SeaTools For Windows
PC Mechanic :: Thursday, April 17, 2008
As you probably know, your hard drive is the most important and fragile component of your computer. Since it houses all your data, your system basically “lives and dies” by the health of your hard drive. Perhaps the most important indicator in a hard drive is the S.M.A.R.T. check which is built in to virtually all […]
Links to Reviews for April 13-15
PC Mechanic :: Thursday, April 17, 2008
Canary Wireless Digital Hotspotter HS20 – “Today we are looking at a very nice little gadget that will help you get connected to hot spots when you are on the road. The scanning process took about 10 seconds in my testing to turn up 6 local wireless networks. It is important to note that my notebook […]
Video: Super Mario With RC Car And Bottles?
PC Mechanic :: Thursday, April 17, 2008
It’s stuff like this on YouTube that makes it cool: Yes, that’s the NES Super Mario Bros. video game in-game song being played with a radio-controlled car with a mounted hammer hitting bottles for the notes. When tech translates into real life like this in a (really) creative way, that’s just plain awesome. I can guarantee you […]
Google Earth Cheat Sheet
PC Mechanic :: Thursday, April 17, 2008
I do use Google Earth from time to time (which by the way they’re supposed to release v4.3 today with more Mac support and Street Views included), and find that memorizing the keystrokes in the software does make it faster to use. I mention this because said honestly, the interface is a bit clunky at […]
Gear Up at Techgage Lineage II Style!
Techgage :: Thursday, April 17, 2008
NCsoft gave us a whack of stuff to give away to you, our loyal readers, and that’s what we are doing throughout the month. This week, we are offering up some sweet Lineage II swag, so fill out the form and enter!
Creative EAX vs. ASUS DS3D GX 2.0
Techgage :: Thursday, April 17, 2008
Not long ago, we received word from ASUS that they had managed to incorporate EAX effects into the drivers of their Xonar cards. Soon afterward, Creative told everyone that was false, and that ASUS “EAX” was not true EAX. Who’s telling the straight story, and will you even notice a difference?
D-Link DGL-4500 Xtreme N Gaming Router
Techgage :: Thursday, April 17, 2008
D-Link’s DGL-4500 wireless router brings a lot to the table, including dual-band operation, 802.11n support, a killer built-in OLED screen, on top of features perfectly suited for online gamers. Of course, such a feature-packed router doesn’t come cheap, so is it worth your hard-earned $180?
Thermaltake BlacX Hard Drive Docking Station
Techgage :: Thursday, April 17, 2008
Happen to have a few 2.5″ or 3.5″ SATA hard drives lying about that you’ve been avoiding because you don’t feel like installing them in your rig? Want a quick and easy way to hot-swap between multiple drives for a very reasonable price and have a unit that actually looks cool? The BlacX is for you.
Patriot Viper PC3-14400 DDR3 Memory Review 
RB Mods :: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Coolink SWiF 1202 Cooling Fan
Modders Inc :: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
With our comparison between the Coolink and Noctua fans, we can see that the Coolink does have a slight lead in the cooling area, but comes at the slightly louder noise level.
Overclocking Intel’s Xeon X3320 processor
The Tech Report :: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
We PC enthusiasts have been co-opting enterprise-class hardware for our own personal systems for years now. We got our first taste of the creamy smoothness of SMP on dual-socket workstation boards long before you could get two cores conveniently packaged on the same chip. Tempted by lightning-fast access times and 10K-RPM spindle speeds, we adopted Western Digital’s Raptor hard drive. And who can forget AMD’s Toledo-based dual-core Opterons—overclocking marvels compatible with the same 939-pin socket as Athlon 64 X2 desktop chips. I’ve had what was a relatively inexpensive Opteron 165 designed to run at 1.8GHz happily chugging away at 2.4GHz on a standard desktop motherboard for a couple of years now.
Although they share the same architecture and performance characteristics as their desktop counterparts, server and workstation processors like the Opteron typically undergo additional validation testing and run at lower operating voltages. In a sense, chips that make the grade for the enterprise world are the best of the breed. That doesn’t guarantee overclocking success, but it at least hints at untapped potential. When that potential plugs into a standard desktop motherboard loaded with overclocking options, we just can’t resist.
