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Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

3-Way Low Profile CPU Cooling Shoot-Out: Reeven, Phanteks, & Noctua
AMD FX-9590 8-Core CPU Review
ASUS ROG STRIX Z270F Gaming Motherboard Review
BenQ EX3200R Review
Breaking Intel's 600p NVMe SSD: Endurance Pushed To The Limit
Building Your Own NES Classic, A DIY RetroPi Console With Raspberry Pi
Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 3 Review
Fedora vs. Ubuntu vs. openSUSE vs. Clear Linux For Intel Steam Linux Gaming Performance
Jonsbo UMX4
MSI GE72VR Apache Pro Gaming Laptop Review
NewerTech NuPower 60W USB-C Power Adapter Review
News: SteelSeries' Apex M500 keyboard reviewed
noblechairs Epic Series Gaming Chair Review
Review: Razer Kraken Pro V2 Gaming Headset
SuperMicro C7Z270-CG Review
Vortex CORE Keyboard



3-Way Low Profile CPU Cooling Shoot-Out: Reeven, Phanteks, & Noctua

Today were taking a look at horizontal CPU coolers from Reeven, Phanteks, and Noctua. Although horizontal CPU coolers are likely to always remain a niche market relative to their tower-style brethren, the continued growth in and shift to smaller form factor PCs has given them a higher profile among system builders as of late. Sometimes you cannot just buy the best cooler for the job for the simple reason that it will not fit into the system. This is particularly true for compact and/or narrow cases, especially those meant for ITX systems and horizontal placement. With the majority of typical CPU coolers being tower-type constructs, it is difficult to find one that fits inside compact case designs.

To that end weve grabbed a few horizontal coolers to take a look at this segment: the Reeven Steropes RC-1206b, the Phanteks PH-TC12LS and the Noctua NH-C14S. These three vertical coolers are all meant for desktop/HTPC designs but they also are significantly different in terms of size, giving users a range of options in trading off size with cooling capacity. The smallest of these coolers, the Steropes, starts us off at 60 mm tall, moving up to 74 mm with the PH-TC12LS, and jumping up to 115/142 mm with the NH-C14S. 

Read full article @ Anandtech

AMD FX-9590 8-Core CPU Review

The original reviews on the AMD FX-9590 are pushing four years old, so with AMD Ryzen series processors coming out this quarter we figured we'd go back and revisit the AMD FX-9590 processor. It has been years since AMD has had any major updates for their top end processor series as they are based on the Piledriver architecture that debuted in 2012....

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

ASUS ROG STRIX Z270F Gaming Motherboard Review

ASUS has given its Republic of Gamers (ROG) series of motherboards a shake-up with the launch of Intel’s new Z270 chipset. The mid-range offerings that bring ROG features to more affordable sections of the market are given STRIX naming convention, with their superior siblings featuring direct Maximus IX naming to follow the previous convention. We take a look at the mid-range ROG STRIX Z270F Gaming which targets users who want a ROG motherboard with an extra few features over the entry-level option.

Read full article @ KitGuru

BenQ EX3200R Review

A 31.5in screen with FreeSync support at up to 144Hz. BenQ has been steadily increasing its footprint in the gaming-monitor space in recent years. Part of that strategy has been purchasing Zowie - the eSports specialists - and pushing into high-end monitors with 4K displays and adaptive-framerate technology such as FreeSync and G-Sync.

In the productivity space, BenQ has also introduced super-widescreen monitors in varying resolutions and curvatures. Combining the two, BenQ has recently introduced the EX3200R - a 31.5in screen with a native 1080p resolution and 1800R curve. What's more, it has AMD FreeSync compatibility at up to 144Hz.

Read full article @ Hexus

Breaking Intel's 600p NVMe SSD: Endurance Pushed To The Limit

Upon release, Intel stated that all SSD 600p series products shared the same 72TBW endurance rating, which we discussed in our review. Later, the company quietly changed the endurance rating, which we put to the test for 42 days.

