Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

Buying advice: Gaming PC - Updated
Gigabyte X170-Extreme ECC Review
HTC Vive VR Kit Follow-Up: Experiences And Performance
HyperX Cloud Revolver Headset Review
Kennerton Audio Jimo In-ears
MSI Radeon R7 370 GAMING 2G Review
Need for Speed (2016) review: tested with 22 GPUs
Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2016 Review
Razer BlackWidow X Chroma Review
Tesoro Sagitta Gaming Mouse Review
Thermaltake Lumi Color 256c Review
Thermaltake Pacific W2 CPU Water Block Review

Buying advice: Gaming PC - Updated

This buying advice is all about selecting the right components for your new gaming rig. What we've done is we've put together several configurations for different budgets and we also included links to Toppreise.ch and Geizhals.at with prices, that are being updated automatically.

Read full article @ ocaholic

Gigabyte X170-Extreme ECC Review

With the X170-Extreme ECC Gigabyte has a somewhat different motherboard in its portfolio. Based on the C236 server chipset it combines server with gaming features. To what this combination adds up, that's what we're going to show you on the following pages.

Read full article @ ocaholic

HTC Vive VR Kit Follow-Up: Experiences And Performance

A few weeks back, we gave you our initial take on the retail-ready HTC Vive virtual reality kit. While we were able to explain the Vive’s specifications, setup, configuration, and give some opinions on the experience, at that point, we hadn’t had the kit long enough to form any solid, concrete opinions. We had experience with multiple versions of the Vive throughout its development cycle, but we thought playing with the retail version for only a few days wasn’t enough time to truly understand it, so we held off on making any final recommendations.

We have, however, worked with the Vive for a number of weeks at this point, experimented with a slew of software and applications, and gave a handful of interested third-parties some time inside the Vive as well and think we’ve got a firm grasp of the situation...

Read full article @ HotHardware.Com

HyperX Cloud Revolver Headset Review

Kingston is attempting to defy the odds and beat their very own HyperX Cloud II Headset with their new studio-grade HyperX Cloud Revolver Headset. Boasting advanced directional 50mm drivers, a low impedance, circumaural closed back design, and a steel frame, the Cloud Revolver Headset does appear to be a contender. In this article for Benchmark Reviews, I’m going to be putting the Cloud Revolver Headset through it’s paces, especially it’s claims for directional sound during gameplay.

Read full article @ Benchmark Reviews

Kennerton Audio Jimo In-ears

Kennerton Audio's Jimo is a new high-end dual dynamic driver in-ear. The Jimo features aluminum housings and comes with several different ear tips to suit your every need.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

MSI Radeon R7 370 GAMING 2G Review

While waiting on AMDs news Polaris based products to arrive on the market we have some time to kill. Today we take a look at an entry level to mainstream product, the AMD Radeon R7-370 series in the form of the MSI Radeon R7 370 GAMING 2G. The R7 370 means 1080P gaming is in reach at a price under the affordable 149 Euro/ USD marker. We test the MSI's latest that is armed with their TwinFrozr design cooler.

The Radeon R7-370 as tested today is fitted with a total of 1024 Stream processors and comes with a single precision compute performance of 2 TFlops. This model is toed towards 2 GB of GDDR5 memory (256-bit) and a relatively TDP of 110W which will be supplied through a single 6-Pin power connector. For those that get a bit of a deja-vu, yes that is very comparable to Pitcairn Pro aka the Radeon HD 7850. It's a similar yet slightly revised GPU being used, yet tweaked on the clocks and seated onto a new PCB. The clocks are set at a maximum of 975 MHz boost for the graphics core on the reference product, this MSI model is running 1050 MHz. The memory operates at 5.7 GHz effective clock speed alongside a 256-bit memory interface. The card is PCI-Express 3.0 compatible. Equipped with AMD’s Graphics Core Next Architecture the R7-370 is ready for gaming on a budget, this is a sub 150 USD product. The AMD Radeon R7-370 graphics card is AMD CrossFire compatible as well AMD Eyefinity Technology and AMD ZeroCore Power ready. The card would be a nice HTPC card as well, but you can certainly play games with it as well if you stay away from the highest resolutions of course.

