Roku Arrives And Completely Owns Apple TV
PC Mech :: Tuesday, May 27, 2008
“Said honestly I’m not hot on the idea of little digital boxes to rent movies from. However there are companies who feel there is a market for this. When Apple first released Apple TV it crashed and burned so hard sales-wise it was a wonder they even kept it around for more than six months. […]”
Alienware Hangar18 HD Entertainment Center Review
Think Computers :: Thursday, May 22, 2008
Home theater PC’s have become very popular lately. It seems almost everyone I know has been taking their old computers and turning them into media machines. Well what if you want the best media machine money can buy? The Alienware Hangar18 HD Entertainment Center could be just that. Alienware is mainly known for making gaming machines, so it will be interesting to see how they do on the Hangar18. The Hangar18 is an all-in-one media machine that can play DVD’s or Blu-ray media, watch live TV, watch internet TV, listen to music, and share it all wirelessly. Let’s check it out!”
Where Have All The Blu-rays Gone?
Tweak Town :: Thursday, May 22, 2008
Overseas, we have seen a lot of Blu-ray talk of late. Former HD-DVD heavyweights Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures have now aligned (or re-aligned, as the case may be) with the Blu-ray Disc Association and have committed to releasing Blu-ray products in the very near future. In Australia, Universal remain quiet on Blu-ray support, albeit with the promise it is coming, and Paramount have just announced four titles for release on the 31st of July. But apart from that, the release schedule is still looking rather gaunt.
So why is this? Despite the colossal amount of PlayStation 3 units that have Trojan horsed themselves into Australian homes, Blu-ray disc sales are generally low. Of course, it’s a catch 22. They are struggling to sell because of general lack of content, and distributors (especially locally) are generally wary of releasing because they aren’t selling a fraction of the numbers their DVD counterparts are.”
Music Services Compared
Digital Trends :: Monday, May 19, 2008
“We’re now in an era where everyone and their brother seem to have digital music featured on their site. And it’s all blown up in a way industry insiders had hoped, but no one really anticipated. Labels have their own music shops where tracks can be bought. Streaming downloads have become more important. Portable music players are now ubiquitous, after slimming down in size but seeing storage capacities grow, with video playback now a vital component on many models. Music on cell phones is also quite standard as features go today, with many handsets made to double as music players. In short, wherever you go, whatever you’re doing, you can take your music right there with you. Helping illustrate just how prolific music’s online presence has become, remember, three years ago MySpace and Facebook were barely twinkles in their parents’ eyes. Now, they’re giants just starting to dip their toes into the record biz, either directly or indirectly, and act as vital showcases for so many bands, signed and unsigned alike.”
ATI Radeon HD 3850 256MB Crossfire Reviewed
The Tech Lounge :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
“We know it’d make more sense to just spend more money on a really fast card, but–two videocards! Given that you can definitely get two 3850s for $300, it seems like a reasonable upgrade option, even though I normally rail pretty hard against mid-range multi-GPU configurations. The main weakness of the 3850 is its clean performance drop when anti-aliasing is enabled. Without that, it really does scream. Will an extra $150 give it that 4xAA shine?”
Sapphire Radeon HD 3870 Toxic Review
ASE Labs :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
” It has been a very long time since a graphics card has passed by the review bench of ASE Labs. Sapphire steps up to the plate with their release of the Radeon HD3870 Toxic Edition that hopes to earn some of your hard earned cash. With AMD’s support of open source, the ATI partners are in a good position to conqueror the Linux market and the future to bright. Sapphire is the biggest producer of ATI cards and we will see how their product performs. ”
GeForce 9800 GTX Extreme Overclocking Experiment
Madshrimps :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
“The GeForce 9800 GTX product was received with mixed feelings; on the one hand you had an affordable high end VGA solution, but on the other hand it was not much of improvement over the 8800 GTX. One area where the 9800 GTX might shine through however is overclocking, the new GPU generates less heat, and with the help of some LN2 it will be interesting to see how high it can climb!”
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT Performance Scaling in Modern Games
Digit Life :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
“We decided to find out what parameters affect performance in modern games most of all. Besides, we haven’t analyzed how performance is affected by CPU/GPU/video memory clock rates for a long time already. So we decided to test a G92-based graphics card and determine main rendering bottlenecks in modern games.”
Palit GeForce 9600 GSO Sonic 768MB
Tweak Town :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
“It seems we’re right on time for another pointless release of a graphics card that is slightly better or slightly worse than what is on the market already, whilst carrying with it a price tag pretty similar to that of what’s already available. Did that confuse you? – The thing is, these graphics card releases from NVIDIA are becoming nothing short of a joke.
