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Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

20 of the Worst PC Setups - August 2016
AMD unwraps its seventh-generation desktop APUs and AM4 platform
Anonabox Pro TOR VPN Router Review
Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 3 Micro ATX Mid-Tower Review
Gigabyte Z170X-Designare Review: A Playful Practicality
Heres Why Microsoft Will Only Optimize Windows 10 For Intel Kaby Lake And AMD Zen
HP Pavilion x360 13t Review: A Quality Mainstream Convertible Laptop
MSI GTX 1060 Gaming X 3 GB
SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 480 video card review
Tesoro GRAM Spectrum Keyboard Review
Thermaltake Core G3 Case Review
Thermaltake Suppressor F1 Review



20 of the Worst PC Setups - August 2016

I'm sure at some point you've had a bad PC setup.  Maybe moving into a new place, waiting for a new desk to arrive or you just ran out of room.  I can remember my horrible PC setups from when I was living at the dorms in college.  If you have ever ventured over to the Shitty Battlestations sub-reddit you will find a lot of horrible PC setups.  We will are going to pick 20 each month and feature them as 20 of the Worst PC setups for that month.  Here are some of the bad ones from August!

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

AMD unwraps its seventh-generation desktop APUs and AM4 platform

AMD's seventh-generation APUs, code-named Bristol Ridge, have been available for a couple months in mobile systems already. The company is now bringing Bristol to the desktop, along with the Socket AM4 platform that will eventually underpin Zen CPUs. We take an early look at Bristol on the desktop and what it might mean for the Zen CPUs to come.

Read full article @ The Tech Report

Anonabox Pro TOR VPN Router Review

So what do I think of the Anonabox after the review? I was mixed at first, honestly. The speed was a bit slow, but then if you stop and sit back any security product is going to put a hit on your traffic, especially when it is bounced all around the globe. So I took a minute and thought who is this product really meant for? Well, it is not meant for the hardcore networking or security guru, which is why I think my mindset was different in the beginning. But as I looked at the Anonabox Pro as a whole and what its use is, well come on, it's a very tiny, low power, all-in-one TOR and VPN router that can be taken anywhere and protect your data. Well, since you cannot put a price on privacy, this is a badass little device. So, overall I really like the compact design; it is small and sleek looking. I also really like that the Pro can be powered by 5v/1A, allowing me to plug it into a portal power bank and use it on the go with my tablet and mobile phone. Speaking of that, now you easily have a mobile TOR and VPN router in your pocket for all your devices. All that being good, there were a few annoyances. There is support for other VPN services other than VyprVPN and HMA, however to utilize them you need to use the CLI via SSH to enable them. This is not easy for the less tech savvy who need a plug and play device. In addition, there is no easy way, other than editing the advanced configuration of TOR, to specify circuit or exit nodes, meaning you are at the mercy of where TOR wants to send you upon your connection.

Read full article @ OCC

Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 3 Micro ATX Mid-Tower Review

Stretching Micro ATX to mid-tower scale gives builders space for things like extra fans, radiators, and elaborate graphics configurations. How does Cooler Master’s semi-modular MasterCase Pro 3 stack up to similarly sized cases in performance and value?

Read full article @ Toms Hardware

Gigabyte Z170X-Designare Review: A Playful Practicality

The majority of mainstream motherboards are priced under $200. When it comes to describing one situated north of this border, "practical" is not exactly the first word that comes to mind. For the budgetary pragmatic, this is indulgence territory and for the most part that is a correct assessment.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

Heres Why Microsoft Will Only Optimize Windows 10 For Intel Kaby Lake And AMD Zen

There has been quite a bit of noise and plenty of confusion online lately, since news broke that Microsoft would only be fully supporting Intel’s and AMD’s next-generation processor microarchitectures – codenamed Kaby Lake and Zen, respectively – with Windows 10. Some publications and scores of readers pegged the decision as a pure marketing move by Microsoft and derided the company for forcing users to upgrade to Windows 10.

On the surface, we understand why such a statement would make some people cringe. Not supporting Windows 7, which remains the second most popular desktop OS with enthusiasts, or the much-maligned Windows 8, means consumers will technically have fewer options and less choice when these processors actually hit the market. But that’s not necessarily the case...

Read full article @ HotHardware

HP Pavilion x360 13t Review: A Quality Mainstream Convertible Laptop

Mainstream notebooks, laptops, and convertible devices have been significantly refined over the last few generations. The $500-$900 price range generally features laptops that are thin and light, built well, have decent battery life, and deliver solid multimedia experiences. Intel has a stranglehold on the CPUs and graphics in many of these mid-level systems, so PC makers seem to be emphasizing design differences lately. As important as performance is, you may well choose your next laptop because it converts into a mode that fits your needs, rather than because of its technical specifications.

HP aims the Pavilion x360 series at buyers who are looking for a non-traditional laptop. All of the laptops in the series have hinges that let the display fold back into tablet mode, as well as some other handy modes in between...

Read full article @ HotHardware

MSI GTX 1060 Gaming X 3 GB

MSI's GTX 1060 Gaming X 3 GB might come with half the memory amount only, but still brings the big guns in form of the large dual-fan TwinFrozr cooler. Our review will test whether 3 GB is a viable alternative to 6 GB if you are trying to save some money.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 480 video card review

At CES 2016, we visited the AMD booth and got a peek at AMD's next generation GPU running on what they called "beta silicon" with an official name of Polairs. Fast forward to Computex a few months later, AMD announced the new card was ready and showed off the Polaris GPU with game play demos as well as technical details.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

Tesoro GRAM Spectrum Keyboard Review

We review the Tesoro GRAM Spectrum keyboard with RGB LED backlit keys. The Tesoro GRAM Spectrum is a mechanical keyboard (designed in-house) and has been fitted with responsive Agile Switches.

This keyboard comes with Tesoro in-house designed (not to confuse with Cherry MX) switches called Agile that have RGB lighting which is per key configurable. Agile switches offer an optimized low-profile design and are unique in that they do not compromise the tactile feel, which many low-profile keyboards do.

Read full article @ Guru3D

Thermaltake Core G3 Case Review

Thermaltake Core G3 is a small case that manages to pack in an ATX motherboard yet it can easily hide under your TV. If you instead choose to stand the Core G3 on your desk as a tiny tower case and take a long, close look you will see the components inside the large windowed panel are inverted.

Read full article @ KitGuru

Thermaltake Suppressor F1 Review

With the Suppressor F1, Thermaltake offers a new mini-ITX case, which even allows building high-end systems. Despite this is a rather small mini-ITX case, the Suppressor F1 is capable of accommodating high-end graphics card and a rather big radiator in the front. In addition the price of this small case is quite interesting.

Read full article @ ocaholic