Tech News
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ASUS Maximus VIII Formula LGA 1151 Motherboard Review @ [H]
When it comes to well known gaming and overclocking motherboards the ROG series from ASUS comes to mind.
ASUS' Maximus VIII Formula is quite possibly one of the most amazing enthusiast motherboards we've ever reviewed; on paper at least. Where the rubber meets the road things are often quite different. At a price of nearly $400, ASUS can't afford any mistakes. We take the Maximus VIII Formula for a test drive and it was a hell of a ride.
The quote from HardOCP makes it sound like this is an amazing motherboard that falls on its face but I find that hard to believe. You'll just have to check out the review to know for sure.
Based on the spec sheet and photos this is a Skylake based gaming motherboard that is using the heat shield design from the Sabertooth. While I think their idea that the plastic cover will help board cooling is a crock of (insert word) it did become a well known canvas for modders adding a little more integration to their case designs.
Heck, it even comes with an LED light show like on the MSI X99 Godlike
And for that, it is good.
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GAMDIAS Hephaestus Almighty Gaming Headset Review @ APH Networks
You know gaming headphones are badass when they have intake vents along the side.
Heatsinks on a headset? The GAMDIAS Hephaestus Almighty has them to keep your head cool while gaming
Turns out the vents are actually part of a heatsink system and while they are dual driver stereo headphones they support virtual surround sound 7.1. Not a bad deal for under a benny.
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Patriot Releases New 200GB microSDXC Cards to Expand Flash Storage Category
Offering the best price for performance in a 200GB capacity microSDXC card
FREMONT, CALIF., USA – March 15, 2016 – Patriot, a leading manufacturer of consumer flash storage solutions, computer memory, SSDs, gaming peripherals and mobile accessories, today announced the release of the 200GB LX Series and 200GB Instamobile microSDXC. A natural evolution fueled by the ever growing and dynamic storage needs of today’s mobile device users, these new high capacity cards offer an almost limitless storage solution for large HD movies, pictures, music, and productivity files.
Consumers will never miss a moment while on the go. These large capacity cards enable Android™ smart phone and tablet users to capture life’s precious moments in stunning high definition while expanding the storage space of their device. Capable of recording over 18 hours of 1080p HD video and capturing up to 36,000, 3MB photos, users will never have to worry about running out of storage space on their action camera or mobile device.
“With the upcoming launch of the Samsung Galaxy S®7 and the continued development of more sophisticated mobile devices, the demand for large amounts of storage has never been greater,” said Meng J. Choo, Patriot’s Flash Product Manager. “With the addition of the 200GB LX Series and Instamobile microSDXC cards, Patriot is fulfilling that demand with the best value for performance in the market.”
These Class 10, UHS-1 cards feature speeds of up to 90MB/s read and 40Mb/s write for faster data transfer rates of large files and HD video recordings. Patriot’s LX Series and Instamobile microSDXC cards are the perfect storage solution for smart phone and action cameras such as the GoPro®, Sony® HDR-AS200V, Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. The large capacity and fast transfer speed of these 200GB microSDXC cards means users will never be held back by the limitations of the onboard storage of their mobile device.
Both the LX Series and Instamobile 200GB microSDXC come with an SD adaptor for use with DSLR cameras and the seamless transfer of files to a device or laptop. Backed by a 5 year warranty and Patriot’s award-winning customer service, these microSDXC cards are the top rate choice for consumers looking for an affordable way to expand the onboard storage of their smartphone or are looking for more action packed moments while recording on their GoPro.
Availability
Offering the best price for performance on the market in this category, Patriot’s 200GB LX series microSDXC and Instamobile microSDXC cards will be available March 21, 2016 online and in stores, worldwide, such as Fry’s Electronics, Amazon and Alternate. Prices may vary between regions, see store for details. For more information, visit www.patriotmemory.com.
About Patriot
Patriot designs, manufactures and markets high performance, enthusiast memory modules, flash memory, SSDs, and mobile accessory products. Patriot products have become world renown for their extreme performance, reliability and innovation. Patriot sells its products through original equipment manufacturers, retailers, e-tailers and distributors throughout the world with operations in North America, Asia and Europe. Patriot Memory LLC was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Fremont, California, USA.
All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability, and specifications are subject to change without notice. -
Swiftech H220 X2 Prestige @ LanOC Reviews
What do you get when you combine DIY watecooling as an AIO kit? Prestige appearently.
