Tech News
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Sapphire EDGE VS8 @ techPowerUp
Published: Tuesday, March 12, 2013 | By: DennisI got to see the first generation of these tiny PC's at CES several years ago and I'm glad to see they are still around.
The Sapphire VS8 is the new high-end model in the manufacturer's Mini-PC line-up. Equipped with a quad-core CPU and Radeon 7600 graphics, the VS8 manages to impress, setting new standards in performance for a system of this size.
In terms of performance they are pretty powerful but cannot match the raw power and speed of a modern Intel desktop setup. Thing is, they don't need to be. Systems like this work great as a secondary PC where you may watch movies, play simple games and surf the interwebbytubes.
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Mass Effect 3 Citadel: The Journey’s End @ Techgage
Published: Monday, March 11, 2013 | By: DennisDarren once asked me why I never played Mass Effect given that the gaming series is the style I enjoy, Role playing FPS. At the time I couldn't answer him, that is until I did some research.
Turns out the first Mass Effect was an exclusive Xbox title and then later released for the PC. By the time it came out on PC I had written it off as a viable game option and let it fall into oblivion. When Mass Effect 2 was released it came on out on platforms at the same time and by then the only people playing it were fans of the first game.
Now, with the release of Mass Effect 3 and the insight of what I have been missing it might be time to pick up all three.
Mass Effect 3 has had a turbulent journey since its release – there have been a few DLCs released, but none have captured the spirit that the Mass Effect franchise has been all about. Will the new Citadel DLC bring the series back to its former glory, or are we doomed to repeat recent history?
Rumor has it that the ending for Mass Effect 2 started online riots so violent that the game designers actually re-issued the game with an alternative ending.
Now that is something I want to see.
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NInjalane Podcast Episode 27 - pwn by the flu
Published: Monday, March 11, 2013 | By: DennisFor those of you following the Ninjalane Podcast please be aware that Episode 27 (the one scheduled to go live today) will be delayed a week. It would appear that Darren has come down with a case of the Flu, and not just any flu, we are talking about one with a name other than just, "the flu".
Let's hope for a speedy recovery. -
Next Borderlands 2 DLC includes a new vault hunter
Published: Saturday, March 9, 2013 | By: DennisNow here is some interesting news from Borderlands 2, there will be a new vault hunter in the next DLC.
"Deep beneath Pandora, an experiment has escaped," a teaser for the DLC announced, revealing a silhouette of the new character decimating enemies. "Bandits beware, a new vault hunter is coming. More mayhem awaits."
Still no word on a level cap increase or what the next DLC will include but the prospect of a new vault hunter to play might help to keep the BL2 train going. Though to be honest I have played thru all of the missions at least 6 times now and they aren't getting any more interesting.
Btw the new vault hunter isn't going to be part of the season pass so it might be a standalone download like the Mecromancer and just available when the DLC launches.
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NL: Review Block: Coolers and Memory - The storage solution
Published: Friday, March 8, 2013 | By: DennisJust a quick review block before the weekend, Some of the coolers on this list look pretty good.
Coolers
- Zalman CNPS14X Cpu cooler @ Rbmods
- Swiftech H220 Compact Drive II AIO CPU Cooler @ Pro-Clockers
- Swiftech H220 Water Cooling System Review @ ThinkComputers
- Corsair Hydro H90 & H110 CPU Coolers Review @ Hardware Canucks
- Thermalright Archon SB-E X2 CPU Cooler Review @ Hardware Secrets
Memory
- Patriot Supersonic Magnum 256GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review @ Legit Reviews
- Kingston HyperX 10th Anniversary 16GB 2400MHz Quad Channel Kit Review @ NikKTech
- Kingston HyperX Genesis 10th Anniversary Special Edition 2400 MHz C11 4x 4 GB Kit @ techPowerUp
- Patriot Supersonic Magnum 256GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review @ Hi Tech LegionNot sure what to think of the Kingston HyperX Anniversary Edition memory.
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Gelid Black Edition CPU Cooler @ PureOverclock
Published: Friday, March 8, 2013 | By: DennisWhen it comes to heatsinks they say two is better than one especially when it comes to towers and fans. This cooler from Gelid comes with both so it has to be good right?