Read full article @ Toms Hardware

Building Your Own NES Classic, A DIY RetroPi Console With Raspberry Pi

Out of the box, the NES Classic has thirty preloaded classic game titles. That's all well and good, but if you weren’t able to get your hands on one just yet -- like the majority of people -- getting your retro-gaming fix isn't happening any time soon, unless you fork out an unreasonable sum, paying hundreds to scalpers, for a product that retails for $60.

But, why not roll your own?

Read full article @ HotHardware

Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 3 Review

With the MasterCase Pro 3, Cooler Master introduces a new compact mid-tower case, which is compatible with high-end components and mATX motherboard. The MasterCase Pro 3, like the other MasterCase cases, offers interesting features such as a modular HDD mounting system and a mid-plate to hide the power supply away. Overall this sounds like an interesting product and we're curious whether CoolerMaster is able to convice.

Read full article @ ocaholic

Fedora vs. Ubuntu vs. openSUSE vs. Clear Linux For Intel Steam Linux Gaming Performance

With this week Clear Linux now being able to run Steam, I was excited to see how this performance-minded Linux distribution out of Intel's Open-Source Technology Center would compare to other more popular Linux distributions when it comes to Intel Linux gaming performance. Here are some benchmarks of this traditionally workstation/server-oriented Intel Linux distribution running some Steam Linux games.

Read full article @ Phoronix

Jonsbo UMX4

As a revised version of the UMX2, the UMX4 combines a steel chassis for maximum stability with an extravagant exterior designed in brushed aluminum. We take a closer look to see if the improvements are more than a simple number.

Read full article @ techPowerUp

MSI GE72VR Apache Pro Gaming Laptop Review

The MSI GE72VR Apache Pro-010 marks the 4th MSI laptop we've reviewed. So far, MSI has a stellar track record, with the Titan Pro and Stealth Pro being two of our top picks. Can the Apache Pro keep up with these two heavy hitters?

Read full article @ Toms Hardware

NewerTech NuPower 60W USB-C Power Adapter Review

Over the years we have reviewed several NewerTech devices and they have typically gotten very favorable reviews. Their accessories tend to be well made with thoughtful designs that actually perform. So today we have one of their newer products, the NewerTech NuPower 60W USB-C power adapter. This unit is primarily designed to be a USB C charger that includes an additional USB Type A port to charge all devices.

Read full article @ Bigbruin.com

News: SteelSeries' Apex M500 keyboard reviewed

SteelSeries' Apex M500 keyboard ditches RGB LED backlighting and complicated software for a simple look and feel pinned on the quality typing experience of Cherry MX Red or MX Blue switches. We got in many hours of gaming on this board to see whether it lives up to its $100 price tag.

Read full article @ The Tech Report

noblechairs Epic Series Gaming Chair Review

Thanks to its excellent build quality, high comfort levels and a design which can easily blend in everywhere the Epic series gaming chair by noblechairs is really worth consider getting.

Read full article @ NikKTech

Review: Razer Kraken Pro V2 Gaming Headset

Today we’ll be reviewing the Razer Kraken Pro V2 gaming headset which is successor to the Razer Kraken Pro gaming headset launched all the way back in 2012. While Razer has unveiled numerous editions of the Kraken headset lineup including the Kraken Forged Edition, the Kraken 7.1, and Kraken Chroma over the years, the original...

Read full article @ Custom PC Review

SuperMicro C7Z270-CG Review

It is the era of the Z270 schipset, and in this article we cover the SuperMicro C7Z270-CG review. It is advertised as a server grade motherboard, but will it deliver in performance, features and aesthetics ?

Read full article @ Guru3D

Vortex CORE Keyboard

The Vortex CORE is a keyboard that takes up less than half the space as an average full size keyboard. It does this by having just 47 keys in what is referred to as a 40% keyboard layout. With no dedicated arrows, number keys and function keys, it still manages to be an extremely functional keyboard.

Read full article @ techPowerUp