Review Index Page 37

  • Acer Iconia W4 Tablet Review

    We've seen a flurry of 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablets hit the market over the past several months. Next up is the Acer Iconia W4, the follow-up to the company's first Windows 8.1 tablet, featuring an 8.0-inch 1,280 x 800 display and the same quad-core Intel Bay Trail Atom Z3740 that we've seen from the competition.
    By Shawn Knight on
    60
  • Sony Xperia Z1 Compact Review

    In the world smartphones there are typically two choices: large-screened handsets with top-end specs, and smaller devices with mid-range internals. Sony is bucking the trend with a no-compromise, ultra-portable handset for those that don't want to carry around something with a 5-inch display.
    By Tim Schiesser on
    85
  • Titanfall Review

    I have a lot of favorite moments in Titanfall. It's hard not to when you can string jumps together to navigate dilapidated buildings, side-run against suspended walls and hang against ledges and platforms all in one sequence. Titanfall starts you off as a pilot capable of these movements. You're outfitted with a jetpack of sorts that lets you jump and double-jump across each map.
    By Tina Amini on
  • Lenovo Miix 2 8 Review

    Lenovo has made a decent, low-cost 8-inch tablet that runs a full copy of Windows 8.1. The use of aluminum as part of the Miix 2 8's slim design is great to see, and its overall size feels quite comfortable in the hand. Unfortunately there's one major aspect Lenovo got wrong: the touch-screen display.
    By Tim Schiesser on
    60
  • Free-to-Play Games Benchmarked: 4 Popular Titles Put to the Test

    Typically we focus our gaming performance articles on blockbuster titles but that's not to say we're not paying attention to the evolving free-to-play market. Here's our brief benchmark test for World of Tanks, Dota 2, League of Legends and PlanetSide 2.
    By Steven Walton on
  • Thief Benchmarked: Graphics & CPU Performance

    Despite being built with the aging Unreal Engine 3, Thief touts some cutting edge rendering techniques that have put the game on our radar. Thief's benchmark appears to do a good job of demonstrating a worst-case performance scenario, so if your system can average 60fps in the benchmark you should enjoy perfectly smooth gameplay from start to finish.
    By Steven Walton on
  • Toshiba Encore Windows 8 Tablet Review

    When it comes to 8-inch Windows tablets, the release of Windows 8.1 has seen many companies try their hands at crafting the perfect tablet. Today we check out Toshiba's Encore tablet that packs a 1280x720 HFFS LCD display, Intel Bay Trail internals and expandable 32 or 64 GB internal storage.
    By Tim Schiesser on
    65
  • Thief Review

    Thief is the long-awaited fourth entry in the storied Thief series. Its predecessors are often credited with revolutionizing if not flat-out inventing a particular genre of immersive stealth game. Unfortunately the latest release boils down to a city full of closed doors and dead ends, boxed in and lined with nothing but rough edges.
    By Kirk Hamilton on
  • Nokia Lumia 525 Review

    Nokia has been especially successful with their entry-level range of Windows Phones, particularly the Lumia 520, which on the back of its dirt-cheap price, quickly propelled itself to be the best-selling Windows Phone. A successor was always on the cards, but what Nokia has provided - the Lumia 525 - is a little unusual.
    By Tim Schiesser on
    50
  • Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti vs. AMD Radeon R7 265

    Marking the introduction of its Maxwell architecture, Nvidia has targeted AMD's $150 Radeon R7 265 with the new GeForce GTX 750 Ti. The GTX 750 Ti's GM107 makes Nvidia's 28nm design as efficient as possible by splitting Kepler's 192-core SMs into four blocks with each block featuring its own control logic.
    By Steven Walton on
  • AMD A10-7850K Dual Graphics Performance

    AMD Kaveri APUs can be paired with two discrete GPUs: the Radeon R7 240 and R7 250. Both are sub-$100 cards that we wouldn't recommend for gaming, but when combined with the A10's on-die GPU we could see performance with bigger implications for value-oriented builders.
    By Steven Walton on
  • Xigmatek Nebula Case Review

    Enter the Nebula by Xigmatek, a striking solution that caught our attention with a neat cube design that offers a 2.2L capacity. It's safe to say the Nebula is unlike anything we've seen before, and that tends to come at a premium.
    By Steven Walton on
    70
  • Broken Age, Act 1 Review

    Nostalgia seeps out of every virtual pore of Double Fine's latest game. The game exists only because of the generosity of thousands of people who, by and large, wanted to recapture the charms of their video game playing youth. So, it's fitting that Broken Age looks like a gorgeously designed animated movie you can play through.
    By Evan Narcisse on
  • Motorola Moto G Review

    The Moto G is Motorola's biggest and best effort yet in conquering the entry-level market. It's not a handset meant to break records, but the 4.5-inch 720p display, Snapdragon 400 SoC will please the right crowds. Plus, at $179 unlocked and off-contract, it certainly fits the definition of what an affordable smartphone should be.
    By Tim Schiesser on
    85
  • Asrock Vision HT 420D Review

    Now on its fourth generation, the Vision HT 420D has received an upgrade to Intel's Haswell architecture as well as other improvements that contribute to the system's respectable list of features, making it one of the most impressive HTPCs to date.
    By Steven Walton on
    75
  • Asus Transformer Book T100 Review

