Techiies - Tech News and Reviews.

At CES 2013, MSI Presented Five Notebooks...

2013-01-12T00:22:00.003+05:30

MSI, at CES 2013 released 5 new notebooks. But, not your average gentleman's notebook for office use, for those gamers who demand more from their mobile machines. The Notebooks released were GE 60, GX 60, GT 60, GT 70 and GE 70 Dragon edition with the GT 70 and The GT 70 Dragon edition being the most well and advanced notebooks of which, the GT 70 featuring a simple-black design and the GT 70 Dragon Edition has been given a new "Gamer" look with its finsh and exteriors.

The GT 70 Dragon Editions packs quite a punch when it comes to what it does best.. Gaming!

The machine has an Intel Core i7-3630QM putting oua all the video through the nVidia GTX 680M consisting of a 4GB GDDR5 of VRAM. The display is a 17.3" Anti-Glare Full-HD 1920x1080 which deserves the pampering it gets from the hardware.the memory part is taken over by 16GB of DDR3 RAM at 1600 MHz and networking needs with a system from Killer.
The GT 70 being the same, your ears will be delighted with the Dynaudio sound this Notebook offers, coupled with that subwoofer of its, it really is worth the bucks however the price is not out yet.

Further, all the three other versions of this family are lower on specs but will play anything you throw at them.

View the full Specifications at: Source

Following CES 2013 yet?

2013-01-11T00:22:00.002+05:30

Swoosh, and the CES is here again, to be frank, it's been a long time (at least it seems that way). CES 2012 was rocking and introduced the stuff that we fell in love with, now CES 2013 is again here and waiting we are a little late to follow, but its not been much time its still only 2 days past 8th Jan 2013 and that's enough to justify my point (I suppose). *Rubs Palms*

However, CES is too much of "Tech" galore and that is the excitingest part.
So, you guys want to stay tuned to whatever is new and happening all over the CES? I am fortunate you are there to listen and well, you are kinda lucky to have me collect it all for you.

This is important so, listen.. Your Tech dose starts after 24 hours and the countdown has began leaving the clock ticking as I write this post. At the end of each day, you will know whatever happened. :)

Gaming Scenario in India. Blooming?

2013-01-09T23:42:00.001+05:30

It's as a matter of fact true that the gaming side of India is still under development, but it has seen a nice bloom in the rate of people playing games over the Computer systems OR Gaming Consoles.

Gaming in India has always been considered a child's play and was never taken seriously. Even now the scenario is 75% the same, it indeed is changing. Say, at a steady pace, unwantedly steady!

The first boom in gaming came way back in 2007 when people understood the sheer importance of internet and eventually got towards gaming. With a large population to expect gaming from, especially from a country where 60% population is poor! Excluding the middle class! So, the problem with India remains poverty to an extent. Other than that either cannot afford high-end monsters OR are too busy for it (at least they think that way).

Now, coming to the present, the three consecutive years 2010, 2011 and 2012 have seen some growth in the gaming industry and we expect it to advance further. Also, with more people getting the idea of Gaming being more than just "Game-ing", its bound to bloom.

Let's wait and hope for the best which seems near and the clock is ticking!. The good NEWS for us Team Fortress 2 gamers is that we will get more "India" based servers other than Reddit Unofficial Gaming Community-India which means more online players and obviously, best pings ever!

Cheers,
A fellow Gamer ;)

TVS Apache RTR 2012, A spark for TVS?

2013-01-08T23:23:00.000+05:30

TVS Motors is a well-established brand in India as well as internationally. Not everywhere but has an ever increasing influence. After all those bad memories of the old Apache RTR 150 and the RTR 180, here is a completely new beast that has dealt with many refinements reducing vibrations and increasing the RTR (Racing Throttle Response) feel from the Racer's choice Over-square engine.

2012 Saw many a technological changes,automotive industry grew further and so did tech. Apple introduced iPhone 5, Bajaj Started over with Pulsar 200NS and TVS came with Apache RTR 160, 180 and 180 ABS (Yeah, Wired, but with this blog technology and automotive have to go hand-in-hand). With 180 ABS being the first bike to boast ABS under the 100k range.

