Week of September 16, 2007

Three Monitors, Three Times the Gaming Experience, Three Times the Fun, Three Times More Productive!... Today, I have one of the newest products from Matrox, the TripleHead2Go Digital Edition, which is part of Matrox's GXM (Graphics eXpansion Modules) series of devices.

CLICK HERE FOR Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital Edition PRICING AND SHOPPING

The Hiper HCK-1W20 Keyboard arrived Technic3D. Responsive slim key design, scissor-type key mechanism and Purple LED in a white "Apple Design". Technic3D will see the functions in the following Review on Windows Vista and Office Work.

XTracPads have released a new desktop mouse surface, similar to their Ripper product. However this mat is aimed more at the (even more) professional gamer, with a larger surface area, making it ideal for those gamers who always seem to end up sliding over the edge of their mouse mats in a middle of a game. Today we take a look at it and see how it performs.

A couple weeks back, I went on a bit of a rant regarding my experience with Intel's E6850 processor. While most reviews and several forum posts showed incredible overclocking results, my processor was one of several, as it turns out, which had problems with a low FSB wall when dropping the CPU's multiplier.
If it were just for personal use, the FSB issue would be a non-issue, but as the heart of my current test bench, the inability to use the CPU multiplier to stress other system components made the FSB problem a real pain in the ass. Not content with the results I saw, I purchased another E6850 to see if the issue was a fluke, or part of a bigger problem.

CLICK HERE FOR INTEL E6850 Dual Core Processor PRICING AND SHOPPING

Extreme gamers and hardware enthusiasts are demanding more power from their machines. Quad-core CPUs and multi-GPU setups make for extreme gaming (and extreme heat), and require a solid power supply that can deliver near-nuclear energy for today's demanding number-crunchers.

There are several 1000 Watt power supply units available today to meet the growing need for this extreme hardware. As Uncle Ben said, "with great power comes great responsibility", so you should only trust your expensive components to quality name-brand power supplies. One of the best values you can get today comes from OCZ's ProXstream 1000W power supply, which is one of the most inexpensive Kilowatt units you can buy today, but has the quality innards that let you sleep well at night.

CLICK HERE FOR OCZ ProXstream 1000W PSU PRICING AND SHOPPING

The NGO NVIDIA Optimized Driver is a modified version of the NVIDIA ForceWare driver. The main purpose is to satisfy the users with better performance, image quality and compatibility. The NGO NVIDIA Optimized Driver can enhance your experience in games, multimedia and general usage. This project is especially suited for enthusiasts and gamers that want to have the best gaming experience.

This driver includes NVIDIA's new Control Panel. We’ve preferred to include the new Control Panel over the old one due to flexibility and stability reasons. The Driver has support for all GeForce/Quadro cards – including mobile series (Go) as well. This driver has a special compatibility mode option that provides better stability, and workaround for some known bugs.

After installing the OWC 2GB (1024MB x 2) Matched Pair DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHz DIMMs the computer RAM much faster under VMware. I could change mailboxes in outlook with lag of only a second at most. Running Photoshop Elements was also faster and the entire system in general ran smoother.

So you want to go to your LAN party but really can’t be bothered to hump around your humongous PC case weighing in at more than a man can carry? Well, Apevia (formerly Aspire) feel your pain and have come up with a new version of their LANer’s case the X-QPack wisely named X-QPack 2.
With an all aluminium chassis and a steel carrying handle, it should be your perfect partner to your next geek-fest. Let’s have a look how it performs.

CLICK HERE FOR Apevia X-QPack 2 PRICING AND SHOPPING

NZXT loves gamers, and make their case for that market. We’ve seen snippets from their Classic range, but today I have the Apollo which fits into their Crafted series which definitely shy away from the professional look and go for in-your-face aesthetics.

Let’s have a look if the NZXT Apollo is right for your next show-off gaming rig.

CLICK HERE FOR NZXT Apollo PRICING AND SHOPPING

It has been some time, but this isn't the first time we look into a product from Spire. But it is the first time we look at a graphics card protector from Spire, and actually it is a first time we see such a product at all. And what about Spire? Well, their focus is to build on the current success of the Spire brand so that the brand is recognized world wide as a provider of top quality cooling solutions. Spire continues to work to maintain the satisfaction of customers and share the knowledge of experts to provide their customers with the perfect cooling solution. And in fact, Spire is proudly introducing a new powered by innovation product, the all new PowerFuse.

Add premium sound to your notebook with the Logitech AudioHub. It even comes with extra USB ports!