    The Asus Transformer Book T100 is an entry level Windows 8.1 tablet, sporting a 10-inch touchscreen, Intel Bay Trail internals and a keyboard dock all for under $500.
    By Tim Schiesser on
    80
  • AMD A8-7600 Kaveri APU Review

    AMD really is focused on gaming performance with Kaveri and believes this is where its latest APUs have a serious advantage over the competition. The company's latest processors are being pushed as budget solutions for modern 1080p gaming, though on paper the Radeon R7 doesn't look quite up to the task...
    By Steven Walton on
    80
  • QNAP HS-210 Silent NAS Review

    QNAP's latest two-bay NAS looks more like a set-top box than network-attached storage and that's no accident. It's becoming more common to see NAS devices replacing entire HTPCs, which makes it more practical for a design that can blend in with the kind of electronic gear you typically find around a TV.
    By Steven Walton on
    70
  • Nokia Lumia 1520 Review

    Throughout the past year we've seen companies try and pry the large-screen crown away from Samsung's Galaxy Note line. Nokia is hoping that their Lumia 1520 will give the Note 3 a run for its money, especially with its impressive spec sheet.
    By Tim Schiesser on
    80
  • Dell UltraSharp UP3214Q 32" 4K Monitor Review

    Although still in its early days, consumer 4K UHD is here. No stranger to the business of high-end displays, long-time monitor manufacturer Dell has lunged into the UHD market with some solid offerings. Today we'll be taking a look at Dell's monstrous 32-inch flagship, the UltraSharp UP3214Q.
    By Rick Burgess on
    85
  • Gigabyte Radeon R9 290X OC and R9 290 OC Review

    AMD's Radeon R9 290 and 290X made a strong case against Nvidia's GeForces last year, but that position soon weakened with unexpectedly high prices. High temps on reference cards didn't help either. This time we'll revisit the cards with actual production units from Gigabyte so we can weigh in on third-party performance at actual market prices.
    By Steven Walton on
    80
  • Asrock Z87 Extreme11/ac Review: The Making of a Unique Motherboard

    Asrock's new Z87 Extreme11/ac may very well be the most extreme motherboard we've handled. It touts four-way GPU support, over 20(!) SATA ports, premium onboard audio, dual gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and -- unsurprisingly -- the largest price tag in its class. So, how exactly does a company justify $540 for a motherboard?
    By Steven Walton on
    85
  • Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Review

    Many companies have tried to make a large, note-friendly smartphone, but none have succeeded quite as well as Samsung. While the first Galaxy Note was rather large and lacking in refinement, Samsung has steadily improved the line, this year releasing the brand new Galaxy Note 3, and it has some true competition for the first time.
    By Tim Schiesser on
    80
  • Aftermarket CPU Cooling: Closed Loop Water Cooling vs. Air Cooling

    Recently we compared 10 of the best CPU air coolers and we've since wondered how these would fare against a water cooling setup. Closed loop systems simplify the process of diving into water cooling, are safe and easy to work with as air cooling.
    By Steven Walton on
  • Nest Learning Thermostat Review

    Like many of you, I never really gave much thought to something as basic as my thermostat. So long as it kicked on the heater or air conditioner when I needed it to, I was happy. I'll admit I was a bit intrigued when I read about the Nest Learning Thermostat back in 2011 but even then, the thought of purchasing one never really crossed my mind.
    By Shawn Knight on
    90
  • Western Digital Black2 Dual Drive Review

    The Black2 crams both solid state and disk drive technologies into one drive, and does so in the simplest of ways. Similar to what desktop users have been doing for years, the Black2 makes the flash portion a primary boot drive with the disk serving as bulk storage. The difference is that the Black2 only uses a single slot.
    By Steven Walton on
    85
  • Lenovo Erazer X700 Gaming Desktop PC Review

    Features which qualify the X700 as a full-fledged gaming PC are its unique exterior, performance-centered parts, ample tool-free expandability, liquid cooling and OneKey overclocking. Sound good so far?
    By Rick Burgess on
    80
  • Apple iPad mini 2 Review

    With the Retina display in the 2nd-gen iPad mini, Apple has increased the price on the base 16 GB Wi-Fi model from $329 to $399, making it one of the most expensive tablets of its size. However, past iPads have been of exceptional quality, so will this be the same for the iPad mini? Does the Retina display and faster processor make a worthy upgrade for first-gen owners?
    By Tim Schiesser on
    90
  • Google Nexus 5: The TechSpot Review

    It's that time of the year again, where Google releases a new Nexus handset for those wanting a cheap yet powerful device running stock Android. 2013's Nexus is the Nexus 5, aptly named as it's both the fifth Nexus device and it packs a five-inch display.
    By Tim Schiesser on
    85
  • Xbox One Review

    Microsoft's new device is not meant to merely join your living room entertainment center, it is meant to rule it. Thanks to its ability to both input and output HDMI audio and video, it can function as a mother brain linking your digital cable box, your AV receiver and your HDTV. Better yet, with its upgraded Kinect camera, you can control everything.
    By Kirk Hamilton on