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Here a roundup of todays reviews and articles:

A quick look at AMDs Radeon R7 SSD
AMD R7 Series 240GB SSD Review
AMD Radeon R7 Series 240GB SSD Review
AMD Radeon R7 Series 240GB SSD Review
AMD Radeon R7 SSD line-up goes official
AMD Radeon R7 SSD Review
Angelbird SSD wrk 256GB SSD Review
Angelbird SSD wrk 512GB SSD Review
Cooler Charts: 27 Models tested - update Thermalright Archon IB-E X2
Cooler Master Nepton 280L AIO Liquid CPU Cooler Review
CORSAIR CARBIDE SPEC 01 Gaming Case Review
Corsair HX750i 750 Watt Power Supply Review
Diamond UGA USB 3.0/2.0 to DVI/HDMI/VGA Adapter Review
EVGA Torq X10 Gaming Mouse Review
Kingston HyperX FURY 240 GiB SSD Review
OCZ AMD Radeon R7 SSD Review (240GB)
Raijintek Pallas Low Profile Heatsink Review
Review: Angelbird SSD wrk 512GB
Sapphire R7 260X (100366-3L) Video Card Review
XTracGear Carbonic Mousing Surface Review



A quick look at AMDs Radeon R7 SSD

AMD is getting into the storage business. The Radeon R7 SSD combines OCZ's Barefoot 3 controller with Toshiba's 19-nm MLC NAND, custom firmware, and a snazzy new sticker. We take a quick look to see what's what.

Read full article @ The Tech Report

AMD R7 Series 240GB SSD Review

If you haven’t upgraded your system yet to include a Solid State Drive, there has been no better time than the present. Recent months has seen a raft of new drives released to market at various price points. The launch today might surprise a few people however – AMD have released their new SSD which they are calling the ‘R7 series’ … after their graphics cards. The drive is built for them by OCZ and features a high clocked Barefoot 3 controller.

Read full article @ KitGuru

AMD Radeon R7 Series 240GB SSD Review

We review the AMD Radeon R7 series SSD. Based on an Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller the product comes with the latest iteration of Toshiba NAND flash memory. The end result is an SSD that is very fast and competitive in terms of pricing; combine that with endurance and you will get a very feasible SSD. Yeah it has been topic of gossip and discussion for well over a year now, but AMD is releasing the first SSD series, dubbed the Radeon R7. Next to GPUs, APUs and memory modules AMD will release Radeon branded SSDs in capacities of 120 GB, 240 GB, and 480 GB. The SSD series is of course 2.5" for desktop and notebooks. Sequential read performance is listed as up-to 550 Mb/s with writes up-to 530 MB/sec depending on the volume size of the SSD that is. The handsomme three offer 4K random access throughput of up to 90,000 IOPS (read). Sounds familiar ? It's because it it. What is rather interesting to take note of is that the SSDs are based on OCZ's Indilinx Barefoot 3 and Toshiba-made A19nm MLC NAND flash chips. So the OEM/ODM for AMD is none other then OCZ Storage Solutions and thus Toshiba. In fact the SSD resembles the OCZ Vector 150 and ARC 100 series more then a little. Fun thing is though that the SSD has been tweaked a bit, making it very fast. AMD also extends warranty to four years with a rated 30GB/day writes. Competitive is the key word for this review as over the past month or two the dynamics are changing fast, players like Samsung and Micron (Crucial) have introduced new SSDs that brings down the market to its knees really. It was only last year that we wrote that SSD prices settled at just under 1 EURO per GB for the end-user, in the beginning of the year prices have been hovering at 70 cents per GB and currently you can already find SSDs priced at 35 Cents (EURO) per Gigabyte of storage volume. So with that in mind nobody can stay behind, hence today you are seeing a new product series from AMD / OCZ Storage solutions.

