Reviews 51951 Published by

Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

ADATA SX8200 480 GB Review
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 and Ryzen 5 2600 Processor Review
ASUS ProArt PA27AC Monitor Review
Asus ZenBook 3 Deluxe UX490UA Review
Benq Screenbar e-Reading Lamp Review
GIGABYTE’s X399 Aorus Extreme: The Threadripper 2 Halo Motherboard
Havit HV-KB390L Low-Profile Keyboard Review
Kubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver upgrades - Results!
Neato Botvac D7 Robot Vacuum Cleaner Review
TeamGroup T-Force VULCAN TUF DDR4 3200 MHz Review
VersaDesk Standing Desk Review
ZOOZ Z-Wave Plus Indoor Siren ZSE01 Review



ADATA SX8200 480 GB Review

The ADATA SX8200 SSD ushers in new performance records for our SSD reviews. Despite the use of TLC, speeds are incredible. The SX8200 has a generous 128 GB SLC write cache, which ensures even large write batches get completed at the drive's full speed. Pricing is awesome too, with only $170 for the tested 480 GB version.

Read full article @ TechPowerUp

AMD Ryzen 7 2700 and Ryzen 5 2600 Processor Review

Last March, AMD released their long awaited Ryzen line of processors, and the new AM4 socket and X370 chipset. Like any launch of a new architecture, it had its issues. However, overall it was a vast improvement over their previous Piledriver architecture. With the second generation of Ryzen processors based on AMDs 12 nm Zen+ architecture, the hope is they’ve worked out all the bugs such as overclocking issues and memory compatibility. Now, with over a year to work out the bugs, AMD has released their second generation of Ryzen processors, with their X470 chipset to go along with the new chips. In classic AMD fashion, they have kept the AM4 socket for this generation. In this review, we’ll be taking a look at both the R7 2700 and the R5 2600, both the non X variant. The big question is, did AMD continue to improve with their latest generation of Ryzen processors? We’ll try to answer that question the best we can and provide some evidence to back up our claim. So, let’s see how these two processors did against the competition, and each other.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

ASUS ProArt PA27AC Monitor Review

The monitor market is filled with gaming displays, but workstation and professional monitors are still making big waves in the market, something that ASUS is driving home with their ProArt PA27AC HDR professional monitor.

ASUS uses a 27-inch WQHD IPS panel with a beautiful frameless design on the ProArt PA27AC, with 100% of sRGB color gamut, and HDR functionality. There's super-fast Thunderbolt 3 connectivity that drives up to 40Gbps with USB-C and power delivery that pumps up to 45W of power to external devices. The big selling point here is that ASUS uses their in-house ProArt Calibration Technology that offers "advanced adjustment including a 14-bit lookup table for color accuracy and 5x5 grid uniformity testing". Out of the box color and sharpness is truly out of this world, a big deal for the ASUS ProArt PA27AC.

Read full article @ TweakTown

Asus ZenBook 3 Deluxe UX490UA Review

Same name, new 8th Gen Intel Core processor. When we reviewed the ZenBook 3 Deluxe back in November, we came away feeling as though Asus wasn't from creating an excellent Ultrabook. The chassis is stylish, performance sound, and a few small tweaks here and there would elevate the system from good to great. Our recommendations included a touchscreen display, a better webcam, and improved battery optimisation.

The arrival of Intel's 8th Gen Core processors is an opportune moment to refresh existing laptops, and Asus has done exactly that with a 2018 model going by the same name. Say hello, again, to the ZenBook 3 Deluxe UX490UA.

Read full article @ Hexus

Benq Screenbar e-Reading Lamp Review

One thing that most of us do not think about when designing and setting up our PC Desk setup is lighting. Yes, you may want some RGB lights on your desk or behind your monitor, but real functional lighting is sort of an after-thought. Well Benq might have just the thing for you in their Screenbar e-Reading lamp, which is designed to sit on the top of your monitor and provide great lighting for your work space. It also solves problems that traditional lamps face like incorrect brightness, limited space, and screen reflection. Let’s take a look at the Screenbar from Benq and see if it is the ultimate lighting solution for our setup.

