Saturday, April 11 2009 |
Patriot Viper Series DDR3 PC3 12800 1600 MHz 6GB Kit Review @ Hi Tech Legion |
Posted by Nathan @ 9:20 PM (EDT) |
"The Patriot Viper Series DDR3 PC-3 12800 1600MHz 6GB Low Latency Kit is a type of RAM which many newer systems are using. It is also XMP (includes XMP settings) so the Viper Series DDR3 PC-3 12800 1600MHz Kit is optimized for use with the Intel Core I7 processors. Earlier this year AMD also introduced a new processor that will be DDR3 compatible (will require a motherboard upgrade also) so no matter what side of the fence you choose, it will be possible to utilize the Patriot Viper Series of DDR3 PC-3 RAM. Let’s start with a closer look at this 1600MHz RAM and then we’ll proceed towards its performance." |
Posted by Nathan @ 9:20 PM (EDT) |
Today we are taking a look at a flash drive from Patriot. They have managed to boost their sticks up to 64GB now which makes them good for alot of projects so let´s have a look at what type of speeds we can expect. |
Posted by Nathan @ 9:20 PM (EDT) |
What’s important is that you get what you pay for--the overall value proposition. With the iBuyPower Gamer Paladin F970, you’ll get a 3.2GHz Intel Core-i7 965 Extreme processor, 12GB of DDR3-1333 memory, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295, a 128GB RiDATA SATA MLC SSD, and a 1TB SATA-II 7,200-rpm hard drive. If you’ve ever configured a system on iBuyPower's website, you know the company generally offers a boatload of configuration options which can increase or decrease the price accordingly. And this holds true with the Gamer Paladin F970, so you’re free to customize the system to your heart’s content. In the pages ahead, we’ll take a closer look at the iBuyPower Gamer Paladin F970’s features and performance so you can be the judge of what this PC has to offer... |
Posted by Nathan @ 9:19 PM (EDT) |
Cooler Master launched a new division geared toward the gamer. That division is CM Storm, the new sub gaming brand from Cooler Master. Today we will look at the first release from the Cooler Master CM Storm line, the CM Storm Sniper, dubbed the World's 1st True Gaming Chassis ... Let's take a look. |
Posted by Nathan @ 9:19 PM (EDT) |
What I love is that case makers are no longer giving us only flat gray cases anymore. You can get pretty much anything you want from a multitude of websites, and if they don�t have it they�ve got a starter case than you can build up the way you want it. When I saw the X7 X-Station from GMC, I said to myself: Now that�s a cool case. It gives you the feeling that at any moment it could transform into a robot or something. Or that it could possibly be a container for some world-ending virus. Either way, it�s the kind of thing I enjoy. And, it�s flat black.... someone loves me. |
Corsair P256 256GB MLC Solid State Drive Review @ Legit Reviews |
Posted by Nathan @ 9:18 PM (EDT) |
When comparing the Corsair P256 SSD to other popular 2.5" notebook hard drives you can see that it dominates the four other drives that we have benchmarked on the same test system with the Intel ICH10R south bridge. Even the Super Talent MasterDrive OX 64GB SSD didn't stand a chance and was destroyed by the Corsair P256 SSD in the read and write tests. In fact the Corsair P256 had an average write speed that was 280% greater than the speeds seen on the Super Talent OX 64GB SSD that just came out in the winter of 2008. |
Posted by Nathan @ 9:18 PM (EDT) |
Cooler Master has once again spiced up the computer case market with their new Storm lineup. The newest case in the series, the Scout, is a little brother to the previously released Sniper. You can see that the Scout drew a bit of inspiration from the Sniper, as they have similar design features. One of the things that stands out with the Scout is its focus on being a LAN case. This is clearly evident in its top handle and its light weight. This case doesn't sacrifice quality for weight either. At just under 20 pounds, its not very heavy, yet it's still made out of steel. |
Friday, April 10 2009 |
Posted by Nathan @ 7:02 PM (EDT) |
Cooler Master impressed us greatly with their first "Storm" chassis, the Sniper, and we're happy to report that their follow-up, the mid-tower Scout, is yet another winner. Like the Sniper, the Scout has features directly targeted towards LAN gamers, has great cooling abilities, runs quiet, and is set to be priced at an affordable $120 USD. |
Posted by Nathan @ 7:02 PM (EDT) |
"CM Storm is a brand from Cooler Master targeted to high-end gamers and today we are going to take a look on their latest mid-tower case, Scout, which features an impeccable paint job and a sturdy top handle to make it easier to carry your PC around." |
Posted by Nathan @ 7:01 PM (EDT) |
