Reviews 51923 Published by

Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

1 TB SSD comparison test
4K Gaming PC - April 2016
Anidees AI7 Case Review
Asus Republic Of Gamers GX700VO Watercooled Gaming Laptop
AZIO MGK 1 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review
Corsair Gaming K70 Rapidfire RGB Gaming Keyboard Review
Crucial BX200 960GB SSD Review
CRYORIG H7 CPU Cooler Review: Worry-free Compatibility
Ian 8PACK Parry showcases new custom OC’d watercooled systems
Intel 750 Series 800GB NVMe PCIe SSD Review
Patriot Magnum2 USB 3.1 Flash Drive Review (256GB)
Previewing Maingear's RUSH SuperStock X99: Opulence And The Killer Gaming Rig
ROCCAT KIRO Gaming Mouse Review
SilverStone Tundra TD02 Lite Review
System Guide, April 2016 edition
The GIGABYTE Server MW31-SP0 Motherboard Review: A Quick Look at C236



1 TB SSD comparison test

For a long time the operating system was pretty much the only thing installed on an SSD, while everything else, e.g. games, was installed on a secondary hard drive. With the falling pice of SSDs it is becoming more and more common to store more data on your SSD and to only use your hard drives for large-scale data storage. That is why we are going to take a look at eleven SSDs with a capacity of 1 TB.

These days the most popular SSDs are SSDs with a capaticy of around 250 GB. Since the price per gigabyte of SSDs keeps falling, it is becoming increasingly more attractive to choose for an SSD with a much larger capacity. This is also a necessity, since the size of new games keeps increasing as well. It is no longer an exception for games to take up tens of gigabytes of storage space.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

4K Gaming PC - April 2016

After a few years in which little happened in the area of PC displays, the 4K revolution is finally taking place. Graphics cards have to render four times as many pixels to drive a 4K display, while the game textures are only getting more detailed. In short: you need real horse power to game in 4K.

A fast processor and especially a graphics card is a must. For now, you even need a couple of the latter. However, the rest of the configuration needs to be balanced as well. Since many gamers prefer to overclock their PC to improve performance, it is important to choose a motherboard that is suitable for this.

Having the right accessories is equally important. The goal of our 4K Gaming PC is to be able to run virtually all new PC titles on the highest settings. That means high graphics quality settings, a good frame rate, and surround sound. And let’s not forget a good gaming mouse and a decent keyboard with features to enhance your PC gaming experience. Besides that, a nice gaming monitor will also help bring your gaming experience to the next level.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Anidees AI7 Case Review

Back in March of 2016, we took reviewed our first piece of hardware from Anidees, the AI8. That case proved to be a great contender for users requiring a large case, and had a great price point as well. Well, we are back today with another case from Anidees, the AI7. The Anidees AI7 is a dual-chamber ATX case that features a cube-like design that many manufacturers have been utilizing lately. The dual chambers work to separate the CPU and GPU from the PSU and storage devices. Follow along as we take a closer look at the Anidees AI7.

As with all products, there are a few standout features on the AI7 that we would like to cover. Without standout features to differentiate one product from another, we would live in a pretty boring world. Lets take a look at a few things that make the Anidees AI7 stand out from the crowd.

Read full article @ Bjorn3D

Asus Republic Of Gamers GX700VO Watercooled Gaming Laptop

The Asus Republic Of Gamers GX700 is the world’s first liquid cooled production laptop. We’re only using the word ‘production’ as you know there will be a modder out there saying ‘Nope, I liquid cooled mine years ago.’ So, ROG GX700 is a gaming laptop with Skylake Core i7 CPU and GTX 980 GPU that comes with an external water cooling dock and is actually available for purchase.

Read full article @ KitGuru

AZIO MGK 1 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

While it’s certainly true that there are those that could care less what input devices they use with their computer they must be the minority with all the options we have available to us. Your input device, your mouse and keyboard, are like your virtual hands that allow you to manipulate the pixels displayed before you and bend them to your will. For this reason the look, feel, and feedback of these devices is very important to us. When it comes to keyboards specifically, each of us has a different physiology and needs. However there are certainly a couple of features that set one keyboard apart from another regardless of personal opinion. It’s no secret that the mechanical keyboard is often the most sought after type of deck thanks to it’s snappy response and luscious actuation. Today we’ll be taking a look at one specific mechanical keyboard, the AZIO MGK 1 RGB. This fully backlit board has RGB LED lighting and of course, those awesome mechanical switches. Follow along as we go through the board and evaluate its potential strengths and weakness’.

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Corsair Gaming K70 Rapidfire RGB Gaming Keyboard Review

Ready to take your gaming seriously? We’ve got the (mostly) new Corsair Gaming K70 Rapidfire RGB in the eTeknix office today, and while you may be familiar with the K70 part, the keyboard now features the all-new and very much improved Cherry MX Speed switches! But what are MX Speed switches? They use the same underlying format as the extremely popular and lightning fast MX Red switches, but with a 40% reduction in actuation distance, meaning they’re even faster than ever before, making them the shortest response mechanical switches on the market today.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Crucial BX200 960GB SSD Review

It may not do very well when it comes to write performance but for people looking for a high capacity SSD with very good read performance and a very tempting price/capacity ratio the BX200 960GB SSD by Crucial is certainly worth taking a closer look.

