iPhone 6 to feature next-gen A8 chip from Apple, dual-core 2GHz chip
It looks like Apple's upcoming next-generation iPhone 6 might feature the A8 processor from the company, something that would remain a dual-core design with a clock speed of 2GHz.
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Pentagon studying 'neuroprosthetics' to help recall lost memories
The Pentagon is investing millions of dollars to develop technology that can be used for brain implants able to help patients recall memories. The surgically-installed implant is the latest idea from "neuroprosthetics," designed to help military personnel wounded and suffering from traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).
"We don't have the Rosetta Stone for the memory system," said Michael Kahana, University of Pennsylvania computational memory lab director, in a recent statement. "The DARPA project is trying to dramatically accelerate that effort to decipher that Rosetta Stone. We're poised to do it. With this multisite effort, we might just be able to pull it off."
Led by the U.S. government, the same type of device could be utilized in the civilian medical world one day, according to researchers.
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Build your Blu-ray empire in our 300: Rise of an Empire giveaway
To celebrate this week's release of the semi sequel to '300' - 'Rise of an Empire' on home video formats, our friends at Warner Bros. Home Entertainment have supplied us with copies of the film on Blu-ray to give away to five lucky readers.
Filled with over an hours worth of extra features including a documentary and featurettes, '300: Rise of an Empire' is sure to be an audio and visual treat on Blu-ray.
Which actor played King Leonidas in the original '300'?
To enter, simply 'like' this post and share via Facebook or Twitter and send your answers, along with your postal address to ben at TweakTown.com before the competition closes on July 17th. The total prize pool is approximately $199.75.
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Internet helping prostitution thrive, using website marketing
Street walkers and criminals trying to exploit prostitution are finding great success by becoming more Internet savvy, promoting their activities with little risk of law enforcement interference. Higher-end escorts - generating $500+ per hour for their "company" - rely on websites and Internet advertising to generate interest.
"If a prostitute invests in her website's copy editing, professional photographs, or video, this may signal to potential customers her quality, education level, or income (and thus popularity or success in the market)," said Scott R. Peppet, University of Colorado law professor, in a recent research paper. "Such signals matter: evidence suggests, for example, that sex workers proficient in English can charge higher prices and are more likely to attract customers, and that prostitutes willing to reveal an accurate picture of themselves command higher prices."
In cities such as Las Vegas, where visitors are bombarded with small glossy cards featuring photos of sexy women, rates, and phone numbers - the Internet can play a vital role in more effective marketing and sales. It is even easier and safer for visitors to find a lady to spend time with, while no longer scouring the strip for prostitutes.
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Argument rages on regarding cost of border drones patrolling the skies
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is popular with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with patrols increasing along the U.S.-Mexico border. The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator drones are flying along the border, but the large costs in manufacturing and staffing drone teams remains controversial.
"Border Patrol wants the money and it wants the drones," said Gregory McNeal, Pepperdine University law professor and drone expert, in a statement to NBC News. "This is the kind of crisis where, if you are Border Patrol, you seize the opportunity to get more funding from Congress."
Another problem with an expanding Border Patrol fleet: local, state and federal law enforcement agencies want to conduct their own surveillance operations, and reportedly is sharing its drone fleet - almost 700 missions between 2010 and 2012, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) discovered earlier this year.
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Leaked shots of the purported Sony Xperia Z3 surface
Sony has been pushing into the smartphone market for a while now with its very well-built Xperia line of devices, but now we're hearing about the purported Xperia Z3, which looks like it might come with a slightly modified design.
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Samsung's latest ad for the Galaxy Tab S takes a swipe at the iPad
Samsung is on the offensive lately, taking a stab at Apple iPhone users calling them "wall huggers" but in its latest ad for the Galaxy Tab S, it takes a swipe at the iPad's inability of multitasking.
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YouPorn to sponsor a LoL, DOTA2 or HearthStone e-sports team
What may come as a surprise with few gamers, free porn video website YouPorn is interested to sponsor an e-sports team who are playing either League of Legends, DOTA 2 or Hearthstone.
YouPorn recently posted a Twitter message (NSFW Warning) asking opinion about the website sponsoring an e-sports team. As one would expect, this attracted a lot of comments, including those who have been asking if YouPorn would be interested in sponsored an E-sports team for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and even for Starcraft 2 team.
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Intel at IDF: 14nm CPUs and 10nm wafers to be shown off
It looks like things could get quite good at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in September, according to DigiTimes' sources. These sources have said that Intel will show off its 14nm processors in September, but it will also be teasing its 10nm wafers at the event, too.
According to these sources, we should expect TSMC to pump up the mass production of its 20nm process in Q3 2014, where it will announce its 16nm FinFET process in 2015, followed by a 10nm process that will enter mass production in 2016.
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AMD Carrizo APU rumoured to use 28nm process and stacked DRAM
It seems that AMD is working on a new APU using 28nm process and stacked DRAM, codenamed 'Carrizo'. It is said that these APUs will benefit from HBM (Higher Bandwidth Memory) implementation compared to current DIMM slot counterparts.
HBM can provide maximum bandwidth of 128-256GB/s, which will prove to be a better implementation over DDR4 support. These APUs will most likely use the FM2+ socket and maintains 65w TDP envelope. If AMD incorporates on package DRAM solution, it will allow higher speeds for the memory and have lesser latency even compared to DDR4 implementation and it would cost lesser than integrating L3 cache. Whether the stacked DRAM be implemented in all of Carrizo APU lineups and feasibility especially for low-cost APUs is currently unknown.
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EA and DICE kick off the month-long Battlefest event for Battlefield 4
Battlefield 4 fans, get your trigger fingers ready for the month-long event that is Battlefest. This event is geared for all BF4 gamers, getting them read for the launch of Battlefield 4's new DLC coming this week, Dragon's Teeth.
The goodies continue, with the daily contest not the only thing that BF4 gamers have access to, but gamers will also receive a free camo in-game unlock each week, and another double XP weekend early next month. Battlefest also includes weekly community missions and a stunt video competition where the top 12 submissions get selected by DICE for some truly great prizes. These prizes include the nine finalists receiving an AMD video card valued at $300, while the top three winners get voted by fans, each receiving an AMD-powered PC worth over $3,000.
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Judge orders Amazon and Craigslist to reveal info on phony reviewers
Ubervita, the company that manufactures testosterone boosters, weight loss supplements and other body enhancement pills filed a case claiming that many phony negative reviews were posted on Amazon to disrupt its sales of products.
What ruled in Ubervita's favor is that ads were found in Craiglist which offered cash to post negative reviews about Ubervita products by posing as a dissatisfied customer. Ubervita said that it is necessary to get access of this information to catch those who are running a 'campaign' against Ubervita and place them under a disadvantage. U.S. District judge Marsha Pechman said that Amazon and Craiglist must reveal information such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, IP addresses and even credit card details and bank account information.
Online stores are helpful for a lot of people, especially when they can know how good or bad a product is from other buyers. While this is a helpful solution, this is also exploited by those who either want to post fake positive reviews to lure customers in, and fake negative reviews with an intention to discourage buyers from buying a particular product. While its important that such phony reviewers should be flushed out, differentiating genuine from fake may become a challenge, especially if someone made a purchase from the site.
