Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition vs. R9 280X - Should I upgrade?, MSI GTX780 Ti Twin Frozr Gaming OC Review, Samsung S24C770T Review, OZONE Rage 7HX 7.1 Surround Headset, and ASUS R9 290X DirectCU II OC 4 GB



Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition vs. R9 280X - Should I upgrade? @ ocaholic

A gamer simply can't get enough graphics power in their rig, which makes the upgrade question omnipresent. To show you whether it makes sense to upgrade from one generation to another we created this series of articles, where we will compare graphics cards from different generations. Today we're having a close look at the differences between the Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition and the R9 280X.

Read more: Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition vs. R9 280X - Should I upgrade? @ ocaholic

DeepCool Lucifer CPU Cooler Review @ ThinkComputers.org

DeepCool has only recently announced their Gamer Storm line of products. These are mainly focused towards gamers with high-end cooling solutions for both CPU's and graphics cards. The DeepCool Lucifer is part of the Gamer Storm line and is one of the larger CPU coolers we have seen lately. It features six 6 mm copper heatpipes, fanless operational mode, a nickel-plated copper base and a 140 mm PWM fan. Is this cooler enough to keep your gaming rig nice and cool and can it compete against other coolers out there? Read on as we find out...

Read more: DeepCool Lucifer CPU Cooler Review @ ThinkComputers.org

AT&T Unite Pro 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot Review @ Legit Reviews

Mobile hotspots are nothing new to the market, but manufacturers like coming up with new ways to make them more user friendly, modernized in both appearance and functionality, and have a greater battery life. AT&T recently released the Unite Pro 4G LTE hotspot, manufactured by Netgear, which packs a 2.4 inch QVGA 64k color capacitive touch screen, a giant 4020mAh battery, LTE Advanced support, and even dual-band WiFi. One really great thing about this hotspot is the fact that you can have up to 15 users connected to it at once, so there is virtually no worrying about who can use it at any given time. That makes this hotspot a great solution for everything from a road trip with your friends or family to a business conference with many of your peers.

Read more: AT&T Unite Pro 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot Review @ Legit Reviews

MSI GTX780 Ti Twin Frozr Gaming OC Review @ Vortez

MSI are renown as a top tier graphics card and motherboard manufacturer. Their components are regularly seen at the top of HWBOT leaderboards with many seasoned overclockers utilising the products MSI produce and for good reason. They don't just churn out a re-hash of a reference design instead they add thier own cocktail of overclocking goodness be it improved power design, 'hard as nails' components or like today's product, a factory overclock that is second to none. Because of this, MSI have a huge enthusiast following too. Their designs are both stylish yet powerful too and this is exemplified by their 'Gaming range of PC components.

Read more: MSI GTX780 Ti Twin Frozr Gaming OC Review @ Vortez

Logitech M560 Wireless Mouse Review @ KitGuru

Today we are going to look at one of Logitech's latest mice, the M560. Unlike many of the mice that pass through our labs this is not a gaming model. It has been designed for those who want a wireless mouse to use specifically with Windows 8. The M560 features a dedicated OS menu button for easy access.

Read more: Logitech M560 Wireless Mouse Review @ KitGuru

Gigabyte GTX 780 Ti GHZ Edition Review, Super Overclock is now sleeker and cooler! @ Bjorn3D

Gigabyte has made some definite noise in the graphics side over the past few years, and with the Super Overclock series being the top horse in the Gigabyte stable we always saw soem great performance from them, well it looks like Gigabyte has changed the Super Overclock to GHz edition in the 780 Ti model card and all I can say is WOW!

The name GHz edition honestly does not make alot of sense due to the cards clockspeed being far above this, and lets not forget that also AMD had recently had GHz edition cards in its AMD lineup just further muddies the water a bit. Overall the uber top clock and top binned models for the 780 Ti version from Gigabyte are gonna be GHz edition models although with the level of clock afforded to them I think this is gonna be some very tight binning which means that this card could even end up being a limited edition if the next run of GK110 GPUs end up being a lower yield.

Read more: Gigabyte GTX 780 Ti GHZ Edition Review, Super Overclock is now sleeker and cooler! @ Bjorn3D

NZXT Source 530 Review @ Hexus

A whole lot of chassis for £80. NZXT has become a noteworthy player in the chassis market. Over the course of the past few years, the Californian firm has evolved into a crowd favourite by releasing wave after wave of chassis that incorporate lavish designs, comprehensive feature sets, and above all, keen pricing.

