- Details
-
Category: Mobile
-
Published: Friday, 20 December 2013 17:36
This past year at CES Nvidia introduced a new mobile product called the Shield. At the time, even after having a little time to play with it on the show floor, you could say I wasn’t exactly excited about it. The idea of gaming on a tablet was starting to win me over but I just couldn’t imagine trying to carry around something so bulky. This past spring and summer I spent even more time gaming on my tablets, especially the Nexus 7. Emulators and an ever growing collection of games started to win me over. Add in Nvidia’s changes to their drivers and the possibility of being able to stream PC gaming to the Shield and by the time it launched I had been converted into a full on fan of the device. Now nearly a year after its introduction I can finally sit down and talk about my experience with the Shield. Did it live up to my expectations? Read on time find out.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Audio
-
Published: Wednesday, 18 December 2013 14:48
It’s really hard to believe that the SteelSeries Siberia v2’s that we know and love have been out for over four years now. In that time most of you have rebuilt your PC at least once, have played countless game, and even lived through the Harlem Shake and Gangnam Style. So after all of that, I’m not surprised that SteelSeries is finally introducing another Siberia model to sell alongside of the v2. I have been looking forward to seeing what SteelSeries could do with their latest Siberia headset, let’s dive in and see what they are all about and see if they live up to their Elite name.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Audio
-
Published: Monday, 16 December 2013 13:00
The gaming headset market is flooded but conventional wisdom has always been that if you want quality sound and a comfortable fit you are going to have to pay a little bit more for it. Today, however, we review an introductory model from Cooler Master that promises all the performance and comfort you’d expect in a mid-range headset at a price tag of under $30. The Ceres 300 is a follow-up to the Ceres 400 and comes with a more streamlined look and feel. Everything you’d expect to see in a head twice the price seems present but we will put it to the test to see if the Ceres 300 is truly worthy of praise.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Audio
-
Published: Friday, 13 December 2013 11:16
I have gone through a whole collection of headsets in the past due to a cable going bad. This happens when you run over the wire with your chair when the wire is too long or when the cord is to short and you get hard tugs on it. Because of that I have been a big fan of wireless headsets, especially because latency is less of an issue with them. Well today I’m going to take a look at Logitech’s G930 wireless headset. I’m especially interested in how it compares to the Corsair Vengeance 2000, another popular wireless headset in the same price range. If the last two wireless mice from Logitech are indication, the G930 could be a good option. But let’s look closer before making any judgment.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Networking
-
Published: Wednesday, 11 December 2013 11:02
Recently we have done a few reviews on the emerging wireless AC technology but up until now those reviews have been limited to routers which merely allow access. Today we take a look at what may be one of the fastest ways to utilize your new wireless AC connection. The USB-AC56 from Asus is a dual-band network adapter meant to allow you to tap into the 5GHz band and only requires the use of a single USB3 connection. Will the AC56 prove to be your quickest solution to the fastest wireless speeds available or will it be better to search for other options? We’ll find out.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Audio
-
Published: Monday, 09 December 2013 10:01
SteelSeries has been busy introducing a few different products including a full rework of their H series of headsets, the new Siberia Elite, and even a new mouse. To start off our coverage I wanted to check out the new H series headsets, but with the size of my head I was limited to the new 9H that is larger than the 7H that we took a look at it years ago. With a new look, new drivers, and a new size I couldn’t wait to put my Siberia v2’s aside and try them out.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Video Cards
-
Published: Friday, 06 December 2013 10:34
When I had the chance to check out the R9 270X Toxic from Sapphire at its launch I was completely blown away at both its performance and styling. Sapphire had obviously put a lot of time and effort reinventing their image, designs, and really stepped it up the performance. When given the chance to check out the R9 280X Toxic, I didn’t even have to think about it. I couldn’t wait to see if Sapphire could do the same with the R9 280X that impressed me so much with the R9 270X. Today is the day, lets dig in and see what it’s all about.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Audio
-
Published: Wednesday, 04 December 2013 13:29
Almost every big headset manufacture has introduced their own wireless headset at some point over the past few years. SteelSeries did one specifically for console gamers as well. When I asked at the time they told me that a PC specific model was something they were considering. Well here we are on the brink of a new year and SteelSeries recently announced their H Wireless. While at MLG we had the chance to sit down with them and find out more about the H Wireless and then later take one home with us to put to the test. Let’s see what it’s all about and how it performed!
