Jeff's Tech Collection

The Zotac GeForce GTX 1070 AMP! Extreme is one of the company’s latest graphics cards featuring the NVIDIA Pascal architecture. Zotac narrowed it down to two versions this time around, they have the AMP! Edition and AMP! Extreme for their GTX 1080 and 1070 graphics cards. Today we are going to look at and review Zotac’s GTX 1070 AMP! Extreme, their fastest GTX 1070 model and probably the biggest GTX 1070 around. In this review, not only will we look at the performance of the GTX 1070 AMP! Extreme, but we will also take a look at its massive cooler design and its cooling capabilities. This card is undeniably fast, but do you (really) need a huge GPU cooler? Learn more about the Zotac GTX 1070 AMP! Extreme on our review below. (via Zotac GeForce GTX 1070 AMP! Extreme Review – So Fast So Cool! – ThePCEnthusiast)

Today we are going to take a look and review one of Crucial’s DDR4 memory kit geared towards any users who needs a stylish yet stable and reliable DDR4 memory kit – the Crucial Ballistix Sport LT Red DDR4-2400 32GB kit (8GBx4). Crucial has previously released a grey and white version of the Ballistix Sport LT. As far as I know there is no difference between these memory kits except for the color of their heat spreader. The 8GB stick retails for around $30 at the time this review was posted. So how fast can the Crucial Ballistix Sport LT Red DDR4-2400 go? And can we squeeze out more speed from this kit? Please continue reading our Ballistix Sport LT Red DDR4-2400 review here. (via Crucial Ballistix Sport LT Red DDR4-2400 Memory Review)

Sometime mid last year, iFi Audio released the second generation of their portable “micro” digital to analog converter – the iFi micro iDAC2. This is the direct replacement of the now discontinued iDAC. The Micro iDAC2 still features iFi Audio’s signature look and design, but it now comes with a beefier components compared to its predecessor. The iDAC2 comes with a totally new circuitry design following the success of the nano iDSD and micro iDSD. The iFi iDAC2 is also competitively priced, currently retailing at around $349 USD. So, is the iDAC2 (significantly) better than the first iDAC? I can’t answer that question since I wasn’t able to try the iDAC. But what I can share to you is if the new micro iDAC2 is a good investment or not, specially for those who are looking for an external digital to analog converter. Please continue reading our iFi micro iDAC2 review and find out. (via iFi micro iDAC2 Review – Portable DAC with DSD Support)

The Zotac SONIX 480GB PCIe NVMe SSD is the company’s first consumer level storage solution offering blazing fast speeds of up to 2,600MB/s and 1,300MB/s sequential read and write speeds. That’s more than double a typical SATA based SSD can do! Today we are going to share to you our review of the Zotac SONIX 480GB variant. In this review, let’s get to know more about the Sonix, its features and capabilities. Let’s also take a closer look on what’s under the hood and then we’ll try to answer the question “why PCIe interface?“. M.2 seems to be the popular route, why not go that way? There are simply tons of storage options nowadays that come in different capacities, different interface and speeds. Check out our Zotac Sonix 480GB review below and find out if this is the best storage solution for your system. (via Zotac SONIX 480GB PCIe NVMe SSD Review)

Small form factor builders are in for a treat as Gigabyte got you covered with their latest GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 motherboard. Today we are going to review the Gigabyte Z170N-Gaming 5 mini ITX motherboard. Despite its small footprint, this ITX gaming motherboard is loaded with features that other ITX motherboards may not have. A good example is the PCIe Gen3 x4 M.3 connector that supports both PCIe NVMe and SATA SSDs. Other ITX motherboards don’t have this feature and I think it’s a crucial feature for ITX motherboards. Are you in the market looking for a mini ITX motherboard? Stick around and check out our Gigabyte Z170N-Gaming 5 review below and find out if this is the kind of ITX motherboard you are looking for (via Gigabyte Z170N-Gaming 5 Mini-ITX Motherboard Review)

HiFiMAN is popular and known for their Planar Magnetic headphones. I think the old HE400 is one of their most popular planar magnetic headphones that have captured the ears of the many. Sometime in mid-2015, the company released a budget friendly planar headphone called the HiFiMAN HE400S. We got our sample early this year and now we are ready to share to you our experience and thoughts about the so-called best sub $300 open-back planar magnetic headphone. True, while many have claimed that the HE400S is the best headphone under $300, there are things that you need to know about this lowest-priced planar headphone before getting one. And what are those things, you may ask, let’s find out in our HiFiMAN HE400S review here.(via HiFiMAN HE400S Review – Best Sub $300 Open-Back Headphone?)

