Our Most Recent Reviews

Asus Z77 Roundup When doing all of our Ivy Bridge launch prep we spent a LOT of time benchmarking and testing a whole collection of boards. You guys have seen our reviews of the Intel and Gigabyte boards. When it came time to write about the four different Asus Z77 boards I realized that most of you are not going to want to read through a lot of information that we would cover over and over on each review. We decided to roundup all four of the boards and cover them together. This way we can get to the point a little quicker, saving you time, as well as giving us a chance to talk more about the differences between the variety of boards that we tested.

Read the Full Story

ASUS P8 Z68-V/GEN3 Perhaps one of the most daunting tasks after making the decision that you do not wish to purchase an off-the-shelf computer is attempting to figure out which components go in the machine. There are fun aspects, like the graphics card and processor, and then there are the not-so-fun aspects, like the motherboard (at least in my opinion). Why do I think it is a whole lot of not fun? There are so many out there to choose from, with all sorts of features. When shopping you will likely come across the ASUS board that I am going to review today. Arguably, it is one of the better all-around boards out there, with features like good integrated graphics and killer sound. But to a gamer that generally does not mean squat. Does the ASUS P8 Z68-V/GEN3 board have what it takes to function as a serious gaming component? Read on to find out!

Read the Full Story

XFX R7750 Black Edition DD Not everyone is looking to spend $500 on their video card, in some cases that is the total budget for a build. When you are up against a wall trying to pack the best performance you can get into a budget build you still want to get the most performance you can out of your video card. That’s where cards like the XFX R7750 Black Edition Double Dissipation come into play. XFX has taken the styling and cooling from their high end cards and combined it with the price of budget cards like the HD 7750. Today we are going to take a look at how those two things do combined in XFX’s R7750 Black Edition Double Dissipation.

Read the Full Story

Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X Earlier this year when AMD introduced the HD 7770 we took a look at cards from both Sapphire and XFX. Although we were impressed with the cards performance it was a little ill-timed due to AMD still clearing out discounted back stock. Three months later we are able to revisit the situation with today’s release of Sapphires new HD 7770 Vapor-X. With Sapphires Vapor chamber cooling technology along with a nice overclock over the reference design, the Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X could be a great option for a gamer on a limited budget. Let’s take a look.

Read the Full Story

Motherboard Sizing When we got in a few oddly sized dual CPU motherboards from EVGA and Asus I posted up a few pictures on our forums and on Facebook. The problem was that even though they looked large there wasn’t any prospective. So we tossed in a couple other boards to give everyone a little perspective. This lead us to digging out even more motherboards to put together all of the standard motherboard sizes all together for everyone to be able to see the differences. Along with the picture we also have a breakdown on the dimensions of each size standard; I hope this helps everyone as some point. Sometimes it can be hard to understand all of the different motherboard sizes and how they all relate.

Read the Full Story

Android to the Maxx, DROID Razr Maxx The list of different Android based phones available at any time is both overwhelming and frustrating. It’s almost impossible to get good feedback from friends who have the same phone because of this. So it’s rare than you have any one phone that manages to stand out. Doing something different is the only way to do this normally, but most times this ends off coming off as gimmicky or just lame. When Motorola introduced the Droid Razr Maxx it caught my attention right away. This was just before our trip out to San Francisco for the GTX 680 Editors day, what a better way to put the Maxx’s proposed batter life to the test!

Read the Full Story

Lian Li PC 100 “The Hammer” We have had a few different Lian Li chassis come through the LanOC Offices and there hasn’t been a time that we haven’t been impressed with the new and interesting features Lian Li always seems to slip in. When they wanted to ship over their new case “The Hammer” PC 100, we signed up right away. We had seen the case previewed from a few shows prior and this time around Lian Li took a new perspective with its design, I was very interested to see how their changes worked out. Let’s jump in and see what it’s all about!

