Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

11 Myths About Buying a New 4K TV
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 CrossFire review: more niche than ever before
Aorus K9 Optical Mechanical Keyboard Review
Aukey SK-S1 Bluetooth Speaker Review
Complete List Of CPUs Vulnerable To Meltdown / Spectre (Updated)
Gigabyte AB350N-Gaming WiFi Review
Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro Motherboard Review
Intel Ice Lake-U Gen 11 iGPU Features 48 Execution Units
Kingdom Come: Deliverance Benchmark Performance Analysis
Linner NC50 Active Noise Canceling Earphones Review
MSI X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC Motherboard Review
OWC ThunderBlade V4 4TB Review
Raijintek THETIS Window Aluminum Case Review
Revisiting the value proposition of AMD's Ryzen 5 2400G
RHA T20i High Fidelity In-Ear Headphone Review
Samsung 860 EVO M.2 SATA3 SSD Review (2TB)
SuperMicro C7Z370-CG-IW (Intel Z370) Motherboard Review
Tile Sport Bluetooth Tracker Review
Two New Meltdown/Spectre Variants Found
Zhiyun Crane 2 Gimbal Review

11 Myths About Buying a New 4K TV

If you've looked into purchasing a TV in recent years, you've been perhaps overwhelmed by the jargon and conflicting information. Indeed, there's a lot of misinformation out there, so to help you filter it out, we've debunked some commonly held beliefs about buying a TV.

Read full article @ TechSpot

AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 CrossFire review: more niche than ever before

Back in august, when AMD launched its Radeon RX Vega graphics card, it was not yet possible to combine multiple cards in a CrossFire configuration. About a month later, a driver patch came which included the multi-GPU support. Due to many big releases in the last couple of months, we did not have much time take a closer look at this, so we shall rectify this now.

In the presentation AMD gave to the international hardware press prior to the Vega-release, the word CrossFire was not mentioned once. At the launch of the RX 480 and later the RX 580 AMD hinted at performance expected out of two cards, but they have not yet launched their top of the line GPUs, so the hints have gone mostly unnoticed.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Aorus K9 Optical Mechanical Keyboard Review

Have you ever ruined a nice keyboard thanks to some nearby beer, soda or water facing an unfortunate battle with gravity? While many computer users are resolved to keeping drinks and food away from their PC, many gamers and enthusiasts are at their desks too often to consider this an option. For gamers who want to quench their thirst and come in first, Aorus has released the Aorus K9 Optical mechanical keyboard that will live through a drenching from a beer, energy drink or Faygo Moon Mist. Featuring Flaretech Optical mechanical switches that utilize optical technology for actuation instead of traditional metal contact points, the Aorus K9 Optical isn't just water resistant, Aorus claims that you can wash the keyboard under a sink and use it at the same time.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

Aukey SK-S1 Bluetooth Speaker Review

Smartphones and tablets are nowadays an integral part of everyday life. In addition to the usual activities such as writing and reading e-mails and maintaining social media, they are also increasingly taking on the task of a modern jukebox. Powered by the local media library or web radio, the mobile devices usually lack the sound needed to create the right atmosphere. Aukey would like to change this with the SK-S1 Bluetooth loudspeaker and brings a loudspeaker to the market, which offers for mobile devices the necessary platform, in order to heat up also sometime a small celebration. Party pooper or party boy? We find out in this test on OCinside.de!

Read full article @ OCinside.de

Complete List Of CPUs Vulnerable To Meltdown / Spectre (Updated)

BILLIONS of CPUs around the world, including those powering smartphones, are affected by *Meltdown* and/or *Spectre*. Find out if your desktop, mobile or smartphone CPU is one of them!

In this update, we added * 96 Intel server CPUs, 91 Intel desktop CPUs, and 127 Intel mobile CPUs*. A total of *2,786 vulnerable CPU models *have been identified.

Read full article @ TechARP

Gigabyte AB350N-Gaming WiFi Review

And we see the effects of memory speed on IGP gaming. This week's release of Ryzen CPUs enabled with Vega-class graphics has brought renewed focus to the AMD AM4 platform for users dipping their toe into mainstream computing. The Ryzen 5 2400G and Ryzen 3 2200G, priced at £150 and £90, respectively, offer a means of building a capable PC without breaking the bank.

