Week of December 28, 2008

"The DNS-323 really shines in the HD playback tests, turning in its highest performance numbers across all the tests. The playback tests are more dependent on raw data rate capability and managed to push data through at drive configurations ranging from around 19-22 MB/s in the single file test. We also see the biggest gains in throughput from both RAID 0 and enabling jumbo frames here. If streaming multimedia were to be the main use, the DNS-323 would be more than capable of achieving acceptable data rates."

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"The Bigwater 760i is well designed and easy to install. Due to the size of the system, some may encounter issues with it fitting within their case, although most with full towers should not have a problem. I consider the mounting groove issue which I encountered a minor issue which should occur for a relatively small number of cases. A number of nice design features such as the high-tech, universal waterblock and non-spill quick connectors make this an especially nice, packaged watercooling system."

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“The OCZ Gladiator Max looks eerily similar to a few other HDT coolers; namely OCZ's own Vendetta 2, as well as the Xigmatek S1283 and Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer coolers we've also reviewed. Today we'll pit them all against one another in an HDT cage match and see if the Gladiator Max is victor or victim.”

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“Maneuvering space in netbook arena is getting smaller and smaller every day, since almost every notebook manufacturer has its representative in this product category. Intel dictates strict rules for all manufactures so all models in netbook product category are very similar when it comes to performances. Because of these facts it is very important to achieve best tactical positions as fast as possible, and Toshiba has joined this battle a little bit late. We will try to give you answers to all questions about Toshiba NB100 especially on question concerning chance for success of Toshiba’s new netbook…”

Currently available for around £111.54, this is an unquestionably pricey drive, although not ridiculously so. In fact, in comparison to the Samsung F1 1TB we favour here at bit-tech, it’s only fifty percent more expensive, which seems very fair considering you’re getting fifty percent more storage into the bargain.

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"Super Talent didn't really include any software with the Pico-E, but that's okay, because most of the time all you need to do is move files. Plus, there are plenty of apps you can download that allow you to do some of the things that built in apps take care of. The small size of the Pico-E is another great thing about this drive. While it might be easier to lose, it is also out of the way and can be carried around without weighing you down. All in all, I would recomend the Pico-E as a good, all around USB drive that stacks up well against other drives in its class."

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"Now that the price has dropped on Sony's BDP-S350 to $299, full-featured Blu-ray Disc players are coming into reach for the rest of us. Early generation Blu-ray Disc players were not only more expensive, but bulky, and took a long time to start up (time to run to the kitchen for a snack). Sony addressed these problems in the BDP-S350, a player that launched this past summer. The Quick Start feature shaves minutes off start up time, and the new design is no larger than a slim-line DVD player. But don't let the familiar look and feel fool you: This is full high-definition picture and sound. Add features like 1080p/24 for filmed movie playback, BD-Live and Bonus View for online special features, and you have a player that will give you all you want from a Blu-ray Disc player at a more affordable price."

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"The ECS X58B-A Black Edition motherboard was incredibly stable through all the testing, something to be expected from a major OEM manufacturer where stability is critical. Overclocking stability was also impressive with a 185MHz base clock achieved when I was expecting no overclock. Add in the inclusion of ICH10R, SLI and CrossFire support, and 6 DIMM slots and you've got a well equipped motherboard..."

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“The PSU offers a performance to cost value which is extremely helpful given the current state of the economy. At a $109.99 price tag, it's one of the more cost effective options currently available. The quad 12V power rails provide a decent amperage boost over previous FSP generations which cost a bit more making it an even better choice. Otherwise, the Power Mod 700 PSU is a good launch in the gamer and enthusiast market for FSP Group.”

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The UT series of motherboards from DFI have been re-designed containing more features associated with extreme overclocking enthusiasts. Take for example the unique customiseable chipset cooling system, whereby users can add an external heatpipe/heatsink for more efficient cooling. There's also a new 8-phase full digital PWM, the usual internal power-on and reset switches, diagnostic LEDs, as well as the separate Bernstein HD audio card with full SPDIF support.

"A year ago we started a series of articles about the motherboards market. The first article was devoted to the selection of Mid-End products. A year has passed, and it's apparently high time to draw new conclusions."

The GMC Corporation (not to be confused with General Motors in the USA) is a Korean company that has produced some of the most innovative case designs in recent memory. OCModShop has had a chance to review some of their creations in the past, and each of their designs has provided a good shot in the arm of ingenuity for the PC industry.

Kingston Technology Company, Inc. has been an industry leader in computer memory technology arena for as long as some people can remember. Producing high quality ram since 1987 Kingston has been in on every phase of computer memory manufacturing, worth mentioning that we can think of. Then some time back they started producing enthusiast level memory with their HyperX line. We have seen HyperX and tested HyperX and we'd have to say HyperX is some seriously great ram.