The Radeon R7 series will look and feel familiar as it uses the cornerstone of features and even the same controller that previous OCZ SSD products have had. A better pricing model combined with impressive performance is key to OCZ. These days we have nice volume SSDs at way more acceptable prices. Very fast performance versus reliability, AMD and OCZ wants to give you the best and made a new combo out of that. The new Radeon R7 series is based on the Barefoot 3 M10 controller and combines it with the latest 19nm MLC-Flash memory from Toshiba, of course.

Read full article @ Guru3D

AMD Radeon R7 Series 240GB SSD Review

AMD is launching a new family of products today, but unless you follow the rumor mill pretty closely, it’s probably not something you’d expect. It’s not a new CPU or APU. And it’s not a new GPU or memory kit either. Well then, “what could it be” you ask? Today, AMD is launching its first line of solid state drives (SSDs), targeted squarely at AMD enthusiasts. Whodathunkit?

AMD is calling the new family of drives, the Radeon R7 Series SSD, similar to its popular mid-range line of graphics cards. The new Radeon R7 Series SSDs feature OCZ and Toshiba technology, but with a proprietary firmware geared towards write performance and high endurance...

http://hothardware.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=efc4c507c2cf964fc2462caca&id=daa4b6aa1d&e=0c004f9c13]Read full article @ HotHardware.com[/url]

AMD Radeon R7 SSD line-up goes official

AMD has officially launched its first ever SSDs and all three are part of AMD’s AMD Radeon R7 SSD series.

Although they feature AMD branding, the drives are actually manufactured by OCZ. We originally reported on AMD’s SSD plans back in April.

Read full article @ Fudzilla

AMD Radeon R7 SSD Review

When is an OCZ SSD not an OCZ SSD? When AMD get their hands on it...

Read full article @ HardwareHeaven

Angelbird SSD wrk 256GB SSD Review

Angelbird might night be a household name, but the Austrian company has been around in the SSD market for a number of years and has gotten a reputation for having high quality products. When we found out that Angelbird was coming out with a new SSD product like called the SSD wrk we couldn’t wait to get our hands on one of these drives and see what Angelbird has to offer consumers. Read on to find out!

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

Angelbird SSD wrk 512GB SSD Review

Are you a collector, an enthusiast, DIYer or a novice? If you’re a collector, you surely don’t want to read this review since there is going to be nothing for you to brag about. Collectors are the PC users who feel that if they have the best money can buy, others will be impressed and think they are knowledgeable. Enthusiasts and DIYers will gather knowledge, absorb the comparisons and base their decision on price and performance. For those of you who are novices, your benefit will be the knowledge that you will gather.

Let’s put this into perspective; how quickly does stored data from your memory get transferred and sent to your display? Seconds, minutes, hours? None of the above, its nano or milliseconds, which is faster than you can blink your eye. We measure an SSD’s performance by its read/write speeds, IOPS and access time. In a perfect world, all SSDs would perform as advertised, unfortunately nothing is perfect. Even the best of the best will underperform based on system configuration or driver issues. As a matter of fact, unless you are running statistical benchmarks or testing IOPS for a server configuration, you won’t be able to tell the difference between an SSD with R/W speeds of 600/600 with 70,000 IOPS from one that is 350/350 with 50,000 IOPS. An enthusiast or DIYer possesses this knowledge and 8 out of 10 times will choose an SSD that has higher capacities at a lower cost over increased read or write speeds. (Of course within reason) Angelbird, a manufacturer from Austria, is entering the game with a line of SSDs that may just fit this market.

Read full article @ HiTech Legion

Cooler Charts: 27 Models tested - update Thermalright Archon IB-E X2

In our comparison tables, you can find test results regarding 21 recent air and watercoolers. Furthermore we do not comment the benchmark values. The idea and also the goal is to present to you a market overview which helps you choose the right cooler.