CLICK HERE FOR Logitech AudioHub PRICING AND SHOPPING

Wrapping up our day 2 coverage at this year’s IDF, began with a mobility keynote hosted by Intel’s David “Dadi” Perlmutter and Anand Chandrasekher. The keynote was broken up into two parts; the first focused on next generation notebooks and Intel’s mobile platforms as a whole and the second focused on “ultra mobility” featuring a number of UMPCs and MIDs.

In three of the four tests, the Freezer 64 Pro came within two to four degrees Celsius of the XP 90. Considering that the XP 90 is about double the price after you purchase a fan to mount on it, two to four degrees isn’t bad. The Freezer Pro 64 is very quiet, almost inaudible when placed inside the case. It was also quite easy to install, and I did not have to cut the mounting clip on it to place it on the motherboard that it was tested on. If you have read any of my articles, you will realize that I'm a stickler when it comes to fan noise. I run three to five computers in my office at any given time and it can get quite loud; I am always searching for an alternative. I will be using the Freezer Pro 64 on the next AMD rig I build.

CLICK HERE FOR Arctic Cooling ACFZP64 Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler PRICING AND SHOPPING

1000W power supplies are all over the place now so of course we would see one from OCZ. OCZ power supplies from the ModXStream and GameXStream series have been very popular with consumers. Today we will be looking at a new series from OCZ the ProXStream. The ProXStream has one of the smallest form factors of a 1000W power supply that I have seen and has an industry-leading 3 year warranty. I have never actually checked out an OCZ power supply before so we will see how it stacks up against other 1000W power supplies that we have tested.

CLICK HERE FOR OCZ ProXstream 1000W PSU PRICING AND SHOPPING

A majority of today's computer peripherals utilize USB technology. Keyboards, mice, printers, cameras, scanners, thumb drives, drink warmers, and even foam missile cannons all connect through USB. For real convenience, it would be nice to be able to share all of these USB devices between two computers. You wouldn't even have to reload your cannons, just hit a button and switch to the next one! This is where the Ultra Products 7 Port USB Buddy Hub comes in.

Many manufacturers search out designs that will help them develop a product known for extraordinary performance. Benchmark Reviews has already reviewed many of the very best CPU coolers available to enthusiasts, from the very unique and original Zaward Sylphee ZCJ003 CPU Cooler to the oversized Thermaltake MaxOrb CL-P0369 CPU Cooler. Not long ago, we even reviewed the Ultra ULT33186 Chilltec TEC CPU Cooler which combined three different cooling technologies into one solution. All of these products performed very well, but none of them really set itself apart from the pack. In this review we will test the Zaward VIVO PCJ004 Exposed Copper Heatpipe Direct Touch CPU cooler against a field of top competitors.

IT specialists are now very interested in running several virtual systems on a single physical machine, not only because it makes the IT infrastructure more flexible, but also because virtualization actually saves money. So why hadn't OS virtualization been so popular before? Let's give a recap of the main problems that stood in the way of this technology.

Since the release of motherboards supporting DDR3, including memory at speeds above the “default” 1333MHz, the major memory manufacturers have been quickly pushing the specifications of their modules higher and higher. Faster speeds are always a good thing as far as PC components are concerned, unfortunately there is usually a premium attached to the components when buying the latest and greatest.

Today we are taking a look at just how much performance can be gained by using DDR3-1800Mhz when compared with DDR3-1333Mhz and we will discuss whether the increase in performance is worth the price being charged for the higher performance modules. We will also take a look at how much of an increase can be gained by using DDR3-1333 over a decent kit of DDR2-1066 modules.

This generation of graphics cards seems to be all about nVidia, at least for the time being. On most forums users will call you a fool for even considering an AMD graphics card, claiming that nVidia can wipe the floor with AMD any day of the week.

Facts speak differently however. Yes, nVidia’s solutions are a bit faster in certain games, but AMD has a fair share of games that run faster on their hardware as well. And most importantly, when somebody buys a graphics card, they tend to use it for more than just gaming. HD video playback is getting more popular by the day, so having a card that is capable of accelerating playback on computers that aren’t exactly high-end is an important feature. And what do you know, AMD is faring a great deal better here than their competition.

So you see, things aren’t as black and white as some would have you believe and because of that, we decided to turn the spotlight to AMD’s camp, and showcase the performance of their budget and middle end graphics cards.

"Vista makes you look good naked. I've made the switch to Vista. Completely. My home theater PC and file server is running Home Premium x64, my gaming computer uses Vista Ultimate x64, and my laptop, my precious workhorse, the heart of my professional life*, is running Vista Home Premium x32. None of them run perfectly, but I'm never going back to XP, and it will take a lot to get me using Ubuntu or OS X again anytime soon."

