Reviews 51946 Published by

Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

ASRock Deskmini GTX Z370 Review
Biostar X470GTN Gaming (AMD X470) Motherboard Review
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Air Cooler Review
Corsair K70 RGB MK.2 RAPIDFIRE Review
Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 Review
Dell XPS 15 vs. XPS 15 2-in-1: Which laptop is best for you?
E-Lektron JAD38-B Digital Sound System Review
Earthfall Xbox One Review
Gigabyte Aorus GTX 1070 en RX 580 Gaming Box Review
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (3rd Generation) Review
PC Specialist Recoil II (i7-8750H & GTX 1060) Laptop Review
Silicon Power A55 512GB Review
SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC Review
Toshiba OCZ RC100 480 GB Review



ASRock Deskmini GTX Z370 Review

ASRock’s Deskmini GTX Z370 is the company’s latest and greatest barebones mini PC, and it’s one of the best we’ve ever tested.

ASRock updated its Deskmini barebones mini PCs to a Z370 platform, and it’s one of the most capable and versatile systems of its kind. The Deskmini is the ultimate enthusiast mini PC with support for 8th generation (Coffee Lake) Intel desktop processors, options for GTX 1060 (in Taiwan) or GTX 1080 (in the United States) graphics, and more total storage drive capacity than any other mini PC we’ve ever seen. The GTX 1080 version sold in the U.S. will run for $1,529.99, while the GTX 1060 model we tested is around $900 USD (if you go by Taiwanese pricing). The new Z370 Deskmini is worth every penny if you need a seriously small form factor and like to build your own PC.

Read full article @ Tom's Hardware

Biostar X470GTN Gaming (AMD X470) Motherboard Review

While we have looked at a few X470 ATX motherboards, we haven't taken a look at any smaller motherboards for the X470 platform. Today we will take a close look at the X470GTN, a mini-ITX motherboard designed for the high-end X470 platform. While we did take a look at the X370GTN a while back, today we look at its replacement, the X470GTN. Let's see what Biostar has for us!

The X470GTN Gaming features 32Gb/s M.2,USB 3.1, USB 3.0, Realtek LAN, and four SATA6Gb/s ports.

Read full article @ TweakTown

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Air Cooler Review

For over 25 years Cooler Master has been supplying the globe with aftermarket PC components. One of the most popular aftermarket CPU coolers in the world is the Hyper 212 Evo (RR-212E-20PK-R2). Worth mentioning also is that the Hyper 212 EVO HSF has been around since late 2011. It is hardly new by anyone's standards, but Cooler Master has kept building it and keeping it on track with all modern sockets. We still see it referred to all the time in our forums. We reached out to Cooler Master for a review unit, but they turned us down. Understandably so, given that our testing criteria is likely "a bit much," for the little Hyper 212 EVO. That said, we wanted to know where it sits today when it comes to cooling highly overclocked Ryzen CPUs.

When we purchased ours, it was $35 at Amazon. Today it is at $22.50 at Amazon, and $20 at Newegg after a $10 MIR. So it is obvious why this cooler is so attractive to many, because many times it is just dirt cheap in terms of your hard earned dollars.

Read full article @ HardOCP

Corsair K70 RGB MK.2 RAPIDFIRE Review

The Corsair K70 has been around for a number of years now, with several different variations and improvements in that time, however they were all just small, incremental adjustments not worthy of a new version number. Today, that changes, with the Corsair K70 RGB MK.2.

Though at first glance, it’s difficult to set one apart from the other, the small improvements throughout should make the already-much-loved K70 even more loveable. Corsair have put the K70 through stringent tests and even asked elite-level pro gamers such as Annemunition and Bajheera for feedback and suggestions, as well as relying on the community at large for ideas. Many manufacturers often use the “If it isn’t broken, fix it until it is” mentality when it comes to designing the next revision of popular hardware, while Corsair have strictly kept things as familiar as possible.

Read full article @ Vortez

Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 Review

When Dell brought us the first Kaby Lake-G laptop to market we were very excited to see how the combo processor would perform, that is, a combination of a quad-core Kaby Lake CPU with an AMD Radeon RX Vega M GPU and 4GB of HBM2 on a single package. We’ve already gone through all the performance, now let’s discuss whether it’s actually worth buying the first Kaby Lake-G laptop: the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1.

We’re looking at a convertible laptop with a 360-degree hinge. You can use it as a giant 15.6-inch tablet, or in more useful stand and tent modes. At this size, I don’t find the 2-in-1 aspect of this laptop all that useful; most convertibles I stick to using as a laptop anyway, but when we’re talking about a 15-inch system, the size makes some of those other usage modes less practical.

Read full article @ TechSpot

Dell XPS 15 vs. XPS 15 2-in-1: Which laptop is best for you?

Are you going with the clamshell or the convertible design?

Like the XPS 13, Dell expanded its XPS 15 lineup to include a 2-in-1 model. It looks similar to the clamshell one, it has similar hardware inside, and it also has a gorgeous display. Prices are likewise closely matched, and you might be wondering exactly which model is best for you. Let's break things down to help you make a final decision.

Read full article @ Windows Central

E-Lektron JAD38-B Digital Sound System Review

Portable speakers may not be among the most popular wireless devices all year long but their sales seem to explore during the summer period probably because many people are looking for something to accompany them (and their friends) while relaxing in their back yard, camping or even when at the beach or pool. However although quite versatile and useful because of their compact size and thus limited power output the majority of portable speakers out there simply can't cover a large area and so they are not really ideal for people looking to throw a "party" with their friends. The solution to that is rather simple so you can either choose to pair two or more portable speakers to cover a larger/wider area (not many models support pairing but the number continuously increases) or if there's an electrical socket nearby and you want plenty of power you can get your hands on one of the larger "portable" active speakers like the JAD38-B (EL815820) by E-Lektron.