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Gigabyte now joins the other motherboard manufacturers on the planet with their own special branding of their X58 chipset motherboard. Features like Hybrid SilentPower 2, Dynamic Energy Saving and EasyTune 6 set the EX58 Extreme apart from other motherboards on the market that are using the same chipset. The EX58-Extreme motherboard overclocked to nearly 4GHz, the second highest we've seen from an X58 motherboard so far. Gigabyte's board is worthy of a Hot Product award with only the fact that it didn't overclock as high as the fastest board we have tested keeps it from getting the Editor's Choice award.

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Both of these characteristics can be seen in the Performance One and the Sonata lines. Each has a style that are their own that you cannot say is ugly or blingy. And when it comes to quietness you do not have to replace one single fan in them to maintain absolute peace like you would have to do with some other cases. Our latest case comes from the Sonata line which remains elegant and quite but adds some much wanted features to an already very nice case. The Sonata Elite has a new racy side vent, more cooling, more side dampening and more space.

The WL-2000CAM is a brand new IP camera solution from AirLive. The camera is tailored for home surveillance and even has its own lights so you can use it in a dim room. Much like the other cameras from AirLive this one has wireless capabilities and can even stream video to a 3G cellphone.

There's no denying that this power supply speaks quality for its deisgn and construction ... and its sheer weight from the quality components used is a good sign. We're expecting the Corsair TX850W PSU to do very well in all departments, especially in terms of performance, reliability and stability. We'll be putting this power supply through our 240W "Peltier Test" and see how well it will perform under heavy load.

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"The Cooler Master ATSC 840 is an enthusiast-level case that may be large in stature but is also equally large in features, quality and usability. If you are in the market for a new case for your Christmas hardware goodies, I highly recommend giving this case serious consideration..."

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" Today for review I've got my first SSD or Solid State Drive, I think by now you should know exactly what an SSD is, so their's no need to go into that explanation. The SSD I have for review today is from our friends at Patriot Memory, it's their new Warp Drive and it has a capacity of 128gb so it's rather large in terms of SSD drives. Since it's my first type of drive like this I don't have anything to compare it to, so I'm comparing it to some standard HDDs that I've got on hand, two 2.5" drives and two 3.5" drives to see how it stacks up against them."

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"With memory playing such a big factor in performance, the stored EPP profile of 4-4-4-12 booted without problems on the AMD 790FX chipset. Overclocking the memory was a breeze, with just minimal tweaks to the latency and voltage to be able to push the HT speed. With more paitence and time, I'm sure there is more headroom left for overclocking the Ballistix PC2-6400 kit. The aluminum heat spreaders kept the memory running cool to the touch while running."

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The Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 LP is a lightweight Intel socket 775 heatsink made specifically for slim-line and book-sized PC cases. It stands less than 50mm high, weighs just 260 grams and operates very quietly. Although it's 80mm 600-2000RPM PWM fan is underpowered for high temperature Intel processors, for the newer generation of sub-85W CPUs, the Freezer 7 LP is more than satisfactory. The heatsink is officially rated for heat loads up to a maximum 95W.... we'll still throw 150W at it for fun!"

"Mushkin has a history of putting together a set of modules that perform above expectations. This set is no different. The performance at the 1333MHZ level was outstanding in comparison to the other two sets of modules tested. Not just by a little, but by a large margin. In the gaming benchmark, the scores only really changed at the 1024x768 level. But at this level, there was a significant increase by upping just the memory speed to 1600MHz. For an easy setup, you could use the XMP profiles that are programmed to the SPD chip on the modules. I just choose to play with the settings and timings myself to try and improve the performance of the system. These modules easily ran timings tighter than the 9-9-9-24 specification at the 1600MHz level. No matter what I tried though, I could not get them to run at a CAS latency of 8 at this level, but did succeed in getting to 9-8-7-20 with a 1t command rate."

With today's computers it's really hard to find the right balance between features and price. And with a slew of companies that offer a variety of standard, multimedia, wireless, and gaming keyboards, you really have no idea where to start looking. Many enthusiasts and gamers are really picky and stubborn when it comes to finding the right keyboard and these guys are the ones that manufacturers find are hard to win over.

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The ASUS Xonar D1 is a 7.1 channel solution designed to fit into full sized or low profile systems, and offers exceptional audio in 3D games and home theater applications. If you are serious enough about sound to realize that the onboard solution just isn't cutting it, the Xonar D1 is worth considering. It offers great sound, appealing features, and it won't break the bank.

