Tech News
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Gigabyte G1.Sniper M5 Motherboard Review @ Madshrimps
Gigabyte recently released another Z87 Sniper board. In the new Intel 9-series landscape however that may cause some to scratch their heads. Maybe not though, since Gigabyte has also announced Haswell-refresh support for their Z87 boards as well. However, this new Sniper 5 is a Micro-ATX board. So, all your typical Sniper features all condensed into a 9.6 x 9.6in. package.
The G1.Sniper 5 high-end Z87 board from Gigabyte is also available in a smaller form factor, while retaining some of the most important features like Killer NIC, dual BIOS, Creative Sound Core 3D DSP. The UEFI interface is pretty customizable, has three modes and features the same design as with the Gigabyte G1.Sniper 5.
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KBParadise V60 Mini Keyboard Review @ HCW
Keeping up with their exposure to smaller keyboard options the crew at HardCoreWare is looking at the KBParadise V60. This appears to be only 60% of a real keyboard giving you the ability to carry it around without wondering what your neighbors think.
The V60 Mini is a 60% layout mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX Switches. If you are wondering about V60 mini vs Poker II, you will want to read this review!
I'm not a huge fan of small keyboards but they do serve a purpose, for instance the coolest keyboard ever is the little bluetooth number that came with my Asus Slate.
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Asylum: Review Block - Motherboard and Processor Edition
They say the Intel 9-Series has already hit the market and that we really don't have a processor for it but, we do have a Haswell refresh called Devils Canyon to occupy our 5 second attention span.
Motherboards
GIGABYTE Z97X-Gaming G1 WiFi-BK LGA 1150 Review @ [H]
Gigabyte Z97X-SLI Motherboard @ PureOverclockProcessors
Intel Devil's Canyon i7-4790K Performance Review @ Hardware Canucks
Intel Core i7-4790K Devil’s Canyon Processor Review @ ThinkComputersCoolers
Deepcool Gamer Storm Lucifer @ techPowerUpVideo Cards
ASUS GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum Review @ Hardware Canucks
EVGA Geforce GTX 750 Ti Video Card Review @ OcModShop (The email said "Watch Dogs Review" but the link goes to a video card so that is what I'm going with.)There you have it, all of the gear any growing Enthusiast PC needs.
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MSI B85M Gaming Motherboard Review @ Modders-Inc
Budget gaming doesn't have to empty the wallet, in fact the whole process should leave you with some extra dollars for a disproportionately powerful processor or video card. Of course buying hardware on a budget has its drawbacks like having to give up good quality sound or living with a slow network adaptor. The MSI B85M Gaming is designed to bring high-end gaming features down to a human level.
For those of limited budget, the MSI B85M Gaming motherboard paired with a Haswell i3 or even an Intel Pentium G3220 saves a lot of money which is better spent on getting a powerful discrete graphics card and an SSD.
Sadly you give up the ability to overclock but that will be the least of your worries once you start fraggin at 60fps.
Be sure to check out our review of the MSI B85M Gaming and remember, K series processors have no busines being on a B-series motherboard.
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Kingston HyperX Cloud Review @ Vortez
Looking at this headset, and I'm not sure what I like more about it, the look and specs on it, or the side bag full of extra accessories such as different plugs, extension cables, adaptors and even a second set of headpads made of velour. The modularity it brings to the table, to adapt to a multitude of different platforms, especially now as the number of internet connected devices per household comtinues to climb is impressive. I don't know if this will become the norm, but maybe it should.
Now having deeper roots in eSports, sponsoring many teams between LoL (Cloud9 HyperX) and DotA2 (Alliance, TeamLiquid), it would appear that they are at it again. This time they team up with QPad to mix a little HyperX branding magic with the QH-90 to create the HyperX Cloud. Though it would appear that the QH-90 itself is a modified Takstar PRO 80, the formula itself is a logical one, excellent audiophile level audio with desirable features that distinguish contemporary gaming headsets from older generation ones.
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be quiet! Shadow Rock Slim High Compatibility CPU Cooler Review @HiTech Legion
So recently, it seems that the space around the CPU is starting to get rather crowded. With RAM growing taller with new packaging and larger heat spreaders, it getting hard to fit underneath full-size single, and even dual-tower coolers. But, it's not going unnoticed, as some cooler companies are finding ways to build over and around the problem. Rather than cutting space away from the cooler to make everything fit, can a more compact solution be found while keeping up with the cooling needs of modern CPUs? be quiet! thinks so.
At first glance, the Shadow Rock Slim simply looks like a really nicely designed and constructed smaller heatsink. It has the nice, brushed aluminum top, well-constructed fin array and well polished nickel plated contact plate. Then you get to looking closer and you notice the four 6mm copper pipes, rather than the usual three, in a slim cooler with a unique layout and that 135mm fan.
