Week of June 15, 2008

I love this game, maybe not the story, but the game is solid. Finally a future game that has future toys, and stealth gameplay that will be par for the course for all games to come. And short, not so complicated levels are quickly becoming the norm in games, and this game shines in that area.

CLICK HERE FOR Metal Gear Solid 4 SHOPPING & PRICING

"A+ Black Pearl is an all-aluminum full tower case from Tagan featuring seven 5 ¼" bays (one comes with a 3 ½" adaptor for installing a floppy disk drive) and eight internal 3 ½" bays, a panel for controlling the speed of up to four fans and also to monitor the temperature of any device you'd like (the CPU or the GPU are the two most common choices) thru a thermal sensor that comes with the product, and plenty of room for installing a redundant power supply. Let's take an in-depth look on this high-end product from Tagan."

Hot swapping hard drives through an external dock, Is that possible? Yes it is. Check out our review on the Thermaltake BlacX Docking Stations.

CLICK HERE FOR BlacX and BlacX-SE HDD Docking Stations SHOPPING & PRICING

"Coolermaster have, at times, been considered the kings of top of the line case manufacturing; thanks in part, to their popular Stacker range of chassis. In recent years though, Coolermaster have branched out into other areas, and attempted to apply their industry defining style and panache to other product types. Today I'll be testing 3 of CM's top of the line Real Power modular PSUs; lets see if they can live up the Coolermaster name."

CLICK HERE FOR Coolermaster Real Power PSUs SHOPPING & PRICING

When most manufacturers design an enhanced specification graphics card they tend to increase the core and memory speed, others might do this and add a fancy cooler. Visiontek have on the other hand gone above and beyond this by doing both as well as completely redesigning the PCB to improve the size of the product and the features available to their customers. Today we are looking at the Visiontek Radeon HD 3870 X2 Overclocked Edition.

CLICK HERE FOR VisionTek Radeon HD 3870 X2 Overclocked Edition SHOPPING & PRICING

Gone are the days of "Super Size Me" as the world has taken a 180 degree turn and everywhere you look ultra small is in. Super Talent has extended this concept to its USB storage line and presents us with its PICO drive. Weighing in at 8GB its a lot of storage in a little itty bitty space. Does this contended have performance that is bigger than its size?

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

"Arctic Cooling, well known for their low noise CPU and VGA coolers, has developed their own Silentium ATX case series some time ago. We take a look at the latest incarnation, the T2 ECO 80 which comes with a high efficiency 550W PSU, HDD noise absorption system and decoupled low noise case fans. Can this case live up to their high standards? Let us find out."

"On the review block today I've got the Kingwin Revolution RVT-9225 CPU Cooler, it utilizes what Kingwin calls H.D.T, or Heat Pipe-Direct Touch cooling technology. H.D.T is just a fancy term really, the cooler does not have a base as other coolers to, the heat pipes directly touch you CPU to provide maximum heat transfer efficiency. In my time with this cooler I tested in on both C2Q and C2Q processors and found that it performs very well, its performance rivals that of many of the top coolers on the market today. "

CLICK HERE FOR Kingwin Revolution RVT-9225 CPU Cooler SHOPPING & PRICING

"GPU complexity is the first thing that attracts attention. One point four billion transistors make GT200 the most complex GPU ever. Being manufactured by the same 65nm process technology as G9x chips, the new GPU is rather big, consumes much power, and dissipates much heat."

All in all, the MSI P45 Platinum scores many wins with us, but unfortunately it hits almost as many epic fails. Hopefully some of these will change with software updates and BIOS updates, and we greatly look forward to what can be achieved with UEFI when the free update arrives in the next few months. Until then, we can only recommend you look elsewhere because there are currently better boards on the market.

CLICK HERE FOR MSI's P45 Platinum SHOPPING & PRICING

But today we are here to discuss X-Spice’s new model lineup entitled the Kira. The Kira is aimed at the gamer and small enclosure user at the same time. How it is able to do this you may ask. Well, you will have to read more of the article ahead. But, we can already tell you that the unit is cooled by an industry standard 120 cm cooling fan and has four independent 12 volt rails. And if that is not enough, how about an advertised 83 % efficiency rating? Yeah, we figured that would draw your attention.

"Storage freaks rejoice! Even with 1TB hard drives, 32GB USB thumb drives, and external HDD enclosures, the true storage junkie is always looking for a simpler, better, and more secure way of stashing their collection of por, er, movies, music, pictures, and important files. Featuring five hot swappable SATAII drive bays in RAID 0,1,5,6,and 10, as well as JBOD (Just a Bunch Of Disks), and over 3TB of storage space, the N5200 NAS (Network Attached Storage) box trumps standard storage devices like those mentioned above in that you can access it from any point on your network, instead of attaching it to one device at a time."

