Here a roundup of today's reviews with 20 new articles, including Upgrading from Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 to Core i7-4770K, Camera Lens Buying Guide Rev. 4.3, Noctua Fan Round Up, Saints Row: The Third - 2 Years Later Review, and AMD Radeon RG2133 Gamer 16GB Memory Kit Review
Upgrading from Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 to Core i7-4770K @ Legit Reviews
We all love doing computer upgrades, but sometimes we have to ask ourselves if a full system upgrade is worth it or necessary. There are times that you may only gain a small percentage of a performance boost, where there are other times that you gain significant increases. Today I am going to compare my original Intel Kentsfield CPU and X38 motherboard to a shiny new Haswell CPU and Z87 motherboard.
Read more: Upgrading from Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 to Core i7-4770K @ Legit Reviews
Super Flower Leadex Platinum 1000 W @ techPowerUp
Super Flower hits the competition really hard with their new Leadex series units utilizing a fresh platform, promising Titanium efficiency levels with 230 VAC input. Today, we will test the Leadex Platinum 1000 W unit. How will it perform against the high-end competition?
Read more: Super Flower Leadex Platinum 1000 W @ techPowerUp
Camera Lens Buying Guide Rev. 4.3 @ Tech ARP
A big advantage of using a SLR (Single Lens Reflex) or DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera is the ability to swap lenses to suit the job at hand. If you need to take shots of your buddies at a football game, you can use a telephoto lens to capture their finest moments from afar. And when you see a beautiful flower on the way back to your car, just replace the telephoto lens with a macro lens and you are set!
The flexibility of SLR and DSLR cameras cannot be denied. You can literally swap dozens of different lenses either from your camera's manufacturer or third-party manufacturers like Tamron and Sigma. Even if the lens is an old hand-me-down, it will work as long as the lens is compatible with your camera's mount. However, one problem of such flexibility is the high cost.
Read more: Camera Lens Buying Guide Rev. 4.3 @ Tech ARP
XSPC RayStorm 750 AX240 Watercooling Kit Review @ HardwareHeaven.com
Today we are going to take a look at an entry-mid level water-cooling bundle and how it compares to a factory sealed equivalent while also finding out how it could be expanded over time. Enter the XSPC RayStorm 750 AX240 Water-cooling Kit.
Read more: XSPC RayStorm 750 AX240 Watercooling Kit Review @ HardwareHeaven.com
Thermaltake Chaser A31 Case Review @ KitGuru
Thermaltake's mid tower Chaser A31 chassis is built to compete in a mid-range war zone that is laden with gamers. Can the Chaser A31 caseâ€
s features allow it to shine in an overcrowded market?
Read more: Thermaltake Chaser A31 Case Review @ KitGuru
BodyMedia Link Armband Review @ ThinkComputers.org
Today we have a pretty interesting product for review. When it comes to staying healthy you can work out, eat right etc., but it would be nice to be able to track your activity to really see what those activities are doing for you. Whether is working out, going for a run or even how much sleep we are getting the BodyMedia Link Armband can track all of that for you. This way you can see how much physical activity you are doing each day, how many calories you are burning and much more. This is great for someone like me who is sitting at a computer most of the day, but really anyone could benefit from a product like this. Read on as we see what the BodyMedia Link Armband is all about.
Read more: BodyMedia Link Armband Review @ ThinkComputers.org
GIGABYTE Z87X-UD5H Motherboard Review @ Hardware Canucks
It's not a stretch to say that Haswell hasn't exactly been a huge hit amongst the enthusiast desktop crowd. While a solid offering in and of itself, it only offers a mild performance bump, overclocking capabilities that are merely equal to - if not worse - than Ivy Bridge, and higher operating temperatures when overvolted. Having said that, if you're building a system from scratch, and you have settled on this new LGA1150 platform, you're going to need to look for a new motherboard and the GIGABYTE Z87X-UD5H is a great place to start.
