Techreport

It's no secret that desktop computers can be power-hungry machines. With its new Toughpower DPS G RGB power supply, Thermaltake hopes to provide environmentally-conscious users the information they need to monitor and reduce their carbon footprint. ...Read more...

Along with cases and cooling apparatus, Cooler Master also has some new gaming peripherals on display at CES. Meet the MasterKeys keyboards and Devastator II combo sets. ...Read more...

Cooler Master is rolling out the latest pieces of it's master plan with the introduction of its MasterCase Maker 5 and MasterBox 5 cases along with the MasterWatt Maker 1200 PSU. ...Read more...

CoolerMaster's cooling solutions have always been well regarded around TR. The company's Hyper212 EVO cooler, for instance, has been a staple of almost every System Guide. CoolerMaster is now showing off its new Master series cooling wares at CES. ...Read more...

We're heartened to see the diverse range of PCIe SSDs on offer at CES this year, and OCZ has one of its own in the works. The M.2 RevoDrive 400 ticks all of the boxes we want to see in high-end PCIe flash storage. We get NVMe support, four lanes of PCIe 3.0 connectivity, and an optional adapter card for systems without an M.2 slot handy. ...Read more...

When preorders for the Oculus Rift launched yesterday a new piece of the puzzle got an introduction, as well. The Oculus Remote, true to its name, is a small remote-control-like device that Oculus says is "the easiest way to introduce non-gamers to VR." This remote is bundled with every Rift. ...Read more...

Generally speaking, I'm content with a mouse that simply does what I tell it to. If it tracks accurately and the switches in the buttons trigger reliably, that's all I really need. Of course, mice come in many shapes and sizes with all manner of button layouts. Form factor preferences aside, the basic goal remains the same: translate user input to the PC. SteelSeries believes that its Rival 700 mouse can do more than just the basics, though. ...Read more...

At CES, we had a chat with Corsair about the company's current products and upcoming releases for this year. Foremost among those upcoming releases is the company's Bulldog Mini-ITX PC barebones. The company says it originally wanted to launch the Bulldog last month, but it made the decision to hold off and refine the product further before unleashing it on the world. ...Read more...

This morning, Dell unveiled its UltraSharp 30 UP3017Q, a 30" monitor with an OLED panel. Geared toward image and media professionals, this 10-bit monitor can display 1.07 billion colors. It covers 100% of the AdobeRGB color space and even 97.8% of the DCI-P3 color space used for digital cinema projectors. ...Read more...

Griffin Technologies is updating a number of their peripherals, accessories, and cables for USB 3.1 Type-C. The company is also rolling out its "Guaranteed For Life" program, promising to repair or replace any product it makes that becomes unusable. That coverage will begin with its USB Type-C products. ...Read more...

Intel's Compute Sticks were already pretty impressive little machines in their own right, but the company's now kicking things up a notch. A new line of Compute Sticks get Skylake Core M CPUs, adding some respectable oomph to their performance. An updated Cherry Trail Atom Compute Stick is now available at the base of the lineup, too.The Core M Sticks come with 4GB of dual-channel DDR3 and 64GB of eMMC storage. That storage can be further expanded by way of ...Read more...

Asus has revealed three peripherals in its Republic of Gamers line at CES. The first is the ROG Claymore gaming keyboard. It features Cherry MX RGB mechanical switches, n-key rollover, and macro programming. The keyboard is backlit, and can be synced to ROG motherboards to give users hotkey control over fan speeds, boot up, overclocking, and BIOS access. The most notable feature, however, is the detachable "macro-infused" numpad. ...Read more...

Sometimes, we look at a case and wonder what the designers were thinking. That's definitely not the case with Thermaltake's Core W100. The company's designers were clearly wondering "can we fit a kitchen sink and bathtub in this, or perhaps even a whole house?" Check out the company's presentation video:...Read more...

Google has hoped that Chromebooks would be popular in education, and that certainly has been the case. Asus is continuing this trend of classroom Chromebooks with the C202, a laptop designed for tough use and easy repair. ...Read more...

Kingston announced several new products today, two of them designed for enterprise applications. First up is the KC400 solid-state drive, the latest addition to the SSDNow family. Like all SSDs, the KC400 is much faster than mechanical storage, but Kingston emphasizes reliability more than raw speed for this drive. It features what the company calls end-to-end path protection, and SmartRefresh technology purports to limit read errors. Kingston also claims that the drive is able to recover from unexpected loss of power.The KC400 is run by a Phison PS3110-S10 8-channel controller, and is available in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB capacities. Kingston backs ...Read more...