CLICK HERE FOR Thecus N5200BR NAS SHOPPING & PRICING

The power supply is an odd component of sorts. In the same way our heart doesn't make us run faster or get better grades in school, a power supply won't give you a higher frame rate or make your CPU faster. But without a strong, solid heart even everyday tasks would become difficult. Imagine trying to walk a flight of stairs with a weak heart or carry groceries. Your power supply is the heart, the very core, of your PC and without a strong solid PSU everyday tasks become difficult. Imagine trying to play games or run Folding@Home with a flaky PSU. Constant lock-ups or total shut-downs would put a quick stop to any chance of enjoyment you would get from your PC. Clean, solid power is a must in today's PCs but with so many poor quality power supplies masquerading as high-end units it's easy to get buried by the sea of marketing hype. Today Bjorn3D is looking at one power supply that not only positions itself as a top-notch PSU built with quality components, but brings some new tricks to the table to increase efficiency and show some love to mother earth. The power supply is the ES-800 by BFG. A company well known for its commitment to quality. Let's put some of BFG's claims to the test and see if this unit is worthy of your hard earned money.

CLICK HERE FOR BFG ES-800 SHOPPING & PRICING

"So where do I begin with this card? I am left speechless because the HD4850 blew past my expectations! Now, don't get me wrong - I had high hopes for the HD4800 series cards, and strongly wanted them to give Nvidia a run for their money so that the competition stays high, which benefits consumers. However, this review opened my eyes to a new love of ATI products. Being a reviewer, you have to go into a product with an open mind and unbiased opinion, which is what I did - and I was impressed. The HD4850 pushed passed many mainstream cards that are used today, and even kicked on the heels of Nvidia's newest beast, the GTX 280. Ok, so you say it caught up, but didn't take it over - but with a price tag of $199, versus the GTX 280's very high price of $649.99, this is a no-brainier. I mean, you can get three of these cards for the cost of just one GTX 280 and CrossFire them."

"What's better than a My Book with a single drive inside of it? A My Book with two drives in a mirrored array so the same data is on both drives. Even better, if one drive fails you can easily pop the lid on the drive and remove it! These are both very welcome features to the world of backup drives, and when you combine them with easy-to-use software, optional encryption and a competitive price, you have a very solid backup solution."

CLICK HERE FOR Western Digital My Book Mirror Edition 2TB SHOPPING & PRICING

"SyncMaster 2693HM is a display attended for home users. It has 25.5'' screen size with adjustable stand height. The 2693HM is Microsoft Vista Certified model and it has built-in speakers and supports HDMI technology. For attracting more customers a smooth black frame surface can be a clever move. But from previous experiences we get used to those big monitors have that "serious" look: it's black with matte surfaces."

CLICK HERE FOR Samsung SyncMaster 2693HM SHOPPING & PRICING

As part of the strategy, Aeneon exclusively uses Qimonda DRAM chips. This is similar to the use of Micron chips for the Micron owned Crucial brand. We all know that when it comes down to the performance memory market, the DRAM "chip-to-get" changes like the seasons. Other companies such as Corsair, Kingston and OCZ aren't restricted to certain DRAM manufacturers and have more flexibility when creating product lineups. Some of those brands have used Qimonda chips in the past, and many video cards use fast GDDR from Qimonda, and today we'll check out a DDR3 kit from Aeneon which uses Qimonda DRAM chips. The memory kit on the plate today is from Aeneon's performance line of RAM, XTune. It's comprised of 2GB (2x1GB DIMMs) of DDR3 rated to run at 1333MHz at CL8 (specifically, 8-8-8-24). Aeneon tests these kits in pairs to ensure performance and stability in dual channel configuration.

CLICK HERE FOR Aeneon XTune 2GB DDR3-1333 SHOPPING & PRICING

"This evolution of the Squeezebox should prove to be a winner for its new parent company. All the makings of a good sequel are there; extra goodies, unexpected surprises, a flashy new look and a slimmer and trimmer appearance. Logitech is unapologetically aiming squarely at Sonos with this one. Are the two systems direct competitors? Not exactly, but Logitech is bound to take a bite and woo away a few dollar conscious, tech savvy buyers. The included options and features are almost overwhelming to the average user. Acclimating oneself to all the various settings and streaming music account configurations takes a bit of time but pays out in a multitude of listening options. Once installed, Duet users will rarely need to fire up a browser for streaming music or launch an application to access their digital music reserve. If you are an obsessive hoarder of digital music files looking for a way to set them free, the Squeezebox Duet is tailor-made for your addiction."

CLICK HERE FOR Logitech Squeezebox Duet Network Music System SHOPPING & PRICING

"Once again, AMD is ready with an integrated solution for chipset and graphicscard. The motherboard we're reviewing is from MSI, called K9N2GM-FD/FIH. The chipset also goes by the name of 730a or GeForce 8200 chipset. We are reviewed motherboards from MSI previously, and know them as some of the most popular on the market, which sets our preliminary expectations high."

