Reviews 52178 Published by

Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

Antec DF500 Computer Case Review
Build Your Own Mechanical Keyboard Project: What you need to get started
Gigabyte's X470 Aorus Gaming 7 Wifi motherboard reviewed
Honor 10 Review
HyperX FURY DDR4-3466 16GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review
Intel’s 8-core (Kaby/Coffee) Lake chip spotted
Linksys Velop Dual-Band Mesh Router Review
New Processor Vulnerability Discovered
Noctua NF-P12 Redux Review
Philips 328P6A QHD HDR 32-Inch Monitor Review
SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD Review
SilentiumPC Grandis 2 XE1436 Review
Tesoro Zone Evolution Gaming Chair Review
The ASUS Z370-I Gaming Review
Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver - Canonical giveth, Canonical taketh



Antec DF500 Computer Case Review

Here in Calgary, spring has finally arrived after a grueling winter filled with lots of snow shoveling and bundling up. The arrival of spring brings its own host of new ventures before summer fully kicks in. For myself, it is going through and cleaning a couple of different things. This ranges from getting rid of old clothes, emptying out the bookshelf of some books, cleaning the car, and reorganizing a couple of things in the house. This spring it also includes cleaning out the computer. I have had the same case since February of last year, which was the SilverStone Kublai KL07. The case has served me well, but I have not bothered to properly clean the case in all that time. I was quite surprised after removing the front panel, lots and lots of dust fell out the front. It was not the greatest sight to see. The inside of the case was also filled with the nasty stuff, even with the filter at the front. The graphics card and the back fan had visible streaks of dust. After removing the graphics card and blowing on it, plenty of powdery stuff came out of the heatsink. Needless to say, it was satisfying cleaning everything out. The reason for finally opening up my case is because today we have the Antec DF500 up for review. The Antec DF500 is definitely in a completely other genre of cases than the SilverStone Kublai KL07, focusing more on looks than on silence. Read on to find out all the different features it offers!

Read full article @ APH Networks

Build Your Own Mechanical Keyboard Project: What you need to get started

In the world of mechanical keyboards, big brand names like Corsair, Razer, HyperX, etc., take the bulk of the limelight. But what if I told you that every part of a keyboard can be customized? This goes far beyond the aesthetics, so if you're not one for making compromises, it may be time to build your own.

The majority of these brands claim to offer the best in terms of quality and functionality, but that's not always the case. While the popular gaming brands have pushed the awareness and adoption of mechanical keyboards into the mainstream, compromises on quality are almost always made in order to lower prices. When you compare your available options, you’ll soon realize that outward design is the only differentiator. Choose your design, choose your switch—that’s it.

Read full article @ TechSpot

Gigabyte's X470 Aorus Gaming 7 Wifi motherboard reviewed

AMD's second-generation Ryzen CPUs came out just a few weeks ago, and they were accompanied by a range of brand-new X470 motherboards for high-end system builders. The X470 chipset doesn't actually add any new features or upgrade any connectivity standards compared to X370, though. While the underlying chipset silicon might consume less power, that's about the only tangible improvement in the Promontory chip that underpins all AM4 chipsets. X470 might be more about improving the supporting infrastructure around the AM4 socket for the potentially higher power demands of AMD's latest chips, although even this rationale falls a little flat. AMD says all of the X370 motherboards on the market can stand up to the power demands of second-gen Ryzen CPUs.As AMD put it to me, X470 is a "harmonized" release for second-generation Ryzen CPUs. Ultimately, companies need new products to catch builders' attention, and the X470 name means builders are getting the fruits of a year

Read full article @ The Tech Report

Honor 10 Review

Officially launched on 15 May 2018 in London, the Honor 10 is one of the most eagerly-anticipated mid-range smartphone of 2018. It offers a flagship processor with an AI chip, a full HD+ display and large memory and storage capacities at an affordable price point.

