Hardware News

"The Sapphire Ultimate Radeon HD4670 is definitely well suited to an HTPC installation. No noise, minimal power consumption, and manageable heat output are some of the items that are desirable but sometimes hard to obtain with a card that can perform well. This HD4670 does all of that while offering some decent processing power, DirectX 10.1 and Shader Model 4.1 support, a variety of HD audio and video refinements, and of course an integrated HDMI port. This card may not be the best option for those who want to play games at high settings on their HTPC, but it is still a solid option for casual HTPC gamers."

"All in all, the Sapphire HD 4670 Ultimate is a great card with an awesome amount of potential for those of you who appreciate silence. You just have to be aware that issues will arise if you don’t clearly understand that airflow over the heatsink fins is a must. However, with a current retail price of under $120, more than passable gaming performance and a built-in HDMI connector it wins our Dam Good Award. If Sapphire keeps on making cards like this, they may just win us over one of these days…"

ASUS & Gigabyte P45 Motherboard Reviews

February 27, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

"Out of the box, the P5Q3 is sure to please. The black PCB will go with any case and the copper heatsink solution adds a great touch. However, I would much rather have the larger heatsink offered on the P5Q-E. In addition to a more aggressive appearance, the larger heat sink also provides better cooling performance. Heatsink aside, the P5Q3 earns top marks for appearance.

ASUS is well known for their quality standards and P5Q3 certainly lives up to their reputation. High quality components are used throughout the motherboard and the board itself felt very secure. Best of all, it stood up to our torture test and effortlessly overclocked our Q9450. Granted a 500 MHz overclock isn't hard to come by with this chip, but the P5Q3 can definitely be pushed beyond this. If you do get the P5Q3, though, I would recommend buying RAM from ASUS' qualified vendor list; early revisions of the P5Q3 were reported to have memory compatibility issues. Our COZ DDR3 memory kit, however, performed flawlessly.

"The boards16-Phase power design does help keep the efficiency at its highest. The available features for this board are incredible, especially the overclocking options in BIOS which we tested with our resident QX9770 CPU to how well it would overclock. We did aim for the an FSB speed of 520 MHz and tried it with all voltages on Auto but the system wasn’t quite stable. But surely someone dedicated to overclocking this board with some time on their hands can take it to its utmost maximum potential. Furthermore, Express Gate adds a splendid touch and is an extremely convenient feature."

"he Gigabyte EP45-DQ6 has proven to be one of the best Intel P45 motherboards that we have encountered our lab thanks to some amazing onboard features. The four Ethernet ports and ten SATA ports on board make this board a perfect board for a file server coupled with Gigabyte's special TPM chip which allows maximum security on HDDs.

As the graphs represent, there is very little to seperate the P45 boards in fact most scores are simply identical and too close to call. An incentive to getting a P45 motherboard that doesn't make so much of a difference is the package and the Gigabyte EP45-DQ6 offers a lot more than one can resist."

"During Computex 2008 we previewed the full lineup of Gigabyte's P45 chipset enabled motherboards...and there were quite a few. The Extreme is obviously targeted towards the enthusiast and overclockers crowd and we feel it hits the mark perfectly. The GA-EP45T-Extreme delivers not only on the promised performance but it does so without breaking the bank. We know that there are still many consumers with 775 processors out there that don't have the cash to make the leap to the new i7's. The EP45T-Extreme offers a cost conscious method of upgrading your machine while being able to re-use many components from your existing system. Those consumers without existing components are still in luck due to the relatively low price point on currently available 775 processors. The EP45T-Extreme offers support for all 775's as well as offering the increased bandwidth and performance of DDR3."

Dell S2209W 1080P 22-inch LCD Monitor Review

February 27, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

"There's a lot to like about Dell's offering in the affordable 22-inch full-HD segment. The S2209W is a subtly stylish monitor with slightly above average image quality compared to most TN screens.

In the end, it's one of those monitors that does better in isolation than in comparison. Viewed by itself, it's a pretty pleasant looking display that might just fool you – at a glance – into thinking it was a mediocre IPS panel. Placed side by side with a good VA or IPS screen, however, its short comings are obvious.

That said, there are two areas where it falls short by any standard. Worst of all is the backlight bleed around the top and bottom edges of the panel. It's the sort of basic image quality faux pas that does much to cheapen the overall feel of the monitor."

Triple Channel DDR3 Memory Kit Reviews

February 27, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

• Benchmark Reviews: OCZ 6GB 1600MHz CL7 DDR3 OCZ3P1600LV6GK:
  
  

  ":Without knowing any better, most enthusiasts would overlook a 1600MHz DDR3 memory kit because of all the marketing hype given to 2000MHz+ kits; but doing so would be at their own loss. Triple-channel X58 motherboards favor low-latency DDR3 memory, and OCZ offers the perfect solution in their Platinum PC3-12800 kit. Selling the OCZ3P1600LV6GK DDR3 memory kit at a price closer to DDR2 helps make the new platform more affordable, and the extra overclocking headroom improves the overclock for enthusiasts. Gamers need not worry about the clock speed, since latency is going to be the biggest concern of the two variable, and the OCZ Platinum DDR3 memory kits perform as well as any. I recommend the OCZ Platinum 6GB Triple-Channel 1600 MHz DDR3 as an all-around excellent memory kit to tackle every task it faces, from casual computing to highly-tweaked overclocks. For the price, there isn't a better value anywhere else."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• Benchmark Reviews: Patriot Viper 6GB 1600MHz DDR3 Memory Kit:
  
  

  "Construction is one key asset Patriot has in their favor. With a Patriot 'Lifetime Warranty' behind all of their Viper-series Triple-Channel memory kits, you can't really go wrong. The permanently secured tall-fin heat-spreader helps protect the DRAM IC modules, so all that remains for concern is static discharge damage. Even then, the warranty has you covered. Patriot Memory also offers live tech support, and a support forum for answers to common questions.
  
  Benchmark Reviews has tested the 6GB Viper-series 1600 MHz Triple-Channel memory kit (PVT36G1600ELK), but Patriot also offers a three-piece 3GB kit (PVT33G1600ELK) kit that is perfect for 32-bit Operating Systems. The higher CL9-9-9-24 (CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS) latency is going to offer some of the best overclocking headroom available from any Triple-Channel X58-based kit, so this could yield better performance than a lower-speed lower-latency kit if the overclock is modest enough."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• PureOverclock: Patriot Viper 6GB DDR3-1600:
  
  

  "These Patriot Viper modules offer a bit of headroom left over when beyond their 1600MHz rated speeds. The tolerances and returns are smaller the higher you go in the speed department, but these modules have sufficient gas left in the tank to push about 12% higher than their rating, but not quite able to achieve the next major memory speed echelon at 1866MHz, falling a bit short there. They seemed to hit a wall fairly quickly unfortunately, and after many different combinations of multipliers, timings, and voltages, we just could not get them to hit 1800 MHz or beyond in stable fashion."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• Viper Lair‏: Super Talent PC3-12800 Triple Channel Memory:
  
  

  "The DDR3 bandwagon has been waiting for its ride for sometime, Intel and AMD are the catalyst to get it moving without the brakes fully applied. Super Talent has once again shown that it can deliver a product that lives up to its name and delivers on its specifications. While I could not squeeze much more out of the modules then what Super Talent states as their performance, their performance is very impressive. While the aesthetics might not be there for everyone, looks aren't everything when you can post numbers like these, especially considering Super Talent is pairing 3 modules of 2GB together, a harder task then just 2. "

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• Virtual-Hideout:‏ Kingston HyperX PC3-16000 3GB Tri-Channel Memory Review:
  
  

  "The new HyperX 2000 MHz Triple Channel 3GB Kit is perfect for extreme gamers that play titles like Command & Conquer, Supreme Commander, or even Farcry 2. It's also the right amount of memory for XP Pro and Vista 32-bit users who realistically don't need more than that. 64-bit users will want something a little larger which we hear is already well under way and should arrive very soon. In the meantime, if your I7 is going to be your new extreme gaming system and need the fastest memory available, this is the current memory of choice. This is HyperX at its best!"

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• X-bit Labs: Kingston HyperX DDR3-1866: 3GB Overclocker Memory Kit for Core i7 Platform:
  
  

  "In my personal opinion, it would be a better buy, although it is hard to justify the almost 10 times higher price than that of regular DDR3-1067. Of course, overclocker memory that can work in a much broader frequency range, like Kingston HyperX DDR3-1866, offers overclockers much more flexibility. You will always be able to find the most optimal frequency and timings combination. But you have to decide if the result you will get in a few selected applications sensitive to memory frequency and timings is worth the investment."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  

ATI Catalyst 9.2 Performance Analysis

February 27, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

• TweakTown:
  
  

  "This driver set is a bit all over the place. For the most part performance seems to be up, which is always a good thing. The particularly good news is that there are performance improvements seen in the more important minimum department. This is where we want to see the increases which hopefully help in going above that golden 30 FPS minimum we always like to see.
  
  But as we mentioned in our test system setup comments, the performance gains were promised under CPU-limited applications. Since this isn't really an issue for us, the gains were probably not as great as they would have been if we did have this problem."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• X-bit Labs:
  
  

  "First of all, they didn’t deliver on the promise of 20% performance gain in Crysis Warhead. The owners of dual-GPU graphics cards have got 2-3% improvement at best, while single-chip Radeon HD even slowed down quite noticeably. The second game mentioned in the release notes for the new Catalyst 9.2 driver, World in Conflict, the actual gain turned out higher than had been promised and reached up to 12% depending o the screen resolution. Unfortunately, it was again valid only for dual-processor Radeon HD models: 4870 X2 and 4850 X2.
  
  Other benchmarks results confirmed our suppositions about ATI driver developers focusing their efforts on optimizing the dual-GPU solutions performance in the first place and adding software CrossFireX support for the new games. The results obtained in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin are excellent proof of that. ATI’s desire to provide fully-functional CrossFireX support is definitely a great thing; however, we find this approach to driver development a little one-sided. Moreover, contemporary multi-GPU concept once again showed that extreme dependence on the software support is in fact its major weakness."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  

RivaTuner 2.24 Released

February 27, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

• Minor bugfixes:
  
  
  • Fixed bug in hardware monitoring module causing hardware monitoring based scheduled tasks to be ignored due to improper initialization on RivaTuner startup.
    
  • Fixed erroneous 100MHz memory clock reading on G9x GPU series based display adapters caused by bug in memory clock frequency generator source clock detection code.
    
  • File system redirection is no longer disabled when executing a patch script under 64-bit OS to prevent the issues with missing file system browser dialog when pressing the "Continue" button.
    
  • Heights of sticky graphs in the group are now updated properly when manually editing fixed graph height settings in the properties of any graph of the group.
    
  • Fixed bug into startup daemon routine of RivaTunerStatisticsServer and D3DOverrider utilities causing these tools to be started and reside in memory without displaying tray icon under certain conditions.
    

• What's new:
  
  
  • Added database for ForceWare 182.06.
    
  • Added Catalyst 9.2 drivers family detection.
    
  • Updated PCI DeviceID database for ATI display adapters.
    
  • Improved Logitech G15 keyboard LCD support in hardware monitoring module.
    
  • Added heuristic on-die fan PWM controller detection for G92 based display adapters to provide proper low-level fan control and reference fan duty cycle monitoring for both reference desing and alternate display adapters using the fan connected to alternate on-die PWM controller (e.g. Palit GeForce 9800GT series).
    
  • Improved detection algorithms for core and memory clock frequency generators switching to PCIE bus clock on NV40 and newer NVIDIA graphics processors. The algorithms are still experimental, so both core and memory clock frequency generator bypassing detection can be forcibly disabled via EnableNVPLLBypassingDetection and EnableMPLLBypassingDetection registry entries.
    
  • Updated RivaTunerStatisticsServer v3.1.1 bundled utility. This version is a maintenance release, it doesn't contain new features besides the fix mentioned above.
    
  • Updated D3DOverrider v2.0.1 bundled utility. This version is a maintenance release, it doesn't contain new features besides the fix mentioned above.
    

ASUS 24-inch & 25.5-inch LCD Monitor Reviews

February 25, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

• PCSTATS: ASUS VH242H 24-inch 16:9 Widescreen LCD Monitor Review‏:
  
  

  "Built on TFT/TN LCD panel technology, it's pretty clear from the get go that ASUS' VH242H LCD isn't competing against professional grade displays like the Samsung 275T and its S-PVA panel. Twisted Nematic (TFT/TN) LCD technology is the least expensive to manufacturer, and it's inherent limitations with respect to viewing angles and colour quality are well publicized.
  
  Instead, the ASUS VH242H is firmly oriented towards budget-minded folks who want a big 24" screen and aren't prepared to pay more than $300 bucks to get it. Viewing angles, colour representation and all the finer points of an LCD spec sheet that affect professional users tend to fly by the wayside for individuals spending most of their time surfing the web, doing written work or tasks where hyper-acurate colour representation isn't a concern. (I would add that photographers, illustrators, graphic artists, and web designers ought to aim towards LCD display's based on S-PVA or IPS technology. These LCD technologies are better suited to your professional tasks.)"

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• Techgage: ASUS VW266H 25.5" LCD Monitor Review:
  
  

  "The image quality is really only adequate, which means professionals should obviously look elsewhere, but the display does well with fast motion. Being able to have a huge display along with the ability to turn graphics settings up makes the display a great choice for gamers.
  
  My biggest complaint was the quality of video on the display. The grain effect hampers the experience with high definition video that would otherwise look amazing. If you're a video buff, the grain and the lack of contrast makes the display one to avoid, but if you only watch DVDs and video on the web, its faults can easily be ignored.
  The cons notwithstanding, the monitor's best attribute is its price. The VW266H can be found online for around $340, making it an excellent deal if you have enough space. Compared to other budget displays, this is certainly one to consider."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  

Silverstone Temjin TJ10 Nvidia Edition Case Review

February 25, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

• Hardware Logic:
  
  

  "Problems with this chassis? The TJ10B-WNV has a few. The entire TJ10 series still does not feature eSATA capability, which is fast becoming more of an issue now than when the TJ10 was first released over two years ago. Lack of cable management opportunities and wiring accessories are definite letdowns, and while we appreciate the four Molex adapters, we would be remiss if we did not point out that there are five fans total in this enclosure. This case is also in a decidedly niche market, thanks to the Nvidia branding.
  
  Yet, with the TJ10B-WNV an enthusiast is investing their money in an enclosure that is simply unparalleled when it comes to the higher echelons of computer cases. Unlike videocards, the TJ10B-WNV is not going to be outmoded, nor will it become irrelevant in the future. It still represents value in the long term, and while the initial buy-in price is undeniably restrictive to all but those that must have the best, the TJ10B-WNV, and the entire TJ10 lineup to a lesser extent, represents the benchmark to which all other high-end, enthusiast-level enclosures are measured against."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• TechwareLabs:
  
  

  "The Temjin, as I have said before, represents the epitome of SilverStone's achievement in computer chassis - and for all I can tell, it is the industry's high-water mark, that which others aspire to. This review was surprisingly difficult to write - it was difficult to find anything to criticize about this case. It really represents an awesome combination of features, quality, and style and if you have to have the best, you have to have this case."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  

CPU Cooler Review Roundup - Cooler Master & Noctua

February 25, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

• HardwareLogic: Cooler Master Hyper N520 CPU Cooler Review:
  
  

  "The Cooler Master Hyper N520 has a unique appearance but didn't come out of the box with a love-or-hate type feel. Generally it is probably more aesthetically pleasing but I'm sure I will hear different opinions on that. It looked like it had all the necessary components to perform well on the test bench (5 copper heat pipes extending from the copper base and dual fans) and perform it did. At stock speeds and volts in hung right in there with our top air cooler, and only slightly lagged during the OC with a 0.1 volt increase. Sound was a non-factor, as most cases these days will easily dampen the low decibels that this chiller puts out. Most importantly this HSF will cool most recent enthusiast setups, including the LGA1366 sockets for those with new Core i7 systems."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• ThinkComputers: Cooler Master V8 CPU Cooler Review:
  
  

  "The Cooler Master V8 is by far the best performing cooler we've reviewed on this test system. It offers such a unique design and provides a whole ton of features. The PWM and VR Controller combined help give the V8 its powerful cooling performance. Powerful enough for overclocking capabilities this is by far the best product I've seen on the market for cooling any CPU, whether it's an i7, LGA 775, or AMD based socket the Cooler Master V8 has them all.
  
  With a price range between $60 and $70 it certainly isn't the cheapest out there, but then again it isn't the most expensive. If you're looking for an excellent air cooler the V8 is definitely your best choice."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• TweakTown: Noctua NH-U9B CPU Cooler Review:
  
  

  "I keep looking at the Noctua NH-U9B and I’m trying to pick it apart and find something to fault Noctua on. To be honest, I only came up with one issue. With mounting the hardware I try to look at it from all aspects and I found a small flaw with the AMD mounting mechanism, but only if you are considering the dual fan option. The actual latch that puts the pressure on the socket and holds the cooler down sits about 3-4mm too high in my opinion. When using the dual fan configuration, I noticed the fan that is on that side has to rest atop the brace. This forces the fan to ride a bit proud of the top of the NH-U9B itself and might, ever so slightly, effect the cooling potential. But even with this small issue, the NH-U9B has left me very impressed and I have to say, if it fits in your case and you like things quiet, this cooler has to be added to your top picks list."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  

Thermaltake Element S Mid-Tower Case Review

February 25, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

• Hardware Secrets:
  
  

  "Thermaltake Element S is a mid-tower case targeted to the exigent user that wants a high-quality mid-tower case at a very affordable price.
  In summary, we think this is a terrific product for the user that is looking for an above-the-average mid-tower case at a very affordable price. We were really impressed by its quality."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• PureOverclock:
  
  

  "The Element S is an superb mid tower case, offering some great treademark Thermaltake features and a refreshing design aesthetic that conveys quality and maturity in a package that remains sleek and contemporary. Great cooling, great cable management, and lovely aesthetics are hallmarks of a great tower, and the Element S does not disappoint in those regards. The build quality enhances the experience as well, and priced at $130 USD at online retailers at launch, the Element S offers a far better package than most similarly-priced products in this market segment."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• ThinkComputers:
  
  

  "First let's talk about installation. It was extremely easy, it did not encounter a single problem with installation at all. The tool-less hard drive system works really well, I hope Thermaltake uses this system on future cases. There are also thumbscrews all over this case. The only thing you really need a screw driver for is the motherboard and optical drives, but those are easy to install especially since the optical drives line up perfectly with the installation holes.
  
  No one wants a loud system and Thermaltake knows this. Even though this case has 3 loud fans it still stays quiet. This is because the fans are on lower speeds that still cool well, but keep things quiet. Also the side panels have noise reduction materials on them which keeps things quiet as well. The 3 fans with an optional 3 more still gives you adequate cooling for any system."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  

Intel X58 Mobo Review Roundup - ASRock, ASUS, MSI

February 25, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

• HardOCP: MSI X58 Platinum:
  
  

  "The MSI is far from the perfect bleeding edge computer hardware enthusiast motherboard. For those of you looking to save some bucks though while pulling off good overclocks, the MSI X58 Platinum seems to offer up a decent value. In fact, those looking to push Core i7 920 to 3.4GHz or so, the system will do it fairly easily just leaving things on AUTO. But do watch what the system automatically pushes your voltages to. If you are looking to really beat on the system though and push it to limit, this is not the choice for you."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• ThinkComputers: ASUS P6T Intel X58 LGA 1366 Motherboard:
  
  

  "The Asus P6T worked well with the i7. I was able to achieve a 50% overclock, which puts performance in the realm of a stock clocked i7 Extreme Edition 965, which costs over three times as much as the i7 920. The board's layout is good, and is full-featured, having most of the bennies you will find on the more expensive models of the P6T series. It sports all of Asus' unique features and supports all the capabilities of the X58 chipset, including memory capacity, 3-way SLI, and CrossFireX.
  
  The NB and SB coolers are much more simple than its bigger brothers, but the X58 runs pretty cool anyway, so what the P6T has in the way of cooling is more than sufficient."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• TweakTown: ASRock X58 SuperComputer Motherboard:
  
  

  "Now, what can we say about the ASRock X58 SuperComputer motherboard other than "WOW!" - This board has really put a bit of a dampener on the likes of the ASUS P6T and Rampage II Extreme. The SuperComputer board puts in enough features for just about anyone (apart from dedicated audio, but we can live without that).
  
  It has FireWire for digital connection, eSATA for high speed external storage and dual Gigabit Ethernet for 2Gbps connection on a LAN. Tie that in with an extremely impressive overclocking result and a rather solid bundle, this board is ripe for the picking at 249.99 USD from Newegg and has both price and power on its side."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  

NZXT Zero 2 Full Tower Case Review

February 25, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

• Rbmods:
  
  

  "Overall, I found the NZXT Zero 2 Computer case to be an average case that gets the job done. The case has a stylish look, and the large number of fans it can accommodate does improve cooling performance. While the case isn’t the most exciting case I’ve ever seen, it doesn’t have any major flaws or issues either. If you’re looking for a decent case that you can add fans to, you may consider checking this one out."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• Techgage:
  
  

  "On the plus side, the Zero 2 is definitely a very well-built case. Having used steel in the construction not only saved money but it created a rigid structure as well. This has also benefited noise levels as demonstrated during my testing. Many times when you cut out large portions of the side panel for venting, you get a flimsy part as a result. Once again, steel to the rescue and we just don't have that problem.
  