Read the Full Story

Nvidia GTX 670 When Nvidia launched Kepler with the GTX 680 I was impressed with the launch price of the card but even at such a great value it is still out of reach for some people. Just because you can’t afford the top card doesn’t mean you don’t want to experience Kepler’s performance. Of course it was only a matter of time before we saw Nvidia filling in the gaps in their product line, starting first with the GTX 690 then going to the next step down from the GTX 680, the GTX 670. Today we get to have a look to see how the performance compares to both the GTX 680 as well as AMD’s offerings. We are also very curious how it compares to the GTX 580, a card that has found its way into most of our office PC’s.

Read the Full Story

ioSafe Rugged Portable So you do the smart thing, you backup your data from your laptop and your home PC to an external or network drive and go on with life feeling confident that you have gone well and above what most people do. For the most part, you did. What about when you’re traveling, have you seen how much abuse a device can take when on the go? For some people, and I know I’m one of them, some of the data you carry with you while traveling is more important than the laptop or device that you actually carry it on. In that situation you need a way to not have to worry about your data, no matter the situation, and to have a guarantee to back it up as well. The folks over at ioSafe focus specifically on this crowd. Not only do they offer products that are according to them build to handle almost anything, but they back it up with data recovery if something does happen. Today we are going to take a look at that Rugged Portable hard drive to see what all of the fuss is about, without any more buildup, let’s dig in.

Read the Full Story

Cooler Master Storm Trigger Just two years ago the only mechanical keyboards you would find were from companies like DAS keyboard trying to create a nitch market. Over the past two years things have really exploded with every manufacture you can think of introducing their own mechanical keyboards. Cooler Master has been especially aggressive with multiple unique designs like their Quickfire series. What they did lack was a full featured mechanical keyboard with full backlighting, until now. Today they officially introduce their Storm Trigger, although it you look around the board was available Globally before now. With full backlighting it falls into a small category of Mechanical Keyboards with very little competition. I am excited to see how it performs.

Read the Full Story

Cooler Master HAF XM The topic of cleaning your computer out came up last week on our forums and it got me thinking about how often I really need to clean out my computer. As it turns out it’s not very often anymore. All because of improvements in case design like fan filters. You don’t really see them on low end cases yet but they have been slowly trickling down. At CES this year we had a chance to get our hands on one of Cooler Master’s upcoming chassis, the HAF XM. A mid-range case packed with the features we have come to love from their high end HAF line. Today we are going to dig into the final product and see how it came out.

Read the Full Story

Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Z77 boards come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and prices. Just about every manufacture has a whole lineup of boards covering the whole range to make sure you can find what you are looking for. Gigabyte is no different; they have a whole selection of boards that will fit your needs. Today we are taking a look at their Z77X-UD3H, one of their budget boards. It may not be a high end board but it is still packed with features. I am curious how it will perform now that the cat is out of the bag with Ivy Bridge. Let’s jump in and see what it’s all about.

Read the Full Story

LanOC Reviews and News

Friends Helping Friends Contest!

friends-helping-friends

LanOC Reviews is hosting a Facebook contest to win a XFX R7750 Black Edition DD graphics card! The person who has the most friends who "Like" the LanOC Facebook page will be the winner! To provide verification, at the end of the contest, you will be required to submit a screen shot of the LanOC page with the Facebook icon showing how many of your friends like this page. To submit your entries, please post the screenshots on the LanOC Facebook page (submissions via the LanOC forums will not be accepted).

The "Friends Helping Friends" contest ends on Saturday, 5/26/2012 at 6pm EST. If you have any questions regarding the contest or prizes, please contact us on the Facebook page or visit our website at http://www.lanoc.org.

howto

Official Rules:

1. Must be 13 or older to enter (if under 18, must have parental permission).

2. Entries from the United States only please.

3. Must be able to provide a valid shipping address (no PO boxes accepted).

4. By entering into this Facebook contest, you agree to the following:

a. A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.

b. Acknowledgment that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

c. Disclosure that the participant is providing information to [disclose recipient(s) of information] and not to Facebook.