CLICK HERE FOR Windows Vista SHOPPING & PRICING

"The Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 multimedia projector features 1080p resolution using 3LCD technology."

CLICK HERE FOR Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 SHOPPING & PRICING

Lens distortion can be a combination of different factors, and nearly every lens has it. Cheap lenses can have some amount of Chromatic Abberation, which is a purple haze that appears around very bright edges of a highlight. Zoom lenses are also prone to barell distortion, which is the bubble or pincushion effect you see at different zoom lengths. Normally you don't notice any geometric distortion until you take a photo that has straight horizontal or vertical lines, such as a building, a doorway, or even a product box.

"Models based on VIA chipsets have always occupied a small but permanent place among ASUS system boards. Even at times when for some reason boards on VIA chipsets were scarce, those wishing to get one had a good chance of finding something suitable among ASUS series. In case of Socket AM2, though, there is no problem finding system boards based on VIA chipsets. And lowering the price is most likely out of the question in this case, because it is already moderate for a discrete chipset with good functionality."

CLICK HERE FOR ASUS M2V Motherboard SHOPPING & PRICING

The Xigmatek HDT-S1283 utilizes a 120mm rifle bearing fan that is rated at 1000 - 2200 RPM and produces 72.1 - 99.6 CFM's (depending on RPM). The fan has a moderate noise level of 28 - 32 dBA, which should be fairly quite in a closed case.

"With so many cooling companies out there, it's not uncommon to find one that you haven't heard much about before. Recently I was informed that I was being sent an innovative laptop cooler by a group called cRadia. I thought little of it until it arrived... let's see if it's performance is as crazy as it's size!"

"Once everything was installed I powered up the pc and I had to check the fans were spinning as it is practically silent, especially with the cpu cooler fan turned down to low speed. Just the occasional murmur from the hard drive and that's it.Nice!"

“Power supplies have come of age in the last few years. This new coming of age is due mostly to the new energy standards set forth by the government. These new changes allow the end user to have a more reliable and efficient piece of equipment, which brings me to a new energy efficient power supply I have from Ultra. This is from the line of power supplies named the X3 collection, which range from 600 watt to 1600 watt. The unit I have for review is the 600 watt model. These power supplies are 100% modular, and the 1000 watt model comes in two style: either for SLI or CrossFire. The new line of X3 power supplies will convert as much as 85% of the used AC current into useable DC current, the rest being lost to heat and other electrical anomalies. Being fully modular also eliminates any unneeded cable inside the enclosure, thus giving the end result a cleaner look.”

CLICK HERE FOR Ultra X3 600w ATX Power Supply SHOPPING & PRICING

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

"The case is made of steel with an aluminum faceplate, so it’s not the lightest case on the market. On the front of the case you’ll notice a small LCD screen, a volume knob, power button, reset button, two USB ports, a firewire port, headphone jack, and microphone jack. I think the case looks extremely slick and in a way it does look like a receiver. The case shows fingerprints easily, which is evident in the pictures."

CLICK HERE FOR Antec Fusion Black 430 Media Center Case SHOPPING & PRICING

ASUS’s P5K range of motherboards based on the new Intel P35 chipset comes in a range of flavours, from the very basic to the super-loaded, today we take a look at the P5KR, which seems to offer a good number of features for not a lot of money.

Multi-monitor desktops are starting to become more commonplace as LCD panels and powerful graphics cards get more inexpensive. Not only can you have more workspace when browsing multiple web pages, but you can further enhance your workflow by having several related windows open on different monitors.

There are a few annoying problems with using Windows' built-in multi-monitor support. For one, the taskbar doesn't span all of your monitors; cramming all of your open items onto one display. Most games are not multi-monitor aware, either, so playing ultra-widescreen games across multiple monitors hasn't been possible - that is until you use one of Matrox's external multi-head adapters. Matrox has now unveiled one of their latest products, the DualHead2Go Digital Edition, which opens up a whole new world of work and gaming possibilities.

CLICK HERE FOR Matrox DualHead2Go Digital Edition SHOPPING & PRICING

"Here are four new HD projectors that should be on your big-screen radar - all for a price of course. "

CLICK HERE FOR 1080p Projector SHOPPING & PRICING

"None of these monitors merits a stand-alone article, but they do merit your attention. From low-on-budget film fans over business users to “brand name” elitists, every single of these can choose between these five models."

