Hardware News

Patriot Valkyrie 2-Bay NAS Reviews

February 26, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

TestFreaks, Tweaknews, and TweakTown have reviewed the Patriot Valkyrie 2-Bay network attached storage (NAS) device.

Let's see what they had to say:

TestFreaks:

"For the price you cant find a better NAS box Im sure. The Patriot Valkyire might be budget priced but it dos have the features of those costing two-three times more than it does.

Overall I like this little NAS box, its easy to use and set up, its well made and its quiet. It might not be the fastest out there, but its still faster than using USB to store your files, and this way you can access them from anywhere.

If youre looking for a decent NAS box but dont want to spend a lot of money, then you cant go wrong with the Patriot Valkyrie."

Click here to read the full review.
Tweaknews‏:

"Given the fairly large feature set wrapped up in a well constructed, attractive unit, the Valkyrie is a good buy for those in the market for a simple home NAS. It supports up to 4TB of storage and has all the most commonly used functions like an FTP server, print server, media server, and one touch backup to an external device. With a reasonable price tag of around $150 US or less, it's definitely worth checking out."

Click here to read the full review.
TweakTown:

"We test a dozen or so NAS servers every year, but have never come across such a low cost unit until the Patriot Valkyrie hit our office. Patriot has managed to deliver a product that everyday consumers have asked for at a price that those users can afford. The feature set of the Valkyrie is advanced and useful without being overbearing and complicated.

When it comes to the performance, the Valkyrie is able to do common tasks at a speed average users can appreciate. It should be said to not expect blistering performance like the enterprise models that we are accustomed to testing, but to get that level of performance you are going to pony up 4x of the cost of the Valkyrie."

Click here to read the full review.

While this unit is obviously quite a bit less polished than units from Synology and QNAP, it is also significantly cheaper. Take a look at it.

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Intel Core i3-530 & i3-540 Processor Reviews

February 26, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

techPowerUp have reviewed the budget-oriented Intel Core i3-530 & i3-540, dual-core/four-thread 'Clarkdale' LGA1156 processors with an integrated 733Mhz GPU.

Let's see what they had to say:

"Onto closing thoughts for both Core i3 530 and 540. They have proven they're worthy competitors for AMD's offerings and they sent older generation Core 2 E7000/E8000 into deserved retirement. Even Core 2 Quad Q8000 series stand on the edge of the cliff with overpriced tags and not so impressive performance.

Surprisingly though, Clarkdale processors haven't swept away AMD's Athlons and Phenoms, rather Intel is just now competitive and on par with AMD's offerings. In any case, they represent far better choice than Core i5 600, bringing all the important Clarkdale and Westmere features with much lower price tag. Without doubt Core i3 will have a big and happy user base, lots of overclockers, gamers, Intel fans and HTPC builders. But AMD is not dead, it's alive and kicking hard and will continue to do so until Intel finds a way to bring the price of their four-thread Clarkdale to below $100."

These are top-notch processors for budget-oriented systems or HTPCs. Also, with their superb overclocking potential they can easily rival native quad-core processors in many situations.

Click here to read the full review.

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SilverStone Fortress FT02 Cases Review

February 26, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

HardwareHeaven and TechwareLabs have posted a review of the SilverStone Fortress FT02, an attractive high-quality mid-tower case.

Here's what they had to say:

HardwareHeaven:

"Starting with the external appearance of the FT02 we have a chassis which looks fantastic, the curved design looks great and the quality of paintwork through is flawless. This gives this product the edge over both the RV02 and 800D.

The thermal performance of the FT02 is also excellent, with some components barely moving when we applied 100% load to the system. This, combined with the low noise option gives us a very desirable chassis for those who want to move between optimal temperatures and low noise levels depending on their task."

Click here to read the full review.
TechwareLabs:

"Theres a lot about this case to love. The styling is impeccable, and the combination of the rotated motherboard mount and pop-off top cover mean that its possible to have all your wires tied up in one neat bundle as it exits the back of the case wire-guide. The position of intake and exhaust fans ensures a straight-line airflow from bottom to top, which works with natural convection to get the heat out of your case in a hurry. The fans themselves are whisper quiet in normal use, and dont make much more than a low hum when cranked to full. The combination of a solid, single-piece frame and copious use of acoustic foam make for a case that doesnt vibrate, shake, rattle or flex. If this case fell off of your desk, you might worry about the parts inside, but you definitely would not worry about the case."

Click here to read the full review.

Although the Raven RV02 featured a revolutionary internal layout, its front fascia was a bit too wild for most people. With that in mind, SilverStone went back to the drawing board and created the FT02, which is damn near perfect in every respect.

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Kingston SSDNow V Series (Gen. 2) 128GB SSD Review

February 26, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

PC Perspective have posted a review of the Kingston SSDNow V Series (Gen. 2) 128GB solid state drive.

Let's see what they had to say:

"Normally we put the pricing after the pros and cons, but here we find it's worth pushing it up front. I've already had readers write in saying they've found the 64 GB model for cheaper than $150, and the 128GB for lower than $250. With most other drives pushing close to $3/GB, here we have a non-stuttery, decent performer for right around $2/GB.

After a few iterations and revisions to their SSDNow V Series brand, Kingston have finally settled on a product that is true to the (V)alue portion of that name. Combining JMicron's new JMF618 controller tech with Toshiba's fabrication and flash memory has rapidly brought prices of solid state storage down to less than $2/GB. While the new drives can't keep up with the more expensive solutions out there, they leave previous budget offerings far behind."

If you are in the motherboard for an SSD but find the cost-per-gigabyte off-putting, then this might be the model for you.

Click here to read the full review.

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Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD6 Motherboard Review

February 26, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

APH Networks have posted a review of the Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD6, an Intel P55-based motherboard featuring SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0.

Here's an excerpt:

" With regards to overclocking, the results turned out great in both maximum clock speed and maximum base clock with our Intel Core i5-750 processor. Gigabyte's Motherboard Intelligent Tweaker in the BIOS is clearly aimed at the enthusiast, and their latest revision made the overclocking experience significantly better than the past. Combined with the latest in communication ports such as SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0, the Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD6 certainly won't disappoint if you are looking for a high quality, full featured enthusiast LGA1156 motherboard!"

This is a very good motherboard, but those two additional memory slots are pointless for the P55 platform. Just pick up the cheaper four slot P55A-UD5 instead.

Click here to read the full review.

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Gigabyte P55A-UD7 LGA1156 Motherboard Review

February 25, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Techgage have posted a review of the Gigabyte P55A-UD7, which is easily the most impressive Intel P55-based motherboard on the market right now.

Here's an excerpt:

"Still, with its price-tag of $279.99, it's not a board for everyone. And while we're at it, it's not a board everyone needs, either. We know that, Gigabyte knows that, and it's almost common-sense. But for those who are building a new machine and want as much functionality from their motherboard as possible, the P55A-UD7 proves to be a great choice.

It's feature-packed, has a smart layout, is well-built, has great overclocking features and superb cooling with either the water-cooling block or add-in PCH heatsink. I have nary a complaint when it comes to this board, so with that, I award it our coveted Editor's Choice."

If you want the most capable, feature-filled P55 motherboard on the market, then this is it. No doubt about it.

Click here to read the full review.

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Synology Disk Station DS210j & DS410j NAS Reviews

February 25, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

CCE Reviews and TechSpot have reviewed two network attached storage (NAS) devices from Synology, the Disk Station DS210j and Disk Station DS410j.

Let's see what they had to say:

CCE Reviews: Synology Disk Station DS210j Review:

"With an introductory price of just $230, there is much value to be had. The Marvell processor and 128MB onboard memory is sufficient in preventing the hardware from bottlenecking JBOD or RAID performance. With typical write speeds in the mid-thirties and read speeds in the sixties youll have no problems streaming videos, backing up crucial work files and downloading via torrents all while drawing less power than a single light bulb. For anyone looking to join those with NAS devices, seriously consider the DS210j over any other introductory models."

Click here to read the full review.
TechSpot: Synology Disk Station DS410j NAS Review‏:

"After using the DiskStation DS210j, I can confidently say that Synology really do make great NAS units. The unit itself is designed well, both inside and out, and although white products are always going to be associated with a certain other company, it does well to stand on its own two feat in terms of styling.

Its clear that a lot of effort has gone into the web interface on the DS210j, as pop up menus and wizards float into place and fade in and out on open/close. Everything is laid out clearly, and even though there are a lot of options to configure, theyre all documented clearly right there on the device."

Click here to read the full review.

If you like what you see in the DS210j/DS410j you may want to check out the QNAP TS-210/TS-410, which are also very interesting offerings.

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Gigabyte X58A-UD3R LGA1366 Motherboard Review

February 25, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

ThinkComputers have posted a review of the relatively affordable Gigabyte X58A-UD3R, an Intel X58-based LGA1366 motherboard featuring SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0.

Let's see what they had to say:

"In addition to a few new Gigabyte unique features, the X58A-UD3R sports USB 3.0 and SATA 6GB/s, preparing the owner for the future of data transfer. There are already a few devices on the market now, by the middle of the summer there should be lots of them. This board is also ready to accept Intels new 6-core Core i9, which should be out in the near future.

This board has the capability of running pretty much every SLI and CrossfireX combination known to man, though most configurations require single slot cooling on the video cards.

I found nothing not to like about the X58A-UD3R."

As far as I know, at $210 this is the cheapest X58 motherboard with both SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0, a pretty good deal.

Click here to read the full review.

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OCZ Vertex LE (Limited Edition) 100GB SSD Review

February 25, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

PC Perspective have posted a review of the über-fast OCZ Vertex LE (Limited Edition) 100GB solid state drive, which features the new SandForce controller.

Let's see what they had to say:

"It was great to see OCZ pull off such a fast push to manufacture of this new Vertex LE. Just last month we saw it in engineering sample form, just a few weeks later we see retail silicon shipping out to resellers. While the LE dropped some of the enterprise level features present in the Vertex 2 Pro, it still performed extremely well throughout our test suite, turning in staggering write speeds that would even leave SLC based units in the dust. While this level of performance does draw a premium price, you won't find write speeds like this in any other SATA SSD out there."

This is one of the few SSDs that I would pick over the Intel X25-M. The SandForce controller is definitely a force to be reckoned with, and I can't wait to see cheaper SSDs featuring it.

to read the full review.

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Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD5 AM3 Motherboard Review

February 25, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

HardwareHeaven have posted a review of the Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD5, an AMD 790FX-based AM3 motherboard that supports both SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0 connectivity.

Here's what they had to say:

"Speaking of performance, the 790FXTA doesnt disappoint, in all of our tests it offered exceptional results and in any test where it was not the fastest board it would be impossible to separate it from the competitors.

We would normally expect a board with such great features and performance to retail for a significant amount more than the competition but somehow Gigabyte have kept the cost down. Looking at the prices today this USB3/SATA 6GB/s model is priced at only £2 more than a high end Asus board which lacks those new features."

This is without question the best AM3 motherboard on the market, so if you are an AMD fan this is the product for you.

Click here to read the full review.

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ASUS P7H55D-M EVO LGA1156 Motherboard Review

February 25, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Benchmark Reviews have posted a review of the ASUS P7H55D-M EVO, an Intel H55-based LGA1156 motherboard that is designed for the new Clarkdale Core i3 & Core i5 processors.

Let's see what they had to say:

"The construction quality of the board was top-notch. Solid capacitors, ferrite-core chokes, and neat component layout are all features of a product where the designers sweated the details. Should something happen anyway, ASUS backs this board with a three-year warranty.

Performance-wise, this board is impressive: it never faltered under testing, even under conditions far in excess of Intel's voltage and power specifications. ASUS has designed a lot of headroom into this board, frankly more than I would expect at this price point. Functionally, the board's extra features make the difference between "just another nice HTPC motherboard" and "a real enthusiast's motherboard."

This is an excellent well-rounded motherboard, and all the user reviews that I have read so far have been exceedingly positive.

Click here to read the full review.

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NZXT Case Reviews - Beta EVO, Gamma, Hades, Tempest EVO

February 25, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

BCCHardware, Benchmark Reviews, High Tech Reviews, Modders-Inc, Overclockers Online, Techgage, and ThinkComputers have reviewed various PC cases from NZXT, namely the Beta EVO, Gamma, Hades, and Tempest EVO.

BCCHardware: NZXT Hades Crafted Series Gaming Case:

"While the case certainly isn't a bad case, there are a couple of things that overshadow the potential greatness. The top motherboard area is a tight fit and the extra useless bay is kind of odd. Granted, most people won't use all eight bays, but leaving one unusable is weird. On the upside, the case has great airflow, filtered intakes, is very quiet and provides fan control and temperature monitoring. Cable management is pretty good and you can certainly buy a much worse case if you try. Overall, it scores pretty well, but fall short of a "Gold" Award."

Click here to read the full review.
Benchmark Reviews: NZXT Tempest-EVO Computer Case:

"The overall construction is well done, I couldn't find any kind of rough edges or poor. This is where Tempest Evo succeeds. All the details they lacked in the Tempest are present in the Evo. If I start listing flaws, there's really only two, and they may or may not be a problem for you: the loose ODD and PCI slot adjustment. The rest of the case, from build to appearance to functionality, are all great.

At $119.99 (or $99.99 after mail-in rebate), I still feel it's a little to the expensive side. When it comes down to value, it's really about what you value. For a revised case I stressed that all functionality should be near perfect, and the Tempest Evo does come close. For those seeking a case with all the details hammered down, this case is without a doubt for you, and I'd say it's a safe buy."

Click here to read the full review.
High Tech Reviews: NZXT Tempest Evo Review:

"The NXZT Tempest Evo is the man's case, it is not going to be for the faint of heart unless you invest in a fan bus controller to harness the noise that all of the fan generate, but in the event you are wanting to see just how fast your system is capable of running then this just might be the perfect case for you."

Click here to read the full review.
Modders-Inc: NZXT Gamma Classic Mid Tower Black Steel Computer Case:

"Gamma Classic is a very well built case even though it is a bit on the heavy side. It offers a great air flow performance as well as the ability of adding on up to six fans in to the case. I am not sure why would you want six fans, but perhaps for over clockers it would be a must. We have discovered that Gamma Classic is water cooler ready and has two options to install water cooling radiators. In addition Gamma Classic has numerous wire routing ways which help to organize the wires with in the case. If you are a gamer, then you would definitely benefit from the front panel of this case as it has the entire essential hookup for a LAN party. On top of these great features Gamma Classic provides its users with a unique and stylish look that will make people stop by and check out your case."

Click here to read the full review.
Overclockers Online: NZXT Hades Case Review:

"NZXT has manufactured a good case and after some modification, Hades has found a place to call home with this reviewer. Beautifully sculpted and outrageous airflow for $89.99 US is astounding. Id recommend this case to anyone looking for cutting edge styling, great airflow and nice cable management features as long as you dont use liquid cooling and/or a large heat sink as the case will not close.

There were only a few items that bothered me about the Hades, namely the radiator mounts on the top of the chassis. I appreciate that they are there, but the case could have been made a few inches taller to actually accommodate the radiator. As mentioned before, the case could stand to be made from a thicker gauge steel to prevent the flimsy feel and for longevity."

Click here to read the full review.
Techgage: NZXT Hades Crafted Series Mid-Tower:

"Overall, the Hades is still a very good chassis. The pros do outweigh the cons in my mind and as long as some careful planning is used, you will end up with a great-looking and high-performing PC. The front panel door is a love it or hate it feature, but I really did like it. It was very easy to use, it did not block the airflow one bit and it even angled the temperature readouts upward so that they could be easily read. While I can't state that it unseated the reigning king of the $99 class, it sure did a great job, and seeing it has many features that most others do not, it's still worthy of consideration for your next build."

