Tech News
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Welcome to the New Ninjalane er Hardware Asylum
If you have come to this website expecting to see NInjalane.com, don't worry you have come to the right place, just with a different name.
Welcome to Hardware Asylum. I purchased the domain late in 2012 and started laying down plans for a site migration. As you can see the culmination of those efforts has been realized and with any luck the site will grow and be welcomed by Google into their index.
A few things you should know about the new website.
- This is a website run by computer hardware enthusiasts, gaming aficionados and overclockers. We want to make sure you keep coming back so please let us know what you think either by sending an email or posting on our facebook page.
- The website is divided up into several sections, the main Reviews section has been pre-populated with Ninjalane.com reviews from 2011 forward. There are over 14 years of review history on that website and it felt bad to move it all.
- I attend several computer events throughout the year which were normally posted in the Blogs section on NInjalane.com, I'll be working to migrate those over to Hardware Asylum but, in the meantime be sure to check out the Articles section of the website. It has been pre-populated with Ninjalane.com articles from 2011 forward.
- The final section of the website is the NInjalane Podcast. (new name pending) Darren and I have been recording a bi-weekly tech and gaming podcast for the past two years and we urge you all to check it out. The latest episode can always be viewed from the Podcast index with links to the past episodes along the right.
You will notice that the Ninjalane Message Forum didn't make the cut for migration. This was actually the first feature of Ninjalane and with the prevalence of social media and decrease in overall forum activity it was decided that the forum needed to be shut down.
However, if there is a need I am not against bringing it back.
Be sure to check back in November when I launch the first ever Hardware Asylum Custom Hardware Giveaway. All proceeds will go towards building up the Facebook following and clearing out my garage.
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MSI Master Overclocking Arena 2013 live photo coverage @ Hardware.Info
The MSI MOA this year was plagued with a limited budget that not only impacted the format of the competition but also where it was hosted. While this may have limited any local foot traffic for those of us outside of Taiwan you wouldn't have known the difference.
The MOA this year occurred over the course of two days and followed a similar format to previous years. Three benchmarks with the best improvement of score winning that stage but, as we have seen just because you win a stage doesn't mean you'll win the competition.
Hardware.Info appears to have been one of the invited media and has a pretty good photo log of the event.
We’re doing live coverage of MSI’s Master Overclocking Arena 2013 overclocking event today. 16 overclockers from all over the world compete in three benchmarks; SuperPi 32M, Cinebench 11.5 and 3DMark Fire Strike. We’ll updating the link below all day long with new pictures.
--snip--
Unfortunately one overclocker has to quit the competition before the end. Italian OC-guru Giorgioprimo already had bad luck in the morning, sacrifing his first MPower board. Halfway the Fire Strike session his second board also crashed. And there's more: Mikecdm's Samsung based Lightning card died during the competition.Darren and I will be discussing the MOA on the next Podcast so stay tuned.
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AMD benchmarks show R9 290X faster than GTX 780
This might be "old news" for the AMD fans out there but last week at the NVidia event in Montreal there were rumors floating around that AMD had set up shop nearby and that NVidia reps were camped out watching to see who (of their invited media) actually went to go see them.
We all know that companies take advantage of media coverage when they can and even make up creative ways to invite them that doesn't come off as morally disrespectful, however wrong it may be.
Journalists (including TR's Scott Wasson) are gathered in Montreal this week for an Nvidia event. It so happens that AMD is right next door to the Nvidia venue, armed with one of its upcoming Radeon R9 290X graphics cards—and it's taken the opportunity to release some internal benchmarks comparing that card to Nvidia's GeForce GTX 780.
I wasn't suprised to hear that AMD was in the area during the NVidia event, they tend to bogart time during the IDF and yet when they host a private media showing in Hawaii does Intel or NVidia butt in?
I'm not sure, seems they never invite me to those kinds of parties.
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nVidia Announces the GTX 780 Ti R290X Killer
nVidia is having a little "event" in Canada this week and today marks the second day of announcements including a new GPU. Most folks farming for traffic said it wasn't going to happen while others would string you along saying "we swore we wouldn't tell". Either way the rumormill was correct and we indeed have a new GPU.
Enter the GTX 780 Ti
Today in Montreal, NVIDIA announced they will be releasing the GTX 780 Ti in mid-November (it will be a hard launch). This card is meant to compete and potentially one-up AMD’s upcoming R9 290X in a big way. It is supposed to be quiet, run cool and provide a ton of performance.
Of course the news is just breaking so details are sparse but according to nVidia "this is the fastest GPU we have ever produced" which would indicate it is faster than Titan.
Personally I think its just a Titan core on a retail card but with the 780 name badge it will likely be limited to 3-way SLI and generally cost too much for anyone to care.
More to come.
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Pink is the new Black by Enermax
In the early days of computer chassis design everything was beige because beige was a neutral color that went with almost everything, it is also where the phrase "the beige box" came from. Modding changed the landscape somewhat and introduced a rainbow of colors applied to a variety of cases from mild customs to inexpensive pre-mods. They all had something to offer and usually in a color that suited your tastes.
Of those colors you don't normally see Pink, and when you do its usually in conjunction with a cartoon or part of a custom mod done by an end user. That is, until now.
