Reviews 52173 Published by

Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

10 Features Only Available in Windows 10 Enterprise (and Education)
AMD AM4-based PC desktop system spotted in Costco
AOC G2460PF 24-inch 144Hz FreeSync Monitor Review
Apacer AS330 Panther 960GB SSD Review
Best Tablets: Q3 2016
Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 3 Micro-ATX Chassis Review
GIGABYTE GB-BSi7HAL-6500 Dual LAN Skylake BRIX Review
GoPro Hero5 Black Review
Kaufberatung und Vergleichstest Mini-PC, Stand September 2016
Libratone ONE Click Review
MasterLiquid Pro 240 Cooler Review
Motorola Moto Z Force Droid
MSI GT62VR 6RE Dominator Pro 4K Gaming Laptop Review
MSI GTX 1070 Gaming Z 8 GB
Samsung Announces 960 PRO And 960 EVO M.2 PCIe SSDs
Samsung SSD 750 EVO SATA Solid State Drive Review
Scan 3XS X99 Carbon Fluid Extreme SLI Review
Sennheiser PC 373D 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound Gaming Headset Review
TerraMaster D5-300 USB 3.0 External Hard Drive RAID Enclosure Review
Two-Factor Authentication: Methods and Myths
Wired2Fire Diablo Elite GTX 1080 Gaming PC Review
You Can’t Install Linux on a Microsoft Signature Edition Laptop



10 Features Only Available in Windows 10 Enterprise (and Education)

You can upgrade to the Professional edition of Windows 10 to get advanced features like BitLocker encryption, but many features arent available to normal Windows users. Some only exist in the Enterprise and Education editions of Windows, which require a volume-licensing agreement or monthly subscription fee.

Read full article @ Howtogeek

AMD AM4-based PC desktop system spotted in Costco

Machine is powered by an AMD A12-9800 APU but appears to lack USB 3.1 / Type-C ports. It looks like AMD's 'Bristol Ridge' AM4 socketed systems are very close to becoming available in retail. Someone has already spotted an HP Pavilion Desktop PC based upon AMD's latest processors on sale in Costco (US). Reddit user starlightmica spotted the $599.99 system up for sale in his/her local Costco, reports TechReport.

Read full article @ Hexus

AOC G2460PF 24-inch 144Hz FreeSync Monitor Review

If you’re gaming on a budget, 24-inch TN monitors offers a lot of performance for the money. The AOC G2460PF features FHD resolution with FreeSync and 144Hz operation. We’re checking it out today.

Read full article @ Toms Hardware

Apacer AS330 Panther 960GB SSD Review

Even though Apacer isn’t as well known in North America as they are in other areas of the world, that hasn’t stopped them from trying to expand further in this market. Some of their efforts have focused upon innovation above all else (look no further than the unique dual interface AS720 for that) while others aim to achieve a perfect balance between the usual “bread and butter” fundamentals of SSD design and pricing.

Their AS330 Panther series targets the later situation perfectly since it is well priced, uses a solid controller and houses well-respected NAND. That seems like a combination for success but we can’t forget that the segment this SSD series plays within is also loaded with alternatives from more-recognizable companies.

Read full article @ Hardware Canucks

Best Tablets: Q3 2016

Were almost at the end of this quarters purchasing guides. As one of AnandTechs mobile and tablet editors Id say weve saved the best for last with the tablet and smartphone guides finishing things off. 

There actually hasnt been much change in the tablet market since last quarter. Apple recently had their September launch event, but the iPad line received no new models or significant hardware updates. However, some changes have been made to the prices of devices since the last tablet guide, and that changes the considerations that buyers should make when choosing between platforms and between devices within a platform.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 3 Micro-ATX Chassis Review

Cooler Master are back on eTeknix once again with their increasingly popular and impressive MasterCase series. Today we kick things off with the MasterCase Pro 3, the little brother to the ATX capable MasterCase Pro 5. The new chassis keeps many of the traits we already know and love about the 5, but just squeezes them down a tiny bit, possibly making the new model a little bit friendlier for the travelling LAN gamers out there.