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The Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 is the jack of all trades. It contains enough programmable keys to keep the most fervent multi-tasker happy and a very precise mouse that to keep the gamer happy. Its wireless range makes it suitable for the office, conference room or even the living room. The wireless dongle is small and fits within the bottom of the mouse, making it easy to transport. How well does it work? Benchmark Reviews will fill you in on the XSA-00001 kit from Microsoft.

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Today, we won't be looking at one of Antec's traditional tower, desktop or HTPC cases, but rather something completely different—the Antec Skeleton. The Skeleton is an open air case that does not have solid panels and grilles like a regular computer case. The PC hardware within is literally exposed. So, who in their right mind would buy a computer case that leaves hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars of hardware out in the open for pets to chew on and drinks to spill on?

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Today we have the pleasure of reviewing one of Thermaltake's high-end cases, the Thermaltake Spedo Advance Chassis, this case offers the user all of the best features imaginable. This included tool-free assembly, water cooling option, Thermaltake's Cable Routing Managements 3 and Advanced Thermal Chamber to name just a few. You will need to read the entire review to find out what the other surprises are.

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Starting off building a lower budget gaming system is a great option. I have a budget of $300-$350. Remember that you can always upgrade your hardware anytime you get the money to do so. This article is for those who want a gaming system but can not afford the high price hardware that is out there. All hardware mentioned in this article is available on Newegg.com.

“Today we will be analyzing the Domino.....no, we’re not talking about that hot bounty hunter played by Kiera Knightly.....maybe next time. No, today we’re examining the latest cooling creation from CoolIT Systems, the Domino A.L.C. that makes an attempt to bring water cooling to the mainstream masses. It is a self-contained liquid cooling setup for your CPU that is easy to install and maintain, and all at an affordable price that is accessible to the consumer.”

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We’ve seen a lot of intricate cooling solutions, from large air-cooled units to liquid coolers to peltiers. Yet despite all the different companies that create these products, one name often comes to mind: Thermaltake. Thermaltake sent us a sample of one of their newest CPU coolers, the Thermaltake SpinQ CPU Cooler, that has a unique design Will this translate into better performance? That is the question we’re going to answer in this review.

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"Gelid's Silent Spirit heatsink makes use of four rubber vibration absorbing posts to hold a 100mm PWM fan in place, the fan itself varies in speed from 2400RPM to 900RPM. Weighing in at 370 grams, the Silent Spirit is pretty light, even though it uses four 6mm diameter copper heatpipes to connect a stacked aluminum fin array to a copper base. The aluminum fins have a dimpled surface texture, and alternating fin heights to further break up the surface below the fan."

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“I guess if I had to put the Zotac 790i Supreme in a category, it would be an extreme gamer and overclocker's bracket. It offers the same benefits that any other 790i Ultra SLI, but not quite the price. My sources at Zotac put the price about the same price as EVGA's 790i FTW model. That's basically about the $270 price range. If that's the case, then retailers and consumers better take a hard look at offering and picking up this motherboard. Prices are undoubtedly going to be very competitive given the state of things.”

When it comes down to performance, the EX58-Extreme did eek out many wins in our benchmarks and was an overall "faster" motherboard, but not many if any of those advantages will be seen in real world usage outside of having a benchmark-monkeyfest.

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"This motherboard has a successful classic design -- it can accommodate a graphics card of any dimensions without hampering other devices or blocking three PCI slots. Owners of PCI devices must be pleased, because this board does not have any connectors behind the outermost PCI slot (for brackets with USB, etc)."

Different users have different needs for their NAS servers. Where one user may only need a place to safely store their digital content, another may want their storage appliance to serve up web pages over the internet while streaming music to network enabled media players, all at the same time while downloading torrent files for the teenager in the house. Network Attached Storage appliances are good for the entire family and not just the techy person in the house.

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During the past few months FSP have released many new retail products and replaced many of their existing series with newer, upgraded versions. Today we are going to have a look at the Epsilon 600W PSU, a quality mainstream product. The Epsilon series was released well over a year ago, but according to their specifications they still can easily compete in today's market. The 600W unit is based on a recent design and it is an 80 Plus approved PSU.

"Overclocking the Kingston HyperX or any memory for that fact, takes time and patience. Since they are 1066MHz at 5-5-5-15, I started using the straps on the Gigabyte X48 board to manipulate the memory. I knew from past experience with DDR2-8500 memory I should be able to reach at least 1100MHz, so I found a strap that was at 1111MHz and started there with the timings still at 5-5-5-15. I was only able to get halfway through Memtest86+ with this setup, so I loosened the timings from 5-5-5-15 to 5-5-5-16 and still no joy. However, at 5-5-5-17 they were good and passed Memtest with no errors at all. I then tried to push the CPU speed to increase my memory speeds via the strapping but at 5-5-5-17 I was getting errors again. I did place the timings higher to 5-5-5-18 with the memory at 1123MHz but the benchmark scores were lower than at 1111MHz with timings of 5-5-5-17, so that is where I ran the overclocks, since the performance was better."

