Saturday, December 29 2007 |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:13 PM (EST) |
"OCZ has prided themselves on overclocking memory to its extreme limits and have done a great job at not only reaching the limits, but pushing them with innovative cooling ideas. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:12 PM (EST) |
"If any proof is needed to validate video games as a phenomenon of entertainment, look no further than the list of upcoming titles for 2008. The new calendar year is looming large on the horizon, and with it will come one of the most stacked release schedules ever seen on the PC. That's right: PC gaming - for years, mere months away from certain death - is alive and well. As the capabilities of dedicated game consoles increase, game development on the PC benefits - and vice-versa. Even after paring down the list of 2008 releases by removing not-so-anticipated titles and accounting for recently announced delays, the list of anticipated games is a long one." |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:12 PM (EST) |
"Today I’m reviewing the Thermaltake Toughpower 850W Power Supply. Thermaltake is a name often associated with quality in any of their products, from cases and case fans to coolers and power supplies. This particular power supply boasts a variety of features, but at a price: it costs almost $260 at a popular online reseller." |
Beginners Guides: Formatting and Partitioning a Hard Drive @ PCSTATS |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:11 PM (EST) |
Hard drive space will always be in constant demand, what with the average game install exceeding a gigabyte of space, and fast Internet and file sharing conspiring to fill our computers with things we can't possibly do without. Fortunately, hard disk space continues to expand affordably. As the average computer can use up to three hard disks in addition to a CD drive, it's easy enough to go out and buy a new drive to add extra storage space to your system. Easy enough until you get around to actually putting the drive in, that is. Few other computer upgrades carry more potential complications and complexities than installing and preparing a newly purchased hard drive for use. |
Friday, December 28 2007 |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:06 PM (EST) |
All good things have a flip side and the Miniplant has a few areas for improvement. The pricing schedule of $250 seems a bit high when you recall that the Miniplant isn't modular. In the category of 900-1000 watt power supplies, Tuniq is priced a tad below the average. Being less expensive than the competition is always nice but at this level, the market segment looking at this unit will be far more discriminating. At a $250 price point, spending a few extra bucks for a modular unit isn't going to matter much in the end. |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:06 PM (EST) |
"There's a complete dearth of "beginner missions" or simple guides to getting started; compared to what can be in Microsoft's Flight Simulator X, it's embarrassingly unfriendly to the beginner and casual sim fan. Kuju, I'm almost certain, would claim otherwise, highlighting their simplified control system as proof: yes, a two button approach to handling a several hundred ton locomotive is certain basic, but how is one supposed to learn about speed limits, the points system, braking for a station and so on? The answer is that you don't: you either know it in the first place or you'll just have to learn it as best as you can, whilst playing the game." |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:05 PM (EST) |
Anyone that owns a digital camera knows how boring it can be when you have shot a memory card full of pictures and then you need to stop to find either the USB connector cable or try and find your card reader that you absent-mindedly forgot at brother-in-laws birthday party. |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:04 PM (EST) |
"After it's all said and done, the ECS A770M-A motherboard is a great value board. If you are looking for a nice entry level board, with some future proofing built in, the ECS A770M-A is it. At the low price point ECS is offering this board at, you can't really ask for more than what they provided..." |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:03 PM (EST) |
"This sexy player has great audio and video quality, with flexible sound enhancement options and a responsive touchscreen. " |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:02 PM (EST) |
"Pulled out of the protective bubble wrap, we can get a little closer to the Tarantula. The main ATX power cord assembly exits on the left front while the modular connection exits on the right hand side. The modular design of the Tarantula differs from the traditional modular power supply that has the connections built into the case. The Bgears unit has the connections point just outside of the case with the wiring stubbed out roughly three inches." |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:02 PM (EST) |
