Here a roundup of the latest reviews, including Patriot Intel Extreme Masters Limited Edition 32GB 1600MHz Review, ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T Review, Seagate Backup Plus 500GB USB3 portable HDD Review, A driver update to reduce Radeon frame times, and Logitech Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard for Mac, iPad and iPhone Review



Patriot Intel Extreme Masters Limited Edition 32GB 1600MHz Review @ Bjorn3D

Todays market of RAM is pretty saturated, as we all know. This means that RAM manufacturers have to get creative to make their kits stand out. Not only that, but with prices being so low its hard to offer top shelf stuff for lower prices. Patriot happens to do this with their Viper 3 kits, one of which we have right here.

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CM Storm QuickFire TK Review @ Custom PC Review @ Custom PC Review

Last year, we reviewed the CM Storm QuickFire Rapid which offered the tenkeyless formfactor for portability, but came at the expense of a missing tenkey pad, and although we liked how it could be stuffed into our backpacks effortlessly, we definitely missed having the number pad when it came to working with excel spreadsheets.

If only someone could make a tenkeyless formfactor mechanical keyboard with a tenkey pad…

So before 2012 rolled to a close, Cooler Master handed us what they call the CM Storm QuickFire TK packed with Cherry MX blue keyswitches for us to review. In case its name hasn’t given it away yet, the QuickFire TK features the tenkey pad, but that’s not all. It also features the tenkeyless formfactor of the CM Storm QuickFire Rapid.

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ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T Review @ MakeUseOf

The $450 ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity (TF700T) is a high-powered, lightweight tablet with a detachable keyboard you'll actually enjoy typing on. Not everyone thinks the ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity is the best tablet on the market, but I can't imagine wanting to own a different one. I hate reviewing hardware. So I won't pretend to be an expert.

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Fractal Design Tesla R2 650 W Power Supply Review @ Hardware Secrets

The Fractal Design Tesla R2 is available in 500 W, 650 W, 800 W, and 1,000 W versions, all with the 80 Plus Gold certification. Let's take a look at the 650 W model, which comes with a very nice price tag.

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Seagate Backup Plus 500GB USB3 portable HDD Review @ Myce.com

Moving data from one location to another is something that most of us will do from time to time. If we’re only moving a small amount of data, then a USB pen drive is probably the simplest way to achieve this task. However, if we need to move around large amounts of data, then a USB pen drive is hardly a cost effective method of doing so. A far more cost effective way of moving large amounts of data from one location to another is by utilising a portable USB hard drive.

It’s not that long ago that this inevitably meant having to use a rather slow USB2 portable HDD. Fortunately the transfer speed of portable HDDs is no longer an issue, thanks to the USB3 interface and protocol.

Today I’m taking a look at the Seagate Backup Plus USB3 portable HDD, which Seagate were kind enough to send me for review. The drive I’m testing is the 500GB version, but there are other capacities available in the Seagate Backup Plus range, 750GB and 1000GB. The Seagate Backup Plus range is also available in four colours, black, read, silver, and blue. It’s also worth mentioning that the Backup Plus is also backwards compatible with USB2, although connecting via USB2 will obviously not give the same performance as a USB3 connection.

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Cooler Master CM Storm Trigger Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review @ Madshrimps

The CM Storm Trigger keyboard from Cooler Master can be ordered in four versions, with both Brown, Black, Red or Blue Cherry MX switches and features red LED lighting for all keys. The intensity of the LEDs can be modified straight from the keys without the need to install the software, but we can also choose a “pulsating” mode, or the ability to have only the frequently used keys for gaming lit like WSAD and arrow keys.

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Noctua NH-L9i Low Profile CPU Cooler Review @ DragonSteelMods

Noctua is company known for high quality and excellent performing CPU coolers and fans. It’s safe to say that most of their product line is aimed at the high end user who wants to push their system or CPU to the limits. Enthusiasts, or overclockers they would be called, and that’s all fine and good if you’re that type of person, Noctua certainly has a cooler for you that will keep your CPU cool even under overclocked conditions. What happens if you’re not one of those types of people? What about those who really don’t care much about overclocking, or those that much prefer an SFF or HTPC style system? Your choices are pretty limited when it comes to choosing a CPU cooler that is quiet and yet performs well and one that’s high quality. Noctua has a solution for you now, they’ve ventured into making coolers made for more cramped systems, and they’ve brought all of their knowledge and skills from making enthusiast style coolers to do this so you can expect a top-notch product . They’ve come out with two of these coolers, one of which I have for review today called the NH-L9i, where the ‘I’ in the name stands for Intel, the other cooler is the NH-L9a which is for AMD CPUs specifically. So I have the NH-L9i for review and I’ve put it up against a larger Noctua cooler for comparison as I was curious to see how well this tiny cooler would perform. So Read on…

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Lenovo IdeaPad U310 Review @ Techradar

Since the introduction of Ultrabooks, Lenovo has been at the forefront of thin and light machines. We've seen it do well at both ends of the pricing scale with the Lenovo U410 and ThinkPad X1 Carbon, but those are both 14-inch machines. The IdeaPad U310 is a 13-inch Ultrabook, more in keeping with the likes of the Asus Zenbook UX32A, Lenovo's own IdeaPad Yoga (but without the touch capabilities, or the flexible spine), or the MacBook Air. Though it trims down on screen size from the IdeaPad U410, it keeps the funky design sensibilities. With a choice of finishes for the outside, including the fetching blue colour we had, and stark white (with slightly sparkling finish) on the inside, it definitely looks like more of a home laptop than the usual dour business fare.There's a spacious trackpad, and a good-sized keyboard too, with simple black keys.

