Introduction   Thermaltake shook up the market a few years ago with the release of the Level 10 chassis. It took everything we knew about what a computer case was supposed to look like, and tossed it out a window. It won Thermaltake (sometimes referred to as TT) many accolades and awards for design and innovation. The down side to this was the Level 10 set a high level of expectation that Thermaltake could not live up too with follow up cases. It is hard to please everyone and even harder to please the most hard core enthusiast as they set the tone for what makes for a great case. When faced with such a monumental task as this, it is good to take a step back and reset. The Urban series of chassis is exactly that, a reset of Thermaltake’s design team. The days of boisterous designs are being replaced with sleeker lines and more modern curves. This is an effort to attract gamers, water cooling and overclocking enthusiasts with this new Urban series of chassis. The flagship model, the Urban T81, will be put to the test in this review. We will attempt a build that should please all three segments.    About ThermalTake The brand personality of Unique, Aggressive, Vivid, and Stylish makes Thermaltake an expert in creating Exciting things and Fascinating environment for gamers and enthusiasts, also Keep them Constantly High physically and mentally. Moreover, Thermaltake Technology get close to consumers and observe lead users’ behavior and requirem...

Super Talent Updates its 1.8” MasterDrive KX3 SSD Highly popular space saving SSD with a microSATA connection San Jose, California – July 28, 2014 – Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of NAND Flash storage solutions, announces their updated MasterDrive KX3, a 1.8” SSD. Super Talent’s MasterDrive KX3 comes in to solve the problem of physical space constraints in a computing system. This SSD is built using high grade NAND flash components and is connected through a microSATA interface. Additionally, an industrial temperature version using carefully selected thermal range components allows the MasterDrive KX3 to handle temperatures ranging from -40°C to 85°C. Capacity Part Number Part Number (I-Temp) 32GB FUM32G818H FUM32G818I 64GB FUM64G818H FUM64G818I 128GB FUM28G818H FUM28G818I 256GB FUM56G818H FUM56G818I The MasterDrive KX3 is highly popular for data logging in a variety of environments with sequential read speeds of up to 250 MB/s and write speeds of up to 130 MB/s and available in capacities from 32GB to 256GB. Additional information on the MasterDrive KX3 can be found here. Super Talent actively pursues the latest storage trends in the market and responds by creating storage solutions that meet the needs of customers. About Super Talent Technology Super Talent Technology Corporation based in San Jose, California, designs and manufactures flash based SSD and USB storage devices for computers and consumer electronics. An ISO 9001 certified compa...

Aerocool GT-A: High-End Midi-Tower for Gamers and DIY enthusiasts 28.07.2014, Taipei, Taiwan – Aerocool Advanced Technologies, one of world’s leading manufacturers of excellent gaming PC gear, announces a new member of the GT case series. The GT-A Midi-Tower is aiming for Gamers and DIY enthusiasts seeking a High-End chassis with a superb design and a great cooling concept. Main features include a special top-panel docking station for 2,5 and 3,5 inch drives, built-in 2-channel fan controller, two preinstalled case fans as well as much space and many options for latest high-end hardware. Aerocool’s GT-A utilizes the unified and futuristic GT series exterior design with the choice between a white and a black version. Both versions are coming with a window in the side-panel, allowing insights on user’s hardware. Aerocool even implemented a really useful docking station into the GT-A’s top panel, which allows easy access to hard drives and SSDs without the hassle of opening the chassis and installing the drive into a vacant bay. The docking station can be accessed by simply sliding down the top-cover. The inside of the GT-A Midi-Tower is well structured and comes in a dual-color design, where black edition features the colors red and black, while white version combines the colors black and white. The chassis supports common mainboard form factors including ATX, Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX. Latest on-market VGA cards with a maximum length of 310 millimeters and CPU cooler...

A few months ago we had the honor of reviewing the new MSI Z97 Gaming 5 motherboards during the launch of the Z97 chipset. Today, we are here again to look at another MSI motherboard. We have MSI's flagship Gaming Motherboard the MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC. At first glance the MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC motherboard looks rather close aesthetically to the Gaming 5 we reviewed. While the looks are similiar, the Gaming 9 has some additional features and aesthetic improvements that make it stand out on its own. The first obvious improvement on the Gaming 9 motherboard is the shield that covers the rear I/O port section and the isolated PCB for its sound card. During the Z97 chipset many manufacturers started to switch over to using higher quality Japanese capacitors and while the caps were much better in quality they looked rather ugly on many of the new boards. It was nice to see that MSI designed the Gaming 9 series motherboard with the shield to cover up that section making the motherboard look much sexier. Let's dive in and put the MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC Motherboard to the test and see how it performed against its little brother the Gaming 5. But before we do that, let's talk a little about who MSI is.

AMD teases are starting to become a bit of a joke. The last exciting release from them (for CPU enthusiasts) was the FX-8350. The chip made some good improvements on the previous Zambezi architecture, but after that things went downhill. Of course the FX-9590 was nothing more than a factory overclocked 8350. AMD announced they were done with the FX lineup. They refused to adopt Steamroller to the FX series. They announced FX but then said it wouldn’t come out til 2016 and finally, they teased an FX chip that was just a 9590 with a new liquid cooler even though they knew that AMD fans are wanting a new FX chip. So when AMD releases a video that says “Core is Back,” you can probably understand why we need to be slightly skeptical. With absolutely no official info, all we know is that there is an A series logo and a possible promotion image that shows 12 cores. At this point, the A series logo seems to negate the possibility of an FX refresh. If that’s the case, then it seems pretty confusing to put this much hype into an APU. While APUs can fill a very appropriate computing niche, they usually don’t make up the kind of material that deserves major hype build up. Enthusiasts would want to see something big so that should leave two options here. Either this is going to be a type of high end APU aimed more at the enthusiasts market, or this is a marketing gimmick to try and pick up sales for something that may not deserve it. This brings us to the ...