CLICK HERE FOR LCD Monitor SHOPPING & PRICING

"OCZ has long been equipping its memory modules with fancy thermal solutions, partly to make them stand out on store shelves, partially to address heat from overclocking and over-volting. In this review, OCZ brings to the table the most hardcore form of memory cooling PCSTATS has ever seen commercially available. Watercooling for memory. Yup, watercooling. OCZ's PC2-9200 FlexXLC Edition DDR2 memory runs in a dual channel configuration with a stock speed rating of 1150 MHz, on timings of 5-5-5-18. "

CLICK HERE FOR OCZ PC2-9200 FlexXLC 2GB Dual Channel Memory SHOPPING & PRICING

"Earth to AMD......earth to AMD........come in AMD.........where are you?

A lot of us are asking that question these days, and to be honest, AMD had better arrive on the scene soon, as INTEL's most recent releases offer only a modest improvement over their predecessors. Looking at it from purely a business standpoint, Intel is doing it right: Why compete
against yourself? Until AMD gets their act together and releases a processor that forces Intel's hand, there's really no point in bringing any major upgrades to market. While that may be good for Intel's bottom line, its bad for us enthusiasts who wait with baited breath for the next best thing."

CLICK HERE FOR INTEL QX6850 Quad Core Extreme Processor SHOPPING & PRICING

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

When I was a kid, I often dreamed of putting a jet engine on my bike, because I wanted to be the first kid to break the sound barrier on a BMX. If you want to visualize it, just think of the moment of flight on E.T. but on steroids. Looking at the AE-Plus, I think the engineers at Aerocool know where I was coming from. The first design meeting probably went something like this, “I wonder what it would look like if we put a turbine engine on a case.” “Forget that. I wonder how well it would cool a system.” Then some other guy said, “I like windmills.” Perhaps it didn’t go quite that way, but the design schema is definitely there and it’s often repeated in their cases. As we progress through the review, I’ll elaborate and we’ll see what this case has to offer.

"The object of our attention today is the ASUS M2A-VM motherboard. Despite the summer heat and 3-hour long game testing its heat sinks didn't warm up enough to demonstrate overheating. Therefore let's assume that we were fortunate and the chipset of our particular board was actually well within the declared TDP."

CLICK HERE FOR ASUS M2A-VM Motherboard SHOPPING & PRICING

"There are so many various products in the market of audio players that it's rather hard to surprise consumers. Manufacturers usually try to attract users with new features, which in their turn raise product costs. Creative decided differently - to stir up the market of portable audio equipment by launching a budget Zen Stone instead of an expensive device with advanced features."

CLICK HERE FOR Creative Zen Stone Player SHOPPING & PRICING

"The biggest change to the gameplay is definitely the loss of grenades and explosive packs - and I have to agree with Valve's team, it is a good decision. Combat is already very "spammy" with grenade launchers and rocket launchers, and this way as most of the classes have no access to indirect fire, combat becomes far more fast-paced and in-your-face. The Doctor also loses the ability to infect people, but you don't really miss it, as healing has been moved up as a very worthwhile job with the ÜberCharge acting as the ultimate tool to break stalemates."

Given the refined styling and minimal noise generated by the test system, the Acousti Products AcoustiCase 340 Quiet Computer Case is an ideal choice for anyone who wants to appreciate what a computer system can do for them, without being particularly aware of the computer itself. The style makes it appropriate for use in an office or a living room, as it doesn't cry out for attention with bold colors, bright lights, or other gadgets that might distract from its use. Couple this with the extremely low noise operation and the entire system could become virtually invisible.

I am constantly amazed to hear how old systems a lot of people have. While us hard core users probably already have a Core 2 Duo or AM2 CPU, a lot of people still are running systems with P4 or even worse. There are a lot of reasons people do not upgrade. Lack of knowledge on how to do it is one reason but a far more probable reason is the cost of upgrade. However, with the recent drop in the price for the Core 2 Duo's and the release of the cheap E2x00 and E4x00 C2D's there now is a perfect time to upgrade an old system without breaking the bank.

"The Plantronics .Audio 480 doubles as both a Skype headset, and MP3/media player headphones. Does it do both well though?"

“The GMC R-2 Toast PC case has very original (and patented!) concept for optical drive placement and loading. Instead of the traditional horizontally-positioned, tongue-like tray extension, the Toast, as its name implies, orients the drive vertically so that the optical drive tray shoots up like a piece of toast. The hard drive is also mounted vertically, so the case is very slim. Read on as ThinkComputers sees what pops up with the Toast.”