It wasn't too long ago when a U.S. based router manufacturer harassed a buyer when he complained about the product and posted details questioning the product's claims. Would there be a mechanism which will protect such people, whose information were given by the companies under a court order? In any which case, I am sure many will agree that revealing credit card and bank account details is completely unnecessary and risky, especially when its handed over to a company.
On the other side of the story, it's claimed that Ubervita is trying to pump fake positive reviews and even tempt people to post one by promising a free bottles of its pills in exchange. The company also mentioned in its products in bold red letters that "If your experience was anything less than 5-star, PLEASE let us know how we can make it better. Merchants such as Amazon see 4 and 3 star reviews as the equivalent of a negative for us online". Watchdogs also questioned its products, as it claimed it lacked clinical proof and details were vague at best, including the ingredients used in these supplements.
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User's data can be extracted from smartphones post factory reset
If you think that using the factory reset function on your smartphone will clear your data, you're in for a pleasant surprise! Czech-based security company Avast purchased several phones via eBay to evaluate if they can extract data from it, especially the ones that had a factory reset done by the previous owner.
The company conducted this experiment by purchasing 20 smartphones from eBay. The experts at Avast were able to extract data from these smartphones, though the company didn't disclose if that was the case with all the smartphones. The experts were able to extract 40,000 photos, out of which 1,500 of those were family photos and others included selfies with their manhood.Other data included emails, text messages, Google search history and even browser history. Avast also added that the factory reset feature does not wipe out the data from the phone. Rather, it only erases the index information.
According to what was found, the data can be easily extracted even after using the factory reset option using forensic tools that can be easily purchased online. The only way you can ensure that these private and even embarrassing data are properly erased is by over-writing the phone with new data.
Avast specifically pointed out Android smartphones, to which Google went on a defensive. The search giant said that this experiment did not reflect the security protections in Android operating systems that are used by majority of the users. Google also recommended enabling encryption on Android-powered smartphones before hitting the factory reset to make sure these files cannot be accessed. Unlike Apple phones since iPhone 3GS, encryption on Android phones are not enabled by default. Other security experts said that destroying the phone is the best course of action if the user doesn't want any data to be recovered.
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Symantec working with Chinese government because of software ban
Symantec is working with the Chinese government so a reported ban of its software is lifted by the Ministry of Public Security, according to Chinese media. Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden's disclosures of widespread surveillance activity has increased political tensions of cyberespionage between China and the United States.
"Symantec takes the privacy and security of our customers' information very seriously and our products do not have so-called 'Data Theft Backdoors,'" said Colleen Lacter, Symantec spokesperson, in a recent statement. "We believe (this) is an insolated incident to the Ministry of Public Security."
In addition to Symantec, U.S. companies Microsoft, Cisco and IBM also run into problems dealing with Beijing's stricter guidelines.
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Technology largely unable to protect civilians from IED attacks
The use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) against military targets proves to be successful, killing thousands of U.S. and coalition troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the civilian death toll is staggering, with IED and suicide bomber attacks boosting casualty rates among civilians 70 percent over the past three years, a report recently noted.
U.S. military personnel are relying more on armored vehicles, creating next-generation bomb detectors, and using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to conduct reconnaissance missions. The growing bloodshed in Iraq, however, will be difficult for local police officers and undertrained military personnel reduce civilian deaths. A massive 81 percent of 60,000 deaths recorded from 2011 to 2013 were civilians, and hit 66 countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Somalia, and Thailand.
The use of IEDs will continue whether or not the United States is fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq - as militants creating the explosives have a significant amount of experience and growing skills - making it difficult to defend civilians.
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Vending machines evolving, going high-tech with better products
Vending machines in the United States are evolving because of advanced technology and more affordable development prices. Instead of just selling cheap candy and soda, many vending machines now offer everything from beauty products to electronics, or higher quality food.
"There is a lot of innovation happening in vending machines," said Omar Khedr, IBISWorld industry research analyst, in a statement. "It's occurring in niche markets like organic foods, propelled forward by access to new technology and convenience."
Some vending machines include Wi-Fi ability, touchscreens, and accept anything from cash, debit or credit cards, all the way to bitcoins. Companies also have shown interested in rolling out built-in webcams, which allow pictures to be captured and shared to social media websites.
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DARPA researching self-guided .50-caliber ammo rounds
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently tested a .50-caliber self-guided bullet that pairs a maneuverable round with a custom optical guidance system. The Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordinance (EXACTO) round is designed to help snipers be even more effective, and provides a bigger standoff range.
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PDXLAN 24 Coverage - One hell of a LAN party
PDXLAN 24 - TweakTown is on the ground in Portland, OR, for PDXLAN, one of the largest LAN parties on the west coast. A little background: PDXLAN started back when CRTs were still in vogue and the whole LAN was run off of a 1.5 DSL connection. Since then, the LAN has grown in size, and they have added more and more events throughout the year. PDXLAN 24 is currently taking place and runs from 6pm on July 11 to 6pm on July 14. We've been taking video during the event, but my MacBook Air isn't the most capable video editing machine, so video will be coming later this weekend.
We're going to take you through the start of the event until around midnight using pictures as pictures are worth a thousand words. So, with that introduction out of the way, let's get on to the fun stuff.
Tomorrow, we'll be covering more of the LAN, likely concluding our coverage with the CPU mag-hosted case mod competition. Until then, frag on.
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Panasonic rebrands OCZ SSD drives, enters the flash storage market
It looks like Panasonic is now a player in the SSD market, without much fanfare to be honest. The company looks to be re-branding OCZ drives, using OCZ's Indilinx Barefoot M10 controller.
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UK internet providers brand NSA, GCHQ villains at industry award show
American spy agency the NSA and its British counterpart, GCHQ, have been declared the "internet villains" of 2014 at a British internet industry awards ceremony.
Unsurprisingly no spy agency officials were on hand to pick up the tongue-in-cheek, villainous gong, so it was collected by privacy campaigners Big Brother Watch instead. Last year's 'winner' was Turkey's prime minister Erdogan, who clamped down on online freedoms throughout the country as a wave of protest hit the streets and social media. The ceremony is in its 16th year running and invites all the heavy hitters of the British telecoms industry.
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Hubble telescope detects mysterious deficit of light in the Universe
The Universe as we know it is a lot darker than it should be, according to the latest readings from the Hubble Space Telescope.
"If we count up the known sources of ultraviolet ionizing photons, we come up five times too short," said Benjamin Oppenheimer, one of the researchers. "We are missing 80 percent of the ionizing photons, and the question is where are they coming from? The most fascinating possibility is that an exotic new source, not quasars or galaxies, is responsible for the missing photons."
"It's as if you're in a big, brightly lit room, but you look around and see only a few 40-watt lightbulbs," Carnegie Institution for Science's Juna Kollmeier, lead author, said.
