Here a roundup of the latest reviews and articles:

16 DVD- en Blu-ray-burners tested: not yet burned out
Aerocool Dream Box Chassis Kit Review
Ashes of Singularity: DX12 Benchmark II with Explicit Multi-GPU mode tested
Ashes of the Singularity DirectX 12 Mixed GPU Performance
Ashes of the Singularity Mixed GPU Test: Pairing GeForce and Radeon cards together
Asus RT-AC5300 Tri-Band Gigabit Router Review
ASUS ZenFone Zoom Review: An Android With True 3X Optical Zoom
F1 2015: tested with 33 GPUs
Fnatic Gear Flick G1 Optical Mouse Review
GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-SOC FORCE Motherboard Review
Gigabyte X99P-SLI Motherboard Review
How Ubuntu 16.04 Is Performing Compared To Five Other Linux Distributions
Lenovo Ideapad Y700 Review
Mushkin Impact 256GB and Atom 128GB USB Flash Drives Capsule Review
NZXT H440 v2 and S340 Razer review: NZXT update
Review: Parrot Zik 3.0 Bluetooth Headphones Offer 'Wireless Everything', but at a Premium
Rise of the Tomb Raider Review
Samsung Galaxy View Review
Samsung Portable SSD T3 Review
Settling The DDR4 Vs DDR3 Debate: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4/D3 ATX Motherboard Review
SSD Charts 2016: 64 SSDs - Toshiba Q300 Pro 256 GB
Steelseries Siberia 200 Gaming Headset Review
Toshiba XG3 M.2 PCIe SSD Review: An OCZ RevoDrive 400 Primer

16 DVD- en Blu-ray-burners tested: not yet burned out

We rarely need them these days, but not having them at all is also impractical. Of course we are talking about optical drives. If you happen to buy one, you might as well take the best one available. This is why we decided to test a large amount of DVD- and Blu-ray-burners again after a long time.

The times when dozens of empty CDs and DVDs were purchased at the same time and people burned discs all the time are far behind us. Years ago cheap and large external drives and NASes have made optical drives obsolete as a back-up medium. These days sharing files with friends and family is done through an USB stick or an online service such as WeTransfer, (illegal) films are downloaded or even streamed and games and other software are also primarily available online and rarely on a shiny disc. Why would you still want an optical drive in your PC then?

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Aerocool Dream Box Chassis Kit Review

What will your next chassis be? I’m sure you’ve asked yourself a few times when you’re planning a build. Do you go for the big and expensive one that’s going to look great and offer lots of space, or do you save on costs and get something more reserved, allowing you more budget for that graphics card you like? How about the Aerocool Dream Box? I can assure you, you’ve likely never thought of having this chassis in your build list, but given that this can be virtually any shape, size or configuration you desire, it’s certainly one of the most interesting chassis we’ve ever seen land here at eTeknix HQ.

From mini-ITX to E-ATX, the Dream Box can hold any of them. The idea is that you take this “chassis” and built it how you want it. I use the word “chassis” in quotes, because a chassis isn’t exactly what you’re buying here. What this really looks like to me is a several hundred piece Meccano set with a few screw holes to put on a motherboard and PSU, and well, that’s because that’s exactly what it is. Free from the box-like constraints of most chassis, you don’t even have to build a chassis from this, you can build whatever you want. We’ve seen people build helicopters, bridges and more. Today though, we’ll be building a PC case, that’s what we want to see.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Ashes of Singularity: DX12 Benchmark II with Explicit Multi-GPU mode tested

Stardock and Oxide Games have renewed their Beta with an updated DirectX 12 benchmark, an upgrade to Ashes of the Singularity Benchmark I, released in Fall of 2015. We take a look at this new build in relation towards PC gaming graphics card performance with AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards. In this article we'll look at single card performance.

However, we'll also have a look at a new DX12 related feature called explicit multi-GPU. You can now insert an additional video card into your PC and increase performance. Explicit Multi-GPU allows gamers to use an AMD card and an Nvidia card in the same system.

Ashes of the Singularity takes place in a post-technological singularity universe in which humans have begun to colonize the stars. Now, they face a foe that threatens to annihilate them, the Substrate, a race of machines that seeks to control the same worlds that humanity is claiming. Beta 2 includes a new DirectX 12 benchmark developed by Oxide Games as well as explicit support for new DirectX 12 features such as multiple GPUs and Asynchronous compute.