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Intel has a lot to be happy about with their new CPU and X58 family launch, firmly taking over the enthusiast market with new processors that are clearly faster than the last generation. The DX58SO motherboard is nearly as fast as the other boards on the platform, with minor differences due to the board manufacturer tweaks in performance. Feature-wise, the DX58SO has done away with legacy connections like IDE and PS/2. The only troubling thing about this board is the layout, with SATA ports that are not sideways facing and the positioning of the 8-pin power connector. I wish everyone a safe and prosperous Holidays as this article was written in the midst of them.

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The Tiger 1000W by E-Power is a mixed bag, but then again aren't all products? The Tiger series is intended for those looking for a lot of power, with bells and whistles. We can call that the high end / mainstream market. Starting with things that could be improved, voltage regulation could be a tad better. From 50% load to full load with heat, the 12V rail dipped a quarter of a degree, along with the 5V rail which took a hit as well. What worked well? The unit is dead silent, the finish is spectacular, the price is spot on and the cables are wonderful. All together though, for $200 and a bit, you get a great performing unit with equally good looks, and another big plus, it is quiet and incredibly functional.

“With design of new K10 microarchitecture, by majority of critics, AMD bit off more than they can chew. In beginning K10 wasn’t designed for two or single core CPUs. For less cores it was necessary to take “rejected” CPUs and disable faulty cores, and that isn’t a cheap process. CPU with disabled core still has same surface area as quad core, and disabled part is totally useless. This can be profitable if yield is relatively low which will result in large quantities of “defected” CPUs. One of the reasons why we waited so long for KUMA core is low yield of Phenom CPUs which resulted in low amount of rejected CPUs that can be converted to Phenom X2…”

The In Win GD case is a unique gaming case. The case has been designed with a futuristic/robotic theme and the chassis follows this on both the front and side. The innovative VGA Turbo Cooling Solution is a great way for gamers to keep their graphics cards cool when spending hours in-game.

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"The first beta of Microsoft's upcoming Windows 7 operating system, the successor to Windows Vista, will be released to the public for beta testing in January. TechReviewSource.com was able to get their hands on the public beta that will be released for general download sometime in January 2009. Windows 7 looks very promising right now in the sense that it seems solid and addresses a lot of the complaints and issues that Windows Vista currently has. Read the full review complete with screenshots for more information."

"Just put the Antec A/V cooler on top of any A/V components air ventilation grid and the cooler will start to suck out the hot air out and away from the A/V component. The idea is simple enough and for $61.01 plus shipping you can have one at your door and ready to use on your precious stereo components. One of the most popular mid-range receivers today is the Onkyo TX-SR806B and at $619 plus shipping this 7.1 Channels, 130 W/Channel receiver also gets pretty hot. When spending that much money on a receiver it only makes sense to make sure that it is being properly cooled..."

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"Now how do you make an already great product like the Jawbone2 even better? You come out with a new set of earbuds for it that allows you the ability to not use the ear loop at all. In my time with the New Fit Earbuds I've come to love them, they make the Jawbone2 an even better product, much more comfortable to the point you don't even realize you are wearing it. There were points during the day when I first started using the new earbuds that I actually had to check to see if I was still in my ear as that's just how comfortable the jawbone is now. "

"Bose is at the leading edge of noise-canceling headphones and they have been for quite a while. Their earlier models of the QuietComfort were a huge success despite their costly price. Their latest model, the Bose QuietComfort 3, has some added improvements over previous models. It's a little smaller and has a few new adjustments, but it still has a rather costly price tag at around $350."

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At one time, it was believed that the 1.44 megabytes of data that a floppy drive held was more than enough. Now we realize that this is not the case. Files keep on getting larger and there's no sign of that slowing down. This has given rise to the need for larger and larger capacity storage devices such as flash drives. Today, the largest flash drive available at larger retailers is 64 GB. Patriot has sent us their crack at making a supurb 64 GB flash drive. Will it compare to other makers' efforts in the field?

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The Genius G-Shot HD55 is a 5.0 Mega Pixel CMOS camcorder that is a high definition video camera (recorded at 30 fps/1280 x 720 pixels) and uses high-compression H.264 format. This allows the G-Shot HD55 to record still images and movies using less memory, and they that can be seen on high-resolution flat-panel TVs using the video cable.