Hoping to keep that momentum going is the Source 530, a $90/£80 full-tower chassis that we're told "was created to offer all of the essentials with a focus on affordability and simplicity."

Sounds like our cup of tea, as the Source 530 appears to be offering quite a lot for what in our estimation is a rather modest price tag. Heck, you could buy almost two of these for the cost of a single Obsidian Series 750D.

Read more: NZXT Source 530 Review @ Hexus

CM Storm Ceres 300 Gaming Headset @ Modders-Inc

Be it a intense FPS or just rocking out and losing track of the world around us, we all rely on audio to carry us away, and budget can greatly factor into sounds quality and comfort when it comes to headsets. Sometimes you might have to sacrifice on or the other to get the deal you want. Cooler Master is trying to hit the middle ground with the Ceres 300 Headset.

Read more: CM Storm Ceres 300 Gaming Headset @ Modders-Inc

AVerMedia Game Capture HD 2 Video Review @ Hardwareheaven.com

Today Kaeyi Dream tests out the Game Capture HD II from AVerMedia, just the thing for budding YouTubers.

Read more: AVerMedia Game Capture HD 2 Video Review @ Hardwareheaven.com

Samsung S24C770T Review @ TechReviewSource.com

The Samsung S24C770T is a 24-inch touch-screen monitor that delivers solid performance and eye-catching aesthetics. It doesn't provide much in the way of I/O ports though, and it's expensive.

Read more: Samsung S24C770T Review @ TechReviewSource.com

QNAP HS-210 Silent NAS Review @ Techspot

QNAP's latest two-bay NAS looks more like a set-top box than network-attached storage and that's no accident. It's becoming more common to see NAS devices replacing entire HTPCs, which makes it more practical for a design that can blend in with the kind of electronic gear you typically find around a TV. With a capable processor and the right features, a NAS could easily serve as the heart of your home theater experience.

Recently, Asustor (yes, it's affiliated with Asus) introduced the AS-202TE specifically for multimedia tasks and its HDMI output can be connected directly to your TV.

Before that, QNAP did something similar with the HDMI-equipped TS-269L. And not to be excluded, Synology has started offering the DS214play which touts 1080p transcoding on the fly, but its usefulness as an HTPC replacement is limited because it doesn't have an HDMI port. Instead, it relies on DLNA and AirPlay to pipe content where you want it. Granted, it's relatively easy to find devices that support those standards, but HDMI is more common, and certainly common enough to include in a media-oriented box we would think.

Read more: QNAP HS-210 Silent NAS Review @ Techspot

MSI Z87M Gaming Motherboard Review @ OCC

At this point let the form factor be your guide, with the price differential between the ATX and MATX boards are right at $30, with the Z87M Gaming currently selling for $159. Overclocking the Z87M Gaming was just as easy as it was on the Z87-GD65, however I just could not get 4.7GHz fully stable on the Z87M Gaming. Maybe a little ring rust, but running the Z87-GD65 at 4.7GHz was just the same as when I reviewed it back in June of 2013. Memory overclocking with my Hynix MFR-based memory was just as easy with a quick push up to 2800MHz possible with some sub-timing tuning. However to get there the clock speed and ring ratio need to drop down to a max of 42 on my specific Core i7 4770K. A golden chip it is not.

Read more: MSI Z87M Gaming Motherboard Review @ OCC

ASUSTOR AS-202TE Network Attached Storage Review @ APH Networks

Recently, I was surfing a popular Western Canadian home electronics retailer's website, taking a look at the latest home audio equipment deals. One deal that particularly caught my eye was a complete package that consists of an A/V receiver, two tower speakers, one center speaker, and two bookshelf speakers for a "whopping" deal of $698. Ironically, I added all the components up separately -- from the retailer's own website, no less -- and it came out $62 less for a total of $636. What am I missing? Nothing, apparently; every included item was even linked to in the "Items Included" tab on the package deal page. As you can see, sometimes, packages do not always add up as a sum of its components. Take network attached storage systems, for example. How much does it cost to buy an mITX CPU/motherboard combination, 1GB of RAM, and a bare basic chassis with power supply? A quick electronic trip to the store, and my virtual shopping card came out to only $160. Hmm. So what makes the ASUSTOR AS-202TE worth its price tag of $260 at press time? Unlike the home audio package I have mentioned earlier, this time, there is, indeed, something I am missing from the equation: Software. QNAP and ASUSTOR has been going at it for quite a while now, and both manufacturers are trying to one-up each other in every software release. With their latest focus on media center features, the ASUSTOR AS-202TE not only comes with an HDMI port, but also a remote control. Will this NAS perform as well as a network storage system and feature device as it does as a media center PC? Read on to find out!