Today, we are going to take a look at and review the Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti AMP! Edition graphics card. This isn’t the company’s flagship model, Zotac has five variants of the GeForce GTX 980 Ti namely: GTX 980 Ti reference, GTX 980 Ti ArcticStorm, GTX 980 Ti AMP!, GTX 980 Ti AMP! Omega and GTX 980 Ti AMP! Extreme. The last one is their flagship model with a base clock speed of 1253MHz and 1355MHz boost. But we are going to “Push the Limit” of the GTX 980 Ti AMP! that we got here and match the speed of the Extreme one. So how’s the performance of the Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti AMP? Let’s find out in our review here. (via Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti AMP! Review – Pushing The Limit!)

DDR4 memory is fast replacing the older DDR3 memory modules. Prices have already gone down significantly since the first DDR4 became available in the market. Today, we are going to take a look and review the ADATA XPG Z1 DDR4 memory, the company’s first DDR4 memory geared towards enthusiasts and PC gamers. The memory kit that we have here is the ADATA XPG Z1 DDR4-2800 16GB CL17 quad channel kit which is primarily designed for an X99 system, but can be used on a Z170 system as well. In this review we will test the ADATA XPG Z1 DDR4 on both an X99 system and a Z170 motherboard. Please continue reading and find out how this memory kit performs in our review here. (via ADATA XPG Z1 DDR4-2800 16GB Memory Review)

Avexir is best known for their creative, eye candy and high performance memory kits. We previously reviewed their Blitz 1.1 Original DDR3 memory kit and we were pleased not only with its unique look and lighting effects, but also with its performance as well. Today we are going to take a look at and review one of their new creation, the Avexir Raiden Series memory modules that are available in both DDR3 and DDR4 variants. In this review, we have the Avexir Raiden DDR4-2800 CL15 16GB (4x4GB) memory kit (AVD4UZ128001504G-4RD) to test and play with. Stick around and find out if this fancy-looking memory is the right eye candy for your PC. (via Avexir Raiden DDR4 Memory Review – The Memory with Lightning Effect)

The UltimaPRO X SSD is one of the latest products from a UK based company called Integral Memory (not to be confused with their SD card lineup). Some of you might have not heard of the company yet, but they are quite popular for their storage solutions with hardware encryption level and FIPS certification, the Crypto series. Today we are going to review the Integral UltimaPRO X 480GB SATA III SSD that is geared towards PC gamers, graphics artists, content creators and pro-consumers. The UltimaPRO X is powered by a Phison S10 controller paired with high quality MLC NAND flash. The UltimaPRO X is said to deliver sequential speeds of up to 565MB/s read and 545MB/s write, with a maximum random read/write IOPs of up to 92,000. Can this SSD keep up with the competition? Let’s find out in our Integral UltimaPRO X 480GB review here. (via Integral UltimaPRO X 480GB SSD Review)

Portable digital audio players are becoming more and more popular, specially to music lovers, enthusiasts and audiophiles on the go. It’s true that smartphones can play the typical MP3 music, but it’s nowhere near to satisfy an enthusiast’s passion for high quality music. These the past few years, there are several DAPs or digital audio players introduced in the market. Most of the entry level to budget range, and even mid-range audio players suffer from primitive user interface, like the HIFIMAN HM-700, or no touch screen display, like the Hidizs AP100. Let’s face it, it’s 2015 and people are spoiled with touch screens, and attractive and user friendly interface. Sound quality alone just doesn’t attract people anymore, specially those who are just beginning their journey to the world of high end audio. Astell&Kern has been offering quite a number of impressive audio players, like their current flagship AK380, down to AK240, AK120 and their entry level AK Jr. Unfortunately, AK’s audio players are (very) expensive, except for the Jr that is. Today, we are going to look at the new Luxury & Precision L5 Pro digital audio player, offering an attractive aesthetics, touch screen display combined with dedicated buttons and volume control, and above all a sound quality worthy of your ears’ attention. Let’s find out more about the Luxury & Precision L5 Pro in our review here. (via Luxury & Precision L5 Pro DAP Review, Spoil Your Ears With HiFi Audio)