"... The EN8800GT performs very well in most situations and will provide satisfaction for those power hungry gamers wanting the best out of their gaming rigs! " |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:01 PM (EST) |
Computers have come a long way since their inception over twenty years ago. They have gone from being mere calculating machines to forms of art that allow people to express themselves. As people continue to find new uses for their PCs from gaming to home theatre entertainment, it is up to the manufacturers of computer components to adapt to the changing landscape. Only ten short years ago it was not uncommon to find a plain beige box sitting inside the room of an enthusiast. This was perfectly acceptable as long as that beige monstrosity never found its way to the living room. Today things are very different and PCs have become integrated into so much more of our lives that a plain beige shell just won't cut it anymore. Introducing the KL02 from SilverStone. A stylish mid-range case that would be at home in almost any room in your house. But it's what's on the inside that counts, right? Join me as I find out if this case has personality to go with those good looks or is its beauty only skin deep. |
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610W Power Supply @ APH Networks |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:01 PM (EST) |
PC Power & Cooling is one of the oldest power supply manufacturers; and well known for their high performance enthusiast power supplies -- representing the industry standard in personal computer power supply engineering. After OCZ purchased them, they continued their reputation of high quality products with excellent OCZ warranty and support. Being that, I still held some reserve on PC Power & Cooling power supplies over the years. I understand their take on performance in power, but I don't like their emission in noise. When OCZ asked me to take a look at PC Power & Cooling's Silencer 610W power supply, it sure gained my interest -- how will a power supply with perpendicular 80mm fan implementation in the back be a 'silent' power supply? While at APH Networks we don't actually review-review power supplies, as we don't have the testing equipment to make a real review, let's take this one apart and see what's inside in our report today. |
Thursday, December 27 2007 |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:38 AM (EST) |
We would like to talk about a mainboard from ASRock based on Intel P31 Express chipset but offering most of the features an Intel P35 Express based mainboard would have. Check out our review to see if ASRock managed to design another wonder product. |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:37 AM (EST) |
"With the card carrying the AMP! naming scheme it is of course overclocked out of the box, but the particularly good thing about the AMP! Edition is that it’s more than just an overclocked card. |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:37 AM (EST) |
I've reviewed quite a few Noctua products in the past on DragonSteelMods and I have found everyone that I reviewed to be an overall excellent product. Noctua makes great products, there is no doubt about that, you can look all over the internet and you'll be hard pressed to find a negative comment or review about any of their products. The only negative comments I have seen about Noctua products are their prices, they are a bit high compared to others, but there is a saying 'You get what you pay for' and this is very true as most of us know. To get a premium quality product you'll pay a premium price, personally I don't think Noctua products are over-priced at all, they are priced competitively with other comparable products of the same quality and performance. |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:37 AM (EST) |
"Access your files from anywhere in the world with the LaCie Ethernet Disk mini NAS drive." |
Icebox 5.25 UV Blue Dual Bay Reservoir Review @ Virtual-Hideout |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:36 AM (EST) |
“The best cooling systems for multi-core are no doubt dual and triple 120mm radiators. Extra water in the cooling system can help improve the amount of cooled water constantly circulating throughout. A bigger reservoir is sometimes needed and here is one option. CrazyPC was kind in sending one of their more popular reservoirs for the more serious cooling systems. The IceBox 5.25" UV Dual Bay Reservoir is just one of the solutions they offer that is a more modified look over the casual single or plain solutions commonly found. If you're one among the masses that uses water cooling systems to keep that processor cool, then you probably also like your system to look pretty sweet at the same time. Have a quick look at the IceBox UV Reservoir.” |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:36 AM (EST) |
