| Feenix Autore Mechanical Keyboard Unboxing Video Posted: 01 May 2014 02:41 PM PDT  Minimalistic yet durable plank
If you think a keyboard needs to have macros and flashy lights to look good, think again. We recently got hands on with Feenix's Autore mechanical keyboard in our second product unboxing video and we were quite satisfied with its build quality and overall construction. It's so heavy that you could probably kill some zombies with it when the zombie apocolypse arrives. It looks pretty sweet, too! The Autore features gold plated Cherry MX Brown switches and a gold plated modular mini USB to USB connection along with PS/2 adapter. There are no macros, lights, media controllers or otherwise fancy keys. Every Autore owner is assigned with a support manager and given their phone, email and Skype information. The keyboard currently retails for $163 and can be found on its company website. |
| Newegg Daily Deals: Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit, Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD, and More! Posted: 01 May 2014 10:49 AM PDT |
| Windows XP Market Share Outnumbers Windows 8/8.1 and Vista Combined Posted: 01 May 2014 10:18 AM PDT  The Walking Dead: Windows Edition
Just like you're supposed to do when dealing with the undead, Microsoft aimed for the head when it cut off support for Windows XP last month, the legacy operating system that's proving impossibly difficult to kill. Despite the risk of unpatched vulnerabilities (a pretty big deal) and no more tech support (largely a non-issue for consumers, but important for some businesses), Windows XP is installed on more PCs than Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows Vista combined. Both Net Applications and Stat Counter agree on this, though the numbers are different. Starting with Net Applications, Windows XP is holding steady with a 26.29 percent share of the market, down from 27.69 percent at the end of March. Prior to that, Windows XP actually gained slightly more users, going from 29.3 percent in January to 29.53 percent in February. Meanwhile, Net Applications has Windows 8 (6.36 percent) and Windows 8.1 (5.88 percent) accounting for less than half of Windows XP. Add in another 8.13 percent for the catch-all "Other" category, which includes Windows Vista, it still won't be enough to catch Windows XP (26.29 percent versus a combined 20.37 percent). Switching our focus to Stat Counter tells the same story, just in a different way. According to Stat Counter, Windows XP is installed on 18.61 percent of PCs, or nearly 1 in 5. Windows 8 (7.85 percent) and Windows 8.1 (4.48 percent) combine for a 12.33 percent stake, and if you add Vista's 3.67 percent share, it comes to an even 16 percent for all three. Windows XP will continue to decline, though it might not happen as fast as Microsoft hoped or expected. There doesn't seem to be any panic taking place. Image Credit: Flickr (garrettc) Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| ASRock Mini-ITX Board Sports a Kabini Chip and Wi-Fi Connectivity Posted: 01 May 2014 09:21 AM PDT  Socketed Kabini meets integrated Wi-Fi
AMD is already looking ahead to a market filled with Beema and Mullins APUs, but in the meantime, socketed Kabini boards are starting to show up. Biostar recently got in on the action, and now so is ASRock with its QC5000-ITX/WiFi mini-ITX motherboard. This tiny motherboard features a soldered-on AMD Kabini A4-5000 quad-core APU and integrated 802.11n Wi-Fi connectivity. ASRock claims its board uses all solid capacitors. It also has two DDR3 DIMM slots with support for up to 32GB of DDR3-1600 memory, GbE LAN, 7.1-channel audio, PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slot, mini PCI-Express slot (for the Wi-Fi module), four SATA 6Gbps ports, and several output options (D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI, and DisplayPort 1.2). The integrated Radeon HD 8330 graphics support 4K video output (3840x2160), though obviously you're not going to do any high-end or even mid-range gaming at that resolution. That's not what this board is intended for. However, it could serve as a foundation for a home theater PC. 
