Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including iPhone 5S vs Galaxy S4 head-to-head review, Alienware 18 Gaming Notebook Review (with Intel Core i7 4930MX), HP Chromebook 11 Review, Babel Rising 3D Review: Punish free thinkers on Windows Phone and Windows 8, and ADATA Premier Pro SP900 128GB SSD Review (Raid 0)



iPhone 5S vs Galaxy S4 head-to-head review @ V3

We check if the latest iPhone's Touch ID sensor is enough to regain iOS' lead over Android

Read more: iPhone 5S vs Galaxy S4 head-to-head review @ V3


Alienware 18 Gaming Notebook Review (with Intel Core i7 4930MX) @ KitGuru

Today we are going to take a look at one of the most powerful gaming notebooks to ever hit the market, the Alienware 18. This fits in right at the top of Alienware's range and is one of the most expensive gaming notebooks that is currently available on the market.

Read more: Alienware 18 Gaming Notebook Review (with Intel Core i7 4930MX) @ KitGuru

Leap Motion Controller LM-010 Performance Review @ Benchmark Review

Back in May the announcement of the Leap Motion Controller had me with the first sentence on the home page: With a wave of a hand or lift of a finger, you're about to use your computer in a whole new way. However I had to wait until the product launch in July before Benchmark Reviews was able to obtain one for me to conduct a review. Of course, once the review item arrived it was out of the box and on my computer in no time at all. I was really keen to begin testing so that I could share my exploits in discovering how effective this amazing device really is. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests and evaluates the Leap Motion Controller (model LM-010) for functionality and innovation.

Read more: Leap Motion Controller LM-010 Performance Review @ Benchmark Review

MSI R9 270X HAWK 2 GB @ techPowerUp

MSI uses the same cooler on the R9 270X HAWK, that they've used on their R9 280X cards, which means the cooler has lots of power to spare, resulting in amazing noise levels, while still keeping temperatures reasonable. The card is also overclocked out of the box, giving it a nice performance boost.

Read more: MSI R9 270X HAWK 2 GB @ techPowerUp

Fractal Design Define R4 Case @ TechwareLabs.com

There are two main schools of thought when it comes to enthusiast case design. One can be thought of as attention-seeking: make it as flashy, splashy, and eye catching as possible. The other is most often described as minimalist: strip the design down to bare essentials, keep the design accents subtle. Fractal Design has an established reputation in the second school, and today were going to be taking a look at one of their latest efforts: the Define R4.

Read more: Fractal Design Define R4 Case @ TechwareLabs.com

Antec High Current Gamer 750M 750W Power Supply Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Antec's High Current Gamer series of power supplies have been out for a while now and Antec decided to update some of these units with modular cabling, giving them them the High Current Gamer M naming. Today we are taking a look at the HCG-750M which is the 750W unit. All units in this series feature a semi-modular design, Japanese capacitors and a 135 mm double ball bearing white LED fan. The 750W unit also features an 80PLUS Bronze certification and is NVIDIA SLI ready. We have always known Antec for great power supplies so will the HCG-750M impress? Read on as we take a look

Read more: Antec High Current Gamer 750M 750W Power Supply Review @ ThinkComputers.org

HP Chromebook 11 Review @ TechReviewSource.com

If you've been thinking about a Chromebook, HP's Chromebook 11 might be the one that sways you thanks to a slim and stylish design, lots of complimentary extras, and battery life to take you through the day.

Read more: HP Chromebook 11 Review @ TechReviewSource.com

Corsair Obsidian 750D Full Tower Case Review @ Legit Reviews

The Corsair Obsidian 750D case was recently released into the wild, unleashing its Full Tower goodness. This case is a smaller sibling to the Obsidian 900D and also takes on a lot of design queue from its smaller brother yet, the 350D. The first Obsidian case, the 800D was released late 2009, and has evolved to what you're about to see today.

Read more: Corsair Obsidian 750D Full Tower Case Review @ Legit Reviews

Babel Rising 3D Review: Punish free thinkers on Windows Phone and Windows 8 @ WP Central

Last year Ubisoft released its first Xbox game for Windows Phone, Babel Rising 3D. Mando Productions created the original game while Advanced Mobile Applications ported it to Windows platforms. Babel Rising arrived just a month before Windows Phone 8. Once the new mobile OS launched, the game turned out to be Windows Phone 8-incompatible. Luckily for Windows Phone gamers, Ubisoft did the right thing and brought Babel Rising 3D back as a new, separate Windows Phone 8 version earlier this month. Not only that, they also published a Windows 8 version. All three versions are content identical, with the Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 versions naturally running smoother and in higher resolutions. It?s high time for our full review.     

