USB Type C: Things You Need To Know

One of my friends is planning to buy the latest MacBook with 12 inch retina display. So today he asked me a question. What is USB type C? And to be true, I didn't had any idea about it. so I did a little R&D and came up with this article.

At its simplest, USB Type-C, or USB-C, is a new USB standard that will eventually replace the USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports you find on many current smartphones and computers. USB Type-C introduces a number of solutions that solve the issues that many users of USB-compatible devices have had to deal with, and it marks the beginning of some impressive new features that should change how we interact with our computers, smartphones and other gadgets. The new Type-C will mean faster charging, quicker data transfer rates. The Type-C plug is compatible with the USB 3.1 standard meaning super fast data transfer rates.

The Advantages

Its Superpositioned

The frustration over attempts to connect USB devices to computers has been an old joke and lampooned in various ways. USB Type-C fixes that frustration with a reversible plug that allows a device to be plugged into port either way, whether it's upside-down or right-side up - in other words, all the sides are right-side up. This ought to save precious seconds and short tempers.

Faster Charging

Type-C can deliver power at up to 100 watts at 20 volts. This means that larger devices can now be charged from USB, including laptops and monitors. Say goodbye to the clunky AC adapters we've been lugging around until now.
In real world use this will mean much faster charging of compatible mobiles, tablets and now even laptops. This can be done while transferring data at the same time, something previous standards could not always manage.
This should also mean the need for a separate power port will be gone. It's also works both ways, so a device can send or receive power, making it bidirectional

Audio & video Can be transmitted

USB C can transmit audio and video using display port technology and offers support for the existing 4K, 5K, HDMI and VGA etc. This means that one port will suffice all your needs.

Higher Data Transfer Rate

Since Type C supports USB3.1 Standard, it can provide transfer speed of up to 10 Gbps. So, large files can be transferred and streamed at super speeds.

The Disadvantages

There aren't any disadvantages to it except for one: its not backwards compatible. But this problem has been solved more or less by use of adapters which will allow you to connect the lower devices having USB2.0 and USB3.0. There are already a couple of adapters out there like Apple's USB-C Digital Multiport Adapter that allow you to connect an HDMI or VGA output, larger USB Type-A connector or smaller USB Type-C connector via a single port.
All the things said, USB Type C is a future proof technology that will provide support to the upcoming gadgets as well as our old gadgets. So don't think twice before shifting on USB C.

This was all the points that I wanted to share. If you have any other points to be added, please do so. And as always, feel free to ask any queries and questions.

Shivani Mishra

About the Guest Author:
An Engineer by profession and a writer by passion. Trying to solve others problems and learning in the due course.

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How much RAM do you need for Gaming?

This is a perpetual question that I confront almost every day from a wide variety of people ranging from my readers to even my little cousin sister! How much RAM do you really need for gaming on your gaming PC? This tends to get more confusing with some fanatic flaunting 32GB to 64GB of RAM on the internet and claims that he is building a gaming PC.

So do you really need that much of RAM for extreme gaming? The answer is a simple No! Even with today's AAA game titles you cannot harness the full potential of 8GB RAM sticks and if you run multiple background processes simultaneously then also a 16GB RAM configuration will do just fine for you. Remember we are talking about gaming PC and not server workstation PC.
Lets take a dip to get a clearer picture with my example alone.
If you have too little RAM—say, 2GB—there's a good chance a lot of the games you want to play just won't run. If you have the minimum 4GB for games like Alien: Isolation, you may not get the performance you would with 8GB and it'll be restrictive considering the number of programs the average person runs on Windows, but you can get by. You may see no performance dip at all.
Below is a shot of Task Manager while I was running Alien: Isolation, Chrome, Photoshop, and a few other applications on my rig at home with 8GB of RAM. Everything is peachy. I can Alt-Tab out of Alien and do something in Photoshop with just a slight slow-down.

But there are times when I wish I had more RAM. If I'm running a game, streaming it, responding to chat questions on a second monitor, and playing music, or whatever else I might want to do simultaneously, 16GB would make a difference (and it's not all that expensive). Additionally, sometimes I work on virtual machines testing a software or coding this loads a lot of virtual memory on the RAM — so if you do virtual machining, audio or video work on the same machine you game on, you might consider going higher than 8GB. I plan to upgrade.
But as far as just simply gaming goes, 8GB is just fine, and is currently the recommended spec for most games. 4GB is the minimum you should have, but even so, I benchmarked Batman: Arkham Origins at max settings (PhysX off) with 8GB RAM, then popped out one of my sticks and benchmarked it again at 4GB and saw absolutely no change in FPS. I did see a comparative drop with PhysX on, but that seems like a special case I'll have to investigate further to figure out, and I was still getting 52 average FPS.
In general, more RAM can make your computing more pleasant, and I certainly don't recommend against 16GB or more. But in general, if you're looking to improve framerate, a better video card or a more powerful processor is going to make a much bigger difference than going from 8GB to 32GB of RAM, which may have no effect at all.