"Not wanting to only compare the QuickCam Pro to itself, I also fired up the iSight on my Mac. Although there was no software installed, the Mac picked up that there was a camera and set it to be used as the default inside of Photo Booth. I took image captures at the default settings since I was unable to alter the settings on the Mac. As can be seen, the image quality of the QuickCam Pro is a lot better. Colors are more vibrant and video is smoother. This lays waste to the built-in competition without looking back. The first one is the QuickCam and the second is the iSight. The flash from the Mac's software hurt the image quality a little on both pictures, but they are still pretty good representatives of the type of quality you would get out of them."

CLICK HERE FOR Logitech Quick Cam Pro for Notebooks SHOPPING & PRICING

"Super Talent introduced some of the first DDR3 memory modules on the market, and in this review PCSTATS is testing the companies' 2GB W1866UX2G8 DDR3-1866 memory kit. Super Talent has these puppies to running at 1866 MHz! According to the company, each pair of DDR3 memory modules are hand tested on an Asus P5K3 Deluxe motherboard before being shipped."

CLICK HERE FOR Super Talent W1866UX2G8 DDR3-1866 Memory SHOPPING & PRICING

Some USB drives use various methods to secure the precious data on the memory stick, but these software methods only logically lock the drive or encrypt its contents. One of the problems with a software method is that the protection can be circumvented by using another OS or running a password-checking program.

CLICK HERE FOR Corsair Flash Padlock 2GB USB Drive SHOPPING & PRICING

Logitech put a lot of work into this keyboard, and it shows. They made a highly functional gaming keyboard without holding back. Backlit LCD and keys, macro keys, instant macro recording, and all the media keys of a standard keyboard, the G15 has it all.

CLICK HERE FOR Logitech G15 Keyboard SHOPPING & PRICING

"The going gets even more ridiculous towards the end. The penultimate mission, Operation Varsity, is portrayed as a strike against a German munitions depot. History is bent a little bit here, as the 82nd Airborne never took part in Varsity; however, we'll just let this one slide, as there's better stuff to moan about. The German paratroop snipers in this mission make your life difficult by taking pot shots while you're landing, but the real whammy comes at the end of the mission, where you'll face a Pantzerzug armored train, and another boss enemy - the menacing Nazi Storm Elite."

CLICK HERE FOR Medal of Honor Airborne SHOPPING & PRICING

"Gaming notebooks belong to a special class of machines. Two years ago questions about gaming notebooks would only irritate professionals - "Why? A notebook is not a desktop!" But time flies. Notebooks were replacing home desktops in all fields. Only 3D games held their ground because of high requirements to performance. However, it's not reasonable to buy a big desktop only for games, while its other functions are performed well by a smaller notebook. That's why more and more potential buyers of notebooks would like to use them not only for work, but also for entertainment. And 3D games are a significant part of it. Today we are going to review the latest gaming notebook from Acer. Let's see how it copes with games as well as other home tasks."

CLICK HERE FOR Acer Aspire 5920 SHOPPING & PRICING

"An alkaline battery does not deplete because it loses chemical potency, but because its anode becomes contaminated preventing further conduction. In fact, alkaline batteries would last much longer if it were not for this contamination."

This review will cover the HR-05 SLI/IFX chipset cooler, an updated design loosely based on the HR-05 SLI. The HR in the model name stands for High-Riser. This cooler is designed for SLI / Crossfire systems with the heatpipes / cooling fins offset from the base to allow for video card clearance.

CLICK HERE FOR Thermalright HR-05 SLI/IFX Chipset Cooler SHOPPING & PRICING

“The OCZ DDR3-1600 2GB Platinum Series Enhanced Bandwidth Memory Kit is one such kit intended to offer the DDR3 enthusiasts a low voltage option that can easily support memory frequencies past their stock 1066 or 1333MHz Front Side Bus processors. You've probably seen previous, very successful Platinum Series modules that turned heads and produced some of the best performance results. With DDR3 modules fast arriving in full production, it's once again necessary to raise the bar and draw the users who really want the best possible results. Let's see what the OCZ DDR3-1600MHz kit has to offer.”

CLICK HERE FOR OCZ 2x1GB PC3-12800 1600MHz Memory Kit SHOPPING & PRICING

GMC is a Korean company who focus entirely on computer chassis, mainly dealing with HTPC enclosures. We have reviewed several HTPC enclosures over the past few months in our labs and several of them have impressed us. It is common for GMC cases to combine good looks with high quality engineering, even in the value market segment. Today on review we have one of the best mid sized tower cases GMC produce, the X-22. The X-22 is designed to meet the requirements of a sturdy and spacious, yet elegant and appealing case for PC enthusiasts.