5. Winners subject to verification of results.

6. LanOC Reviews reserves the right to end the contest or discontinue the contest at any time for any reason.

7. No purchase necessary.

8. LanOC Staff and affiliates are not eligible to win this contest.

Affiliate News Postings 5/22/2012

Hey guys/girls welcome to your mid-week affiliate news. I hope everything is going smooth so far this week. With no major product launch’s this week we have a nice variety of reviews today. Make sure to visit the site again tomorrow as we will have a very large motherboard roundup posted up for everyone to enjoy.

Video Cards

HIS HD7850 Fan 2GB (H785F2G2M) Review at Overclockers Online

VTX3D HD 7970 X-Edition 3 GB @ techPowerUp

Motherboards

Sapphire Pure Platinum Z77K Review @ OCC

GIGABYTE G1.Assassin 2 Motherboard Review @ Techgage

Intel Z77 Motherboard Round Up Featuring ASRock, ASUS, ECS, GIGABYTE, Intel, and MSI

Gigabyte G1.Sniper M3 Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets

Cases

Corsair's Carbide Series 300R System Enclosure reviewed in Metku.net

Corsair Vengeance C70 Midtower Case Review @ Legit Reviews

MSI Stealth Case Review @ Hardware Secrets

BitFenix Shinobi XL Computer Chassis Review

Cooler Master Silencio 450 Case review @ Rbmods

SilverStone Grandia SST-GD08B HTPC Chassis

Enermax Staray ECA3175-BL Mid-Tower Case Review @Hi Tech Legion

Cooling

Zalman CNPS8900 Extreme CPU Cooler Review @ Legit Reviews

Memory

G.Skill Trident X DDR3-2400 Memory Review @ Neoseeker

Crucial Ballistix Elite DDR3-1600 16GB Quad Channel Memory Kit Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Patriot Viper Xtreme Division 2 PC3-19200 8GB Memory Kit Review

Storage

Synology DS3612xs 12-bay NAS review @ Hardware.Info

Comay Venus Pro 3 128GB Solid State Drive Review

WD My Book Thunderbolt Duo 4TB review @ Hardware.Info

Comay Venus Pro 3 240GB SSD Review

ICY DOCK MB994SP-4S Mobile Rack Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Icy Dock MB994SP-4SB-1 Full Metal Quad Bay 2.5" SATA 6Gbps Backplane Review @ eTeknix.com

PSU’s

Xilence XQ Series 850 W @ techPowerUp

Gaming

Sniper Elite V2 PC Review

Warlock: Master of the Arcane Review @ Techgage

Hacks Decimate Diablo III Debut @ HotHardware.com

Input Devices

Cooler Master Quick Fire Pro Keyboard at Modders-Inc.com

Vengeance M60 Performance FPS Laser Gaming Mouse @ Real World Labs

G-Cube V-Track 310 Wireless Mouse @ Benchmark Reviews

Other

Thermaltake Commander MS-I & Tt eSPORTS Gaming Gear Giveaway! @ ThinkComputers.org

Small business inkjets review: how fast is ink? @ Hardware.Info

How I prepared for MOA Americas Qualifier @ Ninjalane

GTC (GPU Technology Conference) 2012 "Updated" @Hi Tech Legion

TP-Link AV500 Gigabit Powerline Adapter Turns Existing Powerlines into High Speed Networks

(City of Industry, CA) – May 22, 2012 – TP-LINK, a global provider of networking products, today announced its new AV500 Gigabit Powerline Adapter, providing industry-leading performance, hassle-free set-up, for an instant, secure high-speed network for the home or office. The AV500 Gigabit Powerline Adapter provides high-speed streams at up to 500Mbps on a line length of up to 300 meters, creating an incredibly fast, robust network. At these speeds, the AV500 Gigabit Powerline Adapter delivers the performance required for fast, whole home or office solutions to connect all network compatible devices from HD video streaming, online gaming, VolP or any other bandwidth intensive applications.

