Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including Fractal Design Node 605 Review, Noctua NH-U12S and NH-U14S CPU Cooler Review, Sapphire HD 7790 Dual-X, Civilization V: Brave New World Review, and OpenOffice 4.0 Review



Fractal Design Node 605 Review @ Guru3D

We review the Fractal Design Node 605, an all black, all cool and all silent HTPC chassis for Mini ITX and even full ATX motherboards. For this HTPC chassis is all about style, storage, USB 3.0 options and an integrated three-speed fan controller. It's lovely to look at, has a decent size and sure, might be one of the better HTPC or home server chassis we have tested to date. The Node 605 ships in a wider HTPC/AV receiver style chassis that comes with full-sized ATX motherboard support. Four hard drive slots are included on this model, with an integrated card reader, USB 3.0 and Firewire connections. Graphic cards up to 280mm are supported, but that shrinks to 180mm when all drives are fitted. Cleverly hidden behind the access panel on the solid 8mm thick aluminum front panel are two USB 3.0 ports, a FireWire port and a multi-format card reader for multiple formats.

Solid aluminum front panel
Supports full ATX motherboards
Noise-dampening material
4 HDD/SSD slots
Integrated card reader
Two Silent Series R2 hydraulic bearing fans included
Supports graphic cards up to 280mm in length (180mm with all hard drives in place)
USB 3.0 and FireWire front connectors

Read more: Fractal Design Node 605 Review @ Guru3D

Noctua NH-U12S and NH-U14S CPU Cooler Review @ Madshrimps

Austrian Cooler giant Noctua released a while back two new additions to their popular CPU cooling line-up. Two single slim design tower coolers in two different versions: the NH-U12S utilizing a 120mm fan and it's bigger brother the NH-U14S, sporting a bigger 140mm fan. Both coolers are designed for uncompromising performance, however not at the cost of mainboard and RAM compatibility. Unlike other cooler manufacturers Noctua isn't updating it's product range on the fly, a clear sign that the design and technology behind their products is reflected in great lasting performance and reliability. The latter statement is backed up by a 6 year warranty on the cooler and included Fan.

Read more: Noctua NH-U12S and NH-U14S CPU Cooler Review @ Madshrimps

CM Storm SF-17 Gaming Notebook Cooler Review @ OCC

Cooler Master did a good job with the CM Storm SF-17 Gaming Notebook Cooler. Great build quality and looks that will definitely appeal to the those that like a rugged style make this cooler very unique. The fan speed control is a welcome feature that will enable users to bring down the generated noise to acceptable levels. And the four height adjustment settings provide some flexibility depending on your typing style. The anti-slip material used on this cooler is simply great; even at the highest setting the laptop did not move the slightest. Finally, the cable management integration is more efficient than what was available on other laptop coolers.

Read more: CM Storm SF-17 Gaming Notebook Cooler Review @ OCC

NZXT H630 Silent Ultra-Tower Case Review @ HiTech Legion

When discussing the history of the Mongols, everybody just seems to remember the pillaging and nobody talks about all the positive things they have contributed. For example, did you know they practically invented the patio party? As a Canadian, the patio party is an essential part of our summers so this strikes me on a personal level. Sure, the Mongolian version of the patio party is slightly different with the Mongols building wooden platforms on top of their (still alive) conquered enemies while they had a barbecue feast. It all sounds grotesque to us, but to them the groans of their enemies were probably equivalent to Tiesto DJ'ing the party, especially considering the only music they had was Mongolian throat singing. Even in the way they celebrate, they were brutal to their enemy for that is their nature.

Just like the Mongolian Horede, High-end PC components are expected to run hot and loud. Attempts to temper their nature have been valiant but the most practical method of controlling them is to build a barrier. The Chinese built the Great Wall and for PC components, many manufacturers have designed special noise-dampened cases equipped with padding and other vibration-minimizing features. NZXT in particular has had three other silent-case offerings for the mid-tower market: the Hush, the H2 and the recently announced H230. User’s looking for a larger solution that can house enthusiast-class components unfortunately had very few options until now.

Read more: NZXT H630 Silent Ultra-Tower Case Review @ HiTech Legion

Synology DS713+ @ techPowerUp

Synology specializes in high-performance NAS servers with good price/performance ratio. Today, we will take a look at the DS713+ offering reliability and performance along with scalability to business environments, since it can be easily hold up to 28 TB with the Synology DX513 expansion unit.

Read more: Synology DS713+ @ techPowerUp

Sapphire HD 7790 Dual-X @ LanOC Reviews

Earlier this year we covered a whole collection of HD 7790’s from various manufactures but there was one missing. I was a little late getting my hands on a Sapphire card and due to other launches I’m even later getting to telling everyone about it. That does mean we have a chance to compare how the HD 7790 is performing now and along with that we get to see how Sapphires Dual-X dual fan cooling design performs. If its anything like the past few aftermarket cooler designs that we have seen from Sapphire I should be very happy.