  Fit and finish is another area that I feel that NZXT has come through with their chassis designs. There is nothing worse than poorly aligned and fitted panels. The paintwork is top notch and you get a feel for quality that is absent in many cases that are twice the price. Even the front panel feels solid and there is no sense of impending failure while operating it."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  

BFG GeForce GTX 295 H20 1792MB Review

February 24, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

"Yes... it's expensive. 729 USD... and that's 229 USD above regular GTX 295 pricing. But if you were planning to go liquid cooled, here's why I think that money is worth spending on this little dual-core fellah.

See, this DD cooling block for the GTX 295 will cost you 190 bucks alone (according to the Danger Den website). Then you have to disassemble the GTX 295. Chances that you'll damage it... are reasonably high. We dismantled it... and didn't like the experience, no Sir.

BFG will assemble the entire card for you, quality thermal paste is applied on the memory chips and GPU. This is all done without the risk of dropping your warranty. That's worth the premium price right there. The fact that BFG tops their graphics cards off with a lifetime warranty, to me makes the deal golden. Also, we are looking at a high quality build and assembly here. Fitting the liquid cooling block is intricate manual labor, and that isn't cheap. It's a choice you have to make though."

Corsair Dominator GT 6GB PC3-15000 CL7 Triple-Channel Memory Kit Review

February 24, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

"As we have mentioned a few times, the lack of XMP memory profiles by the motherboards tested today is a drawback to memory of this nature as getting up and running at the specified settings will require some work. If there were any company that we would want helping us do that though, it is Corsair. If you absolutely have to have one of the best kits of memory in your system, the Dominator-GTs are it. If you are a benchmarker looking for that "end all-be all" kit of memory for flexibility in benching, the Dominator-GTs are it. Bring your wallets and get in line over at the Corsair store because the Dominator-GTs are about the only option in North America at this time to get into a performance range like this for memory. Because of this reason, we are happy to label the Corsair Dominator-GT 3x2GB DDR3-1866 kit of memory with our Damn Good award. We know the DDR3-2000 kit is better, but there is no denying that even these PC3-15000 modules are in a class of their own and need to be recognized."

Shuttle Prima SP45H7 Intel Barebones System Review

February 24, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

"I've always been a fan of Shuttle systems and the SP45H7 barebones kit only reasserted that. I have not really had hands on experience with a Shuttle system in about 3 years. Not much has changed really, except that Shuttle keeps on making things easier. One thing I really liked about this system was that all of the drive cables were already connected and placed. This saves you a lot of time a frustration because it is tight where the cables are connected and who wants to waste the time organizing your cables. Also I like that the one power supply lead has both a SATA and molex connector on it. Shuttle knows that most people will be adding just 1 hard drive and an optical drive. This way they don't have to mess with any of the other cables."

620W - 900W PSU Review Roundup - Cooler Master, Enermax, Tuniq

February 24, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

• JonnyGURU: Enermax Liberty Eco 620W Power Supply Review:
  
  

  "As it turns out, my long wait for an Enermax unit was, for the most part, worth it. Voltage regulation was very good, efficiency was very good, fan noise was nonexistent, and the ripple and noise suppression was downright awesome. Now that the tan glue of death is gone, there simply is no reason to avoid this unit for anything performance wise. I do feel that the voltage regulation could be just a bit tighter though, and I'm still laughing at the useless loose PFC coil zip tie mount, so I'll pull a half point for them and toss out a 9.5."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• PC Perspective: Cooler Master UCP 900W Power Supply Review:
  
  

  "The UCP 900W power supply is another good addition to Cooler Mater’s full line up of PC switching mode PSUs. The UCP 900W power supply’s voltage regulation, line regulation and cross-loading regulation are all good. The overall efficiency is excellent and AC ripple noise suppression is good, especially on the +12V outputs. Under normal operating conditions (below 600W load) the UCP 900W is very quiet. The PSU comes fitted with a large assortment of hard-wired cables and connectors that can support multiple, high-end video cards. And let’s not forget that industrial look finish, active PFC, and a 5-year warranty."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• PureOverclock: Tuniq Potency 750W Power Supply Review‏:
  
  

  "The Tuniq Potency 750w is a power supply that delivers good features and solid performance when heavily loaded with a case full of power-hungry components. From a feature standpoint, the unit supports SLI/CrossFire setups, and it's housed in a sleek semi-gloss black, scratch-resistant finish. From a functional standpoint, the Potency 750w boasts very good voltage regulation and efficiency, and a quiet operation when running at lower loads. When heavily loaded, however, the fan does ramp up and is audible. "

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB Hard Drive Review

February 24, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

"For sure, the new Seagate 7200.12 series of HDD is significantly faster than its is predecessor, the 7200.11. Upgrading is just worthy and will boost the performance of your PC. You can easily expect a faster reading by 17MB/sec, while writing writing will be even faster. In addition, the 7200.12 series is less noisy and produces less heat, even at full load.

The 500GB model (ST3500418AS) we tested today retails for about €52 (including VAT) and it is backed by a 5-year warranty! It is obvious that this product offers a great value for its money and it is one of the best hard disk drives available at this price range. Let's hope that it will not suffer from any reliability issues seen with the previous 7200.11 series (1~1.5TB)."

Top 20 3DMark Vantage Movers & Shakers

February 23, 2009 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky

ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series Review Roundup

February 23, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

• DriverHeaven: XFX 4870 1GB XXX GFX Review:
  
  

  "By now most consumers who are interested in graphics cards should be well aware of the Radeon HD 4870 and know that it is a very good product. XFX have taken the solid foundations of the reference product, customised the PCB and coloured the DVIs for a better looking card and then increased the clock speeds to provide better performance than the standard models. This results in a desirable product but there were a couple of things which surprised us a little.
  
  The first was the lack of specification information on the packaging as XFX usually provides consumers with an informative sticker stating the clock speed for the GPU. In addition to this, the 4870 XXX does not compare quite as well to XFX GeForce cards as there is no free software included, such as Far Cry 2 which is bundled with many of their other models."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• HotHardware: ASUS Matrix and Sapphire Toxic Radeon HD 4870 and 4850 Cards:
  
  

  "All three video cards evaluated in this article performed well. Except for a few anomalies, the two Matrix cards and the Toxic all performed better than their stock reference counterparts. The 4850 does not receive a factory overclock, however the included iTracker application allows it to overclock by a few MHz, which is enough to give it a noticeable lead over the stock reference card. Both the Matrix 4870 and the Toxic 4870 sport ample factory overclocks and this showed in the benchmarks. Both cards performed well with respect to the stock 4870. The Sapphire Toxic seems to be the faster of the two 4870s, but it benefits from a slightly beefier overclock and 1GB of memory while the Matrix 4870 only has 512MB."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• Legit Reviews: Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 Video Card Review:
  
  

  "For those trying to watch their budget, the HD 4850 X2 even helps out a bit there. When you aren't pushing the card to the extremes on the virtual battlefields (come on... we can't game 24/7, can we?), it steps down both the Core and Memory speeds on the dual 4850 GPU's, reducing the amount of energy your system is consuming.
  
  Ok... I'll just come right out and say it. I really like this card! For around $300, you get a dual GPU, single PCB solution that answers the call on all of the games and benchmarks I threw at it. With game developers constantly pushing graphics hardware to the limits, the fact that this card supports CrossFireX Technology makes future proofing a breeze. Throw a pair of these in a CrossFire capable motherboard and watch the frame rates fly right off the charts."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• TweakNews: Sapphire Toxic HD 4870 512MB Video Card Review:
  
  

  "I have to admit, at first I thought that this card would be much like the rest with a slight performance increase and a better cooling solution. But through testing and benchmarking, this card has impressed me with a sizable performance increase, a good overclocking experience and all for a price that at this time is under US$200. In fact, other than a small cooler change, it would be hard for me to point out a significant fault with this card. Sure a little more memory would be better, but Sapphire does offer this card with an additional 512Megs of onboard texture memory to set you up to play even the most texturally rendered games with no loss of framerates and memory pipeline saturation.
  
  Overall, this is a very fast factory overclocked video card that should allow any user to game comfortably with decent resolutions and quality settings."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• TweakTown: HIS Radeon HD 4870 IceQ4+ TURBO Graphics Card‏:
  
  

  "What we ultimately want to say is that you shouldn’t write the HD 4870 off yet. Aggressive price drops and companies like HIS putting a lot of effort into the card mean that we're continuing to see some fresh designs that have their place in the market.
  
  HIS has done a good job with the IceQ4+ TURBO model and if you're looking for a HD 4870 that packs a bit more punch than the standard model, it's a very good choice. If you're also willing to spend a few more dollars when compared to the 9800 GTX+ then it's also a very good choice with it performing better most of the time."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  

CPU Cooler Review Roundup - ASUS, Noctua, Zalman & More

February 23, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

• Benchmark Reviews: Xigmatek Thor's Hammer S126384 CPU Cooler:
  
  

  "This premium kit builds a 'top shelf' reputation by including the Crossbow ACK-I7363 mounting kit and stylish packaging, while offering every hardware accessory needed to propel Thor's Hammer into mainstream integration. It's not the most affordable cooler we've found, nor does it offer the best 'bang for the buck' ($17.99 Kingwin RVT-12025), but it tops our charts when the temperatures were at their highest and can accommodate two cooling fans. The combined appearance and craftsmanship help earn the Benchmark Reviews Golden Tachometer award for the S126384, but it's the phenomenal cooling performance that really seals the deal."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• CPU3D: Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 CPU Cooler‏:
  
  

  "The Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 CPU Cooler did not disappoint us at all. It offers excellent thermal performance and extremely low noise level. Noctua have continued its excellent reputation for producing one of the quietest CPU coolers we've ever come across. It will cost a lot more than your average cooler, but if you cherish silence, then the Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 CPU Cooler is the ONLY answer for you."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• Guru3D: Zalman CNPS 9900 LED CPU Cooler:
  
  

  "Zalman has once again designed something nice, something unique and certainly something aesthetically pleasing. Overall cooling performance surely is good, however in the very high-end enthusiast overclocking segment the cooler seems to forfeit on its cooling performance somewhat, unless you are willing to forfeit on noise levels.
  
  And that's a little strange as I'm not used to that from Zalman, especially at this price-level. The cooler is competing with coolers like Vendetta 2 from OCZ and the Noctua HN-U12P coolers at, medium PWM (normal) fan rotation, both are cheaper than then CNPS 9900 LED. We even installed the cooler twice and reapplied thermal paste a second time to double-check our results."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• Tech-Reviews: ASUS Silent Knight II CPU Cooler:
  
  

  "The ASUS Silent Knight II really is a great cooler. In terms of aesthetics it looks stunning – the orange cooper colour giving this product a distinct image. The cooper pipes, fins and the base are all very smooth and shiny making it look very professional. Finally, the blue LED fan in the middle, despite clashing a little with the orange Heatsink, gives style. Certainly this CPU cooler will stand out in any case.
  
  The cooling too is not bad as the temperatures show, the clever airflow technology working well with the spanned out heatsink to give great performance."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
• TweakTown: Xigmatek Dark Knight S1283 H.D.T. CPU Cooler‏:
  
  

  "The Xigmatek Dark Knight is the best looking S1283 cooler I have seen to date. I really can’t imagine how they could make this cooler have any more appeal than they have done with the all-black, nickel plating. This cooler is "dark" through and through and the fan choice is an excellent addition to accent the Dark Knight.
  
  The performance of the Dark Knight is really good based on its listed selling price. With only a minor gap in testing between the Dark Knight and the Thor’s Hammer (depending on your fan choice), for those who don’t need the latest in fin design the Dark Knight is a cheaper alternative. If you are looking for a good bang for the buck cooler I think the Dark Knight S1283 should be put on your list of choices."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  Enjoy!
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  OCZ Vertex & Summit Solid State Drive Reviews

  February 23, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Benchmark Reviews, ITreviewed, and PC Perspective have reviewed/previewed the soon-to-be-available OCZ Summit and Vertex solid state drives.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • Benchmark Reviews: OCZ Vertex 120GB SATA SSD:
    
    

    "In conclusion, the OCZ Vertex MLC Solid State Drive offers tremendous performance in read and write bandwidth speeds and an exceptional 0.10 ms response time at a attainable price. Second to none (at least until OCZ launches the Summit SSD), the Vertex SSD easily outperforms a RAID-0 set of Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drives. The only drawback is price, which keeps the premium around $4 per gigabyte or storage space. I can recommend the OCZ Vertex to cutting-edge super-users and performance enthusiasts who want unmatched response and speed from their computer system."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • ITreviewed;: OCZ Vertex Solid State Drive:
    
    

    "ith its latest high-performance SSD, OCZ has gained momentum in pioneering flash storage technology while maintaining a price point that is almost within the reach of consumers. OCZ’s Vertex Series is a premium SSD solution that is designed for consumers that require fast, rugged, and reliable solid state storage. The Vertex makes use of OCZ’s newest architecture and controller design complete with 64MB of cache to offer faster transfers (blazing 200MB/s read and 160MB/s write speeds) and super overall system response times in a broad range of applications and games. In our tests, the Vertex SSD easily outperformed a RAID-0 set of Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drives!"

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • PC Perspective: OCZ Summit Series 250GB SSD Preview:
    
    

    "For as long as the Intel X25-M solid state drives have been on the market, we have always had to end all of our other SSD reviews with "pretty good but" conclusions. The advent of a new generation of solid state drives like the OCZ Summit, with new controller logic and the addition of on-board cache memory, is finally giving Intel's mainstream drives some real competition. The performance of the OCZ Summit 250GB SSD is still not besting that of X25-M but it is coming close.
    
    Where the OCZ Summit really shines in our tests is with write speeds - the addition of 64MB of cache definitely has increased overall write throughput compared to previous Samsung MLC-based designs and are indeed faster than the write speeds on the Intel X25-M. Intel's controller is doing much of the same kind of data shuffling and reorganization that the Summit is doing though without the advantage of on-board memory dedicated to the process."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • PC Perspective: OCZ Vertex Series 120GB SSD Performance Preview:
    
    

    "The new OCZ Vertex solid state drive is one of the most impressive SSDs we have tested to date. I know that there is much excitement in the hardware community about this drive and for good reason: it uses a brand new controller from a brand new company and as such performance was an unknown. Many in the community have been billing it as the first true competitor to Intel's X25-M line of mainstream MLC drives and it indeed lives up to that status.
    
    The Indilinx Barefoot controller, based on a custom logic ARM processor, is doing nothing dramatically different than JMicron or Samsung or even Intel controllers; but it has proved itself to be a strong competitor for a first offering. In my initial preview testing the OCZ Vertex drive offers read speeds just slightly below that of the Intel X25-M 80GB SSD but in most cases has a much faster write speed than the Intel drive thanks in large part to the addition of 64MB of on-drive cache."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  These newest OCZ SSD models are very, very promising and if they hit the market with a relatively reasonable price tag they will undoubtedly be hot sellers.
  
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  Please head over to our discussion board to talk about this news (registration not required).
  

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  ASUS & Gigabyte X48 Motherboard Reviews

  February 23, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  PCSTATS have reviewed two Intel X48 Express based motherboards from rivals ASUS and Gigabyte.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • ASUS P5E3 Premium/Wifi-AP.N Motherboard Review‏:
    
    

    "onsidering that ASUS is asking $390 CDN ($320 USD, £220 GBP) for the P5E3 Premium Wifi-AP.N, it would be nice if these flaws didn't exist, but as it stands they're relatively minor. The P5E3 Premium/Wifi-AP.N motherboard's built-in Wifi, extensive external storage options and expansion capabilites make it unique in terms of feature set. Where deep-pocketed enthusiasts are concerned, the combination of Intel's fastest chipset, the ability to use the fastest socket 775 processors, and support for the fastest DDR3 memory will make the P5E3 Premium/Wifi-AP.N a must-have motherboard!"

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Gigabyte GA-X48-DS5 Intel X48 Express Motherboard Review‏:
    
    

    "As it stands, in PCSTATS tests the Gigabyte GA-X48-DS5 motherboard and its DES technology was good for shaving off 3W of power use under heavy processor load, 9W while idle. Still, technologies like Gigabyte's DES, and ASUS' EPU are a step in the right direction and PCSTATS actively encourages all motherboard makers to develop this further.
    
    Gigabyte's GA-X48-DS5 has emerged as a worth competitor to the MSI X48 Platinum, as well as establishing itself as a notable improvement to the P45 Express chipset. The extra PCI Express bandwidth give it a lot more headroom for future upgrades, which add to this motherboard's long-term value. For those who are looking to own one of the most fully-featured and fastest socket 775 motherboards, the Gigabyte GA-X48-DS5 is certainly a contender you should consider. "

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  The ASUS model is without a doubt the most fully-featured X48 motherboard, but now that the Core i7 series is out it's hard to accept spending over $300USD on past-generation motherboard. The Gigabyte model is much more reasonable at ~$240, but it is getting harder & harder to find in stock.
  
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  Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB HDD Review

  February 22, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Futurelooks have posted a review of the high-performance Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB hard drive.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  

  "So what am I trying to say? Well in the end, it’s hard to deny the Western Digital Caviar Black as a viable option for someone looking for a large reliable drive for their performance system. It’s not as fast a VelociRaptor, but it’s also much cheaper. OK, a lot cheaper. Not to mention, it uses a standard form factor unlike the Velociraptor, which makes it ideal in most circumstances. Though it’s not as cavernous as the Seagate 1.5TB, it’s far more reliable in the real world. It’s a good all around drive for a system that needs both performance and storage space. When Western Digital rolls out their 2.0TB models in a little while, it’ll be that much more enticing."

  
  This is the fastest 7200RPM drive on the market, so I am not sure why this reviewer's results indicate otherwise. Either way, until the new bunch of 500GB per platter drives arrive, this WD1001FALS is the best alternative to the much pricier VelociRaptor models.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  OCZ HydroFlow Waterblock Review

  February 22, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Virtual-Hideout have posted a review of the OCZ HydroFlow HFMK1 waterblock.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  

  "With good performance, a solid mounting system, and high quality, the HydroFlow is a product you can't go wrong with. Wait, what's that, it's cheap too? How cheap? About $40 in most e-tailers. That places this OCZ HydroFlow block at the top of the value meter and must-shop lists. These all make for killing blows on the side of the HydroFlow; and when a watercooler on a budget comes looking for a performance piece, you can be sure that this one comes out swinging. Even into most midrange watercooling setups, I wouldn't be surprised to see this block get recommended. Heck, that's even the award it's going to get for its innovation, performance, and value. Good show OCZ."

  
  It appears that OCZ have designed a solid little waterblock with this new HydroFlow model. I would have like to see it compared against a few rival blocks, but at least it is clear that it dominates the best air cooling solutions.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  Intel X58 Express Motherboard Reviews - ASUS & Foxconn

  February 22, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  CDRinfo and TweakTown have reviewed three innovative Intel X58 Express motherboards from ASUS and Foxconn.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • CDRinfo: Asus P6T Deluxe Vs Foxconn Renaissance :
    
    

    "Today we have tested two motherboards based on Intel's X58 chipset from Asus and Foxconn. While users might think that both solutions should be similar, in fact they aren't.
    
    First of all, the motherboards are priced differently, reflecting the target group and o the overall features/retail package of each product. The Asus P6T Deluxe/OC Palm Edition is a fully-armed motherboard for extreme overclocking with some neat features like GateExpress and an external LCD screen. We really enjoyed working with this motherboard. Its stability was superb, the BIOS layout was very familiar and we managed to easily get 4.0GHz out of a Core i7-920. The motherboard really shines at the hands of an experienced user and the memory dividers offer higher memory speeds. It's high retail price is the only negative we could mention, at least compared with the Foxconn Renaissance."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • TweakTown: Foxconn Quantum Force X58 BloodRage Motherboard:
    
    

    "So far we have seen quite a few impressive boards, some with better overclocking than others, but one thing it all depends on is what the user wants. All the bells and whistles in the world won’t matter if the board doesn’t have what the user wants, whether that be bling bling for case mods or many extra features; it’s all a mix.
    
    Foxconn has managed to not only make a board that looks good in cases with side windows, but also has many features such as SAS and eSATA along with external audio. The board is very impressive; just as impressive as anything that ASUS, GIGABYTE or MSI has on the market."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Between these three models, the ASUS P6T Deluxe is the most well-rounded and it is also quite the solid overclocker too. By the way, save some money and simply buy the non-OC Palm Edition, since that is a feature that few will truly benefit from.
  
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  Microsoft SideWinder X8 Gaming Mouse Review

  February 20, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  ITreviewed have posted a review of the unique Microsoft SideWinder X8 gaming mouse.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  

  "Gamers like to customise their gaming mouse to fit their needs, which is why the SideWinder X8 offers DPI switching (high, medium and low), replaceable feet (choice of three materials for glide preference), five programmable buttons (plus left and right tilt), and a macro record button. Overall it’s a very comfortable mouse that looks great and has plenty of features for gamers. The only downside is the high price, especially considering that Razer offers similar mice for less than half the price. Even if your pockets are deep you’ll have trouble justifying the asking price. [7.5]"

  
  Aside from the atmospheric price, there is really not much to dislike about the X8. Clearly, Microsoft have finally come up with a design that rivals the best from Logitech and Razer. It would be wise to try it out in person though, just to ensure that the ergonomics suit your preferences.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  Rosewill Performance 650W Power Supply Reviews

  February 20, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Hardware Secrets and TweakTown have reviewed the Rosewill Performance 650W power supply.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • Hardware Secrets:
    
    

    "Although we were impressed by its efficiency, we can’t recommend Rosewill Performance 650 W.
    