Read full article @ Guru3D

Ashes of the Singularity DirectX 12 Mixed GPU Performance

Today, the RTS game Ashes of the Singularity was released in a version which supports mixing GPUs from various vendors, even with different architecture, to provide a performance uplift similar to SLI and CrossFire. We test a selection of NVIDIA and AMD cards to investigate what to expect from the new DirectX 12 feature.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

Ashes of the Singularity Mixed GPU Test: Pairing GeForce and Radeon cards together

Ashes of the Singularity still doesn't have an official release date has been hard at work as shown by the cool new features in its new benchmark. The most notable of them is 'explicit multi-adapter' (EMA), DirectX 12's multi-GPU technology, which enables support for both AMD and Nvidia GPUs in the same system. This means it's possible to pair a GeForce GTX 980 Ti with a Radeon R9 Fury X for example and that's exactly what we'll be focusing on today.

Read full article @ Techspot

Asus RT-AC5300 Tri-Band Gigabit Router Review

The Asus RT-AC5300 is a unique wireless router. Its slightly odd looking design is due to its eight antennas, providing three separate wireless networks – two of which are quad-stream 4×4 802.11ac. It’s of most benefit to environments with an extreme amount of wireless traffic, and for people who want the very fastest wireless speeds across multiple devices.

Read full article @ KitGuru

ASUS ZenFone Zoom Review: An Android With True 3X Optical Zoom

At a glance, you may assume the phone we're testing here is one you've seen before -- a Nokia Lumia 1020 clone perhaps? Despite having a similar circular camera fixture on the handset's back side, suggesting a strong focus on photography, this is actually a newly released phone produced by ASUS. The ASUS ZenFone Zoom is an interesting beast. Though it was initially released for a more international audience, ASUS has since seen fit to bring the device to North American shores.

It makes sense, though. Other than calling or texting, cameras have long been a key smartphone feature that gets used most frequently and many consumers will tell you that photo image quality is paramount when it comes to choosing a phone. The ZenFone Zoom is a test to see how willing users are to put their money where their mouth is...

Read full article @ HotHardware

F1 2015: tested with 33 GPUs

Several months ago Codemasters released Formula 1 2015. This racing game is based on a whole new engine, which is supposed to make graphical effects appear more realistic. We tested F1 2015 at Full HD, WQHD and Ultra HD to find out which graphics card you need to play this game.

F1 2015 is the eighth game in the Formule 1 series of developer Codemasters, who also publishes the game. Especially these last few years Codemasters has been emphasizing their racing games. An example of this is the early acces game DiRT: Rally in the Colin McRae Rally series. Even though F1 2015 and DiRT are developed by the same company, they differ in important aspects. Apart from the fact that you'll sometimes have to drive on 'normal' and sometimes on dirt roads in DiRT: Rally, DiRT is also more realistic. You'll notice this the most when playing the game with a steering wheel.

On Metacritic the average score of the game is a slightly disappointing 6.0. The users however are more negative about the game, with an average score of 4.0. We can see the same on Steam: only 39% of the reviews are positive about the game (at the time of writing). Players mainly complained about bugs and crashes. Many were also not happy with the removal of the Career mode. We did not notice any bugs during testing, so the problems may have been solved.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Fnatic Gear Flick G1 Optical Mouse Review

I normally do not get all giddy over a product at the end of a review, but I can honestly say the Fnatic Flick G1 did not disappoint me one bit. I love its simplicity, yet feature packed, design. It gives you the no-frills approach without being too much over the top. Performance-wise, this mouse is spot on; not once did I have any issues with the mouse going where I didn't want it or a misfire on the buttons. It feels perfectly natural in my hands and really helped keep fatigue setting in from my hands or fingers. Overall a total joy to use.

Read full article @ OCC

GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-SOC FORCE Motherboard Review

GIGABYTE's GA-Z170X-SOC FORCE is touted as the ultimate Z170 "Super OverClock" solution from GIGABYTE. It also offers an impressive array of features for the enthusiast and gamer alike. 22 phases of digital power, cool new OC Touch buttons, metal shielded PCIe slots, pretty lights, and an impressive set of three PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 Connectors!

