Here a roundup of the latest reviews and articles:

Case Mod Friday: MSI Dragon Castle
Chillblast Fusion Ares System Review (w/ i7 5820k)
Cooler Master Nepton 280L AIO CPU Cooler Review
GIGABYTE BRIX GB-BXBT-1900 Review: A Bay Trail UCFF PC
Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5 (LGA 1150) Motherboard Review
Had Microsoft Released an Officebook Instead of the Surface RT
Hands-on review: Kindle Voyage
Hands-on review: Nexus 9
How to Get Handoff Working in OS X Yosemite and iOS 8
Incipio Feather case for the Surface Pro 3
iPad Air 2 Review
LUXA2 E-One Aluminum Headset Holder Review
Microsoft Arc Touch Bluetooth Mouse Review
MSI X99S Gaming 9 AC Review
MSI X99S SLI PLUS On Linux
PCSpecialist Dominator A10 Review
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Review
Review: Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro
SilverStone Fortress FT05 90 Degree ATX Full Tower Review
Studying the scaling capabilities of the most important Hwbot.org benchmarks
Takstar HD5500 Headphones
Thecus N2310 Network Attached Storage Review
Xilence performance a series 530W Review

Case Mod Friday: MSI Dragon Castle

Welcome to another Case Mod Friday showcase! This week we have Derek Smith's “MSI Dragon Castle” build. Here is what he had to say about it: The Idea was inspired by the Steam Castle project that I was commissioned to do but I started with a red case. I decided to black it out with the Red MSI Dragon to give the Steam Castle a theme more suiting to the old days of Castles and Dragons. They go together so nicely.

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Chillblast Fusion Ares System Review (w/ i7 5820k)

Not everyone has the time or inclination to build their own system, so fortunately there are still a handful of companies in the United Kingdom selling custom builds. Today we look at the latest Fusion Ares system from Chillblast. This £1,399 build is equipped with an overclocked Core i7 5820k 6 core processor, R9 285 graphics card, Gigabyte X99 Gaming 5 motherboard, 16GB of fast DDR4 memory alongside a Samsung 840 EVO SSD. Is it worth the money?

Read full article @ KitGuru

Cooler Master Nepton 280L AIO CPU Cooler Review

Closed-loop (All-in-One) CPU water coolers seem to be a dime a dozen these days, but they're far from identical to each other. Each cooler will serve its purpose, whether you're cooling an HTPC or your monster gaming rig. AIO coolers become the ultimate cooling solution to those who want to toy with their system, or just cool it more efficiently than what air can, but don't really want to mess around with building a custom water cooling loop. Cooler Master is a well-known player in the cooling market, and today we're going to take a look at their 280mm Nepton 280L AIO cooler, which was released earlier this year.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

GIGABYTE BRIX GB-BXBT-1900 Review: A Bay Trail UCFF PC

Over the last couple of years, the ultra-compact form factor (UCFF) has emerged as one of the bright spots in the troubled PC market. Intel kickstarted the category with their Sandy Bridge NUC kits in early 2013. Recognizing the popularity of this segment, other vendors also began to promote similar products. GIGABYTE targets this market segment with an extensive lineup of products under the BRIX brand. We recently looked at the high-end Haswell BRIX, the GB-BXi7-4500. Today, we will take a look at the opposite end of the spectrum - the Bay Trail-D Celeron J1900-based GB-BXBT-1900. As a note, due to GIGABYTE's regional marketing policies, this model is currently not being sold in the North American market, but targets price conscious buyers everywhere else.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5 (LGA 1150) Motherboard Review

Intel’s Z97 platform feels like it has been here forever; since its official launch in early May 2014 we’ve ploughed through a sizeable 13 Z97 motherboard reviews here at eTeknix. Yet in the grand-scheme of things that 5 months is barely any time at all:the average PC user will tend to abide to a 2-3 year upgrade cycle meaning they’ll sit through about three new Intel platform launches before choosing to upgrade. With that said Z97 is still as relevant to the PC user today as it was 5 months ago even if Z97 has lost some of its “latest & greatest” status with the recent launch of X99. Today we are examining Z97 motherboard number 14 courtesy of Gigabyte: we have their Z97X-Gaming 5 motherboard in for review.

