On the 27th of September this year, ASUS India held their 4th pan-India Enthusiasts meet on Mumbai. More than 30 geeks and tech enthusiasts were invited from all over the country for introduction to new products, feedback and suggestions, knowledge base and experiencing latest products.

I am from Kolkata and there were other two enthusiasts who stay in Kolkata also. ASUS India booked flight for us(both for going and return) and also arranged us a 5 star hotel in Mumbai namely Novotel. All expenses were paid.

We went on the 26th of September and reached Mumbai around 6:30 and finally checked in on the hotel at around 7 pm. We chatted that day and went to Juhu beach for a view.

On 27th morning, we were picked up from the hotel by a car arranged by the company and in no time, we reached ASUS India head office.

The day started with meeting and greeting tech enthusiasts, presentations of latest products like motherboards, monitors, routers etc.

ASUS Country Head, Mr. Vinay Shetty introduced the entire ASUS India TEAM and a brief about the company.

There was an online chat session as well with Jack Cheng who works at motherboard design division at ASUS and he gave us a lot of valuable information related to Asus OC socket and X99 new features.

Then we tried the latest products hands on. Got to see the latest motherboards, GPUs, monitors etc live!

Finally, the awesome overclocker Shatul Durlabhji did some overclocking on Liquid Nitrogen and we were lucky to experience it live.

Here are some photos of what went down at the meet.

Airport:

Before landing in Mumbai:

Hotel room:

Juhu Beach:

Inside ASUS Head Office:

Presentation room:

Our gift bag:

ASUS India team being introduced by Vinay:

New product arrivals to be experienced by us and demo systems:

DDR4 system:

4K monitors:

Enthusiasts in the demo room:

The genius Moksh Mridul sir, preparing the motherboard for LN2 overclocking:

The guru of overclocking, Shatul Durlabhji sir also preparing motherboards for LN2 overclocking:

ASUS Chromebox:

Lets pour liquid Nitrogen:

We enjoyed a lot. The hospitality was amazing. Also met with a lot of fellow enthusiasts.
Looking forward to the next enthusiasts meet as well. 🙂

The post ASUS India concludes a successful pan-India Enthusiasts meet 2014 appeared first on OCFreaks!.

Hi everyone, this time we are reviewing a Solid State Drive(SSD), more specifically a M.2 SATA SSD from Kingston. The M.2 slot is now included in the latest motherboards and has a minimum bandwidth of up to 10 Gb/s. These types of SSDs are new in the market and perfect for system builders having very low footprint. The SSD supports TRIM, has shock resistant chips with lower power consumption, supports SMART and is backed by 3 years of warranty.

Here is the link to the product(KINGSTON official site) : Kingston SM2280S3 120 GB M.2 SATA SSD

Unboxing and packaging

The packaging is simple and is transparent so that you can check the exact model before buying:

There is a tamper proof seal and on the back, there are the serial numbers and place of manufacture information.

Packaging was okay. A shock proof membrane was given which holds the SSD in place and protects it from shock. Would have been happier if the package was a bit more appealing.

Component analysis

The label is neat and important information is printed here.

The main controller used is a PHISON PS3108 S8 chip.

A Nanya 2 Gb(256 MB) RAM chip is used for the buffer memory.

4 x Kingston FA32B08UCT1-BC ICs are used for providing the storage support. Each chip is 32 GB in size and combining 4 of them gives a total memory of 4*32 = 128 GB.

So that is it for the component analysis part. Lets move on and see how this drive performs in real time.

Test system

CPU: Intel Core i5 4670K
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK
RAMs: Kingston HyperX Beast DDR3 2400 MHz(2*8 GB)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120V with push pull configuration
Graphics card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6770 1 GB DDR5
Hard disk/Solid State disk(s): Kingston SM2280S3 120 GB M.SATA SSD
Power Supply: Corsair GS 700 2013 edition
Monitor: Dell S2240M
Chassis: Open test bench table
Software: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Service Pack 1 and all updates till then.

Information from AIDA 64 and HDTune Pro:

Real time performance and benchmarks:

Test method: The performance of the drive was tested with various industry known benchmark software and such that scores can be compared with other sites as well.

Software used:

HDTune Pro, CrystalDiskMark3.0.3, Anvil’s storage utilities(1.1.0), AS SSD Benchmark 1.7.4739.38088

HDTune Pro read and CrystalDiskMark benchmark:

Anvil’s storage utilities benchmark:

AS SSD benchmark:

Speed:

IOPS(Input/Output Per Second):

Windows boot time:

Windows was booting in approx 8 seconds. Time was counted from the instant after POST finished and the motherboard logo went away.

I must say those are some really good scores for a SSD. The speeds are very close to what is advertised and the read speed almost reaches the SATA 6 Gbps bandwidth.
Input Output Per Second(IOPS) values are also good. You can compare the values with other sites as well.