With a Z87 lineup that is 15 models deep, the $220 Z87X-UD5H is not obviously not the flagship part - that spot is occupied by the Sniper and OC models - but it does represent the upper-end of GIGABYTE's mainstream offerings. It features an all-digital 3D 16-phase power design, six USB 3.0 ports, two internal USB 3.0 headers, six SATA 6Gb/s ports, four SATA 3Gb/s ports, three PCI-E x16 slots (x16/x8/x4), 2-way SLI and 2-way CrossFireX, two gigabit LAN ports, 8-channel HD audio codec, a dual-mode UEFI BIOS with two physical BIOS chips, and a revamped software package. The neat additions are the distinctive red onboard power button, voltage measurement points, POST code display, onboard BIOS switcher, ON/OFF Charge USB feature, Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header, and full complement of DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort outputs. However, this model doesn't have any of the niche distinguishing features that you might expect like Bluetooth, WiFi, Thunderbolt, or a mini PCI-E slot. Having said that, with the exception of a mini PCI-E slot on the ASRock Fatal1ty Z87 Professional, we really haven't seen any of these features on other Z87 motherboards in this price range.
Read more: GIGABYTE Z87X-UD5H Motherboard Review @ Hardware Canucks
XSPC Raystorm 750 RS240 Liquid Cooling Kit Review @ HiTech Legion
Come on in, the water’s fine. At least one would assume it is. Unfortunately, a lot of people didn’t during the summers of 1975 and 1976 following the release of the blockbuster movie “Jaws”. We can talk another time about the movie really downplaying the political aspects of the original novel and centering too much on an obviously unrealistic shark, right now let’s focus on people’s reactions. I spent those summers living in a house facing the beach in a popular resort town in NJ. I can tell you firsthand that there was a huge change from prior years, with the beach itself more crowded, and far fewer swimmers and surfers in the ocean. It also seemed that no two consecutive days passed that the water wasn’t cleared due to a shark sighting. Mind you, no one could find documentation of a shark attack in the area in the century leading up to this, but that didn’t see people from seeing sharks in the water. While the fear had no real base and was a result of hype, it was still very real.
There is also a great deal of fear surrounding water these days, but this time the water is running through tubes and inside a computer case. AiO liquid coolers have swelled mainstream interest in the idea of water cooling, but fall short and are obviously no match for a custom open loop in delivering the ultra-quiet high performance that makes liquid cooling desirable in the first place. So, what is keeping people with their feet in the kiddie pool rather than diving in the deep end? Much of it is fear, stories of leaks, difficult installations and maintenance, component matching….and the fact that open loop setups can be a very expensive proposition. But, with the advances in today’s components many of these fears are unfounded, with installations becoming far easier, less maintenance being required and very little possibility of leaks if simple care is taken during the install. Now kits are springing up that offer tremendous savings over individual component purchases, and suddenly the deep end is looking better and better.
Read more: XSPC Raystorm 750 RS240 Liquid Cooling Kit Review @ HiTech Legion
Noctua Fan Round Up @ PureOverclock
Since the beginning of the PC evolution, fans have been a critical component used for cooling. Through the many years, we have seen technology evolve, and as the design of fans advance we have many options today to choose from. Your traditional plain fan blade and housing may have worked great in the past; however many of today’s consumers are now looking for quieter noise levels as well as better airflow. With those factors in mind, fan blade and housing design becomes all important.
Today we are going to be looking at a product from Noctua. Noctua has built a solid reputation by supplying some of today’s best performing CPU air coolers. We have several of Noctua’s newest editions in their fan sector in for testing. It will be our pleasure to take a closer look at these new models and see what they have to offer.
Read more: Noctua Fan Round Up @ PureOverclock
Cooler Master V8 GTS CPU Cooler Review @ OCC
Cooler Master has a history of great products that deliver great results at a reasonable price. I'm sad to say that the V8 GTS just doesn't follow in that tradition. While it is reasonably quiet at lower fan speeds, it just doesn't deliver the performance I'd expect from a $100 cooler, even when the fans are cranked up to 11. The performance per dollar ratio just isn't there and to be honest, it is one of the most frustrating CPU coolers I've ever had the displeasure of installing. The fact that it was beaten out by the almost-half-as-expensive DEEPCOOL Neptwin (which, in a funny twist, is also more quiet and far easier to install) just seals the deal.
Read more: Cooler Master V8 GTS CPU Cooler Review @ OCC
Saints Row: The Third - 2 Years Later Review @ OCC
I recently had what I think is an interesting idea worth exploring. That idea is to review games that have been out for some time. My reasoning behind this idea is that these are the games that are most often on sale at very good prices and some have sequels coming out soon. As either of these conditions can increase someone's awareness of a game, why not have a detailed review for them to read, instead of a one line recommendation in a forum thread?
