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Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

Antec HCG 850w Bronze Power Supply Review
AOC AG322QCX 32" QHD FreeSync Curved Gaming Monitor Review
Corsair Crystal 280X RGB Review
Deepcool Gamer Storm Quadstellar Review
Dell G3 15 Gaming Laptop Review
Dell S2719DM 27" QHD HDR Monitor Review
How to Choose a Gaming Laptop
How to Choose a Motherboard
HP Portable SSD P800 Review
Intel Launches Coffee Lake Xeon E (Entry): The Next-Gen E3-1200
Lenovo Legion Y530 Review
MSI Vigor GK80 Gaming Keyboard Review
NZXT H500i Compact Mid-Tower Case Review
ROCCAT Horde AIMO Membranical RGB Gaming Keyboard Review
Thermaltake View 91 TG RGB Super Tower Review
Toshiba's RC100 480 GB SSD Review
Zotac MEK1 Gaming PC Review



Antec HCG 850w Bronze Power Supply Review

Antec has quickly built itself an excellent range of quality PC components and an overall strong reputation within the industry and PC enthusiast community. Although perhaps not the best-known brand, it is certainly one that many have heard of and as such, if you were in the market for a new power supply, you might very well consider one of their products.

With such a large market though, it can sometimes be difficult to know what is going to be best for you.

We, therefore, take an in-depth look at the Antec HCG (high current gamer) 850w power supply. Being bronze rated, this isn’t expected to have the highest levels of efficiency, but should still give a strong performance and solid results. We’re not going to take that at face value though. To the test bench!!!

Read full article @ eTeknix

AOC AG322QCX 32" QHD FreeSync Curved Gaming Monitor Review

Boasting a 32” curved VA panel with Quad HD resolution, 144Hz, FreeSync and extended color, this monitor can handle most gamers' agendas.

We're checking out the 32” (31.5” viewable) Agon AG322QCX from AOC. It boasts 144Hz and FreeSync, along with Quad HD (QHD) resolution, which means speedy performance from less expensive video boards.

Read full article @ Tom's Hardware

Corsair Crystal 280X RGB Review

With the Crystal 280X, Corsair offers two new cases. Today we are going to review the 280X RGB which features a compact form factor as well as space for high-end components. Despite its small dimensions, there is actually enough space for a pair of 280mm radiators. There is also a separate compartment for the power supply allowing for very clean looking builds as well as a left side panel that's been made from tempered glass. If you aren't a huge fan of RGB LEDs, Corsair is offering the same model without RGB accents at a reduced price.

Read full article @ ocaholic

Deepcool Gamer Storm Quadstellar Review

The Deepcool Gamer Storm Quadstellar is one massive chassis, looking like alien tech that has crashed on earth, ready to take over the planet. But the interior is surprisingly versatile and functional as well, making this not just one of the sexiest cases out there, but also quite a useful one.

Deepcool ships the Quadstellar in a fully colored cardboard box. There are two images of the enclosure on two sides with only some additional information to be found on another. It looks as though Deepcool kept the text and marketing blurbs to a minimum on purpose. Thick foam spacers hold the enclosure in place, while a cloth bag further protects it from scratches and blemishes.

Read full article @ TechPowerUp

Dell G3 15 Gaming Laptop Review

Dell's budget gaming G3 15 laptop delivers great battery life and performance but suffers from a lackluster display.

The Dell G3 15 Gaming laptop enables gamers to play on a budget without suffering from delayed or stuttering graphics. And with a fantastic battery life and decent performance, its usefulness goes beyond PC games. Dell claims the laptop delivers carefree gaming at a budget price ($749.99 to start, $849.99 as tested); however, its weak display detracts from gaming and video experiences, making competitors like the Legion Y530 appealing.

Read full article @ Tom's Hardware

Dell S2719DM 27" QHD HDR Monitor Review

With stylish looks and impressive HDR capabilities, there aren't many screens better than Dell's S2719DM at this price point.

