Saturday, May 24 2008 |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:53 PM (EDT) |
Today we will be looking at the APACK ZEROtherm ZEN FZ 120; the latest CPU heatsink and fan combination from the company. Once again, from the outside the cooler looks like many others’ designs that have taken over the enthusiast market for the last few years. Let’s have a look and see if the ZEN FZ 120 can surprise us like the Hurricane HC92 Cu8800 VGA cooler did in our MEGA 9-Way VGA Roundup back in April. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:53 PM (EDT) |
"The MX 5500 was announced back in January at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where we brought you on-site coverage of each of their five new products. Today I will be taking a look at their latest keyboard / mouse combo and see if they have hit yet another home run in the marketplace." |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:52 PM (EDT) |
Hiper did an excellent job with the Anubis case as it is easy to work with (with the painful exception of cutting one's hands while working with it) and pretty well designed as well. Black cases are my favorite color as they look cool whether it's sitting on a desk or on the floor next to my feet. The Anubis case is available online for $199. The only real negatives of the case are the lack of an external SATA or Firewire port on the IO and the lack of a removable motherboard tray. Otherwise the case does the job that Hiper intends to in bringing a Mid-Tower ATX case into the market with good features and tool less design. The good points of this case include a tool less design, incredible accessories bundle, latched side doors and the clearance to fit any video card into the case without interfering with the HDDs. Well done Hiper on the Anubis case. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:52 PM (EDT) |
Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed is a video game that will change video game history. After seeing the graphics, most previously released games look blocky and with yesterdays look. Just because Assassin's Creed happens to be a visually stunning game, that alone may not be enough of a reason for everyone to make this purchase. First of all, Assassin's Creed is a story driven game. It does not include multiplayer or other single player modes besides the storyline missions, thus the people who live for the online interaction may want to stray away from this release. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:51 PM (EDT) |
PC Power & Cooling is one of the most reputable high performance PSU manufacturers, if not the most reputable. This good reputation is no doubt helped by them not offering budget products, only mainstream and high end models. When OCZ bought PC P&C nearly a year ago many thought that the quality of their units would somehow degrade however every unit they released since then had an excellent design and really the move to the OCZ camp has had little impact. Today we will take a look on a unit from the Silencer series which is aimed at mainstream users, the Silencer 610W EPS12V. Interestingly the Silencer 610W EPS12V is the first PC P&C unit we have received that clearly mentions OCZ technology on it, let us have a closer look at it and see how good the latest mainstream PC P&C units really are. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:51 PM (EDT) |
Both the Black Ice GTX and the TFC X-Changer series of radiators are well designed, but it's clear that there's definitely a difference in performance for the price increase. Feser's performance starts off with a nice and cool two degree difference at idle on the 120mm radiator, and though the idle difference shrinks as the sizes increase as we'd expect, the temperature differences at load continues to increase. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:51 PM (EDT) |
" So for my own purposes I decided to run a bunch of tests to see if there was any real differences, after all Benchmark and testing software is designed to pick up very small imperceptible differences in things that we normally wouldn't notice. We wouldn't notice a few nanoseconds or milliseconds most likely but the software will as that's what it's for, to measure things like that. So I ran SiSoft Sandra, Cinebench, 3dmark06, SuperPi Mod 1.5 and TmpgeNC before and after the upgrade to SP3, I decided instead of just keeping it all to myself, why not share the results, and well there is a difference between SP2 and SP3 and it's a mixed bag of results really, in some cases SP2 is better and in others SP3 is, but there is obviously something going on, something changed and I'm not sure if it was for the better..." |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:50 PM (EDT) |
Today we are going to take a look at the ASUS EAH3870X2. Yes, that's right, we are showing some love to the gang in red, err green? Red/Green? Whatever color they are we love to see what ATI has up its sleeve from time to time since it would be a very bad thing if competition didn't exist. First, for those of you who were able to saw off their arm and escape from that rock you were under, let me say this, 'WOW, who gets caught under a rock anymore?' Secondly, the X2 represents a unique approach to graphic processing. By combining two GPUs on one PCB you have a card with twice the speed of a standard HD3870 without the need to buy a special chipset or motherboard. Even better, ASUS, never leaving well-enough alone, designed a custom cooler and added a few extra DVI ports to really spice things. Let's see if this card has what it takes to earn a spot in your gaming machine. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:49 PM (EDT) |
