Here a roundup of todays reviews and articles:

Alien: Isolation - Video Card Performance Review
Connect Electronics DGZHE A06 Bluetooth Speaker Review
Corsair Graphite 780T Review
G.Skill Ripjaws4 16GB DDR4-2666 CL15 1.2V Memory Review
Home Server Deluxe - November 2014
Install MariaDB on Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty) Server
Intel Haswell-EP Xeon 12 Core Review: E5-2650L V3 and E5-2690 V3
iPhone 6 Video Review
Microsoft Band: One Week Later
Nexus 9 Review
Nokia Lumia 735 Review
Not the upgrade we were hoping for: The 2014 Mac Mini reviewed
NZXT S340 Mid-Tower Case Review
Revo SuperSignal Review
Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Vapor-X OC 8GB Graphics Card Review
TDK A34 TREK MAX Wireless Weather Resistant Speaker Review
The Plextor M6e 256GB (PX-AG256M6e) PCIe SSD Card Reviewed
Thermaltake Core V1 Mini-ITX Case Review
Zotac ZBox PI320 Mini-PC Review and Teardown

Alien: Isolation - Video Card Performance Review

We look at performance in Alien: Isolation on several video cards, and compare specific features such as AA, SSAO, GPU-Accelerated Particles, and Contact Hardening Shadows. We will compare between NVIDIA and AMD and SLI and CrossFire and show you some screenshot comparisons to you know what to expect out of this game.

Read full article @ HardOCP

Connect Electronics DGZHE A06 Bluetooth Speaker Review

It's the first week of November 2014 and it's that time again. That time every year when people all around the world start looking, hunting, shopping for that very gift that they'll give to their wife, husband, daughter, brother, uncle, family member, good friend.

One of those popular gift ideas is undoubtedly going to be the portable Bluetooth speaker. This year we'd been focusing a bit more on Bluetooth speaker systems, and for good reason; they are becoming ever increasingly popular with people who are interested in having a no wires solution. It's funny how these Bluetooth speakers still haven't penetrated the market into every home as some folks I've spoken to do not realize what Bluetooth technology is and what Bluetooth speakers can offer.

Bluetooth speakers come in many different sizes, shapes, colors, quality, price points, and with many different features and technologies embedded inside.

Read full article @ ModSynergy.com

Corsair Graphite 780T Review

To follow up, the Graphite 780T has many positive things making it well worth the asking price. I don't have time to write out each in detail or this would go on forever, so I'm just going to cover the things that make it stand out. First up, having support for every aftermarket CPU cooler is a major advantage. When I say every single one, it's because nothing has topped 200mm yet and that would just be purely insane. I have time and time again given advice for purchasing a cooler, only to find out that a height limit is an issue. At 200mm and a good amount of surrounding space, there isn't much that will not fit. Going along with the CPU cooler, having space up to 355mm without removing a hard drive cage is insane! I also expect Quad CrossFireX or SLI to not be a problem at all, with a generous amount of airflow provided by two 140mm fans in front. To continue, a dedicated fan controller and long internal cables are almost a must within the high end chassis, as it can really make or break a setup. Given that generally companies don't include all the potential fans, having extra connectors besides the motherboard is a great addition. The frame itself is well built and solid metal; this is great because all too often cheap metal means it will easily bend and dent from moving it around. I did not have this issue; in fact my back hurt a little after a few lifts because I wasn't prepared for the weight.

Read full article @ OCC

G.Skill Ripjaws4 16GB DDR4-2666 CL15 1.2V Memory Review

Today we wish to present G.Skill Ripjaws 4 memory designed for Intel X99 platform. It's the latest and the only chipset so far which is supporting desktop DDR4 memory. We hope to see also mainstream DDR4 chipsets in a close future but right now we will focus on the enthusiast line.
DDR4 is bringing couple of advantages over DDR3 like higher frequency and lower voltage but what it really gives the consumers ?
Take a look at our review to see G.Skill Ripjaws 4 DDR4-2666 CL15 in action and find out if it's worth to be called ultimate performance memory.
 

Read full article @ FunkyKit

Home Server Deluxe - November 2014

The Deluxe edition of the Home Server distinguishes itself from the standard home server by its smaller size and more powerful hardware. This server is more versatile and takes up less space, and is a lot more expensive.

Please note: the PC Buyer’s Guide is compiled based on independent component tests performed by Hardware.Info. If no new, superior products are released that should replace one or more of the components, then the component(s) will remain the same as the previous month.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Install MariaDB on Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty) Server

MariaDB is a drop-in replacement for MySQL.MariaDB strives to be the logical choice for database professionals looking for a robust, scalable, and reliable SQL server. To accomplish this, the MariaDB Foundation work closely and cooperatively with the larger community of users and developers in the true spirit of Free and open source software, and release software in a manner that balances predictability with reliability.