I’ve actually tested the 9600 GSO; I know how I’m going to wrap this up before I even wrote this introduction, and it’s a real doozy. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves though, let’s find out exactly what the card looks like, what Palit has done with it and if the package stands out in any way.”
Samsung T220 Review
Inside HW :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
…” Very often short descriptions in manufacturer manuals for displays are: exceptional design and excellent performances which is the case with Samsung T220. If some monitor looks nice we can see that by ourselves when we take it out from the packaging, but when it comes to other manufacturer’s promise (about performances) we need to check them by ourselves for its authenticity. Samsung T220 satisfied the first half of its description from the moment we put it on the table.”…
ATI Radeon HD 3850 256MB Video Card Reviewed
The Tech Lounge :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
“With it’s release during the massive hardware holliday last year, the HD 3850, the least of four major cards, is easily overlooked. That’s really a shame, since it’s really a top-notch gaming card. Obviously, it’s not the first choice for enthusiasts, but from a value perspective, it’s without a doubt the best choice.”
Toshiba’s Growth Plans Hinge on Cell TVs, Fuel Cells
PC Magazine (HDTV) :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Reeling from the aftermath of its HD DVD debacle, Toshiba laid out a plan for growth that leans heavily on its other strengths, namely its Cell processor and improvements in notebook technologies, including fuel cells. On tap: auto-upscaling TVs, more SSDs, and some nifty notebook tech.
Pioneer Ditches Plasma Panels, Plans LCD Return
PC Magazine (HDTV) :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Pioneer said Tuesday that it will cease manufacturing plasma TV panels by March 2009, after the company suffered its fourth straight annual loss.
Sony Bravia KDL-52XBR4
PC Magazine (HDTV) :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
The Sony KDL-52XBR4 provides awesome color, pleasing contrasts, and a preset that delivers an impressively accurate and detailed picture.
Quad SLI Review
Chile Hardware :: Thursday, May 15, 2008
We just published our new review, we tested NVIDIA’s Quad SLI, hope you like it.
Sapphire Toxic 512MB Radeon HD3870 Graphics Card Review
Big Bruin :: Thursday, May 15, 2008
The Sapphire Toxic 512MB Radeon HD3870 graphics card offers strong performance right out of the box, but if you have any interest in overclocking you can turn it into a real powerhouse. There are really no negatives to discuss in terms of performance, quality, and overall appeal. The card performs well, it stays cool and quiet, and the bundle of accessories is generous.
ASUS 8600GT TOP Video Card Reviewed
The Tech Lounge :: Thursday, May 15, 2008
“I was a bit surprised that Asus asked us to review their *flagship budget* — it’s weird just writing that — 8600 GT TOP. It’s new SKU for a card closing in on its end of life; the model being about a year old now. Just the same, with a hundred-dollar price tag, it’s definitely got an audience, no matter what cards there are competing against it, or what cards have been released since. And it’s a pretty highly-regarded card; go on any hardware forum and there’s a dozen NVIDIA people extolling the virtues of the 8600 GTs when it comes to budget gaming. Now, I’m not saying that they’re all wrong, but it is worth finding out if new drivers and some moderate factory overclocking can put value on an otherwise dated video card.”
Sapphire 780G Motherboard and Hybrid CrossFire
Bios Level :: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Not every PC case fan was designed to be quiet, nor do most LED fans give have a switch used to turn the LEDs off. Enter the Rheobus controller: giving users the ability to control the speed of PC case fans, and the brightness of the LEDs. Sunbeam recently sent BIOS LEVEL the Rheobus Extreme for review, which promises up to 30W per channel, as well as cool LED lighting.
Overclocked Radeon HD 3650 Showdown, ASUS vs. HIS
Hot Hardware :: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
We’re writing to let you all know that we have just posted a new article at HotHardware.com in which we evaluate the features, performance, overclockability and value of two factory overclocked Radeon HD 3650 cards, the ASUS EAH3650 TOP and the HIS Radeon HD 3650 IceQ Turbo. Although they’re built using the same GPU, these two cards are actually quite different. They have completely different coolers and memory, and are clocked differently as well. Head on over to the site and check them out…
XFX 9800 GTX Black Edition 512mb
Overclock 3d :: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
“A 9800 GTX in a rather black looking package with some serious extra’s that should really get your attention? Sounds like an XFX 9800 GTX Black Edition to me! More inside…”
It’s Official: YouTube Sucks
PC Mech :: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
“In case you hadn’t heard, more than a few YouTube users are stating that “it isn’t like it used to be” (more or less) and that the site is nothing but a big ball of boring. In addition to that, users of that site are abso-frickin’-lutely sick of the negativity that goes thru that place like a never-ending tidal wave; this means video-makers either “play it safe” with video content or just don’t post anymore.”