Read more: Saints Row: The Third - 2 Years Later Review @ OCC
SanDisk Extreme 2 240GB SSD Review @ Hardware Canucks
With the release of the $230 Extreme 2 240GB Solid State Drive, SanDisk is proving once again that they were more than just a NAND manufacturer. They’re fully capable of creating a high performance Solid State Drive without the usual high price tag.
SanDisk have certainly been on a role this past 18 months. First they introduced the first Extreme series and then later the Ultra Plus series with its extremely distinctive 19nm eX2 ABL NAND. While both were innovative, neither was able to cement SanDisk’s place in this marketplace and they are still best known as an OEM for other manufactures.
The Extreme certainly helped get a foot in the door with consumers, but its combination of SanDisk 24nm Toggle Mode NAND ICs and a SandForce SF2281 controller was not exclusive. Ironically, it was Corsair and their Force GS who are better known for such a combination. The Ultra Plus on the other hand used distinctive NAND, but due to controller choices it was rather limited on the performance side of things.
Read more: SanDisk Extreme 2 240GB SSD Review @ Hardware Canucks
Be Quiet! Shadow Rock 2 CPU Cooler @ NikKTech
Our summer vacation timeout is almost upon us and although it will roughly be just 5-6 days long that doesn't mean that it will be solely fun and pleasure. So during these 3 days all of us will be testing several compact electronic devices (obviously we can't really test PC hardware while on vacations) such as portable battery packs, portable speakers, Wi-Fi sharing drives/devices, action cameras, Bluetooth wireless headsets and of course normal wired headsets since we really don't want to fall back on our review schedule (if we did that would mean more work for us once we get back). However until we take our short leave (should be the 12th of August if all goes according to plan) there are quite a few hardware reviews left to share with all of you including the one regarding the latest CPU Cooler by be quiet! the Shadow Rock 2.
Read more: Be Quiet! Shadow Rock 2 CPU Cooler @ NikKTech
Aerocool Touch 2100 Touch Screen Fan Controller Review @ KitGuru
Today we are going to look at the Touch 2100 fan controller which is the latest model in Aerocool's range. It's targeted at those users who are looking for a fan controller which makes their case stand out visually, whilst being easy to use.
Read more: Aerocool Touch 2100 Touch Screen Fan Controller Review @ KitGuru
Deepcool M6 Laptop Cooler Review @ APH Networks
Today we are going to look at the Touch 2100 fan controller which is the latest model in Aerocools range. Its targeted at those users who are looking for a fan controller which makes their case stand out visually, whilst being easy to use.
Read more: Deepcool M6 Laptop Cooler Review @ APH Networks
AMD Radeon RG2133 Gamer 16GB Memory Kit Review @ Neoseeker
Today I will taking a look at AMD's latest memory offering, the Radeon Gamer Series RG2133 16GB quad-channel kit. AMD's Gamer series memory has been tuned for optimal performance on both AMD and Intel platforms, as well as supporting both AMP and XMP memory profiles for added flexibility. The Radeon Gamer series expands AMD's current memory product stack that originally consisted of three products: the Value RV1333/1600, Entertainment RE1333/1600 and Performance RP1333/1600/1866 series.
Although the RG2133 does not operate at the higher frequencies that are available on many memory modules, it is still targeted at the enthusiast segment as well as the casual gamer due to it's compatibility with both AMD and Intel systems and the ability to easily overclock the DIMMs. The 2400MHz or faster kits available from today's top manufacturers typically fetch premium prices, leaving AMD's Radeon Gamer series looking more reasonably priced at $154.99 with a lifetime warranty to fill the gap.
Read more: AMD Radeon RG2133 Gamer 16GB Memory Kit Review @ Neoseeker
ASUS Z87-A Motherboard Review @ Bjorn3D
ASUS Z87-A When new chipset launches happen all of the attention is given to the big boys of the group or the high end behemoth that is the top clocking boards.
Read more: ASUS Z87-A Motherboard Review @ Bjorn3D
Chromecast review @ Techradar
Good things come in small packages, or at least that's the hope Google has for Chromecast. This inexpensive media streaming adapter turns any television into a content-filled destination, making it a seed that could grow into the company's answer to Apple TV, the Roku and other rival streaming devices.But it's an answer that's very much a work in progress.That's because while the Android inventor has released its streaming adapter at an attractive price of $35 (£23, about AU$39), the number of apps it supports is limited. In fact, as of this Chromecast review, five of the six compatible apps are owned by Google itself.
