LanOC Reviews and News

The big news yesterday was AMD’s new HD 7950 video card. With a price point in line with the GTX 580 and performance that out performs the GTX 580 in almost every way it’s no doubt an exciting video card. Here are all of today’s reviews from around the net. There is a long list of HD 7950 reviews, but if that’s not your flavor there are more than enough other reviews to keep you busy reading all day.

Video Cards

XFX Radeon HD 7950 Black Edition Overclocked 3GB Graphics Card Video Review @ eTeknix.com

XFX DD R7950 Review @ Vortez

PowerColor PCS+ HD7950 Review @ Vortez

XFX Radeon R7950 Black Edition Video Card @ Benchmark Reviews

HD 7950 @ Techreport

AMD HD7950 'Tahiti Pro' Review @ Vortez

XFX & Sapphire HD 7950 3GB Review @ OCC

Sapphire 7950 Overclocked Edition Video Card Review @ Techwarelabs

XFX Radeon HD 7950 Black Edition Double Dissipation 3GB Review @ TweakTown

Sapphire HD 7950 OC Graphics Card @ Modders-Inc

AMD Radeon HD 7950 & XFX R7950 Black Edition Video Card Review @ Legit Reviews

PowerColor, Sapphire, XFX HD 7950 Review @ Neoseeker

Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB DDR5 Overclocked Version DX11.1 Video Card Review @ Hi Tech Legion

AMD Radeon HD 7950 Launch Review @ Neoseeker

AMD Radeon HD 7950 Video Card Review @ Hardware Secrets

AMD Radeon HD 7950 Tahiti Pro DirectX 11 GPU Review @ HotHardware.com

PowerColor HD 7950 PCS+ 3 GB @ techPowerUp

AMD Radeon HD 7950 CrossFire @ techPowerUp

AMD Radeon HD 7950 3 GB @ techPowerUp

XFX Radeon HD 7950 Black Edition Overclocked 3GB Graphics Card Review @ eTeknix.com

HIS Radeon HD 7950 3GB @ TweakTown

XFX HD 7970 Black Edition Double Dissipation 3 GB Review @ OCC

Galaxy GT 520 MDT Review @ OCC

Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6670 @ TechwareLabs

CPU’s

AMD A8-3870K Unlocked Llano 3.0 GHz Quad Core APU Review @ Hi Tech Legion

Motherboards

Sapphire PURE Black X79N @TweakTown

GIGABYTE 990FXA-UD5 AM3+ ATX Motherboard @ Futurelooks

Gigabyte Z68XP-UD4 Intel Z68 Motherboard Review @ ThinkComputers.org

ASUS P9X79 WS Workstation Motherboard @ Benchmark Reviews

Cases

Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (RC-431P) Mid Tower Case Review at Overclockers Online

