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Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

20 of the Worst PC Setups – March 2015
A fresh look at storage performance with PCIe SSDs
Acer Liquid Jade Mobile Review
Bitfenix Colossus Mini-ITX
Buying Guide: 5 best mobile workstations 2015: ideal laptops for business
Buying Guide: 6 best laptops for students 2015
Crucial BX100 SSD Review
Dell XPS 13 Review: Sexiest Ultrabook on the market
DXRacer Formula Gaming Chair Review
Hands-on review: Surface 3 Review
KidzGear Headset with Boom Mic Review
KitGuru TV: Titan X, Sli, AMD's 390x and AMD Freesync, Nvidia GSYNC
Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury Gaming Mouse Review
MSI 970 GAMING AMD AM3+ Motherboard Review
Samsung 850 Evo M.2 & mSATA Review: V-NAND comes to more form factors
Samsung 850 EVO mSATA and M.2 SSD Review
Samsung 850 Evo mSATA/M.2 SSD Review @ HardwareHeaven
Samsung Galaxy A5 Smartphone Review
Samsung SSD 850 EVO mSATA and M.2 Drives Reviewed
Samsung's 850 EVO M.2 solid-state drive reviewed
Silicon Power S80 240GB SATA SSD Review: Bang-for-Buck Option
The Samsung SSD 850 EVO mSATA/M.2 Review
Xigmatek Maverick S 500 W



20 of the Worst PC Setups – March 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 March!

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

A fresh look at storage performance with PCIe SSDs

For years, SSDs thrived under the Serial ATA banner. New generations got bigger, faster, and cheaper. Prices continue to fall and densities continue to increase, but performance has been stagnating for a while. The problem is the SATA 6Gbps interface, whose limited bandwidth keeps modern flash storage from living up to its true potential.

Fortunately, SSDs aren't inexorably tied to Serial ATA. They can tap into PCI Express, which promises substantially more bandwidth through faster signaling and multiple lanes. They can also ditch Serial ATA's dated AHCI protocol for an all-new NVM Express protocol architected with solid-state storage in mind.

PCIe SSDs have actually existed for a while, but most early implementations used bridge chips tied to the very same controllers found in SATA drives. Those initial efforts are very different from the native solutions that have crept into the market over the past year. This new breed employs updated controllers that meld PCI Express and NAND interfaces on a single chip. Native connectivity promises to elevate SSDs to new heights, setting the stage for the next revolution in PC storage.

Read full article @ The Tech Report

Acer Liquid Jade Mobile Review

Today we are looking at a smartphone from another company who aren’t best known for their mobile devices – Acer. The Acer Liquid Jade was released in July 2014 and currently retails for just £159. Featuring a 720p display and a quad-core processor, it aims for those looking for a good all-round phone on a budget.

Read full article @ KitGuru

Bitfenix Colossus Mini-ITX

It’s been a long time now since we only could choose from boring beige computer cases. The spread of cases on offer today is amazing, both when it comes to style and size. One clear trend the last few years is that smaller cases have become popular at the same time as more high-end mini-ITX motherboards have been released. It is possible today to build a high performance computer and still not have to use a midi- or tower-case. We have reviewed smaller BitFenix-cases before (link, link) and today we take a look at their mini-ITX-case the Colossus mini-ITX (yes, the name is kind of funny considering the size of the case). It is a small case for a mini-ITX-motherboard that still offers support for tall CPU-coolers, long dual-slot graphic cards, an optical drive and a lot(!) of HDD and/or SSD’s.

Read full article @ Bjorn3D

Buying Guide: 5 best mobile workstations 2015: ideal laptops for business

Few productivity decisions are more important and, in turn, nerve-racking than selecting the right mobile workstation for your employees.Making the wrong choice could mean saddling your employees with a bad computer. So what do business owners look for?A great display, computing power and exceptional battery life without breaking the bank. There are few mobile workstations that can do this and we've rounded them up here. If you'd prefer a Best Desktop Workstation roundup, we've got you covered.

This workstation impresses with its long battery life and hi-res screenWith understated aesthetics and a durable design, there is much to love about the ThinkPad W550s (starting at $1,133, £765, AU$1,455), if you can afford it. Long battery life and a large, high resolution display keeps you productive longer while you're mobile.

Read full article @ Techradar

Buying Guide: 6 best laptops for students 2015

Even for those who feel at home with their nose in a textbook, the end of summer break (or Winter recess) is a big bummer. But as much as it's a return to school and schedules, it's an opportunity. This is a fine excuse to invest in some fresh tech to make the coming academia-addled year a little more bearable.If you're still reliant on a desktop, or if your laptop winces at the sight of a high-definition video lecture, it's time to look into an upgrade. And thankfully if you know where to look, it's possible to get a sleek and impressive notebook without blowing through your savings (or student loans).

Read full article @ Techradar

Crucial BX100 SSD Review

Crucial has returned with the BX100 series solid state drive, featuring Micron’s most affordable 16nm NAND flash components. The Crucial BX100 SSD offers excellent performance to value-driven mainstream users, and delivers enthusiast speeds at a reasonable price. Benchmark Reviews tests the BX100 solid state drive against the fastest SSDs available.