Overclocking The NVIDIA Quadro FX1700
Phoronix :: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
“Back in March we had reviewed the Quadro FX1700 512MB graphics card, which is NVIDIA’s lower-end OpenGL 2.1 workstation graphics card that’s based upon the consumer G84 core. In the benchmarks that had followed, we had compared the Quadro FX1700 performance under Windows, Linux, and Solaris. We had found the performance of this Quadro graphics card performed well under all three platforms, but Ubuntu Linux had led the race. We are now preparing a review of the high-end ATI FireGL V8600 1GB graphics card for publishing in the coming days, but we have stumbled upon some results from the FX1700 that never ended up making it out earlier. Specifically we had overclocked the Quadro FX1700 with CoolBits and it had actually worked out quite well. In this article are the overclocking results from this NVIDIA workstation graphics card as well as comparing the performance to an ATI Radeon HD 2900XT 512MB graphics card.”
Palit 9600GT Sonic 1GB Graphics Card
Tweak Town :: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
“Palit are back again with another 9600GT. While this model is a Sonic variant, this one also sports 1GB of memory. What’s cool about this card is that more often than not you have two options when it comes to getting a card other than stock. You can get yourself one with more memory, which generally comes under the “Super” naming scheme; the other option is that you get yourself an overclocked model. This comes under the “Sonic” naming scheme for Palit. Today we’ve got ourselves a 1GB card which also happens to be overclocked.
Unfortunately Palit has called it the 9600GT 1GB Sonic; personally I think they should have called it the 9600GT 1GB Super Sonic which just sounds plain cool, and since the card carries with it an overclock and more memory, it’s more than appropriate.”
Palit GeForce 9600GT 1GB Sonic Video Card Review
Think Computers :: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
“Today I will be looking at the Palit 9600GT 1GB Sonic. The 9600GT is nVidia’s latest mid-range GeForce card, and rather than the reference 512 gigs of DDR3 memory, Palit has opted to add a full gig of memory, along with a heatpipe cooler, to this card. How will it stand up against the last generation of GeForce mid-range cards? Continue reading to see…”
Razer/THX Mako 2.1-Channel Speaker System Review
Techgage :: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Razer is well-known for producing high-quality peripherals, but audio can be an entirely different bag. Our concerns over their new found venture can be set aside though, as the tag team effort between them and THX helped build an amazing 2.1 system that’s actually worth its $400 price tag.
Diamond Radeon HD3650 1GB Review
Motherboards.org :: Sunday, May 11, 2008
The Diamond HD3650 1GB is not a bad card as it does support DirectX 10.1 features, meaning that you can play the latest and greatest games on the computer with full visual fidelity. The problem becomes, when price comes into play along with the performance of the card, the card just doesn’t cut the mustard. Another review of this card states that at $95 USD, this card is an ok buy and I would agree with that statement. At $130 online from various sources (Newegg, ZipZoomFly etc.) the card is not a good buy as there are better choices for your money.
Sapphire 780G Motherboard and Hybrid CrossFire
BIOS Level :: Saturday, May 10, 2008
“Sapphire sent us its PURE-series PI-AM2RS780G motherboard featuring the 780G chipset. This chipset is capable of handling 125W Phenom processors—something of which other 780G motherboards are incapable. On-board is a Radeon HD3200 integrated graphics solution, which may not seem overly powerful on its own, but Hybrid Crossfire promises to raise the bar.”
Foxconn 9600GT-512NOC Video Card Review
Futurelooks :: Saturday, May 10, 2008
Sure the NVIDIA 9800 series of video cards are the current crème de la crème of gaming performance but what if you don’t have the scratch to afford such a beast? Well that’s where the NVIDIA 9600 series comes in. Foxconn sent us over their pre-overclocked 9600GT. As an overclocked card, it should give us a bit more kick than your standard garden variety card. Let’s check it out!
Diamond Viper HD 3650 1GB at Overclockers Online
Overclockers Online :: Saturday, May 10, 2008
Much like other 3650 cards, you get a pretty good performer packed with features for a low price. The inclusion of native HDMI-out is a big plus for anyone running a home theater PC setup, but others are not left out with VGA and DVI connections as well.
ASUS Xonar DX PCI Express 7.1 Audio Card
Hot Hardware :: Saturday, May 10, 2008
A few months ago, ASUS jumped into the audio card market with both feet with the introduction of their Xonar product line. One of the first models to market was the premium Xonar D2 Ultra Fidelity 7.1 sound card. The D2 boasted a superb retail package with all of the cabling, software and extras one would need thrown in, along with a slick, eye-catching design, for around $180. Not only did the Xonar D2 Ultra Fidelity 7.1 deliver on all fronts, but it also proved to be solid competition for Creative, who still has somewhat of a stranglehold on add-in audio card market.