So, with the 180 ABS, its purely visible to the dancing naked eyeballs (pardon the language) that this is targeted towards the Indian crowd which can flaunt the comfortable 180cc and still flaunt ABS Braking. However, its an awesome move considering the recent moves from Bajaj consisting of the Pulsar 200NS aiming the youth which wants everything but a totally hefty price tag!

With Apache, TVS has also aimed the countries with the 150cc (on paper) limit (Yea that's crazy) but true. Apache is 150cc on paper while giving a whole advantage of 10cc over traditional engines of the Pulsar 150 DTS-i and the 153cc of the Yamaha FZ-S.
Totally Not a Bad Move.

Alongwith its killer looks neither much Aggressive nor much dull, just another city bike that looks perfect on the track. Just that perfect bled is what TVS Motors has found over with this bike. The dual-disk version of the RTR 160 features two Roto-Petal Disc Brakes, that takes it away and it also features the largest tank in the segment.
Its ever known awesome sound remains perfect and retains the bassy (rich) feel that is RARE!

The RTR 180 is a complete beast designed to race and the Black one looks like a "Bat-Vehicle".
In-all the new Apache(s) can be a spark to the fuel and that's what the company needed the most at the moment!

Lets see what's more to these roaring engines...

Stay Tuned!

Techiies Goes Auto!

2013-01-08T16:27:00.002+05:30

Well, certainly true that you guys have not seen anything much new in the posts. Yea, for the most part, its damn true. But the positive part is that we were under the lovely attitude to do something new, something that not many websites have to offer.

For you guys, from now on the blog posts will contain the stuff that involves automobiles too. Not to forget that we have a never ending relation with technology, which is not going to be broken at any cost, but since technology likes something extra and it has been the same always, so here we are with Automobiles as a company.

Not only NEWS, the posts will contain DIYs and "How Things Work" too! Since the authors have some nice ideas, we might discuss those with you guys too. Let's wait and watch how things turn out.

Yours Sincerely,

Kush Mishra, CEO,

Techiies Network.

Microsoft Unveils Surface (Windows RT)! Overview is here.

2012-10-26T18:04:00.000+05:30

Microsoft yesterday unveiled its Surface tablet yesterday and also did a live webcast of the same over the Internet. Like the hundreds of other people, some got the Surface for a hands on while some got for-ever. The device might be the Microsoft's answer to Apple iPad 3! But is it?

Build Quality:
From what we could see on the webcast, the tablet is pretty durable and the design is what many were waiting! Although nothing can be said unless a drop-test is done by our some reviewer's hand professionally though but from the I it was pretty clear that the tablet holds some really tight shielding and good hardware

Connectivity:
As we all see on many tablets, Bluetooth is missing. But Bluetooth might be a thing of the past with more and more WiFi Enabled devices entering the market arena and most of them being introduced in the budget section. As of yet the lack of Bluetooth is a drawback but the WiFi seems to be sturdy and strong as many eyes saw sitting right in front of the screen. Media can be streamed right through the device via XBOX adding as a bonus
No word was there on GPS as of yet, let us see what follows.

Camera(s):
There are two cameras on the device to satisfy all your needs. The front an the rear both camera boast 720p HD Video recording which seems to be doing pretty well. The lens is good and wide to capture almost everything. The zoom is Digital(obvious) but rumours for lenses that provide optical zoom are buzzing our ears everywhere. The best part is that the front camera can also capture pretty much good picture for video chatting.

Display:
We heared enough about this didn't we? Well, the tablet boasts a nice 10.6 inch ClearType HD Display @ 1366 x 768 resolution capable of really crisp and sharp images. The 1080p Full HD movies ran nice and crisp. The text is as awesome as it should be as from the price tag. Typing is also worth it! Thanks to the ClearType display.

Ports and buttons:
The device boasts of a Standard USB 2.0 Port, A micro SDXC Slot, Headset jack, HDMI Out and a cover port. These are aligned neatly on one side of the device apart from all the buttons. The buttons were the Volume rockers and a switch for ON/OFF.

Performance:
Lastly, the device is powered by a nVidia Tegra 3 CPU and blazes on 2GB of RAM. So, you can be sure that you are gonna love this one!

