Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

5 Easy Tips for Setting Up Your Home Studio
Amazfit Bip review: One peculiar week with a $99 smartwatch
Asus Lyra review
ASUSTOR AS1002T NAS Review
Best Apple Watch bands of 2018
Best Gaming Headsets
Corsair AX1600i Digital ATX Power Supply Review
Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-OMEGA Case Review
Corsair ML140 PRO RGB 140mm Magnetic Levitation Review
Fortnite BattleRoyale for iOS Review
GAMDIAS Hermes P2 RGB Optical Mechanical Keyboard Review
Kolink Continuum KL-C1500PL PSU Review
MarkAudio-SOTA Tozzi One Loudspeaker Review
MSI GS63VR 7RG Stealth Pro Gaming Laptop Review
NZXT H200i Review
Plextor M8V SATA SSD Review
SuperMicro C7Z370-CG-IW ITX Motherboard Review
The Magnificent Seven unique Linux projects
The Ultimate 44 Used Graphics Card Pricing and Benchmark Guide
Thermaltake Toughpower iRGB PLUS 1200W Power Supply Unit Review
Thermaltake View 37 RGB Mid-Tower Chassis Review

5 Easy Tips for Setting Up Your Home Studio

Before you go any further, you should know that having expensive, high-quality gear and even a multimillion recording facility is great for creating professional recordings, but it pales in comparison to how critical skills are for making a great mix or recording. In short, when you know what you are doing, it trumps any piece of gear you can fit into your home recording studio.

Fortunately, modern technology gives you the advantage of creating incredibly professional recordings without spending a lot of money on gear – and does so from the comfort of your own home – and here’s how to do it on a budget.

Read full article @ FunkyKit

Amazfit Bip review: One peculiar week with a $99 smartwatch

Huami's affordable smartwatch borrows a lot from others, adds little originality. I didn't know what to expect from a $99 smartwatch. I certainly didn't expect a GPS or a heart rate monitor. I also didn't expect it to look much different from a traditional fitness tracker, since those devices come in closer to the $99 price point than most smartwatches available today.

But the Amazfit Bip challenges even the lowest of expectations about what an affordable smartwatch might be. It promises a full smartwatch experience, including features like a heart rate monitor, onboard GPS, a touchscreen, multiple watch faces, full smartphone connectivity, and up to 45 days of battery life—all at the nearly unbeatable price of just $99. Its elevator pitch will be enticing to those searching for a comprehensive wearable that won't set them back hundreds of dollars, like most Android Wear, Tizen, and watchOS devices will.

Read full article @ Arstechnica

Asus Lyra review

Promising corner-to-corner WiFi. The rise of 'super-routers' has not gone unnoticed. Offering more extensive coverage and potentially much higher throughput than those bundled by ISPs, the best routers, often equipped with USB ports, function as mini NAS boxes by enabling you to share content across the network.

And though range and speed are improved, getting great, consistent signal everywhere in a larger home can still be troublesome. This is where range extenders often come into their own, effectively connecting multiple smart devices, wherever they may be, to the Internet. Though a passable solution, these extenders often reduce the available bandwidth in half, while additional access points need to be physically connected to the main router. What to do, eh?

Read full article @ Hexus

ASUSTOR AS1002T NAS Review

We review all types of storage devices here at Modders-Inc anything from cloud provider gateways to personal storage devices. As you can imagine the price range of these services and devices varies greatly based on the requirements. Most of the questions and concerns we get are about the price of the devices without drives. From our experience, most of the users look for simple and affordable storage devices to keep their backups and ability to stream media. This is where vendors open up their product lines towards personal/home demands. A perfect example of an affordable Network Attached Storage is an ASUSTOR AS1002T. ASUSTOR company was created in 2011 by ASUSTeK Computer Inc as a part of a direct investment. Today ASUSTOR carries a wide variety of NAS products for home and office use. AS1002T is their entrance NAS solution for anyone who wants to get into network attached storage at an affordable price. This two-bay NAS is powered by a Dual-Core CPU and controlled by ASUSTOR award-winning ADM (ASUSTOR DATA MASTER) OS.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

Best Apple Watch bands of 2018

Looking for something new to wrap around your wrist? Here are the latest, coolest bands for Apple's wearable. Apple has announced a fresh batch of straps for the Apple Watch, ushering out the wintery cold by injecting the ever-broadening lineup with some flashy options.