Read full article @ ocaholic

Cooler Master Nepton 280L AIO Liquid CPU Cooler Review

We might as well face it at this point, Cooler Master is on a roll. It seems like every other day the tech news has something to say about this or that new or innovative CM product. Everything from cases to keyboards, even a new mechanical key switch type. But all this kinda makes me wonder, are we just being hit with an exceptionally successful marketing scheme, or are these products really worth spending your hard earned cash on? Today we’ll be taking a close look at the Nepton 280L. This new CM AIO boasts a twin 140mm radiator amongst other features, and it’s time to find out if this is the real deal or simply another of the countless AIO’s ignore.

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

CORSAIR CARBIDE SPEC 01 Gaming Case Review

Corsair surprised friend and foe when they released the Carbide SPEC series: three affordable gaming enclosures would join the ranks of Corsairs elite enclosure lineup. With affordable Corsair really meant affordable; take for example the SPEC 01 which retails at just below the 50 dollar mark, thus similar priced as many OEM products. Usually the latter means low build quality, average hardware compatibility, a maximum trim down in functionality and features to keep the price as low as possible. In fact everything which a CORSAIR case is renowned for is missing in many OEM solutions. Time for the Fremont giant to show the world it can be done differently.

Read full article @ Madshrimps

Corsair HX750i 750 Watt Power Supply Review

Ever hear of a Magpie? If not, it's a type of bird that has some really interesting characteristics. They tend to build nests in trees and are known to be attracted to shiny objects. I have even heard of them stealing those objects to use as part of their nests. So, if you hear someone referring to a person as a magpie, they are typically just noticing that they seem to like shiny objects. Take, for example, the effects that a diamond has on people, they see the shine of the sunlight catching the stone and are immediately captivated.

Personally, I am not attracted to jewelry or shiny objects in that manner. However, I would call myself a magpie when it comes to computer parts. Attractive components are always welcome in my rigs and I sometimes even like the mods that people do that have really flashy decorations. Clearly, I am not the only one who likes these things, considering that so many people are adding things such as lighting to their cases and are really focused on keeping everything tidy in a system with cable management. Looks may not be the only thing that makes a rig cool, but it certainly doesn’t hurt for it to function well and look good.

Read full article @ HiTech Legion

Diamond UGA USB 3.0/2.0 to DVI/HDMI/VGA Adapter Review

Ultimately, I like the concept. It was nice not having to dig through my bag of cables for the right one to use and it was pretty simple to set up and use. However, with the fad of smaller tablet/PC devices and the ever popular BayTrail and Tegra processors, it becomes difficult to use such a device. The CPU isn't enough to power the conversion to upscale the output 1080p. Though understandable, my main "laptop" on the go for work or school is now my ASUS T100, as it can do everything I need it to do – besides display 1080p. Though I believe the Diamond adapter has its place, it doesn't exactly have a home in my travel bag.

Read full article @ OCC

EVGA Torq X10 Gaming Mouse Review

EVGA recently sent us their new Torq X10, a gaming mouse that also marks EVGA's first foray into the gaming peripheral market. On paper, it boasts excellent features and specifications. We are going to find out if it can live up to the high expectations of both the company and the consumers in this review.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Kingston HyperX FURY 240 GiB SSD Review

There are many components in a PC that can be upgraded to make it faster, but none are as noticeable in the real world as upgrading a hard drive to a solid state drive. They have come down significantly in price over the last few years, so it's now cheaper than ever to upgrade your PC. While some months ago 120 GiB units offered the best cost/benefit ratio, now the times of the 240 GiB units are coming. Today, we will test a new 240 GiB drive from Kingston, the HyperX FURY, which is focused on the low-cost market.

Read full article @ Hardware Secrets

OCZ AMD Radeon R7 SSD Review (240GB)

With CPUs, graphics cards and memory, solid state drive were only a matter of time for a company such as AMD. The AMD Radeon R7 SSD adds yet another AMD part to those who like to have matching components in their systems, but it also goes one step further. It takes advantage of a controller that has long been regarded as the best by enthusiasts. The Barefoot controller, in fact, was talked about in forums long before Indy’s acquisition by OCZ. The benefit of AMD partnering with OCZ for this SSD is the fact that, with OCZ now being the property of Toshiba, the end product also includes what many consider to be the best NAND flash memory in the business.

