Tech News
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Product Review (GIGABYTE Z87X-OC) | ChipLoco
Published: Tuesday, September 3, 2013 | By: DennisThe press release doesn't say much about this review but based on the title it has to be epic,
I mean it has to be right?.
For Haswell, we’ve two GIGABYTE OC series motherboards; the Z87X-OC and Z87X-OC Force. The former one is a $200 motherboard with everything an overclocker can wish for and then we’ve the $400 Z87X-OC Force which is for people with deep pockets or for those who want the best of the best.
humm.
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NL: Review Block - Memory and Coolers
Published: Tuesday, September 3, 2013 | By: DennisJust a quick list of memory and cooler reviews including some Crucial stuff? OMG.
Memory
- Avexir Core Series 3100 MHz 2x 4 GB DDR3 @ techPowerUp
- G.Skill RipjawsX F3-2133C9Q-16GXL 2133 MHz 4x 4 GB DDR3 @ techPowerUp
- Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 2x8GB DDR3-1600 RAM @ TechwareLabsCoolers - Its not a coola!
- Gelid GX-7 Rev. 2 CPU Cooler Review
- NZXT Kraken X60 Cooler Review on Technic3D
- Product Review (Noctua NH-U12S) | ChipLoco
- DeepCool Gammaxx S40 Heatsink Review @ FrostytechWow, quite the list.
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MSI GTX 780 Lightning Strikes - Only onTwo Review Sites?
Published: Friday, August 30, 2013 | By: DennisThere are a small handful of companies that offer up custom video card designs and of those only three are accessible in the US, EVGA, ASUS, and MSI. Normally I would group Gigabyte in this mix but based on current card designs I have to draw a line between what is "custom" and is custom. (see what I did there?)
As of this news post the much anticipated competition for the EVGA GTX 780 Classified has been released and makes it debut on two review sites. There may be more but I didn't get the memo. You would think that with a super awesome video card like the GTX 780 Lightning they would at least drop a few into the hands of reviewers that actually overclock.
I guess they are reserving excess inventory for MOA 2013.
Web Reviews
- MSI GeForce GTX 780 LIGHTNING review @ ???
- MSI GTX 780 N780 Lightning Video Card Review @ HiTech LegionI'm sure we will see more related to the GTX 780 Lightning in the coming months.
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Mebotics Debuts World's First Machine Shop in a Box
Published: Friday, August 30, 2013 | By: DennisSomerville, Mass. – August 28, 2013 – Mebotics, LLC is launching the Microfactory – already gaining notoriety as the “world’s first machine shop in a box” – on Kickstarter this week. The Microfactory will be the first widely-available machine to marry both additive and subtractive manufacturing, integrating machining and 3D printing into a safe, self-cleaning, networkable unit. The company has announced a $1 million fundraising goal.
The Mebotics team conceived, designed and built the Microfactory over the past year. “After putting so much effort into what we truly believe to be a revolution in accessible 3D printing technology, we’re thrilled to be ready to share it with the public,” said Jeremy Fryer-Biggs, one of the four co-founders of Mebotics. “The beauty of the Microfactory is its broad range of applications. Imagine being able to do most of your prototyping work, including machining parts and etching circuit boards, on a single machine.”
The Microfactory contains four printing heads on two separate heaters, plus a milling head. This allows it to print in four colors of the same material, or two colors of two different materials, on the same part. The milling component is capable of cutting and etching wood, plastic and some metals (with optional upgrade). Its user-friendly features are designed to bring more industrial capability to smaller workshops. They include a vacuum port to remove all the debris created by cutting, an air filter, prominent emergency-stop button, covered belts and motors (to keep clothing from getting caught by moving parts) and a noise-reducing housing (to keep late-night makers from getting caught by angry neighbors!). The Mebotics team drew on many years experience building and using industrial tools to create an easy-to-use machine for people who are serious about making.Unlike many other 3D printers, the Microfactory contains a full on-board computer, which gives it many unique capabilities. With its Internet connectivity, the Microfactory will allow users to watch the progress of jobs in real-time from a phone or tablet, start and stop jobs remotely, or network machines together for more efficient production. All of the software components of the Microfactory are open-source, and the hardware is designed to be upgraded and modified by more intrepid users: The gantry is intended to support the attachment of different heads, and the entire left wall of the machine is removable to support alternate modules.
“The Microfactory is an open platform designed to be adaptable to the needs of its users,” Fryer-Biggs explained. “Printing and milling seemed like the most obvious initial combination, but we envision people going a lot further -- whether it’s adding a 3D scanning head, converting it to a computerized paint-shop, or making an innovative food-extruder.” He adds, “If anybody does use it for making awesome new food, they’re invited to bring it by the shop.”
Mebotics aimed to make the Microfactory the ultimate all-in-one factory for small businesses -- biotech and design firms, architects, teachers --- as well as artists, early adopters and avid hobbyists. “We’ve tried to leave the door open for even some really extreme applications. With WiFi connectivity, the Microfactory can be run from the middle of nowhere: a research station in Antarctica, a basecamp in the Himalayas, or even a military outpost could download a file and make replacement parts on the spot.” This creative spirit is embodied in the company’s slogan: Ask Me What I Can’t Make.
