Reviews 51924 Published by

Here the daily reviews roundup with 23 new articles:

- Maingear Shift Gaming PC with Super Stock Options Review
- Sentey Arvina GS-6400 Case Review
- Speedlink Multitouch Review
- High End X58 Motherboard Roundup: Asus, Gigabyte and MSI Compared, Overclocked and Dissected
- DIATEC Filco Majestouch N-key rollover Brown Switch Keyboard Review
- Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 32GB USB3 Review
- Asus NX90JQ Review
- ASUS Eee PC 1015PEM: The Champion
- Cooler Master Choiix Boom Boom Portable Speaker Review
- Glacialtech Alaska CPU Cooler Review
- Arctic K381 Multi-function Keyboard Review
- Biostar A880G+ AMD Motherboard Review
- Cooler Master NotePal U3 Notebook Cooler Review
- Scythe Gekkou Case Review
- MSI GeForce GTS 450 Cyclone Video Card Review
- Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB Super Overclock Review
- OCZ Flex EX PC3-17000 8GB CL10 Memory Review
- 23" LG Flatron W2340VG DVI/HDMI Blu-ray 1080p Widescreen LCD Monitor w/HDCP Support Review
- Synology DiskStation 2-Bay Network Attached Storage DS211 Review
- Cooler Master Centurion 5 II Case Review
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Benchmarks - GeForce GTX 460 vs Radeon HD 6870
- Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 Review
- AMD Brazos and Zacate Architecture Preview - Bobcat Explored



Maingear Shift Gaming PC with Super Stock Options Review
Techspot posted a review on the Maingear Shift Gaming PC with Super Stock Options

Here's the scenario: You're bored one night surfing the Internet and you decide to do a mock build of your dream PC. Whether through your favorite e-tailer or a boutique system builder, you find yourself piecing together the ultimate powerhouse. Price is not a concern -- you want the baddest system your (imaginary) money can buy.

Once complete, you marvel at the resulting monstrosity and then come crashing back to reality when you see the price tag. We've all "been there, done that." Today we will be looking at that dream PC, the Maingear Shift with Super Stock options.

The Shift is Maingear's highest performing consumer desktop system to date, featuring a custom-built chassis from SilverStone. Pricing starts at just over $2,300 and depending on the options selected, you could shell out close to 30 grand for a fully pimped out system.
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Sentey Arvina GS-6400 Case Review
Kitguru posted Sentey Arvina GS-6400 Case Review

Recently a new player in the Computer enthusiast sector contacted us and asked us if we would like to review their latest chassis design. Sentey (as they are known) sent over their Arvina GS-6400 chassis, with the intention to impress our readers.
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Speedlink Multitouch Review
XSReviews have a new review of the Speedlink Multitouch mouse

Speedlink have been making PC and gaming accessories for quite a while now and have a good range of hardware out.

Their latest offering being a mouse, but with a slight difference. Instead of the usual mechanical buttons this mouse features a touch sensitive surface. This, they claim, will enable you to control your PC with a number of simple gestures.

Sounds good but is it really as easy and intuitive to use as they say? Lets find out.
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High End X58 Motherboard Roundup: Asus, Gigabyte and MSI Compared, Overclocked and Dissected
Madshrimps posted High End X58 Motherboard Roundup: Asus, Gigabyte and MSI Compared, Overclocked and Dissected

In this roundup of second generation X58 motherboards we put the best products from Asus, Gigabyte and MSI through the OC grinder, to find out which one can help you push your hardware to the limit. Some in-depth overclocking analysis lies ahead.
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DIATEC Filco Majestouch N-key rollover Brown Switch Keyboard Review
Madshrimps posted DIATEC Filco Majestouch N-key rollover Brown Switch Keyboard Review

The DIATEC Filco Majestouch is definitely not your average LAN gaming keyboard, but more for home office/gaming purposes. Typing on it is a real pleasure, thanks to the Cherry MX Brown switches it incorporates and it is also very durable.
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Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 32GB USB3 Review
ASE Labs posted a review on the Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 32GB USB3

Another flash drive? You're probably sick of seeing flash drive reviews that basically show a slow device with a moderate capacity. This is different. The Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate is a new USB3 version with write speeds of 60MB/s and reads of 80MB/s. This is more like a SSD than a flash drive.
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Asus NX90JQ Review
TechReviewSource.com posted a review on the Asus NX90JQ

The NX90Q-A1 from Asus is a desktop replacement notebook with tons of multimedia features, including an 18.4-inch widescreen 1080p HD display and some powerful speakers. You also get a quad-core processor and some really powerful nVidia graphics.
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ASUS Eee PC 1015PEM: The Champion
InsideHW.com has reviewed ASUS Eee PC 1015PEM netbook