" I recently took a look at a Foxconn motherboard that I used for a recent system build, I also needed a reliable power supply for it as well and choose an OCZ 600Watt StealthXStream PSU. I choose this PSU for two main reasons, quality and efficiency, since I know and trust OCZ products it was one of my first choices, but since the system would be running 24/7 at full load I was also looking for a way to possibly save a little money. So I choose this particular power supply because of the known quality, the fact that it is 'green' and also because it was relatively inexpensive compared to the others that were available at time of purchase."

CLICK HERE FOR OCZ OCZ600SXS 600W StealthXStream Power Supply SHOPPING & PRICING

After some confusion, AMD has lifted the NDA for their brand-new Radeon HD 4850 Series today. The RV770 on these boards comes with 800 shaders and boasts 956 million transistors. Together with a new AA architecture the card takes the $200 segment in a storm offering leading performance/dollar and performance/watt.

Getting ready to enter the world of watercooling? Not sure about which kit is right for you or even how to install it? We check out the ProWater 850i a cheap and well made kit and take you step by step through our install and explain how the kit works and show its performance.

CLICK HERE FOR Thermaltake ProWater 850i SHOPPING & PRICING

"... The MSI P45 Platinum motherboard is a decent performer with great features. It's offers very good overclocking potential, and should appeal to both mainstream users and enthusiasts alike. "

CLICK HERE FOR MSI P45 Platinum Motherboard SHOPPING & PRICING

Another one of those quality products is the subject of our next review. The ZM1000-HP is one powerful power supply and it is also good looking. This six 12-volt rail 1000 watt behemoth is a sterling dark gray glossy finish that is pretty attractive without being flashy. And while I am on the exterior features of the ZM1000-HP is mostly modular for unlimited cable management possibilities. This power supply has all that one would need in a unit to power the best of gaming rigs.

CLICK HERE FOR Zalman ZM1000-HP 1000 Power Supply SHOPPING & PRICING

"Benefiting from years of collaboration with enthusiasts all over the world, Tagan has engineered and manufactured some of the best enthusiast level products that money can buy. Whether it is power supplies, enclosures, or external storage devices, Tagan has consistently delivered quality components to customers in the computing industry. With years of experience designing and manufacturing computer products, Tagan continues to be one of the foremost companies serving the enthusiast and professional computing community."

I actually tested the HD 4850 before I finished writing my review on the GTX 280, which turned out to be good news for AMD but bad news for NVIDIA. It completely changed my opinion on the GTX 280 before I had even finished writing. The thing is, the GTX 280 is a good card in the sense of what it’s capable of. Such technology as CUDA and PhysX are great inclusions. But I’m a gamer; I want FPS! - I can’t sum it up better than that, and the GTX 280 really didn’t deliver in that department.

The G.Skill DDR3-1600 Pi Series memory modules have a rather funky looking heatspreader, which upon closer inspection impressed me from a design and engineering perspective. Each module is protected by an aluminum heatspreader with what looks like the spiral binding from a notebook on top. These loops are similar to what many other manufacturers implement, except they have a bit of three dimensional appeal to them.

CLICK HERE FOR G.Skill 4GB DDR3-1600 Pi Series Dual Channel Memory Kit SHOPPING & PRICING

Amongst the network settings is the ability to enable, disable and configure numerous facets of the device, which also allows us to see just how much functionality the TS-409 offers. This includes an FTP service, the ability to use the device as an iTunes, web or MySQL server, or as a media server complete with support to provide media to an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 console.

CLICK HERE FOR QNAP TS-409 Turbo NAS SHOPPING & PRICING

"Overclocking on the P5Q Deluxe could not have been easier. Leave all of the voltages alone except for the CPU Vcore and the voltage for the memory, and you can go quite far. In fact, I went right to the limits of my CPU - and beyond. The P5Q allowed me to boot the computer through 500FSB and on into MemTest 2.0, where, sadly, it could not make a complete pass. But by dropping 5 FSB, I was able to get into Windows at 495x8 with my Q9450, but stability was nowhere to be found with the Q9450 at this level - voltages, GTL ref settings, VTT, PLL, nothing seemed to help. Dropping the FSB to 480 was benchmark stable, but not much else. At this point, all of the voltages were tweaked as well as the GTL reference voltages. These allowed me to finally gain stability at 474FSB. While only 4 FSB faster than the previous best on this CPU, it's still faster. Stability means different things to different people - some are fine with SuperPi stable, but in the non-benchmark record setting world, 24 hour stability is a must. Seeing how the P5Q responded without all the massive voltages needed on previous chipsets told me there is some honest potential for overclocking on the P5Q Deluxe."