Read more: Chromecast review @ Techradar
Parrot Asteroid Smart @ Techradar
Car manufacturers are racing each other to bring cool technology to in-car entertainment. The catch is that you need to buy a new car to access it. Parrot is one of a handful of after-market companies delivering high-tech entertainment to the car. The Asteroid Smart is a double-din head unit with a twist. Running the 6.2-inch touchscreen in-car entertainment unit is a customised version of Google's Android mobile operating system. This gives the Asteroid system two very distinct advantages. The first is the ability to take advantage of a mobile internet connection - either via a USB dongle, Wi-Fi hotspot or through tethering your smartphone - to deliver online services directly to your car.
Read more: Parrot Asteroid Smart @ Techradar
MSI GeForce GTX 760 HAWK Review @ Guru3D
This review will demonstrate the awesomeness that is the MSI GeForce GTX 760 HAWK. The TwiNFrozr IV cooling solution based product is VERY silent but more overly, it is the fastest factory clocked GTX 760 we have seen to date. And that shows in sheer performance. Being a HAWK however also guarantees nice overclock experiences and obviously great build quelity. Join us in this article, where we'll take the product close to 1400 MHz, which is a pretty impressive clock frequency. Let's see if the HAWK model will be worth it for you.
The GeForce GTX 760 is a re-spin product, meaning NVIDIA took an older GPU, rebadged it, tweaked some parameters and injects it back into the market at a better price-point. You might like that, or not. But the fact remains that the GeForce GTX 760 is to be considered a mainstream to high-end product, yet comes at a competitive price with the very same chip used in the GeForce GTX 670 and GTX 680. And that a year ago, where the second and top high-end graphics cards. As such the card remains very interesting in terms of performance though. See the GK104 GPU itself being used will have two shader cluster disabled. This gives the GK104 GPU 1152 CUDA cores to work with, with in total, 96 texture and 32 raster operating units. The GPU being used is actually tagged as GK104-225 A2. The graphics card also has slightly slower clock frequencies than big daddy GTX 680. However the GTX 760 comes with a Boost clock which is set at 1033 MHz. The core clock frequency (for the reference products) is 980 MHz with the 256-bit DDR5 memory clocking in at 6008 MHz.
Read more: MSI GeForce GTX 760 HAWK Review @ Guru3D
Upgrading from Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 to Core i7-4770K @ Legit Reviews
We all love doing computer upgrades, but sometimes we have to ask ourselves if a full system upgrade is worth it or necessary. There are times that you may only gain a small percentage of a performance boost, where there are other times that you gain significant increases. Today I am going to compare my original Intel Kentsfield CPU and X38 motherboard to a shiny new Haswell CPU and Z87 motherboard.
Read more: Upgrading from Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 to Core i7-4770K @ Legit Reviews
Super Flower Leadex Platinum 1000 W @ techPowerUp
Super Flower hits the competition really hard with their new Leadex series units utilizing a fresh platform, promising Titanium efficiency levels with 230 VAC input. Today, we will test the Leadex Platinum 1000 W unit. How will it perform against the high-end competition?
Read more: Super Flower Leadex Platinum 1000 W @ techPowerUp
Camera Lens Buying Guide Rev. 4.3 @ Tech ARP
A big advantage of using a SLR (Single Lens Reflex) or DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera is the ability to swap lenses to suit the job at hand. If you need to take shots of your buddies at a football game, you can use a telephoto lens to capture their finest moments from afar. And when you see a beautiful flower on the way back to your car, just replace the telephoto lens with a macro lens and you are set!
The flexibility of SLR and DSLR cameras cannot be denied. You can literally swap dozens of different lenses either from your camera's manufacturer or third-party manufacturers like Tamron and Sigma. Even if the lens is an old hand-me-down, it will work as long as the lens is compatible with your camera's mount. However, one problem of such flexibility is the high cost.
Read more: Camera Lens Buying Guide Rev. 4.3 @ Tech ARP
XSPC RayStorm 750 AX240 Watercooling Kit Review @ HardwareHeaven.com
Today we are going to take a look at an entry-mid level water-cooling bundle and how it compares to a factory sealed equivalent while also finding out how it could be expanded over time. Enter the XSPC RayStorm 750 AX240 Water-cooling Kit.
