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Here a roundup of todays review's and articles:

20 of the Worst PC Setups - May 2015
42 USB 3.0 memory sticks, reviewed: from painfully slow to lightning fast
Audio-Technica AT2020USB+ Review
Crucial MX200 500GB Solid State Drive Review
Emulator now runs x86 apps on all Raspberry Pi models
Gallery: Windows Insider build 10130 of Windows 10
Gaming PC - May 2015
Microsoft Lumia 640 review: Impressive device, affordable price
Patriot Memory Ignite 480GB SSD Review
Thermaltake Poseidon Z Forged
Vodafone Smart Tab 4G Tablet Review



20 of the Worst PC Setups - May 2015

I'm sure at some point you 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 May!

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

42 USB 3.0 memory sticks, reviewed: from painfully slow to lightning fast

We tested 42 USB 3.0 memory sticks with a storage capacity of at least 32 GB. As one might have expected, transfer speeds vary greatly, ranging from painfully slow to lightning fast. Which one should you buy?

Around two years ago, when we last performed a large round-up of USB 3.0 memory sticks, we came to a rather interesting conclusion: during some tests, the best stick was over ten times as fast as the slowest one. While the average consumer might think that a "USB 3.0" label on the packaging is synonymous with "high-speed stick", this didn't exactly turn out to be the case in practice. As those who skipped ahead to the conclusion of this new test will already know, such a speed delta still exists today. A USB 3.0 interface, which is the rule rather than the exception anno 2015, only reveals that the stick utilizes the USB 3.0 protocol, and does not reveal any information on the incorporated controller and memory chips. As such, there's absolutely no guarantee that the stick will be capable of even approaching USB 3.0's maximum theoretical throughput of around 480 MB/s.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Audio-Technica AT2020USB+ Review

Well built, simple setup, travel friendly and sounds great... With the continued evolution of eSports as well as streaming the audio needs of the average gamer are increasing. Many headsets offer a built in mic which helps, and some are pretty decent, but none can compete with a good quality stand alone model. In their 20 Series Audio-Technica offer a model which is ideal for those looking to step up in quality, and do so with a focus on mobility. Today we review that in our Audio-Technica AT2020USB+ Review.

Read full article @ HardwareHeaven

Crucial MX200 500GB Solid State Drive Review

In May 2013, gas pump price hit the highest in five years at $1.32 CAD/L here in Calgary. The all-time high, of course, was prior to the infamous crash of 2008, which we have seen the posted price of $1.38 CAD/L. While I was forced to pay almost $70 to feed my Honda Civic at the time, I was actually able to completely avoid the $1.32 CAD/L and fill up at a "bargain basement" price of $1.27 CAD/L -- twice -- five years later. This was made possible by refueling a couple of hours before the posted price changed, and buying a new car right before I ran out of gas in my Civic. Since all new cars come with a full tank of gas, and I sold my old car with the fuel gauge creeping close to "E", by the time my new car called for more dino juice, gas stations already receded its numbers back to $1.27 CAD/L. Clearly, this story teaches us in order to avoid gas price spikes, you buy a new car. Of course, for the 99% of us who live in the real world will probably argue while this technically works, it is a serious overkill to a relative non-issue. This may be an extreme example, but in reality, what is defined as an "overkill" can change with time. Back in 2012, I built a desktop computer with no HDDs. A lot of my friends thought it was a serious overkill when I put in an $800 OCZ Octane 512GB as my storage drive, plus a few other higher performance SSDs for OS and programs, and relocating my video archive to my NAS. I think I was just a little bit ahead of my time, because nowadays, although a pure SSD setup is still somewhat of a luxury, it is no longer an exclusive right of the unlimited budget enthusiast. Last month, we have reviewed the Crucial BX100, a 500GB SSD that now retails for only $165 after mail in rebate at press time. Today, we will take a look at its higher end cousin based on a Marvell controller, the MX200 500GB, which supports stuff like Microsoft eDrive and device sleep out of the box. For a little more money than its ultra-budget stablemate at press time, how will Crucial's mainstream drive fare as a hard drive replacement? Read on to find out!

