Week of November 15, 2009

Here is a list of the news submitted on Tweaknews for Novemer 21st, 2009. click the links to read in more detail.

NZXT M59 Mid-Tower Computer Case @ Benchmark Reviews
Ultra X4 500 W Power Supply Review @ Hardware Secrets
Sapphire 5970 Cfx and HIS 5970 CFx Review @ DriverHeaven
Google Chrome OS hands-on @ Tweaktown
Cooler Master CM Storm Scout Case @ technic3d

The graphics solution world is constantly evolving with visual quality being stepped up at an ever-growing exponential rate. The launch of Windows 7 and with it the tantalising prospect of DirectX 11 games is perhaps not so much just a single step up but a whole flight of stairs designed to deliver unparalleled graphics quality.

"With the release of Windows 7, multi-touch computing has finally been something worth looking into because Windows 7 supports multiple touch points for the first time ever and the interface has been redesigned to be "touch friendly". The HP TouchSmart 300-1025 desktop PC offers a 20" touch screen LCD and has sleek looks that make it an excellent primary or secondary PC that has many different features for many different users."

CLICK HERE FOR HP TouchSmart 300-1025 PRICING & SHOPPING

Today NVIDIA launches their first GDDR5 graphics card. The new GeForce GT 240 is based on NVIDIA's brand-new 40 nm G215 graphics processor and features 96 shaders. Palit has built an overclocked "Sonic" Edition card that comes with high clock speeds out of the box and features a sensible temperature based fan control mechanism.

"The BlacX Duet we have on hand today is the third in the BlacX series of hard drive docking stations from Thermaltake. We first saw the BlacX at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show and got our hands on a review sample a month later. We came away from that review very impressed with the concept and implementation, although USB-only transfer left us wanting more. The second coming of the BlacX, dubbed the SE version, featured a 4-port USB hub but still failed to deliver eSATA transfer capability. With the latest release of the BlacX, Thermaltake has done away with the 4-port USB hub, added a second slot that allows for two drives to be mounted simultaneously and finally added eSATA compatibility. This is looking more like the BlacX we hoped for nearly two years ago."

A silent case may seem like a "sales gimmick" to some people, after all how can a case make noise? While it is true that the case itself isn't loud it can help transmit sound. After all it is the fans and other components that actually generate the noise. But the direct noise is only half of the battle, many of the sounds you hear coming from your case can be traced back to all of the moving parts and their affect on the case itself.

CLICK HERE FOR CoolerMaster Sileo 500 PRICING & SHOPPING

"Thermaltake's SD100 small home theater chassis stands out as a case that blends in extremely well. Think about that for a moment. The glossy black finish, the small footprint, and the silver buttons make for a computer case that would make any home theater setup look better without drawing much attention. For installation, Thermaltake did an excellent job designing the interior to maximize cooling while giving users enough room to fit components easily. With solid construction, a great air filter, and quiet fans, the SD100 serves as a great entry level HTPC case..."

"Barracuda XT is the first SATA-600 hard disk drive to arrive the market. It is also the first 2 TB from Seagate that spins at 7,200 rpm - the other 2 TB drive from Seagate, Barracuda LP, is a "green" model spinning at 5,900 rpm. Let's see if the new SATA-600 interface will really make a difference."

CLICK HERE FOR Seagate Barracuda XT PRICING & SHOPPING

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 400 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

"Overall, I was able to run the card higher than the clock speeds on the HD 5870 for a nice increase in performance, but to do so brought out the fan noise that ATI reference cards always bring to the table when you bump up the fan for additional cooling. I was able to reach clock speeds of 890MHz on the core and 1260MHz on the memory, with power consumption peaking at 486 watts on the system under load with temperatures that reached 69 degrees Celsius. The vapor chamber cooling does its job keeping this behemoth cool! Not too bad on the clocks and temperatures, but as an enthusiast you always want more performance with less power."

There are many video cards out there to satisfy gamers, multimedia users and other 3D work related users, however there are not many video cards out there that can be used in low profile system. Not only that, but some low profile video cards are also weak in performance. It is getting hard to find a decent card which will give excellent performance while watching your HD movies or just playing some games. But there might be some good news. The new Leadtek GT220 video card is a small standard or low-profile video card that will allow you to watch your favorite HD movies at home as well as put on some mild gaming every now and then.