Whether you’re in the market for a cheap upgrade or one of the more high-end bands, Apple’s latest additions seem to have you covered. All of these straps are compatible with the Apple Watch, Apple Watch 2 and Apple Watch 3.

Read full article @ Techradar

Best Gaming Headsets

We've tested lots of gaming headsets for audio quality, comfort, and durability. Here's how to choose the best one for your budget.

Shopping for a gaming headset is tough—in part because of market oversaturation. Combine the ever-rising popularity of e-sports with the relative ease of combining off-the-shelf audio hardware with flashy RGBs, cushy earcups, and some software wizardry, and you get a market overflowing with product. A quick search of a few popular online shopping sites reveals hundreds of headset choices across dozens of companies, ranging in price from less than $10 to north of $600.

Read full article @ Tom's Hardware

Corsair AX1600i Digital ATX Power Supply Review

The AX1600i Digital power supply is capable of delivering up to 1,600 watts of continuous DC power (133.3 Amps on the +12V rails) and is 80 Plus Titanium certified for super-high efficiency. If that’s not impressive enough, the PSU can do it while operating on 115 VAC mains and with an ambient temperature up to 50°C (internal case temperature). This beast was made for multiple power-hungry graphic adapters and overclocked CPUs.

The AX1600i is a digital power supply, which provides two distinct advantages. First, it incorporates Digital Signal Processing (DSP) on both the primary and secondary sides, which allows the PSU to deliver extremely tight voltage regulation over a wide range of loads. And second, the AX1600i features the digital Corsair Link, which enables the PSU to be connected to the PC’s motherboard (via USB) for real-time monitoring (efficiency, voltage regulation, and power usage) and control (over-current protection and fan speed profiles).

Read full article @ PC Perspective

Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-OMEGA Case Review

Back in October of 2017 we looked at a budget-oriented case from Corsair, the SPEC-04. Jump forward a few months to CES 2018, and we were presented with a new case from Corsiar’s Carbide series, the SPEC-OMEGA. Packing a similar angular design as other recent SPEC cases, the SPEC-OMEGA is a mid-tower ATX case with bold looks. Add in support for plenty of cooling, as well as some integrated lighting and tempered glass side panel, and you have the makings of a pretty good case. Let’s see if the SPEC-OMEGA lives up to our exSPECtations.

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Corsair ML140 PRO RGB 140mm Magnetic Levitation Review

Corsair has been selling fans with magnetically levitation blades for quite some time now. What started as single and twin-pack fans with gray blades and black frames has evolved.

The ML fans were next offered in solid LED color options of white, red, and blue, to deliver a bit of bling to case builds, but Corsair did not stop there. With all the hype that is RGB these days, it only makes sense that Corsair takes the ML120 and ML140 fans into this realm, and is why we have you here today.

Read full article @ TweakTown

Fortnite BattleRoyale for iOS Review

Epic Games intended to make "Fortnite Battle Royale for iPhone and iPad as close to the version played on other platforms. In its invitation-only initial release, the large-scale multiplayer game hasn't lost its charm in its transition to the small screen from the console, Mac, and PC versions.

"Fortnite" was originally developed as a co-op sandbox survival game that based itself around the concept of fort construction. Set in a world ravaged by a storm that causes most of the world's population to disappear, players work together to collect resources to build defensive structures to defend themselves from the meteorological phenomena and waves of attacking creatures.

Read full article @ Apple Insider

GAMDIAS Hermes P2 RGB Optical Mechanical Keyboard Review

GAMDIAS Hermes P2 RGB Optical Mechanical Keyboard Founded in 2012, GAMDIAS is a Taiwanese-based company that produces peripherals for the PC gaming market.

