Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including Sony VAIO Tap 21 Review, Nvidia Tegra K1 In-Depth: The Power Of An Xbox In A Mobile SoC?, Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X OC review: 280X with WindForce cooler, Comparison List Update: All AMD APU Models, and Intel Xeon E5-2600 v2: More Cores, Cache, And Better Efficiency



Sony VAIO Tap 21 Review @ TechReviewSource.com

The Sony VAIO Tap 21 (SVT21217CXB) is a vast improvement over last year's pioneering portable all-in-one desktop. It has a lot more going for it, but there's still not quite enough to call it our top-pick for this nascent category.

Read more: Sony VAIO Tap 21 Review @ TechReviewSource.com

X2 Saturn 5.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset Video Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

Today DaveChaos reviews the true 5.1 surround sound gaming headset from X2 the Saturn 5.1.

Read more: X2 Saturn 5.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset Video Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

Prolimatech Lynx Review @ ocaholic

Today we have a chance to look at Prolimatech's first attempt to make an entry-level cooler, the Prolimatech Lynx. Sticking to what it knows best, making a tower design air cooler, Prolimatech's Lynx is pretty much slimmed down, smaller version of what we usually see from Prolimatech. In the next few pages we will definitely check out if the new Lynx actually lives up to high expectations that we are used to see from Prolimatech.

Read more: Prolimatech Lynx Review @ ocaholic

Nvidia Tegra K1 In-Depth: The Power Of An Xbox In A Mobile SoC? @ Toms Hardware

Nvidia gave us an early look at its Tegra K1 SoC at its headquarters in Santa Clara. By far the most noteworthy change is a shift from programmable vertex and pixel shaders to the company's Kepler architecture, enabling exciting new graphics capabilities.

Read more: Nvidia Tegra K1 In-Depth: The Power Of An Xbox In A Mobile SoC? @ Toms Hardware

Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X OC review: 280X with WindForce cooler @ Hardware.Info

Today we're taking a closer look at Gigabyte's R9 280X graphics card, the Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X OC or GV-R928XOC-3GD. We compared it to five other Radeon R9 280X video cards we tested previously.
If you want to read about how the Radeon R9 280X compares to other cards, please have a look at our original review. In a nutshell, the R9 280X is a new version of the Radeon HD 7970. Priced at around £270, it offers excellent bang for your buck.

Read more: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X OC review: 280X with WindForce cooler @ Hardware.Info

Comparison List Update: All AMD APU Models @ ocaholic

Over time CPU manufacturers like Intel and AMD release numerous processors and it is very likely to lose track of all the models out there. Furthermore it is difficult to find complete comparison tables where you find all CPUs and their features listed. Following you find such a list regarding AMD's APU processors.

Read more: Comparison List Update: All AMD APU Models @ ocaholic

Kingston DataTraveler Vault Privacy 3.0 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review @ APH Networks

Happy New Year! Lately, it seems security has been a big issue for our American counterparts. In the earlier part of 2013, Edward Snowden left the country, and met with journalists to discuss his findings. Unless you have been living under a rock, the gist of it is he revealed several mass surveillance mining programs such as PRISM to search through data obtained by quite a few internet companies. Large corporations like Google, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft had surrendered quite a bit of customer data to the American government. Even telecommunication corporations like Verizon, Vodafone, and British Telecommunications were reportedly handing over phone records of their customers. Of course, the first thing that all of these companies did was to deny any interaction of releasing consumer data, and even to the extent of not knowing about PRISM. When the government was confronted about PRISM and other surveillance programs, President Barack Obama was quoted saying, “You can't have 100% security, and also then have 100% privacy and zero inconvenience.” While multiple opinions for and against these programs can be produced, the way I see it, what he is saying is you cannot have the best of both worlds, contrary to Hannah Montana’s song. With privacy, security, and convenience a big topic lately, this brings us to our review of the Kingston DataTraveler Vault Privacy 3.0 32GB. The Kingston DataTraveler Locker+ 32GB we have reviewed back in April 2013 was perfectly capable of stopping unintended audiences from snooping on your personal data. However, the biggest let down of the device was its speed. Fast forward to today, Kingston is back with a beefier 256-bit AES encrypted drive, along with some USB 3.0 speed. Will this device be 100% secure with zero compromises? Read on to find out!

Read more: Kingston DataTraveler Vault Privacy 3.0 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review @ APH Networks

AMD could counter Nvidia's G-Sync with simpler, free sync tech @ The Tech Report

During an impromptu meeting in a hotel ballroom this morning, we got an eye-opening demo of a dynamic refresh rate capability that's been a part of Radeon GPUs for several generations. AMD thinks this feature can be combined with triple buffering to deliver G-Sync-like animation smoothness without the cost associated with specialized display hardware.

Read more: AMD could counter Nvidia's G-Sync with simpler, free sync tech @ The Tech Report

Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLHX @ Phoronix

Our Linux hardware review today is of the Western Digital VelociRaptor, an enterprise-grade HDD that Western Digital claims is the "Fastest SATA Hard Drive On The Planet." The Serial ATA 3.0 disk drive spins at 10,000 RPM, but how's its Linux performance?

