Week of October 4, 2009

"Modern laptops usually include a solid keyboard and a pointing device. While this works great for the typical requirement, it falls quite short as an input of choice when it comes to drawings, sketches, or fine illustrative control. For these instances, it is hard to beat the pen you can hold in your hand. The modern equivalence of this is the graphics tablet, which plugs into the computer and gives you a pen as the control device. A popular brand of graphic tablets is Genius, and they have quite a few offerings to satisfy the need. In this review we will focus on the Easypen i405."

"Maelstrom is a full-tower case from In Win having an interesting looks, foam pads to absorb noise and several features and supporting nothing less than 10 fans! Let's take a look on this new release."

NZXT may release more cases annually than any other company
currently on the market. So it comes as no surprise that we are reviewing their new mid-tower named the Lexa S. This is basically the third incarnation of the Lexa name, the first version was perhaps one of their best selling case. The second in line was the Lexa Blackline. Come with us as we checked this version and see if it can continue the trend.

Today we are going to take a look at a budget minded cooler from them, the Kingwin XT-1264 HTC. The XT-1264 HTC falls in the 120mm class of heatpipe coolers. Will the XT-1264 HTC be able to keep up with the likes of the Titan Fenrir or Cooler Master Hyper N620?

When an industry gets to the point where there are countless models of any given product available, its only natural for consumers to look for those that have a certain appearance, are easier to install and carry around, include extra accessories, and have a certain speed. Icy Dock has sent us their latest contender in the 2.5" external hard drive battle, the MB668U, to see how it performs in the areas detailed above.

Well, our next product up for review is from our good friends at Coolmax, a company who believes you don't have to pay an arm and a leg to get a high quality PSU. This is why they sent us over the ZP-1000. The ZP-1000 is a 1,000 watt partial modular unit that is meant to go up against the likes of Thermaltake, Corsair and the other big name manufacturers who dominate the power supply market. Even if you are not in the market for such a high output power supply at a price of $150, it may be something to consider as it would help in the future-proofing of your rig.

“Today I will be looking at the Spire TherMax Pro CPU cooler, a 90mm cooler that fits pretty much every CPU built in the last four or so years including LGA 1366 and 1156. It has three heatpipes and uses Direct touch heatpipe technology. It includes a UV-reactive fan, built by Spire as they build their own fans. Will the TherMax Pro tame that hot CPU? Read on to see!"

"If you're looking for a digital camera with one feature that stands out among all the rest, the Samsung DualView TL225 has got it: a dual LCD screen for self-portraits. The 12.4-megapixel has two viewfinders, one on the front and one on the back. The main LCD is 3.5-inches and is a touch screen as well. The above average image quality makes it a camera worth checking out if you want something both unique and functional."

Last month, AMD became the first company to bring a $99 quad-core processor to market, the Athlon II X4 620. The question, of course, is whether or not it delivers. At 2.60GHz, it looks to offer ample performance, but the lack of an L3 cache is sure to be seen in some of our tests. Luckily, the chip's overclocking-ability helps negate that issue.

“The PC-K8 is part of this hybrid series utilising an external Aluminium shell and an internal SECC structure, the case being aimed at gaming and computer enthusiasts as a product with more value and branded with Lian Li to suggest it holds some quality design. But the PC-K8 already hit a snag when I first began to look at it, simply because it isn’t on Lian Li’s own website, However from what information I did gather, it comes already installed with a PSU and boasting some rather large fans, and once it arrived it was time to put it to the review”

"CPU cooling is a highly competitive market. Over the past 10 years we have seen a multitude of cooling innovations and breakthroughs in how to draw heat from our processors. It seems that lately all the newer coolers are getting bigger and some cases just don't have room for them. Lately I have seen an increase in coolers blocking memory slots and making cable management essential for good airflow. Not all CPU coolers need to be 8" tall and fill up half of your case interior to be effective. Case in point: the Spire TherMax Pro."