Enermax has released the new Ostrog Pink chassis which is pretty much your standard mid tower chassis featuring a soft Pink exterior and glossy white center. USB and power controls are located at the top, it comes with a removable HDD cage for longer graphics cards and features a varity of filters and screwless ODD kits (the 5.25 drive bays).
Pink may not be the color of the hardcore gamer and color matched components may be difficult to source but any fan of pink, ladies included, may find this case the perfect alternative to modding a chassis themselves.
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SilverStone Tundra TD02 & TD03 Review @ Hardware Canucks
When is a cooler, *not* a cooler? Well, I'm not sure such a thing exists. In fact the new Tundra chillers from Silverstone are quite good though feature some interesting design decisions.
With the Tundra TD02 and TD03, SilverStone has officially entered the water cooling market with two extremely competitive all in ones. They compete well against the likes of Corsair's H100 series and NZXT's Krakens.
There is only so much you can do with an AIO watercooler before you run into bottlenecks either in pump power, radiator size, fan speed and even the diameter of the hoses can impact performance.
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Cooler Master HAF Stacker 935 @ Modders-Inc
The nice thing about being part of the "trusted" hardware media is that you get to see the genesis of products from their first concepts to the pre-launch displays. The Cooler Master HAF Stacker is one such case that I first saw at CES.
To be honest I wasn't really a fan of the design but it has potential, especially in the modding community.
I think we have all thought at one time or another that if we could just build a case that we wanted it would bee so cool. Or not having to cram in all your hardware, water cooling setup, hard drives and all the wires and cables that go with it. Cooler Master must have been thinking the same thing and came up with a totally new idea for the computer case market. The Cooler Master HAF Stacker 935 is like nothing you have every seen before.
Now for the real question, why didn't we get one for review??
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(Getting Out from) Under the Surface @ Techgage
Our friends over at Techgage have an interesting article about the new Surface. By now most of you know that the Surface 2 has been announced and that from a hardware standpoint it is much better than the original. The problem is the device is still being released by MS and is hurting the hardware OEMs that use the Microsoft operating system.
Microsoft has been making a lot of weird moves lately, but the strangest of all has been its release (and now re-release) of the Surface tablet. With Steve Ballmer now out of lives, we take a look at his strange vision of Microsoft’s future – and how it has affected the company.
Techgage has their own take on the MS direction and Surface. An interesting read to say the least.
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NL: Review Block - AMD Radeon R9 Launch Week
I guess flying a bunch of hardware reviewers to Hawaii for a press launch is a good way to ensure ample media coverage.
Web Reviews
- Sapphire Toxic R9 270X @ LanOC Reviews
- MSI Radeon R9-270X Gaming review
- AMD Radeon R9 270X & Sapphire TOXIC R9 270X Video Card Reviews @ Legit Reviews
- MSI Radeon R9 270X Hawk Edition Video Card Review @ HiTech Legion
- Gigabyte R9 270X Windforce @ LanOC Reviews
- AMD Radeon R9 280X / R9 270X from ASUS and MSI review: R9 in practice
- GIGABYTE Radeon R9 280X WindForce 3X OC Graphics Card Review @ HardwareHeaven
- MSI R9 270X HAWK @ PureOverclock
- Will it Crossfire? R9 280X & HD 7970 Scaling Tested @ Hardware Canucks
- AMD Radeon R9 280X Graphics Card Review @ Techgage
- MSI R9 280X GAMING 3 GB @ techPowerUp
- AMD Radeon R9 270X 2 GB @ techPowerUp
- AMD Radeon R7 260X, R9 270X, and R9 280X Tested @ HotHardware
- AMD's Radeon R9 280X and 270X graphics cards
- AMD Radeon R9 270X & R7 260X Review @ Hardware CanucksBe sure to check out our review of the MSI R9 270X Gaming card. A Hawk or Lightning edition would have been more fun to review but, what can you do.
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Still Playing Borderlands 2? Get the GOTY Edition
Borderlands 2 has been out for over a year now and since then they have released two vault hunter upgrades and the first DLC that wasn't included in the Season Pass. I will admit that I do enjoy playing the game and find myself farming for gear but I think it's a little early to be releasing a GOTY edition considering that they have already planned even more DLC and the one already out isn't even included.
The Borderlands 2 Game of the Year Edition gives players the ability to take each of the six playable Vault Hunters to new levels, enjoy hundreds of hours of shoot-and-loot mayhem, and play each of the four highly popular add-on campaigns, all in one action-packed bundle. The Game of the Year Edition includes:
- Borderlands 2 main game;
- Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty;
- Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage;
- Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt;
- Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep;
- Creature Slaughter Dome;
- Premiere Club Content:
- Gaige, the Mechromancer Character Class;
- Gearbox Gun Pack;
- Golden Key;
- Vault Hunter's Relic;
- Krieg, the Psycho Character Class;
- Collector’s Edition Heads and Skins;
- Contraband Sky Rocket Grenade;
- Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack 1.
I have purchased or acquired most of what comes with the GTOY that except for the Creature Slaughter Dome (which I understand is a waste of money) and some of the collector heads and skins. To be honest I'm just about burned out on the game, I just reached Level 72 with one of my characters and have completed the entire came more times than I care to mention. I have the option to overlevel but I really don't see the point.
Hate to say it but, it might be time to put it to pasture.
