Sebastian, last but not least
Sebastian
It’s that time of year again – the season of giving (and hopefully receiving) awesome electronic things! And for the gadget-minded on your list, here are a few of my highlights from 2014:
ECS LIVA Mini PC
The LIVA is a tiny kit that’s actually a full Windows 8 PC. In fact, since our review of the LIVA went up ECS has started shipping this tiny computer with Microsoft’s free version of the OS (Windows 8.1 with Bing) preloaded on the internal storage. It's powered by a dual-core Intel Bay Trail-M SoC with 2GB of RAM, comes with either 32GB or 64GB internal storage, and includes an internal Wi-Fi card. Not bad for a system that retails for under $160 and runs off a micro-USB charger!
Grado iGrado Headphones
The Brooklyn, NY headphone maker’s least expensive cans still have that life-like Grado sound, and are tailored for use with mobile devices. The iGrado uses the driver from the more expensive Prestige SR60, and uses a smaller 3.5mm right-angle plug that is sized to fit most phone case openings. They are also very easy for your mobile device to drive, which means they’ll produce louder and more powerful sound than the usual earbuds. And unlike a lot of earbuds they won’t fall off if you’re working out due to the iGrado's “street style” behind-the-head design.
Calyx M Digital Audio Player
If you were really, really good this year… Ok, so the price is staggering compared to an ordinary mp3 player, but the Calyx M is a truly high-end portable music player and USB DAC (with native DSD playback) that actually costs considerably less than similar devices on the market. What makes the Calyx M special? It is built on a custom version of Android with an easy to navigate interface on its 4.65-inch 1280×720 OLED screen. It has 64GB of internal memory which is expandable with both standard and micro SD cards. And the M will handle any audio file you throw at it using the highly regarded ESS Sabre ES9018 DAC chip, playing high resolution digital music all the way up to 32-bit/384 kHz PCM and native DSD64 and DSD128. Best of all, the sound from the M (and its discrete headphone amplifier) is incredibly good!
“(and hey, games will need
“(and hey, games will need more cores sooner rather than later!)”
links to the define r5 review, how is this relevant?
Wrong link. Fixed!
Wrong link. Fixed!
u avin a giggle there m8?
u avin a giggle there m8?
I don’t think the 980 is a
I don’t think the 980 is a good choice, not at a 70% markup vs. the maybe 5-15% slower 970.
At that point, and if you’re willing to spend that sort of money, just go ahead and get two 970s, IMHO.
I think it only makes sense
I think it only makes sense refurb’d.
A bit ago I seen them for like 200-250ish somewhere.
But I wanted to try new AMD Tech on a 285.
First one I got needs to go back for RMA..
It crashes in seconds in any dx11+ title. : (
Tried everything! Oh wellz.
It gave me Space Citizen, I’ll be patient.
290X is a no brainer…..but
290X is a no brainer…..but lordy would they ever sort the driver situation out….and kick some Ubisoft butt.
(Still cannot play watchdogs on my AMD System…guess I never will 🙁
I rum both AMD and nvidia,
I rum both AMD and nvidia, not in the same system…
Rum indeed.
Rum indeed.
LOL, I just bought one AMD
LOL, I just bought one AMD card intstead of Nvidia..
A 285, want to try out there techs and see how they are these days.
It cannot launch dX11+ titles. No matter what.. HAAA !
Oh life. AT LEAST IT’S NOT A DRIVER ISSUE. >.>
It probably really is.. They just have no fix.
Or a graphics bios, which they had no suggestions for.
280, yes. 290, yes. 285, nope!
As long as they send me back a functional one on the first try.
At that point I think I just got a new coffee coaster.
The Shrout of the Dark Side
The Shrout of the Dark Side has fallen, begun the Clone War has.
Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.
The link for the ECS LIVA
The link for the ECS LIVA goes to the Grado headphones instead.
I will fix that
I will fix that
Grado’s are great, what’s the
Grado’s are great, what’s the link? ( tee hee )