Tech News
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My Entry into the Gigabyte Mod2Win 30th Anniversary Case Modding Contest
Last week I posted a press release announcing the Gigabyte 30th anniversary modding contest and was very impressed with what Gigabyte had planned. Of course the grand prize is the most appealing for whoever wins but I'm also impressed with the commitment Gigabyte has put forth to gather interest.
Much like with the Overclocking competitions hosted at HWBot there are a few partner sites involved including Modders-Inc and PCPartPicker (I'm still trying to figure out why?) and they will be handling certain aspects of the competition and making sure everyone does what they should.
To help get things started Gigabyte is offering a build package for those who submit modding concepts and I finished mine last week.
The mod is using the Cooler Master Mastercase 5 (because I had one already) and will feature Automotive paint, Custom radiator mounting, Hardline watercooling and an Overclocking component.
At the top of the case you will find an exposed copper plate that will act as a connection to super chill the coolant. This can be something simple like a TEC and aircooler or something more dramatic like an LN2 container or Phase head. The idea will be to supercool the fluid and allow more overclocking headroom and when the chill is gone it will revert back to the built in radiator.
Given my background in overclocking, watercooling and casemodding I think this is a perfect meld of everything.
Be sure to check out my build thread over at Modders-Inc and watch the Hardware Asylum Facebook Fan page for more information.
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Asylum Review Block: GeForce Pascal GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 Goodness
The hot news right now is the new 1000 series launch from NVIDIA, namely the GTX 1080 and GTX 1070. The launch event happened last month and over the past few weeks we have started seeing more and more GPU related launches from the various board partners.
And, a few reviews too.
Web Reviews
- ASUS GTX 1080 Strix Gaming 8 GB @ techPowerUp
- ASUS ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1080 review @ Guru3D
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 On Linux: Testing With OpenGL, OpenCL, CUDA & Vulkan @ Phoronix
- Gigabyte GTX 1080 G1 Gaming 8 GB @ techPowerUp
- EVGA Nvidia GTX 1080 Founders Edition Review @ HWSlave
- ASUS STRIX GTX 1080 Review @ Vortez
- GeForce GTX 1070 Founders Edition Overclocking Review @ [H]
- Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 G1 GAMING review @ Guru3D
- MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X 8 GB @ techPowerUp
- MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming X review @ Guru3D
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB @ techPowerUpLots of content from some familar names and maybe even more in the /dev/null folder I missed.
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Fractal Design Define Nano S mITX Computer Case Review @ APH Networks
It would seem that "everyone" loves Fractal Design cases -or- Fractal likes to send out samples. Either way I'm not sure I share in the enthusiasm but will agree they look pretty good, even when they are small.
The Fractal Design Define Nano S may be a shrunken Define S, but it proves Fractal Design knows cases, and knows them well.
I've never been a fan of solid front cases but they work well to keep the noise down and with room for watercooling gear you might end up with a European approved silent PC.
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GIGABYTE GA-990X Gaming SLI Review @ Vortez
It is interesting how reviewers get hung up on certain features that are hot in the news. For instance Computex was full of RGB lighting effects and like LED fans back in the old days the fad is making the rounds on everything from fans to motherboards and video cards.
But wouldn't you know it, when a motherboard doesn't have RGB lights it seems to be a cause for concern.
Although missing out on the RGB goodness that has been unveiled by GIGABYTE recently, the latest line of G1 Gaming motherboards for the AM3+ platform introduces various new standards to the ageing chipset including an M2 slot with a 20Gb/s transfer rate, as well as 2x USB 3.1 ports.
The Gigabyte 990FX and 970FX AMD motherboard refresh is not about fancy lights and overclocking but rather giving these boards a much needed upgrade and a good reason to buy AMD processors despite the drawbacks of the platform.
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Asylum Review Block: Solid Chips of Storage
750GB you say? Big chip SSD? El'fasto drive?? Jedi need not these things but computer enthusiasts do.
Seems there was a SSD launch last night of large scale epic proportions.