E-Lektron started its business in 2007, its target to offer DJ & PA electronics online at competitive prices and with premium service. At that time regular suppliers were not so keen on their products being offered online so E-Lektron started developing their own products, starting with speakers and amplifiers. Our products are being manufactured by contract-manufacturers with E-Lektron’s high standards and are shipped to our customers in the EU with DHL from our warehouse in Paderborn, Germany. Our prices are competitive since there's no “middle man” and our products are covered by a 2-year warranty (after which we can still repair them in our own workshop thanks to our large stock of spare parts, also for older products).

Read full article @ NikKTech

Earthfall Xbox One Review

Offering a ton of fun at an affordable price point, Earthfall is a game you shouldn't miss.

Ever since 2009, the gaming industry hasn't seen a game that perfectly captures what made Valve's Left 4 Dead so special. However, with the official release of Earthfall, this changed. Smooth, creative, graphically impressive, and mechanically sound, Earthfall manages to recreate the greatness of Left 4 Dead while simultaneously avoiding feeling like a clone.

Read full article @ Windows Central

Gigabyte Aorus GTX 1070 en RX 580 Gaming Box Review

At the moment even the lightest gaming laptops are still heavy devices, if you compare them to ultrabooks for office purposes. What if you cannot choose between a feather-light system and smooth frame rates? In that case an external gpu offers a solution: a separate box with a graphics card, with which your light laptop transforms into a potent gaming machine. In this article we take a look at the Gigabyte Aorus Gaming Box, a small external gpu housing that comes with Nvidia or AMD cards.

Gaming laptops are becoming thinner and lighter. There is no need to buy a laptop weighing five kilograms if you want to use your mobile machine for gaming. Still, even the lightest gaming laptops are a bit thicker and heavier than regular machines. A powerful graphics card requires good cooling, complete with larger heatsinks, multiple fans and larger airflow openings for hot air. In short, you are faced with the choice between a light, thin laptop or a more powerful but heavier device.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (3rd Generation) Review

The ThinkPad brand has always been the “iconic” business laptop brand and for good reason. ThinkPad’s have always performed great and had the business features people want. The ThinkPad X1 Yoga is a great 2-in-1 that gives you the feel of a traditional notebook, but also can transform into a tablet, be set to give a presentation, or even view multimedia. The X1 Yoga is currently in its third generation, bringing with it the new Intel 8th Generation Core i5-8250U quad-core processor. This Core i5 processor does support Hyper-Threading and has a very impressive power envelope of only 15W. Lenovo has also updated the finger print reader and even put a shutter on the webcam so you don’t have to worry about anyone spying on you! Is this the perfect business laptop for you? Read on as we find out!

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

PC Specialist Recoil II (i7-8750H & GTX 1060) Laptop Review

It's a cracking laptop from PC Specialist - and it won't break the bank either. The PC Specialist Recoil II is the latest laptop to come through our labs sporting an Intel 8th Gen mobile processor. We have already seen the likes of the Gigabyte Aero 15X, the MSI GS65 and the Cyberpower Tracer III – so we have plenty of opportunity to make comparisons. Priced at just £1149, however, the Recoil II is the cheapest laptop we have seen to-date that sports the hexa-core i7-8750H. Is it money well spent, or have too many corners been cut?

Read full article @ KitGuru

Silicon Power A55 512GB Review

Silicon Power is a company most may not be familiar with, having mostly sold cheaper flash memory cards and USB flash drives, they like most memory companies have also made kits of DRAM and SSDs, the SSDs they sell are a point of interest to me when browsing SSD pricing last month I fell upon this company and their A55 drives on Amazon when looking for the cheapest SSDs available. With 4.5 star reviews on Amazon and no other professional reviews I reached out to SP and asked for one of their drives, mainly with the intent of seeing if it is any good.

At $85 it is priced against the Patriot Burst 480GB we reviewed last month and is the cheapest 480GB+ drive I can find on the market currently, it seems like something a lot of people are picking up and at the price, it’s at its very understandable. Like all other drives we’ve tested this drive is a 7mm SSD in the 2.5 Inch form factor and has a 3-year warranty.

Read full article @ Wccftech

SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC Review

The best-sounding gaming headset of them all? Audiophile-grade sound quality from a gaming headset. That's the dream peddled by manufacturers with respect to their premium offerings. But history has shown, repeatedly, that gaming and true audio fidelity to be largely mutually exclusive - a £100 headset is routinely trounced by a quality set of headphones from, say, Grado, AKG or Sennheiser.

The latest in a long line of gaming cans to take up the audio challenge is from Danish outfit SteelSeries. Building on the Arctis 7 range from last year, in style and substance, is the Arctis Pro line comprising the £180 base model, a £300 wireless solution and a £250 intermediary that ships with a digital-to-analogue converter (DAC). It's this Arctis Pro + GameDAC that's in for review today.

Read full article @ Hexus

Toshiba OCZ RC100 480 GB Review

Today, we have for review the Toshiba OCZ RC100 in its 480 GB variant. A few years back, the company was acquired by Toshiba, which gave OCZ the ability to be a first-class customer to Toshiba's flash chips and other NAND-related technology. In the meantime, OCZ has been fully integrated into Toshiba as their more consumer-oriented brand, while the parent company focuses on the business and enterprise sectors.

The RC100 is one of the first highly cost-optimized NVMe M.2 SSDs. It is built using just a single chip, which is made by Toshiba, and integrates the SSD controller and NAND flash into a single package. Due to the cost-optimized design, an external DRAM chip is not required—the RC100 is DRAM-less (more on that on the following pages).

Read full article @ TechPowerUp