CLICK HERE FOR Asus P5Q Deluxe SHOPPING & PRICING

Visiontek does it again!! It's a two in one deal. Two GPUs under the same roof or should I say PCB. (To bad it isn't two GPUs for the PRICE of one.) They couldn't stop there though they had to make it even more tempting by overclocking it. Too many times space is wasted in your rig getting the power of two cards in Crossfire, now there's just one card with one easy setup. Just set it and forget it. Or, if you are like me, drool over it.

The competition between ATI and NVIDIA is fierce; it's definitely a buyers market in video cards these days. New chips are coming out every six months and they're almost always running more transistors, faster. There's a fair chance that the hottest and noisiest component inside your PC is the video card. Fortunately, the PC cooling industry has responded with some excellent products to keep the GPU heat and noise down. Join Benchmark Reviews as we look at how the Zalman VF900-Cu Ultra Quiet Heat-pipe VGA Cooler saved the day for one system builder.

CLICK HERE FOR Zalman VF900-Cu Ultra Quiet Heatpipe VGA Cooler SHOPPING & PRICING

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

GELID Solutions designs and manufactures innovative, virtually silent & high-performance CPU coolers, case fans, thermal compound and other computer hardware for both gamers and silent enthusiasts. We provide computer hardware distributors, retailers and system integrators with top quality one-stop thermal solutions – from bearings to thermal compound, from design to shipping, from the moulding of the fan to the print on the box – with state-of-the-art machines and experienced staff.

"The Samsung Glyde has a lot of potential, with a smooth-sliding full-size QWERTY keyboard and a 2.8-inch touchscreen, as well as extras like assisted GPS, Bluetooth, haptic feedback, and a 2-megapixel camera. It even looks like a smaller version of one of its main competitors, the LG Voyager, though it lacks the former's mobile TV capability. Unfortunately, the Glyde's main input method - the touchscreen - doesn't work well enough for us to recommend the phone. If Samsung fixes this issue via a firmware update, we'd consider changing our tune."

CLICK HERE FOR Samsung Glyde SHOPPING & PRICING

"Atomic HD 3870 X2 is a limited edition water-cooled video card from Sapphire. In this review we will take an in-depth look on this card and compare its performance to the performance of its main competitors today like GeForce 9800 GX2 and GeForce 9800 GTX and also to the standard Radeon HD 3870. Read on."

There have been many, many, many different keyboards for personal computers over the years. Ergonomic boards, tough boards, media boards, gaming boards: boards that climb on rocks... and there have been a few that many people like, but they become discontinued and obsoleted in favor of the company's next generation products.

CLICK HERE FOR Logitech Wave Keyboard SHOPPING & PRICING

"Although Intel's Core Duo and Quad processors have pretty much taken taken over the top performance rung from rival manufacturer AMD, fans of the underdog company have reason to rejoice... Phenom is here. With a new 9x50 numbering scheme to represent the latest stepping, and no longer plagued by the TLB errata, AMD re-released the Phenom X4 chips to retail suppliers with 2.2, 2.4 and 2.5 Ghz operating frequencies. So if you're finally thinking about taking the K10 plunge, or you are looking to get a little more out of your Phenom processor, this guide was written with you in mind."

LCD monitors were supposed to free up our precious desk real estate as they relegated bulky CRTs to the local landfill. But with the quantity and quality of high-definition content increasing and LCD prices continuing to drop, widescreen LCDs are becoming increasingly prevalent. Now our desks are filling up again--only this time in width, instead of depth.

CLICK HERE FOR Asus MK241H 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor SHOPPING & PRICING

Yuin OK3 is the budget version of the new OK-series earphones coming from Yuin. The OK3s have the same design as its two bigger brothers and feature the exact same exterior design. This little Yuin is made for the more budget minded critical listeners with a price of only $89.

" ... Adata has given mainstream users an affordable way to really beef up their system memory. Now running Windows Vista to its full potential and playing those intensive games is no longer an issue. "

CLICK HERE FOR Adata Vitesta DDR2-800+ 4Gb Kit SHOPPING & PRICING

"The Logitech designers and engineers have delivered what is sure to be the blueprint for future peripherals in the wireless industry. The Pure-Fi Mobile wireless speaker system can connect to your mobile phone, the PC, and your favorite portable media player, it can easily be stored in your backpack or briefcase. More than anything, it produces excellent sound and play an entire day on a charge. Sign me up, right?!? Oh, wait, it costs how much?"

BFG, a company renowned as a VGA card manufacturer have recently released several PSU products, mostly aimed towards enthusiasts and power users. Today we will review one of their higher end units, the ES series 800W power supply.

CLICK HERE FOR BFG ES-800W PSU SHOPPING & PRICING

We do think Gigabyte has made a motherboard with a lot of potential here – the board currently works very well under default conditions. It has tons of features—and some are genuinely great little nuggets—far, far better software and very good performance for DDR2 but even though it has lots of BIOS options we are unable to use with the board in its current state. Strip out the four Gigabit Ethernet sockets and strap on 802.11n Wi-Fi instead would give it a similar high end appeal but with more variety for home users. The hardware RAID implementation also needs more thought put into it.