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Google legal chief shines light on EU right to be forgotten delistings
The controversial "right to be forgotten" ruling in Europe has seen Google censor news articles and remove search results - and now the company has shed some light on the process itself.
That Google is having to decide the validity of each request on a case by case basis is testament to its power - delisting results is at the company's discretion. Of course, Google is not able to remove articles or websites from the internet, but as by far the largest search engine on the planet, taking down searches tends to considerably reduce the access to such pages. But Drummond asserted that adapting to the European ruling will be part of a learning curve. "Only two months in our process is still very much a work in progress," Drummond wrote. "It's why we incorrectly removed links to some articles last week (they've since been reinstated). But the good news is that the ongoing, active debate that's happening will inform the development of our principles, policies and practices."
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Chinese media says the Apple iPhone is a 'national security threat'
Chinese state media said the Apple iPhone is a national security threat, citing the tracking ability of the popular smartphone, including its "Frequent Locations" function found in iOS 7.
Washington and Beijing have an extremely touchy relationship, and cyberespionage and security issues are certainly complicated, with both sides accusing one another of surveillance techniques. Meanwhile, Apple has been criticized by Chinese state media and the government itself on several occasions, along with being criticized for not having good levels of customer service.
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Britain joins the US in banning uncharged smartphones from flights
Britain has now joined the United States in demanding that travelers have fully-charged smart devices before they're allowed to board flights.
It's likely to be viewed as a rather over-the-top move, much like the recent decision by US policymakers. As anyone who has had the pleasure of air travel will know, sometimes it's not always possible to keep your device charged up - especially when charging stations at airports can be limited. British Airways recently announced it would outright ban uncharged devices from flights before reversing the decision, and allowing passengers the option of having their phones or tablets forwarded to their destination in the mail.
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Romanian man involved in phishing scam sentenced to 45 months
Romanian citizen Iulian Schiopu was sentenced to 45 months in prison for his role in a cybercrime operation related to phishing. Schiopu and his accomplices reportedly affected thousands of debit and credit cards of U.S. banking customers.
Cybercriminals are able to launch a large amount of attacks with little risk of law enforcement interference, but the U.S. government is ramping up efforts to dismantle organized attack groups.
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3 Days to Kill (2014) Blu-ray Movie Review
3 Days To Kill (2014)
Director 'McG', otherwise known as Joseph McGinty Nichol, has enjoyed a reasonably long career punctuated by disasters like This Means War, disappointments that include Terminator Salvation and downright clunkers such as Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. It's a shame, because the former music video director has an obvious eye for visuals and good sensibilities for action. It's just that short of his first film; the hyperkinetic Charlie's Angels some 15 years ago, he hasn't really found a vehicle to channel his talents very successfully. However, in 3 Days To Kill, which just happens to be his lowest budgeted film ever (at just under $30 million), and coupled with Writer and Producer Luc Besson, McG finally seems to be suitably matched.
3 Days To Kill has been knocked around mercilessly by critics, with the film now having the dubious honor of a 29% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Sure, the film is far from perfect, but I feel the need to break rank - I found 3 Days To Kill overwhelmingly entertaining; of the heavily salted popcorn variety. The hand of Luc Besson is more than visible, with much of the action harkening back to the likes of The Professional and Nikita.
Star Kevin Costner is of course an old hand at the type of material, but he sure looks like he is having fun. Hailee Steninfeld does an admirable job at coming around to her formerly absentee father. However, the highlight of the cast is the downright gorgeous Amber Heard, whose career seems to be on an upward trajectory. Every scene she is in instantly grabs the interest and keeps the film kicking along.
3 Days To Kill isn't an action classic for the ages, and probably resides midway on Kevin Costner's filmography, but for an infinitely entertaining Saturday night actioner, you can do much, much worse.
Video
3 Days To Kill is encoded with AVC MPEG-4 compression and presented in the intended aspect ratio of 2.40:1.Lensed completely in the digital domain on Arri Alexa digital cameras and finished in a 2K digital intermediate, I was looking forward to 3 Days To Kill being an example of the HD perfection, we've become accustomed to. Sadly, a few technical issues let it down.
For the most part, the image is clear and detailed, with many scenes showing evidence of color correction and heavy handed grading. Whilst this isn't terribly uncommon these days, it does take a little fine detail out of the image. The worst error of this transfer is undoubtedly the frequent examples of banding.
The bitrate is kept sufficiently high, such that these really shouldn't exist, so I can only assume that the encoder hasn't been calibrated or has been produced in a rush. AVC encoding has reached a point where most of these issues have been massaged out of the production process, so their inclusion is certainly peculiar. But they are noticeable enough that I have no choice but to knock the score down a notch.
Audio
3 Days to Kill is presented in DTS HD Master Audio 5.1, at 24 bits.This is more like it. This is an absorbing, superlative track that will truly rock the house. Whilst it might not be natively 7.1, if you have a 7.1 setup and engage pro-logic, it becomes an even more entertaining listening experience.
The track never ceases to craft a convincing surround presence, truly bringing to life the film's numerous action sequences which come to life with bombast. The subwoofer channel is loud and aggressive and takes no prisoners.
Extras
Roadshow's local disc mirrors the international equivalent, with a disappointingly small, but nonetheless welcome collection of extra features.First up is the 10 minute Making of Featurette which is a little too promotional in nature ("Gee whiz, I loved working with McG - he's the best"), but does serve to show a little of the behind the scenes activity. The 4 minute long McG's Method shows the director lapping up filming in France.
More meatier is the briefer, 5 minute long Covert Operation featurette, which features a retired CIA operative discussing the lifestyle of working at the bureau.
Finally, we have two Theatrical Trailers.
PRICING: You can find the 3 Days To Kill (2014) Blu-ray for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The 3 Days To Kill (2014) Blu-ray retails for $19.96 at Amazon.
Canada: The 3 Days To Kill (2014) Blu-ray retails for CDN$22.99 at Amazon Canada.
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Strontium Nitro Plus 128GB U3 SDXC Memory Card Review
The Nitro Plus is the latest from Strontium's SDXC product line. The product sent over for review is the 128GB capacity and carries marketing specifications of 80 MB/s read and 60 MB/s write. Compatibility extends to SDXC host devices, including DSLR cameras and 4K camcorders.
MSRP of the Strontium Nitro Plus in the 128GB flavor is listed at $169.99 with a lifetime warranty.
The Strontium Nitro Plus in the 128GB capacity is a very capable high capacity solution for those shooting 4K video or doing a lot of high speed shooting with a DSLR. The build quality of card is ample, and the data recovery software is something I find a plus.
Performance of the card was quite good as well. We were able to exceed marketing by a fair margin, coming in at 93 MB/s read and 64 MB/s write. Price/Performance, however, put the card in the middle of the pack. Another thing of note is this card is not sold in the United States at this time.
The Strontium Nitro Plus in the 128GB capacity carries an MSRP of $169.99 with a very nice lifetime warranty.
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Vantec NexStar TX 2.5-inch USB 3.0 External Storage Enclosure Review
Today, we have yet another product coming through the lab, this time a 2.5-inch enclosure for those wanting to build their own storage solution. The NexStar TX features UASP technology for the very best in USB 3.0 capabilities along with an aluminium design to enhance the durability of your storage. Compatibility of the enclosure extends to modern Windows operating systems and OS X 10.6+.
