Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Review
OCC :: Monday, April 14, 2008
“Am I disappointed in the overclocking headroom available from this processor. Not in the least! With the insane speeds being offered up by the dual core variants, I was still searching for a bit more than the 3.7GHz I was able to pull from this quad core processor. But even though I was expecting more, a greater than 1 GHz overclock is nothing to laugh at. The clockspeed increase was also done with a relatively low 1.36 volts to the processor. Much less than I have needed with both my Q6600 and QX9770s to gain the maximum core speed. Temperatures were, for the most part, kept in check throughout the testing. 64 degrees Celsius under load was the highest temperature I saw on air cooling during my stability testing with Prime 95. With better cooling, could the max overclock be increased? Probably, but the vast majority of users will be on air, so that’s where I spent my time testing.”
ASUS DRW-2014 L1T DVD-RW Review
Virtual Hideout :: Monday, April 14, 2008
“As far as DVD optical drives go, the Asus DRW-2014L1T is right on par with a lot of the other drives in its class. The LightScribe is a bonus for those who like to label their discs. Most drive noise is created when the optical disc starts to wobble and vibrate. This vibration is transferred to the drive motor and tray, thus making the noise. The QuieTrack feature and Auto Vibration Reducing System seem to work really well, as the noise level from a spun up disc was low. FlextraLink™ prevents buffer under run problems caused by an empty data buffer, thereby eliminating the creation of CD-coasters. This technology is similar to, and seems to work as well as, other companies’ buffer under run technologies.”
Rosewill RX82-U HDD Enclosure
techPowerUp :: Monday, April 14, 2008
The Rosewill RX82-U is a USB enclosure for SATA hard disk drives featuring two easy-to-swap trays. Running in JBOD mode, each drive gets seen as its own self, so the user will see two drives if two drives are installed. More trays can be purchased and drives can be hot-swapped as needed.
AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition review
Tech Spot :: Monday, April 14, 2008
In terms of performance, AMD has stated that the new B3 processors will be no faster than the original Phenom X4 CPUs without the TLB erratum fix enabled on a clock-for-clock basis. Therefore the Phenom X4 9600 and the new Phenom X4 9650, for example, should be no different in terms of performance. Just as well that should mean that today’s flagship Phenom, the X4 9850, should sit somewhere between the Phenom 9700 and 9900 processors that we reviewed earlier this year.
Cooler Master Cosmos S Case Review
Hardware Logic :: Monday, April 14, 2008
“Inspired by race cars (per Coolermaster’s press release) this newest incarnation of the Cosmos is designated by it’s S moniker, or Sport edition. Perhaps they mean sport racing with Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s, as the sleek and defined look of the Cosmos S sure enough wouldn’t mix well with the drunken crowds and painted up racing billboads of Nascar. Regardless, the polished and aggressive new face is exciting in itself, and we out to see how this new thoroughbred competes with it’s more modest and silent sibling, the Cosmos 1000 which we reviewed back in December.”
Thermaltake Toughpower QFan 650W Power Supply Review 
Think Computers :: Monday, April 14, 2008
“ThinkComputers loves ThermalTake’s lines of cooling supplies and cases. The company is known for its “think of everything” packaging and subtle stylishness of its products. ThermalTake provided ThinkComputers with a 650W version of its new ToughPower QFan line of power supply units. We expected this power supply to sputter when connected to our enthusiast-level gaming rig-the results of our testing are in the review.”
Sapphire Radeon HD3870 X2 1GB Graphics Card Review
Big Bruin :: Monday, April 14, 2008
The 1GB Sapphire Radeon HD3870 X2 graphics card couples the power of two HD3870 GPUs on one card to provide the muscle necessary to smoothly drive today’s games with ease. And if you are a player that insists on the absolute cutting edge and top notch performance at any cost you can take advantage of CrossFireX and use two of these cards in tandem.
Entering the Notebook World in 2008
Tweak Town :: Monday, April 14, 2008
“It’s not the first time I’ve entered the wonderful world of notebooks, but recently I’ve found myself getting a bit tired of sitting in front of the same desk in the same room so many hours a day. I thought that it was finally time to take the plunge and get back into the wonderful world that is notebooks.
There are three kinds of notebook users; those that get their notebook through work for business purposes, those that buy it themselves and say that they’re going to use it all the time, but actually don’t, and then of course the group of people who buy it and actually do use it. I hope to find myself in the latter; previously I was in the second group and found my notebook being used as a door stop more than anything else.”
ECS A780GM-A v1.0
Phoronix :: Monday, April 14, 2008
“Last month we had looked at the Radeon HD 3200, which is part of the AMD 780G Chipset. In that Linux-based review we had found the performance to be admirable for being an integrated graphics processor (IGP) and it was quickly supported by the proprietary fglrx driver, aside from AMD not yet introducing the CrossFire/Hybrid Graphics Linux support. To deliver those Radeon HD 3200 benchmarks we had used the ECS A780GM-A Black and today we’re publishing our full run-down on this AMD 780G motherboard that’s paired with the AMD SB700 Southbridge. The A780GM-A boasts support for AMD Phenom processors, DDR2-1066 memory, PCI Express 2.0, and an HDMI port in addition to one VGA output.”