SanDisk is presenting a variety of storage products at CES this week. The first is a new SSD in the company's portable series aimed at photographers and videographers, called the Extreme 510 Portable SSD. ...Read more...

At CES, Razer has unveiled an ultrabook-class laptop that can connect to an external graphics card via Thunderbolt 3, using a nifty external graphics enclosure called Core. ...Read more...

Silicon Motion's flash controllers have been a popular choice for manufacturers of solid-state drives, like Crucial's budget BX100. Today, Silicon Motion announced a new SATA SSD controller—the SM2246EN—that will support 3D NAND flash chips from multiple vendors.Potentially, this controller could enable cheaper and larger SSDs in the coming year. The updated controller could also accelerate the transition to larger drives. Silicon Motion indicates that the controller can support drives with capacities up to two terabytes. Already, ...Read more...

The day is finally here when one can pre-order Oculus' production Rift hardware, and it'll run buyers $599.99. If that price tag doesn't deter you, the pre-order page is live now. ...Read more...

The CES monitor party is still under way, and AOC just showed up. The Taiwanese manufacturer is showing off a couple of its fancy displays, both in large sizes.

The CES monitor party is still under way, and AOC just showed up. The Taiwanese manufacturer is showing off a couple of its fancy displays, both in large sizes.

Closed-loop liquid cooling systems might be convenient, but some enthusiasts prefer the customizability and performance of custom kits. Thermaltake's new Pacific R360 D5 water cooling kit provides everything builders need to cool their CPUs in one box. ...Read more...

Imagination Technologies is announcing two new high-end mobile graphics processing units today in its PowerVR Series7XT portfolio. These designs—the GT7200 Plus and the GT7400 Plus—add integer pipelines and OpenCL 2.0 support to the GT7200 and GT7400 graphics processors. Those features purportedly make the Plus GPUs especially well-suited to tasks like computer vision, computational photography, and deep learning applications on mobile devices. ...Read more...

MSI has pulled back the curtain on the products it's been working on for CES 2016, and it's safe to say the company's firing with both barrels. The firm is announcing no less than four new or upgraded laptops and two gaming-oriented desktop PCs today. Let's get started.

If you aren't excited for Rise of the Tomb Raider, you should be. The 2013 reboot to the Tomb Raider franchise is one of my personal favorite titles, and we've been following news of its sequel for some time. ...Read more...

Asus is pleased to display its ROG GT51 desktop computer in Vegas this week. The award-winning gaming machine arrives in a menacing red-accented black case sure to inspire Ridley Scott's next movie. ...Read more...

In a video posted to its YouTube channel yesterday, Enermax showed off its Ostrog Advance case. You might want to turn down your speakers a bit before watching the video below, as there's a bit of a bang to go with the flash....Read more...

There's a new Windows 10 device on the market that's meant to provide all the functionality of a laptop in a tablet form factor, but no, it's not a new Surface. Microsoft and Samsung have collaborated to create the Galaxy TabPro S, a 12" tablet that runs either Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Professional. ...Read more...

Some backers of the original Oculus Rift development kit are getting a nice surprise. The company has announced that backers who pledged for an original developer's kit for the Rift hardware will receive a free special Kickstarter edition of the final Rift. ...Read more...

At CES 2016, Asus has unveiled a few new models in the Vivo range, all with a slightly different take on the mini-PC idea.

Looks like today is monitor day at CES. It's now Asus' turn to announce its refreshed lineup of displays.

Hot on Acer's heels, ViewSonic is showing off its display wares at CES 2016. The company is pulling back the curtain on its all-new XG series of gaming-oriented monitors, plus some upgrades to its VX lineup.Let's start with the most unique of the lot. The XG2073-GS is a 27" 2560x1440 monitor with what ViewSonic calls a "SuperClear IPS-type" panel. What's the refresh rate, you ask? 165 Hz. No, that's ...Read more...

CES - We met with Zotac this morning to see what the company has in store for 2016. We got a look at the company's full line of graphics cards, Zbox mini-PCs, and storage options, along with a couple products that are still in development. ...Read more...

HTC may have delayed the release of its upcoming Vive virtual reality headset until April, but it's been busy in the meantime. Its second VR development kit, called the Vive Pre, was unveiled this morning. The company says this new kit will be going out to developers shortly. ...Read more...

We just asked for programmable RGB LED lighting on Logitech's G502 Proteus Core mouse in our most recent build log, and the company has answered our call with its G502 Proteus Spectrum. That lighting can be synchronized with other Logitech G devices using the company's Gaming Software utility. ...Read more...