- Crucial MX300 Limited Edition 750Gb SSD Storage Review @ Hardware Slave
- Limited Edition 750GB Crucial MX300 SSD Review @ Legit Reviews
- Crucial's MX300 SSD reviewed @ TR
- Samsung 750 EVO 500GB SSD review @ Guru3D
- Crucial MX300 SSD Review (750GB) @ The SSD ReviewOne of these days I'll have to pay the Micron factory a visit, it is only just like not far from me.
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Gigabyte Mod 2 Win 30th Anniversary Modding Contest
For the past several years Gigabyte has sponsored several competitions and to celebrate their 30th anniversary they have partnered up with Modders-Inc for a modding compeition where the grand prize winner will recieve a cash prize, a HUGE pile of hardware and their build showcased at the Gigabyte CES Ballroom. If that wasn't enough the winner and one other (2 total) will get a trip to Las Vegas to present their mod and see what CES is all about.
Even I'm excited enough to enter! So watch out a pearl blue casemod may or may not be in the works
BTW this contest is only open to those 18 and up and live in either the US or Canada. There are also three key date ranges to keep in mind.
Design a Concept - 5/27/2016 - 6/27/2016
Build your Mod - 7/1/2016 - 11/14/2016
Grand Finale - 11/18/2016 - 12/19/2016Design a Concept winners will get a special "Build Kit" prize that includes a GIGABYTE motherboard, graphics card, and an EK waterblock!
To commemorate 30 years of Upgrading Your Life, we’re launching a mod contest dedicated to you, our fans!
Submit your build by November 15, 2016 to be entered to WIN an all expense paid flight and lodging for you and a friend to CES 2017 on January 5 - 8, 2017 plus $1,000 in cash and prizes. Second and Third place prizes are also up for grabs. Rules and restrictions apply. See Mod Rules for details.
To help you get started, submit a concept design on how you would design your dream build by June 27, 2016 to be entered to WIN 1 of 3 Build Kits that include a GIGABYTE motherboard, graphics card, and an EK waterblock! Submit hand drawn and/or CAD files. Terms and conditions apply.
We will be giving away prizes and swag exclusively to those of you who sign up throughout the duration of the mod challenge. So sign up, Get building, and you could be the one who WINs the trip of a lifetime!
At the end of the contest, we want to know who you think built the best of the best mod. We’re giving you the chance to decide who WINs our Fan Favorite Build presented by Newegg. Cast your vote and you could also WIN exclusive swag and prizes.Sign up and Complete your mod before November 15, 2016, 11:59pm PST
- Create a Modders Inc. account to start your work log.
- Register here with your Modders Inc. work log and personal information.
- Building your Mod and updating it on your Modders Inc. work log.
- Complete your GIGABYTE Profile to make sure you join the contest!
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Phanteks ENTHOO EVOLV ITX Computer Case Review @ [H]
A year or so ago I reviewed the Mini-ITX version of the Enthoo EVOLV and quickly fell in love with the form factor. Sure I took issue with the lack of 5.25" drive bays but on a Mini-ITX system those aren't so important.
Little computer cases have gotten to be big business since the motherboard companies started building enthusiast featured mini-ITX motherboards. Phanteks' new EVOLV ITX case is not so little however as it is keeping in mind that users may want room to build their own water cooling loops or need room for a couple of AIO coolers.
HardOCP is taking a look at the very same case and they seem to like it. I think.
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Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ATX Tempered Glass Edition @ Custom PC Review
There are several items in an enthusiast PC that stand the upgrade process with one of them in the case. When someone builds a PC or buys one from a place like CyberPower PC you are concerned with the components but spend considerable time making sure the case will hold your gear and still look good.
As they say there is nothing worse than an ugly computer case and is why modding is still very much a real thing. The Phanteks EVOLV is a case you can clearly use for a variety of builds and will eventually be home to one in the Hardware Asylum Labs.
Today we’re taking a look at the latest of the Enthoo EVOLV chassis lineup, the Enthoo EVOLV ATX Tempered Glass, which is a slight variation of the previously released Enthoo EVOLV ATX. As the name suggests, this new variation replaces the aluminum side panels found on the EVOLV ATX with full, tempered glass panels.
