Tech News
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SilverStone Fortress FT04 @ Phoronix
the new "04" generation Fortress and Raven cases have been a long time in the making and appear to be well worth the wait. Both case designs feature flipped motherboard configurations with the processor at the bottom of the case, expansion cards out the back and PSU at the top. The front of these cases both have twin 180mm fans and promise to be the best cooling cases on the market.
Phoronix has a review of the new FT04 and they seem to like it.
When it comes to hardware reviews after reviewing CPUs, GPUs, and SSDs under Linux, one of my personal favorites is always looking at SilverStone's latest and greatest computer cases. While their enclosures have nothing to do with the operating system, so many of their designs are incredible and innovative that they're always fun checking out. The latest ATX enclosure I've had the honor of looking at is the SilverStone Fortress FT04.
I'll be reviewing the new Raven 4 this month and afterwards plan to do a full system build using it. I'm still trying to figure out how to shoehorn a 360 (Dual 180mm) rad into one of these cases, I know it can be done but, something will get lost in the process.
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GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 5 Motherboard Review @ Techgage
The problem with being a website for pc enthusiasts by pc enthusiasts is that many mfgs think we are a bunch of overclockers bent on world domination thru the power of the mulitplier. While this may be true we also like to cut loose every once in awhile and prefer that our frames are rendered on the finest hardware money can buy.
Gamers with deep pockets who appreciate motherboards packed to the gills with features, features, and more features ought to have a look at GIGABYTE’s G1.Sniper 5. Its black and green aesthetics are eye-catching, sure, but its feature-set would surely make its rivals green with envy. Read on to find out what we think of the G1.Sniper 5!
The question now is, "Where can I get one?"
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Biostar Z87X 3D Motherboard Review @ Bjorn3D
I do hate it when sites send in their "news" and litter the email with tracking codes. Thunderbird claims it is a scam since none of the links go where they are supposed to.
But, I digress. It would appear that Bjorn3D has posted a review of the Biostar Z87X 3D. The review is basically 2 pages but contains about 10 pages of text and a bunch of box shots.
Biostar is one of those names you hear about but not as common as the “bigger” players in the component game but regardless of this they have a decent share in the more cost conscious market which is actually a very large segment to live in. Also on previous mainstream enthusiasts boards I have been rather impressed with the performance/price ratio the Biostar boards are able to pull in comparison to some of the higher priced competitors.
Today we have Biostar’s top Z87 model which integrates their HiFi audio solution for a great audio experience should you use this for a multimedia or gaming board this one should be up for the task.
The one thing that did surprise me is the lack of SLI support which means your talking single Nvidia card or crossfire depending upon your needs, but from what i have seen many users utilize a single card setup anyways especially budget builds so this may be a great low cost solution for a low cost gamer.Considering that SLI certification costs money I'm not suprised, it also makes building the board cheaper since they won't need to worry about lane allocation.
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Gigabyte GTX 780 Ti GHz Edition Review @ Hardware Canucks
I almost forgot that Gigabyte built custom video cards. Yes they tweak the PCBs a little with each release but the boards are generally based on a reference PCB. This card, the Gigabyte GTX 780 Ti GHz Edition, looks to be extremely robust in the VRM department and comes with a triple fan cooler and machined backplate.
The GHz Edition moniker is typically used for AMD cards but in this case, GIGABYTE is porting it to the GTX 780 Ti. The end result is nothing short of spectacular.
I will have to agree that the name is a little strange and they should have stuck with SOC (Super Overclock) or something like that.
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EVGA GTX 780 Ti Classfied Kingpin Edition
For the past few days EVGA has been posting teaser shots of their latest creation the GTX 780 Ti Classified. Details on the card are still a little sketchy but by the looks of it they have customized the ACX cooler found on the GTX 780 Classified to make the plastic translucent and added the K|ngP|n Cooling logo to the back of the PCB.
Knowing that the GTX 780 and 780 Ti are basically the same GPU there is reason to believe that the PCBs will be almost identical in terms of VRM power phases and voltage controls. EVGA did add a third 6-pin PCI Express power connection bringing the total power pairs up to eleven! (2x 8-pin + 1x 6-pin).
EVGA did that on the GTX 580 Classified back in the day but that was a power hungry GPU, the GTX 780 is considerably more efficient. Does the extra power connector mean more power phases?? I guess we will find out when the review samples hit the test bench.
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Are retail Radeon R9 290X cards slower than press samples?
In one of the latest Tech Report Podcasts the question was asked about the speed of press sample cards over the retail equivalent. This has actually been an age old question with some proof to back it up. For instance Intel ES chips are usually made from first generation silicon and binned differently than chips for the retail market. It stands to reason that the ES parts will be faster.
The truth is, they have the same performance out of the box but tend to overclock better. When it comes to video cards the same "could" be true and in the past each card was locked to a certain frequency. That isn't the case with new AMD cards, provided you can keep them cool they will actually clock higher.
Better silicon usually means cooler running.
