Tech News
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Digital Storm Launches Their Most Advanced PC – AVENTUM 3
Fremont, Calif. Sept. 22, 2015 – Digital Storm is proud to announce the launch of the new AVENTUM 3. Originally unveiled at CES 2015, this enthusiast class PC raises the bar for custom high-performance PCs. Featuring a custom liquid delivery system and pre-routed power for graphics cards, this is our most advanced PC to date.
“AVENTUM 3 encompasses everything about the Digital Storm brand and demonstrates our commitment to building the best PCs in the world,” said Harjit Chana, Chief Operating Officer. “This system is our declaration that a PC does not have to be just the sum of its parts. We designed the AVENTUM 3 from the ground up with a focus on unmatched accessibility and modularity that can’t be found anywhere else.”
The AVENTUM 3’s advanced liquid cooling system dramatically simplifies servicing and upgrading of liquid-cooled components. For the first time, enthusiasts can easily access fixed inlet & outlet ports located on the motherboard and quickly disconnect liquid cooled hardware without having to tear down the entire cooling system. This is made possible by AVENTUM 3’s unique, pre-routed liquid distribution system that does all the heavy lifting and requires zero modifications when new liquid-cooled graphics hardware is installed. This cooling system is completed with a custom proprietary water block designed by Digital Storm engineers and produced by EKWB.
A new power delivery system eliminates the need to rewire every time new graphics hardware is upgraded or replaced by utilizing custom engineered, Digital Storm exclusive plug-and-play power connectors. These connectors make it a simple task to add or remove power-hungry graphics cards while still maintaining clean cable management.
Unlike other enthusiast class computers, the AVENTUM 3 eliminates interior heat build-up with strategic radiator placement & specialized exhaust chamber technology. Excess heat generated by liquid cooled components is trapped in an isolated chamber and then vented out the rear of the chassis, safeguarding the system’s critical components.
AVENTUM 3 features a stunning exterior to match its smart internal design. The full-size tower is crafted from steel & made in the U.S.A. with perforated panelling for maximum heat dissipation. The subtle lighting and clear sides showcase the system’s powerful interior and clean aesthetic.
AVENTUM 3 is available today exclusively at www.digitalstorm.com, and starts at $4,930.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0qlFpIQ5Xw
About Digital Storm
Founded in 2002, Digital Storm has rapidly emerged as the predominant name in system integration. With expertise in gaming and workstation PCs, Digital Storm’s mission is to deliver its customers bleeding edge technology and performance, coupled with rock solid stability and support. As a validation of Digital Storm’s success, the company has maintained an “A+” rating with the Better Business Bureau and its systems have received the industry’s most prestigious awards. http://www.digitalstorm.com/ -
CRYORIG H5 Universal CPU Air Cooler Review @ [H]
Some enthusiasts are completely against aircooling but it still stands as one of the most efficient cooling methods you can get. You just might have to deal with "strange" designs.
The CRYORIG H5 UNIVERSAL heatsink claims to have a Hive Fin™ Design for Extreme Performance Efficiency and is compatible with a huge number of older and modern AMD and Intel processors. Along with the Hive Fins, we get Jet Fin Acceleration™ and Turbulence Reduction. Let's however see just how well it cools your CPU.
I really like the tower design on the H5, the fins look thick and arent completely flat. As I have mentioned in my cooler reviews this promotes better thermal transfer and gives the cooler some curb appeal
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V-MODA Crossfade M-100 with Custom Shield Headphones Review @ APH Networks
I'm not sure what the V-MODA XS is but it sure sounds good on paper
V-MODA's renowned Crossfade M-100 is now available with custom shields. They even printed our website logo on it. And what is a review without a comparison to the venerable V-MODA XS?
The headphones come with a sweet angular design with metal panels. I suspect these are the shields they speak of.