The original Vendetta cooler performs well and is still a great option for those with limited space, but the cooling performance and low noise operation of the Vendetta 2 are really impressive. By taking the original design and scaling it up to accept a 120mm fan, OCZ Technology has created an enthusiast grade cooler that isn't so large and heavy that it might cause installation issues. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:49 PM (EDT) |
"The Koolance CPU-330 is very nice looking, with the anodized finish and gold plating it looks as good as it functions. With an average street price of $50 the CPU-330 is just a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of a custom water cooling loop. As an upgrade to the 760i we saw small gains for that $50; it cost 1/3 the price of the 760i kit. Was the cost worth the gain?" |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:48 PM (EDT) |
"The OCZ EliteXStream 800W power supply is a great looking piece of hardware that does not have many flashy eye-catching features on the power supply, though it does have a very sleek design that could be favored by all. I personally do not like the LED fans that come in most of the power supplies that will light up half your room at night. Along the same lines of the fan that is included, the power supply operated at a more silent level than my OCZ GameXStream power supply does. I liked how many different connectors there are on this power supply, which will make it very versatile between different setups; however, it would have been nice if OCZ could have added a modular or partial modular design, the wire management was not quite as easy due to the large number of wires to hide." |
ASUS EN9800GTX Top 512MB Video Card Review @ ThinkComputers.org |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:48 PM (EDT) |
“If you are like me, and have been happy with mid-range cards, spend a few hours at your favorite game played at the highest settings, using AA, and higher resolutions while using an upper end card, and you'll probably realize that you've been in denial for all of this time. Today I will be looking at the Asus EN9800GTX Top, a factory overclocked version of nVidia's latest top-of-the-line single-GPU video card, with 512mb of DDR3 memory. Will this video card finally make me realize that rather than being practical when buying mid-range cards, I've just been cheap? Read on and see!” |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:48 PM (EDT) |
There is a first time for everything, and this time an Apple fan got to go to the Macworld 2008 Conference and Expo in San Francisco, CA! Will his head explode from all the Mac-related goodies? Maybe from Steve Jobs' keynote presentation, or maybe from "something in the Air"? Read on to find out what happened to Ricky on his California adventure. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:47 PM (EDT) |
With the 300, Antec has addressed one of the bigger complaints from its 900 case; cable management. With sleek looks and excellent cooling the 300 offers a lot of bang for a small amount of dough. Installation is trouble free and the 300 is far roomier than it actually looks. |
Friday, May 23 2008 |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:23 PM (EDT) |
From the very beginning of computer epoch, opinion was that parallelization and everything connected to computers needs to be scaled to the second power, although it doesn't matter if you have 1, 2 or even 73 cores. In any case, everything will work properly, unless we are talking about some old version of synthetic benchmark programs that doesn't recognize processor with odd number of processors. If one worker will do the job for 24h, two will do for 12h and for three workers you can guess by yourself. This analogy goes for multi-thread software which can recognize multi-core processors. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:22 PM (EDT) |
"The popularity of hard disk drive standard definition and high-def camcorders continues to climb. Nothing beats the storage capability of a HDD video maker-just think, you can record hour after hour of baby giggles, if that's your thing (and new parents, you can admit it). Hard drive cams are great for everyone else too since you can record anything to your heart's content for much longer than any tape or disk-based system. And nothing beats the instantly generated thumbnails that let you hop from scene to scene during playback. Sony dominates the HDD market for SD and HD video makers-just as they do every other camcorder format. That said we were happy to get our hands on the new HDR-SR12, the company's top-of-the-line HDD model that records Full HD 1920 x 1080I video along with 10-megapixel digital stills to a hefty 120GB hard drive. The camcorder even has Face Detection, the digicam feature du jour that works for video and stills. Even though there were no toddlers in the house, we definitely wanted to start recording ASAP." |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:21 PM (EDT) |
The Silverstone MS05 is a 2.5" enclosure which comes with an additional drive bay, to insert the unit into your computer. So you can take advantage of the eSATA interface at home, leaving you with the very portable USB 2.0 connectivity on the road. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:20 PM (EDT) |