Click here to read the full review.
ThinkComputers: NZXT Beta EVO Mid Tower Case Review:

"The NZXT Beta EVO is surely an improvement over the original Beta case. The many upgrades to the case make it all that much better. The case offers what people look for in a gaming case at an affordable price, between $40 and $60, depending on where you get it. Overall theres really not a lot you can say bad about this case, it does what it should do while having the extra features that other cases of this price range dont have. ThinkComputers awars the NZXT Beta EVO Mid Tower Case a 9 out of 10 score."

Click here to read the full review.

Enjoy!

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ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA1366 Motherboard Review

February 25, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Benchmark Reviews have posted a review of the ASUS P6X58D Premium, an Intel X58-based LGA1366 motherboard featuring SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0.

Let's see what they had to say:

"In conclusion, the ASUS P6X58D-Premium demonstrated that it can deliver better overall system performance against related X58-Express platform while also adding updated SuperSpeed USB-3.0 and SATA-III 6.0Gb/s functionality. The 16+2 Xtreme Phase Power Design offers energy efficiency similar to other motherboards of this platform when high-end power VRM features are incorporated. Casual gamers and mainstream computer users need not concern themselves with the P6X58D-Premium, especially since ASUS offers the Maximus-III Formula and P7P55-WS SuperComputer which both offer outstanding performance and value for the Intel P55-Express platform. However, if you're one of the elite few who use an Intel Extreme Edition processor or multiple video cards, then the ASUS P6X58D-Premium would go nicely with a Crucial RealSSD-C300 SATA-III 6Gbps SSD."

Along with the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7, this is easily one of the best X58 motherboards on the market.

Click here to read the full review.

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G.Skill Pi Series PC3-17600 4GB Memory Kit Review

February 25, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Overclock3D have reviewed the G.Skill Pi Series DDR3-2200 4GB memory kit, which features 7-10-10 timings at 1.65V.

Here's what they had to say:

"The G.Skill Pi 17600 4GB Kit is fabulous in that it has undeniable performance. At times the results we obtained just from having faster RAM was quite staggering. Admittedly some of the more comprehensive results were as a result of comparing to much slower RAM, but given the official speed limit for the 1156 platform is much more around the Trident speeds than the Pi it's definitely a big tick in the G.Skill Pi performance box. The single most impressive results we saw were in the gaming tests where the overclocked Pi and standard i7 870 produced a similar performance gain to a 1GHz CPU overclock with the 1333 RAM. Outstanding.

Special mention must be made of the Turbulence cooler than was almost inaudible in operation, rendering any noise concerns we had moot, and also provided good cooling performance. The best dedicated RAM cooler we've tested."

If you want a highly clocked memory kit with tight timings, this is definitely a product worth looking into.

Click here to read the full review.

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ASUS P7H57D-V EVO LGA1156 Motherboard Review

February 25, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Hardware Canucks have posted a review of the ASUS P7H57D-V EVO, an Intel H57-based LGA1156 motherboard that is designed for the new Clarkdale Core i3 & Core i5 processors.

Here's what they had to say:

"From a fiscal standpoint the $220CAD price tag might be hard to swallow for some, but this is a very good product and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to those who want to have some fun with Clarkdale, or who just want the most feature-filled Clarkdale-oriented motherboard on the market."

This motherboard is about $100 more expensive than any other H55/H57 motherboard on the market, so it is going to be a hard sell for most Clarkdale buyers.

Click here to read the full review.

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ATI Radeon HD 5830 Launched!

February 25, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

ATI have just launched their latest mainstream DirectX 11 graphics card, the Radeon HD 5830. This new model features a GPU clocked at 800hz and a 1120 shader/16 ROP design. On the memory front, this card sports a 256-bit memory interface and 1GB of GDDR5 clocked at 4000MHz QDR.

Anandtech: AMDs Radeon HD 5830: A Filler Card at the Wrong Price.
Benchmark Reviews: ATI Radeon HD 5830 DirectX-11 Video Card Review.
Hardware Canucks: Sapphire Radeon HD 5830 1GB GDDR5 Review.
HardwareHeaven: Sapphire Radeon HD 5830 Graphics Card Review.
HotHardware: ATI Radeon HD 5830 Review: Filling The Gap.
PC Perspective: AMD Radeon HD 5830 Graphics Card Review - 5870 Eyefinity Edition too!.
Techgage: ATI Radeon HD 5830 - AMD Completes its HD 5000 Line-up.
techPowerUp: ASUS EAH 5830 DirectCu.
TechSpot: ATI Radeon HD 5830 Review.
TweakTown: ATI Radeon HD 5830 1GB Video Card.
X-bit labs: Intermediate Link: First Look at ATI Radeon HD 5830 1024 MB.

This could be a good GPU but at the moment it is simply too expensive when compared to the HD 5770. Having said that, until NVIDIA comes out with some worthwhile DirectX 11 offerings AMD has no incentive to be aggressive with their pricing.

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Thermaltake Element G/T/V Case Reviews

February 23, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Bona Fide Reviews, techPowerUp, Tweaknews, TweakTown, and XtremeComputing have reviewed the Thermaltake Element G, Element T, and Element V cases.

Let's see what they had to say:

Bona Fide Reviews: Thermaltake Element G PC Case:

"The Element G is nicely made overall, its solid and sturdily built with a good design as well. The Element G is aesthetically pleasing also, I like the black with red accents, its kind of plain yes, but it works well.

You should be able to fit most any system in there, and with room enough for seven 3.5 hard drives and two 2.5 drives youll never run out of storage space Im sure.

The Element G works well at cooling your system and it does so quietly even if the fan are turned on high speed. This case can work fine for any kind of setup like as an HTPC that Im using it for."

Click here to read the full review.
techPowerUp: Thermaltake Element V:

"The Thermaltake Element V will set you back around 130 Euros or 170 US Dollars. This does not make this chassis a cheap one. While the case does offer quite a few small, but nice features there are plenty of annoying draw backs as well. On one hand Thermaltake offers very clean cable routing for the fans, along with adjustable fan speed and lighting of the cooling units. In turn you are required to unplug the pre-routed cables for the hard drive cages, to be able to pull them out of the chassis. This type of positive & negative weigh-off continues in many other areas like the mainboard tray. On one hand you have an opening in the tray and may install both ATX or eATX boards, but then the hole to gain access to the underside of the CPU area is not large enough. The PSU bay offers support for the unit, which in turn makes the installation a real pain."

Click here to read the full review.
Tweaknews: Thermaltake Element T Case Review:

"Careful shopping can get you an Element T for around $70 US. While this is pretty cheap for a Thermaltake chassis, I wouldn't exactly call it budget. Nevertheless, this would be a good first case and the user can add fans and accessories as the budget allows. While the cooling wasn't stellar, it was better than expected considering the limited number of fans included with the case. In fact, just including a single front 120mm fan would improve cooling and increase the value."

Click here to read the full review.
Tweaknews: Thermaltake Element V Full Tower Case Review:

"The Element V is a big, roomy case that will comfortably accept the largest components on the market today and in the foreseeable future. There is room for lots of hardware in the Element V, with five big bays and six HDD mounts. It is very robust and sturdy while being very easy to work in. I also like the look of the case and the lighting effects and fan control features are top-notch. A very full-featured I/O panel sits atop a front panel that is both secure and easily removed for installation and service, and the side panel fan connector will be a huge benefit for those who spend a lot of time inside the case. Cooling performance is very good, while keeping noise to a minimum with judicious use of the fan control."

Click here to read the full review.
TweakTown: Thermaltake Element T Mid Tower Chassisþ:

"The Element T from Thermaltake doesnt offer a ton of flash and new tool-less goodies. What it does offer is a ton of room in a mid tower, with choices. If you want a chassis with a bunch of airflow, and dont want to mod one, Thermaltake offers you the basic platform for just such a build. Pick your favorite brand fan, or the cheapest thing with red LEDs, it doesnt matter, the choice is yours to make. What Thermaltake gives you is a black chassis with attractive, simple lines, and lets you be the mod artist."

Click here to read the full review.
XtremeComputing: Thermaltake Element V Case Review:

"Thermaltake have built up a good reputation, and this case does not disappoint. As long as you can ignore the lack of HDD-vibration absorption, and the fact it isn't powder coated on the inside (although that's down to personal preference), this case is great. Its spacious interior makes it easy to install/upgrade your equipment, and also makes for an easy effort of cable tidying.

The lighting schemes are pretty cool, and rather than being a gimmick, they do add some value to the case. Finally, the one-for-all fan control on the I/O panel is brilliant - enabling you to quickly turn up or turn down all the case fans for different occasions."

Click here to read the full review.

Enjoy!

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AMD Radeon HD 5450 & HD 5570 Reviews

February 23, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Benchmark Reviews, eTeknix, PC Perspective, Rbmods, and techPowerUp have reviewed AMD's newest budget-oriented DirectX 11 GPUs, the Radeon HD 5450 and HD 5570.

Let's see what they had to say:

Benchmark Reviews: ATI Radeon HD5570 DX11 Video Card:

"The ATI Radeon HD5570 earns a Golden Tachometer Award for bringing "Redwood" class performance to a low profile form factor. There are definitely some buyers that absolutely want a low profile video card that can be used for a little gaming, preferably at 1080p resolution. They've got the latest 240Hz, 55" LCD in the living room, a sleek HTPC case off to the side, and they don't want a gaming console cluttering up the living room, thank you very much. Until now, those requirements were mutually exclusive, now there is a product which completely meets their needs."

Click here to read the full review.
eTeknix: HIS Radeon HD 5450 1GB Graphics Card Video Review:

"Today we are looking at the HIS Radeon HD 5450 1GB Graphics Card. It is a passively cooled card which uses little to no power and is aimed mainly at the HTPC market.

It supports the latest DirectX 11 technology as well as having support for ATI Eyefinity and ATI Stream technology."

Click here to read the full review.
PC Perspective: AMD Radeon HD 5570 and 5450 Review - DX11 HTPC GoodnessAMD Radeon HD 5570 and 5450 Review - DX11 HTPC Goodness:

"It's an odd feeling I have for the low end market of graphics cards over the past year or so. Neither AMD nor NVIDIA have really come out with a new product that I felt really ran away from the pack or set some new performance standard for the $99 GPU. When NVIDIA's GeForce 210/220/240 cards were released they really didn't push the boundaries of performance compared to the 9000-series of GeForce GPUs or even AMD's 4670 and the likes. Once again we see the exact same scenario: the HD 5450 and HD 5570 (and even the HD 5670 from January) are good cards but they don't really overcome the performance of currently selling cards for the same price.

Either way, if you are in the market for a low-end graphics card for an upgrade over an integrated graphics solution or for a new HTPC then the Radeon HD 5450 and HD 5570 will likely fit the bill pretty nicely. My favorite is probably the HD 5450 with its completely silent passive cooling solution and low power consumption along with the loss-less audio support and DisplayPort connectivity. This card will very likely find its way into a new HTPC for the house this winter."

Click here to read the full review.
Rbmods: ATI 5450 512MB Videocard:

"You can get this card for around 55-60$ which is quite expensive on my opinion, when you can get cards that are 1% slower for 15-20$ less. Now if you need a silent card this is your choice, it comes with DirectX11 and Eyeinfinity support so you get alot of functions for a small buck.

It performs flawless with heavy HD material and it is also equipped with a Displayport which means you are safe for future monitor upgrades, a HDMI version is also available."

Click here to read the full review.
techPowerUp: Sapphire HD 5450 512 MB GDDR3:

"First of all, let it be clear that this is not a gaming card. While it may be sufficient for older titles at modest resolution, it simply can not handle current games. What this card excels in however is regular desktop use and media playback at extremely low power usage numbers. Thanks to Sapphire's passive cooling solution it does so without any noise, which is key when watching movies on your big TV screen. The card also comes in a low-profile, single slot compact form factor which should fit almost any media PC case on the market."

Click here to read the full review.

Enjoy!

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Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB SSD SATA 6Gb/s Reviews

February 23, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

HotHardware and TweakTown have reviewed the brand new Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB, which should be the first SATA 6Gb/s solid state drive available on the market.

Here's what they had to say:

HotHardware:

"The Micron RealSSD C300's performance was nothing short of impressive. In almost every benchmark / test we ran, the C300 finished well ahead of competing offerings from OCZ and Intel, even when the drive was connected via SATA II. With the RealSSD connected via SATA III, however, its performance was significantly improved--especially with regard to read throughput, where its margin of victory increased dramatically. Quite simply, the Micron C300 is the fastest SSD we have tested to date."

Click here to read the full review.
TweakTown:

"Even on older SATA 3G hardware, the Crucial RealSSD C300 is still one of the fastest solid state drives available on the market today. Desktop users will be able to purchase and use the drive and still see significant performance increases over their current HDD or SSD and have the ability to purchase either an add-on board or a new motherboard when the time is right to get the maximum performance possible. Notebook users who are pretty much in a holding pattern until 2011 will also be able to update their existing HDD or SSD to the C300 and see instant performance benefits."

Click here to read the full review.

If you want a high-performance SSD and can wait a little while, this is the drive you want.

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Intel H55 LGA1156 Motherboard Reviews - ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI

February 23, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Hardware Secrets, ThinkComputers, and TweakTown have reviewed Intel H55-based LGA1156 motherboards from ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI.

Let's see what they had to say:

Hardware Secrets: Gigabyte GA-H55M-USB3 Motherboard:

"We simply cant believe that this motherboard costs only USD 110 in the United States! It brings tons of features only found on more expensive models, like the USB 3.0 ports, four video connectors (VGA, DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort) and professional-grade audio codec, making this motherboard the perfect pick if you are building a PC with integrated video for a home theater PC (HTPC) and/or professionally editing audio and video. Plus we have the outstanding overall construction quality, with only solid caps, ferrite chokes, low RDS(on) transistors and 2 oz. (56 g) copper tracks."

Click here to read the full review.
ThinkComputers: ASUS P7H55D-M EVO Intel H55 mATX Motherboard:

"The P7H55D-M has all of Asus features, likely more than you would ever use. Board layout is excellent, made better by the absence of the Northbridge. Overclocking was a breeze, made more simple by the Target CPU Frequency display and a well laid out BIOS. Asus kept the bundle small to keep the price low, you dont need much for an mATX rig anyway.

I found not a single thing I didnt like about the motherboard."

Click here to read the full review.
TweakTown: MSI H55M-ED55 (H55 Express) Motherboard:

"MSI has some work to do on the H55M-ED55, not necessarily in terms of performance (although they do need some work there), but more in board design and ease of installation and use. They also need to take a look at HDD performance and see if they can bring it up to where it needs to be.

The OC Genie is a nice touch to the H55M-ED55; it does what it says it does. This is to allow a user to overclock their CPU in a matter of seconds. We would like to tell you if this board is a good deal for the performance or not, however we were not able to find it for sale on any e-tailers at this time of this writing."

Click here to read the full review.

From my point-of-view, the Gigabyte model is the best overall model in this trio, if only due to the fact that it has the best connectivity.

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Thermaltake SpinQ VT CPU Cooler Reviews

February 23, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

BCCHardware, Hardware Secrets, ThinkComputers, and Tweaknews have reviewed the Thermaltake SpinQ VT CPU cooler.

