Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including Lenovo ThinkPad X240 Review, NZXT Kraken G10 Liquid Cooled GPU Mounting Bracket Review, My best Oculus Rift experiences to date, Palit GTX 780 Ti JetStream 3 GB, and Samsung Announces 840 EVO 1TB mSATA SSD at 1GB/s Speeds



Lenovo ThinkPad X240 Review @ TechReviewSource.com

The all-new Lenovo ThinkPad X240 is a lightweight business-oriented laptop that delivers extremely long battery life, decent performance and a touch screen display. For business-use, the design is absolutely perfect but it does have a lower than average screen resolution.

Read more: Lenovo ThinkPad X240 Review @ TechReviewSource.com

NZXT Kraken G10 Liquid Cooled GPU Mounting Bracket Review @ Hardware 360

Overall, The Kraken G10 bracket is an amazing product. There are no other products in this price range that can improve the thermal performance of graphics card by nearly 50% and at half the price of a custom water cooling setup. However, there are some drawbacks, but they seem to disappear when you load up a game and see you’re $600 graphics card running at only 42°C instead of 81C.

Read more: NZXT Kraken G10 Liquid Cooled GPU Mounting Bracket Review @ Hardware 360

My best Oculus Rift experiences to date @ KitGuru

After trying one for the second time at the i50 LAN festival recently, I decided to bite the bulle (http://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/jon-martindale/im-getting-an-oculus-rift-what-should-i-do-with-it/) t and get myself an Oculus Rift. Powering my way through the relatively short adjustment period, I've come out the other side Rifting my way into alienation from my wife and I've found a lot of cool tech demos and experiences. I listed some of the most awe inspiring the other day (http://www.kitguru.net/software/gaming/jon-martindale/mining-the-depths-of-the-oculus-rift-forums/) , but I thought it would be worth it to tell you about the ones I've been coming back to time and time again.

Read more: My best Oculus Rift experiences to date @ KitGuru

Func KB-460 Mechanical Keyboard @ PureOverclock

Func is a company that is likely not well known by many computer enthusiasts, except for perhaps some of the diehards in the crowd. In truth, Func has been around for quite awhile, but has recently relaunched their entire product lineup, redone from the ground up, so in that sense, we’re seeing entirely new things from Func. And today we’re looking at the flagship mechanical keyboard from Func, the KB-460.

Mechanical boards have become all the rage of late, and it’s easy to see why. After you’ve used one, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without, shunning the membrane boards for the sexy individual switch designs. There’s something refreshingly satisfying about a keyboard that provides real feedback, rather than sitting there like a piece of wasted plastic. And if you’re a great touch typist, then a mechanical board is like the Autobahn for fingers.

Read more: Func KB-460 Mechanical Keyboard @ PureOverclock

ROCCAT Tusko Widescreen Monitor Bag Review @ Neoseeker

Picture yourself on the way to a LAN party or gaming tournament. In one hand is the best small form factor build possible and in the other is an expensive gaming monitor and probably the flashiest keyboard and mouse combination on the market. Every step on the path inside becomes a triumph of how reliant your skills of balance are. Suddenly, a gush of wind compromises everything and hundreds of dollars practically go down the drain as a mess of electronics on the ground. A gamer's worst nightmare? Possibly.

This is where ROCCAT comes to the rescue with the Tusko Widescreen Monitor Bag. As we've already seen from numerous ROCCAT keyboards and mice that have come across Neoseeker, the German-based company specializes in producing high quality gaming peripherals and accessories that not only perform well but look stylish all the same. So far, we've covered ROCCAT products ranging from disappointing all the way to worthy of our coveted Editor's Choice award. The ROCCAT Tusko Widescreen strays a bit from common peripherals and aims to facilitate the transport of heavy and awkward-handling widescreen monitors. Made from a weave repellent to dirt and water, the ROCCAT Tusko Widescreen features an integrated plastic plate for rigidity, a Clip'n'Go system to carry a single 20 – 24" widescreen monitor, and dedicated straps for a keyboard. A flatscreen version of the Tusko also exists, catering to those with 15-19" monitors.

Read more: ROCCAT Tusko Widescreen Monitor Bag Review @ Neoseeker

Palit GTX 780 Ti JetStream 3 GB @ techPowerUp

Palit's GeForce GTX 780 Ti Jetstream comes with company's triple-fan, triple-slot cooler which provides impressive temperatures. The card is also overclocked out of the box, making it faster than the $1000 dual-GPU GTX 690 on average. Overclocking works great too, thanks to the new GTX 780 Ti GPU.

