Week of September 14, 2008

"When it comes to buying a new cooler you can be almost certain that most people will overlook water-cooling as an option. There used to be many reasons for this, such as the mammoth costs of a entry level water-cooling kit and the paranoia that accompanies the knowledge that the system could leak all over your precious rig . But recently the cost of water-cooling has fallen and although some still consider it a risky option, I think the tide is beginning to turn; so to speak. Today I have with me a funky looking kit from a relatively unknown firm, AMA Precision Inc and it's called the Serac 770. Let's check it out."

Want to get the most out of your game? Check out the Wolf King Trooper MVP Gaming Mouse. With an available 2,200 DPI, the trooper MVP can handle even the most intense gamer. But can the gamer handle this mouse?

CLICK HERE FOR Wolf King Trooper MVP Gaming Mouse SHOPPING & PRICING

On the go and want to jam? Altec Lansing has the answer, and its only a zip away. The Orbit MP3 iM237 is portable, light, and loud. Pretty much everything you can ask for in portability. But, as the smallest speaker system in the inMotion line, can it still compete with its bigger brothers?

Patriot is one of those companies that are putting several kits of DDR2 and DDR3 for various users in mind. We have gone through several kits here at Pro-Clockers. These kits have been some of the best overclockers we have ever seen. And to satisfy the appetite of the overclocker and enthusiasts Patriot has unleashed the PV34G1800LLKN dual channel kit. Now that is a mouthful so we will break it down some to give you some idea of what the kit is about.

Razer's newest mouse is an entry level gaming device, stuffed with their awesome sensor technology at a great price point of $39. This makes it an interesting choice if you want go for a Razer mouse for the first time without spending a lot of money.

My personal opinion on casemodding is not so much that is has died, more that it has slowed down. This could be that the older kinds of modders (me included) didn't have all the luxurious items that are available today. We used to make our own LED-fans and CCFLs. We bought those things at specialty electronics stores; back in the day when the blue LEDs were brand new (and sold for 8 dollars). Blue was THE color back then. Although things might have slowed down in that way, the big modding forums still reign supreme and will laugh at my comments here ;) although I'm guilty I too am still on those forums lurking getting ever to hungry to mod on my own again.

We wonder, though, can an Intel Atom processor with 1GB of RAM really do much for us? There’s really only one way to find out and that is to take the time to use and examine the product ourselves. What we’re going to do is have a look at the package and the EeeBox itself and then talk about our experience using it. I’ve taken the time to poke and prod my way around Windows XP and I will give you a rundown of my thoughts on it.

Remember the time when DDR3 memory kits were the talk on every forum, and making the tansition from DDR2 to the newest high performance memory kit would cost you upwards of £400? Thankfully months have passed and the price of DDR3 memory kits have dropped dramatically, with a 2GB DDR3 kit now costing as little as £120. If it wasn't for the £250+ upgrade motherboard needed to run one of these high performance kits it would be a very affordable and viable option for most people to make the switch from DDR2 to DDR3.

"I do like the MSI Wind. It's very neat and tidy ... works great and feels compact and lightweight. I would have prefered if it had a 6-Cell battery, but then that would have increased the costs. All-in-all, I think MSI have done a good job with the Wind ... but a drop a price would have made it a perfect buy."

CLICK HERE FOR MSI Wind U100 Netbook SHOPPING & PRICING

The market for video cards in the under $100 price range is rather crowded at the moment with 9600GT, 9600GSO, HD 4670 and the 8800GT all coming in nearly the same price as you can see from the chart earlier in the review and that's the main issue with this card release. Previous mainstream cards like the HD 2600 and HD 3450 did not have the competition from other cards in this price point. The HD 4670 is a great card for what it was designed for. The ability to run every game out there especially those supporting DX10.1 means that the HD 4670 will play games with the full features turned on if you want to. ATI says that the HD 4670 consumes less than 75W under full load, meaning that it nearly offers the performance of the HD 3850 in almost every situation without the extra power that the HD 3850 requires to operate properly.