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Corsair H90 Liquid Cooler Review and Features

Summers are here and all the big gaming titles are ready like hounds of hell to unleash an usher of ecstasy over the gaming fraternity isn't that amazing! Of-course it is but wait, did someone just say my processor gets too hot and with all that load it'll turn my rig into an oven? Yes that's one issue that computers still struggle to deal with, heat, the arch nemesis of processor chips.

But hang on I'm here and today I'm here to review something promising that will keep your gaming rigs cool and quit even while running the most demanding of games or over clocking chips to new local records. The Corsair H90 Liquid Cooler is here and its what we'll review today and see what all it can do.
But first the specifications--
Technical Specifications

•     Radiator dimensions: 140mm x 170mm x 27mm
•     Fan dimensions: 140mm x 25mm
•     Fan speed: 1500 +/- 10% RPM
•     Fan airflow: 94 CFM
•     Fan static pressure: 1.64mm-H2O
•     Noise level: 35dB(A)

Compatibility

    Intel LGA 1155, 1156, 1366, and 2011
    AMD sockets FM1, FM2, AM2, and AM3

Package contents

•     Corsair Hydro Series H90 High Performance Liquid CPU
•     Mounting kit for all modern CPU sockets
•     140mm High Torque Fan
•     Fan and radiator mounting screws
•     Thermal compound (pre-applied)
•     Quick Start Guide

Overview

From the outside the Corsair H90 looks very sturdy and well built. The quarter inch thick extra flexible pipes are very strong and durable and can be easily twisted and turned as required. The radiator is heavy but not too heavy that you see it as a weight at the back of your rig.
The fan here I would like to mention is an odd 140mm PWM fan, means that you can control its speed via your motherboard, so no need to worry about a noisy fan anymore. This 140mm fan ensures that you will get a performance of somewhere between the 120mm and 240mm radiator category liquid coolers.

As the Corsair H90 comes with a 140mm fan you need to make sure if it will fit in your cabinet or not especially the mid-tower cabinet owners. You either need to fit it at the top or at the back with the radiator.

Summary:

1. Flexible and durable pipes
2. Clamp and install mechanism on the pump making it hassle free
3. Fan is thin and cools efficiently

Load test

For the test I used a AMD FX 8350 over-clocked to a whooping 5Ghz with the room temperature at 28°C. The cabinet was the Corsair Obsidian 450D and I had to mount the H90 at the top of the cabinet in a push pull configuration.
The noise level was recorded at 45dBa and 48dBa on idle and and at load respectively.
The temperature results are as follows:

This is an excellent stat comparing the heat and load the FX produces, also the room temperature was high.
Conclusion
The Corsair H90 Liquid Cooler does exactly what it is supposed to do that is cool the components producing minimum noise in the process. The pipe is durable and leak proof and coupling it with its 5 years warranty it makes it an ultra safe cooling solution to employ. The 140mm radiator sure does the trick making it second to only the bigger cousins of the H90 the Corsair H100 or the Corsair H100i, they are not only bigger but even expensive.
So if you are looking for your first liquid cooler and don't want to burn a hole while preventing your components from getting burn then the Corsair H90 should be your pick.
I give it 8/10
Update: For the video review and unboxing visit here

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What is Liquid Cooling System for Computers

Liquid cooling for your system is just like car cooling system. just like you keep the temperature of your car engine low by using water or other coolants, in the same way liquid cooling system uses water, oil or other coolants to keep the temperature under check. so now the question rises, Should you put liquid cooler in your system?

There are inherent risks to putting a water-cooling array inside your computer, but those generally come from the open-loop, bespoke setups you have to put together, seal and fill yourself. The closed-loop coolers we’re looking at here have all been factory-sealed and, barring catastrophic design/manufacturing flaws, shouldn’t drip anything into your system.
But is liquid cooling worth it? Lets find out..

1. Liquid cooling vs. Air cooling

Liquid coolers often provide better cooling than regular fans. But an expensive high end air cooler can also pull it off. Here the main concern is not keeping your processor cold but reducing the time in doing so. what liquid coolers can do is bring back your CPU to its normal temp faster than air coolers. This means that an overclocked system at 70C to 35C in less than 10 sec rather than 10 min.

2.Quieter than Air Coolers

Because water-coolers still use active air-cooling to draw the heat out of the liquid once it gets to the reservoir they’re not silent. But air-coolers need their fans to spin a lot quicker than the fans attached to a water-cooler’s radiator in order to keep to the same temperature. As they’re spinning slower that also means they get to be a bit quieter too.