ADATA Launches XPG V3 DDR3 Overclocking Memory Ready to Fire With XPG! Taipei, Taiwan – July 24, 2014 – ADATA® Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash application products, today launches the latest XPG V3 series overclocking memory, running at a stellar 3100 megahertz. Its dual channel is designed to bring gamers and PC enthusiasts ultimate performance by Intel® Core™ fourth and fifth-generation processors and the latest Z97 platform.   The Thermal Conductive Technology for Great Heat Dissipation With speed up to 3100MHz and transfer bandwidth reaching 24.8GB/s, the XPG V3 series once again pushes gaming to the next level. It supports Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) version 1.3 and utilizes the Thermal Conductive Technology (TCT), which reduces the system temperature effectively. It enables every chip have contact with the heat sinks directly, ensuring IC and PCB operate in an environment of equal temperature for the best stability, even in full-speed operation.   No Crash with Great Stability  Thanks to the detachable fins extended upwards and 8-layer PCBs with 2oz copper, the XPG V3 series provides superior cooling performance and stable data transfer. The 2oz copper can greatly decrease electric resistance and consumes less power for higher efficiency. It also helps to improve the integrity of signal transfer by the lower EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference), enabling overclockers to get excellent benchmarks in the circu...

Today we're focusing on two cards from HIS, a company we're very familiar with, having seen many of their products in the past couple of generations in AMD cards. HIS typically produces cards with custom coolers and aggressive factory overclocks, but these two are a bit different. The R7 260X and R7 250X are budget-oriented cards for those with modest budgets and looking for some affordable gaming, and perhaps even something suitable for an HTPC setup.

AIO (all in one) liquid cooling units continue to gain popularity due mostly to the cheaper cost to performance ratio, as well as their leak-proof and low maintenance design. If we look back a mere 2 years ago, liquid AIO cooling units were few and far between, and only a few manufacturers offered this type of cooling solution. Today we find a lot of AIO units flooding the market, and as you may already know, selecting the right one can be a hard choice with so many different styles and types readily available. I am very excited today, because I will be putting three new units on my test bench from NZXT. The NZXT KRAKEN X31, X41 and, Kraken X61 AIO coolers. These three closed-loop liquid coolers are follow-up products to the Kraken X30 X40 and Kraken X60 that were reviewed last year. The NZXT X31 X41 and X61 have kept their same 120mm, 140mm, & 280mm respective CLC design; however, they now come with some new additions in the form of variable pump speed control, increased radiator thickness, and Cam software. Before I continue, let me tell you a bit about NZXT.

Productivity and entertainment big-time: AOC presents 34″ WQHD monitor Amsterdam, 22 July 2014 – AOC is setting new standards for “large”: with the u3477Pqu, the display specialist has set sail to new shores as it combines size with enhanced productivity. This 34″ (86.7 cm ) WQHD monitor is the right choice for cinema enthusiasts and demanding multi-task users alike. Stunning image clarity, detail and 1.07 billion colours make sure you get the full picture when displaying high-resolution images with 4.95 million pixels on the UltraWide panoramic 21:9 screen. The monitor boasts an impressive resolution of 3440 x 1440 pixels on the more than a quarter of a square meter display area, and the aspect ratio allows viewers to watch movies without black bars on top and bottom. Thanks to a great interplay between hardware and software, users can easily watch a movie and play a computer game at the same time on the same screen. Alongside many different ports like USB 3.0 and DisplayPort, AOC offers an integrated HDMI port with MHL functionality which enables the user to directly mirror smartphones and tablet screens onto the big screen.    Productivity meets cinema feeling: the AOC u3477Pqu   Productivity redefined Multimedia editors, engineers as well as stock market analysts or any other professionals working with spreadsheets are likely to appreciate the benefits of the model’s productivity-enhancing features. Gone are the days with endless scrolling or sw...

It finally has a name…. At this past Computex in Taipei, Be Quiet! surprised many of us by showing off a custom design case. Nice clean lines, angled top cover, smooth front surface, matte black paint job with a bright contrasting orange trim and out cropped feet, did wonders for creating a bit of buzz. The case with no name would be their introduction into the already crowded and competitive chassis market. This is a divergence from Be Quiet!’s bread and butter, performance fans and power supplies with whisper quiet operation. We should have been expecting Be Quiet to join in the fray as noise reduction among enthusiast reaches epic importance, what better way to start a silent system other then the body that will hold everything else. There has been some speculation on the naming of this mystery chassis based on Be Quiet!’s previous products such as the Shadow Rock, Dark Rock, Dark Power, Silent Wing and Shadow Wing, true to form, Be Quiet! drops the name right in the middle of their naming convention, “Silent Base 800″. Why Silent Base 800? I would guess that it is silent, past that I have no clue. Guess we will have to wait until October, the expected release date, to find out more. What we do know is that it will be available in Black/Black, Black/Silver and Black/Orange (Just in time for Halloween). Surprisingly there is no mention of a Black/Red affair to coordinate with the vast majority of boards sold today. I leave you to check out t...