Now, that the basics are mentioned up here, its a neck to neck with the iPad 3 and most probably, the Microsoft Surface is here to "Troll" the iPad 3 out of the Number 1 position and make its mark!

The right side of the page is waiting for your votes as of whether the Surface will make its mark or not! So, VOTE!

iPad Mini is creating buzz up here!

2012-10-25T00:20:00.001+05:30

The iPad mini is out and the buzz it has created is quite mighty and the whole world can feel it. Apple is one of the manufacturers which popped in front of us "The TABLET Era" now the whole world knows a lot about tablets and enthusiasts are having overwhelming ideas.

Tablets cannot replace the power of our laptops or the portability of our Smartphone, but they set up a whole new class of devices which has some from both of them! Now, how will the iPad mini perform? What are gonna be the first impressions?

Let us see in the upcoming review! :)

Photos are not subjected to copyright and are in no way ours.

Deepcool XFAN 120L/B Review

2012-10-21T00:07:00.003+05:30

I gave you guys a hint yesterday about something that was lined up ahead. Yes, it is this, the Deepcool XFAN 120L/B.

Introduction:

I set off to the market with my pockets full to buy something that can cool a budget rig for my viewers like you on the other side of the screen as you guys are of my prime concern. So, I went around the market searching for fans that would:

Beat the heat!
Be worth the money
Do not try to dig huge holes in one's pocket
Be quiet or Silent (whatsoever)

So, to satisfy these need is a whole lot of work! Suddenly, something caught my eyeballs and it was Deepcool!

This brand is not NEW but is neither old, so the question is whether it is the one you should trust?

Well, pretty much as far as cooling is concerned and that too when fans come into action, you need to take a look at a plethora of stuff that specializes in just popping out from some "Pandora's Box" like:

Fan Size
Built Quality
Revolutions per minute (RPM)
Presence of brushed motor
Bearing type

Specifications:

120mm Fan
Nice and sturdy built quality
1300 RPM
Brushless Motor
Double Ball bearing

So, the brushless motor is better and offers long life as we all know and double ball bearings give more lubrication and thus increase efficiency.

A Look at the packing

To ensure the product is safe and good, the packing should be good. But I came to a surprise when I saw that the fan is directly under a plastic cover behind which is a card board securing the fan from the back but as I came to my senses, I realised that it is Deepcool here cutting on a costs by a bit.

As all the popping eyes might see the packing is straightforward with nothing "literally covering" the fan.

Deepcool lists some of the salient features above the top-right corner of the fan itself.

Now, that was all we could find out with the outer packaging, so:

The fan reveals itself as you slide the outer covering and the fan is facing you from the rear side with the goodies below it.

These are the handful of goodies you get along with the fan

A Bag of four screws
A Warranty Card
A Quality Certificate from Deepcool

These might assure you that the product is full and packed!

A Closer Look:

A closer look often reveals the quality of the product and the insights too.

So the fan is basically a multiple connector fan with curved blades which are of surprisingly good quality and stability. The design is a really common one and the one we generally trust. The four LEDs that are present hide themselves in all the four corners and do not contribute to any kind of mess. The LEDs fire the light perpendicular to the edges which create that curve effect.

The connectors are of both the types i.e. The 4-Pin MOLEX Connector and the 3-Pin motherboard connector. The major advantage of the 3-Pin connector over the 4-Pin connector is that you can monitor fan speeds using a suitable software like Speedfan. But still controlling the fan is only possible with a 4-Pin Motherboard connector.

However, the number of pins in the 4-Pin connector has been reduced to Two pins that draw power from the 12v rail of your PSU and thus the LED and the fan do wonders at performance. When connected to the 5v Rail, it badly affected the overall performance of the fan and the low RPM was accompanied with dim LEDs (Expected).

LED and Fan performance under 5v rail

True power of the fan can be only harnessed using the 12v ray, not to worry though, that is the only way you can connect it properly at a glance.

LED and Fan performance under 12v rail

The LEDs are conveniently present on the four edges of the fan and give a pretty nice effect overall whatsoever.

LED positioning

So, the change is pretty much visible and the effect too. I switched off the lights just then and went ahead with the camera for this fan!

This indeed was a beute when tested in a dark environment and a complete performer too. The fan is bright enough to light up a small room but might not replace your traditional lights.