"P35 was built on the P965s already popular design, however its memory controller was tweaked for DDR2 as well as adding the first DDR3 memory controller for the desktop. The ICH9R was also given to the P35 chipset.

While this was good, the enthusiasts still needed a higher grade chipset. Enter today’s contender, the X38. The new X38 chipset is designed to take over where the aging 975X chipset leaves off. Its abilities have been tweaked as well as some extra goodies. So let’s have a look at our first retail sample board, Gigabyte X38-DQ6."

"The S&S itself is a pretty big mouse pad. It's larger than my X-Trac Zoom, at about 12.6" by 10.6", yet very thin at .08". It takes up a significant amount of space, so if you have a small desk, this is not for you. It's made of durable plastic, contrary what the name SteelPad would lead you to believe. The surface isn't completely slick, but has more of a pebbled texture. It gives some tactile feel when moving the mouse around which is something that some gaming mouse pads don't offer. The lower left corner of the S&S has a S&S SteelPad logo. It has a curve at the bottom and rounded corners."

CLICK HERE FOR SteelSeries SteelPad S&S SHOPPING & PRICING

"I decided to give the results from the Patriot in both 1200mhz and 1000mhz at 4,4,4,10 on everest due to the scale of memory performance increase and although the read was less at 1000mhz we saw for the first time in Everest a copy exceed 8000 on the score."

CLICK HERE FOR Patriot Extreme Performance PC2-9600 SHOPPING & PRICING

"In true PC Apex fashion, I've voided the warranty to give you a good look at the internals. The heatsinks are not as large as others I've seen, but they are heavy duty. The soldered connections were done very solid with no visual defects noted. The fans are connected via removable connectors rather than soldered directly to the PCB which is nice for those who would like to use this power supply in a custom PC but change the fans for a different color scheme. Build quality was superb and all components were positioned well for optimum cooling."

CLICK HERE FOR Kingwin 600W Mach 1 PSU SHOPPING & PRICING

"Let me clarify by saying that this case is huge. I want to get that out of the way. One of my favorite designs for cases is the matte finish for that modern look. The front has a smooth finish mixed with the matte to break up the monotony. With plenty of holes drilled out, they made sure there was somewhere for everything to vent, even above the PSU."

CLICK HERE FOR Tagan CS-Monolith Case SHOPPING & PRICING

“Thermaltake's Orb series has been very popular. We have checked out both the Ruby Orb, and Golden Orb. Each of them performed well and received good scores. The MaxOrb has a little different design, but still has the "Orb" motif. The MaxOrb features a 6 heatpipe design, 120mm fan, and a copper base. Although the base is made of copper the rest of the heatsink is aluminum. Hopefully its design will come in to play to help cooling because as we all know copper cools much better than aluminum.”

CLICK HERE FOR Thermaltake MaxOrb CPU Cooler SHOPPING & PRICING

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

"The hard drive cage in this case is very interesting. There is a 120mm fan on one end, and if you remove the two thumb screws on either side, you then can pull a lever out and it unlocks cage, allowing it to be rotated. This feature could make the upgrade or addition of a hard drive easeier after the initial build has been completed. You wouldn't have to take the video card out of the case to be able to slide another drive into the cage this way."

CLICK HERE FOR Sigma Atlantis Case SHOPPING & PRICING

"Budget components are really what shape the things we see in the PC market today, without them there would be no research money to create higher end products nor would the mainstream pubic be as open to upgrading their systems."

"The HP Pavilion HDX laptop is one of the largest and meanest systems we have seen, and it comes with an attitude!"

CLICK HERE FOR HP Pavilion HDX 20-inch Laptop SHOPPING & PRICING

So, you just bought that thousand-dollar digital camera with full manual control to unlock the artist within. You play with the new features, and take some long exposure night shots and are horrified to see a bright spot in the same locaiton on every picture. No, you haven't discovered a new star... it's the infamous hot pixel, and unfortunately, it's a fact of life.

CLICK HERE FOR Digital Camera SHOPPING & PRICING

"With the inclusion of all kinds of media extras on motherboards and graphics cards (high quality audio and HDMI output), it seems only natural for your computer to become a place for TV signals to be shown. Most of the time you’ll have to use a PCI add-in card to get your favourite episodes on your screen, but today I have MSI’s Digivox mini II which enables USB 2.0 usage."