Read full article @ Ubuntu Geek

Intel Haswell-EP Xeon 12 Core Review: E5-2650L V3 and E5-2690 V3

As part of our Haswell-EP coverage, the next two processors on our test beds are both 12 core variants. The E5-2650L V3 is a surprising monster, giving 12 Haswell cores at 1.8 GHz with 2.5 GHz turbo for only 65W, while the E5-2690 V3 extends the power budget to 135W for all 12 cores at a 2.6 GHz base frequency. 

Read full article @ Anandtech

iPhone 6 Video Review

The best iOS handset to date. Apple smartphones always cause quite a stir in the run up to their release. But many industry commentators believe that the hype over the past couple of years has not quite matched the reality.

This is because Apple has released a steady stream of iPhones since the iPhone 4 that repackage and refine rather than rethink the offering. This year, however, Apple delivered what in many people's minds, including ours at V3, is its finest smartphone to date, the iPhone 6.

Featuring a larger 4.7in Retina display and redesigned metal chassis, the iPhone 6 is full of innovative features. Key additions include an upgraded A8 processor, new camera lens and Apple's latest iOS 8.1 operating system.

Read full article @ V3

Microsoft Band: One Week Later

Superior but complicated. Microsoft Band and Microsoft Health nicely illustrate the promise of Microsoft's "mobile first, cloud first" vision, providing a one-two punch of superior mobile hardware—the sensor-laden Band—and back-end services. If there's a downside to Microsoft Band, however, and there is, it's that this device is simply too unwieldy—physically, and in usage complexity—for most people.

Read full article @ WinSupersite

Nexus 9 Review

Google's Lollipop tablet is its best yet, but it's far from perfect. THE NEXUS 9 is Google's latest shot at taking on the iPad, and this time round it has roped in HTC to help.

With the Apple tablet set firmly in its sights, Google has made sure its Nexus 9 sounds just as good on paper, equipping it with a high-resolution 1536x2048 display, 64-bit Tegra K1 chip and, of course, Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Read full article @ The Inquirer

Nokia Lumia 735 Review

It's easy being green. For the past several weeks, I've been using an international version of the Nokia Lumia 735 as my day-to-day smart phone. There are probably innumerable reasons why I should find this a lackluster experience, but the shocking truth is that I love the thing. I cannot believe how much I enjoy using this phone.

Read full article @ WinSupersite

Not the upgrade we were hoping for: The 2014 Mac Mini reviewed

Removed features and Intel's convoluted CPU lineup make the Mini less versatile.

Read full article @ Arstechnica

NZXT S340 Mid-Tower Case Review

With the release of the H440 earlier this year, NZXT made it clear what their new approach into the already crammed case market will be in it’s upcoming models. Following this trend, Benchmark Reviews will be testing the NZXT S340, a more “stripped” down version of the already great H440, which still features a similar simple design with a minimalistic design, putting functionality and efficiency above all things.

Read full article @ Benchmark Reviews

Revo SuperSignal Review

Bluetooth is everywhere. The once-ubiquitous iPhone dock has almost vanished from bedside DAB radios and now Bluetooth is taking its place, enabling both iOS and Android smartphones to stream music and more around the kitchen or bedroom.Revo's stab at a Bluetooth DAB showcases an all-new look. Selling for around £149 at the time of review, the SuperSignal has a large anodised aluminium plate/speaker grille across its 10W speaker within a hand-made American walnut chassis.

Read full article @ Techradar

Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Vapor-X OC 8GB Graphics Card Review

The R9 290X has led AMD’s single GPU offerings for what seems like quite a long time now. Released in October 2013 the R9 290X is only a year old but it’s ageing process has been accelerated by successive faster Nvidia graphics cards; the GTX 780 Ti and recently the GTX 980. To ensure competitiveness in the market place AMD has maintained the R9 290X at an attractive price point although Nvidia’s GTX 980, being a generation ahead in architectural terms, has thrown a spanner in the works. Many AMD partners have taken it upon themselves to issue price cuts on the R9 290X, independent of AMD’s official pricing guidance. On the wave of the R9 290X price cuts today we are assessing Sapphire’s newest launch: the R9 290X Vapor-X 8GB graphics card. It uses an identical cooling solution to the 4GB Sapphire R9 290X Vapor-X and it’s also visually similar to the Tri-X cooling solution equipped on slightly cheaper Sapphire cards, except with a different colour scheme. The obvious flagship feature of this new card, is the doubling of VRAM, aimed at gamers tackling the newest video-memory-intensive titles like Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor.