Read full article @ Guru3D

Need for Speed (2016) review: tested with 22 GPUs

The latest game in the well-known Need for Speed racing game series came out in March. In this article we’ll be discussing which graphics card you need to be able to play this game in Full HD, WQHD, or Ultra HD with different graphics settings.

The newest Need for Speed game sticks to the pattern that we’ve seen in the other games in this series. You can choose to drive a predetermined route, or to race freely through a city or over the highways. If you cause too much trouble, the police will come after you and you’ll have to race to avoid being fined. The interesting part of this is that if you go with the “free race” option, you’ll actually come across other human players.

In the new 2016 game, you can personalize your car more than ever before. It’s been years since we saw this level of personalization in a Need for Speed game. You can change the car’s engine, brakes and wheels, as well as its appearance. Changing these elements isn’t very complicated, but you can also download other players’ creations and use those yourself.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2016 Review

The BlackWidow is a gaming keyboard that gamers everywhere, at some point, would have had a look at over the past 6 years. The Ultimate 2016 edition has had a complete overhaul in a ground up redesign that represents a more 'raw' edition to the BlackWidow series. What is meant by this, is that the backlighting is limited to 'Razer Green', though it now features the advanced lighting effects of the Chroma range. This version features Razer's custom 'green' switches that were originally a modified Kailh Blue switch, however, in our previous outing with the BlackWidow Chroma these switches were rated at 60million key strokes, here that number has been moved up to 80million. This could be down to a more refined production/process or control by Razer (see video below) thus giving a higher reliability rating.

The feature list of the BlackWidow 2016 reads as you would imagine, 10 key rollover, 1000hz ultrapolling and USB/audio pass through. Though there are some important yet subtle changes worth mentioning. Firstly, the appearance has changed. There is a green background under the keys and gone is that awful fingerprint/smudgy rubberise surface that has instead been replaced by a matt, anti-smudge coating. The audio pass through is now compatible with 4 pole jacks, providing compatibility with the growing trend of more universal gaming headsets.

Read full article @ Vortez

Razer BlackWidow X Chroma Review

Is this the "budget friendly" mechanical keyboard you've been waiting for? Mechanical gaming keyboards have been all the rage in recent years, but following an initial surge of exciting new products, manufacturers are now finding that there's only so much you can do to make one device stand out from another.

In an effort to spice up its catalogue, Razer has recently introduced the BlackWidow X Chroma. Designed as a "budget friendly" addition to its range, the BlackWidow X Chroma is intended as a basic, minimalist version of the award-winning BlackWidow and attempts to bring mechanical keys and Chroma lighting effects to the masses.

Read full article @ Hexus

Tesoro Sagitta Gaming Mouse Review

Gaming mice are all over the place from top-notch to bottom-third and here at TechX we understand that. It’s our motive to give you the ability to scroll through those with ease and make a sound decision on your purchase, always trying to tow that line of price and function. Today we are going to introduce you to the Sagitta by Tesoro. From a glance at the package to experience inside you can find out if the Sagitta is right for you.

Read full article @ TechnologyX

Thermaltake Lumi Color 256c Review

Every case mod starts with a design. Most of the designs we use today are somewhat based on lighting of the inner/outer of the case. Whether you are replacing stock fans in the case or building out a liquid cooling loop, you are going to need some kind of illumination to have it all stand out.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

Thermaltake Pacific W2 CPU Water Block Review

Watercooling is one of the most popular activities in the enthusiast community. Most will watercool for aesthetics and Internet points while others may build elaborate loops for the thermal benefits. Whatever your reason your choice in components can have a profound impact on how everything works together and even how efficient the loop is.

In this review I’ll be looking at the Pacific W2 CPU Water Block from Thermaltake. This block can be purchased from the TT Premium online store and is currently one of three CPU coolers they have available. The block is designed for fit all modern processor platforms with included hardware for LGA 2011 and AMD. You will get LGA115x hardware installed from the factory.

The Pacific W2 waterblock features a very traditional design with a single inlet and outlet. The holes are G1/4” thread and will accept a wide variety of fittings and barbs depending on what your build requires. Pictured here are the hardline fittings from Thermaltake. These support 16mm OD tubing and are quite good.

Read full article @ Hardware Asylum