Week of March 30, 2008

"StealthXStream 600 W from OCZ has a 120-mm fan, is EPS12V-compatible, has two video card power connectors for SLI and CrossFire systems and comes with an extremely attractive price tag in the USA, costing less than USD 90. Is this a good power supply? Can it really deliver its rated power? Let's take another look on this power supply, as we updated this article to add load tests results."

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

"The Xigmatek HDT-SD964 installed with its low rpm 92mm fan, is one of the quietest CPU coolers we've tested to date ... hardly a murmur."

CLICK HERE FOR Xigmatek HDT-SD964 CPU cooler SHOPPING & PRICING

"Over the last few years, a lot more attention has been paid to power supplies, and their ever important role of giving our prized possessions the juice they need to run as pain free as possible. However, not only have companies been tempting our wallets with excellent rail stability and high efficiencies, they’ve also touted the low noise levels of their units. The PSU I have with me today sports a large, slow spinning fan and with near silence being one of it’s main features. I’ll be interested to see how much it can actually reduce my rig’s noise levels by."

"Today for review I've got the OCZ Freeze Thermal Compound, when you think of OCZ you normally think of quality ram, but they are into cooling as most people know. The OCZ Freeze is another entry into the every growing lineup of instantly ready compounds, meaning they have no burn-in time required, something that I think most people appreciate greatly. Not only is the OCZ Freeze instantly ready but also non-toxic and very easy to apply. How does it stand up to others out there? "

CLICK HERE FOR OCZ Freeze Thermal Compound SHOPPING & PRICING

"Not all of us are lucky enough to have a Sony Playstation 3, but most of us have a PC at home or at work. For those looking for an great all-in-on keyboard/mouse combo, the Logitech MediaBoard Pro should attract your attention. Even though the keyboard was designed for use with the Playstation, the MediaBoard has a number of features that Home Theater PC users or those wanting a cordless keyboard would love..."

CLICK HERE FOR Logitech Cordless MediaBoard Pro Keyboard SHOPPING & PRICING

Diamond has been so kind and sent us one of its new Diamond Radeon HD 3870 1GB cards. Just the fact that it sports 1GB RAM instead of the regular 512MB makes it stand out, but what really caught our attention was the fact that it has a 512-bit memory bus instead of the reference 256-bit. The relatively narrow bus of most RV670 and G92 cards is a common complaint among many, whether it's justified or not is something we will look at here today. We've updated our recently published roundup with the just released Diamond HD 3870 1GB and Diamond Radeon HD 512MB.

CLICK HERE FOR Diamond Radeon HD 3870 1GB SHOPPING & PRICING

A new company to us here at Pro-Clockers is Eagle Tech. Browsing around their site we see they are active in cooling, speakers, power supplies and storage. Storage is why we are here today as Eagle Tech has sent us their ET-CSIU2J-BK JBOD External Storage Enclosure. This unit utilizes the JBOD standard and a very interesting front bezel. The enclosure houses two SATA drives and plugs into the PC via the USB port.

"Hitachi has really come through in the hard disk market since taking over the department from IBM. So far the Hitachi drives have been top notch with no real reason to discredit them. Hitachi’s current range of drives are extremely impressive.

On the design side there is nothing spectacular about the drive, it’s light in weight and looks well constructed. On the top of the drive there is a identification label with info on the drive including model numbers, spindle speed and capacity which is 250GB for this model we were sent."

CLICK HERE FOR Hitachi Travelstar 5K250 2.5 Hard Drive SHOPPING & PRICING

“Today I will be looking at the Asus P5K Pro, a DDR2 P35 board. Though the X38 boards have been out a while, and the X48 boards are finally hitting the market, the P35 chipset is still very popular, with its maturity and excellent performance. The P5K Pro is an economy-minded board, filling in the fairly sizable gap between the P5K Deluxe and the stripped down P5K SE. How will the P5K Pro size up against its big brother? Read on to see...”

CLICK HERE FOR ASUS P5K Pro Intel P35 Motherboard SHOPPING & PRICING

We were so impressed with the Central Axis upgrade for the Shared Storage II at CES that we thought we'd check out the NAS itself prior to the official launch of that software. With 1TB of storage, will the SSII warrant a purchase, with it's higher price point?