CLICK HERE FOR ATI Radeon HD 4670 Video Card SHOPPING & PRICING

"The GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 does, without a doubt, improve performance over the original GeForce GTX 260 thanks to the additional 24 shaders that have been added to the graphics card. By increasing the number of shaders from 192 to 216 (a 12.5% increase) performance improvements were seen, but no where near the 12.5% that one might expect and this is on an overclocked version of the card!"

CLICK HERE FOR EVGA GeForce GTX 260 SHOPPING & PRICING

"Today for review I've got the new Jabra BT530 BlueTooth Headset with Noise Blackout and I've found it to be a great choice if you're on the market for a new BT headset. Noise Blackout is just Jabra's fancy wording for noise cancellation, but it truly works does work, and is a great feature of the BT530 along with ease of use and the ability to play music as well. The BT530 is small, lightweight, aesthetically pleasing and overall it's a great choice for your BT needs, so continue on to learn more about it… "

CLICK HERE FOR Jabra BT530 BlueTooth Headset SHOPPING & PRICING

"This compact Intel S775 heatsink 3 heat pipes and a 92mm fan squeezed between two aluminum columns. It promises good performance at acceptable noise levels. Let us find out if these claims are true and compare it to 46 CPU coolers we tested in the past."

“This HP notebook is not new. To be honest it is more than one year old model. So why are we talking about this “old” model? Well there is one good reason: price tag (430€)! This is one of the cheapest models (or maybe THE cheapest) that we found so far that is powered by thoroughbred Core 2 Duo CPU. Don’t forget that this model can be found in more than few variations but model that we tested named FH542AA had Core 2 Duo T5200 CPU inside…”

CLICK HERE FOR HP 530 Notebook SHOPPING & PRICING

"Zalman ZM600-HP is a 600 W power supply featuring a big 120-mm fan, an internal heatsink with a heat-pipe and modular cabling system. This unit is internally identical to OCZ GameXstream 700 W (the only difference between the two is the use of a heatsink with a heat-pipe and a modular cabling system on Zalman's model. Let's take an in-depth look on this power supply and see if it can really deliver 600 W or even 700 W. "

CLICK HERE FOR Zalman ZM600-HP 600 W Power Supply SHOPPING & PRICING

“It's a far nicer improvement over previous generation HTPC motherboards thanks to the newer processors and 800 MHz DDR2 support. You can find the DG35EC bundled with a Core 2 Duo E8400 processor for $270.00 at places like Tigerdirect. The Intel DG35EC m-ATX Motherboard has been seen around for about $85 or less. Either way, it's finally money very, well spent. So, if your current HTPC has been burdened by some pretty big processes and seems slower than normal, it's probably time to consider the Intel DG35EC Motherboard.”

CLICK HERE FOR Intel DG35EC Motherboard SHOPPING & PRICING

"The functions like call rejecting and microphone mute are very handy. Furthermore, the buttons are well positioned; when using one of these functions, you don't risk pushing any other button inadvertently. However, I do not recommend it for listening to music, as the sound quality for this purpose is very poor, but when making calls, the quality was just as good as any other standard phone. Another great thing is that there is an AC charger included as well as the standard mini-USB cable. So for mobile phone users who don't necessarily have a computer on hand, they can still recharge the unit. Or it could even be plugged in the car, provided you have a DC to AC transformer."

CLICK HERE FOR Cirago Mini Bluetooth Headset HS-450 SHOPPING & PRICING

CLICK HERE FOR TWEAKNEWS.NET'S REVIEW ON THIS PRODUCT

No matter what you think of AMD's ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series of video cards, you'd be crazy not to love what AMD did with the pricing of the first two cards (Radeon HD 4850 and HD 4870) from the series. As a result of AMD's aggressive pricing, NVIDIA felt compelled to lower the price of its latest GeForce video cards, the GeForce GTX 260 and the GTX 280.

Still, most people in the know want a good quality power supply that will leave room for a little growth, while providing good clean power to their computer. GlacialPower was nice enough to send us one of their GP-AL650 650 watt gaming power supplies to take a look at. It's a non-modular power supply aimed at the mid-range gaming market. We say aimed at the mid-range gaming market because most high-end gaming systems are going to require more native PCI-E connectors than the GP-AL650 provides. It has two 6+2 pin PCI-E connectors for your graphics cards. Still, if you're planning on running two single connector GPU's or a single GPU that uses two connectors and you don't plan on going any farther, it's nice to have a mid-range alternative.