CLICK HERE FOR Gigabyte's GA-EP45-DQ6 Motherboard SHOPPING & PRICING

Any computer enthusiasts would know the importance of keeping the components inside of a system running cool. This is especially true if you overclock because once pushing the hardware components to their limits, the resultant heat they generate can cause system instability and in some extreme situations ruin the hardware. Anyone who messes around with their system will know how crappy the retail processor heatsink is in keeping the temperature of the CPU running low. The retail Intel heatsink is extremely inefficient in the heat conducting department despite the fact it is running at extremely quiet. Thus, for those who overclock their system, having an after-market heatsink and fan is pretty much a given in order to achieve that perfect overclocking result.

CLICK HERE FOR Noctua NH-C12P SHOPPING & PRICING

Computers are growing more power hungry with each generation, SLI and Crossfire rigs with their multiple GPUs are the most power hungry of the bunch. Many of the current generation PSU are running in the almost 1k to 1k+ range. Cost, looks and marketing aren't good indicators of quality so how do you choose a PSU?

CLICK HERE FOR Coolmax Green Power PSU SHOPPING & PRICING

"Today we have an early market sample of MSI’s P45 Platinum which is their top of the range board, this designed to compete with both ASUS’ and GIGABYTE’s ultra high-end P45 offerings. While it doesn’t have the full retail packaging included, we’ve confirmed with MSI that it’s the final revision board in our labs.

For our comparison today, we are pitting the MSI P45 Platinum against our oldest but most impressive P35 board we have, GIGABYTE’s P35 DQ6. Both are based on DDR2 memory which make these systems equally matched apart from the change in chipset."

CLICK HERE FOR MSI P45 Platinum Motherboard SHOPPING & PRICING

"Admit it. You visit YouTube to watch talking cats, quickie news and video game items, music videos as well as ogling people around the world generally making fools of themselves. I do it too but haven't Broadcast Myself-until getting the new JVC Everio S GZ-MS100 camcorder that's specifically designed for recording and quickly uploading clips to the wildly popular site. This is a stripped-down camcorder offering none of the quality of recently reviewed high-def models like the Sony HDR-SR12 and Canon Vixia HF10. And even though it's an Everio, this JVC has no hard disk drive--it is a "memory camcorder" that records to optional SD/SDHC cards so it's as light and compact as can be plus it's fairly cheap. Although not quite as affordable as the many low-grade MPEG4 and H.264 camcorders available, it records MPEG2 videos-DVD level. It also has a 35x optical zoom compared to 3x for the typical sub-$200 USD Aiptek home video maker. But this camcorder is all about sharing-hence the S in the model name. Now is this petite camcorder good enough to share your cash with the local CE emporium?"

I have finally gotten my chance to review one of their products. The product on the bench here today is the A770-M socket AM2+ motherboard. Before I even received the board I browsed a few online stores to get a good ideal on pricing. In the case of the A770M-A we were able to find it for roughly $65. This is in range of Asrock and some of the board they manufacture. But is the ECS as stable as the competition? We will find out.

CLICK HERE FOR ECS A770M-A AM2 Motherboard SHOPPING & PRICING

How important is sound quality to you? Have you ever wanted a wireless speaker system for your iPod or iPhone? Today, Ruffy takes a look at the new Altec Lansing M812 wireless speaker system. Can it hold up to Ruffy's critical ear?

"Today for review I've got the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 LP CPU cooler, it's very small, and virtually silent. The Freezer 7 LP is aimed at the media center or HTPC crowd with silence and compact size as it's main features, but how does it perform? Read on to see how it compares to other CPU coolers when tested on C2D and C2Q processors... "

The key problem for the Ninja Copper lies in the fact that we’ve already tested ultra low noise coolers like the Noctua NH U12P and ThermalRight Ultra 120 eXtreme, and not only were they very quiet, but both performed brilliantly thermally. When you consider that the Ninja Copper is priced in the same region as these top performers, it becomes impossible to recommend as even a silent cooling solution.

CLICK HERE FOR Scythe Ninja Copper Heatsink SHOPPING & PRICING

In the end the ASUS P5E64 WS Evolution X48 ATX motherboard wound up being just about what I had hoped it would be... A high end motherboard equally well suited for serving in a workstation and a gaming rig. With all of the performance features, its slick styling, and the ample bundle of accessories, it is almost like someone at ASUS paid close attention to their market research!