CLICK HERE FOR Maxtor Shared Storage II 1TB SHOPPING & PRICING

"The Asus EN9800GTX went straight up to 852MHz on the GPU core, 1250MHz on the memory and the shader clock topped at 2106MHz. Regardless of the utility used (Smart Doctor, Riva Tuner 2.08, Ntune), I achieved the same result. All of these results are significant gains over the stock speeds. An increase of 177MHz on the core equates to a 21% increase in core clockspeed. A 20% increase in shader clockspeed (442MHz), as well as a 12%, or 150MHz, increase on the memory is nothing to shake your head at either. The performance potential is huge with the 9800GTX series of cards. With increases in clockspeeds like this, the expectations are high, so let's see how well it performs."

CLICK HERE FOR Asus EN9800 GTX SHOPPING & PRICING

"Regarding the actual paint job, since each CSX case is air-brushed by hand by a different artist, there are no two cases in the world that are 100% identical. If you are the type that likes a truly unique product, you will certainly find that here."

"Cooler Master has been known for making good quality cases, and the CM690 is not one to break that reputation. The CM690 is a great looking case. The overall style of the case is clean and subtle, with just enough chrome accents. The mesh front and top panels not only look classy but allow for better cooling. Size wise the case was near perfect, storing enough drives to meet my needs as well as leave some room for upgrades. The inside of the case was roomy and easy to work with, and all of the edges were nicely rolled over."

CLICK HERE FOR Cooler Master CM690 SHOPPING & PRICING

In Win's newest case has a number of features that make this case worthy of a first time look. For example when was the last time you had a case that featured a motorized canopy that covers the front drive bays. Best of all the case is designed after the B2 Stealth Bomber and the design is done without the going to point of being tacky. So come on by and have a look at this case and see if it makes it off the ground.

"M9 is a 9-bay mid-tower case recently released by Thermaltake, available with an acrylic side panel (VI1000BWS, which is the model we reviewed) or with a solid side panel (VI1000BNS), coming with a rear 120-mm fan, a front 120-mm fan and a side duct. Let's take a good look on this latest Thermaltake release."

CLICK HERE FOR Thermaltake M9 Case SHOPPING & PRICING

“The overall designs for the H.D.T. coolers are great. The install on the RVT-12025D model was easier than the RVT-12025. This was due to a tight clearance issue with my fingers pushing down on the pins for the Intel install. On a positive note, the motherboard removal was not necessary, and that is another major plus in my book for CPU cooler installs. With that said, both H.D.T coolers performed well, both are damn near silent, and the option of either a tower or low profile unit is another plus.”

CLICK HERE FOR Kingwin Heat-Pipe Direct Touch CPU Coolers SHOPPING & PRICING

This article will compare 21 USB flash drives with 2GB storage capacity and unique miniature design. We will talk about solutions from such brand names as A-Data, Apacer, ATP, Kingston, Patriot, Pretec, Transcend, SanDisk, Super Talent, TwinMOS and Wintec.

CLICK HERE FOR Flash Drive SHOPPING & PRICING

The M3A78-EMH HDMI defies ASUS’ usual habit of packing in every add-on available at a premium price by sticking to the basics, consequently driving down the price of this motherboard.

The 1000W Cooler Master Real Power Pro is a great choice for anyone who wants to future proof their system in the power supply department. This unit should be able to handle a high end system with multiple processors and graphics cards without running up your electric bill thanks to the high efficiency and active power factor correction.

CLICK HERE FOR Cooler Master Real Power Pro 1000W Power Supply SHOPPING & PRICING

" ... Adata have proved that their DDR2-800 X-series can compete against the big names in overclocking, at a price that's irresistably attractive. "

CLICK HERE FOR Adata DDR2-800 X-Series SHOPPING & PRICING

Today were going to take a look at the Glacialtech Igloo 5750 Silent CPU cooler designed for Intel Cpu's and AMD Cpu's.

