Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

CalDigit AV Pro 2 USB-C Storage Hub 3TB Review
Cooler Master MasterMouse MM530 Review
Cougar Attack X3 RGB Speedy Video Review
Elgato's Eve Button remote with Apple HomeKit Review
Final Fantasy XIV: Eureka First Impressions
Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition Review
FSP Hydro PTM 750W Power Supply Review
iBUYPOWER Slate 9200 Gaming Desktop Review
Kingdom Come: Deliverance Review
Lutron Caseta Smart Lighting Dimmer Switch Starter Kit review: This capable kit includes physical remote controls
microSD Card Buying Guide
Mushkin Redline DDR4-2666 16GB Dual-Channel Kit Review: Solid-Value DIMMs Review
Qube 2 Review
Quiet PC: from niche to mainstream
Raijintek Orcus 360 CPU Liquid Cooler Review
Samsung 860 EVO 500GB SATA SSD Review
Scythe Ninja 5 Cooler Review
Toshiba Canvio Advance 2TB External Hard Drive Review

CalDigit AV Pro 2 USB-C Storage Hub 3TB Review

We see new products from CalDigit regularly, and the latest solution is the 2nd generation of the AV Pro. Those who have followed the storage channel here at TweakTown will know the original AV Pro was one of the first devices I reviewed after coming to TweakTown. Now almost five years later this solution has been updated with the latest technology.

The AV Pro 2 takes advantage of the USB-C connection compatible with both the USB and Thunderbolt 3 protocols while at the same time offering backward compatibility via legacy USB 3.0 micro-B connection. In addition, the AV Pro 2 supports 30W of power output to a supporting notebook or MacBook while providing two additional ports of USB connectivity via a rear mounted hub.

Read full article @ TweakTown

Cooler Master MasterMouse MM530 Review

The Cooler Master MasterMouse MM530 has amazing tracking performance, thanks to the best-in-class PixArt PMW3360 sensor. With a price of $50 the MM530 is also more affordable than most competitors and comes with fantastic software that has great RGB customization options.

Read full article @ TechPowerUp

Cougar Attack X3 RGB Speedy Video Review

Cougar has updated their line of Attack X3 mechanical keyboards for 2018, and the introduction of the Speedy will be met with quite a bit of excitement. The Attack X3 RGB Speedy retains much of what made it a popular keyboard for the past couple years. The aluminum backplate, solid construction, excellent build quality, and of course, per-key RGB backlighting.

The build quality of the Cougar Attack X3 RGB Speedy overall is excellent, and I’m digging the Speed switches quite a bit more than I thought I would. I’m personally not a fan of Red switches or linear switches in general, so I wasn’t expecting much out of this keyboard. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The new Speed Silvers are a joy to both game and type on. One of my biggest gripes with the reds is the low actuation force required caused me to be sloppy when doing anything besides gaming. I’m not sure what the difference was on the Attack X3 Speedy, as on paper these should be very similar, but I was much more accurate on this board than I expected.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

Elgato's Eve Button remote with Apple HomeKit Review

The Eve Button does what it says on the box, but ultimately proves to be a very niche accessory for people hooked into Apple's HomeKit.

A recurring problem with smarthome accessories is that even though they're meant to simplify our lives, they're often dependent on other high-tech devices for control. Unless you've managed to automate everything, chances are you'll be whipping out your iPhone or talking to a smartspeaker at some point to in order to turn things on.

The Eve Button joins a trend towards bringing lightswitch-like simplicity to HomeKit. As its name suggests, there's only one control button, used to trigger multiple HomeKit scenes depending on whether you use a single-press, double-press, or hold it down.

Read full article @ Apple Insider

Final Fantasy XIV: Eureka First Impressions

At long last, it’s finally here. Eureka — easily one of the most eagerly anticipated features of Stormblood — launched last Tuesday, and it’s fair to say it’s unlike anything else in FFXIV. In many ways, that’s arguably its greatest strength — as well as its greatest weakness. Eureka is many things depending on who you ask, but I think one thing everyone can agree on is that it’s divisive.

OK, but what exactly is it?

In the simplest terms, Eureka is an instanced zone packed to the brim with tough mobs. Players have a separate experience gauge to the rest of the game, which contributes to their ‘elemental level’, and this largely dictates your strength. Mobs have elemental strengths and resistances, and you can adjust what element you’re attuned to in order to compensate for that.

Read full article @ MMORPG

Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition Review

Among the big AAA titles that have been released these past years, few have been as divisive as Final Fantasy XV. Whether it’s for its linear second half, underdeveloped story or a number of other issues, the most vocal fans of the series considering the game directed by Hajime Tabata one of the worst entries in the series. The development team was well aware of the game’s flaws and started addressing them soon after release with several free updates and paid DLC which add more story and gameplay content. The latest additions are found in the Royal and Windows Editions of the game, which offer a mighty package for those who have completed the game after launch and haven’t come back to it since. The latter also offers an impressive visual quality, making it the definitive version of the game.

