Reviews 51946 Published by

Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

Case Mod Friday: Point Blank Barret
Cryorig H5 Universal CPU Air Cooler Review
Cyberpower Hyper Liquid 100 GTX 1080 Gaming PC Review
DeepCool Captain 120EX White Edition CPU Cooler Review
G-Technology G-Drive with Thunderbolt 8TB Capsule Review
Gears of War 4 PC Game Analysis
GIGABYTE GA-X99-Ultra Gaming Review
How to Re-Enable Flash in Safari 10
ICY DOCK Black Vortex Quad-Bay USB 3.0 & eSATA External 3.5" SATA HDD Enclosure Review
iStorage datAshur PRO 8GB Secure Flash Drive Review
SilverStone Strider Platinum ST85F-PT PSU Review
The 30 Year History of AMD Graphics, In Pictures
Thermaltake Core X31 Mid Tower Chassis Review



Case Mod Friday: Point Blank Barret

This weeks mod comes from the very popular modder Suchao out of Thailand.  He is very well known for his themed mods, but this one is definitely over the top.  The "Point Blank Barret" is designed after the Barret M82A1 sniper rifle from the online game Point Blank.  Yes, this scratch build looks exactly like a sniper rifle!  It is one of the most extraordinary builds that we've seen this year!  Don't take my word for it check out the photos below.

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Cryorig H5 Universal CPU Air Cooler Review

Keeping your system cool and quiet is always a welcome bonus, as lower temperatures can often mean improved hardware lifespan and stable performance, while lower noise is never a bad thing, as you would rather hear your movie, music or your gaming rather than the whirling noise of your fans. Cryorig already produces some of the best coolers on the market, but their mid-budget H5 Universal looks set to tick a lot of boxes, promising solid cooling performance, quiet acoustics, great design, an affordable price and excellent compatibility.

“CRYORIG H Series coolers feature our proprietary Hive Fin™ structure. This design allows for a combination of Jet Fin Acceleration™ and Turbulence Reduction, as well as strengthening structural strength of the fin stacks. Combined together, the Hive Fin™ design brings cool innovation.” – Cryorig

As you can see, the H5 Universal offers support for virtually every major socket, so compatibility is not going to be an issue here. The slim tower design also means that ram clearance is unlimited, so you’re not going to be restricted there either.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Cyberpower Hyper Liquid 100 GTX 1080 Gaming PC Review

Successfully building a stylish and powerful gaming system isn’t overly challenging thanks to the wealth of tutorial videos and hardware experts littered around numerous forums ready to offer useful advice. Not only that, the majority of component installation revolves around common sense and can be completed by those without a high level of technical expertise. Subsequently, the low barrier to entry has caused some proponents of self-builds to question the need for pre-configured systems. While this argument certainly has some validity to it, there’s still legitimate reasons why you might want to consider ordering a custom PC from a reputable company like Cyberpower. First and foremost, cable management is tricky, especially when opting for small-form-factor builds. Also, having accessible customer service and a lengthy warranty period is an alluring prospect.

On another note, custom loop liquid cooling can be daunting to newcomers because the slim possibility of leaks lingers on people’s minds. As a result, I strongly believe this is the one key area system integrators can specialise in and provide a service which removes all the hassle. Also, custom loops certainly require more patience and a greater level of technical experience. Some of you might remember earlier this year PC Specialist unveiled their Liquid Series which allowed customers to enjoy a custom loop at numerous price points. Given the success of this endeavour, Cyberpower has unleashed their own custom loop range which has different complexities while opting for the best possible components. To mark this new series, Cyberpower sent out the Hyper Liquid 100 for review purposes which feature an Intel Core i7-6700K overclocked to 4.4GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition and 16GB of high-frequency DDR4 memory. Also, the machine utilises a Samsung SM951 NVMe boot SSD, 2TB secondary drive, a Corsair CX600M power supply and attractive custom loop. This specification is housed in the NZXT Manta and has a 3-year warranty as standard. Priced at £1999.80, the Cyberpower Hyper Liquid 100 is a serious investment but the compact build and premium experience should help to make the cost more justifiable.

Read full article @ eTeknix

DeepCool Captain 120EX White Edition CPU Cooler Review

The DeepCool Captain series has already proven a big hit with system builders, its mixture of high-performance, competitive prices, and unique design make it stand out from a sea of very similar looking products that are on the market today. Now they’re back once again with a slight twist on the core design, as the 120EX White brightens up the design with a glossy black and white finish on the pump, reservoir, and fan.

“CAPTAIN EX Series has preserved most key features from the previous CAPTAIN version : Styled with Steam Punk appearance, built with visible liquid flow and LED lighting. In addition, CAPTAIN EX Series will bring you upgraded anti-explosion rubber and high-density water micro-channel, unique silent TF 120 double-blade fan, as well as updated tooling free installation solution, which will dramatically improve your heat dissipation experience, especially in terms of stability, silence, efficiency and convenience.” – DeepCool

The Captain 120EX White comes equipped with a single 120mm hydro-bearing fan for the radiator, which can operate up to 1800RPM. The radiator is aluminium and is powered by a powerful 12v pump, which uses a 3-pin fan header.

