Reviews 52113 Published by

Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

Corsair Katar Optical Gaming Mouse Review
Gaming PC - December 2015
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 950 Xtreme Gaming Review
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 950 Xtreme Review
How Intel Laptop Performance & Efficiency Evolved From Nehalem To Broadwell
Microsoft Surface Book Review
Mixcder Basso Bluetooth Sport Earbuds Review
NZXT HUE+ Review Case Lighting System
Seagate 8TB Enterprise Capacity 3.5″ HDD v5 (ST8000NM0055)
Thermaltake BigTyp Revo CPU Cooler Review
TT eSports COMMANDER Gaming Gear Combo Review



Corsair Katar Optical Gaming Mouse Review

At MSRP, I'm a little put off by the mouse. It is solid build wise, but there is no desire to have it. I would take a crappier mouse just to have some side buttons; not just for browsing, but for gaming. It's my favorite melee button selection and damn the last couple fights in Fallout 4 trying to remember the correct key binding. Perhaps it's the game causing a little extra rage at the mouse, but really, I wouldn't consider a mouse without the side buttons after the experience with this one (and this was a nice one). Perhaps this is one to pick up on sale, but the lack of such a common feature really made this one a swing and a miss.

Read full article @ OCC

Gaming PC - December 2015

This computer system is specifically geared towards gaming. That means a PC with a high-end graphics card and a processor that is fast enough to support the GPU.

The rest of the configuration needs to be balanced as well. Since many gamers also enjoy overclocking their PC to improve performance, it is also important to choose a motherboard and memory that is suitable for this. Keep in mind that you will pay extra for that overclocking potential.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 950 Xtreme Gaming Review

Nvidia's GeForce GTX 950 offers great value, performing nearly as well as the 960 for less money. Can Gigabyte's aggressively overclocked GeForce GTX 950 Xtreme Gaming outperform the more expensive GPU?

Read full article @ Toms Hardware

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 950 Xtreme Review

Those of you who seek the ultimate gaming rig are usually looking for something to drive a monitor at 4K resolutions. While 4K is beautiful, I still enjoy playing at 1080p simply because the high end graphics cards that are available can barely squeeze out smooth framerates at 4K. It is only within the last 6 months or so that it was even possible to get a single GPU that was fast enough to handle the 4K resolutions. Before, it was necessary to run multiple GPUs and how the games ran depended on how well they were optimized. For me I would much rather invest in a 120HZ or 144Hz and play at 1080P with absolute smooth views. Whoever says that people can’t see a difference at framerates higher than 60FPS obviously has never tested a gamers eye.

Read full article @ HiTech Legion

How Intel Laptop Performance & Efficiency Evolved From Nehalem To Broadwell

Last week I published a 7-way Linux laptop comparison with processors ranging from Sandy Bridge to Broadwell. Out of interest from readers in an even larger comparison, I've re-tested a Nehlaem-based "Clarksfield" laptop as well as a "Westmere" laptop to show how the raw performance and performance-per-Watt compare to the Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge, Haswell, and Broadwell devices.

The intent of this article is basically to be the mobile equivalent of what I did earlier this year in Comparing Today's Modern CPUs To Intel's Socket 478 Celeron & Pentium 4 NetBurst CPUs. The laptops tested were those I had available and unfortunately don't have any laptops still working pre-Westmere.

Read full article @ Phoronix

Microsoft Surface Book Review

The Surface Book is one of the most compelling products Microsoft has released in several years and for the first time in decades, the company's first laptop. The Surface Book is an early glimpse into the future of hybrid computing devices.

Read full article @ Techspot

Mixcder Basso Bluetooth Sport Earbuds Review

I’ve got lots of Bluetooth devices floating around and they’re all very useful and have their place but some are better than others and some are more useful than others. Today for review I’ve got the Mixcder Basso Bluetooth earphones that are a sport style meaning they are ergonomic and fit well and they’re comfortable and from my testing they are really. The headphones are easy to use and even have a remote in-line with basic multi-media and phone controls. Sound quality is decent and they’re inexpensive, all in all a nice set of earbuds considering the price. Read on to learn more..

Read full article @ Technogog

NZXT HUE+ Review Case Lighting System

When you were younger, did you ever ask for a gift for Christmas? Whether it was from Santa or from your parents, you probably had some sort of wish list. As for myself, my parents always let me choose something I wanted. I know this approach takes the surprise out of the gift, but at least they knew it was something I actually liked. However, sometimes I think I was just a bit too excited for some gifts, and once I received them, I would use the item quite rarely. For example, when I was younger I asked for some toys. However, after opening it and playing with it for about two hours, I stored it away and did not play with it for the rest of the year. Yes, you might chalk that up to me being childish and wowed by the visual appeal, but sometimes I think our excitement versus the product usage or satisfaction are not always equal. We may get stuff, which have been hyped up, whether by the manufacturer or on our own false pretenses, only to be letdown by the actual unit. On the other hand, the opposite can occur with us being unexpectedly delighted with the product. When I was told NZXT had contacted us for a review, my hype started to grow. We have not heard from them in a while, but I was more than happy to see what they would send us. Then the Editor-in-Chief told me it was the HUE+. For the next week or two, I would ask him every day or so whether the HUE+ was in Calgary. He asked me why I was so excited, and all I would reply with was "HUEHUEHUE", in laughter. The Editor-in-Chief grew quite frustrated with me but I was, and still am, extremely excited to get this product for testing. I learned to stop asking him, and soon enough, the NZXT HUE+ was at our doorstep. So is my excitement justified? Will it still make me go "HUEHUEHUE" at the end of the day? These and more questions will hopefully be answered in today's review!

Read full article @ APH Networks

Seagate 8TB Enterprise Capacity 3.5″ HDD v5 (ST8000NM0055)

We all need storage on our computers and we’ve seen 4 and 5 drive setups with cables running willy nilly through machines until it looks like a mass of electrical spaghetti bulging the motherboard side of the computer case out. Most of us our stored files, pictures and letters are more than just 1’s and 0’s stored on a magnetic spinning disk, those pictures are priceless and the music collection carefully stored by artist by album and genre are just waiting for us to access them. Well until a catastrophic failure of your hard drive happens anyway; then it’s crying in your Code Red Mt Dew time and no amount of Zena tapes or Hot Pockets will console you over your lost files. At times like that you wish you hadn’t gone for the less expensive drives manufactured no one knows where, you wish you’d gone strong name brand, a name brand like Seagate and their new high density 8TB Enterprise Capacity 3.5″ Hard Drive.

Read full article @ Bjorn3D

Thermaltake BigTyp Revo CPU Cooler Review

Many PC enthusiasts count on tower-cooler when it comes to CPU cooling, because they usually promise the most air-cooling performance. Thermaltake wants to show that also relatively low built coolers like their BigTyp Revo can handle bigger amount of excess heat. We will show in our review on OCinside.de if this big type can really hold up to its name.

Read full article @ OcInside.de

TT eSports COMMANDER Gaming Gear Combo Review

In recent months TT eSports have been making strides to woo the gamer on a budget. Last time around KitGuru looked at their Challenger Prime keyboard, and it did well considering its low price. Can the COMMANDER mouse/keyboard combo live up to expectations?

Read full article @ KitGuru