    First, it couldn’t continually deliver 650 W at a room temperature between 45º C and 50º C, being a textbook example of a unit labeled at 25º C, a temperature that is impossible to be achieved inside a computer. On the good side the power supply has its protections active, so it simply shut down when it couldn’t deliver power any longer, contrary to cheap units that explode when this happens. We know that users buying this product won’t pull 650 W from it, but if I am buying a 650 W unit I want a unit that is capable of delivering its labeled power under real-world conditions."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • TweakTown:
    
    

    "So, how do we rate a PSU that does not deliver its promised ratings? - We certainly have to frown upon it for not running at reported maximum loads and falling out of ATX spec during Test 5. Sure, the general features are better than average with good cable lengths, nice sleeving, convertible cabling, a PCI-E 8-pin run and a nice polished finish, but you buy a power supply to supply power and, in this regard, it comes up short (literally). If this unit had a stronger 3.3V result and did not push the wattage claim over available power, it may have fared a whole lot better."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  This seems like a fairly unremarkable power supply, and even if it is cheap I would still recommend that you spend the extra money for a quality unit like the Corsair HX620W or HX750W.
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  Swiftech H2O-220 Apex Ultima Plus Review

  February 20, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Metku have posted a review of the Swiftech H2O-220 Apex Ultima Plus self-contained liquid cooling kit.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  

  "Having barely any previous experience from water cooling, getting around with the Ultima Plus proved to be a good crash course into the topic. It's a thoroughbred water cooling set, with all the necessary parts already picked for your convenience. I guess beforehand the installation of a water cooling set can sound like a huge project, but as it turns out, you can also get away with very little work. Anyway even if you could just install the radiator to the back of the case and mount the pump and radiator using double-sided tape, I can't really recommend doing so. For best performance and overall ease of use it's easily worth thinking the layout and doing things properly.
  
  Performance-wise the kit was enough to cool our test bed, but if you have a power-hungry quad-core processor, high end graphic card and are going to overclock both then I'd suggest looking for a larger or additional cooler to go along with the supplied 2*120 mm rad. Both fans at full speed really set record temperatures at both CPU and GPU, but also the noise was just intolerable.
  
  Overall the Swiftech H2O-220 Apex Ultima Plus might well be THE kit you're looking for if you want to get involved in proper watercooling, but aren't too confident in choosing the parts yourself."

  
  Aside from the slightly noisy fan, this is a terrific self-contained liquid cooling kit and I wouldn't have an issue recommending it to just about anyone.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  Triple-Channel DDR3 Memory Kit Reviews

  February 20, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  CDRinfo, DriverHeaven, and PureOverclock have reviewed triple-channel DDR3 memory kits from Corsair, Crucial, OCZ, and Patriot.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • CDRinfo: Crucial PC3-10600 3GB DDR3:
    
    

    "The Crucial PC3-10600 with part number CT3KIT12864BA1339 proved to be a very good memory solution that combines low retail price with a very good performance. The memory is rated at DDR3-1333 with CL9 at 1.50V, which sounds rather high and to be honest it is. Our tests showed that the memory can operate at DDR3-1333 with CL7 at 1.65V and reach the 1866MHz at CL9! That's a 533MHz overclock coming from a $65 memory package! If we had to complain about something it would be the lack of any XMP embedded profiles that would held inexperienced users overclock the modules easier."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • DriverHeaven: Corsair, Crucial and Patriot DDR3-1600 (Core-i7) Review:
    
    

    "Corsair never fail to impress us with their memory and this kit is no different. The Dominator 1600MHz triple channel kit completed our review suite with perfect stablity even when overclocked 266MHz above their stated speed. As always they are backed by a lifetime warranty but it is the future potential which is of most interest at the moment. As we saw at CES this year, Corsair have a lot planned for their Dominator range including liquid cooling so there are some interesting times ahead for these modules. That said, they are still the best performing 1600MHz sticks we have tested and that is the most important aspect of the product."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • PureOverclock: OCZ Platinum 6GB DDR3-1600:
    
    

    "These OCZ Platinum modules also offer quite a bit of headroom beyond their 1600MHz rated speeds. The tolerances and returns are smaller the higher you go in the speed department, but these modules have sufficient gas left in the tank to reach some blistering numbers on your system. Running 1600MHz at CL7 timings is nothing to scoff at, eventually topping out at 1954MHz at CL9, representing a 22% increase at the top end. They also proved to be very easy to overclock, and not touchy to voltage tweaks at all, which is always a blessing when trying to find the limits of your memory and overclock settings. What is perhaps even more impressive here is that these 6GB Platinum modules achieve these results at a very frugal price, and can be found for just under $150 USD, one of the lowest prices in its market segment."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Frankly, nearly every single one of these memory kits are very good and should suit just about any Core i7 build.
  
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  NVIDIA GeForce 182.06 Performance Analysis

  February 20, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  X-bit Labs have posted a performance analysis of the new NVIDIA GeForce 182.06 graphics driver.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  

  "The modifications introduced by Nvidia software developers in their new GeForce driver version 182.06 showed their real best in Left 4 Dead game based on Valve Source engine: the maximum gain for GeForce GTX 295 made almost 40%, and for GeForce GTX 285 – 25%.
  
  The second place was taken by Enemy Territory: Quake Wars online shooter: updated OpenGL driver improved the average gaming performance of GeForce GTX 295 solution by 21% in 1280x1024 resolution and by 10% in 1680x1050 resolution. GeForce GTX 285 sped up by about 8-9%, and about 7% in 2560x1600 resolution.
  
  In all other cases, the new GeForce driver delivered on all Nvidia’s promises. Only in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin in 2560x1600 resolution GeForce GTX 285 got over 10% faster. I would like to specifically draw your attention to a significant increase in minimal fps level in Far Cry 2 game on GeForce GTX 295 in 2560x1600 resolution, so that the owners of these particular graphics cards can finally enjoy playing in this mode."

  
  If you play any of the recently released games, then there is absolutely no reason not to download this new GeForce driver.
  
  Click here to read the full article.
  
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  Power Supply Review Roundup - BFG, OCZ, Tuniq & More

  February 20, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Bigbruin, CPU3D, High Tech Reviews, JonnyGURU, Overclockers Online‏, Phoronix, TechwareLabs, and Virtual-Hideout‏ have reviewed power supplies from BFG, Cooler Master, CoolMax, OCZ, Tuniq, and Ultra.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • Bigbruin: Tuniq Potency 650W PSU Review:
    
    

    "The Tuniq Potency 650W power supply is a no nonsense unit that will get the job done on a basic computer system without wasting your money on bells and whistles. It has decent specifications, was able to power the test configuration without issue, and it remains cool and quiet during operation. Running cool may have eliminated the ability to check out one of the features touted with the Potency power supply; the fan delay off function. I will assume that it never got hot enough to need to keep the fan spinning after powering down, as I could not make it happen!"

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • CPU3D: OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W PSU‏ Review:
    
    

    "I was pretty impressed with the OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W power supply. I liked the modular cable management system and the large 140mm silent fan. The stability and build quality is very good, especially for a 500W power supply ... it passed our "Peltier Test" with no problems, which is great. Mainstream gamers will find the OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W, irressistably attractive."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • High Tech Reviews: Ultra 1600 Watt PSU Review:
    
    

    "One thing we don't want to forget to mention is how efficient the X3 is, By combining Ultra's "EE" (Energy Efficient) platform, which converts as much as 85% of AC power into DC power during typical loads, the 1600 will use for less power than many power supplies with lower wattage ratings. The X3 also has full range active PFC, which improves apparent power used by the computer. We should also mention the Flex-Force cabling, the FlexForce Cables are designed to be easily routed and hidden within your case. Don't let the pictures above fool you we did not take the time to route them correctly or hide them either. The Flex-Force cables Special design promotes easy cable management and 30% better airflow than ordinary cables by easily routing cable under the motherboard, behind drive bays."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • JonnyGURU: BFG LS Series Revisited:
    
    

    "BFG's new LS450 is a hard unit to hate. On one hand, you could complain about the terrible crossloading habits, but then again you could easily end up paying another forty bucks for an independently regulated unit that doesn't have those problems. All in all, I just can't find any really compelling reason why this unit isn't the one to watch in the fifty dollar market segment. It's easy to do worse and hard to do better at that price. You'll want to tango the night away (olé!) with the money you saved."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Overclockers Online:‏ Cooler Master Silent Pro M 500W PSU Review:
    
    

    "Line regulation on the Silent Pro M is superb, operation is quiet, it is modular, and it looks great, and comes with dampening pads. As a whole package, Cooler Master has done well. Even the components inside are of excellent quality! My only concern, albeit for the most part trivial is the usage of a sleeve bearing fan. Unlike CPU coolers or case fans, power supply fans are usually not replaceable by your typical user due to dangers involved with the electrical components, or at the very continuity of warranty. Given the nature of sleeve bearing fans and their relatively short life span, use in power supplies is perhaps not the best choice. Still though, the fan serves as advertised, it is down right quiet and does a great job cooling the unit. But, with Cooler Master's 5 year warranty, I hardly doubt the fan is enough of an issue to undermine the unit."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Phoronix: OCZ Fatal1ty Series 700W PSU Review:
    
    

    "Over the years of testing OCZ Technology products we have been quite pleased with a majority of their wares and the Fatal1ty 700W power supply is yet another example of an excellent, well-made product. The OCZ Fatal1ty power supply delivered clean and stable voltages, enough appropriately sized cables and connectors (though seeing four PCI-E connectors would have been nice), has a nice appearance, and has a 56 Amp +12V rail. On top of that, the Fatal1ty 700W is backed by OCZ's exclusive five-year PowerSwap warranty".

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • TechwareLabs: CoolMax CU-950B PSU Review:
    
    

    "CoolMax has a reputation for quality products, and the CUG-950B certainly does not disappoint. Aiming itself at the environmentally-conscious power user, the CUG-950B hits the mark. Its Nvidia SLI certification means you can be sure you'll have enough juice for a multi-GPU rig, even with a fast, power-hungry CPU. Combining rock-solid performance with whisper-quiet operation and an attractive price point ($150, NewEgg.com), this is one power supply that I can recommend without reservation to anyone with a need for a reliable, high-output device."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Virtual-Hideout‏: CoolerMaster Silent Pro-M 600w PSU Review:
    
    

    "It may only be flexing 600 Watts. And, it may not look like it has anything special underneath that clean, sexy, black exterior. But, the CoolerMaster Silent Pro M 600W Power Supply does have some extra horse power hiding underneath the hood. This is why I suggested having a look at the test results before running off to buy a 700 Watt PSU. The Silent Pro M 600W is like a "sleeper" hot rod PSU hiding underneath that cool, black exterior."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Enjoy!
  
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  Intel Core i7 LGA1366 CPU Cooler Comparison

  February 20, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  bit-tech have reviewed and compared five LGA1366 CPU coolers for the new Intel Core i7 processors, featuring models from Akasa, ASUS, Cooler Master, Noctua, and Zalman.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  

  "So given the option, which would we choose? Well, as always it comes down to the specifics of what you’re after. If silence is golden to you, then we’d point you firmly in the direction of the Noctua NH-U12P. It’s practically silent if you use the voltage step down adapters, yet packs excellent cooling into the bargain, although you do pay a premium for what is a deservingly premium product.
  
  If you’re after pure performance and lower temperatures, then the Thermalright Ultra eXtreme 120 is still the undisputed champion of air cooling. Knocking a full 5°C off the next closest competition, it’s still a fantastic cooler, and even more attractive now you can pick up a kit including a LGA 1366 mount and bundled 120mm cooling for a little over £50. If you absolutely must get the absolute maximum cooling from your CPU then the TRUE is still the cooler to get.
  
  But the best cooler on test is undoubtedly the Akasa Nero. Cool, quiet and most importantly reasonably priced, it’s the only cooler we tested today that doesn’t charge the earth for cooling LGA 1366, or any other recent CPU for that matter, very well indeed. It’s easily one of the best value CPU coolers on the market today, and comes very highly recommended - If we were spending our own money, the Nero is the heatsink we’d get."

  
  As expected, the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme 1366RT is the best CPU cooler on the market for the new Core i7 processors. It is relatively expensive, but it is arguably worth every penny.
  
  Click here to read the full article.
  
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  AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE & X4 810 45nm CPU Reviews

  February 18, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  iXBT Labs have reviewed the AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE triple-core and X4 810 quad-core 45nm processors.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  

  "In case of the triple-core processor, we decided to set its voltage to maximum and use the unlocked multiplier to determine its maximum stable clock rate. It was 3.9 GHz. It should be noted again that these are approximate results. By the way, we obtained them on different motherboards -- the triple-core processor was tested on Gigabyte MA790GP-UD4H, which offers more powerful power circuits and better cooling than the one used in our main testbed.
  
  We can conclude that Phenom II processors demonstrate more attractive performance than their direct competitors from the Core 2 series. For example, the 810 processor looks much better than the Q8200 and the Q6600, which has a much larger cache. Phenom II X3 has a significant advantage -- the third core. So it's a more promising product, demonstrating no worse, or even better performance in most tests. In fact, this processor makes dual-core CPUs justified only in the budget category, which lacks triple-core models, or in case of some specific tasks."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  Frankly, both of these processors offer superior Bang-for-the-Buck, and I strongly suspect that they will end up being much more popular than the already noteworthy Phenom II X4 900 series.
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  Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 512MB Reviews

  February 18, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Sapphire are strongly promoting their new Radeon HD 4670 models, and CPU3D, DriverHeaven, High Tech Reviews, Modders-Inc, and OCModShop have posted reviews of this new mainstream graphics card.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • CPU3D:
    
    

    "If you're a hard core gamer then you would be better looking at the higher series of cards, as the 4670 can't deliver the performance you're after. However, for the causal gamer or those after a quiet computer, then this card is ideal and it's a very good mid range contender. The problem this 4670 has, is that there are lots of other cards that can offer better performance for only a just a little more, such as the 9600GSO or the HD 4850. Still, you have to balance this with the added features that the card has to offer (such as the HDMI output and the silent cooling). With that in mind, if you find the stock cards a little too noisy for your liking, or want to connect your card to your HD TV ... I would happily recommend it."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • DriverHeaven:
    
    

    "The 4670 is certainly a decent card for its price point, offering playable performance in some titles up to 1920x1200, even with anti aliasing enabled. In addition to strong mid-range performance, the card is packed with features such as UVD and 7.1 audio … this particular model even has an on board HDMI connector for your home theatre needs.
    The card is also equipped with a brand new cooler which improves upon the original Sapphire cooling solution we saw on their 4670 a few months ago and is vastly better than the reference cooler, offering a combination of impressive temperatures and low noise levels.
    
    Sapphire have also equipped this version of the card with GDDR4 memory and Sapphire have also upped the default clock speed to 1100MHz. Realistically it is only going to offer a few FPS difference in games so some may find it hard to justify a purchase when the GDDR3 model is available for £15 less and carries dual DVI outputs."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • High Tech Reviews:
    
    

    "The current price for a Sapphire HD4670 from Newegg is $89.00 and for this amount of money you can clearly see by the numbers that this card does a very respectable job of handling all of the games we tossed at it. This card does handle games very well but if you are a strict gamers there are a couple of other cards in this price range that might provide you with a slight edge when it comes to gaming.
    
    If your plans are to use this card strictly in a HTPC setup then look now further, the nearly 20 dba noise reduction in this video card will make your DVD and Blu-Ray viewing far more enjoyable due to the fact you will not hear the constant whine of the video cards fan."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Modders-Inc:
    
    

    "Sapphire has a track recorded of taking the reference designs from AMD/ATI and pushing them up a notch or two. The SAPPHIRE HD 4670 512MB GDDR4 is another fine example of their hard work. Not only did they create a low priced high powered gamers card they also gave the HTPC crowd something they can talk about. The SAPPHIRE HD 4670 512MB GDDR4 is well balanced card that is hard to beat right no w. The multiple video out options, quiet cooling, good performance and the very low price will put this card somewhere on everyone list."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • OCModShop:
    
    

    "Using 3Dmark’s extensive benchmarking process, I got a score of 3187. This is nowhere near the score that many of the hardcore gaming machines out there get, but it is pretty efficient when it comes to the average gamer who wants to get more out of his/her machine without unloading a buttload of money in the process. Altogether, I found the Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 above and beyond for the gamer on a tight budget. And with a little more memory and a faster CPU, the probability of getting much more out of this card is certainly in the cards. It all depends on what you want out of it. I can tell you this though, if you are looking for some quality, detailed gaming time with little out of pocket.. this is the card for you."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  This is a fantastic card for those on a tight budget or simply those who need a power efficient graphics solution for an HTPC.
  
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  Please head over to our discussion board to talk about this news (registration not required).
  

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  AM2/AM3 Motherboard Review Roundup - ASUS, DFI, MSI

  February 18, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  bit-tech, CPU3D, iXBT Labs, Legit Reviews, PureOverclock, and t-break have reviewed AMD AM2+ and AM3 motherboards from ASUS, DFI, ECS, and MSI.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • bit-tech: DFI LANParty DK 790FX-B M2RSH Motherboard‏:
    
    

    "The short answer is that unless you're only interested in maximising the overclocking potential of your CPU, the DFI LANParty DK 790FX-B M2RSH doesn't hit the right spot because it really lacks on virtually all other important fronts. As much as we don't like the MSI board we've also tested here, the DFI does little to stand out above even this low bar and the few positives are largely countered by an overwhelming "meh" experience.
    
    We used the Asus M3A79-T for several months and certainly feel that it's a better board - it may not be as sexy looking, but it's better featured, far more compatible with different memory and more tolerant to BIOS abuse. The DFI works well enough, and it's certainly not a bad board, but there are better options out there."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • CPU3D: Asus M3A78-T (AM2+) Motherboard‏:
    
    

    "The Asus M3A78-T is decent performing motherboard that's designed for mainstream users and gamers. If you're after value and affoardability, then the Asus M3A78-T is your answer. The performance is good, and it compares very well against a 790FX based motherboard. There is one concern which could affect your buying decisison ... AMD will later this year launch their new AM3 processors and accompanying motherboards, which supports DDR3."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • CPU3D: Preview: Asus M4A78T-E (AM3) Motherboard:
    
    

    "We've just received a sample of the Asus M4A78T-E motherboard. It's one of the first 790GX based motherboard that fully supports AMD's AM3 processors, CrossfireX and DDR3 ram. It features Asus's EPU, Express Gate and a new 8+1 power phase design. We give you an exclusive preview with plenty of pictures."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • iXBT Labs: MSI DKA790GX Motherboard‏:
    
    

    "To all appearances, MSI positions this motherboard for a wide audience. For users who choose a motherboard for a generic computer with the most advanced chipset, but who are not inclined to pay extra money for various on-board options. As a result, this board lacks additional controllers and even a video buffer (which is not typical of motherboards on this chipset). We hope that it will all have a corresponding effect on the price. On the other hand, inherent functions of this motherboard are very attractive -- S/PDIF and eSATA, a full set of video outputs. It also offers decent performance and overclocks Low-End processors very well. It only demonstrates a frivolous approach to VRM cooling. But even here restrictions appear only for hardcore overclockers, and they are not included into the target audience."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Legit Reviews: ASUS M4A79T Deluxe Motherboard:
    
    

    "Price versus performance aside, the ASUS M4A79T Deluxe motherboard is a great motherboard that was a joy to use. If it would have been able to beat out older socket AM2+ motherboards that cost half as much it would have been an easy choice for the Editor's Choice award, but with the way the economy is that just doesn't make sense. If you are going to pay twice the price on the board and memory kit, then you should see a decent performance boost, and that just isn't there right now as you could tell in the benchmarking section."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • PureOverclock: ECS A780GM-A Ultra Black Series:
    
    

    "ECS has done a very good job designing the A780GM-A Ultra, and we believe this board deserves to join the ranks of their other Black Series motherboards. The surprising blend of the somewhat dated 780G Northbridge and the newer SB750 Southbridge works quite well. I have not yet been able to find another motherboard to carry this combination of chipsets from any other manufacturer. Many may say that there should have been another PCI Express x16 slot, but more than one was never officially supported by the chipset anyways, so we think it's a bit of a moot argument."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • t-break: ECS GF8200A Black Edition:
    
    

    "A mid-range motherboard with reasonable performance on some games is what the GF8200A is all about. It is a great daily use home or office board. Even though this is a Black Edition motherboard, its lack of overclocking options in BIOS makes it more of a standard motherboard.
    
    ECS seem to be dubbing everything Black Series, and one would wonder what really sets this series apart from their normal products. Coupled in Hybrid mode with a mid range video card this motherboard will however impress with good gaming performance with some games."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Enjoy!
  
