Tech News
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New U.S. address in Foxconn's future? Not Likley
Published: Friday, November 9, 2012 | By: DennisI caught this story on Digitimes stating that Foxconn was thinking about expanding in the US and woudl be setting up a factory in Detroit or LA. While I think this might be a good thing I highly doubt it will ever happen.
The reporter at CNet tends to agree.
With unemployment close to 8 percent, you can understand why this headline would grab peoples' attention. A story in Digitimes reports that Foxconn is scouting prospective sites in the United States for future manufacturing plants.
I was skeptical about this story -- which talks about production of LCD TVs, not iPhones -- and that might have been the end of it.
But maybe it's not quite as crazy as it seems. A spokeswoman for Foxconn told me in an e-mail that the company "already has multiple facilities based in the U.S." but she also went on to say that "there are no current plans to expand our operations there at this time."It wouldn't have ever worked out anyway, Americans are too expensive I mean just look at the old 80's film Gung Ho that explored the Japanese take over of the American car industry.
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NL: Review Block - Motherboards and the Power to run them
Published: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 | By: DennisMotherboard Reviews, get your motherboard reviews right here
- Biostar Hi-Fi Z77X review: Z77 board with unique audio features
- ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0 BIOS MIA @ MHW
- Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 LGA 1155 Motherboard Review @ [H]
- ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets
- Z77 Overclocking Motherboard Shootout - MSI vs ASRock (really?)
- ASUS Maximus V Extreme @ Bjorn3D
- EVGA Z75 SLI Motherboard Review @ HCW
- GIGABTYE Z77X-UP7 Motherboard @ Bjorn3D
- Gigabyte Z77X-UP4-TH LGA1155 Motherboard Review @ [H]
Power, ohh the power
- Cooler Master Silent Pro Platinum 1000W Power Supply Review @ Hi Tech LegionSome of these are kinda old but age isn't a factor with reviews, they will be valid for as long as you can buy the product. Which in some cases might be a week or 6 months.
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Silverstone Heligon HE01 Twin Tower Heatsink Review @ Frostytech.com
Published: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 | By: DennisAwesome heatsink! Be sure to check out our review of the Silverstone HE01 Performance Heatsink.
Occupying every square millimeter of space above the CPU that a cooler possibly could, the Silverstone Heligon HE01 heatsink is a novel approach that seems designed to accommodate motherboards with excessively large VRM heatsinks. From the center-point of the CPU, the Heligon HE01 extends ~48mm to the fore, ~71mm towards the aft. The six heatpipes converge at a chunky nickel plated copper base plate, eschewing the whole exposed-heatpipe-trend-thing. Noise wise, Heligon HE01 heatsink ranges for loud to whisper quiet.
I would fully expect to see more dual tower designs like this in the near future.
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EK Supremacy CPU Water Block Full-Nickel @ PureOverclock
Published: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 | By: DennisI have recently been looking at what has changed in the world of watercooling and EK has been one of the front runners in market penetration. Jury is still out on performance but based on the results of this review. Well, you'll just have to check it out.
Supremacy means to dominate, control, and that one is superior to others. EK claims the Supremacy outperforms its legendary Supreme HF block by 2°C, and has better hydraulic flow by 20%. Today we’re going to put this water block in the ring with some of today’s top CPU water blocks to see how it defends against the other ruthless arse-kicking water blocks. Read on to find out what this new flagship cooling block is all about.
From a style standpoint I'm not a fan but the block design looks pretty good.
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Skype will replace Windows Live Messenger
Published: Tuesday, November 6, 2012 | By: DennisIt would seem the threat of Skype taking over the world is real, except in China.
It's been confirmed that moving forward Skype and Messenger are to become one. The shift started with Skype 6.0 (Windows/Mac) as users have been able to log in using Microsoft account credentials since this latest release. Microsoft expects to retire Messenger worlwide in the first quarter of 2013, except for China where we assume Skype doesn't have a strong penetration.
With Skype taking over, Microsoft is touting more features for Messenger users including mobile support on iOS and Android, better video call features, Facebook integration and group calling.I can still remember when I first signed up for MSN Messenger. At the time I was using ICQ for personal messages and AIM for work. Across both accounts I had friends all over the world and would chat all the time. As time progressed I came to enjoy using MSN Messenger, so much in fact that I eventually abandoned all of my other accounts.
It would seem I'm not forced to change chat clients again with the promise of free computer to computer calling.