Read more: Palit GTX 780 Ti JetStream 3 GB @ techPowerUp

be quiet! Straight Power E9 700W Review @ ocaholic

With the Straight Power E9 700W, be quite! has yet another 80 Plus Gold certified power supply in its portfolio. This unit features non modular cable management, which means you'll have all wired in the rig, always. Other than that this PSU is based on a design from FSP and regarding price: be quiet! asks 140 US-Dollar for this unit.

Read more: be quiet! Straight Power E9 700W Review @ ocaholic

Fractal Design Define XL R2 Computer Case Review @ NikKTech

Time and again we have pointed out the difficulty consumers may have when trying to choose the ideal Midi tower to house their new system especially if they happen to enter a store with countless models around. However the same issue doesn't really apply with Full towers since nowadays most hardware manufacturers focus their efforts in reducing the size of components and so it goes without saying that PC case manufacturers also follow the same path. Now as you all know we are not much into small PC cases since the entire process of adding and removing hardware requires as much space as possible (others for example choose open rigs/test benches) thus we are always on the lookout to get our hands on every Full tower model we can. Fractal Design has been around for quite some time with sole aim to cater the needs of even the most demanding consumers out there in search for high quality PC cases offering noise insulation right from the box. Today with us we have their latest Full tower the Define XL R2.

Read more: Fractal Design Define XL R2 Computer Case Review @ NikKTech

Samsung Announces 840 EVO 1TB mSATA SSD at 1GB/s Speeds @ The SSD Review

Higher performance and capacities in a smaller SSD form factor is something many of us dream of when considering the advance of this amazing technology and this morning Samsung has tackled just that. Building on their ever popular Samsung 840 EVO (http://thessdreview.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3d9b6193ffd32dd60e84fc74b&id=f600d56c0a&e=312ec141fb) Series, Samsung has just announced a new 840 EVO mSATA, fully capable of their RAPID Technology, which means that it will be fully capable of reaching read and write performance up to 1GB/s with RAPID enabled.

Read more: Samsung Announces 840 EVO 1TB mSATA SSD at 1GB/s Speeds @ The SSD Review

SteelSeries 9H Headset @ LanOC Reviews

SteelSeries has been busy introducing a few different products including a full rework of their H series of headsets, the new Siberia Elite, and even a new mouse. To start off our coverage I wanted to check out the new H series headsets, but with the size of my head I was limited to the new 9H that is larger than the 7H that we took a look at it years ago. With a new look, new drivers, and a new size I couldn’t wait to put my Siberia v2’s aside and try them out.

Read more: SteelSeries 9H Headset @ LanOC Reviews

120mm Water Cooler Round Up Part 2 - Looking Inside @ Legit Reviews

Last week we looked at of four all-in-one water coolers and found the performance results were quite similar, as were the coolers. With this thought, and some comments made, we started to wonder how similar the coolers really were. Remember, mom always said it's what's on the inside that counts.

Read more: 120mm Water Cooler Round Up Part 2 - Looking Inside @ Legit Reviews

Enermax iVektor Mid-Tower ATX Computer Case Review @ HardOCP

Enermax has long been an enthusiast brand associated with some of the best computer power supplies made in the industry. Over the last couple of years it has also developed a very strong following in computer case arena with DIYers. Today we look at the iVektor case designed by Enermax and it looks to be a strong contender for your next build.

Read more: Enermax iVektor Mid-Tower ATX Computer Case Review @ HardOCP

Fuji X-E2 Review @ Techradar

Fuji has earned huge respect from photographers for its X-series cameras. Many aspire to own the Fuji X-Pro 1, while others have opted for the smaller Fuji X-E1. Those wanting an even more compact interchangeable lens camera have the choice of the Fuji X-M1 or Fuji X-A1.With the introduction of the Fuji X-E2, we have the first update to Fuji's interchangeable lens X-series. This new camera uses exactly the same APS-C format 16.3-million-pixel X-Trans CMOS II sensor as the Fuji X-100S.Unlike most cameras that use a Bayer pattern of red, green, green and blue receptors (usually referred to as RGGB) arranged in a 2 x 2 grid, the X-Trans CMOS II device uses a 6 x 6 RGGB filter array pattern, with a random arrangement of colour filters within each block of 36 photoreceptors.This makes the sensor is less prone to moire patterning, and as a result Fuji is able to omit the anti-aliasing filter that overlays most digital camera sensors. The benefit of this is that the camera is able to produce sharper, more detailed images than a model with the same size sensor and pixel count and an anti-aliasing filter.