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Kingston DataTraveler HyperX Predator 512GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review @ Legit Reviews

Kingston recently announced the DataTraveler HyperX Predator 3.0 USB Flash drive. This drive is available in 512GB and 1TB capacities and is fast, with speeds of up to 240MB/s read and 160MB/s write. We managed to get our hands on the Kingston DataTraveler HyperX Predator 512GB drive and put it to the test to see how it performs!

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HTC Desire X review @ The Inquirer

Looks to repeat the success of the original Desire

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A driver update to reduce Radeon frame times @ The Tech Report

We spotted an issue with high frame latencies in several of the latest games on the Radeon HD 7950 not long ago, and now AMD has delivered a driver intended to remedy some of the problems. Does it do the trick? We take a look.

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Crossover 27Q 2560 x 1440 LED Pivot Monitor Review @ XSReviews

The Crossover 27Q sounded like an absolute bargain – a pixel-dense 2560 x 1440 PLS display, 27" across the diagonal, mounted on a stand that allowed up to 90 degree rotation, all for £250. That’s the same price I paid for my HannsG 28DP monitor three years ago – and that monitor uses a TFT panel, has no LED backlight, doesn’t swivel and indeed has broken down three times in three months.

Of course, there’s a bit of a catch – Crossover is a Korean brand that isn’t widely available in the UK, so if you order it, it has to come from South Korea. If you need it repaired or replaced, it has to go back to South Korea. I had enough problems getting my HannsG back to Guildford, so I was a bit worried about the prospect of international shipping.

Even so, the Crossover 27Q sounded too good to be pass up and I love Korean things anyway (girl bands, Kimchi, StarCraft-as-a-sport) so I decided to pull the trigger and order it from 123 Accessories, who list themselves on Amazon’s UK website.

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Fractal Design Define R4 Mid-Tower Chassis Review @ Techgage

While most people are excited about what’s happened at this year’s CES in Las Vegas, I’m sitting here pumped about today’s review, because I’m finally getting my hands on a piece of kit from a company that has impressed me since I first stumbled across it a few years back.

Sweden-based Fractal Design has been releasing cases, power supplies, fans and accessories for years and we have one of its newest products, the Define R4 mid-tower case, on the review table today. The R4 is the 4th generation Define and aims to further improve on previous models.

Many of Fractal Design’s cases might fly under the radar of some enthusiasts since they choose to go with a “less is more” approach, at least on the outside. Luckily, our radar does a pretty wide sweep, so let’s get started.

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Antec GX700 Mid-Tower Case Review @ Hi Tech Legion

Helicopters, aircraft, and many other pieces of military equipment seem to be a common inspiration for product designs. Maybe the reason for that is the fascination that most young boys and men have with this type of equipment. The desire to wear camouflage and play soldier as a child continues in the hearts of many adults. I believe the game industries focus proves this with all the first person shooters and war games that are released on a yearly basis. Antec has embraced the military styling that many people are looking for with the introduction of the GX700 mid-tower computer case.

The Antec GX700 is an all metal build, with the styling of a military vehicle. The GX700 is a full featured case with 9 drive bays, including four tool-less 5.25” bays, and five 3.5”/2.5” tool-less HDD bays. Antec has provided support for ATX, microATX, and Mini-ITX boards in a package that weighs in at 13.8 lbs. The GX700 has support for larger graphics cards and CPU coolers, it can accommodate GPUs up to 293mm long and CPU coolers 172mm in height. The stock cooling system includes two 140mm top mounted fans, one 120mm rear fan, and support for water cooling. The front panel provides two USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, audio jacks, and a fan controller mounted to the top of the case

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Synology DiskStation DS213 NAS Review @ TestFreaks

Over the past year we at TestFreaks have reviewed numerous NAS units. During this time Synology has provided us with several different models ranging from those aimed at the home user to others targeting large-scale business. Today we will be looking at one of their newer units the Synology DiskStation DS213. This unit’s target group is workgroups and office environments with its encryption feature being a key selling point. However it does include numerous other features that cater to home and business users as well.

Synology continues to improve the physical product by upgrading the memory and processor while adding faster interfaces for additional storage using USB 3.0 connectors. An additional SD card reader on the front allows users to transfer data automatically onto the NAS. The real power of the DiskStation is within the DSM (DiskStation Manager), the operating system of these devices. The latest version DSM 4.1 comes with this NAS and is in my opinion what sets Synology boxes apart from the competition.

For today’s review Synology sent TestFreaks a unit bundled with two 1-TB hard drives which arrived in a brown cardboard box with an adhesive label as opposed to the usual preprinted Synology boxes. Looking online I noticed the retail packaging is slightly changed from prior models as it is now white and green as seen on the Newegg website.

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Cooler Master HAF XB @ techPowerUp

With the HAF XB, Cooler Master has taken a HAF case and some tech bench genes to create a unique chassis that turns out to be quite the useful enclosure - for both (LAN Party) Gamers and avid tinkerers.

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Logitech Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard for Mac, iPad and iPhone Review @ TUAW

Back in November of 2012, we reviewed Logitech's K810 Bluetooth Illuminated Keyboard. While that keyboard is amazingly good, it is designed for primary use with Windows machines. In keeping with Logitech's recent trend to embrace the Apple community, the new Logitech Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard (US$99.99) brings all there is to love about the K810 to an Apple-friendly format. Let's take a look, and then TUAW readers have a chance to enter a giveaway for this stellar input device.

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