Read full article @ Benchmark Reviews

Dell XPS 13 Review: Sexiest Ultrabook on the market

Earlier this year Dell announced the XPS 13 at CES and it generated a lot of buzz within the industry. There's no question that the Ultrabook looks great, but is it a good machine to actually own? Read more...

Read full article @ Neowin

DXRacer Formula Gaming Chair Review

We'd like to introduce to you the DXRacer Formula Gaming Chair. The DXRacer Formula Gaming Chair isn't your typical leather or velour office chair. DXRacer specializes in PC gaming chairs that mimic a racing seat out of a car and puts it in front of your desk. So with this in mind, let's dive in and take a look at what the DXRacer Formula Racing chair is all about.

Read full article @ PureOverclock

Hands-on review: Surface 3 Review

Microsoft has introduced its thinnest and lightest Surface tablet yet, and I know what you're thinking: no, the Surface 3 isn't the long-rumoured Surface Mini.That said, the new tablet bears many of the qualities you might expect from a small Surface — it's plenty portable and more affordable than the Surface Pro 3, while packing less in the power department. And that last point is a concern.The Surface 3 is the first non-Pro Surface to get full-fat Windows 8.1, rather than Windows RT, which featured on the Surface RT, Surface 2 (and Surface 2 4G). At 10.8 inches, the new tablet is closer in length to those devices while being slightly taller due to its 3:2 aspect ratio display.Foregoing an Intel Core-series CPU (what, no Core M?), the Surface 3 comes with a Quad-core Intel Atom x7-Z8700 Cherry Trail CPU clocked at 1.6GHz (Turbo Boost to 2.4GHz), 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.If you want to dial up the power (slightly), a second version comes with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Both will be available starting May 7.

Read full article @ Techradar

KidzGear Headset with Boom Mic Review

Today I will be reviewing the Kidz Gear Headset with Boom Mic. You can get this set of headphones in many different colors, gray, pink, blue, orange, green, and purple. Grey, are the ones that I received. The headphones come with a flexible Boom mic, which easily swings out of place.
 
Kidz Gear also includes a KidzControl Volume Limit Cable, that restricts child from turning the volume to the maximum decibel of 108 db. You can purchase this particular headphones at a variety of different retailers for the price of $29.99 or purchase them straight from their website. Lets look a little deeper to find out if the quality is worth the price.

Read full article @ FunkyKit

KitGuru TV: Titan X, Sli, AMD's 390x and AMD Freesync, Nvidia GSYNC

Today two of our hardware editors Luke Hill and Leo Waldock sat down to chat about an array of topics, such as the recent release of Nvidia’s £900 monster Titan X Maxwell graphics card and they weighed up the pros and cons of Sli.

They also discussed AMD and their upcoming R9 390X (name not officially confirmed) graphics card. The topic of ‘Sync-ing’ was brought up and the related technologies by both AMD and NVIDIA.

Read full article @ KitGuru

Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury Gaming Mouse Review

With quite a large number of first and third person shooters coming out in 2015 (noticeably Grand Theft Auto VI and Mad Max) and even some real time strategy titles) it's only natural for gamers around the world to start getting ready for them by getting new gaming peripherals such as keyboards, mice and headsets. Of course when it comes to gaming i think that there's nothing more important for gamers other than to own a good gaming mouse not only because that's what you'll be using all the time but also because it's perhaps the only peripheral that can improve your reaction times (important for online games mostly). Logitech has been around for well over 3 decades and in that time they released some good gaming mice which I’m sure many of you still own. However it wasn't until just recently that they began focusing a lot more in the design and manufacture of gaming mice (probably because of their relatively new Logitech Gaming brand) and today we'll be taking a look at their latest G402 Hyperion Fury model.

Focused on innovation and quality, Logitech designs personal peripherals to help people enjoy a better experience with the digital world. We started in 1981 with mice, which (new at the time) provided a more intuitive way of interacting with a personal computer. We became the worldwide leader in computer mice, and have reinvented the mouse in dozens of ways to match the evolving needs of PC and laptop users. Since those early days, we have expanded our expertise in product design beyond the computer mouse, with a broad portfolio of interface devices that are the “last inch” between you and your computer or your console game, digital music or home-entertainment system. With products sold in almost every country in the world, Logitech’s leadership in innovation now encompasses a wide variety of personal peripherals (both cordless and corded), with special emphasis on products for PC navigation, gaming, Internet communications, digital music and home-entertainment control. For each of our product categories, we study how our customers use their digital devices, and then our designers and engineers set their sights on how we can create a better experience with those devices – richer, more comfortable, more fun, more productive, more convenient, and more delightful.