In todays world of hotter and hotter components especially CPU's it's getting harder and harder to pick the correct Cooler to protect that monster of a CPU you have in your Main Rig.

In the realm of super high end PC cases Cooler Master has quite a few. Today we take a look at the Cosmos S which is impressive both in features and size. This case is explored in our review and we show you why the S should stand for Super.

CLICK HERE FOR Cooler Maste Cosmos S SHOPPING & PRICING

"With the PURE being a sealed system it is ok for the fact that it is maintenance free. The downside is that it is not expandable. Another downside is that air that is trapped in the system is there forever. The unit I tested had some air trapped in it. It took a good 3 days of it sitting upright to stop gurgling. After that it was good to go, just as long as I didn't bump the case or disturb the cooler in any way..."

While there were whispers of the 8800GS in the background, it was never really one of those cards that got much attention. Everyone was too busy concentrating on the 8800GT and new 8800GTS 512MB card to really pay much attention to it.

"In a bid to firmly cement its place among PC gaming enthusiasts, Apevia introduces its new X-Supra G Type chassis solution. With this single product, Apevia aims to attract PC gamers looking for a uniquely styled enclosure with a bevy of features, all at an affordable price. With a wide variety of colors to choose from, Apevia has done its homework when designing and manufacturing this case for gamers from the ground up. Or have they? Will the X-Supra G Type make the grade? With yardstick in hand, HardwareLogic will see if the X-Supra measures up!"

CLICK HERE FOR Apevia X-Supra G Type Case SHOPPING & PRICING

Need a new router but not ready to take the 802.11n plunge? We're taking a look at a brand-new ASUS model that boasts tried and true 802.11g and offers it at a great price. It lacks in certain ways, but makes up for it in others, such as with the inclusion of a real print server.

"One of my all-time favorite cases has been the X-Jupiter tower, one that until just recently I had been using as my primary enclosure. Today I'll be taking a look at the new X-QBOII, a micro-tower case that appears to be sort of a scaled-down version of the X-Supra mid-tower, also recently reviewed here at OCIA.net."

"On the front of the case is where you will find all of the buttons you need to use the case. There is a power button as well as a little red button, which is the button that you press to activate the drive bay cover's motor. That's right, the drive bay cover has a motor on it that flips the cover from the closed position covering the drive bays to an open position that will expose them all. If for some reason you need to open the front cover without using the button, such as when the computer is off and you need to get to a drive you have under there, you are covered. There is a "Rescue" switch that you are able to toggle between automatic and manual which will shut the motor off when engaged in the manual setting."

"NSK4480 is one of the simplest cases from Antec, targeted to users that want to build a mainstream PC with a good 380 W power supply (this model comes with an Antec EarthWatts 380 W power supply already installed) and prefer having a smaller PC with a more conservative looks, but with a good construction, a 120-mm rear fan and side duct."

CLICK HERE FOR Antec NSK4480 Case SHOPPING & PRICING

Priced at $349.00 it's replacing the 8800GTX that will most probably now go EOL (End OF Life) due to the fact that it is currently priced $10.00 more than the 9800GTX. Personally I think this is a bit of April foolery on the end users as the 9800GTX is a good card, but it should have been released as a different version of an 8800, not a new nomenclature altogether. NVIDIA has to have something more noteworthy up their sleeves, but with PC games on the wane maybe this is a turning point for the industry at large and their focus is on the next generation console systems. XFX makes good products and this card is just that a good product, but not a great one. I would buy a pair of XFX 9600GT 740m cards that are priced at $169.00 each and run them in an SLI configuration if my budget was in the $350 - $400 range as they outperform both the 800GTX and 9800GTX when ran in a single card situation. That's my take on all this so until later folks..

CLICK HERE FOR XFX GeForce 9800GTX Video Card SHOPPING & PRICING

Let’s be honest, CPU coolers are not usually the most exciting product in the world. We all need one, or two, and the quieter the better. Many users also want to ensure that the performance of their cooler allows them to reduce the CPU temperature as much as possible and maybe even dabble in some overclocking without risking the processors long term health.