"The expansion slots available on the Quad GT include three 16x PCI-E 2.0 slots. Two run at 16x (blue) while the third (black) runs at 4x. This should make the folks who run Crossfire (myself included) have the ability to find out the true capabilities of their graphics solution. Additionally, there are two standard PCI slots and one 1x PCI-E slot. Most of the peripheral connectivity is along the bottom and right hand side of the board. The exception would be the onboard 1394 connection." |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:35 AM (EST) |
“If you have not heard of Spire they make some great laptop backpacks, bags, and sleeves. Last year we took a look at their Zoom laptop bag and it received a 10 out of 10 score and our Recommended Award. This time they sent us one of their courier bags the Endo, which will fit most laptops up to 15.4-inches. The Endo is one of three of Spire's new courier bags. The other 2 in the series are the Viro, which fits laptops smaller than 15.4-inches and the Mojo, which fits laptops larger than 15.4-inches. All three of these bags are practically the same, just different sizes, so if you don't have a laptop that will fit the Endo it will either fit the Viro or Mojo.” |
Posted by Nathan @ 2:34 AM (EST) |
USB hubs are important for laptop-toters and PC nerds alike. It seems like even if we have four USB ports on our machine and perhaps two extra on the monitor, there is never enough room for all of our gadgets, printers, mp3 players, cameras, and flash drivers to plug in. So if you have to pick up a USB hub, what should you get for an inexpensive price? Boynqs 4-port USB hub looks like a good choice. |
Wednesday, December 26 2007 |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:35 PM (EST) |
Take Patriot for example, they were first to release faster DDR2 module before others. And with the success they had with their DDR2, lineup surely will carry over to the DDR3 series as well. We at Pro-Clockers will be right there to present them to you. But to start off the new line we have with us today the PDC32G1333LLK from the PC3 Extreme Performance line. The modules sport the new classic Patriot Aluminum bladed heat shields. The sleek lined heat spreaders protect a 1333 MHz monster with low timing underneath. Does this have enough umph to get to you to ditch your old DDR2 and move into the 21th century? Read the following pages to find out. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:35 PM (EST) |
The long anticipated Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000 is here, but does it impress? The entire package does a fine job of looking good while offering solid functionality, but we found it lacks greatly in a few key areas. The most notable being the price... at $300. |
Create Panoramics Easily with Windows Live Photo Gallery @ HardwareLogic.com |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:34 PM (EST) |
"Wouldn't it be uber snazzy if there were an easy way to stitch together a series of pictures to create a single panoramic image? Using Windows Live Photo Gallery, you can do just that! Best of all, you don't have to be a professional photographer - it wasn't all that long ago that taking quality, wide angle photos required an expensive high end camera or a special lense, but even today's entry level digital cameras are more than sufficient for most budding photographers. So follow along as we show you how to piece together a panoramic masterpiece sure to dazzle and delight." |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:34 PM (EST) |
"The Asus M3A32MVP Deluxe WiFi motherboard was just awesome to work with. The board sets up easy, and has the Asus name to back it, which means absolute quality. Overclocking on this board was certainly easy due to the way that Asus implements its BIOS. There was never a time that we had to use the Clear CMOS at all. If the overclock fails, all you do is reboot. This board overclocked to very good levels, and certainly with a little more time and tweaking this board could likely take us even higher... " |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:33 PM (EST) |
"The XFX Fatal1ty series have recently not only been upgraded in the mainstream segment, since few weeks we have now Fatal1ty entry-level graphics cards. Aimed at the professional gaming market, could we have a Best Buy in our hands?" |
ASUS DRW-2014L1T LightScribe DVD Writer Review @ Elite Bastards |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:32 PM (EST) |
"Dual-layer DVD media is supported with write speeds of up to 8x, DVD-RAM support is available up to 14x, DVD + and - R are supported at up to 20x while + and - R/W are supported at 8x and 6x respectively. Moving on to old school CD support, CD-R writing is available at up to 48x, with R/W support at 32x. Of course, it's worth remembering that many of these quoted speeds are in fact variable during the writing process, thanks to the use of CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) and the like, so you frequently won't be seeing these maximum speeds throughout the writing process as we'll see shortly." |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:32 PM (EST) |
"Expand the HDMI port on your receiver with the Oppo HM-31 HDMI switch. It does one thing and it does it well." |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:31 PM (EST) |
