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Here a roundup of todays reviews and articles:

20 of the Worst PC Setups – July 2015
Article: Windows 8.1 vs 10 graphics performance analysis
ASUS Sabertooth X99 TUF Review: USB 3.1 Tested
Bitfenix Alchemy LED Strip Review: Modding Made Easy
Build your own PC 2015: workshop
Crucial Ballistix Elite DDR4-2666 MHz 4x 4 GB
In Depth: Microsoft, please bring these Xbox games to Windows 10
Intel Broadwell Iris Pro Graphics: Windows 10 vs. Linux
Intel Core i7 5775C Review
Intel LGA1150 CPU OC Guide - Overclock Intel Core i7, i5, i3 and Pentium
SK hynix Canvas SC300 512GB SSD Review
SteelSeries QcK XXL Gaming Mousepad Review
Tesoro Lobera Spectrum RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review
The LG G4 Review
Then and Now: Almost 10 Years of Intel CPUs Compared
Windows 10 launch seems like the start of something exciting
XFX R9 390 Double Dissipation Core Edition



20 of the Worst PC Setups – July 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 July!

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Article: Windows 8.1 vs 10 graphics performance analysis

With Windows 10 released yesterday the question quickly rises, is there a performance gain with Windows 10 already? Next to that with threaded optimizations will gameplay be more smooth ? In this article we'll have a quick look at Windows 8.1 vs 10 graphics performance with the help of four of our regular benchmarks and FCAT results. In this article we will use both a GeForce GTX 980 Ti and Radeon R9 Fury.

Now this is merely a quick overview, but I have ran some benchmarks for you guys to compare a little to understand if at you may expect your graphics performance to improve.

Read full article @ Guru3D

ASUS Sabertooth X99 TUF Review: USB 3.1 Tested

We are back with another high-end X99-based motherboard on the test bed. This time around we've got the latest from ASUS, the Sabertooth X99 TUF motherboard, which supports USB 3.1 and sports ASUS' "OC Socket".

The first wave of motherboards based on Intel’s X99 chipset launched with attractive features and eye-catching designs. But as time has passed, most motherboard manufacturers have continued to update and optimize their X99-based boards. The ASUS Sabertooth X99 TUF builds upon ASUS' initial offerings, but adds USB 3.1 support, some board-level optimizations, active cooling, and ASUS' TUF Fortifier...

Read full article @ HotHardware.com

Bitfenix Alchemy LED Strip Review: Modding Made Easy

Even if a person has no experience with power-tools, one of the easiest ways to mod involves adding interior lighting to a build. This is especially effective for cases with a large side-panel window Obviously not all lighting sources are the same and each present their own set of challenges when placed in a confined space. Halogen lights for example, … Read more.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

Build your own PC 2015: workshop

It has grown into a bit of a tradition; every few years Hardware.Info publishes a workshop on building your own PC step by step. The last time we have done one was in 2011, so we thought it was time for an update.

If we look at 2014 the amount of desktops in the total computer market only represents a small share, but this has stayed fairly constant over the years. The main competition obviously are tablets, laptops, smartphones and hybrid notebooks.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Crucial Ballistix Elite DDR4-2666 MHz 4x 4 GB

Crucial's latest has spent some time being punished in my memory testing rig, stretched to the limits and back again. Before giving it a chance to rest, I put Crucial's Ballistix Elite DDR4 through the paces. With a big black heatsink, this kit not only looks mean; Crucial's Ballistix Elite DDR4 packs a good punch, too!

Read full article @ techPowerUp

In Depth: Microsoft, please bring these Xbox games to Windows 10

With Windows 10 now rolling out (and at no cost to Windows 7 and 8 owners), there are more than a few reasons for gamers to update to Windows 10. However, as neat as new features like Xbox One streaming and cross-platform online play are, any console gamer will tell you that an even better reason to update would be cool, exclusive games.To that end, we've selected 10 for 10! That is, 10 past, present and future exclusive games from both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One that we'd love to see come to Windows 10 and take advantage of Microsoft's newest PC gaming features.

Read full article @ Techradar

Intel Broadwell Iris Pro Graphics: Windows 10 vs. Linux

Resulting from the What Windows 10 vs. Linux Benchmarks Would You Like To See and The Phoronix Test Suite Is Running On Windows 10, here are our first benchmarks comparing the performance of Microsoft's newly released Windows 10 Pro x64 against Fedora 22 when looking at the Intel's OpenGL driver performance across platforms.

For this first Windows 10 vs. Linux comparison, I decided to see how well Intel's graphics performance is running between operating systems for their latest-generation Broadwell graphics. This also is my first time running any Windows release with Broadwell hardware for a cross-OS comparison.

Read full article @ Phoronix

Intel Core i7 5775C Review

That being said, Intel left some meat on the bone for the enthusiast when it came time to overclock the Core i7 5775C. A speed of 4.1GHz was not a problem for this core with nothing more than bumping the core clock multiplier to 41. Sweet and simple with nothing else needed. However, if you wanted a bit more, this chip loves to get fed a steady diet of voltage to make it happen, to a point. Up to 4.3GHz was rock solid using my 2400MHz Patriot memory kit by setting the core voltage up to 1.375v. Any higher and you could feed it voltage to get some benchmark stability, but that was it, so I stayed at 4.3GHz with a 40 cache ring ratio.

Read full article @ OCC

Intel LGA1150 CPU OC Guide - Overclock Intel Core i7, i5, i3 and Pentium

How to overclock an Intel Core i7, i5, i3, Celeron and Pentium processor. The new Intel LGA1151 processors for Z170, H170 and B150 are already announced, therefore today we publish again a comprehensive and most current Intel OC guide for LGA1150 processors from Haswell to Broadwell for Intel Z97, Z87, H97, H87 and other motherboards from ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI. This step by step OC instructions helps OC beginners and gives tips for advanced overclockers on how to increase the performance of your Intel CPU for the latest games or photo editing.