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  Gigabyte EX58-UD5 & EX58-Extreme Motherboard Reviews

  February 18, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  X-bit Labs have posted a review of the Gigabyte EX58-UD5 and EX58-Extreme motherboards, which support the new Intel Core i7 processors.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  

  "Our today’s review was devoted to Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 and GA-EX58-Extreme mainboards. At this time we do not have any worthy competitors available, so we can’t say once and for all how good these boards actually are. However, there is one thing I can say at this point: certain flaws, such as wrong BIOS version on the bundled DVD disc for instance, do spoil the overall impression a bit. BIOS issues, such as suspicious Turbo Boost operation and lowering of the CPU core voltage setting with disabled Turbo Boost, and non-operational EasyTune6 utility do not let us fully enjoy the advantages of the new platform. However, the competitor solutions may have even bigger problems, so we won’t draw any conclusions just yet.
  
  Those of you who usually read only the introduction and conclusion shouldn’t really worry too much about the previous paragraph. What I am trying to say, Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 and GA-EX58-Extreme are good boards, although not completely flawless. But is there a product that is? Our tests proved that these platforms work well not only in the nominal mode but also during overclocking. They are quite functional and you will hardly need to buy any additional controllers, because these boards support all contemporary interfaces and technologies, except the wireless. If we tried to choose between the two, I personally would go with Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5: it is just as good as its elder counterpart, but it costs about $35 less. Moreover, GA-EX58-UD5 is currently one of the most affordable platforms for Intel Core i7 processors."

  
  While the EX58-Extreme, the EX58-UD5 is a better value and it is an excellent X58 motherboard.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  CPU Cooler Review Roundup - Noctua, Sunbeamtech, Zalman & More

  February 18, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  EXTREME Overclocking, ocaholic, OCModShop, TestFreaks‏, ThinkComputers, TweakTown, and X-bit Labs have reviewed CPU coolers from Cooler Master, Noctua, Sunbeamtech, Xigmatek, and Zalman.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • EXTREME Overclocking: Cooler Master Hyper N520 CPU Cooler Review:
    
    

    "The Cooler Master Hyper N520 can only be described as an exceptional budget cooler. Its unique offset dual fan design seems to have paid off. It would be a great heatsink for a mild to moderate overclock. Once you start to clock the processor to the extreme levels, the fans get pretty loud.
    
    The Cooler Master Hyper N520 retails for about $49.99. At that price it is a great budget friendly Socket-1366 / Core i7 cooler. "

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • ocaholic: Zalman CNPS9900 LED Tower Cooler Review:
    
    

    "With the CPNS9900 Zalman puts itself to the top of our charts. They prove in an impressive way what they mean with "high performance". Unfortunately these high performance level are also part of the subjectively loud fan which rotates at 2200 rpm.
    
    The good performance seems to be down to a very well manufacturing process. We highly recommend removing the the transport protection ring around to cooler to improve the performance by up to three degrees."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • OCModShop: Noctua NH-C12P CPU Cooler Review:
    
    

    "So to wrap it up I couldn’t find any flaw that was mentionable, basically with this cooler should last you at least 5 years as its got enough cooling capability for the CPUs to come, and with a free mounting kit for the future you truly can’t go wrong with this cooler.
    
    The looks the feel the packaging everything is top notch, as expected from Austrian quality, they certainly dint have too many kirsch snaps when designing this and came up with a seemingly perfect product. Hence forth I can only award this with the full 5 star ranking and a gold medal on top."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • TestFreaks‏: Cooler Master Black Label Hyper Z600 CPU Cooler Review:
    
    

    "The Cooler Master Hyper Z600 is a CPU cooler with very good cooling abilities, it’s very well well made, with an interesting design. The fact that you can mount an additional fan or even run with no fans should help it appeal to most every type of use out there.
    
    The HyperZ600 is a very large and heavy cooler, so it most likely will not fit in all cases and configurations, you’ll need to make sure that it will fit in your case. You’ll also need to remove your motherboard from the case for installation so it can take quite a bit of time to get it installed."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • ThinkComputers: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler w/LGA 1366 Installation Kit Review:
    
    

    "As I would have expected, the NH-U12P is very well made. The mounting hardware is probably the best on the market.not only are there no push-pins, the mounts are designed to not allow excessive pressure on the CPU. The screws stop at the perfect place for the proper contact. Four heatpipes and soldered fins are the kind of things you'd expect for a cooler at this price, and you get them.
    
    Again, having no comparison LGA 1366 cooler, I had to test the NH-U12P in a vacuum. But after surfing numerous forum posts about i7 temps, which normally reach the 80s and higher with a 3.6gHz-4.0gHz overclock, I feel pretty comfortable that this may be the best air cooler for the i7 on the market."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • TweakTown: Xigmatek Thors Hammer S126384 H.D.T. CPU Cooler‏ Review:
    
    

    "I have to say Xigmatek has done it again and really show what they can offer to the PC cooling market. Not only is this cooler drop dead gorgeous in my opinion, but it performs really well. Would I buy this cooler? - Based on looks alone I would ponder it! Seeing what I have, against the latest trio of coolers I have tested from Xigmatek, this is the coolest solution both in looks and dual fan performance. I can only imagine what this cooler would do if noise isn’t an issue and you decide to use some really high CFM fans. The results can only get better!"

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • X-bit Labs: Sunbeamtech Core-Contact Freezer Cooler Review:
    
    

    "I have to say that our today’s hero, Sunbeamtech Core-Contact Freezer, is no conjurer and doesn’t belong to the super-cooler team with the highest cooling efficiency. Nevertheless, Sunbeamtech Core-Contact Freezer will undoubtedly find its customers being priced at only $36 and offering very good cooling performance for the buck. The inconvenient retention with limited compatibility is a little upsetting, but we hope the manufacturer will take note of it and fix it in the next cooler modifications. As for the ways of improving the cooling efficiency, we would suggest that the manufacturer tries to allow two fans to be installed onto this cooler heatsink (one for air intake and one for exhaust) , because the cooler efficiency depends significantly on the airflow going through the heatsink array. It would also be nice to have a backplate included with the cooler retention kit, just like by other makers, and replace the thermal glue with soldering technique for the contact between the heatpipes and the heatsink plates. Overall, we would like to wish Sunbeamtech not to stop at this point and continue doing a great job on the cooling front. Hopefully our suggestions will come in handy."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Enjoy!
  
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  Kingston & OCZ Triple-Channel DDR3 Memory Kit Reviews

  February 17, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Benchmark Reviews and Legit Reviews have reviewed 3GB and 6GB triple-channel DDR3 memory kits from Kingston and OCZ.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • Benchmark Reviews: OCZ 6GB Triple-Channel 1333 MHz DDR3 Memory Kit:
    
    

    "Without knowing any better, most enthusiasts would overlook a 1333MHz DDR3 memory kit; but doing so would be at their own loss. Triple-channel X58 motherboards favor low-latency DDR3 memory, and OCZ offers the perfect solution in their Platinum PC3-10666 kit. Selling the OCZ3P1333LV6GK DDR3 memory kit at a price closer to DDR2 helps make the new platform more affordable, and the extra overclocking headroom improves the overclock for enthusiasts. Gamers need not worry about the clock speed, since latency is going to be the biggest concern of the two variable, and the OCZ Platinum DDR3 memory kits perform as well as any. I recommend the OCZ Platinum 6GB Triple-Channel 1333 MHz DDR3 as an all-around excellent memory kit to tackle every task it faces, from casual computing to highly-tweaked overclocks. For the price, there isn't a better value anywhere else."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Legit Reviews: Kingston HyperX T1 3GB & 6GB 2000MHz DDR3 Memory Review:
    
    

    "For some, having the best available memory kit is worth it at nearly any price; for budget-minded consumers it is not. Our take is that if you can afford it then you should get it -- neither of the Kingston HyperX T1 2000MHz kits will disappoint you. With an overclock of over 2100MHz with both kits without adjusting any voltages, we're pretty sure that either your motherboard or CPU will give out before the Kingston HyperX T1."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  The OCZ kit is decent, if somewhat unremarkable, but the Kingston kits are truly top-notch and they look great!
  
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  Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones Review

  February 17, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Hardware Canucks have posted a review of the Monster Beats headphones, which were 'created' by music producer and artist Dr.Dre.
  
  Here is an excerpt:
  
  

  "After spending a considerable amount of time with them, the sonic signature and overall product construction give the impression that much time and care was put into their crafting. Every time they are used I am impressed with the clarity, bass detail and sonic imaging they present and that impression hasn't lessened over the weeks I have had them in my possession. Every time I play movies or music or even try my hand at gaming, the Beats wowed me again and again; let me tell you, that is a tough thing to do these days.
  Indeed, if you roll your eyes at the thought of spending $400 on a pair of headphones, these are not for you. However, for those out there that have an appreciation for quality sound, regardless of how light your wallet is, the Beats should be high on your list. Sound quality wise, they compete with the Sennheisers and Grados of this world while looking oh so cool which is a trait not many other $400 headphones can claim ownership of."

  
  Much to everyone's surprise, this is one celebrity-sponsored product that is not rubbish. The Beats are excellent headphones that have received pretty much universal praise, and this arguably justifies their premium price tag.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  RivaTuner 2.23 Released

  February 17, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Guru3D have just released version 2.23 of the popular RivaTuner graphics card tweaking utility.
  
  Let's see what's new in this release:
  
  
  • Minor bugfixes:
    
    
    • Fixed abnormal negative VRM temperature reading for temperatures above 128°C in VT1103 plugin.
      
    • Data sources is no loner erroneously displayed twice in the list of data sources in hardware monitoring history setup window after disabling data source, enabling it and pressing "Defaults" button.
      
    • Data source setup button is no longer grayed in hardware monitoring history setup window when localized GUI is selected.
      
    • Localization database host resize tokens are no longer ignored in hardware monitoring history setup window when localized GUI is selected.
      
    • Fixed bug in hardware monitoring log file viewer causing empty graphs to be displayed when opening multi-GPU log file on single-GPU system.
      
    • Fixed idle memory clock frequency detection for G9x GPU based systems supporting memory clock frequency generator switching to PCIE bus clock (e.g. GeForce 9800GTX+ series display adapters).
      
    • Minor localization and GUI fixes.
      
  
  
  • What's new:
    
    
    • Added ForceWare 182.xx drivers family support.
      
    • Updated databases for Detonator and ForceWare drivers. Added databases for ForceWare 181.20, 181.22 and 182.05.
      
    • Added Catalyst 9.1 drivers family detection.
      
    • Updated PCI DeviceID database for NVIDIA display adapters.
      
    • Added reference fan duty cycle monitoring and low-level fan control tab for G92 based display adapters using integrated on-die fan controller (e.g. GeForce 9800GTX series). Please take a note that low-level fan control tab for display adapters using integrated fan controller is provided only as a workaround allowing you to control the fan if the drivers are completely unable to do it. It is strongly not recommended to use low-level fan control for integrated fan controllers if driver-level fan control functions properly.
      
    • Added heuristic driver version detection for unattached display devices (for example the secondary GPUs in SLI/Crossfire mode invisible to OS) under Windows Vista.
      
    • Improved driver-level overclocking and fan control for NVIDIA multi-GPU systems.
      
    • Improved hardware monitoring module.
      
    • Updated bundled RivaTunerStatisticsServer v3.1.0 utility.
      
    • Updated bundled D3DOverrider v2.0.0 utility.
      
    • Extended Direct3D9 capability bits decoding in low-level diagnostic report module.
      
    • Improved command line interface. Added /SG and /SELECTGPU command line switches allowing selecting tweak target by GPU index rather than by logical display device index represended by previously available /SD and /SELECTDEVICE command line switches. New command line switches are supported for both queued hardware access scripts and for command line based GUI device selection changing.
      
    • Added experimental display configuration tracking mode. Power users may enable this mode using DisplayConfigurationTracking registry entry to force RivaTuner to track changes in your display adapters configuration (e.g. toggling SLI mode on/off or disabling secondary display adapter in the device manager). RivaTuner will reinitialize logical devices list and restart hardware monitoring module on display configuration change.
      
    • Minor GUI changes and improvements.
      
  
  Another great release of the best VGA tweaking utility!
  
  Click here to download this latest version of RivaTuner.
  
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  Hercules XPS 2.1 50 Speaker System Review

  February 17, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  TestFreaks have posted a review of the Hercules XPS 2.1 50, an affordable 2.1 speaker system.
  
  Here is an excerpt:
  
  

  "The bass is nice, it’s very strong and deep, it really adds a lot to the total experience, but the satellite speakers leave a bit to be desired in terms of sound quality. The satellites only have one speaker in them, a mid-range I would presume, so they do a decent job but not the greatest at sound and music reproduction, specifically the high notes seem to be missing. If you turn the subwoofer all the way down, of off basically, and only have the satellites on then it’s very bland sounding, very flat overall. Treble or highs are something that I very much like in my music especially, and that’s something that I look for in speakers or headphones, with these there really isn’t any to be heard, at not very high.
  
  Overall it’s not a bad set of speakers but don’t expect fully accurate musical reproductions from these, they’re not bad, but they’re not that good either, at least for my musical tastes, others might not care too much though as everyone has their own tastes."

  
  Although quite affordable, this product is very hard to recommend when compared to similarly-priced alternatives like the excellent Logitech X-230 and slightly pricier X-540.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  Cyber E Sport Wireless Orbita Mouse Review

  February 17, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Futurelooks and Tweaknews have posted a review of Cyber E Sport's unique wireless Orbita Mouse.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • Futurelooks:
    
    

    "It’s quite clear that the Orbita Mouse from Cyber E Sport was never really intended for mass market consumption. It’s going to be a device targeting a nice market and, as such, this may not necessarily be the product for you.
    
    Taking a look at the product packaging, Cyber E Sport mentions that this mouse would be great for audio and visual editing, 3D modeling, Google Earth zooming, and other similar applications. I’m not much of a video editor myself, but I can see how being able to scroll in a circular motion would be more intuitive. It’s more like spinning a regular knob or a dial, rather than spinning a scroll wheel.
    
    If you’re into 3D modeling and non-linear video editing, the Orbita Mouse can really change your computing experience."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Tweaknews:
    
    

    "For those who spend their day scrolling through line after line of a spreadsheet or page after page of a document or website, the Orbita mouse can make life a whole lot easier. Rotating the entire mouse to scroll instead of using a wheel sounds cumbersome, but actually doing it proved to be a quick and easy process. Initially it does require some patience to learn how to use, but after making it over the learning curve it's hard not to enjoy the new experience or at the very least appreciate it.
    
    While the Orbita works well in most programs, especially ones that require frequent scrolling, it is probably not a good fit for novice computer users or those who are set in their ways. The cosmetic and functional differences between it and a typical mouse are just too great. Those who will end up purchasing it already know how they are going to use it and how it will benefit them. Those are the types of users who Cyber Sport is catering to with this product."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  The following line best summarizes the usefulness of this product: "For those who spend their day scrolling through line after line of a spreadsheet or page after page of a document or website, the Orbita mouse can make life a whole lot easier." If this describes your daily activities then this product is certainly a worth a closer look.
  
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  Top 20 3DMark Vantage Movers & Shakers

  February 16, 2009 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky

  
  Breaking out the spotlight tonight, we continue our weekly look at the top 3DMark Vantage scores submitted to the online result browser (ORB). The charts were buzzing with activity this past week, racking up a grand total of 14 new entries across all four categories. How high did they did they climb? Well, let's take a look:
  
  New to the 3DMark Vantage - Entry Preset Top 20:
  5. E67474 CBGPCS / 2-GTX-295
  6. E56964 Joe Mehnert Benchmark for hire PLEASE -- jmehnert@pdspc.com
  7. E55494 Paragon Development Systems PDSPC.com
  
  New to the 3DMark Vantage - Performance Preset Top 20:
  8. P35599 Sampsa (www.muropaketti.com)
  10. P33003 Dennismagic ~*hkepc / chiphell*
  11. P32959 ELP
  14. P31792 i7 920-ASUS P6TD- BFG GTX 295-QUAD SLI
  18. P30738 Prototype 1
  
  New to the 3DMark Vantage - High Preset Top 20:
  2. H30421 CBGPCS / 2-GTX 295
  5. H27539 Dennismagic ~*hkepc / chiphell...
  7. H24679 joe mehnert benchmark for hire plz
  
  New to the 3DMark Vantage - Extreme Preset Top 20:
  4. X20903 Dennismagic ~*hkepc / chiphell...
  5. X18751 EtheEnthusiast
  6. X18068 Joe Mehnert PDSPC.COM
  
  Wow...now those are some scores to be proud of! I don't know how you folks do it, but keep up the awesome work!
  
  And remember, you can keep track of the top scores throughout the week by visiting our Hall of Fame. Until next time!
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  35-Way 120MM Fan Roundup

  February 16, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  MadShrimps have posted an impressive article in which they test and compare thirty-five 120MM fans, featuring models from an amazing nineteen different manufacturers.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  

  "Today we have large roundup for 120mm fans in store for you; we are testing 19 newcomers and comparing them to 16 older 120mm fans. As always we will keep things to the point, without too much fluff and lots of raw data, analyzed and cut into sections to help you make an informed decision when you’re looking for new 120mm fan.
  
  The products tested today come from some of most respected brands out there: Acousti, Aerocool, Arctic Cooling, Cooler Master, Coolink, CoolJag, Delta, Gelid, Globalwin, mCubed, Nexus, Noctua, NoiseBlocker, Papst, Revoltec, Scythe, Sharkoon, SilenX and XThermal. They have provided us with different models from their product line-up which met our requirements."

  
  Clearly if you are planning on buying any 120MM fan(s) in the future, you owe it yourself to check out this article.
  
  Click here to read the full article.
  
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  SilenX iXtrema Pro VGA Cooler Review

  February 16, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  TweakTown have posted a review of the SilenX iXtrema Pro IXG-80HA2 VGA cooler, along with the optional XG-3F2 fan kit.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  

  "The SilenX iXtrema Pro IXG-80HA2 is a great well thought out cooling solution. It does a nice job of keeping temperatures lower than my stock cooler and with considerably less noise to the room at a loaded state. In order for my stock fan to keep those temperatures I would need to over-ride the BIOS ramping and set the fan manually to 100% fan speed. I’m sure we all know the noise associated with a stock, dual slot cooler at 100% and the SilenX offers a cure for that with this IXG-80HA2.
  
  All things considered, I do like the cooler, but there are a few issues that need to be addressed in my opinion. First off, what is the deal with the fans? Are they supposed to be LED, or are they not LED? - I couldn’t get an answer from SilenX on this, but they did answer me on my next issue. "

  
  Given the price, lack of availability, and currently suspect installation procedure, I believe you can do better than the iXtrema Pro, for example with the Thermalright T-RAD2 and the Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 Rev 2.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  OCZ Apex 120GB Solid State Drive Review

  February 16, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  DriverHeaven have posted a review of the impressive OCZ Apex 120GB solid state drive.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  

  "From our benchmarks and real-world performance it seems that implementing a RAID chip in the Apex SSD was a very clever idea. The internal RAID 0 chip increases the overall performance of the drive significantly without doubling the cost of the drive. It also helps eliminating problems such as momentary stuttering which are associated with early SSDs using the first revision of JMicron JMF602 controllers.
  
  We have been using the Apex as our primary OS drive for several and we faced no stuttering or freezing problems at all. The integration of the RAID chip is entirely imperceptible by the end user and any system recognizes the Apex as a single 120GB drive. It also doesn't seem to increase the power consumption of the drive by any noteworthy percentage, as the Apex still needs less than 1.8W Max to operate."

  
  This is the one SSD that I would choose over Intel's impresive X-25M, as it is not only cheaper but faster across the board.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  Antec Nine Hundred Two ATX Case Review

  February 16, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Anandtech, SweMOD, and XSReviews have just reviewed the new and improved Antec Nine Hundred Two, which is obviously an updated version of the original Nine Hundred.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • Anandtech:
    
    

    "What's the bottom line? The Antec Nine Hundred Two is an attractive case with a relatively conservative design, and it turns in a rather good performance. Our only real reservation right now concerns pricing, but we expect that to change soon enough. As prices continue to drop, we definitely recommend keeping an eye on the Antec Nine Hundred Two; with the right rebate, we'd have no hesitation in recommending this case for just over $100."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • SweMOD:
    
    

    "Well we have today taken a look at the Antec Nine Hundred Two, Antec Nine Hundred II or translated Antec 902. Another product in their gaming category and also it is make II so it should be better than the previous version.
    
    What I can say after this review and I have unfortunately not had the opportunity to test out the first model, but this computer case is outstanding.
    
    The looks, fan controllers, front IO ports, the finish, everything have gotten an update and all seems to be to the better. The Nine Hundred Two is a stylish computer case made for gamers."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • XSReviews:
    
    

    "Well, there's not a lot left to say about the Antec 900 v2, it's a damn nice case. It looks fantastic, has great cooling, is reasonably quiet as long as you pick the right settings, and it's cable management abilities are top notch. It's price isn't amazing, but for the features and build quality, it's completely reasonable.
    
    Really, it's the attention to detail that makes the 900 v2 a nice step up from the original. Outside fan controls, easily removable HDD/Fan cages, dust filters that are easily removable and washable, better placing for the front panel connectors and the nice black interior, all make this my favourite case of the year so far."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Take the most popular gaming case ever, tweak the design to eliminate its shortcomings, keep the price low, and bingo you have the Nine Hundred Two. Two thumbs up!
  