I’ve really enjoyed my time building and using the LQ1000, and it’s very much reaffirmed my interest in water-cooling after previous unsuccessful experiences. Zalman has produced a case of simply phenomenal build quality, and the full integration of the water-cooling system into the design just about justifies the monster price.

The Real Power Pro is primarily designed to offer the best possible electrical performance over low noise or good aesthetics ... it is aimed at the most demanding users of all; hardcore overclockers.

CLICK HERE FOR Cooler Master Real Power Pro 1250W SHOPPING & PRICING

"A+ Curbic is a very simple steel mid-tower case that Tagan will be launching very soon, featuring four external 5 ¼" bays and seven internal 3 ½" bays. This case, however, has some features that make it better than other inexpensive mid-tower cases, like two big 180 mm fans with on/off switch and speed control (one on the front panel and other on the left panel) and screwless mechanisms for daughter boards and disk drives. Let's take an in-depth look on this forthcoming product from Tagan."

Sapphire has engineered their own version of the Radeon HD 4850 with cost and cooling in mind. The card's new unconventional heatsink looks good and keeps the card cool - far below reference design temperatures. The best of all is that the card costs only $169.99 online which makes it the cheapest HD 4850 available today.

CLICK HERE FOR Sapphire HD 4850 512 MB SHOPPING & PRICING

"Our room is too small for two Sacs (even the smallest ones), and the only downside of the Omni is that it doesn't breathe well, and it tends to "deflate" a little after a while ... Wasn't there anything in between these two? A bag with the size, support, and configurability of the Omni, and the awesome filling and microfiber covering of the Sac? Sumo heard the call. Behold the Omni PLUS!"

"Corsair has done a great job on the Flash Voyager Mini and for such a small device the performance was actually better than I expected. The Corsair Flash Voyager Mini was not designed to be a speed demon, but the benchmarks showed that it wasn't all that slow. The write performance on the drives could use some work as writing 8GB of data at just over 2MB/sec does take a fair amount of time, but once you get the data written to the drive the read throughput on both the 4GB and 8GB Voyager Mini drives was great!"

CLICK HERE FOR Corsair 4GB Voyager Mini USB Flash Drive SHOPPING & PRICING

Not too long ago, I took a look at a new line of Toughpower units from Thermaltake that boasted a fancy schmancy frameless fan that promised fantastic performance with not a lot of noise to go with it. Today, I'm looking at the 500W little brother of that unit, the Toughpower QFan 500W.

Today Nitro takes a look at one of the best motherboards on the market for the money, the Asus M3N-HT. Capable of Hybrid SLI and even Triple or Quad SLI, we are curious, is this board the magical wonder that we think it will be? Come with us as we look at the Asus M3N-HT Deluxe/Mempipe Motherboard.

CLICK HERE FOR Asus M3N-HT Deluxe/Mempipe Motherboard SHOPPING & PRICING

Today we have the latest case from Hiper on our test bench, the Osiris. This model features many of the same features which made the Anubis great but Hiper have taken feedback from the older version and made numerous tweaks to the overall design. Today we will find out if the changes are for the better.

CLICK HERE FOR Hiper Osiris Case SHOPPING & PRICING

"I have no problems recommending the DFI LanParty JR 790GX-M2RS motherboard, to any would be LAN party enthusiast, HTPC user or even a system integrator who wants features, performance and upgradability. It's a very good buy."

"Today we will take a look at the Elixir, OCZs first gaming keyboard. It's certainly impressive on paper, featuring rubberized keys, 10 macro keys, 3 gaming profiles, a complete set of media-playback and web-navigation keys, all with a suspiciously low price tag (available from most retailers for just $30). OCZ also claims the Elixir to be a durable, long lasting product, with an impresive 5-million cycle life expectancy. Are these claims too good to be true? Will the Elixir poison our gaming experience, or elevate us to new levels of epic win?! Read on to find out!"