Read more: XSPC RayStorm 750 AX240 Watercooling Kit Review @ HardwareHeaven.com
Thermaltake Chaser A31 Case Review @ KitGuru
Thermaltake's mid tower Chaser A31 chassis is built to compete in a mid-range war zone that is laden with gamers. Can the Chaser A31 caseâ€
s features allow it to shine in an overcrowded market?Read more: Thermaltake Chaser A31 Case Review @ KitGuru
BodyMedia Link Armband Review @ ThinkComputers.org
Today we have a pretty interesting product for review. When it comes to staying healthy you can work out, eat right etc., but it would be nice to be able to track your activity to really see what those activities are doing for you. Whether is working out, going for a run or even how much sleep we are getting the BodyMedia Link Armband can track all of that for you. This way you can see how much physical activity you are doing each day, how many calories you are burning and much more. This is great for someone like me who is sitting at a computer most of the day, but really anyone could benefit from a product like this. Read on as we see what the BodyMedia Link Armband is all about.
Read more: BodyMedia Link Armband Review @ ThinkComputers.org
GIGABYTE Z87X-UD5H Motherboard Review @ Hardware Canucks
It's not a stretch to say that Haswell hasn't exactly been a huge hit amongst the enthusiast desktop crowd. While a solid offering in and of itself, it only offers a mild performance bump, overclocking capabilities that are merely equal to - if not worse - than Ivy Bridge, and higher operating temperatures when overvolted. Having said that, if you're building a system from scratch, and you have settled on this new LGA1150 platform, you're going to need to look for a new motherboard and the GIGABYTE Z87X-UD5H is a great place to start.
With a Z87 lineup that is 15 models deep, the $220 Z87X-UD5H is not obviously not the flagship part - that spot is occupied by the Sniper and OC models - but it does represent the upper-end of GIGABYTE's mainstream offerings. It features an all-digital 3D 16-phase power design, six USB 3.0 ports, two internal USB 3.0 headers, six SATA 6Gb/s ports, four SATA 3Gb/s ports, three PCI-E x16 slots (x16/x8/x4), 2-way SLI and 2-way CrossFireX, two gigabit LAN ports, 8-channel HD audio codec, a dual-mode UEFI BIOS with two physical BIOS chips, and a revamped software package. The neat additions are the distinctive red onboard power button, voltage measurement points, POST code display, onboard BIOS switcher, ON/OFF Charge USB feature, Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header, and full complement of DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort outputs. However, this model doesn't have any of the niche distinguishing features that you might expect like Bluetooth, WiFi, Thunderbolt, or a mini PCI-E slot. Having said that, with the exception of a mini PCI-E slot on the ASRock Fatal1ty Z87 Professional, we really haven't seen any of these features on other Z87 motherboards in this price range.
Read more: GIGABYTE Z87X-UD5H Motherboard Review @ Hardware Canucks
XSPC Raystorm 750 RS240 Liquid Cooling Kit Review @ HiTech Legion
Come on in, the water’s fine. At least one would assume it is. Unfortunately, a lot of people didn’t during the summers of 1975 and 1976 following the release of the blockbuster movie “Jaws”. We can talk another time about the movie really downplaying the political aspects of the original novel and centering too much on an obviously unrealistic shark, right now let’s focus on people’s reactions. I spent those summers living in a house facing the beach in a popular resort town in NJ. I can tell you firsthand that there was a huge change from prior years, with the beach itself more crowded, and far fewer swimmers and surfers in the ocean. It also seemed that no two consecutive days passed that the water wasn’t cleared due to a shark sighting. Mind you, no one could find documentation of a shark attack in the area in the century leading up to this, but that didn’t see people from seeing sharks in the water. While the fear had no real base and was a result of hype, it was still very real.
There is also a great deal of fear surrounding water these days, but this time the water is running through tubes and inside a computer case. AiO liquid coolers have swelled mainstream interest in the idea of water cooling, but fall short and are obviously no match for a custom open loop in delivering the ultra-quiet high performance that makes liquid cooling desirable in the first place. So, what is keeping people with their feet in the kiddie pool rather than diving in the deep end? Much of it is fear, stories of leaks, difficult installations and maintenance, component matching….and the fact that open loop setups can be a very expensive proposition. But, with the advances in today’s components many of these fears are unfounded, with installations becoming far easier, less maintenance being required and very little possibility of leaks if simple care is taken during the install. Now kits are springing up that offer tremendous savings over individual component purchases, and suddenly the deep end is looking better and better.
