Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

Acer Swift 3 Laptop Review
AMD Athlon 200GE: Benchmarking The $60 Zen+Vega Chip under Linux
Asus ROG Strix B360-G Gaming Micro-ATX Motherboard Review
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB PC4-24000 4x8GB DDR4 RAM Review
be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 Review
Biostar Racing X470GT8 Review
Crazzie Pro Gear GTR-1 Review
Gamdias Achilles RGB Gaming Chair Review
Game Max Kamikaze Mid Tower Chassis Review
How to Vlog on Your Smartphone
HTC U12+ Smartphone Review
HyperX Savage EXO SSD External Portable Drive Review
Icy Dock MB998IP-B/MB516SP-B Review
Intel 9th Gen Core leaks: pricing, Z390 listings, CPU packaging
Microsoft's Windows 10 October 2018 Update reviewed
Rocketbook Everlast Reusable Smart Notebook Review
The Surge Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Augmented
Ways to Free Up Storage Space on Windows

Acer Swift 3 Laptop Review

There's a wide range of ultra-premium laptops on the market at the moment. However, many of them are simply out of reach for the average mainstream consumer due to budget constraints. There are more budget friendly options though, such as the Acer Swift 3 we are looking at today.

The model we were sent to evaluate, however, doesn't sit at the top of the Swift 3 stack. Although, it does have some respectable specifications and a technology that's not widely adopted just yet in the laptop market: Intel Optane Memory...

Read full article @ HotHardware

AMD Athlon 200GE: Benchmarking The $60 Zen+Vega Chip under Linux

At the high-end of the AMD desktop CPU 2018 spectrum is the insanely fast Threadripper 2990WX while at the opposite end of that spectrum is the recently announced Athlon 200GE. For just $60 USD is this Zen+Vega chip that we have begun testing and have our initial Linux performance benchmarks out today compared to a range of lower-end and older desktop CPUs as well as integrated graphics test results, power consumption data, and performance-per-dollar metrics.

Read full article @ Phoronix

Asus ROG Strix B360-G Gaming Micro-ATX Motherboard Review

Did Asus produce a true gaming motherboard for under $100? We test the Strix B360-G Gaming to find out! The Strix B360-G Gaming shares little if anything in design with its Z370 sibling. That may be due to the integrated USB 3.1 Gen2 support of the newer H370 and B360 chipsets, which no longer require the board to have a spot for an additional controller integrated circuit (IC), yet we’ve seen other manufacturers at least share circuit boards between various models and exclude built-in features via the transition. Asus wasn’t having any of that in this ROG-series board, though.

Read full article @ Tom's Hardware

Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB PC4-24000 4x8GB DDR4 RAM Review

The Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB PC4-24000 4x8GB is a rare breed of overclockable memory that features all the eye candy you want in 2018. A few months ago, I was at Home Depot to buy a new external vent cover to replace an old cracked unit on the side of my house. As I was walking by the store to look for a rather economical $5 part, I passed through the appliances section and could not help but to pay attention to the stainless steel French door GE fridge with a "clearance" tag on it. I have been unofficially looking for a new fridge in a while; not that there was anything wrong with my current one, I just wanted a stainless steel French door fridge that was 33 inches in width. The price was right, too: For $1300 Canadian dollars, it was not long before I found myself handing over my American Express to the friendly man at the counter. Did I just spend $1300 on a fridge when all I was planning to do was to spend the change I had in my pocket? As I reflect on this 26,000% over budget trip to Home Depot, I was also reminded of another scenario where we started with one thing and ended up with another. It all started with someone putting a side window in a computer case. Cold cathode lights soon came along. Before long, more and more parts became illuminated, and people began to think one color was not enough. It did not take long until RGB LEDs started appearing in everything from case fans to mousepads to RAM. Long gone were the days memory was on a plain green PCB as we hail the RGB LED equipped RAM. With more and more manufacturers jumping into the list, Crucial is not going to be left out. The Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB PC4-24000 4x8GB promises advanced performance along with some eye candy. What is it like in real life? Read on to find out!

Read full article @ APH Networks

be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 Review

At £79.99 it is certainly a high tier air cooler, but does the performance justify the price? It’s likely most will assume that an AIO liquid cooler is the definitive option when looking to build a quiet high-performance system, with the only space for improvement being a full custom loop. This inherently brings a number of issues including higher costs, and an increased number of points of potential failure.

For those looking for simplicity an air cooler is still a good option, and be quiet! have become well known as a manufacturer of high-quality top performing air coolers. The new Dark Rock Pro 4 states cooling performance of 250W TDP but an equally high-end price point of £79.99. Does the performance live up to the price?