3. Lesser Space

Liquid-based CPU coolers often appear to be large and bulky systems at first glance. Most take up at least one fan slot with a thick radiator, and the most extreme systems take up two fan slots with a double-width radiator built for maximum performance. These heavy contraptions are the first thing most will notice. In truth though, a liquid cooler can be advantageous. This is because the liquid block itself is usually no wider than a half-dollar, and no more than a couple of inches tall. Highly effective air coolers, on the other hand, are massive.

4. Lesser Dust

As we know air coolers need lots of fan to keep the system cool. lots of fan lead to lots of air intake and hence lots of dust. Whereas liquid coolers throw the warm air out of the system instead of taking any air inside the system, so no or very little dust comes in which keeps the system clean and cool.

What are the cons?

The very obvious con is that most liquid coolers are a bit too expensive. As compared to air coolers their price is high. Another problem is the fact that air-coolers don’t just cool down the CPU itself. The airflow they generate in a PC helps cool other components as a consequence. That means you need to ensure your case still has decent airflow if you opt for a liquid-cooler in order to keep your motherboard a little aerated too.

To buy or Not to buy?

So to summarize, a liquid cooler is quieter, works faster than air coolers, saves space and keeps dust at bay at a reasonable price. Hope all these points are enough to convince you to buy a liquid cooler. If you are still in doubt, any queries and questions are always welcome.

Shivani Mishra

About the Guest Author:
An Engineer by profession and a writer by passion. Trying to solve others problems and learning in the due course.

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Nvidia reveals the $1000 GeForce GTX Titan X

The wait for details about Nvidia’s GeForce Titan X is finally over. The world’s “most advanced” GPU will feature a massive increase in CUDA cores, 12GB of RAM, and an unsurprising price of $1,000, the company said Tuesday, during a kick-off keynote for its GPU Technology Conference.

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said the company’s newest card would pack 3,072 CUDA cores, which is a third more than its previous top-end gaming GPU, the GeForce GTX 980. Huang also pegged the single-precision floating point performance at 7 TFLOPS, which is a significant increase over the GeForce GTX Titan Black’s 5.1 TFLOPS.

Huang, however, also said the card would hit roughly 200 GFLOPs in double-precision floating point performance. That puts it on par with the company’s discontinued—and two generations old GeForce GTX 780 Ti—in double-precision performance. That’s a break from previous Titans, which have all ruled the roost in double-precision performance. The original GeForce Titan, for example, could hit 1,500 GFLOPS.

"It is a gaming card," says analyst Jon Peddie of Jon Peddie Research. "Floating point performance is limited."

Huang seemed unconcerned with the double precision performance, however, and showed off numbers that the Titan X could perform. Used for neural net analysis, Huang said a 16-core Intel Xeon would take 43 days to process the data. The original GeForce Titan would take six days and its replacement, last year’s GeForce Titan Black, would take five days.

The new Titan X can do the same task in about 1.5 days, Huang said. No further details about the card were released, including gaming performance.
So far by whatever we know about the Nvidia Titan X  here is its performance at a glance:
Nvidia's GeForce GTX Titan X is hands-down the fastest single-GPU graphics card in the world, and the first capable of gaming at 4K without having to resort to a multiple-card setup.

Pros

•     Incredibly powerful gaming performance
•     Capable of playing games at 4K resolutions with high detail settings
•     Quiet, relatively cool, and easily overclocked

Cons

•     99 percent of gamers can't afford it

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Corsair Obsidian 450D Review

Today I get to review the Corsair Obsidian 450D the latest mid-tower offering from Corsair in its famous Obsidian series. I've already reviewed the gigantic super tower Obsidian 900D and this is the smaller version of the same to put it right.
It looks elegant, built sturdily and is priced so competitively at just under Rs 10000 that you might be its new purchaser. The specs of the 450D are as follows:

In my methodical manner we'll start the review in the following way so you can skip to any portion you deem fit for your preferences just in case you don't want to read the whole review.

• The Packing
• Inside and Out the Obsidian 450D
• Testing: Load tests and Noise Levels
• To Buy or not to buy?

The Packing

The Obsidian 450D is  packed in the standard fashion with styrofoam layers both on top and at the bottom contained in a durable enough cardboard box that can endure marginal punishments offered by our Indian road transits. I got mine in one piece with zero scratches on the transparent side panel which is a very good sign.

So if you live in any area of India you can order this cabinet without worrying about the integrity of the product that you'll receive. This is what is very common from Corsair prodcuts as they pack their hardware quite well.

Also it includes a standard manual for the cabinet, a warranty card and four zip ties along with ample of screws for your SSDs etc. A noticeable point is that you get the HDD cage separately and not installed inside the cabinet. This feature is excellent considering that the drive cage can fall out of place and cause damage to the product during any bumpy rides.