Benchmark Reviews has monitored the network storage industry for several years now, and the same three features have always held the highest demand: speed, data redundancy, and simple operation. QNAP has earned the title of NAS pioneer, not by being the first to have a network attached storage (NAS) device on the market, but by being the first to consistently offer fast Gigabit Ethernet speeds with failover, RAID hard drive functionality, and a diverse feature-rich user interface. In this article, Benchmark Reviews test the QNAP TS-419P Turbo NAS based on the Marvell 6281 'Kirkwood' processor.

“So you have yourself a nifty laptop, working away diligently when you start to realize you might need more desktop space. Using a laptop, you find yourself locked into that 15-inch monitor but you need more room, what do you do? Well Samsung might have the perfect solution for you, if you have the extra space; the Samsung LD190G USB Monitor."

Elixir is known for their standard JEDEC modules, usually found in budget and mid-range systems. Their 1600 MHz tri-channel kit tries to give you that same value with a hint of overclockability thrown in the mix, for those who want that magical 1600 MHz speed, while spending as little as possible.

On the lookout for a P55 motherboard to match that shiny new Lynnfield CPU? Given the sheer selection available, deciding on one can be a hassle. ASUS' P7P55D Pro looks to appeal to a large crowd, though, by offering a slew of useful options, impressive overclocking abilities and a great design for an easy-to-stomach $170.

CLICK HERE FOR ASUS P7P55D Pro PRICING & SHOPPING

So, we've looked at the HD 5970 in single form and we've also seen the massive OC potential of the card. You have to wonder what else there is to do? - We'll, that's easy; install our second HD 5970 into the system and see how CrossFireX goes.

We have had the opportunity to review some very nice Network Attached Storage Devices (NAS) in the last few months, but the new Thecus N0503 ComboNAS that we are reviewing today is kicking some major NAS when it comes to compatibility. This unit will hold either five - 2.5" hard drives or three -3.5" hard drives plus more features than we can place here.

"The performance of the Patriot Box Office HD Media Player was incredible. High definition movies and lossless music played quickly and stutter-free. Even large-format images that we captured in JPG or TFF looked great on our TVs. Overall, we were really pleased with this device and would recommend it over others in this price range mainly because we can use a local hard drive. Unlike the Western Digital where the WDTV Live can "partner" with a USB connected drive externally, the Patriot Box Office solution is sleeker and more functional..."

P55 motherboards come in all shapes and sizes while retailing for prices that are sure to fit anyone’s budget. On one end of the spectrum we have the budget friendly, basic products while on the other there are the high-end, feature rich enthusiast boards like the ASUS Maximus III Formula. This board looks to offer everything an overclocker could want and them some. Let’s hope it delivers.

Today we are going to look at the Sharkoon X-Tatic Digital Surround Sound Headset. Aside from being compatible with all PCs which feature multi-channel audio, it is fully compatible with both PS3 and XBOX.

"If Panasonic's Lumix DMC-FP8 looks a lot like the rugged TS1 the company launched earlier this year, it's because the two cameras have a lot in common. Although the FP8 won't survive a dip in the drink or a drop to the floor like its brawnier brother, both use a unique folding-optic design that eliminates moving parts outside the camera. And priced at $300, this stripped-down, classed-up model is $80 cheaper. Does the basic camera design hold up when deprived of its tank-like cladding? We found out."

CLICK HERE FOR Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP8 PRICING & SHOPPING

"If you take a look at the increased performance brought to the table by overclocking, the GT 220 has a hard time competing with the performance delivered by the HD 4670 that is offered in the same price bucket at 65 to 79 dollars. This price point makes it a hard sell for those looking for an inexpensive gaming card. But this card was not built to push those limits, but to do the work that many a soccer mom does to preserve the family history in a digital format, convert media to a format usable by portable devices, or to clean up those shaky family movies."