ASRock's QC5000-ITX/WiFi has been spotted in the wild over in Europe. No word yet on when (or if) it will show up on U.S. shores or for how much. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Razer's Taipan Gaming Mouse is Now Available in White Posted: 01 May 2014 08:50 AM PDT  Careful not to get Cheetos smudges all over this rodent
Long gone are the days of ugly beige boxes and other eyesores from an era gone by. Today you have an assortment of styles and colorized options for your case and peripherals, and if you really want to, you can color coordinate your setup. We bring this up because Razer dropped us a line to let us know its Taipan mouse for gamers is now available in a white color option. Groundbreaking stuff, right? Not really, but if you're going for an all-white (or mostly white) theme, this is the second Razer brand product that will oblige (the other being a white version of its Kraken Pro gaming headset). As a refresher, the Taipan gaming mouse sports an 8200 DPI 4G laser sensor that supposed to be just tops at accurately calibrating to any surface (according to Razer), 9 programmable "Hyeresponse" buttons, 1000Hz ultrapolling, 7-foot braided fiber cable, ambidextrous form factor (left-handed gamers rejoice), and support for Razer's Synapse software. The Raizer Taipan is available now in white or black for $80 MSRP. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| AMD's Low Power Beema and Mullins APUs Make an Appearance Posted: 01 May 2014 08:23 AM PDT  AMD's first 2014 mobile APUs have arrived
Remember being introduced to Beema and Mullins? You're forgiven if you don't recall -- the introduction came last year during AMD's Developer Summit event. At the time, AMD said it planned on making the mobile parts available before Computex 2014, and holding good to that promise, AMD has officially launched its 2014 low power and mainstream line of APUs formerly known by their codenames Beema and Mullins. "When designing our 2014 Mainstream and Low-Power APUs, we were determined to once again set the standard in graphics and total compute performance in fanless form factor categories – and we've done just that," said Bernd Lienhard, AMD corporate vice president and general manager, Client Products. "These processors combine the latest core technologies – including the first-ever ARM-based security solution on an x86 processor – with user experiences that will delight consumer and commercial buyers alike in a package that's impressively energy efficient." AMD built Beema from the ground up with the intention of powering next generation ultrathin laptops for the mainstream crown. There are four Beema APUs initially: - E1-6010: dual-core, 1.35GHz, 1MB L2 cache, Radeon R2 GPU (350MHz), 10W TDP
- E2-6110: quad-core, 1.50GHz, 2MB L2 cache, Radeon R2 GPU (500MHz), 15W TDP
- A4-6210: quad-core, 1.80GHz, 2MB L2 cache, Radeon R3 GPU (600MHz), 15W TDP
- A6-6310: quad-core, 2.40GHz, 2MB L2 cache, Radeon R4 GPU (800MHz), 15W TDP
As for Mullins, these system-on-chips (SoCs) are intended for fanless form factors such as tablets. There are three that are available initially: - E1 Micro-6200T: dual-core, 1.40GHz, 1MB L2 cache, Radeon R2 GPU (300MHz), 3.95W TDP
- A4 Micro-6400T: quad-core, 1.60GHz, 2MB L2 cache, Radeon R3 GPU (350MHz), 4.5W TDP
- A10 Micro-6700T: quad-core, 2.2GHz, 2MB L2 cache, Radeon R6 GPU (500MHz), 4.5W TDP
It's not just about clockspeed and TDP; there are other under the hood improvements, such as power management tweaks and incorporating AMD's TrustZone technology for added security. Looking ahead, AMD says its Kaveri architecture is coming to laptops later in the first half of the year. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Corsair AX1500i is Industry's First 1500W PSU with 80 Plus Titanium Certification Posted: 01 May 2014 06:21 AM PDT  The Godzilla of power supplies
There are power supplies, and then there's Corsair's AX1500i Digital ATX PSU. Corsair calls the AX1500i the most technologically advanced and efficient power supply on the planet, a claim we'd have a hard time debating after glancing this beast's spec sheet. It starts with the wattage rating -- Corsair's AX1500i is a 1500W PSU and also the first of its kind to earn the ultra-stringent 80 Plus Titanium certification. That means it's over 94 percent efficient at 50 percent load, and to maintain that level of performance, you can bet there are high end parts inside, including 100 percent Japanese 105C capacitors (these suckers aren't likely to leak or burst like the bad batch of caps that once plagued PCs several years ago). It also uses digitally controlled circuitry to maintain a high level of efficiency. The AX1500i is built around Corsair's second generation digital architecture and wields a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) to control output. You'll also find a native USB port -- hook it up to a motherboard's USB header and you can use the Corsair Link software to monitor vitals and customize fan speed response. "After we released the AX1200i, the world's first digital ATX PSU, our customers came to us asking for an even higher wattage AXi PSU to power their most demanding PCs." said Aaron Neal, product manager of PSUs at Corsair. "For them, we created AX1500i with more power and 80 Plus Titanium efficiency. We look forward to seeing the extreme dream PCs that top enthusiasts power with AX1500i." 
The AX1500i has enough power to run 4-way SLI and CrossFire configurations with a single +12V rail design delivering up to 125A. It's fully modular with low profile cables, including 10 PCI-E connectors, 20 SATA connectors, a dozen 4-pin peripheral connectors, two floppy connectors, two EPS connectors, and a single ATX connector. Corsair's AX1500i is available now, though it doesn't come cheap -- it runs $450 MSRP and is backed by a 7 year warranty. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
