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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: Networking

Rosewill T600N Wireless Router Review

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In this modern area of wireless networking, the market is flooded with devices with advanced feature sets, sometimes not performing as well as others. This trade-off can be frustrating. Sometimes, the basic features are all one really needs in a WiFi router, and the Rosewill T600N fills that gap. It’s an 802.11a/b/g/n router that can do 300 Mbps per frequency and even features standard replaceable antennas for its 2.4 GHz radio. ThinkComputers takes a look at this sub $60 unit that frequently can be found online for under $50!

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Rosewill RPLC-500 500 Mbps Powerline Networking Kit Review

Rosewill RPLC-500 500 Mbps Powerline Networking Kit Review

In terms of getting a network connection from one point to another in a way that most folk consider neat and orderly, some ways are easier than others. Running Ethernet or coaxial cable can be messy for existing structures, and sometimes there’s a reason not to use WiFi. When those two standard options are out, the next one to consider is Powerline networking. Powerline is oft-forgotten, because most folk reach for a better WiFi router when they need it. The 500 Mbps RPLC-500 Kit from Rosewill is a new contender in this space. It offers a smaller wall wart adapter than some of its competitors’ offerings and great power saving features. Its plug-and-play operation lets users get up and running in no time.

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Vantec NexStar WiFi Hard Drive Dock Review

Vantec NexStar WiFi Hard Drive Dock Review

Hard drive docks are nothing new. They have been around for quite some time and we have reviewed a handful of them. The only thing that has really changed in the way of hard drive docks is the connections. When USB 3.0 came out we saw a new round of hard drive docks with the new, faster connection. So what is next for hard drive docks? Vantec seems to think WiFi is. It makes sense, we have so many wireless devices now with tablets and smartphones ruling our lives. So why not be able to access the information on any hard drive without having to have a USB connection on your device? This is where the NexStar WiFi Hard Drive Dock comes in. It is your normal hard drive dock supporting 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch drives and has a USB 3.0 connection, but it also has WiFi so you can use an iOS or Android device to connect to it and access your files. Let’s dive in!

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ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 Review

ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 Review

Wireless storage is becoming increasingly popular, I cannot tell you how many wireless hard drives we saw at CES this year.  Wireless storage is great as you do not need to be physically connected to the drive to access it and think about how many wireless devices you have in your house.  How many of those devices do you take with you on a daily basis?  For me I take my laptop, iPhone and Kindle with me everywhere.  With limited storage space on these devices I want to be able to take my media with me and access it from all of these devices…at the same time.  We have already taken a look at devices like Kingston’s Wi-Drive and Patriot’s Gauntlet Node that give you this ability.  Each device has its limitations though.  Today we are taking a look at a device from ADATA that everyone should add to their mobile arsenal.  The DashDrive Air is a wireless storage reader and power bank that gives you that mobile storage as well as the ability to charge your devices and so much more!  Read on as we take a look!

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WD My Net N900 Central Review

WD My Net N900 Central Review

There was a time when a wireless router did little more than, well, route. It took bits from the airwaves and put them on a wire, destined for the Internet or perhaps the local network. As the technology matured, product designers started adding things. At first, it was software like firewalls, quality of service controls, and port tunneling and forwarding controls. Then came the advanced things such as VPN and jffs-based file storage – sufficient for a small, static HTML site stored on a cordoned-off part of the router’s unused flash ROM. Then came the hardware changes, most relevant to this review being the advent of USB ports. This opened a whole new world of possibilities, generally USB Mass Storage devices and printers. Then Western Digital joined the fray. It added a hard drive to the router. Thus, we have the My Net N900 Central, a 450Mbps x2 high-end wireless router ready act not only as a shuffler of bits, but also as a storer of bits; a router and simple NAS all in one compact device.

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ASUS RT-N66U Wireless Router Review

ASUS RT-N66U Wireless Router Review

Not all wireless routers are equal. Every wireless router can shuffle bits back and forth between the Internet, the local wired network, and the local wireless network. Some routers are faster than others, and that’s to be expected. However, there is another class of wireless router that offers more than the standard feature set. The ASUS RT-N66U Dual-band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router is one such hot rod. Featuring among other things dual USB2 ports and 450 Mbps wireless transfers and the ability to create eight wireless networks, the RT-N66U is a great device for folks who want their always-on device to do more than just shuffle bits. Read on for the review.

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Edimax EW-7438RPn N300 Universal Wi-Fi Extender Review

Edimax EW-7438RPn N300 Universal Wi-Fi Extender Review

It always seems that no matter what improvements are made to wireless access point technology, there is always that one spot in your living or office space that has lackluster Wi-Fi reception. No matter what you do, you’re just outside the bubble, and the signal drops constantly or the throughput is so slow that you might as well be back on a 56 kbps modem. Wi-Fi extenders such as this Edimax EW-7438RPn N300 Universal Wi-Fi Extender aim to fix that by cheaply augmenting the wireless network, expanding coverage and providing better reception in areas that sorely need it. Read on for the review.

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TP-LINK TL-WR700N 150Mbps Wireless N Mini Pocket Router Review

TP-LINK TL-WR700N 150Mbps Wireless N Mini Pocket Router Review

Last year we reviewed a couple TP-LINK products and were extremely impressed with them. TP-LINK’s latest portable router is the TL-WR700N 150Mbps Wireless N Mini Pocket Router. Its max wireless speed is rated a bit lower than standard routers, but its feature-set doesn’t suffer. The TL-WR700N supports multiple modes including AP, Repeater, Client, Bridge, and can function as a basic router. Has TP-LINK tried to pack too much into a small device? Or will they blow us away again? Check out the full review to find out.

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Synology DS-212+ Network Attached Storage Device Review

Synology DS-212+ Network Attached Storage Device Review

Synology loves hardware revisions, and the DS-212+ is the latest in the business series of dual-bay NASes from the network storage company. Sporting a faster processor, USB3, and lower power consumption, the DS-212+ shapes up to be a good improvement on the DS-211+. ThinkComputers has the review.

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Bigfoot Networks Killer 1102 Wireless-N Network Card Comparison Review

Bigfoot Networks Killer 1102 Wireless-N Network Card Comparison Review

When Bigfoot Networks‘ VP of Marketing John Drewry unveiled its partnership with several motherboard manufacturers at CES 2011, he hinted at the possibility of a wireless version of the Killer NIC. In March, BFN announced the Killer Wireless-N series. We’ve finally gotten our hands on a pair of otherwise identical laptops — one with the Killer Wireless-N 1102 adapter and one with an Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN adapter. We send a big thank you to BFN for arranging this comparison review.

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