“This new compact addition to the MasterCase line is built with the same FreeForm:tm: Modular System that defines the series. Customize and adjust your case via swappable aesthetics, adjustable layouts and intuitive thermal performance. Improved layout flexibility handles larger components and cooling systems within a discreet form factor.” said Cooler Master “A case meant for a smaller build that still packs a punch. Build the high performance PC you want in a tighter frame. Its streamlined design with steel and mesh makes this product incomparably stylish. It supports up to five fans, eight HDDs and two graphics cards.” they added.

We’ve already taken a very good look at the latest cases from the redesigned Cooler Master range, such as the MasterBox 5 Ultra White, Maker 5 and the MasterCase Pro 5, so while we’re fairly certainly what we can expect from the new model, we’re still eager to see how it holds up compared to its bigger brothers.

Read full article @ eTeknix

GIGABYTE GB-BSi7HAL-6500 Dual LAN Skylake BRIX Review

Ultra-compact form factor (UCFF) PCs have become quite popular after Intel introduced the NUCs. They have become powerful enough to be the primary computing platform for many households. However, consumers looking for UCFF PCs for specialized applications and industrial usage have been contending with high prices and lack of suitable options. GIGABYTEs BRIX family has emerged over the last several years as an alternative to the Intel NUCs. With Skylake-U, GIGABYTEs BRIX family has expanded with multiple options catering to various market segments. Today, we are going to take a look at the GB-BSi7HAL-6500, a BRIX with two gigabit LAN ports.

Read full article @ Anandtech

GoPro Hero5 Black Review

GoPro Hero5 Black is ready to give you an new epic level of 4K video that, for the first time in two years, gives you a reason to upgrade your action camera.There's no GoPro Hero5 Silver. Instead, the Black version combines the best features of both editions with 4K video at 30 frames per second and a much-needed interactive two-inch touchscreen.The touchscreen provides a simplified interface that makes the GoPro Hero5 Black much easier to use, and it all comes together in a tighter, more waterproof package.That said, in two years, a lot has changed. There are a lot of cheap GoPro clones for sale, and we've run into a lot of GoPro Hero4 and even GoPro Hero3 owners who struggle to find a reason to upgrade.Price and release dateIt costs $399 (£349, AU$569) and launches October 2That's actually cheaper than the Hero4 Black, so hold off4K video capture from an action camera is still an expensive hobby for most, but the Hero5 price is $399 (£349, AU$569).

Read full article @ TechRadar

Kaufberatung und Vergleichstest Mini-PC, Stand September 2016

Toms Hardware hat sich mehrere Mini-PCs genauer angesehen

Die schwierigste Frage versuchen wir vorab zu klären: Was ist eigentlich ein Mini-PC? Dem Namen nach sind es besonders klein geratene Desktop-PCs. Allerdings haben sie teils einen größeren Funktionsumfang als gewöhnliche PCs. So haben sie zum Beispiel Bluetooth und WLAN an Bord, was im Desktop-Bereich meist nur besonders edlen und teuren Desktop-Rechnern vorbehalten ist.

Diesbezüglich ähneln sie eher Notebooks - aber Laptops sind sie noch viel weniger. Denn hierfür fehlen ihnen Display und Akku und damit der entscheidende Aspekt der Mobilität. Trotzdem sind sie wenigstens teilweise mobil, weil sie schlicht sehr leicht zu transportieren sind.
Ein weiterer Aspekt zementiert dann die kleine Nische: Sie sind zumeist passiv gekühlt und deshalb sowohl lautlos als auch energiesparend. Das wiederum limitiert ihre Leistungsfähigkeit und unterscheidet sie von ihren großen Brüdern im Desktop-Bereich.
Read full article @ Tom's Hardware DE

Libratone ONE Click Review

Libratone ONE Click reviewBluetooth speakers pretty much all look the same with similar "tube" designs. It's a form factor that works well for being portable and for dispersing sound, but they're really nothing to look at. Libratone doesn't want their speakers to look and feel like everything else out there, so they made the Libratone ONE Click. If its design doesn't immediately jump out at you, its bright coral pink color will. It's a speaker you'll want to proudly present for your guests to see. Clearly, this is the Bluetooth speaker for the Bang & Olufsen crowd. On paper, the ONE Click sounds impressive with its large 3" woofer, 12 hour battery life and splash proof design. But Libratone is entering a mature market where just about everyone makes a mid-range Bluetooth speaker. So does the ONE Click stand out from the crowd? Unfortunately, no.