Let's see what they had to say:

BCCHardware:

"The SpinQ VT is one of the more unique looking coolers that we've tested in a while. Just like the original SpinQ, the SpinQ VT uses a different design than most coolers and the unique appearance might be enough for some users alone to make this cooler their next upgrade. Luckily the looks aren't the only thing the SpinQ VT have going for it, it can also provide a very significant cooling performance upgrade over stock cooling while looking good.

The performance of the SpinQ VT was very decent and when compared to all of the other coolers we've tested it was able to hold its own. The performance wasn't anything groundbreaking, but when compared to the others it was right in the middle and offers a nice 15 degree temperature decrease over stock cooling."

Click here to read the full review.
Hardware Secrets:

"It performed well, although it is not a top-performing cooler. And it is not an inexpensive product.

If you are looking for a budget cooler with the best possible performance, forget this cooler. However if you want a really nice and different-looking CPU cooler, quiet and with a good performance, Thermaltake SpinQ VT is an excellent choice."

Click here to read the full review.
ThinkComputers:

"Overall the Thermaltake SpinQ VT is a decent CPU cooler. It costs $20 cheaper (MSRP) than the original SpinQ and offers better performance. This cooler takes up a lot of vertical space in the case which may be a problem for some people, but on the other hand it takes up a lot less horizontal space in the case allowing for more airflow across the case. Overall Think Computers would like to award the Thermaltake SpinQ VT CPU Cooler a 9 out of 10 score."

Click here to read the full review.
Tweaknews:

"The Thermaltake SpinQ VT is nothing short of impressive. With an impressive body design and heatpipe layout the SpinQ VT is a rock solid cooler. With easy installation, exceptional cooling, and a decent price of $59.99 it's definitely worth taking a look at. What I really enjoyed about this cooler was the spiral fin design which deserves most of the credit. The embedded 80mm blow fan is also a nice addition. Setting the fan speed to high made a significant drop in temperatures while keeping the noise down to a minimum. The red LED also gives the cooler a nice look to it!"

Click here to read the full review.

If your case has a side window and you're looking for a unique looking CPU cooler to show off, then the SpinQ VT is a decent place to start.

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Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 Toxic 1GB Review

February 22, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Hardware Canucks have posted a review of the new Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 Toxic Edition graphics card, which is factory overclocked and features a custom cooler.

Here's what they had to say:

"While the Toxic definitely doesnt encroach into the performance envelope of the high-end HD 5870, it isnt priced like an ultra high end card either. For a mere $30 premium over a reference-based product, this card retains all the best features of a reference HD 5850 like high efficiency and Eyefinity support while adding things that are sure to appeal to a wide variety of buyers. Basically, if the performance of a HD 5870 is appealing but the card itself is out of your price league, the HD 5850 Toxic is a perfect alternative.

Yet there is so much more to the HD 5850 than performance; great temperatures and very quiet operation also make an appearance. It seems like in every Sapphire review of late we rave about their Vapor-X cooling technology and this one is no different."

If you are looking for a Radeon HD 5850 with a little extra kick to it, then this is a good place to start. However, if you aren't too fond of Sapphire's short 2-year warranty, then you might prefer the XFX Radeon HD 5850 1GB Black Edition, which has the same clocks as the Toxic but with a lifetime warranty.

Click here to read the full review.

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ASRock X58 SuperComputer Motherboard Review

February 22, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

EXTREME Overclocking have reviewed the ASRock X58 SuperComputer, a relatively high-end Intel X58 LGA1366 motherboard.

Here's what they had to say:

"The ASRock X58 SuperComputer exceeded my expectations. Performance was near identical to the EVGA X58 motherboard. The X58 SuperComputer's great features coupled with its bountiful overclocking options make it an easy choice for any computer enthusiast who wants a high end graphic solution with the ability to overclock. With its Xeon and Tesla support you could pair it with 24GB of ECC memory and have a stellar supercomputer at a budget price.

The ASRock X58 SuperComputer retails for about $275 which is the price for most enthusiast motherboards on the market, and given its feature set its a good buy."

This is a worthwhile motherboard only if you intended to use the four PCI-E x16 slots. If not, for about the same money you could buy the more feature-rich ASUS P6X58D Premium and GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5.

Click here to read the full review.

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ROCCAT Arvo Compact Gaming Keyboard Review

February 22, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

HardwareHeaven have posted a review of the ROCCAT Arvo, a compact gaming keyboard.

Let's see what they had to say:

"On the whole, the construction of the Arvo is quite robust. The metal plate integrated into the construction gives it a very solid feel and a reassuring weight.

The Arvo is part of ROCCATs 'Smart Desktop Management System' that is designed to optimise performance while conserving desk space. We have now reviewed every product that makes up this sytem; the Kova mouse, Sota mouse pad and Apuri hub. All of these products have been quite reasonable and provide a decent solution for all our gaming needs.

At a price of £45.99, the Arvo offers a reasonable set of features for the price. We feel that the Arvo is most appropriate for gamers who frequent LAN events as its compact size and durability make it very suitable for transportation."

I could see this keyboard appealing to a certain sub-set of hardcore gamers, but it's a touch pricey at $90.

Click here to read the full review.

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MSI Wind U135 'Pinetrail' Netbook Reviews

February 22, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

HotHardware and Madshrimps have reviewed the new MSI Wind U135 netbook, which features the new Intel 'Pinetrail' Atom platform.

Here's what they had to say:

HotHardware:

"If you're just now starting to look for a netbook, however, the U135 will serve your needs well. It won't blow away any expectations, but it probably won't let you down, either. The real questions are whether you should wait for a netbook with USB 3.0 and / or Bluetooth 3.0, or whether you should look into getting into another class of device entirely. The tablet is poised to take off this year according to some, and while an on-screen keyboard definitely isn't ideal, neither is a cramped one that's shoved into the frame of a 10" netbook. Smartphones are also becoming more capable of handling basic web needs, though they'll leave you wanting more when it comes using an application like Microsoft Word, for example. In summary, the Wind U135 is a fine step forward in the slowly progressing netbook space, but it doesn't set a new standard for all future netbooks to follow."

Click here to read the full review.
Madshrimps:

"As for MSI, it seems to be catching up to the big names when it comes to NB products and is very fast on product updates and releases. It has certainly been quick to launch NB products for 10" Netbooks, CULV and the more recent Core i7 and Pinetrail platforms. While the new U135 is handicapped by the high cost of Intel's new chipset, it does show how much effort MSI is putting into the market. If they can go back to using the matt-finish LCD or making the chassis even thinner, once Intel reduces its chipset prices, the MSI Wind U135 may become a netbook product that offers good C/P value."

Click here to read the full review.

Aside from some minor power consumption improvements, the new Pinetrail platform doesn't offer much over the previous Diamondville platform.

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Gaming Mice Review Roundup - Cooler Master & Razer

February 22, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Benchmark Reviews, HardwareHeaven, High Tech Reviews, ocaholic, and Tweaknews have reviewed a few gaming mice from Cooler Master and Razer.

Let's see what they had to say:

Benchmark Reviews: Razer Orochi Mobile Gaming Mouse Review:

"Overall the Razer Orochi performs well, but we hit it hard since most of our comparisons are against full-fledged gaming mice that never considered mobility. The loss of performance from switching out of wired mode is enough to knock the Razer Orochi off the top for wireless performance, and at $80 there are many wireless alternatives that offer a better deal. But the Razer Orochi stands out for its mobile capabilities. The Orochi comes at half the size of any standard mouse and has a month-long battery life that no other mice can compete against. Value-wise, the dollar per performance you get for the Orochi is lower than other wireless gaming mice, but you gain the option to carry this mouse with your laptop without worrying about cables or batteries (laptop and mouse)."

Click here to read the full review.
HardwareHeaven: Razer Imperator Gaming Mouse Review:

"The Razer Imperator is the most impressive mouse that we have ever tested. Its ergonomic right-handed form-factor and soft rubberized finish make it a delight to use for any gaming session, no matter how long it may be. Additionally, the software package included with the Imperator is very easy to use and provides pretty much all the configuration options that we could ever need.

In terms of user experience it is equally impressive; throughout our testing procedure it performed flawlessly.

At a mere £55, the Razer Imperator provides exceptional performance and great quality at an affordable price. All told, the Imperator is suitable for users at any level; the impressive specification and performance are sure to catch the eye of hardcore gamers while the reasonable price is likely to attract a consumer who wants a fantastic price to performance ratio."

Click here to read the full review.
High Tech Reviews: CM Storm Sentinel Advance 5600 DPI Mouse Review:

"The CS Storm Sentinel Advance has to be one of the fullest featured mice we have ever reviewed. The mouse by itself is nice and well laid out , but it is the software that brings it clearly over the top of the chart. This product can be setup for everyone's liking and it will server them well once they have the way they want it."

Click here to read the full review.
ocaholic: Razer Abyssus Gaming Mouse Review:

"With the Abyssus gaming mouse, razer has produced an very good allround or gaming mouse. The mouse can be connected via USB cable and there is no need of any driver installation. The dpi and polling rate can be changed with the two switches on the bottom of the mouse."

Click here to read the full review.
Tweaknews: CM Storm Sentinal Advance Gaming Mouse Review:

"It's easy to sum up the CM Storm Sentinel Advance. It's simply one of the best gaming mice on the market today, if not THE best. What makes it so great is not any one feature in particular, it's the combination of ergonomics, performance, and customization that all work together in making a mouse that is a winner for buyers in the enthusiast market."

Click here to read the full review.

Enjoy!

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Top 20 3DMark Vantage Movers & Shakers

February 22, 2010 - 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). Keeping things interesting this week, we have two new entries under Performance Preset category. How high did they manage to climb? Read on to find out:

New to the 3DMark Vantage - Performance Preset Top 20:
13. P39454 CBGPCS
15. P39308 Untitled

It's no easy task to break the top 20...so big props on the awesome scores guys!

Anyways, keep up the great work. And remember, you can track of the top scores throughout the week by visiting our Hall of Fame. Until next time!
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Mionix Keid 20 Gaming Headset Reviews

February 19, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Futurelooks, Metku, and PureOverclock have reviewed the Mionix Keid 20, a relatively high-end gaming headset.

Let's see what they had to say:

Futurelooks:

"The Mionix Keid 20 Gaming Headset are well on the right path to gaining the affections of gamers. They offer many of the admirable qualities the basic gamer would expect in a good headset. They are very comfortable, produce decent mid-range frequencies, look pretty darn cool, and are made with a mostly sturdy set of construction methods and materials that ensure theyll live a long happy life."

Click here to read the full review.
Metku:

"Being named after a faint, but interesting star that glows in our skies, the product lives up to its name a bit too well. The Keid 20 headphones have some stellar performing features like the microphone and the included storing -bag, but unfortunately they aren't enough to compensate for the less than great audio quality and the somewhat cheap overall feel. This being the first headset from Mionix, I am confident that they'll be able to fix some of the issues which we faced during testing. So while the Keid 20 ended up a bit faint, I hope to see a brighter glowing successor to the Keid 20 on my desk soon."

Click here to read the full review.
PureOverclock:

"With the Keid 20 being Mionix' first foray into the gaming audio market, they've done a good job on the whole. The design and aesthetics are solid, the comfort is suitably consistent and pleasant even after long gaming or listening sessions, and at $70 the price is decent but we would expect better aural quality at this cost. Build quality is impressive here as well, and even with large circumaural headphones, the Keid 20 is very lightweight and comes with a nice carrying bag for those trips to LAN parties as well. So what's not to like? Unfortunately, the audio quality is lackluster."

Click here to read the full review.

A swing and a miss. If you are a gamer the first place you should look for a gaming headset is the SteelSeries 5H V2 or Sibera series, you won't be disappointed.

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Enermax Aurora Micro Wireless Keyboard Reviews

February 19, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

High Tech Reviews and PureOverclock have reviewed the Enermax Aurora Micro wireless keyboard.

Let's see what they had to say:

High Tech Reviews:

"We found the Enermax Aurora keyboard to be not only well built but easy to us due in part to the small foot print of the keyboard. The fact that the keyboard has both a mouse controls and a variable speed trackball.

We really liked the feel of the keyboard in hand thanks to the great handles that have been molded using a simple redesign of the base of the keyboard. The tactile feel of the keyboard is very nice and we found it far easier to use than say a laptop keyboard. If you are looking for a keyboard to be used in you entertainment center this is the keyboard for you. It will match any decor and is tough enough to take a fall of an end table."

Click here to read the full review.
PureOverclock:

"At about the $80 US price range it is on the high side for a keyboard. But when you think about it this is a brushed aluminum body, built for a specific purpose so I can't complain about it in that respect, because it does the job very well. The only downside I found if you can even call it that is the weight, it weighs 1.77lbs without the batteries, though you're likely not going to be caring it around all that much. If you have an HTPC and are using a mouse and keyboard to run it, the Enermax Aurora Micro Wireless Keyboard is worth every penny and gets our recommendation."

Click here to read the full review.

Although quite expensive, this is a great little keyboard for a home theater PC (HTPC).

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Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 Toxic 1GB Reviews

February 19, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

HardwareHeaven and Techgage have reviewed the new Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 Toxic graphics card, which is factory overclocked and features a custom cooler.

Let's see what they had to say:

HardwareHeaven:

"In each of the games we tested the Sapphire 5850 outperformed the reference design card by a significant margin and the GTX 285 by more. Playback of high definition content also resulted in good performance which is backed up by a great HDMI audio solution that currently cannot be matched by Nvidias high end products, including the more expensive GTX 285.

While media and gaming performance is great we also need to make note of the excellent figures produced by the cooler. The 5850 Toxic runs 40/125MHz faster than the reference ATI design but manages to lower temperatures by 12 degrees Celsius which is a fantastic achievement but not only that, it remained near silent throughout our testing."

Click here to read the full review.
Techgage:

"From that perspective, the Toxic is priced-right, and given that price, it performs well... noticeably better than a reference-clocked HD 5850. But, it's the overclocking that really helps make this card shine, because we managed to achieve such a high stable overclock, that the performance we saw nearly matched (and in the case of 3DMark, surpassed) the performance of the HD 5870, which retails for $400. That's great to see.

Given it's interesting design, and superb overclocking-ability, I feel compelled to award Sapphire's Toxic an Editor's Choice award. I personally recommend waiting to see if a mail-in rebate ever becomes available, just to bring the price a tad lower, but as it stands, it's a superb offering, and if overclocking is in the "cards", then you're going to have a fun OC'ing session with this one."

Click here to read the full review.

If you are looking for a Radeon HD 5850 with a little extra kick to it, then this is a good place to start. If you aren't too fond of Sapphire's short 2-year warranty, then you might prefer the XFX Radeon HD 5850 1GB Black Edition. That model has the same clocks as the Toxic but with a lifetime warranty.

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Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB HDD Reviews

February 19, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

hardCOREware and Techgage have reviewed the brand new Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB, a refreshed SATA 6 Gb/s hard drive.

Here's what they had to say:

hardCOREware:

"So the Barracuda XT has finally arrived. It has similar hardware to the 7200.12 (it doubles the platters and cache), but costs 50% more. That 50% gets you 6 Gbps SATA 3.0 connectivity, and an extra 2 years of warranty. And as you saw from our performance results, not much else. You might think that you need to buy one of the handful of motherboards that supports SATA 3.0, but that appears not to be the case. The Barracuda XT hardly sees much of a performance benefit going from SATA 2.0 to 3.0. Looking at the specs, you would probably guess this to be the case, but after putting it to the test, we can say it for sure. The XT ranges from a little bit faster than the 7200.12, to pretty much identical."