Summary and conclusion

Pros:
1. Good build quality
2. M.2 SATA is new and compact
3. Shock proof and low voltage ICs
4. 3 years warranty

Cons:
1. Packaging could have been better.

Verdict:

This SSD can be a very good small form factor choice for PCs having a SATA M.2 slot. It is connected directly to the motherboard without any discrete cables and thus installation is a breeze. Performance is very good and promised as per specs.

Thanks for reading. Hope you like it. Please share your opinions. Criticisms and suggestions are warmly welcome. Last but not the least, I would like to express my thanks to Kingston Technology India and Social Nirvana for providing me the sample.

The post Kingston M.2 Sata SM2280S3 120GB SSD Review appeared first on OCFreaks!.

Introduction

Hi everyone, this time we’ll be reviewing the GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-Gaming 7 motherboard. The GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-Gaming 7 motherboard is made with the latest Intel Z97 chipset and targeted towards the mainstream to hardcore gamers as well as enthusiasts. It supports the latest Intel Haswell refresh series of CPUs and packs a lot of features.

Here is the link to the motherboard(GIGABYTE official site) : GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-Gaming 7 motherboard. This is a full sized ATX motherboard and features Killer E2200 LAN and Realtek ALC 1150 115 dB SNR audio for a complete gaming experience. Lets move on to the specs as shown on GIGABYTE website:

The post GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-Gaming 7 Review appeared first on OCFreaks!.

GIGABYTE motherboards on display:

The demo rig: Still yet to be powered on.

Representatives from GIGABYTE India:

Demo rig in action:

Audience:

GIGABYTE representative Prathamesh Patil explaining improvements achievable in games due to overclocking.

A key ring won by a participant answering correctly.

USB hub:

A GIGABYTE Z97 series motherboard won by a participant. Surrounded by GIGABYTE regional manager Mr. Amit Raj and Representative Mr. Prathamesh Patil:

Mr. Ganesh Kalita from AMD hosts a quiz.

We had a very nice experience. As for me, it was the first time in my life I met with professionals working in reputed multinational companies. It was great to talk to them and to people around us.

The post Inside Game-O-Thon held at Lalani eTech City, Kolkata – Presented by AMD and GIGABYTE appeared first on OCFreaks!.

Introduction and specifications

Hi everyone, hope you are all well and doing good. A few months back, I got a Dell S2240M and herein decide to write a review since Dell’s S series monitor lineup has proven itself to be very popular to the consumers. Before going into the details, I will briefly explain some of the terms and fields commonly used for monitors.

Resolution:
Resolution of a monitor is defined as the number of pixels in each coordinate, expressed in width(x) * height(y) with respect to pixels. Example: A resolution of 1024*768 means that there are 1024 pixels on the x axis and 768 pixels on the y axis. Higher is better in terms of productivity.

Aspect Ratio:
Aspect ratio in a monitor is defined as the ratio of its width to height calculated either with respect to number of pixels or physical lengths. Thus the aspect ratio of a 1024*768 would be (1024:768) = 4:3. The value is usually expressed in fraction to make the user aware of the physical dimensions of the monitor.

Contrast Ratio:

Contrast ratio are of two types: Static and Dynamic.

Response time:
Response time is defined as the time taken for a pixel to change from one color to another i.e. the color transition time. Response time determines the measure of probable ghosting which can be noticeable in fast moving images especially in games and some movies. This value is usually expressed in some specific color transition times in milliseconds. Lower the time, faster the color change. So a lower value is better.
If you are a hardcore gamer, then you would want to make sure that you get a monitor with low response time to prevent ghosting.

Pixel pitch:
Pixel pitch is the distance between two pixels either horizontally or vertically and measures how close one pixel is from another.

Viewing angle:
Viewing angle is the maximum angle in which the images on the screen can be seen without much appreciable color change. This is a very important aspect for a good display and is a measure of the color accuracy of the screen. You would like to have a screen with good viewing angles if you plan to enjoy your PC with your family or friends. It is expressed in angles horizontally and vertically. A viewing angle of 170 degree horizontal means the image on the screen can be seen without much distortion making 85 degree angle to the left and 85 degree angle to the right. Same goes for the vertical value in terms of top and down views.

Brightness:
This value is a measure of the screen luminance without the backlight expressed per unit area of the screen. In other words, it is luminous intensity of the transistors without the backlight per unit area. A higher value signifies a better quality display. Expressed in candela/m^2 (cd/m^2).

So that is the theory part. Here are the specifications of the monitor.

