Tech News
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NL: Review Block - Cases and Coolers Edition
Published: Monday, June 25, 2012 | By: DennisWelcome to another edition of Cases and Coolers with your host, me. In this edition we are going to look at some high and "low" quality cases from around the web including an Xtreme Hummer "Zero" from a company called Nox. I dunno about the case but the name got a rise out of me for sure.
Cases
- Nox Xtreme Hummer Zero 3.0 @ HW-Journal (OMG check out the Xtreme Hummer!)
- Antec ISK110 VESA Case Review @ Hardware Secrets
- Thermaltake Armor Revo Snow Edition PC Tower @ Pro-Clockers
- Corsair Carbide 300R Mid-Tower Gaming Chassis Review @ Techgage
- CM Storm Stryker @ techPowerUp
- Bitfenix Shinobi XL: mild-mannered powerhouse @ Hardware.Info
- Silverstone Kublai KL04 @ techPowerUp
- Coolermaster HAF XM @ Rbmods
Coolers
- Noctua NH-L12 Low Profile CPU Cooler Review @ Bigbruin
- Noctua NH-I12 CPU Cooler @ Bjorn3D
- Cooler Master TPC 812 CPU Cooler Review @ Hardware SecretsDon't look here for any Xtreme Hummers, its not on the menu, so to speak.
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ZOTAC Gives GeForce GTX 670 Extreme Edition Treatment
Published: Friday, June 22, 2012 | By: DennisYou may not know this but the GTX 680 and GTX 670 are pin compatible GPUs meaning that you can design a single PCB and interchange the chips without any issue. Simply flash a BIOS image and call it good. That was one reason why you saw boards like the Gigabyte GTX 670 rolling with a customized GTX 680 PCB and why we are seeing a super extreme GTX 670 from Zotac.
Cooling the beast is the same swanky cooling solution as the one found on the GTX 680 Extreme Edition. Staying within the confines of 2 expansion slots, the cooler packs a large aluminum fin heatsink that spans the entire length of the card, which uses five 8 mm-thick nickel-plated copper heat pipes that draw heat from the copper GPU base, to the aluminum fin stack. The heatsink is then ventilated by a pair of 92 mm fans.
The PCB is a monster with, what looks like, 13 power phases and extra camel hump to contain them all. Sadly, according to Zotac, these boards will never be introduced outside of the China market which sounds more like a challenge than a promise.
Who thinks I need to "import" one of these cards for testing in the Ninjalane Labs?
This story is souced from TechPowerUp but ultimatly generated from a news posting at EXPReview as you can tell from the watermark.
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Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB 10K RPM Hard Drive Review @ Techgage
Published: Friday, June 22, 2012 | By: DennisPeople call me crazy for using a VelociRaptor in my main system and on the test bench but I like the speed and don't mind the noise that a powerful HDD can give you. Now you can have all that power with a 1TB storage capacity.
Need big storage, but can't compromise on performance? At a time when 1TB SSDs cost as much as an excellent gaming PC, the obvious choice becomes WD's VelociRaptor - which not only recently received a refresh, but also a 1TB model. Let's take a look at it, and see how it compares to WD's other current desktop hard drives.
Sadly even the 6GB VelociRaptor drives top out so if you want super blazing speed you'll need more than one of them in some sort of configuration that starts with an R and ends with an AID.
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Radeon HD 7970 Ghz Edition Launch Day
Published: Friday, June 22, 2012 | By: DennisJust in case your HD 7970 wasn't fast enough you now have the Ghz Edition available and ready to kick ass. The new GPU introduces a "boost" clock that will ramp core speeds up 50Mhz and give you a little extra processing power. Combine that with the 1Ghz store core clock and you have.... An overclocked HD 7970.
AMD has added higher clock speeds and a PowerTune "boost" feature to the Radeon HD 7970 in a bid to reclaim the single-GPU performance crown. Will it succeed? We have a look, with our customary focus on frame latencies, not just FPS averages. - TechReport
Web Reviews
- AMD's Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
- AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition review @ Hardware.Info
- Radeon HD 7970 GHz edition review
- AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition Review @ HotHardware
- AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition Graphics Card Review @ HardwareHeaven
- AMD Radeon HD 7970 3GB GHz Edition Review @ Hardware Canucks
- AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3 GB @ techPowerUp -
NL: Review Block - Memory and Storage
Published: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 | By: DennisYou can never have enough yet you are never sure exactly how much to get and what brand to buy. This is where the hardware reviews come in, but even then you are not guaranteed that what you want will be available in your area.
Oh the joys of hardware.
Web Reviews
- G.Skill Ripjaws Z 16GB Memory Review @ HCW
- Kingston HyperX 3K RAID 0 @ PureOverclock
- OCZ Agility 3 2.5" 120GB SATA III Review at Overclockers Online
- OCZ Vertex 4 128GB Solid State Drive Review @ OCIA
- OCZ Octane 512GB Solid State Drive @ APH Networks
- Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB Hard Drive Review @ Hardware Canucks
- Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB @ PureOverclockI have done my share of memory reviews but you'd be surprised at how stingy memory companies can be with samples.