"Most of NZXT's cases tend to be rather eye-catching, and previously we've had the Rogue and the Tempest from their product range for closer inspection. The previous two cases differed greatly from each other, so lets see what course their latest offering takes - Introducing the Panzerbox."

A short time ago, ATI launched their HD 5870 1GB card to rave reviews. They are now hoping to capitalize on the popularity of that $400 card by releasing its smaller brother – the HD 5850- hot on its heals. Not only does it look like the HD 5850 has specifications to nearly match the more powerful card but it also comes with a much lower price of around $300.

"NZXT is surely getting a good reputation in bringing to the market inexpensive cases with lots of features only seen on more expensive models. The original Beta, for example, costs only USD 50, with the new Beta EVO costing USD 60. Let's see what are the differences between the two."

"During the CPU testing, the Beta Evo was unable to beat any one of the other cases tested, it simply did not have any way to expel any of the heat coming off of the stock Intel CPU cooler. The GPU testing, however, the Beta Evo was able to perform close to the others, the idle temperature was a little bit warmer than the other cases, but as soon as it was put to work, it was able to stay close to the Antec P183 at low fan speed settings. The HDD testing showed that the 120mm fan installed at the front of the case was able to keep the HDD at about mid-range temperatures compared to the other cases."

Micro ATX motherboards are becoming more and more popular with gamers and overclockers alike. One can't really blame them either. These boards are smaller, reducing the need to use large chassis to house them which in turns makes these types of computers a lot more portable. A lot of times the Micro ATX motherboards will have all of the features their full sized brothers have, and that includes overclocking capabilities.

Overclockers and performance enthusiasts both share the same desire to cool their processor with the best possible hardware solution, but they each have different needs. The Benchmark Reviews test lab is rife with cooling products, ranging from silent low-profile to full-size tower coolers. The purpose of this series is to measure products for the best cooling performance in both stock and overclocked forms. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests a new collection of LGA1366 coolers using the Intel Core i7-920 processor overclocked to 3.8 GHz @ 1.4V, allowing only the very best CPU coolers to endure our tests and reveal the most desirable heatsink for your computer system.

"It's a superb graphics card for its price range. It easily outperforms the competing GeForce GTX 285. Besides, the unprecedented overclocking features allows this new single-GPU card to compete with the dual-GPU GTX 295 as well."

With the introduction of the P55 chipest and the new socket type, 1156, comes a old but new standard. Like the CPU's of old, the newer 1156 socket CPUs use a dual channel memory controller.

Last week we reviewed a device that should be in the toolbox of every computer repairman, network tech and enthusiast: the Vantec universal adapter. Truly a bit of hardware to make life much easier. Today, we will be reviewing another product in the same class. Let me introduce you to the PS228 from Coolmax. It has a nice blue backlit LCD listing all the voltage readings for connections on a computer power supply. Furthermore, it sounds an alarm to let you know if anything is wrong.

CLICK HERE FOR Coolmax PS228 Power Supply Tester PRICING & SHOPPING

"The only con other than the oddities with overclocking/driver support would be how loud the fan gets when manually set above a third of its capabilities. Generally when I overclock I set the fan speed to 100%, but it sounded like a jumbo jet engine was being tested inside my case. When left at auto or kept in the low 30% range the fan was inaudible next to the case fans so it isn't really a problem, more of just a notice to others that this thing can be loud when set to higher speeds. At higher speeds this fan pushed a lot of air!"

CLICK HERE FOR XFX HD 5870 PRICING & SHOPPING

“Today we have the chance to take a look at the final of the three cases in the Thermaltake Element series, the Element T. Back in February we covered the Element S and back in August we covered the Element G. The Thermaltake Element T, being the most affordable of all three, comes equipped with a ton of features including a Red LED 200mm exhaust fan, TtXGame Shield for LAN party protection, and a massive drive array. Read on further to see what else this case has to offer."

CLICK HERE FOR Thermaltake Element T VK90001N2Z PRICING & SHOPPING

"Antec is bringing to the market another version from their Sonata case, called Sonata Elite, which follows the same design concept from Sonata III 500, which we have already reviewed. Today we are going to see what is new on Sonata Elite and the main differences between the two Sonatas."