“Wolfdale is Intel’s first 45nm based dual-core design, and is an interesting product beyond first glance. When it was first announced, there was a bit of doubt throughout the industry of the chip’s viability in the market. The doubt was that it would be foolish of Intel put major weight behind a dual-core processor architecture, as the future is clearly quad-core processors and beyond. More cores are always better, right? Why would Intel continue pushing dual-core models when quad-core models are getting more and more cost efficient? That's a fair question…” |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:20 PM (EDT) |
In the world of advanced gaming, video cards can be the difference between playing Crysis on low settings or on medium settings. Wouldn't you want to squeeze the most out of your gaming experience? Today, Ruffy checks out the new EVGA e-Geforce 8800GT KO series video card. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:19 PM (EDT) |
"Recently ATI refreshed their line up of video cards, and they were nice enough to send one over for review, the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT. Added to this new card were HD AC3 audio, 1080P video output, DX10 support for Vista, and a few other suprises. The testing and review took awhile, but I wanted to make sure things were done right." |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:19 PM (EDT) |
" A little while ago I took a look at the SteelSeries Ikari Laser Gaming Mouse and I found it to be an excellent choice overall, today I've got the optical version of Ikari and I think I actually like it better than the laser Ikari... It offers choices of DPI or CPI settings, but that's about it, it's not as feature packed as the Ikari laser, there's no special LCD screen and you can't change the settings on the fly, but that's ok with me as I never really used any of those features anyway. If you're looking for a great mouse for gaming and everyday use that just is that, a great mouse, then read on to check out the Ikari Optical Gaming Mouse..." |
New VIA EPIA M700 Mini-ITX Enables Brilliant Dual Digital Displays |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:18 PM (EDT) |
Taipei, Taiwan, May 22 2008 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA EPIA M700 Mini-ITX board, the first to feature the VIA VX800 chipset, for sophisticated digital signage and retail display systems. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:17 PM (EDT) |
Today we are looking at a product from Sunbeamtech, the parent company of Tuniq, maker of the popular Tuniq CPU coolers. Our sample today is called the Core-Contact Freezer and I think everyone reading this is going to look at the biggest feature of the CCF and wonder why they didn’t think of it first. I know I did. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:17 PM (EDT) |
“The Sigma La Vie provides a fairly normal, if unremarkable experience. In general, this mid-tower is a run-of-the-mill product. While it won't blow your socks off, it gets the job done with a decent list of features and a nice appearance. Coupled with the numerous drive bays and the side window, it'll provide a trusty case for most people.” |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:17 PM (EDT) |
On a budget and need the best bang for the buck? NVIDIA's new 9600 GSO might be the answer, despite not being that different from a 9600 GT. We are taking a look at Palit's Sonic version of the card, which comes pre-overclocked, doubles the memory and includes adapters for both HDMI and VGA. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:16 PM (EDT) |
"Well, I have to say that I love this remote! The diNovo Mini’s construction, design, and ease of use were absolutely extraordinary! The Logitech diNovo Mini is light, solid, sturdy, and looks great! Above all else, the backlights are just awesome! Never before have I had the full functionality of a big keyboard in the palm of my hand. The diNovo easily has every conceivable key and function necessary to run a full-fledged PC or HTPC!" |
Saitek Cyborg Laser Gaming Mouse Review @ ThinkComputers.org |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:16 PM (EDT) |
“The Cyborg Laser Mouse is a part of many other gaming peripherals on the Cyborg series put out by Saitek. This mouse offers a unique design with many features. These include pre-installed Hyperglide mouse feet, 10 programmable buttons, 3200DPI, and a motorized mouse extension. I've seen mice with adjustable weights and adjustable buttons before, but this is the first time that I have seen a mouse with an adjustable length. Read on further to see the mouse in action.” |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:16 PM (EDT) |
The DS107+ is a great solution for small businesses or home users that are looking for a reliable easy to use NAS setup. Plus being able to run a web server, FTP, Multimedia server and more makes this a must have solution for your home network. |
Thursday, May 22 2008 |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:32 PM (EDT) |
Today we’re having a look at the latest portable hard drive from Western Digital to hit the market, the My Passport Elite 320GB. A brilliant looking, stylish drive with plenty to offer, we take a closer look. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:31 PM (EDT) |
"Sony has a winner with its MDR-AS50G sport headphones: They're lightweight, they fit securely, and they sound good indoors and outside. Their in-ear design is definitely geared towards fitness nuts rather than commuters; they don't block out a whole lot of sound, which could be a plus or a minus depending on where you work out. The low price ($49.99 USD) is a big plus, since we tend to burn through exercise headphones faster than we burn through calories." |