The Dell S2718DM impresses when it comes to HDR. While it won’t post the impressive numbers of its pro-level stablemate, the UP2718Q, it's about a fifth of the cost at $350. The best HDR comes from full-array backlights, but among edge-array monitors the S2718DM is one of the most accurate. It gives up a little peak color saturation and doesn’t have full Ultra HD resolution, but at this price point, there are few screens that are better. On top of that, it goes above and beyond in the style category.

Read full article @ Tom's Hardware

How to Choose a Gaming Laptop

Between the GPU, CPU, screen and keyboard, you’re buying a whole rig when you get a gaming laptop. Here’s how to pick a good one.

While the desktop remains supreme among many PC gamers, sometimes you just need something a bit more portable. A gaming laptop is a rig on the go, with the power to play games in a size you can take with you.

But when you’re buying a gaming laptop, you’re not just looking at specs. You’re looking at a whole computer, including a built-in keyboard and display. Here, we explain all of the decisions you’ll have to make when buying a gaming laptop so you can get the best one for your needs and budget.

Read full article @ Tom's Hardware

How to Choose a Motherboard

We're here to help untangle motherboard complexities and guide you to the right model for your wants and needs, without blowing your build budget.

Processors and graphics cards often gobble up the majority of build budgets, but your motherboard is in many ways the most integral part of your build. Every part of your PC plugs into it, its form factor dictates the size of your computer and its chipset / socket define what kind of CPU you can install.

Read full article @ Tom's Hardware

HP Portable SSD P800 Review

USB-powered external hard drives remain the mechanism of choice for most laptop users who need to back up their systems or transfer large files. While their price is low, so is their performance, and the increasing availability of Thunderbolt 3 ports on newer laptops presents an opportunity for vendors to target high-end users who are willing to pay for the best possible data transfer rates. The Hewlett-Packard Portable SSD P800 leverages its Thunderbolt interface to provide performance that’s exceptional for any storage device, not just an external one, and today Benchmark Reviews will put this high-end new drive through its paces.

Read full article @ Benchmark Reviews

Intel Launches Coffee Lake Xeon E (Entry): The Next-Gen E3-1200

Today Intel is announcing the Xeon E family of processors. The Xeon E-2100 stack of CPUs will replace the previous generation E3 v6 processors, following Intels renaming of their whole Xeon stack, and in line with the workstation-focused Xeon W-2100 family, and the Xeon D-2100 family. The new processors mirror the current Coffee Lake Core processors on the market and will support up to 64GB of ECC memory, but require motherboards with a specalized workstation C246 chipset.  The E in this case stands for Entry, and these processors aim to be the corner stone of Intels portfolio of entry-level workstation parts.

 

Read full article @ Anandtech

Lenovo Legion Y530 Review

Lenovo's Legion Y530 is a sleek notebook with solid performance, but it falls short with this display and keyboard.

Finally, a gaming laptop for adults. The Lenovo Legion Y530 ($749.99 to start, $949.99 as tested), isn’t the most extravagant machine. It doesn’t scream “gamer,” but with its Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, it can still play most games at decent settings. And while it offers solid performance and no bloatware, you may be taken aback by its display, which doesn’t offer the same vivid colors as some competitors, and its spongy, soft keyboard. It all depends how much you’re willing to give up for looks.

Read full article @ Tom's Hardware

MSI Vigor GK80 Gaming Keyboard Review

A few months ago, our own David Bremer wrote a review of the MSI Vigor GK70 Gaming Keyboard, a tenkeyless keyboard that he called a compact but powerful “gaming monster.” The MSI Vigor GK80 is the GK70’s bigger more fully-featured brother, with a full 104-key standard layout. So if you think of the GK70 as Sesame Street’s Elmo, then the GK80 is Mr. Snuffleupagus. Only REAL.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

NZXT H500i Compact Mid-Tower Case Review

NZXT's H500i compact mid-tower chassis offers consumers a budget-friendly case that includes many features found on the company's higher-end premium chassis'.

Priced at just $100, the compact mid-tower H500i chassis comes in a range of colors, features a large full-cover tempered glass side panel, vertical GPU mount, and built-in lighting and fan control functionality. In short, if you are in the market for a great looking chassis and solid performance, without forking over a ton of cash, this could be the case you are looking for.

