When all the turmoil connected with the launch of new Intel Haswell processors becalmed, potential customers could finally get their own opinion about CPU facilities and decide whether an upgrade is a sensible move. A flagship motherboard from Biostar, entitled Hi-Fi Z87X 3D, proves that it worth the effort. Biostar was one of the first manufacturers in the market to pay much attention to audio subsystem. Hence, all the best audio elaborations have been aptly implemented in its flagship board.



General Specifications


Biostar Hi-Fi Z87X 3D positions itself as the motherboard for overclocking, featuring:

— chipset: Intel Z87;

— form-factor: ATX, dimensions – 305x244 mm;

— socket and supported processors: Socket 1150, Intel Haswell Pentium, Core i3/i5/i7;

— built-in graphics core: Intel HD Graphics 4600;

— memory: type – DDR3, capacity – up to 32 GB, clock frequencies – 1066 MHz – 2800 (OC) MHz;

— expansion slots: three PCI-e 2.0 x1, two …

The Toshiba Company has announced its latest external solid-state drives line, called Toshiba XS700. At the moment this series includes only one model of the 240 GB capacity. The device is produced in a regular 2.5-inch form factor; the framework height is extended, though. Dimensions are 95 х 75 х 11 mm, weight is 90 g. 

  

Toshiba developers applied the combination of the 3D BiCS TLC NAND microchip and the Phison S11 controller. The specialty is equipped with a front-end USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port, and commutation is ensured by the VIA VL715 chip, which means USB-attached SCSI (UASP) protocol is also supported. Owing to such specifications the transfer read speed in ATTO Disk Benchmark reaches 530 MBps, while the transfer write speed – 480 MBps.

 

Regretfully, we have no news about Toshiba XS700 SSD’s cost now. But we are armed with information that the novelty will be retailed, possessing a …

Fractal Design, an outstanding Swedish hardware vendor, introduced no less remarkable ITX chassis, entitled Define Nano S. The new-comer features 412x344x203 mm dimensions, targeting mini-ITX motherboards with the maximum of two expansion slots. Customers will be able to acquire as a standard case with all blind panels, so a windowed version Define Nano S Window.



The model houses four seats for 2.5-/3.5-inch drives. Habitual 5.25-inch bays are absent. Interior spacing is sufficient for the installation of 160-mm high CPU coolers, 315-mm long video cards as well as typical ATX PS/2 power supply units. The reverse side of the motherboard tray hides a dedicated slot for efficient cable management.


As far as cooling is concerned, the chassis comes bundled with two preinstalled fans: frontal 140 mm and rear 120 mm solutions. Additionally, it’s feasible to mount one more frontal fan, two top items and a single bottom propeller. Four fan seats employ ModuVent plugs & dust …