CLICK HERE FOR Coolit Freezone Elite SHOPPING & PRICING

"MSI laptops are becoming more popular with good reason, offering excellent performance at competitive prices. Their latest gaming laptop comes with retro style Turbo button which overclocks the CPU on the fly. Equipped with 8600M GT and 2Gb ram this multimedia power house aims to impress."

Head-Direct RE2 is the name of a completely new entry level pair of earphone. Head-Direct was until recently just a headphone and amplifier reseller, but that has changed with the arrival of the RE2s. their new earphones are among the best when it comes to price/performance, even rivaling some of the twice as expensive competition.

"The Samsung Syncmaster 743B offers users a 17" screen with a native resolution of 1280x1024 pixels. The screen has an anti-reflective non-glossy coating, 5ms G-to-G pixel refresh time, and nominal pixel pitch of 0.264mm. Cold Cathode Florescent Light (CCFL) back lights maintain a brightness rating of 300 cd/m2, and a contrast ratio of 1000:1 scales with software to a dynamic contrast ratio of 7000:1."

Today Matt has a look at a slick NAS enclosure by Icy Box. This device offers a lot of features in a small amount of space and for a relatively low price. We take a look at how the Icy Box works and if its right for your needs.

"The Silencer 610 EPS12V comes from PC Power & Cooling’s high-performance portfolio and is, almost ironically, also one of the lowest-powered units to have been equipped with the company’s proprietary technologies and also feature SLI certification."

CLICK HERE FOR PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610W PSU SHOPPING & PRICING

"The Firestick PicoT is a portable USB mini-computer that replaces your software Firewall and protects your computer from malicious attacks before they can reach your PC. The Firestick Pico places a physical barrier between PCs and the Internet to ensure that threats never reach users' computers. Unlike software firewalls, the Firestick Pico is based on a dedicated hardware platform."

CLICK HERE FOR Yoggie Firestick Pico SHOPPING & PRICING

Apevia is back at it again, not with a case but with a power supply. And like the rash of power units we have seen over the last few months this is not your typical 500 watt model. It is a 750 watt mammoth called the Warlock. Boasting a 135mm cooling fan that can change many colors this PSU could be what many of you modders out there are looking for. What I like is the Crossfire and SLI support with a boatload of power. But is it worthy of being placed in your system? To find out you will have to keep reading.

CLICK HERE FOR Apevia Warlock 750 Watt Power Supply SHOPPING & PRICING

NVIDIA's 9-series might be brand-new, but the 8-series should not be overlooked. Most 8800 GTS 512 cards cost less than the 9800 GTX, and can be easily overclocked to overpower it. In the case of this pre-overclocked ASUS card, the 9800 GTX doesn't have a fighting chance.

CLICK HERE FOR ASUS EN8800GTS TOP 512MB SHOPPING & PRICING

"Overclocking with the ECS A780GM-A was a challenge. I started off in the BIOS by lowering the Hyper Threading Frequency a bit and upping the the CPU speed to 210MHz, which would be an effective 2.415GHz (210x11.5) with a voltage increase to 1.4v. Even with just little bit, the computer would not boot without blue screening. I lowered the memory speed down and I was able to get into the OS, but only for a few seconds before the Blue Screen showed its ugly head again. Since the BIOS does not allow you to change the multiplier, I was at a loss. I then thought about AMD Overdrive. Even with AMD Overdrive, any addition to the CPU speed, no matter what I changed, the system would freeze and reboot. I finally was able to get the system stable by changing the multiplier in AMD Overdrive to 13.5x, dropping the Hyper Threading multiplier to 8x, and keeping the CPU speed at 200MHz for a 2.7GHz overclock @ 1.36v. The downfall is I had to decrease the memory clock speeds to 800MHz to keep the system stable, but I was able to tighten the timings to 5-4-4-12, which gave me a pretty good overclock in the Scientific Benchmarks."

CLICK HERE FOR ECS A780GM-A SHOPPING & PRICING

"X38/X48 chipsets are the first chipsets to come out with true split PCI Express architecture. This time they are both running a 16/16 configuration. Added to this is the fact they are running PCI-E 2.0 specs as well as being XMP memory module ready; we now have a good overall platform. X48 adds to the already impressive array of features the X38 has along with much better overclocking support and official support for the 1600MHz FSB.