Read full article @ Tom's Hardware

ROCCAT Horde AIMO Membranical RGB Gaming Keyboard Review

In order to try out the new Membranical switches of the Horde AIMO keyboard, we first wrote some articles in Word and afterwards we continued gaming in titles such as AION and Quake Champions: the main keys feel less rubbery when actuated versus a standard membrane switch and ROCCAT has managed to keep the sound levels to a minimum as well. The plastic casing of the keyboard does assist further with noise dampening, while the actuation point does allow the user to type without the need of bottoming out.

The AIMO series would not be complete without trying out the Horde keyboard from ROCCAT; we do really enjoy the fact the manufacturer has chosen to go with a removable wrist rest this time, which makes the product more compact when not used. The Horde AIMO keyboard did arrive inside a medium-sized cardboard enclosure that also mentions the offered layout on the top cover

Read full article @ Mad Shrimps

Thermaltake View 91 TG RGB Super Tower Review

I've never hidden the fact that our test rigs are housed in the largest full towers we've had access to (CORSAIR Obsidian 900D for our primary rig and Cubitek HTPX for our secondary one) and so leaving out the fact that I’ve said so myself on numerous occasions it's obvious that i favor such models and the reasons behind that are quite simple. Room for even the largest possible hardware components, plenty of space for me to easily mount and swap them and superior airflow levels (also superior cooling efficiency if you take into account the number of radiators one can fit inside). Thermaltake has released quite a few full towers in the past but it wasn't until their massive View 91 TG RGB Super Tower arrived in our lab roughly 2 weeks ago that we were left pretty much speechless.

The beginning of every myth and legend is about dreams and desire: the challenging, creative and combative features of Thermaltake Group create an exciting and fascinating user experience to share with everyone, while allowing users to enter a selfless state in terms of function and potential. Thermaltake Group's 3 main brands: Thermaltake, Tt eSPORTS and LUXA2 have been merchandising throughout the world, and have successfully established 6 business footholds in areas such as Europe, America, Oceania, Japan and China, with 95 regional distributors and over 4000 premium retailers. All product planning is orientated by observation of global PC peripheral market and understanding of consumer demands. Thermaltake creates direct contact opportunities with resellers and consumers by participating major global ICT exhibitions and trade shows every year, and develop innovative marketing strategies for the promotions of new products. Meanwhile, Thermaltake incorporates the composite marketing system by making branch offices and regional distributors both the distribution channel and technical support or service center to provide instant support; by maintaining close contact with end users, we manage to strengthen corporate competitiveness and create the momentum for the growth of accomplishments. With its outstanding wisdom and strength Thermaltake Group is recruiting creative talents to build a cultural brand for the enjoyment of entertainment, e-Sports, technology and lifestyle!

Read full article @ NikKTech

Toshiba's RC100 480 GB SSD Review

For a long time, the NVMe interface was associated with breakneck speeds and top-dollar drives. But the technology has lost some of its new shiny as it's aged and become available in off-the-shelf controllers from companies like Marvell and Silicon Motion. It's only natural for any technology to go through this kind of maturity, of course. Though the "A" in AHCI may as well stand for "ancient" these days, that standard was itself a revolutionary improvement when it arrived to slap the IDE ecosystem in the face.As NVMe becomes more quotidian, SSD manufacturers have begun introducing drives equipped with the protocol at lower price points. The days of NVMe-seekers having to shell out $1000 for a data-center-derived Intel 750 Series drive are long gone.

Read full article @ The Tech Report

Zotac MEK1 Gaming PC Review

The MEK1 Gaming PC is a very compact custom medium-PC from Zotac, which is a company who makes a lot of smaller form factor computers. However, this medium-PC as we have dubbed it is part of a more recent push for much more compact high-end gaming systems that use desktop parts but are put together in a way to minimize size.

We saw Corsair try this with their One PC, and it seems this type of custom development is very popular. The good news here is that from what we have seen, it's much easier to upgrade this machine as its custom design doesn't try to conform to some random shape, but instead utilizes a rectangular design that is more common. Let's see what this PC has to offer!

Read full article @ TweakTown