ASUS P5E3 Premium WIFi-AP @n Edition Review @ Motherboards.org |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:31 PM (EDT) |
ASUS has done it again with their P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP@n motherboard. The board features everything you could possibly want from a new motherboard today including DDR3 support, external SATA support, Crossfire support, and saves energy while delivering the features and performance you want from a new motherboard. The P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP@n board has a high price online but you get what you pay for when paying that price. Performance is in line with the P5E3 Deluxe board which uses the same chipset but has similar performance though the other board has with the exception of SYSmark 2007 Preview. One important consideration with new motherboards is the official support of the 45 nanometer 1600MHz FSB Yorkfield CPUs and the P5E3 Premium supports those new CPUs which gives a nice upgrade path. |
Thermaltake BlacX Hard Drive Docking Station Review @ TechwareLabs |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:30 PM (EDT) |
Every now and then when we see a new product we not only get excited about it but it truely evokes a response of wow. We take a look today at the Thermaltake BlacX which manages to not only evoke that response but also crosses product genres and allows consumers much more freedom with their storage. We show you why we think this is one of the best new products this year and why every IT and Tech geek should have one in their tool belt. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:29 PM (EDT) |
Virtual Reality! The phrase alone is enough to bring chills to even the most callused of gamers. Ever since the idea was first hatched in the 1950’s and 60’s and then later made popular in movies such as Tron, The Lawnmower Man and The Matrix it has been imagined by many to be the pinnacle of interactive entertainment. Certainly, today’s gaming technology with its super high-resolution textures, ever-advancing pixel shading techniques and realistic physics make for one hell of a gaming experience but at the end of the day, it’s still navigating through a pretty world a few feet from your face using your mouse and keyboard with a subwoofer thumping away on the tip of your feet. Wouldn’t it be better to be inside that world even to the point where your actions, and the actions of your avatar, are at one with each other? |
Cooler Master CSX Shag Wagon Aluminum Chassis Review @ Bigbruin.com |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:28 PM (EDT) |
The Stacker 830 and the Cosmos cases are both available in a variety of CSX custom paint jobs, many of which have similar themes involving popular macho subjects like flames, skulls, and monsters. When approached to review one of these cases, I had my heart set on something a bit different though, and was quite pleased when Cooler Master agreed to send over the red "Shag Wagon". |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:27 PM (EDT) |
" Antec steps up to the plate to deliver a brand new case in the "Hundred" series. Betting on the success of the excellent Nine Hundred, Antec has released a lower end model dubbed, the Three Hundred. Known as the " Versatile Case," will the new case stand out from its bigger, badder brother? Probably not, but it is at a better price point that its sibling. " |
Passive CPU Coolers ShoutOut: CM Z600 vs Scythe Ninja CU @ Madshrimps |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:27 PM (EDT) |
"In this comparative performance test we put two 1000gr+ CPU coolers through our stress tests to see which one comes out on top. Both are designed for passive cooling but can benefit from a bit of forced airflow too. How to they compare to the other 40 heatsinks we tested before? Let´s find out" |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:27 PM (EDT) |
Asus M3N-HT Deluxe Mempipe is one of the first motherboards based on new nForce 780A chipset and it should be adequate competitor to great AMD 780G chipset and to arriving 790GX. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:26 PM (EDT) |
If ever a monitor was a tale of two halves, the BenQ X2200W is it. The bad half of the equation is that the image enhancement measures area a major flop. In truth, we didn't expect a great deal. Traditionally, these sorts of techniques tend to promise a whole lot more than they deliver. In this case, they merely serve as a reminder that there's no substitute for premium panel technology. |
Thermaltake DuOrb CL-G0102 VGA Cooler Review @ HardwareLogic |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:26 PM (EDT) |
"With GPU's raising the bar in terms of performance and heat output with every generation, aftermarket cooling is taking a larger role in today's high performance gaming systems. Today we take a look at Thermaltake's DuOrb CL-G0102. Does the DuOrb have the performance to match the good looks, or is this another case of Ms. Teen USA South Carolina? Read more to find out!" |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:25 PM (EDT) |
Chaintech have really expanded from the line of graphics cards, now doing products like memory and flash products as well. What they no longer do however are motherboards. It wasn’t all that long ago we were impressed with fancy cooling solutions and the general performance of Chaintech products. We’ll have to see if the 9600GT is able to do anything for us. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:25 PM (EDT) |
The HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc format war is finally over. Now that Toshiba and Mircosoft have both jumped ship on HD-DVD, for the first time in at least a dozen introduced media types Sony finally has its moment of glory with their Blu-ray Disc format. This news is exactly what movie buffs and storage moguls have eagerly awaited for more than a year, and now that the casualties are cleared it's time to get productive and introduce new products built from the blue laser technology. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:25 PM (EDT) |
"Wow, as soon as the packaging comes off of the case, you'll notice just how sleek the case is. There is a nice black finish on the case that isn't too glossy and fingerprints don't show up very easily. The plastic front bezel opens up to reveal the drive bays and a 120mm red LED fan at the bottom of the case, as well as the front panel audio and USB ports. On top of the front bezel you'll find the power and reset buttons. The back of this case reveals the 120mm exhaust fan that removes a majority of the hot air inside the case." |
Apevia Warlock 900-watt Power Supply Review @ High Tech Reviews |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:24 PM (EDT) |
Apevia is best known for their quality mid-priced cases and the numerous computer accessories they offer. One of their newest items being offered in their lineup is their high-output Warlock power supplies. |
Aeneon Xtune DDR3-1600 2GB Dual Channel Memory Kit Review @ ThinkComputers.org |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:24 PM (EDT) |
“A few months ago I reviewed the Aeneon Xtune DDR3-1333 2GB kit from Qimonda. It was an impressive pair of memory modules from a company we'd never heard of. The kit was very flexible, gaining tighter timings at lower clockrates, and overclocked reasonably well, all at the PC3 standard of 1.5v. Today I will be looking at Aeneon's latest PC3 kit, their DDR3-1600 2GB kit. It is rated at DDR3-1600, CL9, once again at the standard 1.5v. Will this new kit impress us as well as the earlier kit did? Continue reading to see.” |
Wednesday, May 21 2008 |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:25 PM (EDT) |
"As the computing industry has evolved over the years, people have begun to care more and more about what their PC looks like, as well as how it performs. But it’s not like what it was like several years ago, where the ‘cool’ happened to be flashing neon tubes and fans that glow various colours. The tacky disco era has moved on now, it’s now the age of pure quality that performs well, is silent and ultimately, looks good. One of the products on the current market that boasts to do all this is the Asus Triton 79 Amazing. Now let’s see how "amazing" this CPU cooler really is." |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:25 PM (EDT) |
Many people bring several portable devices with them to keep themselves entertained (usually when they would otherwise be bored out of their skulls). Just about every form of entertainment now comes in a portable form... you can put your music on an iPod or other MP3 player, play your favorite movies in the car with a portable DVD player, and you can even bring along a Sony PSP or Nintendo DS to game while you're on the go. Let us not forget the road warrior or nomad student who is constantly on the move. Why not have portable TV to tap into all of that new digital content floating around in our atmosphere? |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:24 PM (EDT) |
"While we have been impressed with some of their earlier offerings, these folks have taken their power supplies to the next level by offering a power supply that they claim is not only top notch, but also has a new look that is more than a little interesting. They have done so under a subsidiary company ABS, a name that is aiming at taking Tagan reliability and offering more value. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:24 PM (EDT) |
As many of you are no doubt aware, Intel is planning to officially release a new mainstream chipset in a few weeks, the P45. From a feature standpoint, the new P45 is somewhat similar to last year's P35. The P45, however, will have official support for PCI Express 2.0, with a more flexible lane configuration for multi-GPU graphics, and the chipset itself is being manufactured at 65nm as opposed to 90nm. Using the more advanced process to build the chips should result in lower power consumption and lower operating temperatures as well. The P45 will also be paired up with a new ICH10-series southbridge, which is similar to the ICH9 sans a few legacy features. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:18 PM (EDT) |
"When it comes to using the OCZ ATV Flash drive, it was found to be a solid performer over the months. We've used it on the test bench, for Ready Boost on Windows Vista, and for travel with no problems at all. As for the durability of the drive, it has survived being put through the laundry wash and a number of trips in the mouth of a dog and cat when they like to run off with important things. The OCZ ATV is one tough drive no doubt about that..." |
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 OC: AIR vs Phase vs LN2 Cooling @ Madshrimps |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:18 PM (EDT) |