Click here to read the full review.
Techgage:

"Any way you look at it, this is a great drive. If I were to numerically rate it I would give it an 8 out of 10. The faults are small, but there are faults to be seen. There are definite areas of performance that are lackluster at best and at $299 you are paying quite the premium as well. I cannot help but suggest this drive as more of a system drive than a secondary drive since speed in the secondary role is just not important. With that consideration in mind, I can't help but think this is the ideal system drive since you are a partition away from having a super-fast booting OS as well as a truckload of space for all your digital media."

Click here to read the full review.

The benefits of SATA 6 Gb/s can't really be appreciated with conventional hard drives, especially with those which aren't particularly faster than what's already on the market. Furthermore, if you truly want the fastest 2TB HDD on the market, you will instead want to take a look at the Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB WD2001FASS.

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Ten-Way $100-150 Processor Roundup

February 19, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

hardCOREware have reviewed ten different $100-150 processors from AMD and Intel.

Here's an excerpt:

"The Core i3 540 and 530

They performed very well for the most part, helped greatly in some areas by HyperThreading. However they didnt fare so well in 3D rendering tasks. They did very well in gaming, and would be my top recommendation for a budget gaming system. They also did well in video and audio encoding, and would also be my top recommendation for office applications.

The Quad-Core Phenom IIs (945 and 925)

Unlike the Core i3, which varied depending on whether HyperThreading could be utilized, the full-cache Phenom IIs were almost always near the top in terms of performance. They have no clear disadvantages over the rest, and only trailed the i3s by a little bit in gaming and office apps. They would be my top recommendation overall."

If you're in the market for a budget-oriented processor then this is an article worth reading.

Click here to read the full article.

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ASRock & ASUS 785G AM3 Motherboard Reviews

February 19, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

iXBT Labs have two AMD 785G-based Socket AM3 motherboards, the ASRock M3A785GMH/128M and the ASUS M4A785G HTPC/RC.

Let's see what they had to say:

iXBT Labs: ASRock M3A785GMH/128M Motherboard:

"ASRock M3A785GMH/128M offers nice value for its price -- which is rather low, traditionally for ASRock products. The motherboard also has a good set of peripheral interfaces. Like all motherboards on this chipset, it has basic capabilities in terms of 3D graphics, which are enough for a number of games, as well as video decoding and transcoding (and don't forget the video buffer). You should also note the surprisingly rich set of overclocking options which actually work, letting you overclock CPUs to levels unusual for motherboards of this class."

Click here to read the full review.
iXBT Labs: ASUS M4A785G HTPC/RC Motherboard:

"The board is definitely original, but at the same time practical enough for a home theater. It has a complete set of peripheral interfaces, high-quality integrated audio, up-to-date graphics core, and, finally, a universal remote. Considering its adequate price, this board might just become a bestseller in its class. The support for DDR2 memory may become a drawback, though, considering that DDR3 prices are dropping. But this can only be said if you're assembling a new PC from a scratch. If you're planning to upgrade your primary desktop, you can at least take the memory modules you already have. Perhaps, as well as the CPU, because a previous-generation processor will still do for a home theater. Since there are also moderately priced slim PC enclosures supporting standard microATX boards, the whole upgrade venture promises to be quite affordable."

Click here to read the full review.

While the ASRock would make a solid base for a budget-oriented system, the ASUS is absolutely perfect for an HTPC, as it's model-name aptly suggests.

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ATI Catalyst 10.2 Windows 7 Driver Analysis

February 19, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

TweakTown have posted an informative performance analysis of the new ATI Catalyst 10.2 Vista graphics driver.

Here's what they had to say:

"There seems to be a small drop in some areas with the new driver, but most the time there's either no change with overall performance or a nice little bump which is always appreciated across the resolution board in a couple of games.

Outside of the performance, though, there are some seriously awesome improvements to this driver set when it comes to the feature set, especially when it comes to CrossFire improvements. In saying that, if you don't make use of the technology this driver is still a fantastic one that offers a nice performance boost in cards starting as low as the HD 5770 from our testing."

If you've got a Radeon HD 5000 series card this is a driver update worth switching to, especially if you use CrossFire.

Click here to read the full review.

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ATI Radeon HD 5670 - ASUS, HIS, Sapphire

February 19, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Bigbruin, Overclockers Online, PureOverclock, and TweakTown have reviewed a few ATI Radeon HD 5670 512MB & 1GB graphics cards from ASUS, HIS, and Sapphire.

Let's see what they had to say:

Bigbruin: Sapphire Radeon HD5670 1GB Graphics Card Review:

"Sapphire's Radeon HD5670 offers a budget friendly introduction to some of the new features first made available on the higher end HD5000 series of cards. While it doesn't do anything to really "wow" you, it does provide a compact, low noise solution that would let you experience things like DirectX 11 and Eyefinity in a more modestly priced desktop or HTPC system.

Connectivity is well covered on this HD5670, as Sapphire has included onboard DisplayPort, HDMI, and DL-DVI connections, and adapters to use a second DVI monitor or even a VGA monitor. Another key point is that there is no extra power required. Don't worry about your power supply having PCI Express connections, as this card takes all the power it needs directly from the PCI Express x16 slot."

Click here to read the full review.
Overclockers Online: HIS HD 5670 IceQ 512MB Video Card Review:

"I really was impressed with the performance and value of HISs HD 5670 IceQ 512MB video card. HIS always has had a different approach on video cards that makes them both more attractive and good cooling with their IceQ line and the HD 5670 IceQ is no exception. With native HDMI and DVI it makes a compelling card for a HTPC or desktop alike.

On the flip side the HIS HD 5670 is far from a top gaming card but that is ok. It offers pretty good performance at its price point and the great thing about it is that it requires no additional power aside from what the PCI Express slot supplies."

Click here to read the full review.
PureOverclock: ASUS EAH5670 1GB GDDR5 Graphics Card:

"The ASUS EAH5670 is a very good budget gaming card, clearly geared to consumers who are looking for an affordable card that will handle some light gaming, especially at 1280 resolution. The EAH5670 is also designed to be frugal in terms of power consumption, not requiring a separate PCI-E connector and instead drawing power directly through the motherboard itself. It is a small, quiet, low-power card that is a great upgrade option for people with an older system that want to easily improve their graphics performance."

Click here to read the full review.
TweakTown: HIS Radeon HD 5670 IceQ+ 1GB Video Cardþ:

"It's great to see another model get the IceQ+ treatment from HIS. Looking at the gaming performance, the numbers are exactly what we would expect out of a card that carries with it the same stock clocks as a reference one.

When it came to looking at how the cooler performed, it was a bit disappointing to see that the card only ran a few degrees cooler than a standard model. However, when you have a look at the noise levels, you see exactly what the IceQ+ series are about. Not only do you get a small drop in temps, but you also get a great drop in noise levels which is fantastic."

Click here to read the full review.

Enjoy!

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Patriot Box Office Media Player Review

February 17, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Hardware Canucks have just reviewed the Patriot Box Office media player, which competes with the likes of the ASUS O!Play and Western Digital WDTV.

Let's see what they had to say:

"With all that being said the Box Office is not going to be the perfect media playback device for everybody and if you are a hard core A/V aficionado you probably wont be satisfied with its performance. The GUI on the other hand is a no frills approach but there are pauses here and there and it lacks a real sense of responsiveness. However, these small issues we have mentioned can be overlooked since this unit is inexpensive good enough for all but the most demanding user and small enough that will make a wonderful addition to most entertainment centers. For most people, the simplicity of taking a USB drive with video files from their computer and playing them on the Box Office without many issues will be like a dream come true. With this in mind, we are pleased to honor the Patriot Box Office with our Damn Good Value award."

This is a surprisingly solid product and it is a worthy competitor to current media players.

Click here to read the full review.

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Intel P55 LGA1156 Motherboard Reviews - ASRock, ASUS, EVGA, MSI

February 17, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

PC Perspective, PureOverclock, ThinkComputers, and X-bit Labs have reviewed Intel P55-based LGA1156 motherboards from ASRock, ASUS, EVGA, and MSI.

Let's see what they had to say:

PC Perspective: ASUS Maximus III Gene LGA 1156 Micro ATX Motherboard Review:

"We'd like to thank ASUS for providing the Maximus III Gene for our review today. There were a host of features and capabilities on the Maximus III Gene that we haven't seen in any micro ATX motherboards since the form factor was created. ASUS continues to push the envelope in terms of performance, overclocking, and the amount of hardware they can fit on this form factor too. The included SupremeFX X-Fi audio chip, dual PCI-E x16 slots, and unique innovations to the memory DIMMs are just a few features that will enhance any gamer or HTPC user's experience with this motherboard."

Click here to read the full review.
PC Perspective: EVGA P55 FTW LGA 1156 ATX Motherboard Review:

"The board's performance numbers during testing were lagging a bit behind other vendors and we will go back and check for new BIOS improvements and other driver updates to see if we can get better results during our next round of testing. As for aesthetics, this board is absolutely sexy and something I would definitely sport at my next LAN party. The entire color scheme could work in any user's system and add a bit of flare that not many boards have. The P55 FTW also isn't very "future proof" because it doesn't include USB3 or SATA 6GB/s, but those items can easily be added with additional PCI cards. Overall, the board seemed more geared toward overclocking and daily-use operations and less about gaming. Only time will tell if this board can get the necessary updates to make it a winner in the P55 market."

Click here to read the full review.
PureOverclock: MSI P55-GD85 LGA1156 Motherboard Review:

"The MSI P55-GD85 is one of the best all-around LGA1156 motherboards we've tested, offering something for everyone. From great performance and sharp aesthetics to power efficiency and ease of use, the GD85 is a solid choice and should be on your purchase shortlist if you're in the market for a new Nehalem motherboard."

Click here to read the full review.
ThinkComputers: ASRock P55 Extreme Intel P55 LGA 1156 Motherboard Review:

"The ASRock P55 Extreme hung right in there with the Asus board on every test, a totally negligible difference in the numbers. The two boards are very similar, both in configuration and features, and I suppose that it is only right that they be similar in performance too.

I like the ASRock P55 Extreme, it could very well be my favorite of all ASRock motherboards Ive reviewed, which is an even dozen if Im not mistaken. It just feels right, if that makes any sense. Layout is excellent, setup was simple, and it was rock solid stable out of the box."

Click here to read the full review.
X-bit Labs: MSI P55-GD55 LGA1156 Motherboard Review:

"MSI P55-GD55 has a lot in common with Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R and this comparison can be furthered. The mainboards have almost the same specs except that the Gigabyte one has two SATA ports more thanks to an additional controller and its CPU voltage regulator is not so simplified. Gigabyte mainboard also has digital audio outputs on the back panel. Of course, Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R lacks such features of MSI P55-GD55 as OC Stepping but it does not really need them, being able to start up at any frequency you set without any tricks. Considering that Gigabyte product is only $10 more expensive, MSI P55-GD55 loses in this comparison because Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R is much better at overclocking CPUs and memory modules.

MSI P55-GD55 would be interesting if it were alone on the market. With lots of more exciting alternatives around, you might as well go for something else."

Click here to read the full review.

Enjoy!

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Antec TruePower Quattro 1200W PSU Review

February 17, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

HardwareHeaven have reviewed the Antec TruePower Quattro 1200W power supply, a brand new enthusiast-oriented model.

Here's an excerpt:

"Overall, the TruePower Quattro 1200W unit offers outstanding electrical performance and great thermal performance for a very competitive retail price. But a great deal of users who will be stressing this unit would find the noise coming from its fan at the very least aggravating. It would be an excellent product for hardcore overclockers and performance enthusiasts who mostly care about raw performance and have large cases to easily cope with this products size and cables but those who seek for an inaudible solution should be looking elsewhere."

This model has been battle-tested by some of the very best overclockers in the world and they have all raved about its capabilities. That's good enough for me!

Click here to read the full review.

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Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 13-inch Notebook Reviews

February 17, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

HotHardware and ThinkComputers have reviewed the brand new Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 13-inch notebook, which is an absolutely top-notch notebook with an attractive $549 starting price.

Let's see what they had to say:

HotHardware:

"We personally love the mix of seriousness and fine design, and we definitely love the $549 starting price. Our $899 test machine felt like a great value, and while the ultraportable market is undoubtedly crowded, we can say that the 13" Edge is worth a look if you're in the market for a machine in this size class. For those who spend more time on the go than at home, the three way wireless communication radio is a real boon. Wi-Fi, 3G (AT&T/Verizon) and 4G (Clear WiMAX) are all available as integrated options, giving road warriors a multitude of ways to stay connected, regardless of where they are and what network they are on."

Click here to read the full review.
ThinkComputers:

"The biggest change most ThinkPad users will notice is the keyboard. While the keyboard has been changed it is still very comfortable and very comparable to the ThinkPad keyboards of the past.

Since this system is so small and light at only 3.6lbs it is great for traveling as well. The 13.3-inch size is what many people are traveling with these days. With the ULV processor you should be able to make it through any flight in the US without having to use a secondary battery, which is very impressive."

Click here to read the full review.

It's nice to see that Lenovo is diversifying the ThinkPad line while maintaining the very high quality that IBM notebooks were always known for.

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Logitech G110 Gaming Keyboard Review

February 17, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

HardwareHeaven have posted a review of the Logitech G110 gaming keyboard, which features LED backlighting.

Here's what they had to say:

"Overall the Logitech G110 is well worth consideration for casual gamers who are in the market for an all-round keyboard that can service both their gaming and typing needs well. With a price tag of around £70 the G110 certainly isn't the cheapest gaming keyboard out there but it performs well on the whole and packs a good set of features."

This is a relatively simple, yet high-quality gaming keyboard. It's definitely my favourite new G-series model from Logitech in a long while.

Click here to read the full review.

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WD Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gb/s HDD Review

February 17, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

PC Perspective have posted a review of the Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gb/s hard drive, which is designated the WD1002FAEX.

Here's what they had to say:

"The WD1002FAEX joins a long line of excellent drives from Western Digital, and seems to be as good a time as any for bumping up the interface throughput. Hopefully the push to SATA 6Gb/sec will help drive adoption of this new standard across the rest of the industry. That said, it did little to boost performance of this new drive. We may see better improvements down the road, but we are currently stuck with third party controllers for this speed grade."

This may be a good product, but SATA 6Gb/s is absolutely overkill for any and all mechanical hard drives.

Click here to read the full review.

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Three-Way AMD 785G Motherboard Roundup

February 17, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

MadShrimps have reviewed three AMD 785G-based motherboards on the Biostar, DFI, and Gigabyte.

Here's what they had to say:

"The CPU OC ability is almost same for these 3 models. BIOS options are very rich to let users can tune up the performance. Besides enable X4, they all provide enable X3 option. It makes X2 CPU tunes up easily.

These three 785G has their own advantages. GIGABYTE has full features, DFI has better heat design and BIOSTAR non-solid capacitor design makes it be cheaper. Also they all have different lack points, so I think its unfair to pick up any one be the best choice."

Frankly, there really isn't a bad or even so-so motherboard among these three. Each will make a great addition to an HTPC or budget PC.

Click here to read the full review.

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Cooler Master HAF 932 AMD Edition Case Video Review

February 17, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Hardware Canucks have posted a review of the unique Cooler Master HAF 932 AMD Edition full tower case.

Here's an excerpt:

"With its AMD-inspired design, the HAF 932 AMD Edition sports a red plastic front panel that may leave a bit to be desired considering past high quality Cooler Master designs. The new side panel gets rid of the slightly cheesey security window and side mounted 230mm fan of the original 932, instead replacing it with a clear acrylic panel that boast an AMD Dragon logo. While the larger than average size may cause concern for the room real estate crowd, with E-ATX support and space for 13-inch video cards there isn't a piece of consumer level hardware this beast can't hold."