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Lian Li PC-V33 A Small Footprint Cube Case With Room Inside
Featuring Unique Flip-Open Canopy, Divided Air Compartments, And New Drive Bay Dampening System.
September 2, 2015, Keelung, Taiwan - Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd today announces the PC-V33. Available in 3 choices: brushed aluminum in silver or black, or internal black with a tempered glass side door. The PC-V33 does not restrict PSU, GPU or main board choice due to size or power consumption: it's designed to accommodate full-sized gaming hardware in a compact form-factor. Its cube styling makes it a companion you can take with anywhere you need full-sized computing and still have room for a 240 mm water cooling radiator to be mounted inside. The most unique feature is the canopy top that opens the whole cube for easy building.
Signature Lian Li Aluminum Design
The newly designed illuminated power button is now made out of the same high grade brushed aluminum as the whole case. The pop-out side doors detach and reattach effortlessly, yet remain firmly in place. The front and top panels form a canopy as a single fold of aluminum, adding strength and beauty to the cube case. When hinged open, the case internals become accessible in the same manner as a test bench, allowing system builders to install the components and change them with ease without any walls in the way. Dual 120mm case fans or up to a 240mm water cooling radiator can fit internally on the front bracket that also holds the magnetically attached air intake filter.Dual Compartment Air Flow Management
The PC-V33 uses vents and internal compartments to manage heat and dust inside the case. The floor of the main board compartment acts as a barrier so CPU and GPU heat does not affect the PSU or drives. The included 120mm fan vents the top compartment through the newly designed rear vent. The bottom compartment filters air for the PSU that is vented right out the back. The drives have their own 120mm exhaust fan with the aggressive new vent hole pattern.New Shock-Absorbing Drive Cage
The PC-V33 uses a new drive cage with the same rubber dampening system found in Taipei 101 to eliminate vibrations, ensuring the drives do not produce any noise. This cage can be half removed or fully removed for added flexibility. Horizontal mounting ensures air flow and correct alignment for long life.Full ATX sized Hardware Compatibility
The PC-V33 supports up to a full ATX motherboard in the top compartment with pre-installed standoffs that fit mini-ITX, mATX and ATX motherboards. It can house CPU coolers up to 190mm in height and VGA cards up to 330mm long. The bottom compartment can fit up to a 300mm long PSU and any combination of 4 3.5” or 2.5” drives on the anti vibration cage.Optional Adjustable RGB Interior Lighting
DIY enthusiasts can adjust the interior lighting through the optional RGB lighting kit complete with LED strips, cord clip, dimmer and controller. The rear mounted controller allows instant analog color selection. Guaranteed to fit and show off your custom interior.Price and Availability
The PC-V33 will be available in the USA in early September for the MSRP of PC-V33A/B USD 199, PC-V33WX USD 229.Video Overview of the PC-V33:
http://youtu.be/yNHJxtm08voMore information about the PC-V33:
http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-v33/About Lian Li
Lian Li Industrial Co. Ltd is an Aluminum Chassis and Chassis peripheral manufacturer and provider of industrial wholesale as well as OEM & ODM services for the PC industry as required. With over 20 years of service excellence, ISO 9001 certification and a team of professional staff willing to do the utmost to deliver durable, superior quality products, all backed by a 2 year guarantee*; your satisfaction is guaranteed (*conditions apply). To learn more about Lian Li, please visit their websites at www.Lian-Li.com. -
ASUS STRIX R9 Fury DC3 OC Review @ Vortez
Direct Copper, seems good right? Asus calls their upgraded cooling solution DirectCU which I'm going to assume means it is a core contact design. (heatpipes contact the chip) These designs cool rather well but are plagued with "capacity" problems.
Enter DirectCU III, aka DC3. This major upgrade to ASUS’ cooling solution has been fed to a number of recently released cards including: R9 390X, R9 Fury and the graphics card in the spotlight today; R9 FURY. The STRIX R9 FURY DC3 OC arrives with a triple fan configuration which promises to deliver 30% better cooling performance and should be 3X quieter. Not only is this graphics card custom cooled but it’s also factory overclocked to squeeze even more out of AMD’s flagship GPU.