Well, from here, things get kind of complicated. Although the retail R9 290-series cards appear to have the same basic hardware and specifications as the review samples, the zillion-dollar question is what happens during everyday operation. You see, like the Turbo Boost mechanism in Intel CPUs, the Radeons' PowerTune algorithm adjusts clock speed dynamically, from moment to moment, in response to current chip temperatures, the GPU workload, and the video card's pre-defined power limits. For one reason or another, folks found that at least some retail R9 290-series cards seemed to operate at lower clock speeds than those initial review units.
Keep in mind this is TR and they tend to get wordy but, it should be a good read.
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ROCCAT Ships White Hot Gaming Mouse for the Holidays
Limited edition Kone Pure Color Phantom White celebrating five-year anniversary of multi-award-winning Kone series available in stores now
Hamburg – December 2, 2013 – ROCCAT today announces the availability of the Phantom White variation of the limited edition Kone Pure Color. Like the original Kone Pure, the Color edition features a high-end 8,200 DPI Pro-Aim R3 laser sensor and high quality Omron® switches. With features like Easy-Shift[+]™, Easy-Aim and ROCCAT Talk®, the Kone Pure Color is a powerful weapon in the hands of gamers fighting for point-streaks, lanes and bases. It is one of a series of limited edition products released over the course of 2013, which marks the “Year of the Kone” – celebrating the five-year anniversary of the Kone series. The Phantom White variation of the mouse follows the Inferno Orange, Hellfire Red and Polar Blue Kone Pure Colors, as well as the Kone Pure Optical.
ROCCAT Kone - Evolution of a Gaming Mouse
The original Kone was the first product ROCCAT™ developed in 2008. CEO and Founder René Korte, reminisces about the beginning days of ROCCAT™: “Early on, I was involved in the professional gaming scene. So, I was aware of the many professional players who were dissatisfied with their gaming devices. Since then our overall mission has been to build high-quality peripherals that satisfy the needs of all ambitious gamers.”Five years later, known for its powerful performance, the Kone series is one of the most successful gaming devices in the world. Although the Kone series has set new standards for gaming mice, the evolution will continue.
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Noctua NH-U14S Heatsink Review @ Frostytech
I really like Noctua coolers which is saying a lot since I don't often consider "silent" heatsinks to be all that effective. The benefit to Nocuta is that they are oversized to handle large amounts of heat and have very advanced fans to keep the air moving.
In this review Frostytech will be testing out Noctua's NH-U14S heatsink, a 170mm tall thermal solution built around six 6mm diameter heatpipes and featuring one 140x150mm fan called the NF-A15 PWM. The Noctua-branded NF-A15 fan features all kinds of fancy attributes designed to decrease noise, increase airflow, lengthen bearing life and cancel out errant vibrations. Given the pride Noctua have in their fans, Frostytech will be taking the extra step of testing the NH-U14S heatsink in stock and dual fan configurations, on 85W, 150W and 200W synthetic thermal test platforms.
I reviewed the Noctua NH-U14S not long ago and found it to work extremely well on the LGA 2011 and could even handle a 4.6Ghz overclock.
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Gigabyte BRIX i7-4500 Barebones Mini-PC Review
Gigabyte launched a new Mini PC computer system at Computex that they called BRIX. The idea behind it is to provide a barebones computer system that could power industrial systems like signs and television displays but also give retail customers the option for something smaller than MiniITX.
I wasn't all that interested in the BIRX when I first saw it at Computex but I cannot be the only one who secretly wanted to take one home.
With modern computer components continuing the trend of shrinking in size while also increasing in performance, the small form-factor (SFF) market is big business. Taking size reductions to the extreme, can Gigabyte’s BRIX prove its worth to downsizing system builders?
Personally the Mini PC has a place in the computing world. I'm just not sure it will replace a real desktop anytime soon.
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OCZ Filing for Bankruptcy, Toshiba to Purchase Assets
Big news this week. OCZ is filing for bankruptcy with their assets being purchased by Toshiba. It is hard to imagine that OCZ started out as a overclocking reseller who would take stock video cards and tweak the BIOS to increase the clock speed. With that they also added custom coolers and basically started the factory overclocking movement. A short time later the company went under with the name being purchased by a memory company.
Not many people know this but OCZ started in Idaho. Of course that information has since been purged from the google results.
Shares of solid-state drive technology vendor OCZ Technology Group (OCZ) remain frozen since 9 am, Eastern this morning, and the reason came across the transom just a short while ago: The company has received an offer from Toshiba (6502JP) to purchase all the company’s assets in a bankruptcy proceeding.
OCZ said it believes all the “material terms have been agreed to,” though there are a number of conditions that have to be satisfied, such as retention of employees. OCZ would file for bankruptcy right after agreeing to a deal, but it would also file even if it doesn’t reach agreement with Toshiba, it said.
I am glad to see that the company will remain intact during the buyout which means that current products will continue to be sold, at least until Toshiba figures out what stays and what goes.