There is nothing particularly exciting or innovative going on with the Gigabyte Z97X Gaming 5 if I’m being totally honest. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing because “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” as the old saying goes. We have a very familiar red & black colour scheme which predictably gives this motherboard its “Gaming” denotation. Being a gaming board we also find this motherboard adheres to the usual high quality audio and networking package which makes use of Realtek’s latest and greatest ALC 1150 codec and Qualcomm’s Killer E2201 networking chip. The fact that the Z97X Gaming 5 is based on Intel’s Z97 chipset means we also get all of the new desktop storage interfaces: M.2 and SATA Express, in addition to the tried and trusted SATA III. I won’t pretend you can’t get these specifications anywhere else: ASRock and MSI offer very similar motherboards with virtually identical hardware configurations. The real question is: why should you choose Gigabyte? The simple answer is because of the value for money proposition and the fact Gigabyte do offer some unique features of their own such as their patented dualBIOS and Amp-Up audio package: but we’ll get onto all this later on in the review.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Had Microsoft Released an Officebook Instead of the Surface RT

What if Microsoft had just branded the Surface as an Office-dedicated device? Let's call it the Microsoft 'Officebook'. It's the thinnest and lightest portable computer for full Office. It's not a device for tech geeks; it's a device for the average consumer with simple requirements, and Office.

Read full article @ Techspot

Hands-on review: Kindle Voyage

Is the ereader dying? It appears not if Amazon's latest punt, and the reactions to it I've had, are anything to go by. This is an expensive device indeed, coming in at £170 compared to the sub £100 options from rivals (and Amazon itself, with the basic Kindle range).

Read full article @ Techradar

Hands-on review: Nexus 9

The Nexus 9 by HTC is a tablet that's been a long time coming. It's the updated Nexus 7, it's the rebooted Nexus 10, and it's the Nexus 8 too. The tablet seems to have been through a number of internal iterations, mostly because the tablet market has evolved so rapidly of late. It saw Apple enter the mini tablet space, and then decide to effectively pull out by choosing to bring the most minimal updates possible to the iPad mini 3.

Read full article @ Techradar

How to Get Handoff Working in OS X Yosemite and iOS 8

Apple is heavily pushing its new "Continuity" features in OS X Yosemite that improve cross-platform integration between iOS and the Mac. The most significant of the Continuity features is Handoff, which allows OS X and iOS users to start a task on one device and swap to another one nearby to continue work.

Read full article @ MacRumors

Incipio Feather case for the Surface Pro 3

The Incipio Feather case for the Surface Pro 3 is a tale of two cases. For the most part, it lives up to what you would expect from an Incipio product. Overall, it looks great and is very comfortable to hold. On the other hand, there are a few uncharacteristic things that make you scratch your head.

Read full article @ Windows Central

iPad Air 2 Review

Apple's flagship iPad gets Touch ID, a touch of gold and better screen

Read full article @ The Inquirer

LUXA2 E-One Aluminum Headset Holder Review

LUXA2’s products range from mobile device car mounts to headphones and Bluetooth speakers. If wondering when Luxa 2 is going to release a diamond cut, all aluminum headset holder, then wonder no longer, E-One is here! E-One is an elegant headset holder that can stand out in any environment to showcase your headset of choice. Not to mention, it’s sturdy, a slim profile makes it easy to place anywhere on your desk. Check out the full review to see the potential benefits of E-One!

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Microsoft Arc Touch Bluetooth Mouse Review

A suitable companion for Surface Pro 3 Microsoft's new Arc Touch Bluetooth Mouse is a travel-friendly pointer and a great companion for any Windows tablet, 2-in-1 or Ultrabook. Styled to look right at home next to your Surface Pro 3, the Arc Touch Bluetooth mouse doesn't require a dongle, won't take up space or add bulk to your bag, and provides a more precise pointing experience than the touchpad that ships with your device.

Read full article @ WinSupersite

MSI X99S Gaming 9 AC Review

Today in our MSI X99S Gaming 9 AC Review we look at their unique take on X99.

Read full article @ HardwareHeaven

MSI X99S SLI PLUS On Linux

For Intel Core i7 5960X Haswell-E Linux testing I originally bought an MSI X99S SLI PLUS motherboard as it was one of the most interesting, lowest-priced boards available at the time of the Intel X99 chipset debut. While I initially ran into some problems, those issues have now been confirmed to be isolated, and with a replacement X99S SLI PLUS motherboard I have been stressing it constantly for the past few weeks on Fedora and Ubuntu. The X99S SLI PLUS has now proven itself to be a reliable motherboard that's still among the least expensive X99 ATX motherboards on the market.

The X99S SLI PLUS supports the LGA 2011v3 Haswell Extreme Edition CPUs, supports up to quad-channel DDR4-3333 memory, boasts SATA Express and Turbo M.2 connectivity, multi-GPU support, and all of the other features that enthusiasts would expect from a high-end X99 motherboard. The MSI X99S SLI PLUS is currently retailing for just about $230 USD.

