We got to take a look at Cooler Master’s suite at CES 2014, and they had a variety of new products to show off.
AMD Press Conference at CES 2014
Today at AMD?s CES 2014 press conference, there were a variety of topics covered, especially the newly released Kaveri APUs. The conference began with an appearance from LeVar Burton introducing AMD?s Surround House ? Monsters of the Orchestra, which is a full 360 degree motion sensing display, meant to replicate the abilities of the Star Trek Holodeck. The system runs on a single FirePro GPU and A10 APU. The new Kaveri APUs provide significantly improved performance over last gen APUs and exceptional performance gains against Haswell CPUs in benchmarks that utilize GPU capabilities. Kaveri also supports the GCN architecture, AMD TrueAudio, Mantle, PCIe Gen 3,
iBUYPOWER announces new SBX Steam Machine
Today iBUYPOWER announced a new SBX Steam Machine that comes in a variety of configurations. The SBX will be available with both Intel and AMD CPU configurations. The iBUYPOWER SBX is designed to have games running at 60 FPS at 1080p resolution for smooth gameplay. The SBX will ship later in 2014, and will start at $499 and will include a Steam controller as well. The SBX will be available in matte black and matte white. The full press release is below: January 6, 2014, 6:00 PM PST, Las Vegas, NV – There are very few instances where one product category can leap frog over
Digital Storm Announces New Hybrid Steam Machine at CES 2014
Today, Digital Storm announced their new Small Form Factor hybrid Steam Machine, the Bolt II. The Bolt II is a hybrid because it will come with both Windows and SteamOS installed on the machine. The Bolt II is also the first official Steam Machine to utilize liquid cooling. Digital Storm opted to not compete on the low end of the market, and to instead target the high end with a focus on providing excellent gaming capabilities on 4K displays. The Bolt II also comes with Digital Storm?s HydroLux control board to allow users to monitor and control the computer?s cooling and lighting systems. Sticking to
Escort Inc Releases Limited Edition PASSPORT Max Radar Detectors
Escort Inc has released 4 new limited editions of their flagship PASSPORT Max radar detector. The new editions come in a Glossy Black, Brilliant Blue, Burled Wood, and Carbon Fiber look (the original came in Matte Black). The new Limited Edition PASSPORT Max? radar detectors retail for $599.95. We have a forcoming review of the PASSPORT Max, so stay tuned. The full press release is below: ESCORT Inc. (ESCORTinc.com) opens at CES Sunday with the debut of four all-new PASSPORT® Max? Limited Edition models. The new detectors are based on the world?s first and only all-digital detector, the PASSPORT® Max? High Definition windshield mount radar
Seagate Announces Variety of New Products at CES 2014
Today Seagate had a variety of new announcements. Some of the highlights are as follows. They announced the Seagate Backup Plus FAST, the world?s first 4 TB portable hard drive. Seagate is also partnering with Lenovo to deliver the Yoga2, a new laptop/tablet hybrid which will provide 500 GB of storage delivered by Seagate?s 5mm Laptop Ultrathin HDD. LaCie has also introduced Fuel, which is a 1 TB wireless hard drive that connects and provides additional storage to iPad®, iPhone®, Mac®, and other compatible mobile devices. LaCie is also announcing the Little Big Disk Thunderbolt 2 which is purported to be the fastest portable storage
Western Digital 4 TB Roundup: Black vs Enterprise
Today we are taking a look at some of Western Digital?s high end 4 TB drives: the WD4000FYYZ RE enterprise drive, the WD4001FAEX Black Series consumer drive, and the WD4003FZEX Black Series consumer drive. Each one of these drives is designed to provide excellent performance and speeds while still maintaining reliability. The consumer drives are currently retailing for approximately $266 (FAEX at $266 and FZEX at $267), whereas the enterprise drive (FYYZ) is retailing for $390. The question becomes: is it worth spending extra for the enterprise drive to get better performance? The drives will be referred to by their letters for the duration of
