Here today's reviews and articles, including 2013 MacBook Air Disassembled and Benched Samsung 256GB PCIe SSD Performs at 700MB/s, GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-OC (Intel LGA 1150), The Last of Us (PS3) Video Review with Kaeyi Dream, Sandberg PowerBar 4400mAh Portable Battery, and Corsair Carbide Series Air 540



2013 MacBook Air Disassembled and Benched Samsung 256GB PCIe SSD Performs at 700MB/s @ The SSD Review

In just over a week since its release, the MacBook Air has redefined storage speed and become the first to introduce the world to the reality of the new PCIe form factor. It appears that when it comes to money, both Apple and Samsung can shed their differences with the new MacBook Air pulling off SSD performance of 700MB/s in an ultra, even before Samsung themselves, and while utilizing Samsung's own SSD.

Read more: 2013 MacBook Air Disassembled and Benched Samsung 256GB PCIe SSD Performs at 700MB/s @ The SSD Review

GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-OC (Intel LGA 1150) @ techPowerUp

Cooked up from the crazy LN2-cooled insides of a pro overclocker's mind, the Gigabyte GA-Z87X-OC speeds onto my test bench, aiming to finish first in global overclocking rankings while keeping its price so low that anyone can line up at the starting gates. Can the Gigabyte Z87X-OC take the pole position?

Read more: GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-OC (Intel LGA 1150) @ techPowerUp

EVGA GTX 770 Super Clocked w/ ACX Video Card Review @ Ninjalane

Just weeks ago we had our first experience with the Nvidia GTX 770. Despite using the older Kepler GK104 architecture we found the reference GTX 770 a worthy option compared to our lab favorite 7970 Lightning. We knew it was just a matter of time before we would see the enthusiast variants hit the market.

Today we are looking at EVGA's take on the GTX 770, the EVGA GeForce GTX 770 SC w/ ACX Cooler. The SC stands for Super Clocked and brings a nice boost to both the base clock and boost clock speeds right out of the box. Coupled with EVGA's upgraded ACX Cooling system, the GTX 770 SC should push the envelope even further closing the gap with the top end GTX 780.

Read more: EVGA GTX 770 Super Clocked w/ ACX Video Card Review @ Ninjalane

Anker Astro Slim2 4500mAh Power Bank Review @ Legit Reviews

Anker is a company that knows and understands power banks and power solutions. The Astro Slim2 is a great example of Ankerâ€s work and ability to help you with your power needs throughout the day. This power bank is a very smart not only in design, but also in function. The integrated Micro USB cable is an extremely nice touch, as it helps keep annoying wires out of the way when recharging devices (namely your phone). The dual recharging ports are a great added feature for those who may carry around two phones, such as myself, or those who want to help a friend out in need.

Read more: Anker Astro Slim2 4500mAh Power Bank Review @ Legit Reviews

CM Storm Power-RX Gaming Mousepad Review @ ThinkComputers.org

The CM Storm Power-RX seems to be the skinny brother to the Control-RX. Both were released at the same time to target different audiences. Cooler Master boasts that the Power-RX is designed for making precise and intricate movements with ease. It features their Surgical Strike Surface construction. Read on as we take a look

Read more: CM Storm Power-RX Gaming Mousepad Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon Review @ TechReviewSource.com

The Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon is a 27-inch all-in-one and tablet PC hybrid. It has an Intel Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a multi-touch 1080p display. Performance with this hybrid is good and it comes pre-loaded with fun, useful software.

Read more: Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon Review @ TechReviewSource.com

The Last of Us (PS3) Video Review with Kaeyi Dream @ HardwareHeaven.com

Today Kaeyi Dream brings you her review of The Last of Us for PlayStation 3, and of course there will be no spoilers found here! Be sure to check out Kaeyi's YouTube channel for more of her videos.