Inside and Out the Obsidian 450D

Inside: Hidden surprises

Inside the Obsidian 450D is all black coated and well built. It comes with a rear 120mm fan and two front 120mm fans pre-installed along with two cages for 5.24' optical drives and a cage for installing three 2.3'/3.5' storage drives.

The signature Obsidian feature of a removable back plate for replacing the CPU cooler behind the motherboard is present and four rubber grommets for cable management make it a full fledged cabinet in this range.
The drive cage is located at the bottom and can accommodate another cage of identical size sold separately by Corsair to give you six storage drives in total.
A noticeable feature on the Obsidian 450D is that you can mount two SSDs at the rear area of the motherboard not only utilizing the chamber once left barren but also give you more space in the front. This is a feature that I've only seen in the Obsidian 450D and it makes it worth-fully stand out of the crowd.

What I didn't like was that a graphics card of virtually any length can fit in the first PCI Express slot of the motherboard but it would be wise to stick with cards shorter than 260mm (10.1 in) for the other slots -- unless the drive cage is removed, in which case any card will fit.
In short the Pros for the inside are:

• Durable material with a very clean finish and no sharp edges.

• Slots for rear mounting 2.5' SSD.

• Removable dust filters in the front, top and bottom.
• Optimized for air cooling.

• PSU of longer lengths can be installed provided a 140mm fan is not used at the bottom.

The cons:

• GPU length is limited during dual or tri SLI/CrossFire.

• Cable routing options are not available for fan cables.

Outside: Obsidian like the name

The outside is just as the name suggest a plain monolithic design signature of this Corsair series. On top you have a removable dust filter and the front fascia has an in-built dust filter that comes of as a single unit for cleaning purposes.

On the side you have a transparent side panel which is held in place with thumb screws, I didn't' like this as the 900D had push button mechanism for the same. So considering this of the same family and its not a very expensive feature it could've been included in the 450D as-well.
On the back you have outlets for water radiator that are not rubber but hard metal pop outs increasing the noise levels a bit but then this cabinet was never made to be acoustic friendly. 
The front has two USB 3.0 ports and a headphone & mic port along with a reset and power button.

The pros:

• Beautiful and elegant design meeting.

• All aluminum front panel.
• Well balanced on four legs so no unnecessary vibrations.

The cons:

• The side panel is a bit flimsy but not too bad.

• Only two USB 3.0 ports when the Cooler Master 690 II offers four at the same price in India.

Testing: Load tests and Noise Levels

The test was conducted for 1.5 hours at 27° room temperatures at maximum load running FurMark benchmark in stock configuration. The parts used were:

1. Intel i7 4770K
2. Nvidia GTX 970 4GB DDR5
3. Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD
4. Corsair CS650M 650Watt PSU

The following results were observed for both temperatures and noise levels.

Due to the excessive ventilation and good stock cooling fans, the thermal performance of the Corsair Obsidian 450D is great for a mid-tower case. As there is virtually no way for the warm air to get trapped inside the Obsidian 450D, even the stock cooling options are sufficient to handle a massive thermal load.

This is a very impressive and not to mention very quite levels for any mid-tower cabinet. Thus, the Corsair Obsidian 450D passes with flying colors.

To buy or not to buy?

The Obsidian 450D is a normal sized mid-tower case designed to deliver flexibility and cooling for a reasonable retail price of just Rs 10000.
Considering the variety of cooling options that may be applied and the additional flexibility that the removable drive cage offers, the Obsidian 450D does very well in terms of versatility, within the boundaries of a mid-tower design of course. 
So if you want a cabinet with durability, style, elegance and most of all performance than the Corsair Obsidian 450D is your pick.
Considering all the above points I give the Obsidian 450D a 8/10

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Nvidia GeForce Titan X Benchmarks appear online

Sneak peek at performance

When Nvidia unveiled its GeForce Titan X graphics card at the 2015 Game Developers Conference (GDC) last week, company CEO Jen-Hsun Huang revealed almost nothing about the part, other than to say it has 12GB of onboard memory and 8 billion transistors. There was no mention of other specs, let alone benchmarks, though information across the board has begun to leak on the web, including a first look at how the Titan X performs.

Bearing in mind that none of this is official, the folks at Videocardz.com report that Titan X sports 3,072 CUDA cores, 192 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 1,002MHz core clockspeed (boost is unknown), 1,750MHz memory clock, and a 384-bit memory bus resulting in 336GB/s of bandwidth.

The site also reports there are three mini DisplayPorts, a single DisplayPort, and an HDMI port, along with 6-pin and 8-pin (one each) PCI-E power connectors.

As for the benchmarks, they show the Titan X scoring 22,903 in 3DMark 11 using the Performance setting and 26,444 when overclocked. Both are lower scores than AMD's Radeon R9295X2 (28,930), though they blow the Titan (13,814) and Titan Black (14,557) out of the water.