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

GIGABYTE’s X399 Aorus Extreme: The Threadripper 2 Halo Motherboard

Our most popular news during the week of Computex was, without a doubt, AMD’s announcement of the next generation of Threadripper. The new chips, coined Threadripper 2, are set to have up to 32 cores on board and be socket compatible with current X399 motherboards. However, the new chips will be rated at a 250W TDP, which as a result might be limiting to some of the current motherboards on the market. While all of the new CPUs will work in all of the current X399 motherboards, overclocking may be limited. As a result, some manufacturers are working on an X399 motherboard refresh, and GIGABYTE is stepping up with its new top-end halo motherboard, the X399 Aorus.

Aside from all the metallic looking pieces, GIGABYTE’s new motherboard is taking cues from its return to a more traditional finned heatsink design for the power delivery. The new 13 phase motherboard (10+3) is using a connected direct-contact heatpipe between the two main heatsinks to afford a better cooling scenario. Beyond this the motherboard has DRAM and PCIe slot protection, and a massive chipset heatsink area that also supports heatsink cooling for three M.2 SSDs.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Havit HV-KB390L Low-Profile Keyboard Review

My first keyboard and daily driver for a number of years was a tenkeyless variation of the Enermax Aurora, a superb scissor-switch keyboard. Eventually, I was seduced by the subtle tactile feel of Cherry MX Browns and set aside my Aurora for mechanical keyboards. At the time, my move to mechanical key switches meant a move away from low-profile keyboards. I was actually hesitant to swap my Aurora out for a mechanical board because I was worried about my fingers slipping down into the deep crevices between tall keycaps while gaming and typing. Fortunately, I was able to easily adjust to using high-profile keycaps, but my love for low-profile layouts endured. Fast forward to the present. There's recently been an explosion in new mechanical key switch types, and some of these new switches are more compact and allow for low-profile keycaps.

Read full article @ The Tech Report

Kubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver upgrades - Results!

Let me upgrade that for you, for only 9.99 Tux. Behold, an article about the Kubuntu upgrade experience and results going from 17.10 Artful Aardvark to 18.08 Bionic Beaver on two different laptops - multi-boot Windows-and-Linux BIOS/Nvidia graphics and UEFI/Intel graphics setups, including third-party repo management, drivers, boot times, fonts, resources, performance, various inconsistencies and problems, and more. Enjoy.

Read full article @ Dedoimedo

Neato Botvac D7 Robot Vacuum Cleaner Review

Its usually me making the case for new smart home gadgets, but when it came to a robot vacuum cleaner, it was my partner, Steph, who suggested it. Unusually hot weather in London causing our cats to moult more than usual may have been the triggering event!
Id looked at them when they first came out, and wasnt that impressed by what I saw and read. Early models tended to wander randomly about the home, didnt cope well with obstacles, and their battery-powered vacuum motors werent very powerful.

Read full article @ 9to5Mac

TeamGroup T-Force VULCAN TUF DDR4 3200 MHz Review

We review T-Force VULCAN TUF DDR4 from TeamGroup, it is a dual-channel 3200 MHz kit with the ability to be tweaked a little. It's TUF, meaning the heat spreader has been aligned with ASUS TUF Sabertooth motherboards (2018 models) as well as offering full support on these boards. Of course, it has XMP 2.0 memory profiles on Intel and AMD platforms as well. Join us as we review the 16GB kit

The T-Force VULCAN TUF DDR4 is gamer grade memory for the high-end enthusiasts. Don't worry, nothing RGB. Teamgroup is offering the TUF styled and TUF mobo certified memory in four flavors, 2400, 3000, 3200 and 3600 MHz. Be wary of the timings though, look at the table below. Our 3200 Mhz kit is but yes, speeds start at 2400 MT/s.

Read full article @ The Guru of 3D

VersaDesk Standing Desk Review

The VersaDesk Power Pro standing desk converter is an interesting item. On one hand it turns any desk capable of becoming one into a standing desk without the need to buying one outright. However, the flip side of this is that when using it as a standing desk is severely limits working space. In the end, though, it?s a great accessory for those looking to get a bit more circulation while working or gaming for long stretches.

Read full article @ MMORPG

ZOOZ Z-Wave Plus Indoor Siren ZSE01 Review

The ZOOZ Z-Wave Plus Indoor Siren ZSE01 is a great choice for those looking to add a siren to the their smart home ecosystem. It is fairly easy to connect, has a variety of mounting options, and functions just as you would expect. The handful of things that really drew me to it are the fact that it is AC powered with battery backup, features the benefits of Z-Wave Plus, and when plugged in to AC power it will function as a Z-Wave repeater.

Read full article @ Bigbruin.com