Verbatim’s Store ‘n’ Go Micro USB Drive and Ultra Rugged Micro USB Drive Plus Now Shipping

Charlotte, NC – May 21, 2012 – Verbatim, the global leader in data storage technology including portable hard drives, USB flash drives, CDs, Blu-ray discs and memory cards, has announced the retail availability of its latest stylish and innovative flash drives – the Store ‘n’ Go Micro USB Drive and the Micro USB Drive Plus. These rugged portable solutions feature a modern design for go anywhere storage that is tough enough to withstand rough handling.

Affiliate News Postings 5/18/2012

With Diablo 3 coming out this week as well as it being summer everyone has been very busy recently. Of course even when everyone is busy there are still reviews being posted up around the net. Today we have a whole collection of reviews for you guys to check out over the weekend from our Affiliates.

CPU’s

Intel Core i7-3370K 'Ivy Bridge' Overclocked Benchmark & Temperature Performance @ Legit Reviews

AMD's A10-4600M 'Trinity' APU

AMD Launches New Trinity APU @ TechwareLabs

AMD A10 'Trinity' APU review @ Hardware.Info

AMD Trinity Preview @ Neoseeker

AMD Trinity A10-4600M Processor Review @ HotHardware

Motherboards

ECS Elitegroup Z77H2-AX Golden Board (Z77) Motherboard Review @ eTeknix.com

ZOTAC D2700-ITX WiFi Supreme Review @ Vortez

ASUS Maximus V GENE

ASRock Z77 Professional Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets

MSI Z77A-GD65 (Z77) Motherboard Review @ eTeknix.com

ECS Z77H2-AX Black Extreme Motherboard Review @ Madshrimps

Intel DZ77GA-70K Motherboard Components @ Benchmark Reviews

Gigabyte Z77-D3H (Z77) Motherboard Review @ eTeknix.com

Video Cards

AMD vs Nvidia 2012 - The Best Video Card for $200

How NVIDIA GeForce GRID Changed Video Games @ Benchmark Reviews

Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X OC Edition Review @ OCC

Sapphire HD 7770 GHz Edition Vapor-X Review @ Neoseeker

Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition Vapor-X Review @ Hi Tech Legion

Inno3D iChill GEFORCE GTX 670 2GB OC Video Card Review

GIGABYTE GTX680 Windforce 3x OC Review @ Vortez

MSI GTX 680 Twin Frozr III OC 2 GB @ techPowerUp

Memory

G.Skill TridentX PC3-21300 8GB Memory Kit

AMD Performance Edition 1600 MHz DDR3 2x4GB Memory Kit Review

G.Skill Ares 16GB 1866Mhz DDR3 Memory Kit @ Benchmark Reviews

Cases

Corsair 550D Case Review @ OCC

MSI Nighthawk Case/Chassis Review @ TechwareLabs

Thermaltake Chaser MK-1 Full Tower Case Review @ Bigbruin.com

Corsair Carbide 300R review @ Hardware.Info

NZXT Phantom 410 Mid-Tower Chassis - BCCHardware

Corsair Obsidian 550D @ techPowerUp

Corsair 550D Review @ Vortez

Thermaltake Level 10 GTS Snow Edition Review @ OCC

NZXT Switch 810 Full-Tower Chassis Review @ Techgage

NZXT Phantom 410 Special Edition Mid-tower Case Review @ Hi Tech Legion

Cooler Master HAF XM Mid Tower Case Review @ Bigbruin.com

Cubitek HPTX ICE Frozen Solid Chassis Review

Cooling

Cooler Master TPC 812 CPU Cooler Review @ Hardware Secrets

Cooler Master X6 Elite CPU Cooler Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Alpenföhn K2 Dual Tower CPU Cooler Review @ eTeknix.com

Chillblast Fusion Vacuum Review @ XSReviews.co.uk

Arctic Freezer i30 CPU Cooler @ Real World Labs

Deepcool/Logisys Gammaxx 400 CPU Cooler Review @ Hardware Secrets

Noctua NH-L12 Low Profile CPU Cooler Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Coolermaster Hyper 412 SLIM Cpu Cooler @ Rbmods

