Tech News
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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.
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A Beginners Guide To LN2 Benchmarking - Subzero Series
I have done a few of these in the past and its funny how many different ways you can do LN2.
If you are reading this, then maybe you are ready to make the jump into subzero benchmarking or just interested in a simple how to. Subzero benchmarking is where you use LN2 (Liquid Nitrogen), DICE (Dry Ice), Phase change units or even, for those daring enough, LHE (Liquid Helium). The main focus of this guide is to show you what you need to start of on LN2 or DICE. We will look at what is needed and some terminology on CPU and Graphics subzero overclocking and benchmarking.
So far I don't think anyone, including me, has really captured the step by step on LN2 overclocking because it take a certain amount of determination to get started.
Be sure to check out the Xtreme Build where I spec all the parts you need to do a proper 4-way SLI overclock using LN2.
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MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti Lightning Review @ Guru3D
This little gem has been all over my social streams and I have to say I'm glad to see it back. As some of you may know (or will know now) MSI tried doing a GTX 780 Lightning but ran into a whole host of issues and eventually scrapped it. The GTX 780 Ti was no better and GTX 980 was non-existent.
But now.... Now we have the GTX 980 Ti Lightning.
We review the long anticipated and awaited MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti Lightning edition. You'll retrieve up-to 1.3 Volts to play with on the GPU voltage range for example. This 6 GB card is overclocked for you at default already, typically a reference GTX 980 Ti will run 1 GHz. The Lightning however comes with default clocks of 1203 (base) / 1304 (boost) MHz. Armed with 6 GB graphics memory this product was built to impress.
Based on the specs posted in the "quote" the Lightning is clocked 10Mhz faster than the EVGA Classified and comes with some voltage. Not bad though as I determined in my review of the EVGA GTX 980 Ti Classified the chip doesn't scale with voltage.
However, the ASIC on my classy was pretty much crap and without a "Kingpin" card to steal away chips there is a chance the MSI version might just clock better. I'll be on the hunt to get a sample, until then the web reviews might be all we get.
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DEEPCOOL Launches LUCIFER K2 CPU Air Cooler
Beijing, China – September, 2015 – DEEPCOOL
DEEPCOOL is a company that built with vision of providing best thermal solutions for worldwide customers by constantly seeking for innovative breakthroughs. After the success of Lucifer V2, DEEPCOOL launches another high performance CPU cooler under its sub-brand: GAMER STORM, which with some FREE upgrades, named as LUCIFER K2.
Lucifer K2 is a new generation of Lucifer V2, it has preserved some key features from Lucifer V2 of great heat dissipation performance: fanless design, 6 high-performance heatpipes. However,Lucifer K2 has a slightly different in some detail aspects compared with Lucifer V2, features Polished Pure Copper Base and Bundled Silent 20mm Slim Fan. Also,breakthrough has been created for its special designed perfect compatibility of Memory installation.
Bundled Silent 20mm Slim Fan with Red impeller & black frame
One 120mmx120mmx20mm slim PWM fan built for a better silent level with good cooling performance.
Perfect Compatibility with Memory Slot
Deflected heatpipe design offers a perfect compatibility of Memory installation, all Memory slots can be used freely.
Perfect Fanless Cooling Design
More than 1,000,000mm² devour heatsink, even the fanless equipment is capable of cooling CPU up to 130W with the help of good airflow channel inside the case.
6 Copper Heatpipes & Polished Pure Copper Base
6 copper heatpipes are firmly stacked into the aluminum fins to conduct the heat quickly. The copper base with a convex shape to touch CPU closely, the gapless touch accelerates the heat transfer from CPU to the cooler efficiently.
LUCIFER K2 will be available globally on early September 2015.
MSRP: $79.99
For more information, please visit: www.deepcool.com -
Asylum Review Block: GTX 950 - The Lil One
Last week Nvidia launched the GTX 950 which promises to be a pretty good card for those gaming on a budget. Along with the card they also announced some updates to GeForce Experience that use the processing power of your GPU to stream games to your friends and even allow them to co-op with you over the interwebs.
Of course, pending your internet quality, speed and availability.