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MSI Z97 MPOWER MAX AC Motherboard Review @ HiTech Legion
Dressed up in the yellow trimmings that represent MSI's overclocking class of motherboards, the MPower Max is the newest flagship motherboard for the Intel Z97 chipset, and definitely has all the trimmings. Shielded digital audio, WiFi, Bluetooth, and the newest generation of PCIe architecture. This board looks to be a killer on the test bench or in an enthusiast build.
From the first look over, the MPower Max AC shows a great blend of workmanship, aesthetics and engineering. The eight layer PCB has great rigidity and the layout is flawless. The placement of each and every component makes perfect sense, and the enlarged empty space around the CPU is a huge benefit not only to LN2 users, but to anyone mounting a CPU cooler of any type.
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Gigabyte R7 250X OC 1GB GDDR5 Video Card Review @ Madshrimps
With a lot of the attention lately on the 280, 290 and 295X's I thought I'd take a step back and show off some more recently released budget friendly cards for beginning enthusiasts as well, especially one that's factory overclocked. Apparently for just a few bucks more, there is also a 2GB version as well.
With the R7 250X OC video card, Gigabyte succeeds to provide for the entry-level market a competitive card which can run games at either medium or high detail levels, while using display resolutions up to 1680x1050. Plenty of connectivity options are also offered, along with a dual-slot cooling system which remains silent at all times.
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Thermaltake Massive TM Notebook Cooler Review @HiTech Legion
During our Massive 14 review, we discussed that it could accomodate up to a 17" laptop fairly comfortably. So with it covering the large majority of standard notebook sizes in the market, we wondered what the next Massive cooler could offer to trump their older model. As it turns out, they had an Ace up their sleeve.
The Thermaltake Massive TM is a 17” laptop and notebook cooler that comes with a little extra. The Massive TM by Thermaltake uses 4 temperature sensors that can each be repositioned to track temps on different parts of your laptop.
So now rather then just manually cranking up or down the fan speed by dial, the cooler can sense the heat while the notebook is under load and adjust automatically for you. Though it appears the tradeoff was a shrink in the fan size from dual 14cm fans to a pair of 12cm's and run them 200 rpm faster while in Turbo mode which would increase the fan noise a bit more. -
CYBERPOWERPC Debuts Suitcase-size FANG Battlebox to Level Your LAN Party Competition
From the official press release:
CITY of INDUSTRY, CA (June 9, 2014) – CyberPower Inc. (www.CYBERPOWERPC.com) a manufacturer of custom gaming machines, notebook systems, and high performance workstations, has a secret weapon that you can easily tote to your next LAN party. The company debuts its FANG Battlebox today, a high- performance gaming rig stuffed inside a suitcase-like shell that you can carry anywhere.
The FANG Battlebox is small and portable, but has the headroom to accommodate high-end hardware like quad-core CPUs, dual-loop liquid cooling, and full-length graphics cards such as the AMD Radeon™ R9 295X2 and NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX TITAN Z GPU. The use of all standard components means the configuration possibilities for this small machine are endless.
With the FANG Battlebox you can arrive at your next LAN party ready to dominate. CYBERPOWERPC took all that gaming hardware and crammed it into a suitcase form factor. The FANG Battlebox’s unique carrying handle and ideal weight distribution allows for easy transportation to LAN parties. It can even fit in airline overhead compartments after it’s done attracting attention at the check-in line.
The portability of the FANG Battlebox allows it to function flawlessly in many environments because CYBERPOWERPC compartmentalized cooling in the chassis to help isolate and remove heat from various components efficiently and without obstruction. The FANG Battlebox also supports liquid cooled graphics cards and processors simultaneously.
The FANG Battlebox features a Mini-ITX motherboard packed with either AMD A-Series APUs or 4th Generation Intel Core processors, and supports the full range of graphics cards from both NVIDIA and AMD. It also has room for two high performance hard drives and up to 16GB of DDR3 memory. All models have Wireless AC and Bluetooth connectivity, USB 3.0 ports, and Microsoft Windows 8.1 in the default configurations.
With its dual EZ Swap drive bays, the Battlebox thrives at work or play. Users just swap out their confidential business files stored on the drive and replace it with their game library. No tools are needed just slide the drive in the bay and you are set.
The base model FANG Battlebox is the I-100, which features an Intel Core i3-4150 Processor, 8GB of memory, a 1TB hard drive, and Intel HD Graphics 4400 for a price of $619. The Battlebox can be customized with a number of performance hardware upgrades such as discrete graphics cards, solid state drives and storage hard drives, memory, peripherals and business software to enhance your productivity. All CYBERPOWERPC FANG Battlebox systems include an industry best 3-year limited warranty.