Read full article @ KitGuru

Biostar Racing X470GT8 Review

Biostar wants people to associate its brand with value-priced overclocking. The Racing X470GT8 makes that claim on AM4. The cost cutting comes in places that have little impact on performance enthusiasts, such as I/O ports and decorations that cover the heat sinks and ports. The metal slot frames that so many of Biostar’s competitors would point to as reinforcements appear to be connected to nothing more than the plastic beneath (though Biostar still claims a 70% increase in sheer resistance). We still get RGB lighting for the white segments of those covers, but programming for that RGB is reduced to various monochromatic schemes. By high-end standards, the Racing X470GT8 appears solidly mainstream.

There isn’t much crossover between APU and overclocking-optimized products in most competing products, but maybe there should be. Biostar loaded up the Racing X470GT8’s I/O panel with DVI-D, DisplayPort and HDMI outputs, the latter two 4K compatible at 60Hz and 24Hz respectively. USB 3.1 Gen1 (5Gb/s) drops to 4 ports, but a Type A and a Type-C USB 3.1 Gen2 (10Gb/s) port keeps are on offer here. There are no additional USB 2.0 ports to fall back on for your keyboard and mouse, though Biostar retains a PS/2 port for legacy peripherals. Audio is available from the expected 5 analog jacks and single optical output, and the jacks are gold-plated. Oh, and you still get a Gigabit Ethernet port, though nothing in the way of Wi-Fi.

Read full article @ Tom's Hardware

Crazzie Pro Gear GTR-1 Review

Whenever I attend a LAN party- and I’ve been to dozens- there’s always this moment when I ask myself why the hell I’m even going. Invariably, this moment occurs when I’m about to wrest my tempered glass and extruded aluminum Phanteks Enthoo Evolv case, crammed with a kilowatt power supply, triple-slot graphics card, dual HDDs, and a 280mm closed-loop AIO from its comfy home on my desk. Then there’s my full-size keyboard with a built-in wrist rest and 28-inch monitor. And my gaming chair. Like Princess Vespa from Space Balls, I CAN’T. LIVE. WITHOUT IT!

Nothing about my carefully-built gaming setup was designed to be easy to move. When I built it, I agonized over every component, but my priorities were performance, an ever-constrained budget, and (embarrassingly) aesthetics, not how well it all would fit into the backseat of my Honda Accord. And that’s just the first of several hurdles. Getting it from the backseat into the event can be harrowing. Like most of the rest of the Midwest, Nebraska is cursed with spastic weather, and wouldn’t you know it, our bi-annual LAN party occurs in rainy November and snowy February. Do you have a poncho for your PC? Because I do. To date, I always just grit my teeth and set about the laborious task. It’s worth it in the end, but those pre-LAN reservations hit me every time.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

Gamdias Achilles RGB Gaming Chair Review

The Gamdias Achilles is not just a gaming chair of high build quality as it is one of the very few to feature RGB lighting and support for users of up to 200 kg. The cherry on top is the embedded footrest, which proved to be a nice feature, especially after long hours of gaming.

Read full article @ TechPowerUp

Game Max Kamikaze Mid Tower Chassis Review

The affordable chassis market is extremely competitive. However, Game Max is one of the strongest players in the market. Their range is packed full of fantastic products that often undercut their main rivals when it comes to the price. Furthermore, their new Kamikaze chassis looks set to increase the pressure. Not only is it one of their most feature packed chassis, but it’s also one of their most affordable yet. At just under £50, it comes brimming with great features, such as four LED fans, fan control, dust filters, a PSU shroud and more! Could this be one of the best deals of 2018? Let’s dive in and find out!

Read full article @ eTeknix

How to Vlog on Your Smartphone

How to start Youtubing if you don’t have a budget for a new camera equipment? Use your smartphone. Don’t be afraid of making a bad quality video. To become better in something, you have to do it over and over again. Repetition is a must. Thus, the price of your camera doesn’t really matter when you only start a channel.

Many YouTubers manage to make incredible travel videos with professional cinematic effects using an iPhone only. Your phone is in your pocket 24/7. Thus, you can reach for it any moment you want and make a video even without having a camera next to you. But is an iPhone absolutely enough for a great video? What else might you need to know or buy to help you vlog with an iPhone even better? Do you need a vlogging tripod or lens? And what’s about lighting?

Let’s have a look.

Read full article @ FunkyKit

HTC U12+ Smartphone Review

The new HTC flagship does incorporate a unique interaction mode with the aluminum frame and instead of using regular buttons, it comes with pressure-sensitive sensors instead. It comes with a 6 inch Super LCD 6 screen that sports a resolution of 2880x1440 and an aspect ratio of 18:9; the pixel density is 537 and two color gamut presets are preloaded into the software distribution (DCI-P3 and sRGB). The included BoomSound speakers sound loud and clear, while the USonic earbuds audio signature can be fine-tuned on our liking and are the ideal companion when commuting to work.