CLICK HERE FOR Geforce GT 220 PRICING & SHOPPING

The OCZ Agility EX 60GB drive we are looking at today runs about $400 so they are pricey drives. That works out to $6.67 per Gigabyte of storage which is expensive compared to ordinary platter drives. Take your run of the mill 500GB platter drive which can easily be found for about $59.99 for a 7200 RPM 16MB cache drive, those run about $0.11 a gigabyte. The platter drives tend to run in the 60 - 70MB/s range and most end users settle for that and are happy with the considerable savings.

CLICK HERE FOR OCZ Agility 60GB SSD PRICING & SHOPPING

The Western Digital WD TV has plenty of attributes to help it score at the top of the list of media players I have checked out so far. It has a slick but simple appearance, the user interface is attractive and easy to use, the system is quick to respond to commands from the remote control, it supports plenty of file formats, and it has HDMI connectivity.

CLICK HERE FOR Western Digital WD TV Media Player PRICING & SHOPPING

Convection is when moving air transfers heat to or from a surface. This is the method used by most laptop coolers to keep your CPU, GPU and other critical components from overheating. There are three major factors to effective cooling (or heating), namely temperature difference, surface area, and air flow. Any differences in these factors will lead to differences in performance, even for the same cooler. The Benchmark Reviews team tries hard to provide you with fair and repeatable testing. The Antec Notebook Cooler 200 uses all three factors to achieve effective cooling with minimal power. Our tests show which of those factors makes the biggest difference. We also consider ergonomics, looks and quality.

CLICK HERE FOR Antec Notebook Cooler 200 PRICING & SHOPPING

"Gigabyte G41M-ES2L is a value motheboard for Intel socket 775 processors based on Intel G41 chipset, which replaces G31 as the simpliest chipset from Intel, supporting 45 nm CPUs, 1,333 MHz front side bus and 800 MHz memory modules in dual channel configuration."

CLICK HERE FOR Gigabyte G41M-ES2L Motherboard PRICING & SHOPPING

"The Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P Mainboard arrived Technic3D. The GA-MA790FXT-UD5P introduces Gigabyte Ultra Durable 3 technology on latest AMD socket AM3 platform with featuring 2 oz copper PCB and further helps to reduce the system temperature and dramatically enhance the performance. Based on AMD 790FX chipset, the GA-MA790FXT-UD5P supports the generation of 45nm AMD Phenom II series processors, integrated DDR3 memory controller, HyperTransport 3.0 technology links and dual PCI Express 2.0 graphics interfaces (running at x16 and x16) for ATI CrossFireX support. We check this on Windows 7 and Kubuntu 9.10"

CLICK HERE FOR Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P Mainboard PRICING & SHOPPING

Here is the first batch of review for the fastes videocard on the planet. This thing is insane!

TweakTown
driverheaven
hardwarecanucks
hothardware
techpowerup
benchmarkreviews
legitreviews
bjorn3d

"This graphics card should be an easy drop in upgrade or replacement card that can bring decent gaming capabilities and a multimedia aspect through software like Badaboom or vReveal. Although the Palit design does take up two slots, its length and lack of power adapter requirements should make it an easy fit in cramped cases, OEM computers, and HTPC applications."

Are you a computer repair person, a network technician? or how about a person with just a whole lot of hard drives laying around the house? If you are any of these individuals, our next review subject is just what you need. The Thermaltake BlacX Duet is a must have on your work bench. There are many hard drive docking stations out there. Visit any large computer store and you will see just what I mean. The Duet has one major advantage over the rest, dual opening for hard drives. Great for those that need to browse several drives or simply transfer data from one drive to another. Thermaltake started the whole docking station thing, but today they have taken it a step farther.

nVidia decided to answer swarm of reviews showing AMD's HD5970 in all of its glory with a picture of Fermi-based GeForce "380" running DirectX 11 benchmark.

“Blu-ray devices are slowing becoming more and more popular, especially as prices come down. Many computer users who are looking for a Blu-ray drive can easily find an internal drive for their desktop, but what if they want one for their laptop? How about one that works on both their desktop and laptop? This is where ASUS’s SBC-04D1S-U External Slim Blu-ray Combo Drive comes in. This slim external drive connects to any computer via USB and allows you to play Blu-ray media as well as burn CD’s and DVD’s. Let’s check it out!"