Read more: Fuji X-E2 Review @ Techradar

ASUS Transformer Book T100TA review: The perfect affordable Windows hybrid? @ Hardware.Info

We keep hoping to find that perfect Windows 8 hybrid laptop. There are a number of interesting products on the market you can use both as tablet and laptop, but they're also very pricey. That's not true for the ASUS Transformer Book T100TA, available for around £350. 

For that price you get a tablet with Windows 8 and a dock, which is the ideal combination in our opinion. While a big part of Windows 8 is touch-oriented, you still want a keyboard and mouse or touchpad for the desktop.

Read more: ASUS Transformer Book T100TA review: The perfect affordable Windows hybrid? @ Hardware.Info

Gigabyte Brix GB-BXI7 review: Mini-powerhouse with i7 @ Hardware.Info

Gigabyte has made excellent motherboards and graphics cards for many years, but more recently the company has begun making mini-PCs. You can buy them with affordable, entry-level hardware such as Celeron processors, or with a much more powerful Haswell Core i7 CPU like the one we tested.

The Gigabyte Brix is similar to the Intel Next Unit of Computing (NUC). It fits in the palm of your hand and its compact dimensions (10.5 x 11.5 x 3.1 cm) will make it fit basically anywhere in your office or living room. Next to your monitor or TV, or mounted on the back of them.

Read more: Gigabyte Brix GB-BXI7 review: Mini-powerhouse with i7 @ Hardware.Info

HIS R7 240 iCooler Boost Clock 1GB GDDR5 Graphics Card Review @ FunkyKit

In recent weeks, AMD introduced a new series of graphics cards. Today we wish to present one of these long-awaited graphics cards - Radeon R7 240 iCooler 1GB GDDR5, manufactured by HIS.
Let's see what these cheaper graphics cards have to offer.

Read more: HIS R7 240 iCooler Boost Clock 1GB GDDR5 Graphics Card Review @ FunkyKit

ASUS ProArt PA279Q Monitor Review @ KitGuru

KitGuru has reviewed many members of the ProArt family over the last 24 months and today we are analysing the 27 inch flagship, the PA279Q.

This screen is part of the Professional range featuring 2560 x 1440 WQHD resolution and 109 pixels per inch, for high image detail. Asus claim the screen ships pre calibrated with 99% Adobe RGB, 100% sRGB and 120% NTSC gamut levels.

Read more: ASUS ProArt PA279Q Monitor Review @ KitGuru

QNAP TS-470 @ techPowerUp

QNAP recently released their new TS-x70 line, and in this review, we are going to take a look at the TS-470, a 4-bay NAS suitable for SMB (Small and Medium-sized Business) environments. QNAP even claims this server to be capable of offering higher than 400 MB/s read and write speeds.

Read more: QNAP TS-470 @ techPowerUp

Transcend SSD320 256GB SSD Review @ HiTech Legion

With the end of the year coming up, I was recently asked if I had a preference for my 2014 calendar for our office order. My simple response of “HTC One max” seemed to cause a lot of confusion. This isn’t surprising, since the idea of carrying around an 8.5”x11” paper calendar confuses the Hell out of me…how do I sync one of them with my laptop, anyway? There are still people in my office who insist on carrying them around, however. They are usually easy to recognize; they are the ones who can never find the phone number they need in order to call the person that they missed the appointment with.

Some people are simply resistant to change. These newfangled gadgets just freak them out. They want the tried and true, old school products…and it doesn’t matter if they are slower, less efficient or simply can’t do what they need them to do. Many people feel this way about SSDs, especially in their notebooks. They have had mechanical drives for years, and they feel they are good enough and that the cost of an SSD upgrade isn’t justified. However, if you let them use a computer with an SSD for a week, then give them back the mechanical, they will suddenly see the light. Now, with SSDs increasing in storage space and dropping in price, there really isn’t an excuse not to make the move.

