VR-Zone

Akasa is a versatile company, offering a multitude of computer related products. They have also been a player in the PSU market for several years; however, their high-performance products had not been updated in quite some time, until the recent release of the Venom Power units. The new Venom Power units offer modular cable management and the company promises high performance and aesthetics to enthusiasts. Today we will see if Akasa can hold their promise as we have the 750W version of the Venom Power series in our labs for review. 

Read more ››

So, Intel's mainstream desktop CPUs don't have QPI links anymore? Well, the high end ones certainly do, and will have more... Intel is evolving the QPI further, speeding it up and adding more fun chips to it, using the co-processor model akin to the old 80x87 FPU days

Read more ››

Today we take a look at one of ASRock's entry level X79 boards, the X79 Extreme4. Not only is this board reasonably priced, but also carries many of the features of more expensive boards. Follow us as we take a look at the Extreme4 and its many extremities. 

Read more ››

With the introduction of Intel's Socket 2011 processors for enthusiasts and professionals not too long ago, it spawned a market for good XMP 1.3 DDR3 compliant kits to maximize the quad channel bandwidth and take advantage extra memory dividers north of 2400+MHz that the new platform brings. We have previously published a review of the G.Skill ARES 2133MHz 8GB kit and today we have the 16GB quad channel version for your consideration.

Read more ››

China is enjoying increasing success with its own CPU developments, even though for now it is confined to the internal markets mostly. However, they are already undertaking the next step, and preparing to move into the GPU arena.

Read more ››

It was only four years ago when Prolimatech was founded and the company initially offered only a single CPU cooler, the Megahalems. That single cooler however was good enough to make Prolimatech famous among enthusiast cycles and allow the company to establish a good foothold in the industry. Today we will examine and review something new and different from Prolimatech, the Lynx. The Lynx is not a massive cooler designed to win over hardcore enthusiasts but an entry-level cooler, primarily designed to compete against other basic products and replace the stock CPU coolers. The specifications of the Lynx however are very interesting considering this is meant to be compact, simple and cheap CPU cooler; we will soon see just how many surprises this product holds. 

Read more ››

Over the years, Intel held to a steady strategy of launching new CPU architectures or processes first in the high end products, yet introducing new memory technologies at the mainstream. Now, the roles seem to have been reversed...

Read more ››

Just like the Cloud Router and Cloud Storage, the Cloud Camera is another branch of D-Link's mydlink cloud services. Mydlink Cloud Services are designed to allow users to effortlessly access, share, view and control the devices on the home network from anywhere, anytime. And with the new Cloud Cameras, users can view a live video feed of their home or office at anytime and enjoy a peace of mind that comes from knowing that everything is safe and secure.

Read more ››

The Xperia S is the first smartphone in the Xperia NXT series - next generation smartphones from Sony - which was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year. The Android phone claims to deliver stunning viewing experiences with its high resolution display, and has a 12-megapixel rear camera that can go into camera mode from phone standby mode almost instantly to shoot your images. VR-Zone checks out the new Xperia S to see how good it is.

Read more ››

D-Link offered their mydlink cloud services last year and it allow users to effortlessly access, share, view and control the mydilink-capable devices on their home network from anywhere, at anytime. The company has also made the products as simple to set up as they are for use. Simply attach them to your network and associate them to a mydlink account; it's that simple. 

Read more ››

With just over a week until the official launch of the Z77, H77 and B75 chipsets, Intel has posted details of its upcoming motherboards on its website. Generally Intel motherboards aren't all that much to get excited about, but the new Skulltrail board, known and the DZ77GA-70K looks better than what we've been used to see from Intel.

Read more ››

Got used to the simple packaging migration from LGA1156 to LGA1155? Intel's next generation - Haswell - is widely expected to up the ante in the PC CPU packaging excellence, and offer a spread of choices

Read more ››

ASRock, originally spun off from ASUSTeK almost a decade ago, has risen from its humble beginnings to become the 3rd largest motherboard vendor behind ASUS and GIGABYTE in terms of volume shipments. Their growth has been attributed to an aggressive pricing strategy coupled with feature-filled offerings to give them the competitive edge. With the recent acquisition of legendary overclocker Nick Shih to augment their R&D team, we can expect them to scale greater heights. Today we preview an impressive and well rounded board - their upcoming Fatal1ty Z77 Professional!

Read more ››

If you're a regular VR-Zone reader you might remember our massive USB 3.0 host controller test that we did back in August last year. As the first of Intel's new 7-series motherboards are starting to appear, we thought we'd do a quick test of Intel's native USB 3.0 host controller and compare how it stacks up to some of the best discrete controllers.

Read more ››

Today there is an abundance of high performance CPU coolers, with each company supplying several solutions to the market. The vast majority of such CPU coolers however are tower coolers of significant size, making their implementation inside desktop HTPC cases and other tight configuration problematic. In this review we will examine and test a special kind of cooler; the NH-L12 by Noctua, a low profile quiet cooler developed to offer superior acoustics performance in tight spaces. 

Read more ››