CLICK HERE FOR Antec Sonata Elite Case PRICING & SHOPPING

"We're big DSLR boosters because of their fast response and enhanced picture quality. Yet we're the first to admit that carrying around a hefty DSLR all day with several lenses is a pain. That's why compact point-and-shoots remain so popular (lower prices certainly help as well). The new FinePix S200EXR tries to carve a path in between the two types of cameras. It offers rapid, aim-and-forget shooting, and its built-in 14.3x manual zoom has a focal range of 30.5-436mm - something that would cost a small fortune if you bought comparable interchangeable DSLR lenses. The 12-megapixel digicam also has loads of tweaks to satisfy shutterbugs at all levels. The camera will set you back around $535, a tidy sum when you have many quality mega-zooms and high-quality point-and-shoots available for less, let alone entry-level DSLRs. Value, as always, is in the eye of the reviewer, so let's put the S200EXR through its paces."

CLICK HERE FOR Fujifilm FinePix S200EXR PRICING & SHOPPING

"The Evercool HPK-10025EA heatsink uses a simple arrangement of swagged aluminum fins over four 6mm diameter copper heatpipes, connected by a short distance to the CPU. The entire heatsink stands 65mm tall and weighs a feathery 320 grams. The four heatpipes are exposed at the base of the heatsink, which although now a common technique is a first for such a low profile heatsink. The stubby aluminum fins rest below an Arctic Cooling style, red 110mm fan that rotates at a moderately audible 1800RPM."

CLICK HERE FOR Evercool HPK-10025EA PRICING & SHOPPING

"The Nvidia GTX295 Single PCB from Zotac arrived Technic3D. The Graphic Card with new PCB Design. Technic3D will check the GTX295 in the following Review with a Resolution from 1920x1200, 1680x1050, the real Power Consumption and many more, against other Graphic Cards and the "old" GTX295 Dual-PCB."

CLICK HERE FOR Nvidia GTX295 PRICING & SHOPPING

More and more consumers these days seem to have some sort of home theater set up in which they incorporate a computer. Many people use a PC in their living room to watch slideshows of their photos, browse the web on their large HDTV displays, or use their pc as a fully functional Home Theater PC for movies, games, music, and etc. Along with this growing trend, the concept of using a HTPC style case for your living room computer is becoming more popular. People don't want some big ugly tower sitting in the middle of their living room, but would rather have a stylish looking case that can match the decor of their other home theater components, and offer many additional features useful to HTPC setups. Benchmark Reviews has the pleasure of checking out one of the HTPC cases offered by nMedia. This stylish and functional desktop ATX-style case boasts many features one would find useful in a HTPC setting such as a front LCD readout and front ports for! things such as USB, Media Cards, Audio, eSATA, and Firewire, all in an attractive package that can easily match your other theater components.

CLICK HERE FOR nMediaPC 6000B HTPC Computer Case PRICING & SHOPPING

This one slipped through the cracks while we were doing a bit of site re-designing and not getting much sleep. The AMD Phenom X4 955 is based on AMD's AM3 socket that was revealed some time back, featuring DDR3 support. When the 955 was released, it was AMD's flagship CPU running four cores at [...]

CLICK HERE FOR AMD Phenom II X4 955 CPU PRICING & SHOPPING

Over the past few months we have taken a look at a full selection of Seagate’s business and home external hard drives. Seagate took a note from the late 90’s with the latest drive we are looking at. The Free Agent Xtreme is a personal desktop drive with a 2Tb capacity. So what does Xtreme stand for? Maybe the drive is made for extreme conditions? Or maybe it skydives? I’m going to dive in and find out what it’s all about, how it performs, and how extreme it really is.

