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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!

Gigabyte X58A-UD3R Intel X58 LGA 1366 Motherboard Review

In late 2008, Intel released the LGA 1366 Core i7 900 Series Bloomfield processors and the X58 Express chipset to accommodate them. Just over a year ago I reviewed the Intel Core i7 920 processor and a few X58 motherboards. I was and still am impressed with the awesome power and new features of LGA 1366, especially the incredible bandwidth attained by triple channel memory.

But to be honest, I had pretty much written LGA 1366 as the right technology released at the wrong time. Intel and partners released this excellent processor/chipset combination right in the middle of a global economic meltdown. It is now a year later, and though things appear to have stabilized, the future is still pretty uncertain.

And in the meantime, Intel released the LGA 1156 family of processors and chipsets. This took the best of the LGA 1366 technology a few steps farther, among other advancements completely eliminating the Northbridge. The latest LGA 1156 processors have been built with the brand new 32nm manufacturing process and advanced the technology even further with on-die graphics processing.

So in the back of my mind I had decided we had probably seen the last of the LGA 1366. A shame too, as there are other new technologies coming online, SuperSpeed USB 3, and SATA 6GB/s, and I figured the only way a Bloomfield user would get to use them would be by expansion cards.

Then just last weekend I was chatting with a friend that had attended CES, who told me that Intel was working on a new LGA 1366 processor line, a six-core monster using 32nm…yeah, I know, I’m behind the times, the gossip about the new processors started back in Nov-Dec, but I was busy “fixing up” a “fixer-upper” house and moving during that time.

Anyway, I got a little excited, hoping that maybe LGA 1366 wasn’t dead, just in hibernation. The very next day, lo and behold, our friends at Gigabyte placed a cool little gem into my hands…a brand new LGA 1366 motherboard, complete with onboard SATA 6GB/s and USB 3. Today I will be looking at the Gigabyte X58A-UD3R, the entry-level model of their three new X58 motherboards, which appear to be designated differently from the older models by an “A” after the X58 in their name, and ending with an “R” rather than the usual “P”. Will this be the board of the future? Read on to see!

Special thanks to Gigabyte for providing us with the X58A-UD3R Intel X58 LGA 1366 Motherboard to review.

Packaging:

The X58A-UD3R is in a colorful box nearly completely covered with specs and features.

Gigabyte X58A-UD3R Intel X58 LGA 1366 Motherboard Gigabyte X58A-UD3R Intel X58 LGA 1366 Motherboard

Inside, the board is inside a static proof bag and protected from the bundle by a cardboard divider.

Gigabyte X58A-UD3R Intel X58 LGA 1366 Motherboard Gigabyte X58A-UD3R Intel X58 LGA 1366 Motherboard

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