Read more: Babel Rising 3D Review: Punish free thinkers on Windows Phone and Windows 8 @ WP Central

Cooler Master HAF Stacker Case Review @ OCC

Onto the pros! When Cooler Master decides to do something, it seems to go big or go home, and that is exactly what it did with the cooling. Can I say wow? I have never seen a chassis supporting a thick 360mm radiator, and the fact you can fit two of them! If you just pretend the 915R isn't an ITX chassis, it opens up many doors for water cooling options and that is the biggest selling point Cooler Master has to offer. The chassis itself has what I consider the standard asking price of $170, and I am very pleased with how modular the chassis is. Most if not all the bays use the same screws, which makes swapping things around really easy for someone like me, who constantly can't remember where I set down the screws.

Read more: Cooler Master HAF Stacker Case Review @ OCC

Cooler Master V-Series 700 Watt Power Supply Review @ HiTech Legion

Today hundreds of millions of people depend on water from utility companies which put various chemicals in the water for various reasons. Sadly, many of them have never known the refreshment that can only come from a cold glass of well water straight out of the ground not a minute before. Some people are even afraid of well water, thinking that it will be full of contaminants, completely ignorant that many wells produce cleaner water than they could buy in a Poland Springs bottle. In fact, this kind of water is so clean that almost every drop of tap water in New York City is piped directly from the Adirondack Mountains. As a result, New York City has some of the best drinking water of US cities.

Read more: Cooler Master V-Series 700 Watt Power Supply Review @ HiTech Legion

Synology DiskStation DS214 NAS Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

Enter Synology and their NAS range, your own personal cloud; sync all your data, documents, photos, media to a single box that is accessible through all devices on your network. Today we look at the brand new DS214, a dual-bay offering aimed at home/small office solutions.

Read more: Synology DiskStation DS214 NAS Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

Zalman CNPS2X Low Profile Heatsink Review @ FrostyTech

This little heatsink from Zalman is called the CNPS2X and it looks like it should be found on an entry level videocard, motherboard chipset or possibly a miniITX motherboard. It is small. To give an idea of how small, the impeller from a 120mm fan is larger than this entire heatsink.

Read more: Zalman CNPS2X Low Profile Heatsink Review @ FrostyTech

Synology DiskStation DS214 NAS Review @ KitGuru

Synology have been one of the key players in the Network Attached Storage Devices for some time now, and each new DiskStation model is eagerly anticipated. The DS214 is no exception with it first being teased at Computex in June of this year, along side its more powerful DS214+. This release also ties in with the latest update to the DSM Operating system; version 4.3.

Read more: Synology DiskStation DS214 NAS Review @ KitGuru

Tt eSPORTS Cronos Gaming Headset @ LanOC Reviews

Thermaltake has churned out a long list of products under their Tt eSPORTS branding this past year and with each offering have displayed unique designs and portability minded function. Earlier we reviewed the MEKA G-Unit Illuminated keyboard and today we are back with a headset. The Cronos is a mid-range offering looking to deliver on the brands staples while also offering clear audio and voice communication all gamers crave. Join me as I put the Cronos through its paces and see if it is indeed worthy of the Tt eSPORTS name.

Read more: Tt eSPORTS Cronos Gaming Headset @ LanOC Reviews

Silicon Power Armor A30 1TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive @ NikKTech

I've always believed that having an excessive amount of free HDD space available around is always a lot better than to need it and not have it so whenever someone comes up to me and tells me that he/she plans on purchasing a new model to replace the old and smaller one i always say to also keep the old one either as a secondary drive or as an external backup drive even if they think there's no point in doing that. That being said when it comes to portable needs most people will never even fully utilize a 500GB portable hard drive but there are quite a few people that will do so and to them a 1TB PHD is really a one way. Capacity however is not the only important thing when we're talking about portable hard drives, the enclosure also pays a significant role since it's responsible for the health of the drive inside so it's always preferable to choose one of the rugged models that offer superior protection. The Armor A30 by Silicon Power is the latest addition in their Armor line of PHDs and today we will be taking a thorough look at it.