The Intel E8500 is the highest end dual core CPU currently on the market, it doesn't get any faster than this… or does it? In this Overclocking report we take a retail E8500 sample for a spin with high end air cooling, than mount a modified phase change cooling on it, and to finish it off pour a few liters of LN2 over it. How high can it fly? How fast does it get? |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:17 PM (EDT) |
"Dynex and Rocketfish are two brands owned by Best Buy sold only on their chain of retail stores (and also on their website, of course). Today we are going to review Dynex 400 W, which is a relabeled Huntkey Green Star 400 W power supply and targeted to the entry-level market. Costing USD 80, is it worth the price? Can it really deliver 400 W? Read on." |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:17 PM (EDT) |
"In this review Frostytech is testing out Noctua's new NH-C12P heatsink. The NH-C12P comes bundled with Noctua's 120mm NF-P12 fan. Tower heatsinks may offer the best performance of any heatsink style, but many computer cases can't accommodate +140mm CPU cooler heights. 'Down exhaust' or 'impingment' heatsinks are so named because the fan blows downward. The overhanging portion of this heatsink has the added advantage of cooling devices adjacent to the CPU socket too. " |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:16 PM (EDT) |
Cooler Master are a company that is very well known for cooling solutions however in the last couple of years they have developed a very competitive line of PSU products. The Real Power M700 is perhaps the most important unit in Cooler Masters current range as it is aimed at enthusiasts and overclockers who usually require a unit within the 600-800W output range. |
bit-tech News: Jetway's JNC62K (GeForce 8200 mini-ITX) Motherboard |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:16 PM (EDT) |
At under £90 including VAT, the board is certainly good value for its size and niche appeal. A good mini-ITX board can easily set you back £150, and usually an Intel mini-ITX board will need to add the cost of a CPU as well. While this doesn't have the grace of a few other HTPC-orientated mini-ITX boards we've seen (Albatron's AMD 690G with component outputs was especially nice), unless you can find an AMD 780G based one we suspect this could make the smallest possible Blu-ray capable machine you can buy (we'd love to see some mods around this). 45W or 65W AMD CPU's are exceptionally inexpensive, and literally anything you buy now will be HD-capable. Yes, the GeForce 8200 did have a fit at VLC and it used nearly 50 percent CPU, however Elephants Dream is one probably of the most intensive 1080p DivX videos out there so there's still plenty of overhead before things become a slideshow. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:15 PM (EDT) |
"As a serious High-End product, the NH-U12P effectively combines charismatic appearance with advanced technical design. It's an impressive cooler indeed - its working medium comprises a copper heat sink (45x42x5 mm), four 6mm copper heat pipes, a stack of large aluminum fins, and a 1300rpm fan." |
Tuesday, May 20 2008 |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:30 PM (EDT) |
"When you take a closer look at the command unit, you can see that the top four buttons are "F1" through "F4" and directly next to the "F" buttons is an LED backlight switch that allows you to either have red, green or yellow as your backlight color. Unfortunately, the red LED line on the bottom of the unit stays red no matter which setting you have the LED backlight on. The keys are very easy to push, almost too easy. Right above the joystick is a screw that you can tighten or loosen to keep the joystick in place, because Saitek allows you to move the joystick further or closer to your hand. I have big hands, so for me, the best setting was furthest away from my palm." |
M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 Desktop Speaker System Review @ ModSynergy.com |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:29 PM (EDT) |
I think everyone appreciates great audio. Having such a system that can deliver audio the right way can make the experience sound satisfying. I’ve done my fair share of reviews regarding speaker systems and when I reflect on them, there’s one common trait that is shared among all those reviewed; all of them are biased to some degree. They were biased in the way that emphasized either bass or treble handling. I’ve never come across a system that distributed these attributes equally; there was always something that was promoted more than the other. |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:29 PM (EDT) |
"The iGo powerXtender battery operated charger uses two AA batteries and interchangeable tips depending on which types of devices you own. The powerXtender can come in very handy in many situations where you need additional power for your device, be it a phone, mp3 player or even a portable game system. It's very easy to use, very portable and relatively inexpensive as well... " |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:28 PM (EDT) |
"It strikes me as pure poetry that the acronym for point-and-shoot is POS. Wait, no, it's not. That would have been apt. The first time I borrowed a friend's Canon 20D, I was hooked. Taking product shots went from a detestable any-excuse-to-put-it-off event to something... simple? Fun? Remarkably, taking pictures changed from something that I sucked at to something I could really get into. And, just like that, I started shopping around for DSLR bodies." |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:28 PM (EDT) |