Review: iBuyPower AMD FX Ultimate with FX 9590
Today we are taking a look at a custom iBuyPower AMD FX Ultimate PC designed to showcase the capabilities of the AMD FX 9590 CPU. The specifications are below: Processor: AMD FX 9590 8-Core Black Edition at 4.7 GHz Video Card: 2x AMD HD 7990 in CrossFire Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme9 System Memory: 16GB DDR3 2133 MHz AMD Radeon RG2133 Gamer Series Power Supply: 1200W Corsair AX1200i 80 PLUS PLATINUM SSD: 2x240GB Solid State in RAID 0 (By: Corsair) (Model: Force GS) Storage: 2TB Seagate (7200 RPM) Optical Drive: LG 24x Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Cooling: NZXT Kraken X40 Chassis: NZXT Phantom 630
SteelSeries Announces New Rival Mouse
Today SteelSeries announced a new optical gaming mouse called the Rival. The Rival delivers precision via an advanced optical sensor along with SteelSeries new proprietary gaming switches that provide speed, consistency, and durability across a 30 million-click lifespan. Rival?s ergonomic right-hand design boasts an anti-sweat coating and rubber side grips for ultimate texture, feel, and comfort. The Rival offers customization options through the new SteelSeries Engine 3.0 software, such as 16.8 million color illumination options and SteelSeries ExactTech settings. The Rival is slated for a $59.99 / ?59.99 MSRP and is available for pre order starting today. For more details, see the SteelSeries site here.
Review: SteelSeries Siberia V2 Heat Orange Headset
Today we are taking a look at the SteelSeries Siberia V2 Heat Orange Limited Edition Headset. The V2 Heat Orange is very similar to the Siberia V2 Cross-Platform headset we reviewed a few months ago. Since they share so many similarities, this review will focus on the differences between the two headsets; the rest should be pretty much the same, so we recommend checking out that review here. Here are the specifications for it: Headphones Frequency response: 18 ? 28000 Hz Impedance: 40 Ohm Cable length: 1.2m / 3 ft. USB Cable extension: 2m / 6.5 ft. Microphone Frequency response: 50 ? 16000 Hz Pick
SteelSeries 9H Headset Available for Pre-Order
Today SteelSeries announced their new 9H Headset has become available for pre-order. The 9H is the highest end headset SteelSeries offers in the H-series of headsets. It comes with a swappable cable system that has in-line audio controls, leather ear cushions, a retractable microphone as well as a USB sound card. For more information or to preorder the headphones, click here. The full press release is below in italics: CHICAGO ? Oct 15, 2013 ? SteelSeries, the leading global manufacturer of gaming peripherals today, announced pre-order availability of the new, tournament-grade 9H Gaming Headset. Exclusively available on the SteelSeries Web Shop, the 9H features powerful,
Review: Datacolor Spyder4ELITE Display Calibrator
Today we are taking a look at the Datacolor Spyder4ELITE display calibrator/colorimeter. Most PC users buy a monitor and never touch the display settings, a small few may tweak the settings to their liking, but even fewer take the time to make sure their display is properly calibrated. An uncalibrated display means that the colors showing on the monitor are incorrect. While this may not be a huge problem for the majority of users, most people would probably prefer to watch movies and TV shows, look at pictures, and play games using the correct and intended colors and appearance. For professionals that deal in digital
Prototype Valve Steam Machine Specifications Released
Today Valve released the specifications and details about the upcoming 300 prototype Steam Machines they’ll be sending out to participants of the Steam Universe Hardware Beta. The specifications of the various Steam Machines are as follows: The 300 prototype units will ship with the following components: GPU: some units with NVidia Titan, some GTX780, some GTX760, and some GTX660 CPU: some boxes with Intel : i7-4770, some i5-4570, and some i3 RAM: 16GB DDR3-1600 (CPU), 3GB DDR5 (GPU) Storage: 1TB/8GB Hybrid SSHD Power Supply: Internal 450w 80Plus Gold Dimensions: approx. 12 x 12.4 x 2.9 For more details, check out the original post here.