When you hear the name Gelid, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For most it’s PC case fans. Gelid is known for some of the quietest PC case fans. However, they’ve also produced some thermal compounds, some VGA cooling units and even a case. Furthermore, they recently stepped into the realm of CPU cooling as well. They sent us the new Black Edition CPU cooler to check out. Let’s see if Gelid can include good performance, yet keep their quiet fan reputation in the same package.
Not sure I would have associated Gelid with fans but I do recognize their company by the thermal paste, most overclockers would agree the Gelid TIM is the best for subzero cooling.
Jury is still out for me but I can say I do like the properties. -
NVIDIA shines a light on lower spec Quadro cards
Published: Tuesday, March 5, 2013 | By: DennisBack in the day (almost 12+ years ago) I was really, REALLY, excited about Quadro video cards. The prospect that such a powerful and specially designed video card made me wonder if it could really enhance the work I was doing.
Back then I was doing a lot of Autocad and 3DStudio and felt that a Quadro card could do much to speed things up. Sadly the cost of such a shining piece of hardware prevented me from trying out the technological marvel. (In retrospect maybe I should have started a review site dedicated high-end workstation hardware.)
These days I spend my free time playing FPS video games and coding ASP.Net and jQuery, neither of which require specialized video hardware beyond a slightly overclocked GTX 670.
Despite all the energy it's been putting into mobile and gaming, NVIDIA hasn't fallen out of love with its professional graphics customers. In fact, it's in the process of trying to rekindle those sparks of romance through the clever use of chocolates, shoulder rubs and fresh additions to its Kepler-based Quadro lineup. We've already seen (and played with) the $2,249 K5000 flagship, but those of us on lower budgets will now be able to snag the K4000, K2000 or K600 as they begin to enter the retail channel.
I do like how they are bringing out a K600 priced at $199, that is until you realize the 192 CUDA cores equal something like a GTX 550Ti in the real world?
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Steelseries Flux Luxury Headset Review @ XSReviews
Published: Tuesday, March 5, 2013 | By: DennisEveryone has a different taste when it comes to headphones. Some people like the in-ear designs *cough* apple */cough* while others (like myself) prefer an over-ear headset for sound awesome-ness. Well, there is a third style on the market that some find to be the best thing since sliced bread and others avoid like the plague, the on-ear headset.
On-ear headphones are very compact and work well if you tend to travel or move about.
Steelseries produce a lot of gaming peripherals. That’s been their focus for a long time. But these days it’s not all about the giant gaming cans with the big boom mic. It’s about mobile phone gaming on the move – which means looking cool while doing so.
While I’m not going to ever look cool wearing any pair of headphones, perhaps the Steelseries Flux can help me out a little bit. Let’s see.Every headset is different and while I personally don't like on-ear designs that doesn't mean they don't serve a purpose and can't be excellent on their own.
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NZXT Phantom 630 Review @ Hardware Canucks
Published: Tuesday, March 5, 2013 | By: DennisThe Phantom has returned.
Will it pwn or will it simply fall by the wayside and disappear into nothingness.
NZXT's Phantom series is both popular and polarizing but there's no denying these cases are also well designed. The latest iteration, the Phantom 630, incorporates the DNA of past designs but does so at a lower price point, making it infinitely more accessible for budget minded gamers.
The Phantom chassis has been one of NZXT's most popular case designs, and for good reason. You deserve the right to at least touch one sometime before your current system dies.
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Intel 8 Series Haswell Motherboards Make a Debut at CeBIT
Published: Tuesday, March 5, 2013 | By: DennisCeBIT: ASRock introduces Haswell Z87/H87/B85 motherboards
There will be a fair amount of CeBIT coverage coming from the European hardware sites so stay tuned, this is only the beginning.
The Intel Haswell processors won't come out for another three months, but ASRock has already unveiled its new LGA1150 motherboards at CeBIT. These are obviously pre-production models, so the final versions could be slightly different.
ASRock Z87 Extreme6
ASRock Z87 Pro4-M
ASRock H87 Pro4Computex will likely have the final production models so it will be interesting to see how they have changed, if they do.