Today we have the oppurtunity to review the new In Win Matrix Micro-ATX case. This case is very similar in design to the Mt. Jade case we reviewed for In Win a short time ago. If you are not familiar with either of these cases it is worth your time to look and see how In Win handled the cooling for these case. |
Posted by Nathan @ 7:01 PM (EDT) |
“Since portable multimedia players market is getting slightly overcrowded, and potential users are getting pickier and more demanding, Creative have created new Zen player with addition of few very important letters in its name: X-Fi. Thanks to these tree letters phenomenal sound quality is expected. Users with subtle sense of hearing should expect nothing less than perfect sound coming from this media player. Of course these are just assumptions that can be drawn from player’s name, and our job is to test all its features and present them to you with simple and honest conclusion.…” |
Posted by Nathan @ 7:00 PM (EDT) |
OCZ’s newest offerings on the mouse market are the Behemoth and Eclipse gaming mice. Equipped with the latest sensor technology available and an abundance of buttons they face the competitors. Competitively priced at 26.99 € for the Behemoth and only 24.99 € for the Eclipse they are sure to create quite a stir in the midrange market. |
The Big X58 Triple Channel DDR3 Memory Roundup! 8 Mid-range Kits Tested @ Madshrimps |
Posted by Nathan @ 7:00 PM (EDT) |
In the ever raging sales battle among memory manufacturers, the Core i7 launch must have been the wind that shook the barley. While everyone was convinced i7 would be the real start of DDR3 technology, it also was a "back to the drawing board" call for most, having to come up with lower voltage memory parts - with decent performance - in a hurry. Four months into the launch now, we present you with a roundup of 8 mid-range kits from 8 different manufacturers. Begun, the new battle has. |
Cooler Master Storm Scout Mid Tower Chassis Review @ EXTREME Overclocking |
Posted by Nathan @ 6:59 PM (EDT) |
Cooler Master has just released a new case in their Storm series, dubbed the Scout. This mid tower chassis is targeted towards the LAN gaming enthusiast and features military influenced looks. Portability and durability are paramount when going to LAN parties or competitions, and CM has thoughtfully designed the Scout to meet those needs. |
NZXT Khaos Welded Aluminum Full Tower PC Case @ Legit Reviews |
Posted by Nathan @ 6:58 PM (EDT) |
"Just taking a quick look at the Khaos you can see the two 120mm blue LED fans for fresh air intake on the front of the case and just the overall size of this full tower compared to these fans. The Khaos can hold over 8 hard drives along with eleven 5.25" bays for drives such as CD-ROMS, Temperature Displays, and multi-format readers. To top it off, the Khaos has rubber wheels attached on the bottom to make moving the chassis around the home or LAN party quick and easy..." |
Posted by Nathan @ 6:58 PM (EDT) |
"MSI's SuperPipe technology seems to do the job well, and we can't wait to see what it does on a GTX 260 and the new GTX 275. For the SuperPipe technology, and MSI stepping out of the bounds of reference heatsink designs, we feel this deserves a Silver award." |
Posted by Nathan @ 6:57 PM (EDT) |
"Recently we reviewed the rather impressive InWin X-Fighter. Today, we have another case from the same company but this time it’s on the small end of the scale. The Matrix is designed especially for MATX boards and with its unique design and 360 degree visuals, it certainly looks the part. The white colour is very distinctive but unfortunately isn’t the easiest to photograph so let’s see how it shapes up." |
Posted by Nathan @ 6:57 PM (EDT) |
We've seen a lot of ram kits come through Bjorn3D this season. The introduction of Core i7 and Triple Channel ram spurred the industry to come up with low voltage high performance ram that seems like every kit sets new bandwidth records. Corsair has been on the forefront of that revolution of low voltage ram development. |
Posted by Nathan @ 6:56 PM (EDT) |
"Overall, I was pleased with the features as well as the cooling performance. It certainly has the potential and the look to serve as an HTPC rather than a gaming chassis. I say this because In Win's website has this case classified as a "gaming" chassis. I just can't see how though. It might just be me, but for one, 300 watts isn't going to cut it in my book. Even for the average gamer a quality 400W would be the minimum, in my opinion. Second, size is definitely an issue, limiting the form factor to m-ATX standards can be dealt with but ruling out most aftermarket coolers is another thing. You would have to look for coolers that are about the same size as Intel's or AMD's stock cooler or look for a small design heatsink. Though it may be described as a gaming chassis, it can still be the perfect solution for an HTPC or an average home or office computer." |
