Next week Asus is going to start shipping its newest graphics card from Radeon R9 series. Codenamed Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC, it is based on an original PCB with black-and-red design and the incorporation of an exclusive DirectCU II cooling system. Plus, the availability of ‘OC’ in the codename implies the availability of factory overclocking.



Asus Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC takes GCN Hawaii core with 2816 stream processors as the basis. It operates at an overclocked 1000 MHz frequency. The model is equipped with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory (512-bit bus) that runs at an effective 5400 MHz frequency. Just for a comparison, etalon adapter from AMD runs at 947 MHz/ 5000 MHz for GPU/memory correspondingly.


DirectCU II cooler consists of a heatsink, four copper nickel-plated heatpipes (two of them feature 10 mm dimensions), and two high-performance fans: one ordinary and one CoolTech. The card receives power via 6+8-pin connectors and might require not less than 600 W PSU.
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This season a new ‘white-color’ fashion trend has gripped many PC hardware manufacturers. Seasonic joined the tendency by introducing a new high-end power supply unit, codenamed Snow Silent 1050 W. It is intended enthusiasts and demanding gamers which aim to build a multi-GPU platform. The new-comer is already available at the European market at the price tag of 262.50 EUR.



Seasonic Snow Silent 1050 W boasts 80 Plus Platinum certificate, since it demonstrates 89%-94% efficiency in the majority of operational modes. This PSU is equipped with a single +12V bus, able to provide 87 A at 1044 W power. Such outstanding showings imply the employment of a high-quality hardware base and an advanced circuitry. In order to ensure maximum power and maximum stability, the model supports all modern protection utilities: OVP, OPP, UVP, OCP, OTP, and SCP.


The PSU features an absolutely modular design. Connection of graphics cards might be realized thanks to eight 6+2-pin connectors; …

Buffalo Technology has invigorated its devotees by launching a new series of external HDDs, entitled Mini Station HD-PLFU3. The series embraces three models of 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB capacity to satisfy the needs of varied customer groups. All the devices are available in two color variations, black and white, offering a sleek and stylish design. Along with outstanding functional, the manufacturer offers a rather alluring pricing for the devices; hence, the 500 GB comes at the price tag of $98, the 1 TB model costs $140, and the 2 TB model — $208.



Buffalo Mini Station HD-PLFU3 are based on 2.5-inch drives and does not require additional power supply. All the drives employ a high-speed USB 3.0 interface that ensures truly marvelous data transfer speed characteristics. The maximal Read/Write speed on sequential operations is supposed to achieve 100-120 Mb/sec; this provides for trouble-free transfer of various types of data.


It should be noted that all the drives support …