The Western Digital WD1500HLHX is the 150GB version of the VelociRaptor. The Serial ATA 3.0 hard disk drive spins at 10,000 RPM and has 32MB of cache (it would have been more competitive to see a 64MB cache like some other HDDs, but we'll see how it performs in our benchmarks). The VelociRaptor is a 2.5-inch HDD but is mounted within a 3.5-inch "Icepack Mounting Frame" for cooling off the drive with its built-in heatsink.

Read more: Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLHX @ Phoronix

OCZ Vertex 450 Review @ OCC

As far as drive performance goes. the Vertex 450 delivers good performance across the spectrum, especially when you look at read performance where as a single drive it easily meets the read/write rating for the drive of up to 525MB/s sequential read and 290MB/s sequential write in my testing. Adding a second drive to the mix in a RAID 0 configuration drives performance up and over the rated speeds of the 256GB and 512GB Vertex 450 drives. Really that is something you can expect, but then you start thinking of the costs of a pair of 128GB solid state drives. As of the date of this article you can pick up a pair of OCZ Vertex 450 128GB drives for less than $220 with free shipping from select e-tailers. At that price it is hard to overlook the performance generated by a pair of the Vertex 450 drives.

Read more: OCZ Vertex 450 Review @ OCC

Scythe Mugen 4 Heatsink Review @ FrostyTech

The Scythe Mugen 4 heatsink weighs 625grams and stands 157mm tall. The heatsink is built around six 6mm diameter copper heatpipes and has a footprint of 130x112mm. A 120mm PWM fan ships with the Mugen 4 heatsink, it rotates at 1400-600RPM and produces upwards of 41.9d dBA.

Read more: Scythe Mugen 4 Heatsink Review @ FrostyTech

Intel Xeon E5-2600 v2: More Cores, Cache, And Better Efficiency @ Toms Hardware

Intel recently launched its Xeon E5-2600 v2 CPU, based on the Ivy Bridge-EP architecture. We got a couple of workstation-specific -2687W v2 processors with eight cores and 25 MB of L3 cache each, and are comparing them to previous-generation -2687Ws.

Read more: Intel Xeon E5-2600 v2: More Cores, Cache, And Better Efficiency @ Toms Hardware

MSI Z87M GAMING Intel LGA 1150 Motherboard Review @ HardOCP

We take a look at another offering in MSI's "GAMING" series. This time the M-ATX form factor Z87M GAMING caught our eye. Is this a case of good things come in small packages Based on our experiences with the rest of the series, this is one you won't want to miss if you're looking for an M-ATX based motherboard.

Read more: MSI Z87M GAMING Intel LGA 1150 Motherboard Review @ HardOCP

AMDs Kaveri: Pre-Launch Information @ Anandtech

On the back of AMDs Tech Day at CES 2014, all of which was under NDA until the launch of Kaveri, AMD have supplied us with some information that we can talk about today. For those not following the AMD roadmap, Kaveri is the natural progression of the AMD A-Series APU line, from Llano, Trinity to Richland and now Kaveri. At the heart of the AMD APU design is the combination of CPU cores (Bulldozer, Steamroller) and a large dollop of GPU cores for on-chip graphics prowess. Kaveri is that next iteration in line which uses an updated FM2+ socket from Richland and the architecture is updated for Q1 2014.

Read more: AMDs Kaveri: Pre-Launch Information @ Anandtech

Celluon Epic and EvoMouse review: virtual keyboard and touchpad @ Hardware.Info

Last year we tested a special little keyboard, the Celluon Magic Cube. It was a little device that could project a full-sized keyboard onto any opaque surface. A red laser created the virtual keyboard and IR was used for detecting each keystroke. We recently had the opportunity to test its successor, along with a touchpad mouse controller from the same company. Here is our review of the Celluon Epic and the EvoMouse.

Read more: Celluon Epic and EvoMouse review: virtual keyboard and touchpad @ Hardware.Info

Gigabyte Radeon R9-290X WindForce 3X OC Review @ Guru3D

We review the Gigabyte Radeon R9-290X WindForce 3X OC edition. A lot of you guys have been waiting on a custom cooled version of this product. Armed with the latest revision of the WindForce 3X cooler and will get that 2816 Stream processor based Hawaii chip with and 4 GB GDDR5 memory running along a 512-bit memory interface. The WindForce 3X card will be equipped with a fully custom PCB design. The card is powered through 8-Pin + 6-Pin power configuration and obviously runs at factory overclocked specifications. The card can Boost towards 1040 MHz and is clocked at reference clocks on the GDDR5 memory.

Some keywords for this review as a small appetizer; 6 Billion transistors on a 438 mm2 Die, 512-bit Memory bus with 4 GB - 5.0 Gbps GDDR5 memory, Ultra HD ready, 5.6 TFLOPS of compute performance. Not bad for keywords, eh? AMD is partnering with EA's Battlefield 4, meaning that for as long as the coupons are available, you will receive Battlefield 4 with the card for certain selected SKUs. That would be a deluxe edition with extra DLC and weapons. AMD also is focusing strongly at gaming in Ultra High Definition (UHD), so this will be a focus in our review as well. Will we be able to play the hottest games at that whopping 8.2 Mpixels at a 3840x2160 resolution @ 60 Hz.

Read more: Gigabyte Radeon R9-290X WindForce 3X OC Review @ Guru3D