I really need to get on the STRIX train and see how good the cards are against the Classified line from EVGA. (Or FTW now *roll*)
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EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti FTW ACX 2.0+ - FASTEST EVGA GTX 980 Ti Next to K|NGP|N
September 10th, 2015 – Introducing the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti FTW. Accelerated by the groundbreaking NVIDIA Maxwell architecture, the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti FTW ups the game with dual 8-Pin Power inputs, 8+2 Phase Power Design, Dual BIOSes and an included EVGA backplate. Not to mention this card packs 2816 NVIDIA CUDA Cores and 6GB of GDDR5 memory, giving you the horsepower to drive whatever comes next. In fact, the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti FTW provides over 3x the performance and 3x the memory of previous-generation cards*.
This card also features EVGA ACX 2.0+ cooling technology. EVGA ACX 2.0+ brings new features to the award winning EVGA ACX 2.0 cooling technology. A memory MOSFET Cooling Plate (MMCP) reduces MOSFET temperatures up to 13%, and optimized Straight Heat Pipes (SHP) additionally reduce GPU temperature by 5C. ACX 2.0+ coolers also feature optimized swept fan blades, double ball bearings and an extreme low power motor, delivering more air flow with less power, unlocking additional power for the GPU.
*GeForce GTX 680
Key Features:
- Fastest EVGA GTX 980 TI Next to K|NGP|N and Classified – 1291MHz Boost Clock with room for more.
- 8+2 Power Phase Design allows for robust overclocking with an additional 25W of power headroom.
- EVGA ACX 2.0 Cooling offers dramatically lower GPU temperatures and saves power, allowing for more power to be allocated for overclocking.
- Double Ball Bearing Fans offer 400% longer lifespan than traditional sleeved bearing fans.
- dB Noise Inverter turns the fans off below 60C, generating 0dB of noise.
- Preinstalled Backplate included.
- Built with 6GB of high performance GDDR5 memory for the best image quality and 4K gaming performance.
Learn more about the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti FTW: http://www.evga.com/articles/00957/EVGA-GeForce-GTX-980-Ti-FTW/
About EVGA
EVGA is the #1 NVIDIA authorized partner in channel sales throughout North America and UK. Based on the philosophy of intelligent innovation, market knowledge, and the real time operation, EVGA continues to identify the need in the market place and providing the solution to that need. By offering product differentiation, 24/7 tech support, a 90 day Step-Up program, and other customer focused programs, EVGA is a clear leader in all categories: etail, retail, distribution, and system integration. With headquarters in Brea, CA, EVGA’s global coverage includes EVGA GmbH in Munich, EVGA LATAM in Miami, and EVGA Hong Kong. For further information online about EVGA, visit: www.evga.com -
The Nano is so Small Nobody gets a Sample - Or will they?
As a hardware reviewer I have had my fair share of passovers and to be honest many of them were my fault usually because I didn't keep in touch. I will also admit that in the past I had some folks on the staff that followed the rumors very closely and that helped immensely in knowing what to chase down and what to ignore.
The AMD Nano is a product I would have 100% ignored. I mean, seriously its a small video card big deal! Of course, given a chance I'd do a review and it would get a chance to be dissected and even put thru the standardized tests. I fully believe that the card would likely not set any speed records and might eventually overheat but the review would get done and with results anyone could reproduce.
Currently the Internet is on fire with news indicating that some Tier 1 review sites aren't getting a Nano sample. My first reaction is "big deal" however the reasons for why they didn't get a sample is a little more interesting.
There are two articles so far talking about this.