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  ASUS Xonar Essence STX Sound Card Review

  February 16, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Guru3D have just posted a review of the unparalleled ASUS Xonar Essence STX sound card.
  
  Here is an excerpt:
  
  

  "ASUS has proven that they are not only a presence in the PC audio market but a serious force to be reckoned with and an audio design entity not to be taken lightly by fans or competitors. The Xonar sound machine has been put into high gear and the question on my mind is; if the Essence has sound quality this impressive; imagine what ASUS has up their sleeves next?
  
  We highly recommend this card to anybody who wants exceptional sound quality for their headphones or stereo speaker system. This card offers sound quality that is many times better then its price really reflects. I am also awarding this card the Top Pick Editors choice award and it will remain my new reference card for headphones until surpassed by ASUS or another."

  
  The Xonar Essence STX is a top-notch sound card that should greatly appeal to audiophiles. However, gaming enthusiasts would be wise to wait for the only other truly high-end sound card that has been announced, the Auzentech X-Fi HomeTheater HD.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  Steelseries Ikari Laser Mouse Review

  February 13, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  DriverHeaven have posted a review of the gaming-oriented Steelseries Ikari laser mouse.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  

  "Every aspect of this mouse combines to create one of the finest mice we have tested. For a laser unit it has an incredibly low lift-off distance which means that low sensitivity gamers out there are going to be able to reposition the mouse on the pad without issues. The Teflon feet on the underside of the mouse are particularly large and it glides with ease. Additionally, as I mentioned earlier it is one of the most comfortable gaming mice I have ever used and the shape and size actually assist with grip and accuracy, especially at high sensitivity. To top it all off, your CPI settings and macros are stored in the mouse which makes it the perfect candidate for taking to your tournaments and LANs."

  
  Could we have another legitimate contender in the gaming mouse sector? Seems like it. The customer reviews of this mouse are very positive, so clearly Steelseries have done a commendable job designing this product.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  Silverstone Fortress FT01 ATX Case Review

  February 13, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Bjorn3D and Modders-Inc have reviewed the Silverstone Fortress FT01, a high-end aluminium case.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • Bjorn3D:
    
    

    "When I first saw the picture on the box of this chassis, I thought to myself, "Great, another Antec 900 look-a-like." This assumption couldn't have been further from the truth. In fact, the Silverstone FT01B-W is much more than that, and has many features that I haven't ever seen on a mid tower case such as this. Silverstone really did an amazing job with this one.
    
    The Fortress has such a vast amount of features that really make it stand out and above the mid tower crowd and put it more into the enthusiast class as far as cases are concerned. Airflow is one of the main focuses in this case. With two large 180mm fans pulling filtered air in and a 120mm exhaust fan that pushes the warm air out, and cable management helping the case's air flow better because more of the cables are concealed, and lots of options built in on this case, cooling is better and it also makes the inside of your rig look better."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Modders-Inc:
    
    

    "As I stated at the foreword of the review that a PC case is a personal item, but there is one thing that we all have in common and that is we want quite cooling. I was ready for a more noise friendly PC on my desktop and I was rather pleased on how well the SilverStone Fortress FT01 was able to do this. With its Positive Air Flow design, large quite fans and sound proofed panels you do get a much cooler and quieter PC.
    
    The classic SilverStone design that we have come to want is still present in the Fortress FT01 with its smooth lines and aluminum construction. But was unexpected was the new way of thinking about cooling your system. A lot of time, trial and error went intothe testing of the Fortress FT01 which tells me something about SilverStone, they are about their customers, finding new ways to give you a better product and that they give us the best that they can offer."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  This is a great looking case with SilverStone's usual top-notch build quality, but the question ultimately remains up to you regarding whether it is worth the roughly $70-80 price premium over the similarly excellent Storm Sniper.
  
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  3GB vs. 6GB X58 Memory Performance Analysis

  February 13, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  TweakTown have tested the performance of 3GB and 6GB memory configurations on the new Intel X58 Express chipset.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  

  "One of the biggest advantages when moving from 2GB of memory to 4GB of memory was that your overall Vista experience felt smoother and snappier. But moving from 3GB to 6GB doesn't really give us this effect and with 3GB of memory everything is still running very nicely. While for most people they thought that going from 2GB to 4GB of memory gave the best performance increase, it was more so moving from 2GB to 3GB+ that helped the most.
  
  Does this mean that 6GB kits are pointless? No! - For people who multi-task heavily, the extra memory is extremely handy. Also, start throwing programs like Photoshop and other graphics rendering / creating programs into it and the extra memory is not really wanted; rather, it’s needed."

  
  Based on these results, if you are building a Core i7 system and funds are currently tight, then selecting a cheaper 3GB triple-channel memory kit will not have a negative effect on general performance.
  
  Click here to read the full article.
  
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  Cooler Master Storm Sniper ATX Case Review

  February 13, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Hardware Canucks have posted a review of the new Cooler Master Storm Sniper, an impressive high-end mid-tower case.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  

  "Of all the features the Sniper brings to the table, we were most impressed with its extremely spacious and easy to work with interior. Cooler Master paid a great deal of attention to detail and implemented some great cable management and tool-less installation features that made working with it a real pleasure. Its spacious interior also made tasks like installing the motherboard a real piece of cake and the sturdy top handles and the StormGuard security feature make it a great choice to bring to LAN events.
  
  In the performance department, Cooler Master has definitely put a lot of thought into the design. The case is very well ventilated with oversize 200mm fans, optional fan mounting locations and some healthy watercooling potential. The included fan and LED controller also provides a nice degree of performance and noise control. The fans selected for the case were all very quiet at even maximum RPM. Just about anyone concerned with quiet operation will be satisfied with the Sniper in this regard. The only real complaint we have about airflow is the somewhat restrictive drive cage that blocks some much needed airflow to the video cards. Thankfully an intake fan installed in the optional floor location will remedy this issue."

  
  First the HAF 932, and now the Storm Sniper, Cooler Master is on a role with their high-end gaming cases. These are somewhat pricey models, but given the impressive functionality and cooling capabilities, they are worth every penny.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 CPU Cooler Review

  February 13, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Elite Bastards have posted a review of the high-end Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 CPU cooler.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  

  "We've been on a concerted search for good Core i7, Socket LGA 1366 compatible CPU coolers here at Elite Bastards in recent weeks, and in the NH-U12P SE166 it seems safe to say that we've found the best of the bunch so far.
  
  In terms of both cooling performance and noise levels Noctua's offering has something to offer - It certainly clocks in as the most effective cooler that has nuzzled itself against our Core i7 940 thus far, and if low noise is your primary concern then making use of the cooler's ultra-low noise adapters attached to its pair of fans gives us the quietest Core i7 cooler we've tested as of this moment to boot, particularly when the CPU is under a heavy workload - An impressive feat considering its use of two fans against the single fan solutions preferred by Akasa and GELID's offerings."

  
  This Noctua model rivals the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme 1366RT as the best CPU cooler for the new Core i7 processors. Flip a coin and you surely will not be disappointed.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  Samsung Syncmaster 2243BW LCD Monitor Review

  February 12, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  PCSTATS have posted a review of the Samsung Syncmaster 2243BW, a 22-inch LCD monitor featuring a 1680x1050 resolution.
  
  Here's an excerpt:
  
  

  "The 22" widescreen Samsung Syncmaster 2243BW LCD display falls into the latter category, and so it is most definitely oriented towards budget-minded and gaming crowds. The Samsung 2243BW retails for a very affordable $270 CDN, and while it has the screen real estate every professional users wants, its limited viewing angles and shallow colour gamut make it an unsuitable LCD monitor for professional tasks in our opinion.
  
  The 22" Samsung 2243BW features fairly average 170°/160° viewing angles, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, and typical brightness value of 300cd/m2. These specs conspire to make this widescreen 1680x1050 pixel panel a bit of a mixed bag. The screen is rated for a 5ms pixel response time, but minor light bleed through was visible around the bevel on an all black test screen."

  
  This is a decent enough monitor, but with the recent emergence of e-IPS monitors it is hard to recommend a TN-based model in a similar price range.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  Gigabyte P45 & X48 Motherboard Reviews

  February 12, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  iXBT Labs and PCSTATS have reviewed two Gigabyte motherboards featuring the Intel P45 Express and X48 Express chipsets.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • iXBT Labs: Gigabyte EP45T-Extreme Motherboard:
    
    

    "Unfortunately, before we proceed to praises -- Gigabyte EP45T-Extreme produces the best impressions -- let's take a look at its price. Alas, this is a top motherboard not only in features, quality, and technologies, but also in price. What will you get for $300 and is it worth it? Its functionality is certainly great, although the board lacks eSATA and FireWire on the rear panel (we do not mean those ports on brackets). On the other hand, there are practically no redundant functions, and this chipset remains the best solution for Core 2 processors.
    
    What concerns other characteristics, the situation is contrary. Apparent excesses -- all-copper cooling system and an additional module in the bundle. The choice of electronic components is excellent, but it hardly justifies a motherboard with 12 (virtual) VRM phases, while processors overclock well even on motherboards with 4-phase PWM controllers. A huge number of on-board LEDs can be replaced with a simple Windows utility. Besides, you don't see these indicators, when you close the lid on your PC enclosure."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • PCSTATS: Gigabyte GA-X48-DS5 Intel X48 Express Motherboard:
    
    

    "Gigabyte's GA-X48-DS5 motherboard has a wealth of features to salivate over - 32 lanes of PCI Express 2.0 connectivity, dual storage controllers that support RAID 0/1/5/10 as well as on-board IEEE 1394 and eSATA. The board retails for around $275CDN ($225 USD, 150 GBP), a price point that is the other defining feature of the upper-end enthusiast motherboard market.
    
    Gigabyte's take on the Intel X48 chipset achieved good overclocking speeds on the PCSTATS test bed. An overclocked speed of 525MHz isn't bad though, and the array of tweaking variables and fine tuning for overclockers will certainly let users squeeze every last drop of performance out of their hardware."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  Given how great the mainstream P45 chipset is, the allure of the X38 and X48 chipsets has diminished greatly. This is especially true when you consider the P45's drastically superior overclocking capabilities. The EP45-Extreme (DDR2) and EP45T-Extreme (DDR3) motherboards are truly excellent, and they should be near the top of your list if you are building a LGA775 system in the near future.
  
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  AMD & Intel Processor Reviews

  February 12, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  There has been a steady flow of processor reviews this week, so instead of posting them individually I have compiled a decent list of various AMD and Intel processor reviews:
  
  
• Benchmark Reviews: AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition CPU HDZ940XCGIBOX.
  
  
• bit-tech: AMD's Phenom II 810, 805, 720 & 710 socket AM3 processors.
  
  
• ITreviewed: AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 940 Black Edition Reviewed.
  
  
• PC Perspective: Intel Atom 330 Dual-core Processor Review.
  
  
• Rbmods: Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Quad Review.
  
  
• SharkyExtreme: AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition & X4 810 Review.
  
  
• TechwareLabs: AMD Phenom II AM3 X4 810 2.6GHz Quad-Core CPU.
  
  
  Enjoy!
  
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  Cooler Master V10 CPU Cooler Review

  February 12, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  PureOverclock and X-bit Labs have posted a review of the giganormous Cooler Master V10 CPU cooler.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • PureOverclock:
    
    

    "The Cooler Master V10 certainly does earn its moniker, garnering as much attention about its size as what is under the hood. There isn’t much that is subtle here; the V10 is big and brash about its looks and performance, boasting considerable horsepower in a beefy package.
    
    From an aesthetics standpoint, the V10 does sport a rugged look that will look sharp in just about any case with its black palette, accented with chrome details and red LED fans. No doubt, it is unique. Functionally speaking, the V10 occupies a massive volume inside a case and will leave some people out of luck in the space requirement department, but the airflow across the motherboard, mofsets, and memory slots is considerable, there is no question. The cooler is not quiet though, and does generate a substantial amount of noise that won’t be entirely drowned out inside a case; it rivals a 38mm / 85cfm Panaflo I have sitting on the desk, if that’s any indication."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • X-bit Labs:
    
    

    "I have to say honestly, that I was a little bit disappointed with Cooler Master V10 performance today compared against two other super-coolers. In fact, the newcomer’s performance was very good, but I personally was expecting a more convincing victory over the competitors. Otherwise, I simply cannot justify the high price of this new solution, its extreme weight and size as well as very complex design using 10 heatpipes, three heatsinks, two fans and thermo-electrical module. Yes, I remember that there is also new ThermalFusion 400 thermal interface and hope that the new cooler will do better on a new Core i7 platform, which we are going to check out in one of our upcoming articles. So stay tuned for the next series of tests!"

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Frankly, given the hype around this cooler the results are a touch disappointing. For this amount of money, the cooling performance is merely ok, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it over the best from Noctua and Thermalright.
  
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  Thermaltake Spedo Advance Full Tower Case Review

  February 12, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  DriverHeaven and Techgage have posted a review of the Thermaltake Spedo Advance full tower case.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • DriverHeaven:
    
    

    "First and foremost, one of the most important aspects of a gaming chassis is the cooling ability and the Thermaltake Spedo certainly succeeds here. In our thermal testing the case performs admirably and effort has certainly been put in to ensure first-class airflow capability.
    
    The ATC system is being heavily promoted in the features list for this case … it is a system of compartments that separate your hottest components to direct airflow from one away from the others. It certainly shows some promise, specifically in the gaming test where the CPU benefited from being separated from the hot air generated by the GPU.
    
    However, without the fan bracket facing the GPU section the graphics card reports higher temperatures with the ATC components than without which gives us some concern over what would happen to the temperatures if you had two 4870 X2s squeezed into that restricted space for example. The advantages of the ATC in our test system really are minimal, however It would certainly benefit passively cooled cards but we can’t imagine most people in the market for such a case would be fitting it with passively cooled products."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Techgage:
    
    

    "As I sit here finalizing my thoughts on the Spedo, I am at odds as to how I feel about it. On one hand, it is a very capable chassis with well above average cooling characteristics. The design and layout shows attention to detail. It is very roomy and offers lots of space for upgrades. Having the ability to hold up to 12 hard drives is almost mind-boggling. Add into the mix the well-planned cable management system and we should have a knock-out winner.
    
    My main beef is the use of far too much plastic. In fact, so much plastic is used, that the case creeks and groans as it is being handled. The caddies for the hard drives can be temperamental to get open as the latches seemed to hang up when presses. Same thing happened with the tool less 5 ¼ bay locks. The final nail in the plastic coffin was the lever for the positional fan mount. That just feels cheap."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  This is a functional and good looking case, but as mentioned in the reviews there is a little bit too much plastic given the price.
  
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  Intel Westmere 32nm CPU Roadmap Revealed

  February 11, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Yesterday, Intel revealed their plans for the upcoming 'Westmere' 32nm processor series, and here is some coverage from the sites that were fortunate enough to be included in the afternoon media briefing.
  
  So without further ado on to the coverage:
  
  
  • Anandtech: Intel's 32nm Update: The Follow-on to Core i7 and More:
    
    

    "What is there to say other than: it’s a healthy roadmap. The only casualty I’ve seen is Havendale but I’d gladly trade Havendale for a 32nm version. But let’s get down to what this means for what you should buy and when.
    
    At the very high end, Core i7 users have little reason to worry. While Intel is expected to bump i7 up to 3.33GHz in the near future, nothing below i7 looks threatening in 2009. Moving into 2010, the 6-core 32nm i7 successor should be extremely powerful. Intel’s strategy with LGA-1366 makes a lot of sense: if you want more cores, this is the platform you’re going to have to be on."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • bit-tech: Intel 32nm and Westmere coverage‏:
    
    

    "The company plans to spend a whopping $7 billion US over the next two years on building the four 32nm fabrication plants, creating 7,000 high-skill jobs in the US. One is already up and running in Oregon, where another plant is scheduled to be running by the end of 2009. Meanwhile, two further fabs will be built in Arizona and New Mexico in 2010.
    The 32nm processors are based on the same materials used in Intel’s 45nm chips, using a high-k gate dielectric and a metal gate, as opposed to the old SiO2 dielectric and polysilicon gate used in Intel’s previous 65nm chips. However, Intel was keen to point out that it’s now refined the high-k + metal gate technology, which the company says is now in its second generation."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • HotHardware: Intel Details 32nm Westmere Family Processors:
    
    

    "Hot on the heels of the Core i7, Intel disclosed some details regarding the acceleration of their 32nm product ramp today in a press conference. Dubbed Westmere, the new processor family will have a smaller die geometry, increased performance across single and multithreaded usage scenarios (as compared to today's Core 2 product family), and an integrated graphics engine in some versions, as well as on-board AES encryption processing support. The Westmere family will bring the technological advances of Nehalem to the mainstream processor line of desktop and mobile computing products."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Legit Reviews: Intel 32nm Westmere Desktop Processor Roadmap Exposed:
    
    

    "Intel's tick-tock model has successfully delivered the next-generation of silicon technology and new microprocessor architecture year after year. Even with the economy slowing, the Intel tick-tock model has not been impacted as it is planned 3-4 years ahead. The next major change will come with the next tock, which is a whole new microarchitecture with Sandy Bridge. The move to 32nm Westmere is really just a minor process technology change on the processor side of things. What Westmere means for mainstream consumers is that the long lived socket LGA 775 is seeing its replacement for the very first time. It is hard to believe that LGA 775 platforms have been around since 2004 and lasted to this point, but it will soon be replaced with the new socket LGA 1156, along with the upcoming 5-series of chipsets (P55, P57)."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • PC Perspective: Intel 32nm Westmere CPU and Roadmap Updates‏:
    
    

    "Intel still plans to be in production of 32nm Westmere parts (Clarksdale and Arrandale) in Q4 of this year though they wouldn't got as far as to say that systems based on these designs would be available before the end of the year. This "reprioritization" that Intel is making is essentially moving up the range of products based on the 32nm technology and how quickly the ramp to that process node will accelerate. And all of these moves will be powered courtesy of the $7 billion investment that Intel is making in state-side fab facilities.
    Overall, the impression that I get from this meeting was that 2009 will be a somewhat slower than expected year in terms of new product releases but that Intel has confidence that 2010 will bring some change to our economy; it is hedging $7 billion, and its entire roadmap, on that fact."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Techgage: Intel Reveals Westmere 32nm Roadmap:
    
    

    "As a closing statement, I have to say that today's announcements are quite impressive. Even though a lot of what we've learned about today has been rumored or planned for a while, it was great to get a solid update that exposed so much information, and because of that, we can have a much better grasp on what to expect from Intel later this year and into next.
    
    Personally, I'm most looking forward to the 32nm desktop and mobile chips. The ability to have four threads available and an integrated GPU sounds like a great deal to me. When released, it should be easier than ever to build a very small PC that's still capable. Intel's integrated graphics haven't been all-too-impressive in the past where performance is concerned, but with a pairing of the CPU and GPU on the same substrate, we might see performance that blows past all of the competition."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  It is full steam ahead on the Intel front, and that is good for all of us. The transition to 32nm is going to bring forth a whole slew of unprecedented new processors (CPU + GPU hybrids for starters), with higher clock speeds, greater overclocking potential, but also lower heat output and power consumption.
  
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  Noctua NH-C12P CPU Cooler Review

  February 11, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  OCModShop and ThinkComputers have reviewed the Noctua NH-C12P CPU cooler, which is compatible with both LGA775 and LGA1366 processors.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  
  • OCModShop: Noctua NH-C12P CPU Cooler Review:
    
    

    "So to wrap it up I couldn’t find any flaw that was mentionable, basically with this cooler should last you at least 5 years as its got enough cooling capability for the CPUs to come, and with a free mounting kit for the future you truly can’t go wrong with this cooler.
    
    The looks the feel the packaging everything is top notch, as expected from Austrian quality, they certainly dint have too many kirsch snaps when designing this and came up with a seemingly perfect product. Hence forth I can only award this with the full 5 star ranking and a gold medal on top."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • ThinkComputers: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler w/LGA 1366 Installation Kit Review:
    
    

    "Some may complain about the lack of lapping on the cooler base, especially for a cooler at this price. Noctua feels that their thermal compound works better on bases that aren't lapped, and with the temps I received, I have no complaint. I was a little disappointed that the fan wasn't PWM, but it isn't loud at full speed, and Noctua includes adapters to slow it down to silence.
    
    The NH-U12P sells for $59.99 at my favorite online retailer. The NH-U12P SE 1366 model runs $84.99, making it the most expensive CPU air cooler they have. They didn't have the LGA 1366 conversion kit, but I expect it to be around $20-$25. Yes, it is expensive. But if you need something to cool that highly overclocked i7, and aren't interested in liquid cooling, you may need to look no further. ThinkComputers.org gives the Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler w/LGA 1366 kit a 9 out of 10 score."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  No matter how you look at it this is a fantastic cooler and although pricey, it is arguably worth every penny.
  