MSRP of the Vantec NexStar TX is listed at $19.99 with a one-year warranty.
The Vantec NexStar TX is a great enclosure for those wanting a quick option for building their own solution. Whether you have a spare SSD or HDD, you don't have to worry about z-height restraints since the TX supports them all. Build quality of the TX was on par with expectation; the aluminium structure of the enclosure feels like it could take some punishment over its lifetime.
Performance of the enclosure was great for read operations but fell off for some reason during write testing. This may have something to do with the controller used in the device, as our SSD had just undergone a fresh secure erase.
MSRP of the Vantec NexStar TX sits at $19.99 with a one-year warranty. Current market pricing can be found below.
PRICING: You can find the Vantec NexStar TX for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The Vantec NexStar TX retails for $19.58 at Amazon.
Canada: The Vantec NexStar TX retails for CDN$16.98 at Amazon Canada.
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SteelSeries Sensei Wireless Laser Gaming Mouse Review
Introduction, Specifications and Pricing
Just over two years ago, we were given the opportunity to have a look at the SteelSeries Sensei [RAW]. Though the Sensei [RAW] mouse received a ninety percent rating from us, we did find it to be one of those mice that grew on you the more you used it. In fact, ever since that review, the Sensei [RAW] has sat next to the laptop we use for everything but gaming and writing reviews; all of our web surfing, IM-ing, emails, and everyday BS was done with that mouse. That was up until about a month ago, when the Sensei [RAW] just up and gave the ghost. There was really no explanation as to why it died, but we enjoyed our time with the Sensei [RAW] so much, that we replaced it with the SteelSeries Rival, hoping for much of the same feel and accuracy we were used to.We had some bad firmware flashes on both mice, and we love that they always seem to come back from the dead, but when we gave up the Sensei [RAW] for the Rival, we lost that thin, centered design that comes with most ambidextrous mice. We are in no way here to trash the Rival, as it is a great mouse, and has worked like a champ since we first pulled it out of the box. The Rival is great for gamers, and would be better suited for a rig with that sort of use. However, as our daily driver for all around use, the Rival was slightly too tall for our long-term comfort, and since it is slightly longer than the Sensei, reaching to click smoothly all of the time got a bit old.
Today we have the opportunity to move back to a Sensei mouse as SteelSeries delivers the latest mouse to take on the Sensei naming. We are about to have a very up-close and personal look at the new Sensei Wireless, which has quite a lot going on. The Sensei Wireless is a wireless mouse that follows the latest trend of allowing for wireless, as well as wired usage. It is ambidextrous in design, and it also offers a really cool charging base that will plainly show the level of remaining battery life in the Sensei Wireless during usage. This design incorporates a few other handy features that we will cover soon enough, but as for now, we do believe we have your attention. We strongly urge you to continue reading about the new SteelSeries Sensei Wireless Laser Mouse to see if it is the next must-have mouse for you.
On SteelSeries' webpage for the Sensei Wireless there is a good amount of information to be cherry picked as you scroll down the page, but we found the chart provided does offer all of the basics, and we will help along the way with specifics that are not mentioned in the chart.
Other features to note that are built into or onto the Sensei Wireless are things like battery life, and here SteelSeries claims to offer a mouse with at least sixteen hours of uninterrupted gaming, and up to twenty hours of life if the software is used to extend its life beyond the default settings. The cool part about this design is that it also ships with a base to provide a place for the mouse to charge that is free of any cables. However, the same UBS cable that powers the charger base can also be used to charge the mouse, or for continuous play when the battery has died.
We also see in this section that there are eight programmable buttons. There is mention of 16.8 million color choices, which is true, but the mention of four zones is contrary to the three we will see in the software section. We also see that the Sensei wireless keeps the rubberized coating we find on most SteelSeries mice, and the six and a half foot USB cable is braided from end to end.
Since the intro image shows what the Sensei Wireless looks like, let's just stick to the physical dimensions of the components for now. The Sensei Wireless Laser Mouse is 41mm tall, 69mm wide, 129mm long, and weighs in at 120 grams without the cable attached. As for the charger base that comes in the kit, it is 165mm from front to back, 100mm in width, stands 24mm at the highest point, and weighs in at 208 grams. The Sensei Wireless is definitely a light mouse that is easy to travel with, and it's truly for those on the go; all you need to grab is the USB cable if you think your computer usage will outlast the battery life, and just leave the base at home.
The one part of this that sort of takes the whole excitement surrounding the features down a notch would be the pricing. Now, at this point we are not yet saying if the cost is worth the investment, we will save that for the end of this review, but this may come as a bit of a sticker shock. Upon visiting the SteelSeries website, we saw that you can buy this mouse direct from SteelSeries with all the bits and bobs you are about to see here, but it will set you back $159.99 U.S. dollars. As we looked around elsewhere, we noticed that no matter the retailer, that pricing is pretty on point with the in-house pricing. There are some initial deals to be had on the base pricing, but after investigation we found all pricing averaged out at this level once shipping was applied. No offense intended with this statement, but at this sort of a price point: SteelSeries really needs to provide us with one hell of a mouse for this sort of an investment; let's see if they are able to do that.
PRICING: You can find the STEELSERIES SENSEI WIRELESS LASER MOUSE for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The STEELSERIES SENSEI WIRELESS LASER MOUSE retails for $152.07 at Amazon.
Canada: The STEELSERIES SENSEI WIRELESS LASER MOUSE retails for CDN$159.99 at Amazon Canada.
Australia: The STEELSERIES SENSEI WIRELESS LASER MOUSE retails for $236.99 AUD at Mighty Ape Australia.
New Zealand: The STEELSERIES SENSEI WIRELESS LASER MOUSE retails for $249.99 NZD at Mighty Ape NZ.
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Transcend JetDrive Lite 330 64GB MacBook Expansion Memory Card Review
The Transcend JetDrive 330 aims to curb this issue by offering 64GB of additional storage capacity via the internal SD slot on the MBP. Marketing specifications depict this drive as capable of 95 MB/s read and 60 MB/s write.
MSRP of the JetDrive Lite 330 in the 64GB flavor is listed at $59.99 with a lifetime warranty.
For those wanting to add capacity to their MBP, the JetDrive Lite 330 is one option that would work quite well. I really like the slim profile of the drive and the way it fits into the MacBook. Build quality of the drive was great as well; we had no issues during testing.
Performance of the JetDrive Lite 330 was decent, especially knowing this is really just an SD card purpose built for the MacBook. It does rival the read performance of a standard external hard drive, but of course, the trade-off is a much smaller package and less capacity.
The Transcend JetDrive Lite 330 in the 64GB capacity carries an MSRP of $59.99 with a lifetime warranty. Current market pricing can be found below.
PRICING: You can find the Transcend JetDrive Lite 330 for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The Transcend JetDrive Lite 330 retails for $40.79 at Amazon.