As already mentioned, one of the most glaring flaws of the original Final Fantasy XV release was its underdeveloped story and secondary characters. Noctis and his friends are often in the spotlight, making the ending sequences emotionally impactful, but many of the villains don’t get the development time they deserve, with two of them practically dying offscreen in the original release.

Read full article @ Wccftech

FSP Hydro PTM 750W Power Supply Review

The FSP Hydro PTM 750W is another well-designed and well-built power supply unit from the company. Considering the mostly good quality components and an 80 Plus Platinum certification, you know where your money went.

Today’s review unit was shipped from Chino, California, USA to us here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Chino is the location of FSP’s office in North America. You can see the parcel is generally in good shape, therefore there is no need to be nervous about the safety of whatever is inside the box. After more than a thousand miles of transportation, I can only see a small dent on the top left corner, so well done, FedEx Ground!

Read full article @ APH Networks

iBUYPOWER Slate 9200 Gaming Desktop Review

The PC industry is at an interesting point. Right now if you want to build your own PC it is very hard. Prices of graphics cards are out of control because crypto-miners are buying up all available stock. On top of that the global NAND shortage is causes prices to be higher than normal for memory. If you’ve been waiting to build you own PC you might be waiting a while as we still do not have any clear idea of when prices will go back to normal. This dilemma makes it the perfect time to consider buying a pre-build system.

One of the major players in the pre-built PC space is iBUYPOWER. While iBUYPOWER allows you to completely customize your system via their website, we decided to go for a pre-built system that you can get very quickly. The iBUYPOWER Slate 9200 is a system available on Amazon, which features an Intel Core i7-8700K, GeForce GTX 1070, 16 GB of DDR4, and even some RGB lighting. Since this is available on Amazon there is no long wait time or anything, better yet if you are a price member you can have this system in 2 days! So you’ve been waiting to pull the trigger on a new system this might be the perfect thing. Read on as we go into detail on this system and see what it is capable of!

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Kingdom Come: Deliverance Review

The graphics are beautiful in so many ways, I almost wish I could just walk around in the environment without concern for enemies or anything else. The performance is a bit spread out currently, but I think newer drivers and patches will help with this some, though I cannot guess how much. The story is very good and does provide an interesting glimpse into history, but you may find yourself putting more time into other events than those books might record. The gameplay is solid and enjoyable, even if I can find some things I wish were better. Altogether, it is a good game very worthy of consideration.

Read full article @ OCC

Lutron Caseta Smart Lighting Dimmer Switch Starter Kit review: This capable kit includes physical remote controls

The included Wi-Fi bridge can also control Lutron’s Serena motorized window shades. At its simplest, Lutron’s Caseta Dimmer is a four-button in-wall light switch with both on/off and dimmer controls built in. But the real fun comes in the form of a wireless remote control that offers the same functions and which you can put just about anywhere. Whether that means dimming the bedroom lights from under the covers or controlling an exterior light from the other side of the house, the Caseta remote is versatile and, throughout my testing, never missed a beat.

The secret sauce with this kit—which includes two in-wall switches and two remotes—is the Caseta Smart Bridge, a hub that must be wired to your Wi-Fi router. The Smart Bridge serves as the interface between the Lutron mobile app and the in-wall dimmers, which utilize a proprietary RF protocol.

Read full article @ TechHive

microSD Card Buying Guide

If it's been a while since you've bought portable flash memory, you might be surprised by the broad availability and affordability of high speed, high capacity microSD cards. Commonly used to expand the storage in devices ranging from smartphones to drones, microSD cards are becoming more frequently purchased than any other SD form factors, although full sized cards remain popular among digital camera owners.

Here's a quick overview of the different SD card sizes:

Standard SD cards: SD (SDSC), SDHC, SDXC, SDIO -- 32 x 24 x 2.1-1.4mm
miniSD cards: miniSD, miniSDHC, miniSDIO -- 21.5 x 20 x 1.4mm
microSD cards: microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC -- 15 x 11 x 1mm

Read full article @ TechSpot

Mushkin Redline DDR4-2666 16GB Dual-Channel Kit Review: Solid-Value DIMMs Review

Mushkin passed along a dual-module 8GB (that is, 16GB total) kit of its Redline DDR4-2666 memory just in time for our Z370 launch. (Specifically, this kit is part number MRA4U266GHHF8GX2.) Alas, none of the boards we originally tested at the time of that launch was (by our admittedly aggressive memory-overclocker standards) “good enough” to use as a test platform. Months passed before we finally settled on a board that’s still a little shy on memory overclocking compared to the Z270 platform that preceded it. But, hey, at least we get to test with a faster Coffee Lake CPU...

Rated at DDR4-2666 with a JEDEC-beating CAS 16 latency, MRA4U266GHHF8GX2 uses Mushkin’s classic “Frostbyte”-style heat spreaders.

Read full article @ Tom's Hardware

Qube 2 Review

I have to start this review with a confession, I didn’t play the first Qube. I had seen some screenshots of the game, and despite my usual enjoyment of puzzle games, something about Qube just didn’t speak to me. But, if it’s anything like the sequel, I missed a marvelous, inventive puzzle game.

