Reviews 51952 Published by

Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

AMD presentation on Vega, Navi, Zen+ on 16th May, says report
AMD Radeon RX Vega: 8GB HBM2 700MHz, 1200MHz GPU clock
AMD Readies Ryzen AGESA Update to Improve DDR4 Memory Support
be quiet! Pure Rock Slim Cooler Review
Biostar Racing B350GT3 AM4 Motherboard Review
Galactic Civilizations III: Crusade Review
Hands on with the Elgato Eve HomeKit devices
HyperX Pulsefire FPS Optical Gaming Mouse Review
Intel Gaming PC - May 2017
LaCie D2 Thunderbolt 3 10TB Professional Storage Drive Review
Motorola Moto G4 review - Extremely refined
MSI X370 Krait Gaming Motherboard Review
Overclockers UK Titan Katana System (Ryzen 1700, GTX 1070)
Raijintek Metis Plus Aluminium Mini-ITX Chassis Review
Raijintek Thetis Tempered Glass Aluminium Chassis Review
The Best PC Speakers
Z270 Micro-ATX review: four motherboards compared
Z270/Z170 Motherboard Charts: 31 Models tested - MSI Z270 Gaming M7



AMD presentation on Vega, Navi, Zen+ on 16th May, says report

AMD CEO Lisa Su, and head of RTG Raja Koduri, will be among the presenters.

Read full article @ Hexus

AMD Radeon RX Vega: 8GB HBM2 700MHz, 1200MHz GPU clock

There have been a few leaks on AMD's upcoming Radeon RX Vega graphics card, and now we're seeing the 687F:C1 device ID once again, with some details on its HBM2 speeds and GPU clocks.

Read full article @ TweakTown

AMD Readies Ryzen AGESA Update to Improve DDR4 Memory Support

AMD is giving final touches to the latest update of AGESA micro-code of its Ryzen processors, which will improve DDR4 memory support, enabling higher memory clocks and tighter timings. The new AGESA 1.0.0.6 micro-code will be deployed through motherboard vendors as motherboard BIOS updates. It will add over 20 new registers for the "Summit Ridge" integrated memory controllers, to improve compatibility with "Intel-friendly" DDR4 memory brands.

Until now, AMD recommended PC builders to opt for only certain brands of DDR4 memory for best performance. These included memory modules with Samsung "B die" DRAM chips, such as the G.Skill Flare X series. The new AGESA update will let AMD Ryzen processor users to manually dial up DRAM clocks and tighten timings of a broader range of DDR4 memory kits, more reliably, and hopefully iron out a lot of stability issues associated with memory overclocking.

Read full article @ TechPowerUp

be quiet! Pure Rock Slim Cooler Review

When you think of be quiet! air coolers, you probably think of their massive coolers, such as the Dark Rock or Dark Rock Pro. The Pure Rock Slim is a different beast entirely, though, as it is a minuscule air cooler that boasts just 3 heatpipes and a 92mm fan. Is there a market for something like this?

Read full article @ KitGuru

Biostar Racing B350GT3 AM4 Motherboard Review

A few years ago, a “no frills” motherboard looked a lot different; having unfortunate-brown PCBs and showing an almost complete disregard for aesthetics with a dash of contempt for those who are trying to build on a budget. The new paradigm that motherboard manufacturers have embraced calls for a more dignified look and better set of extra features.

Read full article @ Modders-Inc

Galactic Civilizations III: Crusade Review

Crusade changes Galactic Civilizations III a lot and I do not doubt that some of the changes some players will hate and others will love. That is kind of the nature of producing any kind of media. Personally, I like the changes that have been made, but I think I will also say I kind of wish certain elements could be toggled on and off. That is not an easy request to satisfy, to say the least, as some systems are connected in ways that changing one requires changing them all. (The change to adding modules to star bases is one easy example, as returning to the original system would need to disrupt the economy for constructors and the resources that are now needed to build the modules.) I doubt we will ever see that happen, but what Crusade offers is good and I look forward to playing more matches in it, developing new habits, and conquering some galaxies. I think I can safely recommend it, but you do need to understand it changes the game a lot and more than I have described. I have only covered the points that stuck out the most to me.

Read full article @ OCC

Hands on with the Elgato Eve HomeKit devices

The house I live in isnt very smart, theres no color-changing light bulbs, no intelligent assistance speaker and no internet-connected thermostat. In late April, Elgato launched the Eve Energy smart power switch in Australia alongside an existing set of Eve Homekit devices.

Read full article @ Istartedsomething

HyperX Pulsefire FPS Optical Gaming Mouse Review

Competitive gaming is big business, and when it comes to winning, having the right tools for the job can be the difference between life and digital death. However, having the best gaming mouse for the job may not make you an eSports pro, but it can help remove a lot of problems and help you play at your best. The new Pulsefire gaming mouse from HyperX promises to deliver high-end precision with its optical sensor, excellent ergonomics, and a reasonable amount of features at a competitive price of just £59, but is it any good? Let's find out!