Network

ASUS RT-N66U review: Lightning-fast 450mbps router @ Hardware.Info

PSU’s

Coolermaster Silent Pro Hybrid 850W PSU @ Rbmods

LEPA B650 Power Supply Review @ Hardware Secrets

Storage

Kingston Wi-Drive 16 GB @ techPowerUp

Corsair's Accelerator SSD Cache Reviewed @ HotHardware.com

Intel SSD 330 Review @ Real World Labs

Plextor M3 Pro 256GB SSD review @ Hardware.Info

Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Home Network Storage System Review

Corsair Accelerator 30GB & 60GB Review @ Neoseeker

OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 240GB Review @ HCW

Input Devices

Corsair Vengeance K60/M60 and K90/M90 Input Devices @ HotHardware.com

CM Storm Trigger Mechanical Keyboard Review @ eTeknix.com

Pulse-Eight Motorola NYXboard Hybrid Wireless Keyboard and IR Remote Review @MissingRemote.com

Audio

Edifier Sound To Go USB Speakers - BCCHardware

TekRepublic TH Pro 7.1 Surround USB Headset Review @ Hi Tech Legion

Noontec Zoro Headphones Review @ eTeknix.com

KRK Systems KNS 6400 Headphones @ techPowerUp

Gaming

Diablo 3 Launches without AMD Eyefinity / NVIDIA Surround Support

Diablo III Gaming Benchmarks on Ivy Bridge & Trinity Laptops @ Legit Reviews

Eyefinity/Surround Analysis of Rayman Origins @ Widescreen Gaming Forum

Other

Samsung BD-D6500 3D Blu-Ray Player Review @ Tweaknews

Windows 8 frightens me, and here's why

Cyberpower PC Gamer Xtreme 2000 SE System Review @ Ninjalane

GPU Technology Conference 2012 - Day 1 and 2 @ Hi Tech Legion

AMD Trinity A10-4600M Laptop APU Review @ Legit Reviews

Lenovo ThinkVision LT1421 14-inch Portable USB Monitor Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Lucid PC Review @ eTeknix.com

ADATA Adds to XPG Xtreme Series

Taipei, Taiwan, May 16, 2012 - ADATA Technology Co., Ltd announced a boost to its XPG™ Xtreme Series DDR3 lineup with the DDR3-2133X 8GB and 16GB dual channel kits. This new entry to XPG™ Xtreme Series satisfies enthusiasts’ increasingly stringent demands for high capacity and performance DRAM modules.

Corsair Enhances GS Series Power Supplies

FREMONT, California — May 15, 2012 — Corsair®, a worldwide designer and supplier of high-performance components to the PC gaming hardware market, today announced major upgrades to the GS Series line of high-performance power supply units (PSUs). A new improved design boosts energy efficiency, enabling the new GS Series PSUs to achieve 80 PLUS® Bronze certification while also providing quieter, fanless operation at low power loads. The newly enhanced models are available in three wattage models: the GS600, GS700, and GS800.

Cooler Master - Redesigning Compact CPU Coolers

Chino, California – May 15th, 2012 - Cooler Master, an industry leading chassis, thermal solution, peripheral, and accessory manufacturer, announces a CPU cooler with huge performance packed into a seemingly miniature package. That new compact CPU cooler is the GeminII M4 – a GeminII series cooler.

World's First 120° Wide Angle 1080p HD Webcam - Genius

May 15, 2012, Taipei, Taiwan - Genius is pleased to announce the world's first 120° ultra wide angle 1080p HD webcam, WideCam F100. Able to capture the whole boardroom or entire family within a single frame, this Genius high definition webcam is ideal for both business professionals as well as home users.

Out now: ROCCAT Savu Gaming Mouse

The New King Arrives: ROCCAT Savu – Mid-Size Hybrid Gaming Mouse Out Now

Dear everybody.

Built to reign supreme as the new titan of optical sensor mice, the Savu comes loaded with the world’s fastest Pro Optic engine and introduces an awards and achievements system to the world of gaming peripherals.