It’s no wonder, then, that Intel’s Xeon X3320 caught my eye recently. This LGA775 chip features a 45nm Yorkfield core running at 2.5GHz with 6MB of L2 cache, making it the Xeon equivalent of the Core 2 Quad Q9300. What’s more, while the Q9300 has been in short supply of late, the X3320 has been more consistently available at roughly the same price.
Antec Mini P180
Bjorn 3d :: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
design and construction, and today’s examples are a nice departure from the vanilla rattle boxes of days gone by. Increased cooling capabilities, quieter operation, and style are just a few of the advances – and with these often come increased size and weight. Recognizing that many PC enthusiasts actually like to be able to move their systems, Antec has come up with a smaller, more portable case with this in mind. Enter the Mini P180 Advanced Super Mini Tower – the newest member of the Antec Performance One series of cases.
In-Win B-2 Stealth Bomber Case Review
Hardware Logic :: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
“While not a name often heard in the enthusiast market, In-Win has been in business for 22 years, focusing primarily on PC enclosures. In-Win mainly caters torward OEMs, but does have experience in the retail market. Previously we’ve examined three of their small form factor offerings, the Mt. Jade, the Alpha 360, and the F430.”
In-Win B-2 Stealth Bomber Case Review
Hardware Logic :: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Today HardwareLogic takes a look at the In-Win B2 Stealth Bomber chassis. Themed after it’s namesake, the B2 offers unique “Stealth” styling, with aircraft style detailing in a mid-tower form factor. In-Win’s newest case boasts features including a motorized touch-sensitive faceplate, a Turbo Cooling System, and the ability to evade radar detection. Ok, maybe we made up that last bit, but until someone proves us wrong, we’ll assume it’s true. Let’s dive in and see what she can actually do!”
AMD Phenom 9850 Quad Core CPU Review
Techware Labs :: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
AMD’s release of the Phenom 9850 means an end to the TLB errata problem it also ushers in a new level of affordable quad core computing and gaming. Ruffy tests out the Phenom 9850 and manges to get it running at 3.1Ghz on air! We show you the performance of this affordable computing beast and give you our analysis on this new CPU.
Vizo Sleet RAM Coolers Review
Techware Labs :: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
From time to time, we’ll notice our system getting hot. This is usually due to the processor overheating, but sometimes the RAM comes into play. Today, Justin examines hot RAM can overheat, and how Vizo’s Sleet Ram Coolers can help to drop those temperatures.
Thermaltake DuOrb CPU / Memory Cooler Review
OCIA :: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
“Thermaltake has now carried that same patented design over into the processor realm with its DuOrb CPU Cooler. Utilizing twin 80mm fans just as the VGA Cooler did, this time surrounded by six copper heatpipes rather than two and both an inner aluminum fin and outer copper fin configuration, the DuOrb CPU Cooler takes advantage of the wide wingspan of the DuOrb design to cool not only the processor but also the memory and surrounding socket area.”
Kingwin RVT-12025 HDT CPU Cooler
Benchmark Reviews :: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
There are times when Benchmark Reviews will test a product that seems very similar to another that we’ve already reviewed, with only subtle differences separating them. A much less common occurrence is when we see the exact same product, only wearing a different name. Kingwin is fortunate then to have built their RVT-12025 HDT CPU cooler from an award-winning mold. Designed from the Heat-pipe Direct Touch technology created by Zaward, and later incorporated into the award-winning Xigmatek HDT-S1283 CPU cooler, the new RVT-12025 is a chip off the old block… a very well established block.
Hitachi Deskstar 500GB SATA/300 7200RPM 16MB HDD
Viper Lair :: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
“The Hitachi came about the DeskStar lineup with their and IBM’s merger, with the history behind the DeskStar (I know, I had to bring up the old stuff) I am sure IBM was not to sad to let Hitachi run with it. Obviously those issues are long gone as Hitachi has gained a stellar reputation with their iteration of the DeskStar.”
Apevia X-QBOII Black Case Review
OCC :: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
“You may be wondering, what happened to the layout? The motherboard has been flipped upside down to the opposite side of the case. Many pre-built manufacturers use this type of layout, and I like it. It allows for the CPU to be rotated to the bottom of the case where the cold air sinks, thus allowing for better cooling. And in this windowed case, the PCI and PCI-E cards also get rotated, so the exciting top part of the card is shown off, instead of the boring bottom.”
Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L Motherboard Reviewed
The Tech Lounge :: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
“Gigabyte is a solid company. They’re at the top of my list, it would seem, so picking a current-generation entry-level motherboard without integrated graphics narrows things down to about half a dozen options, with the GA-P31-DS3L at the front. But is that really enough to base a decision on? Well, if you’re reading this, then Jesus, of course not. Here’s what to expect: OK performance, dull layout, and Ultra Durability! After a trip to the bench, this board indeed gets a nod for being better than the other P31 motherboards. Here’s what that means.”
AMD Opteron 2356 Dual Quad-Core
Phoronix :: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
“When looking at the AMD Phenom 9500 under Linux, we had found this processor had posed a number of issues from kernel panics to other troubles when running Ubuntu 7.10 with the Linux 2.6.22 kernel. Once, however, upgrading to Ubuntu 8.04 with the Linux 2.6.24 kernel these problems had vanished and we were pleased by this native quad-core desktop processor from AMD. Released a month prior to the first Phenom desktop CPUs were the quad-core Opteron 2300 “Barcelona” processors. We hadn’t looked at any AMD Barcelona processors at that time, but today we finally have our hands on two of the new AMD Opteron 2356 server/workstation processors. The Opteron 2356 CPUs come clocked at 2.30GHz, and is a revision B3 Opteron meaning that it has a proper fix for the TLB erratum — this model was introduced only earlier this month. We have benchmarked the new Opteron 2356 in both single and dual CPU configurations and have compared the results — under Linux — to two of Intel’s quad-core Xeon processors.”
OpenMac – And Why It’s Going to Fail
PC Mech :: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
“A Miami-based vendor called Psystar is attempting to rain on Apple’s parade. They have created, essentially, a Mac based on PC hardware. They then ported Apple’s OS X Leopard operating system over to it, all for a package price of $399.[…]”
Windows XP SP3 RTM Confirmed! 
Tech ARP :: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
“Microsoft clarified that there will not be any integrated SP3 release for Windows XP Media Center Edition or Windows XP Tablet Edition. That means you won’t be able to buy or obtain a complete Windows XP Media Center Edition / Tablet Edition SP3 CD. In addition, users of Windows XP Media Center Edition or Windows XP Tablet Edition will only be able to update to Service Pack 3 through Windows Update.”
Seagate Momentus 5400.4 250GB 2.5 HDD
Tweak Town :: Monday, April 14, 2008
Today we have been sent Seagate’s new notebook drive, the Momentus 5400.4. This is the fourth generation of Momentus drives; the last one we managed to have a look at out-pioneered the use of Perpendicular recording methods when it first arrived, proving it could easily handle extra data as well as increase speeds.
Its construction matches that of all other 2.5” drives; it’s light weight so you’re not lugging an extra brick inside your notebook. It runs extremely cool, so not to add to heat which is especially important in the HTPC and notebook market where most of these run with only one fan.”
ASUS Striker II NSE 790i SLI Motherboard Review 
Think Computers :: Monday, April 14, 2008
“A couple of months ago, I read a post in a forum that stated: “with an Intel processor you should use an Intel chipset”, and have seen something similar nearly every day since, including today. I guess that I agreed with it, subconsciously if nothing else. Such was the distance that I had strayed from my roots in such a short time. Which is why when I was informed that I would be reviewing an LGA775 board with an nVidia chipset, I was a little apprehensive, and still am. Today I will be looking at the brand new Asus Striker II NSE motherboard. It is a full-featured DDR3 board for LGA775, utilizing the nVidia nForce 790i SLI chipset, belonging to Asus’ ROG (Republic of Gamers) motherboard line. Will the Striker II NSE interrupt my current love affair with Intel chipsets? Read on to see…”
Lian-Li Armorsuit PC-P60
techPowerUp :: Monday, April 14, 2008
The new Lian-Li Armorsuit PC-P60 is a very elaborate case, which is quite different from the understatement shape of their usual enclosures. Three LED fans are built into the very detailed front door and a top airduct guides air out of the case toward the back. Even though the case retails at $269 it offers a lot of premium features justifying the cost.
Western Digital 500 GB Caviar GP Hard Drive Review
Tech ARP :: Monday, April 14, 2008
“The use of perpendicular recording technology allowed Western Digital to deliver a storage capacity of 500 GB using only two platters. Fewer platters mean lower costs and lower power consumption. The high areal density achieved using perpendicular recording also greatly increased its platter-to-buffer transfer rate. Little wonder how it did so well in our benchmarks.”