This is really disappointing at first look and is not a very healthy sign for the upcoming flagship card for Nvidia who has already run into rough waters with its GTX 970 memory sham and a law suit that followed. AMD on the other hand is already geared up for it upcoming 3xxx series GPUs. The future of gaming is sure going to be very interesting and we'll keep you updated as and when any news pops up.

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PC Configuration under 20000

Over the past few years I've suggested and written articles upon various PC configurations for a variety of price sections but I noticed that many of us need a very basic computer especially those with a very tight budget or for those who just want their first PC or a PC for their kids to polish their skills upon.

So today we'll come to a PC configuration that'll cost you just around Rs. 20000!
Below are the hardware that we'll use and yes I've personally tested this configurations so you can buy them as they are mentioned over here:

Intel 3.06 GHz LGA 1156 Core i3-540 Processor: Rs. 5000

This is the basic Intel processor i3 but packs a lot of performance and is ideal for basic to medium usage ranging from office work to medium gaming. Key features

•     32 nm Manufacturing Process
•     3.06 GHz Clock Speed
•     Intel HD2500 Graphics
•     73 W Maximum Thermal Design Power (TDP)
•     64-bit Architechture
•     Desktop Processor
•     2 Cores

Intel Original Motherboard DZ68AF LGA1155: Rs. 3700

Manufactured by Intel this is the cheapest yet the most performance oriented motherboard available in the market today. Key features:

• Max Memory support- 32GB
• Upto 1066Mhz Frequency support
• Dual Channel Memory support
• PCI-eX16 port for easy GPU installation
• 4XUSB 2.0
• 3 years warranty

Transcend DDR3-1333 DDR3 4 GB PC DRAM: Rs. 2094

A trusted brand and a lot of performance at a very reasonable price. Best part all the stats are very commonly available so you can upgrade the RAM easily with another module fitted in the one un-used slot on your motherboard. Key feature:

•     DDR3-1333
•     DIMM Memory Module
•     240-pin Configuration
•     9 CAS Latency

 Seagate Barracuda 500GB Desktop Internal Hard Drive: Rs. 2900

Not much to be said as the brand says it all. Key features:

• 3.5 inch Form Factor
• SATA 6.0 Gbps Interface
• 64 MB Cache Memory
• 7200 RPM Spin Speed
• Average Seek Time - 9.5 ms (Write)
• 1 TB HDD
• 300000 Load / Unload Cycles

Intex Ripple with 450W SMPS inbuilt: Rs. 1200

This is a mid-tower cabinet with a 450W SMPS inbuilt that gives more than enough output for all the above mentioned components. Has provision for a 120mm exhaust fan at the back and a 80mm fan on the side panel along with its 80mm fan built into the SMPS. This is more than enough to keep anything available in this range cool.

Asus DRW-24D3ST DVD Burner Internal Optical Drive: Rs. 975

I know we guys in India still use optical drives so here is one that's both good on the price tag as well as performance. Key features:

• SATA Interface
• 48x CD-R Write
• 5.25 inch Form Factor
• 24x DVD Write

LG E1642C 15.6 inch LED Backlit LCD Monitor: Rs. 4600

A brand that i personally trust and use, LG. This is a nice little monolithic design monitor that looks both brilliant and performers more than any other in this price range. Key features:

• 1366 x 768 pixel Resolution
• 5000:1 Contrast Ratio
• 15.6 inch LED Backlit LCD Display
• Brightness: 250 nits
• HD Display

So this was the best PC configuration that you can get in Rs. 20000. Keyboard-mouse combo and speakers can be any and depend on your personal preferences.
Note: Add the cost of OS to the above configuration or download Ubuntu OS for free.

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Best Gaming Cabinets available in India

A computer cabinet is not just a box that will sit in a corner but its the only part of your gaming or office setup that will stay with you for a long time taking care of all the components that you house inside it. The frame you choose decides what components will actually fit inside. It affects how easy your system will be to build, how air will flow across your components, and how your computer will fit into your gaming setup. PC chassis come in a variety of sizes, from miniscule Mini-ITX systems meant to sit on your desk, to massive full towers designed for maximum expandability.
So with that in mind to day I've compiled a list of all the great quality cabinets you can buy in India as many big brands don't ship or retail in India foreign sites render useless many a times.
Some of these are my personal favorites either reviewed by me or built gaming rigs into by one of my friends or just on basis of popular reviews on various e-commerce sites.

The Budget Segment 

Cooler Master HAF 912 Advanced

Cooler Master is famous for its cabinet line-up and the HAF has been a legendary series in the computing world and the name is well justified by the CM HAF 912 Advanced.
Built as solid as a tank with a mesh design and equipped with removal dust filters make it a clean choice for India where dust poses a major issue. Its design is not loud and yet not too dull, just perfect.