To further infuse themselves into the audio card market though, ASUS didn’t stop with the Xonar D2 Ultra Fidelity 7.1. They have since developed several other model to meet the needs of consumers of all budgets. Today, we take a look at ASUS’ latest offering which targets the mainstream market, the more affordable Xonar DX PCI Express 7.1 Audio Card. Head on over to the site and check it out:
Asus EAH3850 X2 Video Card Review
i4u :: Saturday, May 10, 2008
“Today we are checking out the Asus EAH3850 X2 dual GPU video card. This is one of the fastest ATI graphics cards you will find. If you only have space for one card and you prefer ATI, the EAH3850 X2 is worth a serious look. After all the testing was done there was no doubt that the Asus EAH3850 X2 is the fastest ATI video card I have tested. It isn’t as fast as the top cards from NVIDIA like the 9800 GX2, but it’s not as expensive either. The Asus EAH3850 X2 retails for around $350.”
VisionTek Radeon HD 3870 X2 Overclocked Edition Review
OCC :: Saturday, May 10, 2008
“Overclocking a pre-overclocked card? Can it be pushed any further? The answer is yes. It didn’t take me long to discover that this video card does not like to be pushed, but I was able to obtain a minimal overclock on the already overclocked beast of a video card. I reached 850MHz on the core clock from the stock frequency of 840MHz, and on the memory I obtained a frequency of 975MHz over the stock 960MHz. It’s not much, but we’ll see if it gives a performance increase at all.”
S3 Chrome 430 GT Graphics Card
Tweak Town :: Friday, May 09, 2008
“S3 hasn’t stopped releasing graphics cards, but we just don’t seem to hear much about them anymore. Hopefully that’s going to change with the release of the Chrome 430 GT. It’s a low-end card that seems to be capable of taking on the big boys at NVIDIA and AMD.
Trying to fire up GPU-Z just resulted in an error due to none of it being able to be recognized, though the core comes in at 625MHz and there is 256MB of GDDR2 memory running at a speed of 500MHz DDR. We have a 64-bit interface, 64nm core, PCI Express 2.0 support, Direct X 10.1 and Open GL 2.1 support.”
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX Graphics Card
Digit Life :: Friday, May 09, 2008
“While renaming products to GeForce 9xxx, NVIDIA launched another graphics card based on G92 — GeForce 9800 GTX. It’s the most powerful single-GPU graphics card, designed to replace GeForce 8800 GTX (and probably GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB in the nearest future). However, at this moment GeForce 9800 GTX stands in between GeForce 9800 GX2 and GeForce 8800 GTS 512 MB.”
Hanns-G Hi221D 22in Widescreen Display Review
OCIA :: Friday, May 09, 2008
“Shopping for a monitor isn’t exactly straightforward, though. As if picking a size weren’t hard enough, you also have to balance your standards for specifications versus price. That’s too much work for a lot of people, especially after they just spent a month researching the best hardware to buy, and they stick with the well-known names like Samsung and Viewsonic.”
Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 Sound Card
Tweak Town :: Friday, May 09, 2008
“From a technical point of view we understand that Auzentech has fully licensed Creative Labs’ X-Fi chip onto their own proprietary circuit board design. So what does that mean? Well it means arguably the world’s fastest and most advanced audio processing at the average consumers reach right now, with upcoming driver support for Dolby Live, DTS interactive and since we have a Creative chip, the very latest in EAX surround technology.
My first impressions were good with a very noticeable notch up from the low-end after swapping from the Xonar. Not only did the low-end sound a lot beefier, it had a lot more character to it; more warmth and depth.”
Gigabyte GeForce 8800GT TurboForce 512MB
APH Networks :: Friday, May 09, 2008
While NVIDIA’s 65nm G92 core is an optimized derivative of NVIDIA’s original 90nm G80 core to a certain extent, cards based on the G92 like the 8800GT and 8800GTS 512MB is nothing but a success amongst performance enthusiasts — and there’s a good reason why. Our previous review of the Asus 8800GT TOP back in January showed that, in general, the 8800GT is not only a very capable card in terms of 3D performance and comes at a great price depending on the board manufacturer and retailer you are purchasing from, but are also very power efficient for what it offers. Last month, we got another variation of the 8800GT for our review — this time, from Gigabyte. The Gigabyte GeForce 8800GT TurboForce 512MB is not just about great performance, however. Utilizing a shorter, unique signature Gigabyte-blue non-reference PCB, along with a Zalman copper cooler, combined with Gigabyte’s custom overclocking and overvolting software to squeeze the heck out of this card, how does it step up against the rest? Let’s check this card out and run it through our set of benchmarks. And of course — overclocking.