Regardless of my past mistakes, my time with Qube 2 was a thoughtful, satisfying revelation. The first thing I was struck by was the story. I genuinely didn’t think the game would have any kind of narrative structure. And while it could perhaps have a use, a little more exposition, the story feels nicely inspired by the mildly surreal, ambiguous sci-fi of Philip K. Dick, though with a couple of clichés. The central character waking up in a strange world with amnesia is a little overplayed, for instance. Its inclusion was a nice surprise for me, and even if you know it’s coming, it does have some really fascinating moments and heartfelt acting.

Read full article @ Wccftech

Quiet PC: from niche to mainstream

Operations manager Paul Lee discusses the inspirations and virtues behind Quiet PC. HEXUS has built close ties to a number of leading UK system integrators and we're always intrigued to hear behind-the-scenes tales of how the companies came to be, and where they go from here.

One of the most interesting success stories, in our estimation, is that of Quiet PC. Based out of Malton, North Yorkshire, the firm has built its reputation on providing high-quality components designed to reduce the noise of PCs. Soon to be celebrating two decades in the business, Quiet PC has become a go-to supplier for those of us who appreciate a whisper quiet or truly silent rig, and with passive cooling becoming a more mainstream choice, Quiet PC finds itself in an envious position.

Read full article @ Hexus

Raijintek Orcus 360 CPU Liquid Cooler Review

Raijintek was established in 2013 and within this short time, the company has made its way to earn themselves a good reputation in the market. Their aim is to design high-end products for lifestyle, computer, and day-to-day usage. Their products are designed in Germany and manufactured in China. Their products range include Power Supplies for the PC, Cooling solutions in both categories of air and water, custom loop components, PC Chassis, fans, and accessories. Their lifestyle product line is intended for the smartphone and tablet users in the form of accessories.

Recently, Raijintek has released their new generation of the liquid coolers for the CPU named Orcus. Orcus naming convention is coming from the Roman Mythology where Orcus was the god of the underworld and as such this name represents his evil side of punishing the wrongdoers in the afterlife. Anyhow, with Orcus, the Raijintek has taken a different approach. Unlike typical CLCs on the market, this cooler has an external pump. Yes, that is right, an external pump. In so doing, they have taken off the bulk of weight from the block and has moved the pump up to the hoses near to the radiator. This has allowed them to incorporate the second design element that was yet to be seen in the CLCs i.e use of flow meter to actually check for coolant movement.

Read full article @ EnosTech

Samsung 860 EVO 500GB SATA SSD Review

Very few would have thought when the Samsung 850 EVO Solid-State Drive series came out in 2014 that it would be come the number #1 best-selling SSD in the world at the end of 2017. Every storage editor and enthusiast would have laughed at you back in 2014 if you told them that the successor to that drive wouldn’t be coming out until 2018. Yet, here we are in Q1 2018 and Samsung has only now introduced the 860 EVO series. It honestly took four years for the competition to catch up or come close to being able to match the performance of the 850 EVO. The good news for Samsung is that they have had years to prepare for this day and have armed the 860 EVO with the new Samsung MJX controller along with their latest Samsung V-NAND 3bit MLC (Samsung marketing spin for TLC).

The Samsung SSD 860 EVO series is designed for mainstream desktop and laptop use. Form factors for the series will include 2.5-inch SATA drives in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB and 4TB capacities, mSATA drives in 250GB, 500GB and 1TB capacities and then finally M.2 SATA drives in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities. This means Samsung has pretty much every desirable capacity offered and at a wide range of price points. The Samsung SSD 860 EVO 250GB starts at just $94.99 shipped and for those that need mass storage the 4TB model tops out at $1,324.57 shipped. The sweet spot here in 2018 would be the 500GB drives at $149.99 and the 1TB drives at $289.99. You can finally get a 1TB Samsung EVO series drive for under $300. When the Samsung 850 EVO 1TB drive came out in 2014 it had an MSRP of $499.99, so in roughly four years pricing on mainstream SSDs have been slashed nearly 50%!

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

Scythe Ninja 5 Cooler Review

Scythe Co., Ltd, began its operation and business in November 2002 as a distributor and a manufacturer of passive and low-noise PC components. Since then, Scythe is recognized for their excellent & affordable products.

The cooler is packaged in a multicolored cardboard box. The front side showcases the cooler using a general image of it while on the upper part there are the manufacturer’s emblem next to the Ninja name and logo. On the lower side, there are listed the compatible sockets of the cooler.

Read full article @ Tech-Legend

Toshiba Canvio Advance 2TB External Hard Drive Review

Toshiba recently refreshed their range of Canvio portable hard drives with the Canvio Premium, Advance and Basic models with capacities up to 3TB with HDD’s featuring Toshiba’s 1TB platter technology. In this review we look at the Canvio Advance drive to see if it’s worth buying.

Read full article @ KitGuru