Be sure to check out our review of the Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV Tempered Glass Edition. It is quite good.
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Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum @ Bjorn3d
If Microsoft and Intel ran the world, more than they do now, there would be no need for you to use a mouse, In fact this little gem of a pointing device would have never been invented and countless 1000's of gamers and hardware enthusiast would be touching their 4K LCD monitors with their fingers, or "other things" depending on what they are watching.
Logitech and more specifically their Gaming or G line has been constantly evolving over the years to follow the latest in technology when it comes to keyboards, mice, headsets and other peripherals. Only a few weeks ago we had the honor to review the G910 Orion Spark keyboard and today we have the pleasure to test and review their new G502 Proteus Spectrum gaming mouse. So in this review we put this mouse through rigorous testing.
Lucky for us the mouse is still a very important part of any computer system and should remain that way.
At least for a few more weeks.
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The Hardware Asylum Redesign v2.0
When I launched the Hardware Asylum several years ago I was doing much more than rebranding Ninjalane.com, I was upgrading a good portion of the Ninjalane CMS so I could split the older content from the new. As a result I didn’t spend much time on the UI aside from creating “Flame Guy” and creating a basic layout similar to the previous edition.
The intent was to launch the site and gauge market acceptance before spending too much time on making the design unique. Strangely enough, what started out promising quickly went downhill around the same time I stopped giving away custom painted computer cases.
Imagine that?!?
Against popular opinion I do have a vested interest in making Hardware Asylum work and with that I am proud to announce the launch of Hardware Asylum v2.0.
The new website design brings with it a radical departure from what other hardware review sites are doing and I think it will work out well. Traditionally my competitor sites have all taken the “blog” approach when it comes to site design and layout. We can thank the rise of Wordpress and Drupal for making that happen. Before that it was all three column designs thanks in part to PHP Nuke.
Have you noticed the pattern? Yep, the majority of website owners are not web programmers and grab some CMS off the shelf and then higher a reader or local development shop to build a tempate. Because of this most sites follow a 2/3 by 1/3 site layout with two layers of drill-down.
I on the other hand take things to the next level having designed and built my own multi relational CMS and applied that to a Responsive HTML5 site design that I also developed. Pretty much the polar opposite of using Wordpress and/or Drupal
Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything wrong with using an off the shelf product, in fact Ninjalane v2 through v4 borrowed heavly from Wordpress themes and followed a similar design pattern because it was popular and easy to maintain. Ninjalane v1 (which was awesome BTW) and Hardware Asylum v2.0 are both unique in that I did something different..
The new design is pretty straight forward and instead of doing a listing drill-down I have decided to take a “news article” approach where items on the page decrease in importance the further down the page you go. For instance at the top of the homepage you will find large chicklets showing the latest articles and reviews followed by an icon list of popular categories and the next four articles.
Below that is a dedicated section for the Hardware Asylum Podcast, which is also awesome, be sure to give it a listen.
At the bottom of the homepage is a small section dedicated to Hardware News. This section used to dominate the homepage and while I felt it was relevant at the time the truth is google cares very little about “news” and tech sites are very reluctant to share reviews from competing websites so why bother. Funny story, back in the day I stopped sending news to “certain” sites because of the liberties they took with my content and I suspect it was the start of the downward spiral. (read: steal most if it, re-write it slightly and post it as their own with a very small “source” link at the bottom. Not Cool)
But, I digress. The news section is simply a list of articles that links directly to the full story.
The secondary index pages (Reviews Articles Builds) remain about the same with the addition of a unique version of the carousel found on the homepage. The rest of the pages I felt worked well so I left them alone.
With that said I will be making a few tweaks to the design over the next several months to help pretty up some of the pages and adjust the content filtering. With any luck you may finally see similar reviews in the side bar instead of “tech news” that nobody cares about.
As always if you have any questions, concerns, praises or hate mail send them my way. My contact information can be found on this website and handful of social sites I try to keep updated. Take care and enjoy the website update.