Cooler Master have done a good job with this case, it's somewhat appealing unlike most of the manufacturer-themed cases that we have seen in the past. Now if only there was a worthwhile red AM3 motherboard available. Cooler Master might want to start including Phenom II X6 case badges since those chips will be out fairly soon and will make the current case badge "obsolete".

Click here to read the full review.

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Top 20 3DMark Vantage Movers & Shakers

February 15, 2010 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky

Welcome back to our weekly look at the top 3DMark Vantage scores submitted to the online result browser (ORB). Things were pretty slow this week, but we did have a single new entry under the Performance Preset category to help keep things interesting. So who gets the sole spotlight? Read on the find out:

New to the 3DMark Vantage - Performance Preset Top 20:
2. P44871 Team KATANA Japan

The list may have lacked in quantity this week, but it sure delivered in quality! Congrats on the awesome score guys!

Anyways, keep up the great work everyone. And remember, you can track of the top scores throughout the week by visiting our Hall of Fame. Until next time!
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PowerColor PCS+ HD 5670/5850/5870 Reviews

February 15, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Benchmark Reviews, PureOverclock, and techPowerUp have reviewed PowerColor PCS+ series Radeon HD 5670/5850/5870 graphics cards, which feature customs coolers and factory overclocked speeds.

Let's see what they had to say:

Benchmark Reviews: PowerColor Radeon HD5850 PCS+ Video Card:

"In conclusion, there's a long future ahead for the Radeon HD 5850... especially when PowerColor adds the overclock and PCS+ Professional Cooling Solution. DirectX 11 gaming is here and now whether the competition likes it or not, and ATI has a huge head-start on absorbing an early market share. Eyefinity is a nice touch and it certainly adds to the gaming experience, but there's such an incredibly small portion of potential users for the technology that in reality the Radeon 5800-series has only its shear graphics power to make the sales pitch. Although the PowerColor HD5850 PCS+ is clocked to 760MHz and doesn't have the top-end power (or shaders) as the HD5870, it also doesn't share the premium price tag. For the cost, my recommendation is for the PowerColor HD5850 PCS+ DirectX 11 video card AX5850-1GBD5-PPDHG. High-performance gamers and multi-monitor power users can't go wrong at this price point, and it will only get better."

Click here to read the full review.
PureOverclock: PowerColor PCS+ 5670 512MB:

"The PowerColor PCS+ 5670 is a very good budget gaming card, lower on the performance ladder than the 5750, and clearly geared to consumers who occasionally do some light gaming, especially at 1280 resolution. The PCS+ 5670 is also designed to be frugal in terms of power consumption, not requiring a separate PCI-E connector and instead drawing power directly through the motherboard itself. It is a small, quiet, low-power card that is a great upgrade option for people with an older system that want to easily improve their graphics performance."

Click here to read the full review.
techPowerUp: Powercolor HD 5870 PCS+:

"While the overclock out of the box was quite slim our card showed great overclocking potential when done manually, reaching the magic 1000 MHz mark. I am quite certain that AMD limits AIBs to certain clock ranges and does not allow any higher overclock. The performance increase from the reference design frequencies is marginal with only 3%, a difference not noticable in games. Overall it seems PowerColor designed an amazing card that also comes at a reasonable price increase. $10-20 over the reference design price of ~$400 is about 3-5%, hardly worth mentioning."

Click here to read the full review.

Enjoy!

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Zalman Z7 Plus Mid-Tower Case Review

February 15, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Hardware Secrets have posted a review of the Zalman Z7 Plus, an affordable mid-tower case.

Here's what they had to say:

"Zalman Z7 Plus has a very Spartan looks, especially when you compare it to other cases from Zalman. However, at a suggested price of only USD 75 (and will probably be found for less than that), we believe it will please the user looking for a case with features usually only available on more expensive models."

While this is a fairly decent case for the money, I would recommend that you look at the Cooler Master 690 II Advanced, which is only marginally more expensive.

Click here to read the full review.

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Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB HDD Review

February 15, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Hardware Canucks have posted a review of the energy-efficient Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB hard drive.

Let's see what they had to say:

"When you add up all of the Green's positive traits and subtract its less than optimal traits what you are left with can best be summed up very quickly: this is a Dam Good Value for its target market. If you are looking for a down right massive hard drive for data storage or use in an external enclosure, a HTPC or myriad of other situations where the Caviar Black or VelociRaptor would not be a great fit, the Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB should be on your short list. There simply are no other options out there which can match the size and performance with such a low noise and energy consumption profile like this drive can. With all that being said, this version of the Green line does actually come with a price premium over its smaller 1.5TB brother which is something to take into account if you are willing to pay less money for a drive that has less capacity."

If you need a large amount of storage space for cheap, then this is the drive for you.

Click here to read the full review.

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Team Group Xtreem G1 120GB SSD Review

February 15, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

TweakTown have posted a review of the Team Group Xtreem G1 120GB solid state drive, which features 260MB/s read speeds and 180MB/s write speeds.

Here's what they had to say:

"The one area that really stood out for me was the price of the G1 compared to other drives listed for sale at the same e-tailer. The Team Group Xreem G1 clearly cost less and in some cases by a large margin. This leads us to the next portion; where the hell can you buy them in North America or Europe? Newegg does list a few of Team Groups products, but the number has been dwindling down. Currently there are only a handful of thumb drives. We would really like to see Team get their products out to more resellers worldwide in the future.

When it comes to performance, the Team G1 is able to hang with the pack of other similarly configured drives from other manufacturers. Team also offers a nice 2 year warranty at a time when many manufacturers are starting to lower their warranty terms to just one year."

As mentioned in the above paragraph, the only real problem with this product is that it's damn near impossible to find Team Group products anywhere in North America and Europe.

Click here to read the full review.

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Ultra X4 1050W & 1600W PSU Reviews

February 15, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

TechwareLabs and TweakTown have reviewed the Ultra X4 1050W and X4 1600 modular power supplies.

Let's see what they had to say:

TechwareLabs: Ultra X4 1050 Watt Power Supply Review:

"The 1050 watt flavor of the X4 line functioned about as we expected. Its good to see Ultra is consistent in quality control across their whole line. The fully modular design is a refreshing experience for someone used to dealing will the jungle of wires that other power supplies have. Gone are the days of having to tuck the spare wires on top of the power supply or on top of the optical drive. Dont need a wire? Dont attach it, plain and simple. The Active PFC is a nice touch and what I would consider a necessity on a high performance power supply like this. When you have this much invested into a power supply, the last thing you want is for it to be fried due to crappy input voltage. The price is the only thing thats somewhat offsetting about this product. However, if youre budgeting for a system that actually needs a kilowatt power supply, then odds are, money wont be too much of an issue. Overall this is a good power supply and should be able to handle near anything you throw at it."

Click here to read the full review.
TweakTown: Ultra X4 1600 Watt Full Modular Power Supply:

"Although the Ultra X4 1600 Watt PSU was not able to live up to the 80% efficiency claim, this power supply does offer a ton of potential for the serious gamer who hungers for two, three, even four video cards in todays pixel pushing SLI and Crossfire configurations.

This fully modular system can push serious power (not too efficiently, but a lot of power) for any case that can handle the size of this beast. The design contributes better airflow as well."

Click here to read the full review.

While the X4 series might be above average in most respect, it's too expensive when compared to similar models from more established PSU manufacturers.

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Corsair Obsidian 800D Case Reviews

February 15, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

PureOverclock and ThinkComputers have reviewed the high-end Corsair Obsidian 800D, a huge sleek full tower case.

Here's what they had to say:

PureOverclock:

"Certainly these features and quality come at a price, with the Obsidian retailing for approximately $280 USD ($250 after rebate). Thats not cheap, but considering it is a premium tower that isnt a bad price when you factor in what you get in return. And what you get is a full tower packed with exceptional features that is sure to last a very long time. An investment like this, and this an investment, is well worth it when balanced against the cost of those valuable components its designed to house."

Click here to read the full review.
ThinkComputers:

"If you are looking for a top of the line case this is it! The Obsidian Series 800D case is easily up there with the high end Lian Li cases and has a lot of up to date features that they dont have. You are getting a quality case so it is going to cost you, right now you can pick up the 800D online for about $280. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Corsair Obsidian Series 800D Case a 10 out of 10 score and our Editors Choice Award!"

Click here to read the full review.

As I have said previously, the Obsidian 800D should be near the top of your list if you're in the market for a new high-end case.

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Custom Radeon HD 5770 - MSI & Sapphire

February 15, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

techPowerUp and TweakTown have reviewed two custom-cooled Radeon HD 5770 graphics cards from MSI and Sapphire.

Let's see what they had to say:

techPowerUp: Sapphire HD 5770 Vapor-X:

"We saw amazing overclocking potential on our Sapphire HD 5770 Vapor-X sample which was higher than any other HD 5770 we had in our labs so far. Unfortunately Sapphire does not include any out of the box overclock with their card, which would have made it easier for less experienced users to get the max out of their card.

When looking at the price increase of about $20 over the normal reference design card, I'm a bit unsure if it is worth from a price/performance standpoint. On the other hand, twenty bucks isn't a lot of money, but it might give you a nicer overall experience. Compared to competing products, the HD 5770 is generally priced too high. The last generation HD 4870 is available for around $150 and offers very similar performance, even though it lacks the DX11 features of the HD 5770."

Click here to read the full review.
TweakTown: MSI Radeon HD 5770 HAWK 1GB Video Card:

"The HD 5770 in my books is already a great card. It's great for gamers who don't want to spend HD 5800 money but still want to do some serious gaming. To be honest, though, next to the HAWK version from MSI the stock one looks slow. The ability and ease of adjusting the voltage on the HD 5770 HAWK is fantastic.

What it does is open you up to a completely new level of performance, 20%+ in some areas from what is the same model is just fantastic. There's no other word to describe the model from MSI here. It really is just fantastic."

Click here to read the full review.

While Sapphire's Vapor-X models are always great, MSI's HAWK model is downright amazing. Highly recommended!
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G.Skill Pi Series DDR3-2200 4GB Memory Kit Reviews

February 15, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

APH Networks and HardwareHeaven have reviewed the G.Skill Pi Series DDR3-2200 4GB memory kit, which features 7-10-10 timings at 1.65V.

Let's see what they had to say:

APH Networks:

"The G.SKILL F3-17600CL7D-4GBPIS 2x2GB dual channel desktop memory kit makes a clear statement of what today's extremely high performance can be. As we have repeatedly over and over again in this review, the G-SKILL PC3-17600 Pi series RAM is some seriously fast stuff. While having simply faster memory will not increase your system benchmark scores directly, it provides a lot of tweaking headroom, and this is what G.SKILL's Pi series RAM is all about. The 7-10-10-28 latencies, 1T command rate, and 1.65V stock voltage is the icing on the cake. Generally speaking, it is safe to say that the F3-17600CL7D is targeted at the hardcore overclocker, performance enthusiast, and/or users looking to enlarge their e-male-proprietary-part (Where the latter probably consists of all of the listed factors prior to it, haha). The G.SKILL memory set comes with a well designed and well implemented aluminum heatsink for quick heat dissipation, as well as the included Turbulence Fan to bring additional airflow over the memory modules for those who desire it."

Click here to read the full review.
HardwareHeaven:

"Looking at G.Skills PI series modules first it is clear that they have created a fantastic product which allows us complete flexibility when trying to overclock our CPU/Motherboard. On paper the sticks were good but in the flesh they are even more impressive. Essentially we get 4 GB of high quality DDR3, with oversized heatsinks, XMP, cooling fan, lifetime warranty and exceptional timings of 7-10-10-28-1T for just $180... that is less than some manufacturers charge for their slower 2133MHz CAS 9 modules."

Click here to read the full review.

This is obviously a very high-end, enthusiast-oriented kit. It can easily rival the likes of Corsair's Dominator GTX1 PC3-18000 4GB kit, which runs at DDR3-2250 8-8-8-24 at 1.65V.

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G.Skill ECO DDR3-1600 1.35V 4GB Memory Kit Review

February 11, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Hardware Canucks have posted a review of the unique G.Skill ECO DDR3-1600 4GB memory kit, which features 7-8-7 timings at an extraordinarily low 1.35V.

Let's see what they had to say:

"Whether an efficient kit such as this one is worth it or not depends on what type of user you are. Enthusiasts are usually just after the maximum allowable overclock and power savings are the last thing on their minds. However, a mainstream user generally does not overclock in any way so fast memory at stock speed and low power consumption is a winning combination. People running Folding@home systems which sometimes crunch away 24/7 can also see some serious benefits with a kit like this.

Considering G.Skill's ECO memory is targeted towards mainstream, environmentally conscious consumers and G.Skill has other lines like Ripjaws which are built for the enthusiast market we have to say G.Skill really hits the mark with this one. ECO memory cashes in first on an emerging market and has little to no competition at this time. For that reason we are pleased to give G.Skill the Hardware Canucks HWC Dam Innovative award!"

Considering the fact this kit only carries a $5-10 premium over other higher voltage kits with identical DDR3 speeds & timings, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

Click here to read the full review.

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Lian Li Launches PC-A77F Full Tower Case

February 11, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

High-quality case manufacturer Lian Li have just unveiled their latest full tower case, the PC-A77F. This is one particularly simplistic yet attractive case, with an impressive twelve 5.25 external bays and four next-gen USB 3.0 ports on the top panel.

Here's what they had to say:

"Lian Li Industrial Co. Ltd Ltd today has launched the PC-A77F Full Tower chassis ideal for PC power users and server systems. Incorporating USB 3.0 functionality with 4x new USB 3.0 ports as well as the standard e-SATA x1 and HD+AC97 Audio. The hair-line brushed all black aluminum chassis features three Blue LED fans on the front (3x 120mm@1200RPM), and 2x Top 140mm fans @1000RPM, as well as 1x 120mm rear fan (1500RPM). The 8x PCI expansion slots enable CrossFireX and three way SLI graphic card setups. The chassis front panel clips off conveniently as needed. The inlet fans have filters that are washable. The entire chassis is designed for tool-less implementation, so installing your hardware a nd getting your system up and running is extremely quick and easy. The dimensions stand at 220mm x 572mm x 590mm (W, H, D) for the PC-A77F."

I like this case...a lot. It's huge, simple yet good-looking, and can support any type & quantity of hardware that you can throw at it.

Click here to check out the product page.

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5-Way 64-80GB Solid State Drive Roundup

February 11, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Hardware Secrets have reviewed five 64GB to 80GB solid state drives from the likes of Kingston, Intel, Mushkin, OCZ, and Patriot.

Here's an excerpt:

"The word on the street is that Intel SSD is the fastest around. Well, there is some truth to it: Intel X25-M is the king for sequential reads, at least in two out of three programs we used (on the third program Patriot Torqx was the best, follow by Intel X-25M in second). But under other scenarios other units are emerging victorious. On sequential writes and random writes using 512 KB blocks of data, Kingston V+ Series proved to be the fastest SSD in town. And for random reads using small 4 KB blocks of data, OCZ Vertex was the winner. For random writes using small 4 KB blocks Intel X25-M regained its leadership, followed by Kingston V+ Series."

While the 64GB models in this round are quite good, if you are deadset on buying a 64GB SSD, I would recommend that you take a look at Corsair's X64 (CMFSSD-64D1) model.

Click here to read the full review.

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Nexus RX-Series 530W & 1000W Power supply Reviews

February 11, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

PC Perspective and PureOverclock have reviewed two Nexus RX-series power supplies, in 530W and 1000W form.