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  Cooler Master ATCS 840 Full Tower Case Review

  February 11, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  ThinkComputers and Tweaknews have posted a review of the Cooler Master ATCS 840 full tower case.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • ThinkComputers:
    
    

    "The Cooler Master ATCS 840 is a very powerful and easy to use case. Its full tower size can be used for any kind of system builder from newbie to the water coolers. I believe it has plenty of cooling by itself with three 230mm fans and another 120mm fan, but if you don't think that's enough you can install another four 120mm fans throughout the case.
    While I only came across minor problems, most of which could be easily fixed, I really couldn't find myself to say there was anything worth arguing about in this case. Everything seems to be fit nicely. With the tons of features including the latest E-ATX and Dual Power Supply design it is well worth the $260 you'd be putting into this case."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Tweaknews:
    
    

    "rice is the only other issue I can find with the ATCS 840 Classic. Widely available online, this chassis retails for around $250 US putting it somewhere in the middle of the high-end, full-tower aluminum chassis price range. Even at this pricepoint, the ATCS 840 demonstrates good value when you consider the quality construction, extensive feature set and awesome cooling potential. For the discriminating PC enthusiast, Cooler Master's ATCS 840 Classic is going to be hard to beat. It's a high quality, sturdy case with an excellent feature set and room enough for the most demanding systems. Materials and construction are top-notch and the configuration options make the 840 even more attractive to the modding and watercooling communities. If you can afford to spend this kind of money on a case, I can recommend the ATCS 840 Classic without reservation."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  The ATCS 840 is a pricey, but very high-quality case with fantastic features like a removable motherboard tray, pop-up I/O panel, and great cooling properties.
  
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  Microsoft SideWinder X6 Keyboard Review

  February 11, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Futurelooks have posted a review of the sleek Microsoft SideWinder X6 keyboard.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  

  "There’s still a few niggling issues that need to be ironed out, and as noted earlier they’re either deal-breaking or simple-annoyance. The position of the Esc key takes some getting used to, but it’s the length of the spacebar that really sticks out. It’s hard to avoid accidentally hitting it, and it makes the lower corner of the X6 a little too cramped.
  
  In the end, the Microsoft SideWinder X6 keyboard still gets our recommendation. Even if you simply need to pair it with a SideWinder X5 mouse, it makes a good purchase. The two do look stunning together. That being said, it does have a few things that someone might find annoying, but it’s also has a lot of features someone might want in the form of macros galore and a detachable keypad. With all this in mind, I’m actually quite excited to see what Microsoft has in store next."

  
  Overall, this looks like a good keyboard, but I'm not sure that I would rank it up there with the best from Logitech and Razer. Definitely try it out in-store before buying one.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  Cooler Master Storm Sniper PC Case Review

  February 11, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  High Tech Reviews, Metku, and SweMOD have reviewed the attractive new Cooler Master Storm Sniper PC case.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • High Tech Reviews:
    
    

    "Assembly went very well due in part to the large amount of open space you have to work with inside the Sniper. You can see by looking at the first picture that having the power supply located at the bottom of the case is definitely a plus. The fact that you also have such a large amount of room on the front portion of the motherboard is just like topping on the case.
    
    One thing we especially like about Spider is the use of LED fans in both the front and top of the case. The color is a soft blue color that gives you case a very subtle but colorful appearance at night. Thanks to the multi-function controller you can adjust the lights on the case as well as the speed of the fans."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Metku:
    
    

    "I've now tested four gaming cases, Antec 1200, 300, NZXT Tempest and CM Sniper and from this bunch the Sniper is my favorite. The main things that I like are the spacious internal layout, quiet yet effective cooling and the overall ease of use. On paper the case is huge, with two dimensions over half a meter, but somehow it still manages to look smaller. And after all, it fits under the desk just fine.
    
    After trying hard to find something negative in the case, I think I'd rather have a model with solid left side. Now there's the huge mesh that looks nice and has dust filter, but I'd still prefer a solid for the better noise insulation. But this is a domain of personal preference and can not be counted as a con."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • SweMOD:
    
    

    "The Sniper comes with a stylish design and lots of features. Cooler Master has really gone through this case on the design level and made sure to put a little of everything into it. The case itself is not too heavy, but when the system is installed inside of it, it becomes quite heavy.
    
    However, with the handles at top it will be a breeze to move it around.
    
    The built-in fan controller in the top panel is also a great feature to master control all of your fans, for either medium temperature and quiet case or high performance pressure cooling your components to the max."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  The Storm Sniper is an attractive and functional case, and it is a great alternative to the more extreme HAF932.
  
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  Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 X58 Motherboard Review

  February 11, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Hardware Canucks have posted a review of the impressive Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 motherboard.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  

  "In the overclocking department, we fully expected to get great results out of the EX58-UD5, after all GIGABYTE have amply demonstrated their commitment to overclocking, and our high expectations were rightly justified. Our overclocking results came within an inch of the purpose-built Rampage II Extreme, and made one of the fastest configuration's that money can buy a heck of a lot faster. With the intuitive, option-rich MB Intelligent Tweaker (M.I.T.) BIOS section and EasyTune6 software it is easy to tweak all system settings and achieve some solid overclocking results. During all our exhaustive overclocking endeavours the board never missed a beat, demonstrating top-notch stability even while we pushed our components to the limit. When we did push things too far, the motherboard recovered perfectly, if not a little slowly, and never required a CMOS reset or battery removal."

  
  The EX58-UD5 is a solid, fully-featured motherboard with top-notch overclocking capabilities and a great price, so what's not to like?
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  600W-850W Power Supply Review Roundup

  February 9, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  JonnyGURU, ocaholic, PureOverclock, and Virtual-Hideout have reviewed 600W to 850W power supplies from Cooler Master, Corsair, and In Win.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • JonnyGURU: Coolermaster Silent Pro M600 Power Supply Review:
    
    

    "Coolermaster has something here in the Silent Pro M 600W. What they have is a nice, well performing, efficient power supply that doesn't make a lot of noise. As most other units I've looked at there are some drawbacks like the cheap group regulated design and the not so stellar performance in the overshoot transient testing, but things like the above average regulation for a group design and the awesome ripple suppression goes a long way. Would I buy one of these? Yes I would."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • ocaholic: Corsair TX850W Power Supply Review:
    
    

    "ecent technics, high-class components, stability, efficiency and quiet running, that's where the Corsair TX850W scores. Furthermore the the TX850W is built within the ATX standard and therefore it will fit into every ATX case.
    
    The efficiency of 82 percent is between good and very good. Further even under high load the different rails are stable and there is only less fluctuation.
    
    Regarding the size of the TX850W Corsair stays within the ATX norm and it is therefore possible to put this PSU into every ATX case without encountering problems relating to the size."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • PureOverclock: In Win Commander 750W/850W:
    
    

    "The InWin Commander 750w and 850w units are power supplies that deliver solid features and rock solid performance when heavily loaded with power-hungry components. From a feature standpoint, the accessories included in this package are adequate, but there is a great assortment of sleeved modular cables that support SLI/CrossFire setups. Having four 6+2-pin cables on a 750w power supply is rare, and In Win has made a wise decision here to include them, given the demand for dual-card graphics setups. The cable connector setup employs an easy-to-use and colour-coded connection design, and the entire package is housed in a scratch-resistant finish with a very unique military-themed aesthetic. From a functional standpoint, the Commander series boasts excellent voltage regulation, very good efficiency, and a very quiet operation. We did experience a bit of a dropoff in the 12V when the 750w was fully loaded, but that could be attributed to the power draw being far more than the recommended specification we imposed on the unit."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Virtual-Hideout: In Win Commander 850w Power Supply Review:
    
    

    "Based on the same standards, the In-Win Commander 850 Watt Power Supply can easily handle your loftiest power requirements. At 100% load, the PSU produces power rails just above spec which earns it a spot on my Extreme Gamer Approved list. The all important 12V rails remained 12.07 or above which is all you can expect from this mean, green gaming machine. However, I did manage to find an extra 35 Watts under that militant exterior which was still supported by at least 11.97 Volts.
    
    Due to the extra performance and reliable power rails, as well as maintaining a respectable efficiency score, it earns my Approved and Recommended badges. But, seeing it's also a first step in to the extreme gaming market, it only seems fitting to give it a Gold award as well."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  The new Corsair TX850 is bar-none the best power supply in this little group, and it is a powerful enough for 99% of hardware configurations.
  
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  NVIDIA GeForce GTX 200 Series Reviews

  February 9, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Bigbruin, Guru3D, HotHardware, Metku, and TweakTown have reviewed a few NVIDIA GeForce GTX 200 series graphics cards from ASUS, EVGA, Gainward, and Leadtek.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • Bigbruin: Leadtek Limited WinFast GTX260 EXTREME+ Video Card Review:
    
    

    "Aside from a few issues, the Leadtek Limited WinFast GTX260 EXTREME+ is a very impressive video card. It provides strong performance in 3D games, it has the ability to handle any multimedia tasks with ease, and it is so quiet that it is well suited for use in just about any type of system. It could be the card to provide some gaming muscle to your desktop, LAN rig, or HTPC!"

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Guru3D: ASUS GeForce GTX 295 review (ENGTX295)‏:
    
    

    "ASUS will cover your ass with a three year warranty on the product which is very decent. Overall, we just really like the GTX 295 from ASUS. We do feel though that the software bundle is a little sober. Other AIBs include a full game in their bundles or heck, even throw an HDMI cable into the box. but you do purchase a product from a majestic name in the industry and that says something just as well. In the end your call and your choice, the boards are reference based and really all the same. So be on the lookout for bundle, preferred brand and things like warranty if you are in the market for a GTX 295. Much like any other GeForce GTX 295 out there, we can recommend the ASUS GeForce GTX 295 (ENGTX295) very much. It's a grand product at an acceptable price."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • HotHardware: EVGA GeForce GTX 295 Plus:
    
    

    "The EVGA GeForce GTX 295 Plus' status also means the card commands a hefty price premium and availability is limited. According to our price search engine, the EVGA GeForce GTX 295 can be had for about $529 - $539, a full $30 to $40 more expensive than reference GeForce GTX 295 cards. And it was only being offered by two retailers. If you don't plan to overclock on your own, the extra investment will yield some guaranteed increases in performance, and we can't forget EVGA's excellent lifetime warranty. However, for a card that's already pricey, an extra 40 bucks can be a tough pill to swallow.
    
    Ultimately though, the EVGA GeForce GTX 295 Plus offers killer performance and stands out in a sea of stock reference cards. If you've got the funds and are looking for a graphics card in its class, do yourself a favor and check out the EVGA GeForce GTX 295 Plus."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Metku: Gainward 285GTX Graphics Card Review:
    
    

    "All in all, the 285GTX is a nice update of the 280GTX. Some may complain that it doesn't improve that much on the existing products. Sure, the core is just about the same as the GT200 found on the 280GTX and card really looks the same, but the card runs cooler and the newer technology used for the GT200b-chip gives us some more headroom in clock speeds."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • TweakTown: ASUS GeForce ENGTX285 TOP Graphics Card‏:
    
    

    "Really, we have a pretty good card here; good performance and a nice bundle help make the card attractive. While the money can be saved for some people who can overclock, if you can't be bothered and want to simply put the card in your system and start gaming, it's pretty good value.
    
    With that said, though, we're looking forward to testing the Extreme model from ASUS which carries with it even higher clocks and as expected, a higher price tag. Overall, we have a good card here and while not for everyone, it does cater to a market who no doubt are going to love it."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Enjoy!
  
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  Intel X58 Motherboard Review Roundup - ASUS, DFI, MSI & More

  February 9, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  CPU3D, HotHardware, iXBT Labs, ocaholic, TweakTown, Viper Lair, and Virtual-Hideout have reviewed a number of Intel X58 Express motherboards from ASRock, ASUS, DFI, Gigabyte, Intel, and MSI.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • CPU3D: Gigabyte EX58 UD4 Motherboard‏:
    
    

    "If you're a mainstream user who's after some great innovative features, but don't really care too much about overclocking ... then the Gigabyte EX58-UD4 is worth considering. For users who's after all of the above and SLI support, then Gigabyte's next model up ... the EX58-UD4P is your answer."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • HotHardware: X58 Showdown: ASUS Rampage II Extreme vs. MSI Eclipse:
    
    

    "The MSI Eclipse and ASUS Rampage II Extreme performed at near identical levels according to our benchmark results. Throughout our testing, the boards traded victories and typically finished within a percentage point of one another. What we hope you take from of this article, however, is how well the X58 paired with Intel's Core i7 performs compared to quad-core Core 2 CPUs and other platforms. As the benchmarks show, these boards in combination with Intel's latest desktop processors are truly in a league of their own at this time."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • iXBT Labs: ASUS P6T Deluxe OC Palm Edition Motherboard‏:
    
    

    "As the first motherboard with Socket 1366 in our test lab, ASUS P6T Deluxe is bound to attract extra attention as it features so many new technologies. And our readers' interest to the new processor microarchitecture, new CPU family, new socket, new chipset, etc. inevitably touches the motherboard as well."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • ocaholic: ASRock X58 Super Computer Mainboard:
    
    

    "The best bit of the ASRock X58 Super Computer is its BIOS. You'll be provided with lots of settings which are understandable arranged and complete by well working overclocking tools. Furthermore you'll find a lot of accessoires in the delivery.
    
    Summarizing we can state that the ASRock X58 Super Computer is a good motherboard to a fair price."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • TweakTown: DFI LANParty UT X58-T3eH8 Core i7 Motherboard‏:
    

    "X58 boards are coming out thick and fast now and it won’t be long before every motherboard company has at least one variant of the X58 out there; some even more. One thing is for sure, though, Intel really has made a product that everyone wants and with X58 being the only chipset for the moment supporting Core i7, it’s a hot product with a lot going for it."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Viper Lair: MSI X58 Eclipse Motherboard:
    
    

    "Overall, MSI has produced a very nice product with the X58 Eclipse . It was stable, very fast and with the 1.32 BIOS, a very good overclocker. The results compared to its Intel counterpart were close, though it did trail slightly across the board at stock speeds. Where MSI realy comes out ahead though is the included extras such as quality audio and excellent system management hardware and software tools.
    
    For expansion and future growth, there is little to be desired. There are plenty of storage options, as well as more than enough cabling to allow a user to add on devices without having to purchase more cables. With CrossFire and SLI support, you're set here as well if gaming is your sole intention."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Virtual-Hideout: Intel DX58SO "Smackover" Motherboard:
    
    

    "Let's not forget the Intel DX58SO Smackover Motherboard. The 965 is a very demanding processor especially when it's ramped up at full load making quick work of the most intensive tasks. Couple that with high performance Triple Channel memory requiring even more system support and it becomes an extremely demanding, if not a daunting, task keeping all the components in line working together. This motherboard is probably one of Intel's best major achievements in quite some."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Enjoy!
  
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  Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200S Processor Review

  February 9, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Legit Reviews and Techgage have posted a review of the new low-power Q8200S quad-core processor.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • Legit Reviews: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200S Processor Review:
    
    

    "If you are looking to build a system and are wanting to run a 45nm quad-core processor then give the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 a close look. At $169.99 shipped it will be hard to pass up at a time like now when consumers are starting to budget their hard earned money. With hundreds of LGA 775 motherboards on the market running Intel chipsets you also don't have to look too far to find a great motherboard to build a solid and stable computer. For those of you looking to build a HTPC or SFF, you should take a closer look at the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200S 65W TDP. The extra price might be well worth it to you since heat and noise are the main areas of concern when building one of those systems."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Techgage: Q9400S & Q8200S: Intel's 65W Quad-Cores:
    
    

    "When Intel first released their 65W Quad-Core offerings, they were catering to their customers who demanded fast processors with the lowest possible TDP. It wasn't until a few months after-the-fact that the company decided to release the same CPUs to the general public, and while it's going to be a niche product, it's great that they made that decision. Any day that a consumer has a sheer amount of choice available is a good one.
    
    That being said, these processors are a hard sell. It's difficult to explain the true benefits of a processor with a lower TDP, but those who own or build SFF PC's understand just how important it is to have as efficient a processor as possible. Normally, this results in an under-performing processor, because people don't want their PCs to overheat. But with the "S" series, the ability to have both a high-efficiency and high-performance processor is far greater."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Want a cheap Q8200S? Just under-volt a Q8200 and voila!
  
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  AMD Phenom II X4 Subzero Overclocking Tests

  February 9, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Our friends over at MadShrimps have taken an AMD Phenom II X4 940, added a few liters of LN2, and achieved some remarkable results. If you are an overclocking enthusiasts you owe it to yourself to check out these brief articles:
  
  
  • AMD Phenom II X4 940 Subzero Overclocking Test: 6Ghz Obtainable?.
    
    
  • AMD PiFast World Record Broken.
    
  
  
  Top-notch results from a great site!
  
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  OCZ Apex 120GB Solid State Drive Reviews

  February 9, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Benchmark Reviews and bit-tech have reviewed the new OCZ Apex 120GB solid state drive.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  • Benchmark Reviews:
    
    

    "In conclusion, the OCZ Apex MLC Solid State Drive offers an excellent balance of read and write bandwidth speed and an exceptional response time at a modest price. Second to only one other SSD product on the present market, the OCZ Apex nearly matches performance at half the cost. Many would claim that MLC SSDs aren't worth the trouble, but for desktop and notebook users the Apex series is perfectly suited for high-performance tasks. The dual JMF602B SSD controllers may not offer the large cache buffer we would like to see (and the upcoming OCZ Vertex includes), but the internal JMicron JMB390 RAID-0 controller makes all the difference in this Solid State Drive. I recommend the OCZ Apex series to demanding consumers looking for highest-order speed with near-instant response time... and excellent value for the performance it delivers."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • bit-tech:
    
    

    "Value wise the Apex is also a little disappointing. While we appreciate that cutting edge tech always carries a premium, the cost per gigabyte of the Apex at £2.87 in comparison to the G.Skill Titan’s £1.83 doesn’t make it as appealing (if you can ever call that sort of price per Gigabyte appealing!), although it’s still a lot better than the £4.50 per Gigabyte Intel charges for its 80GB X25-M.
    
    If you’re genuinely thinking about splashing this sort of cash on an SSD though, rather than opt for the OCZ Apex 120GB SSD, you might as well go the whole hog and grab the G.Skill, which packs more well rounded overall performance and more than twice the capacity for just £125 more! That might sound like a lot, but in the world of SSDs it really is worth it, especially if you’re considering using the drive as a boot disk for a high end system – after all, you can never have too much hard drive space.
    
    While the OCZ Apex 120GB is still an admirable step up from the previous generation of OCZ SSDs thanks to the innovative use of the dual JMicron drive controllers, its performance isn’t quite what we’d hoped for considering what we know the drive’s design is capable of. Add to this the unattractive price tag and you end up with a drive that, while strong on its own merits, struggles in comparison to what else is out there in the market."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Although it is expensive, this is one very, very fast SSD. Clearly OCZ have done their homework and produced a top-notch product.
  
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  Corsair Dominator 6GB DDR3-1600 C8 Memory Kit Reviews

  February 9, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Benchmark Reviews and Hardware Canucks have reviewed the Corsair Dominator TR3X6G1600C8D, a 6GB triple-channel PC3-12800 8-8-8 memory kit.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • Benchmark Reviews: Corsair Dominator 6GB DD3 Memory Kit TR3X6G1600C8D:
    
    

    "In conclusion, the Corsair Dominator PC3-12800DDR3 1600MHz 6GB RAM Kit offers unmatched performance and offers the best system overclocking speeds available. As the demand for tri-channel DDR3 kits grow in number these modules will be in high demand by the masses, and they will certainly reward those who purchase them. These Dominator DDR3 modules are critical for pushing the rest of your system well beyond the manufacturer's intended specifications. This kit comes highly recommended from Benchmark Reviews."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Hardware Canucks: Corsair Dominator 3x2GB PC3-12800 C8 DDR3 Memory Review:
    
    

    "If we had to recommend this memory to a target audience we obviously couldn't point the high-end benchmarkers and overclockers its way. The overclocking headroom do to a lack of usable voltage just doesn't allow the clocking to scale and limits are found rather early. With that said, however, the headroom this kit did provide with the rated voltage is rather substantial and quite impressive reaching an almost DDR3-1800 at the 8-8-8 1T timings. This kind of headroom definitely gives the enthusiast the flexibility to seek out peak performance from a system with the limited memory ratios of the X58 chipset and i7 processors. For this reason, we can easily recommend anyone looking for performance memory that should give them some significant wiggle room from stock clocks to look at the Corsair Dominator 3x2GB TR3X6G1600C8D memory. At the price we can find it for in Canada it is reasonably competitive with the competition and not too far off the budget PC3-12800 9-9-9 kits but offer plenty more in overclocking and performance."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  This is another solid memory kit from market-leader Corsair, and those planning to build Core i7 systems should definitely give it some serious consideration.
  
  
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  AMD Phenom II X4 810 & X3 720 AM3 Released

  February 9, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Following the very successful launch of the 45nm Phenom II 900 series quad-core processors, AMD has just launched two new cheaper product lines, the quad-core Phenom X4 800 series and Phenom II X3 700 series. These models are part of the new AM3 platform which finally brings DDR3 support to AMD's roster. A veritable army of hardware sites have reviewed these new processors, so without further ado let's see if these new chips are as good as their higher-end siblings.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • Anandtech: The Phenom II X4 810 & X3 720: AMD Gets DDR3 But Doesn't Need It:
    
    

    "These new CPUs from AMD are good overclockers, good performers and they don't have any real drawbacks unlike their predecessors. The most interesting CPU is the Phenom II X3 720; at $145 its only Intel competitors are the Core 2 Duo E7500 and the Core 2 Duo E8400, both of which are dual-core CPUs. The extra core in the 720 can provide a clear advantage in well threaded workloads, not to mention that it's got 1.5MB of L2 cache and 6MB of L3 cache at its disposal. In applications where the third core isn't very useful then the 720 loses its performance advantage, which I suspect will be the majority of mainstream workloads.
    