Honeywell Airlite 700 Wireless Bluetooth Headset
3dgameman :: Friday, May 09, 2008
“The Honeywell Airlite 700 Wireless Bluetooth Headset performs admirable well. If you require wireless Bluetooth headset that has great range, battery life and speaker/mic clarity I would recommend you check this product out. Also, it’s only .57 x 0.44 x 0.70 (inches) in size and weights 9 grams (.32oz). Small and lightweight is key for a mobile phone headset because over time a heavy headset would become a burden…”
MSI GeForce 9600GT 1GB OC Graphics Card
Tweak Town :: Wednesday, May 07, 2008
“We saw MSI mix it up just the other week with the 9600GT by overclocking it and going down the aftermarket cooler route. Aesthetically speaking, the card really didn’t do a lot for us, but as we dived deeper into the testing of the card we became pleasantly surprised by the performance the cooler offered.
The latest 9600GT variant from MSI sports the same cooler along with an extra 512MB of GDDR3, giving us a grand total of 1GB. The card also carries with it the same overclock we saw on the 512MB model which should aid in getting some extra performance over stock clocked offerings.”
ECS GeForce 8800 GT 256MB Video Card Review – N8800GT-256MX
Legit Reviews :: Thursday, May 08, 2008
“The ECS N8800GT 256MB packs in double the memory with an available BIOS update giving you the performance of a true 8800 GT 512MB. The extra memory along with a nearly silent heat sink/fan combo and a $169 price tag assures it to be a great success!”
VL System M-Play Blast LCD Case Display & Remote Control Review
Tweaknews :: Wednesday, May 07, 2008
“I always enjoy being surprised by a product and the M-Play Blast was one such device. Not only did it exceed my expectations, it thoroughly impressed me. If you are looking for a remote setup for your media center and want something that looks at home with your VCR and other entertainment systems then the retro look of the M-play Blast should be right up your alley.”
Foxconn 9800GTX Extreme OC
Bjorn 3d :: Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Bjorn3D has previously reviewed the performance difference of the stock 9800GTX versus various high-end and mainstream graphic cards: namely the 8 series cards (review). We are fortunate to receive the Foxconn GeForce 9800 GTX Extreme OC card which features clock speed of 780/1900/2360 (core/shader/memory) as opposed to the reference speed of 675/1688/2200. Today, we will put this card against other mid-range graphic cards ranging from the last generation G80 to current generation G92 cards and even the HD card from AMD.
XFX GeForce 9800GTX Black Edition Review
Gamepyre :: Wednesday, May 07, 2008
The bundle and support are very well with the XFX Black Edition GeForce 9800GTX, it comes with COD4, which is one of the hottest PC gaming titles available at this moment and costs around $49.95 at most e-tailors or retailers making the card a more attractive buy. Support and warranty options are well taken care of BY XFX as they take very good care of their customers in the after purchase environment and quick RMA return times. Overall this card is a solid piece of equipment that excels in the 1920X1200 and below resolutions with moderate AA and AF settings. In the 1680 and 1280 resolutions you can turn up the AA and AF settings to their maximum values and get great FPS gameplay. Not quite a gamers gold card, but definitely a Gamers Silver card award winner.
ASUS EN9600GT Silent 512MB Review
Techgage :: Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Looking for excellent gaming performance but also want to keep PC noise to a minimum? The EN9600GT Silent from ASUS is the card to buy. It couples the power of the 9600 GT with pure silence, and costs little more than the stock model, making it a great choice for either the HTPC or desktop.
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD3870 Toxic
Bios Level :: Wednesday, May 07, 2008
“The HD3870 features the latest PCI-Express 2.0 technology, which doubles the original specification’s available bandwidth. The card is also bundled with 512MB of GDDR4 memmory clocked at 1152MHz, and a core clock of 800MHz. To keep the card’s form factor to a single expansion slot, Sapphire developed the Vapor-X cooling solution, which utilizes heatpipes to transfer heat from the GPU to the cooling fins faster than traditional GPU coolers.”
Asus EN9600GT Silent Video Card Review
i4u :: Wednesday, May 07, 2008
“The worst thing about the exclusive V-cool heatsink (really the only bad thing) is that to get enough surface area for the passive cooling to be effective the normally single slot 9600GT becomes a dual slot design. I also found that the back edge of the passive heatsink blocked the retention clip for the six-pin power connector the card requires. I had to lift gently on the fins of the heatsink to get the clearance needed for seating the power plug.”
nVidia GeForce 9800GTX Triple SLI
t-break :: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Scaling from one GPU to two doesn\’t necessarily result in doubling the performance as we\’ve seen in countless SLI and Crossfire articles. But what happens when you add a third GPU to the mix? That is what we\’re going to find out today by putting three 9800GTX SLI cards together.