Read full article @ HardOCP

Gigabyte X99P-SLI Motherboard Review

Lately we have seen a second wave of X99 motherboards from multiple manufacturers. This second wave adds new features, many of which we saw with the introduction of the Z170 chipset. Gigabyte is one such manufacturer who is releasing new X99 motherboards. Today we will be taking a look at their X99P-SLI. The biggest feature of this motherboard is that it features the world’s 1st USB-IF certified Intel USB 3.1 controller with USB Type-C. This controller utilizes 4 PCIe Gen3 lanes, offering up to 32 Gb/s total bandwidth. Other new features on this board include an M.2 interface with up to 32Gb/s data transfer and NVMe support, PCI-Express metal shielding, and a multiple color LED trace path. Of course being a Gigabyte X99 motherboard you get the Ultra Durable design, an all digital power design with IR Digital PWM and IR PowIRstage ICs, 4-way graphics support, Realtek ALC1150 115dB SNR HD audio, and more! As you can see this motherboard is loaded with features so let’s jump in and see what it’s all about!

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

How Ubuntu 16.04 Is Performing Compared To Five Other Linux Distributions

As it's been a month since our last large Linux distribution comparison (a 10-way Linux distribution battle), here are some fresh benchmarks of six Linux distributions to see how their out-of-the-box performance compares. From a Core i7 Broadwell system, the updated versions of Clear Linux, Fedora 23, CentOS 7, openSUSE 42.1, Ubuntu 15.10, and Ubuntu 16.04 LTS were compared.

The distribution comparison this month took place on an Intel Core i7 5775C (Broadwell) system with Iris Graphics. The same system with i7-5775C, MSI Z97-G45 GAMING motherboard, 16GB of RAM, and 120GB Crucial SSD were tested when doing clean installations of each of these six Linux distributions.

Read full article @ Phoronix

Lenovo Ideapad Y700 Review

Gaming laptops are a great introduction to the glorious world of PC gaming. They come pre-built, with factory options, in a portable form-factor. And as time marches on, capable gaming laptops have become less expensive and more powerful. The Lenovo Ideapad Y700 is a good place to start on the path of portable PC gaming, with strong battery life and performance and it won't break the bank either.While this 15-inch entry-level gaming rig won't run games on their highest settings, the Y700 isn't a slacker when it comes to performance. In fact, for the price, it does well, and it looks nice to boot. In fact it looks the part of a higher-end gaming laptop, especially against the low-risk aesthetics of the HP Pavilion Gaming Notebook or the Dell Inspiron 15 7000.Where this $1,149 (£1,099, AU$2,999) machine really stands out against its peers is in performance.

Read full article @ Techradar

Mushkin Impact 256GB and Atom 128GB USB Flash Drives Capsule Review

Flash drives are a dime a dozen these days, and most of them carry uninteresting specifications. In particular, flash drives advertising smaller physical footprints have tended to carry disappointing performance numbers. At CES 2016, Mushkin had two USB Flash Drives (UFDs) on display belonging to the small footprint club, the Impact 256GB and the Atom 128GB. We have reviewed the Atom 64GB version before. Though we were unimpressed with the Atoms performance, the form factor was very intriguing. Last month, Mushkin showed that they had doubled the capacity while retaining the same form factor. Along with the Atom 128GB, Mushkin also showed off one of the smallest 256GB UFDs in the market, the Impact 256GB.

Read full article @ Anandtech

NZXT H440 v2 and S340 Razer review: NZXT update

NZXT brought with the H440 and the S340 have a very successful combination – the cases are still very popular with the hardware lovers. We have recently received an updated version of the first chassis and a special edition of the latter. This is reason enough for us having a look at them.

Officially NZXT calls the H440 the New Edition. This version is different from the original in a few ways. It is available in matt black with and without a window. Both the side and top panel are developed for even better air flow. The fan controller is upgraded to PWM while the hard drive space has doubled. You can now place 11 HDDs or 8 SSDs in it, which will be overkill for most, though for those who are fond of the local storage solutions it would be like music to their ears.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Review: Parrot Zik 3.0 Bluetooth Headphones Offer 'Wireless Everything', but at a Premium

Last month's CES saw French wireless tech company Parrot demoing the third model in its Zik range of popular Bluetooth headphones, aptly called Zik 3.0.