And that very integration of CPU and GPU removes the need for a discrete video card for many. Smaller-form-factor AM4 boards are in an ideal position to capitalise on these new chips, so we have the Gigabyte AB350N-Gaming WiFi in for technical evaluation today.

This mini-ITX board, costing £100, supports all AM4 processors with the latest BIOS, so you can go for a Ryzen 3 today and, when funds permit, opt for a Ryzen 7 at a later date. Of course, choosing a G-series chip removes the immediate need for separate graphics, too.

Read full article @ Hexus

Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro Motherboard Review

The newer Pro version of Gigabyte’s X299 Aorus Gaming 7 brings advancements in power management and cooling. Will it push our parts farther, faster, and more efficiently to promote value?

Read full article @ Toms Hardware

Intel Ice Lake-U Gen 11 iGPU Features 48 Execution Units

Intel's next generation "Ice Lake" processor could integrate a significantly faster integrated graphics solution (iGPU), if a SiSoft SANDRA online database entry is to be believed. A prototype "Ice Lake" chip was benchmarked, with its iGPU being described by the database as "Intel UHD Graphics" based on the company's Gen 11 graphics architecture, which succeeds the current Gen 9.5 architecture implemented on "Coffee Lake" and "Kaby Lake." This iGPU is endowed with 48 execution units (EUs), which work out to 384 unified shaders; against 24 EUs and 192 shaders on Intel UHD 620. SANDRA also describes the iGPU as being able to share up to 6 GB of memory from the system memory; and featuring 768 KB of dedicated cache. Its reference clock is 600 MHz, double that of the UHD 620, although its boost clock remains a mystery. "Ice Lake" is being built on Intel's new 10 nm+ silicon fabrication process, so it's understandable for the company to significantly enlarge its iGPU.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

Kingdom Come: Deliverance Benchmark Performance Analysis

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is the first surprise hit of 2018. It puts you in the shoes of a low-skilled peasant who has to endure tough adventures in the middle ages. We tested the game on 15 graphics cards at four resolutions, looked at VRAM usage and checked how the game scales on the CPU.

Read full article @ TechPowerUp

Linner NC50 Active Noise Canceling Earphones Review

The noise-cancellation market is chocked full of contenders that all want your money. There are some big names including Sony, Sennheiser and Bose in the mix and a lot of mainstream companies that include JBL, Audio Technica and others. Then there are a ton of smaller companies that you’ve probably never heard of – including Linner. Just because you’ve never heard of them doesn’t mean they aren’t worth listening to however. We met Linner at CES this past January, and I was impressed. It’s because of that meeting that I have the sample today and will share my thoughts.

Linner is a relatively new company that draws on a lot of expertise in manufacturing and from some employees that worked at other establishments. They’ve pooled their collective resources to come up with a product that promises solid sound, excellent noise cancellation and quality construction. They have other earphones and headphones on the market, but the NC50 is currently their flagship product. It offers incredible value with a street price of $69.99 currently.

Read full article @ BCC Hardware

MSI X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC Motherboard Review

Just one mini-ITX motherboard currently exists for Intel X299 and with constraints like SO-DIMM only memory and steep pricing, system builders willing to put up with a larger footprint would be wise to consider micro-ATX as an alternative.

Read full article @ KitGuru

OWC ThunderBlade V4 4TB Review

OWC is starting 2018 on a high note, pushing out some intense storage solutions. The ThunderBlade V4 is by far one of my most anticipated devices of the year and it just so happens we have a unit in-house. The ThunderBlade is a new lineup of storage devices from OWC. It plays off the "Thunder" in Thunderbolt to get its method of connectivity. That's said this is quite a unique device, custom-designed aluminum and made to reach some pretty impressive performance numbers. OWC has said this drive is capable of 2800 MB/s in read operations and 2450 MB/s write. With Thunderbolt 3 we have the ability to daisy chain up to six devices with capacity options starting at 1TB and move through 2 and 4TB solutions to reach the pinnacle of capacity, 8TB. The ThunderBlade V4 is compatible with both macOS 10.13 and later along with Windows 10, both systems will need an available Thunderbolt 3 port or certified adapter for Thunderbolt 2 support. MSRP of the 4TB OWC ThunderBlade v4 comes in at $2799.99 with a three-year warranty.