The Bottom Line:

The fan is a pretty good performer and a good buy considering the price. A little amount of vibrations of low amplitude were observed so it is recommended that you use something like rubber to secure the contact areas and allow no vibration.
Overall, the fan performs really good and the LEDs are worth every penny.

Pros:

Bright LEDs
Double ball bearing
Brushless motor
Good quality plastic
Both connectors available

Cons:

Packing could have been better
Feeble Vibrations can be felt

Rating:

4.7 TechStars / 5 TechStars

Something is coming to Chill you guys!

2012-10-17T23:59:00.000+05:30

I have something in my hands that cools the system up! The whole system.
Now guess what it is, review will be put up shortly so make guess and be excited!

Hint: Multiple of those can be mounted into a single Cabinet.

Enough has been given! NOW charge your brain and GUESS ON!

MSI Afterburner, worth it ?

2012-10-02T00:25:00.002+05:30

OVERCLOCKING IS A SERIOUS MATTER. ONLY DO IT IF YOU KNOW THE RISKS INVOLVED! I am not responsible for any damage.

Now that you know the cautions, lets proceed to the review :)

We all know that from ages, people have overclocked their cards and even set records! HWBot even holds competitions for the same.
But to some people, its all about fun. Like me. I am an enthusiast and been quite some time that I have been running after this.

Well, because producing GPUs is a hard responsibility AMD and nVidia give this to multiple manufacturers as "Reference Designs" and then it is up to manufacturers to break the clock seals, give a much better or worse cooler and unlock the cards for more performance and extreme overclocking.

MSI (Micro star international) is just another body which has the responsibility to continue the cards and distribute them into the public.
The companies as they provide different coolers, reserve the right to make different softwares for the GPUs and its absolutely correct as what I realise is that a card with a Dual-Fan Vapor X Cooler will easily bypass a Single fan or stock/Reference cooler.

Taking that into consideration, MSI has been out with the MSI Afterburner overclocking Utility. I have a MSI R6770 MD1GD5 at the heart of which is basically the HD 6770 Graphics Processor from AMD and I will use it as my example.

Basically, up there in the Card's BIOS is some data which contains the Clock limits for the Core and memory and the limits for voltage as well. AMD creates the GPU and sets the limits while manufacturers provide a way to reach those.

The MSI Afterburner:

And you double click it to open the original application:

MSI has given a pretty nice look to the utility with easy options, NO FUZZ and the whole utility works really easily. As you can see my Clocks are Voltage as 1125 mV, Core Clock as 800 MHz.

Now, to overclock, you just need to push and slider to the desired direction and that's it. Press the 'Apply' button.

The side 'Hardware Monitor' will help you monitor the basic and important attributes

So, the utility makes it easy for you to overclock any brand and cards, make sure that you download 3DMark 11 and submit your DirectX 11 Scores online. However I have used the MSI Kombustor for Benchmarking.

So, basically the utility is aimed at easy and efficient overclocking. Just don't push the sliders too much and get BSODs (Blue Screens Of Death). If you overclock too much and play graphics heavy games, you might end up frying your beloved GPU! The software might not get to the top as it also follows the overclocking standards set by AMD for these cards.

Pros:

Easy Overclocking
Not messy
Full control
Total Monitoring
Dedicated Screenshot and Video recording hotkeys
Temperature controlled manual fan control

Cons:

Unlocking required to get rid of AMD's limits
Menu can be a mess as it occupies the whole height of the monitor.

The bottom line:

The software pretty much impressed me and did all that MSI should develop an overclock app for. Looks are awesome and Kombustor is a good software for benchmarking can load it up to 99% and that is maximum. So, I loved it.

Recommendation:

Totally recommended for good overclocks.

Rating:

4 Techpoints / 5 Techpoints

NZXT Gamma Review

2012-09-24T16:01:00.001+05:30

Introduction:

Gaming is evolving! Becoming the prime concern for many geeks out there who have a computer. And the nerds are up for it and already upgrading! Today, we tried to look at the NZXT Gamma. The cabinet holds about everything to be a gamer's choice who wants the PC to stay under control and do not OVER heat. Well, that is our prime concern too! That is why we have this for you!