In Win B2 Stealth Bomber ATX Computer Case
Legit Reviews :: Monday, April 14, 2008
In Win has been developing some pretty interesting cases lately and the B2 Stealth Bomber is the latest ATX tower from the Xtreme Series. With an auto-sensing front door and a touch sensitive mechanism to activate the front cover this case is far from what one would expect in a case. Join us as we see if this tool-free case can be as stealthy as the plane its named after!
Selling a Twitter Account Should Be Wrong But It Evidently Isn’t
PC Mech :: Monday, April 14, 2008
“On the vast majority of web services that offer free screen names it is expressly forbidden to sell your name to someone else. Why? It’s mainly to offset screen names turning into property that the providers can’t control, i.e. it would turn into a huge big frickin’ mess. Trust me, there are very good reasons […]”
Linux Is A Big Ball Of Epic Fail
PC Mech :: Monday, April 14, 2008
“Jane: Hey, I heard about this thing called “Linux”, do you know anything about it? Jack: Sure! I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Ask away. Jane: It’s free, right? Jack: Yes, absolutely! Jane: Cool! So they give it away for free at the computer store? Jack: Well, no.. Jane: How do you get it then? Jack: You have to download […]”
LITEON DH-401D 4X BD-ROM
CDR Info :: Monday, April 14, 2008
The DH401S is LiteON’s latest internal Blu-ray drive with BD-ROM reading and support for all the CD/DVD/BD media currently available, except from the DVD-RAM. The SATA interface is a good addition but the error correction needs improvements. The BD-ROM playback part was very good without any problems. The price of the DH-401D BD-ROM drive is around $150 making a safe buy for all users.
Biostar TA770 A2+ Motherboard
CDR Info :: Monday, April 14, 2008
A low budget solution for AM2+ platform users. The overall performance was good and we didn’t had any serious complain apart the overclocking area, where it lucks high FSB speeds, compared with more expensive boards.
Intel Q9300 Quad Core processor
CDR Info :: Monday, April 14, 2008
Intel enters the 45nm manufacturing process with a “low” budget quad core processor. We test the new processor under many different tests and benchmarks. Our overall impression is that if you need a low priced quad core, this product is right for you…
In Win B2 Stealth Bomber Case Review
Tweaknews :: Friday, April 11, 2008
“Regardless of whether or not you’re a fighter jet enthusiast, In Win’s latest offering is worthy of your next system build or simply to replace an old, boring case. It has just about every feature that one would need while maintaining a sleek, non-cluttered look just like the jet it was inspired by. Quite honestly, I can’t find any real reason not to highly recommend it.”
ThermalTake Armor Case Review
ASE Labs :: Friday, April 11, 2008
” What happens when you need a full size case for a new build? Maybe you want the extra space for additional cooling or hardware support. Look no futher than the Thermaltake Armor VA8003BWS. We already know that Thermaltake is a big player in the cases and modding market. This case certainly fits its name. It is big, heavy, and tough. ”
Thermaltake BlacX Hard Drive Docking Station Review
Hardware Canucks :: Friday, April 11, 2008
Today we will be looking at Thermaltake’s unique take on external USB hard drive devices; namely the BlacX. This product is a 2.5 inch and 3.5 inch SATA hard drive USB docking station that retails for about $35.00 here in Canada. To be precise this is not an enclosure, this is a USB hard drive docking station and as such will have different strengths and weaknesses than the normal run of the mill hard drive enclosures.
Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi-AP Motherboard Review
Futurelooks :: Friday, April 11, 2008
That’s right, we’re checking out the M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi-AP motherboard from Asus. This flagship motherboard from the well known manufacturer was upon release the first to use AMD’s newest chipset. This means full Phenom support, in addition to the slew of features and functions Asus adds to its top shelf motherboards. Here’s a quick run down of this motherboard’s features.
CyberLink Interview for the HTPC HD Fans
Tweak Town :: Friday, April 11, 2008
“We recently caught up with our friends at the happy and fun CyberLink HQ here in Taipei, Taiwan and asked them a range of questions addressing our concerns and also those of which we have seen posted in many audio visual forums around the world.
We say “happy and fun” as it’s quite literally the most vibrant office we have visited, ever. Alice H. Chang, CEO of CyberLink, actually encourages staff members to decorate the office with movie posters, drawings and painting on walls. Heck, even bring along your toys, figurines and comics from home – that’s cool, too!”
Gigabyte X38-DQ6 Review
OCC :: Friday, April 11, 2008
“The Gigabyte X38-DQ6 performed pretty well overall. While the performance it put out in the benchmarks were very comparable to the P965 board it was tested against, it still had a lot more room ahead if it had been paired with a better CPU and GPU. It also allows the user to have a second video card in Crossfire, which would boost performance up a lot. Some of the the best features on this board don’t come from its performance, but from its other features, like the power saver. If you are in a pinch with high electricity bills coming in every month, just enable the power saver and, day after day, you can save a pretty decent amount.”
