Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

Aorus X7 Pro Review
Deepcool Gamer Storm Captain 360
G.Skill RipJaws 4 16GB DDR4 2800MHz Memory Kit Review
How To Install Kodi Media Center Using A PPA On Ubuntu 14.10
HP ZBook 17 G2 Review
Microsoft Band Review
PC-BSD 10.1.1 Cinnamon Review
Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Chassis Review
Plasma 5.2 review - Fire all weapons
QNAP TurboNAS TS-431 NAS Server Review
Raspberry Pi 2 vs Creator 120
Save memory in Chrome by using one process per site

Aorus X7 Pro Review

Thin gaming laptops, like the Origin EVO15-S and Digital Storm Triton, have made us rethink our expectations of high-performance machines. Thanks to more efficient parts, including Intel's Haswell (and soon Broadwell-U) processors as well as Nvidia's Maxwell GPUs, manufacturers don't need to put rip-roaring components into a bulky notebook chassis.No device proves this point more than Gigabyte's Aorus X7 Pro. It's a 17.3-inch gaming laptop equipped with two Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M graphics cards working together in SLI, plus a beefy Intel Core i7 processor. And yet, the machine is less than an inch thick. On paper, the X7 Pro sits on equal footing with the Alienware 18 and MSI GT72 Dominator, but has Aorus managed to squeeze the same amount of gaming performance into a smaller package?

Read full article @ Techradar

Deepcool Gamer Storm Captain 360

All-in-one liquid coolers are proving to be ever more popular. In response, Deepcool is setting themselves apart with their all new Gamer Storm Captain 360. Featuring a unique LED-illuminated, reactor-style pump with a visible coolant channel and a 360 mm radiator, it has some serious specifications, and style.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

G.Skill RipJaws 4 16GB DDR4 2800MHz Memory Kit Review

With the release of Intel's X99 platform and Haswell-E extreme line of processors, the new DDR4 memory was also introduced as a successor to the current but aging DDR3 standard. DDR4 memory kits promised - and delivered - higher module density and lower voltage requirements, which should translate into better performance levels. This new standard is also maturing at an impressive pace with news of modules coming in capacities of up to 128GB and speeds of up to 3333MHz out of the box.

GSkill, one of the major players in PC memory, was more than ready for the DDR4 race. At the time of writing, the company has more than 30 different memory kits available to satisfy consumers' needs. The GSkill kits come is capacities of 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB with speeds ranging from 2133MHz to a whopping 3333MHz. Today I will be looking at the G.Skill RipJaws 4 16GB 2800MHz DDR4 kit which includes four modules of 4GB each that run at 2800MHz and come with an XMP 2.0 profile of 16-16-16-36-2T using only 1.2v. This coming from the company that just achieved the highest memory frequency overclock for DDR4 memory with an insane 4355MHz, I have high hopes for the performance and overclocking potential of the review sample we have on hand.

Read full article @ Neoseeker

How To Install Kodi Media Center Using A PPA On Ubuntu 14.10

Kodi (formerly known as XBMC) is an award-winning free and open source (GPL) software media player and entertainment hub. Visit the Kodi Homepage. Kodi can be installed on Linux, OSX, Windows, iOS, and Android, featuring a 10-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls.

Read full article @ n00bs On Ubuntu

HP ZBook 17 G2 Review

The best mobile workstations on the market combine incredible graphics rendering with top-notch processing speed and superior displays. Unfortunately, they also cost and weigh twice as much as most traditional consumer laptops. In other words: you're paying top dollar for what's under the hood and not for your ability to easily transport the device from location to location. The mobile workstation market is led by machines like the Lenovo ThinkPad W540 ($2,573, £1,606, AU$2,946), a 4.4 pound, 15.6-inch, 2880x1620 (3K) resolution laptop with a 2.7GHz Intel Core i7-4800MQ processor and a Nvidia Quadro K2100M graphics card. Also at the top of the food chain is the Dell Precision M3800 ($1699, £1299, AU$2138), a 15.6-inch powerhouse that was recently updated to include a 4K monitor, an additional terabyte of data, Thunderbolt 2.0 docking and the option of installing Ubuntu. Like the previous model, the 4.4 pound Precision M3800 comes fully-loaded with NVIDIA Quadro K1100M graphics and an Intel Haswell Core i7 processor.If you're looking for something brawnier and more powerful, Dell also has the Precision M6800 ($3,490, £2,075, AU$3,750), which will cost significantly more, and crack your back at a gigantic 8.8 pounds. Not to be outdone by its competitors, HP has updated its ZBook 17 mobile workstation ($1900, £1250, AU$2400), a ferocious laptop built to withstand any task you throw its way. DesignThis 17.3-inch mobile workstation is built with a three-spindle wedge design that shifts most of its hefty 7.42 pound weight toward its thick backside (1.57 inches).

Read full article @ Techradar

Microsoft Band Review

Microsoft quickly and quietly launched its Microsoft Band when no one was really expecting a wearable. The company promptly released the sensor-intensive Microsoft Band after its announcement (without much fanfare, with a price tag of $199 (about £125, AU$230). Despite the high cost, the ninja release and the Microsoft brand seemed enough to keep people curious and ravenous for the Redmond ware, as its been sold out online and in stores for months now. Sneaking into a growing ocean of wearables, Microsoft has a long way to go, if it wants to remain a top contender in the fitness tracking competition. Jawbone already has the successful UP24, plus the UP3 coming out soon, and likely another after. Fitbit also has a lineup that's gotten the masses in a running frenzy, including the newest three of the brood - the Fitbit Flex, Fitbit Charge (and Charge HR), and Surge. Whew. Not to mention every smartwatch has some version of fitness tracking built in.