Let's see what they had to say:

PC Perspective: Nexus RX-5300 530W Modular Power Supply Review:

"The Nexus RX-5300 530W power supply delivered very good efficiency with relatively clean outputs and good voltage regulation. Its main feature however is how quiet it is virtually silent. Not only does it start out quiet it stays that way throughout the power curve. At full output the fan just becomes audible. Throw in modular cables, support for high-end graphic adapters, and a good assortment of peripheral cables and you have an nice PSU for a HTPC or other quiet computing application.

My main complaint with the RX-5300 power supply (and the only reason it didn't bring home gold) is the limited 2-year warranty, which seems out dated when many other high-quality power supplies are now offering 5-year, 7-year, or lifetime warranties."

Click here to read the full review.
PureOverclock: Nexus RX-1K 1000W:

"With a retail price of approximately $200 USD, the RX-1K sits squarely in the middle of the kilowatt market segment, priced very well and offering good value for a modular unit of this power capacity. The main selling point of the Nexus RX-1K 1000W is probably its low noise levels and efficiency in a convenient setup. There really aren't any other detractions on this unit; it is a very good all-round power supply that offers a compelling combination of features, functionality, and aesthetics while maintaining very low noise levels."

Click here to read the full review.

These Nexus RX power supplies really seem to be designed for low noise operation, and they do excel in that regard. However, the 2-year warranty is a little disappointing.

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Mionix Naos 5000 Gaming Mouse Review

February 11, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

PureOverclock have posted a review of the Naos 5000 gaming mouse from little-known manufacturer Mionix.

Here's what they had to say:

"Mionix is looking to build upon its initial success of the Saiph now with the Naos 5000. While the Saiph was a good first venture for a new company looking to crash the party of the industry heavyweights, it was not without some faults. The Naos seeks to correct those shortcomings, and I can unequivocally say that Mionix has succeeded in every aspect. Mionix has not been around for long and mastering the subtle nuances of mouse ergonomics and functionality can be a very tricky thing, yet Mionix has absolutely nailed it with the Naos 5000."

If you want an exceptionally comfortable mouse, then this might just be the input peripheral you've been looking for.

Click here to read the full review.

Edit: Here's another Naos 5000 review from TechPowerUp!

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Intel Core i5-661 32nm Clarkdale Processor Reviews

February 11, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Futurelooks and ThinkComputers have posted a review of the Intel Core i5-661, a 3.33Ghz dual-core/four-thread 'Clarkdale' LGA1156 processor with an integrated 900Mhz GPU.

Here's what they had to say:

Futurelooks:

"That said, its another Intel first Stepping in the right direction. While the 32nm dual core Hyper-Threaded CPU line deserve an Editors Choice because it is innovative, its weaker memory controller gives us reason to pull back on the reigns. Granted, it does have twice the memory bandwidth of the Core 2 series, but it would be a real value if it had a better controller similar to its Core i5 750 sibling."

Click here to read the full review.
ThinkComputers:

"The Intel Core i5 661 has plenty of power for doing those day to day tasks and maybe not so day to day like Photoshop, video editing, etc. Overclock it, which is very easy, and you will get a good performance boost to make those tasks run even faster. Ive been assured by a very trusted fellow reviewer that HD video content is excellent, so it would be perfect for that HTPC. The i5 600 series processors will definitely make their way into consumer PCs, and I feel that is probably the intended market."

Click here to read the full review.

In my view, all the i5-600 series processors are overpriced, but the i3-500 series are relative bargains and all you are really giving up is Turbo Boost. They also have a slightly slower IGP (733Mhz vs. 900Mhz), but that's irrelevant if you are building an HTPC or non-gaming computer.

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EVGA Geforce GTX 275 CO-OP 1280MB GDDR3 Review

February 11, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Benchmark Reviews have posted a review of the EVGA Geforce GTX275 CO-OP 1280MB GDDR3 graphic card, which features both a GeForce GTX 275 GPU and GeForce GTS 250 GPU on one PCB. The GTS 250 being a dedicated PhysX processor.

Let's see what they had to say:

"If you're an NVIDIA fan, an extra $50 or so over the cost of this card buys a GTX 285, which will provide 15%-20% better frame rates at high resolutions in games where PhysX is not used (which, it must be admitted, are most games), but would not perform as well when PhysX was involved. The least expensive solution that would provide better overall performance would be separate GTX 285 and GTS 250 cards, which would still cost much more than this card. The GTX 275 GPU provides enough performance to play most modern games at high settings and resolutions, and there's always the option of adding one or two more standard GTX 275 cards for an SLI system if you need more performance down the road. You could even use one or more GTX 275 CO-OP PhysX Edition cards in SLI, but note that CUDA processes like PhysX cannot be split across multiple GPUs as rendering can, so such a configuration would not improve PhysX performance."

While I'm intrigued about this product's folding capabilities, I don't know that PhysX will be enough to attract buyers to this $350 card. True gamers would be better off buying a Radeon HD 5850.

Click here to read the full review.

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NVIDIA Optimus Mobile Technology Preview

February 9, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

HotHardware and PC Perspective have posted a preview of NVIDIA's upcoming impressive Optimus Technology, which combines the performance of discrete GPUs with the battery life of integrated graphics solutions.

Let's see what they had to say:

HotHardware: NVIDIA Optimus Mobile Technology Preview:

"NVIDIA's Optimus graphics switching and power saving technology, though a little complex to explain from a design and software standpoint, couldn't be easier to understand and see in practice and function from an end users perspective. In fact, what NVIDIA has done with the technology enables a level of both functional and design simplicity that is, for us and we're sure notebook consumers to follow, a thing of beauty. There is a simple elegance here that NVIDIA has enabled with Optimus and it's the way it should have been done a long time ago quite frankly. Granted, we're sure that our expectations are based on an over-simplification of the level of engineering that NVIDIA poured into Optimus but we're more than happy that this level of seemless functionality for switchable hybrid graphics is finally here. Thanks to NVIDIA for making it a reality. We'll even go so far as giving the technology our coveted Editor's Choice award because, yes, it's that good."

Click here to read the full review.
PC Perspective: NVIDIA Optimus Technology: Performance and Battery Life for your Notebook:

"I think is fair to say that NVIDIA Optimus is one of the most impressive mobile technologies we have ever seen. While switchable graphics promised us a future of mobility computing that was both light on power consumption and heavy on performance, Optimus looks like it could actually deliver on that. The ability to seamlessly and near-instantaneously switch between the integrated graphics on nearly any Intel platform and a large number of discrete graphics chips from NVIDIA enables a totally new paradigm for notebooks computers. While hardware vendors still have to worry about dissipating the maximum thermal power of the discrete GPU they no longer have concerns over how much the battery life of the overall system will be drained courtesy of that discrete GPU. Of course the thinnest and lightest machines will probably still be integrated-only, though I think we will see a huge in-flux of discrete-GPU capable notebooks across the market and into consumers hands."

Click here to read the full review.

NVIDIA seem to have a real winner on their hands with this concept, now it will be interesting to see whether AMD can respond in a timely manner.

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Kingston HyperX DDR3-1600 12GB Memory Kit Reviews

February 9, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

PureOverclock and TestFreaks have reviewed the massive Kingston HyperX DDR3-1600 12GB memory kit, which features six 2GB modules and 9-9-9-27 timings at 1.65V.

Here's what they had to say:

PureOverclock:

"If you have need of 12GB of RAM, then you either have an insatiable need to brag about your system specs or you run workstation-type applications, plain and simple. Chances are the latter. If that's the case then it's all about stability, and these Kingston HyperX sticks were rock solid, only failing at the very end of our overclocking sessions. The last thing you need is a crash during an overnight rendering run, and quite simply, we tried to crack these sticks with just about every stability test we could muster, and not once did they crash."

Click here to read the full review.
TestFreaks:

"Running 12GB of memory on a home system is probably overkill and will be so for a little while longer. If you run a workstation and need stable well designed memory, then look no farther than the HyperX 1600MHz 12GB Triple Channel Kit. If you desire to have the most memory in town and want to overclock the heck out of it too, then you may be better off with a three stick kit; of course this will cost you a pretty penny. Since this kit features six sticks of memory overclocking gains will not be tremendous, so you should keep that in mind if looking for bragging rights."

Click here to read the full review.

If you absolutely need 12GB of system memory right now, then this Kingston kit is certainly worth considering. But if you can wait, I'd recommend holding off until the kits with 4GB modules drop in price. That way you can upgrade to 24GB in the future.

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Cyber Snipa Silencer Mouse Review

February 9, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

High Tech Reviews have posted a review of the new Cyber Snipa Silencer gaming mouse.

Here's what they had to say:

"I have now been using the for about two weeks and prior to that I had been using A Razer Deathadder on one system and a Microsoft X6 which is a 2000 DPI mouse on the other system. Hands down the response of the Cyber Snipa Silencer is the most responsive of any of the other mice. As far as button placement goes the X6 and the Silencer are closest in design and I found the Silencer to be a bit more comfortable in part because of the finger rest located on the right-hand side of the mouse.

Overall the Cyber Snipa Silencer is a quality product that will do a great job for you whether you are using it for play such as gaming or as business mouse or just using the Internet. With a price tag resting around the $50.00 to $55.00 dollar range tou are getting a great product and we highly recommend this item."

Many reviewers have said that Cyber Snipa's Stinger mouse was one of the best gaming mice that they had ever tested, so it's nice to see the company release another very promising product.

Click here to read the full review.

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OCZ Sabre OLED Gaming Keyboard Review

February 9, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

OCModShop have posted a review of the OCZ Sabre OLED, a very unique new gaming keyboard.

Here's what they had to say:

"If you're a serious PC gamer, then the OCZ Sabre OLED Gaming Keyboard should be at the top of your list. You really have to consider which features you're looking for in a gaming keyboard. On one hand you have a fully-customizble OLED keyboard with onboard memory and limitless macro configurations, but you miss out on key backlighting, color screens, USB ports and other features that competing products provide."

I like the concept behind this keyboard, but I wish the OLED panels were a little more vibant, and some backlighting on the other keys would also be welcome.

Click here to read the full review.

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ATI Radeon HD 5570 1GB Launched

February 9, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

AMD have just launched their latest DirectX 11 capable graphics card, the mainstream ATI Radeon HD 5570. This model features an 400-shader GPU core clocked at 650Mhz and a 128-bit DDR3/GDDR3 memory interface clocked at 900Mhz. This is a much more powerful and more gaming-friendly card than the Radeon HD 5450 that was released last week.

Here's are the reviews:

Hardware Canucks: Sapphire Radeon HD5570 1GB DDR3 Single & Crossfire Review.
HardwareHeaven: Sapphire Radeon HD 5570 Review and Radeon Value Card Roundup.
HotHardware: ATI Radeon HD 5570: Affordable DX11 GPU.
Techgage: ATI Radeon HD 5570 - Sub-$100 HTPC & Gaming Solution.
TechSpot: ATI Radeon HD 5570 Review.
Tweaknews: Sapphire ATI Radeon HD5570 Videocard Review.
TweakTown: Sapphire Radeon HD 5570 1GB GDDR3 Video Card.

This is a decent enough card, but we are again presented with another $100 card that can't even compete with a 2-year-old GeForce 8800 GT.

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Kingston SSDNow V+ 128GB SSD Reviews

February 8, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Futurelooks and TechwareLabs have reviewed the brand new Kingston SSDNow V+ 128GB solid state drive, which features 230MB/s sequential read and 180MB/s sequential write speeds.

Here's what they had to say:

Futurelooks: Kingston SSDNow V+ Series (Rev 2.0) 128GB SSD Reviewþ:

"So, how does the Kingston SSDNow 128GB V+ Series Revision 2 SSD do versus much stronger competition? It does great against its predecessor and if all else is the same, and youre picking one up, make sure it is the Version 2. However, the Toshiba controller onboard just isnt up to scrapping with the Indilinx controller inside the slightly more premium priced Patriot Memory TorqX 128GB drive."

Click here to read the full review.
TechwareLabs: Kingston SSDNow V+ 128GB Solid State Disk:

"The blazing fast read and write speeds of the Kingston SSDNow V+ make it a force to be reckoned with. When looking at the price tag of $512 (MSRP), you must keep in mind that this drive is geared solely to the enthusiast. The average person really has no need for this drive and could save a few bucks by going with the regular SSDNow V Series. It may be almost double the speed of the regular V Series, but you have to keep in mind that its almost twice the price. For what this drive is geared towards, you almost cant go wrong. Although the MSRP is $512, you can probably find it cheaper if you shop around a little. For example, you could wait to 2/28/10 and pick it up on Newegg for a mere $349.00."

Click here to read the full review.

It looks like Kingston is no longer satisfied just rebadging Intel SSDs. From a synthetic numbers point-of-view, this new model blows past the Intel X25-M, but overall it's my belief the Intel drive is still faster due to its almost unmatchable 4K read/writes and IOPS performance.

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Intel H55 Motherboard Reviews - ASUS, Gigabyte, Intel

February 8, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

t-break and Techgage have reviewed three Intel H55-based motherboards from ASUS, Gigabyte, and Intel.

Let's see what they had to say:

t-break: Gigabyte H55M-S2H Motherboard:

"The Gigabyte H55M-S2H motherboard package is a decent motherboard for someone on a budget its features such as HDMI and DVI video outputs makes the board one of the best choices for HTPC setup.

Performance wise, the motherboard is nothing to brag about but then again, this is not an enthusiasts board where every FPS gives you bragging rights."

Click here to read the full review.
Techgage: ASUS P7H55D-M EVO & Intel DH55TC:

"ASUS' board retails for around $130, and at that price, I wholeheartedly recommend a consideration. It may cost a bit more than other mATX boards, but it's packed with features, includes a wide-range of ASUS software (none of which we looked at in this article), has major overclocking potential and a great layout. There's nothing to truly dislike.

[...]

As much as I would like to be able to heartily recommend Intel's board, at its current price, it's pretty difficult to. If the board was closer to $85, it would be a no-brainer to recommend it, but at $100, the competition is far too tight. On one e-tailer, for example, there's a Foxconn H55 motherboard (H55MXV) that's quite similar to Intel's, but it costs $14 less. Or, for $5 more, there's a Gigabyte offering (H55M-UD2H) that is in all regards a better choice. Plus, there's the fact that Intel's board allows almost no overclocking, which Gigabyte's would."

Click here to read the full review.

If you're planning on building an Intel Clarkdale system then you are going to want an H55-based motherboard, and both the ASUS and Gigabyte boards are excellent.

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750W Power Supply Review Roundup

February 8, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

APH Networks, HardwareHeaven, Hardware Secrets, LanOC Reviews, and OCModShop have reviewed 750W power supplies from Jersey, SilverStone, and ThermalTake.

Here's what they had to say:

APH Networks: SilverStone Strider Plus ST75F-P 750W Report:

"The SilverStone Strider Plus ST75F-P 750W power supply is a fully modular package with a large single +12V rail and tight voltage regulation. Being 80 Plus Silver certified, it is without doubt, very efficient; with admirable noise emissions."

Click here to read the full review.
HardwareHeaven: Jersey Modular Edition 750W Power Supply Review:

"The Jersey Modular Edition 750W may not be the best performing product of its power range or the best looking; however with its above average all-around performance and the long 3 year manufacturer warranty it does offer excellent value to potential buyers."

Click here to read the full review.
Hardware Secrets: SilverStone Strider Plus 750W Power Supply Review:

"SilverStone Strider Plus 750 W is very good power supply, being offered with a fair price tag for its performance and features, and therefore we are giving it our Golden Award.