Today, I am looking at the GAMDIAS Hermes P2 RGB, a full sized mechanical keyboard that offers optical mechanical switches in addition to features commonly marketed to gamers like N-Key Rollover and programmable RGB lighting. In Greek mythology, Hermes was the son of Zeus and the messenger of the Gods. GAMDIAS bases their products and marketing around Greek mythology and has a full lineup of keyboards named after Hermes, varying in feature set and price. The GAMDIAS Hermes P2 RGB is fully featured and priced at $149.99 on Amazon, positioning it as a high end enthusiast offering designed to compete with other premium optical mechanical gaming keyboards like the $139 Aorus K9 Optical and the $159 Wooting One. With optical mechanical RGB keyboards priced so closely together and offering features that appeal to gamers, the market is already becoming competitive. Still, Cherry MX RGB keyboards like the recently reviewed GSKILL KM570 RGB are available for under $100, so these new mechanical optical switch keyboards definitely aren’t on the value side of the spectrum and for now are being aimed at enthusiasts who are willing to commit to spending around $150 on a keyboard.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

Kolink Continuum KL-C1500PL PSU Review

Kolink is Caseking's (one of the largest online stores in Europe) house brand. In just a short period, it has drawn lots of attention thanks to attractive PSU products. The KL-C1500PL is its flagship, apparently ideal for mining.

Within a relatively short period of time, Kolink's PSUs left a good impression on the EU market. The team responsible for them seems to know what it's doing, delivering the highest possible performance and keeping production cost low. Of course, given today's cryptocurrency mining craziness and strong demand for high-capacity PSUs, it's no surprise to see Kolink introducing a 1500W model.

Read full article @ Tom's Hardware

MarkAudio-SOTA Tozzi One Loudspeaker Review

You'll be hard-pressed to find a more stylish, fun, and sweet-sounding set of small speakers under $450.

I first came across the MarkAudio-Sota Tozzi One speakers at the 2017 New York Audio Show. While visiting various manufacturer demos, I saw the Tozzi One speakers flanking a U-Turn Orbit Plus turntable and a PS Audio Sprout integrated amplifier on a long dresser. The setup looked stylish and compact. Fast forward a few months and the MarkAudio-Sota team sent me the same setup for this review—Tozzi One speakers, turntable, integrated amp, cables, and all!

Read full article @ TechHive

MSI GS63VR 7RG Stealth Pro Gaming Laptop Review

MSI's take on a slim, powerful Nvidia Max-Q laptop, this is the most affordable GTX 1070 Max-Q laptop we've tested so far. But is it a good value?

Shortly after Nvidia revealed its slim Max-Q GPUs for laptops, we spoke to MSI about its plans for a Max-Q laptop. As it turns out, Nvidia had approached MSI long before Max-Q reached the market, and MSI developed the GS63VR Stealth Pro in preparation. The Stealth Pro has been on the market for a while, and it has supported Nvidia’s GTX 960 and GTX 1060 GPUs.

Now that Max-Q laptops have entered the market, we can review the Stealth Pro the way it was meant to be, with a GTX 1070 Max-Q.

Read full article @ Tom's Hardware

NZXT H200i Review

The H200i is the latest case from NZXT, which features a compact form factor as well as space for high-end components. Despite its small dimensions, there is actually enough space for a 280mm radiator. There is also a separate compartment for the power supply allowing for very clean looking builds as well as a left side panel that's been made from tempered glass.

One of the two panels of the NZXT H200i is made entirely of solid tempered glass. The panel is secured to the main structure through four screws. There are no hinges or any other release mechanism, the window can only be removed completely. The tempered glass panel allows a quick look inside the case and provides a rather unique design.

Read full article @ ocaholic

Plextor M8V SATA SSD Review

Today we're taking a look at Plextor's M8V SSD. This is their latest entry-level SATA SSD and the first SATA drive from Plextor to use 64-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory.

64-layer 3D NAND flash memory started hitting the market last year, but only a handful of consumer SSDs using the latest-generation flash have launched. All of the early models came from the vertically-integrated manufacturers of flash memory and SSDs. Intel, Micron, Toshiba and Western Digital all introduced drives last year with their own 64L 3D TLC. That flash memory is now starting to be used by the rest of the market, as other brands fill in the gaps left by the biggest players.

Read full article @ Anandtech

SuperMicro C7Z370-CG-IW ITX Motherboard Review

It’s my second Supermicro motherboard review and I’m just curious what improvements were made in new motherboard series. Supermicro is not for a long time on the gaming motherboards market but is quite old high quality, server components manufacturer. As we remember from previous review, Supermicro combines server quality with gaming features what gives users unique products.

