Tech News
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Gamdias Hephaestus V2 7.1 wit vibration @ LanOC Reviews
Back in the day, like, back in the day of Ninjalane.com there was a set of headphones that came in for review with an attached Bass Boost module. The year was 2003 and the company selling them was AOpen.
The AOpen HP-590 was reviewed by a good friend of mine who is rumored to still have those headphones today.
Back in May, I took a look at a new RGB mechanical keyboard from a company called Gamdias. Well as it turns out they aren’t just in the keyboard market, they mice, mouse pads, and headsets as well. They asked us if I would be interested in checking out one of their latest headsets, the Hephaestus v2. I read a little about the headset and on top of it being a 7.1 headset it also has something called Bass Impact that vibrates around your ears. As someone who enjoys a little bass but doesn’t want to lose my hearing early in life, I had them send the headset over to give it a little testing. After spending a little time with the headset I’m finally going to run you guys through its features and my overall experience, so let’s dive into it.
I guess it is good to see the concept is still around, this time with 7.1 sound and likely USB power. (USB is all the rage these days)
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Cooler Master MasterBox 5 Case Review: Black with MeshFlow Front Panel Version @ Modders-Inc
The new Cooler Master MasterBox 5 is not only affordable but also extremely versatile. By default it comes sans external drive bays but for an extra number of dollars you can buy the upgrade parts directly from Cooler Master.
That is assuming their online store is stocked. Honestly, that is the biggest issue with mfg supported modding.
The Canadian model for the MasterBox 5 was released initially several weeks ago (and was previously reviewed here at Modders-Inc) but the US version has finally arrived starting with two options for Americans to choose from: one black version and one white. The Cooler Master MasterBox 5 MCX-B5S1-KWNN-11 (black with MeshFlow Front Panel) comes bundled with a pair of 120mm
A pair of 120mm what? I guess you'll have to check the review to know for sure. OR you can check out my review of the MasterBox 5 here on Hardware Asylum.
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Gainward GTX 1060 Phoenix GS Review @ Vortez
Back in the day Gainward was the video card to have. If you couldnt get Gainward then you went for BFG and any other sub-vendor you could find. Sadly, after the purchase the Gainward brand kinda went, Meh and stayed overseas in the Euro region.
In the spotlight today is the GTX 1060 Phoenix GS. Gainward’s Golden Sample cards have been the mainstay through many generations and are representative of the brands best offering. The graphics card we’ll be looking at today features a custom design with a dual-cooling fan configuration, as well as a factory overclock taking the GPU to just 7.5% over the reference settings. Will a tame overclock to the GPU and a reluctance of any memory overclock still deliver good results? Let’s find out!
Golden Sample cards were the premier brand and really the only card you wanted due in part to the factory overclock and higher bin chance for even more overclocking performance.
Man I miss those days.
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PowerColor Radeon RX 480 RED DEVIL review @ Guru3D
The Powercolor Red Devil is back using the new RX 480 GPU. Sadly not the famed Devil 13 but pretty darn close.
Join us as we review the PowerColor Radeon RX 480 RED DEVIL, we test the model fitted with 8GB graphics memory. This dark spawn from PowerColor is a mainstream graphics card series that will allow you to play your games in both the Full HD 1080P range as well as gaming in WQHD (2560x1440) range. And all that at a rather reasonable price of 269 USD.
The Powercolor Devil cards are like Pizza. Even if they aren't all that good everyone wants them because they are awesome and still good. I want one but know deep down that getting one in the States might be easier said than done.
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Thermaltake Pacific RL360 D5 RGB Water Cooling Kit Review @ ThinkComputers
It is time to "think" computers again and we have water on the brain. Watercooling that is complete with pump res combos and copper waterblocks.
Thinkcomputers has a review posted of the Thermaltake Pacific RL360 D5 RGB watercooling kit which is a triple 120mm fan cooler comprised of their line of Pacific watercooling gear.
When it comes to computer parts and accessories there are few if any companies that can compete with the breadth of Thermaltake’s offerings. Here at ThinkComputers we are very familiar with most all of Tt’s products including of course their excellent cooling products. In fact for some time their Water 3.0 Ultimate was the highest performing AIO liquid cooler we ran through our bench. Of course not a company to sit idle at the top, Tt has now broadened their horizons extensively and entered the highly competitive custom water cooling segment. While they offer a very complete product line up that allows the builder to fully customize their cooling setup with individual parts, Tt also offers complete DIY kits to make things a little less complex for the meant more novice watercooler looking to get their feet wet. And that brings us to today’s review. After much anticipation we have finally gotten our hands on one of Tt’s new custom AIO watercooling kits, the Pacific RL360 D5 RGB! This kit comes specced out with a full complement of standard water cooling gear picked out and packaged into a single simple brown box. Follow along as we find out if this kit is really all you need to be a custom water cooler; as well as just how much performance is packed into that single brown box!
While this is a DIY watercooling system the kit includes everything you need to quickly install the cooler and enjoy all the things that make watercooling fun.
Be sure to check out my water cooling articles including the one about "How to Build Your Watercooling Loop?", it is quite good.
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Tesoro GRAM Spectrum RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard @ Bigbruin
It seems like "everybody" is making a keyboard these days and the one thing they all have in common is that they all look the same. Same flat layout, same RGB color through the keys and they all say they are gaming ready and compact.