Read full article @ TechRadar

MasterLiquid Pro 240 Cooler Review

Cooler Master recently announced their new MasterLiquid series of all-in-one liquid CPU coolers, built using a special “FlowOp” technology that analyzes how heat is absorbed and dissipated to construct a better cooling solution than the competition. The end result was a dual chamber design that improved the cooling performance, but also dramatically extended the product’s functional lifetime. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 240 CPU cooler (MLY-D24M-A20MB-R1) to see how well it performs.

Read full article @ Benchmark Reviews

Motorola Moto Z Force Droid

Not too long ago the idea of a premium phone was really just a big screen, a fast CPU, and maybe a decent camera. Over the past few years, the premium phone market has really grown and with that we have seen a wide variety of different features help set these phones apart. With the new Moto Z line of phones, they have a few different phone options including the Force model that I’m going to check out today. Features like high battery life, a shatterproof screen, and a fingerprint reader will be useful to everyone, but it’s the Moto Mods that I think everyone will remember the Moto Z Force for. The phone has a back panel that lets you swap out different back plates and a few premium features like an additional battery, a speaker, or even a projector. Verizon sent along the Moto-Mods speaker along with the phone for my testing so I do get to get a feel for the hot swappable features.

Read full article @ LanOC Reviews

MSI GT62VR 6RE Dominator Pro 4K Gaming Laptop Review

MSI GT62VR 6RE Dominator Pro 4K has an absurdly long model name that gives us a fair amount of information about this impressive gaming laptop. The GT part tells us this is a chunky chassis that can dissipate a fair amount of heat, VR shows support for your Oculus Rift or HTC Vive and 4K is, obviously, the number of pixels in the screen.

Read full article @ KitGuru

MSI GTX 1070 Gaming Z 8 GB

MSI's GTX 1070 Gaming Z is the bigger brother of the Gaming X, with higher GPU overclock and a memory OC, too. The backplate has also been pimped, featuring an RGB-illuminated MSI logo. Thermal performance is identical, which means the card is whisper-quiet and running low temperatures at the same time.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

Samsung Announces 960 PRO And 960 EVO M.2 PCIe SSDs

Here at Samsungs SSD Global Summit in South Korea, the company has just officially unveiled their next generation of M.2 PCIe SSDs. The new 960 PRO SSD is the successor to the 950 PRO, launched at last years Summit as Samsungs first M.2 PCIe SSD for the retail market. The new 960 EVO introduces a more affordable option based on TLC NAND flash.

Samsungs early M.2 PCIe SSDs were officially OEM-only products. The XP941 was one of the first PCIe SSDs designed for client computing use and used the AHCI protocol that is standard for SATA controllers rather than the newer NVMe protocol. The next generation consisted of the SM951 and PM951 SSDs, which adopted a new controller that supports PCIe 3.0 x4 operation and provides NVMe support as an option. The 950 PRO uses the same controller as the SM951 but introduced Samsungs 3D V-NAND to the product family for the first time.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Samsung SSD 750 EVO SATA Solid State Drive Review

The Samsung SSD 850 EVO has become somewhat of a yardstick, by which other SATA-based SSDs are measured, and not without good reason. It set a very high bar when we reviewed it more than a year-and-a-half ago and it still holds up against newer products.

Samsung has also come out with a newer drive series, the SSD 750 EVO, that sits one step below the 850 EVO in the company's line-up and is meant to be more affordable while still offering competitive performance. And by and large, it holds up in our tests as you'll see a little later...