• Resolution: 1920*1080(Full HD)
• Screen size: 22 inches(diagonal)
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Contrast Ratio: 1000:1(Static) , 8 million:1
• Pixel pitch: 0.248mm
• Brightness: 250 cd/m^
• Viewing angle: 178 degree both horizontally and vertically
• Panel type: In Plane Switching(IPS)
• Backlight module: LED

There are mainly 3 types of panel used in monitors. TN(Twisted Nematic), IPS(In Plane Switching) and VA(Vertical Alignment). TN panel is known for limited viewing angles/limited color accuracy and fast response times. IPS panel is known for wide viewing angle and high color accuracy but slow response times. VA panel is known for exceptional contrast ratio(deeper blacks), fast response times but inferior viewing angles and color accuracy than IPS panel. You can read about these elsewhere.

Close ups and build quality

First of all, sorry for not including the unboxing and packaging section because I suddenly planned to write the review for this monitor. I will add it if someone I know buys the same model.

So this is how the monitor looks.

The monitor is a beauty to look at even when it is turned off. The screen is glare(hard coating 3H). So the screen is glossy. Glossy screens can cause problems in brightly lit environment but offers superior sharpness and contrast when compared to matte finish panels. Also, the bezel is very thin and is “virtually borderless” as Dell says in their website.

Here is the rear of the monitor. There is a stylish Dell logo which looks good. I was disappointed that this does not have provision for wall mount(VESA).

The port choices are DVI and VGA. Please note that the S2240″M” comes with VGA and DVI whereas the S2240″L” comes with VGA and HDMI. Both use the same panels. So this can also be considered as a review of the S2240L with respect to picture quality.

The monitor is slim and occupies a small foot print. We have seen better stand design though especially oval ones from Samsung, LG, BenQ etc. On the optimistic side, the stand is sturdy and the monitor stands rigidly.

The buttons are on the right side faced towards the rear. It is a good approach and enhances the aesthetics. You have to get used to the buttons because they are not marked except the power.

A calm white LED glows when the monitor is active. The light changes to amber when the monitor enters standby mode.

Build quality is quite good except near the borders where pressing the panel causes backlight bleed.

Real world performance

Here are some photos of the inbuilt menu interface: Pretty much self explanatory.

Color modes are given as preset. You can also customize Red, Green and Blue values by selecting “Custom color” mode.

Most of these settings are applicable for VGA interface.

Energy smart is a feature with which the monitor dynamically adjusts the backlight based on what is displayed on the screen. Like when the screen has a lot of dark scenes, the backlight is reduced. On the other hand, the backlight is increased when there are a lot of bright elements on the screen.

DDC/CI stands for Display Data Channel. It is a dedicated signal through the cable which lets the graphics card identify the monitor by its device and vendor ID and also receives some specifications of the monitor like maximum supported resolution, refresh rate etc.

LCD conditioning is needed when there is some image burn-in in the screen due to the same image displayed on the screen for a long time. You can think of this like your eyes also. If you stare at a bright light source for sometime, it appears as if the image is retained in the eye and then it slowly disappears. Same happens with LCD panels but sometimes, LCD conditioning needs to be done to minimize image burn-in.

Shortcuts for frequently used: You can change them as you need.

This is the secret factory menu and shows the offset values and gain. It also displays the total time the screen remained powered on.

And here is the real time performance:

There is negligible color shift in those angles as promised by the 178 degree viewing angle specification based on the IPS panel.
Only in the last picture taken from the top, the contrast is slightly lost and the black level also. Here is a different set of images:

Here also in the photos based on top and bottom color accuracy at an angle, the contrast is slightly lost and the black level is worsened. But note that the black level only gets worse in the diagonals. Here’s the reason:

So yes, that is some bad IPS bleed I am afraid. In real time bright pictures, it might not be noticeable to this extent but dark scenes will look bad. This phenomenon of IPS panel can be termed as IPS light bleed. Basically the diagonal viewing angles are not good.
From a distance, the problem will be reduced by quite an extent.

Black level is average for an IPS panel. The corners are lit up not due to backlight bleed but due to IPS light bleed as I explained above. Please note that backlight bleed is a kind of lottery for various monitors. Some have none and some have very annoying backight bleed. I seem to be on the lucky side so far.

So horizontal viewing angle is very good. Vertical viewing angles are okay but definitely much better than TN panels. Color accuracy is excellent.

About response time, this monitor has got a high response time of 7 ms with which some gamers might not be happy about. However in reality, it did not give much issues. But color transition from light blue to moderately dark green caused some ghosting which was visible while I was playing Medal of Honor Warfighter.
I hardly noticed any other issues.

Conclusion

Pros:

• Wide viewing angles
• Rigid stand
• Premium looks
• Excellent color accuracy
• Good ergonomics
• Very good price to performance ratio

Cons:

• Bad IPS bleed when viewing dark scenes from a diagonal angle
• No wall mount support
• 7 ms response time might make some gamers unhappy

Verdict:

Thanks for reading. Suggestions and feedbacks are warmly welcome. Do not hesitate to ask any questions you might have and I will try my best to answer.

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