“Among the first PC cases I reviewed, and the first expensive one (I consider mid-towers over $150USD expensive) was the Raidmax Samurai. Though the chassis was your standard steel tool-free case, it was covered with a streamlined polystyrene shell, with a sprayed-on showcar paint job. It was Raidmax's top of the line gaming case at the time. The shell gave it an all-out modded look, and there wasn't any other pre-modded case on the market that came close. That was four years ago. The Samurai is still undoubtedly the most radical case I have owned, and the friend I gave it to still uses it and still gets favorable comments on it, ranging from admiration to awe. It is the last Raidmax product I had my hands on, so I am looking forward to seeing if the Aztec lives up to my expectations for a Raidmax gaming case, a well-made case that is definitely not boring. I would also hope to see some decent cooling for today's hot CPUs and GPUs. Read on to see if it does.” |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:31 PM (EST) |
It has been a great year to be an enthusiast. With the flurry of 'A list' games that have been released and the new hardware deigned to run them, it is an exciting time. Nvidia and XFX want to make sure you have the best possible gaming experience and they have just released a new card to bring you closer to that goal. The 8800GTS 512 Alpha Dog from XFX is that card. Built on top of the smaller, more efficient G92 core and sporting the same amount of stream processors as the 8800GTX, this card is ready for almost anything you can throw at it. Throw in a free game and XFX's legendary double-lifetime warranty and you have the recipe for greatness. But enough chit-chat and marketing hype, lets get to the heart of the matter; performance! |
Tuesday, December 25 2007 |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:58 AM (EST) |
From myself and the staff of Tweaknews, I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday season and may you get all the loot you asked for. |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:49 AM (EST) |
Toshiba's latest AMD notebook offering proves that even those on a relative budget deserve a feature-packed model. Besides its 17-inch display, the P205D-S7479 offers nice harman/kardon speakers, a thumbprint reader, a large 250GB hard-drive, an ATI HD 2600 - all for a light price. |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:48 AM (EST) |
"Well in the end it all comes down to choice really, there are quite a few Media/HTPC style cases on the market with built in touch screens so as a consumer we are spoilt for choice. I would like to have seen a better airflow in this case, although it's only a few Celsius difference, with a high end GFX card this could change. I could go on about the over spray inside the chassis as well but that would be nit picking as you can't see it once assembled.." |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:47 AM (EST) |
"We have been given a new HDD from Seagate to test based on their ever growing Barracuda 7200 series, this being the 11th generation drive which they call the 7200.11 and it boasts a whopping 1TB storage capacity. |
World's Smallest USB 2.0 4-Port Hub Reviewed @ DragonSteelMods.com |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:47 AM (EST) |
"Yesterday we took a look at the Star Hub from our friends at Brando WorkShop, I found it to be very portable, well made and useful with only one small drawback... Today I figured I'd take a look at another USB Hub, this one is from our friends at USBFever and it's called the World's Smallest USB 2.0 4-Port Hub. Is it the world's smallest? Not sure, but I'm betting it is as I've never seen any that are smaller... It's very well made with a metal housing, and of course being so small makes it very portable." |
bGears b-Tarantula 650W Modular Power Supply Review @Virtual-Hideout |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:46 AM (EST) |
“The outward appearance is pretty decent and quite clean. b-Gears put a bit of focus on this new power supply line that's nice to see, especially for a final revision. Not much can really be improved upon a PSU that is a bit more budget oriented. You might find the cabling idea a little too unique at first, but it'll surprise you just how handy it can be redirecting the modular cables for easier connecting. Users with a more compact computer case will like how much easier it is to maneuver the wiring. If there's a weakness in the b-Gears 650 Watt b-Tarantula power supply, I couldn't find it. If you want to save some cash and don't need that over rated "Giga watt" power supply, this is an excellent, new choice that's well balanced and worth the price.” |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:45 AM (EST) |
"Well all the benchmarks have been run and the results should speak for themselves. I am impressed with some aspects and disappointed with others. I'm very disappointed that I could not overclock the Phenom 9900 and both motherboards that I have in my possession are not working as well as they should. I am going to have to revisit this CPU when all the bugs are worked out. What I am impressed with is how well the Phenom did compared to the Q6600 in the scientific benchmarks; remember the Phenom has half the shared cache, at 2MB, but is clocked 200 MHz higher than the Q6600." |