Canada: The Transcend JetDrive Lite 330 retails for CDN$85.85 at Amazon Canada.
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LaCie Rugged USB 3.0 Thunderbolt 500GB External Storage SSD Review
Today, we take both performance and durability and wrap it into a single product, the LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt. This new rugged storage solution is IP54 rated for dust and water protection, and marketing says our 500GB SSD model is capable of 387 MB/s read. In addition to that, the LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt is shockproof up to two meters and comes with LaCie Private-Public to enable software AES 256-bit encryption.
While the selling point of this portable solution does lean on Thunderbolt technology, LaCie has included USB 3.0 connectivity for those without Thunderbolt abilities.
MSRP of the LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt in the 500GB SSD flavor is listed at $499.99 with a three-year warranty.
The LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt is probably one of the most durable drives I have had the chance to get my hands-on in the last few years. The rubber exterior of the drive offers a certain amount of bounce to aid in impact protection, and with our unit being an SSD model, the durability goes even further with no moving parts.
Performance of the drive was quite good, though when researching the drive used in this solution, we found that Samsung says it's capable of 540 MB/s read and 410 MB/s write, so I am curious where that extra performance went, but then again, it could just be the HFS+ file system and/or OS X. In our testing, we were able to reach 410 MB/s read and 380 MB/s in our 4K workload testing with AJA.
The LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt in the 500GB capacity carries an MSRP of $499.99 with a three-year warranty. Current marking pricing can be found below.
PRICING: You can find the LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt (500GB SSD) retails for $499.99 at Amazon.
Canada: The LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt (500GB SSD) for CDN$583.39 at Amazon Canada.
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EVGA TORQ X10 Laser Gaming Mouse Review
Introduction, Specifications and Pricing
Any way you want to see their latest actions, EVGA has put their design team to work on coming up with new peripherals for the gaming scene, and it seems they came out swinging with a new pair of unique mouse designs. These two mice are very closely related -brothers, if you will. One design uses a base made of an aluminum plate at the bottom, and on top of that is a piano black plastic shell. With the more exotic brother of the two, that plastic top has been replaced with carbon fiber, not only for lightness and increased strength, but also definitely for the aesthetic "cool" factor. Both versions offer the same internal components with the use of Omron switches, and an Avago ADNS9800 Laser sensor, and EVGA offers some pretty serious software to customize these mice to bend to almost any desire.
Today we will be having a look at the new EVGA TORQ X10 mouse in its original form, without the carbon fiber. However, since the two mice are essentially the same in their design, by seeing the original version, you can be assured that the information found here will apply if you opt for the TORQ X10 Carbon. We know firsthand that while EVGA's chassis was unique and nice in a lot of ways, it wasn't overwhelmingly impressive. Building a mouse is in no way an easier task to accomplish, but from what we have already seen on paper, it looks like EVGA made a lot of the right choices to fit into the already quite full gaming peripherals market. That being said, we are on the lookout for anything odd, but unless they did something drastically wrong here, we feel that EVGA definitely has a product worthy of any gamer's attention.
The chart then goes on to show there are nine programmable buttons on this mouse. The chart also shows the minimum weight of the mouse is 121 grams, empty without the cable, and with weight added, the TORQ X10 will top out at 134 grams. We can also see there is a 1ms polling rate, seven LED color options, PTFE feet, and it also offers five profiles and 512 KB of onboard memory to store settings in the mouse. Another very cool, and original feature in this design is that the top is adjustable, so while the 114.3mm of length, and the 51.15mm in width will never change, the top will raise from 31.75mm to 38.1mm with the built-in adjustment system.
In the features list we again see mention of the five profiles the TORQ X10 offers, but we also see that this is one of the few ambidextrous solutions on the market, making it equally as useful for a right handed user as it would for a left hand user. The features list also covers the adjustable height again, which is a strong selling point, as the mouse is customizable to fit exactly the way you want in your hand. The features list mentions the 8200 DPI again too, but this time it covers the On-the-Fly DPI adjustments as well.
Here is where they address the adjustable weight system that allows for two weights in the TORQ X10, and they offer six weights in various increments as well. The features list concludes by covering the use of high-end materials and components, touching on the robust software, and finishing with the fact that PTFE feet are used for effortless gliding on any surface. One important fact that is not covered in this chart is that EVGA also delivers the TORQ X 10 mice with a three-year warranty.
Availability for a product that is so new is about what we would expect to see. Not many retailers have stock currently, but we do see that this mouse can also be bought directly through EVGA for $89.99; of course with a bit more for shipping. Oddly, they point to a link at Newegg.com on their product page that offers an amazing deal at the time of writing this. There you can get the TORQ X10 for $49.99, and they are throwing in a free mouse pad as a promotional deal. We also looked elsewhere, but most of the hits are for the TORQ X10 Carbon, which lists for close to $100 on average. The MSRP of the TORQ X10 is what we expect from a device offering what EVGA has produced, and we feel even if you miss out on the promotional deal, the near $90 pricing should not scare you away, as you get plenty of bang for your buck in the TORQ X10.
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Strontium Nitro Plus 64GB U3 MicroSDXC Memory Card Review
The Strontium Nitro Plus is a new line of cards being introduced in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities. Marketing specifications dictate we should see 80 MB/s read and 60 MB/s write. Compatibility of the 64GB model we have in-house allows only microSDXC host devices.
MSRP of the Strontium Nitro Plus microSDXC in the 64GB flavor is listed at $94.99 with a lifetime warranty.
The Strontium Nitro Plus in the 64GB capacity tested here today, while being a hefty initial investment, does carry a limited lifetime warranty with it. Build quality seems to be on par with other brand cards I have tested, and I had no issues with the card or its accompanying adapters during testing.
Performance of the card was rather impressive. In fact, I do believe this is the quickest of all the microSD cards I have tested. The next closest would be the SanDisk Extreme Pro we reviewed last year. Price/Performance, as you can see, has both of the Strontium cards at the top of the list, with the Nitro taking top spot and the Nitro Plus, tested today, in second place.
MSRP of the Strontium Nitro Plus microSDXC in the 64GB flavour is listed at $94.99 with a lifetime warranty.
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D-Link DCH-M225 DLNA and AirPlay Wireless Audio Extender Review
To aid in this situation, D-Link has recently launched its DCH-M225 Wireless Audio Extender that can turn any portable speaker or home receiver into an Airplay device, allowing you to stream audio from your smartphone. In addition to this, the Wireless Audio Extender has the ability to extend your wireless network via the built-in 802.11n functionality.
MSRP of the D-Link DCH-M225 is listed at $49.99 with a one-year warranty.
In my short time using this Wireless Audio Extender, I have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the audio output. In addition to this, the setup is nearly instantaneous; you just plug in your portable speaker or receiver to the M225, plug it into the wall, and then the setup menu guides you through in less than 5 minutes.
Build quality of the unit is great and is also very compact. Performance, as I mentioned briefly above, is superb and allows you to move around freely with your device at your side. Even more, with this unit also doubling as a network extender, you can gain a little more signal for your devices that may be nearby.
The MSRP for the D-Link DCH-M225 is set at $49.99 with a one-year warranty. Current market pricing can be found below.