Read more: Sapphire HD 7790 Dual-X @ LanOC Reviews

MSI GK-601 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review @ Benchmark Reviews

Mechanical Keyboards have been a popular item lately for its tactile response and long lasting quality. Numerous manufacturers, including the likes of Corsair and Mad Catz, have all been jumping onto the bandwagon. MSI does as well, bringing us a new mechanical gaming keyboard, the GK-601. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests performance for the MSI GK-601 macro-enabled mechanical gaming keyboard.

Read more: MSI GK-601 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review @ Benchmark Reviews

Review: Nokia Lumia 1020 Smartphone @ HotHardware.com

Nokia's battle in the global smartphone race is an intriguing one, and those who follow technology have long wondered if the company's decision to hitch its wagon to Microsoft was a wise one. When Stephen Elop came in as CEO, Nokia was in a rare position: it could choose which platform it wanted to support for the foreseeable future. Of course, choosing Windows Phone was a polarizing choice. Android loyalists yearned to see Nokia hardware running Google's mobile OS, while early fans of Windows Phone were thrilled to have such a well-regarded hardware maker on-board.

Over the past couple of years, Windows Phone as a whole has struggled to gain mass acceptance. Meanwhile, iOS and Android have surged, and while BlackBerry has done little to prove that it's worthy of being amongst the mobile elite, it's looking more and more like a two-horse race. Since the Windows Phone OS alone probably isn't enough to sway many smartphone consumers to try a Lumia device, Nokia has resorted to differentiating itself on the hardware side.

Read more: Review: Nokia Lumia 1020 Smartphone @ HotHardware.com

Samsung WB800F Smart Camera Review @ KitGuru

Point-and-shoots almost seem like a last option while shopping for cameras nowadays, while phone cameras constantly improve optics and quality. It's tough to compete in a market so saturated with endless high and low end fixed lens options. This generation of point-and-shoot cameras needs a few things to compete with the onslaught, such as excellent optics, wireless connectivity - and they have to be easy to use. Samsung does a great job with their WB800F Smart Camera, implementing most of those features in an innovative way. Cramming a 1/2.3 BSI CMOS sensor with a 21X optical zoom with an exceptionally high 16.3 megapixel count, Samsung manages to offer a decent amount of specs for $269 while coming in cheaper than the competition. We will see just how much value you can get out of the WB800F at its modest price-point.

Read more: Samsung WB800F Smart Camera Review @ KitGuru

Civilization V: Brave New World Review @ Techgage

Firaxis impressed us last summer when it released the excellent Gods & Kings expansion pack for Civilization V, so leading up to the launch of Brave New World, the game’s second expansion, expectations were sky-high. Did the company deliver yet again? Let’s find out, and get cultured in the process.

Read more: Civilization V: Brave New World Review @ Techgage

Cooler Master CM Storm Pulse-R Gaming Headset Review @ Legit Reviews

We got an early look at an upcoming gaming headset from Cooler Master that blends an array of aesthetics and sound design into the same package. The Pulse-R headset features aluminum materials, illuminated earcups, cushioned full-sized cups for comfort and isolation, an in-line remote, and detachable microphone. Find out if it's style and substance done right!

Read more: Cooler Master CM Storm Pulse-R Gaming Headset Review @ Legit Reviews

Thermaltake Smart 750W Power Supply Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Like most companies Thermaltake has an entire range of power supplies from the high-end to something for people looking to save some money. Not everyone has the money to throw at a top of the line power supply and Thermaltake knows this. Today we are taking a look at one of their more mainstream power supplies in the Smart SP-750P 750W Power Supply. This unit lacks some of the high-end features like modular cables and Over Temperature Protection, but you do get things like an 80PLUS Bronze certification, flat low profile cables, a single 12V rail design and of course a much lower price tag. Let’s take the Smart 750W through the paces and see how it works out.

Read more: Thermaltake Smart 750W Power Supply Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Vizio M501D-A2R Review @ TechReviewSource.com

The Vizio M551D-A2R is a surprisingly stylish, affordable LED-backlit HDTV that sports tons of features, good picture quality, and out-of-the-box 3D for eight people.

Read more: Vizio M501D-A2R Review @ TechReviewSource.com

Apache OpenOffice 4.0 Review @ Techradar

It's been a while since OpenOffice had an update. So long that Microsoft's SmartScreen security technology doesn't recognise the file as one that's commonly downloaded. After years as the main open source competition to Microsoft Office, OpenOffice has fallen significantly behind. There was controversy after Oracle bought Sun, which had open sourced the code for StarOffice as the basis of the project, and most of the developers moved to The Document Project to work on competitor LibreOffice.

Apache OpenOffice 4.0 Review @ Techradar