Read full article @ Techradar

PC-BSD 10.1.1 Cinnamon Review

The last PC-BSD release I reviewed was PC-BSD 10.1. And that was actually just late last year. You may read that review at PC-BSD 10.1 review. It was the worst edition of any distribution I have even reviewed. An installation of the Cinnamon desktop, which shipped with Cinnamon 2.2, was especially bad. Out of the box, it was unusable.

Read full article @ LinuxBSDos.com

Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Chassis Review

Today I will be reviewing the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe chassis. For a proud hardware geek, the chassis is the focal point of the PC, since it is the largest piece of hardware. The aesthetics of a chassis are important to many system builders and consumers alike. A chassis with sleek lines and a smooth finish are key factors to give your custom PC a specific curb appeal. Phanteks has several cases in their highly popular Enthoo lineup; and what they have engineered with their chassis is pure artwork.
The Enthoo Luxe is a monster of a chassis that glows with your choice of different colors. If modding is your passion, Phanteks has designed the Enthoo Luxe to be totally customizable. Remove this, add this, flip around that; you ask and Phanteks delivers. If you want to tear the Enthoo Luxe down to bare bones; their screw (and not rivet) design ensures that the possibilities are limitless.
 
The Enthoo Luxe is commonly referred to as the little brother of the Enthoo Pro. Do not let that reference get you believing that the Luxe is small however, because the Enthoo Luxe is far from being a tiny chassis. The clearance allowances of the specifications sheet shows us the capabilities of what components we can expect to fit inside. Now where all that hardware ends up inside the Enthoo Luxe is all up to the builder, thanks to the Luxe’s modding capabilities. The Luxe comes in either the black (featured today) or a beautiful white color scheme.
 

Read full article @ FunkyKit

Plasma 5.2 review - Fire all weapons

My latest Netrunner article. Plasma 5. Official release. Enough said. Read.

Read full article @ Netrunner

QNAP TurboNAS TS-431 NAS Server Review

It's really a big surprise to all of us the how far NAS devices have gone in the past 3 years alone not only because as we speak most offices and households where we're located own at least one but also because in 2014 alone manufacturers released roughly the same number of new models as they did in the two years prior (2012-2013). We did expect this to happen in the long run since let's face it NAS servers offer many things an HTPC (or even an mITX system) really can't such as size, reduced power consumption, price (depends on the model of course) and out of the box use thanks to the preinstalled OS and the plethora of available (and free) applications. Our focus lately has been on some of the highest-end models to hit the market lately aimed for SMB (small business) use but since many of you asked with us today we have one of the latest low/mid-end NAS servers by QNAP the TurboNAS TS-431.

QNAP Systems, Inc., as its brand promise "Quality Network Appliance Provider", aims to deliver comprehensive offerings of cutting edge network attached storage (NAS) and network video recorder (NVR) solutions featured with ease-of-use, robust operation, large storage capacity, and trustworthy reliability. QNAP integrates technologies and designs to bring forth quality products that effectively improve business efficiency on file sharing, virtualization applications, storage management and surveillance in the business environments, as well as enrich entertainment life for home users with the offering of a fun multimedia center experience. Headquartered in Taipei, QNAP delivers its solutions to the global market with nonstop innovation and passion.

For people looking to get a powerful NAS server are almost always after Intel based solutions but for a low/mid-end model that's not really necessary so QNAP took a different path with the TurboNAS TS-431 since this time over they made use of an ARM Cortex-A9 dual-core 1.2GHz processor by Freescale (1 MB L2 cache) which they paired with 512MB DDR3 RAM and 512MB flash memory. The Freescale ARM Cortex-A9 processor is also responsible for the graphics part (3D/2D) via the embedded graphics processing units by Vivante (GC2000/GC355/GC320) but unfortunately although it does bring support for HDMI v1.4 QNAP didn't equip the TS-431 with a HDMI output (probably due to the relatively low amount of RAM present). Other features include four SATA III/II compatible 3.5"/2.5" Hot swappable drive bays, two Gigabit RJ-45 Ethernet ports, three USB 3.0 ports and one eSATA port. Since however we want to see just how powerful the Freescale AMR Cortex-A9 dual core processor is let's move to the rest of our review.

Read full article @ NikKTech

Raspberry Pi 2 vs Creator 120

The Creator 120 and the Raspberry Pi 2 are single-board computers designed for developers and hobbyists. The Creator C120 was announced in late 2014, but started shipping at about the same time that the Raspberry Pi 2 was announced/starting shipping, which was just last week.

Read full article @ LinuxBSDos.com

Save memory in Chrome by using one process per site

When you open the Task Manager on your computer system after starting up Google Chrome and opening a couple of sites, you will notice that Chrome uses one process per tab that you have open in the browser plus one for the browser core and one for eht GPU (graphics processing unit).

Read full article @ gHacks