Read full article @ eTeknix

Intel Gaming PC - May 2017

This computer system is specifically geared towards gaming at WQHD resolution. That means a PC with a high-end graphics card and a processor that is fast enough to support the GPU, but also a fast monitor to display the rendered frames in the best way.

Because there is much discussion about whether an AMD or an Intel processor should be inside a gaming rig, we split up our system advices. You're now reading the Intel-based advice, the AMD version can be found in a different article.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

LaCie D2 Thunderbolt 3 10TB Professional Storage Drive Review

Professionals and enterprise users looking to get their hands on the fastest and highest capacity single HDD external enclosure in the market today should really look no further than the D2 Thunderbolt 3 10TB Professional Storage Drive by LaCie.

Read full article @ Nikktech

Motorola Moto G4 review - Extremely refined

Color me bewildered. To wit, this rather long, thorough and surprisingly enthusiastic review of Motorola Moto G4 Plus mid-range smartphone with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow mobile operating system, covering spec, look & feel, initial setup, Play Store, applications, HERE Maps and offline navigation, multimedia, dual-SIM functionality, fingertip reader testing, camera testing, system settings, customization, security, privacy, performance, battery life, other observations, and more. Have fun.

Read full article @ Dedoimedo

MSI X370 Krait Gaming Motherboard Review

In a sea of unending RGB, can the MSI X370 Krait Gaming outshine the higher tiered AM4 offerings we've reviewed while dishing out value with its streamlined offering?

Read full article @ Toms Hardware

Overclockers UK Titan Katana System (Ryzen 1700, GTX 1070)

When Overclockers UK delivered their Titan Katana we practically clapped our hands with glee at the prospect of seeing another AMD Ryzen gaming PC. To our way of thinking, anything that stimulates competition and drives down prices is welcome and we love seeing AMD Ryzen take the fight to Intel Core i7.

It made us even happier to see that Titan Katana combines the Ryzen 7 1700 CPU and GTX 1070 graphics card yet came with a price tag close to £1,300.

That is the sort of price that puts the OCUK Titan Katana within reach of the mainstream gamer who doesn’t want to take out a mortgage to buy a new PC.

Read full article @ KitGuru

Raijintek Metis Plus Aluminium Mini-ITX Chassis Review

We're big fans of Raijintek here at eTeknix. Time and time again they've delivered high-end products with premium build quality while maintaining prices that make them extremely competitive and friendly to your wallet. The Metis is already a great chassis, but Raijintek is back again with a new and improved model; the Metis Plus.

Read full article @ eTeknix

Raijintek Thetis Tempered Glass Aluminium Chassis Review

Raijintek is one of the coolest chassis makers out there today. Not only do they offer a great range of stylish and well-made products, but they continue to do so at incredible price points, making them very appealing to many system builders who want great products, but don't want to pay a fortune for them. The new Thetis takes what we know and love from their existing product ranges, and gives it some new life with the help of a pair of tempered glass side panel windows, and one of their new O-Type LED fans. What's most impressive is you get stunning aluminium construction, and all that tempered glass for just £86.99; a lot less than you'll pay for Phanteks, Lian-Li and more!

Read full article @ eTeknix

The Best PC Speakers

A good audio setup is essential when it comes to fully experiencing music, movies, and games on a PC. We’ve done the dirty work of researching various PC speakers to bring the best options in three categories: best studio speakers, best 2.1 speakers, and best budget speakers.

Read full article @ TechSpot

Z270 Micro-ATX review: four motherboards compared

We've tested a couple of Micro-ATX Z270 motherboards. In this article we're discussing one from each of the four big manufacturers: the ASRock Z270M Extreme4, the ASUS Strix Z270G Gaming, the Gigabyte Z270M-D3H and the MSI Z270M Mortar.

In general you've got quite a lot of choice if you're looking for a Micro-ATX motherboard. Even though they are quite a bit more compact than ATX models, the shrink in size is not quite as extreme as on Mini-ITX boards, where the shrink results in higher costs and significantly less functionality. For this reason you can choose between higher positioned and cheaper Z270 motherboards, with Micro-ATX boards being on the cheaper side of things. Two of the four boards we're discussing in this article are clearly cheaper, while the two others are positioned higher and therefore more expensive.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Z270/Z170 Motherboard Charts: 31 Models tested - MSI Z270 Gaming M7

Meanwhile you can find benchmark values of 31 recent Z270 and Z170 motherboards in our comparison tables. We do not comment the benchmark values. The idea and also the goal is to present to you a market overview which helps you choose the right motherboard simply based on facts in the form of numbers.

Read full article @ ocaholic