A couple of months ago, WD announced two new capacity for their popular WD Black lineup, the WD Black 6TB (WD6001FZWX) and WD Black 5TB (WD5001FZWX). Not only that these two new drives offer larger storage capacity, but they also offer faster read/write speeds compared to the lower capacities. The new WD Black 6TB and 5TB hard drives are primarily geared towards gamers and creative professional. They are also used in the new WD My Book Pro external storage. Today, we are going to review the WD Black 6TB (WD6001FZWX) high performance hard drive featuring increased reliability, double DRAM cache, efficient dual processing and a 5 year limited warranty. Are you in the market looking for a high capacity and high performance hard drive for your PC? Please continue reading our WD Black 6TB review here. (via WD Black 6TB Review (WD6001FZWX) – Larger Capacity Faster Performance HDD)

DDR4 is starting to replace DDR3 memory slowly but surely. Prices are going down and it’s being mainstreamed as well. Before, only high end desktops or X99 platforms are able to take advantage of the DDR4’s speed. Now, with the new Intel 100 series express chipset (on Z170 motherboards), mainstream users, gamers and enthusiasts are also able to take advantage of the DDR4 memory as well. Today, we are going to review the Klevv Cras DDR4 3000MHz 16GB quad channel memory kit from Essencore. The names “Essencore” and “Klevv” may be new to you since the company just started last 2014 and with the full launch of their products this early 2015. We have reviewed their Klevv Genuine, Klevv Urbane and Neo DDR3 memory modules before and now it’s time to put their flagship memory to the test. The Klevv Cras DDR4 quad channel kit we have here is originally designed for X99 systems, but it doesn’t mean you can’t use them with the new Intel Z170 motherboards. In this review, we will be testing the Cras together with an X99 motherboard and a Z170 motherboard. Check out our full review below and find out how good (or bad) this memory is. (via Klevv Cras DDR4 3000MHz 16GB Memory Kit Review, You Sexy Thing!)

DDR4 is here and we are currently on a transition period where we say goodbye to DDR3 memory and say hello to the faster and more power efficient DDR4 memory. Today we are going to look at and review one of Patriot Memory’s DDR4 memory launched early this year, the Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 memory series. The Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 memory is built and designed for the Intel X99 high end desktop platform, the first platform to cater DDR4 memory. I’m not 100% sure that it will also run properly on the Skylake platform, I’m still waiting for our motherboards to arrive. But more or less it should function properly with Skylake motherboards as well. DDR4 memory is basically faster compared to its predecessor, the DDR3, and operates at a much lower operating voltage. Do note that DDR4 is not backwards compatible with DDR3 system, and you can’t use DDR3 memory on a DDR4 slot as well. The specific memory kit that we are going to review is the Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2666MHz 16GB kit (PC4-21300). If you are planning to build an X99 system, or a Skylake system, stick around and find out if the Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 will suite your system. (via Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2666MHz 16GB Memory Review)

Patriot is back in the SSD industry with their latest drive powered by a Phison S10 controller, the Patriot Ignite SSD Series. The Phison S10 has been used by many SSD manufacturers recently as it offers sequential read/write speeds of up to “560MB/s and 545MB/s” respectively. The Patriot Ignite is available in three capacities, 240GB, 480GB and 960GB. It is also available in both 2.5″ and M.2 SATA form factors. Today, we are going to look at and review the Ignite 240GB capacity, in 2.5″ SATA SSD form factor. If you are in the market looking for an affordable SSD to boost the performance of your system, stick around and check out our Patriot Ignite 240GB SSD review here. (via Patriot Ignite 240GB SSD Review, Features Phison S10 Controller)

Back in April, Vorzüge, a German company who specializes in making portable amplifiers, released an updated or upgraded version of their popular VorAMP Pure II headphone amplifier, called the VorzAMP Pure II +, with a Plus. It’s basically the same amplifier that is loved by the many Purist, and with the new model, it offers faster charging system, enhanced power and a few more added features. If you are a music lover or an audiophile looking for a clean and powerful portable amplifier, stick around and check out our VorzAMP Pure II + (Plus) review below. This could be the amplifier you have been looking for all along. (via VorzAMP Pure II + (Plus) Portable AMP Review, So Pure You’ll Love It!)

When NVIDIA first released the GeForce GTX 960, they said that it was the best graphics card for 1080p in terms of price and performance. But when AMD released their Radeon R9 300 series, the GTX 960 may have a challenger in the form of the Radeon R9 380. Today, we are going to take a look at and review the XFX Radeon R9 380 4GB Double Dissipation graphics card. Like the GTX 960, the R9 380 also has a 2GB version and a 4GB version. Luckily the sample we got, thanks to XFX, is the 4GB variant. Can the GeForce GTX 960 hold its ground, or do we have a new winner for 1080p gamers in the $200 price range? Find out in our XFX Radeon R9 380 review here. (via XFX Radeon R9 380 4GB Double Dissipation Review – Better than GTX 960?)