PRICING: You can find the D-Link DCH-M225 for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The D-Link DCH-M225 retails for $56.46 at Amazon.
Canada: The D-Link DCH-M225 retails for CDN$68.55 at Amazon Canada.
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Rosewill RGB80 Mechanical 16.8m Color Backlit Gaming Keyboard Review
Introduction, Specifications and Pricing
Any of our avid readers know how we feel about the typical rubber dome based keyboards, and it is likely that Rosewill waited until they had a product in hand that they knew we wouldn't bash to harshly right off the bat because of the switch used. Well, the day is now upon us when they have contacted us about having a look at, and voicing our opinions on one of the mechanical keyboards that they released earlier this year. We also noticed at the time of the request that there was no mention of Cherry MX switches in these units, as Rosewill is another company that is joining others riding the Kailh mechanical switch bandwagon that seems to have found its way into our lives this year.
We have you here today to look at the RGB80 from Rosewill. This is not only mechanical, but it is also a ten-keyless keyboard, where the right quarter of the keyboard has been removed. Not only is this a more compact typist's keyboard, but Rosewill fills what keys are available with multimedia and profile buttons, along with support for full NKRO, or 6-Key Rollover. There is also the fact that this keyboard is not only fully illuminated, but you have many choices of coolers to pick from in the presets of the software.
The RGB80 is an 87 key keyboard due to the fact that TKL versions of keyboards do not include the number pad section in the design. This keyboard measures in at only 5.3" from front to back, 14.6" right to left, and not including the key caps, the back of the keyboard frame stands 1.1" in height. With the black plastic outer shell, painted key caps, Kailh blue switches, and the steel plate the mount to, the RGB weighs in at 2.2 pounds, without the included braided cable.
There is no mention of the software, or extra functionality either. Once the software is downloaded (as there was not an included disk), we found that not only do we get five profiles to play with, but any key can be reassigned, and also used for Macro capabilities, launching programs, tying profiles to auto-load with games, and, of course, changing the LEDs behind the key caps to one of over 220 color choices. Another huge bonus is that this keyboard is sent with 512KB of onboard memory to house all of the programming, and allow the keyboard to go place to place without the need for the software at each PC.
When looking around for the RGB80 from Rosewill, we obviously went over to Newegg.com to have a look at what they are listing the keyboard for currently, and found a price of $99.99 with free shipping. Of course, they offer plenty of stock, but trying to locate this keyboard elsewhere at this time is pretty futile unless you find one listed in used markets. However, places have been known to carry Rosewill products in the past, so availability may get better as time goes on. As for now, Rosewill will take a bit of a hit in the scoring for limited distribution to be fair to all the other companies, but not too much of a hit, as we understand the logic in keeping the house brand in-house as long as possible.
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Lexar JumpDrive S33 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review
The Lexar S33 carries the same colorful characteristics as the previous S23 and the same capacity options of 8GB to 128GB. Marketing for the 32GB model we have in-house claims 100 MB/s read and 55 MB/s write. Compatibility of the S33 extends to modern Windows operating systems and OS X.
MSRP of the Lexar S33 in the 32GB flavor is listed at $49.99 with a three-year warranty.
The Lexar S33 is a unique flash drive and one of only a few I have seen to use the hinged design. The build quality seems to be quite good, and all of the materials seem to have minimal tolerances.
Performance of the Lexar S33 is ample, with 114 MB/s read and 37 MB/s write. However, with the current MSRP being set at $49.99 for the tested 32GB model, I feel it may be too much for the performance included.
Current market pricing can be found below.
PRICING: You can find the Lexar S33 for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The Lexar S33 (32GB) retails for $26.18 at Amazon.
Canada: The Lexar S33 (32GB) retails for CDN$19.99 at Amazon Canada.
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HIS Radeon R9 290X iPower IceQ X2 Turbo 4GB OCed Video Card Review
Introduction of the HIS R9 290X iPower IceQ X2 Turbo 4GB
The HIS R9 290X iPower IceQ X2 Turbo 4GB is the next step up in the line of iPower video cards from HIS. Carrying the highly popular R9 290X chip, the card is sure to put out some strong performance out of the box. It is then made even stronger by the fact that this particular model falls into the Turbo series, which means it comes overclocked out of the box.
Because we've already looked at the R9 290X a couple of times, we've decided to overclock the card even further to see just what kind of performance we're able to get out of the latest model from HIS. To top everything off today, we're also going to be introducing some new benchmarks into our line up and getting rid of a couple of older ones.
For the synthetic side of things, we're adding the new 3DMark Sky Diver Benchmark that was added to the latest version of 3DMark. We've also included Catzilla, a new benchmark that is gaining momentum in the benchmarking community. As for the real-world side of things, we've included the brand new GRID Autosport. That just about wraps everything up, so let's check out the bundle to see just what we're dealing with here today.
Package - What comes inside the box
Turning the box over, you can see some of the main details, including a cooler and quieter design thanks to the IceQ X2 cooling technology that brings with it a 5-heat pipe dual fan heat sink setup. You can see the iPower feature also brings with it full solid state capacitors and a six dynamic phase control PWM IC setup.
PRICING: You can find the HIS R9 290X iPower IceQ X2 Turbo 4GB for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The HIS R9 290X iPower IceQ X2 Turbo 4GB retails for $609.99 at Amazon.
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Thermaltake Urban T81 Full-Tower Chassis Review
Introduction, Specifications and Pricing
The Urban series as a whole has done very well for Thermaltake, and ushered in a bit of sleek elegance that Thermaltake was not really well known for over their many years of case designs, and based on all of the samples we see, we think this is currently a huge trend in cases. Most cases that are super sleek and elegant don't typically offer the best compatibility, and many offer very little in the form of modularity in comparison to what Thermaltake is now bringing forth in this full-tower design.
While we are knowingly building some excitement and anticipation for what you are about to see, we feel that the Thermaltake Urban T81 is worth every bit of this attention. It is really rare that we get this excited so soon into a review. If our excitement alone does not tell you that Thermaltake is onto something really good in this latest sample, then by the time we are done covering what they have brought to the table, you will have to agree that while Thermaltake may have been ahead of their time in many aspects, time, effort, customer needs, and a great product have all lined up at once this time. The Urban T81 is very worthy of your time to have a look at.
With the Urban T81 we are given a SECC steel frame that is painted inside and out with an application of textured black paint. Of course, they use ABS plastic to cast sections like the feet, the front bezel and its door, and the top of the case, but here we get a mixture of textured surfaces to contrast shiny piano black sections in this design. This is a large full-tower chassis that measures almost twenty-four inches tall, is nearly as deep at twenty-three inches, and is slightly wider than nine inches. One major thing to consider in a chassis such as this is the weight, and this Urban T81 weighs in at over thirty pounds dry.
In this chassis, Thermaltake packs in two 200mm fans in the front of the case to blow air in, while a 140mm is used in the back, and a 200mm is used as exhaust at the top, leaving this chassis with a slightly positive pressure design out of the box.