Efficiency is one of its highlights, peaking 86.9% in our tests. Voltage regulation was superb, with its main outputs always within 3% of their nominal values (i.e. voltages closer to their standard values than required). And noise and ripple was always relatively low."

Click here to read the full review.
LanOC Reviews: Thermaltake Toughpower XT 750W:

"80Plus Bronze certification, a quiet 140mm fan, FanDelayCool, and good performance. Thermaltake put together a good overall package with the Toughpower XT. The only way I would like to see them improve on this design is to consider the thin and flexible cable design seen on some other power supply's. At $129 on newegg right now it falls into the middle of the pack price wise, but with its feature set it's still a good deal."

Click here to read the full review.
OCModShop: ThermalTake 750W TR2 RX PSU Review:

"Concluding, the Thermaltake TR2 RX 750W is power supply is pretty good all things considered. The high variation during load is nothing to be worried about in my opinion unless you are running a 24/7 powerhouse in your case. Most of us turn our computers off at night anyway, or at least put them to sleep. As for the noise, it could be worse, but it could be better. I personally have six 120mm fans running in my case at all times. If the noise from a fan is all I have to sacrifice to make sure my components stay cool, then so be it."

Click here to read the full review.

Given how good it is the SilverStone Strider Plus is an excellent value, highly recommended.

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Synology Disk Station DS210j & DS410j NAS Reviews

February 8, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

TechwareLabs, Tweaknews, and XtremeComputing have reviewed two network attached storage (NAS) devices from Synology, the Disk Station DS210j and Disk Station DS410j.

Let's see what they had to say:

TechwareLabs: Synology Disk Station DS410j NAS:

"All too often we see software as an after though to the hardware and in the case of the DS410j it is refreshing to see that attention was spent in both areas. Indeed we simply cant say enough about the software included with the DS410j. Every feature we tested worked as advertised and without any issues. The quality of the unit itself is superb and the thought behind the engineering and design is apparant the moment we began to investigate the Desk Station further. Software updates come out on a regular basis supporting new features and bringing new life to those already present. Considering the value the DS410j represents to small businesses, home users, and home offices in addition to the excellent quality of the software and hardware the DS410j easily qualifies for our top honor the Editors Choice Award."

Click here to read the full review.
Tweaknews: Synology DS-210J Two-Bay NAS Review:

"With home networks becoming so common these days, more users are expressing interest in a NAS not only to centralize storage, but also to expand functionality of their network. Synology's DS210j is a great example of a low cost and easy to set up NAS unit geared towards home users and their demands. Storing and sharing multimedia files is a top priority in the home market, and the DS210j has those needs covered by providing a DLNA media server, iTunes server, audio station, download station, and various other features."

Click here to read the full review.
XtremeComputing: Synology DS210j - 2 Bay NAS Review:

"After using the DiskStation DS210j, I can confidently say that Synology really do make great NAS units. The unit itself is designed well, both inside and out, and although white products are always going to be associated with a certain other company, it does well to stand on its own two feat in terms of styling.

Its clear that a lot of effort has gone into the web interface on the DS210j, as pop up menus and wizards float into place and fade in and out on open/close. Everything is laid out clearly, and even though there are a lot of options to configure, theyre all documented clearly right there on the device."

Click here to read the full review.

If you like what you see in the DS210j you may want to check out the QNAP TS-210, which is Synology's direct competitor.

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Asus G51J Core i7 Mobile Gaming Notebook Review

February 8, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

PC Perspective have posted a review of the Asus G51J, a 15" gaming notebook with an Intel Core i7-720QM CPU and GeForce GTX 260M GPU.

Here's what they had to say:

"These gripes can be overlooked by the simple fact that the G51J delivers where it matters, and excels in areas you didn't expect which makes it a joy to own. For a ball-park price of $1400-1500 USD, it's on the lower end of the spectrum for gaming notebooks but don't interpret this as being cheaply made.

The Asus G51J is well designed, performs extremely well, and attractively priced - in my opinion this makes the G51J possibly the best value in mobile PC gaming. It is for these reasons the Asus G51J is being recognized with a Gold Award (unless you mouse on the left, in which case you better look elsewhere. Sorry!)."

If you're looking for a desktop replacement and you've got $1500 to spend, then this notebook should definitely be near the top of your list.

Click here to read the full review.

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Top 20 3DMark Vantage Movers & Shakers

February 8, 2010 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky

Welcome to the latest installment of our weekly look at the top 3DMark Vantage scores submitted to the online result browser (ORB). Heating up the charts this week, we have four new entries to share with everyone. So who did what? Let's take a look!

New to the 3DMark Vantage - Entry Preset Top 20:
13. E59123 TSUNAMI @ Mr.TETSU

New to the 3DMark Vantage - High Preset Top 20:
10. H27930 SAKURA // JP

New to the 3DMark Vantage - Extreme Preset Top 20:
6. X25107 gombcomp_Hungary
8. X22888 TSUNAMI @ Mr.TETSU

A big congrats to this week's chart climbers! Looks like those i7-920's are doing their job. ;)

Anyways, keep up the great work everyone! And remember, you can track of the top scores throughout the week by visiting our Hall of Fame. Until next time!
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Mushkin Volta 600W Power Supply Review

February 5, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Hardware Secrets have posted a review of the brand new Mushkin Volta 600W power supply.

Let's see what they had to say:

"Efficiency peaked practically 84%, which is good enough for our buy recommendation, even though it cant deliver efficiency above 80% under full load (and it shuts down when pulling 600 W at very high temperatures). Since most users wont use a mainstream product like this at its full load, we dont see a problem here.

Wed like this unit better if it had one extra SATA power connector and one extra peripheral power connector and presented lower ripple/noise levels at +5 V and +3.3 V outputs while the unit is delivering 600 W.

Of course there are better 600 W power supplies on the market, but not at the same price range."

There's nothing too special about this model, and for $20 I would instead recommend the Corsair HX650W.

Click here to read the full review.

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Zalman MS1000-HS2 Case Review

February 5, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

PC Perspective have posted a review of the Zalman MS1000-HS2, a steel & plastic mid-tower case.

Let's see what they had to say:

"The case itself is beautifully designed and goes away from many modern PC case designs that include tons of windows, LED fans, LED lights, and other flashy features. I actually prefer a case like the MS1000-HS2 that puts performance and functionality over flashy and cheap design elements. The included sound dampening material was definitely a bonus, but it would have been better to have all the interior walls covered in this material to make the case more silent. We also ran into a slight issue with the case feet because they are removable and actually come off when you slide the case around on the carpet. We found this out the hard way. Other than that, the Zalman MS1000-HS2 is well priced for its included features and should do well with consumers looking for a non-flash, full-featured mid-tower case for their home computers and gaming systems."

If you want an understated, feature-rich case, this Zalman model might be worth a look.

Click here to read the full review.

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Radeon HD 5670 Reviews - ASUS, ATI, MSI

February 5, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

The new ATI Radeon HD 5670 has now been out for approximately three weeks and it has proven reasonably popular thus far. With this in mind, here are few new reviews and articles of this affordable GPU.

eTeknix: Asus Radeon EAH5670 1GB Graphics Card Video Review.
iXBT Labs: ATI RADEON HD 5670 Graphics Card.
TechSpot: ATI Radeon HD 5670 Review.
TweakTown: ATI Radeon HD 5670 512MB Video Card.
TweakTown: MSI Radeon HD 5670 1GB Video Card in CrossFireþ.

The Radeon HD 5670 is a strong mainstream offering, putting up solid numbers at 1680x1050. It's still not as fast as some other $100 models, like the past generation GeForce 8800 GT/9800 GT and Radeon HD 4850 cards. Then again, it does have the advantage of DirectX 11, Eyefinity, UVD2, and extremely low power consumption.

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Corsair Dominator GTX1 PC3-19200 4GB Kit Review

February 5, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

TweakTown have posted a review of the unbelievable Corsair Dominator GTX1 PC3-19200 4GB memory kit, which runs at an astonishing DDR3-2400 9-11-9-27 at 1.65V.

Here's what they had to say:

"Like the 2250MHz DDR kit, this memory is bought by the piece. Unlike the GTX2 2250MHz DDR modules, though, this is a kit designed for the P55 platform instead of the P55 and X58. If high performance memory is what you're after and you're on an X58 machine, then the GTX2 kit is what you're going to want.

On the other hand, if you're running a P55 you have to decide if you want slightly lower clock speeds with more aggressive timings or higher clock speeds with more relaxed timings. If it was me personally, I would opt for the GTX2 kit, but that's only because I was able to achieve 2350MHz DDR on that kit. Since we can't guarantee you would have the same luck, if raw MHz is what you're after then the GTX1 kit we're looking at today is going to be a better option."

With the Dominator GTX1 and Dominator GTX2, Corsair are truly ruling the high-end memory market.

Click here to read the full review.

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ASUS P7P55 WS SuperComputer Motherboard Review

February 5, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Bjorn3D have posted a review of the high-end ASUS P7P55 WS SuperComputer motherboard, which features three PCI-E x16 slots.

Here's what they had to say:

"I was very surprised with the features ASUS had included on the P7P55 WS SuperComputer Motherboard. For its price of $229.99 on Newegg, this board is definately something you might want to look into if you are looking for a powerful, stable, and power efficient motherboard that has more features than what you might ever use. TurboV Evo, T.Probe, the EPU Engine and the Turbo OC Tuner Profile in the BIOS make this motherboard an excellent overclocker as well as one of the most efficient motherboard on the market."

This is a fantastic P55 motherboard as it is one of the few to have three PCI-E x16 slots for graphics use. It might be a 'workstation' motherboard, but it would be perfect as a high-end enthusiast model.

Click here to read the full review.

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Intel Clarkdale CPU Overclocking With IGP Enabled

February 4, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

MadShrimps have explained how to achieve a high BCLK with the new Intel Clarkdale processor(s) when the IGP is enabled.

Let's see what they had to say:

"With records being broken left and right with the new Clarkdale CPUs from Intel it was high time to see what the different limits are and how to break them to achieve even better results. In a recent finding published at Anandtech they ran into a BCLK wall of ~170Mhz when they had the IGP enabled.

In our testing however we were able to push the BCLK to 200+, even reaching 220Mhz. So what is causing this discrepancy in results? Time to find out."

Overclocking Clarkdale processors is a piece of cake, but if you are experiencing difficulties then definitely give this article a look.

Click here to read the full review.

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Thermalright Venomous X CPU Cooler Review

February 4, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

X-bit Labs have posted a review of Thermalright's latest and greatest heatsink, the Venomous X.

Here's an excerpt:

"Yes, Thermalright Venomous X is an excellent cooler with remarkable efficiency. It is a little expensive, but the fans of Thermalright brand will not be discouraged by a 65-dollar price tag. New retention mechanism and mirror-shining base surface are good bonuses, but unfortunately, they do not produce the desired effect. At the same time, we dont quite understand why Thermalright engineers didnt perforate the heatsink plates of Venomous X the same way they did with the pates of Ultra-120 eXtreme rev.C, and why they didnt make the cooler wider (83 mm instead of 63 mm)."

While the Venomous X might only be marginally better than the Ultra-120 eXtreme, it is still better in every respect, so I highly recommend it.

Click here to read the full review.

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GIGABYTE Unveils P55A-UD7 Motherboard

February 4, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Gigabyte have just unveiled their latest high-end Intel P55-based LGA1156 motherboard, the P55A-UD7.

Let's see what they had to say:

"Taipei, Taiwan, February 4, 2010 - GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and other computing hardware solutions today proudly launched their new flagship motherboard for the P55 chipset platform, the GA-P55A-UD7. Continuing in the UD7 tradition (after the launch of the GA-X58A-UD7), the GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD7 delivers awesome features for power users and gaming enthusiasts such as a 24 phase power design , NVIDIA® 3-Way SLI/ATI® CrossFireX, as well as support for USB 3.0, 3x USB Power Boost (unique to GIGABYTE), and SATA 3.0 (6Gbps)."

The P55A-UD7 and the ASUS Maximus III Extreme are two soon-to-be-released P55 motherboards that will certainly dominate the LGA1156 market, and I can't wait to see them go head-to-head.

Click here to read the press release.

Click here to check out the product page.

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Corsair Dominator GTX2 PC3-18000 Memory Review

February 4, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Hardware Canucks have posted a review of the Corsair Dominator GTX Series PC3-18000 4GB memory kit, which runs at DDR3-2250 8-8-8-24 at 1.65V.

Here's what they had to say:

"The fact that we can now buy memory that is specified to run at DDR3-2250 with 8-8-8 timings and only 1.65v is absolutely astonishing. A year ago that idea would have been downright ludicrous had you tried to tell us that. The fact of the matter is that memory is now capable of frequencies that far exceed most setups and as we saw with the EVGA P55 Classified setup, anything over DDR3-2200 just wouldn't run for us. Obviously this means we cannot run the Dominator GTX2 modules at even spec. This isn't typical of all P55 platforms but clearly was the case for us and goes to highlight that setups which can really push these modules could be a rarity."

Corsair also manufactures a CMGTX1 that runs at an eye-popping DDR3-2400 9-11-9-27. Absolutely do not expect either of these modules to work at their rated speeds without a heck of a lot of tweaking and an equal dose of luck. Very few processors support these memory frequencies without the need for a ridiculous amount of QPI/VTT voltage and a high-quality motherboard.

Click here to read the full review.

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ATI Radeon HD 5450 512MB Launched

February 4, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

AMD have just launched their latest DirectX 11 capable graphics card, the low-end ATI Radeon HD 5450. This model features an 80-shader GPU core clocked at 650Mhz and a 64-bit memory interface clocked at 800Mhz. This is really an HTPC-centric card since it is definitely not well-suited for gaming.

Here are the reviews:

Benchmark Reviews: ATI Radeon HD5450 HTPC Video Card.
Hardware Canucks: Sapphire Radeon HD 5450 512MB DDR3 Review.
HardwareHeaven: Sapphire Radeon HD5450 512MB Review.
Hardware Logic: Sapphire Radeon HD 5450 LP P/Review.
HotHardware: ATI Radeon HD 5450: DX11 On The Cheap.
Techgage: ATI's Radeon HD 5450 - The Perfect HTPC Card?.
TechSpot: ATI Radeon HD 5450 Review.
Tweaknews: HIS Radeon HD 5750 Videocard Review.
TweakTown: ATI Radeon HD 5450 512MB GDDR3 Video Card in CrossFire.
TweakTown: Sapphire Radeon HD 5450 512MB GDDR3 Video Card.

Enjoy!

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Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD Reviews

February 3, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Benchmark Reviews and TweakTown have reviewed the next-generation Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB SATA 6Gb/s solid state drive, which is the fastest SSD on the market...by a lot.

Let's see what they had to say:

Benchmark Reviews:

"In conclusion, Micron deserves credit for bringing SATA-6Gbps support to Solid State Drive products. The Crucial RealSSD-C300 is the first to offer ONFI 2.1 synchronous NAND flash, and makes good on delivering 355/215 Mbps bandwidth performance. Offering 256GB of SSD storage capacity isn't going to be inexpensive, and once pricing is available Benchmark Reviews will return to offer the appropriate response. Based on the performance tests, Crucial's RealSSD C300 series is going to set the bar for Solid State Drive performance in 2010. Delivering the best speeds and highest native functionality we've seen to-date, the Crucial RealSSD-C300 rightfully earns the Benchmark Reviews Golden Tachometer Award."

