Tech News
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Borderlands The Pre-Sequel Performance and PhysX Review @ HiTech Legion
I have said this before, and in one of the Hardware Asylum Podcasts. The Borderlands Pre-Sequel sucks! and while that may sound rather bold I put in some wrench time, I have Nisha up to level 50 and completed every mission and side mission in TVHM. Sadly, that is all you can do since the "Raid Boss" is a joke and the two hidden bosses don't drop anything making the incentive to keep playing a pointless joke.
However, there is one redeeming quality to the Pre-Sequel and that is. DLC? Ya, right, go home 2K you're drunk.
If you are still curious about the game and its DX9+PhysX goodness check out this review over at HTL. They have images a video and some average FPS numbers.
Borderlands The Pre-Sequel was developed in partnership with NVIDIA GameWorks. The GameWorks platform provides tools and technologies to the developers, so that they can maximize performance without sacrificing detail levels. As is typical with the Borderlands series the graphics certainly are not the most demanding but the hilarious gameplay continues in this episode of the game.
There was a time when I was asked to do game reviews and "this" is why I don't.
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Raijintek METIS Review @ Vortez
Some of you may not know this but Cooler Master started out making heatsinks and is now one of the largest suppliers of coolers to, well, everyone. In an attempt to capture more market share and diverse the portfolio they started making cases and other computer accessories.
Seems Raijintek is doing the same.
Metis is an aluminium computer case which is primarily designed for Mini-ITX configurations. This computer chassis is super-compact, lightweight and comes in a variety of different colours. With such a low-cost offering, has Raijintek cut any corners? Let’s find out!
Truth is I believe this case was shown at Computex this year and I was rather impressed in the overall layout. Not sure I would buy one for myself but, that doesn't make it bad.
Of course the gold anodizing is likely to make the China market happy since most everyone in the western world knows better.
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Good as Gold: Thermaltake Toughpower 1500W Gold Quick Look @ Techgage
There is a common question when it comes to power supplies and we only have ourselves to blame. "What PSU should I buy?" I can say, with confidence, that a 1500w PSU is what every system should have however, since they are a bit on the spendy side you can save a few bucks and pick something that is >= (1500/2) and be good to go.
Bigger is better, right? That’s what people always say. On that basis, Thermaltake’s monstrous Toughpower 1500W Gold is the biggest, baddest PSU the company sells. Although Techgage can’t really test it (we don’t have the equipment to do so), we can show you this monster and tell you what makes it tick. Read on for our quick look!
I do like the look of the new Toughpower 1500 and while the digital version is good on technology the curb appeal is less than stellar. Give the Techgage review a look and see what I mean.
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Avexir Core Series 1600MHz CL9 memories with orange LEDs @ HardwareOverclock
I have always wondered what it is about this memory that has everyone running over park benches to get it. Sure it has LED lights but, so does most everyone else. I guess it comes down to speed and timing. 1600Mhz @ CL9 isn't all that interesting to an overclocker.
HardwareOverclock.com has just posted another review. Last week we have taken a look at the Avexir Core Series 1600MHz CL9 memories with orange LEDs. To make the RAM and the whole modded system visually unified, the Core Series provides six LED colours. One of them is orange, the right choice for our project. More about the performance and handling you can find in the review.
They are orange so maybe there is a redeeming quality to be found yet.
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Asylum Review Block: Cases Coolers n Stuff
Review block time! In this quick post I'll be picking a few notable reviews from the news@ inbox and place them here for you to (click || notclick) on.
Cases
Aerocool Dead Silence Case Review @ Hardware Secrets
NZXT Phantom 820 Case Review on Technic3D
Fractal Design Core 3300 Mid Tower Case Review @ HiTech LegionCoolers
Deepcool Gamer Storm Maelstrom 120 @ techPowerUpWindows 8 Shell Stuff
Hidden Explorer Shell Options in Windows 8 <- nothing really new in this article but could be good for some readers.Seems that the daily influx of reviews is nothing more than a never ending wall of messages blindly aimed at those who may read them. ~the deaf guy
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be quiet! officially announces its first high-end case
Silent Base 800 combines functional design with optimal performance, quiet operation and user-friendliness
Glinde, November 18, 2014: be quiet!, market leader for PC power supplies in Germany for eight successive years*, introduces its first chassis - the Silent Base 800.
This case offers generous space and is firmly aimed at the premium segment – for customers who want high end features in a low noise systems. With its innovative design, be quiet! guarantees silent operation while delivering excellent cooling performance. True to the motto ‘Form Follows Function’, each component in the Silent Base 800 fulfils a specific purpose in order to increase user-friendliness and bring performance to a new level.
Whisper-quiet operation with superior cooling performance
As usual, be quiet! puts strong emphasis on maintaining low noise level for its Silent Base800, without any reduction in performance. To achieve this goal, be quiet! has developed innovative front, top and bottom panels that provide intelligent airflow. Fresh air is deliberately drawn into the casing and transported through the interior, increasing cooling capacity compared to conventional solutions. At the same the panels prevent the sound waves from exiting the chassis. To minimise the noise level even further, be quiet! has covered the side panels and front cover of the Silent Base 800 with a brand new anechoic material. In addition, three award winning Pure Wings 2 fans have been installed, decoupled from the housing. Two of them are 140 millimeter format and have been factory installed in the front panel, another Silent Wings 2 fan with a 120 millimeter diameter has been placed in the rear. This configuration already provides optimal airflow, but that can be increased further with the installation of up to four additional fans and by opening the 3-in-1 air intakes in the side panels.