SilverStone KLO2 Kublai Series Case Review
GamePyre :: Friday, April 11, 2008
There’s a lot to like about the SilverStone KL-02 case. First it is very light, meaning that carrying it around is a breeze. The construction of the case with SECC Steel and aluminum is very solid meaning that the case is not likely to break easily. The KL-02 has plenty of expansion capability with the case having up to 9 5.25″ drive bays and a single 3.5″ FDD bay. Negatives of the case include the lack of a motherboard tray, the installation of a long video card interfering with the drives and the fact that SilverStone cases are a mildly pricy at $100 USD for this case at most retail or e-tailors. Overall though, it is a good, solid case that is highly available on the market.
Sunbeamtech Silent Storm Case Review
Hardware Secrets :: Friday, April 11, 2008
“Silent Storm is an inexpensive mid-tower case from Sunbeamtech – it costs only USD 50 at Newegg.com – coming with three 120-mm fans, a transparent side window and screwless installation mechanisms for daughter boards and disk drives. Let’s take an in-depth look on this product.”
Making Old Software Compatible with Windows Vista
PC Stats :: Friday, April 11, 2008
“One of the most common gripes about Windows Vista even now, almost a year and a half after its release, is that it doesn’t play nicely with a LOT of older software. It has some pretty big software compatibility issues, and nothing is more frustrating than finding out that the games and applications you’re accustomed to no longer run. Buying all new software isn’t the answer, instead PCSTATS will guide you down the path to getting your old programs working once more in Vista.”
Cooler Master Centurion 590 Mid-Tower Case Review
OCIA :: Friday, April 11, 2008
“It was a little over a month ago that I had a chance to review another Cooler Master case, the Cosmos S. While the Cosmos is certainly a supurb case, a veritable heavyweight contender, not everyone may have the space (or the pocketbook) for an enclosure like that. This month Cooler Master has sent us something scaled down a bit, but equally as impressive looking, the Centurion 590.”
Silverstone Decathlon 1200W PSU Review
Driver Heaven :: Friday, April 11, 2008
Today we will take a look at a very powerful PSU from Silverstone, the Decathlon 1200W. Silverstone have taken the core of a slightly older server-oriented Olympia 1200W PSU, and have re-designed it to suit the requirements of hardcore enthusiasts, thus the 1200W Decathlon was born. Silverstone are renowned among for building products to the highest standards, so with that in mind let us see if the 1200W Decathlon can deliver the goods.
Mushkin XP-800AP 800W Review
OCC :: Friday, April 11, 2008
“There is also a great feature worth mentioning here. The Mushkin XP-800AP has a special feature that allows you to operate the power supply on four rails or on a single rail, depending on your setup and power requirements. This change is initiated by a simple switch on the back of the power supply by the main power switch; slide one way and you have the single-rail setup and the other way for a quad-rail setup.”
Xigmatek HDT- S1283 Review
XS Reviews :: Friday, April 11, 2008
“CPU cooling has always been important for the overclocker, but due to dual and quad cores it’s becoming increasingly important for the casual user too. Water cooling and phase change are both great ways of cooling a CPU; however the extremes of these methods are both very expensive and can be rather risky. This is the reason why Air Cooling is still used today, though don’t label it as boring, air cooling has changed dramatically over the past 3 years.
Today I will be looking at the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 which features anti-vibration rubber and a 120mm ‘quiet’ fan. So lets take this cooler out for a spin and see how well it performs….”
Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooler
Legit Reviews :: Friday, April 11, 2008
“The Thermaltake DuOrb is a sharp looking, well performing cooler that should fit in just about any mid tower and up, and some mini towers. At the $65 price point this could be considered a high-end air cooler. It’s quiet, light weight, good looking, and a breeze to install. It kept up with the NV-120 really well, which says lot for the cooler…”
Ultra Stackables
Modders Inc :: Friday, April 11, 2008
The Ultra Stackables are a new creation from Ultra offering the ability to stack several external devices together with a single power supply.
LF Collaboration Summit, Austin: Day 1
Phoronix :: Friday, April 11, 2008
“The second annual Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit kicked off yesterday with a variety of free software and Linux talks. The topics ranged from VIA announcing a new open-source driver strategy to pictures of MySQL executives burning their IPO prospectus information following their acquisition by Sun Microsystems. Ending off the first day of talks was a party at the QUA Bottle Lounge in downtown Austin, Texas. Here are a few pictures from the day.”
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
Bjorn 3d :: Friday, April 11, 2008
Does that processor of yours that you just bought not too long ago seem like it is lacking in power trying to run the latest games and applications? Many people will answer yes to this question, and many PC enthusiasts will turn to overclocking in order to extend the performance life of their computer. With the added performance that is gained by overclocking, another gain is seen as well; heat. In order to keep your freshly overclocked CPU cool under its new settings, looking into aftermarket coolers should be your next step. OEM cooling solutions typically work great for stock speeds and maybe even a slight overclock, but for those users looking to gain the most from their CPU, an aftermarket cooler is definitely in order. Luckily, Arctic Cooling has provided us with their Freezer 7 Pro for Socket 775 processors to see how it holds up to the extra heat gained from overclocking.