Has two USB 3.0 slotss and 8 expansion slots so that you can go up to quad SLI/CrossFire setups, solid number of HDD/SSD cases and yes the room for two 120mm fans in front or a single 200mm fan makes it a cooling machine even at high temperatures with no dust all thanks to the dust filters pre-installed. Did I mention that you even install two 120mm water cooling radiators making it the ultimate gaming case in this segment!

Corsair SPEC-03

The SPEC-03 is the top line offering in the SPEC series by corsair and comes with all the bells and whistles one can ask for including a transparent side panel for those who like to show off their hardware.

Key features include room for the longest graphic cards available, 7 expansion slot for tri SLI/CrossFire setups, two USB 3.0 ports and a front 140mm fan which is a delight and keeps your system temperatures well below the red line. Cable management and all is excellent and build quality superb.
So if you are on a budget the Corsair SPEC-03 should be your pick.

NZXT Phantom 410

NZXT makes some very solid cases and the Phantom 410 is a very good, feature-packed mid-tower chassis. The frame, like many of NZXT’s cases, is very reminiscent of Alienware, with a bit of the company’s own personal flair making the design unmistakable even from afar.

The Phantom 410 is an affordable mid-tower that is just a few inches shy of a full-tower dimensions, comes with an adjustable rear fan set on slits rather screw holes, integrated fan controller, rubber grommets, and an almost completely tool-less design; altogether this makes the 410 an accessible case for first time builders. At the same time, experienced builders can take advantage of the ample clearance for a 240mm top radiator.

The Mid-range Segment 

Corsair Graphite 760T

Transparent side panels are quite in demand these days and the Corsair Graphite 760T represents the inevitable evolution of this trend. Rather than having a traditional side panel made of metal or plastic, the 760T’s flanks are made almost entirely out of transparent polycarbonate. Looks aside, its a huge full tower case with nine expansion slots for quadruple SLI or three cards taking up three slot with plenty of room to spare for water cooling.

The Graphite 760T offers a great variety of options and combinations, allowing each end user to find their desired balance between thermal performance, acoustics, and cost,It is aesthetically attractive without being too aggressive, offers good stock thermal performance without being too noisy, and is very versatile without being too expensive.

Cooler Master HAF X

Liquid cooling is nice and efficient but if you want a simple air cooled computer look no further than Cooler Master’s HAF X case. You can fit some massive fans inside the HAF X including one 230mm fan on the front as well as two 200mm fans up on top and another one on the side. Larger fans, of course, can help push more air without needing to wind up to full speed and produce more noise. The HAF X is also a very beefy full tower case with nine expansion slots and tons of room for storage including two hotswap bays.
And, of course, you can still install a closed-loop liquid cooling system if you fancy. The HAF X isn't the sleekest case around, but it's an old standby: rugged, versatile, and spacious. It has a 5 star review average on Newegg with over 1300 reviews for good reason.

Corsair Vengeance C70

This is a personal pick because I actually use a Corsair Vengeance C70 case for my own gaming rig. It’s an olive green, fully metal case that’s very reminiscent of an ammo box. The side panels are secured by snapping latches. This military motif also extends to the reset button which is hidden behind a sort of missile launch cover.

Aesthetics aside, the C70 is a very practical case with dust filters for every inlet and outlet where you can possibly install a fan this ensures a clean interior and zero hindrance in air flow, this is the only cabinet offering this facility in this segment. Even with the system fully loaded there’s still headroom to install a liquid cooling system with push-pull fans. Corsair call this chassis a mid-tower but it definitely errs towards being a full-size computer tower. 

Cooler Master HAF Stacker 935

If the HAF X isn’t enough room to grow in, there’s also Cooler Master’s HAF Stacker system. As the name implies, you can just keep on building on top or even bottom of your computer by buying more modules.

For example, you could build your PC in the main case and then stick the water cooling reservoir in the smaller 915R unit sitting on top or just put a 915F at the top and bottom to house the radiators and even separate PSUs for extra power! There’s also the 915F module, which can house a completely separate Mini-ITX system.

The High-end Segment

NZXT Phantom 820

The NZXT Phantom 820 is essentially the Phantom 410’s bigger, full tower brother. Everything about the 820 is bumped up with more hard drive caddies, expansions slots—and just overall, a ton more room.

Liquid cooling enthusiasts will also like this case because it supports a top 360mm radiator as well as a bottom 280mm radiator. For even more cooling the case can also be equipped with an additional 140mm rear fan and three 200mm fans. This cabinet has everything that you can as for but then this is the segment when even a little less is not acceptable.

Thermaltake Level 10 GT

A few years ago Thermaltake came out with a revolutionary Level 10 case that separated every component into its own compartment to individually cool parts. The Level 10 GT is a consumer-oriented, slightly less insanely priced, extension of the original Level 10’s philosophy. The unique design isn’t just for looks, as it also affords some very good heat management while making it quieter to boot.