Read full article @ OcInside.de

SK hynix Canvas SC300 512GB SSD Review

2015 is the year of the Solid State Drive. The technology has advanced to the limit of the SATA 3 interface, and prices have never been more competitive. SK hynix are keen to cement their position in this market and regular readers will be aware of our reviews of their 128GB and 256GB SC300 drives. Today we look at a larger capacity 512GB drive within the SC300 portfolio – priced at £134.99.

Read full article @ KitGuru

SteelSeries QcK XXL Gaming Mousepad Review

I’m sure gamers can relate to at least one experience with a mousepad that isn’t large enough; an annoying and sometimes unpleasant feeling when the mouse goes somewhere it shouldn’t. Fortunately, there are so-called gaming mousepads and they’re actually nice to have. Their characteristic large size offers an ample surface and forgiving space for a gamer’s mouse movements, compared to the more typical mousepad that might be smaller than a dinner plate. What we have for review here is an exaggeration of that end to the need.

I’m sure some people have some fair use for the QcK XXL, SteelSeries newest and largest mousepad ever released. Measuring 900 by 400 mm (35.4 by 15.7 in), this nearly 3 foot long cloth surface can fit more than a mouse and keyboard.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

Tesoro Lobera Spectrum RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

Although i may have assembled countless PCs in the years i was working as a PC technician (i still do just not as much since I only do it for myself and friends) one thing still continues to puzzle me and that's the reason behind the why people always place the keyboard and mouse last when they decide their new system configuration. Granted these are peripherals that people can swap at will whenever they feel like doing so but at the same time these are two devices that pretty much do the same as the wheel and gear changer inside a car so it's always good to spend money on them if you can (even though your real life doesn't depend on them). Mechanical keyboards are still in their infancy compared to the "classic" membrane ones but they have won the hearts of both gamers and professionals all around the world due to their superior durability, tactile and audio feedback and today we're going to be testing the Lobera Spectrum RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard by our friends over at Tesoro.

Established in 2011, Tesoro Technology USA Inc. is a team of multinational gaming enthusiasts with over 30 years industry experience with one objective – make ultra-durable products that give the best gaming experience. To achieve this, Tesoro conceptualizes products from the input and feedback from the gaming community, and then builds them using the highest grade components. As a gamers company, Tesoro continues to expand into new horizons and push the limit further with each product unveiling. To learn more visit Tesoro's website: http://www.tesorotec.com.

A while back we reviewed the very good Lobera Supreme RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard by Tesoro (in case you're wondering Lobera means wolf slayer) so some of you may wonder as to why Tesoro released yet another Lobera RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard and the answer is rather simple. You see the first RGB keyboard to bear the name Lobera (the Supreme) did have RGB illumination for the keys but it lacked individual key illumination something which left some gamers wanting for more especially since that feature was available from other manufacturers. Luckily it didn't take Tesoro but just a few months to release this new model which not only features individual full RGB key illumination which can be used with various different modes and levels but also Full N-Key Rollover, dual USB powered ports, 512kb of onboard memory for the 5 available profiles and gold plated mechanical switches by Kailh (available in black, brown, blue and red) rated for up to 60 million keystrokes.

Read full article @ NikKTech

The LG G4 Review

The LG G3 was probably the Android phone that was closest to getting everything right last year, but it ultimately fell short of being the “best Android phone”. The camera was the most balanced between the Galaxy S5 and One M8, the design wasn’t quite as nice as the One M8 but definitely better than the Galaxy S5, and LG’s UI fit in relatively well with Android 4.4.

The one flaw that held it back was ultimately the display, which was probably responsible for a lot of the problems that I noticed in the G3. Battery life wasn’t as good as the competition, which was probably due to the new 1440p display. The display itself wasn’t all that impressive either, as there was significant saturation compression and some sharpening effects which really hurt the quality of the display. However, in the context of 2014 flagships it was definitely a valid choice among many that year, as it seemed every device had missed the mark in some way that year.

This brings us to the G4, the successor to the G3. To find out how it does, read on for the full review.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Then and Now: Almost 10 Years of Intel CPUs Compared

It's hard to believe 15 years have passed since I first tested the Pentium 4 series. Although it was a pretty rubbish series, I do have many fond memories of testing the Core 2 Duo range, which arrived six long years later, and included the most popular enthusiast processor we've seen yet, the Q6600. Today we're going to take a look back at the Core 2 CPUs and compare them to the current generation Haswell Celeron, Pentium, Core i3, i5 and i7 parts.

Read full article @ Techspot

Windows 10 launch seems like the start of something exciting

With the release of Windows 10 yesterday – July 29th, 2015 – Microsoft had launch events in 13 cities across the world. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend one such event in Old Billingsgate, London.

Read full article @ KitGuru

XFX R9 390 Double Dissipation Core Edition

Last week I had the chance to check out our first R9 390 with the Sapphire Nitro. Well today we get to take a look at what XFX has to offer. This gives us a great chance to compare the cards against each other along with all of the cards previous tested. This helps put more perspective on their individual performance to find out what card is best for your specific build. So today I’m going to run the XFX R9 390 Double Dissipation Core Edition through all of our in-game, compute, and synthetic performance tests as well as the more specific per card tests like noise and cooling performance. In the past the XFX cards have performed well, but it might have its hand full with the triple fan cooler on the Sapphire.

Read full article @ LanOC Reviews