Read full article @ Phoronix

PCSpecialist Dominator A10 Review

This PCSpecialist Dominator A10 is a tower PC that is sold without monitor, mouse or keyboard for the low price of £399 inc VAT. (Provided you then click the KitGuru button (https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/reviews) and ‘Order now’ rather than ‘Configure’)

Read full article @ Kitguru

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Review

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv is a Micro-ATX design that looks like no other case we have seen before. The most obvious feature is the way the design uses flat aluminium panels that pop on and off without the use of fasteners. When you look a little deeper you see the front panel connectors have been moved to one side panel and the optical drive bay is at the rear of the case.

Inside the case the drive bays have been carefully located to help the path for cooling air to flow from the front 200mm fan to the 140mm fan at the rear.

Read full article @ Kitguru

Review: Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro

The Yoga 2 Pro was arguably the finest convertible Ultrabook money could buy when it launched in late 2013 - and it continues to impress today. It was sleek, packed a best-in-class QHD+ display and could transform into a multitude of positions depending on how you wanted to use it. At $1,099 (£1,099, around AUS$1,254), it was also relatively affordable compared to competing Ultrabooks boasting displays with high pixel densities.On the flip side, its battery life, unwieldy tablet mode and lack of 802.11ac Wi-Fi meant that there was still plenty of room for improvement. By addressing these concerns, I could see Lenovo returning with a smash hit on its hands.

Read full article @ Techradar

SilverStone Fortress FT05 90 Degree ATX Full Tower Review

The SilverStone Fortress FT05 is a different take on it successful Raven RV05. SilverStone has gotten rid of the 5.25" drive bays and once again rotated the motherboard 90 degrees so that the IO panel points toward the sky. These two things done in tandem allow SilverStone to produce a much better engineered ATX case.

Read full article @ HardOCP

Studying the scaling capabilities of the most important Hwbot.org benchmarks

What has a stronger effect on the most important benchmarks? Overclocking the CPU, the memory, or the GPU? Hardware.Info tries to find out using the most important benchmarks featured on Hwbot.org.

Originally, people overclocked their computer simply to make it faster. This would allow said computer to adequately run that one particular game that would under normal circumstances be slightly too demanding.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Takstar HD5500 Headphones

Takstar is well-known for their bang-for-the-buck headphones, and today, we take a look at their HD5500s. Priced at $74.50, these headphones are for mobile users who want a solid and well-sounding pair of headphones. We take the HD5500s for a spin to see if they can live up to such expectations.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

Thecus N2310 Network Attached Storage Review

What is the difference between being cheap, and being smart with your money? Being cheap is like asking a girl to go on a date, only to take her to IKEA for breakfast, Costco for lunch, and not worry about dinner, because you are not going to get it. Being smart with your money is like going to the dealership to buy a nice car, but only pay as close to invoice price as market conditions will allow. In both cases, saving money is the end goal, but the method you use, and the outcome of both is drastically different. If you have a hard time understanding why, please feel free to experiment with the first, but keep in mind I will not be responsible for anything that may happen to you. At the end of the day, it is important to grasp the concept of being smart with your money means to never sacrifice quality for cost. In the past, we have reviewed many network attached storage systems here at APH Networks. This includes the uber awesome but super pricey QNAP TS-470, ASUSTOR's competitive AS-202TE for the home, and even Thecus' sleek looking N2560. Here is the thing though: The lowest price of them all is still well over $200. Why must all NAS boxes have to be so expensive if I am just looking to store some files on my home network? The good people at Thecus asked the same question. To see if there is finally a solution to this problem, today, we are going to take a look at the N2310, which retails for a stunningly low price of just $125 at press time. Is this a prototype of being cheap, or an excellent example of how to be smart with your money? We set out to find the answer.

Read full article @ APH Networks

Xilence performance a series 530W Review

You needn't spend a fortune for a good PSU. Our testing has demonstrated repeatedly that modern PCs don't need to have huge-capacity PSUs. The latest GeForce GTX 980, the most powerful single-GPU on the market, chews through less than 200W when running full out. And this is the wattage for a complete PC, with an overclocked Core i7-4770K at the helm.

With such energy efficiency available, is there a real need to invest in expensive, high-wattage power supplies? Perhaps not, as companies are now focussing on mainstream PSUs at lower price points.

An example of such thinking is with firms such as Xilence, a German-Chinese outfit specialising in value-conscious cooling. Recently purchased by Listan, the parent company of premium manufacturer be quiet!, Xilence is looking for greater exposure in Europe.

Read full article @ Hexus