Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including High-PPI support in Windows 8.1, Rig of the Month - December 2013, Crucial M500 M.2 NGFF SATA 3 SSD Review (480GB), Acer Aspire S7 Ultrabook Review, and Patriot Spark 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review



High-PPI support in Windows 8.1: still not so great @ The Tech Report

In his latest blog post, TR's Cyril Kowaliski bemoans the dearth of proper support for high-PPI displays in Windows software.

Read more: High-PPI support in Windows 8.1: still not so great @ The Tech Report

Corsair Raptor HS40 Review @ Vortez

In the past, the Corsair headsets impressed us immensely, since then, the Vengeance branding has been a stronghold in the market for top quality gaming peripherals, though, with some top quality price tags to boot. The strategic move to take over Raptor Gaming gave Corsair a stable of affordable products as well as a new branding initiative for their own line of entry level peripherals.

Reinforcing the Corsair Raptor branding, the HS40 is a reasonably priced closed back USB headset. It comes equipped with 40mm neodymium drivers mounted inside huge plastic sarcophagi and is finished off with the attractive crimson 'Raptor' coloured trims.

Read more: Corsair Raptor HS40 Review @ Vortez

Rig of the Month - December 2013 @ Guru3D

The Guru3D Rig of the Month December 2013 was made by Jeroen Timmermans aka Timmy and he has made something maybe a little weird to look at really. But weird is good, as that is something unusual and his rig called "The Cuprum Tower" definitely fits the description and makes for an awesome Rig of the Month here at Guru3D.com

Read more: Rig of the Month - December 2013 @ Guru3D

Cooler Master CM Storm Ceres 500 Gaming Headset Review @ HiTech Legion

Sometimes I sit and wonder where companies come up with the names for their products. Is there a thought process to it or is there a big hat with all the words of all the languages put in it? My Honda for example, it is an Accord, accord means giving someone power, status, or recognition. Well that makes sense, while I do not believe my car actually gives me power or status, I can see that a car manufacturer would want me to think it would. Shakespeare wrote, “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Of course that has been bastardized into, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Either way that is a twist from Romeo claiming that Montague (Romeo’s family name) meant nothing.

Read more: Cooler Master CM Storm Ceres 500 Gaming Headset Review @ HiTech Legion

Aftermarket CPU Cooling: Closed Loop Water Cooling vs. Air Cooling @ Techspot

A few short months ago we compared 10 of the best CPU air coolers and despite stiff competition from Thermalright and Silverstone, the successor to Noctua's legendary NH-D14 -- the NH-U14S -- may have made the strongest impression of all. Besides keeping our overclocked 4.3GHz Core i7-4960X at 53 degrees (30% lower than Intel's stock RTS2011AC), Noctua's solution was one of the quietest tested, generating only 44dB of noise.

Although we didn't think twice about stamping the NH-U14S with our Outstanding Award, we've since wondered how it would fare against a basic water cooling setup. On paper, closed loop systems simplify the process of diving into water cooling, being about as safe and easy to work with as air cooling while delivering much of the performance you'd expect from an elaborate custom loop at a fraction of the cost.

Read more: Aftermarket CPU Cooling: Closed Loop Water Cooling vs. Air Cooling @ Techspot

Crucial M500 M.2 NGFF SATA 3 SSD Review (480GB) @ The SSD Review

It has been almost a year since Crucial/Micron introduced their new M500 family and, with that, came the news of what we then termed as a new Crucial M500 NGFF SSD that would be introduced to retail consumers. Today, many are now searching for high-capacity M.2 SSDs both for their purchase and upgrade of new M.2 SSD contained systems, and as a replacement to current systems containing M.2 SSDs. There are absolutely no M.2 retail SSDs available for purchase as we write this report, however, our receipt and review of the first Crucial M500 M.2 SSD just may signal change in the very near future.