3DMark Vantage Hotfix News
YouGamers :: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
“Jaakko Haapasalo, project manager of 3DMark Vantage, confirmed on the Futuremark/YouGamers forums that a hotfix to repair these (and other) outstanding minor bugs is on the way. ”
Asus EN9600GT Silent Video Card Review
i4u :: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
“The worst thing about the exclusive V-cool heatsink (really the only bad thing) is that to get enough surface area for the passive cooling to be effective the normally single slot 9600GT becomes a dual slot design. I also found that the back edge of the passive heatsink blocked the retention clip for the six-pin power connector the card requires. I had to lift gently on the fins of the heatsink to get the clearance needed for seating the power plug.”
RJTech PVR1100 MPEG4 Mini Video Recorder Review
Hardware Canucks :: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
RJTech has aimed their flash media based PVR1100 at users who want both simplicity and value in a PVR so it doesn’t have a built-in tuner nor may recoding options. Nonetheless, it can serve multiple purposes with the ability to play a wide variety of media types (image, video and audio) while recording in MPEG-4 format. Versatility is the name of the game here and while it doesn’t record or play files in high resolution, it is geared towards either older 640×480 resolution TVs or portable media devices.
Audioengine W1 Wireless Audio Adapter Reviewed
The Tech Lounge :: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
“Audioengine’s stellar A5 “bookshelf” speakers knocked me flat with perfect sound. The fact that this company would trust invisible air tubes over good ol’ copper to not screw up their performance is a compelling sign that their new Audioengine W1 is dyed-in-the-wool wireless solution, but I’m hella skeptical. While I certainly don’t believe that Monster’s onto something with their oxygen-free copper and gold lies, I’m not positive that I won’t be able to tell the difference between wires and nothingness.”
XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI Motherboard Review
Legit Reviews :: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
“Performance on the XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard was great! The majority of our testing showed that the motherboard performance was very close to what we have seen on recent Intel Express chipset based boards. Once we look at more recent gaming results like FEAR and Crysis, we see that the XFX 790i Ultra absolutely dominates compared to the boards we tested it against in this review…”
mStation 2.1 Stereo Tower
PC Magazine (Speakers) :: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Preview of the mStation 2.1 Stereo Tower.
GPU Shipments Drop The Most In Three Years
PC Magazine (Graphics Cards) :: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Jon Peddie Research this week said that shipments of graphics chips for the first quarter declined the most since 2005.
Your Complete Father’s Day Gift Guide
PC Magazine (HDTV) :: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Our experts have put together the ultimate list of tech-centric gifts for the discerning dad. This year, get him something he can actually use.
How To Buy an LCD HDTV
PC Magazine (HDTV) :: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Looking to upgrade your entertainment experience with a slick new LCD TV? Here?s what you need to know to choose the best set.
How To Buy an LCD HDTV
PC Magazine (HDTV) :: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Looking to upgrade your entertainment experience with a slick new LCD TV? Here’s what you need to know to choose the best set.
Hercules XPS 2.1 Lounge Speakers
PC Magazine (Speakers) :: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Preview of the Hercules XPS 2.1 Lounge Speakers.
Honeywell Arius 2216 LCD
Bjorn 3d :: Saturday, May 03, 2008
In 2008, older viewers who have lived their whole lives in 4:3 will initially gawk at a custom interface like 11:15 and feel that the ratio is odd, confining, or forced – but no one is wondering whether or not a widescreen LCD looks awesome ripping HD, because we’ve warmed up to the idea in the movie theater. Widescreen seems like a natural evolution, although just a few years ago we were staring at our moderately hi-res, bulky 4:3 CRTs, and marveling at how crisp the images looked in comparison to a normal television. No doubt you’ll see some of the hip kids reverting to 4:3 for its “vintage” appeal, and there might even be readers out there who have taken that stance already; arguing that the TV ratio they grew up watching Thundercats on will never – EVER – die, regardless of what widescreen is doing at large.
So you can suck it up and follow the crowd – if for no reason other than easing compatibility with the world’s weird formatting preferences – or you could do something completely off-the-wall, and throw budget to the wind. More on that later.
Regardless of your personal idea of graphical perfection, Bjorn3D has been on the hunt for a total solution and a total departure; something that makes perfect sense by providing productive versatility, individuality, and great multimedia experience in a really unique way, and Honeywell sent us a pretty good place to start. Their new Arius 22” widescreen LCD offers enough flexibility to help you make some interesting changes – whether you’re looking to clean up your lines and go minimal, or add a unique over-the-top component that sets your rig apart in a stuffy room of standards.