Now shipping at a price of 400, the Zik 3.0's inherit the active noise-cancelling (ANC), capacitive touch and HD telephony features of the earlier Zik 2.0's, but add some new functions like auto-adaptive ANC and Qi-compatible wireless charging, while they also come in several new colors and textures.

Read full article @ MacRumors

Rise of the Tomb Raider Review

The graphics look good, but the performance was not that great for me. Turning down some settings will probably help there, but I cannot name a specific in-game option to really help. Having the optimized drivers installed does help, so be sure you have those. The story is definitely good and also does a good job of providing a fitting context to this new Lara Croft and the previous title. The gameplay does a great deal right and still has a good amount of depth to its mechanics, putting it above just 'right.' Really it is a game worth playing, just watch out for some possible performance issues. I do want to say that I am fairly confident a lot of those issues will be resolved with future game and driver updates, but that is just my speculation based on how I have seen other games improve post-launch.

Read full article @ OCC

Samsung Galaxy View Review

If an 18.4-inch tablet sounds enormous, thats because it is. The Samsung Galaxy View has a larger screen than most laptops, and yet, its an Android tablet. In a lot of ways, this is a unique device. In addition to its huge size, it also has a built-in stand thats always out meaning this is nothing like Samsungs other thin tablets and a handle for carrying it around. Confused yet? Lets take a closer look at this tablet and see if it makes any practical sense.

Read full article @ MakeUseOf

Samsung Portable SSD T3 Review

Samsung launched the Portable SSD T3 at CES 2016. The claim to fame was the availability of 2TB of flash in a palm-sized enclosure with a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C interface. The T3 builds upon the market success of the T1 released in early 2015. The T3 units are slated to become available in the market towards the end of February, but Samsung provided the press with early samples. Due to the rising popularity of USB 3.1 Type-C direct-attached storage (DAS) devices and the upcoming Thunderbolt 3 DAS units, we also took this review process as the opportunity to upgrade our core direct-attached storage testing platform. Read on for a detailed review of the 2TB Samsung Portable SSD T3 as well as the build log for our Skylake-based DAS testbed.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Settling The DDR4 Vs DDR3 Debate: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4/D3 ATX Motherboard Review

Does DDR4 really offer better program performance than DDR3? We compare ASRock's Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4/D3 to its previously-reviewed DDR4 sibling.

Read full article @ Toms Hardware

SSD Charts 2016: 64 SSDs - Toshiba Q300 Pro 256 GB

In our comparison tables you find benchmark values regarding 64 different SSDs. Furthermore we do not comment the benchmark values. The idea and also the goal is to present to you a market overview which helps you choose the right SSD.

Read full article @ ocaholic

Steelseries Siberia 200 Gaming Headset Review

The legendary Steelseries Siberia gaming headset returns, with almost a decade of being one of the most popular headset ranges on the market, SteelSeries are back with their latest edition, the Siberia 200. Following in the footsteps of its predecessors, the iconic design remains mostly unchanged, but that doesn’t mean the headset isn’t still improving with each iteration. If you’ve ever used any of the Siberia headset range over the years, you’ll no doubt know why it has proven so popular, not only with at home gamers, but also a huge portion of the eSports and pro gaming community. The build quality, the comfortable fit, the competitive price and most importantly, the great performance are all just right, but will the latest edition improve or, at least, live up to the standards set by previous models?

Check out the new Show Your Colours promotional video from SteelSeries. If the video leaves you a little confused, it’s more about their new customisation options, even if that’s not really clear from the video. The Siberia 200 is available in a range of funky colours, although we’ll just be taking a look at the iconic while model today.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Toshiba XG3 M.2 PCIe SSD Review: An OCZ RevoDrive 400 Primer

Toshiba started shipping the XG3 last year, but the SSD remained an OEM secret until now. The XG3 is coming to the retail market as OCZ's RevoDrive 400 in 2016. Today, we look at an OEM XG3 to get a feel for the device's performance.

Read full article @ Toms Hardware