I can't recall a time when technology moved as fast as RAM technology is moving today. It seems like just a few short months ago DDR3 had appeared and was grossly overpriced and rather underpowered. But in a short time the technology has advanced to such extreme levels that we are now beginning to see DDR3 be fiscally competitive with DDR2. But what about performance? Starting out at a rather meager DDR3-1333 we have seen what can only be referred to as exponential growth as today we are reviewing a kit designed to run at 2000MHz! You read that correct, RAM that is designed to run faster than some CPUs. Simply astonishing. The RAM is the Ascent DDR3-2000 and the company is Mushkin. Designed to run at extreme speeds and even more so when paired up with the 790i chipset from NVIDIA, the Ascent DDR3-2000 kit looks to take RAM to a whole new level.

"Flashy name with stylized logo, check. Big, intimidating heatsink, check. Killer ratings to back up claims of such, check. While Super Talent has all the makings for an enthusiast brand with its new Project X series, how well it performs in the field is what really matters for success. The rating of PC3-16000 makes it one of very first kits on the market to carry such a blazing fast frequency, but will this new high speed RAM have what it takes to stack up head to head with the competition?"

Computers are growing more power hungry with each generation, SLI and Crossfire rigs with their multiple GPUs are the most power hungry of the bunch. Many of the current generation PSU are running in the almost 1k to 1k+ range. Cost, looks and marketing aren't good indicators of quality so how do you choose a PSU?

CLICK HERE FOR Coolmax Green Power PSU SHOPPING & PRICING

Overall the Sigma Unicorn Mid Tower ATX case is a decent case for the budget minded builder who wants a few extras already added, like 2 x 120mm fans (1 LED), 2 x 80mm Fans (1 LED), a side panel window and easy opening side panels. The case is well built and has a nice futuristic / brutish look to it.

"If you are in the market for a power supply in the 600W range, then this one comes highly recommended. The OCZ Stealth X Stream 600W is a great mid-range power supply, that I would recommend for all but the top end SLI and Crossfire configurations. The unit showed excellent DC voltage regulation, even at 95% of its specified maximum load. The efficiency and power factor are satisfactory, and although it did not meet its quoted minimum of 85%, it did meet the ATX 12V V2.2 required minimum level."

CLICK HERE FOR OCZ Stealth X Stream 600W SHOPPING & PRICING

"It was always going to happen; the testing of two and three GTX 280 cards. We had hoped to have had it ready by launch date, and we’ve fortunately done it with an absolutely massive weekend that has involved over 250 benchmark runs across four different motherboards.

Before we get into it though, we have to laugh at our power supply situation. When we started testing our Tri SLI setup with a 1000 Watt Zalman PSU, we ran into some problems. During the Canyon test on 3DMark06, the system would just shut down! - Since this would seem to resemble a power problem, it was time to pull out a HX 620 Watt and do a bit of ghetto modding to get the two power supplies working together. What we ended up doing is running one GTX 280 off the Corsair HX 620 PSU while the 1000 Watt took care of the other two cards and the rest of the system."

At the end of the day, the convenience provided by network-attached storage (NAS) devices is unparalleled. Buffalo's LinkStation EZ is a great product for those looking for an entry-level NAS. The capacious 500 GB unit should satisfy most users. Also, installation is extremely simple.

CLICK HERE FOR Buffalo LinkStation EZ 500GB NAS SHOPPING & PRICING

Here is a list of several sites covering the new Nvidia release. On another note, do we REALLY need another videocard chipset?

Here is an article here on unneeded hardware in the computer industry.

Click Here:

BUYING A NEW COMPUTER TODAY: FORCE FED TECHNOLOGY THAT THE AVERAGE CONSUMER DOESN'T NEED

Other than that, here are the links to the new release on the net.

Tweaktown
InsideHW
HardwareSecrets
TechPowerUp
CPU3D
OverclockersClub
DriverHeaven
BenchMarkReviews
LegitReviews

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEOCARD SHOPPING & PRICING

"Lenovo breaks out of the business mold with the stylish and hip IdeaPad U110 laptop computer."

CLICK HERE FOR Lenovo IdeaPad U110 Laptop SHOPPING & PRICING

Getting the bad out of the way first, there's no escaping the price tag of the Cooler Master case. For those with a faint of heart the Cooler Master CSX Limited Edition Custom Painted Warfare Stacker 830 case is not for you as the price tag of $999 is just too much for all but the craziest enthusiast. The custom paint job is head and shoulders above anything you can buy pre-made without a doubt. The Warfare case is a collector's item in some respects as only 200 have been made and each is different from the other. If you have 1000 bucks to spend on a case this is definitely one for you as the case comes with everything you could possibly need in a case and more. There are several models in the Custom painted Stacker 830 line including the Warfare case reviewed here. CSX also does custom jobs that you have to special order from their website. CSX says that they will try their best to fulfill an order, but certain things like trademarks, licensed images may be rejected.

CLICK HERE FOR Cooler Master CSX Warfare Stacker 830 SHOPPING & PRICING

"The Sunbeamtech Acrylic, HTPC-style case is excellent for display and demonstration purposes. In this in-depth review we'll find out if this case is up to the task of keeping our system cool under stress while looking flashy with some LED lightening."