Read full article @ The SSD Review

Raijintek Pallas Low Profile Heatsink Review

When shopping for a low profile cooler you begin to realize a few things. First most low profile coolers are not really that low and either require a tall fan or come with tall fins. Second, the cooling capacity of such a coolers is often proportional to how tall it is. Third, given the first two conditions the low profile coolers tend to be difficult to find. We have reviewed plenty of coolers over the years, some tall and some small and only once have we found a really good low profile heatsink. Sadly, that was back in 2009 so when we got the opportunity to review another we had no choice but to say yes.

In this review we are looking at the Raijintek Pallas. This is a low profile cooler which is configured to handle all modern processors including heat monsters like the LGA 2011. The cooler features design principles found on other high-end high-capacity heatsinks which should allow it to perform quite well. The design doesn’t focus so much on noise control but rather thermal efficiency and quality construction.

Read full article @ Hardware Asylum

Review: Angelbird SSD wrk 512GB

Over the past few years, we’ve seen the SSD market consolidate quite a bit with numerous 3rd party SSD vendors exiting the market due to shrinking margins or difficulty in acquiring NAND. Because of this, we’re left with a number of SSD vendors who are either huge companies with large OEM accounts or smaller, newer players with unique products that command a premium.

One of these newer players is Angelbird, a relatively new SSD company based out of Austria who recently sent us their latest Angelbird SSD wrk 512GB for review. Angelbird’s selling point on their entire line of products including the new SSD wrk is that they do not compromise on quality despite the fact that their latest SSD is aimed at the entry level market.

Read full article @ Custom PC Review

Sapphire R7 260X (100366-3L) Video Card Review

Compromise is not something people aim for but is a reality that often hits hard when the word ‘budget’ is thrown around. When it comes to video cards, this used to mean that you have to turn off some graphical features when playing at high-resolution but thanks to the combination of lazy game developers who would rather program for lower-tech consoles and hard working GPU developers trying to bring console-level efficiency to state-of-the-art hardware, playing 1920×1080 at Ultra preset is expected from $150 video cards. The next step is of course, bringing that expectation to the sub-$120 price point now that the GPU mining craze has fully normalized the video card market.

Priced at $119.99, the Sapphire R7 260X (100366-3L) video card hurts the wallet a lot less while aiming for high-quality 1080p gaming. As the largest AMD Radeon video card partner in the world, expectations are high from Sapphire to produce an R7 260X offering that aims to win the hearts of budget gaming enthusiasts.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

XTracGear Carbonic Mousing Surface Review

Recently, I was contacted by one of my friends to go to see the latest Marvel hit, “Guardians of the Galaxy” (On a side note, there seems to be a lot of Marvel appearing in my review introductions, but trust me, this was not planned). If you know me, I generally do not actually enjoy going to the theaters, because I would much rather enjoy watching from the comfort of my own home. However, going to the theaters with friends is still much better than watching a movie by yourself in front of the TV. I also heard about this movie and the positive reviews it was garnering from movie critics, and thus on both of these reasons, I decided to go. Two hours before the movie, the same friend texted everyone to meet at the cinema half an hour before the movie began. Then an hour later, she suddenly decided she would not be able to attend. At this, I was stunned. I could not and still do not understand why anyone would coordinate a group event, and not show up in the end. Now, of course, they may have an emergency to attend to, but this was not the case. Luckily, the movie was good enough to not be too annoyed, but it was still confusing nonetheless. And why do I bring this up? When XTracGear released their latest line of mousepads, including the revised Ripper line, they also revealed a smaller, never seen before mousepad called the Carbonic. With all the positive things we have seen from XTracGear/XTracPads in the past, will this mousepad keep up the reputation by showing up and impressing us at the party? Or will it suddenly turn shy, and remain absent in its performance? Let’s read on to find out!

Read full article @ APH Networks