MSI Nighthawk Case Review @ Hardware Secrets

NZXT Switch 810 Case Review @ HotHardware.com

GELID Solutions Darkforce PC Case Review @ Legit Reviews

Lian Li PC-90 HPTX Chassis Review @MissingRemote

Corsair Carbide 500R Arctic White Edition Review @ Madshrimps

NZXT Phantom Enthusiast Full Tower Case Review @ Real World Labs

Akasa Venom Toxic Full Tower Chassis Review @ eTeknix.com

NZXT Phantom 410 Chassis Review

MSI Nighthawk Case Review @ TechwareLabs

Cooling

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler Review @ Tweaknews

Prolimatech Lynx CPU Cooler Review @ Hardware Secrets

NZXT Havik 120 Review @ OCC

Danger Den DD-M6 Waterblock Review @ Ninjalane

Cooler Master GeminII M4 Review @ XSReviews

Deepcool Gamer Storm Dracula VGA Cooler Review @ Legit Reviews

Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler Review @ Hi Tech Legion

ARCTIC Freezer i30 CPU Cooler Review

Noctua NF-F12 PWM Fan Review @ Vortez

Alpenföhn Civetta CPU Cooler Review @ eTeknix.com

PSU’s

Antec EarthWatts Platinum 650 W @ techPowerUp

NZXT HALE82 750-watt @ TweakTown

Thermaltake Smart 630 W Power Supply Review @ Hardware Secrets

Enermax Platimax 1200 W @ techPowerUp

Storage

Samsung SSD SM825 400GB Enterprise SSD @ SSDReview

OCZ Nocti 128GB SATA 2 mSATA SSD @SSDReview

ADATA S396 30GB Value Solid State Drive @TweakTown

Kingston SSDNow V+200 120GB Upgrade Kit Review @ Real World Labs

Verbatim Store'n'Go 1 TB USB3.0 Portable Hard Drive reviewed in Metku.net

Network

Synology DS212 2-Bay NAS @ TweakTown

ASUS RT-N56U Dual-Band Wireless-N600 Gigabit Router Review @ Bigbruin.com

Edimax WD-1000TR Wireless WHDI Caster Review @ eTeknix.com

UEBO M400 Wireless Media Player - BCCHardware

Input Devices

QPad MK-80 Mechanical Keyboard Review @ eTeknix.com

Roccat Isku Keyboard @ Rbmods

QPAD MK-85 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard @ techPowerUp

SteelSeries World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse Review - Legendary Edition @ Legit Reviews

CM Storm Xornet Gaming Mouse @ Rbmods

Memory

GeIL Enhance Corsa PC3-12800 1600MHz 16GB Quad Channel Memory Kit Review @ Madshrimps

Gaming

Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) PC Review

Other

Powerbag Backpack Review @ TechwareLabs

CyberLink PowerDVD 12 Review @MissingREmote

Thermaltake Dr. Power II ATX Power Supply Tester Review @ Tweaknews

Alienware's X51 SFF Gaming System Lands at HH, Autopsy and Benchmarks Ensue

ASUS VG278H LCD Monitor 3D Vision-2 Kit @ Benchmark Reviews

Deepcool Gamer Storm Dracula VGA Cooler Review @ Hardware Secrets

Dell XPS 15z Notebook PC Review

The Internet Stratification: Tales of an Unequal Web @ Techgage

NuForce uDAC-2 Digital-to-Analog Converter Review @ TechwareLabs

Playstation 4 Delayed again

PC gaming in 3D stereo: 3D Vision 2 vs. HD3D

Westone 4R In-ears @ techPowerUp

Welcome to Wednesday everyone, we have some big news for ya this week. The Steam app is now out of beta, the Midweek Madness game is a good one, Serious Sam 2 is now out, The Darkness II demo is out, I have had my cherry popped with DOTA 2 and a couple of news items at the end. It’s February, it’s cold, let get the heat going. Gaming News starts...NOW!

Read more: LanOC Gaming News 2/1/2012

I have been waiting for this anouncment for a LONG time. Today Steam introduced their mobile app for iOS and Android. With the app you can chat with your steam friends and buy steam games. That means no missing out on sales because your away from your PC. We should be taking a closer look at the app here soon to see what else its capable of doing, stay tuned!

It should also be noted this is still in beta. The only way to sign up is to download and try to sign in. Some people will get to try it right away, others will have to wait a little longer

http://store.steampowered.com/mobile

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/01/25/blizzcon-2012-cancelled-will-return-in-2013/

Blizzard have announced that their massive annual convention won’t be happening this year. Instead, they’ll be devoting more time to finishing their many projects. “In light of our jam-packed schedule, we’ve decided to hold the next BlizzCon in 2013,” Blizzard say in a statement on Battle.net, mentioning that they’re currently “heavily focused on getting Diablo III, Mists of Pandaria, and Heart of the Swarm into players’ hands as soon as possible.”

Chicago, IL (December 27, 2011) – Toddy Gear, creator of the stylish, unparalleled Toddy Smart Cloth, announces today that this innovative cloth, that has been all-the-rage, will be displayed at CES 2012 in over fifty colorful and eye-catching designs.  The Toddy Smart Cloth has created quite the buzz over the past year because its an undeniable necessity for those looking to keep their electronics dirt and smudge free. This must-have can be used for your touchscreen devices, sunglasses, household items, automobiles, and more. It is a handcrafted, microfiber cloth that features an AEGIS Microbe Shield® technology to protect the cloth, and your favorite products, against microorganisms that contribute to mold and mildew.

