GE60 2PE Apache Pro from MSI has the potential to turn that idea on its head. Packing the ‘hot-off-the-shelf’ Nvidia GTX 860M, an Intel i7 4700 HQ CPU with 12GB of DDR3 and a 128GB SSD – the specs, on paper, are impressive.

Read on to see how well this new MSI laptop does when we put it through some intensive testing.

Read full article @ KitGuru

Office Mobile For iPad and iPhone Review

Office for iPad is finally here, and for once, the term “finally” is truly justified. For nearly as long as the iPad has been available, general consumers and enterprise users alike have been clamoring for Microsoft’s suite of document editing tools. In fact, the dearth of Office on iPad enabled an entire ecosystem to grow, with the likes of Quickoffice and DocsToGo stepping in to fill the void. Eventually, Apple’s own iWork suite was unleashed on iOS for free, which also helped bridge the gap. But even still, there has been a void: you can imitate Office and get by, but there was real, no bona fide replacement for the original...

Read full article @ HotHardware.com

Plextor M6S SSD Review (256GB)

It has been a long time in the making but the new Plextor M6S family is finally rolling out. Based on Marvell SSD controllers and Toshiba NAND flash memory, we got our first glimpse at the M6e M.2 PCIe X2 SSD some months ago in our IO-Switch Raijin Review, followed by our official analysis of the 512GB capacity M6e (and some great RAID testing) a short time ago. To be completely honest, we have been just a bit spoiled by all manufacturers with respect to our M.2 SSD coverage. Things are a bit different today, however, as we introduce the Plextor M6S SSD, the newest of the Plextor M6 family and with a brand new Marvell controller.

Read full article @ The SSD Review

Sapphire Radeon R9 295X2 finally detailed

Sapphire has finally revealed some details on its Facebook page regarding its own Radeon R9 295X2 graphics card. While it will still be based on the standard reference design, it will ship in a metal suitcase, similar to the one AMD used to ship samples to reviewers.

When it comes to the Radeon R9 295X2, there is not much that AMD AIB partner can do in order to differentiate its own version from the competition as all R9 295X2 graphics cards will be based on AMD's reference design with Project Hydra cooler. Nevertheless, Sapphire one will certainly stand out on any retail shelf as the company has decided to ship its own Radeon R9 295X2 in a metal suitcase, rather than a simple box.

Read full article @ Fudzilla