While most cases these days are designed with gamers in mind, but few include a sturdy structure as well. Antec sees this, and shows us how a case can be perfectly engineered to withstand the test of time. Today, Jack takes a look at the Antec Twelve Hundred.

CLICK HERE FOR Antec Twelve Hundred Gaming Chassis SHOPPING & PRICING

"Memory experts ‘Crucial’ have sent us a number of RAM kits in the past – all of which have proved to overclock very well. A new member of Crucial’s vast family is the red Ballistix Tracer. This kit is of the performance range of Crucial's line up and includes LED’s which "trace" horizontally along the RAM. Today we’ll be reviewing this bling; let’s see how it performs…"

CLICK HERE FOR Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC6400 SHOPPING & PRICING

Today's review is brought to you by the letters W, T, Q, and the number 3. W is for Wolf, that's me; T is for Thermaltake, who sent me the review sample for today; and Q is for QFan, a specially designed fan that Thermaltake believes will decrease fan noise in your standard power supply while maintaining efficient cooling. While the Q in QFan could stand for many things, like Quality or Quigley: Down Under, the Q actually stands for Quiet. We'll have to see if this fabled QFan of yore can be heard over the yowling, screaming exhaust fan in the old load tester, won't we?

CLICK HERE FOR Thermaltake Toughpower QFan 650W PSU SHOPPING & PRICING

The heatsink knows it's the most important part of your computer system, so manufacturers cater to this prima dona by adorning it with flashy mirrored copper and flashy aerodynamic designs. Not only do they just look impressive in a windowed case, but they have excellent performance, and manufacturers try to best each other with fancy physics tricks.

CLICK HERE FOR ThermalTake V1 CPU Cooler SHOPPING & PRICING

Gigabyte being no stranger to graphic cards has sent us their variant of the 8800GT. The GV-NX88T512HP takes the 8800GT to a whole new level being overclocked from the factory. And to tame all the speed the card has to offer Gigabyte consulted Zalman for providing the necessary cooling. When you introduce a major player in motherboards and a major player in cooling chances are you will get an awesome product in the end.

CLICK HERE FOR Gigabyte TurboForce 8800GT SHOPPING & PRICING

Taipei, Taiwan, June 15 2008 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced it will participate in the World IT Show in Seoul, Korea on June 17-20. As Korea’s largest and most expansive IT event, WIS 2008 is an excellent opportunity to experience the latest system, board and component level innovations from VIA. Visit VIA in the Pacific Hall, booth L117.

VIA’s involvement in the emerging Car PC industry will be highlighted at the VIA booth with a range of Car PCs from leading Korean manufacturers designed around the VIA C7 and VIA C7-M processor platforms. Displays of the latest navigation equipment using the VIA EPIA NX Nano-ITX board will allow visitors to experience first hand how VIA is committed to developing vibration-proof platform solutions that are ideally suited to bringing the PC to life inside automobiles.

Experience the latest in digital living with VIA’s innovative approach to home automation. This live demonstration of the VIA Home Automation and Media Platform uses a VIA vipro integrated panel PC as a central control panel for household appliances such as lighting and heating while a VIA EPIA Pico-ITX-based ARTiGO PC is used as an ultra compact media playback unit for the living room and a VIA NAS 7800 board is set up as a Network Attached Storage unit.

The Asrock X48TurboTwins-WiFi is the highest price motherboard from the company. But is cheaper than others sporting the same chipset. Spending $300 plus on a motherboard may be painless for some but many of us would be ill for some time even thinking about spending that much money on a motherboard. So in this class the X48TurboTwins would be considered the value board at $240. We will put it thru the test and see if it is worth the asking price.

CLICK HERE FOR Asrock X48TurboTwins-WiFi SHOPPING & PRICING

"We like the Eee PC. It's small, it's lightweight, it's perfectly balanced - it's perfect for press trips; in other words when we need a dinky little notebook to help us bring you the latest news and reviews from events round the world.

Also, at the same time, it runs Linux - which can't help but appeal to the elitist geek in all of us.

The nice folks at Asus know that we like the Eee PC as well, which was why they took the first possible chance to head down to the new bit-tech offices and show us the brand new model of the insanely popular sub-notebook.

The Eee PC 901 is the latest in the Eee PC line and is fundamentally similar to the Eee PC 900 we reviewed a few weeks ago, but with a handful of new features and software thrown in - including a new 1.6 GHz Atom Processor instead of the older, underclocked Celeron. On top of that swanky, sparkling new 45nm CPU chip, the Eee PC 901 also houses new Bluetooth support and Dolby Sound Room on the XP versions, but unfortunately not the Linux like we have here."