Read more: The Last of Us (PS3) Video Review with Kaeyi Dream @ HardwareHeaven.com

Gigabyte Fly Headphone Review @ Hardware Secrets

On-ear headphones are all the rage right now on the streets, and in this particular niche of the market, style and usefulness are even more important than actual audio performance. And style and usefulness are really the strong points about the Fly, which marks Gigabyte's entry on the audio scene. It's extremely light (only 2.7 oz or 79 g), plus it features a thin retractable headband and two 40-mm drives that are responsible for a deep bass response. We'll start by describing the product and then we'll see how it fared during the test.

Read more: Gigabyte Fly Headphone Review @ Hardware Secrets

MSI Z77A-G45 GAMING Motherboard @ Benchmark Reviews

Intel's Haswell CPU's and Z87 motherboards may well be just around the corner, but that hasn't stopped MSI from releasing another line of Z77 motherboards. With this new line of motherboards MSI are aiming at the gaming scene, and have a bold new color scheme and heatsink design to match. We are used to seeing either yellow or blue theme motherboards from MSI but this new 'gaming' line-up breaks that mold.

Benchmark Reviews takes a look at the mid-range MSI Z77A-G45 GAMING LGA1155 Motherboard (P/N 911-7752-19S) in this article. The MSI Z77A-G45 GAMING motherboard supports 3rd and 2nd Gen' Intel CPU's designed for the LGA115x socket, and supports DDR3 speeds up to 3000MHz (OC). To differentiate itself from motherboards with the same chipset, extras like a KILLER E2200 NIC, Creative Sound Blaster Cinema and PCI Express Gen' 3 expansion slots aim to make sure you have a high quality experience with this latest offering from MSI.

Read more: MSI Z77A-G45 GAMING Motherboard @ Benchmark Reviews

ASUS ROG Maximus VI Hero Review @ OCC

Overclocking is the bread and butter of a ROG motherboard from ASUS. The Maximus VI Hero has that overclocking DNA built in deep down into the product. You have ASUS' all digital Extreme Engine Digi+III 8+2 phase power circuit that utilizes 60A rated Black Wing Chokes with gold plated coils, 10K Nichicon GT Black Caps, and NexFet PowerBlock to deliver improved voltage regulation, higher efficiency, and a longer lifespan. Voltage regulation was really tight on this board and fell almost spot on to what was set manually. Haswell memory overclocking is much better than on Ivy Bridge, which was no slouch in its own right. ASUS T-Topology 2 technology improves memory overclocking by up to 10% with a single DIMM and up to 5% with two DIMMs installed. The fact that I was able to further overclock my set of G.Skill 2400MHz rated Trident modules up past 2600MHz is the proof of concept I needed.

Read more: ASUS ROG Maximus VI Hero Review @ OCC

PowerColor HD 7850 1GB SCS3 Fanless Video Card Review @ HiTech Legion

I cannot enjoy entertainment at home either as I am distracted by a different set of unacceptable norms specifically related to my home theater PC. DIY purists argue that all HTPC systems should be low power, silent and just be powerful enough to decode movies. There is a contingent of PC gamers out there however who wish they could play the latest games at the highest settings in their living rooms, DIY HTPC purist sentiments be damned. The selection of video cards that closely fit the bill is remarkably slim however and the search is very frustrating. Thankfully, PowerColor regularly releases a fanless SCS3 video card every generation which has more graphical horsepower compared to typical passive offerings from other manufacturers.

The PowerColor SCS3 heatsink has been updated to handle the 130W TDP Pitcairn Pro GPU. Instead of direct cooling, the PowerColor HD7850 1GB SCS3 makes use of the chassis’ ambient cooling to keep thermal levels within optimal levels. The new SCS3 cooling solution consists of six 6mm heatpipes arranged in a g-shaped design distributing heat from the HD 7850 core to several sets of aluminum fin arrays. Understandably, the PowerColor SCS3 carries the stock core clock of a typical HD 7850 set to 860MHz so thermal load is more manageable. The PowerColor AX7850 1GBD5-S3DH requires a single 6-pin power connector and has a full-size DisplayPort and HDMI which supports 4K displays as well as a standard DVI port that supports resolutions up to 2560x1600.