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Windows 8 Review – Part Two: The Things I Love @ Techgage
Published: Tuesday, November 6, 2012 | By: DennisA couple weeks ago Rob posted what he hated about Windows 8 which mirrored my own feelings towards the OS. Well, in proper product review form he has come back to share the things he loves about Win8
As difficult as it may be to tell sometimes, Windows 8 does in fact offer a lot to love. I’ve already had my say about what frustrates me with the OS, so now, I’m taking a look at the other side of the coin. What is it that makes Windows 8 pleasant to use? Select highlights include aesthetic improvements, the improved transfer dialog and the new syncing capabilities.
Do his findings hold water and justify the Winh8 we have come accustomed to? or does Windows 8 mark the best thing since sliced bread, toasted, with a touch of butter?
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Sandra 2013: For Windows 8 including 3 new benchmarks
Published: Monday, November 5, 2012 | By: DennisThis is some great news for those of you (and us) using Sandra for system testing and benchmarks. Some of the new features of Sandra 2013 are listed below.
New GP (GPU/APU/CPU) Cache/Memory Latency benchmark
Benchmark all the different memories (global, constant, shared/local, private) of modern GPGPUs using the 3 access patterns (in-page random, full random, sequential/linear) in OpenCL and CUDA. Please ask if you need details.
New GP (GPU/APU/CPU) Cache Bandwidth benchmark
Benchmark all the different memories (global, constant, shared/local, private) of modern GPGPUs and measure L1, L2 and L3 cache bandwidths in OpenCL and CUDA. Please ask if you need details.
Memory Latency benchmark: code/instruction caches latencies
A brand new benchmark using its 3 dedicated access patterns ("in-page" thus avoiding "out-of-page" latencies, "full random" and "linear/sequential") to fully test code caches performance. Please ask if you need details.
Brand new style for Windows 8
So you feel "at home" in Windows 8 / Server 2012. The previous theme (Aero/Metal) is included. Windows 7, Vista and XP are still fully supported!Personally I can't wait to try out the new version.
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Gigabyte Aivia Krypton Mouse & Mouse Pad Review @ Hardware Canucks
Published: Monday, November 5, 2012 | By: DennisGigabyte may not be the biggest name in mice and mice accessories but they do deserve a look.
Gigabyte's new Krypton mouse may be slightly expensive at $80 but it can be used by left or right handed gamers and includes an envious feature set. This goes hand in hand with the double sided Krypton gaming mouse pad that goes for $40 while providing a huge surface for enthusiasts.
The mouse pad looks really good but, as you will notice from the photos, it is quite large with rubberized frame around the mousing surface.
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NL: Review Block - Bay Parts, Cases and a Big Ass Mouse Pad
Published: Friday, November 2, 2012 | By: DennisFriday review block for your clicking enjoyment. (don't forget to click)
Bay Stuff
- NZXT Aperture M Review @ ThinkComputers
- Icy Dock MB981U3S-1S HDD Docking Station @ Hi Tech Legion
- Vantec NST-D400SU3 NexStar SuperSpeed Dual Bay Hard Drive Dock Review @ Pro-Clockers <- Long ass name don't you think?
- Vantec MRK-425ST-BK EZ Swap F4 Quad Bay 2.5" SATA SSD/HDD Rack @ Pro-Clockers
- ICY DOCK MB662USEB-2S-1 Dual Bay Hard Drive Enclosure Review @ ThinkComputers
Cases
- Fractal Design Array R2 @ HW-Journal
- Bitfenix Ghost Case Review @ Hardware Secrets
Big Ass Mousepad
- Mionix Sargas 900 Deskpad Review @ XSReviews.co.uk
Mouse
- Epic Gear Medusa Gaming Mouse Review @ XtremeComputingOf course users of Windows 8 will not find ANY of this interesting but we can hope the tile trial will give us back a start button.
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Tip: How to Secure Erase an SSD Easily Within Windows @ HCW
Published: Thursday, November 1, 2012 | By: DennisFor those of you curious about cleaning up an SSD this tip from HCW might help you out. Warning you'll need to make sure the drive is clean with everything backed up since the procedure will remove everything.
If you have been frustrated with trying to wipe your SSD to a fresh state with secure erase, check out this easy method you can do in Windows easily. Works every time!
The article talks about how when you are done it will be filled with 0's so I would be interested to know if anything could be recovered from the drive. In the rotational days that would be the case.