The Level 10 GT incorporates all the enthusiast wants; hot swap, large fans with removable dust filters, maximum cable routing, and a sleek black paint job inside and out. The biggest reason for the Level 10 GT making to the list is its non enormous size which is not very common in this realm of price tags without compromising on functions.

Corsair Obsidian 900D

Speaking of top-of-the-line builds, the Corsair Obsidian Series 900D is a giant PC case ready to house the biggest of builds. Standing in at just a little over two feet, this “super tower” features an extra compartment at its base for a massive water cooling block, dual PSUs, or 12 additional storage drives.
Users can also pack in an absurd number of liquid cooling reservoirs with room for a 360mm block on the front and top of this frame. The only issue comes up when you need to move this behemoth around the room especially when fully loaded!

What couldn't you do given all this room? The modular drive racks gives you the freedom to configure your system any way you like without sacrificing the total amount of hard drives you can have in your system. Want to improve airflow from the front of your case to your GPUs? Simply place all three drive racks in the bottom of your case. Want room in the bottom of your case for a massive 480mm radiator with eight 120mm fans installed? Relocate the drive cages to the front of your system. Need more drive space? You can add two more drive racks to the mix for a total of 15 drives.

Cooler Master Cosmos II

As a direct competitor to Corsair’s Obsidian Series 900D, the Cosmos is a massive ultra tower that weighs in at 47.3-pounds—and that’s just the weight of the case by itself. Like the 900D, this case also features a separate bottom compartment in which users can fit the longest of power supplies as well as six additional storage drives.

The main compartment will take practically anything you throw at it with room for a XL-ATX motherboard and 11 expansion slots, which is more than enough for a quad Nvidia SLI or AMD Crossfire setup.
The cavernous interior leaves plenty of room for all your high-powered components, and with plenty of support for both air- and water-cooling setups, you’ll be able to keep even the hottest rig chilly.

So these are the best of the best cases available for grab in India today and each has something unique to offer than another. Just pick your budget and choose a cabinet from the list without giving it any second thoughts. Also you might want to read the best cabinets under Rs. 5000 and How you can choose the best cabinet guides.

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uTorrent quitely installs Bitcoin Mining software on user's computers

The popular BitTorrent client uTorrent is facing a backlash after trying to turn a buck through cryptocurrency mining.

On Thursday, users started reporting that uTorrent had silently installed cryptocurrency software from Epic Scale as part of version 3.4.2 build 28913. Once installed, Epic Scale uses some of the computer's spare processing power to generate cryptocurrency (such as Bitcoin or Litecoin).

In response to user complaints, a uTorrent manager confirmed parent company BitTorrent's partnership with Epic Scale, saying the software generates revenue for uTorrent while also contributing some funds to charity. “In the future, Epic Scale plans to contribute CPU cycles to other initiatives, such as Genome mapping and other academic studies that require a great deal of processing power.”

However, the manager denied that EpicScale was installing without the user's permission, claiming that uTorrent could not reproduce the issue. That's despite complaints from five users on uTorrent's forums who say the software was installed automatically in the latest update.

In any event, users can partially uninstall EpicScale through the Add/Remove Programs menu in Windows. A registry modification will remain in the ProgramData/Epicscale folder, though users can safely delete this folder once the uninstall is complete. That hasn't stopped dozens of outraged users from swearing off uTorrent in favor of alternatives such as qBittorrent, Deluge, and Transmission.

Why this matters: Cryptocurrency mining burns more than just spare system resources. By making the CPU work harder than it normally would, it also consumes more energy, potentially raising users' electricity bills. While it's ironic that users are aghast at an act of leeching from a program that facilitates media piracy, that doesn't let uTorrent off the hook for a lack of transparency. Some quick backtracking seems likely.

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Is it necessary to eject a USB Flash Drive?

As insignificant as it may look but this is a questions that most of you don't know an answer to and even if you do you don't have reason to back it up.

Either-ways be it the question of Is it necessary to eject a USB from Mac, Linux or even Windows the answer is all the same, Yes! It sis important to safely remove a USB Flash Drive.
Why? The answer is simple, Write Caching.
When you transfer data to a Pen Drive or a portable HDD cache writing is enabled all the time keeping data in the cache memory waiting for the execution process to finish up. So when you click "eject" or "safely remove hardware" a message is sent to the cache that the process is to be terminated.