Today we have an ATI HD4770 to review from the popular company named HIS. HIS are one of the leading manufacturers of ATI graphics cards. To see how this budget monster performs, we’ll be comparing it to a card just £20 more expensive. Time to see how this RV740 GPU video card performs…

"The IN-WIN Maelstrom case is a full tower chassis in their Destiny-extreme series which, if you can't discern from the name, is geared towards high-end systems. While a full tower case, it is not quite as overwhelmingly large as some in that category although it still has some heft to it at roughly 27lbs. Retailing for $109.99 shipped, the IN-WIN Maelstrom certainly is a fair amount cheaper than many higher-end cases and hopefully after reading this, you'll have a good idea as well as our opinion on if the price represents a good value for this product..."

CLICK HERE FOR IN-WIN Maelstrom PRICING & SHOPPING

“Today we are going to look at the latest Moray+ earphones from Razer which have been designed to be completely compatible with both the Sony PSP and Nintendo DSi, whilst also being appropriate for PC gaming and MP3 players.”

CLICK HERE FOR Razer Moray+ Gaming Ear Phones PRICING & SHOPPING

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

Average file sizes increaseing at a huge rate, while your computers hard drive stays the same size. You may be someone who needs to store many files, or just a few large ones. What ever your application, a NAS system can not only free up space on your computer, but allow for more expansion options over your computer (especialy laptop). in the time it takes you to tear your whole laptop apart, or open your case and screw in a new HDD, you could have installed multiple hard drives in the N5500 NAS. Not only that, but you can accesses these hard drives from any computer on your network, so you can choose to work in the most comfortable in your office or house. Today we will try out one of the higher end NAS systems, the Thecus N5500.

CLICK HERE FOR Thecus N5500 PRICING & SHOPPING

A Wireless router offers flexibility in that you can share your high speed broadband with a mixture of wired and wireless connectivity or just pure wireless connectivity without the need of the main computer being switched on. For a lot of people in the consumer market the different wireless specifications may not mean a lot (or anything) and some companies take advantage of this and continue selling G spec routers, but with broadband speed on the rise and also wireless integration into a lot more applications such as Gaming consoles, Media streamers, Handheld gaming, Mobile phones and Laptops / Notebooks / Netbooks it makes sense to ensure your wireless also stays up to speed with wireless N. As wireless networking has proliferated homes and offices around the world, and network vendors keep releasing with new devices on a regular basis, you now have so many options that it's hard to make a choice. The truth of the matter is, regardle! ss of how many things a wireless router or access point can do, the two most important things about them are their speed and their range. Today Benchmark Reviews focuses on Buffalo Technology and their AirStation WZR2-G300N Wireless-N Nfiniti Router which has 2 modes, Wireless router or Access point.

CLICK HERE FOR Buffalo WZR2-G300N Nfiniti Wireless-N Router PRICING & SHOPPING

SilverStone's Raven RV01 chassis might not have been the most well-received, but the company has attempted to make up for all the mistakes of the initial chassis with a follow-up, the RV02. Fortunately, the company has done just that, and except from a rather minor issue, and possibly its price, this is almost a perfect chassis.

“Lately it seems like everyone is releasing new solid state drives. Recently we reviewed the Vertex series drive from OCZ, which was one of their performance drives based on the ever popular Indilinx Barefoot controller. The thing about SSD drives is that they are still quite expensive. OCZ realizes this and has released a mainstream drive that is basically identical to the Vertex series of drives except it uses different NAND chips, they are calling it the Agility series. This change allows OCZ to aggressively price the Agility series, let's take a look."

"Obviously the G19 keyboard is very customizable. The keyboard has 12 macro keys, an LCD screen that can be set to display a wealth of information, and a backlight that can display most any color, although some colors display better than others. Additionally, the ability to change between three profiles at the touch of a button is key. If you have several games you switch between, you can make three separate profiles, complete with different backlight colors, to handle all your custom key macros."

CLICK HERE FOR Logitech G19 Keyboard PRICING & SHOPPING

"NZXT is establishing itself as a brand with good and yet inexpensive cases. M59, for example, costs less than USD 60 and yet has several features traditionally found only on high-end models, like the interior painted black, 2.5" bays, eSATA port, meshed covers, place for installing fans on the top panel, screwless mechanisms for installing hard drives and more. Let's see if M59 is a good pick."