Read full article @ APH Networks

Emulator now runs x86 apps on all Raspberry Pi models

Eltechs faster ExaGear Desktop software version now supports ARMv6, in addition to ARMv7, letting users run x86 apps on all models of the Raspberry Pi. Russia-based Eltechs announced its ExaGear Desktop virtual machine last August, enabling Linux/ARMv7 SBCs and mini-PCs to run x86 software.

Read full article @ LinuxGizmos

Gallery: Windows Insider build 10130 of Windows 10

As you look around this new build of Windows 10 keep in mind that the changes will not be big. The Windows team is now at the point where they are cleaning up the UI and taking care of bugs.

For the most part, feature wise, this is what we will be getting later this year in Windows 10.

Read full article @ WinSupersite

Gaming PC - May 2015

This computer system is specifically geared towards gaming. That means a PC with a high-end graphics card and a processor that is fast enough to support the GPU.

The rest of the configuration needs to be balanced as well. Since many gamers also enjoy overclocking their PC to improve performance, it is also important to choose a motherboard and memory that is suitable for this. Keep in mind that you will pay extra for that overclocking potential.

Having the right accessories is also important. The goal of our gaming PC is to be able to run virtually all new PC titles on the highest settings. That means high resolution, high graphics quality, a good frame rate, and surround sound. And let’s not forget a good gaming mouse and a decent keyboard with features to enhance your PC gaming experience.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Microsoft Lumia 640 review: Impressive device, affordable price

The Lumia 640 isn't a perfect device by any means - but Microsoft has built a truly impressive low-cost smartphone, with a beautiful display, decent camera, solid performance, and superb value.

Back in March, at Mobile World Congress 2015, Microsoft unveiled two new additions to its range of Windows Phones: the Lumia 640 and its larger sibling, the Lumia 640 XL. Many people – including some of us at Neowin – rolled their eyes at the arrival of yet more lower-end devices; after all, including these two handsets, the company has now launched seven affordable smartphones (Lumias 430 Dual SIM, 435, 532, 535, 540, 640 and 640 XL) in the last six months!

Read full article @ Neowin

Patriot Memory Ignite 480GB SSD Review

Solid state drives (SSDs) may not be as interesting as they were upon their launch and until a couple of years ago but they are still amongst the hottest hardware components in the market something which you can easily tell just by looking at the number of models manufacturers have released just in the last year. Now as many of you know performance levels haven't really increased that much in the consumer oriented SSD market (SATA III models especially) during the past 2-3 years but we have seen a pretty significant price drop so as we speak consumers can get their hands on 480GB SATA III models for the same price one would need to get a 240GB SATA III model back in 2013. One such model is the latest Ignite 480GB SATA III SSD by Patriot Memory and today we're going to see how it compares against similar models in the market.

Read full article @ NikKTech

Thermaltake Poseidon Z Forged

One of the more up and coming company’s in the gaming keyboard market for me has been Thermaltake. They have introduced a wide variety of keyboards over the past few years including their Poseidon line. We have seen well priced keyboards from the Poseidon lineup that have also included backlighting and a clean look. For a lot of gamers this is the only way to get that clean styling and backlighting without completely breaking the bank. Today I have the chance to take a look at their newest Poseidon keyboard, the Poseidon Z Forged. The Z is how TT distinguished their non-Cherry keyswitch models but now they only make the Z. The Forged in the name however is completely new, this is because this specific model has a metal plate across the top, giving the keyboard a more solid construction and adding to the styling. So let’s dig in and see what it’s all about!

Read full article @ LanOC Reviews

Vodafone Smart Tab 4G Tablet Review

In recent years, more and more mobile network operators have started releasing their own mobile devices. EE have released the Kestrel phone and the Eagle tablet, for instance. Today we look at a tablet from Vodafone, the Smart Tab 4G. Competitively priced at £125, it is aimed at consumers looking to avoid the biggest price tags but still get a decent – if not phenomenal – device.

Read full article @ KitGuru