The Toddy Smart Cloth has also generated an immense amount of interest from the corporate industry who seek simple and effective items to use as promotional collateral and/or company gifts. With Toddy Gear's convenient option to customize the smart cloth with your own logo or tagline, companies worldwide are creating their own unique Toddy Cloths. This year the Toddy Cloth also became available at Target retail stores around the country. Consumers can now purchase their smart cloths conveniently at a location nearest them. Sales of the Toddy Cloth in 2011 have been exceedingly high, further proving the phenomenon of this pocket-sized cleaning solution.

"Over the past year the Toddy Cloth has been growing as a household name worldwide with its impeccable ability to provide a fashionable, simple and effective means of keeping virtually all of your devices dirt and smudge free," said Todd Gabel, President and Founder, Toddy Gear. "We are now thrilled to release a number of additional prints and designs for our loyal customers who demand a variety of fashionable options to personally match them, which can all be spotted at CES 2012."

The Toddy Cloth is available for $9.99 (5x7) or $19.99 for a three pack, at www.toddygear.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and Target retail stores. For more information on the Toddy Cloth and its newest collections being unveiled at CES

Fremont, Calif – January 24, 2012 – Antec Inc., the global leader in high-performance computer components, announces the Three Hundred Two enclosure, the latest addition to their Gaming Series. This sleek, black chassis is designed to handle today's and tomorrow's high-performance systems that are custom built for gamers from the inside-out.

The Three Hundred Two enclosure is perfect for gamers, system integrators and casual builders alike because of its extensive cooling advantages and expandability.

High Performance Cooling Advantages- The Three Hundred Two is built for maximum cooling thanks to its perforated front bezel, included dual TwoCool™ fans, and four optional fans, including a 120 mm CPU exhaust fan behind the motherboard, to ensure gamers can play beyond the long hours of the night

Extensive Compatibility and Expandability- The Three Hundred Two utilizes eight expansion slots for up to three 12.5" (318 mm) graphics cards for compatibility with the largest GPUs.

Intelligent Design –This enclosure has removable, washable PSU and front intake air filters, along with a cable management system that features four strategically placed holes and 3 cm of space behind the motherboard tray. It's even easier for builders to start using their new PC right away thanks to the Three Hundred Two's three 5.25" and five 3.5" tool-less drive bays.

"The Three Hundred Two is an excellent enclosure for those who want to build a reliable, long-lasting PC," said Mafalda Cogliani, Global Marketing Director for Antec. "The enclosure has great cooling and expandability options, making it the perfect choice for anyone looking to build a new and affordable gaming PC with high functionality and design."

Availability

The Three Hundred Two is available in the United States on Newegg.com, Frys and other retailers and in Canada on NCIX and Canada Computers with a MSRP of $79.95.

Detailed Specifications:

• 11 drive bays:

o 3 x 5.25" tool-less drive bays

o 2 x 2.5" drive bays (dedicated)

o 6 x 3.5" tool-less drive bays

• Motherboards: Standard ATX, microATX, Mini-ITX

• 8 expansion slots

• Maximum graphics card size: 12.5" (318 mm)

• Maximum CPU cooler height: 6.7" (170 mm)

• Cooling System:

o 1 x 120 mm rear TwoCool™ fan

o 1 x 140 mm top TwoCool™ fan

o 2 x 120 mm front intake fans (optional)

o 1 x 120 mm side intake fan (optional)

o 1 x 120 mm side exhaust fan behind motherboard (optional)

• Perforated front bezel for maximum air intake

• Water cooling support: top water cooling grommets

• Enlarged CPU cutout

• Front I/O ports:

o 2 x USB 3.0 with internal motherboard connector

o Audio In/Out

• No power supply included

• Unit Dimensions

o 513 mm (H) x 229 mm (W) x 471 mm (D)

o 20.2" (H) x 9" (W) x 18.5" (D)

• Package Dimensions

o 565 mm (H) x 290 mm (W) x 525 mm (D)

o 22.2" (H) x 11.4" (W) x 20.7" (D)

• Net Weight: 15.3 lb (6.9 kg)

About Antec, Inc.

For 26 years, Antec, Inc has been the global leader in high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and Do-It-Yourself markets. Antec remains an industry pioneer and market leader for quiet, efficient and innovative products such as the P280 and SOLO II enclosures, and it has been independently recognized as the most reliable power supply manufacturer.