First one at HardOCP
- AMD, Roy Taylor, the Nano, and the Press
Keep in mind that Kyle likes to flex his muscles and call people out, I respect that as it really is how things "should" be done but rarely happens cause: politics.The Second is at TechReport
- AMD VP explains Nano exclusion: TR reviews aren't fair
At first I read this as "omg Scott is butthurt again" but, like Kyle, he brings up some interesting points however pawning them off as "I don't care" isn't really working.Anyhow, at least now we know that AMD is actively seeking to punish those in the press who are less than compliant. I personally am sadded by this development—although I am always proud to be singled out as an example of a reviewer who is perhaps a little bit too "independent." We will continue to make corporate types uncomfortable with empirical testing and honest assessements going forward. -TechReport
As was quoted in Pulp Fiction "Marsellus: The night of the fight, you may feel a slight sting. That's pride fucking with you. Fuck pride. Pride only hurts, it never helps."
Overall I get it, Hardware Review Sites are only relevant so long as the public respects their opinions and if manufacturers stop trusting a site then why would their community?
Bottom line: This is a good fight to bring to light however, will it go anywhere? Prolly not.
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PowerColor DEVIL Radeon R9 390X Review
Zee Devil cards are back!
This R9 390X is a chip we have seen before but the card configuration is really something. Half air cooled and half water and some amazing attention to detail.
We review the PowerColor DEVIL Radeon R9 390X. This product is Hybrid cooled meaning air for the VRM area and liquid cooling on the Hawaii GPU, now called Grenada. Thanks to this cooler the card hovers just above the 50 Degrees C, that's under full gaming load whilst being factory overclocked towards 1100 MHz on the GPU base clock.
Performance wise you won't see much of a difference however the AIO watercooling loop will draw GPU heat out and away from system and generally keep things much cooler than before. That can aid in overclocking headroom and overall stability.
A Win Win as they say.
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MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition @ HardwareOverclock
Krait, It just sounds mean and might be one of the coolest brand names I have ever seen. At least for a motherboard.
Sadly the review is in "not English" but the photos look good.
HardwareOverclock.com has just posted another review. Last week we have taken a look at the MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition. Looking for that creative, one-off build? Black & White design makes a system look classic, sophisticated and full of class. Famous case modders around the world cheer for the design choices. Other vendors are also releasing black & white designed products, perfect to create a full black & white system.
The black and white color scheme is a new thing for MSI and I think they wear it well.
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How Podcasts Have Changed in Ten Years
Podcasting has a very unique set of challenges and while it is good to see that Podcasting has changed (as this article illustrates) There is an underlying problem of promotion, adoption and reach.
WE’VE ALL HEARD that a podcasting boom is underway. Since January 2013, the number of podcasts listed on iTunes US has doubled (see Activity below). Part of the allure for content producers is that podcasting is a wild frontier in the new media landscape, waiting to be shaped and settled. Some have questioned if podcasting is the new blogging, referring to a similar boom during the early and mid-2000's, but that remains to be seen.
I’ve noticed since starting a podcast of my own that research on the field is scant. Most of the research I’ve read has focused on listener behavior, which is fine for marketers, but other questions about the medium have gone unanswered. I decided to address a few.
With the Hardware Asylum Podcast I have taken the traditional approach, shared it on my website, shared it on Social Media, Google+ and even Twitter. I even tried sharing it on Reddit but aside from a steady stream of growth (based on downloads from my website) it hasn't really "taken off". I blame this on two things.
- First, Podcasting tends to be limited to a small group of people, usually with above intelligence and rather enjoy listening to things.
- Second, Unlike videos Podcasting doesn't have a dedicated network that is actively promoting the content. Take YouTube for instance, this is a single network that gets paid by hosting and promoting user submitted content. These submitters get a cut and everyone is happy, iTunes has no structure so there is no incentive.
I doubt podcasting will get such a network given that "people" these days are rather mindless when it comes to surfing the web. People want to be entertained and that means moving pictures and the silo’ed dominance of YouTube.
