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Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell Processor Review
Just a year ago Intel launched their Ivy Bridge processors and now a year later we have another platform launch from Intel. The 4th Generation Core Haswell processors are the “tock” to Intel’s “tick” and “tock” release schedule. A “tock” represents a new architecture and a “tick” represents a process refinement. So Haswell brings with it a new architecture, but is still built on the same 22nm process as Ivy Bridge. Intel has introduced a new LGA1150 socket with Haswell and a new chipset so you will not be able to throw this processor in an older motherboard, you will have to buy a new one. Today we are taking a look at the top of the line Haswell desktop chip the Core i7-4770K. Of course the “K” denotes that it is an unlocked processor. This is a quad-core processor that has a default clock speed of 3.5 GHz and a turbo frequency that goes all the way up to 3.9 GHz.
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XSPC AX Radiator Desk Stand Review
One of the biggest limiting factors in what you can do with watercooling is how much room you have in your case. With so much equipment to pack in for watercooling alone, space ends up being one of the chief concerns for builders and modders. And the single biggest limiting factor: how much radiator one can fit. Radiators are large, bulky, and inflexible in how they need to be installed. This can easily lead to the builder having to sacrifice cooling surface for space. There is a solution to this problem though; external radiator stands. And if you have chosen to use XSPC’s AX series of radiators, then you’re in luck. Today we will be looking at the AX Radiator Desk Stand from XSPC.
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Win a NZXT Phantom 630 Case!
It is summer time and it is the perfect time to give you, our readers some free hardware! We have teamed up with our friends at NZXT to give away a brand new NZXT Phantom 630 Case! This Ultra Tower not only looks good it has room for quite a lot inside like long graphics cards, XL-ATX Motherboards, 8 hard drives and a lot of watercooling! Like many of our contests we will be running this one on Facebook and it is extremely easy to enter!
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Case Mod Friday: ReactorMod
Welcome to another Case Mod Friday showcase! This week we have a builders ReactorMod build. Here is what he had to say about it: It's a modded Chieftec BX-03 case. I wanted to make it look like it's quite old and kinda shabby. I was thinking about this build for quite a long time, so I managed to collect some cool stuff that I've found on a nearby scrap yard (e.g. switch or steel sheet that I used to make the radiator cover). I also used some spare parts that I had lying around.
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Enermax Triathlor FC 550W Power Supply Review
Enermax is a brand whose strong product is their power supplies, especially when it comes to the high-end spectrum. Their Platimax and MAXREVO units are some of the best out there. But these units are not cheap in terms of cost. Enermax knows not everyone has a ton of cash to throw at a new power supply so they have created the Triathlor series of power supplies. There are actually the Triathlor and Triathlor FC units. The Triathlor units are lower wattage and non-modular and the Triathlor FC units are higher wattage and are modular. Today we are checking out the Triathlor FC 550W unit which is 80PLUS Bronze certified and offers quiet operation.
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SilverStone ARM22SC ARM Two Dual LCD Monitor Mount Review
We mainly know SilverStone for their cases and for good reason, they are high quality and look great. What if SilverStone took that same quality and put it into a LCD monitor mount? Then you would have what we are reviewing today which is the ARM Two ARM22SC dual LCD Monitor Mount from SilverStone. LCD arms are a great addition to any computer setup, especially if you are using a multi-monitor system. The ARM22SC is constructed with robust aluminum alloy and steel so this is a heavy duty piece of hardware. It will support two displays with VESA mounts. Read on as we get this installed and see how it transforms our desk.
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Win a Pivos XIOS DS Media Player!
Pivos is a company we have been working with lately and they make some pretty cool little media players. We have already reviewed their XIOS DS media player and it is a very unique device. Pivos was nice enough to give us one to give away to our readers! Just like all of our contests this one is very easy to enter and we will be running it on Facebook? So what are you doing get out there and get your entry in!
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Case Mod Friday: Black and White
Welcome to another Case Mod Friday showcase! This week we have Christian Black and White build. Here is what he had to say about it: Well this is the first time I do something like this, and it really is interesting the world of case modding the project is BLACK AND WHITE and really was a design chosen because I began to paint the cabinet only and one thing leads to another as in all cases and was thinking of some ideas for covers.
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The History Of The Hard Drive
In 1953, engineers in IBM's California-based laboratory invented the very first hard drive. Since that first disk drive, technological advances have been made at an astonishing rate, with data capacity increasing and size and price decreasing exponentially, year on year. 60 years on, the hard drives of today are unrecognizable from the first models, which took up an entire room. Hard drives today are measured in terms of gigabytes and terabytes, rather than megabytes-an amount of data that would have been almost unimaginable in the early history of computers. Here we take a look back at the evolution of the hard drive as it grew from 5MB to 4TB.
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Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 Review
Lenovo has been making headlines with their IdeaPad Yoga. It is a tablet convertible that can be used as a laptop as well. There are 11-inch and 13-inch models. While the larger 13-inch model has the choice of Intel Core processors, the 11-inch does not and is rather powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 3 platform. Today we will be taking a look at that unit which does offer a very sleek and slim design, responsive 11.6-inch touchscreen, Lenovo’s patent-pending hinge design that allows the screen to flip completely over and it is running Windows RT. Let’s check it out!