Glacialtech Altair A380 HTPC Case
PCFRAGS :: Saturday, May 03, 2008
GlacialTech was nice enough to send us one of their Altair A380 HTPC cases to take a look at today. With many computers being turned into Home Theater Personal Computers and their proximity to your other Audio Visual equipment it’s nice to have a small foot print case to fit in the limited space you have. While silently doing their job of replacing DVD players, DVRs, and other similar Audio Visual equipment it’s just unsightly to have a bulky PC standing out like a sore thumb there by your entertainment center.
Diamond’s Radeon HD 3870 1GB video card reviewed
Tech Report :: Friday, May 02, 2008
What happens when you take a Radeon HD 3870 graphics card and slap a gig of memory on it? That is the question of the hour, since our subject is Diamond’s new card with just such a configuration. The Radeon HD 3870 has established itself as a pretty decent option among mid-range graphics cards, although it’s squeezed by formidable competition from Nvidia. Could doubling up on video memory allow the 3870 to distinguish itself from the likes of the GeForce 9600 GT and GeForce 8800 GT? We decided to find out.
EVGA Precision 1.0 Overclocking Utility
NGO HQ :: Friday, May 02, 2008
EVGA, once again, sets itself apart from the rest with the EVGA Exclusive Precision Overclocking Utility. This program allows you to fine tune your EVGA graphics card for the maximum performance possible, with Core/Shader/Memory clock tuning, real time monitoring support including in-game, Logitech Keyboard LCD Display support, and compatibility with almost all EVGA graphics cards. * Core/Shader Clock Link/Unlink capability * Fan Speed manual or auto adjustment * Real-Time on-screen display support for ingame temp, framerate, and clock monitoring * Logitech Keyboard LCD Display support * In-app temp/clockspeed monitoring of GPU’s (up to 4 supported) * Information button shows device, driver, memory size, BIOS Revision and SLI mode * Ability to choose different skins, with more coming soon
Targus Travel Power Outlets Review
Think Computers :: Friday, May 02, 2008
“When you are traveling you bring a ton of gadgets with you, I know I do. I have my laptop, cell phone, MP3 player, and digital camera with me at the very least. All of these gadgets need recharged, but it is sort of hard with the 1-2 extra outlets that most hotel rooms have. Usually I have to bring a large surge protector, that is a pain since they are huge and take up a lot of room in my carry-on. Targus has come up with the perfect solution, the Travel Power Outlets. It is a portable power strip that provides 4 outlets in a very small package.”
GIGABYTE GeForce 9800 GX2 Graphics Card
Tweak Town :: Friday, May 02, 2008
“The latest 9800 GX2 incarnation to make its way into the labs comes from GIGABYTE and carries with it all the standard goodies that we expect out of the 9800 GX2. The latest 9 series of NVIDIA cards have impressed us, but like we’ve said all along they haven’t offered the revolutionary jump that we thought the 9 series would offer.
With the standard clocks and cooler there isn’t going to be a whole lot out of the ordinary, but we will check out the bundle and box to see if there is anything that gets our tails wagging.”
Desktop Graphics Card Comparison Guide
Tech ARP :: Friday, May 02, 2008
Covering 345 desktop graphics cards, this comprehensive comparison allows you to easily compare 18 different specifications for each and every card. If you need to find out about the specification of any card, just come over and check out our Desktop Graphics Comparison Guide.
VL System M-Play Blast Indicator and Remote Control
3dgameman :: Friday, May 02, 2008
“The VL System M-Play Blast Indicator and Remote Control is a fantasic combo for a Home Theater PC. The VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display) is capable of displaying 20×2 characters, USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 compatible and is available with a silver or black faceplate. The remote control that’s included is very intuitive, easy to use, comfortable to hold and has a torrent of buttons for launching and controlling just about everything on you computer, including turning it on and off. Watch the video to find out more and check out the bloopers at the end.”
Sapphire HD 3850 1 Gigabyte High Definition Graphics Card Review
Club Overclocker :: Friday, May 02, 2008
Not too long ago, our very own Paul did a pretty intensive review of one of the latest ATi powered video cards to hit the market, the 3870 Toxic. Hot on the heels of that review, Sapphire sent us the 3870’s little brother, the HD 3850 1GB. We already know that Paul loved the 3870, both for the performance, the price, and the sweet bundle, so will the 3850 keep us satisfied as well, or leave us wanting for more?
Gateway FHD2400 24-inch Monitor Review
Digital Trends :: Friday, May 02, 2008
“PC owners, rejoice: Gateway has unveiled its latest 24″ widescreen LCD monitor, and it’s a doozy. This glossy-coated behemoth delivers impressive image quality; more ports and connectors than you can shake a stick at; and a fast response time that will please gamers and movie-watchers alike. It’s even relatively affordable at $500 – or at least is compared to other 24″ LCDs. While the optional speaker bar integrates easily onto the display’s chassis, you’ll probably want to save your money for a set of regular speakers if you’re a gamer. Still, it’s a hardly a show-stopping drawback for what’s otherwise a highly-recommended unit.”