Antec continues to push the industry to its limits with many state-of-the art products like the Mini-ITX-made enclosures, the ISK Series, and the functional, efficiently cooled Eleven Hundred gaming enclosure. Antec also paves the path for in the PSU market with the environmentally-safe EarthWatts Series, the office-friendly VP Series for efficient, quiet power, and the gamer-specialized HCG and HCP Series for hours of reliable, continuous power. soundscience, a subsidiary of Antec, Inc, was created to manufacture products audio and video-enabled lifestyle products for the PC and home entertaining markets, such as the rockus speaker system.

Founded in 1986, Antec is headquartered in Fremont, California, with international marketing headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Antec has additional offices in The Netherlands, China and Taiwan. Please visit Antec online for more information.

Follow the official Antec Facebook page www.facebook.com/AntecInc for event updates or visit the Antec blog at http://www.blog.antec.com/.

Another cold day here at the LanOC office, I hope everyone is keeping warm. Today we have a whole bunch of review links from the last few day’s affiliate news and review postings. I hope everyone enjoys.

CPU’s

AMD Llano A8-3870K APU Review @ TechwareLabs

AMD A8-3870K Unlocked Llano Quad-Core APU Review @ HotHardware.com

Motherboards

ECS X79R-AX Black Series Motherboard Review @ Legit Reviews

Gigabyte X79 UD3 Motherboard Review @ Ninjalane

Video Cards

Sapphire HD 7970 3GB Video Cards in CrossFire Overclocked @ TweakTown

Galaxy GeForce GT 440 2GB Review @ Neoseeker

First Look: ASUS Radeon HD 7970 DirectCU II Top Video Card @ Legit Reviews

HIS 6670 1GB Fan Review @ XSReviews

Cases

Antec Three Hundred Two Mid-Tower Case Review @ Hi Tech Legion

BitFenix Raider Case Review @ Neoseeker

Arctic Accelero XTREME Plus II VGA cooler Review @ XtremeComputing

SilverStone SST-GD06B HTPC Enclosure @ Benchmark Reviews

Fractal Design Define XL USB 3.0 Upgrade Kit @ Hi Tech Legion

Enermax Fulmo GT Big Tower Chassis

Cooling

Zero Infinity Free Flow+ CPU Cooler Review @ Vortez

Prolimatech Panther CPU Cooler Review @ Hardware Secrets

Noctua NH-C14 CPU Cooler @ Modders-Inc

Noctua NF-F12 Fan Review @ Midwest Tech Reviews

Maingear Phase Changing Thermal Material - Epic T1000 @ Legit Reviews

PSU’s

NZXT HALE82 850-watt @ TweakTown

Antec High Current Gamer 620W Power Supply Review @ OCC

Super Flower Golden King 1000 W @ techPowerUp

Thortech Thunderbolt Plus 800W Power Supply Unit Review @ eTeknix.com

XFX ProSeries 1250 W @ techPowerUp

First Look: Corsair Individual Sleeved Modular PSU Cables @ Legit Reviews

Lepa G500 Power Supply Review @ Hi Tech Legion

Input Devices

CM Storm QuickFire Rapid Gaming Keyboard Review @ Techgage

Audio

SteelSeries Sibera v2 – Natus Vincere edition @ XSReviews

Memory

Kingston HyperX Genesis 8GB DDR3 1600 Memory Kit Review @ Legit Reviews

Storage

Samsung 830 Series 128GB @ TweakTown

Silicon Power Velox V30 SATA 3 240GB SSD Review @ The SSD Review

Other

Thermaltake Tt eSport Battle Dragon LAN Bag Review @ eTeknix.com

Antec SoundScience HALO 6 LED Bias Lighting Kit Review @ Tweaknews

BenQ XL2420T Monitor Review @ Tech-Reviews UK

Lenovo ThinkVision LT1421 Portable USB Monitor Review @ Legit Reviews

Asus DRW-24B3LT SATA DVD-RW Drive Review @ Tweaknews

HP Touchsmart 520 All-in-One PC Review @ HotHardware.com

TekNmotion Yapster Universal Headset Review @ OCC

GE Chic 13 inch On-Lap Monitor Review @ TechwareLabs

AMD & HardOCP FX GamExperience 2012 Coverage @ Legit Reviews

Q.U.B.E. Review - It's No Portal @ Techgage

Welcome to 2012 LanOC. I have been off for the last couple of weeks but it’s been a good break. With CES always landing in January, it’s a busy month. 2012 is going to bring new items and looks to Gaming News. I am going to try and hit on stuff that I feel is important, useful or just plain funny/stupid. I will also be doing more videos cause lets face it, videos are much better to watch then pictures. We have our Midweek Madness Sale’s back, Ubisoft is still being stupid with their PC games, EA has jumped on the stupid bandwagon with SW:TOR, Super Monday Night Combat is now in Beta form, and a couple of other things at the end. Ready to start your 2012 off right? Lets go.