Read full article @ Mad Shrimps

HyperX Savage EXO SSD External Portable Drive Review

Today we’ll be taking a look at the HyperX Savage EXO, which is one of the newest USB 3.1 Gen 2 portable SSDs on the market. Inside, HyperX went with a SATA III drive powered by the Marvell 88SS1074 controller paired with 64-layer 3D TLC NAND Flash. This combination allows the HyperX Savage EXO series to reach sequential speeds of up to 500 MB/s read and 480 MB/s write. These are respectable speeds for a portable SSD with a SATA drive, but it won’t be competing with the faster drives on the market with PCIe NVMe drives inside. The HyperX Savage EXO series is aimed at gamers that are looking for a fast external storage drive that is compatible with their gaming PC as well as gaming consoles like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Kingston claims that the HyperX Savage EXO will load console games up to 20% faster according to their own internal test results.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

Icy Dock MB998IP-B/MB516SP-B Review

Icy Dock builds accessories for storage products. The product line consists primarily of drive cages, but there are some external enclosures as well. The company has enjoyed success with both small and, in recent years, large drive count products used to adapt hard disk drives and solid state drives into 3.5-inch and 5.25-inch bays.

Today we take a deep dive into two of the latest high capacity storage enclosures from the company. The MB998IP-B is the latest 5.25-inch bay 8-drive enclosure with mini-SAS connectivity. It's nearly identical to a previously released model that used eight standard SATA connectors to add drives to your system. For those of you that don't remember and wonder what the covers on your computer are for, a 5.25-inch bay used to house optical media drives, like CD and DVD ROMs.

Read full article @ TweakTown

Intel 9th Gen Core leaks: pricing, Z390 listings, CPU packaging

Intel 9th Gen Core pricing We have been trying to gather some 'intel' on 9th Gen Core series final pricing, but the company has not yet officially confirmed the final retail pricing for their new processors. Instead, we have a lot of online listings of the new SKUs: Core i9-9900K, Core i7-9700K and Core i5-9600K. It does appear that 9900K will cost at least ~550 EUR, while the 9700K's price should settle around 410 EUR

Read full article @ VideoCardz.com

Microsoft's Windows 10 October 2018 Update reviewed

Incredibly, five months have passed us by since the last major update of Windows 10 was released. The April update had a lot of potential, but it wasn't obvious if all the improvements would pay off as Microsoft desired. We've had a bit of time with that update's features, though, and their usefulness is becoming clearer. Now, it's time for you all to gather round and hear the thoughts of the King of the TR sweatshop regarding the shiny new Windows 10 features in the officially named "Windows 10 October 2018 Update."

This quietly released build is numbered Windows 10 version 1809, for those interested. The update contains some significant changes to the core user experience as well as smaller features which improve the operating system in subtle ways. It's actually quite a substantial update, and we're going to cover the most important items. Without further ado, let the dissertation begin!

Read full article @ The Tech Report

Rocketbook Everlast Reusable Smart Notebook Review

If you are not familiar with Rocketbook, they make reusable notebooks and originally came out with the Rocketbook Wave. While the Wave's concept of using a microwave to erase your notes is pretty cool, it does have a limitation of 5 uses per page, and well of course you need a microwave. Then they came along with the Rocketbook Everlast, which promises unlimited uses and simple erasing with any damp towel so long as you use the right pen.

Read full article @ Bigbruin.com

The Surge Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Augmented

The Surge was definitely a welcome surprise for fans of From Software’s Soul series. While the game developed by Deck13 is clearly inspired by the Japanese series, the team made every possible effort to offer something slightly different, efforts that definitely paid off. Following the release of the main game, The Surge has been expanded with the A Walk in the Park DLC, which offered a decisively different atmosphere and more challenges. Another expansion has been released recently, called The Good, the Bad, and the Augmented, an expansion which is a must-buy for those who have loved The Surge, but it’s hard to recommend to all those who played the game.

The Surge: The Good, the Bad, and the Augmented sees main character Warren continue its exploration of the CREO facility and enter an abandoned Quality Assurance lab created by Head of Q.A. Dr. Rischboter, also known as The Supervisor. This new testing area has been modeled after an Old West theme, as Dr. Ricschboter is completely obsessed by it, so much that he even addresses players like a bad guy from spaghetti western movies. By exploring the different chambers and collecting audio logs, players will understand how off the rail the doctor has gone with his obsession and how the took advantage of what CREO has unleashed to make his fantasies reality.

Read full article @ Wccftech

Ways to Free Up Storage Space on Windows

Gigabytes are cheaper than ever but they can also be the sort of thing where the more you have, the more you tend to consume, and it doesn't take long for the terabytes to fly by if you spend a lot of time on your computer. If you're wanting to clean up your drive, this guide will serve you regardless of your current storage solution.

Read full article @ TechSpot