Today we have GIGABYTE’s new X48 based board with DDR3 memory support. Following the naming lines, anything with DDR3 support gets a “T” added to the name, so today we have the GIGABYTE X48T-DQ6. This is GIGABYTE’s top of the range high performance board. How will it stack up against our already tested MSI X48 Platinum and ASUS’ P5E3 Premium WiFi? - Let’s get down to it and find out!"

“Hong Kong-based Sapphire has been in the industry for a while, manufacturing primarily video cards and motherboard chipsets. It's the largest supplier of ATI-based cards in the world, and was the first to release a card with an HDMI connector. ThinkComputers got its hands on Sapphire's Radeon HD 3650 OC Edition, a faster, more spacious version of the mid-range card from the red team. We subject this card to a battery of tests to see how it measures up to one of the best the green team-nVidia-has to offer.”

CLICK HERE FOR Sapphire Radeon HD 3650 Video Card SHOPPING & PRICING

We showed you in a previous tip how to increase performance with USB drives in Vista by enabling write caching. By default this option isn't turned on because of the "removable" nature of these devices, so you could lose data if you pull out too quickly (the drive that is... ).

"It's hard to believe, but there are actually many people who don't want the trappings, and cost, of gaming hardware. Integrated graphics aren't always an option and, when they are, they use precious system resources that, for only a little extra cash, can be un-tethered. Which is exactly what an entry-level video card is supposed to do. They're not intended to play video games, and their 3D processing capacity is misleading. Good enough doesn't mean gaming; it's about low power consumption and decent features. So, for those of you looking for "good enough," is this vanilla HD 2400 XT it? Or does it come up short where it counts?"

CLICK HERE FOR ATI HD 2400 XT 256MB Video Card SHOPPING & PRICING

"Gateway has recently revamped its FX line of gaming desktops - internally at least. Though it looks the same as other older FX machines we've seen from Gateway, this one is easily the most powerful Gateway ever assembled, and even includes a factory-overclocked quad-core processor running at a steamy 3.66GHz. Though its performance is generally excellent, we think Gateway has pushed this machine's CPU a bit too much, as the BTX induction fan is way too loud and we were able to make it blue screen on cue. It's also puzzling to us why Gateway builds "gaming" rigs and then loads the exact same OS image it uses on every single Gateway PC, treating it like any run-of-the-mill machine. The Gateway FX540XT has a base price of $3799.99 USD."

"The Thermaltake BlacX is a neat little USB-based hard drive docking station that fills a gap left vacant by removable hard drive racks and external hard drive enclosure systems. The small black box is free standing, but does require a DC power supply to function. It supports a single 3.5" SATA desktop or 2.5" SATA notebook hard drive at a time. Data is transferred to the computer via a 480Mbps USB 2.0 cable included in the package."

CLICK HERE FOR Thermaltake BlacX SATA Hard Drive USB Docking Station SHOPPING & PRICING

Today we take another look at Raid as it applies to gaming. Does using a Raid array benefit FPS, game loading, and level loading? We attempt to answerthese questions and put them into the perspective of price vs performance under a single drive, two drive, and four drive scenarios. If you want blazing transfer rates and enhanced system performance then Raid may well be a good otion for you.

"Being a relatively new company, many may not have heard of Tuniq. A subsidiary of Sunbeam, these folks are in the business of creating cooling solutions, enclosures and power supplies. We have looked at some of their offerings in this last category before and have been impressed with what is offered, but this time around they have dipped into the realm of the power user.

With so many choices in the high-end power supply arena, we will delve deeper to see if the folks at Tuniq have a winning solution on their hands. We’ll look at what is offered in the area of available power, look at feature sets and of course thrash it around for about a week to look for any instances of instability."

Sapphire is always trying to figure out how to out do itself with their graphic cards and this holds true with the HD3870. Once they take a card and kick it up a notch or two they brand it with the now familiar Toxic label. Does the Sapphire HD3870 Toxic Edition live up to it namesakes?