Read more: Crucial M500 M.2 NGFF SATA 3 SSD Review (480GB) @ The SSD Review

Cougar MX500 Mid Tower @ PureOverclock

In an ideal world, when you want to build your next PC, you want to get nothing but the best components for the money you can get your hands on. Unfortunately, life tends to sometimes get in the way, and some corners must be cut somewhere to make the build happen. This is why various price points exist for different ranges of products, though lately several manufacturers have taken to the notion that the ratio of paying less for getting less is too heavily skewed in favor of paying less for getting nowhere near enough for your money. Cougar figures it’s their turn to toss another chip into the stack of afford-ably priced gamer cases with the introduction of the MX500 mid tower case.

Read more: Cougar MX500 Mid Tower @ PureOverclock

Sennheiser G4ME One Gaming Headset Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

Today we take a look at the second of Sennheisers new gaming headsets, the G4ME One which is used by some leading game developers during the creation of their titles.

Read more: Sennheiser G4ME One Gaming Headset Review @ HardwareHeaven.com

Plantronics BackBeat GO 2 Bluetooth Wireless Earbuds Review @ Legit Reviews

Christmas is just a week away and many of you might be looking for that last minute gift for under $100. Most mobile devices these days have Blutooth technology, yet many people don't use it. Pretty much everyone these days listen to music stored on their tablets, smartphones or laptop. Are they or you doing so with a traditional wired pair of headphones? Why not try listening to that music wirelessly with a good set of Bluetooth earbuds? The Plantronics BackBeat GO 2 wireless earbuds are the latest model of the company’s best-selling Bluetooth wireless stereo earbuds. Read on to see what they are and how the work!

Read more: Plantronics BackBeat GO 2 Bluetooth Wireless Earbuds Review @ Legit Reviews

EVGA Hadron Air @ techPowerUp

The EVGA Hadron Air comes with a high quality 80Plus Gold 500W PSU and provides enough room for a potent graphics card. This compact case offers everything you need to build a tiny, powerful gaming system. But did EVGA achieve what others are only dreaming of, without sacrificing anything?

Read more: EVGA Hadron Air @ techPowerUp

Acer Aspire S7 Ultrabook Review @ HotHardware.com

Intel's 4th generation Core processors, based on the company's Haswell microarchitecture, have done good things for ultrabooks this year. Thanks to Haswell, Ultrabooks have moved much closer to Intel's original vision of thin, light, low-power (but still powerful) systems that eschew outdated components and usher in new features like ultra high resolutions and touchscreen displays. Acer's recently-updated Aspire S7 is a good example of just how far ultrabooks have come, and where they are headed...

Read more: Acer Aspire S7 Ultrabook Review @ HotHardware.com

ASUS Z87-Expert Review @ ocaholic

With their Z87-Expert, ASUS have a motherboard in its portfolio that features a decent price tag, well below 200 Euro and the board comes with quite a few good features. There is for example onboard WiFi, which supports the latest ac-standard. Other than that there is an adequate power design as well as quite a few other things you might like.

Read more: ASUS Z87-Expert Review @ ocaholic

MSI Radeon R9 270 Gaming Video Card Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Lately we have been taking a look at a lot of Radeon R9 280X graphics cards. These are based on the Tahiti GPU that was also found in AMD's Radeon HD 7900 series cards. For those not looking to spend as much money the next step down in AMD's latest graphics cards is the R9 270X/270 series. These cards are based off the Pitcairn GPU and still offer a very good price / performance ratio. Today we are looking at MSI's Radeon R9 270 Gaming graphics card. This card will feature a factory overclock and MSI's own Twin Frozr IV cooling solution. Is this the best graphics card for under $200? We are going to find out!

