Razer Nabu - First look and review

I originally wanted to be part of the developer preview for the Razer Nabu, but after thinking and deciding for myself where I wanted my focus to be I decided to just wait for the Nabu to be released and if I decide to build an app for it, so much the better. Today we are going to take a look at one of the first consumer versions of the new to market smart band. I was fortunate enough to be one of 5,000 in the second wave to successfully purchase the Nabu. As you can see by Min-Liang Tan's (CEO of Razer) post the sale was lightning quick!

Post by Min-Liang Tan.

Let's take a step back though. When I first heard they were removing the top display I was a little miffed as that was, to me, a great way to see the type of notification I was receiving. Waiting for this device to me has been a roller coaster of ups and downs. I have waited patiently since it was first announced that Razer would be selling this smart band. Pushing it back further and further was driving me crazy.

Fast forward to Saturday the 20th of December, I receive a notice that a package has been dropped off for me. I wasn't expecting anything until Monday, but apparently FedEx decided to drop it off on Saturday. Can't complain here! As I opened the box I was greeted with a shiny box with the Nabu and Razer logo.

Opening this box revealed yet another box...this one completely blacked out. Just a simple clean Razer logo that then flips open like a ring box.

 

 Below the Nabu in the box is a slide out box with the USB charger, operations manual, smaller band clip, and a Razer sticker. The USB charger has a nice touch with green instead of the typical black or blue (on USB 3.0).

Alright enough with the pictures of unboxing. Let's get in to the actual operation. Connecting it up to my phone was just as easy as my FitBit was. I installed the app on my Galaxy Note 2, opened it up, powered the Nabu on by pressing the only button and holding until it came on.  Once powered on and running the app, I logged in and selected the available Nabu. It paired up and added it to my account. As soon as I synced it up I began to get notifications. Using the Nabu I am able to keep my phone put away and still see what's going on in my world. This is going to come in handy when I'm out doing things like golfing, hiking, or even just sitting at work. I will be delving more into my thoughts after using it for a couple of weeks. I've got some concerns about fitment but it fits fine for now. Subscribe for my future updates!

Reviving a Monster

A few months ago I came into possession of an older Dell Precision 690 Workstation. At the time I saw the 1000W Power Supply and was immediately impressed. Looking down the board a bit I noticed the distinct setup of a memory riser and an empty CPU slot. It hadn't quite sunk in just how powerful this machine could become. It wasn't until a couple weeks later that I started looking into upgrading the system.

The current specs on the machine are:

• Dual core Intel Xeon 5130 (Woodcrest)
• OEM Memory Riser (allows upgrading to 64GB of DDR2 PC2-5300)
• 4x1GB DDR2 PC2-5300
• 1000W PSU
• Matrox RT.X100 Extreme Video Editing card
• DVD RW drive
• 320GB HDD

These specs are a little disappointing given what the potential for the system is. To give you an idea here is what I want to upgrade to:

• 2x Quad core Intel Xeon 5345 (Clovertown)
• 16x2GB DDR2 PC2-5300
• 128 GB Crucial SSD
• 3x750GB WD Caviar Black
• GeForce GTX 570

This will make for a significant upgrade to the system and hopefully make it much faster than it currently is. The RAM upgrades will have to be incremental as they are not cheap, but the first start is going to be the 2x Quad core Xeons. I can find a set of them (they have to be matched) on eBay for about $130.

If anyone wants to donate to help revive this monster and wants to see pictures of the changes to it as I go please feel free to let me know! Any help is appreciated and will help keep me doing new projects.

For reference please see the below image of a stock Dell 690. I want to do some cooling mods and possibly revamp the color of the exterior.

Upgrades - from Tumblr

Good afternoon y’all. I recently was fortunate enough to come into possession of two new components for my gaming rig. I want to talk about the initial thoughts that I have had on these new components and the very cool things they can do. The first is the ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 AMD AM3+ Motherboard

Buy it on Amazon here

This is ASUS’s toughest motherboard. They even send a handy dandy certification card notifying you that the components on the motherboard have been tested to military specifications. I’ve been asked, “Why do you need a military grade motherboard?” My response has been the same, “By knowing that military grade components have gone into this motherboard, I have the peace of mind that my motherboard can handle a longer lifespan. The warranty on this motherboard is a whopping 5 years!” ASUS hit the ball out of the park on this one. AMD AM3+ socket to handle the FX vishera chips, up to 32GB of DDR3 RAM, 3 PCI-e x16 (x16 & x16, or x16, x8, & x8) for triple CrossfireX or 3-way SLI, and 8 SATA 6 gb/s headers. This board runs the new UEFI BIOS and has a direct access button available on the motherboard. Sometimes fastboot makes you miss the key entry portion of the POST test and boots right up. Keep in mind my boot speeds are particularly quick as I am running a Crucial M4 SSD as my boot drive. Not only have I upgraded my motherboard to support future upgrades to my system, hopefully the FX-8350 in the near future, but I have also done something about the cooling in my already cool Cooler Master HAF-X case. In the past I have built custom liquid cooling setups for customers, but never did splurge on myself.  I decided to pull the trigger on the Corsair H100i Liquid Cooling system.

Buy it on Amazon here

Having built custom solutions in the past, I wanted to see how a sealed loop would perform in the real world. While it does not have the all over cooling power of some of the custom setups (ie video card and RAM cooling), it does seem to have the capability to cool my system down and keep it chilly compared to my old Antec Freezer 64 that I have had for the last 3 or 4 motherboards. Even under load, the 2 120mm Corsair fans, in push configuration, stay nice and quiet. I can barely tell my system is on.

Corsair Link 2 is also a very cool tool. It gives the operator complete control over fan speed, pump speed, and the color of the LED on the waterblock. The last part isn’t a performance thing, but the cool factor certainly is there.

All in all I want to say these two improvements to my system have been the best I’ve ever made. I have increased the stability of my system, increased the performance, and given myself the tools to make my system even better in the future.

I would highly recommend the Corsair H100i to anyone looking to overclock their processor, and the Sabertooth for high performance reliability.

Current Specs future upgrades numbered in order in ().

mb: Sabertooth 990FX
cpu: (for now, 1) AMD Phenom II x4 925 Deneb
mem: (for now till I swap for the 32GB, 3) 12GB GSkill Ripjaw X
hdd: 128 GB Crucial M4 SSD, 5 1TB WD Black
video: (till the upgrade, 2) Radeon HD 6770 1GB
case: Cooler Master HAF X
cooling: Corsair H100i Liquid Cooling

Our tech question of the day: For AMD users, what is your motherboard of choice? Intel users, what is your motherboard of choice?

If I start seeing any flaming of flame baiting I will immediately close comments on this post. Please, let’s keep it civil.