Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

Cyberpower Zeus Mini EVO I-970 Gaming PC Review
D-Link Powerline AV2 1000 HD Gigabit Passthrough Starter Kit Review
Intel Skylake Graphics: Windows 10 vs. Ubuntu Linux Performance
Knoxlabs Knox One Erwins Box Cardboard VR Kit Review
Patriot Viper V360 Gaming Headset Review
QNAP TS-563 5-bay Affordable Quad-Core Business NAS Review
Silverstone Milo SST-ML08B Mini-ITX Gaming Chassis Review
Tt eSPORTS Challenger Go Gaming Keyboard Review
WD Purple 6TB Surveillance Hard Drive RAID Review
Xbox One Backwards Compatible Xbox 360 Games List Leaked In Full

Cyberpower Zeus Mini EVO I-970 Gaming PC Review

Cyberpower is one of the most recognizable system builders in the industry, renowned for creating a huge array of stylish and unique builds. The company includes a 3-year warranty with every system as standard regardless of the specification or price. Additionally, Cyberpower utilizes their buying prowess to deliver astonishing prices which legitimately rival self-builds. Their adept design team spearheads the focus on unusual and distinctive custom PCs which look spectacular. This allows consumers to opt for something special instead of the traditional ATX form factor.

One perfect example of Cyberpower’s approach is the Zeus Mini EVO I-970 which features an Intel Core i5-6600K, 16GB DDR4 2666MHz RAM, MSI Armor OC GTX 970 and highly efficient Gigabyte Z170N-WiFi. This stunning setup is housed in a slim and portable Cyberpower Zeus Mini II mITX chassis. Other key specifications include a 120GB Kingston SSD boot drive, 1TB Seagate data disk and Corsair CX600M modular power supply. On another note, the CPU frequency is overclocked in a proficient manner and set to 4.2GHz. This is a significant boost from the base figure of 3.5GHz and should provide some impressive performance gains. Given the Zeus’ wonderful aesthetic design and excellent core specification, I expect the system to exceed its price point and offer a marvelous gaming experience.

Read full article @ eTeknix

D-Link Powerline AV2 1000 HD Gigabit Passthrough Starter Kit Review

As we all know manufacturers all around the world keep researching ways to amplify/boost wireless connectivity via the introduction of new hardware and standards but for people who place performance and data security above all else (versatility due to the lack of wires mostly) wired connectivity will probably always be the one at the top. Unfortunately although the design of new buildings all around the world includes wall channels for the installation of CAT5-7 cabling making it extremely easy for people to setup a local area network the same doesn't apply for older buildings and that's where powerline adapters come in. D-Link is considered to be amongst the top Network manufacturers in the world for almost two decades now and although it did take us a while to get our hands on their latest powerline kit to see just how it compares against similar models released by the other leading manufacturers it's finally here.

Read full article @ NikKTech

Intel Skylake Graphics: Windows 10 vs. Ubuntu Linux Performance

As it's been a while since my last Windows vs. Linux graphics comparison and haven't yet done such a comparison for Intel's latest-generation Skylake HD Graphics, the past few days I was running Windows 10 Pro x64 versus Ubuntu 15.10 graphics benchmarks with a Core i5 6600K sporting HD Graphics 530.

This article is an OpenGL performance comparison between Windows 10 Pro x64 and Ubuntu 15.10 when upgrading to the very latest open-source graphics driver stack. Atop Ubuntu 15.10 was the upgrade to the Linux 4.3.0 stable kernel and also switching to Mesa 11.1-devel Git using the Padoka PPA. On the Windows side, the latest Intel 20.19.15.4300 graphics driver was used for benchmarking this Skylake system.

Read full article @ Phoronix

Knoxlabs Knox One Erwins Box Cardboard VR Kit Review

VR is the new in thing obviously, and Google Cardboard is the inexpensive way to get access to it. Some companies have come out with their own special version of cardboard like Knoxlabs which is what I have for review today, but this on is called Erwin’s Box and it’s theme is based on Schrodinger’s Cat. Great looking box that does the job for sure. Read on to learn more..

Read full article @ Technogog

Patriot Viper V360 Gaming Headset Review

When you start something new, I would say there are two approaches you can take. One is to build off what you already know, or what you have seen from others. You build off a known result, and with it comes the experience learned along the way to know how to improve next time. For example, when I started baking cookies, I started safe by finding recipes, and learning from the people around me, like my mom or my sister. From there, I learned different methods of mixing and combining ingredients. The next batch of cookies I made, I started altering the amounts of sugar, butter, and other ingredients to find the perfect balance of taste and texture. The second approach is to blindly go and rush in with a Leroy Jenkins-like mindset. I can say I have never done this, as this is completely opposite of my personality. However, there are some merits to this. For one, people who take this approach can take all the liberties they want with their ideas. They may think this is their first shot, so they might as well see how far they can go. In addition, because they are not biased by any of their past experiences, they can innovate and inject new ideas. Taking a step back, I should say these two approaches are polar opposites, and there is generally a mixture of the two extremes when it comes to new ideas or products. So when Patriot announced earlier this year at Computex their first lineup of gaming peripherals, I had to wonder what they had in their bags. Sure, they probably would not come out with flame-firing headphones, or automated drink-dispensing keyboards. To see what they actually came out with, we will take a look at one of their products, the Patriot Viper V360. What kind of new ideas has Patriot put in, and what is the result? Hopefully this question and more will be answered in today's review!