Recently PC Freaks & Geeks had the opportunity to take our first look at a notebook accessory from Logitech: The Alto Cordless. This particular stand and cordless keyboard offered a more comfortable user experience through extended hours of notebook use. However while the practicality and functionality was superb, it meant losing the use of your laptop's touchpad. This obviously meant that notebook user's who decided to invest in the Alto Cordless unit would have to also invest in a laptop mouse.

CLICK HERE FOR Logitech VX Revolution Mouse SHOPPING & PRICING

SteelSeries feels their competition is doing things wrong, but does that mean they are doing things right? After taking a look at their Ikari laser mouse, we can wholeheartedly say "yes"! The Ikari is catered for gamers, and it shows. Simply put? The Ikari is the best mouse we've ever laid our hands on.

CLICK HERE FOR SteelSeries Ikari Laser SHOPPING & PRICING

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

The Sunbeamtech 9-Bay Acrylic Case has a lot going for it. First and foremost is its stunning good looks. The kit was easy to assemble and had plenty of work room inside, as well as plenty of room for expansion with the full nine bays. Not only are those nine bays easily accessible, but they're also very well ventilated with support for up to six 120mm fans and an 80mm to top it all off.

“The technology age is booming, more and more people are starting to travel and use multiple computers. There's got to be a time where you have thought to yourself "Dang, I wish I brought that file with me" or "I've got that data...on my home email." I know I have done that many times, but the DataTraveler 400 has helped me overcome those days of not having the right data. With the included MigoSync software and password protection the DataTraveler 400 is a must have for people always on the go accessing multiple computers.”

CLICK HERE FOR Kingston DataTraveler 400 Flash Drive SHOPPING & PRICING

"Today I have for review one of Silverstone's newer HTPC series of cases, the Grandia GD02. If you liked the style of the full-size GD01 but were just looking for something a bit smaller, the GD02 might be right up your alley. It's a micro-ATX size case, and like most HTPC enclosures it is designed to blend right into the other devices in your entertainment center, with a brushed aluminum finish on the front, available in either black or silver."

CLICK HERE FOR Silverstone GD02 HTPC Case SHOPPING & PRICING

Yest another release from Nvidia today. Seems like every week there is a new card.

Here are some of the sites covering the release:

Benchmarkreviews.com
Techpowerup.com
OCC
Bjorn3d.com
Driverheaven
Hothardware.com
Legitreviews.com
Hardocp.com

"US Modular's enthusiast parts are all recent additions to their portfolio. In fact, the Cold Fusion RAM is their first big, branded push into the profitable arena, and it's kicking off with the DDR2 reviewed here. While they're mostly known for their portable hard drives and USB flash drives, US Modular has been making system memory in California long enough to know how to bin the good stuff and slap some swanky blue heatspreaders on it. Of course, in order to make a name for themselves, this memory will have to fly. Does Cold Fusion have what it takes to stir up the ranks?"

"While Zalman is famous enough for its quality PC cooling and liquid cooling devices as well as fans, modding accessories, PC enclosures, gaming headphones, and even 3D monitors, today we are going to review a "ballon d'essai" of quite a different domain -- a "gun style" gaming mouse."

CLICK HERE FOR Zalman FPSGUN FG-1000 Gun Style Gaming Mouse SHOPPING & PRICING

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

The ECS GF7100PVT-M GeForce 7100 mATX motherboard provides the necessary features to handle the basic demands of an HTPC in a package that won't break the bank. While it does lack in some areas, it does include integrated video capable of VGA, DVI, or HDMI output, HD audio, and four SATA headers capable of a variety of RAID configurations.

CLICK HERE FOR ECS GF7100PVT-M GeForce 7100 mATX Motherboard SHOPPING & PRICING

Many users are looking for a video card that will allow them to tak advantage of Vista's new graphical features but are not iterested in playing games. This leaves them serching for an add-on video card that wont break the budget and yet still powerful enough to run things like Aero and Flip-3D. We test the ATI HD3450 to see if this card fits this need and bring you real world testing and results.