Read full article @ eTeknix

TDK A34 TREK MAX Wireless Weather Resistant Speaker Review

With the Christmas vacations literally just around the corner i think that we're all looking for ways to enrich and improve our time away from home and work and what better way to do that than to pack useful gadgets along with us? Personally i always have a wide selection of gadgets i like to bring along with me when i visit my mountain lodge/cottage during Christmas such as portable battery packs, Bluetooth wireless speakers and Bluetooth headsets. This year however i decided to equip that place with some extra things so I’m also looking to get several LED candles, outdoor LED solar lights and indoor LED motion sensor lights with me. That being said many of you have recently asked us whether there are any new weather resistant Bluetooth portable speaker models in the market that we recommend getting and so today we'll be testing the latest one released by TDK called the A34 TREK MAX.

TDK Life on Record, a leading global brand with a rich audio legacy, is dedicated to personalizing and enhancing audiophiles’ ever-evolving digital music lifestyles. TDK Life on Record audio products are carefully crafted to focus on performance, marrying a clean, striking design with the precision and flexibility of modern technology. This world-class line of premium audio products delivers a warm, authentic, high-fidelity entertainment experience. The TDK Life on Record logo is a trademark owned by TDK Corporation and is licensed exclusively to Imation Corp., a leading global developer and marketer of brands that empower people to capture, save and enjoy digital information. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

The brand new TREK MAX A34 is actually a improved version of the highly awarded A33 weatherproof Bluetooth speaker which we had with us last year so if you liked that you will definitely like the A34 even more. So compared to the A33 the A34 also features an IP64 certified weather resistant housing (full protection against dust and splashed water) with two 1.5 inch full-range drivers, one 2.5 inch subwoofer and two 2.5 inch passive radiators (total output remains the same at 15W for all) and supports Bluetooth version 2.1+EDR with A2DP, HFP, HSP and AVRCP. However the A34 comes with 3 very noticeable differences including support for NFC compatible devices (Near Field Communications), play/pause/next/previous media buttons and a larger battery pack that gives it up to 8 hours of playback (compared to the 6 of the A33 that's a 33% increase). Of course it goes without saying that we don't expect any significant difference in the audio quality department since TDK has used the same speaker configuration but that's not really a bad thing since the A33 was very good overall and is still one of the best Bluetooth speakers to have ever passed from our lab.

Read full article @ NikKTech

The Plextor M6e 256GB (PX-AG256M6e) PCIe SSD Card Reviewed

When it comes to DIY performance upgrades, the two biggest strides have been made in high performance graphics cards, and the mass market adoption of SSDs. While most high performance GPUs still only need a spare PCIe slot, and adequate power, for it to give you a generational boost in performance, SSDs, however, have changed with the recent unveiling of the Intel Z97 and X99 platforms, offering higher performance than before. The new M.2 SSDs, no bigger than a stick of gum, shame even the fastest 2.5 inch SATA units, and unfortunately, don’t just “plug in” to older motherboards. That’s why the Plextor M6e is such an interesting product to those of us, still hanging on to an “old skool” platform.

Read full article @ Futurelooks

Thermaltake Core V1 Mini-ITX Case Review

Thermaltake is a brand name in the computer case industry, we have been reviewing their cases for years. Over the past few years they really have been focusing on mid and full tower cases. It has been quite a while since they released a really great small form factor case for LANs and gaming, the last one I remember was the LANBOX which came out in 2006. Well Thermaltake is back with a small form factor case that is perfect for LANs or just building a smaller system. The case is the Core V1 and it has room inside for a Mini-ITX motherboard, graphics cards as long as 285 mm, CPU coolers as tall as 140 mm, full size ATX power supplies, four hard drives and even watercooling! Let’s take a look!

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Zotac ZBox PI320 Mini-PC Review and Teardown

A few weeks back, Zotac sent us a ZBox Pico PI320 Mini PCS and, for the life of me, I could find a place to start. At 115.5mm x 66mm x 19.2 mm, this mini-PC is just about the size of two iPhones on top of one another and has to be the smallest full feature PC available. No matter how much I looked at it though, an effective use for such a device seemed to escape me. I mean…. it is as true of a definition as one can get to a ‘pocket PC’ and it is a very attractive looking device, but to be completely frank, it wasn’t until I first plugged this in that I truly fell in love with the ZBox PI320. You are not going to believe the absolute genius of this concept and its final use. Stay tuned!

Read full article @ The SSD Review