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Mobile
-
Published: Tuesday, 03 December 2013 08:41
The rebound phone from my love of the Motorola MAXX had to be something that shared a lot of its features but helped me get over the amazing battery life. Verizon Wireless sent over the Moto X, a phone that shares the same hardware other than a smaller screen and the battery of the MAXX. I have been toying with the Moto X for some time now and I wanted to talk a little today about how it performed. Will it just be a rebound phone, or will things work out between the Moto X and I. Stay tuned for more after the break, these are the Days Phones Of Our Lives.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Cooling Hardware
-
Published: Wednesday, 27 November 2013 20:16
Lately we’ve been taking a look at CPU coolers for larger ATX setups in more traditional cases but with the recent Lunchbox build it is clear that the little guys need some attention. To that end we will be taking a look at the AXP-100 cooler from Thermalright and designed for ITX systems. We’ll be running the cooler through the same battery of tests as the rest of our coolers to see its performance against the big boys. Unfair for sure but as we have seen, ITX builds aren’t just for media centers anymore.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Storage
-
Published: Monday, 25 November 2013 23:38
I don’t know about you, but when I build a new PC I basically plan for an SSD for my operating system and then a second drive or more for my Steam and other files. This has been fairly consistent in my builds from the “Fridge” with its double SSD’s and double spinning drives all the way to the most recent “lunchbox 3” with its SSD and hard drive. I even do the same thing on my gaming laptop. Sadly, there are a lot of people who just can’t do this with their laptops do to only having one drive space. Western Digital surprised us late last week with a game changing drive that has that situation in mind without going with a hybrid setup. That drive is their new WD Black 2 Dual Drive, a single drive that houses a 120GB SSD and a 1TB hard drive.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Friday, 22 November 2013 08:20
When someone asks my opinion on a new gaming mouse, I always have to include a SteelSeries Sensei in that short list. Hard core mice enthusiasts will mention that it doesn’t have a “flawless” sensor, but most users would never spot the difference. More importantly, the Sensei has a shape that most absolutely love and you are also getting their SteelSeries Engine software. Those who know me, know I’m a sucker for orange, when I saw the Fnatic Sensei I had to have one to match my orange Siberia v2 headset.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Cooling Hardware
-
Published: Wednesday, 20 November 2013 11:39
Today we are back with another AIO water cooling solution, this time from Corsair’s award-winning Hydro series. While Corsair has certainly been the king of the mountain for a while in the AIO market, competitors have recently made some quite impressive challenges to the throne. The H80i promises high performance cooling and unparalleled control via its built-in Corsair Link controller in a package fitting the Corsair name. With integrated Corsair Link functionality and a push-pull fan configuration where will the H80i land on our charts? Read on to find out.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Video Cards
-
Published: Monday, 18 November 2013 11:09
One of the best parts about a new video card launch is having the chance to be able to check out the differences between the same models from multiple companies. It seems like every company anymore has their own cooling design and their own names for each of the cards features. One of the companies who has performed well in all of our previous launches has been the Twin Frozr designs from MSI. Today I’m going to take a look at their R9 270X Gaming that features a Twin Frozr cooling design along with a few gaming features that help it stand out.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Input Devices
-
Published: Friday, 15 November 2013 14:03
It was only a short time ago that I was taking a look at Logitech’s new G700s wireless gaming mouse. Not too long after that Logitech actually announced another wireless gaming mouse that would be sold alongside of the G700s, this one is called the G602. Unlike the G700s, the G602 wasn’t an upgrade to a previous model. The G602 a considerably different in design compared to the G700s and it also does not use a rechargeable battery. Logitech did however introduce it with a big promise, they claim 250 hours of gametime in its performance mode, an impressive number for a gaming mouse. Let’s dig into the G602 and find out if their claims have merit and find out what it’s all about.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Networking
-
Published: Wednesday, 13 November 2013 04:49
The home network is one of the most consistently neglected things in modern computing, usually relegated to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” category even by most enthusiasts. However, it is also a market with constantly evolving technologies just like everything else and in the current landscape of always online games and every phone and gadget starving for wireless data why wouldn’t you want a network you can rely on? Earlier we reviewed My Net AC1300 from Western Digital and today we are back to put the ASUS RT-AC56U through the same paces. Is wireless AC technology all it’s cracked up to be? We will soon find out.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Pc-hardware
-
Published: Friday, 08 November 2013 10:47
Now that you know a little more about all of the parts that are going into Lunchbox 3, today we are going to go over how well the installation went and then put it all to the test in a few benchmarks. This is where we can finally see how the part choices work out and talk about any regrets I might have with them. Of course I’m most excited to see how it all performs. Then this coming weekend I can finally put it to good use at a LAN.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Video Cards
-
Published: Thursday, 07 November 2013 09:00
When Nvidia launched the GTX 780 it was an extremely impressive card, and frankly it still is. Even so AMD did come out swinging with the new R9 290X and to counter that Nvidia lowered the pricing of the GTX 780 and GTX 770. Now to go along with that they are filling in the price gap they created with the lower prices with a new product, the GTX 780 Ti. Today I have the chance to check out the GTX 780 Ti and see what it is all about. I expected the GTX 780 Ti to just be a higher clocked GTX 780, but I was pleasantly surprised, read on to find out what’s different.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Pc-hardware
-
Published: Wednesday, 06 November 2013 17:29
In my first article about our project build Lunchbox 3, I covered everything that controls how fast the build is. Today I will be following up with all of the parts that support. That includes the power supply, case, and cooling components. These are all critical parts to your PC, but things like the CPU, motherboard, and video card generally get all of the attention. Today we will find out all about why space was such a concern when picking our previous components. Let’s dig in and see the rest of what Lunchbox 3 will consist of.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Pc-hardware
-
Published: Tuesday, 05 November 2013 18:04
Today starts a small series of articles about our latest project build. If you haven’t noticed, LanOC staff takes a very big interest in LAN events including hosting our own in Northwest Ohio twice a year. Anyone who has packed all of their equipment up to come out to a LAN or two will completely understand why I prefer to build a PC specifically for coming out to events. My main PC the “Fridge” is literally larger than a mini fridge. It is a complete monster and is extremely eye catching, but when it takes two people and a large vehicle to get it out to an event you really start to wish you had something smaller. This is why for the past few years I have been using my “Lunchbox” builds at any event where I just want to kick back and enjoy myself. This project build is for Lunchbox 3, over the next few days I will go over its components and then show off its performance.
Read more ...