"HP's third-generation TouchSmart PC lineup, represented here by the TouchSmart 300, is the best family-friendly computer we've laid our fingers on. The company's TouchSmart interface is better than ever and its engineers have begun to expand the computer's repertoire to include voice commands."

CLICK HERE FOR HP TouchSmart 300 PRICING & SHOPPING

“This is SATAII HDD with 16MB of cache (1TB model should have 32MB of cache) and one platter that rotates at 7200rpm. It was announced as “WD Black series killer” and as such it has to prove its reputation that was impelled even before it appeared on the market. We used standard battery of benchmarks that include HD Tune, ATTO Bench and our own HDD Test. Results that we got were pleasant surprise. Even our expectations were surpassed with average read and write speeds of over 110MB/s which is great result. If you take a look at already mentioned Hard Drive Roundup you will notice that none of those drives reached those values when it comes to average transfer rates…”

Intel bills the DP55WG as a Media machine with a touch of Extreme. With Firewire, and a fully fledged audio solution in the form of a Realtek ALC889 which has content protection and Firewire, the DP55WG is a great solution for those wanting a Media PC with all of the features to play back Blu-Ray. Intel knows their customer base with motherboards for every need. From a performance point of view, the DP55WG performs near on par with its DP55KG in terms of performance but falls short on overclocking as one would expect from a non-Extreme board from Intel. Compatibility was excellent with the 870 and 750 working as advertised. This board is available from Newegg at $140, making a very respectable board at that price range. A solid Hot Product is to be found here, not really for the overclocker, but great for everyone else.

Antec is always known for their great case designs. They are at it once again with a refresh of their famous Sonata line. The latest Antec Sonata Elite chassis is meant to be a silent and stylish enclosure, but still be capable of cooling today's modern hardware.

CLICK HERE FOR Antec Sonata Elite PRICING & SHOPPING

NVIDIA is launching a new mainstream graphics card today, aimed squarely at consumers in the market for a relatively low-cost upgrade from an integrated graphics solution or older entry-level GPU. The new GeForce GT 240, features a GPU outfitted with 96 processor cores, 8 ROP units, and 32 texture filtering units. In addition, the GT 240 GPU is manufactured using a 40nm process, it features a GDDR5 memory controller (that's also compatible with GDDR3), and unlike NVIDIA's current high-end GPUs, the GT 240 is DirectX 10.1 compatible.

Today NVIDIA launches their first GDDR5 graphics card. The new GeForce GT 240 is based on NVIDIA's brand-new 40 nm G215 graphics processor and features 96 shaders. It also includes several new features like support for DirectX 10.1, HDMI audio enhancements and extremely low power draw. But is that enough to justify a price of $100 ?

“Our friends at Sapphire, the world’s largest builder of AMD/ATI Radeon video cards, sent me a nice box the other day. Today I will be looking at the Sapphire Radeon HD 5850, the latest successor to two great video cards, the HD 3850 and HD 4850. When I first received an HD 3850, I was pleasantly surprised by its performance. I called the HD 4850 “the most significant product to enter the market in 2008”, and I still stand by that comment. Will the Radeon HD 5850 do its predecessors proud? Read on to see!"

ASUS has taken the winning combination of the ASUS P7P55D Premium motherboard and improved it by adding USB 3.0 support making a great board even better. Features-wise the P7P55D-E Premium outclasses everything on the market with 48 Hybrid Phase Power, SATA 3.0, USB 3.0, good overclocking via the TurboV EVO processor and a TurboV Remote to overclock with the touch of the remote. Performance on the board is excellent as well, with the board performing near on par with the ASUS P7P55D Premium.

CLICK HERE FOR ASUS P7P55D-E Premium Motherboard PRICING & SHOPPING

"In many ways, the HP DreamScreen 100 is the digital photo frame you've always wanted-mostly because it doesn't just show photos. Instead of staring at your friends and family all day, this mini computer makes your life seem a lot more exciting, with the ability to stream music and pictures, as well as tap into Facebook and Pandora features. However, it does have a few telling flaws worth knowing about as well. Read on to get to know more about it."