MITRON Duplus HDD Selector Review
Madshrimps :: Monday, April 14, 2008
“This small device from Mitron allows you to switch between two different hard drives. Can be useful in some situations where you don’t want one OS to see the other system. Also for family PC with one disk for the business and one for pleasure with no risk of virus infection from one to another. Lets take a closer look at this nifty product which fits in 3.5inch bay.”
Asus Rampage Formula
t-break :: Monday, April 14, 2008
Asus did not wait long to introduce its first motherboard based on the Intel X48 chipset. Asus Formula Rampage board is part of the Republic of Gamers series and it is obviously aimed at gamers and enthusiasts alike, but is this truly the best motherboard for the Intel s processors on the market?
Asus Striker II Formula Motherboard Review
RB Mods :: Monday, April 14, 2008
DDR2 ram doesn’t cost anything these days so if you are going for a upgrade maybe you should look at this Striker 2 formula that we are going to review today and get a good setup of DDR2. Yes todays review will consist of a review on the Striker 2 board that has gotten quite good results in earlier tests. This board is aiming for the overclockers and most fetures revolve around that theme today. We are going to compare it vs a couple of well performing DDR2 board though to see how it performs at stock. Of course we will finish this review with some overclocking results to actually see if this board lives up to its name.
Aerocool GateWatch 2 Review
Techware Labs :: Monday, April 14, 2008
Aerocool creates some unique products for your PC. We recently tested the GateWatch 2, a fan controller that combines several other functions in an eye catching way. Read our review to see why we had some issues with this product and our suggestions for those inetersted in a similar product.
Fake DFI Motherboards
Tech ARP :: Monday, April 14, 2008
“The detail to the packaging, documentation and the motherboard printing really makes you wonder if the people responsible for this have only limited their activities to DFI motherboards. It’s quite possible that there are fake ASUS or Gigabyte motherboards in the market as well.”
Tuniq TX-2 Thermal Compound
PC FRAGS :: Monday, April 14, 2008
Today I have some Tuniq TX-2 Thermal Grease from our friends over at Tuniq for testing. In todays Over Clocking world of Mega Hot CPUs running at the edge of the thermal envelope no matter what cooling solution you use your Thermal Grease is the conduit between your cooling solution and your Expensive CPU.
4IPNET MSG100 Gateway Review
Techware Labs :: Monday, April 14, 2008
Jason Knappenberger our resident networking and enterprise hardware guru recently took a look at the 4IPNET MSG100 gateway which packs a huge list of features into a $500 device. Does it all work properly and can Jason recommend this hardware? Read our review to find out.
Enermax Liberty DXX 500W Power Supply Review
Hardware Secrets :: Monday, April 14, 2008
“Liberty DXX 500 W, a.k.a. ELT500AWT, is one of the most popular power supplies from Enermax, featuring active PFC, high efficiency, modular cabling system, 120-mm fan and two video card auxiliary power cables for you feed your SLI or CrossFire system. We completely disassembled this unit and also tested to see if it can really deliver its labeled 500 W. Check it out.”
Thermaltake BlacX Hard Drive Docking Station Review
Techgage :: Monday, April 14, 2008
Happen to have a few 2.5″ or 3.5″ SATA hard drives lying about that you’ve been avoiding because you don’t feel like installing them in your rig? Want a quick and easy way to hot-swap between multiple drives for a very reasonable price and have a unit that actually looks cool? The BlacX is for you.
Coolink ChipChilla Chipset Cooler
Tweak Town :: Monday, April 14, 2008
“When Coolink first notified me about the ChipChilla, the first thing I thought of was the reference NVIDIA 680i motherboard and how loud the stock chipset cooler is. Coolink advertises the ChipChilla as a solution for overheating Northbridge chipsets, and while it is true that a few of the current chipsets get very hot, they rarely overheat to the point of failure. It is not a coincidence that the chipsets that run hot are also the ones with very loud fans, opening the door for an aftermarket solution.
Recently I tested the Coolink GFXChilla in our Mega 9-way VGA Cooler Roundup and found that the cooler performed very well for its size and that the unit was well made. The ChipChilla at first glance appears to follow the same lines as the GFXChilla, and the two when used in combination would add visual appeal to a system.”