CLICK HERE FOR ATI Radeon HD3450 SHOPPING & PRICING

Like the original COSMOS, the new S variant has what appear to be bar-like handles along both sides of its top and bottom edges. And its general shape is reminiscent of the original COSMOS as well. The COSMOS S, however, has a new titanium and glossy black finish that really stands out and its inputs and ventilation scheme are all somewhat different.

CLICK HERE FOR Cooler Master COSMOS S SHOPPING & PRICING

" It has been almost five years since I reviewed a Corsair product. In that time, ASE Labs and the industry have evolved. Five years ago it was DDR that was the memory of choice and DDR2 wasn't even on enthusiast's tongues. Fast forward to 2008 and we've got DDR3 just coming on the market. DDR2 is still alive and is the king of value right now. Corsair's 4GB XMS2 PC2-6400 kit is the subject for review. "

CLICK HERE FOR Corsair XMS2 DHX 4GB PC2-6400 SHOPPING & PRICING

“We have taken a look at a lot of LCD monitors here at ThinkComputers. While most of them are adequate for all scenarios, none of them have been dubbed as gaming monitors. Well the ASUS PG221 is dubbed as a gaming monitor and we can see why just by looking at the specs, a 2000:1 contrasts ratio, 2ms response time, and all the connections you want on a LCD. Not only does it have these features it also has a 15W bass speaker, built-in webcam, touch-sensitive controls, and a cool lighting effect. It seems the PG221 has everything any gamer or consumer alike would want. Let's see if we can find anything wrong with it.”

CLICK HERE FOR ASUS PG221 22-inch Widescreen LCD Monitor SHOPPING & PRICING

Tuniq, a leader in CPU cooling has sent us over a HDD cooler that will do both of the above mentioned solutions. Tuniq is showing they are more than CPU cooling. The Sanctum is a full enclosure cooler that intends to cool down that ultra fast hard drive of yours. The cool thing about the Sanctum is that it is a passive cooler so it won’t add to the noise of the hard drive it is trying to cool. But is it enough to warrant paying $22 from Newegg?

CLICK HERE FOR Tuniq Sanctum HDD Cooler SHOPPING & PRICING

"The Centurion 590 offers one of the best value for money chassis we've come across. It's very low priced and feature packed ... it'll apeal to users at all levels."

The ASRock ALiveNF5SLI-1394 Socket AM2 motherboard is based on the nForce 560 SLI chipset, which is better known as nVidia NF4SLI or NF500SLI. This ASRock motherboard with SLI technology and AMD Phenom CPU support is available for a little bit more than 50 Euro. The following overclocking review will show, if ASRock succeeded once again in creating an attractive board for AMD processors and if this board offers nice overclocking features.

NVIDIA's 9600 GT card is a great offering for the price range, but ASUS ups the ante by offering a TOP version that adds 70MHz to the core and 100MHz to the memory. Add in HDMI support and the ability to overclock the card even higher... then the EN9600GT TOP proves to be a great offering.

CLICK HERE FOR ASUS EN9600GT TOP 512MB SHOPPING & PRICING

"Redline. A term coined from pushing a car to it's breaking point, where the tachometer strains all the way over to the red in an effort to warn it's careless driver: TOO FAST! But speed is something we covet with our rigs, and Mushkin has aptly named it's new high performance RAM for that breaking point we so desperately try to exceed. But the big question is how well does this kit push it to the limit? Will the Redline series be fit for the Autobahn of the overclocking arena, or is back to puttering down Main Street for Mushkin? Read on as we try to break barriers and avoid speeding tickets with the Redline 4GB kit!"

CLICK HERE FOR Mushkin Redline Memory Kit SHOPPING & PRICING

"The HD3450 is designed as a next generation card supporting all of the newest techlologies and that it does well. This card is not designed for the gaming market and you will not be playing games at those ultra high graphics, but it is great for movie playback and running Vista's features. The HD3450 has a low profile design which makes it ideal for home theater PCs, but keep in mind the heatsink is big and will take up part of the expansion slot below it, keeping you from placing a card in it. The upside to the size of the heatsink is that it is a passive solution, something that makes the most sense for use in an HTPC case."