CLICK HERE FOR HP DreamScreen 100 PRICING & SHOPPING

"Its large size and hefty amount of airflow right out of the box from the factory proved that fans do make a difference, though they may remain slightly audible. The case is very solid and sturdy, has a conveniently placed I/O and button panel, and is one of my favorite cases out of the ones that I've tested. I am disappointed with IN WIN with the major mishap on the placement of the motherboard access hole, as it is useless for the motherboard I used, and probably for most other x58 boards!"

CLICK HERE FOR IN WIN Maelstrom PRICING & SHOPPING

Just as things seemed to quiet down a little bit, Microsoft threw us a new OS named Windows 7. This OS quickly became extremely popular among users, because it offered us the stability, and a unique user interfacing that we all been longing for in an OS. As always with a new OS comes newer capabilities, the one capability in specific is Direct X 11. Like its predecessors Direct X 11 promises, a completely new way of interaction with our games (environment). The time between February and September was a dead season. Mostly during this time the major computer manufacturers were re-optimizing their already proving hardware. There's been a lot of discussions and or speculation, on who would come out with what first, who would be the most powerful.

With Intel's second generation controller and 34nm MLC NAND flash memory, many might argue the internals are the best presently on the market. The read performance is definitely impressive, while the write performance will leave something to be desired. Once you see the price you may be willing to make the compromise in order to jump from a traditional hard drive to a SSD.

"Today we are going to look at the Logitech G35 gaming headset which boasts Dolby Headphone 7.1 technology, promising to create the ultimate gaming experience. It also features on-ear controls with three user-programmable buttons for added convenience."

CLICK HERE FOR Logitech G35 Surround Sound Headset PRICING & SHOPPING

"The Thecus N0204 miniNAS is said to be the world's smallest fully-featured NAS device. Measuring in at just 132 x 88 x 63 mm exterior, one could easily mistake the N0204 as a regular external hard drive. However, look closer and you will see a very capable two-bay NAS device that fits right in the palm of your hand. Thecus manages to make this work by using two 2.5" SATA hard disks, providing up to 1TB of storage. That means that this device uses laptop SATA hard drives or 2.5" Solid-State Drives (SSDs), which has some pros and cons as you could imagine. At just $149.99 plus shipping, the Thecus N0204 miniNAS also just happens to be the least expensive 2-bay network attached device sold at e-tailers like Newegg.com among others..."

CLICK HERE FOR Thecus N0204 miniNAS PRICING & SHOPPING

Intel continues to upgrade their processor lineup with the Pentium E6300. It offers a high stock frequency at 2.80 GHz and improved memory bandwidth due to increased FSB to 1066 MHz, this makes this processor a formidable opponent but the question remains. Can it do any damage to AMD's triple core Athlon II X3 Series?

CLICK HERE FOR Intel Pentium E6300 PRICING & SHOPPING

This afternoon I heard that wonderful sound, a doorbell ringing to let me know that a package from Azza had arrived. Today was my lucky day, the Azza Solano 1000R was heading for my test bench. I’ve been lucky enough to review several cases, even a couple from Azza, and the one thing I’ve most requested seeing was a painted interior and rear. I know it seems like such a small thing, but for me it shows they are putting out a quality product and they didn’t cut corners to play a market pricing game. After taking a look at the box I was surprised to find they had listened to me and a fully painted interior and rear awaited me, painted in dark red, which is why this case is called the Solano 1000R. As I’ve mentioned before, I realize this comes at an added expense, so let’s see if some well painted parts are worth the extra $$’s.

Stereo headsets are becoming an essential part of any modern PC and, like keyboard and mice before them, they are finally going wireless. The freedom that a wireless headset provides will appeal to anyone, but with so many 2.4GHz wireless devices in every home, can a wireless headset really match the performance, clarity and comfort of its wired counterparts? Benchmark Reviews examines an impressive entry, the Logitech ClearChat PC Wireless Headset 981-000068, and finds out.

CLICK HERE FOR Logitech ClearChat PC Wireless Headset PRICING & SHOPPING

"At the 1750Mhz maximum speed, I could run the modules at the same 8-8-8 latencies. This set of OCZ modules allowed me to go as tight as 7-7-7 at 1622MHz, so you can get a small bump in system feel and performance. The price point of $142, which these modules will be offered at, is higher than most of the currently available sets of i5/i7 P55 specific memory kits by between $15 and $35. This set of modules most likely won't be for the enthusiast, but for the mainstream user looking for a step up from the 1333MHz kits on the market. There are kits with more overhead available for the enthusiast for a lower price, but when it comes down to no fuss overclocking of the memory, the XMP profiles prove beneficial and offer an increase in performance without the headaches."