ThermoLab, is a company you might not have heard of. Established in Korea in 2005, they are new to the PC cooling solutions scene and today we are taking a look at two of their Socket 775 CPU coolers, the Nano Silencer and the Micro Silencer. |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:28 PM (EDT) |
"... the new features found on the Asus P5Q-E makes it a very attractive mainstream motherboard. If you think OCing is good on their high-end boards ... wait and see what this baby can do ! " |
Digit-Life Review: Overclocked GeForce 9800 GTX Graphics Card |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:27 PM (EDT) |
"We should state once again that GeForce 9800 GTX is based on the same G92 core as GeForce 8800 GTS 512 and 8800 GT (the latter has fewer processors though). It differs little from 8800 GTS 512, as our tests have proved it. But today we are going to examine two significantly overclocked cards. So, even though both feature reference design, they are still very interesting to review." |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:27 PM (EDT) |
Today we take a look at the HD3870 X2 which is designed to be a powerhouse on a single card with two GPU's. We analyze this card to answer the question: Is two better than one? The answer may suprise you. |
Corsair Dominator PC2-9136 4GB Memory Kit Review @ HardwareLogic |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:26 PM (EDT) |
"Corsair knows enthusiasts and the performance we demand from our components. Since 1994 the guys over in Fremont, California have met that demand by providing some of the highest quality memory in the market. Within the past couple of years, Corsair has also sailed into the power supply scene and carried over the quality and reliability their brand name is known for." |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:26 PM (EDT) |
"Logitech really is covering all the bases with its peripherals these days. The last Logitech product I reviewed was the MX Air Mouse and I thought that was a nifty bit of kit to control your home theater setup. The proverbial cake however has not just been taken; it’s been flaunted and eaten right in front of our starving faces. |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:26 PM (EDT) |
Building a new machine and want DDR3 support? Then the X48T-DQ6 should be up for consideration. It offers great performance, very stable high overclocks (500MHz) and lots of connectivity, including a full eight USB ports at the back. The layout is not ideal, but the board still proves good overall. |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:25 PM (EDT) |
"As various components become more advanced, they also require more power to operate. According to Western Digital, the average 1 TB hard drive has a power consumption rating greater than 13.5 watts. Western Digital's new GreenPower drive, which we will be looking at here today, claims to shave 4-5 watts over typical drives in the same category. Any power saving is a welcomed addition, but will the drive's performance be hampered to accomplish this?" |
Monday, May 19 2008 |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:44 PM (EDT) |
If the price comes down as it was recently at $129.99 (after MIR), the 256MB version is easy to recommend. Performance on the ECS 8800GT 256MX card was less than the other 8800GT cards we have reviewed, mainly due to the reference clock speeds and the 256MB of frame buffer memory on the board. Once all the memory was enabled through the BIOS Flash, the card was decidedly higher performing in every benchmark. This is due to the extra memory as anti-aliasing settings add to the memory drain on a card while playing games. The 8800GT from ECS is an interesting card, as few other manufacturers just turn off extra memory as the expense is higher to produce cards with more memory than cards with less memory. |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:44 PM (EDT) |
In December, we took a look at the flagship of the Seventeam Electronics fleet, the Thundering 1200W. Recently, the folks at Seventeam asked us to take a look at the modular version of this mammoth beast, the Hurricane 1200W. Join me on a tour through our torture park as I find out just what this massive unit is made of and if it performs any differently from its brother. Will the platform earn a recommendation this time around? |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:43 PM (EDT) |
The Biostar T-Series has been seen around Overclockers Online and has always performed well. In this review, we will be looking at one of the newer members of the T-Series, the TF7150U-M7 which features an integrated NVIDIA GeForce 7150 video chip on the nForce 630i platform for Intel LGA775 processors. |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:42 PM (EDT) |
"The ASUS EN9600GT Silent is a great video card for only $139.99 after mail-in-rebate. It makes it hard to argue against a completely silent video card that matches the performance of the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT in Crysis and is so close in Assassin's Creed and CoD 4. If overclocking is not a priority for you, and you require a silent computer that also delivers a solid gameplay experience in the latest games, the ASUS EN9600GT Silent is for you. " |
Evercool NP-901 Royal Notebook Cooler Review @ Virtual-Hideout |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:41 PM (EDT) |