CLICK HERE FOR PowerColor HD 3450 SHOPPING & PRICING

"HP's m-series computers are designed for mainstream home users with rigorous multimedia demands, such as watching HD movies, recording TV, and maybe even some light gaming. HP calls the m9200t an "entertainment powerhouse," and though we probably wouldn't go that far, it's safe to say it's a well-built machine with more than enough power to satisfy the majority of home users. Its biggest flaw is that it includes typical big-box bloatware and toolbars, and is a bit generic in terms of its design and software build."

CLICK HERE FOR HP Pavilion Elite m9200t PC SHOPPING & PRICING

"ATI partners have brought their HD3870X2 products to their market for quite some time now, we compared the performance of samples from Jetway and HIS, unfortunately the results are not as encouraging, CrossFire can be a blessing or a curse depending on the games used. If you wonder what the other sides of the medallion looks like... keep on reading."

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Are you interested in having a system that is a great deal quieter than it was when it came from the factory, then perhaps it is time for you to consider adding a water cooling kit to you computer. Today's water cooling kits cool as good as the best fan and fin heatsinks on the market, and offer you a huge noise reduction. So come on along as we check out two of the big name units, the Cooler Master Aquagate Max and the Thermaltake Bigwater 760i.

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

"Today for review I've got the Trendnet TK-408K 4-Port PS/2 KVM Switch Kit w/Audio and it's a basic KVM switch that works exactly as it should. I encountered no problems with it in the few months that I've used it, response time is excellent when switching between systems and it even supports high resolutions as well. "

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"Well here I am again finding myself locked in the iBuyPower bunker with more graphics cards than I can poke a stick at. Alongside three 9800 GTX graphics cards we also have two 9800 GX2s all ready to go into the funky water cooled system that we’ve been provided with today.

With Tri SLI drivers in hand, more benchmarks than we had last time and some Dominos Pizza and Dickens Energy Cider, we’re ready to get stuck into the wonderful world of expensive VGA setups which is overkill for most of us, but still wanted oh so badly."

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“Crucial has been all over the market as of late with new capacity Flash Cards, USB drives, Solid State Drives, and especially Performance DRAM. I've been thoroughly testing and experimenting with their latest Ballistix DDR3 PC3-12800 2GB Dual Channel Kit, or DDR3 1600MHz memory. And yes, this kit does scream at 1600MHz. Read on and see.”

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Destineer delivers a game that could be picked up easily, but putting it down is another story. Its about time. Its 1940 and the RAF is in the early stages of World War II. You have volunteered your life to the Royal Air Force, and now its time to put yourself against the Germans in an all-out dogfight. Several missions give you (the recruit) a chance to shine. Will your rickety plane survive the mess to come? Or will you outsmart your well-trained adversaries?

CLICK HERE FOR Spitfire Heroes: Tales of the Royal Air Force SHOPPING & PRICING

“The Seagate FreeAgent Pro is among many other current external hard drives. Its sleek design will help keep your desktop clutter free. Available in 320GB, 500GB, 750GB, and 1000GB capacities and supporting USB, eSATA, and dual FireWire 400 there is quite a number of drives to choose from for your liking. The touch sensitive power points and included AutoBackup software help the FreeAgent Pro stick out from the crowd of other devices. Let's take a further look at this external hard drive.”

CLICK HERE FOR Seagate FreeAgent Pro 750GB External Hard Drive SHOPPING & PRICING

Excellent PCB layout, good accessories bundle, broad functionality of the Intel X38 Express chipset it is based on and diverse additional onboard controllers adding even more to this functionality. This is what Foxconn’s X38A mainboard from the DigitaLife series has to offer. But how good is it for overclocking?

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"It’s been a while since we’ve seen anything from Albatron. That’s about to change though, as today we have with us the 9600GT. The thing that’s particularly exciting about the Albatron 9600GT is that it really follows nothing but the reference design, including the core and memory clock.

Why would we be excited about this? - The thing is, we’ve looked at so many 9600GT cards since launch and every single model has carried with it an overclock. We’re not complaining, but we haven’t actually had a chance to look at the 9600GT in its stock form, and it will really be interesting to see how it fairs."