So you have built your new rig but it feels like it is missing something. Well you might be running the stock cooler or you might even have a decent air cooler installed. They might get the job done but when it comes to putting so much money into your computer it’s hard to know that you spent that much while still skimping on your cooling. You could just throw down and build a full custom water cooling loop, I know I’ve done that on a few of my builds. But things have gotten so much easier with all in one water cooling kits coming out from basically every manufacture. Well in the case of my LAN rig I had installed an AIO water cooler last year but recently is has been driving me crazy with water in the lines. Because of that I reach out to our old friends over at Swiftech about their new H220 X2 AIO kit. The difference between their kits and most other manufactures is they are basically an all in one custom kit that you can expand and upgrade later. The new models add in LED lighting, a visible reservoir, and many more features over past models. So not only does it give me a chance to check out what the new kits are all about, it also helps give the LAN rig an upgrade before I make it out to a few events over the summer.
Cooler Master tried doing this once and didn't have much luck with it in the US however, it sold well in the EU. Maybe Swifttech can make up for lost ground.
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ASRock brings overclocking back to non-overclockable Skylake chips
About a month ago Intel put its foot down and closed a loophole that allows motherboard vendors to overclock Non-K series CPUs. This type of overclocking used the BCLK (Base Clock setting) to increase processor speed independent of the CPU multiplier. This in turn raises all of the other clock settings including PCI Express, Memory and Memory Controller.
When pushed too far this can have adverse effects on connected hardware like corrupted SSD data, failed boots and lack of stability so its no wonder why Intel stepped in.
Well, it would seem Asrock is once again in the news claiming that their boards can once again overclock the non-overclockable CPUs by using an external clock generator that works independent of the CPU.
This article at PC World focuse mostly on ASrock hardware but many companies support this style of overclocking and even have the hardware on board. Gigabyte has a chip on their Z170 Skylake motherboards called "Turbo B-Clock which was added to not only allow BCLK overclocking but do so with micro adjustments below a single Mhz. (read: .5Mhz. .1Mhz etc..) While it is not expressly called out for Non-K processors there is nothing stopping you from using it.
EVGA also has an external clock generator but, isn't considered to be such a big deal.
The roots of this saga go back to late 2015, when enthusiasts discovered that you could overclock low-priced Skylake chips—a feature Intel had previously reserved for higher-priced processors. Several motherboard manufacturers soon jumped onboard to support the “feature” including ASRock, Biostar, and EVGA.
Everything was going swimmingly until early February, when Intel released an update to shut down the overclocking loophole. Intel’s move was understandable, as the company would rather drive overclockers to more capable chips. Overall, Intel advises against overclocking even on chips where it allows the capability, but that goes double for the cheaper processors, which don't officially support overclocking whatsoever.The way I see it this, the ability to overclock Non-K CPUs, is an important step open the overclocking subculture to those who are curious about overclocking and likely cannot afford the "supported" hardware.
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Gigabyte X99P-SLI Motherboard Review @ Hardware Canucks
Some may say that the X99 has fallen out of popularity after the launch of Skylake. Given the number of X99 reviews out in the wild it may seem that way or, just a product of an expensive motherboard that the marketing departments cannot afford.
I, for one, would love to see more X99 reviews followed by some more performance testing in the overclocking and GPU space.
The X99 platform may not be known for affordability but Gigabyte's new X99P-SLI aims to change that opinion with USB 3.1, M.2, great overclocking, quad GPU support and more for less than $250.
This board from Gigabyte is following the traditional 4-way GPU slot configuration with upgraded audio and normal compliment of Ultra Durable features. It even comes with the PCI Express slot reinforcements for extra strength when that unsupported video tries to get away while you throw your computer around like a crazed delivery driver.
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MP4Nation Brainwavz HM5 Headphones @ techPowerUp
Brain Head Wavz, These are all very interesting words which prompted me to give the link a click. Visually these look like some pretty amazing headphones.
MP4Nation's HM5 has a tremendous reputation for being one of the best sub-$150 circum-aural headphones around. We put it to the test to see if it is still as relevant today as it was when it first launched.
As the description suggests these are over ear style headphones which I find to be quite good for compfort and sound quality. Drivers are a little small at 42mm but must be good at $150.