Read more: ASUSTOR AS-202TE Network Attached Storage Review @ APH Networks

Antec Kuhler H2O 1250 CPU Cooler Review @ Hardware Canucks

With competition in the sealed All In One market at an all-time high, even firmly entrenched companies like Antec are starting to feel the heat. Consumers now demand more and the days of small improvements to water blocks being enough to justify an entirely new model (and price tag) are gone. Unlike when the original Kuhler was released, consumers now have more options than ever and with Cooler Master, NZXT and even SilverStone offering unique designs, Antec needed to do something different. The all-new $119 Kuhler 1250 is just that; it represents a radical departure from the competition

In comparison to its immediate competition Antec has offered an enticing feature set which are unique to the new redesigned Kuhler line. On paper, these differences aren’t readily apparent since just like tits competitors the Kuhler 1250 consists of a 240x120mm radiator, advanced water block, two stock fans, advanced tubing and an integrated water pump. However even just a quick glance shows that Antec has combined these components in an entirely new way. Instead of opting for the typical combination water block and pump, Antec has taken a cue from CoolIT’s early designs and moved the pump off the water block.

Read more: Antec Kuhler H2O 1250 CPU Cooler Review @ Hardware Canucks

Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag PC Review @ eTeknix

The Assassin’s Creed series has won and lost many fans with each iteration of the series, some say the games keep getting better and better, while some argue that the games are too similar and don’t innovate enough, both opinions are correct in so many ways. ACIII was by far my favourite in the series so far and the promise of taking the gameplay elements that were added there, such as the hunting and sailing, then fine tuning them into the pirate filled world that ACIV brings to the table sounded too tempting to pass up.

Pirates are often under represented in gaming, there are few truly great games out there, if any, that I can think of that took being a pirate to the level of a AAA release from a major studio and I’m certainly not going to consider the horrible tie-in games that accompanied Pirates of the Caribbean. There is Raven’s Cry coming out next year, but for now the only big hitter is Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

Read more: Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag PC Review @ eTeknix

NZXT Talk Us Through The New H440 Chassis @ eTeknix

It’s that awesome time of the year again when NZXT bestow upon the industry another premium grade chassis solution, this time with the release of their H440. The H440 is the latest entry into their H series, and somewhat of a sequel to their truly epic H630. The H440 borrows heavily from the design of the H630, in fact from a distance it may be pretty hard to tell them apart, but NZXT said they’ve gone all out on this new model to bring us a wave of innovations that will offer something fresh to the market.

Just like the H630, the new H440 is focused on super clean looks and whisper quiet performance, its been packed out with sound proofing material, thick panels, extensive ventilation options and high quality fans. It’s designed to help keep the noise down from modern gaming rigs, which as we all know can get a little loud, especially when air-cooled and we’ve got our graphics settings dialled all the way up to 11. Not to be left behind the pace, the chassis has been designed to be competent at air cooling, but comes fully capable of some seriously hefty water cooling too.

Read more: NZXT Talk Us Through The New H440 Chassis @ eTeknix

OZONE Rage 7HX 7.1 Surround Headset @ NikKTech

Yesterday i found the time to attend a small LAN event (local) where i live but as soon as i arrived (was a bit late since i had to wrap up some test results) to my surprise some of the gamers participating in the event used entry level headsets the kind of which i wouldn't even use to answer a call even less play games with. Now i know that not everyone can afford a good gaming headset but out of curiosity i sat down with some of those players to see why they chose that solution. Well it seems that for some strange reason they all thought that in order to get a decent gaming headset they'd have to spend over USD100/100Euros (an idea which none of them liked) and although that's accurate for "real" surround sound gaming headsets a good virtual surround sound gaming headset will set you back a lot less and since for the past week we've been testing the Rage 7HX 7.1 Surround Headset i just happened to have it inside my backpack.

Read more: OZONE Rage 7HX 7.1 Surround Headset @ NikKTech

Cooler Master Goes Apples at 2014 CES, Gets HAF Stacked @ Benchmark Reviews

Along with seemingly everyone else at CES 2014, I caught Cooler Master straying from their PC case and peripheral's roots and into other areas of interest. Benchmark Reviews visited Cooler Master's suite at the Palm's Resort and Casino during CES 2014 and we found some interesting new products that you might not expect to see from the company that brought us the HAF series of cases.