Although it can only go as high as 4000DPI (which is quite low compared to the 12000DPI of the G502 Proteus Core) Logitech markets the G402 Hyperion Fury as the fastest FPS gaming mouse in the market currently something which they have accomplished by pairing their Delta Zero Sensor Technology (we've already seen it with the rather new G602) which increases precision with their Fusion Engine Hybrid Sensor which basically makes use of an gyroscope and an accelerometer to "predict" the heading/position of the mouse (a technology also used in satellite navigation). Because of these two sensors and the 32-bit ARM processor the G402 Hyperion Fury can track movement up to well over 500IPS (inches per second), has a report rate of 1ms/1000Hz and has a max acceleration of 16Gs. Design-wise the G402 is not far apart from the G502 and G602 models but although it's much different from what Logitech offered in the past like the G502/G602 models we doubt that will be an issue.

Read full article @ NikKTech

MSI 970 GAMING AMD AM3+ Motherboard Review

AMD motherboard reviews are a rare thing these days but MSI's 970 GAMING begs for attention. It is inexpensive, offers awesome overclocking and has a mature BIOS.

Read full article @ Hardware Canucks

Samsung 850 Evo M.2 & mSATA Review: V-NAND comes to more form factors

Samsung tempted value-oriented enthusiasts in December with its 'V-NAND'-based 850 Evo series. Equipped with 3D TLC NAND, which allows Samsung to stack layer upon layer of transistors, the design improved density, endurance, performance and lowered production costs. Today we have two similarly new drives that focus on different form factors. The mSATA version will appeal to compact PC users, while the M.2 will be more sought after by power users.

Read full article @ Techspot

Samsung 850 EVO mSATA and M.2 SSD Review

When we reviewed the Samsung SSD 850 EVO drive last December we knew that different form factors were coming but we didn’t know exactly when. That question has now been answered as we have a few different drives on our hands. With the same components we saw on the 2.5″ 850 EVO we now have an mSATA and M.2 version to play with and expect much the same performance as we saw with the larger drive. The smaller form factors allow it to be used in ultra-thin PCs and desktops without giving up capacity that’s normally only found in the larger drives as the M.2 offers capacity up to 500GB and the mSATA up to 1TB.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

Samsung 850 Evo mSATA/M.2 SSD Review @ HardwareHeaven

Samsung bring their 850 Evo series to mSATA and M.2. We test them in our Samsung 850 Evo mSATA M.2 Review.

Read full article @ =?utf-8?Q?Hardware=20Heaven?=

Samsung Galaxy A5 Smartphone Review

The Galaxy A5 is a slim smartphone from Samsung, with a five-inch HD (1280 x 720) touchscreen, Android 4.4 "KitKat" operating system, and powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 CPU. It has 2 GiB of RAM and 16 GiB storage space, a 13 MP main camera, and a 5 MP frontal camera. Let's take a good look at it.

Read full article @ Hardware Secrets

Samsung SSD 850 EVO mSATA and M.2 Drives Reviewed

Samsung is introducing a number of new members to their SSD 850 EVO line-up of Solid State Drives, based on different form factors than the standard 2.5” drives we showed you here. The brand new mSATA and M.2 Samsung SSD 850 EVO drives being announced today, however, leverage all of the same technology. The last few generations of Samsung’s 2.5” Solid State Drive utilized PCBs that barley filled up half of their encloses, and a large portion of those PCBs were dedicated to the standard SATA power and data cable connectors, so it’s no shock to see these new, smaller variants arrive with mSATA and M.2 support.

We’ve got a couple of drives in hand, a 500GB M.2 Samsung SSD 850 EVO and a 1TB mSATA slickster that would be right at home in a notebook or HTPC...

Read full article @ HotHardware.com

Samsung's 850 EVO M.2 solid-state drive reviewed

Samsung's 850 EVO SSD debuted in December inside the usual 2.5" case. Now, the drive is spreading to smaller mSATA and M.2 form factors. We've examined the new drives to see how the mini lineup compares to its full-sized forbear.

Read full article @ The Tech Report

Silicon Power S80 240GB SATA SSD Review: Bang-for-Buck Option

With the next installment of the Fast and the Furious movie franchise right around the corner, everybody is feeling the need for speed once again and your computer should not feel left out. Since you cannot feed it Nitrous oxide, you can do the next best thing and that is to strap some SSDs in there and watch it go … Read more.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

The Samsung SSD 850 EVO mSATA/M.2 Review

Four months ago Samsung introduced the world to TLC V-NAND in the form of SSD 850 EVO. It did well in our tests and showed that 3D NAND technology essentially brings TLC NAND to the level where planar MLC NAND stands today. The initial launch only included the most popular form factor in 2.5", but did not address the upgrade market where mSATA and M.2 are constantly growing in popularity. With todays release, Samsung is expanding the 850 EVO lineup with M.2 and mSATA models.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Xigmatek Maverick S 500 W

Xigmatek released the Maverick S line consisting of three rather compact, Bronze-certified PSUs a while ago. We will evaluate the line's 500 W member today; it features a semi-modular design and interesting looks. This unit's strongest point is its incredibly low price; however, you currently won't find it anywhere in the US.

Read full article @ techPowerUp