"Today for review I've got the Jazz Elite HD Video camera and not only does it film videos in HD, but it's also a fully featured multimedia player as well so you can take videos, take stills, listen to music and even watch movies on it. In my time with it I've used it quite a bit, I've found it's easy to use, takes good videos and it has a great battery life. Did I mention it's inexpensive? So read on to check out the Jazz Elite HD Video camera from Geeks.com… "

At least until now, Active Smart Cooling for HDD enclosures has been ignored. Thermaltake decided it was time for Active Smart Cooling in HDD enclosures and came up with the Thermaltake VI-ON. The Thermaltake VI-ON brings style to the never ending parade of external HDD enclosures, and raises the ante with Active Smart Cooling.

CLICK HERE FOR TWEAKNEWS.NET'S REVIEW ON THIS PRODUCT

"It took 1.39 volts to get to 4050MHz but to go higher Prime stable required ridiculously high voltages. I dont mind pushing it but when running LinPack the temperatures spiked to 110 degrees right off the bat with the volts at the 1.55 I used to run the E8400 up to 4.5GHz. So knowing where my maximum speed was, I decided to see what kind of FSB I could get from the board and E7200. I dropped the multiplier down to 7 and started at 525FSB since this was the limit on the E8400. No problem! Moving in 5MHz increments I finally reached that wall at 545FSB. At this point it was time to start upping the multiplier to find the best mix of FSB and maximum speed that the E7200 would run at. 540 x 7 is the final overclock for this chip. Not quite the 2.0GHz worth of overclock I had originally thought possible but you gotta think, 1.55GHz worth of performance gained with a little work ain't too shabby."

CLICK HERE FOR Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 SHOPPING & PRICING

“Until recently, I never thought about purchasing something like the Icy Box IB-NAS4220-B External NAS Enclosure. In fact, the only enclosures needed were for sheer back up. Then one day I thought to myself, it would be nice if I could access my files from any PC connected to the network. No more need for 3 or 4 separate external drive enclosures for each room with hard drives. It gets a little pricey when you have 3 or 4 systems. The NAS4220 really centralizes the storage need more efficiently.”

While DDR2 isn’t dead yet, DDR3 has now been given the full go ahead. Intel will no longer support DDR2 on its upcoming Core i7 platform, rather going with Tri-Channel DDR3 only. And AMDs move to DDR3 is evident with the AM3+ CPUs already on the road map. DDR2 has had its time in the sun and it’s time to finally pass on the baton.

"When tech and fashion collide, it's not always pretty. In fact, sometimes, it's downright ugly - and forget about actually trying to use it. From crystal-studded USB theft magnets, to phones that look like mutated children's toys, we rounded up our top 20 techno train wrecks from companies that failed to make fashion function. This week, we scratch the surface with retro gone wrong, good ideas that turned out badly, and a certain iconic cell phone that never quite cut it."

Xigmatek are a relatively new company mostly getting a great reputation for their proficient cooling solutions. Lately however Xigmatek has made a great foray into the power supply sector with units having extreme specifications and aggressive prices. Today we will take a look at their most powerful PSU, the NRP-HC1501 1500W.

Sometimes I get those new hardware for review, and my first thought is what the Hell?. This is one of those times. I bring to you the X-Gen HTPC Mid Case. I was so wary of this case, I didn't even have a witty story to go with it. I don't like the models that lay flat. They remind me too much of the old Tandys. They look way too nostalgic to be interpreted as an aggressive machine. So I put it to the back of the line so I didn't have to write about it until all the other stuff was out of the way. Now, I know what you're thinking. I'm a complete D-Bag. That's okay, I've got other friends aside from you.

"XFX created a solid package for the GeForce 9800 GTX+. It includes all the accessories you would need to use the video card. They took the time to make the video card look good. The only problem is there is no reason to pay an extra $27 when there is no gameplay experience difference."

CLICK HERE FOR XFX GeForce 9800 GTX+ SHOPPING & PRICING

"One drawback to the design is the exhaust fan positioned on the bottom of the unit really cuts the airflow down for no good reason. I would like to see future attempts with a smarter placement of the exhaust fan. Now let's get into the numbers. The Thermaltake Vi-on beat a lot of the other scores by quite a bit and fell behind on a couple but still did very well in the long run. If the decision comes down to looks and performance when it comes time to spend your hard earned dollars, usually performance is the winner; consider this, the Thermaltake VI-ON has both looks and performance. I would recommend the Thermaltake Vi-on for anyone in need of a quality hard drive enclosure. Able to use hard drives up to one terabyte in size, it matches up well with some of the actual external hard drives in storage capacity."