Click here to read the full review.
TweakTown:

"At this point in time there is no other drive, platter or solid state that is in the same league as the Crucial RealSSD C300. This is the drive enthusiasts have been begging for, mainstream users will hear the buzz about and anyone who requires high speed storage devices will be pre-ordering. The best thing is that we can actually afford the RealSSD C300! As I mentioned earlier, we have one other next gen drive in for testing and now that I have seen the final retail C300, you have to wonder if The Other Guys sent out pre-release drives just to get the articles published before the C300 hit our test benches."

Click here to read the full review.

If you're in the market for a high-performance solid state drive this new model should absolutely be at the top of your list, nothing else comes close.

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MSI P55-GD85 LGA1156 Motherboard Review

February 3, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Hardware Secrets have posted a review of the MSI's newest high-end P55 LGA1156 motherboard, the P55-GD85.

Here's what they had to say:

"MSI P55-GD85 is an outstanding high-end motherboard for the socket 1156 platform, especially because it costs only USD 30 more than MSI P55-GD80, which is a similar motherboard from MSI without SATA-600 and USB 3.0 ports. One of the main advantages of P55-GD85 is the presence of a PLX PCI Express switch chip, which will allow you to achieve the maximum performance from your system even when using two SATA-600 drives, two USB 3.0 devices and two video cards at the same time. If you are looking for a fully loaded high-end motherboard for your socket 1156 CPU, this motherboard is worth serious consideration. We simply cant find any single flaw on this product."

This is a very well-featured motherboard, it easily matches any of the high-end second-generation P55 motherboards from ASUS and Gigabyte.

Click here to read the full review.

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Alienware M11x 11-Inch Notebook Review

February 3, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

HardwareHeaven have posted a review of the Alienware M11x, arguably the most capable sub-notebook gaming notebook thus far.

Here's what they had to say:

"Our testing shows that they have achieved this, allowing us to play recent games such as Dirt 2, Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 at 1366x768 using a mixture of medium, high and very high settings. In L4D2 we even managed to enable 8x anisotropic filtering with Very High detail and still maintain playable framerates. No other laptop/netbook with a similar size screen can do this. It was also great to see the performance increases available through CUDA in GPU computing tasks such as video encoding or HD video playback.

So, it should be clear that the M11x has impressed us greatly but there are two minor things which we would have loved to see Alienware improve. The first would be the inclusion of a GB-LAN port rather than 10/100 though we were very happy to see a dual band wireless N card included. The second would be the inclusion of an eSATA/USB combo port to allow connection of high speed external devices. Really these are nice to haves for a laptop of this size though."

Considering how well equipped/built/designed the M11x is, its base $799 is very reasonable. Finally, an Alienware for the masses, and one that is worth every penny.

Click here to read the full review.

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EVGA P55 FTW LGA1156 Motherboard Review

February 3, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

X-bit Labs have posted a review of the sleek all-black EVGA P55 FTW motherboard, a relatively high-end Intel P55-based motherboard that supports the new Core i3/i5/i7 LGA1156 processors.

Here's what they had to say:

"EVGA P55 FTW mainboard is one of the most mysterious and little-documented mainboards that we have tested so far. It only reviews or your own personal experience that will reveal information about additional onboard controllers, the use of independent power supply though one of the eSATA connectors that led to fewer USB ports (13 instead of 14), the use of three independent BIOS chips and ATI crossfire support. Unfortunately, there is no information about most of the onboard jumpers. Maybe there are more hidden or unobvious features of EVGA P55 FTW that we failed to discover, but in the end we are users, just like everyone else, and not spies. When we met EVGA P55 FTW it turned out to be a mystery, but we would rather see a temptation."

This is a good-looking motherboard that can definitely challenge the enthusiast-oriented ASUS Maximus III Formula, and it's a good bit cheaper too!

Click here to read the full review.

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AMD Phenom II X4 910e AM3 CPU Review

February 3, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

TechwareLabs have posted a review of the energy-efficient AMD Phenom II X4 910e, a quad-core 2.6Ghz AM3 processor with a 65W wattage spec.

Here's what they had to say:

"The low thermal output is also worthy of note: using nothing more exotic than a large heatsink and fan, load temperatures have stayed consistently below 55 degrees Celsius. At idle, it stays at 35 C, a bare 5 degrees above room temperature. This allows for a machine that has the best of both worlds: whisper quiet cooling with fast, uncompromising performance. Those with a taste for overclocking will enjoy the low power draw of the 910e which has traditionally led to great overclocking CPUs when using nothing more than a decent after market air cooler.

In the end, AMD has delivered a solid performer in the Phenom II X4 910e. With the right hardware to support it, this CPU will deliver performance when you need it most."

I'm not a huge fan of paying a price premium for 'special' low wattage processors, since most of the time you can get similar (if not better) result by simply undervolting regular parts.

Click here to read the full review.

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Cooler Master GX 750W Power Supply Reviews

February 2, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Hardware Secrets and PureOverclock have reviewed the brand new Cooler Master GX 750W power supply.

Let's see what they had to say:

Hardware Secrets:

"Cooler Master GX 750 W looks like a good option for users looking for a mainstream 750 W power supply, however it has a major flaw that prevents us from recommending it: noise level at +3.3 V and +5VSB outputs were above the maximum allowed when we pulled 600 W and above from this unit. High noise levels overload and can even damage components on your computer."

Click here to read the full review.
PureOverclock:

"The Cooler Master GX 750 has a few things going for it right off the bat. The aesthetics aren't terribly unique but the matte black finish should fit handsomely into any case. There is also ample power across the rails, all which fell into acceptable power fluctuations. 60A available on the single +12V rail is plenty for a unit of this power range, and the GX 750W runs pretty cool and quiet. It comes with a fantastic five year warranty and best of all it has a 80+ Silver certification. Each of these features are important to what a potential buyer should be looking for in a power supply."

Click here to read the full review.

At $119 USD this is a pretty good value, but I wouldn't necessarily choose it over the tried & true Corsair TX750.

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Thrustmaster F1 & F430 Gamepad Reviews

February 2, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

PureOverclock have reviewed the wireless Thrustmaster F1 and the wired Thrustmaster F430 gamepad controllers.

Here's what they had to say:

"At a price of approximately $40 for the wired version and about $50 for the wireless controller. These isnt cheap, but these Thrustmaster controllers arent built cheaply either. They have sharp aesthetics, great build quality, and comfort; all things considered the price is decent. The sweaty-palmed hardcore console gamer will definitely appreciate these controllers, and I would certainly recommend these gamepads to PC gamers. If having a gamepad gives you an advantage in rough gaming situations then these two controllers may very well be for you."

I really don't like the aesthetics of these two gamepads, but they work well and they are well-built, so I guess that alone makes them good purchases.

Click here to read the full review.

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Cooler Master Cosmos 1000, Corsair Obsidian 800D & Lian Li PC-X2000 Reviews

February 2, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

X-bit Labs have have reviewed three large enthusiast cases, the Cooler Master Cosmos 1000, Corsair Obsidian 800D and Lian Li PC-X2000.

Here's an excerpt:

"The Lian-Li appeals to the eye with its unusual exterior design more than the other models. Being shorter than its two opponents, it not only allows installing long expansion cards but also ensures excellent cooling for them. The biggest problem about this enclosure is that HDDs installed in it are going to produce too much noise. The nonstandard position of the 5.25-inch bays is a smaller drawback: it is not always handy to have your DVD drives tray extending sideways. Users of various kinds of control panels may also complain that there are only two external 5.25-inch bays available in it."

If you like big cases and you've got a big budget, then these are three top-notch options.

Click here to read the full review.

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Windows 7 & 24GB of DDR3 RAM

February 2, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

BCCHardware have tested the benefits of having 24GB of system memory in Windows 7, specifically with regard to VMWare.

Let's see what they had to say:

"While this certainly hasn't meant to be a full review of a 24GB kit of memory, it is a bit of an eye-opener. I never thought that I'd be able to load up a system and still be able to do everything I wanted to do - and do it fast. Having 24GB of DDR3-1333 in this system enabled me to allot large amounts of RAM to each Virtual Machine in order to maximize the performance of each client - all while maintaining enough memory for the host Operating System to function at full capacity. I was able to edit HD Video in Premiere, play games, use Photoshop and Lightroom to combine HDR photos, and still never suffered a slow-down due to running out of memory. At times, I've had slow-downs with 6GB, but with 24GB, all these issues were gone."

If you're an obsessive multi-tasker with a penchant for memory-hogging applications, this article should interest you!

Click here to read the full review.

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Scythe Grand Kama Cross CPU Cooler Review

February 2, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

X-bit Labs have posted a review of the Scythe Grand Kama Cross CPU cooler, which features a down-draft design and 140MM fan.

Here's what they had to say:

"Scythe Grand Kama Cross is a very efficient cooling solution that will definitely be of interest to computer enthusiasts and overclocking fans. Two independent heatsink arrays and a 140 mm fan allow the aluminum Grand Kama Cross to compete successfully against the todays best top-cooler XILENCE Black Hawk Copper, which is made of solid copper and costs twice as much.

As for the drawbacks about Scythe Grand Kama Cross, we could mention not the best retention solution for LGA775/1156/1366 platforms and a fan with non-linear dependence of the noise level on the fan rotation speed, which could, however, be peculiar only for our particular cooler sample."

This is a pretty good down-draft style cooler, but there's no way that I can compete with Noctua's excellent NH-C12P SE14.

Click here to read the full review.

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NVIDIA GF100 Cards = GeForce GTX 470 & GeForce GTX 480

February 1, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

A little over two hours ago, NVIDIA revealed on their Twitter page that the upcoming Fermi/GF100-based graphics cards will be known as the GeForce GTX 470 and GeForce GTX 480.

Here's the tidbit of info:

"Fun Fact of the Week: GeForce GTX 480 and GeForce GTX 470 will be the names of the first two GPUs shipped based on our new GF100 chip!"

Kiss all those GeForce GTX 380 discussions goodbye!

Click here to read the 'tweet'.

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ASUS P7H57D-V EVO H57 LGA1156 Motherboard Review

February 1, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

TweakTown have posted a review of the relatively high-end ASUS P7H57D-V EVO, an Intel H57-based LGA1156 motherboards, which was designed to take advantage of the new 'Clarkdale' chips with integrated GPUs.

Here's what they had to say:

"Getting back to the ASUS P7H57D-V EVO, we do think this is a great performing board. The TurboV EVO in combination with the EPU-6 gives you some excellent options for power management and easy overclocking. The Hybrid Phase design on the H57D-V EVO helps to keep everything running with stable and clean power. As we mentioned above in our walk around of the board, ASUS has also designed the H57D-V EVO with flexibility in mind with the layout and inclusion of their expansion ports. The inclusion of both SLI and CrossfireX only adds to its allure.

Overall, I would have to say that the ASUS P7H57D-V EVO is a great motherboard, but it needs a price cut to make it more attractive to the mainstream buyer."

This motherboard is as well featured as any P55 model and it fully supports Clarkdale's integrated graphics, what's not to like?

Click here to read the full review.

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ATI Catalyst 10.1 Windows 7 Driver Analysis

February 1, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

TweakTown have posted an informative performance analysis of the new ATI Catalyst 10.1 Vista graphics driver.

Here's what they had to say:

"While the 10.1 is being considered a standard driver, Terry has come out on Twitter and said, "CatalystMaker: 10.1 is just a standard release to fix up some bugs, but 10.2 and 10.3 will indeed have some major new features". So the good news is that while this driver isn't the most exciting, hopefully we have something more to talk about in February and March.

At the end of it all, there's nothing wrong with the 10.1 driver and you may as well take the chance to upgrade. If you're on one of the new HD 5600 cards, though, you'll be disappointed to know that this set doesn't support the newly released model."

Nothing special about this release, avoid it unless you are currently experiencing issues.

Click here to read the full review.

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Intel Celeron E3300 Dual-Core Processor Review

February 1, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

iXBT Labs have posted a review of Intel's newest LGA775 budget processor, the dual-core Celeron E3300. This new chip features a 2.5Ghz core clock, 800Mhz FSB, and 1MB of L2 cache.

Let's see what they had to say:

"As for the performance of the Celeron in the normal mode, there are two angles to comment it from. On the one hand, we can see it's not that bad. It's the level of dual-core Athlon X2, not the lowest-end at that. Just four years ago, many users wanted to have one of those. Speaking of later times and comparable price ranges, these Celerons are obviously not worse than the Pentium E2000 series, which have the same 1MB of cache. The Celerons can even sometimes compete with certain Core 2 Duo E4000 processors having 2MB cache, but much lower clock rates. Considering that there are still lots of single-core Athlon 64 and Pentium 4 processors working in PCs worldwide, such a result is quite nice. If you have to upgrade your PC just because something has broken down, you can buy the cheapest and get at least the similar performance as before. However, from the other point of view, Celeron doesn't perform that well. You can get much more in the low-end segment for a similar price."

I'm not too impressed with this chip, the AMD Athlon II X2 240 is the same price ($53) and is MUCH faster.

Click here to read the full review.

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Intel & Micron Announce 25nm Flash Memory Production

February 1, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Today, IM Flash Technologies, a joint venture between industry heavyweights Intel and Micron, have announced that they are now in volume production of 25nm NAND flash memory, which is a huge leap from the previous 34nm manufacturing process. A few lucky editors got to visit the fabrication plant in Utah, and here are their articles:

Intel & Micron Announce 25nm NAND Flash Production, SSDs to get Bigger/Cheaper in Q4.
HotHardware: Intel and Micron Unveil 25nm NAND Flash.
PC Perspective: An Inside Look at Intel and Micron 25nm Flash Memory Production.

If you are interested in solid state drives (SSDs) or mobile storage in general, these articles are must-reads.

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Silverstone Fortress FT02 Case Review

February 1, 2010 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

Hardware Canucks have posted a review of the SilverStone Fortress FT02, an attractive high-quality mid-tower case.

Here's an excerpt:

"Perhaps one of the best perks the FT02 brings to the table is that it is not only incredibly potent in the cooling department, but manages to achieve this at very low noise levels. With the 180mm fans set to High, the case is very quiet but at Low the case is virtually silent. One can only imagine what it could do with higher RPM fans down below. This also brings us to one very important point: replacing these fans will be a bit hard since there isn't exactly a myriad of options in the 180mm range.

The FT02 also impressed us in the build quality department since like its predecessor it is built like a tank. We suppose they call it the Fortress for a reason. Although the unibody frame portion of the case is constructed of thick aluminum, other parts of the case are made of steel, making the FT02 a bit on the heavy side but nice and strong."

Although the Raven RV02 featured a revolutionary internal layout, its front fascia was a bit too wild for most people. With that in mind, SilverStone went back to the drawing board and created the FT02, which is damn near perfect in every respect.

Click here to read the full review.

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Top 20 3DMark Vantage Movers & Shakers

February 1, 2010 - Joe "OuTkAsT-1" Topolnisky

Today we continue our weekly look at the top 3DMark Vantage scores submitted to the online result browser (ORB). Rockin' the boat this week, we have a pair of new entires under the Extreme Preset category to share with everyone. How high did they manage to climb? Read on to find out:

New to the 3DMark Vantage - Extreme Preset Top 20:
13. X19203 ShooterMcGaven Quad SLI 295 i920@4GHz
16. X19071 Pohlmanni7920@4.0,QuadGTX295@720

It's no easy task to crack the top 20. So big props on the awesome scores guys! :D

Anyways, keep up the great work everyone. And remember, you can track of the top scores throughout the week by visiting our Hall of Fame. Until next time!
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