"DFI does not disappoint with the NF570-M2/G. Although it may not look like much at first glance, this board does indeed have it where it counts. It has some surprising extras being left out in many budget boards like onboard firewire and both optical and coaxial SPDIF outputs. The overclocking potential this board has is nothing short of incredible. Both the reference clock and HTT frequency can be pushed to extremes far beyond any practical use. This board will not be your overclocking bottleneck. I would highly recommend the NF570-M2/G to anyone looking for a very capable AM2 overclocking board for not a lot of money."

CLICK HERE FOR DFI Infinity NF570-M2/G SHOPPING & PRICING

XCLIO is a company that’s new on the block, they are located in Taipai, Taiwan. They focus on Power Supply Units and PC Cases, however, the PC Cases aren’t just your everyday, run-of-the-mill type PC Cases. The overall, primary objective of the design is to provide the ultimate in PC Cooling.

CLICK HERE FOR XClio 6030 Plus PC Cooling Case SHOPPING & PRICING

We got our hands on five, dual-channel, 2GB kits from Corsair, Kingston (2), OCZ, and Super Talent each with different rated speeds and timings, ranging from 1333MHz to 1800MHz. Our intent was to show you how performance is affected by different clock speeds and timings using Intel's P35 chipset with a processor that has a 1333MHz front side bus speed.

CLICK HERE FOR DDR3 Memory SHOPPING & PRICING

One of the most asked questions on the HL forums over the past month has been "What processor should I buy?". It's a difficult question, but certainly a valid one. Those looking for the best VALUE, I'll usually recommend either Intel's E6850, featuring two cores operating at 3.0GHz on a 1333FSB, or Intel's Q6600, which offers four cores operating at 2.4GHz on a 1066FSB. Both the E6850 and Q6600 are available at most retailers in the $270-300 range, making them a great balance of performance and price.

CLICK HERE FOR INTEL Q6600 Quad Core Processor SHOPPING & PRICING

Except for those running a massive system that includes a good deal of the latest hardware, 1000W is more power than you could possibly need. During the course of the review, the Ultra Products X3 1000 Watt modular power supply came close to powering two full systems, and there was still plenty of power left to toss much more hardware at it.

CLICK HERE FOR Ultra Products X3 1000 Watt Modular Power Supply SHOPPING & PRICING

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

One wireless solution users have available is the Frogpad Bluetooth one-handed keyboard. This small device takes a different approach than some other keyboards I've seen. The Frogpad crams the functions of a full keyboard into a one-handed input device, and gives users a wireless capability via Bluetooth technology to connect it to a host of different products.

Do you remember the first PC computer case you had? Mine belonged to an IBM-PS1 desktop and, while practical, was beige, bland and pretty dull looking. As the years went by and I started to build my own computers, I started to try to mod my cases, not only to make them look better but also to improve cooling and other features. I still remember the first case window kit I bought and how much time I spent first cutting the hole out and then get the window to fit in. Does anyone actually put in their own case window anymore? I doubt it.

Heatpipes have not been an integrated part of the CPU heatsink for very long now, but the tall design with a fan fixed to the front has already been done several times over. Copper heatpipes, and later copper bases, helped reach the coolest temperatures available from air cooling, but enthusiasts didn't have to wait long for the next advancement. Xigmatek has delivered the HDT-S1283 Exposed Copper Heatpipe CPU Cooler with 120mm cooling fan, and Benchmark Reviews is simply amazed by the unprecedented results. This is by far the best cooler we have yet to test.

“So far to date, I have reviewed both the SilverStone TJ-06 and TJ-08. Now I am getting the chance to review the TJ10. (So? I like even numbers.) Anyway, in a word, this enclosure is HUGE. The delivery guy wanted to know if I was building some kind of super computer. Little did he know this delivery is the start of my global takeover. MUAHAHAHA! The SST TJ10 comes in two colors and two styles. The colors are silver and black, and the styles are windowed and non-windowed. The entire enclosure is constructed from aluminum to help lessen the weight, and boasts several unique features. As SilverStone offers well-constructed and -designed products, let's get on with the review to find out how the TJ10 stands up.”

"For me personally, when I am about to purchase anything of value, packaging is always my least consideration. I have to admit, the cooler the packaging looks, the more I am likely to at least give it a look. However, it is always my practice that I will spend some time researching an item before I dole out any money for it. My father always said, "never judge a book by it's cover" and in my humble opinion, if you purchase anything because the box looks cool, you are likely to be disappointed more times than not. But for those who enjoy the artwork of packaging, the ASUS EN8600GTS Silent box has average looks at best."