Over the years, as prices of hard drives have continued to fall while capacities grow, not to mention the increased spread of high-speed internet, data backup has become the industry norm. There is many reasons for someone needing extra space to backup their files, but some examples would be to backup your iTunes folder or backing up all those irreplaceable family pictures. Where once there was only data sensitive corporations, security professionals and just plain guru's concerned with backing up their data, now a large number of everyday web surfers out there are backing up movies, music, pictures and more. Today I have for you a product that can help you backup your data easily and securely. Just add a hard drive of your choice and you're ready to backup your data.

CLICK HERE FOR Kingwin F-35 HDD Enclosure PRICING & SHOPPING

"Today for review I’ve got another product from NZXT, another chassis called the Lexa S that is nicely made and designed. It features four fans pre-installed and even a fan controller built into the case to control those fans. Overall the case is nicely designed and manufacture red, but it’s not without its faults… "

"A little while ago I looked at the Thermaltake BlacX hard drive docking station, today I've got what might be considered an upgrade to that, the BlacX Duet, The main difference between the original and this version is that Duet can hold, and allow you access to two hard drives at once time. This make life much easier when transferring files between two drives. The Duet can handle both 2.5” and 3.5” SATA drives and features both USB and eSATA interfaces. So read on... "

A Microsoft advertising executive, speaking with the site PCR, went on record to say that he believed Windows 7's design to be inspired by OS X. Now Microsoft is refuting the quote, which seems bound to wind up in the latest round of "Get a Mac" commercials.

In the interview with PCR, Simon Aldous, Microsoft's Partner Group Manager is asked, "Is Windows 7 really a much more agile operating system, in terms of the specific uses it can be moulded to?"

He replies:

...I saw an article recently that described it as ‘Vista on steroids’, and in some ways you can absolutely relate to that. One of the things that people say an awful lot about the Apple Mac is that the OS is fantastic, that it’s very graphical and easy to use. What we’ve tried to do with Windows 7 – whether it’s traditional format or in a touch format – is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics. We’ve significantly improved the graphical user interface, but it’s built on that very stable core Vista technology, which is far more stable than the current Mac platform, for instance.

Every fall Microsoft tends to try to find ways to ban Xbox modders from its Xbox Live service. Microsoft detests modding, as it allows users to accomplish forbidden activities, such as playing backups of games, playing out of zone DVDs, installing alternative operating systems, or playing pirated games.

This holiday season Microsoft has a special surprise in store for "naughty" Xbox 360 hackers -- a particular sweeping ban that relies on spotting modified drive firmware. Rolled out starting last week, the ban, according to sources, blocks the installation of games on the Xbox hard drive, blocks the Windows Media Player media extender, corrupts saves/Gamertags used on the machine, and most significantly prevents the console from accessing Xbox Live.

Ok so the xPphone is looking like it will be a pretty great product right? Well today things just got better. We have been informed that you can even get your xpPhone with Microsoft Windows 7 operating system. According to news from ITG the xpPhone will be released with the option to customize it right out of the gate. It is capable of supporting multiple wireless and cellular standards [including be extended to 4G LTE technology]. A very welcomed feature is also the ability to run multiple SIM cards - that's what a true multi-threaded cellphone should be able to do, yet only Samsung was known to manufacture such a phone [and it wasn't a smartphone].

People scoffed at AMD when it released its Phenom II X4 965 a few months ago thanks to the 140W power rating. To help make up for it, the company has now followed-up with a 125W version, sporting a lower price, along with improved C1E and DDR3-1333 support. With these improvements, is the X4 965 a first-choice CPU?

Nexus is well known for their silent products. They have everything from cases to cpu coolers and they all have one thing in common and that is.... SILENCE! Nexus focuses on silent products and have released alot of them lately which have turned out to be high quality products with the right price range. We were happy to recieve their new Nx-5000 PSU on the test bench so lets see if this PSU unit can follow the quality standards we expect from Nexus.