CLICK HERE FOR NZXT M59 Case PRICING & SHOPPING

“Acer Aspire One 751 is intended toward users that find standard netbook resolution insufficient, but also like better keyboard, that allows comfortable typing. If you recognized yourself in previous sentence, than Acer Aspire One 751 can offer a lot. On the other hand, this model is not perfect and has few minor problems, but let’s go back to square one…”

CLICK HERE FOR Acer Aspire One 751 PRICING & SHOPPING

In today's tough economic times you want to make sure that you get a good product for your hard earn cash. Computer cases are one of those items that you tend to Get-What-You-Pay-For, but NZXT has come out with a new case called Beta in their Classic Series. If this saying holds true then my money must have doubled some where down the road.

CLICK HERE FOR NZXT BETA Mid Tower Case PRICING & SHOPPING

"The wheel has now come full circle: AMD, once content to leave the high end of the graphics processor market to Nvidia, is lording over its rival with a GPU that's not only supremely powerful, but reasonably affordable, too. Then again, affordability lies in the eye of the beholder, and you might not think that $380 for a new video card is the least bit reasonable. But it wasn't all that long ago that acquiring the unquestioned number-one card would set you back $600-and some people were buying two to achieve even faster performance and higher resolution. But the 5870 isn't just scorching fast, it's also the first-and currently only-GPU that's capable of playing games based on Microsoft's DirectX 11, the next-generation programming environment that promises to open new whole new vist-uh, well, let's just say DirectX 11 should enable game developers to build some fantastic looking new games. But you don't need to wait for those games to arrive to tap this chip's power-the good news is that it's supremely fast with the most demanding games on the market right now."

“Today I will be looking at my first triple core processor, the AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition. It has been around about six months now, and the price has dropped a fair amount, making this CPU a definite consideration for an economy rig. With some careful shopping, using this processor and the motherboard I will be using for this review, you could easily build a rig less peripherals and operating system for under $600. Read on to check out the Phenom II X3 720!"

A few months back, Kingwin came to me with their Mach 1 1000W power supply to see what I thought of it. Unfortunately, while being a capable performer, it didn't do a good enough job to earn a recommendation. Today, I have another Kingwin on the bench, the Lazer 1000W. We'll see if this one does a better job in our testing.

NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 260 is not a new card. In fact, it's been available for over a year in its 216 Core form. So is it even worth a look at today? Where Gigabyte's "Super Overclock" version is concerned, yes. Although it costs less than a stock GTX 275, this new card beat it out in almost every single game and setting we put it through.

The Flaming Blade with its strange naming scheme is intended to have that Ninja like spirit. The spirit of a strong fighter that will silently stalk and take out its target, then disappear into the night like it was never there. That is exactly how Foxconn built the Flaming Blade, the board is a trimmed down version of the BloodRage but only in "extra" features that many gamers rarely use. Of course all of this translates into a lower pricetag with great performance.

When I hear the name ZEROtherm it immediately takes me back to seeing the images of the “butterfly cooler” all over the net. This copper and red CPU cooler was quite the step away from the “norm” of cooler manufacturing and has put ZEROtherm on the map. The BTF series of coolers were brought up as that cooler shows how the company took a basic idea and kept improving upon it until they had an effective all copper version with a 92mm fan, eventually replacing the 80mm they started with.

"The latest offering from Turtle Beach for the PlayStation3 is the Ear Force P21 gaming headset. I would not describe myself as an avid gamer, but I've recently started playing Killzone2's online multiplayer via the PlayStation Network (PSN). The play is team oriented and my inability to communicate was proving to be a real disadvantage. I needed a good headset that allowed me to hear the game in stereo while being able to talk to my PSN teammates..."

"AMD took the lead by announcing the first quad-core CPU to be offered on the USD 100 range, Athlon II X4 620. Thus this CPU promises to deliver a terrific performance to entry-level PCs. Will this promise hold true? Let's see."