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Linus Torvalds F-bombs Nvidia
Published: Monday, June 18, 2012 | By: DennisPeople do stuff like this to get attention and it doesn't matter if they are a hardware review startup or a top ranked and highly respected public figure, if you do things against the norm you will get attention. This attention is then followed by a whole lotta backlash.
While I agree — and in many ways sympathize — with Torvalds’ point about Nvidia with regards to Linux support, I don’t agree with the suggestion that any community is entitled to anything beyond what a company advertises as offering. We do have to bear in mind that Nvidia is under no obligation to do anything to help the Linux community, and any suggestion that Nvidia — or any other company – should play nicely with open source is based on nothing more than a feeling of entitlement.
I can fully agree with this statement. While it would be a nice gesture to help the Linux community create the drivers they need and might might prevent the Linux hacking army from stealing Tegra 4 specs and selling them to the highest bidder it just isn't something Nvidia is obligated to do.
This whole exchange reminds me of phrase I heard in my youth. I was visiting the local motorcycle salvage yard looking to see what it may cost to rebuild a small street bike. After asking the cranky grease monkey mechanic a bunch of questions about my project he responded. "You know kid we can do almost anything but money talks and bullshit walks".
I think the same could be said here.
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NL: Review Block - Motherboards Cases and Coolers
Published: Friday, June 15, 2012 | By: DennisI'm still trying to get caught up after being away for Computex, had there been someone here posting news for me while i was gone this wouldn't be an issue. Instead it would seem most people are more interested in getting review product they don't have to pay for than doing actual work which isn't right.
Needless to say there are some sites out there that do reviews for a living and below is few that filtered into the news box.
Motherboards
- Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Motherboard Review @ HCW
- ASRock H77 Pro4 MVP Intel LGA 1155 Motherboard Review
- ASUS Maximus V Gene Intel Z77 Express LGA 1155 @ techPowerUp
- ECS Z77H2-AX Gold Edition @ PureOverclock
- ASRock Z77 Fatal1ty Professional @ PureOverclock
Chassis
- LEPA LPC302 Mid-Tower Case Review @ HardwareLOOK
- Corsair Obsidian 550D Mid-Tower Quiet Chassis Review @ Techgage
- Silverstone Fortress FT03 Mini Case Review (seems a little disrespectful having "butt" in the URL)
- Lian Li PC-TU200 @ techPowerUp
- Corsair Carbide 500R @ PureOverclock
- MSI Ravager Case @ LanOC Reviews
- Corsair Obsidian 550D review
- Corsair Obsidian 550D Case Review @ HardwareHeaven
- Cooler Master Cosmos II Ultra Tower Chassis Review @ OCIA
Coolers
- Noctua NH-L12 CPU Cooler Review on Technic3D
- Antec H20 920 CPU Cooler Review on Technic3D
- Funky Kit Review: Thermaltake Water 2.0 Performer
- XIGMATEK Dark Knight SD-1283 Night Hawk Edition CPU Cooler Review @ NikKTech
- Thermaltake Water 2.0 Performer CPU Water Cooler Review @ Legit ReviewsI have some good reviews in the works including a revist to the Gigabyte Z77 using a shiny new Core i7 3770K that I scored from the computer market in Taipei.
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ROCCAT Kone[+] Gaming Mouse & Isku Gaming Keyboard Review @ Techgage
Published: Friday, June 15, 2012 | By: DennisROCCAT is one of the premier gaming peripheral makers in Germany and now is looking to have the same success across the globe.
ROCCAT may not sound like a familiar name to you, but in time, that could change. The company has been in the European market for a number of years, and has just broken into the US scene earlier this year. To get a good idea of what the company has to offer, we're taking a look at its Kone[+] gaming mouse and Isku gaming keyboard.
I got to see (and use) these products at CES this year and was really impressed with the entire package. They keyboard and mouse by themselves are average by today's standards but once you factor in the software they really become more than just a keyboard and mouse.
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Zotac Fusion Mini-ITX Motherboard (Fusion-B-U) @ TechwareLabs
Published: Friday, June 15, 2012 | By: DennisI got to meet with the Zotac folks at Computex, the meeting was unproductive, per the usual, but I did get to see some of their latest mobo designs. As you can imagine they are all quite small and yet allow you lots of options for upgrades and whatnot.
With AMDs recent release of their APUs it was only a matter of time before the technology came to small factor computers. In the past, you needed a Motherboard, CPU, and GPU (either discrete or integrated into the motherboard) to have a working system. However with the E-350 this is all rolled into one miniscule package. Today we will be looking at a slightly different solution called the Zotac Fusion-B-U.
Fusion is perfect for SFF, just don't expect to play any of your favorite FPS games on it.
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The other side of Computex @ TR
Published: Friday, June 15, 2012 | By: DennisHere is a great article by Geoff about his recent Computex trip. I did a similar article a few years ago which talked about how you prepare for Taiwan and trade shows in general. The one thing I have learned over my many visits to the island is that you can never plan for everything and just have to trust your instincts.
In the end, Computex was a good way to spend a week. We were one of only a handful of North American sites covering the show, and we got to see a lot of very cool hardware due out later this year. Here's a little hint: there will be lots of Windows 8 tablets and hybrid notebooks. I look forward to seeing them in the hands of real people rather than tarted up models.
The article is good, def worth the read.