    The DDR3 question is easily answered: wait. While DDR2 isn't an option for Core i7, on all other platforms it just makes sense simply because of the high cost of DDR3 right now. By the end of the year we won't be having this debate as DDR2/DDR3 will be at the same price, but if you're building today don't even bother looking at DDR3 unless you're building Core i7. The performance benefits aren't worth it for Phenom II, so while AM3 sounds cool, it's not necessary today. Thankfully AM3 CPUs will work in AM2+ motherboards, so you aren't forced into a relationship with DDR3 if you're not ready."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Benchmark Reviews: AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE Black Edition CPU:
    
    

    "In conclusion, the AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE processor receives my highest recommendation and approval. There aren't many applications that will utilize four processor cores, and when they do it seems that three is nearly as good. Quad-core doesn't translate into better performance, and Tri-core has proven itself superior for gaming as well computing. Take into account the phenomenal pricing and unlocked overclocking headroom, and it becomes easy to see why Black Edition HDZ720WFGIBOX has the potential to dominate both socket AM3 and AM2+ motherboards with either DDR2 or DDR3 system memory. You've probably also caught onto my repetitive reminder of how the Phenom II processors can perform so closely to the Core i7-920 in real-world computing that the added expense seems a waste; primarily because I've been using the X3 720 for a week now and have yet to notice a moment of difference between it and my Core i7 system. It's for these reasons that the X3 720 Black Edition has earned our Golden Tachometer Award."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Benchmark Reviews: AMD Phenom II X4 810 AM3/AM2+ Processor:
    
    

    "In conclusion, the AMD Phenom II X4 810 processor receives my recommendation and approval, but not without consideration for the existing Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition. While the X4 810 HDX810WFGIBOX offers excellent value and quad-core performance for both socket AM3/AM2+ motherboards, and can manages either DDR2 or DDR3 system memory, I still have a soft spot for an unlocked processor ready for unrestricted overclocking. You've probably caught onto my repetitive reminder of how the Phenom II processors perform so closely to the Core i7-920 in real-world computing that the added expense seems a waste, but I've been using the X3 720 for a week now and have yet to notice a moment of difference between it and my Core i7 system. If you've got money to burn and a personal love-affair with Intel products, then by all means go help the economy. But if you're like the rest of us, and finding a hidden gem with outstanding features and functionality, then the AMD Phenom II X4 810 is a great choice."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • EXTREME Overclocking: AMD Phenom II X4 810 & X3 720 Processors Reviewed:
    
    

    "If your head isn't spinning from looking at all the graphs, let me bottom-line it for you. The new Phenom II X4 810 could be considered the next step past a classic Phenom 9950, both run the same core clock, but the additional L3 cache (4MB vs 2MB) and 45nm design gives it an edge in performance, sometimes by a little, sometimes by a lot. For a person that doesn't want to spend top-dollar for a quad core chip, the X4 810 provides an excellent value alternative and overclocks pretty decent. The Phenom II X3 720 will probably appeal more to gamers and enthusiasts, it's priced closer to a dual-core chip but provides superior performance for those multithreaded apps & games due to the extra CPU core. The X3 720 overclocks noticeably better, due to one less CPU core. These Phenom IIs have proved themselves as worthy competitors to similarly priced Intel chips like the Q8200 & E8400 and given the consumer something to seriously think about when building a new system."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Guru3D: AMD Phenom II X4 810 and X3 720BE review (AM3)‏:
    
    

    "That other processor then. The AMD Phenom II X4 810 on it's own is a very fine quad-core processor. It was not a BE edition and as such our overclock ended at roughly 3 GHz. We here at Guru3D are a bit of a tweaking / overclocking community so this processor appealed a little less to me. It's also clocked 200 MHz slower than that cheaper X3 we just mentioned and has 4 MB L3 cache instead of 6MB. Weirdly enough, this quad core processor in games is therefore slightly slower than the X3 720BE in most scenarios. And even some multi-threaded applications it was lacking a little due to the lower clock frequency and smaller L3 cache. But once we for example go for some multi-threaded x.264 encoding, that extra core kicks in. Accumulated in such applications this processor wins. Where it it is very storng at is its price, the processor will be selling at a 175 USD pricetag, making it a very inexpensive quad core processor and in fact 40 USD cheaper than the Phenom II X4 920."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • HotHardware: AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition and X4 810 Processors:
    

    "The Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition and X4 810 processors performed very well in multiple categories. According to their respective benchmark scores, both processors are competitive with similarly priced offerings from Intel, trading victories depending on the application being tested. Overall though, Intel still has the performance edge clock-for-clock and core-for-core. The X3 720 Black Edition, however, finished well out in front of even a higher-clocked 3.0GHz Core 2 Duo in multi-threaded applications, due to the X3's third processor core. Both the Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition and X4 810 processors were also very good overclockers, and they were quite power friendly as well."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Legit Reviews: AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE & Phenom II X4 810 Processor:
    
    

    "One thing about the launch of the AMD Socket AM3 processors that seemed a bit strange was the lack of a flagship part. It is a shock that AMD didn't pull out an AMD Phenom II X4 Black Edition running 3.4GHz or something like that as they have touted how well the new Phenom II cores scale when overclocked. Since Intel has the performance front won with the Core i7 Series, why not launch something on the top to make the battle a little more interesting? Our guess is that AMD wants to hit the mainstream market with parts that people can afford. It might not sound like good news to enthusiasts, but the mainstream market is where the vast majority of the chips sell. In this economy you have to keep the parts moving, and that looks like what AMD is doing with the launch of these five new processors."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • PC Perspective: Phenom II X4 810 and X3 720 Review:
    
    

    "The X4 810 is a nice part which will make quite a few folks happy. It does not run really hot, it does not pull all that much power, and it certainly performs well considering the price it is at. In most tests, in comparing to previous results from the Phenom 9950, it was about 5% faster overall than its predecessor at that same speed. It does hold 2x the L3 cache as the 9950, and the extra internal tweaks are likely to help as well. Currently it is one of only a few chips that will fit in AM3 motherboards, so if a user who is adamant about buying an AM3 platform with a quad core CPU, they have no other choice but this processor. In the next few months we should see the higher performing parts be introduced on AM3, but that is not today. Luckily, these parts do fit in AM2+ boards, so if a user has one of these boards and is looking for a 45 nm part that is less expensive than the X4 940 Black Edition, and can be overclocked, then this might be a good candidate for them."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Tom's Hardware: Socket AM3: AMD's Phenom II Gets DDR3 : Introduction:
    
    

    "But there's also the AM3 interface itself to consider. AMD doesn't necessarily think the Phenom II + DDR3 story is fully baked yet. Even though we saw respectable throughput gains in shifting from DDR2 to DDR3, those increases don't necessarily translate into real-world performance improvements. Nevertheless, our benchmark results certainly weren't damning of DDR3. In fact, in most cases, the Phenom II X4 810--the 2.6 GHz processor with a stripped-down 4 MB L3 cache--was able to outperform our simulated Phenom II X4 910 with its full 6 MB cache. Moreover, we saw plenty of evidence in our system power tests to indicate that Phenom II and DDR3 together yield one of the most efficient performance platforms we've had the chance to test."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • TweakTown: AMD Socket AM3 Arrives The Real Phenom II Detailed‏:
    
    

    "With all the above said and done, AM3 certainly looks like a decent step forward for AMD with its backward compatibility and much welcomed DDR3 memory support. But sadly we won’t be able to give our final thoughts on these new processors until we get our platform up and running once again so that we can fire up our benchmarks and see how things turn out in the real world.
    
    As mentioned earlier on, we’re looking forward to getting our full AMD Socket AM3 Performance Analysis online a little later in the week, so keep your eyes peeled for that one."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • X-bit Labs: Meet Socket AM3: AMD Phenom II X4 810 CPU Review:
    
    

    "Frankly speaking, AMD’s timing with the launch of their new Socket AM3 platform for CPUs supporting DDR3 SDRAM is a little strange. For some reason, this platform didn’t come out a month ago when they first announced a new Phenom II processor family. As a result, Socket AM3 launch is accompanied by the mainstream processors only, since the top Phenom II modifications are already available in Socket AM2+ form-factor. However, these processors are not the best candidates for the new Socket AM3 mainboards. DDR3 SDRAM is currently about 1.5-2 times more expensive than the widely spread DDR2 memory. Therefore, the benefit of investing into more expensive memory over a more expensive CPU is quite doubtful at this point."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Well I must confess that I am impressed by these new processors, perhaps even more so than the higher-end Phenom II X4 900 series, because they further cement AMD's position in the value-oriented segment. Furthermore, from a strategic point-of-view, the 700 and 800 series are a triumph in die harvesting for AMD, ensuring that they can maximize the use of every piece of every wafer while their 45nm continues to mature.
  
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  CPU Cooler Review Roundup - Cooler Master, GELID, Spire & More

  February 9, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  CPU3D, Legit Reviews, Overclockers Online, PureOverclock, TechwareLabs, and TweakTown have reviewed CPU coolers from Cooler Master, GELID, Spire, and Thermaltake.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • CPU3D: Spire TherMax II CPU Cooler Review:
    
    

    "The cooler does its job. Excellent cooling capabilities, and compared to the more expensive OCZ Gladiator it holds it's ground well. The temps fall just behind the OCZ cooler by a nominal 3 degrees. The only downside is the noise it makes.
    
    Please note, in the picture below you can see that the fan is very close to the memory slots. This may, with some boards, cause a problem, rendering one of the slots to be useless.
    
    Being one of the first CPU cooler review for Spire Corp ... I thought the TherMax II competed extremely well against the impressive OCZ Gladiator Max. It's definitely better the Intel's stock cooler. What I do like about the cooler is that it has ALL 3 types of fittings for AMD AM2/AM2+, Socket-775 and Socket-1366. Pricewise, it's very attractive, and it does offer great value for money ... having said that, it might not fit all motherboards and could foul one of the DIMM memory slots."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Legit Reviews: Gelid Silent Spirit LGA 1366 CPU Cooler Review:
    
    

    "Compared to the Scythe Ninja, the Silent Spirit was slightly less effective at cooling the CPU but it cooled the system as a whole much more effectively. I would definitely trade 3 degrees on the CPU for 20 degrees on the PWM and 10 degrees on the northbridge. I see the Silent Spirit excelling in HTPC applications and other low-noise applications where every CFM counts.
    
    The Silent Spirit only has one fault, but it's an important fault. The mounting mechanism for the Silent Spirit never seems to apply enough mounting pressure and I was constantly wanting a few pounds of additional mounting pressure. The mount images show that the Silent Spirit lacks in this department and it no doubt impacts performance."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Overclockers Online: GELID Silent Spirit CPU Cooler Review:
    
    

    "Once again, GELID surprises us with a quality product that performs extremely well. The GELID Silent Spirit has quickly become one of my favorite coolers. It is a great alternative to the Intel stock cooler.
    
    With its four heatpipes and excellent design, the performance is great and it really is silent! I especially liked the fact that the base had fins of its own; this way, not everything is dependent on the heatpipes. Installation was extremely easy due to the push-pin type mounting technique. Also, the cooler's low weight and small size made it a pleasure to work with.
    Two things I would have liked to see are the socket 1366 mounting hardware included as well as a small tube of the GELID GC1 thermal compound. For enthusiasts, pre-applied thermal compound just doesn't cut it because we might take a cooler off and put it back on several times before being happy."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • PureOverclock: Thermaltake BigTyp 14Pro CPU Cooler:
    
    

    "In the end, the BigTyp 14Pro is an examination in apparent contradictions, both aesthetically and functionally. It does indeed post some excellent temperature results and exhibits great build quality and those cannot be denied, but it also does have some frustrating issues that could be easily resolved with some simple design modifications.
    With a price tag of approximately $60 USD, the Thermaltake BigTyp 14Pro is competitively priced in the upper tier of products, and despite the few frustrating issues, is a great CPU cooler with excellent performance and quality."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • TechwareLabs: Thermaltake MaxOrb EX Review:
    
    

    "The Thermaltake MaxOrb EX really proved to be a significant upgrade from the older MaxOrb. While I wouldn't say torun out and switch this one for your old one (unless you want to; the old one is still nice), I'd definitly say that this is worth the $69.99 and is definitly one to consider for a new rig. Because of it's outstanding cooling and snazzy looks, I want to award the MaxOrb EX the TechwareLabs Awesome hardware award. Thanks Thermaltake and keep 'em coming."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • TweakTown: Cooler Master V10 200+W Hybrid T.E.C. Cooler‏ Review:br> br>

    "The Cooler Master V10 200+W Hybrid T.E.C. cooler is no joke when it comes to overall size and need for case space to allow this cooler to function at its best. I personally have an Antec 900 and I really don’t think there is enough room to allow this cooler to do its job properly. My suggestion is to measure twice and order once if there is any doubt whether this cooler will fit or not inside of your given case. Given what Cooler Master has released as of late with the Cosmos Black and their previous coolers, it looks like every rise to greatness has a few bumps along the way.br> br> The performance of the new V10 Hybrid cooler leaves me a bit confused. With a premium selling price of well over $100 US dollars I can hardly recommend this cooler based on anything other than the "wow" factor, but even that goes away soon after you get your first temperature readings. This is where I felt my hopes got crushed a little bit. I actually had plans to run my rig with this cooler and have something that works as well as my water loop, but without the noise of the fans that I am currently running. While the V10 is a touch quieter, I don’t see the justification for a swap and for now I will keep my loop intact."

    br> Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Enjoy!
  
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  Top 20 3DMark Vantage Movers & Shakers

  February 9, 2009 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky

  
  Today we continue our weekly look at the top 3DMark Vantage scores submitted to the online result browser (ORB). Shaking things up this week, we have seven new entries spanning all four categories. How high did they climb? Let's take a look:
  
  New to the 3DMark Vantage - Entry Preset Top 20:
  14. E51132 XPS 730X - GTX 295 Quad
  
  New to the 3DMark Vantage - Performance Preset Top 20:
  2. P37187 CBGPCS / 2-GTX 295'S
  10. P32728 Dennismagic~*hkepc/chiphell*
  14. P31243 {ki1obyte} i7 940@4.1GHz 2xGTX295
  
  New to the 3DMark Vantage - High Preset Top 20:
  4. H27333 Dennismagic~*hkepc/chiphell*
  11. H20281 realcutekid@hotmail.com XFX GTX260 Core i7 920 at 4GHz
  
  New to the 3DMark Vantage - Extreme Preset Top 20:
  14. X14175 realcutekid@hotmail.com GTX260 Core i7 920 @ 4.0GHz Watercooled
  
  Week after week, the bar just keeps going up. Awesome work everyone! :D
  
  Keep tweaking those rigs! And remember, you can keep track of the top scores throughout the week by visiting our Hall of Fame. Until next time!
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  Thermaltake SpinQ CPU Cooler Review

  February 4, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Oveclockers Online and TweakTown have posted a review of the recently released Thermaltake SpinQ CPU cooler.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • Oveclockers Online:
    
    

    "Thermaltake was pushing the boundaries of innovation when they created the SpinQ, focusing on achieving the unique look rather than performance. The performance isn't but for its price, there are competitors who can do much better. Nonetheless, the SpinQ is one of the most visually entrancing coolers I've seen, making it the perfect upgrade for someone who doesn't care about the big OC numbers, but someone interested in modifying their computer's appearance to make coworkers point and stare.
    
    The biggest flaw was the vibrations released by the 80mm fan - they were enough to shake my mouse off the table. As well, it would have been nice for the fan controller cannot be externally mounted, so you don't need to take off the side panel to get access to the controller. Overall, Thermaltake's design team did a great job keeping with their unofficial slogan when designing the SpinQ: "Unique, Aggressive, Vivid, and Stylish"."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • TweakTown:
    
    

    "Personally, I really like the overall look and design of this Thermaltake SpinQ. From the all shiny silver attire to the "spin" of the fins, to the blue LED centrally located "blow fan", this cooler just has a lot to offer the end user. But while doing a really good job with temperatures and being highly unique in design, I do wish the fan could be a bit quieter at load. I do game a considerable amount with an overclocked CPU. This in mind, I think the cooler would handle the load and look terrific in my case, but the noise level in gaming or heavy CPU loads in general may be a put-off to some. On the flipside of things, I do game with a headset so noise is mostly blocked during my game play anyhow. "

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Wow, I'm pretty surprised...Thermaltake have created a solid CPU cooler with an intriguing design. Having said that, for the price you can do better and it does not support the new Core i7 processors which is somewhat disappointing.
  
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  ATI Radeon HD 4830 512MB CrossFire Performance Analysis

  February 4, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  X-bit Labs have posted a performance analysis of the ATI Radeon HD 4830 512MB in CrossFire configuration.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  

  "Judging by the test results, you can indeed save on your graphics card in the time of economical crisis. As you could see, the CrossFireX tandem of two Radeon HD 4830 cards is generally faster than the single Radeon HD 4870, which also costs more. Therefore you can buy one cheap Radeon HD 4830 and then, half a year later, buy another such card to get a nice performance boost for very little money. Or you can save today by buying two Radeon HD 4830 cards as they will be cheaper than one Radeon HD 4870.
  
  At the same time, you have to be prepared to certain difficulties and problems if you decide to go CrossFireX. Even if you are lucky not to have any problems with the installation of the driver and control panel, you won’t be able to avoid the problems in games. The jerkiness in Far Cry 2 makes the gameplay most uncomfortable, for example. There are image defects in 3DMark Vantage and Unreal Tournament 3. CrossFireX mode is disabled in Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason when you change the display resolution, and in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:Clear Sky you need to restart the rendering engine manually to enable CrossFireX. Besides, a system with two Radeon HD 4830 consumes more power than a system with one Radeon HD 4870. If you are not scared by these difficulties, and you still hope for improvements in the next versions of Catalyst, the Radeon HD 4830 CrossFire configuration may be an appealing solution for you in terms of price/performance ratio."

  
  Obviously twin HD 4830's provide tremendous Bang for the Buck for those with CrossFire-capable motherboards, but you definitely have to take the game compatibility issues into consideration. AMD have gotten quite good at releasing new Catalyst driver releases every month or so, and this largely eliminates most game-related issues, but as noted in this article there will always be some and it can get quite aggravating.
  
  Click here to read the full article.
  
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  Kingston HyperX 3GB DDR3-2000 Memory Kit Review

  February 4, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  PureOverclock have posted a review of the Kingston HyperX 3GB PC3-16000 triple-channel DDR3 memory kit.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  

  "However, if you don't have the need for the full 6GB, or choose to pair up two sets of 3GB, then these Kingston HyperX modules offer excellent performance and still have a bit of headroom left over when beyond their 2000MHz rated speeds. The tolerances and returns are smaller the higher you go in the speed department, but these modules have sufficient gas left in the tank to reach some blistering numbers on your system. Running 2000MHz at CL8 timings is nothing to scoff and, and there are precious few products that can achieve that upper echelon of performance.
  
  With a current MSRP of $260 USD, these DDR3-2000 HyperX modules do not come cheap, but top performance rarely does. Kingston has done a fine job with these modules, showcasing beautiful aesthetics, quality construction, easy to use X.M.P. profiles, and excellent performance. If you're looking to jump on the Core i7 bandwagon and have a very healthy budget, these Kingston HyperX DDR3-2000 modules are top shelf."

  
  Overall, this is a very solid and affordable triple-channel DDR3 memory kit, and it is very impressive that it could be run at 2000Mhz 8-8-8 with only 1.65V.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB HDD Review

  February 4, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  ITreviewed‏ and TweakTown have reviewed the brand new, impresively huge Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB hard drive.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • ITreviewed‏:
    
    

    "Unless you’re a speed junkie, you should be more that satisfied with its 11p per gigabyte up-front cost and green credentials. Before you take the plunge however, it’s worth noting that Seagate is hot on WD’s heels. The company’s 7200.12 (2TB) drive should be out soon, so then it will be a battle between who has better transfer speeds (and a better firmware, apparently). Since the 7200.12 is supposed to be much faster than the company’s 7200.11, Seagate will probably take the speed crown."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • TweakTown:
    
    

    "The Western Digital Caviar Green in 2TB form has a lot of strong features and innovative technology to impress us just with its specifications alone. New and innovative usually comes with a drawback and many consumers tend not to take it lightly, cost. Still, there is the whole "Green" aspect, but outside of California and the server room, most of us enthusiasts could care less. It might not be the most politically correct thing to say, but some of us live in places that still have trees and grass on land that we own.
    
    Western Digital has a strong suite of IP that they are rolling into the new Green Series that allow the drives to perform quickly when asked to and morph into low power sleepers when performance is not needed. Other features like the custom algorithms allow the drives to perform well in tests like Read and Write Access, something we didn’t expect to see at all. "

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  This a solid offering for those who place a premium on storage space, but speeds freaks should look elsewhere, especially if price is a concern.
  