Somehow though some twist of fate, AGP seems to just keep going. Despite the old standard being replaced by PCIE (currently being replaced by PCIE 2.0) there never seems to be a shortage of AGP cards. Up to this point there really hasn't been an extremely good AGP card. The ATI X1950 and Nvidia 7950 GT are still considered the kings of the AGP bus. That is until the 3850 which took over the crown, but the 3850 consumes much more power than the 4650. While the 4650 is considered a mid range card it manages to outpower these old behemoths. If you still own either a 1950, 7950 GT, or a 3850 then there isn't a whole lot of sense in upgradeing to this card since your better off buying a whole new system, but it may be an option for someone out there running on an older AGP card. At least this upgrade will give you more frames in game to make it playable.

As we spend more time communicating through electronic means it's not surprising to see an increase of gadgets designed to improve the experience. When it comes to audio, most of the attention in consumer devices gets spent on the listening experience. 5.1 surround sound has become a standard, but what average user even has the capability to record in stereo? Yet the quantity of audio content produced by average users should not be ignored. Online videos, music, conferencing, chatting and gaming are on the rise. Cyber Acoustics is one company that has recognized a need for improved audio quality produced by the average user. The Cyber Acoustics AC-401 Circumaural Speech Recognition Stereo Headset uses 'Direct Noise Canceling Technology' to reduce background noise so you can be heard loud and clear. Here at Benchmark Reviews we bring out the scale to see how this headset weighs-in.

Not having a performance leading product doesn't mean the end of a company. AMD is the hardcore proof of that. Turning its attention to the much larger mainstream market resulted in some great products that offer amazing performance at low price points. This time, AMD has outdone itself, and the recently introduced Athlon II X4 620 could very well be a dream come true for mainstream users, the first ever quad core processor for just under $100.

Lian Li are one of the classier case manufacturers around, when you think of them you think of brushed aluminium, and a sincere lack of plastic and gimmicky features. Today I'm taking a look at a case that fits into the Lian Li mold very nicely indeed, the PC-A70F. It's a giant server style chassis, with gamer LED fans, and a fancy black, brushed aluminium finish.

Early this year I had the chance to check out a new and exciting pair of ear buds from Razer called the Moray. Overall I was very happy with them but I felt that they needed more of a gaming edge coming from Razer. Not long after our review they announced the Moray+. Apparently Razer was thinking the same thing as us because the Moray+ addressed that issue specifically. Today I have a chance to take a look at the Moray+ and see how there improvements helped.

CLICK HERE FOR Razer Moray+ PRICING & SHOPPING

"The MSI P55-GD65 is a solid motherboard that offers users a full range of overclocking and tweaking options. All in all, this is a great motherboard for the price. Combined with a Core i5 750 CPU this would be a killer gaming system on a budget, and one that would reach 3.6GHz with very little effort. It's an incredibly good board that still maintains the value that the Core i5 and i7 800 series CPU's shoots for..."

CLICK HERE FOR MSI P55-GD65 Motherboard PRICING & SHOPPING

"I’ve taken a look at many external hard drive enclosures in my time, but none quite like the one I’ve got for review today. The Vantec NexStar Vault is an enclosure for a 2.5” SATA hard drive, but as the name might suggest, it makes your secure. The Vault does this by incorporating a numerical keypad into it, you must enter a six digit combination to access the drive. It’s much more than that tough, the Vault automatically formats your drive half public and half private, so the end user really just has to put the drive in and that’s it. It can’t get much easier than that really. "

“Since AMD presented some very interesting low-budget CPUs lately, next good question is: which motherboard should you purchase with that CPU? We decided to review all AM2/AM2+ motherboards with price tag between 50€ and 70€ because we believe that some of those motherboards can be very good choice especially for new Athlon II CPUs. Except price, there was another feature that all motherboards should have: support for DDR2 memory. Since we are choosing motherboard for a budget PC and DDR2 memory is cheaper and offers similar performances to DDR3, it was logical choice. So, let’s get cracking…”

“Today we will be reviewing a power supply from a new comer to the particular market segment, Azza. Even though most European and Asian enthusiasts might have not heard of Azza before, the company was founded back in 1999 and is well known to the North American market. Azza’s first products were motherboards, but recently they moved on to designing and manufacturing computer cases and power supply units.”