CLICK HERE FOR Thermaltake Vi-on 3.5 Hard Drive Enclosure SHOPPING & PRICING

CLICK HERE FOR TWEAKNEWS.NET'S REVIEW ON THIS PRODUCT

"You don’t need to spend a fortune for a high quality, multiple-use stereo headset. That is, according to TekNmotion, makers of the Yapster Gaming Headset. Yapster was designed for a large audience of users ranging from everyday online computer uses such as PC gaming, internet chat, VOIP or simply high quality stereo music."

Today we have the chance to look at the Icy Box IB-3218 external enclosure. What makes this enclosure different from so many others? Well his enclosure supports two SATA hard drives across a single USB 2.0 cable unlike many that only have room for one. Our thanks go out to Tagan for providing us with this review sample; they also make some interesting cases and power supplies. The contents consist of the Icy Box enclosure, backup software, driver CD, a USB cable, a small external power supply and a rather limited manual. The CD offers a USB driver for those users still stuck in Windows 98 world along with FNet PCClone EX Lite backup software.

CLICK HERE FOR Tagan Icy Box IB-3218 Enclosure SHOPPING & PRICING

The Radeon HD4850 chipset was launched to fill a role in the middle of the graphics card market. The Sapphire Toxic Radeon HD4850 512MB graphics card stands out in this crowd of 'average' cards by offering a factory overclocked GPU and memory, as well as a cooling upgrade that keeps it cool and quiet.

CLICK HERE FOR Sapphire Toxic Radeon HD4850 512MB Graphics Card SHOPPING & PRICING

AMD's release of the 780G chipset introduced the world to motherboards capable of much more than consumers had previous enjoyed. Sapphire's PURE 780G brings us a unique board which Ruffy Rios tests. Does the PURE 780G perform and give you expandability? Read our review to find out.

The Raidmax IceCube is considered to be the mini version of the Raidmax IceBerg. The Raidmax IceCube is a SFF (Small Form Factor) case basically designed to be a LAN party case.

"The ASRock AOD790GX/128M is a decent all rounder ... If you're a mainstream user or system integrator who's after an affordable soltuion for AM2/AM2+ platform ... then you could consider the ASRock."

Foxconn's DigitaLife A79A-S is a very average board: the unimpressive feature list, the adequate performance and the overwhelming level of mediocrity that engulfs the package will set you back an amount that warrants so much more to justify. Given the size of the company and talent within it, there could be so much more impressive motherboards being cranked out - it boggles the mind as to why there has either been very little effort and thought put into this product or the engineers have shot so far off the mark they're stuck in orbit.

CLICK HERE FOR Foxconn's DigitaLife A79A-S Motherboard SHOPPING & PRICING

The BFG GeForce 9600 GT OCX takes mid-range graphics up a few notches by cranking up both the memory and GPU clock speeds over NVIDIA's GeForce 9600 GT reference spec, while coupling a potent cooling solution with intelligent temperature management for maximum stability and performance.

CLICK HERE FOR BFG GeForce 9600 GT OCX SHOPPING & PRICING

"AVA Direct builds custom gaming systems to order, and our review sample turned out to be the computer equivalent of a 22-ounce filet mignon paired with a $500 bottle of merlot. Not surprisingly, the $6,200 amalgamation of high-end hardware blew nearly every game we could throw at it out of the water, with build quality and attention to detail from this manufacturer to match. This specific system build doubles as both a workstation and a gaming PC which explains why Xeon processors were used."

Is your old video card just not cutting it anymore? Do you go to LAN parties or simply try to play single player games and lock up? Its time to introduce to you, the Palit Radeon HD 4870. Sure you have heard that this is an amazing card, but how amazing is it? And what would it perform like in crossfire? Hang on for the ride as we find out what this card is capable of.