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Fractal Design Define S Window Mid-Tower Chassis @ [H]
I met with Fractal at Computex last year, they had this unique "one night event" where they rented out a night club near the convention center and invited media in for a 30minute marketing meeting and offered free drinks and food while you waited.
It was a nice change of pace, if not extremely brief.
I don't believe that the case in the HardOCP review was on display but many of their design concepts are carried through the entire product line making them all uniquely, the same.
Fractal Design is known for utilitarian designs that make installing PC hardware easier and keeping it cooler. Its new Define S chassis makes claims enthusiasts will want to see come to true, namely a "layout, providing a perfectly straight airflow path to the CPU heatsink for air cooling set ups or extensive radiator mounting possibilities for water cooling set ups.
Personally I'm not a fan of the outer style given that the front bezel is completely flat which indicates a door is hiding everything. Side vents provide restrictive cooling and the door is always getting in the way. Sure it looks sleek, the side window it huge and you can move the drive cages around inside the case but its just a box with holes. how unique is that?
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Cryorig A40 Ultimate AIO watercooler @ HardwareOverclock
Even though the review isn't in English you can tell the AIO cooler is pretty unique.
HardwareOverclock.com has just posted another review. Last week we have taken a look at the Cryorig A40 Ultimate AIO watercooler. The Cryorig A series is the first hybrid liquid cooler with an extra fan on the pump unit. The CRYORIG HLC Airflow Fan can be orientated in both push or pull directions. No matter where the hot spots are around your CPU, be it overclocked RAM or a high-end GPU card, or hot Voltage Regulators just point the Airflow fan in the direction you need!
Maybe one of the coolest "features" is the secondary small fan over the pump block that helps move air around the CPU keeping the VRM cooler and memory chilled.
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G.SKILL Announces 3rd Annual “OC World Cup 2016” Extreme Overclocking Competition
Taipei, Taiwan (4 March 2016) – G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world’s leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, thrilled to announce the commencement of the 3rd annual “OC World Cup 2016” overclocking competition!
Each year, G.SKILL hosts the OC World Cup overclocking competition with the live four-day finals at the G.SKILL booth during Computex. This year, G.SKILL will be providing a $16,200 USD total cash prize pool for the winners. Following the tradition of the event, the Grand Champion of the OC World Cup 2016 will walk away with a grand cash prize of $10,000 USD!
OC World Cup Structure
G.SKILL OC World Cup is split into three rounds: Online Qualifier, Live Qualifier, and Grand Finals. Live Qualifier and Grand Finals will be held live at the G.SKILL booth during Computex from 31st May to 3rd June 2016.Online Qualifier Rules
The Online Qualifiers round will be held on HWBOT (hwbot.org) from 7th March to 11th April 2016, featuring 3 benchmarks: Highest DDR4 Frequency, 3Dmark 01 with IGP, and 3DMark 11 with IGP. The benchmarks are selected to challenge the memory tweaking skills of overclockers on G.SKILL DDR4 memory, 6th Gen Intel® Core™ processor, and Z170 platforms. The top 6 Online Qualifier contestants will win the tickets to participate in the OC World Cup 2016 Live Qualifiers at Computex 2016.For more competition rules and details, please visit the event page at HWBOT:
http://oc-esports.io/#!/round/gskill_ocworldcup_2016_qualifierPrizes include:
Champion: $10,000 USD
2nd: $2,500 USD + Trident Z DDR4 4000MHz 16GB (8GBx2)
3rd: $1,500 USD + Trident Z DDR4 4000MHz 16GB (8GBx2)
4th: $1,200 USD
5th: $1,000 USDAdditionally, all 6 contestants of the OC World Cup 2016 Live Qualifiers will receive one kit of DDR4 3600MHz CL15 16GB (8GBx2), one kit of DDR4 4000MHz 8GB (4GBx2) memory, and win sponsorship of G.SKILL’s new upcoming DDR4 memory for the next-gen DDR4 platform.
About G.SKILL
Established in 1989 by PC hardware enthusiasts, G.SKILL specializes in high performance memory, SSD products, and gaming peripherals designed for PC gamers and enthusiasts around the world. Combining technical innovation and rock solid quality through our in-house testing lab and talented R&D team, G.SKILL continues to create record-breaking memory for each generation of hardware and hold the no. 1 brand title in overclocking memory.