Read more: Cooler Master Goes Apples at 2014 CES, Gets HAF Stacked @ Benchmark Reviews

Google Nexus 5 Review: A Fast, Affordable Phone With LTE For All @ Toms Hardware

There's a new flagship smartphone in town. The LG-made Nexus 5 offers a fast Snapdragon platform, LTE for all markets, a 5? 1080p display, and Android 4.4 ?KitKat?. Best of all, the 16 GB model sells for just $350 off-contract. Is it too good to be true?

Read more: Google Nexus 5 Review: A Fast, Affordable Phone With LTE For All @ Toms Hardware

Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X 4GB Graphics Card Review @ eTeknix

The launch of AMD’s R9 290X last week was interesting as it certainly stirred up the graphics card market and industry. Following the launch arguing between readers occurred in abundance across many review sites, not just our own. Where I stand in this debate is that AMD have really shot themselves in the foot by releasing such a high performance graphics card that then gets throttled by such a mediocre cooling solution. Then to make things worse they’ve chosen to shed no light on the launch of non-reference solutions – something all prospective R9 290X buyers are waiting for to make a fully informed decision. Yet despite the R9 290X being throttled by that stock cooler the general consensus from most reviewers was that the R9 290X is at least as good as the GTX 780, while some reviewers who were able to test in favourable temperature conditions received results that suggested the R9 290X was better than the GTX Titan. Our review fell into that latter category and our benchmarks showed the R9 290X as being quite some way ahead of the GTX Titan in most benchmarks.

Setting the R9 290X aside for a bit, today we have with us the R9 290, the R9 290X’s little brother. For those who remember the HD 7000 series clearly the R9 290 is essentially the HD 7950 successor and is the second best single GPU graphics card of the RX-2XX series. Sadly, the AMD R9 290 comes with the same weak AMD stock cooling solution so we can expect more of the same – a wide variety of reviewers showing very different results based on testing that was conducted in varying ambient room temperatures. I think it is immensely important to stress that if readers really want to see the full picture, and want to make a solid judgement on whether the R9 290(X) cards are a good buy, then you’ve got to wait for the non-reference solutions to hit the market to see the accurate picture. When that will be is anyone’s guess as AMD have remained tight-lipped about it, we’ve seen a variety of (guess)estimates thrown all over internet forums ranging from early November to mid December – in my opinion the sooner the better.

Read more: Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X 4GB Graphics Card Review @ eTeknix

Corsair Graphite 230T Windowed Mid Tower Rebel Orange Chassis Review @ eTeknix

Today we take a look at the latest chassis from Corsair, the budget friendly 230T. At just £59.99 it is a far cry from the more recent Corsair chassis products we have reviewed, such as the £299.99 900D Ultra-Tower and the £129.99 750D Full-Tower. Of course, those premium models are incredible and worth every penny should you need something like that, but the mid budget end of the market is where the majority of consumers spend their hard-earned cash and it will be interesting to see just how many of the high-end features Corsair are renowned for managed to find their way into this model.

The model we are looking at today comes finished in a stunning and somewhat bright “rebel orange”, features support for ATX, Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX motherboards, with room for up to 7 expansion cards, plenty of storage, three 5.25″ drives and three included 120mm fans pre-installed.

Read more: Corsair Graphite 230T Windowed Mid Tower Rebel Orange Chassis Review @ eTeknix

Cooler Master Silencio 352 Review @ ocaholic

With Silencio 352, Cooler Master has a new interesting silent case with small dimensions in its portfolio. This model is only compatibel to mATX or mini-ITX motherboards and Cooler Master decided to equip it with three sound absorbing panels. Other than that this case also features an extremely competitive price tag. Overall this sounds like an interesting combination, which is making us curious.

Read more: Cooler Master Silencio 352 Review @ ocaholic

ASUS R9 290X DirectCU II OC 4 GB @ techPowerUp

The ASUS R9 290X DirectCU II OC is R9 290X done right. It is overclocked out of the box, but doesn't suffer from the throttling issues of AMD's reference design. The card is also quieter, even in performance mode, and you can activate the second, quiet BIOS for a very low noise experience.

Read more: ASUS R9 290X DirectCU II OC 4 GB @ techPowerUp