Here a roundup of todays review's and articles:

AMD FreeSync review: first displays by Acer and BenQ tested
Case Mod Friday: The RecoilMachine
Crucial BX100 500GB Solid State Drive Review
Eluktronics Eluktro Pro Performance SSD Review (250GB/500GB/1TB)
How to install Oracle Java in Ubuntu
Intel 750 Series PCIe SSD 1.2 TB
Kingston HyperX Predator M.2 PCIe SSD Review
Microsoft Lumia 640 Review
QNAP Turbo Station TS-431 4-Bay SOHO NAS Review
SilverStone Precision PS11B-Q Review
Thecus N4310 NAS Server Review

AMD FreeSync review: first displays by Acer and BenQ tested

More than a year after the technology's initial announcement, the first displays that feature support for AMD FreeSync – AMD's answer to Nvidia G-Sync, which should ensure that the output of the display is fully synchronized with the processing speed of the graphics card – have finally arrived. We put two of the first FreeSync displays to the test: Acer's XG270HU and BenQ's XL2730Z, two 27″ WQHD displays.

If we were asked to describe the Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync technologies in a single sentence, we would say that the technologies ensure that, through improved synchronization between display and graphics cards, games can be played smoothly even when the graphics card can only produce a limited amount of frames per second. When using a standard display, you can as a rule of thumb state that a graphics card must produce 60 fps on average for a smooth gaming experience. G-Sync and FreeSync displays, on the other hand, offer an equally smooth experience even if the graphics card is unable to produce, say, over 45 fps. The advantage is twofold: you can attain a smoother gaming experience if you have a relatively slow graphics card, or further increase the image quality when using a faster graphics card.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Case Mod Friday: The RecoilMachine

Welcome to another Case Mod Friday showcase! This week we have gabrielbolea's “The RecoilMachine” build. Here is what he had to say about it, "Having been inspired by a few other wall mounted PCs, I decided to build my own. I used my existing hardware, but separated each component out and mounted them on a Perspex/Plexiglass plate. Each plate is backlit with LED's and mounted on a piece of framed and vinyl-clad hardboard. 2 months, around 20 individual shipments of components from three different continents, and countless hours of hard work later, 'The RecoilMachine' is ready and hanging on my wall.

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Crucial BX100 500GB Solid State Drive Review

In the introduction of my SilverStone Strider Gold S ST75F-GS V2.0 750W article last week, I have briefly touched on the fallacies of the Western mainstream media and academic culture of "self-hate" to demonstrate a perceived sense of humility -- or what, in my opinion, is really false humility. Although this seems to be in stark contrast with authoritarian regimes of ruthless self-adoration, certain forms of false humility is also arrogance at heart. For example, if someone comes up to you and says, "A lot of people think the Earth is round, but we cannot be absolutely sure, because who are we to make such an absolute claim?", although they sound ostensibly humble, the person is actually being really arrogant, because they are explicitly declining what is true and factual. As such, I would like to make an assertion it is not arrogant to make an absolute claim if it is the truth, because all truth is, in fact, exclusive. Therefore, we should not be afraid to say we are right when we are indeed right. On Crucial's website, they make some pretty bold claims about the BX100 on their product page. The company says the solid state drive is "over 15x faster", "over 2x more reliable", and "nearly 2x more energy efficient" compared to a typical hard drive. Of course, by making such a claim means one of two things. The first is the claims are false, therefore they deserve to be criticized for not presenting the truth. The second is the claims are true, and if this is the case, then it is of great relevance to us -- especially considering the BX100 500GB we are reviewing today retails for only $190 at press time. Yes, you have read that correctly. A 500GB SSD for $190. To see whether or not these claims can be substantiated, here at APH Networks, we set out to find the answers.

Read full article @ APH Networks

Eluktronics Eluktro Pro Performance SSD Review (250GB/500GB/1TB)

Eluktronics isn’t a name brand you think of when you start looking for a new SSD. Up until just recently we didn’t even hear about this company, let alone know they offered some very price competitive SSDs. Well, it turns out, this USA based company has been in business since 2011 as an authorized reseller of performance laptops with SSD and RAM upgrades ever since. In Q2 of 2014 they decided to step into the SSD market and produce their own SSDs. Most of their flash comes from Asia, but their products are built and assembled in the USA.

Read full article @ The SSD Review

How to install Oracle Java in Ubuntu

After the GRUB & EFI brain freeze, something lightweight for the weekend. This is a short tutorial explaining how to install Oracle Java in Ubuntu, covering the addition of a new PPA, default Java version change, and plugin checks in the browser. Enjoy.

Read full article @ Dedoimedo

Intel 750 Series PCIe SSD 1.2 TB

Intel's new 750 Series SSD is a technology marvel. It is built on an 18-channel controller, using a PCI-Express x4 3.0 interface with the NVMe protocol. This provides transfer rates of well over 1 GB/s, which clearly impresses. With a price of $1 per GB the drive is also not prohibitively expensive.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

Kingston HyperX Predator M.2 PCIe SSD Review

Solid State Drives continue to be one of the more sought after (and effective) upgrades for both desktop and mobile systems. But as drives have matured, and newer generations have been released, the bandwidth limitations of the legacy SATA interface have become increasingly more apparent. Even relatively affordable, mainstream solid state drives are bumping into the SATA bandwidth limit right alongside more expensive flagship drives, which makes it difficult to differentiate between them based on performance alone.