This time we will present first Supermicro gaming motherboard in mini ITX format. Sounds perfect for small, yet powerful gaming computer.

Let’s begin with short product introduction and general specification.

Read full article @ FunkyKit

The Magnificent Seven unique Linux projects

I bet you can hear the theme song in your head. Except, instead of cowboys on horses, imagine nerdy penguins thundering down the steppe, chewing raw tobacco and shouting git, git git! Ahem. Yeah, so, seven splendid jewels of creative technology, in Linux parlance. Let's see what they be. My latest OCS-Mag article has it all.

While the technology landscape feels big, complex and colorful, the actual variation in creativity and uniqueness isn’t that huge. Often, ideas build upon other ideas, with small changes and incremental improvements. This is also true of our favorite domain, Linux, with its towering pyramid of distros and forks and still more forks, a whole cutlery division. Lots of stuff but not necessarily variety.

In fact, I even believe there’s a decrease in uniqueness over the years, caused by over-saturation of ideas, the demise (or at least, the decline) of several major projects, and with them, the hope and enthusiasm, and of course, the weariness of the human intellect involved. Having inadequate resources, with teams and projects stretched thin, sure does not help. But that’s the negative side. The good thing is, alongside mediocrity, there have been some really amazing things out there, and I want to give them special attention in this article.

Read full article @ OCS-Mag

The Ultimate 44 Used Graphics Card Pricing and Benchmark Guide

Along with our recent editorials on why it's a bad time to build a gaming PC, we've been revisiting some older GPUs to see how they hold up in today's games. But how do you know how much you should be paying for a secondhand graphics card?

Along with our recent editorials on why it's a bad time to build a gaming PC (not least because of overpriced GPUs) we've been revisiting some older graphics cards to see how they hold up in today's games for those of you who have been eyeing the secondhand market. After retesting a series of older cards in recent months, we've been happy to learn that the GTX 680, R9 280X and even the GTX 760 still perform quite well in the latest games using medium quality settings at 1080p.

Read full article @ TechSpot

Thermaltake Toughpower iRGB PLUS 1200W Power Supply Unit Review

The brand new Toughpower iRGB PLUS 1200W power supply unit by Thermaltake delivers similar performance to the recently released Toughpower Grand RGB 1200W model and in addition to that it features their very own unified RGB control (RGB sync) and SPM platform for advanced monitoring, management and energy saving.

The beginning of every myth and legend is about dreams and desire: the challenging, creative and combative features of Thermaltake Group create an exciting and fascinating user experience to share with everyone, while allowing users to enter a selfless state in terms of function and potential. Thermaltake Group's 3 main brands: Thermaltake, Tt eSPORTS and LUXA2 have been merchandising throughout the world, and have successfully established 6 business footholds in areas such as Europe, America, Oceania, Japan and China, with 95 regional distributors and over 4000 premium retailers. All product planning is orientated by observation of global PC peripheral market and understanding of consumer demands. Thermaltake creates direct contact opportunities with resellers and consumers by participating major global ICT exhibitions and trade shows every year, and develop innovative marketing strategies for the promotions of new products. Meanwhile, Thermaltake incorporates the composite marketing system by making branch offices and regional distributors both the distribution channel and technical support or service center to provide instant support; by maintaining close contact with end users, we manage to strengthen corporate competitiveness and create the momentum for the growth of accomplishments. With its outstanding wisdom and strength Thermaltake Group is recruiting creative talents to build a cultural brand for the enjoyment of entertainment, e-Sports, technology and lifestyle!

Read full article @ NikKTech

Thermaltake View 37 RGB Mid-Tower Chassis Review

Thermaltake is well known for their large and outlandish chassis designs, and today is no exception. Their new View 37 RGB Edition Mid-Tower is pretty bonkers. It’s certain to attract the attention of those who love unique designs that show off your system’s hardware.

Deploying a tempered glass front panel, a funky side panel window that stretches over the top of the chassis, RGB fans, and more, it’s certainly “out-there” regarding design. It’s certainly capable of housing some impressive hardware, and it’s got a price tag that puts it in the higher end of the market. Of course, everything can sound great on paper, but how does it hold up in the real world? Let’s find out!

Read full article @ eTeknix