CLICK HERE FOR Azza Titan 850W PRICING & SHOPPING

"Continuing our CPU cooler review series, this time we tested Mugen-2 from Scythe. It is a huge cooler, with five individual tower heatsinks, each one connected to the base by one U-shape copper heatpipe, with a 120-mm fan blowing air on them."

CLICK HERE FOR Scythe Mugen-2 CPU Cooler PRICING & SHOPPING

"When compared to the Coolermaster Hyper TX 3 the better construction and larger heatpipes end up allowing the Skalli to perform better when the heat is on. By better construction, what I am talking about is the heatsink base. The Coolemaster looked like the heatpipes were just pressed into the aluminum base with no leveling of the heatpipes and base, while the Skalli looks as though the base and heatpipes were machined as one piece to make sure this was not an issue."

" Today for review I’ve got a hard drive rack from Thermaltake, the Max4. This rack fits into a 3.5” bay and can hold two 2.5” hard drives for quite a bit of storage capacity in a small space. The Max4 also features hot swap, it’s easy to use and install and it’s well made. Using 2.5” drives instead of 3.5” drives makes the system quieter usually and on average uses less power, so there are those features to consider as well. Read on to learn more…."

CLICK HERE FOR Thermaltake Max4 PRICING & SHOPPING

Once in a while when the stars align themselves just right and the moon has a blue ring around it a motherboard of epic proportions falls from the sky and graces mankind with the gift of ultimate overclockability and sheer beauty. Every feature works perfectly and the overclocking flows like a mountain stream during spring snow melts. It doesn't happen very often that such a motherboard is gifted to use from the computing gods high on top Mount Geek but when it does it's something you will never forget.

CLICK HERE FOR Asus Maximus 3 ROG LGA 1156 Motherboard PRICING & SHOPPING

The Gigabyte Cupio 6140 is one fine case, and Quiet PC USA has done well to increase the appeal with the quiet modifications. The fit and finish are top-notch, all of the features worked perfectly, and the tool-less chassis really surprised me with the external bays. It is definitely quiet, and doesn’t have loads of LEDs glaring at you, so it probably won't draw too much attention to itself.

CLICK HERE FOR Gigabyte Cupio 6140 Mid Tower Quiet PC Case PRICING & SHOPPING

With the 5H v2 Steelseries presents a headset which has been developed in cooperation with professional gamers. Therefore you get very clear heights and also good allround capabilities. Furthermore you can for example take it apart into three pieces which should make the transportation to a LAN-party easier.

CLICK HERE FOR SteelSeries 5H v2 Gaming Headset PRICING & SHOPPING

As you may or may not know, Windows 7 allows two display drivers to be used at once – like in Windows XP. Therefore, it is possible to use an Nvidia card for PhysX and ATI card for graphics rendering. Sadly, since the release of 186 graphics drivers, Nvidia has decided to block this feature anytime a Non-Nvidia GPU is present in the system. In addition, for some incomprehensible reasons, the latest version of PhysX System Software also prevents PPU cards from working if a Non-Nvidia GPU is present.

"With Windows 7's release date coming quickly, it's important to understand how to update your existing computer to Windows 7, if that's what you elect to do. In performing an update from either XP or Vista, make sure you know the process in order to prevent data loss or any other critical errors. You must also make sure your computer is compatible with Windows 7 and our quick guide to upgrading will show you the way."

"Dead Space Extraction is an on rails style shooter that let’s players live through the events that led up to the original Dead Space game. The graphics are just amazing for the Wii, and overall the game is worthy of having the Dead Space name attached to it. I’m sure many fans of the original Dead Space were not sure how this game was going to work out on the Wii, but read on to see sreeenshots and movies and to learn why this is a must have title for any Dead Space fan…"

CLICK HERE FOR Dead Space Extraction PRICING & SHOPPING