Read more: PowerColor HD 7850 1GB SCS3 Fanless Video Card Review @ HiTech Legion

MSI Z87 MPower Motherboard @ Pureoverclock

The introduction of Intel’s new “Haswell” line of processors also brought its new 8 series chipset. The introduction of Haswell and its socket and chipset change came as no surprise. We have seen this from Intel with its “Tick Tock” development strategy, including their change to its power delivery management. It makes sense and was crucial for Intel to make these changes.

Today, we have a chance to look at one of MSI’s flagship motherboards for the new Z87 architecture: the MSI Z87 MPower. MSI’s previous products in the Z77 chipset MPower line were typically top performers, and include excellent overclocking and features. Today, as we move forward, we are going to see just how the MSI Z87 MPower measures up to that previous reputation while using the new Haswell 4770k.

Before we move forward, let’s talk a little about MSI.

Read more: MSI Z87 MPower Motherboard @ Pureoverclock

Sandberg PowerBar 4400mAh Portable Battery @ NikKTech

By now most of you out there should have already made plans for the summer, some of you may have decided to visit relatives while others may go to a place at the beach, visit foreign countries, go on a mountain excursion and so on. Personally i obviously prefer going both to the beach and the mountain and although these two destinations are the best one can be at regardless of the time of the year there's but a single problem that applies for both and that's that there aren't any electrical sockets around when you are not at the house/resort so if your smartphone is running low on battery then there's not much you can do about it. Because of such emergencies i always carry two portable batteries with me, one placed in my car (charging smartphones from your lighter socket is not the best thing to do) and another in my backpack. Today we will be taking a look at one such portable battery and more specifically the latest PowerBar 4400mAh by our friends over at Sandberg.

Read more: Sandberg PowerBar 4400mAh Portable Battery @ NikKTech

PowerColor TurboDuo HD7790 Review @ Neoseeker

Now that AMD’s Radeon HD 7790 is in the hands of their partners we can expect to see a variety of card flavors which will include everything from custom cooling solutions to the typical layout changes of the board itself. This of course is all part of the excitement that comes with the release of a new GPU, not to mention all of the speculation regarding performance numbers, cooling capabilities, how much overhead is available for overclocking as well as power efficiency.

AMD’s latest addition to the 7000 series product stack may be an entry level graphics solution, but by no means should it be taken lightly. The HD7790 offers incredible performance at its price point and is easily one of the best budget-priced GPU’s on the market today. It packs some of AMD's hottest features including eight independent DPM states, PowerPlay and PowerTune technologies to name a few.

The particular HD7790 I will be examining in our labs today is manufactured by PowerColor. The company’s TurboDuo HD7790 1GB OC is just one of the many variants available on the market now, and it sports a black and red color scheme along with a military styling giving the board an extremely aggressive look and feel to it.

Read more: PowerColor TurboDuo HD7790 Review @ Neoseeker

Buffalo DriveStation DDR3 review: external disk on steroids @ Hardware.Info

Almost every part of computers have evolved rapidly over the past few years, with the exception of conventional hard disks. The performance of processors, graphics cards and other components has increased significantly, but the speed of hard disks has been a bit stagnant. Buffalo attempts the break the mold with its new DriveStation DDR3, an external hard disk with USB 3.0 and 1 GB of DDR3 RAM.

Read more: Buffalo DriveStation DDR3 review: external disk on steroids @ Hardware.Info

Gigabyte Radeon HD7790 (2GB GDDR5) @ Funky Kit

Its been over a year since the 7000-series of AMD cards was first released, nearing on a year and a half actually. At the time of launch the series AMD took the lead from top to bottom in all categories from the most expensive, to buget gaming cards AMD looked to win out. Fast forward and AMD is not done with the 7000 series of cards.

We have already reviewed everything else from the 7000 series but AMD decided to push out another in the 7700 line, the Radeon 7790. This card is a step up from the 7750 and 7770 that looked to have great performance for the watt. The 7790 takes that idea and goes a step further by running at a higher GPU frequency and higher memory clocks.