Fortunately Windows is aware of this laziness and from Windows 7 and above has enabled the "Quick Removal" option by default. To check if its enabled in your OS of not just right click on the USB drive icon in my computers and select Properties>Hardware>Properties>Policies and see if Quick Removal is selected or not.
But beware for portable HDD its not enabled and manual ejection of the USB flash drive is necessary in such cases. Obviously you don't want to throw away your GBs ot TBs of important data into the trash bin just because you didn't eject the drive.
The more cautious among us, who would describe frightening stories of damaged cells, will say that you should always, always safely remove any kind of USB drive. My technical advice: Live a little. When it comes to smaller USB drives, I don't bother. It's not like I'm transferring top secret files of which there's only one copy. The worst that might happen is that I corrupt some data and transfer it again, or have to reformat the drive. Not too scary, and if your flash drive ever dies, it probably wasn't because you didn't click "safely remove hardware" every time. Exposure to heat, physical damage, and wear from writing data and plugging/unplugging (USB plugs only last for so long) are far more likely to hurt it. Keep your big external drives safe by safely ejecting them, but there's no need to be nervous about removing a USB stick as long as you've let any transfers complete.

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SanDisk Launches a 200GB microSD Card!

SanDisk today announced a 200GB microSD card at the Mobile World Congress 2015 for those who need a huge amount of expandable storage. The actual name of the card is the 200GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I card, Premium Edition. With the 200GB capacity, it goes right to the top as the largest capacity microSD card available for use in mobile devices.

Currently, the highest capacity microSD slot on a phone is the 128GB available on devices like the HTC One (M8), LG G3 and the Samsung Galaxy S5. Even some entry-level devices like the Microsoft Lumia 535 feature a 128GB capacity slot.

SanDisk was able to create the 200GB card by taking the technology it used for the 128GB microSD card and revised the design and production method to fit more bits per die. At a transfer rate of 90Mbps, consumers can transfer 1200 photos in a minute. SanDisk VP Christopher Chute notes in a statement that 70% of images captured by consumers are now done on a smartphone or tablet. By 2019, that figure will be as high as 90% and consumers will be looking for additional storage space. And that is where SanDisk comes in.

"Mobile devices are completely changing the game. Seven out of 10 images captured by consumers are now from smartphones and tablets. Consumers view mobile-first devices as their primary means for image capture and sharing, and by 2019 smartphones and tablets will account for nine out of 10 images captured. As the needs of mobile users continue to change, SanDisk is on the forefront of delivering solutions for these demands as is clearly illustrated through their growing portfolio of innovative products, including the new 200GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC card."-Christopher Chute, Vice President, Worldwide Digital Imaging Practice, IDC

The 200GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I card, Premium Edition will launch in the second quarter, priced at $399.99. It comes with a ten-year warranty. The card will store up to 20 hours of FHD video. Each card is waterproof, X-ray proof, magnet proof and temperature proof which means that your memories will survive just about anything.

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How to remove Superfish from your Lenovo Desktop or Laptop

In mid February of 2015 the news broke out that Lenovo, a global leader in notebook manufacturer, had mistakenly shipped all its desktops and laptops between the months of September and December with an ad-ware called Superfish. Well, if that's not troubling enough then hear what it does.
Superfish uses a man-in-the-middle certificate to insert ads into Web browsers. But it also opens the door to third-party access of a user's browser data, according to security researchers. Which means all your passwords be it a social site account password or a shopping site's credit card password all are at risk!
Now Lenovo is has ceased the installation of Superfish in all its products but for those who purchased a Lenovo laptop or desktop in this period or have purchased one recently it's a worthy protocol that you inspect and clean tour machine for any traces of this as-ware as it is "non-detectable" by any anti-virus!
Note: Lenovo released an automated tool that will remove the software and certificate. You can find that here. Manual uninstall instructions are below.

Still for those who don't have a net connection to download the tool, mainly in rural areas where the internet connectivity is very thin, I'm giving the manual steps below. Just follw them and you'll be all good.

Removing Superfish ad-ware

1. Open "search" in Windows 8.1

2. Without the quotations type "remove programs" and select Add or remove programs.

3. Now in the list of all the programs that appear search for the name "Superfish Inc. Visual Discovery" if it is not there then you don't have the program on your system and you can skip the next step and jump to the next section of this article.

4. If you see this program then it is there, simple select Uninstall and you'll get rid of the Superfish ad-ware.

Removing the Superfish Certificates

According to Lenovo, the certificate might still exist even if you delete the application, so you need to delete both manually.
1. Again open "search" on Windows 8.1
2. Search for "Certificate" and select "Manage computer certificates."

3. The pop that appears will have options of Yes and No, simply select Yes.
4. Another window will appear. On the left, look for "Trusted Root Certificate Authorities." Click that and then select the "Certificates" sub-folder. In the list that appears on the right, find "Superfish, Inc." (If it's not there, you don't have the Superfish certificate installed.)

5. Right-Click and select delete on the Superfish Inc. directory and confirm the delete.

6. Restart your PC 

There, you are all done and good to go.

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