Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including Testing the Security of Your Website – Part 3, AMD R9 290 4GB Graphics Card Review, Project Build: Lunchbox v3 Part 1, 6 Essential Tips for First-Time PC Builders, and iStarUSA BPN-2535DE-SA and BPU-124DE-SS HDD Docks



Testing the Security of Your Website – Part 3 @ Hardware Secrets

Some programmers trust that users will access a webpage the way the developer intended. What if the user tries to manipulate and change variables? What will happen? This is something you must test on your website.

Read more: Testing the Security of Your Website – Part 3 @ Hardware Secrets

Lamptron FC-10 fan controller review @ DVHardware

It's been over ten years since I've last reviewed a Lamptron product on DV Hardware! Back then the company was primarily known for its CCFL products, but now Lamptron is best known for its fan controllers and some of its other modding products. The subject of this review is the Lamptron FC10 Special Edition, a unique four-channel fan controller that uses vintage Nixie tubes!

While most products ship in cardboard or plastic clamshell boxes, the FC10 Special Edition from Lamptron arrives in a wooden box with some metal trims and a custom lock.

Read more: Lamptron FC-10 fan controller review @ DVHardware

Id America The new Spark Aluminum In-ear Headphones Review @ TestFreaks

Up for review today I have the ID America new Spark in-ear headphones and these feature an all aluminum construction with a great design making them aesthetically pleasing. The headphones have 8mm dynamic drivers in them that offer very good bass and decent highs for a nice rounded sound from them. The new Spark headphone’s also have an in-line multifunction remote and microphone so you can not only control your music but you make and receive call as well while wearing the headphones. So read on…

Read more: Id America The new Spark Aluminum In-ear Headphones Review @ TestFreaks

AMD R9 290 4GB Graphics Card Review @ eTeknix

After months of rumours and media hype, AMD’s new flagship graphics card is here. We have a launch-day review for you guys to read and we’re putting this brand new GPU through its paces on the eTeknix graphics card test system. We’re very excited to bring you this review because everyone loves to see how a new flagship GPU performs and what it can deliver, even if you have no intention of ever buying it. The AMD R9 290X is a brand new GPU crafted from the same 28nm process as the HD 7000 series but using a revised architecture design (GCN 2.0 vs GCN) and a new GPU die codenamed “Hawaii”.

The AMD R9 290X brings a number of new features to the table which we will cover briefly but first let’s check a run down of the specifications. AMD’s R9 290X is a big step up from the R9 280X (HD 7970) featuring 768 more stream processors, 1.5 more TFLOPS of compute performance, 32GB/s more memory bandwidth, double the number of ROPs and much more. A default clock speed of up to 1GHz on the core and up to 5GHz on the memory is deployed, this will vary dynamically as it is adjusted by AMD’s revised PowerTune technology, which leads us on nicely to the next part – the new features of the R9 290X.

Read more: AMD R9 290 4GB Graphics Card Review @ eTeknix

Project Build: Lunchbox v3 Part 1 @ LanOC Reviews

Today starts a small series of articles about our latest project build. If you haven’t noticed, LanOC staff takes a very big interest in LAN events including hosting our own in Northwest Ohio twice a year. Anyone who has packed all of their equipment up to come out to a LAN or two will completely understand why I prefer to build a PC specifically for coming out to events. My main PC the “Fridge” is literally larger than a mini fridge. It is a complete monster and is extremely eye catching, but when it takes two people and a large vehicle to get it out to an event you really start to wish you had something smaller. This is why for the past few years I have been using my “Lunchbox” builds at any event where I just want to kick back and enjoy myself. This project build is for Lunchbox 3, over the next few days I will go over its components and then show off its performance.

Read more: Project Build: Lunchbox v3 Part 1 @ LanOC Reviews

Toshiba HG5D Series Client 2.5" SSD Review (512GB) Toshiba cSSDs Make the Gold Standard @ TechnologyX

Between TSSDR and Tech X in the last while, we have been fortunate to publish reports on some great Toshiba SSD releases to include their newest Q Pro Retail SSD, an exclusive report on their brand new client HG5d M.2 SSD, along with another on their client mSATA SSD (http://technologyx.us7.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=3d9b6193ffd32dd60e84fc74b&id=ee5872b910&e=312ec141fb) . Today's report is going to show a bit of our last Toshiba client sample, the Toshiba HG5d 512GB client notebook SSD.

Read more: Toshiba HG5D Series Client 2.5" SSD Review (512GB) Toshiba cSSDs Make the Gold Standard @ TechnologyX

Dell XPS 8700 Special Edition Review @ TechReviewSource.com

The Dell XPS 8700 Special Edition tries to provide you with lots of performance power, some added connectivity features, but it doesn't leave much room for future expansion or a second graphics card. It delivers in the performance category, but it's pricier than most other desktops.