ASUS LS201 20″ LCD Monitor
Hot Hardware :: Thursday, May 01, 2008
Earlier this year we stumbled upon a widely circulated You Tube video (at least in tech circles), in which a man is seen ruthlessly abusing a poor LCD monitor. The protagonist starts by letting a child draw on the screen with a black permanent marker. Taking matters into his own hands, the man then proceeds to take a pen-knife to the surface of the screen, followed by multiple strikes with a hammer. The abuse of a perfectly good LCD monitor isn’t what struck us about this particular video, however. The unique element that caught our eye and set it apart from similar videos is that the LCD monitor survived the episode completely unscathed. The monitor was ASUS’ LS201.
Sparkle 8800GTS 512 MB
Bjorn 3d :: Thursday, May 01, 2008
Skoda has run a pretty funny ad-campaign here in Sweden. The ad-movie starts with a voice telling us about Skoda’s high-tech factory. You get to see the robots that build the cars and how thorough everyone is checking everything is alright. Then at the end of the ad you just briefly see the guy who prices the cars; a clown, and the ad ends with “Skoda – built by professionals, priced by clowns”. It’s a pretty funny and clever ad-campaign. So what does that have to do with video cards? Well, I am pretty sure NVIDIA could have chosen to run a similar campaign saying “NVIDIA cards – built by professionals, named by clowns”.
Harsh? I’m not sure about that. Today we are reviewing a NVIDIA 8800GTS 512 MB card from Sparkle. Some of you might remember that there also are 8800GTS cards with 320MB and 640 MB. And this is where the confusion starts. The 8800GTS 512 MB is using the newer G92 chipset while the 8800GTS 368MB and 640MB are using the older G80 core. The G92 core is much more efficient and has already proven itself on the 8800GT. In fact, it is the same GPU used in the new GeForce 9800GTX cards. This of course will just confuse buyers who might think that a 640Mb 8800GTS must be better than a 512 MB 8800GTS. It is extra unfortunate as the GeForce 8800GTS 512 MB turns out to be a GPU that offers a lot of bang for the buck.
Visiontek Radeon HD 3870 X2 Overclocked Edition review
Tech Spot :: Thursday, May 01, 2008
Today we are reviewing no ordinary Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics card, as we take a look at the Visiontek Radeon HD 3870 X2 Overclocked Edition. This is quite possibly the most impressive 3870 X2 graphics card available today, with the only possible exception being the ASUS version we reviewed a few months back. Like the ASUS, this Visiontek card aims at offering a greatly improved cooling solution, quad DVI-outputs, along with some factory overclocking to top it all off.
Samsung SyncMaster 245BW Widescreen LCD Monitor
Benchmark Reviews :: Thursday, May 01, 2008
We have spent a lot of time at Benchmark Reviews talking about video cards recently – and with good reason. The discrete graphics segment of the market is currently afire with many outstanding price-to-performance options. When we looked at the offerings from the two biggest players, the NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX and ATI/AMD HD 3870, we saw that game performance even when scaled to high resolution was simply outstanding. This begs the question; why with such low-cost entrance into owning cards capable of “high-rez” gaming, most users are still running a display of 19″ or less?Monitors are arguably the most important component for users, getting more usage than any other component of a PC. The only reasonable answer would have to be cost, as until recently displays above the 19″ mark have been prohibitively expensive. That’s where the SAMSUNG SyncMaster 245BW enters the scene as very attractively priced 24″ widescreen LCD monitor.
TekNmotion Pulsar SX PC Headphones Review
OCC :: Thursday, May 01, 2008
“The Pulsar was louder, but it did have the advantage of being powered via USB. When it comes to quality of sound, the Pulsar headphones were lacking compared to the competitors. I tested the Pulsar’s mobile ability and I must say I wasn’t very impressed; the inline controller and the battery pack were always in the way while listening to my MP3 player. I don’t foresee anyone using the battery pack in the future. While it was a good idea in theory, TekNmotion either needs to remove the battery pack or make it more compact in its next attempt.”
EVGA e-GeForce 8800GT AKIMBO 1GB Video Card Review
Gamepyre :: Thursday, May 01, 2008
The EVGA 8800GT 1GB AKIMBO is an interesting card in many respects. The performance is not up to the 9800GTX but it is close being that the two cards share the same video chip just with 16 SPs disabled. The main selling point of this card is the AKIMBO cooling solution as it kept the card noticeably cooler during operation, about 15-20C cooler according to NVIDIA’s temperature monitoring software.