Read more: XSPC Raystorm 750 RS240 Liquid Cooling Kit Review @ HiTech Legion
Noctua Fan Round Up @ PureOverclock
Since the beginning of the PC evolution, fans have been a critical component used for cooling. Through the many years, we have seen technology evolve, and as the design of fans advance we have many options today to choose from. Your traditional plain fan blade and housing may have worked great in the past; however many of today’s consumers are now looking for quieter noise levels as well as better airflow. With those factors in mind, fan blade and housing design becomes all important.
Today we are going to be looking at a product from Noctua. Noctua has built a solid reputation by supplying some of today’s best performing CPU air coolers. We have several of Noctua’s newest editions in their fan sector in for testing. It will be our pleasure to take a closer look at these new models and see what they have to offer.
Read more: Noctua Fan Round Up @ PureOverclock
Cooler Master V8 GTS CPU Cooler Review @ OCC
Cooler Master has a history of great products that deliver great results at a reasonable price. I'm sad to say that the V8 GTS just doesn't follow in that tradition. While it is reasonably quiet at lower fan speeds, it just doesn't deliver the performance I'd expect from a $100 cooler, even when the fans are cranked up to 11. The performance per dollar ratio just isn't there and to be honest, it is one of the most frustrating CPU coolers I've ever had the displeasure of installing. The fact that it was beaten out by the almost-half-as-expensive DEEPCOOL Neptwin (which, in a funny twist, is also more quiet and far easier to install) just seals the deal.
Read more: Cooler Master V8 GTS CPU Cooler Review @ OCC
Saints Row: The Third - 2 Years Later Review @ OCC
I recently had what I think is an interesting idea worth exploring. That idea is to review games that have been out for some time. My reasoning behind this idea is that these are the games that are most often on sale at very good prices and some have sequels coming out soon. As either of these conditions can increase someone's awareness of a game, why not have a detailed review for them to read, instead of a one line recommendation in a forum thread?
Read more: Saints Row: The Third - 2 Years Later Review @ OCC
SanDisk Extreme 2 240GB SSD Review @ Hardware Canucks
With the release of the $230 Extreme 2 240GB Solid State Drive, SanDisk is proving once again that they were more than just a NAND manufacturer. They’re fully capable of creating a high performance Solid State Drive without the usual high price tag.
SanDisk have certainly been on a role this past 18 months. First they introduced the first Extreme series and then later the Ultra Plus series with its extremely distinctive 19nm eX2 ABL NAND. While both were innovative, neither was able to cement SanDisk’s place in this marketplace and they are still best known as an OEM for other manufactures.
The Extreme certainly helped get a foot in the door with consumers, but its combination of SanDisk 24nm Toggle Mode NAND ICs and a SandForce SF2281 controller was not exclusive. Ironically, it was Corsair and their Force GS who are better known for such a combination. The Ultra Plus on the other hand used distinctive NAND, but due to controller choices it was rather limited on the performance side of things.
Read more: SanDisk Extreme 2 240GB SSD Review @ Hardware Canucks
Be Quiet! Shadow Rock 2 CPU Cooler @ NikKTech
Our summer vacation timeout is almost upon us and although it will roughly be just 5-6 days long that doesn't mean that it will be solely fun and pleasure. So during these 3 days all of us will be testing several compact electronic devices (obviously we can't really test PC hardware while on vacations) such as portable battery packs, portable speakers, Wi-Fi sharing drives/devices, action cameras, Bluetooth wireless headsets and of course normal wired headsets since we really don't want to fall back on our review schedule (if we did that would mean more work for us once we get back). However until we take our short leave (should be the 12th of August if all goes according to plan) there are quite a few hardware reviews left to share with all of you including the one regarding the latest CPU Cooler by be quiet! the Shadow Rock 2.
Read more: Be Quiet! Shadow Rock 2 CPU Cooler @ NikKTech
Aerocool Touch 2100 Touch Screen Fan Controller Review @ KitGuru
Today we are going to look at the Touch 2100 fan controller which is the latest model in Aerocool's range. It's targeted at those users who are looking for a fan controller which makes their case stand out visually, whilst being easy to use.