Here is a short list of web reviews featuring the GTX 950.- MSI GeForce GTX 950 Gaming 2 GB @ techPowerUp
- ZOTAC GeForce GTX 950 AMP! Edition Video Card Review @ TT
- EVGA GeForce GTX 950 FTW Edition Video Card Review @HiTech Legion
- Asus GTX 950 Strix @ LanOC Reviews
- EVGA GeForce GTX 950 SSC 2 GB @ techPowerUp
- Gigabyte GeForce GTX 950 OC 2 GB @ techPowerUp
- ZOTAC GeForce GTX 950 AMP! Edition 2 GB @ techPowerUp
- ASUS GTX 950 STRIX OC 2 GB @ techPowerUpIt would seem that TechPowerUp wins when it comes to posting GTX 950 reviews. I guess that makes sense since most of the cards have the same clock speed with only a cooler change onboard.
Look for our review of the GTX 950... soon?
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Should Hardware Asylum have a Forum??
A few people asked me about setting up a forum again. When I setup Hardware Asylum I did so with the idea that I was done with forums. A forum was the genesis of Ninjalane.com and did a lot to build up the site. Eventually it turned into an anchor and got overrun with spam. Indirectly I can thank HWBot and my activities there for the downfall but that is a story for a different time.
With the launch of PHPBB 3.1 I'm considering giving the whole forum thing a try, (again).
So the question is. Forum: Yes? or No??
if Yes, what forum features would you be interested in seeing?? (aside from normal discussion about reviews, overclocking, cooling etc..) I'm thinking maybe doing a classified section, which is something I was against back in the day, and trying a self help or education section where people can post questions and get expert answers.
Thoughts? Post them in the comments section or email me.
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Make it yourself, the Cooler Master Mastercase
Here is some interesting new content on the new Cooler Master Mastercase modular chassis design. I was supposed to get the lowdown on this new design during Computex but... ya things happened.
As you can imagine the site is in Chinese and known to "leak" information for that "first day traffic bump" but is usually correct in their assumptions. So far the photos seem good while the writing doesn't really translate well.
The website starts out saying the Mastercase allows you to swap out parts that are damaged and modify the case to accept different hardware configurations. Given the photos I think it goes beyond that with different panels for cooling and sound modifications.
In talking with my contacts at Cooler Master the idea is something they have been trying to do for awhile. The Stacker was a first generation step into this concept and the Mastercase takes it a little further.
Lets hope it pays off.
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Asylum Review Block: Skylake and Z170
It has been a few weeks and while some editors are quick to say "OMG Skylake is soooooooo bland" others are busy taking advantage of their Intel connections and quickly reviewing "all the boards".
Motherboards
- ASUS Z170 ROG Maximus VIII Hero review @ 3Gurdu3something
- ASUS Z170-A Motherboard Review @ ThinkComputers
- MSI Z170A Gaming M5 @ LanOC Reviews
- ASUS Z170-A Skylake Motherboard Review @ Hardware Canucks
- Intel Z170 Chipset Summary @ [H]
- ASUS Z170 Deluxe LGA 1151 Motherboard Review @ [H]Processors
- Intel Core i7-6700K Skylake Processor Review @ ThinkComputers
- Intel's Core i7-6700K 'Skylake' processor reviewed @ #SomeUnknownPlace
- Intel Core I7 6700K Review, Skylake is Falling! @ Bjorn3d
- Intel i7-6700K Skylake @ LanOC Reviews
- Intel Core i7 6700K "Skylake" Processor Review @ HiTech Legion
- Intel Core i7-6700K Cache Overclocking @ Legit Reviews -
Skylake: a new processor for the next generation, if you can find one
So, Skylake has been released. Kinda
The current rumor claims there is a global shortage of Skylake processors. Basically Intel had enough to supply the OEMs and ran out of samples for the Retail markets. To make matters worse since I don't review processors there is little reason for Intel to sample me directly thus making every processor featured on this website an out of pocket expense. (yay me
)Needless to say, I have been a little lukewarm to Skylake (Intel Core i5 6600K and Core i7 6700K) and even gone so far as to "not" posting any news related to the new wave of motherboard reviews. Funny thing, this week is also IDF (Intel Developer Forum) and just about every hardware editor is on their way to San Francisco to attend.
Cept me.
I aint mad, IDF started as a showcase for "developers" using Intel products and while it has turned into a sudo tradeshow, now with more overclocking, I really see no need to attend. At least at my expense.
Stay tuned though, eventually I'll have a Core i7 6700k and afterwards I can hit up my vendors for some tasty samples for review. Until then I have plenty of cases and coolers on deck and some LN2 to pour over a GTX 980Ti Classified.