Gigabyte is taking things even further by introducing a 7790 with twice the Vram and a big huge cooler.

Read more: Gigabyte Radeon HD7790 (2GB GDDR5) @ Funky Kit

Steelseries Sensei [RAW] Frost Blue Review @ Reliable PC Reviews

When it comes to selecting a mouse for gaming there are far too many different options to choose from and so many variables that come into play. Figuring out which mouse would be best suited for you based upon your usage, grip, size, and sensitivity preferences can definitely become quite the task when shopping for a new mouse. Steelseries is among one of the top brands in computer gaming peripherals and a lot of professional gamers can be seen using some sort of product from them. In the following review we will be taking a look at the Steelseries Sensei [RAW] mouse, which is a stripped down and simplified version of the original Steelseries Sensei, and we will be breaking down each aspect and feature of it to provide the most detailed hands-on review to make selecting your next gaming mouse a little easier.

Read more: Steelseries Sensei [RAW] Frost Blue Review @ Reliable PC Reviews

Thermaltake Urban S21 Elegant Mid Tower Review @ Proclockers

We were not able to attend CES this past year. We had to use other means for you to see what new goodies we are going to show you this 2013. I am sure this was the case for many of you as well. Scanning some of the sites that were able to attend CES, we made a list of some of the things we would like to review for you, our readers. Looking at the Thermaltake coverage, we were able to generate the longest list we have from one company alone.

Chances are we will not be able to get all the things on the list but we were able to get one. That one product would be the Thermaltake Urban S21 chassis, which is a smaller version of the S71 and is another item on our list. Are you curious to know what either of these cases has to offer? Well, we are going to talk about the Urban S21 today and just imagine a larger version with more features when wondering about the S71.

Read more: Thermaltake Urban S21 Elegant Mid Tower Review @ Proclockers

Startech.com S2510U2W review: WiFi disk @ Hardware.Info

Some time ago we reviewed the Patriot Gauntlet Node, an external hard disk that you can access wirelessly. It had a built-in battery so you could use it on the go. The Startech.com S2510U2W were are looking at today works a little differently. It's also a wireless hard disk, but it does not contain a battery. Instead it has an ethernet port, which makes it a type of mini portable NAS device.

Read more: Startech.com S2510U2W review: WiFi disk @ Hardware.Info

Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 Case Review @ Proclockers

For the first time we are about to review a product coming from Fractal Design. What's the reason why we are excited about this? Well, Fractal Design is one of the most talked about brand on most forums when it comes to cases. Being somewhat of a newer company, this is saying a lot especially when you have companies like Corsair, Lian Li and others out there which are larger as they are also experienced.

Once we got the call from John at Fractal Design about starting a review partnership, one of the first things I did was run over to their website and took a look at their entire lineup. Next was a big fat YES, we would love to review some Fractal Design gear. Take a look at their products yourself. You will see nothing but style, sleekness, classy and simplistic cases.

So, jumping into the first product, we will bring to you will be the new Arc Midi R2. This particular case is an improvement over of an older R2 case or a revision it. The mid tower is geared for individuals looking for style on the outside but able to build the essence of a gamer rig on the inside. Designed with unparalleled cooling, space and various other aspects, we have a feeling that the Arc Midi could be one of the best cases out today.

Read more: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 Case Review @ Proclockers

Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 @ Hexus

Who had the most interesting chassis at Computex 2013? Our vote would go to Corsair and the intriguing, double-width Carbide Series Air 540. Heck, we'd go as far as to say this is arguably the most intriguing chassis Corsair has produced in recent years.

You see, we get to play with our fair share of chassis in the HEXUS labs, and if there's one thing we really appreciate it's something a little bit different. For that reason alone, the Carbide Air 540 is more fun to work with than the range-topping Obsidian 900D; a gargantuan solution that, while admittedly impressive, simply doesn't appeal to a wide range of customers.

Read more: Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 @ Hexus