Read full article @ HotHardware

Scan 3XS X99 Carbon Fluid Extreme SLI Review

The fastest gaming PC we've ever tested. Want to experience the latest technologies on offer from the world of gaming? Then look past PlayStation and Xbox game consoles and consider a truly high-end PC. This is where it's at if 4K and virtual reality are high on your list of priorities, as nothing else comes close in terms of sheer performance.

Do however be prepared to spend big. The hardware requirements of ultra-high-resolution gaming are such that price tags for enthusiast rigs can become downright frightening. A new games console may cost a couple of hundred quid, yet that's pocket change compared to extreme PCs that could set you back many thousands. It's a playground for deep-pocketed gamers, and if you're eligible for entry, the Scan 3XS X99 Carbon Fluid Extreme SLI is brought into focus.

Read full article @ Hexus

Sennheiser PC 373D 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound Gaming Headset Review

Sennheiser is often considered more of an audiophile brand rather than one catering to movie and gaming fans, but that is not always the case. Take the new Sennheiser PC 373D 7.1 Dolby surround sound headset that we are looking at today. It has everything that other gaming headsets have: solid drivers, great padding, surround sound audio and strong microphone clarity.

Read full article @ KitGuru

TerraMaster D5-300 USB 3.0 External Hard Drive RAID Enclosure Review

With five 3.5/2.5" drive bays which can be configured in Large and RAID 0/5 modes and data transfer speeds surpassing 260MB/s the D5-300 USB 3.0 External Hard Drive RAID Enclosure by TerraMaster is certainly worth a spot on your desk.

Read full article @ NikKTech

Two-Factor Authentication: Methods and Myths

When I mentioned to a few friends that I was writing a feature about two-step authentication, the typical response was an eye-roll and "Oh, that annoying thing?..." We've all had that thought when we needed to get a code before we could verify our identity online. However, after much research about two-factor authentication (often referred to as 2FA), I don't think I'll roll my eyes at it anymore.

Read full article @ TechSpot

Wired2Fire Diablo Elite GTX 1080 Gaming PC Review

Wired2Fire might not be the most recognisable name among consumers but the reception from buyers is overwhelmingly positive and speaks for itself. According to the data on TrustPilot, the majority of reviews have the maximum five-star rating and thoroughly recommend the company’s service. As a result, the end-user is able to select any system from their vast repertoire with a great deal of confidence. This is particularly the case when you consider each pre-configured build comes with a generous 3-year warranty. Wired2Fire works alongside a number of hardware partners to target competitive price points which make each system a compelling proposition.

Today, we’re taking a look at one of the company’s flagship gaming systems sporting an Intel Core i7-6700K overclocked to 4.6GHz, 16GB dual-channel 3000MHz DDR4 memory and the highly-acclaimed Palit GTX 1080 Super Jetstream 8GB. Not only that, the Wired2Fire Diablo Elite utilises an incredibly fast 512GB Samsung NVMe boot SSD and a secondary 2TB mechanical drive to store a large number of graphically diverse games. On another note, the CPU is cooled by Fractal Design’s mammoth 360mm S36 liquid cooler which should be more than enough to cope with the thermal loads.The rig is powered by a platinum-rated EVGA PSU and the stock cables have been replaced with a braided kit.

Read full article @ eTeknix

You Can’t Install Linux on a Microsoft Signature Edition Laptop

If you’re in the market for a new Linux laptop you might be looking at ‘Microsoft Signature Edition‘ laptops from big known brands, such as the Lenovo Yoga 900 ISK2 UltraBook.

Well, stop.

‘The devices are locked as per our agreement with Microsoft’ – Lenovo
It seems that Microsoft Signature Edition PCs do not let you install Linux.

Buyers of affected ‘Signature Edition’ Lenovo devices say they are unable to install Linux, as the “SSD is locked in a proprietary RAID mode that Linux doesn’t understand”.

One buyer raised the issue on the Lenovo product forums only to be told by an ‘Lenovo Product Expert’ that the devices are “locked as per our agreement with Microsoft”.

Read full article @ OMG! Ubuntu!