CLICK HERE FOR ASUS EN8600GTS Silent Graphics Card SHOPPING & PRICING

"The new Panasonic 3-CCD HDR-SX5 is a hybrid in that it records HD to SD memory cards or 3-inch blank DVDs."

CLICK HERE FOR Panasonic HDC-SX5 SHOPPING & PRICING

OCZ has become a preferred vendor because of its Extended Voltage Protection warranty that covers the memory even if the memory voltage is bumped higher than stock. The OCZ DDR2 PC2-8500 Reaper HPC Edition is ready to push any system that can handle the 1066MHz modules, but can it handle being pushed back?

CLICK HERE FOR OCZ DDR2 PC2-8500 Reaper HPC Edition SHOPPING & PRICING

"Today I will be looking at my second 2.5" HDD enclosure in as many months, in the Vantec EZ-Swap EX 2.5" drive enclosure. This enclosure offers a different mix of features, which may prove to be more useful that those on the Icy Box."

"The bundled software was IMO a good choice. I am a big fan of Nero burning software and am somewhat disappointed when I buy an Optical drive that doesn't include it. CyberLink PowerDVD 6 is also included for your movie viewing needs.. If I had a complaint here it would be that the usual electronic users manual is of a generic variety and doesn't offer much in the way of Lite-On model specific information. While I guess a paper manual is too much to ask for these days, is a model- specific users manual? I personally think not."

The Pro|Click Mobile is Razer's first go at designing a cordless laptop mouse. Being cordless and a laptop mouse seems to be some feat, but has Razer been able to make a good performing mouse that avoids all of the obvious pitfalls associated with cordless laptop mice?

NEW YORK (AFP) - Born 10 years ago, the Google Internet search engine has grown into the electronic center of human knowledge by indexing billions of web pages as well as images, books and videos.

On September 15, 1997 Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two 24 year-old Stanford University students, registered the domain name of "google.com." The word is a variation of 'googol,' which refers to the number 10 to the power of 100, a term popularized by US mathematician Edward Kasner.

Page and Brin incorporated Google one year later, on September 7, 1998, in a household garage in northern California.

News of Google spread largely thanks to the efficient way the search engine classified results through algorithms, and it quickly became one of the most used methods to find information on the Internet.

Smart online shoppers know that there can be a wide divergence in price between the same products from one e-tailer to the next, so in order to obtain the best deal you need to know where the bargains are. To that end, we here at eBizMBA have provide you with the Top 20 Most Popular Sites for Bargain Hunters ranked by a combination of Inbound Links, Google Page Rank, Alexa Rank, and U.S. traffic data from Compete and Quantcast. For entries where a wide range exists between the two data sets the highest numbers were used for ranking purposes. Although no traffic metrics are completely accurate we do believe the data below to be useful for gauging relative audience size.

The iPhone Dev Team has released a simple-to-use GUI tool that allows you to unlock your iPhone for use with any SIM. The tool, which is based on their previous command-line work, provides one-touch speedy unlocking. This is a big improvement on the first generation release. It no longer requires you to use special files or to dump nor data.

Intel Corp. will buy Havok Inc., a provider of software and services used by videogame creators and movie special-effects teams, the company said Friday.

Havok will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel but keep operating its business as usual, according to an Intel press release. It will add to Intel's visual computing and graphics efforts, while continuing to develop products for all computing platforms, the company said. The acquisition will help Havok grow into new market segments, Havok CEO David O'Meara said in a prepared statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

AREQUIPA, Peru (Reuters) - Giant video games with throaty diesel engines powering monster-sized earth movers, excavators and dump trucks have hardened miners at a metals conference this week in Peru giggling like children.

Far more than just a gimmick to attract customers to the Caterpillar Inc. stand, the video games are actually simulators designed to help teach people to use massive, multimillion-dollar heavy mining equipment.

They are a service being offered by Caterpillar, the world's No. 1 heavy equipment producer, in Peru for the first time and reflect the booming fortunes of the nation's mining industry.

Peru is the world's largest silver producer and fifth-largest gold miner. It is also the world's third-largest producer of copper, zinc and tin, and fourth-largest producer of lead and molybdenum.

Although we weren’t allowed to take any pictures inside the factory, due to MSI not wanting its competitors to see the kind of equipment used, we will still offer a glimpse into how motherboards and notebooks are produced in the Kunshan factory. The PCB’s aren’t made on site and arrive ready to use at the production line. The PCB’s are inserted into a transport line which takes them through several SMT machines which mounts the surface mounted components onto the boards and the PCB’s are then passed through hot ovens that melts the soldering points on the SMT components.