First Looks and Ergonomics:

The first looks at the cabinet reveal a very good-looking case with a really nice front! Really, NZXT has worked on the case and has given it one wonderful design for the price! The front bay as you can see is complemented by carefully designed switches, pin-point positioned 2 X Audio Jacks, 2 X USB 2.0 Headers and 1 X eSATA Ports. The cabinet is made fully of high grade steel and is feather like in weight! The blue light glow and display the cabinet like an ultimate warrior while the slight curves show thoughtfulness!

As it can be expected, the bottom is fully equipped with full rubber grommets and the side supports two fans of each size ranging from 80mm to 120mm. Pretty much huh? You bet!

The side panels were of extreme quality and on the other side, you find a panel with space for wire management which is enough for mid-range gaming builds. :)

The top has 2 X 120mm/140mm fan slots which will keep your system fine under the harshest conditions! Basically aimed at cooling the system by supplying additional air, this is not gonna work well if you plan to set this 140mm/120mm in a Push-Pull config along with your CPU Cooler, this is ought to interfere.

So, that is all about the top when compared to the side!

The back of the case consists of a slot to put in a 92mm, 120mm or 140mm case fan which is pretty good and provide expandability and flexibility.

We also found an expansion at the front for the 120mm fan for the HDDs but there was NO FAN INCLUDED. We would like to also inform you that there are no filters whatsoever except for the bottom PSU Mount. NZXT Cares for your Power!

The Inside:

The first thing we got our eyes at was the HDD mount. NZXT takes it away here too with Tool-Less Design for easy mounting and removal of HDDs. HDDs are really easy to deal with using this design and we at Techiies really liked it.

Basically, the cabinet is designed for total flexibility with mATX and ATX motherboards so that you can upgrade a lot. The area behind the CPU Cooler is also opened up for easy mounting and removal of coolers for CPU.

The cable management space is absolutely fine for many builds, especially budget rigs will find it more than enough. The front panel cables and the goodies box were lying strapped right to the inside of the case which consisted of the following bags:

1 x Screws For Fan mounting

1 x Screws for Chassis

1 x Bag for Motherboard and PSU

1x Bag of Thumb Screws.

And that would set your whole system up.

The back was mounted and ready with 7 x Expansion Slots.

Specifications:

MODEL	GAMMA SERIES
CASE TYPE	MID TOWER Black interior chassis
FRONT PANEL MATERIAL	Steel
DIMENSIONS (W x H x D)	190 X 449 X 508 mm
COOLING SYSTEM	FRONT, 1 x 120mm SIDE, 2 x 120mm TOP, 2 x 140/120mm REAR, 1 x 120mm, 23db/42CFM (included)
DRIVE BAYS	11 DRIVE BAYS 4 EXTERNAL 5.25" DRIVE BAYS 7 INTERNAL 3.5" DRIVE BAYS
MATERIAL(S)	Steel Construction
EXPANSION SLOTS	7
WEIGHT	6 kg
MOTHERBOARD SUPPORT	ATX, MICRO-ATX, BABY AT
CPU COOLER CLEARANCE	143.5mm (with fan) 168.5mm (without fan)

So, after seeing all that, you have an Idea of how it is and what it holds! Now, that was all about only the cabinet.

I definitely recommend it. For under 50$, it is one of the best chassis you might stumble upon.

Rating : 4.5/5

Available at:

Newegg

THEITWARES (India)

Sapphire Toxic HD 7970 GHz Edition Review

2012-09-22T22:21:00.000+05:30

Ah, The Toxic cards from Sapphire! One of the most reputed series of cards in my sight!

These have a very nice way of saying thing with the looks and the cooler has always been effective! The cards are supposed to be the best of the best and give the best gaming performance is it is a flagship card from Sapphire. The card has been blessed with Sapphire's lethal boost technology which basically allows overclocking up to 1200 MHz and the Memory to 1600 MHz provided that you are not running hot!

Better VRAM pays off when you have high resolutions and stepped up Anti-Aliasing to a whole new level! Sapphire put in the efforts to take it to a whole 6GB of GDDR5 on a PCI-E 3.0 Controller and this adds a whole new level to it. So, conclusion from the statement can be the target of Sapphire. Basically "Gamers".