Read more: Transcend SSD320 256GB SSD Review @ HiTech Legion

Palit GeForce GTX 780 Ti Jetstream Review @ Guru3D

In this review, we test the Palit GeForce GTX 780 Ti Jetstream, armed with that massive triple fan based Jetstream cooler and our FLIR camera we'll see if it really is good cooling. Oh and hey, this model get a factory overclock. NVIDIA unlocked the GPU completely meaning all 2880 Shader processors are available. It also makes use of DrMOS and an 8-phase PWM design to increase the card’s stability and improve its overclocking ability. NVIDIA unlocked the GPU completely meaning all 2880 Shader processors are available. That combined with increased core and memory clock frequencies and nice overclock potential will make this the top 699 USD flagship product to purchase for the Christmas holiday season. So yeah, this means it is based on the GK110 revision B GPU and has an whopping 7.1 Billion transistors. That makes it a nice, one of the fastest graphics cards available on the market today. We test the product with the hottest games like Metro: Last light, Battlefield 4, Medal of Honor Warfighter, Hitman Absolution and many more.

Just like GTX Titan, the GTX 780 Ti is based on the GK110 GPU with the distinctions that the Titan has a GK110-300 GPU and the GeForce GTX 780 a revision B GK110 GPU. Same stuff, yet with some changes. The recipe for the GTX 780 Ti is fantastic though, as the product has the full 15 Streaming clusters thus 2880 Shader Processing Units enabled. That's 240 TMUs and 48 ROPs on a 384-bit memory interface of fast GDDR5. So yeah, NVIDIA in a nutshell that is a 45 mm × 45 mm 2397-pin S-FCBGA GK110b GPU with 2880 shader/stream/CUDA processors. But wait Dave, there's more. Memory wise NVIDIA equipped the GeForce GTX 780 Ti with 7Gbps memory, the fastest GDDR5 memory you can find on a graphics card today. The GeForce GTX 780 Ti ships with 3GB of this memory, providing up to 336GB/sec of peak memory bandwidth. That is still huge (12 pieces of 64M ×16 GDDR5 SDRAM) of memory (384-bit) on there and started designing a bunch of new tricks at BIOS and driver level. Combined with GPU Boost 2.0 you will see this product boosting towards the 1000~1050 MHz range once you tweak it. The reference clock is 875 MHz with a boost clock of 928 MHz. Looking at the specs you must think that this product must consume heaps of power, well it's not great, but definitely not bad at all either. Another improvement that Nvidia implemented to the GeForce GTX 780 Ti is a new power balancing feature that’s been made so enthusiasts can get the most out of their overclock. Typically GPU gets its power from three sources: the 6-pin and 8-pin power connectors, and the PCI Express interface. Under normal conditions, the power sent to the GPU is balanced across these three sources, but when a user overclocks their graphics card they can unbalance the power delivery and draw more power from one source than the others, potentially maxing it out. With this new feature we can steer power from one input to another, so if you max out one power source, you can draw more power from the others to make up the difference.

Read more: Palit GeForce GTX 780 Ti Jetstream Review @ Guru3D

AMD A10 6790K Review @ HCW

A few weeks ago, leaked slides came out showing AMD’s intention to cancel plans to introduce next-gen CPUs to their performance “FX” line. Moving forward, the only new desktop computing components will be APUs, which combine CPU cores with graphics cores in one package. I’m sure many of our readers were sad to discover this, but to be honest, AMD has had a tough time being competitive with Intel at the high end level. They are still using a rather large die, and crucially, Intel is leaving them behind in per-clock performance.

That isn’t stopping them completely though. Today we’re looking at the newest entry to AMD’s APU lineup – the A10 6790K. This is based on “Richland” architecture, which is a slightly updated version of Trinity. When Richland was first introduced, the top chip was the A10 6800K running at 4.1/4.4 GHz. The A10 6790K we’re looking at todeay runs 100 MHz lower, at 4.0/4.3 GHz and more importantly, is $10 cheaper. Since it is an unlocked CPU, getting that 100 MHz back is all but guaranteed. Another possible advantagfe is that the A10 6790K is possibly based on newer silicon that can go even further with a more aggressive overclock.

Read more: AMD A10 6790K Review @ HCW

Cooler Master N400 Review @ OCC

The N400 is positioned between the N200 and the N600, and regarding space and features, it fits well. But it seems to be somewhat of an afterthought - the way the motherboard tray is recessed, but not on the N200 and N600, and the PSU filter differences. However, it does give you some nice cooling options that most cases of this size and price point just don't offer. If you like to experiment with adding fans, then you will have some fun with the N400. I like the four USB ports on the front panel, which in my opinion should be a standard. I have seen several large cases that only have two front USB ports and it can be a pain to have to fish around the rear of the case trying to find an open port.

Read more: Cooler Master N400 Review @ OCC