Read more: Silicon Power Armor A30 1TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive @ NikKTech

Kingston's Fastest Ever SSD? SSDNow V300 240GB Benchmarked @ PC Stats

Looking at the numbers, Kingston's SSDnow V300 SSD is spec'd for 4KB random reads at 85,000 IOPS and 4KB random writes at 43,000 IOPS. The SSDNow V300 drive supports SMART, NCQ, and TRIM. Peak power consumption is rated at 2.052W, idle is a scant 64mW; this puppy can certainly help extend notebook battery life if you're considering an SSD to replace a 2.5" HDD. The 1.0 million hours MTBF rating Kingston assign to the SSDnow V300 is lower than other SSDs PCSTATS have tested (average is 1.2M - 2M hrs MTBF). The drive is backed by a 3 year limited warranty.

Read more: Kingston's Fastest Ever SSD? SSDNow V300 240GB Benchmarked @ PC Stats

Speedlink Jugger 2.1 Review @ Vortez

When at home gaming, there is nothing that quite captures the immersion of being surrounded by the sounds of your favourite game. There are many tools available to gamers, be it a gaming headset or surround speakers. 2.1 systems are popular for those who have no real noise constraints to deliver suitable stereo sound that packs that cinematic bassy punch. Jumping into that foray, Speedlink enter with the Jugger 2.1 system that has designed for gaming and cross platform entertainment, let's take a closer look.

Read more: Speedlink Jugger 2.1 Review @ Vortez

Kobo Aura review @ The Inquirer

Kobo eyes the Kindle Paperwhite with its thinner and lighter backlit ereader     

Read more: Kobo Aura review @ The Inquirer

QNAP TS-420 review: 4-bay midrange NAS @ Hardware.Info

NAS devices come in all shapes and sizes nowadays. QNAP is of course one of the bigger names known for its high-end products, and it now has the new QNAP TS-420, a 4-bay NAS. It's perhaps not as deluxe as some of the top of the line models, but it still features a metal body and sturdy hard disk trays. You don't get a display or a way of locking the drives, however.

It has plenty to offer in other ways, especially in terms of connectors in the back. Having a look at those is a good way of telling how high-end a NAS device is. You should of course also ask yourself if you will actually use every single one of those, or if a more basic model would be sufficient. If you can afford it, the more, the merrier of course.

Read more: QNAP TS-420 review: 4-bay midrange NAS @ Hardware.Info

Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X Overclocked Edition Review @ Hexus

No sooner had AMD launched an entire stack of 'new' Radeon graphics cards, board partners have rushed to get products on to retailer's shelves.

The Radeon R9 280X, priced from $299, is very much like a Radeon HD 7970 card at heart. Both share the same architecture and, tellingly, the only manifest difference is with a firmware update that enables the new card to run three screens without using the DisplayPort connector. It is very reasonable to assume that, a few weeks back, partners began rebranding said HD 7970s into R9 280Xs and thus enabling speedy time to market.

Gigabyte's already managed to get its card into the retail field. Officially known as the GV-R928XOC-3GD, but colloquially referred to as the WindForce OC to enthusiasts, let's take a closer look.

Read more: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X Overclocked Edition Review @ Hexus

ASUS Echelon Review @ Vortez

ASUS impressed us with their ROG Vulcan ANC previously with its distinctive Republic of Gamers decor, but now we take a look at another side of the ASUS audio stable. The ROG Orion was originally made for cross platform use across games consoles and PC, and it was well received. Revamping that with a more targeted approach, namely FPS gamers on the PC, we find the Echelon. With a sleek digital camo design and impressive specifications, there is little to dislike about about this headset on first impressions. Let's test it out and see how it performs.

Read more: ASUS Echelon Review @ Vortez

ADATA Premier Pro SP900 128GB SSD Review (Raid 0) @ KitGuru

We have been reviewing ADATA products now for years and the SP900 has hit the UK market at £74,99 inc vat (http://www.ebuyer.com/525117-adata-128gb-premier-pro-sp900-ssd-asp900s3-128gm-c) . The Premier Pro SP900 is the mainstream drive from ADATA focusing on creating a balance between price and performance.

Read more: ADATA Premier Pro SP900 128GB SSD Review (Raid 0) @ KitGuru