Read more: Aerocool Touch 2100 Touch Screen Fan Controller Review @ KitGuru
Deepcool M6 Laptop Cooler Review @ APH Networks
Today we are going to look at the Touch 2100 fan controller which is the latest model in Aerocools range. Its targeted at those users who are looking for a fan controller which makes their case stand out visually, whilst being easy to use.
Read more: Deepcool M6 Laptop Cooler Review @ APH Networks
AMD Radeon RG2133 Gamer 16GB Memory Kit Review @ Neoseeker
Today I will taking a look at AMD's latest memory offering, the Radeon Gamer Series RG2133 16GB quad-channel kit. AMD's Gamer series memory has been tuned for optimal performance on both AMD and Intel platforms, as well as supporting both AMP and XMP memory profiles for added flexibility. The Radeon Gamer series expands AMD's current memory product stack that originally consisted of three products: the Value RV1333/1600, Entertainment RE1333/1600 and Performance RP1333/1600/1866 series.
Although the RG2133 does not operate at the higher frequencies that are available on many memory modules, it is still targeted at the enthusiast segment as well as the casual gamer due to it's compatibility with both AMD and Intel systems and the ability to easily overclock the DIMMs. The 2400MHz or faster kits available from today's top manufacturers typically fetch premium prices, leaving AMD's Radeon Gamer series looking more reasonably priced at $154.99 with a lifetime warranty to fill the gap.
Read more: AMD Radeon RG2133 Gamer 16GB Memory Kit Review @ Neoseeker
ASUS Z87-A Motherboard Review @ Bjorn3D
ASUS Z87-A When new chipset launches happen all of the attention is given to the big boys of the group or the high end behemoth that is the top clocking boards.
Read more: ASUS Z87-A Motherboard Review @ Bjorn3D
Chromecast review @ Techradar
Good things come in small packages, or at least that's the hope Google has for Chromecast. This inexpensive media streaming adapter turns any television into a content-filled destination, making it a seed that could grow into the company's answer to Apple TV, the Roku and other rival streaming devices.But it's an answer that's very much a work in progress.That's because while the Android inventor has released its streaming adapter at an attractive price of $35 (£23, about AU$39), the number of apps it supports is limited. In fact, as of this Chromecast review, five of the six compatible apps are owned by Google itself.
Read more: Chromecast review @ Techradar
Parrot Asteroid Smart @ Techradar
Car manufacturers are racing each other to bring cool technology to in-car entertainment. The catch is that you need to buy a new car to access it. Parrot is one of a handful of after-market companies delivering high-tech entertainment to the car. The Asteroid Smart is a double-din head unit with a twist. Running the 6.2-inch touchscreen in-car entertainment unit is a customised version of Google's Android mobile operating system. This gives the Asteroid system two very distinct advantages. The first is the ability to take advantage of a mobile internet connection - either via a USB dongle, Wi-Fi hotspot or through tethering your smartphone - to deliver online services directly to your car.
Read more: Parrot Asteroid Smart @ Techradar
MSI GeForce GTX 760 HAWK Review @ Guru3D
This review will demonstrate the awesomeness that is the MSI GeForce GTX 760 HAWK. The TwiNFrozr IV cooling solution based product is VERY silent but more overly, it is the fastest factory clocked GTX 760 we have seen to date. And that shows in sheer performance. Being a HAWK however also guarantees nice overclock experiences and obviously great build quelity. Join us in this article, where we'll take the product close to 1400 MHz, which is a pretty impressive clock frequency. Let's see if the HAWK model will be worth it for you.
The GeForce GTX 760 is a re-spin product, meaning NVIDIA took an older GPU, rebadged it, tweaked some parameters and injects it back into the market at a better price-point. You might like that, or not. But the fact remains that the GeForce GTX 760 is to be considered a mainstream to high-end product, yet comes at a competitive price with the very same chip used in the GeForce GTX 670 and GTX 680. And that a year ago, where the second and top high-end graphics cards. As such the card remains very interesting in terms of performance though. See the GK104 GPU itself being used will have two shader cluster disabled. This gives the GK104 GPU 1152 CUDA cores to work with, with in total, 96 texture and 32 raster operating units. The GPU being used is actually tagged as GK104-225 A2. The graphics card also has slightly slower clock frequencies than big daddy GTX 680. However the GTX 760 comes with a Boost clock which is set at 1033 MHz. The core clock frequency (for the reference products) is 980 MHz with the 256-bit DDR5 memory clocking in at 6008 MHz.
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