CLICK HERE FOR ATI Radeon HD 4870 SHOPPING & PRICING

“Today I will be looking at my first Palit-built ATI card, the Palit Radeon HD 4850 Sonic. With its large heatpipe cooler and factory overclock, along with another addition that I'll mention a little later, this should be a very interesting version of the HD 4850. Has Frobo the frog produced another winner here? We'll see in the following pages!"

CLICK HERE FOR Palit Radeon HD 4850 Sonic 512MB Video Card SHOPPING & PRICING

Notebooks are more popular than ever, and the vast selection is incredible. There's a notebook for everyone, and in the case of Gateway's T-6836, if you are looking for something in between a netbook and a $1,000 model - you are covered. It carries certain downsides, but still packs enough performance and features to make the $800 retail price feel well-worth it.

CLICK HERE FOR Gateway T-6836 14.1" Notebook SHOPPING & PRICING

"Following the ongoing boom in the do-it-yourself PC community, full-tower chassis continue to to rise in popularity. A few years ago there were only a handful of choices, most designed for server platforms. Fast forwarding to the present, we have dozens of companies constantly releasing new behemoths, each laden with unique features or gimmicks to stand out amongst the crowd. While not necessarily the first name to come to mind in the enclosure market, we were very impressed with Tagan's high-end Black-Pearl chassis. Today we look at our second Tagan full-tower, another seemingly movie-inspired, chassis, the Monolith!"

CLICK HERE FOR Tagan A+ Monolith Full Tower Case SHOPPING & PRICING

Hardwareoverclock Austria has reviewed Titan’s new CPU cooler „Cool Idol“ TTC-NK75TZ. This is the biggest cooler, they've built so far. 920 grams of weight, a fast pwm controlled 120 mm fan with maximal 133,32 m³/h. This are the best specifications to cool down the hottest processor with the lowest noise.

“This time we received from Biostar two motherboards that are at first glance identical. Their model names differ in one number and they belong to Biostar T series: TP43D2-A7 and TP45D2-A7. PCB is, as expected for Biostar T series, colored in blue with aluminum heat spreaders on south and north bridge. Layout of both motherboards is, generally speaking, good especially since these are low-cost motherboards. Area around CPU socket is pretty clear, so it won’t be any problems with mounting larger cooling solutions on CPU. Nearby is located 4-pin P4 power connector under which is located 4-Phase power unit…”

CLICK HERE FOR Biostar TP43D2-A7 SHOPPING & PRICING

“Things continue to advance in the video card area and we find them requiring less and less wattage realistically. So, smaller, more efficient wattage power supplies are all the rage and everyone wants more power for their money. One PSU that could very well be your next investment is the BFG LS-680 Power Supply. As the model number denotes, it offers at least a solid 680 Watts with four 12V rails. Let's open this PSU and see what it can do.”

CLICK HERE FOR BFG LS-Series 680w Power Supply SHOPPING & PRICING

"Overall, this was a nice case to use. The temperatures were a little higher using the included stock cooling but two optional 80mm or 120mm fans can be installed on the sides of the case to increase air flow and help lower the temperatures. The X-Master has a lot of room to work with inside and does take full size ATX boards if needed, so you do not need to skimp on features using a smaller board for your project. There is only one dedicated HDD bay in the case, however you can use other bays not in use for more drive space if needed. Having two 5.25" external bays is really nice because you can have one for a DVD drive and one for a media panel display if desired. Also, the colors available will give an accent to anyone's home media station."

CLICK HERE FOR APEVIA X-Master AL/500 SHOPPING & PRICING

Looking for an Enthusiast level board that won't break the bank? Need to satisfy the Enthusiast side of your cravings but have a Motherboard that won't kill your electric bill? How about some 12 phase power regulation for the CPU and 2 phase power for the ram and Energy savings features you wouldn't expect on an Enthusiast board?

CLICK HERE FOR Gigabyte EP45-Extreme SHOPPING & PRICING

Anyone who has played Crysis has strong opinions about the game. You either loved the ground breaking graphics and open landscapes, or you loathed the fact you needed the pc equivalent of a small nuclear power plant to run it. The followup Warhead is more action oriented which manages to keep all the strong points of the first game and adds new gameplay elements while lowering the computer requirements.

CLICK HERE FOR Crysis Warhead SHOPPING & PRICING