Read full article @ eTeknix

G-Technology G-Drive with Thunderbolt 8TB Capsule Review

We have not published any hands-on reviews of G-Technologys products till now. Keeping that in mind, G-Technology wanted to start us off with one of their basic offerings - the G-Drive with Thunderbolt. The 8TB version packs a HGST Ultrastar He8 3.5" SATA hard-drive in a sealed enclosure with one Thunderbolt port and one USB 3.0 port. At any given point of time, either device port can be used to access the drive. The G-Technology G-Drive with Thunderbolt 8TB currently sells for $600. The HGST Ultrastar He8 sells for approximately $500 (the official version with warranty from HGST), putting the cost of an all-aluminum, Thunderbolt + USB 3.0 enclosure at $100. As far as the premium for Thunderbolt peripherals go, the pricing is not outrageous. That said, we must keep in mind that the device uses the first-generation Thunderbolt silicon / mini-DP-type port.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Gears of War 4 PC Game Analysis

Back at the start of 2016 it was starting to look like Microsoft had completely forgotten how to deliver a solid PC game. Efforts like Quantum Break underperformed on PC hardware and the early days of the Universal Windows Platform were riddled with missing features. However, today might mark the start of a new chapter as Gears of War 4 has arrived and it is excellent – from the graphics options right down to just how well it runs.

Read full article @ KitGuru

GIGABYTE GA-X99-Ultra Gaming Review

Since its revival, the Intel X99 has seen motherboard manufacturers come to the fore in a bid to provide end-users with updated and enhanced platforms for the new Broadwell-E Processors. While the basis for these X99 motherboards remains the same, new features are now present such as USB 3.1. Fresh looks and improved features should make the ‘High End Desktop’ platform even more appealing.

Today we turn to GIGABYTE for a detailed look at what they have to offer in the recently released GA-X99-Ultra Gaming. This Intel X99 motherboard carries with it a long list of features which include numerous storage options by way of SATA, SATA Express, U.2 and M.2. With RGB LEDs dominating the market, GIGABYTE has also furnished this board with a multitude of LEDs for users to take completely control over the style of their configuration!

Read full article @ Vortez

How to Re-Enable Flash in Safari 10

Are websites telling you to install Flash in Safari, even though youve already installed it? Heres whats going on, and how to get those sites working again.

Read full article @ Howtogeek

ICY DOCK Black Vortex Quad-Bay USB 3.0 & eSATA External 3.5" SATA HDD Enclosure Review

With a design that seems to be taken from a sci-fi movie, removable 120mm LED fan and performance levels just shy of 200MB/s the Black Vortex Quad-Bay USB 3.0 & eSATA 3.5" SATA HDD Enclosure by ICY DOCK is certainly worth a spot on your desk.

Read full article @ NikKTech

iStorage datAshur PRO 8GB Secure Flash Drive Review

You may have never heard of the company, but iStorage are the global leaders in PIN-authenticated data storage devices using military-level hardware encryption. The datAshur PRO Flash Drive is one of a number of USB drives of differing formats and capacities that iStorage offers.

Read full article @ KitGuru

SilverStone Strider Platinum ST85F-PT PSU Review

SilverStone's Strider Platinum series offers compact dimensions along with Platinum efficiency and a fully modular cable design. The 850W member of this line will be evaluated today. Its strong card against the competition is the 471W power density score.

Read full article @ Toms Hardware

The 30 Year History of AMD Graphics, In Pictures

From the ATI Wonder in 1986 to the AMD Radeon RX in 2016, we take a look at the evolution of AMD graphics.

Read full article @ Toms Hardware

Thermaltake Core X31 Mid Tower Chassis Review

Thermaltake are the masters when it comes to pushing heavy-duty chassis to market at fiercely competitive prices. Now they’re at it again with their latest mid-tower, the X31, which promises extensive water and air cooling support, room for up to an ATX motherboard, lots of storage, and huge graphics cards and all of that comes at a price around £80.

“The Core X31 features outstanding cooling performance with compatibility for liquid cooling components. With its unprecedented space for high-end hardware and liquid cooling expansion, the Core X31 supports the latest ATX, Micro ATX, Mini-ITX motherboards, and all high-end GPU cards. Moreover, the Core X31’s integrated power cover helps tidy the entire bottom area by allowing users to easily organize unused cables, and in return provide the maximum interior space needed for advance cooling performance or liquid system build.”

AS you can see from the specifications, the X31 isn’t too big, but it’s certainly capable in terms of hardware support. Aside from the general capabilities, it also comes equipped with two pre-installed 120mm fans, although it certainly has room for a lot more.

Read full article @ eTeknix