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  Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P Motherboard Review

  February 4, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Anandtech have posted a review of the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P motherboard, which is based on the mainstream Intel P45 Express chipset.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  

  "We are excited to present our Gold Editors Choice award to Gigabyte for their impressive GA-EP45-UD3P. Where do we start when discussing the attributes of this motherboard? Based on the Intel P45 chipset, Gigabyte has extracted enormous performance potential from their second-generation design featuring Ultra Durable 3 technology. Impressive overclocking abilities with both dual and quad core processors, check, excellent stability and compatibility, check, feature laden layout and software package, absolutely, and technical support assistance that actually addressed our problems, double check. The performance of this board was consistently at or near the top of our benchmarks and ultimately offered the best overall value we have seen in this market segment. "

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  The EP45-UD3P is definitely of the best P45 DDR2 motherboard on the market, and the fact that it is very affordable simply makes it that much more attractive.
  
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  Gelid Silent Spirit CPU Cooler Review

  February 3, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  PureOverclock and Tech-Reviews have reviewed the distinctive Gelid Silent Spirit CPU cooler.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • PureOverclock:
    
    

    "In the end, performance is King and the performance results speak for themselves, with the Silent Spirit doing a very good job within its very respectable capabilities. With a price tag of approximately $35 CDN, the performance doesn't cost a fortune and you get a quality and quiet product for your hard-earned dollar. If you have no delusions about breaking performance or overclocking records and you're in the market for a solid performer with low noise, take at look at the Silent Spirit, we think it's definitely a contender. "

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Tech-Reviews:
    
    

    "To conclude, the GELID Silent Spirit is a very innovative cooler; it uses new concepts such as the raised main body to allow airflow under the heatsink as well as the dimpled fins to break up laminar airflow.
    
    Moreover, the results back-up the effectiveness of these concepts with very respectable temperatures at both idle and load states.
    
    The cost too is an added bonus with the Silent Spirit retailing at around about £18; for a cooler of this quality certainly a bargain.
    
    On the down side, the easy installation clips mean that the cooler isn’t secured as well as it might have been by using a back plate and so this means that more strain is put on the motherboard.
    
    Overall, this cooler is a very affordable, near-silent and good performance cooler; definitely recommended."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Although its not much to look at, the Silent Spirit is a decent choice for those who need an affordable, quiet CPU cooler.
  
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  800W-1000W Power Supply Reviews

  February 3, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  JonnyGURU, Tech-Reviews, and Viper Lair have reviewed three high-end 800W-1000W power supplies from Cooler Master, Hiper, and OCZ.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • JonnyGURU: Hiper Type M 1000W Power Supply Review:
    
    

    "The Hiper M1000 unit's arrival was met with high expectations and excitement to see how it would be able to top the two excellent 880W models I looked at long ago, but in reality ended up splattering itself upon the pavement of indifference. Ripple and noise is high, the mesh casing once more hinders cooling, the capacitors on the secondary side are questionable quality, and the voltage regulation is only so-so. But it is apparently going to be cheap, so at least Hiper has that going for them on this one. Still, for my own personal use? Pass."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Tech-Reviews: Coolermaster UCP 900W Power Supply Review:
    
    

    "Don’t get me wrong, the Coolermaster UCP is certainly a nice piece of kit. Not only does it look aesthetically pleasing, its performance contrasts well with extremely tight rails.
    
    Unfortortunately though, I have a couple of small gripes. The first being the cost, it’s certainly not a cheap unit and for about the same price you could have yourself a modular unit. Moreover, with companies (even Coolermaster with their Silent series) striving to design quieter PSU’s, it’s a bit of an odd straw to end up with a unit that still has the electronic buzzing and clicks which faded out many years ago.
    
    For these reasons, I’m awarding the Coolermaster UCP 900W a 4/5. If only this beast was modular, quieter and a shade cheaper, it really would be the Ultimate beast."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Viper Lair: OCZ EliteXStream 800W PSU Review:
    
    

    "To say we were happy with the OCZ EliteXStream would be an understatement to say the least. The performance and build quality were very impressive. The operating temperatures were among the lowest we've tested under load. Pricing is competitive retailing as low as $129.99 USD which is about what we feel a PSU of this quality should cost.
    
    The big question many will have is do you need this much power. Also, some may be worried about energy costs, even if the PSU is rated at 82% (which holds true as we saw this rating with the MSI GreenPower software when we did a quick test there). The latter question is easy to answer. The PSU will not run at a constant 800W+ if your system does not need it. Bringing us to the first question, the need for that much power really depends on the type of computer you use. OCZ isn't marketing this at eMachines, so anyone even considering this PSU probably has a PC outside the "norm"."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  There really is no bad model in this roundup and they are all capable of powering just about any high-end configuration.
  
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  Intel X58 Motherboard Review Roundup

  February 3, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  CPU3D, Hardware Secrets, Legit Reviews, and TweakTown have reviewed Intel X58 Express motherboards from ASUS, DFI, EVGA, and MSI.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • CPU3D: DFI LanParty JR X58-T3H6 Motherboard‏ Review:
    
    

    "DFI have produced a micro ATX motherboard that will blow all the competition away. It is truely the fastest micro ATX motherboard in the world ... well, fastest micro ATX motherboard we tested in our labs anyway. The DFI LanParty JR X58-T3H6 is feature-packed, offers excellent performance and has great overclocking potential. If you're a Lan Party enthusiast, then look no further ... this is the motherboard you want to go for. It's pefect for your LAN BOX ... but the overall price for the upgrade (CPU and memory) could deter many away."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Hardware Secrets: EVGA X58 SLI Motherboard Review:
    
    

    "EVGA, a traditional nVidia partner, decided to manufacture a motherboard based on Intel X58 chipset with ICH10R south bridge chip, simply called EVGA X58 SLI. This is a high-end motherboard for Core i7 processors, featuring three x16 PCI Express slots, support for SLI (finally), a good 10-phase voltage regulator circuit with ferrite chokes and solid caps, six memory sockets and more. Let’s take a look on this motherboard and what you should expect from it.
    
    The first thing that caught our eye on this motherboard was the use of only solid aluminum capacitors.
    
    EVGA X58 SLI has three PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots, one x1 slot and two regular PCI slots. The third x16 slot runs at x8 speed all the time, as Intel X58 chipset only offers support for two x16 lanes. The second x16 slot can run at x16 (when two video cards are installed) or at x8 (when three video cards are installed). The first slot will always work at x16."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • Legit Reviews: ASUS P6T Deluxe OC Palm Motherboard Review:
    
    

    "After a few weeks of using this board day-to-day, I have been very impressed. With a few BIOS revisions, the board is well sorted and I really have not come across anything that causes a problem. Being that this is one of the very first X58 boards, I expected a few teething problems, and I’m sure that with very early BIOS revisions there were a couple. For now though, I can say that I am very happy with this board and recommend it to just about anyone looking for a stable platform to run Intel’s Core i7.
    
    Of course the biggest issue with Core i7 is that X58 motherboards are expensive, and with a starting price of $300 at the time of this article the P6T Deluxe is slightly north of middle in the price divide. Keep in mind, however, that the less expensive boards do not all have the ability to run SLI, and do not have an option to run SAS drives."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • TweakTown: MSI X58 Eclipse SLI Motherboard Review:
    
    

    "MSI has definitely brought a winner to the table with the X58 Eclipse SLI. The design of MSI’s board is extremely clean; the board’s features are extremely plentiful and its performance is right up there as a top contender.
    
    While the boards overclocking lacked compared to that of the ASUS offerings, MSI has managed to keep up with the other boards thanks to keeping its clock speeds up there. It’s not all about bus speeds, but a more balanced setup."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Enjoy!
  
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  NVIDIA ION Small Form Factor Platform Review

  February 3, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Guru3D, HotHardware, and PC Perspective have reviewed the new NVIDIA ION, a small form factor platform intended for netbooks and compact computers.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • Guru3D: NVIDIA ION hands on review:
    
    

    "NVDIA Ion is potentially a very promising platform. It will break away from a lot of restrictions currently found in Intel's chipset solutions for Atom based netbooks and mini-PCs. But granted, based on the Atom platform, there will always remain to be one big restriction aka bottleneck, overall Atom CPU performance. Let's say you want to purchase a mini-pc based on ION and use it as a small Home Theater PC, certainly it has much potential. You'll love the full HD capability, and coupled with a dual core atom, this really could be the HTPC dream machine in terms of value for money."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • HotHardware: NVIDIA Ion Small Form Factor PC, A Deep Dive:
    
    

    "The NVIDIA Ion Small Form Factor reference PC platform proved itself to be a powerful multimedia machine with top-notch HD video playback capability and even a bit of light duty gaming performance available as well. In standard desktop and productivity applications, the machine was about on par with similarly equipped Intel Atom-based products. However, when tasked under multimedia workloads, the Ion offered best-of-class performance. In our demo video we also were able to prove out the machine's capabilities over an HDMI output, where the Ion showed excellent desktop image quality and great HD audio and video reproduction over our THX certified amplifier and through a 50" plasma TV."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • PC Perspective: NVIDIA ION Platform Review: Death (and Life) of the Netbook:
    
    

    "To say that I am excited to have a system with this kind of power in the palm of my hand, quite literally, is an understatement. This is not a product that will win over everyone's heart - gaming is okay, but not great, power consumption is still questionable and costs will go up - but I think more people will give the netbook market a look once they start to see ION-based products hitting the shelves. And of course NVIDIA is not only aiming for the netbook market; I would love to see ION-based platforms show up in larger, lower-cost laptops in the 12-15" screen size range as well as in basic HTPC designs. Even if Apple does not use the ION platform for its upcoming Apple TV and/or Mac Mini updates, another PC vendor like ASUS or Dell could easily offer a product with these features and capture the momentum in the market."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Compared to the stock Intel Atom platform, this is an absolutely superior solution and should make for some awesome netbooks. Having said that, Nvidia does have to work a little on lowering power consumption since that is the most critical aspect of mobile computing.
  
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  HIS & Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 Reviews

  February 3, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Benchmark Reviews and bit-tech have reviewed two new affordable, HTPC-friendly Radeon HD 4670 graphics cards from HIS and Sapphire.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • Benchmark Reviews: Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 Video Card:
    
    

    "The HD 4670 appears to be constructed as good as any card I've seen. Sapphire has used all solid capacitors throughout except for one single other. The heatsink and fan are top rate and made very well. With most cards lately offering full coverage of the board by a shroud one might not like this card with some open areas on it. Given it's target audience I think the card will be fine, most wont tinker too much inside once the card is installed.
    
    This card runs solid. I put up a good fight against some stiff competition and faired well given that competition. However as I've stated above the pricing structure currently on the HD4600 line I'm afraid this card may price itself right out of contention. With this being the top of the HD 4670 line, NewEgg's $82.99 price tag seems appropriate. This saddens me just a little because this is a really great little card. It's price redeeming factors may very well be the silent and cool operation coupled with low power consumption and excellent HDMI options. The value mark for this card is tough to put a point on... "

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • bit-tech: HIS Radeon HD 4670 IceQ graphics card‏:
    
    

    "While the overclocking and cooling performance of the card might be impressive, we must admit to being rather underwhelmed by the HIS Radeon HD 4670 IceQ. Would it really have hurt to overclock the card out of the box (we’re still not counting the 200MHz memory increase, as it’s supported by stock cards anyway), especially as there’s clearly a bucketload of overclocking headroom here – you don’t overclock a graphics card by a over 15 percent with pure luck.
    
    Because it hasn't been overclocked to any real degree, our benchmarks were almost a formality – there’s no performance advantage whatsoever in buying this card over a stock 4670. And for those who aren’t interested in overclocking, namely the entry level users this type of card is targeted at, for close to £70 there really isn’t any real reason to choose it over any cheaper, stock version, which can be had for a few quid less. "

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  While certainly not intended for hardcore gaming, the HD 4670 is still one of the best Performance per Watt cards on the market and it is absolutely perfect for an HTPC, especially if you can find a model with a native HDMI port.
  
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  SilverStone RV01 Raven Case Review

  February 2, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Hardware Canucks have posted a review of the recently released SilverStone RV01 Raven case, which sports an impressively modern design.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  

  "In the end the Silverstone Raven is a product which will not appeal to everyone, however this is not necessarily a bad thing since it certainly is not some bland beige box. At the beginning of this review we mocked SilverStone for having the temerity to call this an “Extreme Enthusiast Chassis” but we were wrong, this really is an extremely good air based cooling case for many an enthusiast; and if a case ever deserved the title Extreme Enthusiast Chassis, this may be it. For this and the fact that its innovative twist on an ordinary case layout actually works, we here at HWC award this case the Dam Innovative award…now if they would only come out with an all aluminum version which has all the bugs worked out of it."

  
  SilverStone have devised a highly innovative and terrific new layout format, but frankly the case itself is not a success since it simply has too many shortcomings and quirks.
  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
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  ATI Catalyst 9.1 Performance Preview

  February 2, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  X-bit Labs have posted a brief look at the new ATI Catalyst 9.1 graphics drivers, including a brief performance test with five popular games and our very own 3DMark Vantage.
  
  Here is an excerpt:
  
  

  "The performance did improve significantly in two tests out of six we used in our today’s experiments - Crysis Warhead and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. This gain sometimes reached 30-37%! It is a huge improvement for a new driver version. As a rule, in situations like that performance either doesn’t change at all or changes minimally so that you can hardly notice anything with a naked eye. I have to note that the performance increased stably only in Crysis Warhead, while in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars only dual-chip Radeon HD 4870 X2 benefitted from the new driver versions, which should have got correct multi-GPU support implemented for this game."

  
  Overall, I see no reason not to upgrade to these drivers if you aren't already using the solid Catalyst 8.12 hotfix.
  
  Click here to read the full article.
  
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  BFG & EVGA GeForce GTX 285 Overclocked Edition Review

  February 2, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  bit-tech and X-bit Labs have reviewed factory overclocked GeForce GTX 285 1GB graphics cards from BFG and EVGA.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  • bit-tech: BFG Tech GeForce GTX 285 OCX Graphics Card Review:
    
    

    "BFG Tech has ticked most of the boxes on our checklist with its GeForce GTX 285 OCX graphics card - its clock speed increases are impressive, there's still headroom for overclocking, performance is excellent, the after sales service has a proven track record and it's the fastest single GPU graphics card we've ever tested. But all of this comes at a price and sadly that cost is just too much when you look at the wider market in the UK.
    
    There are still a bunch of bargain GeForce GTX 280s on the market and if I were you, I'd snap one of those up while I can. Following that, your next best bet is the Radeon HD 4850 X2, but be wary of its fan noise - it's not offensively loud with the latest BIOS, but it's not anywhere near as quiet as the Nvidia competition. Moreover, the Radeon HD 4850 X2 has potential limitations that stem from its dual-GPUness and many don't want to swallow that pill - it's also not going to set the world on fire in Folding@Home. Typically, Nvidia's cards can deliver more points per day and so they're better suited to that task."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • X-bit Labs: EVGA GeForce GTX 285 SSC Graphics Accelerator Review:
    
    

    "As for the specific product we have worked with, we can say that from the technological standpoint EVGA GeForce GTX 285 SSC doesn’t really differ from Nvidia’s reference card. By the way, we don’t think there will be GeForce GTX 285 modifications out there with unique designs despite its simplified PCB. It is a very good graphics card which is often faster than the Radeon HD 4850 X2 thanks to factory overclocking. It is in fact the fastest single-chip graphics card today. You may only be disappointed with the scanty accessories, but this factor can hardly be decisive for a gaming card. If you need a fast but economical and quiet gaming solution which does not depend on software support for multi-GPU technologies, the EVGA GeForce GTX 285 SSC is one of the best options out there. Or you may want to check out EVGA’s similar product with the suffix FTW which comes with even higher GPU and memory frequencies."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Although not really an upgrade from venerable GeForce GTX 280, the GTX 285 is still an excellent card and both of these are easily among the best on the market.
  
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  680W-850W Power Supply Reviews

  February 2, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  Bjorn3D, TechwareLabs, and ThinkComputers have reviewed 680W to 850W power supplies from FSP, In Win, and Tagan.
  
  Let's see what they had to say:
  
  
  • Bjorn3D: Tagan TG680-U33II SuperRock:
    
    

    "The Tagan TG680-U33 II is no doubt a very decent power supply that clearly does not know the definition of 'Under Load'. Whether if it was from not having a high enough load, or a design characteristic that distinguishes it from the rest. I personally think over voltage as an asset, since instead of my voltage going down, which is typically for most power supplies I have seen, the voltages of the Tagan go up while under load. I checked more resources on the internet and found that this is indeed a characteristic of most Tagan power supplies due to its inherent over-engineering. It's basically known by other sites that Tagan has some kind of secret towards making this so, but I'm thinking its just an extra switch deep within the supply that senses load and allows the power supply to compensate. This trait comes back again to the circuitry used, which in Tagan's case is of higher quality. This makes it one of the better supplies I have ever had the opportunity to test, and I think it deserves a grand round of applause for being such a small power supply with big parts..."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • TechwareLabs: In Win Commander 850W PSU:
    
    

    "Remember that you get what you pay for, but for around $250 you should make sure that you have a true need for such a large PSU. I personally wish the In Win military-like badge was displayed on all sides for the look. In Win has always made quality hardware and now offers a limited lifetime warranty that backs all their PSU's. Though in the end if you are not attempting to overclock your rig nor are a gamer in the need of some serious power for your hardware, I would recommend looking for something a little less pricey. All-in-all the InWin Commander 850W PSU is a pretty darn good product and if you have semi-deep pockets it is well worth the price."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
    
  • ThinkComputers: FSP Power Mod 700W Modular Power Supply:
    
    

    "While the 700W is not 80PLUS certified, FSP claims an 80% efficiency rating. FSP does produce a similar line of PSUs which are certified. The Power Mod series is newer, though, so perhaps within a few revisions we'll see the certification.
    
    The modularity of the Power Mod 700W is attractive for those who need it. FSP sells it through a few online retailers, but you'll probably find the best price at ShopFSP.com.
    ThinkComputers gives the FSP Power Mod 700W power supply unit an 8 out of 10 score."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  Enjoy!
  
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  CSX & G.Skill DDR3-1600 Triple Channel Memory Kit Review

  February 2, 2009 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

  
  bit-tech and Phoronix have reviewed DDR3-1600 triple channel memory kits from CSX and G.Skill.
  
  Here's what they had to say:
  
  
  bit-tech: G.Skill F3-12800CL8T-6GBHK Tri-Channel DDR3 memory‏:
  

  "If we are going by US prices, at the end of the day we think the G.Skill F3-12800CL8T-6GBHK with its Samsung HCF0 ICs have slightly more overhead than the Elpida-based Corsair DHX+ modules we looked at earlier this week - if your Core i7 CPU can stretch, the memory should accommodate. It may not have anything like the funky and more importantly, moddable (but also patented), DHX+ heatsinks on the Corsair but a case with good airflow should keep the G.Skill cool enough. Moreover, they have a lifetime warranty to cover mishaps and being low profile they're less likely to chance interference with a large CPU heatsink."

  
  Click here to read the full review.
  
  
  
  • Phoronix: CSX 3GB DDR3-1600MHz Memory:
    
    

    "The CSX 3GB DDR3-1600MHz (CEC3-1600-3GB-3KIT) memory had functioned as expected, we ran into no stability problems, and it easily ran up to its DDR3-1600MHz rating. The real-world Linux performance was great and comparable to that of the OCZ 2GB DDR3-1333MHz Gold Kit, but if using an Intel Core i7 platform, you should be able to experience even greater results thanks to its triple memory channel support.
    
    Compustocx may not be a familiar brand to many computer enthusiasts in the United States, but from our first encounter with CSX we are pleased."

    
    Click here to read the full review.
    
    
  The G.Skill DDR3-1600 8-8-8 is an excellent memory kit, and it is worth every penny for those who are building Core i7 system.
  
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  Top 20 3DMark Vantage Movers & Shakers

  February 2, 2009 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky

  
  Getting back in the swing of things tonight, we continue our weekly look at the top 3DMark Vantage scores submitted to the online result browser (ORB). Some newly approved drivers helped spice things up this week, with fingerprints on 10 of the 11 new entries. How big of a boost did they provide? Let's take a look:
  
  New to the 3DMark Vantage - Entry Preset Top 20:
  3. E68542 Rampage 2 Extreme + Asus 295 GTX - FT Leghorn & Giorgioprimo [MemoryExtreme Team Italy]
  4. E68449 Tom's Hardware OC Team - Vantage + QuadSli
  5. E55287 Rampage ii7 965/280-Tri Water
  19. E47235 Joe Mehnert I7 gtx 295
  
  New to the 3DMark Vantage - Performance Preset Top 20:
  5. P36042 Rampage 2 Extreme + Asus 295 GTX - FT Leghorn & Giorgioprimo [MemoryExtreme Team Italy]
  7. P35123 Tom's Hardware OC Team - Vantage + QuadSli
  10. P32336 Untitled
  19. P30202 Drew And Bart Test 15
  
  New to the 3DMark Vantage - Extreme Preset Top 20:
  1. X24420 EVGA GTX295 Quad SLI
  4. X18421 EtheEnthusiast
  9. X15669 SRBIJA-ELTOSAN-HIGH GAMER
  
  Congrats on the awesome scores everyone! The new 1st overall under the Extreme Preset category is especially impressive. Wowza! :D
  
  Anyways, keep up the great work! And remember, you can keep track of the top scores throughout the week by visiting our Hall of Fame. Until next time!
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