Why would I need a netbook? What uses could I have for it during a workday? Do I really another PC alongside my business desktop PC? There are some of the basic questions each user should ask himself before venturing out to find a proper netbook. Let's presume that this PCs in this class are bought mostly by business users who spend much of their time on the move and dislike carrying those heavy notebooks around wherever they go. This is the very perspective that we took when we began testing the new Eee PC by ASUS, namely 1015PEM. Instead of subjecting this fellow to our usual “torture”, we decided to carry it to the typical office job and work on it constantly for eight hours a day, for the full five workdays...
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Cooler Master Choiix Boom Boom Portable Speaker Review
Tweaknews posted a review on the Cooler Master Choiix Boom Boom Portable Speaker

Cooler Master's idea of the Boom Boom speaker is great – a compact, portable speaker that can be used while on the road with a laptop, MP3 player, or phone will appeal to many consumers. The end result from Choiix is a product that does have some strong points but still leaves a bit to be desired.
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Glacialtech Alaska CPU Cooler Review
Legit Reviews posted a review on the Glacialtech Alaska CPU Cooler

Today we are looking at the newest offering from GlacialTech, the Alaska CPU cooler. This new offering from GlacialTech has a new fin arrangement that gives the Alaska what they call a “breathing effect”. Join us and see how the Alaska performs as we put it through the paces on our Intel Core i7 test system.

GlacialTech has a solid middle of the road cooler with the Alaska performance-wise. The fin arrangement for the Alaska is definitely on the different side. I have seen honeycomb style coolers before, but none with fin spacing as tight as the Alaska has. The Alaska is also surprisingly light, coming in at 740g it is a full 200g lighter than the Prolimatech Super Mega...
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Arctic K381 Multi-function Keyboard Review
Top Review Shop posted a review on the Arctic K381 Multi-function Keyboard

Along with the mouse, the keyboard is your primary method of input for your PC and so we feel it's important to take a look at the models available on the market. Today we'll look at the K381 Multi-function keyboard from Arctic Cooling to see if it's a worthy choice for a keyboard replacement or upgrade.
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Biostar A880G+ AMD Motherboard Review
OCIA.net has posted their review of the Biostar A880G+ AMD Motherboard

We have tested several new 800-series AMD motherboards this year which were fairly high-end. Obviously however not everyone has or wants to spend $100+ on a motherboard, or is just looking for something basic that supports the latest AM3 processors but without all the other bells and whistles. Today we have an inexpensive 880G chipset board to review, the Biostar A880G+ from Computer Geeks. Featuring a new color scheme and offering nearly the same amount of features as their T-Series equivalent, Biostar's latest standard class offering brings AMD performance to the masses.
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Cooler Master NotePal U3 Notebook Cooler Review
ThinkComputers.org posted a review on the Cooler Master NotePal U3 Notebook Cooler

Almost all notebook coolers are the same, they are made of either plastic or aluminum and have a fixed fan in the center to help cool down your laptop. This usually work pretty well, but all laptops are different and heat comes from different places on each laptop. Knowing this Cooler Master has developed the NotePal U3, which features 3 80mm fans that can be positioned anywhere on the notebook cooler. Let’s take a look at the NotePal U3 and see if this design works well.
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Scythe Gekkou Case Review
Hardwareoverclock.com posted a review on the Scythe Gekkou Case.

The Gekkou Standard PC Case is available with solid black panel, silver brush-finish front panel, or mirror-finish front panel. Front door can be opened towards right or left side or even completely removed depending on the preference of users. Sufficient airflow is achieved by implementing two of the popular Slip Stream 120 mm fans which are rotating at 800 rpm. We've tested the version with mirror look.
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MSI GeForce GTS 450 Cyclone Video Card Review
Benchmark Reviews posted a review on the MSI GeForce GTS 450 Cyclone Video Card

A lot has been happening lately in the world of video cards. AMD just released the Radeon HD 6870 and NVIDIA replied with the GTX 580. But with the holiday season approaching, some might be contemplating a gift that's just a little less heavy on the wallet. Benchmark Reviews has gotten our hands on a factory overclocked mid-range video card that claims to be 17 degrees cooler than it's reference design. In this article, we'll take a look at the MSI N450GTS Cyclone 1GD5/OC GTS 450 video card and see if it can back up it's claim. We'll be testing it against a Radeon HD 5770 that's costs almost exactly the same price.
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Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB Super Overclock Review
PureOverclock has published a review of the Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB Super Overclock graphics card.