Read more: Dell XPS 8700 Special Edition Review @ TechReviewSource.com

6 Essential Tips for First-Time PC Builders @ LifeHacker

Building a computer is the best way to get the perfect machine for your needs. We've shown you the basic steps before as well as some other tips, but there are certain things most of us learn after screwing up and wasting a lot of time. Here are a few things you can learn from veterans' mistakes.

Read more: 6 Essential Tips for First-Time PC Builders @ LifeHacker

Thermaltake eSports Level 10 M Headset Review @ HiTech Legion

Admit it, regardless of your musical tastes, there's at least one song you love to blast in the car but are thoroughly embarrassed when it comes up at a stoplight with the windows down. I can't tell you how many times I've laughed my head off because the person dancing to Britney Spears in the muscle car with tinted windows turns out to be a gruff looking middle-aged man. Music is a weird thing. It doesn't seem to matter where, when or by whom you were raised, there's no predicting what each person's tastes will really be. Mine have been all over the spectrum. As a young child, I was only allowed to listen to classical and country so when I hit middle school and could get stuff from friends, I started getting into pop because that's what they were listening to. In high school, I was exposed to metal and found out that the hard-hitting instrumentals had some appeal to me, but I couldn't stand the harsh vocals. It wasn't until college that I learned about bands like Nightwish and HB which have become the core of my musical library. In the last couple years, I've now come full circle to really appreciate the classical roots my parents gave me as I learn to see its influence in the music that I enjoy.

Read more: Thermaltake eSports Level 10 M Headset Review @ HiTech Legion

Evercool AIOLUS Notebook Cooler Review @ OCC

The Evercool AIOLUS Notebook Cooler left me with a serious case of mixed feelings. I really like the ideas that Evercool implemented in this product, but it left me wanting more. The AIOLUS is well built, light weight, and has great cooling performance through its unique modular design. The blower module offers unprecedented temp values, and leaves one of the big names of the laptop cooling arena in the dust by delivering a staggering 15°C improvement over the stock cooling under load. The flexibility when setting up the blower module is an added benefit since it can be installed on either side of the cooler, and also offers Y-axis adjustability to get as flush of a fit as possible against the exhaust vents on your laptop.

Read more: Evercool AIOLUS Notebook Cooler Review @ OCC

AMD Radeon R9 290 review: cheaper Hawaii vs. GTX 780 @ Hardware.Info

Two weeks ago AMD launched its new flagship graphics card, the Radeon R9 290X. A slightly slower version, the Radeon R9 290, finally comes out today. It's cheaper, has fewer active shader units and runs at a lower clock frequency.

Originally AMD had planned on releasing the R9 290 on Halloween. We had already finished testing the card on the 29th. AMD apparently didn't expect Nvidia to lower the prices of the GeForce GTX 770 and 780 as much as it did on Monday, the 28th. Because the day after, we received an email from AMD that it was changing the positioning of the 290. Instead of competing with the GTX 770, AMD now wanted the 290 to go against the GTX 780 in terms of performance. A new driver - Catalyst 13.11 beta 8 - was supposed to make this possible.

AMD's specs indicate that the 290 is faster than the GTX 780 in most benchmarks, and this claim we will of course put to the test. And even after Nvidia slashed the price of the GTX 780, the 290 is still significantly more affordable with a recommended retail price of £319. The cheapest 780s will still cost you at least £400. The GTX 770 is more affordable now, however.

Read more: AMD Radeon R9 290 review: cheaper Hawaii vs. GTX 780 @ Hardware.Info

iStarUSA BPN-2535DE-SA and BPU-124DE-SS HDD Docks @ Proclockers

Our new friends at iStarUSA are known as major players when it comes to enclosures, towers, hot-swap cages as well as other devices in the field of industrial and professional computers. If you are looking for something that will allow you to add additional storage devices to your current built, we advise you to check their site first. Also, you can continue to browse Pro-Clockers as we will be featuring more of iStarUSA products in the near future.

The two products from them that will we will be taking a look at are the BPN-2535DE and the BPU-124DE-SS. Both are backplanes that will fit in either a 3.5” or 5.25” bay depending on the model that best fits your needs. Also, they each share the ability to house multiple 2.5” drives. For most average computer users today, these products are ideal for if you have problems with having lack of support for internal drives in your chassis. Getting either the BPN-2535DE or the BPU-124DE-SS will be a wiser solution than buying a larger chassis which would likely cost you more. Now, read on to check the differences of the two to determine the best for your need.

Read more: iStarUSA BPN-2535DE-SA and BPU-124DE-SS HDD Docks @ Proclockers

R9 290 availability check @ Fudzilla

AMD’s R9 290 launched yesterday and it’s creating a lot of buzz thanks to its $399 price tag and its very loud cooler.

Retailers rushed to list the cards yesterday morning and at least some of them are available. Prices start at €359 in Europe but more than half of all retailers who listed the cards don’t have any in stock – i.e. they sold out or they never had any to begin with. Two overclocked cards are available as well, from PowerColor and VTX3D. You can check out our favourite DACH search engine came up with here.

Read more: R9 290 availability check @ Fudzilla