I guess 512k of onboard memory is good, at least then you can program the keyboard without having the software installed.
The Tesoro GRAM Spectrum has a compact rectangular shape without any extra ergonomic features, extra buttons, etc. To be honest, this is exactly what I want in a keyboard... just a keyboard. But, it is obviously not that simple as we are already aware that this is a high end gaming keyboard. Coupled with the understated looks are the capabilities that will make it right at home with any gaming PC.
Tesoro has some really good products so be sure to check them out, that is assuming you can find some to buy here in the US.
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Antec P380 @ techPowerUp
This is an interesting case. Flat front panel, stacker style internal drive "column" and NINE expansion slots!?!
That is crazy
The Antec P380 is a full-tower chassis that aims to offer an understated and clean look by employing solid and thick aluminum panels and excellent steel construction. The no-frills interior goes for a useful feature set - all at a price that seems to make sense.
I will say the side window and location of the USB ports and grommets on the back seem "odd" but the case supports 4-way so that has to be worth something.
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Enermax Revolution X't II 750W Power Supply Review @ [H]
I have never really gotten into low level PSU testing but HardOCP does and I'd say they do a pretty good job.
Enermax' Revolution series of computer power supplies has been a staple among enthusiasts for a good long time. Today it adds a newly updated 750 watt PSU to the lineup that touts Gold level efficiency, Japanese capacitors, and a HeatGuard feature that cools down the PSU after shutdown.
Personally I have no reason "not" to trust the 80Plus rating assigned to a power suppy. Overall it makes the products better and gives users something to look for when buying a PSU and low level benchmarking verifies these claims even if the average user has no idea what they are looking at.
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EVGA GTX 1070 SC Gaming ACX 3.0 @ LanOC Reviews
SuperClocked gaming from EVGA using the NVIDIA GTX 1070 and the ever popular ACX 3.0 cooling solution. Its like the old one but with more stuff stuck to the shroud.
New product cycles on video cards are always exciting, not just because of the performance improvements, I also love checking out what each manufacturer has done to change up their card designs. Some of them change almost nothing and others almost seem to start completely new each time. EVGA used the new launch to introduce their new ACX 3.0 coolers. The new coolers have a completely different look, not just for EVGA but really they aren’t like anything I’ve seen before. They also made improvements in their ACX cooler design. Well, we didn’t get a chance to check the cards out during the GTX 1080 launch but they did send a GTX 1070 a little later into that launch. Sadly, I have had to sit on it a little due to the GTX 1060 launch. With that launch behind us, I can finally run the GTX 1070 SC Gaming ACX 3.0 through our test suite and take a closer look at that cooler design. Having already taken a look at a few other GTX 1070’s I’m really excited to see how the new EVGA card compares.
Classified is coming
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MSI brings Radeon RX 480 graphics cards to new levels of cool
INTRODUCING THE RADEON RX 480 GAMING X 4G/8G
MSI is proud to present brand new graphics cards based on AMD’s Polaris architecture. Both the Radeon™ RX 480 GAMING X 8G and Radeon™ RX 480 GAMING X 4G cards brandish the imposing TWIN FROZR VI thermal design to keep the 14 nm FinFET GPU cooler than ever before. The new levels of cool allow for higher core and memory speeds for increased performance in games up to 1440p and VR. The recognizable shapes of the eye-catching TWIN FROZR cooler are intensified by a fiery red GAMING glow piercing through the cover, while the MSI GAMING dragon RGB LED on the side can be set to any of 16.8 million colors to match your mood or build. A completely new custom 8-phase PCB design using Military Class 4 components with an 8-pin power connector enables higher overclocking performance to push your graphics card to the max. The classy matte black solid metal backplate gives the card more structural strength and provides a nice finishing touch.
TWIN FROZR VI: Thermal Design
MSI’s new TWIN FROZR VI Thermal Design raises the bar of Graphics Card air cooling. TORX Fan 2.0 is the enhanced version of the patented MSI TORX Fan technology which generates 22% more air pressure for better cooling performance while further reducing noise levels. Connected to the huge heatsink are up to 8mm thick copper heat pipes with a squared shape at the bottom for optimal heat transfer from the solid nickel-plated copper baseplate combined with premium thermal compound X to keep the Polaris powerhouse cool.
Premium VR Experiences
Radeon™ RX 480 GPUs are engineered to provide premium VR experiences to a wide range of users. Experience beautifully rich and immersive VR adventures with advanced comfort and effortless compatibility. Avoid nausea and motion sickness with the AMD LiquidVR™ initiative, featuring ground breaking Asynchronous Shaders. The Radeon™ RX 480 graphics card, combined with AMD LiquidVR™ technology has been used by leading head-mounted display (HMD) vendors, providing an exceptional platform for a fully immersive and comfortable VR experience.MSI Gaming App
The MSI Gaming App allows gamers to quickly switch between OC, Gaming and Silent performance modes, depending on their needs. The latest version of MSI Gaming App features One-click to VR, which instantly optimizes your PC for the best Virtual Reality experience. It also includes host of premium features like EyeRest to improve image quality and Dragon Eye which allows you to watch a YouTube video or stream while gaming. Last but not least, the Gaming App features a LED control tab, allowing gamers to choose from 5 unique lighting modes to set the right ambience for their gaming sessions with just one click.
AVAILABILITY: MSI Radeon™ RX 480 GAMING X models are expected to be in stores worldwide around the middle of August 2016.