The answer to eliminating the bandwidth limitations of the SATA interface is PCI Express. The latest high-end solid state drives connect to a system using the PCI Express interface, which can offer up much more bandwidth than SATA in the right configuration—GB/s versus MB/s. One of the first true PCI Express solid state drives to arrive is the Kingston HyperX Predator we’ll be showing you here today...

Read full article @ HotHardware.com

Microsoft Lumia 640 Review

Microsoft is steadily getting its handle on its device portfolio after the Nokia acquisition. And it is starting at the bottom and gradually working its way up with the likes of the Lumia 430, Lumia 435, Lumia 532 and the Lumia 535. Then we got to Mobile World Congress. Microsoft had taken over the space once inhabited by Nokia and used it to deliver a keynote very early on the first morning of the show. Among the Windows 10 talk was the introduction of the Lumia 640 and the Lumia 640 XL. Both another step up on the ladder from those that came before, and taking it up to around half-dozen smartphones to carry the Microsoft logo. The Lumia 640 has big shoes to fill, coming in as a replacement for the very popular Lumia 630/635. Does it do a good job? That's what we're here to find out.

Read full article @ Windows Central

QNAP Turbo Station TS-431 4-Bay SOHO NAS Review

I loved what the QNAPs TS-x31 series sports right from the first time that I heard of it. It just sounded like the perfect SOHO device for people who want a lot of features, easy setup, simple maintenance and a reasonable price.

Today I’m taking a closer look at the QNAP TurboNAS TS-431 4-bay Personal Cloud Storage for Home and SOHO users. It features an ARM Cortex A9 1.2GHz dual-core processor that delivers performance enough for multitasking, creating your personal cloud for digital notes, and multimedia streaming via DLNA & AirPlay.

Read full article @ eTeknix

SilverStone Precision PS11B-Q Review

SilverStone supplies its Precision PS11B case in two forms. This Q-suffix version is Quiet while the W has a Window. There are other differences as the Q has a solid front panel with vents at the sides and a fair amount of foam material to deaden sound inside while the W has an open mesh front panel, an LED fan and a housing in the top of the case that can accommodate a fan.

Read full article @ KitGuru

Thecus N4310 NAS Server Review

With the "arrival" of Raspberry Pi based systems many people are wondering if it's worth turning towards NAS servers for their needs and although i do have to admit that prices for Raspberry Pi products are extremely appealing my personal opinion is that NAS servers are still way ahead primarily due to their straight out of the box functionality and in many cases nowadays a lot better hardware specifications. Once again it all always comes down to what your needs are and how much you're willing to spend in order to cover them so although obviously the really good NAS models cost quite a bit there are many excellent choices out there priced just right with plenty of features and good performance levels (there's always something available for every need). Well according to our good friends from Thecus their latest N4310 is amongst those models and today we will be taking a very thorough look.

In 2004, Thecus Technology was founded to design, manufacture, and market digital storage products. Now, 10 products and over 100 awards later, Thecus is recognized as a global leader of digital storage solutions. With decades of R&D experience, the Thecus team has developed an entire range of state-of-the-art storage products for consumers and enterprises alike. With its global sales channel development, quality Thecus products are now distributed in over 30 countries and territories across the globe. Thecus products are designed not only to be powerful and flexible, but easy-to-use. Users have increasingly growing digital libraries, and they need to access their digital media as quickly as possible Thecus storage solutions consistently deliver top-notch performance, able to deliver digital media at an impressive clip. To keep data completely safe, Thecus products are designed with data security in mind, each coming with numerous security options for the user to select. Thecus storage products also have the unique ability to support third-party software modules, making Thecus products infinitely customizable. And to make sure our products are accessible to both novices and experts alike, Thecus makes sure that each of its products can be easily installed and used. Secure and flexible storage products that simply work. That is the Thecus guarantee.

Once again Thecus has taken an entirely different approach compared to let’s say QNAP, ASUSTOR and Synology so this time around they have equipped the N4310 with a single-core 1.0GHz Applied Micro Catalina APM86491-RKB1000T SoC processor (with Hardware XOR Engine) and with 1GB of DDR3 memory by Sk Hynix. Now i know that you're all probably thinking the same thing i did since a single core CPU seems way outdated and right from the bat we knew that it wouldn't set any new performance records. Still we do have faith in Thecus so although for their own reasons (power consumption and low cost probably) the chose to go with that particular CPU model we hope it will not disappoint. Other features include support for RAID 0/1/5/6, iSCSI, 128-bit AES encryption, Power Redundancy (via an extra external power supply), HDD spin-down, USB 3.0 connectivity (2 rear ports), DDNS, mobile apps and an somewhat large selection of built-in servers (FTP/iTunes/DLNA Media/Plex Media/BitTorrent). So the time has come for us to check and see how this little 4 bay NAS server performs.

Read full article @ NikKTech