Just behind the front fans there are two 5.25" bays with eight 3.5" drive trays in three racks below it. While there are also brackets for adapting a 5.25" drive to a 3.5" drive, the real kicker here is that all of the drive bays can be completely removed, including the 5.25" bays. This leaves a ton of room for water cooling options, and at the bottom of the chart it describes all of the fan and radiator placement options in this design.
A few bits will tie up loose ends on what the chart has provided. This design offers eight expansion slots, and the screws have been moved outside to increase room inside. This is done because it can house Micro-ATX and ATX motherboards, but it is also fully ready for an E-ATX motherboard as well. There is plenty of connectivity in the front I/O panel, and just about any PSU will work, as long as there are no plans for an extra fan there. Of course, the case is LCS ready, but the diameter of tubing is shown in reference to the holes in the back of the chassis for external cooling solutions. The last bits to be aware of are the 180mm CPU height restriction, which really isn't any sort of a restriction, and you can fit up to 400mm of video card in this chassis if the bays are removed in the front.
As we typically do, we checked for availability by hitting all of the local haunts and retailers to find the products in the wild, and we found the Thermaltake Urban T81 just about everywhere we looked. As far as pricing is concerned, you will have to dig a bit deeper than average to obtain this chassis at a good price. If we were to buy directly from Thermaltake, it is listed for $189.99. Of course, most retailers on the interwebs price the chassis much closer to the $175 U.S. dollar mark, which at a glance, is slightly more expensive that the typical $100 to $150 full-towers we are used to. However, we really do think that the price is very on point for what this Urban T81 offers, as you will come to find out as we discuss the features of the Urban T81 more fully.
PRICING: You can find the THERMALTAKE URBAN T81 for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing, but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The THERMALTAKE URBAN T81 retails for $172.24 at Amazon.
Canada: The THERMALTAKE URBAN T81 retails for CDN$218.88 at Amazon Canada.
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SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB SDHC UHS II Memory Card Review
The SanDisk Extreme Pro carries quite a performance boost for enthusiast photographers and videographers. This new card introduces the UHS II specification to the market, offering up to 280 MB/s read speeds, which is equivalent to 1867x. Of course, this new technology also requires a new card reader to get the most out of it, so SanDisk has taken the extra step to introduce the SDDR-329 UHS II card reader along with it.
MSRP for the 32GB SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS II card is set at $129.99 with a lifetime warranty.
The SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS II memory card is quite certainly the quickest SD solution we have ever tested. In fact, it might be the quickest memory card we have seen. The build quality is great, as expected, and no issues were seen during testing.
Performance of the card was quite surprising to say the least. 240 MB/s is certainly nothing to sneeze at, especially for enthusiasts that can put this new technology to work. Price/Performance didn't show the strong point of the Extreme Pro, but as I said, it should start moving up as the technology moves into the market.
MSRP of the SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS II in the 32GB capacity is set at $129.99 with a lifetime warranty. Current market pricing can be found below.
PRICING: You can find the SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS II for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS II retails for $124.95 at Amazon.
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Fractal Design Node 804 Micro-ATX Chassis Review
Introduction, Specifications and Pricing
After a discussion with Fractal Design, we were asked to send the chassis back for examination; as soon as more of the cases were available, we received another sample to show. We would like to think that even if something similar was to happen in the retail market, that Fractal would be just as good about setting the issue as they were in this situation. After all, we can tell by all of the happy customers they have made over the years, that their support is one of the things that keeps them on top.
With the back story out of the way, and a new day upon us, we have received our second chassis for review. After a bit of initial inspection, we do in fact have a chassis that is presented in the exact manner in which it was designed and intended to be. To give you an idea of what we are dealing with as far as initial impressions go, Fractal Design is sort of giving the Air 540 a go with their own spin on the design. This is in no way a copy; in fact, the Air 540 is aggressive, bold in its styling, and rather large, and all three of those factors have been changed in this new chassis, delivering something more expected from the Fractal Design team. From what we have seen, and since we have now had two opportunities to build inside of this chassis, we feel we have a great handle on what it offers, and how it performs at this point, and we should not miss a beat when it comes to this Micro-ATX chassis.
Fractal Design has compacted this concept a bit to fit only Mini-ITX, ITX and Micro-ATX motherboards. Additionally, they deliver it in all black, it comes with a brushed texture on the front panel to dress it up with a bit of style, and even while taking dimensions away in the creation of this design, there was definitely cooling in mind when this was all assembled. Even with a smaller footprint, there is no reason this chassis should ever be starved of air flow, and it still has potential for some pretty serious water cooling gear as well. All of these things, and many more features can all be found in the Fractal Design Node 804, as the specifications we are about to cover plainly demonstrate.
Going deeper into the ventilation of the Node 804, since it is one of the largest and most designed around feature in this chassis, we see Fractal has provided us with all the options. In the front you can house two 120mm fans on either side of this side-by-side chassis design, with only one location at the left having a fan installed from the factory. The rear of the chassis will house one fan on either half of the panel, and both locations are filled with the same Silent Series R2 120mm fans that are also in the front. The top of the chassis also allows for four 120mm fans, two on either side, but are all left empty from the factory. We also see that the Node 804 has a built-in, 3-fan, fan controller that is located at the back of the chassis, and at least allows easy control of the three provided chassis fans.
The last section we see addresses all of the possibilities for what size water cooling components can fit where, and what sort of limitations it may impose. We commend Fractal Design for providing this information without us having to read the manual to find out plans of grandeur may not work as initially intended. The front of the chassis can hold a 240mm at the front right, and it shows that 60mm is allowed for both the fans and the radiator thickness, and a height of 278mm is offered for the header of the radiator to have a bit of room. The same is said for the left side of the front, but in this location it is stated that another fan cannot be used next to it. The top allows for 240mm or 280mm radiators that can be 130mm thick with fans included, but to do this on the right half, you will lose the eight bays of 3.5" drive storage. The left half shows the same specifications, and we really love that Fractal Design took the time and even states that when using 130mm of space, memory is limited to 48mm in height to prevent issues with fit.
Looking around for this chassis now well after its release, we see many places currently holding stock of the Node 804. While availability is high, we do suggest you shop around to find the best deal. Many locations, once we included the shipping costs, and even most offering free shipping, have the pricing set very near $130. While that isn't too bad of a price point, we did find two places where the Node 804 can be had for $89.99; some $40 cheaper than everywhere else we looked. This is why we suggested that you look around, and get the best bang for your buck. At $130 dollars, we can still see the value in this design and what it has to offer its users, but if you can get it for $40 less, it is almost downright stealing the chassis.
PRICING: You can find the FRACTAL DESIGN NODE 804 MICRO-ATX CHASSIS for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The FRACTAL DESIGN NODE 804 MICRO-ATX CHASSIS retails for $100.00 at Amazon.
Canada: The FRACTAL DESIGN NODE 804 MICRO-ATX CHASSIS retails for CDN$171.22 at Amazon Canada.
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Top 10 TweakTown Content from the past week [07 July 2014]
Here are our top 10 articles, reviews and guides from the past week!