Optimum space and tool-free installation
The Silent Base 800 offers more than enough space for high-end systems and associated top-class components. Motherboards in ATX, Micro-ATX or Mini-ITX format, heavy-duty tower coolers with a height up to 17 centimeters and long graphics cards can be installed. For 3D accelerators, up to 40 centimeters of free space is available if you remove one of the pair of modular HDD cages is removed. The Silent Base 800 can also be equipped with up to three 5.25” drives, seven 3.5” and four 2.5” drives. The functional structure of the new be quiet! case allows users to install all components without tools. Silicone inserts decouple the hard drives and power supply from the case. There is also the possibility of installing water-cooling with several radiators in the 120- to 280-millimeter range.
Stability and optimal dust protection
Weighing in at a significant 9 kilograms, it’s clear just how substantial the build quality of this be quiet! chassis is. Measuring a solid 495mm x 266mm x 559mm, the housing has been constructed to an industrial standard. Be quiet! achieves this by using thick steel and high-quality ABS plastic. The manufacturer is demonstrating a new and innovative feature in the side panels: the edges are bent in a U-shape and, together with the newly developed insulation material, form an extremely rugged construction. These factors show that besides a fully functional structure and excellent cooling performance, be quiet! also gave serious focus to the build quality of the Silent Base 800. This is underlined by the numerous dust filters, which are factory-installed on all air intakes.
The Silent Base 800 will be available from November 24th in black/orange, completely black as well as black/silver color combinations at a price of 139,90 USD (excluding VAT) or 119 Euro (including VAT). For the UK the MSRP is 99 GBP (including VAT). -
MSI GTX 980 GAMING 4G Video Card Review @ [H]
Remember that big overclocking event that I helped co-host? Yes, the MSI MOA (Master Overclocking Arena) 2014. Well, one of the cards the overclockers got to play with was the MSI GTX 980 Gaming which was an interesting choice since the MSI Gaming parts typically don't overclock.
The MSI GTX 980 GAMING 4G video card has a factory overclock and the new Twin Frozr V cooling system. We'll push it to its highest custom overclock and pit it against the ASUS ROG R9 290X MATRIX Platinum overclocker, and determine the gaming bang for your buck. May the best card win.
In my latest GTX 980 Classified review I matched the card up against the MSI 290X Lighting and I have to say the GTX 980 walked all over it. I'd be interested to see if the same is true here, to find out check out the review over at HardOCP.
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Samsung looking to block nVidia sales
I guess the only way for companies from different countries to battle out their patent problems is to block sales in hopes the attrition will make them think differently.
Samsung filed a complaint yesterday against Nvidia with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, according to a notice on the agency’s website. A copy of the complaint wasn’t immediately available.
The legal battle began in September when Nvidia filed its own ITC complaint against Qualcomm Inc. and Samsung over patented ways to improve graphics. It’s asking the agency to block imports of the latest Galaxy phones and tablets that use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon graphics processing units or Samsung’s Exynos processors.Some reports claim that this complaint includes everything that nVidia makes including GPUs and Mobile chips. Let's hope this gets resolved before too long else I might have to find a new phone, destroy some TVs and blow up my washer/dryer combo cause I aint giving up my NVIDIA graphics.
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Panram Announces Ninja-V Series DDR4 3300Mhz Memory
There are a variety of ways that a company can make a huge splash in a stagnant market. One might be a huge sex and money laundering scandal involving executives at the company or you can release an amazing product that will get everyone interested.
I think the second option is more productive and is exactly what Panram has done. I love the product name, its just too bad they didn't come up with this a couple years ago when I was running Ninjalane.com.
The great thing about these modules is that they don't suck. the DDR4 3300Mhz modules are CL17 @ 1.35v while the conserviative DDR4 2800Mhz modules are CL16 @ 1.25v.
2800, 3000 and 3200MHz Modules Also Now Available
November 19, 2014, Taipei, Taiwan – Panram, a flash and DRAM memory manufacturer, today announces the update of its Ninja – V Series DDR4 lineup with the introduction of 2800, 3000, 3200, and 3300MHz memory modules for high performance on the latest Haswell-E platform.
High Speed DDR4
Since launching 2133MHz and 2400Mhz DDR4 modules earlier this year, Panram has been hard at work to develop higher MHz modules. The new entries to the Ninja – V Series DDR4 family start from 2800MHz to 3300MHz. All Ninja – V Series products are available in 4GB single packs or 8GB/16GB kits.
Low Voltage
The 2400MHz modules have a low voltage of 1.2V, while the 3000MHz, 3200MHz, and 3300MHz have a voltage pf 1.35V. This is a significant drop of legacy DDR3 modules which have a voltage of 1.65V.
Lifetime Warranty
Every module is 100% hand tested to assure optimal operation. Panram provides a lifetime warranty for the NINJA – V Series. -
Just a reminder that video cards like to be cold
Hardware Asylum PSA
Video Cards, like the EVGA GTX 980 Classified, are best served cold.