In this review, we will take an in-depth look at the Honor 10 – its key features, specifications and performance. We will also look at the quality of the photos and videos its AI Camera takes.

Read full article @ TechARP

HyperX FURY DDR4-3466 16GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review

It seems to have been a while since we last saw DDR4 from HyperX, but with one quick email, we now have a pair of kits to have a look at. The first of which, is the highest binned offering of the Fury line of their memory. Some of the Things HyperX wants you to know about the Fury line is that there is automatic overclocking, up to 3466MHz, but the XMP1 profile must be used to accomplish this on Intel systems. They like to show off the limited voltage used at just 1.20V, but only if using the XMP2 profile. They are deemed cost-efficient and high-performance, as well as sporting an asymmetrically designed heat spreader, which is also low-profile.

The set we have in hand are black but is one of three color choices. Each set can be found with red or white heat spreaders as well. We made mention of the dual XMP 2.0 profiles which deliver speeds of 2933MHz using XMP2, or the HX434C19FB2K2/16 can also deliver 3466MHz by applying the XMP1 profile. As advertised, this set of RAM offers 3466MHz of speed, but the timings are loose at 19-23-23-42 2T, which allowed HyperX to set the voltage to 1.25V. However, the slower profile with slightly tighter timings does run with just 1.20V. If anything were to go wrong with the Fury DDR4, there are no worries, as a lifetime warranty backs it.

Read full article @ TweakTown

Intel’s 8-core (Kaby/Coffee) Lake chip spotted

Intel's rumored 8-core mainstream processor has made yet another appearance at SiSoft Sandra Database. Intel 8-core processor Even though it says Kabylake, everyone knows that Coffeelake is basically Kabylake on steroids. The new processor has been tested on KBL S system (which stands for Kabylake S), it basically means we are looking at the same old LGA1151 platform. The page lists 2.6 GHz 8-core chip with HyperThreading enabled. That's rather a disappointing frequency for a new gaming chip, but this is likely just a prototype or software error.

Read full article @ VideoCardz.com

Linksys Velop Dual-Band Mesh Router Review

Suited for smaller homes or apartments, the dual-band Velop is a much cheaper alternative to the tri-band setup.

Mesh Wi-Fi systems are becoming more popular each day, thanks to their offer of seamless high-speed wireless internet spread out over a large area. There are a few popular choices, one of which is the Linksys Velop. It's been available for awhile now in a tri-band configuration, but Linksys has recently released a dual-band version that's much better suited for households with less people and less area to cover. It's also significantly cheaper, opening up mesh Wi-Fi to more people.

Read full article @ Windows Central

New Processor Vulnerability Discovered

Microsoft and Google Project Zero researchers announced today a new category of processor vulnerability known as a speculative execution side channel vulnerability, or Speculative Store Bypass, that is closely related to the Spectre Variant 1 vulnerability. Microsoft has also released a security advisory for the new vulnerability.

Impressively, AMD has already released a 5 page whitepaper on the vulnerability, as well as a post on their security updates page outlining that they will be providing updates back to the Bulldozer series of processors. Even more remarkable, is AMD stats that these updates are already in the hands of Microsoft, who is completing final testing and validation and will be released over the standard update process.

Read full article @ HardOCP

Noctua NF-P12 Redux Review

Noctua's journey started back in 2005, in Austria, with one goal in mind; to provide the market with quality cooling products. It goes without saying, they’ve certainly taken the market by storm, especially with the distinctive brown and beige appearance.

10 years ago, we looked at the Noctua NF-P12, a fan that helped cement Noctua's reputation as a trusted supplier of quality goods. Now, as part of Noctua's Redux range, they've re-issued that fan as the NF-P12 Redux, in a grey colour scheme.