CM Storm Scout Gaming Case SGC-2000-KKN1-GP @ Benchmark Reviews |
Posted by Nathan @ 6:56 PM (EDT) |
What differentiates a serious Gaming PC from all the rest of the PCs in the world? To me, it's all about graphics performance, but I know there are many who would disagree. They would say it's a combination of factors, including appearance and some extra functionality needed to survive the physical gaming environment. Cooler Master has created a new division called CM Storm to address the specific needs of gamers. Their latest product, introduced at CEBIT in early March, is called Scout: The True Gaming Case, and is aimed at the mid-market enthusiast.The first thing you notice about the CM Storm Scout Gaming Case is its appearance, particularly the swooping, integrated handle that graces the top surface. That's an obvious nod to the LAN Party setting, but what about the rest of the case? The Scout has several other features that are aimed at the gaming market, as we'll see. Follow along with Benchmark Reviews and let'! s see if the Scout (SGC-2000-KKN1-GP) has enough gaming DNA to survive the ruthless natural selection process that takes place in this very demanding marketplace. |
Thursday, April 9 2009 |
BFG 9800 GT 512MB ThermoIntelligence Passive Cooling Review @ Hardware Canucks |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:58 PM (EDT) |
Yeah, this is the same card at the same speeds as the ever-popular 8800 GT but it has been gussied up with the 9-series moniker and BFG has added a crème de la crème cooling solution from our friends over at Thermalright. To our knowledge, this is one of the first applications we have seen of a retail Thermalright heatsink (in this case an HR-03 Rev.A) on a graphics card from BFG or any other manufacturer for that matter. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:58 PM (EDT) |
In this review, we'll be taking a look at the Thermaltake V1 CPU cooler. The heatsink has two V-shaped sections with a 120mm blue LED fan in the middle. It's all copper construction, provides efficient heat dissipation via 4 extra long heatpipes that fan out with numerous copper fins. The fan is extremely silent with a noise level of 16dBA at low speed. It also comes with a powerful VR contoller, which allows variable speed control of upto 2,000 rpm. |
Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green Power Hard Drive @ HotHardware.com |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:57 PM (EDT) |
We're writing to let you all know that we have just posted a new article at HotHardware in which we evaluate the features and performance of Western Digital's Green Power 2TB hard drive. The Western Digital Green Power Caviar 2TB drive features 4 - 500GB platters rotating at a variable speed in combination with Western Digital's IntelliSeek, NoTouch, and IntelliPower technologies. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:57 PM (EDT) |
Rosewill are a division of the popular US online retailer Newegg and were originally created with the mission to combine quality hardware with affordable prices and manufacture a whole host of products from power supplies to notebook coolers and even TV mounts. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:57 PM (EDT) |
"Despite not being very glamorous or exciting, fans are essential to every rig out there. The balance between cooling and noise is a key one that differs for every user depending on their own personal preferences. With so many different shapes, sizes, colours and designs on the market, it’s difficult to know which will suit you best. Well, if you’re looking for a quiet 92mm fan then the fan up for review today – the Scythe Gentle Typhoon 92mm 2150 RPM Cooling Fan – could just be the perfect fan for you. Read on to see what we thought." |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:56 PM (EDT) |
There's an old saying in photography-the best camera is the one you have with you. Meaning something is always better than nothing for capturing snapshots. That said, while we all have cell phones with built-in cameras, for any function other than quickly sharing photos with another mobile handset or via online outlet, quality is pretty poor. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:56 PM (EDT) |