Read full article @ APH Networks

QNAP TS-563 5-bay Affordable Quad-Core Business NAS Review

This is not the first AMD-based NAS we are testing on MadShrimps and it has been demonstrated to us once again that the platform has potential even when dealing with a lower clocked SoC and to be more exact the GX-420MC. This quad-core component is lacking a GPU (hence we do not have a HDMI interface on the back of the unit), is equipped with a total of 2MB of shared L2 cache, comes with a power rating of 17.5W and a frequency of 2GHz per core. While the unit is initially equipped with only 2GB of DDR3L RAM, we always have the option to open it up and install up to 16GB (2x8GB).

Read full article @ Madshrimps

Silverstone Milo SST-ML08B Mini-ITX Gaming Chassis Review

Are you ready to take your big screen gaming to the next level? The desktop gaming market may be booming, but there’s a big demand for the something small, systems that is. Having a high-end gaming PC under your TV is very much a possibility, but few make compact cases as well as Silverstone and their new Milo ML08 looks set to dominate those smaller spaces. Under your TV, perhaps you’re limited on desktop space, or you want something portable for LAN gaming, this chassis is just the right size for all of them, but more importantly, it doesn’t compromise on the size of the GPU.

“Based on the excellent RAVEN Z RVZ02 chassis, the Milo ML08 is a super slim Mini-ITX console case with highly capable accommodations. With a volume of only 12 liters, this case is small yet easy to assemble when compared to other slim cases in the same class. There is plenty of room for a powerful graphics card up to 13 inches in length while tool-less drive cages make assembly quicker than ever.” says Silverstone.

As you can see, it’s pretty well equipped, but the most important aspect is the fact that despite only being 87mm deep, this chassis can house a full-size graphics card of up to 13″ long, which is pretty amazing; you’ll see how it does that in a moment.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Tt eSPORTS Challenger Go Gaming Keyboard Review

LAN events have never been extremely popular where i live but even so over the years I’ve managed to attend quite a few both here and abroad some of which i still remember due to the fun i had there. Unfortunately although eSports in general are gaining ground not many manufacturers cater to the needs of people who attend such LAN events. Sure there are countless gaming peripherals in the market today by a large number of companies ranging from gaming keyboards and headsets to mouse, mats and even carrying bags but most are not really targeted towards use in LAN events but rather by gamers in general. Tt eSPORTS is amongst a handful of manufacturers currently that actually market gaming peripherals primarily for use in LAN events and one such product is the Challenger Go Gaming Keyboard which we've been using for almost a month now.

“Challenge is the game” highlights the philosophy to bring out gamers’ addiction in gaming and the ambition of reaching to the extreme. Tt eSPORTS, a gaming obsessed division from Thermaltake, is uniting gamers from all over the world in a unique & fascinating eSPORTS culture, inherited the spirits of Thermaltake, is an energetic, powerful, bold and intelligent challenger who never says “no” to the extreme competition. We do not only provide gamers the ultimate gaming gears but also fulfills the passion to achieve the ultimate success. Thermaltake has been a well-known brand in the gaming & DIY market for PC Chassis, Coolers and Power Supplies PSU for many years. The brand personality of unique, aggressive, vivid and stylish makes Thermaltake an expert in creating exciting things and fascinating environment for gamers and enthusiasts. Tt eSPORTS inherited the brand personality with unique and creative design by observing users’ behaviors and requirements. The fan cooling design on Tt eSPORTS Challenger keyboard demonstrate the brand spirit. It is the worldwide first keyboard with fan cooling function that could dry your hand sweats and blow tension away during cut-throat competition.

The first thing one expects when getting a brand new gaming keyboard model is for it to feature mechanical switches but unfortunately that's not the case with the new Challenger Go. This may sound a bit strange at first but if you look at the nature of this product it actually isn't. We are after all talking about a keyboard which needs to be light (I’m pretty certain that no one wants to carry heavy peripherals in their backpack) and since it will be used in LAN events chances are that it will probably not be the primary one (thus it shouldn't cost as much as the one you use all the time at home or at work). That of course doesn't mean that Tt eSPORTS hasn't given the Challenger Go plenty of features so here we see a removable cable design (easier to pack), fast response (short activation distance) membrane keys (MTBF of 10 million keystrokes), 10 programmable macro keys (4 modes each resulting in 40 macros) and blue back-lit illumination (5 levels plus a pulse lighting mode) for both the keys and sides of the keyboard.

Read full article @ NikKTech

WD Purple 6TB Surveillance Hard Drive RAID Review

We have already had the pleasure to see how WD’s 6TB Purple surveillance hard disk performed in our previous review, but WD was kind enough to provide us with two of these drives and thereby allowing us to test them in a RAID environment too. A surveillance setup will rarely consist of just one hard drive, making this review one to take a closer look at before investing in your future surveillance storage.

With two drives at our disposal, we can run them as in RAID 1 and RAID 0 setups, depending on whether we want speed and storage or redundancy. There isn’t one setup that is better than another, it comes down to what you need in your setup. Most people will probably get more drives and opt for a RAID 5, RAID 6, or RAID 10 setup, but those are out of our reach when working with just two drives.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Xbox One Backwards Compatible Xbox 360 Games List Leaked In Full

Microsoft’s Xbox One is set to receive a brand new Windows 10-powered dashboard update on November 12th, that much we already know. We also know that the machine will receive Xbox 360 backwards compatibility as part of that update, but with that compatibility being powered by software, not all games will actually work. In fact, Microsoft needs to do some work in order for any Xbox 360 game to work on the Xbox One, limiting the number of titles that will be playable with the new update.

While we don’t have any official word on which games will be compatible with the Xbox One post its Windows 10-powered update, one source claims to have managed to get its hands on an official list of the titles, though its authenticity cannot be verified.

Read full article @ Redmond Pie