Read full article @ NikKTech

CRYORIG H7 CPU Cooler Review: Worry-free Compatibility

Figuring out which component is compatible with which electronically is hard enough as it is for casual system builders that the last thing one needs is to find out that their heatsink does not fit with their case or RAM module heatspreader physically after all parts have been purchased. That is why clearance compatibility information is essential in a cooler … Read more.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

Ian 8PACK Parry showcases new custom OC’d watercooled systems

KitGuru visited Ian ‘8Pack’ Parry at Overclockers UK to answer the burning questions of the day; what exactly do you get when you spend between £3,000 and £12,000 on a gaming PC and why doesn’t he use AMD graphics cards? The answer to the first question is ‘Many, many GigaHertz’ and to the second is ‘Have you seen our new Meteoroid with Radeon R9 Fury X?’

Read full article @ KitGuru

Intel 750 Series 800GB NVMe PCIe SSD Review

Intel released a mid-capacity SSD 750 to fill the gap between its 400GB and 1.2TB models. The new 800GB version is the right size for many enthusiasts, but do its price and performance keep you interested or scare you away?

Read full article @ Toms Hardware

Patriot Magnum2 USB 3.1 Flash Drive Review (256GB)

The Patriot Supersonic Magnum2 is a USB 3.1 Gen 1 flash drive that is fully backward compatible with USB 2/3 devices. It has listed transfer speed specifications of 400MB/s read and 300MB/s write and the case is aluminum and sustainable of up to 15G of shock resistance. A huge plus that we see right off with this flash drive is that it comes with a standard 5 year warranty.

Read full article @ The SSD Review

Previewing Maingear's RUSH SuperStock X99: Opulence And The Killer Gaming Rig

When it comes to high performance, over-the-top enthusiast computers, Maingear is a boutique builder that has been designing and manufacturing some of the most stand-out, highly-tuned systems on the market over the years. Hailing from good ol' Kenilworth, a burough of New Jersey, the custom PC shop likens itself to sort of a "Fast n' Loud" of the PC world, only they typically build systems that offer muscle car horsepower and stylings that are anything but loud, actually...

The system you see here is the kind of machine that the average DIY enthusiast either couldn't or wouldn't build themselves. This is Maingear's RUSH SuperStock X99 system and its Crystal Hardline Tubing cooling system alone would take significant planning to map out and implement with its over 70 individual fittings, dual radiators, dual pumps and dual reservoirs...

Read full article @ HotHardware

ROCCAT KIRO Gaming Mouse Review

In the end, the mouse is a great ambidextrous mouse! However, I don't know many people who swap between left and right handed to play or work. If you do, great, this mouse is truly for you. For the rest of us, unfortunately, you're going to be left with extra pieces that you'll never use, buttons you've paid for and won't use, and a slightly empty feeling for your dominant hand. I see how the product is great for the market from the perspective of ROCCAT. It is a mouse that sells to both handed people. Seems like a win versus paying for additional molds for specific right or left handed shapes. I understand that. I just don't prefer it. I feel like I could save my pennies by not purchasing the extra stuff I won't/can't use. However, that part aside the mouse is a functional experience that isn't bad. The mouse is a pretty good mouse. The quality is sound (although I'm disappointed the cable isn't braided), there is lighting options to match my themes, and I get my forward/back buttons for email and melee smashing. This mouse definitely stands out from the normal "mouse" today, since more and more they are just slight variations. Unfortunately, I don't think what makes it stand out (the ambidextrous features) makes me want it any more than any other mouse. It does have a great price point -- so it's really hard to argue this mouse as much less than good!

Read full article @ OCC

SilverStone Tundra TD02 Lite Review

With the Tundra TD02 Lite SilverStone has an all-in-one watercooler in its portfolio, which comes with the a slim radiator and two 120 millimeter fans. At a first look the design is good looking and you get a black radiator and fans with white fan blades. At this point we're curious to find out how this cooler performs.

Read full article @ ocaholic

System Guide, April 2016 edition

In this edition of The Tech Report's System Guide, we examine the CPUs, graphics cards, memory, cases, power supplies, and other parts that system builders will need to power Oculus' Rift and HTC's Vive VR headsets.

Read full article @ The Tech Report

The GIGABYTE Server MW31-SP0 Motherboard Review: A Quick Look at C236

When we learned that Intel would be restricting Skylake based Xeon E3 CPUs to motherboards using server chipsets only, there was a small outcry from a community that has routinely picked the E3 processors over the consumer counterparts. This is because server chipset based motherboards come with very specialized feature sets, are not concerned with looks or things such as bundles or software packages, and are often limited in XMP support. A few motherboard manufacturers have released server motherboards in the consumer style to fill the gap, but first up we wanted to look at one of the ‘typical’ server products before hitting the new hybrids. This review focuses on the MW31-SP0, a GIGABYTE Server motherboard using the C236 chipset.

Read full article @ Anandtech