For a $229.95 CPU we're liking the performance of the Q9400, good price, overclocking champion that's a winning combination. Any chip that costs that much and you can get a 50% overclock with a locked multiplier is good in our book. There's more to get from the Q9400 it just depends on how bad you want bragging rights, you'll need a high FSB capable motherboard and some nerves of steel mixed with a little overclocking skill but it's there to get. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:55 PM (EDT) |
Launched in 2005, the original Antec P180 case was immediately welcomed into the industry as one of the best cases of the year. A few years and a few revisions later, we find ourselves in the presence of its latest successor: the Antec Performance One P183 mid-tower case. While the basic design remains the same, Antec took their end-user feedback to heart and implemented several highly requested changes. Today at Benchmark Reviews, we look at those changes and find out how the Antec P183 stacks up against another recently launched enthusiast case: the CM Storm. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:55 PM (EDT) |
"For this review I will be looking at a powersupply from possibly one of the best-known names in the PC hardware industry. Whoever can that be? Why OCZ of course! The PSU we are looking at today is OCZ’s new ModXStream Pro 600W. Whilst most people associate OCZ with memory, they also manufacture cooling products and power supplies too." |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:53 PM (EDT) |
One of the good things about using the AMD platform is that the new CPUs will generally work on older chipsets as the interface is the same meaning that you can upgrade the CPU on a motherboard without buying a new motherboard assuming the manufacturer has updated BIOS that supports the new CPU. This means the cost of a new platform is less than on the Intel side of things since you don't have to spend the extra money that new memory and have the expense of a new motherboard as you would on the Intel side with their new platform. |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:53 PM (EDT) |
Cooler Master is well-known for their creation of high-quality products, but things are taken to the next level with their new CM Storm brand. Their first product here is the mid-tower Sniper, and what a chassis this is! In addition to offering features specific to LAN gamers, the overall design, cooling ability and aesthetics make it well worth checking out. |
Thermaltake BlacX HDD Docking Station Review @ Hi Tech Legion |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:53 PM (EDT) |
"The Thermaltake BlacX HDD Docking Station gives you the ease and convenience you could ever want. The BlacX by Thermaltake is a HDD docking station for 2.5" and 3.5" SATA HDD's. The BlacX comes in two flavors, one is USB 2.0 and the other is eSATA and USB 2.0. The docking station of the Thermaltake BlacX has a patented design that allows it to support both sizes of HDD's and keeps the cables to a minimum. The BlacX can support HDD up to 2 TB and all can be hot swappable. The BlacX is compatible with both Windows and Mac OS's as well." |
Posted by Nathan @ 3:52 PM (EDT) |
"Consumers want quality and performance at a price that won't break the bank, and today we have a power supply that promises just such an enticing combination. We're looking at the Tuniq Ripper 1000w, a unit that comes with a very attractive price tag for a kilowatt setup. But how well does it perform?" |
Wednesday, April 8 2009 |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:51 AM (EDT) |
Our next Pico we will be reviewing is the Pico-C Nickel. Which like the Gold model is plated with the precious metal. The advantage the Nickel has over the Gold we reviewed is an additional 8 gigs of storage. Not only is the storage size a pretty amazing aspect of the Pico but its physical size is as well. The Pico weighs in at an incredible 6 grams. At this size the drive is a non factor while hanging around your neck on a necklace or on your key chain. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:50 AM (EDT) |
Last week, we saw Antec attempting to reinvent the wheel by introducing a new power supply form factor called CPX. This week, we'll continue our look at this new form factor by examining in detail one of the few cases on the market to support it, the Twelve Hundred. |
ASUS EAH4890 HTDI/1GD5/A Radeon HD 4890 Videocard Review @ PCSTATS.com |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:50 AM (EDT) |
"As you might have guessed, ATI's new Radeon HD 4890 videocard is well placed to compete with enthusiast videocards like the Radeon HD 4870 1GB and Geforce GTx275. What makes the ASUS EAH4890 HTDI/1GD5/A particularly stand out from the crowd is a special tool in its overclocking feature set - GPU Voltage Tweaking. And if PCSTATS own overclocking tests are anything to go by, pushing the Radeon HD 4890 to 1000MHz core is certainly possible!" |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:50 AM (EDT) |