Read full article @ TweakTown

Raijintek THETIS Window Aluminum Case Review

Raijintek is not a highly known name in the US market for pc cases, but is a well-respected manufacture in other countries. During this review, we will be taking a look at the updated Thetis Classic case. The Thetis is an updated version of the popular STYX case.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

Revisiting the value proposition of AMD's Ryzen 5 2400G

The mornings before tight deadlines in the world of PC hardware reviews often follow a week or less of nonstop testing, retesting, and more testing. Sleep and nutrition tend to fall by the wayside in the days leading up to an article in favor of just one more test or looking at just one more hardware combination. None of these conditions are ideal for producing the best thinking possible, and as a human under stress, I sometimes err in the minutes before a big review needs to go live after running that gauntlet.

Read full article @ The Tech Report

RHA T20i High Fidelity In-Ear Headphone Review

With a quick glance, it is obvious that the $200 RHA T20i look the part of a premium in-ear headphone. Whether it’s the injection molded stainless steel driver housings, or the fit and finish of the other key touch points, we see fastidious attention to detail. Innovative design does not stop with the appearance either, including high-quality materials and RHA’s DualCoil driver system, which provides a clear and focused audio experience alongside the good looks.

Read full article @ MissingRemote

Samsung 860 EVO M.2 SATA3 SSD Review (2TB)

Through introduction of the Samsung 860 EVO, Samsung has done two things that make the EVO a great introduction; they have made it current with their latest 64-Bit 3D TLC V-NAND and they have given more power to their MJX controller, thus creating faster host to host communication. This increases their audience significantly as the 860 EVO now has an open door to workstation, NAS and other business communications where affordable, yet reliable storage is key. This, in itself provides a great deal of confidence in their product, even increasing the final TBW on all capacities, but specifically, it is now 12000TBW vice the previous 3000TBW with a five year warranty for the 2TB volume.

Read full article @ The SSD Review

SuperMicro C7Z370-CG-IW (Intel Z370) Motherboard Review

Mini-ITX Z370 motherboards are not rare, but today we have a new mini-ITX Z370 motherboard from a company that typically does not partake in the mini-ITX game. SuperMicro's subsidiary SuperO has one mission; to produce PC gaming products. That means SuperO is dedicated to making motherboards targeted at gamers, which is not an easy task since it is hard to relate motherboard features to equivalent gaming benefits. One of the easier features to relate to gaming is quality, and since SuperO uses many of the same design practices and components of their parent company's server business, they can easily provide superior quality. Let's take a look at how the SuperO C7Z370-CG-IW (odd product name), does in the test bed!

Read full article @ TweakTown

Tile Sport Bluetooth Tracker Review

If there is one thing I always do it is misplace my keys. Even though I have a hook where they should go I still forget to put them there. That leads to me running around the house looking for them before I have to leave. I’m sure many of you have experienced this and know how frustrating it can be. Well that is where Tile comes in. Tile is a small little device that you can attach to your keys, put in your wallet, in a laptop bag etc and allows you to easily find that item by ringing it with your smartphone. Conversely if you’ve lost your smartphone you can press the button on Tile to ring your phone. The app also will show you the last known location of your tile on a map, which can be very helpful. We are checking out the newer Tile Sport, which has a more rugged design, is waterproof and has twice the range of the original Tile.

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Two New Meltdown/Spectre Variants Found

It appears that the meltdown/spectre rabbit hole is deeper and more twisted than we realized. Researchers from Princeton and Nvidia have found two new variants they call MeltdownPrime and SpectrePrime. The good news about these is current software mitigation should prevent any attack using the variants. The bad news is that this finding identifies further hardware corrections that need to be made in future processors. Intel, AMD, and others have got their work cut out for them. You can read the paper here.

In short, the team have discovered new ways for malware to extract sensitive information, such as passwords and other secrets, from a vulnerable computer's memory by exploiting the Meltdown and Spectre design blunders in modern processors. The software mitigations being developed and rolled out to thwart Meltdown and Spectre attacks, which may bring with them performance hits, will likely stop these new exploits.

Read full article @ HardOCP

Zhiyun Crane 2 Gimbal Review

A gimbal is a filming stabilizer, to ensure a precise filming result. Zhiyun offers a plethora of gimbals for entry-level users and professionals alike. The Crane 2 is Zhiyun's top product, offering a rich feature set and top performance along with great responsiveness for the shooting of pro-level video if combined with a suitable camera.

Read full article @ TechPowerUp