Archive for category: Guides

Top 5 Broadband Troubleshooting Tips

Top 5 Broadband Troubleshooting Tips

There’s nothing more frustrating that loading your browser only to see an “Address Not Found” message staring back at you. Time out errors or that dreaded red X on network connection icon all signal that something’s wrong with your Internet connection. There are many reasons why your connection could be disabled so it might take some time to find and fix the problem. The following five super simple steps will help to restore your connection 95% percent of the time. If you happen to fall within that 5%, well it could be time to call your service provider. But try these tips before you do.

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How To Boot Into Safe Mode On Windows 8

How To Boot Into Safe Mode On Windows 8

Whenever I have a problem with a computer system I am working on I boot into Windows Safe Mode to see if the problem exists there. Many people use Safe Mode to troubleshoot PC’s, but it Windows 8 Microsoft made it a little bit harder to boot into Safe Mode. With previous versions of Windows we would just hit F8 and be able to go right into Safe Mode. In this guide we will show you two different methods for booting into Safe Mode on Windows 8.

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How To Protect Your WiFi Hotspot From Unwanted Intruders

How To Protect Your WiFi Hotspot From Unwanted Intruders

Portable hotspots have become extremely popular among people who constantly find themselves on the road. The increase in WiFi hotspot usage means an increase in malicious users who’s primary goal is to gain access to these types of networks and the information that’s being transmitted on them. If you’ve recently purchased a mobile WiFi hotspot device, follow these simple tips to help keep the hackers, jackers and slackers out of your personal business.

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How to Install Google Chrome on the Amazon Kindle Fire HD

How to Install Google Chrome on the Amazon Kindle Fire HD

As you may know I have recently added a Kindle Fire HD to my gadget list.  I actually really like the device.  You can read my lengthy review on it here.  Amazon tries to keep you in their ecosystem with the Kindle Fire HD.  As such you can only download apps that are in Amazon’s App store.  This really does limit you.  Amazon’s silk browser is alright, but there are plenty of better browsers available for Android.  Amazon blocks them from their app store, but you are still able to install them.  In this guide we will show you how to easily install Google Chrome on your Amazon Kindle Fire HD.  This process shouldn’t take that long and the best part you do not even have to root your Kindle Fire HD!  Let’s get started!

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How to Find the Speed of Your Memory

How to Find the Speed of Your Memory

Computer memory speed is something that is often overlooked when people purchase a computer.  They mainly are concerned with the actual size of the memory rather than the speed.  Speed is important for a couple of reasons.  First if you need to replace your memory you will need to know the speed.  Second if you are upgrading and want faster memory you are going to want to know the actual speed of the memory currently in your system.  So in this guide we will be showing you a few different ways you can find the speed of your memory.  It should not take you more than a few minutes!

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Memory Timings Explained

Memory Timings Explained

So you’re on the hunt for a new memory kit, and whilst you know that “lower = better”.. you don’t exactly know why. You may even know the name “CAS Latency” .. but what is that, exactly? Why is it better to have CL8 over CL10? What are all these other numbers? What do the abbreviations mean? Why is it all so complicated!? Oh, and why do I care? Well.. read on, find out, and rejoice! I’m here to save the day.

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NVIDIA 600 Series Video Card Overclocking Guide

NVIDIA 600 Series Video Card Overclocking Guide

Welcome to the ThinkComputers overclocking guide for the NVIDIA GK104. Also known as the NVIDIA GeForce 680, 670, and 660Ti! This guide does MAY apply to other cards in the series, but, use it at your own risk, as it has not been tested on those devices. If this is your first time overclocking, we hope this guide will be useful to you. If you’re running Intel’s latest processor technology, Ivy Bridge, feel free to check out our sister guide that’ll help you in that area.

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A Guide to Being Productive on Android

A Guide to Being Productive on Android

There has been a lot of Android news lately, especially with the release of the Nexus 7 from Google.  With their low cost Android tablets are very popular, but are they just a novelty item or something that you can use to get real work done?  After having my ASUS Transformer tablet for quite some time I believe you can be quite productive on an Android device.  So I have put together a quick guide that highlights some great apps and products that you can use to be productive using your Android device.

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How To Remove “Other” Data From Your iPhone

How To Remove “Other” Data From Your iPhone

Over the past year or so I have noticed when syncing my iPhone with my PC that data labeled as “Other” was taking up quite a lot of space.  I’m not talking about just a few megabytes, I’m talking almost 3 gigabytes!  When your iPhone is only 16GB losing 3GB or more is definitely a lot and does not go unnoticed when your iPhone is filled with music, apps and photos.  There are many different things that actually could cause your “Other” data to pile up.  So in this guide we will go over different solutions to minimize or completely remove the “Other” data on your iPhone.  These solutions should also work with your iPad, iPod or any other iOS device.

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PC Rejuvenation Guide

PC Rejuvenation Guide

So your computer has seen its heyday and now it seems that it is slower than it once was. Your computer is “hanging” when opening relatively simple applications, it takes what seems like a lifetime to finish loading into Windows, and often you get issues trying to do anything at all that could be considered intensive. This guide is here to help you revive your computer and restore it to a level of performance that you may feel is lost to you. We’ll start with in-Windows tools, moving on to third party software, and then finally, hardware changes or upgrades.

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