"For this review I will be looking at a powersupply from possibly one of the best-known names in the PC hardware industry. Whoever can that be? Why OCZ of course! The PSU we are looking at today is OCZ’s new ModXStream Pro 600W. Whilst most people associate OCZ with memory, they also manufacture cooling products and power supplies too." |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:49 AM (EDT) |
The technology is based on the same principles as heatpipe technology. A liquid coolant is vapourised at a hot surface, the resulting vapor is condensed at a cold surface then the liquid is returned to the hot surface. The recirculation process is controlled by a patented wick system. SAPPHIRE Vapor-X flattens the whole system into a slim chamber - which in the graphics application is mounted in contact with the surface of the graphics chip. |
Western Digital VelociRaptor 10k rpm 2.5'' SATA Review @ ocaholic.ch |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:49 AM (EDT) |
With the Veloci Raptor 300 GByte Western Digital presents its latest flagship regarding the Raptor series. Again the only 2.5'' measuring Veloci Raptor rotates with 10'000 rpm, has 16 MByte of supporting cache and a claimed access time of 5.5 milliseconds. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:48 AM (EDT) |
Intel's Core i7 processor offers a significant performance increase over previous generation Core 2 processors. In addition, like the legacy Core 2 architecture, the new Core i7 also has a bunch more headroom for wringing upside performance out of the chip, maximizing value, power and return on your investment with overclocking. In fact, Intel actually built-in a predefined overclocking feature called "Turbo Mode". We explain how not only Core i7 Turbo Mode works but also how to manually overclock the Core i7 in the BIOS as well as give you strategies on maintaining stability of the system as you ramp up the Core i7 core frequency for even larger gains in performance... |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:47 AM (EDT) |
"The ECS A790GXM-AD3 motherboard was a board that was easy to set up and to work with. There was nothing that gave us any issues at all. It was smooth sailing throughout the review, which has been something that rarely happens any more. It seems there is always something that we have to struggle with, but not on this board. It is fast, a great gaming board, and has upgrade options for the end user. Also, overclocking is phenomenal..." |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:47 AM (EDT) |
“The evolution of Logitech Harmony universal remote controllers, that started with Harmony 1000 model, is continued with newest Harmony 1100 model. It is obvious that traditional shape is abandoned in favor of shape that is more suited for two hand navigation. Most of the controls are available through touch screen that has QVGA resolution and 3.5 inch diagonal. Advantages of new model compared to previous one (Harmony 1000) are larger number of hardware controls (buttons) that can be used for most frequently used task…” |
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB Hard Drive Review @ Hardware Canucks |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:47 AM (EDT) |
We all know by now that SSDs seem to be the way of the future but for most of us, they are just not to the maturity level where they would be considered a viable alternative to a standard hard drive. Their prices are high and the storage capacity many of the less expensive SSDs offer pales in comparison to even the most basic spindle-based drives. Then there are those few standard HDDs on the market that make us want to forget the SSD phenomenon altogether and the Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB is one of those drives. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:46 AM (EDT) |
"Though notebook manufacturers have managed to make netbooks ultra portable by shrinking down just about everything and doing away with nonessentials like optical drives, one aspect of being small has also been the Achilles Heel of the netbook: battery life. With batteries practically the size of pack of Twix, most conventional netbooks are lucky to limp three hours before zonking out, making them less than useful for the away-from-home computing their size has been tailored for. Asus does away with that small-battery mentality on the Eee 1000HE, which has been specially built for endurance computing away from the wall socket - 9.5 hours, according to Asus. But can this tiny little netbook hold up to that promise? And does the bulky new battery impair its function as a netbook?" |