SteelSeries Siberia Elite Headset Available for Preorder
SteelSeries’ Siberia Elite Headset, which debuted at GamesCon in Germany, is now available for pre-order in white. Available for $199.99, the headset delivers the newest generation and highest-quality SteelSeries audio drivers and illumination with a choice of 16.8 million color options. It also has touch audio controls found on the side of the earcup and comes paired with the newest version of SteelSeries’ peripheral configuration software, the SteelSeries Engine 3. For more details, check it out here.
Barnes & Noble Nook HD+ Still Provides Best Value
In the last couple of years, the tablet market has become increasingly more crowded and competitive. However, in each generation, there are a number of standout models to consider in each tier. The latest generation had the Apple iPad and Google Nexus 10 in the top tier, comprised of 10 inch tablets. Just below that were the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 inch model and the Barnes & Noble Nook HD+ 9 inch tablet. And in the 7 inch range were the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, the Barnes & Noble Nook HD, the Google Nexus 7, and the iPad Mini. Many of those lines are
New SteelSeries Siberia Elite Headset Introduced
SteelSeries’ new Siberia Elite Headset debuted at GamesCon in Germany. It includes a variety of new features such as Dolby technology for realistic 7.1 virtual surround sound and illumination with a choice of 16.8 million color options. It also has touch audio controls found on the side of the earcup and comes paired with the newest version of SteelSeries’ peripheral configuration software, the SteelSeries Engine 3. It will come in black and white color options, and uses memory-foam, passive-noise isolating leather ear cushions for comfort. The Siberia Elite will have an MSRP of $199.99 and will be available for pre-order starting in September 2013. For
SteelSeries and Valve Introduce DOTA 2 Headset and Mousepads at The International 3
SteelSeries and Valve announced a new Siberia v2 DOTA 2 Edition Headset and new mousepads at The International 3 Tournament in Seattle.The Siberia v2 Illuminated Gaming Headset Dota®2 Special Edition will retail for $119.99 and along with all the standard features of the illuminated Siberia v2 headset, it will have a custom color scheme as well as an exclusive in-game item, Scythe of Vyse for Nature?s Prophet. In addition to the new headset, the two new SteelSeries QcK+ Dota 2 Edition Mousepads will retail for $19.99, featuring character artwork from the game. One will be the Tiny edition and the other will be the Vengeful
Moto X: A Phone Apple Would Be Proud To Call Their Own
As someone who had been anticipating the Moto X since I first heard about it, I?ve been extremely disappointed by the details released at launch. It went from a great value with unique differentiators, to an expensive Motorola catastrophe. I?d like to create a timeline from my perspective of the development of rumors to the release of the Moto X phone. Initial reports referred to the Moto X as the ?X Phone?. Motorola Mobility had been purchased by Google in 2012, and had yet to produce any significant products under Google?s wing. This ?X Phone? was to be the first Google + Motorola phone, and
Review: CM Storm QuickFire Stealth Keyboard
Today we are taking a look at the CM (Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Stealth. The Stealth is one of the latest in Cooler Master?s mechanical keyboard line. For this review, we will be trying out a new format that will be significantly different from our previous reviews. We will be focusing on describing the user experience and personal experience of the author with product. In order to facilitate this, some portions of the review will be written in the first person. I?ve had experience with a few other Cooler Master keyboards: the QuickFire TK and the Trigger (though I was not the reviewer for the
SteelSeries Sweepstakes for Ultimate BlizzCon 2013 Experience
SteelSeries, J!NX, and The League of S.T.E.A.M. have partnered up to offer the Ultimate BlizzCon 2013 Experience. They are offering the opportunity to go to BlizzCon 2013 for free. The grand prize will give the winner two show passes, airfare and accommodations for two, as well as a custom costume made by The League of S.T.E.A.M. Other prizes will also be offered, such as World of Warcraft Wireless MMO mice and JINX gift cards. The sweepstakes runs from July 29th through August 11th to residents of North America. For more details and to enter the contest for free, click here.