The Gigabyte GTX 460 Super Overclock is one of the fastest models on the market, with a massive overclock and a a beefy cooler to keep temperatures under control. That is a very alluring combination, no doubt. So just how much faster is the SOC than the reference card? Oh, it's fast alright, as you'll soon see. Can it thrash the 6850 or 6870 competition? Well, let's just say you're in for a treat today.
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OCZ Flex EX PC3-17000 8GB CL10 Memory Review
Hardware Canucks posted a review of the OCZ Flex EX PC3-17000 8GB CL10 memory kit

As memory prices have been falling, manufacturers have jumped on the “more is better” bandwagon and are releasing kits with absolutely massive capacities. In this review we take a look at OCZ’s new Flex EX series which features the best of both worlds: two 4GB modules and a speed rating of PC3-17000 or DDR3-2133 in layman’s terms.
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23" LG Flatron W2340VG DVI/HDMI Blu-ray 1080p Widescreen LCD Monitor w/HDCP Support Review
Bona Fide Reviews posted a review on the 23" LG Flatron W2340VG DVI/HDMI Blu-ray 1080p Widescreen LCD Monitor

Up for review today I’ve got another monitor that was provided by Geeks.com for review. I love my monitors, as of now I’ve got four of them and I think I’m happy, think being the keyword there of course. The monitor is from LG, it’s 23” in size and it features a glossy surface instead of the normal flat like you see on most monitors. The picture quality is gorgeous really, I’m happy, very happy with it and I think you will be as well.
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Synology DiskStation 2-Bay Network Attached Storage DS211 Review
TestFreaks posted a review on the Synology DiskStation 2-Bay Network Attached Storage DS211

Synology released a few new NAS boxes yesterday and today I’ve got the DS211 for review. The DS211 features the new DSM3.0 operating system which makes life much easier when you’re trying to work with it. The new interface, for lack of a better description, is similar to Windows really, it allows you to open several things at once to multi-task. The DS211 is meant to be more of a budget minded NAS box that provides all of the features of higher cost boxes but just at a lower price really. So read on to learn more about it..
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Cooler Master Centurion 5 II Case Review
Hi Tech Legion posted a review on the Cooler Master Centurion 5 II Case

The Cooler Master Centurion 5 II proves that you don't need to be a Stark to build a great PC. The Cooler Master Centurion 5 II offers a plethora of features that used to only be found on tier 1 cases. With grace and style, the Centurion offers a bottom mounted PSU, a CPU cooler access hole, an included SSD adapter that fits two SSDs, support for three 140mm fans + 1 120mm fan, and a completely rail based screwless drive mounting system. With these specifications, the Centurion looks like a top notch mid tower value.
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Call of Duty: Black Ops Benchmarks - GeForce GTX 460 vs Radeon HD 6870
Legit Reviews benchmarked GeForce GTX 460 against the Radeon HD 6870 in Call of Duty: Black Ops

Now that Call of Duty: Black Ops has been released we thought that it would only be proper to run some video benchmarks on this highly anticipated PC game title. The hype around this first person shooter has been enormous the past few months, so we know that our readers are wanting to find out what video card brand will run Call of Duty: Black Ops the best. Today, we take the GeForce GTX 460 1GB and run it against the Radeon HD 6870!

Call of Duty: Black Ops is the seventh installment of the Call of Duty series and for those that have fallen in love with the game series, this game will bring a smile to your face. The game is based on conflicts of the Cold War era and that is one time period that you don't see too many games based around. When it comes to performance the PC game was easily playable on current mainstream video cards from AMD and NVIDIA with all the eye candy turned up. We were shocked to see both the GeForce GTX 460 1GB and the Radeon HD 6870 were hitting more than 100FPS with 16x AA enabled, but then...
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Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 Review
OCC has published a review on the Arctic Cooling Freezer 13

The installation is a breeze and does not require any complex procedures, components, or even rear access to the motherboard. Arctic Cooling did a great job with this cooler even though it is not a top performer when compared to high end heatsinks. One of the categories that we do not have a direct result for is price versus performance, which the Freezer 13 would certainly be a winner.
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AMD Brazos and Zacate Architecture Preview - Bobcat Explored
PC Perspective posted their AMD Brazos and Zacate Architecture Preview

AMD invited PCPer.com down to Austin to lay hands on the higher powered version of AMD's first APU family of products. Ryan was able to work with the Brazos based platform, and was able to tell briefly about his experiences. We also put together a preview of the Bobcat architecture, and what kind of changes it brings to AMD's latest processor cores.

Zacate is the full 18 watt TDP part, and it will run at 1.6 GHz for the core CPU speed, and 500 MHz for the DX11 GPU portion. That graphics portion is made up of 2 x 80 unit SIMDs, so it has a grand total of 160 stream processors. If these follow the standard layout, each SIMD unit will also have 4 x texture units attached, so essentially double the texturing power as a AMD 880G integrated chipset, and four times the stream count. It is quite an accomplishment to have this much stuff, running at those clockspeeds, yet still only have an 18 watt TDP. Ontario has the same basic makeup, but is rated at 9 watts.
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