GeForce GTX 285 Round-Up, Asus, BFG and Zotac @ HotHardware.com |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:46 AM (EDT) |
We take our NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 coverage further here as we round up three factory-overclocked cards and pit them against each other. As enthusiasts, we think overclocks are great, but factory provided overclocks covered under warranty are even better. Recall that the reference NVIDIA GTX 285 clocks speeds are 648 MHz for the core GPU, 1,242 MHz for the GDDR3 memory and 1,476 MHz for the shader clock. The first card in this round-up is the ASUS ENGTX285 TOP, which sports clocks of 670 MHz, 1,300 MHz and 1,550, respectively. Next up, we have the BFG Tech GeForce GTX 285 OCX, the overall fastest card of this bunch, rocking at 702 MHz, 1,332 MHz and 1,584 MHz, respectively. Finally, we have the Zotac GeForce GTX 285 AMP! Edition, which boasts clock speeds of 702 MHz, 1,296 MHz and 1,512 MHz, respectively. |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:45 AM (EDT) |
As the platter density increases, hard drives are able to pack more data per disk and, as a result, the time for data retrieval is shorter due to less time that is needed to find the bits of data. Not only that, hard drives are able to perform faster. The larger areal density also allows hard drive manufactures to exceed the storage capacity of 1TB and now we are seeing HD manufactures breaking into 1.5TB and even 2TB. Seagate's latest Barracuda 7200.12 is the company's first hard drive that comes with 500 GB platter density. |
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB Hard Drive Review @ Bigbruin.com |
Posted by Nathan @ 4:45 AM (EDT) |
Years ago I never imagined I would “need” a terabyte of storage. Fast forward to today with the explosion of digital media and it is easy to justify such a need. Once you do acquire such a large drive you may worry about reliability, as 1TB of data is a lot to lose. Today we will test the Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB hard drive in terms of speed, reliability, and value. |
Monday, April 6 2009 |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:16 AM (EDT) |
The majority of the high-end PC audio cards targeted at enthusiasts typically focus on multi-channel performance, with a variety of decoding modes, DSP enhancements, and other features tossed in. The Xonar Essence STX from ASUS has an entirely different focus - delivering audiophile-quality stereo output. |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:16 AM (EDT) |
This board supports the latest AM3 CPUs without BIOS modification, which is a good thing. The board is available online for $69.99, making it a good value based choice for the AMD platform. Performance is within parameters of using the same video card, CPU, memory, HDDs with only the chipset being different. Integrated graphics performance is 20% less than the HD 3300 integrated graphics but that is a higher priced motherboard. |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:16 AM (EDT) |
" For todays review, our friends at Acoustic PC sent us the latest burner from Asus: the Asus DRW-22B1LT. This DVD burner is a Multi DVDR/RW which includes LightScribe technology for laser etching labels. Using LightScribe is as simple as burning the data to your DVD and flipping the disc over to laser etch a label. Besides these fairly standard features, Asus added a few new wrinkles including E-Green technology, OTS (Optimal Tuning Strategy) and Auto Vibration Reducing System (AVRS)." |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:15 AM (EDT) |
"Today we're testing the Xigmatek Thor's Hammer S126384, which offers Heatpipe Direct Touch (HDT) technology, a newer trend in tower-style heatsinks, and promises some efficient cooling numbers. It is Socket 1366-capable and looks stunning in nickel-coated black, so despite its imposing name, what remains to be seen is whether it can cool well or not. Let's find out." |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:15 AM (EDT) |
“We are sure that most of you don’t fantasize about big and heavy notebook models, but then again, we are also sure that most of you would like to own a notebook like Acer Aspire 8730G. If multimedia features of notebook mean to you more than mobility and portability than this “giant” will draw your attention for sure. Don’t let this initial description scare you. Although dimensions of Acer Aspire 8730G are noticeable, its weight doesn’t go over 4kg which is not too much for a notebook with 18.4inch diagonal…” |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:14 AM (EDT) |