Saitek Notebook Optical Mouse & Mini Hub Review @ ThinkComputers.org |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:45 AM (EST) |
“Anyone that owns a laptop usually has a few accessories. One of the first accessories people pick up is a mouse, even some laptops come with mice. A lot people prefer mice over the touchpad on their laptop and find them a lot easier to use. The second is usually a USB hub because a lot of laptops do not have enough USB ports for all of your accessories. Saitek offers both notebook mice and USB hubs. They have sent us their Notebook Optical Mouse and Mini UFO hub. These are perfect stocking stuffers, let's see if they are worth picking up.” |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:44 AM (EST) |
Since JEDEC is about to finalize 1600MHz as a standard DDR3 speed, many kits which were once considered High-Speed will now be relegated to standard speed parts. Perhaps a clairvoyant vision helped with the decision, because Kingston's KHX13000D3LLK2/2G PC3-13000 CL7 DDR3 RAM kit stays ahead of the curve at 1625MHz. |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:44 AM (EST) |
Not many game characters are as famed and popular as the mustached plumber devised deep within the bowels of the Nintendo Corporation. Thinking of it, save for perhaps Pac-Man, Mario is the de-facto mascot of gaming. From the day players got to play the incredible Super Mario Bros. the blue pantaloons and red shirt wearing half of the duo stared in countless games, ranging from kart racing to Tetris look-alikes. But while any other game character would have long worn out his welcome, Mario kept coming back to cheering ovations. Much of this was thanks to the long series of games that made him what he is today in the first place – After wreaking havoc in 2D with the Mario Bros series and causing a revolution of its own in 3D with Super Mario 64, fans have grown accustomed to nothing less than fabulous gameplay. But even Mario can lose his breath, as was shown with Super Mario Sunshine for the GameCube, a game that albeit great, just didn’t deliver that sought after magic the N64 predecessor had. Which leaves us with the question: Is Galaxy the true sequel to Mario 64, or does it continue down the Sunshine path? |
Posted by Nathan @ 12:44 AM (EST) |
"ASUS... It is simply incredible how much this IT giant from Taiwan knows the ways of marketing and promotion. However, quality marketing has to be supported by quality products in order to be effective. In this era which we have to call "Core era", ASUS has shown both. However, whenever we claimed that a certain ASUS motherboard was the ultimate Intel Core2Duo solution, that very same ASUS made us change opinions with the first upcoming model (month after month, so to speak). In a word, fascinating!" |
Sunday, December 23 2007 |
Posted by Nathan @ 9:24 PM (EST) |
A mouse pad that has 5 layers ... meet the Steelseries Steelpad 5L. This 5mm ultra thick mouse pad oozes with quality and is made with both plastic and cloth. It's just right for the hardcore gamers. |
Posted by Nathan @ 9:24 PM (EST) |
"We had a look at the GECUBE HD 3850 the other week in Crossfire form to see how it went up against the new G92 based 8800GTS 512MB. We promised we would have a closer look at the card in its single form along with checking out the package. |
Kingston DataTraveler mini USB Flash Drive 4GB Review @ circuitREMIX |
Posted by Nathan @ 9:23 PM (EST) |
Living up to its name, the Kingston DataTraveler mini USB flash drive is in fact mini! Its face size is only a little bigger than that of a quarter (yes, Canadian quarters are the same size as US quarters). In terms of thickness, it's the thickest USB flash drive we've tested before at 10.3mm thick. With that being said, it's still very small, and for example it would fit comfortably on a keychain. |
Posted by Nathan @ 9:23 PM (EST) |
"Together with Samsung units like the BD-P1400, Sony BDP-S300 is one of the cheapest Blu-Ray player available on the market, being sold by $299.99 at Best Buy. With the selection of Blu-Ray discs increasing every day, with Blu-Ray Association giving five movies for free and prices dropping a lot this holiday season, many users are wondering if time for upgrading to Blu-Ray has finally arrived, and for the average user the cheapest units are the most natural choice. Let's see how Sony BDP-S300 looks like and its weak and strong points." |
Posted by Nathan @ 9:23 PM (EST) |
The Sigma Luna has a clean look with a brushed aluminum finish. It is light-weight, yet I still found it surprisingly sturdy. The large side panel window, sleek door design, silver accents, and chrome trim highly compliment the black satin finish. Top this off with an all aluminum chassis and tool-free installation, and you get a combination that is a pleasure to work with and look at. |