Lenovo is keeping us busy this week. Shortly after announcing its new ThinkPad lineup, Lenovo revealed the Ideacentre 610S and IdeaCentre Y900 desktops and the Yoga 900S and Ideapad Y900 laptops. ...Read more...

It looks like HP's Envy 34 isn't the only 34" all-in-one in town anymore. Maingear has announced its Alpha 34 gaming all-in-one, which packs some pretty serious hardware. ...Read more...

Consumer-grade PCIe SSDs have mostly been a two-player game for a while, with Intel and Samsung drives being the primary choices for most enthusiasts. Now, US-based Patriot Memory is joining the party with its Hellfire PCIe SSDs, available in both M.2 and add-in card flavors.The Hellfire M.2 SSD operates on a PCIe 3.0 x4 link, and it's NVMe 1.2 compliant. Phison 5007 controllers push the bits to and from MLC NAND in this ...Read more...

At its CES keynote this evening, Nvidia discussed the strategy it's using to realize the dream of the self-driving car. The company believes autonomous vehicles will increase road safety, create new mobility services, save time, and reshape urban centers for the better. ...Read more...

Windows 10 continues to grow in popularity. Today, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 is active on over 200 million computers, tablets, and phones. According to Microsoft, the operating system is being adopted more rapidly than any previous version. It took 12 months for Windows 7 to hit the 200 million mark, and 15 months for Windows 8 to do the same.One reason for the sales growth is the holiday shopping season. Microsoft noted that 40% of all Windows 10 activations have occurred after Black Friday. ...Read more...

To kick off CES, we got up close and personal with some of Be Quiet's products. We've covered the company's Silent Base 800 and Silent Base 600 mid-towers in the past, but it was nice to see these classy-looking cases in the flesh.

Asus is releasing a new ZenFone smartphone, and it’s all about the camera. With a leather rear panel and a circular metal ring around the optics, the Zenfone Zoom resembles a classic camera. Asus teamed up with Japanese optics manufacturer Hoya to create the 10-element lens design used in the Zoom. Asus says it uses a "periscopic" arrangement to cram that unusually large number of elements into the ZenFone Zoom's body.The camera also features a 3x optical zoom, a ...Read more...

Acer's monitor portfolio is growing quickly, and the firm doesn't seem to be easing up on the throttle. The company just announced new monitors in its R1, H7, and XR lineups.The R1 series looks to be an affordable option for those looking for a basic IPS screen. These monitors are available in sizes from 21.5" to 27" and pack what Acer calls flickerless IPS panels. According ...Read more...

Corsair has announced three new mid-tower Carbide Series cases. The Spec-Alpha is built for looks with an angular design and a windowed side panel. Corsair opted to leave out a 5.25” drive cage in this case to improve airflow, and it includes three 120-mm fans. If liquid cooling is important to you, the case can accommodate a front 240-mm radiator, too. The Spec-Alpha will be available in March 2016 in black or red, and it will have an MSRP of $79.99. ...Read more...

A new charging station for the Xbox One controller can reportedly deliver a full charge in less than 60 seconds. The Super Charger, made by Performance Designed Products, is on display at this year’s CES. The charger's accompanying battery pack appears to add a rectangular block to the underside of the controller. Depending on its weight and the size of your fingers, the additional bulk on the controller might be a concern. ...Read more...

Lenovo has just announced a new convertible: the ThinkPad X1 Yoga. The company isn't releasing a simple scheduled upgrade, though. Lenovo thinks OLED screens are ready for prime time, and this new ThinkPad gets one. ...Read more...

Oculus announced this morning that preorders of its Rift headset will begin this Wednesday, January 6, at 8 AM PT. The company didn't reveal any details about pricing or shipping dates, but aspiring VR junkies will want to be ready with their credit cards. ...Read more...

Samsung's T1 portable SSD put up to a terabyte of the company's 3D V-NAND flash in a pocketable, featherweight drive with a USB interface. The company tells us that consumer response to the T1 was quite positive, and it says it experienced strong demand for the drive. After a round of customer feedback and refinement of its concept, Samsung is releasing the next iteration of its portable SSD today, called the Portable SSD T3. ...Read more...

Oculus says its Rift VR headset is still on track for release in the first quarter of 2016, but the accompanying Touch controllers won't be available for a while yet. The company revealed that it's delaying the Touch hardware until the second half of next year in a blog post today. ...Read more...