So, getting on to Eyefinity, nobody will say that you are going to need an Eyefinity edition of the card to run multiple monitors, it can be done easily using splitters! But can the AMD's Tahiti under the Massive cooler handle this ?

Sapphire, gave the Toxic edition a hit with the Highest-End board in the market from itself which allows the built-in TDP limiter to push the clocks behind the thermal rate!

The card runs a 6GB memory at 1600 MHz (6600 MHz Effective) and that is quite blessed :P

Now, the card features 1 x Dual-Link DVI, 1 x Single-Link DVI, 1 x HDMI and 2 x Mini Display Connectors and all of this on 6GB VRAM.

BTW, what do you get when you pay so many bucks? Well, you are special as the cooler is specifically designed for the card with an all new Vapor Chamber.

So, the card goes pretty thick (Almost 3 Slots) and pretty cool with its 4 heatpipes !

The back of the PCB is covered too with a support plate to cool the Memory and is in good shape!

So, in here, Sapphire has got an 8 + 1 + 1 Phase design and dubbed Lethal power modules. Eight phases are there for the GPU while others for the Memory.

Sapphire gave us Black Diamond Chokes, MOSFETs and DirectFET Technology by International Rectifiers on both the sides. For everything else, there's the Heatsink.

The power regulator was from CHiL and there were 2 X 8-Pin power connectors seen. Ah my favorite part, Next we saw a button, I just pressed the button to notice a great performance difference! NOT to my surprise, it was the Lethal Boost button right next to the CrossfireX Connectors!

Coming to an end, after overclocking, the performance had a considerable increase and the fan noise was quite low. The temperatures were under control and the card proved to be very stable.

Now, attaching 6 Monitors (1920 X 1080), we launched Crysis 2 with DX11 at high resolution and got ~17 FPS! And it was exciting as with 4 Displays (1920 X 1080) we could get ~20 FPS. Not much of a difference though but the card pays off!

Sapphire also has done a very nice job with robust VRMs. They do not heat much and are pretty robust hence giving a massive headroom for overclocking.

So, at the bottom

I would say, just go for it as it may not be the best but with further firmware updates, the card will have better performance. Plus, the card's Vapor-X Technology makes the full use of its capabilities.

Kudos,

Kush

Reviews coming up from the Techiies !

2012-08-31T01:23:00.000+05:30

Well, er, till now you saw us linking stuff like websites together but from today, It is just gonna be our own reviews. So, lets kill it ! :)

SpendWise ! A new initiative from our side !

2012-07-01T15:01:00.002+05:30

So, when you see the word SpendWise, the thing that pops in your head is exactly what it means !

We are going to gather the links to the best products for money for the current year and help you in spending the bucks wisely ! After all, Bucks matter ;).

Now, this will include whatever this team finds, the link is gonna be here !

So, Happy Shopping ! :)

Biostar TZ77XE4 Intel LGA 1155 review - TechPowerUp

2012-07-01T14:58:00.000+05:30

So, Biostar. Doesn't sound much like a high end manufacturer if we take a flashback !

So, what to expect with this next model ? Can it keep up to the stuff happening around ? The technology innovations around. It will surely be hard but not impossible.

Biostar has always targeted the normal public, but this time they have quite a beast outside the pocket !

Introduction is just that its a new T Series with some really brilliant colors and vivid layout, 13 Phases for more efficiency while delivering power to the CPU, UEFI BIOS and Up to 32 GBs of DDR3 Memory clocked from 1066 MHz to 2400 MHz.

So, lets see what Biostar can do with its high end Z77 Board :)

Follow this at TechPowerUp

MSI GeForce GTX 680 Review

2012-06-23T23:05:00.002+05:30

Okay !!! nVidia did beat the Radeon HD 7970 with its GTX 680 on benchmarks and gaming performance.

Now we are all waiting for the HD 7990 and expect it too beat nVidia. The answer to all questions is “Leave it.”

Who cares until the red side is ready ! Lets get the most powerful GPU in the Computer world to the platform, The MSI nVidia GTX 680 Lightning Edition !!

TechPowerUp did a review which seems quite impressive. Lets see what a Lightning GK104 can do !

Follow this on TechPowerUp.