Read full article @ Vortez

Philips 328P6A QHD HDR 32-Inch Monitor Review

There are many buzz words in the monitor world, and even more so in the TV world. Philips is ready to deliver on plenty of cool buzzwords too with their new 328P6A monitor; not the most inspiring product name, I will admit. With a QHD, HDR and IPS onboard, this monitor is set to stun. For those less technically inclined, that’s a 2560 x 1440 resolution panel, with High Dynamic Range (HDR) for incredible brightness, deep blacks, and phenomenal colour reproduction. For those doing content creation for HDR workflows, gaming in HDR, or even just enjoying movies and YouTube videos in HDR, this is going to look stunning.

Read full article @ eTeknix

SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD Review

Most of our readers wouldn’t buy or build a new computer today without an SSD inside. SSDs have come a long way over the past decade and once you’d had one you don’t want to go back to rotational media. Portable SSDs are also streaming ahead in the external storage drive market by bringing the breakthrough performance of an SSD to a tiny rugged enclosure that fits in the palm of your hand. The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD series was introduced in Q1 2018 with the hopes of becoming the external drive of choice for those needing to move around a good deal of data, quickly and safely. SanDisk Extreme Portable SSDs are available in capacities of 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB with speeds of up to 550MB/s read and 500 MB/s write. Pricing starts under $100 and all of the drives are backed by a 3-year warranty.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

SilentiumPC Grandis 2 XE1436 Review

SilentiumPC has of late been focusing on value for money. Enter the Grandis 2 XE1436. This dual tower, dual fan CPU cooler uses a popular tried-and-true design. Size isn't always indicative of performance, however, so let's see just what the Grandis 2 has to offer!

SilentiumPC was founded in Warsaw, Poland, in 2007, with their first product on the market being the Zephyr fan. They have since moved on from those humble beginnings to win Benchmark.pl's manufacturer of the year award in 2012. With a continued dedication to improving on and expanding their offerings of fans, CPU coolers, cases, and even power supplies, SilentiumPC has slowly grown with their dedication to quality and performance for the price leading the way. It really feels like it is only a matter of time before they expand beyond the confines of Europe. It doesn't hurt that they have accumulated many solid reviews here on TechPowerUp and from other publications as well.

Read full article @ TechPowerUp

Tesoro Zone Evolution Gaming Chair Review

With designs inspired by automotive racing seats, gaming chairs have become one of the next big items to add to your setup. With designs and models from many of the names and brands we have all come to know, gaming chairs seem to be here to stay. We have taken a look at a few chairs in the past few months, and today we are back with a model from Tesoro. The Tesoro Zone Evolution is an ergonomically designed gaming chair with a larger seating area and a good number of features. Grab a seat and follow along as we take a look at the Zone Evolution.

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

The ASUS Z370-I Gaming Review

The ASUS ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming is one of the major Mini-ITX options for Intels latest Coffee Lake processors. ASUS has a good history of building substantial Mini-ITX offerings, particularly with the ROG Impact line, however it is the Z-series mainstream Mini-ITX models that are the more cost effective option. For this generation, ASUS is combining dual M.2 slots, USB 3.1, EMI shielded audio and Wi-Fi on this small square platform. In this review we put it through its paces.

Read full article @ Anandtech

Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver - Canonical giveth, Canonical taketh

Today, we have a long, detailed review of Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver, tested in a multi-boot Windows and Linux configuration on a laptop with UEFI, GPT, 16 partitions and Intel graphics, covering live session, installation and post-install usage, including look & feel, networking - Wireless, Bluetooth, Samba sharing, printing, multimedia support - HD video and MP3 playback, smartphone support - Android, iPhone (iOS) and Windows Phone, partitions, slideshow, welcome screen, package management and updates, livepatch, apps and extras, snaps and repos, hardware compatibility, firmware, webcam, stability, suspend & resume, performance, responsiveness, resource utilization, battery life, customization, fonts, various problems and inconsistencies, Gnome 3 issues, Unity desktop, and more. Enjoy.

Read full article @ Dedoimedo