“Here at VH, we seem to currently be on a little “notebook cooler pad kick” of sorts. Not that I’m complaining, especially after I received this next item up for review: the Royal Notebook Cooling Pad (Model: NP-901) from Acoustic PC. This sharp baby was created for laptops from 14” to 17” wide screen, has storage drawers for peripherals, and is fitted with USB 2.0 ports to mount externals. The Royal is made of 100% aluminum for maximum heatsink style cooling, and sports a smart, 8 cm silent fan that pulls exhaust air away from your laptop instead of pushing outside air into it, thus eliminating a significant amount of dirt and dust contamination and helping to prolong the life (and health) of your notebook.” |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:41 PM (EDT) |
"With the positive results I achieved with on the last 780i board I tested still fresh in my mind, I was looking forward to pushing the MSI P7N Diamond to the absolute limit. Unfortunately, the limit came rather quickly. I tried using the official BIOS and two of the available beta releases, and found that my overclocking efforts were severely hampered by an inability to lower the multiplier on my Q6600 processor. In fact, this same CPU has achieved rock-solid stability with its FSB set at 491MHz - but on the MSI P7N Diamond, stability stopped at 391MHz. The 780i boards are tough nuts to crack, but this one was just too tough, and did not produce much fruit for my labor. After spending a week trying to gain some semblance of stability, I found it at 391 x 9. Voltages up and down the spectrum were adjusted, and I even tried leaving them set to Auto just for kicks. Did the board overclock? Sure it did, but not to the extent I am used to seeing. It may be that a more mature BIOS is the key to unlocking all of the potential of the P7N Diamond." |
Alienware Hangar18 HD Entertainment Center Review @ ThinkComputers.org |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:41 PM (EDT) |
“Home theater PC's have become very popular lately. It seems almost everyone I know has been taking their old computers and turning them into media machines. Well what if you want the best media machine money can buy? The Alienware Hangar18 HD Entertainment Center could be just that. Alienware is mainly known for making gaming machines, so it will be interesting to see how they do on the Hangar18. The Hangar18 is an all-in-one media machine that can play DVD's or Blu-ray media, watch live TV, watch internet TV, listen to music, and share it all wirelessly. Let's check it out!” |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:40 PM (EDT) |
With the GeForce 9-series NVIDIA has created quite a lot of confusion. Instead of a major update it seems that most GeForce 9 cards are merely updated versions of GeForce 8 cards, and unfortunately named so you cannot figure out which card is based on which. |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:40 PM (EDT) |
Boiled down the basics, the V1110 is a case with a quiet, unassuming design. If it were a man then you’d describe it as a gentle giant and praise it for its inner strength. You’d admire that this is a case with nothing to prove – and that’s something we can appreciate. |
Aeneon DDR3-1600 4GB XMP RAM AXH860UD20-16H @ Benchmark Reviews |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:40 PM (EDT) |
Windows Vista has given the hardware industry a good reason to feed Microsoft's pig of an Operating System nothing but the finest high-performance hardware. The very first thing I noticed during testing was the incredibly sluggish performance compared to Windows XP. Windows Vista caches startup programs so boot times are decent, and it indexes every single file for faster searches, but if you want a genuinely fast Operating System, you had better be prepared to change your idea of what "sufficient hardware" is. Programs and games alike suffered from poor performance, and at the end my testing I was very much convinced that the 2 GB of system memory used in Windows XP was simply not enough to enjoy (or cope with) Windows Vista. It was time to step it up, and the first thing that needed to be done was to upgrade the RAM. Installing 4 GB worth of Aeneon DDR3-1600 XMP RAM worked like magic, and would end yet another great era: te usefulness of 2 GB RAM kits in a modern Operating System. |
Sunday, May 18 2008 |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:25 PM (EDT) |
For nearly five years, Mountains Mods has been wowing the enthusiast community with their series of cube cases. Now Mountain Mods takes that to the next level with the classic U2-UFO design gone "Hyper Modular" with the "Choose Your Own" case. The possibilities are endless. |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:24 PM (EDT) |
"More and more I get people approaching me asking about cooling their rig. Sunbeamtech never really crossed my mind when people ask me. I tend to go with Thermalright, Zalman, Noctua, or Tuniq myself. After having my hands on the Core-Contact Freezer from Sunbeamtech, I might have to start adding them to the list of viable solutions to today's cooling needs." |
Eagle Consus N-Type and I-Type Drive Enclosures Review @ Overclockercafe |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:24 PM (EDT) |
Each drive offers functionality from a different perspective. The I-Series for instance brings a twin disk enclosure to the table with a one button back up making large back ups painless. The I-Series also goes both ways, as in it can be used as an internal or an external enclosure. The N-Series is an external single drive solution that comes in both an IDE and a SATA model. |