To learn about the full range of machine specs and available upgrades, visit the Microfactory page on www.kickstarter.com. Backers can donate from $1-$9,995, pre-ordering the Microfactory starts at $3,995. To learn more, visit www.mebotics.com/microfactory.html and follow Mebotics on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mebotics. -
Acronis True Image 2014 Review @ Techgage
Published: Friday, August 30, 2013 | By: DennisI have always had a little respect for Acronis and their awesome imaging software but I cannot lie when I say their server based versions are not good. Maybe I'm "doing it wrong" or need to call the support line but, DAMN.
Techgage is looking at the new 2014 edition of Acronis True Image which is the retail edition anyone can use on Windows 7 and Windows 8. Most people who LOVE Acronis are talking about this edition
The latest version of Acronis' popular backup and recovery suite, True Image, has just been released, and once again, we're taking a look at what's new. We saw good integration of Acronis' cloud service with last year's True Image, but this year's version takes things to an all-new level. Let's check that out, along with all else that's new.
Its too bad they don't offer this version for servers, I would have been "onboard".
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ASUS GTX 670 DirectCU MINI Review @ Hardware Canucks
Published: Friday, August 30, 2013 | By: DennisSo, the MINI in the name has me curious, what the heck is this thing?
Other than a GTX 670 with a DirectCU cooler, I mean that is obvious.
ASUS has released the amazingly compact GTX 670 DirectCU MINI to cater to the small form factor market. It isn't narrowly focused though since we found it to be a surprisingly capable graphics card.
Well, as none of us imagined the DirectCU MINI is a ultra compact GTX 670 that is basically a video card square making the card perfect for Mini ITX systems and for anyone intimidated by size.
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Ivy Bridge E and SSD Overclocking? Say it aint so!
Published: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 | By: DennisSomeone sent in this story posted over at DailyTech. According to the Blog we should see IVBE processors sometime next month. (just a few days away!) Ivy Bridge E is the next generation to the popular LGA 2011 processor with quad memory channels.
The blog goes on to talk about overclocking your SSD using the same methods used to overclock system memory. Basicaly add some voltage and tweak the frequency. I'm not sure how I feel about SSD overclocking since this messes with the storage of your data.
When it comes to the SSD overclocking, the upcoming platform is expected to allow you to apply more voltage to your SSD controller to bump your read, write, and IOPS speed. Performance will be capped at 4.8 Gbps (614 MB/s), though, due to the fundamental ceiling of the current SATA 3 standard implementation supported in Intel chipsets (The raw performance of SATA 3 is 6 Gbps).
Back in the day there was a few attempts to overclock rotational drives by tweaking the firmware and increasing the transfer speed. The results were not all that impressive especially considering that you could get a bigger boost in speed by simply adding another drive in a RAID 0. I suspect that overclocking your SSD may have a similar impact.
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Microsoft Windows 8.1 Goes RTM
Published: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 | By: DennisAppears the Internet is ablaze about the release of Windows 8.1 (Blue) to manufactures. Windows 8.1 addresses many of the issues people had with Windows 8 including a few UI tweaks that made headlines around the world.
Windows 8.1 brings back the Start button and also features Internet Explorer 11, SkyDrive integration, an updated Windows Store experience, DPI scaling improvements (enabling better readability on high-DPI displays), 3D printing support, more customization options, tweaked mouse and keyboard navigation, and a boot-to-desktop option.
Of course none of that really matters since the UI is only useful on a "small" touch device but there are people raving about Windows 8 claiming its the best thing since Windows 3.1.
Look for the new OS sometime around October 18th with ISO leaks on Bittorrent sometime sooner.
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Microsoft Windows 8.1 Goes RTM
Published: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 | By: DennisAppears the Internet is ablaze about the release of Windows 8.1 (Blue) to manufactures. Windows 8.1 addresses many of the issues people had with Windows 8 including a few UI tweaks that made headlines around the world.
Windows 8.1 brings back the Start button and also features Internet Explorer 11, SkyDrive integration, an updated Windows Store experience, DPI scaling improvements (enabling better readability on high-DPI displays), 3D printing support, more customization options, tweaked mouse and keyboard navigation, and a boot-to-desktop option.
Of course none of that really matters since the UI is only useful on a "small" touch device but there are people raving about Windows 8 claiming its the best thing since Windows 3.1.
Look for the new OS sometime around October 18th with ISO leaks on Bittorrent sometime sooner.
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Sandia Cooler: Air Bearing Heatsink Prototype Update
Published: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 | By: DennisI know a few people that won't stop talking about this heatsink, personally I'm not a huge fan of the design but I can see a few instances where it might actually be a good fit.
What makes the prototype Sandia Cooler special is the design, its aluminum cooling fins serve double duty as the rotating fan and fan blades of the cooler . Unlike traditional CPU coolers, heat energy in the Sandia Cooler is conducted across a very thin air gap bearing from the stationary base of the cooler to the upper rotating aluminum fin/fan component.
Be sure to check out the article to know more about this amazing cooler which may or may not keep a 4.5Ghz Core i7 3930K cool enough to run.