Read more: LanOC Gaming News 1/25/2012

Shuttle Launches 3-Liter Slim PC for 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i3, i5 and i7 Processors

City of Industry, California – JANUARY 16, 2012 – Shuttle Computer, an industry-leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance small form factor (SFF) PC solutions and creator of the XPC, today announced the launch of the Shuttle XH61, a new 3-liter slim PC for Intel's Sandy Bridge processors.

Shuttle XH61 features class-leading power in a compact size, delivering the performance of bigger desktops in a package that is less than 3-inches tall. The new slim PC desktop platform is based on the Intel® H61 Express Chipset, supporting 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i3, i5 and i7 processors for socket LGA 1155 with a TDP of 65W max., and two slots of memory for up to 16GB of DDR3.

Media HTPC

A media HTPC in a small footprint, the Shuttle XH61 features 7.1 sound, both an HDMI and D-Sub port, and smooth HD playback with improved graphics integrated in the 2nd generation Intel® Core™ processors. Though compact in size, XH61 still has space for a slim optical drive for Blu-ray or DVD playback.

Digital Signage

Powerful and flexible, the Shuttle XH61 is well-suited as a digital signage media player. The Shuttle XH61 is capable of delivering more demanding digital signage content, with the latest Intel® processors and up to an impressive 16GB of memory inside. Compact in size (2.9"H x 7.9"W x 9.5"D), XH61 can be fitted almost anywhere, including behind a screen with the optional PV02 VESA monitor mount.

Shuttle Unveils New Small Form Factor PCs and Business Solutions at CES 2012

Las Vegas, Nevada – JANUARY 10, 2012 – Shuttle Computer, an industry-leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance small form factor (SFF) PC solutions and creator of the XPC, today unveiled at CES 2012 its new and upcoming line of small form factor models for gaming and media, plus cost-efficient business solution designs for digital signage, point-of-sale (POS), kiosk and cloud computing, among other applications.

Gaming and Media

Shuttle's new full-fledged XPC product line for gamers and enthusiasts takes high-performance to another level with six-core extreme performance in a pint-sized form factor. From value gaming to mainstream and high-end gaming, Shuttle XPC SA76R4, SZ68R5 and SX79R5 delivers performance and stability in the smallest footprint. For media, the 3-liter Shuttle XH61 is ideal as a media HTPC in an ultra small footprint.

Digital Signage

Shuttle's slim and all-in-one series provides a powerful, flexible digital signage solution, well-suited as a media player or content creator. Current and upcoming Shuttle slim series PC models, XS35GT V2 and its new powerful and ultra-slim addition, XS35GTA V2 and XS36, will be presented as a media player at the show. The current Shuttle X50 V2 Plus will be showcased as an interactive content creator.

POS and Kiosk

Energy-saving Shuttle solutions based on the latest Intel® Atom™ processor and a fanless design ensures a quiet and reliable POS and kiosk hardware solution for small and medium businesses. The new version of Shuttle's 15.6-inch all-in-one PC, X50 V3, and the new 18.5-inch all-in-one PC, X70, will be shown as a basic and performance POS solution, as well as a basic kiosk solution.

Private Cloud

Cloud computing is the new stage in the industry's evolution. With strong R&D experience and proven manufacturing excellence, Shuttle now delivers solutions for private cloud computing solutions for the home and business sectors. Shuttle's new line of cloud computing solutions will be unveiled for the first time at the show.