"The Diamond HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 was one of ATI's most powerful cards on the market, until just recently, with ATI's new 4890 coming out, and the HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 by Diamond is still a great card to own and purchase, especially with some recent price drops. The Diamond HD 4870 can be part of AMD's Dragon Platform, which is definitely a plus to anyone looking to upgrade to a Phenom II." |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:14 AM (EDT) |
"Overclocking the card was more complicated than expected. The card artifacted at its factory overclocked speeds, and would begin artifacting at reference clocks as well. Thus the difficulty in overclocking – setting the speeds themselves was easy with Rivatuner and SPAtune. Temperatures were around 55C idle and 75C load, so I dismantled the card and replaced the stock thermal paste with some high performance paste. As a safeguard, while the heat sink was off, I also applied more paste to the heat pipe assembly, coating the pipes in a stickier paste to ensure that there would be good thermal contact. The pipes had little paste, and it seemed somewhat grainy, where the paste replacing it was similar to toothpaste. Once the card was refreshed with two thermal pastes, idle and load temperatures dropped 10C to 15C and the card ran stable at reference speeds. The factory default would still artifact although not as quickly or vigorously, and was caused by the high shader clock speed. The core didn’t have much room left in it, a mere 38MHz over the factory tune, while the memory ran up to 1346MHz – a 185MHz overclock! Overall a 5% overclock on the core, 16% on memory, and technically –2.6% on the shader clock speed. Not great, but not bad either – at least the card was pre-overclocked and the memory had some room." |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:14 AM (EDT) |
Gaming and the tools to achieve pawnage have really evolved in the years we've been looking for the perfect gaming shrine. Once upon a dinosaur ago we can remember pounding away at an IBM keyboard in the green monochrome glow of a CRT and thinking that this was the stuff dreams were made of. Then, CGA (3 Color) and EVGA (16 color) monitors hit the streets and we knew we'd achieved the pinnacle of gaming. |
Posted by Nathan @ 5:13 AM (EDT) |
ASUS has a reputation for bringing cream-of-the-crop products to the marketplace, and branding them with the TOP badge. The new Radeon RV790 GPU is the next well-bred concept from the ATI labs, and in this article Benchmark Reviews tests the performance of the new ASUS Radeon HD 4890 GDDR5 EAH4890TOP video card against the rest of the high-end segment. Overclocked to 900MHz this Radeon 4890 is the most-powerful single GPU video card produced by AMD, it's going to be a tough fight to beat out NVIDIA. |
Sunday, April 5 2009 |
HornetTek Travel Lite 2.5” SATA to USB External Enclosure @ DragonSteelMods |
Posted by Nathan @ 8:49 PM (EDT) |
"A few days ago I took a look at a nice 2.5” enclosure from HornetTek, the Travel Plus, today I've got the Travel Lite from HornetTek as well. As the name suggests, the Travel Lite is is lightweight, it's primarily made of plastic, it also has the integrated USB cable as well like the Travel Plus does." |
Posted by Nathan @ 8:49 PM (EDT) |
“Popularity of small factor configurations is growing rapidly. Except small sizes, thanks to which nettops can be placed almost anywhere in a room or office, manufacturers have begun to pay attention to power consumption of these small PCs. From MSI we got one of their latest nettop models: Wind Nettop D130. Interesting detail of this configuration is the dual-core Atom CPU that operates at 1.6GHz and it should provide higher performance levels with lower power consumption compared to its older single-core brother…” |
Posted by Nathan @ 8:48 PM (EDT) |
As many of us know, computers, and their related hardware, have been getting smaller and smaller over the years. Peripherals and add-ons are no exception, of course. Laptop mice have become a niche all their own, desired for their small size and portability. So too, have the USB thumb drives. Leading the charge when it comes to miniaturizing is Super Talent, with their Pico line of USB drives. The Pico has been around for some time now, but the 16GB generation is a relative newcomer. |
ASUS RT-N15 SuperSpeed N Gigabit Wireless Router Review @ Tweaktown |
Posted by Nathan @ 8:48 PM (EDT) |
ASUS has been hard at work making themselves a global brand name. In recent years they have moved forward with a large number of products. In keeping with their already high standard for their components ASUS has produced some great networking products as well. |