- Samsung 850 Pro 1TB SSD Review - The New Performance King
- Samsung 850 Pro 128GB SSD Review
- GIGABYTE Z97X GAMING G1 WIFI-BK Black Edition (Intel Z97) Review
- PNY SandForce based Optima SSD - The Switch Side Discussed
- A close-up look and discussion of Crucial's upcoming DDR4 Memory
- Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler Revisited in 2014
- Intel 4790K Devil's Canyon S-spec SR219 CPU Overclocking Report
- iXsystems FreeNAS Mini 4-Bay NAS Review
- LG G Flex Curved Screen Smartphone Review
- RoboCop (2014) Blu-ray Movie Review
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Shovel Knight 8-bit PC Game Review
Shovel Knight is a game that was pitched on Kickstarter as a return to the 8-bit era that many of us remember from our childhood. Shovel Knight was a game that promised to bring back the tough difficulty level, visuals and unforgiving gameplay that some 8-bit games were known for. Amazingly, they have pulled it off, and despite it being the year 2014, Shovel Knight is one of the most impressive games we have played so far this year.
Shovel Knight tells the story of two knights who are the best of friends. Shovel Knight and Shield Knight are pals seeking out treasure only for Shield Knight to be captured and imprisoned. Shield Knight decides to give up adventuring and pine for his friend until the world they live in becomes taken over by the Enchantress. Shovel Knight vows to rid the world of the Enchantress and to finally rescue his best friend, the Shield Knight.
Aside from challenging bosses, Shovel Knight also has challenging jumping sections, which again leads us back to a comparison with Megaman. It's the kind of the game that makes you want to smash the keyboard in frustration, and storm away, only to return about half an hour later to try again. It has that addictive challenge which kept people glued to NES consoles for hours on end, trying to beat that last challenge. Shovel Knight attacks with his, as you would have guessed, shovel. This shovel can is also used like a pogo stick to bounce around quicker than the regular movement.
The over world of the game reminds us a lot of Super Mario Brothers 3. Shovel Knight travels between each level, and every so often, can visit a town to stock up on goods or return secret items that have been found. At these towns, you can also spend money gained to upgrade Shovel Knight. These upgrades go beyond health and magic, with the ability to gain new ways to use the knight's shovel also present. Keeping the funds to buy these upgrades can be challenging with each death leaving the knight with nothing, until you return to claim it back at the point of death. Again, it's very much like a particular other popular game released in 2014.
Shovel Knight is a game that may have started as a Kickstarter, but is one that is sure to go down as one of the best games of 2014. This is a game that taps into nostalgia so perfectly that anyone who played a NES system for even five minutes back in the day will recognize the style that Yacht Club Games has brought to the genre. Everything old is new again with Shovel Knight, and that's not a bad thing. If YCG can apply this thinking to even more 8-bit style games, we just might see the renaissance, which that era of gaming deserves. This, quite frankly, is a must-play game!
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GRID Autosport PC Game Review
The key element of GRID Autosport is the fact that it contains numerous styles of racing. In total, there are five different types of racing included: Touring, Endurance, Open Wheel, Tuner, and Street. Each type has its pros and cons, but all must be completed to at least some degree to unlock the area where the game really begins to shine, the Autosport Series.
In a surprising change, unlike some of the previous titles from Codemasters along these lines, there is no real storyline to speak of. Instead, the player is tasked with becoming proficient to a moderate level with each discipline featured in the game. Once you have reached at least level 3 in all disciplines, the main Autosport Championships are offered, which basically has you jumping between disciplines for each race, offering what the game clearly sees as the ultimate driving challenge.
To become competent in each discipline, you take on seasons, and pick which teams you wish to drive for. Generally, these seasons are short, but once you start a season, you can't start another. Given that the game offers the flexibility to jump all over the place almost all the time, it is a bit disappointing to see a sudden lack thereof.
Once you actually get behind the wheel, the experience Codemasters has in the racing genre really begins to shine. The game runs at a fast pace, and the sense of speed given to you as the player is very good, even in the cockpit views. The bumping and grinding that Codemasters' racing games have been known for is very prevalent in this game, with wheel to wheel racing generally being the order of the day. You can either place this game in a realistic simulation mode where damage affects the cars drivability, or you can choose to incur only cosmetic damage. The greater the challenge you give yourself in the game by adjusting AI, steering, and etc., the more XP you can gain by completing the challenges.
There is also a few options for those who just want to race, or make the game a bit easier. Players are given rewind style options to rewind the on-screen play if an incident occurs, so the player may retry that part of the race. Also, if you choose not to, you do not have to partake in the qualifying process in the Seasons mode. Although, it is generally a good idea to do so, because skipping it places your car in last place every time, making it harder to get the XP required to take on the main Autosport Championships.
GRID Autosport is a moderately impressive game. Codemasters has focused on what it knows best for this title, although there is something that really puzzles us. Since Codemasters made so much of its name with one of the greatest rally game series of all time, it puzzles us that this game, which has multiple disciplines, does not have any rallying. This is a missed opportunity for sure, but what we are left with is still sufficient. The touring car section reminded us of TOCA Touring Cars, and the other disciplines are also generally enjoyable to drive. GRID Autosport is one of those games that ticks all the boxes, but never really excels beyond that level.
PRICING: You can find GRID AUTOSPORT for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: GRID Autosport (PC) retails for $49.99 at Amazon, GRID Autosport (XBOX 360) retails for $49.96 at Amazon, and GRID Autosport (PS3) retails for $49.96 at Amazon.
Canada: GRID Autosport (XBOX 360) retails for CDN$54.99 at Amazon Canada, and GRID Autosport (PS3) retails for CDN$54.99 at Amazon Canada.
Australia: GRID Autosport (PC) retails for $64.99 AUD at Mighty Ape Australia, GRID Autosport (XBOX 360) retails for $69.99 AUD at Mighty Ape Australia, and GRID Autosport (PS3) retails for $69.99 AUD at Mighty Ape Australia.
New Zealand: GRID Autosport (PC) retails for $79.99 NZD at Mighty Ape NZ, GRID Autosport (XBOX 360) retails for $89.99 NZD at Mighty Ape NZ, and GRID Autosport (PS3) retails for $89.99 NZD at Mighty Ape NZ.
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Top 10 TweakTown Press Releases from the past week [07 July 2014]
Here are our top 10 posted press releases from the past week!
- Razer Charity Drive Closing Soon: Free Razer Surround Available for 30 More Days
- Shuttle Announces 40 mm Thin Fanless PC Platform with Dual-Core Celeron
- GIGABYTE Announces Future Proof 9 Series Ultra Durable Motherboards
- Microsoft Introduces the Surface Pro 3
- AOC Releases Two IPS Monitors with ONKYO Speakers
- Seasonic Showcasing High Performance Power Supply Solutions at Computex 2014
- MSI Introduces the AG270 All-in-One Gaming PC
- ASUSTOR Launches Economical Rackmount AS-204RS NAS Server
- Apacer to Launch New SSDs and Flash Drives at Computex
- PowerColor Devil 13 Dual Core R9 290X Coming at Computex 2014
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