Over the past year I have looked at several high performance heatsinks from various manufacturers. The mould has stayed the same for nearly all of the coolers; build it tall and put large 120mm fans that push the air to the top or rear of the case and hope a case fan removes the air quickly. This is a very efficient way to cool a processor, but it leaves pockets of air around the motherboard.

CLICK HERE FOR Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooler SHOPPING & PRICING

NVIDIA Dictates Advertised Video Card Pricing - Did you wonder why your GeForce purchasing experience may have changed? Have you wondered why you might have seen all cards priced the same or not priced at all? We have some answers for you on that front and it is called "UMAP."

"When we looked at the original Jawbone we asked ourselves "Is this the best Bluetooth headset on the market?" The answer was complicated, but the bottom line is that we thought Aliph could do better on the Jawbone. Let me tell you that this new Jawbone is much better overall than its older sibling. To arrive to the table at half the size and still retain the incredible noise cancellation features puts this at the top of all Bluetooth headsets we have reviewed here at Legit..."

CLICK HERE FOR Aliph Jawbone SHOPPING & PRICING

"Welcome to the world of Gainward, a world beyond your senses! Do you still remember when NVIDIA released the first GeForce 8 series graphics cards? Cause frankly speaking since the release of the G80 graphics chips, it has been one hell a great time for NVIDIA and their partners. With the introduction of the G92 chipset, the reign of the G80 based products has come to an end. The past few months have been hectic with a lot of rumors and new products being released by both ATI and NVIDIA, with NVIDIA somehow being more successful. Now with the GeForce 9800 GX2 coming to the market NVIDIA crushed the competition, and their own product range to a certain extend."

"The Gelid GC1 Thermal Compound does exactly what it is supposed to do - adding a cushion between the processor and the cooler, and filling in any surface imperfections to enhance the thermal transfer between the CPU and cooler, and did it just as well as one of the top performers on the market right now, Arctic Silver 5. I was very impressed to see that at idle, the stock and overclocked temperatures were just about the same, and when the load was put on the processors, the GC1 was able to stay with the Arctic Silver 5 and even beat it in the Stock Load test."

“For my own introduction to Qnap, they have sent the TS-409 pro. It is a 4 bay NAS, with all those basics I’ve just mentioned. The guts of it are powered by a 500MHZ CPU, with 256MB of ram, and 8MB of flash memory for the operating system. 500 Mhz might not seem like a lot these days, but the low power usage, optimized design is more than enough when you pair it up with a custom light Linux installation.”

CLICK HERE FOR QNAP TS-409 Pro Turbostation SHOPPING & PRICING

Some time ago I discovered that my minimal PSU tester just wasn't cutting it and reverted back to my MultiMeter for power supply testing. I suspect the old 20 pin tester was used to jump to many power supplies for to long and was reporting good voltages on the 5v as bad.

CLICK HERE FOR Coolmax LCD PSU Tester SHOPPING & PRICING

QNAP already added nearly every thinkable feature to their NAS firmwares. To make a new series innovation had to be found elsewhere. QNAP decided to double the capacity in their TS-409 Pro and add features to utilize this space. The four disks that the TS-409 Pro houses can therefore be put in any RAID level including 6. Besides adding RAID 5 and 6 support QNAP shows they take their RAID arrays seriously by adding support for online expansion and RAID migration. Combined with the already proven ease of use and list of software features the TS-409 Pro Turbostation promises to be a solid product.

CLICK HERE FOR QNAP TS-409 Pro Turbostation SHOPPING & PRICING

"When it comes to overclocked cards, there are only a few companies that really take it to the max. Zotac go pretty hard with its AMP! Edition line-up while Palit get some pretty mean speeds with the Sonic models. The only other company that really takes the time to test the cards and get into the high overclocks would be ASUS with its TOP line-up.

Today we’re looking at the latter of the bunch; the ASUS 9800 GTX TOP which carries quite a menacing core and memory clock that makes it stand out from the pack. While the 9800 GTX might not offer the leaps and bounds performance increase that we thought it would at launch, it has brought performance computing down in price making it a very good option for people who are looking at building a decent gaming rig."

The "Windows" key (or Start key) was implemented on standard PC keyboards shortly after the release of Windows 95. I suppose Microsoft wanted to increase the Windows brand by implementing two new keys that would open up new features of their operating system. At the time, there were only five new features that the new key opened up, and these weren't very useful.

"For review today I've got a very inexpensive motherboard from Foxconn, it's based off the 975X chipset, and despite being inexpensive it's packed with features including crossfire support. "

CLICK HERE FOR Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H Motherboard SHOPPING & PRICING

"ASUS was the first to offer a motherboard on this chipset in retail stores. Expectedly, it's a moderately rigged microATX board. However, this product can boast of the full set of video outs - DVI, HDMI, and VGA."

CLICK HERE FOR ASUS M3N78-EMH HDMI Motherboard SHOPPING & PRICING