Read more: MSI Radeon R9 270 Gaming Video Card Review @ ThinkComputers.org

TP-LINK 300Mbps AV500 WiFi Powerline Extender Starter Kit Review @ Madshrimps

The TL-WPA4220KIT comes pretty cheap and also provides wireless connectivity for maximizing the wireless range of the current network. Despite the fact that we get an advertised speed of 500Mbps, the LAN ports are capped at 100Mbps. We must also take in account that the speed may vary depending on the quality of the wiring and other factors.

Read more: TP-LINK 300Mbps AV500 WiFi Powerline Extender Starter Kit Review @ Madshrimps

Kingston Hyper X DDR3 Memory Review @ Modders-Inc

Kingston has been a player in the memory market for a long time and their products tend not to disappoint. Both of the HyperX kits continue in a strong performing HyperX product line. I would quickly recommend either of these kits to anyone looking to upgrade their systems.

Read more: Kingston Hyper X DDR3 Memory Review @ Modders-Inc

Sharkoon DarkGlider Mouse Review @ Benchmark Reviews

Sharkoon technologies have been manufacturing pc peripherals since 2003 encompassing unique designs and convincing performance. Their philosophy states that premium quality and affordable prices do not have to contradict each other. Keep in mind that this statement is going to be put to the test. The DarkGlider has recently become available worldwide offering a plethora of features (common and unique to gaming mice). Benchmark Reviews is going to run this mouse through the gamut and expose what makes this product stand out from the pack (and if the Sharkoon philosophy stays true).

Read more: Sharkoon DarkGlider Mouse Review @ Benchmark Reviews

NZXT Phantom 530 Full-Tower Case Review @ HardOCP

We review NZXT's new Phantom 530 redesigned with up-to-date features. NZXT has put a lot of thought and design into this new chassis including, more adaptable cable management, support for AIO water coolers, a large 200mm fan, along with a 30 watt fan controller, and an LED lit IO area, which always comes in handy.

Read more: NZXT Phantom 530 Full-Tower Case Review @ HardOCP

ASUS MB168B+ review: Full HD USB 3.0 monitor @ Hardware.Info

Notebooks, especially affordable ones, still don't have the best screens. The most common resolution remains 1366x768 and viewing angles are limited, with less than perfect colour rendering. So what can you do if you need more work space? One option is the ASUS MB168B+, a portable USB 3.0 display. We took a closer look and came away impressed.

Read more: ASUS MB168B+ review: Full HD USB 3.0 monitor @ Hardware.Info

Patriot Spark 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review @ FunkyKit

Flash drives are very popular devices so manufacturers have to find a way to convince customers adding new features or designing new, uniqe looks.
Patriot Spark is not introducing any unusual features but who never wanted to have micro size, high capacity and fast flash drive ? Patriot is bringing us really small, really light mobile storage and is also declaring high speed. Let's take a look at this somehow unique device in our review.

Read more: Patriot Spark 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review @ FunkyKit

ASUS Z87-A Review @ ocaholic

With the Z87-A, ASUS has a highly competitive priced motherboard in its portfolio, that supports Intels latest socket LGA1150 - Haswell - processors. For well under 100 Euro you get a solid motherboard, that features anything you might need to setup a well equipped office or midrange PC. For us this is reason enough to be curious how this board is going to score in our review.

Read more: ASUS Z87-A Review @ ocaholic

Mini review: Creative Sound Blaster EVO ZxR @ Techradar

Creative is better known these days for its gaming headsets but the EVO ZXR is designed first and foremost for music. Featuring NFC tech for pairing via Bluetooth, you can listen wirelessly while also plugging into any 3.5mm source or to any computer using a super-long microUSB cable.Compared to the Creative Sound Blaster EVO Zx headset which we gave 4 stars, the ZXR comes with a number of improvements. Firstly you've got the significantly larger 50mm drivers which do a good job of widening the sound field and delivering a more full-bodied sound. That sounds like a load of gobbledygook I tested both side-by-side and the ZxR does sound significantly better.

Read more: Mini review: Creative Sound Blaster EVO ZxR @ Techradar